Part 15 (1/2)
They had still provisions enough for the evening. The furniture was scanty, consisting of a raised bed place, or divan; two tables, raised about a foot from the ground; bra.s.s basins, and large earthenware jars of water. Harry, however, was too well accustomed to it to consider such accommodation insufficient.
”Tomorrow,” he said, ”I will get a carpet for sitting upon, and you will have to get copper vessels, for cooking.”
Abdool presently went out, and returned with two large bundles of forage for the horses. Soon afterwards they lay down, feeling stiff and tired from their unaccustomed exertions.
The next morning Harry went to the Residency. He had again painted caste marks on his face, which completely changed his appearance. Telling the guard that he had come from Bombay, and had a message for Colonel Palmer, he was shown in.
”You bring a message for me?” the colonel said, shortly; for he was, at the time, writing a despatch.
”Yes, sir,” Harry answered, in Mahratti. ”I have come to be your a.s.sistant.”
”Then you are Mr. Lindsay!” the Resident exclaimed, dropping his pen and rising to his feet. ”I received a despatch, yesterday, saying that you were coming. Of course, I remember you now, having seen you on the day I came up here; but your dress is altogether different, and the expression of your face seems so changed.”
”That is the result of my having adopted different caste marks, larger than they were before, with lines that almost cover my forehead.”
”I did not expect you to come in disguise.”
”The Governor thought, Colonel, that I might be of greater service, in finding out what was pa.s.sing in the town, and in going elsewhere, were I to come up as a native. To an officer of the Residency, all parties would keep their lips sealed.”
”I thoroughly agree with you,” the Resident said. ”Your disguise differs so much, from your former appearance, that I do not think any of your acquaintances, of those days, would be likely to recognize you.”
”At present I am supposed to be a trader; but I have with me the dress of a peasant, or small cultivator, which I used when I went into Scindia's camp. I have also the dress of a Brahmin--one of the better cla.s.s--which I thought, if necessary, would enable me to enter the house of Nana, or other leaders, without exciting surprise. I also have my uniform with me.
”I am staying, at present, in the street that faces the market, at the house of a man named Naroo. I myself am Bhaskur. I have a soldier servant with me, on whom I can confidently rely; and I will send him, with a chit, when I have any news to give you, and you can send me word at what hour I had better call.
”Now, Colonel, I am at your orders and, if you will indicate to me the nature of the news which you wish to gain, or the person whom you want watched, I will do the best I can. At present, I know nothing of any changes that have taken place, since I left here.”
”The only event that is publicly known is that, while the Peishwa has carried out his engagement with Scindia and with the Rajah of Berar, he refused to ratify any treaty with the Nizam; and the consequence is that the latter's general quitted Poona, without taking leave of Bajee Rao, and returned in great indignation to Hyderabad. This matter might have been smoothed over, if Scindia had intervened, or if the Peishwa had made suitable advances to the Nizam; but he has not done so. There is no doubt that he thoroughly dislikes Nana Furnuwees and, instead of being grateful to him for having placed him on the throne, he would gladly weaken his power. At any rate, it was Nana who formed the confederacy; and I know that his greatest wish is to keep it intact, and to secure peace to the country.
”Moreover, matters have been further complicated by the death of Holkar. He left two sons behind him, Kha.s.see and Mulhar. Unfortunately, Kha.s.see is next door to an imbecile; while Mulhar was a bold and able prince. The brothers quarrelled: two half brothers took the part of Mulhar, who left his brother's camp, with a small body of troops, and took up his abode at a village just outside the city--and was, I believe, favoured by Nana, whose interest naturally was to have an active and able prince, as ruler of Holkar's dominions. Scindia--who was, I suspect, delighted at this quarrel in Holkar's camp--supported Kha.s.see, and sent a body of troops to arrest Mulhar, who, refusing to surrender, maintained a desperate defence, until he was killed. Jeswunt went to Nagpore and Wittoojee fled to Kolapoore, but they were almost the only adherents of Mulhar who effected their escape.
”So matters stand, at present. The fact that the imbecile Kha.s.see owes his elevation to Scindia will, naturally, give the latter a predominating influence over him. Thus, you see, the confederacy has gone completely to pieces. The Nizam is estranged; the Rajah of Berar has gone home to Nagpore; Holkar's power is, for the time, subservient to Scindia; and Nana Furnuwees is, therefore, deprived of all those who aided to bring him back to power.
”You are well known to Nana, are you not?”
”Yes, Colonel, he was kind enough to place a good deal of confidence in me.”
”Then I think you cannot do better than see him, to begin with, and gather his views on the matter. I myself have heard nothing from him, for some time. He knows that the Company are well disposed towards him; but he also knows that they can give him no a.s.sistance, in a sudden crisis.”
”But surely, Colonel, Bajee Rao, who owes everything to him, will not desert him?”
”My opinion of the Peishwa is that he is a man without a spark of good feeling; that he has neither conscience nor grat.i.tude, and would betray his own brother, if he thought that he would obtain any advantage by so doing. He is a born schemer, and his sole idea of politics is to play off one faction against another. I would rather take the word of a man of the lowest cla.s.s, than the oath of Bajee Rao.”
”I am sorry to hear it, sir. He seemed to me to be a fine fellow, with many accomplishments. His handsome face and figure, and winning manner--”
”His manner is part of his stock in trade,” the colonel said, angrily. ”He is a born actor; and can deceive, for a time, even those who are perfectly aware of his unscrupulous character.
”Remember one thing, Mr. Lindsay: that if you are in any difficulty, or if a tumult breaks out in the city, you had best make your way here, at once. A trooper of my escort was thrown from his horse, and killed, the other day; and if you attire yourself in his uniform, you will pa.s.s for one of them. Whatever happens, they are not likely to be touched. Both parties wish to stand well with me and, even were it found out that you are an Englishman, you would be safely sheltered here; for I should claim you as my a.s.sistant, and an officer in our army, and declare truthfully that you had only a.s.sumed this guise in order to ascertain, for me, the feelings of the populace.”
”Thank you, sir. I will certainly come here, as soon as any serious trouble begins.”