Each second he became more convinced that Winifred and her uncle were being carried into a peril far greater than that which they had escaped.
Decision and action were the same thing where he was concerned. Bidding the Afghan endeavor to find Captain Craigie, who might be trusted to send a portion of his troop to scour the road for some miles, and a.s.suring the man of a big reward for his services, Frank mounted and galloped south. He counted on overtaking the fugitives in an hour, and persuading them to return with him. He rode with drawn sword, lest he might be attacked on the way, but it was a remarkable tribute to Moller"s wisdom in offering to ride to Delhi that no man molested him, and such sepoys as he pa.s.sed skulked off into the fields where they saw the glint of his saber and recognized him as a British officer. They had no difficulty in that respect. A glorious full moon was flooding the peaceful plain with light. The trunks of the tall trees lining the road barred its white riband with black shadows, but Nejdi, good horse that he was, felt that this was no time for skittishness, and repressed the inclination to jump these impalpable obstacles.
And he made excellent progress. Eight miles from Meerut, in a tiny village of mud hovels which horse and rider had every reason to remember, they suddenly dashed into a large company of mounted men and a motley collection of vehicles. There were voices raised, too, in heated dispute, and a small crowd was gathered near a lumbering carriage, whose tawdry trappings and display of gold work betokened the state equipage of some native dignitary.
Drawn up by its side was a European traveling barouche, empty, but Malcolm"s keen eyes soon picked out the figures of Winifred and her uncle, standing in the midst of an excited crowd of natives. So great was the hubbub that he was not noticed until he pulled up.
"I have come to bring you back to Meerut, Mr. Mayne," he cried. "The mutiny has been quelled. Our troops are in command of the station and of all the main roads. You can return without the slightest risk, I a.s.sure you."
He spoke clearly and slowly, well knowing that some among the natives would understand him. His appearance, no less than his words, created a rare stir. The clamor of tongues was stilled. Men looked at him as though he had fallen from the sky. He could not be certain, but he guessed, that he had arrived at a critical moment. Indeed, the lives of his friends were actually in deadliest jeopardy, and there was no knowing what turn the events of the next minute might have taken. But a glance at Winifred"s distraught face told him a good deal. He must be bold, with the careless boldness of the man who has the means of making his will respected.
"Stand aside, there!" he said in Hindustani. "And you had better clear the roadway. A troop of cavalry is riding fast behind."
He dismounted, drew Nejdi"s bridle over his left arm, and went towards Winifred. The girl looked at him with a wistfulness that was pitiful.
Hope was struggling in her soul against the fear of grim death.
"Oh, Frank!" she sighed, holding out both her hands. "Oh, Frank, I am so frightened. We had a dreadful time at the bungalow, and these men look so fierce and cruel! Have you really brought help?"
"Yes," he said confidently. "You need have no further anxiety. Please get into your carriage."
Mr. Mayne said something, but Malcolm never knew what it was, for Winifred fainted, and would have fallen had he not caught her.
"This Feringhi has a loud voice," a man near him growled. "He talks of cavalry. Where are they?"
"The Meerut road is empty," commented another.
"We have the Begum"s order," said the first speaker, more loudly. "Let us obey, or it may be an evil thing for us."
"One of the daughters of Bahadur Shah is here," murmured Mayne rapidly.
"She says we are to be taken to Delhi, and slain if we resist. Where are your men? My poor niece! To think that I should have brought her from England for this!"
Malcolm, still holding Winifred"s unconscious form clasped to his breast, laughed loudly.
"Mayne-sahib tells me that you have all gone mad," he shouted in the vernacular. "Have you no ears? Did you not hear the British artillery firing on the rebels a little time since? Ere day breaks the road to Delhi will be held by the white troops. What foolish talk is this of taking Mayne-sahib thither as a prisoner?"
The door of the bedizened traveling-coach was flung open, and the Mohammedan lady who had befriended Frank when he fell into the moat appeared. She alighted, and her aggressive servants drew away somewhat.
"It is my order," she said imperiously. "Who are you that you should dispute it?"
"I regret the heat of my words, Princess," he replied, grasping the frail chance that presented itself of wriggling out of a desperate situation. "Nevertheless, it is true that the native regiments at Meerut have been dispersed, and you yourself may have heard the guns as they advanced along the Delhi road. Why should I be here otherwise? I came to escort my friends back to Meerut."
The Princess came nearer. In the brilliant moonlight she had an unearthly beauty--at once weird and Sybilline--but her animated features were chilled with disdain, and she pointed to the girl whose pallid face lay against Frank"s shoulder.
"You are lying," she said. "You are not the first man who has lied for a woman"s sake. That is why you are here."
"Princess, I have spoken nothing but the truth," he answered. "If you still doubt my word, let some of your men ride back with us. They will soon convince you. Perchance, the information may not be without its value to you also."
The thrust was daring, but she parried it adroitly.
"No matter what has happened in Meerut, the destined end is the same,"
she retorted. Then she fired into subdued pa.s.sion. "The British Raj is doomed," she muttered, lowering her voice, and bringing her magnificent eyes close to his. "It is gone, like an evil dream. Listen, Malcolm-sahib. You are a young man, and ambitious. They say you are a good soldier. Come with me. I want some one I can trust. Though I am a king"s daughter, there are difficulties in my path that call for a sword in the hands of a man not afraid to use it. Come! Let that weakling girl go where she lists--I care not. I offer you life, and wealth, and a career. She will lead you to death. What say you? Choose quickly. I am now going to Delhi, and to-morrow"s sun shall see my father a king in reality as well as in name."
Malcolm"s first impression was that the Princess had lost her senses. He had yet to learn how completely the supporters of the Mogul dynasty were convinced of the approaching downfall of British supremacy in India.
But his active brain fastened on to two considerations of exceeding importance. By temporizing, by misleading this arrogant woman, if necessary, he might not only secure freedom for Winifred and Mayne, but gather most valuable information as to the immediate plans of the rebels.
"Your words are tempting to a soldier of fortune, Princess," he said.
"Malcolm--" broke in Mayne, who, of course, understood all that pa.s.sed.
"For Heaven"s sake do not interfere," said Frank in English. "Suffer my friends to depart, Princess," he went on in Persian. "It is better so.
Then I shall await your instructions."
"Ah, you agree, then? That is good hearing. Yes, your white doll can go, and the gray-beard, too. Ere many days have pa.s.sed there will be no place for them in all India."
A commotion among the ring of soldiers and servants interrupted her. The stout, important-looking man whom Malcolm had seen in the hunting lodge on the occasion of his ducking, came towards them with hurried strides.
The Princess seemed to be disconcerted by his arrival. Her expressive face betrayed her. Sullen anger, not unmixed with fear, robbed her of her good looks. Her whole aspect changed. She had the cowed appearance of one of her own serving-women.
"Remember!" she murmured. "You must obey me, none else. Come when I send for you!"
The man, who now carried on his forehead the insignia of a Brahmin, had no sooner reached the small s.p.a.ce between the carriages than Mr. Mayne cried delightedly to Malcolm:
"Why, if this is not Nana Sahib! Here is a piece of good luck! I know him well. If he has any control over this mob, we are perfectly safe."
Nana Sahib acknowledged the Commissioner"s greeting with smiling politeness. But first he held a whispered colloquy with the Princess, whom he entreated, or persuaded, to re-enter her gorgeous vehicle. She drove away without another glance at Malcolm. Perhaps she did not dare to show her favor in the newcomer"s presence.
Then Nana Sahib turned to the Europeans.
"Let the miss-sahib be placed in her carriage," he said suavely. "She will soon revive in the air, and we march at once for Aligarh. Will you accept my escort thus far, Mayne-sahib, or farther south, if you wish it? I think you will be safer with me than in taking the Meerut road to-night."
Mayne agreed gladly. The commanding influence of this highly-placed native n.o.bleman, who, despite an adverse decision of the Government, was regarded by every Mahratta as Peishwa, the ruler of a vast territory in Western India, seemed to offer more stable support that night than the broken reed of British authority in Meerut. Moreover, the Commissioner wished to reach Lucknow without delay. If the country were in for a period of disturbance, his duty lay there, and he was planning already to send Winifred to Calcutta from Cawnpore, and thence to England until the time of political trouble had pa.s.sed.
"I am sure I am doing right," he said in answer to Frank"s remonstrances. "Don"t you understand, a native in Nana Sahib"s position must be well informed as to the exact position of affairs. By helping me he is safeguarding himself. I am only too thankful he was able to subdue that fiery harpy, the Begum. She threatened me in the most outrageous manner before you came. Of course, Winifred and I will be ever-lastingly grateful to you for coming to our a.s.sistance. You are alone, I suppose?"
"Yes, though some of our troopers may turn up any minute."
"I fear not," said the older man gravely. "This is a bad business, Malcolm. The Begum said too much. There are worse times in store for us. Do you really believe you can reach Meerut safely?"
"I rode here without hindrance."
"Let me advise you, then, to slip away before we start. That woman meant mischief, or she would never have dared to suggest that a British officer should throw in his lot with hers. Waste no time, and don"t spare that good horse of yours. Be sure I shall tell Winifred all you have done for us. She is pulling round, I think, and it will be better that she should not see you again. Besides, the Nana"s escort are preparing to march."
Frank"s latest memory of the girl he loved was a sad one. Her white face looked ethereal in the moonlight, and her bloodless lips were quivering with returning life. It was hard to leave her in such a plight, but it would only unnerve her again if he waited until she was conscious to bid her farewell.
So he rode back to Meerut, a solitary European on the eight miles of road, and no man challenged him till he reached the famous bivouac of the white garrison, the bivouac that made the Mutiny an accomplished fact.
CHAPTER III