Jahangir was thrown, almost at Mowbray"s feet. The elephant charged the ma.s.sive doors head downwards, and they were torn from their hinges as if they were paper screens. The arch collapsed, there was a crash of falling masonry and rent wood-work, and the great brute himself, stunned by the shock, fell to his knees.
And that was the manner in which Nur Mahal, on her wedding night, came back to the Garden of Heart"s Delight.
CHAPTER IX
"Why didst thou not smite him to the ground and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver?"
_2 Samuel_ xviii. 11.
Jahangir was on his feet instantly. Sher Afghan should not escape him now unless the G.o.ds fought against him.
"To me!" he yelled. "Spare not! Every man shall have a golden _tauq_!"[B]
[Footnote B: Collar or circlet.]
The elephant struggled to rise, but failed. He was dazed by his terrific impact against the solid gateway. Sher Afghan leaped from the _howdah_ and rushed joyously to meet his frenzied antagonist. Perhaps the fate of India would have been settled then and there for many a year had not the mob of hors.e.m.e.n, unable to stay their disorderly pursuit, swept between the rivals. Many of the _sowars_ were thrown by crashing into the immovable bulk of the squealing beast in the roadway: most of the others either reined in, expecting to encounter a fresh foe, or were carried past the gate.
Walter, in whom the fire of battle had extinguished the dictates of prudence, whipped out his sword, faced the enraged Prince, and engaged him in rapid play. The curved scimitar of the East had no chance against the straight English blade, wielded as it was by one versed in the art of European swordsmanship. Jahangir was disarmed, his wrist nearly broken when he would have drawn a dagger, and Mowbray, closing fearlessly, pinned him against the base of the wall. His infuriated adversary was no puny youth, but Walter was now at his best. He tripped Jahangir, got him down, and gripped him by the throat, saying:--
"Yield, fool, and lie quiet. If Sher Afghan finds thee he will slay thee without mercy."
In the road a remarkable change had taken place. The elephant"s a.s.sault had dislodged a long and heavy iron bar which served to prop the door from within. Sainton, alert as a fox in an emergency, saw it lying amidst the ruins. Any ordinary man would find it a difficult thing to lift, but Roger, sheathing his sword, picked it up and used it with both hands as a quarter staff. He leaped back into the melee and made onslaught with this fearsome weapon on men and horses alike. In the press, the Prince"s retainers could not use their arrows, and their c.u.mbrous matchlocks, once discharged, could not be reloaded readily. As for their swords and short lances, of what avail were such bodkins against this raging giant, mowing down all comers with a ten-foot bar of iron? Who could withstand him? Those who escaped him fled, and the clash of steel beyond the circle of light told that Sher Afghan"s followers, though dispersed by the first unexpected charge, had rallied and were coming to the a.s.sistance of their chief.
Sainton, who thoroughly enjoyed the fight, ceased his exertions when he saw Sher Afghan helping Nur Mahal to alight from the _howdah_. A crowd of guests and armed va.s.sals, attracted by the noise of the conflict, had run from the house, and the obedience rendered to the Persian"s orders by a fresh batch of hors.e.m.e.n advancing out of the darkness showed that the a.s.sailants had been completely routed.
But some remained. Six horses and more than twenty men were p.r.o.ne in the dust, and few of them moved, for that terrible bar had touched naught that it did not break. The fallen elephant blocked the gate and the big Yorkshireman held the road. None could come out from the garden save by a wicket, and neither friend nor foe dared to approach within striking distance of Roger.
Sher Afghan, who had not earned his name, "Slayer of Lions," by bragging, glanced at the tumbled heap which surrounded Sainton and cried:--
"May Allah bear witness this night that thou hast saved my life, friend from beyond the seas. I did well to help thee, and n.o.bly hast thou repaid my service. But where is thy brother? I trust he has come to no harm."
"When last I saw him he was instructing Prince Jahangir in the art of fence," said Roger, stooping to recover his hat which had fallen.
"Ha, sayest thou? Would that I had given the lesson in his stead!
Search for him, I pray you, whilst I conduct this lady to her father."
Nur Mahal, who stood near, seemed to be in a somewhat subdued mood.
There was a new note in her voice as she murmured:--
"Heed me not, my Lord, but look for the stranger. My heart misgives me as to his fate."
Sher Afghan gave her a quick glance, clearing his eyes in wonderment.
Before he could reply the girl darted forward.
"See, here he comes, and with him a prisoner. For my sake, if for none other, let there be no further bloodshed!"
The appeal was timely. Walter, holding Jahangir, whom he had purposely kept in the background until the turmoil had subsided, now advanced. But the spirit of the combat had not wholly left him. When Sher Afghan sprang forward, eager to renew a duel interrupted by the downfall of the elephant, his sword barred the way.
"Not so," he cried determinedly. "The Prince is unarmed and my hostage.
Moreover, I cannot see why two such gallant gentlemen should fight over a worthless woman. Whilst you were defending her and yourself, Sher Afghan, her dagger was raised to strike you dead."
The Persian stood as though he had been stabbed indeed. He bent a piteous glance on his wife.
"Is it true," he asked brokenly, "that you would have done this thing?"
She shrank from him.
"You forced me to wed you," she protested. "I did not love you."
Plucking a dagger from his belt he offered it to her.
"I dreamed to conquer the fickle heart of a woman," he said. "If you were minded to end your woes by my death, here is my unprotected breast.
Kill me! It is my desire. Better that than an a.s.sa.s.sin"s blow at the hands of the woman I love."
She burst into a pa.s.sion of tears and fell to her knees.
"Forgive me, my Lord," she sobbed; and her grief was music in Sher Afghan"s ears. If, indeed, his wife regretted her att.i.tude he could afford to be magnanimous. Throwing sword and dagger to the ground he bowed to Jahangir.
"Your Highness has been misled by idle tongues," he said. "Tidings of this brawl will reach the Emperor as fast as men can ride. Let you and me hasten to his presence and together seek his clemency."
It was a proposal which could only emanate from a chivalrous soul, but Jahangir was too enraged by his defeat, too embittered by Nur Mahal"s apparent submission, to avail himself of it.
"I neither plead nor make excuse," he said. "Go you in peace with your bride. I call Allah to witness that I have been misled by none save Nur Mahal herself. My followers have fled, though I am glad to see some of the hare-livered dogs c.u.mber the ground. Give me a horse and I shall ride alone, if your foreign ally grants my liberty."
The lowering anger in his closely set eyes, the quivering lips which scarce could form the words, showed that Jahangir was not only keenly resentful of his plight but that he scorned Nur Mahal for her meekness.
The appearance of the Diwan, agitated and faltering in his steps, put an end to a scene which at any moment might have a.s.sumed a new phase of violence. The aged statesman, when his first alarm was sped, thought more of the morrow than of the present excitement. He bade Sher Afghan undertake the interrupted journey in a litter as soon as his wounds were bound, and he despatched Jahangir to the fort with a strong guard of his own servants.
By this time the dazed elephant had yielded to the curses and endearments of the _mahout_. He rose ponderously, and marched across the ruins of the gate to his stable.
For some reason the Diwan would not allow Mowbray and Sainton to return to the caravansary. He may have feared for their safety, or perhaps he found comfort in the thought that Roger, mighty man of war, slept under his roof.
Before setting out a second time Sher Afghan came to the chamber allotted to them. He threw around Roger"s neck a magnificent gold chain studded with turquoises.
"Let me gild the bond of steel which rivets our friendship," he said.
To Walter he handed a dagger, with a handle so encrusted with diamonds that it blazed in the light of a lamp like a single huge stone.
"It is worthy of the hand of my friend and the heart of my enemy," he cried, nor would he harken to their protests, but hurried away to the waiting litter and Nur Mahal.
"How read you the riddle of this night"s doings?" asked Roger, when they were alone once more.
"There is no riddle. "Tis nothing new in history for a woman to plot for a throne."
"But the wench blew hot and cold. One minute she was for striking her husband dead and the next she was tame as a pet lamb."
"There you have me. I am only sorry that a brave man like Sher Afghan should be enamored of such a siren."