Confessions of a Thug Read online

  CHAPTER XXXIII.

  The next afternoon we were all assembled on a small plain outside thetown. Cheetoo had spread his carpet after the manner of a Pindharee,and sat with his chiefs around him, promising by his demeanour to be aneager spectator of the encounter. He was remarkably civil to me, andasked me to sit by him until a few men, who were ready, had displayedtheir dexterity and prowess. On the signal being given by him, twostout Rajpoots leaped into the circle, and clattered their sticks oneach other's shield for some time without either touching the other.

  "Does this please you?" said Cheetoo to me. "Those fellows are goodhands, you see, at their weapons: neither would have drawn blood hadthey had swords in their hands."

  "They are expert enough," said I; "but methinks they have playedtogether before, and know each other's ways; they make a great show;but, if I may be pardoned, I think neither has much real skill. If mylord wishes, I will try either of them."

  "Take care you are not overmatched," said he: "I would not have yourfair fame sullied. You have already interested me much in your behalf."

  "Do not fear for me," said I; "I will do my best."

  I stripped myself to my trousers, and girding a handkerchief tightlyabout my waist, I stepped into the circle, where one of the men, whohad now rested from his first encounter, awaited me. I took a stickand a small shield made of basket-work from Peer Khan, who had broughtthem, and advanced to the centre. There were murmurs among the assemblythat I was overmatched, for they contrasted my slight form with thetall and brawny one of my antagonist; but I was not to be deterred bythis. I knew my skill, and that mere personal strength would avail butlittle against it.

  "How is it to be?" said I to the Rajpoot. "Does the first fair blowdecide between us?"

  "Certainly," he replied. "I shall strike hard, so be on your guard."

  "Good," said I; "now take your post."

  He did. He retired to one edge of the circle and advanced on meleisurely, now stooping and leaning his shield-arm on his knee as herested a moment to survey me, and now circling round me, first risingon one leg and then on the other, and waving his stick in the air.

  I stood perfectly still and in a careless attitude, but well on myguard, for I knew that I should hazard something in moving after him.It was evident to me he did not expect this, for he seemed for a momentirresolute, but at last he rushed on me with two or three bounds, andaimed a blow at my head. I was perfectly prepared, for I knew his modeof attack; I received the blow on my shield, caught the stick underit, and rained such a shower of blows on his undefended person ascompletely astonished him.

  The assembly rang with plaudits, and the other Rajpoot stepped forwardand saluted me. "You have had but short work with my friend BheemSingh," said he; "but now you must try me."

  "I am ready," I replied; "so get to your post."

  I had now an antagonist worthy of me; he knew my system of play, andverily I thought myself for the moment engaged with my old instructor,but I had used to vanquish him, and I did not fear the man before me.We were soon hotly engaged: he was as cool and wary as myself, andafter a long conflict, in which neither had the advantage, we restedawhile, both out of breath.

  "Enough, enough!" cried Cheetoo; "you have both done bravely; neitherhas won, and you had better let the matter stand as it is."

  "Not so, Khodawund," said I; "let us finish it; one of us must win,and my friend here desires as much as myself to see which of us is thebetter man. Is it not so?"

  "Ay," said the fellow, laughingly, "the Nuwab Sahib knows that no oneas yet has overcome me; but I have fairly met my match: and whoevertaught you was a good master, and has had a disciple worthy of him."

  "As you will," said Cheetoo, "only play in good humour; let no feudgrow out of it."

  We both saluted him, and assured him we could not quarrel, and thatwhoever was victor must entertain a high respect for his opponent.

  And to it we set again, as we had now recovered our breath: victoryfor a long time hovered between us, now inclining to the one and nowto the other; we had both lost our footing once or twice, and thespectators would have had us leave off; but excited as we were, it wasimpossible--we stopped not for their exclamations. I was put to my lastshifts to avoid the well-directed blows of the Rajpoot; he had betterwind than I, and this obliged me to alter my mode of play: hithertoI had attacked him, I now only warded off his cuts, but watched myopportunity. In his eagerness, thinking by a succession of blows hecould beat down my guard, he exposed his side, and my stick descendedon his ribs with a sound which was heard by all, and with a force whichfairly took away his breath; had my weapon been a sword, I think Ishould have cut him in two.

  "Fairly won!" cried Cheetoo; "fairly and bravely won! Ramdeen Singh,thou hast lost, but it is no disgrace to thee. Come to me by-and-by andI will reward thee."

  The Rajpoot laughed, and I was glad he bore the defeat sogood-humouredly, for I had expected the contrary; he allowed that hehad been vanquished, and cried out to all that it had been a fairencounter, and that he had used the utmost of his skill: "So beware,"he continued, "how any of you engage the Meer Sahib; you all know whatI am, and I have been fairly beaten."

  I was delighted with the noble fellow, and addressed Cheetoo himself."I crave a boon, Khodawund, and if I may hope to have it granted, Iwill speak."

  "Say on," he replied; "I will grant it readily."

  "Then," said I, "let this brave fellow be placed under me. By yourfavour, a stranger has been entrusted with the command of part of theHarawul (advance-guard), and I would have both these Rajpoots with me,and be allowed to entrust fifty men to the one and twenty-five to theother."

  "Good," said Cheetoo, "let it be so; and do you, Ghuffoor Khan, look toit that it is done; these are the men who will serve us in the time ofneed." A few days more and I was fairly installed into my new charge.Fortune had favoured me far above my expectations, and I saw noughtbefore me but a career of distinction under my new master. True, I wasno longer a leader on my own responsibility, but the rank I held washonourable, and perhaps far above my deserts. I seized an opportunitywhich presented itself, and wrote a full account of the whole to myfather and Azima, for I knew that they would rejoice at tidings so newand unexpected.

  Our time passed in the camp in the manner I have related. In themornings I was a constant attendant upon Cheetoo, who rarely allowed meto leave his person during his inspections of the constantly arrivingnew adventurers; and the evenings closed with feats of strength andtrials of skill, in which I sustained the reputation I had begun with.I never spent a happier time than the month I was at Nemawur--in everyway so gratifying to me, and so consonant to my previously formedwishes.

  At last the festival of the Dussera arrived, and it was held withgreat pomp and show. A grand review of all the assembled adventurerswas held, a muster taken, and it was reported that five thousand goodhorsemen were present; and this number, with their followers, and thoseindifferently mounted, was augmented to nearly eight thousand,--agallant band, ready to do the bidding of their chief, and to carry warand devastation into the countries before them.

  It was planned that we should separate into two bodies soon afterpassing the Nurbudda, penetrate as far as the Kistna river to thesouth, and, should we find that fordable, then press on as far southas we could without exposing ourselves to encounters with the regulararmies of the Feringhees, which, we were assured, although at presentinactive, could speedily be sent in pursuit of us. Accordingly, as themorning broke, the whole camp was in motion; and a noble sight it wasto see durra after durra defile before their chief and hurry onwards ata rapid pace. Boats had been provided at the Nurbudda, which we crossedthe same day, and took up our ground near the town of Hindia on itssouthern bank.

  At this point the army separated. I remained with my division andCheetoo, and we pushed on the day after, taking a direction to thewestward, so as to come upon the river Taptee, up the valley of whichwe were to proceed till we should reach the territories of the Rajah ofN
agpoor, with whom a treaty had been previously made to allow us a freeand unmolested passage through his dominions, on the condition thatthey were not to be plundered. The other division, under Syud Bheekoo,a leader of note, and only second to Cheetoo, took a direction to theeastward, along the bank of the Nurbudda, until they reached the grandroad to Nagpoor, by which it was their intention to travel.

  Meanwhile we proceeded by rapid marches, for we were eager to reach thescene of our operations, as our money was running short, and withoutplunder we should starve. We heard that there was a small detachmentof regular troops, under Major Fraser, watching our movements; butour spies told us they were few in number, and we were under noapprehension of an attack from them. It was reported that they did notexceed three hundred men, and we vainly thought they would not dare toface as many thousands. But we had not sufficiently estimated theirbravery. We knew they were upwards of fifteen coss distant from us, andwhat infantry could make that march and attack a body of horse likeours?

  They did, however, attack us. We had arrived at our ground near avillage on the Taptee, and some were cooking their morning meal,others lounging idly about the camp or lying at full length on theirsaddle-cloths, when the alarm was given that the Feringhees were uponus. The scene of confusion which ensued is indescribable. Men hurriedhither and thither; anything like organization was past all hope; each,as he could gain his horse, threw himself upon it and fled for hislife. Not a man stood. In vain I entreated those with me to rally, andmake a charge on the small body of red-coats, which was now drawn up inline close to our camp, and was pouring volley after volley amongst uswith destructive precision. Not a man would hear me; and though my ownThugs and a few of my division swore they would die if I were to leadthem on, I saw no chance of success; and as one or two of my men hadfallen near me, we, too, at length turned our horses' heads and fled.We were not pursued, though there were some horsemen with the infantry,who, had they not been the most arrant cowards, would have chargedafter and engaged us.

  I must say I longed that they should, and I kept my men, nearly ahundred, in a close body, while from time to time we faced about andshook our spears in defiance at the body of horse, about our ownnumber, who however did not stir. We saw the infantry once more putin motion, to take possession of our camp, which, with the thousandsof temporary screens from the sun standing here and there, and thefires burning under half-cooked victuals, must have been a welcomeresting-place to them after their long march. They must have gained aconsiderable booty, for many a man threw himself on the bare back ofhis horse, leaving a well-lined saddle behind him to the victors.

  Our surprise and route was complete, and if the enemy had had a largerbody of infantry, or any good cavalry with them to have followed us, wemight have bid adieu to all hopes of future plunder, and most likelyshould have taken our way to our respective homes and abandoned theexpedition. As it was, however, we found we had not lost more than ahundred men; and three days afterwards we were again reunited, and inas good spirits as ever.

  At length we debouched by almost untrodden paths from the hills tothe eastward of Ellichpoor, and from among the dense jungles I hadbefore traversed, after the affair with the Moghulanee. We entered theterritories of the Nizam near the river Wurda, which we crossed, andin one march of nearly twenty-five coss, reached Oomraotee, which itappeared had been the object of our leader from the first. I have oncebefore described its riches and prosperity, and it was then far richerthan it is now.

  As we rushed along, more like the flood of a mighty river than aughtelse, every village on our route was instantly deserted by itsinhabitants and left to our mercy. They were one by one ransacked fortreasure, and in some of the largest much booty was obtained. I wasfortunate in leading the advance-guard on this day, and well do Iremember the excitement of the moment, as we passed the last defilein the hills, and rushed in a body into the plain. Well do I rememberwaving my sword to my companions--whose numbers were now swelled tonearly five hundred splendid fellows, often increased by parties fromthe rear,--as I showed them the broad plains of Berar, and told themthat we had unlimited power to plunder as we listed!

  Ghuffoor Khan envied me that day; he had been detained with Cheetoo,who remained with the main body, while my own Harawul was increased, inorder that I might advance and surround Oomraotee. On we dashed! Thefew villages we surprised were quickly laid under contribution; andrupees and gold and silver ornaments were tendered, almost without ourasking, by their terrified inhabitants. As we proceeded, the news thatwe were coming had spread through every village, and thousands of thepeople were seen flying from their homes; while a few only remained ineach, with an offering to me, accompanied by entreaties not to burntheir villages. Nor did I; though from the pillars of smoke whichnot long afterwards arose in every direction behind us, I too justlythought the main body had been less merciful than we had. We reachedOomraotee towards evening. There were but few soldiers to guard thisimportant post, and they had fled on the news of our approach; wetherefore entered the town unchecked and unopposed. How different wasmy present from my former visit!

  I directed my course to the main street, where I knew I should find theprincipal sahoukars; and, after stationing parties of my men at eachend and at the different outlets, I rode into the middle of the chouke,or market-place, and dismounted among the leading men of the town, whohad a carpet spread, and were prepared, as they said, to do us honour.

  But few words of greeting passed, for ours was no cordial visit, andeach party was bent on driving the hardest bargain. "Come, gentlemen,"said I, after I had listened for some time to their vain protestationsof poverty and inability to raise a sum adequate to my desires, "thisis mere fooling. You have offered a lakh of rupees; do you think thenoble Cheetoo will be satisfied with this? I swear by the Koran hewill not, and you had better at once be reasonable and listen to mywords. The whole Lubhur will be here before it is dark, and if any ofyou will take the trouble to ascend one of your tall houses, or one ofthe bastions, you will see how Pindharees mark their progress. Many afine village behind me has not now a roof or tree standing, and yourgood town will assuredly share the same fate if you trifle with us; andnot only will it be burned, but your property will be handed over tothe tender mercies of my men--ay, and your wives and daughters also;so I give you fair warning. You have no force to oppose us; and if yourefuse, I am desired to tell you that we shall stay here for some daysand amuse ourselves by inspecting the interior of your houses. Go,therefore, be wise, consult among yourselves, and before the shadow ofthis tree has lengthened the measure of my sword (and I laid it on theground), bring me an answer worthy of your name for wisdom, and liberalwithal; beyond that time I give you not a moment; your houses are closeat hand, and, Inshalla! we will help ourselves."

  "Well spoken!" cried all the men who were around me: "but, Meer Sahib,why not help ourselves at once? These stingy merchants can have no ideaof the wants of men of honour like us, who have a long journey beforeus."

  "You shall hear what they say," replied I; "meanwhile let us be quietand orderly, and let none of you interrupt their consultations, oroffer violence to any of the townspeople."

  The time had nearly elapsed, and the hilt of my sword was all thatremained in the sunlight. The council of the merchants was, from allappearances, as far from a decision as ever, if I might judge fromtheir angry debate, and the unsettled and anxious expressions of theircountenances. Eagerly I watched the increasing shadow, as from time totime I called to them that the period allowed had nearly elapsed; atlast the bright hilt of my sword glittered no longer, and I took itup amidst a shout from my men. The merchants saw my action, and againadvanced in a body towards me.

  "Sit down, Meer Sahib," said the fattest of them, who appeared tobe the chief, "sit down; let us talk over this matter calmly anddeliberately. That business is always unsatisfactory which is done in ahurry, and with heated minds."

  "No!" I exclaimed, "I will not; standing as I am, I will hear what youhave to say. Remember, whe
n I draw my sword the plunder begins, andthough I have some influence over these brave fellows while they expecta reasonable offer from you, yet the instant they are disappointed, mypower ends, and I will not answer for any of your lives."

  "Come aside with me for a moment," said the chief merchant; "I wouldspeak with you apart; you need fear no treachery from a sahoukar!"

  We all laughed heartily. "No, no," said I, "I fear nought, and willcome. And do you, my good fellows," I added, turning to my men, "seethat none of these worthy persons escape. Well," said I, when we hadgone a few paces from the group, "what would you say? Be quick; my menare impatient, and your houses and shops are provokingly and temptinglynear."

  "Listen then," replied he: "you are a leader, and by your conductdoubtless have the influence you appear to have. You have not morethan five hundred men with you; we offer you therefore ten thousandrupees as your own share, one thousand to each of your sirdars, and onehundred apiece to your men; this will be nearly a lakh of rupees, andwe will take our chance with the main body. What do you say? be quickand tell me, for the money is at hand, and can be easily distributedbefore the main body comes up."

  I pondered awhile; I knew Cheetoo would make his own terms, and I didnot see any harm in getting as much as I could of the spoil beforehe came. I knew also that he expected ten lakhs, and would get it,or nearly the sum, by fair means or foul. "Listen again," said thesahoukar: "you are in advance; you have nought to do but take yourmoney and push on, and any village before you will shelter you for thenight; what will Cheetoo know of it?"

  "Nay," said I, "here we remain; after a march of twenty-five coss, weare in no humour to proceed; but I will take my men outside the town onthe instant payment of one lakh of rupees:--remember, one third of whatwe get goes to the chief, and our share, after all, is not much."

  "Agreed," said he; "now come to your men, and persuade them to bequiet: they will not get so much by violence as by treating us well."

  We returned to the group we had left, and I unfolded to them theproposition which had been made to me; it was welcomed with a loudshout which made the air ring, and was then succeeded by loud criesfor the money. The sum had evidently been collected previously, forin a few moments a line of men heavily laden with bags of rupees,issued from a lane close to where we were sitting. Duffa by duffa ofthe Pindharees, each headed by its own duffadar, was brought up to thespot; each man received his hundred rupees, each leader his thousand,which were stowed away in the capacious bags of their saddles.

  "You have not cared for yourself, Meer Sahib," said Peer Khan; "youhave taken nothing."

  "Oh, do not fear for me," I replied; "I have got my share; the bag doesnot look large, but it holds gold."

  His eyes brightened. "That is right," he said; "the others must notknow of it."

  "Not a syllable; it is known only to you and myself. Now we must takecare these rascals commit no excesses; they seem half in the humour torun riot in the town."

  "They seem content," he replied; "at least I for one am. By Alla! MeerSahib, this is rare work; a thousand rupees in a morning's ride isbetter than our own profession, though we have been lucky in our time."

  "Choop!" said I, "silence! This is no time for our secrets. Away withyou! See that the men take up ground before the town. I will remainhere with some others, and see what becomes of the place when Cheetooarrives."

  One by one the Pindharees left me, except a few who stayed by mydesire; and, our business at an end, I sat down and awaited Cheetoo'sarrival. "What do you think he will ask?" said my fat friend to me.

  "I know not," I answered; "but you had better be liberal at once, or hewill sack your town, and you know what Pindharees are; they have fewscruples, and some of you may be tortured."

  A general shudder ran through the assembly at the thought of thetorture, and I saw I had made a hit. "Yes," I continued, "there aresuch things as korlas, and your fat backs would soon be laid open;besides there are fellows who are rare hands at tying up fingers andhitting them on the ends, which is not agreeable I should think,--alsoat mixing compositions for those bags to be tied over your mouths.I have heard of even still worse contrivances to persuade obstinatesahoukars; but ye are wise men--ye will be warned."

  "Say at once, Meer Sahib," said another of the merchants who had notyet spoken, "say what we should offer, and how many Pindharees arethere? we have heard there are five thousand."

  "Somewhat below the mark, Sethjee," said I, "we are little under tenthousand, I think; however, you will see the Lubhur, and judge foryourselves. As for the sum, I should say, in the first place, a lakhof rupees for Cheetoo himself--I know he expects as much; then thereare three sirdars, Heeroo, Ghuffoor Khan, and Rajun--fifty thousandapiece; then each minor leader and duffadar a thousand, and every goodPindharee a hundred. Say, have I spoken well?"

  "Bhugwan protect us!" cried one and all, "we are ruined and dead men.Why this would be at least eight lakhs of rupees; where are we to getsuch a sum? We are ruined, and better kill us at once."

  "No, no, my good friends, not so," said I. "All the world knows thatOomraotee is the richest town in the country, ay richer than Hyderabaditself, and that the money maybe counted, not by lakhs, but by crores;so talk not to Cheetoo of your poverty, for he will presently provewhether you lie or not. Trust me, your safest plan is to offer him alarge sum at once, for he has a long journey before him; the men havegot nothing since we left Nemawur, and they are hungry and thirsty."

  "I tell you all," said the fat sahoukar, "the worthy Meer Sahib speaksthe truth. Bhugwan has sent this gurdee (calamity), and we must beresigned to our fate. Better far is it to give the uttermost farthing,than to see our wives and daughters dishonoured before our eyes. I havespoken."

  "Good!" cried I; "now you speak like wise men, and I will give youfurther advice. Cheetoo is a great man, and loves to be paid honour, asindeed is due to him; so also do the other leaders. Now get your pan,uttur, and spices, make up a proper tray of them, bring a few handsomeshawls, and as he takes his seat, one of you throw a pair of the bestover his shoulders and those of the other chiefs, and lay your nuzzursbefore him as you would before Sikundur Jah himself. Inshalla! you willfind favour in his sight, and where you would have to pay ten lakhs youwill get off with half the sum, and save your town besides."

  "By Gunga! 'tis well said!" cried several. "Meer Sahib, you are a kindfriend and give good advice: without you we should not have known whatto do."

  "Again," said I, "let none of you have long faces, but all look as ifyou were rejoiced at his coming. Be none of you alarmed before you havecause. Pay you must; and therefore do it with as good a grace as youcan."

  The assembly drank in my words, as I by turns advised and alarmed them,in order to keep up the spirit I had infused, and in this manner thetime passed until the dusk of evening, when, by the noise of the treadof many horses' feet and the firing of matchlocks, we were assured ofthe approach of the main body.

  "Now stick by us," cried the sahoukars as they crowded round me; "youare our friend and must present us: we will not be afraid." But theirwords belied them, for the teeth of one and all were chattering withfear, and their cheeks blanched, at the thoughts of confronting thePindharee chief.

  Cheetoo came, and riding into the chouke, surrounded by a crowd ofwild-looking figures, the effect of whose appearance was materiallyincreased by the dusk of the evening, his titles were screamed out by adozen mouths, each vying with the other in exaggeration of his powers.The group of sahoukars, headed by me, advanced towards him; and thehead merchant, rubbing his forehead on the chief's stirrup, imploredhim to alight and refresh himself, adding that a zeafut had beenprepared, and all were desirous of presenting their nuzzurs. I secondedthe request, and he exclaimed, "Surely I know that voice; whose, in thename of Shitan, is it?"

  "That of your slave Ameer Ali," said I.

  "Oh, then all is right," he cried; "and thou too hast turned sahoukar.How is this, Meer Sahib?"

  "May I be your sacrifice, Nuwab
!" said I; "I have but mingled withthese worthy persons, because they declared they should be annihilatedat the sight of the splendour of your appearance. I did but consolethem and keep up their spirits till my lord arrived."

  "Thou hast done well," said Cheetoo. "Is everything prepared?"

  "All," cried the sahoukars; "if the noble Cheetoo will but alight, weare prepared to do him honour."

  He alighted, and led by the hand by the chief merchant, he wasconducted into an adjoining house, which belonged to one of themerchants, and where a clean white floor-cloth had been spread, anda musnud placed. The room too was well lighted. Cheetoo took hisseat, and looked around him with evident gratification; savage as hiscountenance was, it now wore a smile of triumph, yet mixed with anexpression of extreme pleasure.

  "These are civilised people," said he to Rajun, his favourite, who wasclose to him. "I little expected this; did you?"

  "Indeed no," said he; "I thought we should have had to cut our way intothe town. Depend on it, this is some of Ameer Ali's doing."

  "Likely enough," said Cheetoo; "he is a gentleman, and knows how agentleman ought to be received. But for him, it is most probable theseswine would have shut themselves up in their houses, and given us thetrouble of pulling them out. But see,--what are they about?"

  I was nudged by the Sahoukar, who, whispering, implored me to askCheetoo to accept their nuzzur. "Five hundred rupees for you if hetakes it," again he whispered as I pretended to hesitate. "Agreed,"said I; "I will revenge myself if it is not paid."

  "By Gunga! by my Junwa!" again said he most earnestly; "nay, I willdouble it. Speak for us, good Meer Sahib, are you not our friend andour brother?"

  "What are those sons of asses talking to you about?" cried Cheetoo."Why don't they speak out?"

  "Khodawund!" I said, "the terror of your name has preceded you"--and hesmiled grimly,--"and your appearance is in every way so imposing andsurpassing the accounts these men have heard, that, by Alla! they aredumb; and though they would fain lay a nuzzur at your feet, in everyway befitting your high rank, they have not words to express theirdesires, and have begged your slave to inform my lord of them."

  "Kabool, Kabool! I agree," cried Cheetoo; "let the trays be brought.Verily a nuzzur from the sahoukars of Oomraotee ought to be worthseeing."

  Fifteen trays were brought in, covered with rich velvet coverings, andset down before the musnud; one by one their covers were removed, andindeed it was a goodly sight! Dates, pistachio nuts, sweetmeats, andsugar-candy filled four; the rest contained cloths of various kinds,European and Indian, muslins, chintzes, rich turbans, and Benaresbrocades. It was a nuzzur fit for a prince, and Cheetoo was delighted.

  "Now," said I to the Sahoukar, "this is a happy moment; where are theshawls and the ashruffees? Have a stout heart, and throw the shawlsover him, as you would over one of your own tribe at a marriage."

  The Sahoukar took the shawls from an attendant, and putting fiveashruffees upon them, advanced to the feet of Cheetoo; and having madethe tusleemat or three obeisances, he presented the gold, and unfoldingthe shawls, which were very splendid, dexterously enveloped the chief'sperson in them, and then retreating, stood with his hands folded on hisbreast in an attitude of respectful humility.