Akbar grasped him by the shoulder.
"List, all of you," he shouted. "Here is our Elephant showing his wisdom. By the Prophet"s beard, I regret, for once, that there is peace in our dominions, else you and I, Elephant, should go to the war ere ever you sailed away to your distant land. But we shall find sport, or my wit fails. You, sir," he went on, speaking to Mowbray, "shall tell us something of the ways of your country when the Elephant and I have wearied ourselves. Meanwhile, the Sultana will buy your wares at your own rates. I judge as much by the cackle of women"s voices I heard as I came hither."
By way of a joke he gave Sainton"s shoulder a farewell squeeze that would have dislocated many a man"s bones. Roger, pretending he had not felt it, stooped and picked up a small bra.s.s jar which he grasped around its narrow neck.
"Let me give your Majesty a reminder of to-morrow"s meeting," he said.
The Emperor, seeing more in the words than their mere purport, took the jar. Roger had bent the bra.s.s cylinder into a double fold.
"Thanks, friend," he said, quietly. ""Tis well it was not my neck which received that grip, else there would be a new ruler in India. And, by the Koran!" he added under his breath, "I am minded now of another matter."
He looked around until he caught sight of Sher Afghan, standing somewhat apart from the listening crowd.
"My young friend," cried he, "I have been discussing you with my trusted Diwan. He agrees with me that you should provide his beautiful daughter with a careful husband. Marry her forthwith! To-night, if you be so minded! And lest anyone should dispute the prize with you take a troop of horse to escort you to Burdwan."
Bombs were hardly known in India at that period, but the explosion of a live sh.e.l.l in the midst of the company would have created a sensation little more profound than Akbar"s words. Nur Mahal, that fiery beauty, to be wed forthwith to Sher Afghan! What would Prince Jahangir say?
CHAPTER VIII
"The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty, For want of fighting had grown rusty."
_Butler"s_ "Hudibras," Part I, Canto I.
Yet all knew it mattered not a jot what Jahangir said. The Diwan had given his consent, the Emperor his approval, and it was common knowledge that both were acting for the welfare of the state in putting an effectual stop to the infatuation of the heir apparent for a girl with whom a recognized alliance was impolitic if not impossible.
But Queen Mariam, all of a tremble by reason of her fear lest Jahangir"s madness should lead him to excess, ventured to utter a word of protest.
"My Lord," she said, "this decision hath been taken suddenly."
"Do you think so?" asked Akbar, pleasantly. His composure disconcerted her. Nevertheless, love for her eldest born and favorite son gave her strength.
"Yes," she cried. "I would force no maid to wed where her heart is not set. It oft leads to evil."
"Ah!" he answered, "you are becoming an old woman. Were I one also I might think like you."
The kindly tone of his words deprived them of their sting. When he clenched an argument in such wise Akbar had a habit of stroking a large wart on the left side of his nose, a slight disfigurement which astrologers a.s.sured him was a most propitious sign. Gently rubbing the wart now he turned again towards Sher Afghan.
"Has delight rendered thee dumb?" he growled good humoredly.
"Not so, O King of Kings," cried the young Persian. "Fearing that my ears betrayed me I was silent. When your Majesty speaks all tongues are stilled. I have but two possessions which I cherish, my sword and my honor. The one has always been and will ever be at your Majesty"s disposal; the other I fly to place at the feet of Nur Mahal."
By this fearless utterance, Sher Afghan accepted the Emperor"s command and flung defiance to all others. Salaaming deeply, he withdrew. In the hush which had fallen on the a.s.sembly they heard him rush down the outer stairs, and, an instant later, the clatter of his Arab"s hoofs as he rode towards the gate showed that the wedding ceremony would not be delayed by any dilatoriness on the part of the bridegroom.
Akbar vanished. The Diwan, who had not taken any overt part in the scene, followed him, and the Sultana, without casting another glance at the brave array of merchandise, withdrew with her retinue.
Mowbray and Sainton were left gazing blankly at each other, but an official, knowing better than they the domestic trouble which was brewing in the royal household, advised them to repack their goods, as, in his opinion, the bazaar projected for the morrow would certainly be abandoned.
"I thought for sure yon sloe-eyed wench would bring us no luck,"
muttered Roger when he heard Mowbray bidding their servants load up their mules again. "My mother always advised me to wed a homely wife if I wanted to be happy. Not that she was ill-looking herself, but I have heard her say that my father never had spirit enough to quarrel with anybody."
"On my word, Roger," laughed Walter, smothering his own annoyance at the turn taken by events, "you look as glum as Lot"s wife when she lost the use of her feet."
"Who wouldn"t!" demanded Sainton. "We had the silver as good as in our breeches pockets, when some imp of mischief set the King to scratch his nose and talk about marriage."
"All is not lost yet. I trust to your wit to make his Majesty realize to-morrow in what fashion he spoiled our market. At the worst, we retain our goods, and still can trade in the bazaar."
Two journeys through the tortuous streets of the city, joined to the labor of unpacking and packing their bales at the palace, had occupied so much of the short November afternoon that the sun was setting with the rapidity peculiar to the tropics ere they reached the caravansary.
The smoke of many fires clung to the ground, spreading over the streets and open s.p.a.ces a hazy pall some ten feet in height. Beneath, all was murky and dim; above, the tops of trees and the upper stories of houses were sharply silhouetted against the deep crimson-blue of the sky, whilst the stars were already twinkling in myriads overhead. This coverlet of smoke creeps nightly over every Indian town in the cold weather. It is disagreeable to the eyes and nose if not to the artistic senses, and the haze is ofttimes so dense during the hours before midnight that, in the crowded bazaar, the range of vision becomes lessened and even familiar objects cannot be recognized until they are close at hand.
The phenomenon was familiar enough to the two travelers not to excite their notice on this occasion save in one respect. It was essential that heed should be given to the fondness of native servants for appropriating articles which did not belong to them. Naught could be easier than for a pack animal to be slyly driven into a by-path, whence it would never return, whilst search for it and its valuable burden would be time wasted. So now, as on every other night when they chanced to be belated, Mowbray and Sainton kept a sharp eye on their train, and stood at the gate of the caravansary until each mule and bullock had filed within its portals.
They were engaged in this task when the chant of palki-bearers and the glare of torches lighting up the roadway apprised them that some person of importance was being carried toward Agra from the direction of Delhi and the north. The carriers were singing cheerfully, announcing in rhyme the close of a long march, and setting forth the joys of rice and _ghi_ at the end of the day"s toil.
But the verse stopped suddenly, and the rapid shuffle of naked feet through the dust gave place to the objurgations of the torch-bearers addressed to the muleteers and bullock tenders of the Englishmen"s cortege. Native servants curse each other fluently on the slightest provocation, so a lively exchange of compliments affecting the paternity and ancestry of both parties instantly broke out. In reality, nothing could be done. The mules and bullocks, eager as their drivers to have finished with the day"s work, were crowding into the caravansary, and the _palki_, or litter, could not pa.s.s for a minute or so unless the bearers quitted the beaten track and made a detour behind the mud hovels which faced the rest-house. Glad of a moment"s respite the coolies preferred to halt, and wag their tongues scandalously.
Walter, somewhat amused by the scene, did not interfere. There was only one _palki_, but the number of retainers and loaded ponies behind showed that the traveler was some one of consequence.
The occupant of the litter, evidently wondering what caused the commotion, drew apart the curtains on the side opposite to that on which Mowbray was standing, Sainton, urging on the rearmost of their train, being at some little distance.
A Pathan torch-bearer approached the _palki_, and, as luck would have it, Roger came to Mowbray at that moment to tell him that his count tallied with their reckoning.
Something said by the Pathan caused his employer to withdraw the second set of curtains. Hence, the light of the torch illumined the interior of the litter and revealed most clearly the ident.i.ty of its tenant.
Walter would scarce have believed his eyes had not Roger muttered:--
""Fore G.o.d, "tis Dom Geronimo!"
"He and no other," whispered Walter. "I knew there were Jesuits in Agra, but they are well spoken of, and I never dreamed that this wretch was numbered among them."
"He knows us, too," growled Sainton. "Why should we not requite him for the ill he would have done us. "Return good for evil," saith the maxim, and "twill be a good deed to let some of the bad blood out of him."
"No, no. It would ruin our cause with Akbar. Though he is our enemy, he is less able to work us harm in this heathen land than in our own country. Let him pa.s.s. I vow he takes us for malign spirits, come back to earth to vex him."
Certainly the aspect of Dom Geronimo"s face as the _palki_ moved on and his carriers resumed their song was that of a man who gazed at a threatening vision. Incredulity blended with fear at first, to be succeeded by a glance of utmost malevolence as his shocked senses resumed their sway. That he recognized the two friends was not to be doubted. Sainton"s gigantic stature alone marked him out from other men, and, at that season of the year, their garb did not differ materially from the clothes they wore when the Jesuit left them to their fate on board the Spanish vessel in the Thames.
He closed the curtains of his _palki_ with an angry gesture, as though the sight of them was displeasing to him. Yet Dom Geronimo would have been a lucky man in that hour had he blotted them from his memory as well.
Nevertheless, his contemptuous action served to hide from him the fact that Roger reached out a long arm and detained a fellow who was hastening in the rear of the Jesuit"s retainers.
"Whence comes thy master?" he said gruffly.
"From Lah.o.r.e, sahib," was the stuttering reply, for the man was frightened by the size of his questioner.
"And whither is he bound?"