Part 23 (1/2)

”An oath is an oath, nothing more. To trust to it and go to sleep in its guardians.h.i.+p, one may never wake up. Even the G.o.ds cannot bind a heart that is black with words. It was one of my own name who swore on the shrine of Eklinga at Udaipur friends.h.i.+p for a Prince of Marwar, and changed turbans with him, which is more binding than eating opium together, then slew him like a dog. Of my faith, an oath, 'by the Beard of the Prophet,' is more binding, I think. Too many G.o.ds, such as the men of Hind have, produce a wavering. But thou hast sworn to the truth as I am a witness. The delay of an audience was that thou mightst be well watched before much had been said, for a child at play hides nothing, and if thou hadst gone but once to the tent of the Gulab, Amir Khan would have known.

”But as to this,”--his hand tapped the doc.u.ment--”it has been said that the British Raj doles out the lives of its servants as one doles grain in a time of famine. If an envoy, such as a Raja sends in a way of pride, came with this, and were made a matter of sacrifice, perhaps twenty lives would have paid of the trying, but as it is, but one is the account.”

Barlow shot a quick searching look into the Pindari's eyes; was it a covert threat? But he answered: ”It is even so, it was spoken of as a matter for two, but--”

The Chief laughed: ”I know, Sahib; thou art pleasing to me. Of the Sahibs I have little knowledge, but I have heard it said they were a race of white Rajputs, save that they did not kill a brother or a father for the love of killing. What service want they of Amir Khan?”

”There are rumours that the Mahrattas, forgetting the lessons they have received--both Holkar and Sindhia having been thoroughly beaten by the British--are secretly preparing war.”

”A _johur_, a last death-rush, is it not?”

”They will be smashed forever, and their lands taken.”

”But the King of Oudh has been promised a return to glory to join in this revolt. The fighting Rajputs--what of them? Backed by the English they should hold these black accursed Mahrattas in check.”

Barlow rose and, the wary eyes of the Chief on every move, stepped over to the table and pointed to a signature upon the doc.u.ment.

”That,” he said, ”is the signature of the Rana of Mewar, meaning that he also pa.s.ses the salt of friends.h.i.+p to Amir Khan.”

He turned the doc.u.ment over, and there written upon it was the figure ”74 1/2.”

”Bismillah!” the Chief cried for he had not noticed this before; ”it is the _tilac_, the Rana's sealing of the doc.u.ment; it is the mystic number that means that the contents are sacred, that the curse of the Sack of Fort Chitor be upon him who violates the seal, it is the oath of all Rajputs--_tilac_, that which is forbidden. And the Sahibs have heard a rumour that Amir Khan has a hundred thousand hors.e.m.e.n to cut in with. Even Sindhia is afraid of me and desires my head. The Sahibs have heard and desire my friends.h.i.+p.”

”That is true, Chief.”

”This is the right way,” and the Pindari brought his palm down upon the Government message. ”I have heard men say that the English were like children in the matter of knowing nothing but the speaking of truth; I have heard some laugh at this, accounting it easy to circ.u.mvent an enemy when one has knowledge of all his intentions, but truth is strength. We have faith in children because they have not yet learned the art of a lie. In two days, Captain Sahib, thou wilt be called to an audience.” He rose from his chair, and, with a hand to his forehead said: ”Salaam, Sahib. May the protection of Allah be upon you!”

”Salaam, Chief,” Barlow answered, and he held out a hand with a boyish frankness that caused the Pindari to grasp it, and the two stood, two men looking into each other's eyes.

”Go thou now, Sahib; thou art a man. Go alone and with quiet, for I would view this message and put it in yonder strong box before others enter.”

CHAPTER XXI

When Captain Barlow had gone Amir Khan took up the message and read it.

Once he chuckled, for it was in his Oriental mind that the deceiving of Barlow as to his knowledge of writing was rather a joke. Once as he read the heavy silk _purdah_ of the door swayed a little at one side as if a draught of wind had s.h.i.+fted it and an evil face appeared in the opening.

Presently he rose from his chair, took the lamp in one hand and the paper in the other, and crossed to the iron box in a far corner of the room. He set the flickering light upon the floor, and dropping to his knees, drew from his waistband a silver chain, at the end of which were his seal and keys. His broad shoulders blanked the tiny cone of light, and behind through a marble fretwork, a delicate tracery of lotus flowers that screened the window, trickled cold shafts of moonlight that fell upon something evil that wriggled across the white and black slabs of marble from beneath the door curtain. The moonlight glistened the bronze skin of the silent, crawling thing that was a huge snake, or a giant centipede; it was even like a square-snouted, shovel-headed _mugger_ that had crept up out of the slimy river that circled sluggishly the eastern wall of the palace.

Once as Amir Khan fitted a key in the lock he checked and knelt, as silent, as pa.s.sive as a bronze Buddha, listening; and the creeping thing was but a blur, a shadow without movement, silent. Then he raised the lid of the box and paused, holding it with his right hand, the flickering light upon his bronze face showing a smile as his eyes dwelt lovingly upon the gold and jewels within.

And again the thing crept, or glided, not even a slipping purr, noiseless, just a drifting shadow; only where a ribbon of moonlight from between a lotus and a leaf picked it out was the brown thing of evil marked against the marble. Then the divan blurred it from sight.

From behind the divan to the ebony chair, and the wide black-topped table the shadow drifted; and when Amir Khan had clanged the iron lid closed, and risen, lamp in hand, there was nothing to catch his eye.

He placed the lamp that was fas.h.i.+oned like a lotus upon the table, and dropping into his chair, yawned sleepily. Then he raised his voice to call his bearer:

”Abd--”