The Babu entered.
"Come and tell me if these are our dastaks," said Desmond.
The Babu ran his eye over the papers, and declared:
"Yes, sir, they are the identical papers, and I perceive the signature of the Faujdar is dated three weeks ago."
"Thank you," said Desmond. "Now, Coja Solomon, I must ask you to come with me."
"Why, sir----" began the Armenian, no longer smiling.
"I will explain to you by and by.--What is it, Surendra Nath?"
The Babu whispered a word or two in his ear.
"A happy thought!" said Desmond. "Surendra Nath suggests that I should borrow that excellent robe I see yonder, Khwaja; and your turban also.
They will become me better than this khitmatgar"s garb, I doubt not."
Coja Solomon looked on helplessly as Desmond exchanged his meaner garments for the richer clothes of his unwilling host.
"Now we will go. You will tell the darwan that you have gone down to the ghat, so that if a question is asked he will be at no loss for an answer."
In the faint light of the rising moon the barrel of the pistol gleamed as they came into the open. The Armenian marched between Desmond and the Babu. Behind came the three peons, moving as silently as ghosts.
"The Khwaja," said Desmond to them in the Armenian"s hearing, as they reached the ghat, "is coming a little way with us down the river. You, Kristodas Das, will go and tell Bulger Sahib that I wish him to follow the Khwaja"s boats at a few yards" distance, and to be prepared to board at any moment. You," turning to the other two peons, "will come with me. The Khwaja will send word to his darwan that he is going to Murshidabad by river and will not return to-night; his house is to be locked up. The Khwaja will, I am sure, give these orders correctly, for Surendra Nath will understand better than I what he says."
With the Babu, the two peons, and Coja Solomon, who was now obviously ill at ease, Desmond went down the ghat to the place where the crews of the petalas were squatting, and bade the Armenian carry out the part a.s.signed to him. The man durst not depart by a jot from the words put into his mouth. One of his coolies left with the message, the rest followed their employer on board with Desmond and his companions, and in a few minutes the three boats were cast off and stood up stream. As they started Desmond saw the boat containing Bulger and his men slip from the shade of the trees and begin to creep after them.
The boats had not gone for more than a couple of hundred yards up stream when Coja Solomon, at Desmond"s orders, bade the men row towards the opposite sh.o.r.e and turn the boats" heads round, explaining that he had decided after all to convey the goods to Hugli. There was some grumbling among the crew, who had expected to go to Murshidabad, and did not relish the prospect of the longer voyage. But the Armenian, knowing that every word was overheard by Desmond"s men, made haste to pacify the boatmen.
It was by no means easy work getting down the river. The boats were flat-bottomed and drew very little water; but the stream being very low, they stuck fast time after time in the shallows. By day the boatmen might have picked their way more carefully, but the moon was new and shed too little light for river navigation. More than once they had to leap overboard and, wading, shove and haul until the boats came off the mud banks into practicable water again. They rowed hard when the course was clear, encouraged by promises of liberal bakshish made by their employer at Desmond"s prompting. But the interruptions were so frequent that the dawn found the boats only some thirty miles from their starting-point. The river being here a little deeper, Desmond could afford to let the rowers take a much needed rest, while the boats floated down with the stream.
But as the day wore on the river again played them false, and progress was at times reduced to scarcely more than two miles an hour. Things had been uncomfortable in the night, but the discomforts were increased tenfold in the day. It was the hottest season of the year; out of the clear sky the sun"s rays beat down with pitiless ferocity; the whole landscape was a-quiver with heat; all things seemed to swoon under the oppression. The petalas, being cargo boats, were not provided with any accommodation or conveniences for pa.s.sengers; and Desmond"s thoughts, as he lay panting on his mat, haggard from want of sleep, faint from want of food--for though there was rice on board, and the men ate freely, he had no appet.i.te for that--reverted to the worst period of his imprisonment in Gheria, and he recalled the sufferings he had endured there. Here at least he was free. His journey had so far been unmolested, and he hoped that the happy chance that had favoured him at Cossimbazar would not fail him now.
He was in a fever of impatience; yet the men were doing their best.
They pa.s.sed the mud walls of Cutwa; another stage of the journey was safely completed; but twelve miles lower down there was a post at Patli, and with every mile the danger grew. Desmond talked over the situation with the Babu. Surendra Nath agreed that by nightfall, if no unforeseen delay occurred, they might hope to be in the neighbourhood of Khulna, and arrive there before any messenger carrying news of the escape. But there was little or no chance of the same good fortune at Hugli. The prize was so valuable that every effort would certainly be made to stop them. A whole day or more might pa.s.s before the reason of Coja Solomon"s absence was discovered. But when the discovery was made, fast runners would be sent to Khulna and Hugli, and by relays the distance between Cossimbazar and Hugli could be covered in twenty-two hours.
Supposing such a messenger started at nightfall on June 5, nearly twenty-four hours after Coja Solomon"s disappearance, he might well get to Hugli long before the fugitive boats, even if they were rowed all night without cessation; and the men were already so much fatigued that such continuous exertion could hardly be expected of them.
There was a further danger. If the news of the capture of Cossimbazar Fort had preceded him, he might be stopped at any of the riverside places without any reference to Coja Solomon"s abduction, pending orders from the Nawab. Desmond"s anxiety would have been largely increased had he known that Siraj-uddaula, before his men had actually marched into the fort, had already started with the bulk of his forces on his fateful march to Calcutta.
Desmond was still in conversation with the Babu when the little flotilla came in sight of Patli. Its approach was observed. A boat put off from the ghat, and awaited the arrival of Desmond"s boat in mid-stream. As it came alongside an official ordered the men to cease rowing and demanded to know who was the owner of the goods on board and to see the dastaks. The Babu, to whom Desmond had entrusted the papers, showed them to the man; he scanned them, said that he was satisfied, and rowed back to the ghat. Evidently he had no suspicions. During the short colloquy Desmond kept close beside the Armenian, who was well known to the riverside official; but Coja Solomon was thoroughly scared, and had not the presence of mind to do anything more than acknowledge the customary salaam.
Desmond breathed freely once more now that Patli was pa.s.sed. But two-thirds of the journey still remained to be completed, and he could not dare hope that at his slow rate of progress he would be able always to keep ahead of information from Cossimbazar. Seeing that he could not hasten his journey, he wondered whether it was possible to put pursuers off the scent. After thinking for a while he said to the Babu, out of hearing of the Armenian:
"I have an idea, Surendra Nath: tell me what you think of it. Did you not tell me as we came up that there is a gumashta[#] of the Company at Santipur?"
[#] Agent.
"Certainly I did, sir."
"Well, as we are, I fear, sure to be cut off by water, may we not take to the land? Could not the gumashta get us a dozen hackeris[#]? We could transfer the goods to them and elude our pursuers perhaps long enough for help to arrive from Calcutta."
[#] Bullock-carts.
"That is good counsel, sir; why should we not do so?"
Accordingly, when they came to the spot where the high road crossed the river by a ford, Desmond ordered his men to row in to the left bank.
Selecting two men who knew the country, he bade them land and make the best speed in carrying out instructions which he proceeded to give them.
"You, Mohun Lai," he said, "will go to Santipur, quickly, avoiding observation, and request the gumashta in Merriman Sahib"s name to have twelve hackeris, or as many as he can collect, ready to receive loads two or three hours before to-morrow"s dawn. He must get them from the villages, not from Khulna or Amboa, and he must not tell any one why he requires the carts. You, Ishan, will go on to Calcutta, find Merriman Sahib, and ask him to send a body of armed men along the Barrakpur road towards Santipur. You will tell him what we have done, and also that Cossimbazar Fort is in the hands of the Nawab, and Watts Sahib a prisoner. He may know this already. You both understand?"
The men salaamed and started on their journey.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND
*In which is given a full, true, and particular account of the Battle of the Carts.*
Desmond expected that Mohun Lai would reach Santipur shortly after nightfall. He himself might hope to arrive there, if not intercepted at Khulna or Amboa, at any time between midnight and three o"clock, according to the state of the river. It was approaching dusk when he drew near to Khulna. The boats having been tied up to the bank, as the custom was, Desmond sent the Babu to find out from the Company"s gumashta whether news of the capture of Cossimbazar Fort had reached the bazar, and if any runner had come in from the north. In an hour the Babu returned. He said that there was great excitement in the bazar; no official messenger had arrived, but everybody was saying that the Nawab had captured the English factory at Cossimbazar, and was going to drive all the Firangi out of Bengal.
Desmond decided to take a bold course. Official news not having arrived, he might seize the moment to present his dastaks and get away before the customs officers found any pretext for stopping him.
Everything happened as he hoped. He met with no more difficulty than at Patli, and informing the official who examined the dastaks that he would drop down to Amboa before tying up for the night, he drew out again into the stream.
He spent some time in consultation with the serang. In a rather desolate reach of the Hugli, he learnt, and in the middle of the stream, there was a small island, uninhabited save by teal and other water-fowl, and not known to be the haunt of tigers or other beasts of prey.
Reaching this islet about ten o"clock at night, when all river traffic had ceased, he rowed in, and landed the Armenian with his crews.
"I thank you for your company, Coja Solomon," he said blandly. "We must here part, to my regret, for I should like to have the pleasure of witnessing your meeting with Mr. Merriman. The nights are warm, and you will, I am sure, be quite comfortable till the morning, when no doubt a pa.s.sing boat will take you off and convey you back to your business at Cossimbazar."
"I will not stay here," protested the Armenian, his face livid with anger.
"Believe me, you have no choice. Let me remind you that had you behaved honestly there would have been no reason for putting you to the inconvenience of this tiring journey. You have brought it on yourself."
Coja Solomon sullenly went up the sh.o.r.e. Desmond then paid the men handsomely: they had indeed worked well, and they were abundantly satisfied with the hire they received.
Leaving Coja Solomon to his bitter reflections, Desmond dropped down to Santipur, arriving there about two o"clock in the morning. Just before dawn ten hackeris, each yoked with two oxen, drew up near the Company"s ghat. They were accompanied by a crowd of the inhabitants, lively with curiosity about the engagement of so many vehicles. The gumashta came up with the first cart, his face clouded with anxiety. He recognized the Babu at once, and said that while he had fulfilled the order he had received on Mr. Merriman"s behalf, he had done it in fear and trembling.
The whole country knew that Cossimbazar Fort was in possession of the Nawab, and, more than that, the Nawab had on the previous day set out with an immense army for Calcutta. Santipur was not on the high road, and the Company was respected there; yet the gumashta feared the people would make an attack on the party if they suspected that they carried goods belonging to an Englishman.
Hitherto Desmond had kept himself in the background. But now he had an idea inspired by confidence in his costume. Introducing himself to the gumashta, he asked him to give out that the party was in command of a Firangi in the service of the Nawab, and was conveying part of the Nawab"s private equipage in advance to Baraset, a few miles north of Calcutta, there to await the arrival of the main army. To make the imposition more effective, he called for the lambadar[#] of the village and ordered him in the Nawab"s name to despatch a flotilla of twenty-five wollacks[#] to Cutwa to convey the official baggage. The plan proved successful. Desmond found himself regarded as a person of importance; the natives humbly salaamed to him; and, taking matters with a high hand, he impressed a score of the village idlers into the work of transferring his precious bales from the boats to the hackeris. The work was accomplished in half an hour.
[#] Headman.