Rujub, the Juggler Part 45

"No," the latter replied; "in this matter it is for you to decide.

I know not the Nana's wishes, and your highness must take the responsibility. I have brought him to you rather than to the commander of the Sepoys, because your authority should be the greater; it is you and the other Oude chiefs who have borne the weight of this siege, and it is only right that it is you who should decide the conditions of surrender. The Sepoys are not our masters, and it is well they are not so; the Nana and the Oude chiefs have not taken up arms to free themselves from the English Raj to be ruled over by the men who have been the servants of the English."

"That is so," the Zemindar said, stroking his beard; "well, I will talk with this person."

Rujub left the tent. "You do not know me, Por Sing?" Bathurst said, stepping forward from the entrance where he had hitherto stood; "I am the Sahib Bathurst."

"Is it so?" the Zemindar said, laying aside his pipe and rising to his feet; "none could come to me whom I would rather see. You have always proved yourself a just officer, and I have no complaint against you. We have often broken bread together, and it has grieved me to know that you were in yonder house. Do you come to me on your own account, or from the sahib who commands?"

"I come on my own account," Bathurst said; "when I come as a messenger from him, I must come openly. I. know you to be an honorable man, and that I could say what I have to say to you and depart in safety. I regard you as one who has been misled, and regret for your sake that you should have been induced to take part with these mutineers against us.

Believe me, chief, you have been terribly misled. You have been told that it needed but an effort to overthrow the British Raj. Those who told you so lied. It might have seemed easy to destroy the handful of Europeans scattered throughout India, but you have not succeeded in doing it. Even had you done so, you would not have so much as begun the work. There are but few white soldiers here. Why? Because England trusted in the fidelity of her native troops, and thought it necessary to keep only a handful of soldiers in India, but if need be, for every soldier now here she could send a hundred, and she will send a hundred if required to reconquer India. Already you may be sure that ships are on the sea laden with troops; and if you find it so hard to overcome the few soldiers now here, what would you do against the great armies that will pour in ere long? Why, all the efforts of the Sepoys gathered at Delhi are insufficient to defeat the four or five thousand British troops who hold their posts outside the town, waiting only till the succor arrives from England to take a terrible vengeance. Woe be then to those who have taken part against us; still more to those whose hands are stained with British blood."

"It is too late now," the native said gloomily, "the die is cast; but since I have seen how a score of men could defend that shattered house against thousands, do you think I have not seen that I have been wrong?

Who would have thought that men could do such a thing? But it is too late now."

"It is not too late," Bathurst said; "it is too late, indeed, to undo the mischief that has been done, but not too late for you to secure yourself against some of the consequences. The English are just; and when they shall have stamped out this mutiny, as a.s.suredly they will do, they will draw a distinction between mutinous soldiers who were false to their salt, and native chiefs who fought, as they believed, for the independence of their country. But one thing they will not forgive, whether in Sepoy or in prince, the murder of man, woman, or child in cold blood: for that there will be no pardon.

"But it is not upon that ground that I came to appeal to you, but as a n.o.ble of Oude--a man who is a brave enemy, but who could never be a butcher. We have fought against each other fairly and evenly; the time has come when we can fight no longer, and I demand of you, confidently, that, if we surrender, the lives of all within those walls shall be respected, and a safe conduct be granted them down the country. I know that such conditions were granted to the garrison at Cawnpore, and that they were shamelessly violated; for that act Nana Sahib will never be forgiven. He will be hunted down like a dog and hung when he is caught, just as if he had been the poorest peasant. But I have not so bad an opinion of the people of India as to believe them base enough to follow such an example, and I am confident that if you grant us those terms, you will see that the conditions are observed."

"I have received orders from Nana Sahib to send all prisoners down to him," Por Sing said, in a hesitating voice.

"You will never send down prisoners from here," Bathurst replied firmly.

"You may attack us again, and after the loss of the lives of scores more of your followers you may be successful, but you will take no prisoners, for at the last moment we will blow the house and all in it into the air. Besides, who made Nana Sahib your master? He is not the lord of Oude; and though doubtless he dreams of sovereignty, it is a rope, not a throne, that awaits him. Why should you n.o.bles of Oude obey the orders of this peasant boy, though he was adopted by the Peishwa? The Peishwa himself was never your lord, and why should you obey this traitor, this butcher, this disgrace to India, when he orders you to hand over to him the prisoners your sword has made?"

"That is true," Por Sing said gloomily; "but the Sepoys will not agree to the terms."

"The Sepoys are not your masters," Bathurst said; "we do not surrender to them, but to you. We place no confidence in their word, but we have every faith in the honor of the n.o.bles of Oude. If you and your friends grant us the terms we ask, the Sepoys may clamor, but they will not venture to do more. Neither they nor Nana Sahib dare at this moment affront the people of Oude.

"There are Sepoys round Lucknow, but it is the men of Oude who are really pressing the siege. If you are firm, they will not dare to break with you on such a question as the lives of a score of Europeans. If you will give me your word and your honor that all shall be spared, I will come out in the morning with a flag of truce to treat with you. If not, we will defend ourselves to the last, and then blow ourselves into the air."

"And you think," Por Sing said doubtfully, "that if I agreed to this, it would be taken into consideration should the British Raj be restored."

"I can promise you that it will," Bathurst said. "It will be properly represented that it is to you that the defenders of Deennugghur, and the women and children with them, owe their lives, and you may be sure that this will go a very long way towards wiping out the part you have taken in the attack on the station. When the day of reckoning comes, the British Government will know as well how to reward those who rendered them service in these days, as to punish those who have been our foes."

"I will do it," Por Sing said firmly. "Do not come out until the afternoon. In the morning I will talk with the other Zemindars, and bring them over to agree that there shall be no more bloodshed. There is not one of us but is heartily sick of this business, and eager to put an end to it. Rujub may report what he likes to the Nana, I will do what is right."

After a hearty expression of thanks, Bathurst left the tent. Rujub was awaiting him outside.

"You have succeeded?" he asked.

"Yes; he will guarantee the lives of all the garrison, but he seemed to be afraid of what you might report to Nana Sahib."

"I am the Nana's agent here," Rujub said; "I have been working with him for months. I would I could undo it all now. I was away when they surrendered at Cawnpore. Had I not been, that ma.s.sacre would never have taken place, for I am one of the few who have influence with him. He is fully cognizant of my power, and fears it."

They made their way back without interruption to the clump of bushes near the house.

"When shall I see you again?" Bathurst asked.

"I do not know," replied Rujub, "but be sure that I shall be at hand to aid you if possible should danger arise."

CHAPTER XVIII.

As soon as Bathurst began to remove the covering of the hole, a voice came from below.

"Is that you, Bathurst?"

"All right, Doctor."

"Heaven be praised! You are back sooner than I expected, by a long way.

I heard voices talking, so I doubted whether it was you."

"The ladder is still there, I suppose, Doctor?"

"Yes; it is just as you got off it. What are you going to do about the hole?"

"Rujub is here; he will cover it up after me."

"Then you were right," the Doctor said, as Bathurst stepped down beside him; "and you found the juggler really waiting for you?"

"At the bungalow, Doctor, as I expected."

"And what have you done? You can hardly have seen Por Sing; it is not much over an hour since you left."

"I have seen him, Doctor; and what is more, he has pledged his word for our safety."

"Thank G.o.d for that, lad; it is more than I expected. This will be news indeed for the poor women. And do you think he will be strong enough to keep his pledge?"

"I think so; he asked me to wait until tomorrow afternoon before going out with a flag of truce, and said that by that time he would get the other Zemindars to stand by him, and would make terms whether the Sepoys liked it or not."

"Well, you shall tell us all about it afterwards, Bathurst; let us take the news in to them at once; it is long since they had good tidings of any kind; it would be cruel to keep them in suspense, even for five minutes."

There was no noisy outburst of joy when the news was told. Three weeks before it would have been received with the liveliest satisfaction, but now the bitterness of death was well nigh past; half the children lay in their graves in the garden, scarce one of the ladies but had lost husband or child, and while women murmured "Thank G.o.d!" as they clasped their children to them, the tears ran down as they thought how different it would have been had the news come sooner. The men, although equally quiet, yet showed more outward satisfaction than the women. Warm grasps of the hands were exchanged by those who had fought side by side during these terrible days, and a load seemed lifted at once off their shoulders.

Bathurst stayed but a moment in the room after this news was told, but went in with Dr. Wade to the Major, and reported to him in full the conversation that had taken place between himself and Por Sing.

"I think you are right, Bathurst; if the Oude men hold together, the Sepoys will scarcely risk a breach with them. Whether he will be able to secure our safety afterwards is another thing."

"I quite see that, Major; but it seems to me that we have no option but to accept his offer and hope for the best."

"That is it," the Doctor agreed. "It is certain death if we don't surrender; there is a chance that he will be able to protect us if we do. At any rate, we can be no worse off than we are here."

Isobel had been in with Mrs. Doolan nursing the sick children when Bathurst arrived, but they presently came out. Isobel shook hands with him without speaking.

"We are all heavily indebted to you, Mr. Bathurst," Mrs. Doolan said.

"If we escape from this, it will be to you that we humanly owe our lives."

She spoke in a voice that all in the room could hear.