Tara: A Mahratta Tale

by Meadows Taylor

  CHAPTER XXXVI.

  "What is it?" asked the Meerza anxiously, as they passed into the innercourt. "Why hast thou come, Pahar Singh, thus early?"

  "Is he above--Ali Adil Shah?" asked the robber; "what I have to say isfor him alone. And thou hast recognized me, O Meerza?"

  "He is," replied the Meerza; "follow me and be silent. I will tell him.Yes, I knew thee, and he trusts thee."

  The eunuchs of the lower guard bowed their heads on their folded armsas the two men passed and ascended the stair together. When theyreached the terrace, the Meerza stepped on and drew aside the curtain.

  "He is come, my lord," he said in a low tone--"he--the robber."

  "I thought so," replied the King; "bring him in."

  As Pahar Singh entered, the light of the lamp shone full on him, andrevealed a haggard anxious face; his large eyes were gleaming wildlyfrom among the heavy masses of his matted hair, now hanging about hisshoulders; but the disguise as a Mahomedan mendicant was as completeas that of the Hindu Jogi had been. He made no lowly reverence, butadvanced boldly--defiantly, as it were--to the edge of the carpet, andthe King involuntarily grasped the hilt of the short sword lying besidehim.

  "The King might kill me," said the man, observing the action; "a word,and the head of Pahar Singh is struck from his body by those eunuchsyonder. There is no escape hence--is it not so? Yet I have trustedthee, O King, and do not fear thee, even as thou didst not fear me. Iam here, true to thy salt; and what I have to tell thee is as true as Iam."

  "Fear not," said the King, "and speak freely; thou art safe here."

  "Does he know all?" asked the robber, pointing to the Meerza.

  "All, friend. Was he not with me, and are not these the letters?"returned the King. "Else----"

  "I believe thee, Adil Khan," said Pahar Singh. "Now, listen: time isshort, and much has to be done ere thou art safe."

  The King started. "Safe?" he cried.

  "Ay, safe, my lord. Khan Mahomed was at Almella yesterday, and is onhis way hither now. He will be here about the third watch of the day,or sooner. What brings him, think you?" said Pahar Singh, rapidly.

  "I sent him a letter of assurance, and he believes it," said the King.

  "Believes it, King? He?" exclaimed the man derisively. "He? Thou artbut a simple boy to think so. No, he has understood it rightly, and inreply has brought some hundreds of my men with him. What for?--it isin thine eyes to ask--what for? I will tell thee. Ah! thy heart tellsthee now: there is no need for me to speak."

  "Then his designs are evil, friend," said the King, with a slightshudder.

  "King! without that letter he was not to be trusted. After hereceived it he knew his fate," returned Pahar Singh. "We--I--have anevil reputation, they say: and he believed I would do anything formoney. He sent an express messenger for me from Nuldroog. I had comehere with those letters, but my son went. Money was offered to him:rank--an estate--whatever he pleased. Money? yea, much money. A lakhof rupees--more. Why? thou already knowest. Yes--to kill thee, O AdilKhan, thou wert not to live over to-day. My son pleaded fatigue and myabsence--time also to collect the men. That is why Khan Mahomed did notarrive yesterday. That is why he is at Almella now. My son is shrewdand wise--he secured all he could of the Wuzeer's money; and then--ah,blessed boy!--he rode on to meet me last night. Ha, ha! they thoughthe had gone to Itga to hurry on the men; but he is a good youth--heknew what to do. A gallant horse is that which that Lalla left with us;thy life was on its feet, O Prince! and my boy was in sore temptation.So he reached me last night, just as I had gained my hiding-place, ofwhich he knew. Ah, I was sick at heart, for my brother was dead----"

  "Dead!" cried the secretary; "God forbid! he was with thee, and well."

  "Ay, dead, Meerza," continued Pahar Singh. "Yes, murdered--perish thecowardly hand that struck the blow in the dark. We were attacked byrobbers, who had watched us, and he was struck down in the fight. Iwent for assistance to carry him, and when I returned he was dead, anda knife-wound in his heart. Enough, master," continued Pahar Singh,dashing his hand roughly across his eyes. "He died in thy service.Enough for him."

  "And then?" asked the King.

  "My son had consented to do the work; and that slave, the Wuzeer,believed him. The boy told me he pretended to hate the King, and thatthere was a death feud between our house and thine, Adil Khan--wasit not good? O, he is a clever youth that. It was he who got thoseletters, too: and now he has received money from the slave. Enough!Speak, O King. Is the slave to be delivered into thy hand alive, orwilt thou give him to me--to me, Pahar Singh? Dost thou doubt me? Iask no money--no reward from thee. Thy house--thy very life--is inperil: Pahar Singh can save both, and ask nothing but to be held trueto his master's salt. Nay, do not interrupt me," he continued, wavinghis hand, while he wiped away the foam which, in his excitement, hadgathered on his lips. "Think, Adil Khan, was thy royal house ever sothreatened before? Hath not the Wuzeer prepared the enemy to make hislast swoop upon thee, even as a falcon on a hare; and wert thou dead,with no son to rally men around him, and Khan Mahomed holding thepower,--could thy kingdom be preserved? Are the Moghuls idle? Is SivajiBhoslay indifferent? Above all, could thy royal armies have saved theehad I been a traitor?"

  "Come hither," cried Adil Shah, from whose eyes the tears were wellingfast as he thought upon his defenceless state, the deep treachery whichhad been meditated, and the rough earnest devotion of this strange man."Come hither: let me put my hand on thy head."

  Pahar Singh advanced. The squalid mendicant covered with rags--to allappearance what he seemed, so complete was the disguise--trod boldlyupon the royal bed of satin and velvet; but he bowed his head to meetthe hand which the King extended and laid upon it gently.

  "As thou wilt, true servant," said the King, "for there is a stern andfearful necessity to be encountered. Whatever reward thou mayst claimhereafter is freely bestowed upon thee--all thou hast ever done againstme or my people is forgiven. Take that slave for thine own if thouwilt, to deal with as it seemeth good to thee."

  "Remember," cried Pahar Singh, seizing the King's hand and detaining itupon his head, "these words cannot be revoked. Whatever happens, I dobut thy bidding, O King; and, only for the need for thee to know it, Ihad done the same even though I had not seen thee. Now I go, whither yecannot trace me, but ye will hear of me ere the day is past."

  "Go," replied the King. "I have no fear of thee or of thine acts. Allaand the Prophet direct and keep thee, O true friend, whom he hath sentme in my need. Go!"

  "Only be careful," continued the man, withdrawing the King's handfrom his head, kissing it reverently, and then releasing it--"only becareful! Stir not beyond the fort till the news comes to thee. Theguards on the gates and within are of the true party, and thou artsafe with them. Care not for revolt; the Wuzeer brings no men with himbut my own. My son prevented those he brought from coming on, and theyreturned to Nuldroog from Almella. None of his party here dare stir.Yet, if there be any movement, send for Afzool Khan and his son Fazil;they are my bitter enemies, but they are true to thee. Nay more, theWuzeer's son is not with his father in this matter, and is true tothee, O King, because of the young Fazil. And now I go. Send me beyondthe gate, for I must not depart as I came."

  "I am ready to go," said the secretary. "They were marvelling at thysudden appearance. How was it?"

  "I may tell thee some time or other," returned Pahar Singh, smiling;"but come, it is almost day. Yet, ere I depart, my lord, I would kissthy feet. The reverence I once paid thy father, the noble SultanMahmood, I would pay to thee." And so saying, he prostrated himself,embracing the King's feet, and kissing them respectfully.

  "Would thou wert a true believer, and thou wouldst be as a brother. O,that I could reward thee adequately," said the King, with much emotion.

  "I am better as I am--free," returned Pahar Singh. "When I have earnedreward, Adil Khan, I may ask it if I live; and if I die, remember therewas one true heart among thy people, and protect my Gopal--my son. Letus not speak of re
ward; there is nothing now between us but true faith,as thou art witness, O Meerza, and that faith was never yet given forgold."

  So saying, he turned and passed rapidly through the curtain, followedby the secretary.

  Was there any doubt in the young King's mind now? None; all was clear.There was no thought of mercy--none of receding from determination.There could be no question of Pahar Singh's story, else why had he,outlaw and robber as he was, trusted himself in the very palace?There was no appearance about that strange man which could lead to asuspicion of deceit, and his grim devotion in this emergency affectedthe King deeply. Even if Pahar Singh failed, the course was clear. TheWuzeer must be confronted with the silent witnesses of his treachery;and in Afzool Khan and a score of other trusty adherents, the King felthe had ample protection.

  No; it was no deception. After a short interval of silence, theFakeer's cry, "Ulla dilaya to leonga!" again arose more sonorously,more confidently than before, and the King, stepping out on theterrace, listened, speculating how far the man might be gone on hisdeadly errand, and what would come of it, so absorbedly, that thesecretary's footsteps, as he ascended the stair, were not heard, andthe King started as he spoke once more.

  "He is gone, my lord, on his work. I saw him pass beyond the gate."

  "Did he say aught?"

  "Nothing--he did not speak again. As he passed out of the court heshouted his cry, and continued it, walking rapidly till he was beyondthe bridge of the ditch. Many of the men saluted him, and some offeredalms, but he answered no one, and, still shouting, pressed on soquickly that I could hardly follow. When I last saw him, he had turnedby the 'Goruk Imlee' tree, and was running fast; and so God speed him!"

  "Ameen!" sighed the King. "Thou must not leave me to-day, Anwur Ali.Order a Durbar at noon, and there will we await the end. He or I,Meerza, whichever God wills; but it shall not be said of Adil Khan thathe shrank from his fate into his zenana. Go; sleep there on my cushionsfor a while; we both need rest," and by another doorway, the Kingpassed to the inner apartments.