Confessions of a Thug Page 8

  CHAPTER VII.

  The rest of the band, with the cart and laden bullocks, had proceededsome way before we overtook them. We passed through a thin jungle forsome distance, emerging from which, we found ourselves on a wild,bare plain, here and there studded with straggling brushwood. We allcollected together, and, lighting fires, the hooka passed round, andeach one related his achievement, and gloried in the prospect of aspeedy division of the booty we had acquired.

  To arrange our future proceedings was by no means an easy matter, asit was necessary to get past Bassim, where the Sahoukar had friends;and his cart and bullocks might possibly be recognized in the town. Myfather's advice was to travel till daylight, and then to withdraw toone side of the road, as far from observation as possible; to remainthere as long as we could, and then to push on beyond Bassim. At thishalt, too, there was to be a grand division of the spoil, at least, asmuch of it as could be divided; and Hoosein's party was to separatefrom us and pursue their road, in the best way they could, in thedirection which has been pointed out to them. Accordingly we againstarted, and, after passing some villages, halted about sunrise at somedistance from the road, near a grove of trees, in which there was awell of water. Before the men betook themselves to cooking their meal,after the march, they were all assembled; and the quantity of goorhaving been brought, the ceremony of the Tupounee was performed as Ihave before described. I was now entitled to a seat on the blanket withthe other Bhuttotes--I was their equal! The ceremony ended, I untiedthe knot of my handkerchief, as directed by my father, and taking outthe piece of silver, presented it, with some rupees, to my gooroo,touching his feet at the same time in reverence. This was the last ofmy ceremonies of initiation. I was a Bhuttote, had fairly killed myman, and held myself to be the equal of any of my associates.

  After this my father and Hoosein brought forth all the plunder of ourlate enterprise. It was magnificent: there was a good quantity ofgold and silver in money, but the principal valuables were the jewelswhich the Sahoukar was taking to Hyderabad for sale, and the clothsand brocades on the bullocks--they were of the richest description.The distribution of these was a matter of great difficulty, and it wasimpossible to satisfy every one; besides, the pearls and diamonds wouldhave lost a great deal of their value by being divided among the men.So it was agreed to share the ready money, cooking utensils, and othereffects of the Sahoukar, also the least valuable cloths, into two equalportions as nearly as possible, in proportion to the number of men ofeach band; that my father was to have charge of the jewels, which hewas to sell at Hyderabad to the best advantage, as also of the mostvaluable cloths; and that the proceeds of these were not to be divideduntil we again reached our place of rendezvous.

  The division of the ready money, upwards of three thousand five hundredrupees, gave to each man a considerable sum, enough, at any rate, tosupport him for some time,--the more especially as the share of theformer booty was not nearly expended; for every man lived as frugallyas possible, and all seemed intent upon vying with each other as towho should have the largest share at the general division. Nay, manyeven denied themselves the meanest luxuries, and it was not uncommonto see a man eating his cakes without ghee, or anything but purewater. Bhudrinath, however, one of the most skilful of the band, was acomplete exception to what I have said. He was a short, stout, activefellow, a man who aspired to be a jemadar, and with some reason. I havementioned him before as the bearer of the sacred pickaxe. He was one ofthe most enterprizing among us, and had conducted small expeditions, inwhich he had acquitted himself much to the satisfaction of those whohad intrusted him with them. It was curious to see that man eat. Heconsumed every day that he could get it, two seers of flour made intocakes, a quarter of a seer of ghee (clarified butter), and a large potof milk containing upwards of a seer. It seemed impossible that oneman could demolish the pile of cakes when he had baked them and fairlysat down to eat them, but one by one they disappeared, accompanied bysuch draughts of water as would alone have filled any ordinary person.Towards the end of the pile, however, it was easy to see that his jawscould hardly perform their office; and it was almost painful to beholdthe distension of his stomach: he would stretch himself first on oneside, then on the other; get up and stroke down the mass collected,apparently from his throat downwards, and again essay to finish whatremained, and after many attempts he would sometimes succeed.

  Often have I seen two or more village dogs sit opposite to him, duringthe consumption of the mountain of cakes, looking wistfully at it, inthe hope that a portion of each as he ate it might be thrown to them,watching and envying every mouthful as it passed into the apparentlyinsatiable maw: but in vain! Sometimes Bhudrinath would divide thelast two or three cakes between them, when every means of eating morehad been tried and had failed; but it was oftener that desire ofeating predominated. He would appear on the point of gratifying thedogs' expectations,--nay, would even break a piece off and hold it inhis hand as if offering it: the dog would move towards him, but thecoveted morsel disappeared as the rest had done, and he would returnto his expectant station, to resume a watch which too often ended indisappointment. We often jeered him on his enormous consumption offood; but he used to declare that nothing under the daily allowance Ihave mentioned could satisfy him, or enable him to perform his duty.

  Our encampment broke up towards evening. Friends were seen embracingeach other, and wishing mutual success; at length they all departed: wewatched them over the brow of an eminence not far off, and then startedourselves. Leaving the beaten road to Bassim, we struck off into oneto the left, and as it promised to lead to some large town we followedit, as well to avoid discovery as to court new adventures. By the lightof a bright moon we travelled most of the night, passing through adreary country, in many parts covered with jungle, and never enteringa village save to ask the road, or to get fire to light our hookas.Indeed we were often repulsed in this. There appeared to be a generaldread of robbers, and the walls and gates were usually manned by armedmen, on the intimation of our approach being given by the dogs as wepassed: but no questions were asked us, as to who we were or where wewere going, although perhaps our numbers might have excited suspicion.

  In this manner, and without knowing where the road we had taken wouldlead us, we travelled for some days; and as we had purposely avoidedthe principal roads, it was not to be expected that we should meet withanything in the way of adventure, or with any travellers whom we couldentice into our society. At last we came upon a broader road than thaton which we had been travelling; and as we had left every danger fromour late deed far behind us, we determined to follow it, in the hopethat it would lead us towards Hyderabad, or some large village in itsdirection, from whence we could get upon a well-travelled road andcarry on our vocation. As it was, we had gained a respectable bootyeven for a whole season; but scarcely two months had passed, and wecould not afford to go on so far as Hyderabad in inactivity. The roadled us on for some hours, till large mango groves, with here and therethe white top of a Hindoo temple peeping over them, gave us intimationthat we were approaching a place of consequence. It turned out to bethe town of Oomerkher, a wealthy place, surrounded with most luxuriantcultivation of wheat and other descriptions of grain.

  "It will be our own fault," said my father, "if we find not some gamehere. Having encamped on the other side of the town, the Sothaees mustcarefully pass through the bazaars, and this evening may bring us bootyenough to recompense us for staying here."

  The duty of a Sotha was one which I had also to learn: men wereeven more proud of excelling in it, than in that of a Bhuttote; forit required the greatest tact and powers of dissimulation, abilityto support characters and disguises, a smooth tongue, and politedemeanour. Bhudrinath was one who united all in an eminent degree; hewas a short, stout, active man, as I have mentioned, but extremelyhandsome, and with a most winning manner. It was his constant boastthat he never marked out a victim whom he did not strangle with his ownhands.

  We passed through the town, describing o
urselves as merchants fromHindostan; and as the bales of cloths when stopped by the collectorof tolls were readily shown by my father, and the duty demanded onthem cheerfully paid, our assertion was credited, we were civillytreated by the authorities, and shown an excellent piece of groundfor our encampment. "Now dress yourself in your best clothes," saidBhudrinath, "and come with me into the town. Remember, your father is amerchant, you are a jemadar commanding his escort, I am a bhula-admee(respectable person) belonging to you; we will take with us Peer Khan,who although a Lugha is an excellent Sotha, and a respectable fellowwhen he is dressed and armed: and it is hard if we do not pick upsomebody."

  Our meal was soon cooked and eaten, and after carefully attiringourselves we set off into the town to seek for adventures. Itastonished me to see the indifference with which the practisedhands proceeded, considering the object they had in view; for tome there was as much excitement in this, as in what I had alreadylearned and practised. I confess our appearance was remarkable. I wasvery noticeable from my dress and arms, which were of the richestdescription, consistent with the appearance I had assumed. My face,then much fairer than it is now, Sahib, with a mustachio already wellformed, and a figure which, though perhaps somewhat slender, gavepromise of future strength and power. Contrasted with my companions,I felt I was superior to them in appearance; and a little pardonablevanity gave me an air and swagger which were not unfitting the militaryprofession I had set up. We entered the town, and betook ourselvesto the Chowree, where the kotwal and some respectable persons weresitting, surrounded by a few armed men as is usual. As we passed bythem we were invited to enter, and received with great politeness. Iwas placed in the seat of honour by Bhudrinath, who took his station atsome distance. A desultory conversation began. My father's name wasasked, where he was going, and what he had brought for trade; who wewere, and in short the general object of our journey, by, as they toldus, an unfrequented road, at least from Hindostan. The tone in whichthis question was asked seemed to me so suspicious, that I thought foran instant we were suspected, and I was endeavouring to frame a reply,when Bhudrinath stopped me.

  "I represent," said he, addressing the man who had asked the question,"that we were set astray at that abode of unsainted people, Nagpoor.Either with a view to deceive us, or (God knows it may be so, I haveheard of such things) perhaps of robbing us, persons from whom we askedinformation, told us the best and most frequented road was by thisplace; and truly the town you have the fortune to dwell in is a placeof great beauty and fertility, and is evidently in the hands of a mostwise governor, and one who protects his people. How, Jemadar Sahib,have I not said truly?"

  "Indeed," said I, "you have; and the kindness we have as yet metwith shows that the servants of the governor are worthy of theirmaster. Truly it is not to be wondered at if the town is prosperousand beautiful in such hands; and such is the mellifluous speech ofthe kotwal, that we are impressed with the greatest opinion of thediscernment of the exalted person who has selected him."

  "May your condescension never diminish," said the kotwal; "your slaveis not worthy of these encomiums; he is less than the least. If my lordcould but see the dispenser of benefits under whose beams he lives,he would indeed say that the court of Hyderabad is worthy of beingcompared with any in Hindostan, as having formed such a pattern ofexcellence."

  "Well," said I, "we shall only be too glad to lay our nuzzurs at thefeet of this patron of yours, and no doubt we shall see in him apattern of noblemen, a specimen of what we may expect to see at thecapital of the Dukhun. When may we hope to be admitted to the presence?"

  "In the evening, after prayers," replied our acquaintance; "it is thenthat justice is dispensed to these poor unbelieving cultivators, andthe durbar is enlivened by the presence and heavenly music of a set ofdancing-women, whom my lord has brought with him from the city."

  "We will come," said I; "and I pray you to give your lord noticethat we have accepted your invitation to visit him; nay, that we aredesirous of paying our respects to him."

  As I finished speaking, an elderly man of decent appearance had enteredthe Chowree; he was a Hindoo, and looked like a merchant. He demanded,in rather a peremptory tone, a place to rest in, declaring, that if hedid not get it immediately, he would go and complain to the ruler ofthe town. The spirit of the old kotwal seemed to be roused by the man'sbehaviour, and he declared in round terms that he would not give a footof ground, or an empty shop, without he was civilly asked.

  "Look you, gentlemen," said he to us; "I ask you to decide between us;I swear by the Prophet, I care no more than a snap of my fingers forhim; I have seen twenty thousand better; and if he goes to complain,why let him go; he will be driven from the presence with stripes.People like him come in hundreds every day, and who can troublethemselves in looking after them?"

  "You and your master may be the portion of the devil," said the oldmerchant; "ever since I have entered the territories of the Nizam, Ihave been treated in this manner. But it is only what I have heardbefore; not a night have I passed without an alarm of thieves; andGod knows, if I had any protection, I would rather lie outside yourwretched walls, than in the zenana of your amil himself. Your bunneasare rascals: I am refused grain at nearly double the price I paidyesterday; I am refused shelter at night. In God's name, what am I todo? Gentlemen," cried he to us, "what am I to do?"

  Bhudrinath answered, as I was going to speak, and, to my astonishment,angrily. "What would you have? O discontented man! I suppose some placehas been offered to you, and you have thought it not good enough; orare you drunk with opium? or has hunger after your journey spoilt yourtemper? Go, betake yourself to the bazar; be thankful that you can getany place; and, if no one will shelter you, lie in the street; bethinkyourself that many a better man has done so before you."

  The man stood aghast: he looked first at us, then at the kotwal and hismen, while expressions of delight at his discomfiture ran through thekotwal's party: "Well said!" "Proper fellows!" "He ought to be turnedout of the village," &c. At last, without saying a word, he threw downhis turban and ran out, bellowing as loud as he could. We all burstinto a hearty fit of laughter.

  "That is a queer fellow," said I to the kotwal; "I doubt not you haveoften such to plague you; but send for him back, we will make himashamed of himself, and I will beg you to give him a place to stay in."

  "As you will," replied he; "but for your intercession I should not havetroubled myself about him. Many such have I to deal with. One day afellow comes swearing he is cheated by every one; another, that he canget nothing to eat, when perhaps both are too stingy to buy; another,that he has no shelter, when he will not pay the trifle demanded by thebunnea for the use of his shop. Again, a third must have every delicacyto be found in a city, and he is furious because he cannot get them;when, if they were all before him, he could not afford to buy one. Inshort, sirs, there is no end to the fancies, foolishnesses, and, I maysay, tyranny, of travellers, and who think me, I suppose, to possesssuperhuman power, and to have jins (genii) at my command, to bring themwhatever their foolish ideas may desire."

  "You have indeed no easy situation, and to please every one isimpossible," said I; "but here comes the merchant,"--and he entered.

  "Take up your turban, good fellow," said the kotwal, "and do not beangry; you are no child to be quarrelling with decent people. Have younever travelled before, that you should be angry and throw dust on ourbeards in this manner? In God's name, take up your turban; and do someone of you go and see that the good man gets a place for himself."

  The man looked irresolute for an instant, then took up the turban, andwalked sulkily out, accompanied by the person desired to attend him.Bhudrinath gave me a sign, and we took our leave. We had scarcely gotout, when he said, "That man is ours; now see how I will manage him.I dare say he has but few persons with him, and he will be easilydisposed of."

  We kept our eye on him and his attendant, and watched him takepossession of a shed of wretched appearance, with many symptoms ofdissatisfaction. We loi
tered purposely, till we saw that he was alone,and then went up to him.

  "Ram! Ram! Sethjee," said Bhudrinath, addressing him; "what a placeis this they have put you into after all, not fit for hogs to lie in!That rascally kotwal, for all his smooth tongue, is an arrant knave,I warrant; and I have heard," continued he, lowering his voice, "thathe has in his employ a number of thieves, whose business it is to cutaway travellers' saddle-bags from under their heads at night, and whenthe poor man goes to complain in the morning, he is beaten out of thevillage. Did we not hear so, Jemadar Sahib?"

  "Yes, indeed," said I; "don't you remember the man who met us at thevillage some coss from this, and warned us of the thieves of Oomerkher,and said he had been robbed of everything he possessed, and then drivenout with scarcely a rag to cover him? It was then that I determined toencamp outside, where we might have our own sentinels, and where, if wewere robbed, it would be our own fault."

  "God help me! I am a lost man!" cried the merchant; "I know not whatto do;" and he beat his head with his clenched hand. "In those bagsis all I am worth in the world; I fled from Surat to save myself fromoppression, and it appears that the further I fly the worse usage Imeet. It was only two nights ago--after watching till my eyes nearlystarted from my head from want of sleep, and, not being able to sitlonger, I lay down and my eyes closed--that an attempt was made tocut my bags from under me; and, as I awoke, the thieves snatched awaytwo of my cooking utensils and the cloth I had about me. What couldI do? Had I run after them, some fellow would have been off with mybags; so I sat still, and screamed for help. The villagers were soonassembled about me, and when I told them what had happened, a villain,who called himself the patel, abused me for defaming his village; and Iwas actually thrust without the gates, and left to pursue my way in thedark, in momentary dread that I should be pursued, and perhaps robbedand murdered. Oh, my unhappy fate!" cried he; "what will it not leadme to! Fool that I was to leave my own country, to become the sport ofunblessed brutes, such as I have met in this wild country."

  "Well," said Bhudrinath in a compassionate tone, "you have been usedvery ill, and you ought to go and complain to the Hakim here; reportsays he is a just man, although those under him may be thieves andrascals."

  "No, no, no!" cried the man; "go and complain! and be fleeced of mylast rupee! The great man would require a nuzzur, and every dependentwould ask for one; did I dare to refuse, my situation would be worsethan it is now. No, no! I have not been robbed as yet, and please God,if I could only get out of this town, I would attach myself to someparty of respectable persons going the same road."

  Bhudrinath turned to me, and took me a few paces aside. "The bait hastaken," said he; "our net is now around him; you must draw it tightly."

  "How?"----"By inviting him to our encampment; I will propose it,and you shall pretend to disagree at first, and then, after somepersuasion, consent. Do you understand?"

  "I do," and we turned back.

  Bhudrinath again addressed him, while I turned away. "Sethjee," saidhe, "you are a man in misfortune, and if we don't help you out of thisplace you will assuredly be robbed of everything you possess. You mustcome and put up in our encampment; that is to say, if the Jemadar Sahibwill permit it: but the truth is, we are very careful, and allow noone to approach it, as we are escorting a merchant from Benares toHyderabad, who has a large amount of goods with him."

  "For God's sake! for the sake of your father and mother!" cried thepoor wretch, "for the sake of your children, intercede for me! do notsuffer me to be robbed and murdered here. Ai! Jemadar Sahib," he saidto me, catching me by my dress, "you are my father and my mother; aword from you, and I am safe, and my poor merchandize will reach itsdestination. God knows, if anything happens to me on the road, my housewill be made desolate, my employers will seize my wife and children.Jemadar, you can protect me from this; you can save my life from thesefears, which make me most wretched, and are consuming my soul!"

  "Thooh! good man," cried I, spitting on the ground, "do not be soabject. Inshalla! I am able by God's favour to afford protection toone who is a prince among merchants, and you are too poor to think of.In His name follow us, and we will take care of you; we are going toHyderabad ourselves, and you can remain among the servants; do you,Peer Khan, bring this man out to us."

  Peer Khan remained, and we returned to our camp. On the way wedetermined that he should die before evening, or when it should becomedusk, and we would then go into the town and visit the evening durbarof the Hakim. In a short time we beheld the merchant, and Peer Khan,with another man, driving two ponies apparently heavily laden towardsour camp.

  "Come, this is more than I hoped for," said my father, "there are twoof them; and two ponies well laden must afford something worth taking:we cannot expect this to be as profitable work as the last, but muchmay come out of it."

  The men approached, and the merchant was presented to my father. "Toyour kindness," he said to me, "I owe all I possess, and if thesepoor bags might but be allowed to remain along with the rest of themerchandize you are protecting, it would increase the favour and theywould be safe."

  "Surely," I replied, "you can unload your beasts; and there is the pileof goods, you can put your bags on the top of it."

  It was curious to see the behaviour of the men of the band; theyappeared to have an instinctive knowledge of the purpose for whichthe men had been brought into the encampment. They did not evincethe smallest savageness of demeanour, as perhaps might have beenexpected; on the contrary, every one was most civil and attentive tothe strangers; one offered to rub down the ponies, another to make aplace for cooking, a third to bring grass from the town, or anythingthey might require for their meal. In a short time we observed theappearance of care and anxiety on the face of the merchant to giveplace to a cheerful expression, and long before evening both themen were among a knot of the Thugs, listening to their stories, andthemselves relating their adventures. Little did they think whatpreparations were making, and that in a few short hours they wouldcease to be counted with the living.