The colonel"s head sank upon his knees. Kathlyn patted his shoulder.
"Father, I tell you mind not the mouthings of a vile guru. We shall soon be free."
"Kit, this time, if I return to Allaha, I shall die. I feel it in my bones."
"And I say no!"
The chief turned to Ramabai. "You and the woman with you shall this day seek two camels of the five you borrowed from Bala Khan. You will journey at once to Allaha. But do not waste your time in stopping to acquaint Bala Khan. At the first sign of armed men each of those left shall die in yonder tiger cage."
"We refuse!"
"Then be the first to taste the tiger"s fangs!"
The chief called to his men to seize Ramabai and Pundita, when Kathlyn interfered.
"Go, Ramabai; it is useless to fight against these men who mean all they say, and who are as cruel as the tiger himself."
"It shall be as the Mem-sahib says," replied Ramabai resignedly.
One morning Umballa entered the judgment hall of the palace, disturbed in mind. Anonymous notes, bidding him not to persecute Ramabai and his wife further, on pain of death. He had found these notes at the door of his zenana, in his stables, on his pillows. In his heart he had sworn the death of Ramabai; but here was a phase upon which he had set no calculation. Had there not been unrest abroad he would have scorned to pay any attention to these warnings; but this Ramabai--may he burn in h.e.l.l!--was a power with the populace, with low and high castes alike, and for the first time, now that he gave the matter careful thought, his own future did not look particularly clear. More than ever he must plan with circ.u.mspection. He must trap Ramabai, openly, lawfully, in the matter of sedition.
Imagine his astonishment when, a few minutes after his arrival, Ramabai and Pundita demanded audience, the one straight of back and proud of look, the other serene and tranquil! Umballa felt a wave of bland [Transcriber"s note: blind?] hatred surge over him, but he gave no sign. Ramabai stated his case briefly. Colonel Hare and his daughter were being held prisoners for ransom. Three bags of silver--something like five thousand rupees--were demanded by the captors.
The council looked toward Umballa, who nodded, having in mind the part of the good Samaritan, with reservations, to be sure. Having trod the paths of the white man, he had acquired a certain adroitness in holding his people. They had at best only the stability of chickens. What at one moment was a terror was at another a feast. For the present, then, he would pretend that he had forgot all about Ramabai"s part in the various unsuccessful episodes.
To the council and the gurus (or priests) he declared that he himself would undertake to a.s.sume the part of envoy; he himself would bring the legal king of Allaha back to his throne. True, the daughter had been crowned, but she had forfeited her rights. Thus he would return with Colonel Hare as soon as he could make the journey and return.
"He is contemplating some treachery," said Ramabai to his wife. "I must try to learn what it is."
In his shop in the bazaars Lal Singh had resumed his awl. He had, as a companion, a bent and shaky old man, whose voice, however, possessed a resonance which belied the wrinkles and palsied hands.
"The rains," said Lal Singh, "are very late this year. Leather will be poor."
"Aye."
All of which signified to Ahmed that the British Raj had too many affairs just then to give proper attention to the muddle in Allaha.
"But there is this man Ramabai. He runs deep."
"So!"
"He has been conspiring for months."
"Then why does he not strike?"
"He is wary. He is wary; a good sign." Lal Singh reached for his pipe and set the water bubbling. "In a few weeks I believe all will be ready, even the British Raj."
"Why will men be sheep?"
Lal Singh shrugged. "Only Allah knows. But what about this guru"s curse you say follows the Colonel Sahib?"
"It is true. I was there," said Ahmed. "And here am I, with a price on my head!"
"In the business we are in there will always be a price on our heads.
And Umballa will bring back the Colonel Sahib. What then?"
"We know what we know, Lal Singh," and the face under the hood broke into a smile.
Five days pa.s.sed. The chief of the brigands was growing restless. He finally declared that unless the ransom was delivered that night he would rid himself of them all. The tiger was starving. In order to prove that he was not chattering idly he had the prisoners tied to the wheels of the cage. It would at least amuse him to watch their growing terror.
"Look! Some one is coming!" cried Kathlyn.
The chief saw the caravan at the same time, and he set up a shout of pleasure. Three fat bags of silver rupees!
Umballa, the good Samaritan, bargained with the chief. He did not want all the prisoners, only one. Three bags of silver would be forthcoming upon the promise that the young woman and the young man should be disposed of.
"By the tiger?"
Umballa shrugged. To him it mattered not how. The chief, weary of his vigil, agreed readily enough, and Umballa turned over the silver.
"The guru, my Kit! You see? This is the end. Well, I am tired. A filigree basket of gems!"
"So!" said Umballa, smiling at Kathlyn. "You and your lover shall indeed be wed--by the striped one! A sad tale I shall take back with me. You were both dead when I arrived."
Presently Bruce and Kathlyn were alone. They could hear the brute in the cage, snarling and clawing at the wooden door.
CHAPTER XIII
LOVE
The golden sands, the purple cliffs, the translucent blue of the heavens, and the group of picturesque rascals jabbering and gesticulating and pressing about their chief, made a picture Kathlyn was never to forget.
"Patience, my little ones!" said the chief, showing his white strong teeth in what was more of a snarl than a smile. "There is plenty of time."
Bruce leaned toward Kathlyn.
"Stand perfectly still, just as you are. I believe I can reach the knot back of your hands. This squabbling is the very thing needed.
They will not pay any attention to us for a few minutes, and if I can read signs they"ll all be at one another"s throats shortly."
"But even if we get free what can we do?"
Kathlyn was beginning to lose both faith and heart. The sight of her father being led back to Allaha by Durga Ram, after all the misery to which he had been subjected, shook the courage which had held her up these long happy weeks. For she realized that her father was still weak, and that any additional suffering would kill him.
"You mustn"t talk like that," said Bruce. "You"ve been in tighter places than this. If we can get free, leave the rest to me. So long as one can see and hear and move, there"s hope."