"Very well, Hubbo," said Desmond, "that signal must not be given."
"But how prevent it, sahib? I wish well to the Company; have I not eaten their salt? But what can one man do against many? The subahdar is a very fierce man; very zabburdasti.[#] When he gives the word it will be death to disobey."
[#] Masterful.
Desmond sat for some time with his chin on his hands, thinking. Then he asked:
"Do you know where the British fleet is at present?"
"Yes, sahib. I was in the bazar to-day; it was said that this morning the ships were still at Fulta. The sepoys are recovering from their privations during the voyage."
"We will drop down the river to-morrow as soon as we have unloaded our cargo. You may expect us back ahead of the fleet, so keep a good look-out for us. I will take care that Mr. Drake is informed of your fidelity, and you will certainly be well rewarded."
Early in the morning the cargo was unloaded; then, under pretence of taking in goods at Mayapur, the petala dropped down the river and gained Fulta under cover of night.
Next morning Desmond, having resumed his ordinary attire, sought an interview with Clive.
"The very man I wished to see," said Clive, shaking hands. "Your scouting is the one ray of light in the darkness that covers the enemy"s arrangements. You have done remarkably well, and I take it you would not be here unless you had something to tell me."
Desmond gave briefly the information he had learnt from Hubbo.
"That"s the game, is it?" said Clive. "A pretty scheme, egad! "Twill be fatal to us if carried out. "Twould put a spoke in the admiral"s wheel and throw all the work on the land force. That"s weak enough, what with Mr. Killpatrick"s men dying off every day--he has only thirty left--and my own sepoys mostly skeletons. And we haven"t proved ourselves against the Nawab"s troops; I suppose they outnumber us thirty to one, and after their success at Calcutta they"ll be very c.o.c.k-a-hoop.
Yet "tis so easy to sink a few ships, especially if preparations have been made long in advance, as appears to be the case."
"I think sir, it might be prevented."
Clive, who had been pacing up and down in some perturbation of mind, his head bent, his hands clasped behind him, halted, looked up sharply, and said:
"Indeed! How?"
"If we could get hold of the subahdar."
"By bribing him? He might not be open to bribery. Most of these native officials are, but there are some honest men among them, and he may be one. He wouldn"t have been selected for his job unless Manik Chand thought him trustworthy. Besides, how are we going to get into communication with him? And even if we did, and filled him to the brim with rupees, how are we to know he wouldn"t sell us in turn to the enemy?"
"But there are other ways, sir. We can depend on Hubbo, and if I might suggest, it would pay to promise him a rich reward if he managed to keep the pa.s.sage clear."
"Yes, I agree. What reward would be most effective?"
"A few hundred rupees and the post of syr serang in the Company"s service when Calcutta is retaken."
"Not too extravagant! Well, I will see Mr. Drake; the offer had better come from him and reach Hubbo through his brother."
"And then, sir, it ought not to be impossible to secure the subahdar himself when the moment arrives."
Clive looked at the bright eager countenance of the boy before him.
"Upon my word, my lad," he said, "I believe you can do it. How, I don"t know; but you have shown so much resource already that you may be able to help us in this fix--for fix it is, and a bad one. "Tis the will that counts; if one is only determined enough no difficulty is insuperable--a lesson that our friends from Calcutta might take to heart. But have you a plan?"
"Not at present, sir. I should like to think it over; and if I can hit on anything that seems feasible I should be glad of your leave to try."
"By all means, my lad. If you fail--well, no one will be more sorry than I, for your sake. If you succeed, you will find that I shall not forget. There"s one thing I want to ask you before you go. Have you heard anything of my friend Merriman"s ladies?"
"Yes, sir: and, as I suspected, Diggle is at the bottom of their disappearance."
He related the series of incidents up the river.
"Dressed like a native, was he? And looked like a risaldar?[#] There"s no end to that fellow"s villainy. But his day of reckoning will come I am sure of it, and the world will be none the worse for the loss of so vile a creature. If you take my advice, you"ll say nothing to Mr.
Merriman of this discovery. "Twould only unsettle the poor man. He had better know nothing until we can either restore the ladies to him or tell him that there is no hope."
[#] Officer commanding a troop of horse.
"I don"t give up hope, sir. They"re alive, at any rate; and Diggle has lost them. I feel sure we shall find them."
"G.o.d grant it, my lad."
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH
*In which an officer of the Nawab disappears; and Bulger reappears.*
"This will be my last trip, sahib, for my present master. He says I waste too much time on the river. He also complains that I go to places without leave and without reason. He heard we were at Mayapur, and wanted to know why. I made excuses, sahib; I said whatever came into my head; but he was not satisfied, and I leave his service in a week."
"That is a pity, Hossain. Unless we are in the service of some well-known banya we cannot go up and down the river without exciting suspicion. However, let us hope that before the week is out the fleet will be here."
Desmond looked a little anxious. The success of his project for preventing the fouling of the pa.s.sage at Tanna Fort was more than eyer doubtful. The petala was moored opposite the Crane ghat at Calcutta, taking in a cargo of jawar[#] for Chandernagore. The work of loading had been protracted to the utmost by the serang; for Desmond did not wish to leave the neighbourhood of Calcutta at the present juncture, when everything turned upon their being on the spot at the critical moment.
[#] Millet.
While they were talking, a man who had every appearance of a respectable banya approached the plank over which the coolies were carrying the jawar on board. He stood idly watching the work, then moved away, and squatted on a low pile of bags which had been emptied of their contents.
For a time the serang paid no apparent heed to him; but presently, while the coolies were still busy, he sauntered across the plank, and strolling to the onlooker, exchanged a salaam and squatted beside him.
Pa.s.sers-by might have caught a word or two about the grain-market; the high prices; the difficulties of transit; the deplorable slackness of trade; the infamous duplicity of the Greek merchants. At last the banya rose, salaamed, and walked away.
As he did so the serang carelessly lifted the bag upon which the banya had been sitting, and, making sure that he was not observed, picked up a tiny ball of paper scarcely bigger than a pea. Waiting a few moments, he rose and sauntered back on board. A minute or two later the lascar in the after part of the boat was un.o.btrusively examining the sc.r.a.p of paper. It contained three words and an initial:
_To-morrow about ten.--C._
A change had been made in the composition of Hossain"s crew since the incident at Sinfray"s house. One day Desmond had found one of the Bengalis rummaging in the corner of the cabin where he was accustomed to keep his few personal belongings. Hossain had dismissed the man on the spot. The man saved from the river had been kept on the boat and proved a good worker, eager, and willing to be of use. He was an excellent boatman, a handy man generally, and, for a Bengali, possessed of exceptional physical strength. At Desmond"s suggestion Hossain offered him the vacant place, and he at once accepted it.