Draw Swords! Part 54

"You are right," he said. "I cannot trust my own guards. I only hope for better things."

"Would it not be better to begin quite afresh, sir?" said Hulton. "A bold stroke would relieve you of many doubtful friends, and we would support you to the death if trouble arose."

"I thank you, Mr Hulton," said the Rajah sadly, "and I feel that you are right, but I cannot take such a step as you propose. It would mean death and destruction, and fighting against one whom I feel bound to look up to with respect. No; this is a revolution that must come slowly. I can only fight to the death against Rajah Singh. I must fight against my mother and her friends by word of mouth. I must leave you now. All this troubles me, but I will be firm as far as I can;" and he bowed and moved towards the door.

"I wish Rajah Singh would attack again, and make short work of some of the Rajah's internal enemies," said Wyatt after the visitor had gone.

"He is an open enemy, and we know what to do."

"Yes," said Hulton; "and we are surrounded by secret, ones, and do not know what to do."

"Not yet," said Wyatt, "but we mean to do one thing--eh, Darrell!"

"What?" said d.i.c.k, looking at the speaker inquiringly.

"Win," said Wyatt shortly. "But come up again with me, d.i.c.k. I want to see if I can find that secret way."

The search proved to be in vain, and the occupants of the old palace, as they talked the matter over, felt more and more the awkwardness of their position, troubled, as they were, constantly by the knowledge that the place they had looked upon as a stronghold was weak to a degree in its most vital part, since their enemies could evidently elude their watchfulness and strike at them whenever they pleased.

"I don't know what's to be done," said d.i.c.k. "I felt sure that I had hit upon the way in which it was all managed."

"So you have," said Wyatt; "only you have not got quite enough. But there, I'll tell you what to do."

"What?" cried d.i.c.k eagerly.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes. I'm pretty good over my work as an officer, d.i.c.k, old fellow, but I'm only a big, stupid boy in other things."

"You! What nonsense!"

"It's a fact, d.i.c.ky, and I know it and have come to be a bit of a philosopher."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said d.i.c.k.

"Then I'll tell you, old fellow. When I find a thing's too big for me to think out I let it go, and I find it often comes afterwards. We can't tackle this, so let's leave it and do the best we can. By-and-by perhaps we shall find it out. Drop it now."

So it was dropped, and the days wore on without any more alarms. The two injured men improved fast, and Hulton seemed stronger, but quite unfit still for duty.

"Never mind," he said, with a smile full of resignation; "it doesn't matter. The troop couldn't be better managed, and I shall get well sooner up here in the hills than I should down in the plains."

One thing troubled the party in the old palace, though, and that was the apparent change on the part of the Rajah, who kept quite aloof from them now; while the people, after a period of comparative friendliness, began to grow aggressive.

"Seems to me," said Wyatt, "that we might as well be back at cantonments. The Rajah cuts us; n.o.body wants us here; there's no fighting to do, unless we set to and drive the fighting part of the population out and take possession of Soojeepur in the name of the Company. I want exercise, and I should just like that job. We could do it, too, with a bit of scheming. What do you say to a try, d.i.c.k, and being made Rajah _pro tem_?"

"Nothing," said d.i.c.k.

The very next day a larger present than usual of the produce of the country was brought for the use of the troop by the Rajah's orders, but there was no friendly advance.

"Doesn't seem as if he was tired of us yet," said Wyatt, "Look here; we shall have to send out a party to meet our reinforcements with the ammunition, for I don't like their not coming. It looks as if they had had a check somewhere."

"Do you think the Rajah of Singh could have sent a force round and captured them?"

"No, I don't," replied Wyatt. "If he had been on the move, our chief here must have heard of it. Perhaps it's all right, though, and they'll be here soon."

He was right, for the next morning a couple of horse artillery-men rode up to the gate, causing intense excitement among the Rajah's troops, who, as d.i.c.k found out later, had seemed disposed to refuse them entrance; but the news was brought in by one of the native servants, and d.i.c.k had orders to turn out with twenty men to meet the party.

In accordance, then, with his orders, he rode down to the gate, met the advance-guard, and rode off with them back along the road to bring in the little party with their heavy, slow train of ammunition-wagons and stores.

Stubbs was with the young leader, and as they were escorting the party back in a way which accounted for the length of time they had been on the road, an unpleasant thought occurred to d.i.c.k.

It was so troublous that he could not keep it to himself, and he rode up alongside of Stubbs.

"I've been thinking," he said, "that we should be awkwardly placed if the Rajah's enemies took advantage of our being outside to refuse us entrance."

"That's rum, sir," said Stubbs.

"Rum? I don't see the droll side of it, Stubbs, because it would mean taking advantage of the troop being weakened to attack them."

"I meant it was rum that you should think just the same as I did. It has been bothering me ever since I found that they stopped our two men at the gate."

"I'm afraid I ought to have halted and sent word back to Captain Wyatt."

"Would have been better, sir; but it's too late now. We must get in somehow. Bounce may do it."

"Yes; we must make a dash in if they seem to be turning queer."

"Can't turn much queerer than they have lately, sir. I've been expecting a fresh attempt to blow us up every night; and you see if they don't begin again, now that they find we have got in our fresh ammunition. There'll be no peace in Soojeepur till some there have had their bodies shortened."

"Think not?"

"That's what I think, sir. It's that party of priests at the big temple and the queen's people. They hate us, and the Rajah don't like to go against them because of his mother. But I suppose if we live long enough we shall see."

Mountains seemed to rise in front of Richard Darrell as he rode on, but they grew smaller when he confronted the difficulties. The heavily-laden wagons were slowly brought up to the bridge, and by that time d.i.c.k had come to the conclusion that his course would be to ride straight in, no matter what opposition was offered, and, if the gates were closed against them, to try the effect of a bag of powder, whose explosion would drive in the gates and bring Wyatt to their help, for he felt that there must be no hesitation. Such a party as his, enc.u.mbered with a wagon-train, would be almost helpless outside if attacked.

He rode at the head of his detachment with his lips tightened and fingers itching to draw his sword, seeing that the fortifications over and about the sides of the gateway were crowded with the Rajah's men; but the advance-guard pa.s.sed in unchallenged, and a few minutes later he drew a deep breath, for the train pa.s.sed in, and all rode through the crowd-lined streets, and in and out till the gate of the old palace was reached and the task was successfully accomplished.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

A DASTARDLY ACT.

Wyatt set it down to the Rajah's hearing of their large accession of stores which accompanied the little reinforcement, for the very next day there came an invitation from the palace for the officers to spend an evening there.

"What's to be done?" asked d.i.c.k.

"Mustn't display doubt or hesitation," replied Wyatt, "though I trust his lordship less than ever. He's going to be civil now because we are stronger, and he feels that it is his best policy. What do you say, Hulton?"