Rujub, the Juggler Part 52

In a few minutes a woman came up to say that the palanquin was in readiness at the gate of the zenana garden. A large cushion was taken off a divan, and Isobel was laid upon it and covered with a light shawl. Six of the female attendants lifted it and carried it downstairs, accompanied by Rabda and the mistress off the zenana, both closely veiled. Outside the gate was a large palanquin, with its bearers and four soldiers and an officer. The cushion was lifted and placed in the palanquin, and Rabda also took her place there.

"Then you will not return today," the woman said to her, in a voice loud enough to be heard by the officers "You will remain with her for a time, and afterwards go to see your friends in the town. I will send for you when I hear that you wish to return."

The curtains of the palanquin were drawn down; the bearers lifted it and started at once for Cawnpore.

On arrival at the large building known as the Subada Ke Kothee the gates were opened at once at the order of the Nana's officer, and the palanquin was carried across the courtyard to the door of the building which was used as a prison for the white women and children. It was taken into the great arched room and set down. Rabda stepped out, and the bearers lifted out the cushion upon which Isobel lay.

"You will not be wanted any more," Rabda said, in a tone of authority.

"You can return to Bithoor at once!"

As the door closed behind them several of the ladies came round to see this fresh arrival. Rabda looked round till her eye fell upon Mrs.

Hunter, who was occupied in trying to hush a fractious child. She put her hand on her arm and motioned to her to come along. Surprised at the summons, Mrs. Hunter followed her. When they reached the cushion Rabda lifted the shawl from Isobel's face. For a moment Mrs. Hunter failed to recognize her, but as Isobel opened her eyes and held out her hand she knew her, and with a cry of pity she dropped on her knees beside her.

"My poor child, what have these fiends been doing to you?"

"They have been doing nothing, Mrs. Hunter," she whispered. "I am not so bad as I seem, though I have suffered a great deal of pain. I was carried away to Bithoor, to Nana Sahib's zenana, and I have burnt my face with caustic and acid; they think I have some terrible disease, and have sent me here."

"Bravely done, girl! Bravely and n.o.bly done! We had best keep the secret to ourselves; there are constantly men looking through the bars of the window, and some of them may understand English."

Then she looked up and said, "It is Miss Hannay, she was captured with us in the boats; please help me to carry her over to the wall there, and my daughter and I will nurse her; it looks as if she had been terribly burnt, somehow."

Many of the ladies had met Isobel in the happy days before the troubles began, and great was the pity expressed at her appearance. She was carried to the side of the wall, where Mary and Mrs. Hunter at once made her as comfortable as they could. Rabda, who had now thrown back her veil, produced from under her dress the net containing some fifty small limes, and handed to Mrs. Hunter the pot of ointment and the lotion.

"She has saved me," Isobel said; "it is the daughter of the juggler who performed at your house, Mrs. Hunter; do thank her for me, and tell her how grateful I am."

Mrs. Hunter took Rabda's hand, and in her own language thanked her for her kindness to Isobel.

"I have done as I was told," Rabda said simply; "the Sahib Bathurst saved my life, and when he said the lady must be rescued from the hands of the Nana, it was only right that I should do so, even at the risk of my life."

"So Bathurst has escaped," Mrs. Hunter said, turning to Isobel. "I am glad of that, dear; I was afraid that all were gone."

"Yes, I had a note from him; it is by his means that I got away from Bithoor. He sent me the caustic and acid to burn my face. He told me Mr. Wilson had also escaped, and perhaps some others may have got away, though he did not seem to know it."

"But surely there could be no occasion to burn yourself as badly as you have done, Isobel."

"I am afraid I did put on too much acid," she said. "I was so afraid of not burning it enough; but it does not matter, it does not pain me nearly so much since I put on that ointment; it will soon get well."

Mrs. Hunter shook her head regretfully.

"I am afraid it will leave marks for a long time."

"That is of no consequence at all, Mrs. Hunter; I am so thankful at being here with you, that I should mind very little if I knew that it was always to be as bad as it is now. What does it matter?"

"It does not matter at all at present, my dear; but if you ever get out of this horrible place, some day you may think differently about it."

"I must go now," Rabda said. "Has the lady any message to send to the sahib?" and she again handed a paper and pencil to Isobel.

The girl took them, hesitating a little before writing:

"Thank G.o.d you have saved me. Some day, perhaps, I may be able to tell you how grateful I am; but, if not, you will know that if the worst happens to us, I shall die blessing you for what you have done for me.

Pray do not linger longer in Cawnpore. You may be discovered, and if I am spared, it would embitter my life always to know that it had cost you yours. G.o.d bless you always.

"Yours gratefully,

"Isobel."

She folded up the paper and gave it to Rabda, who took her hand and kissed it; and then, drawing her veil again over her face, went to the door, which stood open for the moment.

Some men were bringing in a large cauldron of rice. The sentries offered no opposition to her pa.s.sing out, as the officer with the palanquin had told them that a lady of the Rajah's zenana would leave shortly.

A similar message had been given to the officer at the main gate, who, however, requested to see her hand and arm to satisfy him that all was right. This was sufficient to a.s.sure him that it was not a white woman pa.s.sing out in disguise, and Rabda at once proceeded to her father's house.

As she expected, he and Bathurst were away, for she had arranged to meet them at eight o'clock in the garden. They did not return until eleven, having waited two hours for her, and returning home in much anxiety at her non-appearance.

"What has happened? Why did you not meet us, Rabda?" her father exclaimed, as he entered.

Rabda rapidly repeated the incidents that had happened since she had parted from him the evening before, and handed to Bathurst the two notes she had received from Isobel.

"Then she is in safety with the others!" he exclaimed in delight. "Thank G.o.d for that, and thank you, Rabda, indeed, for what you have done."

"My life is my lord's," the girl said quietly. "What I have done is nothing."

"If we had but known, Rujub, that she would be moved at once, we might have rescued her on the way."

Rujub shook his head.

"There are far too many people along the road, sahib; it could not have been done. But, of course, there was no knowing that she would be sent off directly after the Nana had seen her."

"Is she much disfigured, Rabda?" Bathurst asked.

"Dreadfully;" the girl said sorrowfully. "The acid must have been too strong."

"It was strong, no doubt," Bathurst said; "but if she had put it on as I instructed her it could only have burnt the surface of the skin."

"It has burnt her dreadfully, sahib; even I should hardly have known her. She must be brave indeed to have done it. She must have suffered dreadfully; but I obtained some ointment for her, and she was better when I left her. She is with the wife of the Sahib Hunter."

"Now, Rabda, see if the meal is prepared," Rujub said. "We are both hungry, and you can have eaten nothing this morning."

He then left the room, leaving Bathurst to read the letters which he still held in his hand, feeling that they were too precious to be looked at until he was alone.

It was some time before Rabda brought in his breakfast, and, glancing at him, she saw how deeply he had been moved by the letters. She went up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"We will get her for you, sahib. We have been successful so far, be a.s.sured that we shall succeed again. What we have done is more difficult than what we have to do. It is easier to get twenty prisoners from a jail than one from a rajah's zenana."

"That is true enough, Rabda. At the moment I was not thinking of that, but of other things."

He longed for sympathy, but the girl would not have understood him had he told her his feelings. To her he was a hero, and it would have seemed to her folly had he said that he felt himself altogether unworthy of Isobel Hannay. After he had finished his breakfast Rujub again came in.

"What does the sahib intend to do now?" he asked.