Works of Jules Verne

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MR. WARREN STURTEVANT

THE STEAM HOUSE.

At sunrise a strange and most remarkable equipage had been seen
to issue from the suburbs of the Indian capital, attended by a dense
crowd of people drawn by curiosity to watch its departure.

First, and apparently drawing the caravan, came a gigantic elephant.
The monstrous animal, twenty feet in height, and thirty in length,
advanced deliberately, steadily, and with a certain mystery of movement
which struck the gazer with a thrill of awe. His trunk, curved like a
cornucopia, was uplifted high in the air. His gilded tusks, projecting
from behind the massive jaws, resembled a pair of huge scythes. On
his back was a highly ornamented nowdah, which looked like a tower
surmounted, in Indian style, by a dome-shaped roof ami furnished with
lens-shaped glasses to serve for windows.

This elephant drew after him a train consisting- of two enormous
cars, or actual houses, moving bungalows in fact, each mounted on four
wheels. — Page 152.

Vol. 12.

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EDITED BY

CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D.

Professor of English, College of the City of New York;
Author of "The Technique of the Novel," etc.

Vincent Parke and Company
new york :: london

Copyright, 1911,
by Vincent Parke and Company.

CONTENTS

Volume Twelve

PAGE

Introduction 1

The Giant Raft

The Cryptogram 3

The Steam House

The Demon of Cawnpore . . . .113
Tigers and Traitors 255

ILLUSTRATIONS

Volume Twelve

FACE

The Steam House Frontispiece

The Amazons 96

Nana Sahib's Defiance 208

vii

INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME TWELVE

«V HE CRYPTOGRAM," published in 1881, is
nn % ^w second book dealing with " The Giant
J_ $ Raft." The first part, "Eight Hundred
Leagues on the Amazon" had been, as its
name suggests, mainly a geographical tale.
Readers were this time conducted through the tropical for-
ests and across the boundless prairies of Peru and Brazil.

In " The Cryptogram," however, the geographical inter-
est is almost entirely subordinate to the story. The solving
of the cryptogram becomes the central feature, in working
out which our author shows a skill scarce inferior to that of
Poe himself. Here, for the first time in the body of his
works, Verne takes express care to state his fondness for and
indebtedness to the work of Poe, whom he denominates
" that great analytical genius." He points to Poe's " Gold
Bug w as the source of his own tale, calling the earlier story
a masterpiece " never to be forgotten." The handling and
appreciation of cipher writings in " The Cryptogram " is as
different from the superficial explanation of the cipher in
Verne's earlier " Center of the Earth," as is the appreciation
of a master from that of the most idle amateur.

In addition to his admiration of Poe, Verne in another
book expresses equal admiration and indebtedness tozvard
Dickens. He was also an enthusiastic devotee of Victor
Hugo and of J. Fcnnimore Cooper. Surely a sufficiently
cosmopolitan grouping of names! Yet it is worth noting
that the four men whom Verne turned to, whom he thus per-
haps unconsciously grouped together, are the four most ex-
treme of romantic writers who hold yet a grasp on realism.
It is to this group that Verne himself belongs.

aThe Steam House "is again a two book story belonging
among the " Voyages Extraordinaires." In this case the

2 INTRODUCTION

country selected for depiction is India, and the characters,
except for the French traveler Maitcler, are once more Eng-
lishmen. Thus, in a way, Verne had gone back to his first
love. His own practical qualities endeared to him this
calmly practical race. He was a Breton, a race quite as
much English as French in its characteristics. Indeed,
Verne himself was called among his confreres " a half Eng-
lishman." Certainly the characters of " The Steam
Flo use " are appreciatively and even affectionately drawn,
especially those of the hunter Captain Hood and his servant
Fox.

The events of the great "Indian Mutiny" of 1857 which
supply the story of the book, are described with impartiality
toward both sides. This warm denunciation of the suffer-
ings and wrongs of Hindoos as well as Englishmen, has
brought forth more than one protest from British sources.

As for the selection of India as the seat of the story,
Verne himself explained that his purpose was to cover, one
by one, each of the countries of the globe, more especially
those little known, so as to make of his completed works a
sort of universal geography. Traveling under his guidance,
he meant that we should travel everywhere.

The mechanical invention of the steam house itself is in
no way impossible. Such a construction was rather beyond
the skill of thirty years ago when the book was written; but
almost any good engineering firm to-day would contract to
build you such a "steam-house '* if you cared to afford the
expense. In fact our automobiles have already quite out-
done this somewhat clumsy giant steam-engine, both in
power and in speed.

Mainly then " The Steam House/'and more especially its
second book, " Tigers and Traitors," will be remembered as
a thrilling hunting story. "Big game" incidents of the
most exciting yet most natural character, such as the in-
vasion of the naturalist's kraal, throng its busy pages.

The Giant Raft

BOOK TWO

The Cryptogram

CHAPTER I

THE FIRST MOMENTS

\

CARCELY had the pirogue which bore off
Joam Garral, or rather Joam Dacosta — for it
is more convenient that he should resume his
real name — disappeared, than Benito stepped
up to Manoel.

" What is it you know? " he asked.
" I know that your father is innocent! Yes, innocent! "
replied Manoel, " and that he was sentenced to death three-
and-twenty years ago for a crime which he never com-
mitted!"

" He has told you all about it, Manoel?"
" All about it," replied the young man. " The noble
fazender did not wish that any part of his past life should
be hidden from him who, when he marries his daughter,
is to be his second son."

" And the proof of his innocence my father can one
day produce? "

" That proof, Benito, lies wholly in the three-and-twenty
years of an honorable and honored life, lies entirely in the
bearing of Joam Dacosta, who comes forward to say to
justice, ' Here am I ! I do not care for this false existence
any more. I do not care to hide under a name which is not
my true one ! You have condemned an innocent man ! Con-
fess your error and set matters right.' "

" And when my father spoke like that, you did not hesitate
for a moment to believe him? "

" Not for an instant," replied Manoel.

3

4 THE CRYPTOGRAM

The hands of the two young fellows closed in a long
and cordial grasp. Then Benito went up to Padre Passanha.
" Padre," he said, " take my mother and sister away to
their rooms. Do not leave them all day. No one here
doubts my father's innocence — not one, you know that!
To-morrow my mother and I will seek out the chief of
police. They will not refuse us permission to visit the prison.
No ! that would be too cruel. We will see my father again,
and decide what steps shall be taken to procure his vindi-
cation."

Yaquita was almost helpless, but the brave woman, though
nearly crushed by the sudden blow, arose. With Yaquita
Dacosta it was as with Yaquita Garral. She had not a
doubt as to the innocence of her husband. The idea even
never occurred to her that Joam Dacosta had been to blame
in marrying her under a name which was not his own. She
only thought of the life of happiness she had led with the
noble man who had been injured so unjustly. Yes ! On
the morrow she would go to the gate of the prison, and
never leave it until it was opened! Padre Passanha took
her and her daughter, who could not restrain her tears, and
the three entered the house.

The two young fellows found themselves alone. " And
now," said Benito, " I ought to know all that my father has
told you."

" I have nothing to hide from you."

"Why did Torres come on board the jangada?':

" To sell to Joam Dacosta the secret of his past life."

" And so, when we first met Torres in the forest of
Iquitos, his plan had already been formed to enter into
communication with my father? "

" There cannot be a doubt of it," replied Manoel. ' The
scoundrel was on his way to the fazenda with the idea of
consummating a vile scheme of extortion which he had
been preparing for a long time."

" And when he learned from us that my father and his
whole family were about to pass the frontier, he suddenly
changed his line of conduct?"

" Yes. Because Joam Dacosta once in Brazilian territory
became more at his mercy than while within the frontiers
of Peru. That is why we found Torres at Tabatinga, where
he was waiting in expectation of our arrival."

THE FIRST MOMENTS 5

" And it was I who offered him a passage on the raft! ':
exclaimed Benito, with a gesture of despair.

" Brother," said Manoel, " you need not reproach your-
self. Torres would have joined us sooner or later. He was
not the man to abandon such a trail. Had we lost him at
Tabatinga, we should have found him at Manaos."

" Yes, Manoel, you are right. But we are not concerned
with the past now. We must think of the present. An end
to useless recriminations! Let us see! ' And while speak-
ing, Benito, passing his hand across his forehead, endeavored
to grasp the details of this strange affair.

' How," he asked, " did Torres ascertain that my father
had been sentenced three-and-twenty years back for this
abominable crime at Tijuco?"

' I do not know," answered Manoel, " and everything
leads me to think that your father did not know that."

' But Torres knew that Garral was the name under which
Joam Dacosta was living? "

" Evidently."

" And he knew that it was in Peru, at Iquitos, that for
so many years my father had taken refuge? "

" He knew it," said Manoel, " but how he came to know
it I do not understand."

" One more question," continued Benito. " What was
the proposition that Torres made to my father during the
short interview which preceded his expulsion?'

" He threatened to denounce Joam Garral as being Joam
Dacosta, if he declined to purchase his silence."

"And at what price? "

" At the price of his daughter's hand ! " answered Manoel,
unhesitatingly, but pale with anger.

"This scoundrel dared to do that!" exclaimed Benito.

" To this infamous request, Benito, you saw the reply
that your father gave."

"Yes, Manoel, yes! The indignant reply of an honest
man. He kicked Torres off the raft. But it is not enough
to have kicked him out. No ! That will not do for me. It
was on Torres' information that they came here and ar-
rested my father; is not that so? "

" Yes, on his denunciation."

" Very well," continued Benito, shaking his fist toward
the left bank of the river, " I must find out Torres. I must

6 THE CRYPTOGRAM

know how he became master of the secret. He must tell
me if he knows the real author of this crime. He shall
speak out. And if he does not speak out, I know what I
shall have to do."

"What you will have to do is for me to do as well!"
added Manoel, more coolly, but not less resolutely.

" No, Manoel, no, to me alone ! "

" We are brothers, Benito," replied Manoel. " The right
of demanding an explanation belongs to us both."

Benito made no reply. Evidently on that subject his
decision was irrevocable.

At this moment the pilot Araujo, who had been observ-
ing the state of the river, came up to them.

" Have you decided," he asked, " if the raft is to remain
at her moorings at the Isle of Muras, or to go on to the
port of Manaos ? r The question had to be decided before
nightfall, and the sooner it was settled the better.

In fact, the news of the arrest of Joam Dacosta ought
already to have spread through the town. That it was of
a nature to excite the interest of the population of Manaos
could scarcely be doubted. But would it provoke more than
curiosity against the condemned man, who was the principal
author of the crime of Tijuco, which had formerly created
such a sensation? Ought they not fear that some popular
movement might be directed against the prisoner?

In the face of this hypothesis was it not better to leave
the jangada moored near the Isle of Muras on the right
bank of the river at a few miles from Manaos?

"No!' at length exclaimed Benito; "to remain here
would look as though we were abandoning my father and
doubting his innocence — as though we were afraid to make
common cause with him. We must go to Manaos, and
without delay! "

"You are right," replied Manoel. "Let us go!"

Araujo, with an approving nod, began his preparations
for leaving the island. The maneuver necessitated a good
deal of care. They had to work the raft slantingly across
the current of the Amazon, here doubled in force by that
of the Rio Negro, and to make for the embouchure of the
tributary about a dozen miles down on the left bank.

The ropes were cast off from the island. The jangada,
again started on the river, began to drift off diagonally.

THE FIRST MOMENTS 7

Araujo, cleverly profiting by the bendings of the current,
which were due to the projections of the banks, and assisted
by the long poles of his crew, succeeded in working the
immense raft in the desired direction.

In two hours the jangada was on the other side of the
Amazon a little above the mouth of the Ric Negro, and
fairly in the current which was to take it to the lower bank
of the vast bay which opened on the left side of the
stream.

At five o'clock in the evening it was strongly moored
alongside this bank, not in the port of Manaos itself, which
it could not enter without stemming a rather powerful cur-
rent, but a short mile below it.

The raft was then in the black waters of the Rio Negro,
near rather a high bluff covered with cecropias with buds
of reddish brown, and palisaded with stiff-stalked reeds
called froxas, of which the Indians made some of their
weapons.

A few citizens were strolling along the bank. A feeling
of curiosity had doubtless attracted them to the anchorage
of the raft. The news of the arrest of Joam Dacosta had
soon spread about, but the curiosity of the Manaens did not
outrun their discretion, and they were very quiet.

Benito's intention had been to land that evening, but
Manoel dissuaded him. " Wait till to-morrow," he said,
" night is approaching, and there is no necessity for us to
leave the raft."

" So be it ! To-morrow," answered Benito.

And here Yaquita, followed by her daughter and Padre
Passanha, came out of the house. Minha was still weeping,
but her mother's face was tearless, and she had that look
of calm resolution which showed that the wife was now
ready for all things, either to do her duty or to insist on
her rights.

Yaquita slowly advanced toward Manoel. " Manoel,"
she said, " listen to what I have to say, for my conscience
commands me to speak as I am about to do."

" I am listening," replied Manoel.

Yaquita, looking him straight in the face, continued :
" Yesterday, after the interview you had with Joam Da-
costa, my husband, you came to me and called me — mother!
You took Minna's hand, and called her — your wife! You

8 THE CRYPTOGRAM

then knew everything, and the past life of Joam Dacosta
had been then disclosed to you."

" Yes," answered Manoel, " and Heaven forbid I should
have any hesitation in doing so! "

" Perhaps so," replied Yaquita ; " but then Joam Dacosta
had not been arrested. The position is not now the same.
However innocent he may be, my husband is in the hands
of justice ; his past life has been publicly proclaimed. Minha
is a convict's daughter."

" Minha Dacosta or Minha Garral, what matters it to
me?" exclaimed Manoel, who could keep silent no longer.

" Manoel! " murmured Minha.

And she would certainly have fallen, had not Lina's arm
supported her.

" Mother, if you do not wish to kill her," said Manoel,
" call me your son ! "

" My son ! my child ! "

It was all Yaquita could say, and the tears, which she
restrained with difficulty, filled her eyes.

And then they all entered the house. But during the
long night not an hour's sleep fell to the lot of the unfor-
tunate family who were so cruelly tried.

CHAPTER II

RETROSPECTIVE

Joam Dacosta had relied entirely on Judge Ribeiro, and
his death was most unfortunate.

Before he was judge at Manaos, and chief magistrate in
the province, Ribeiro had known the young clerk at the
time he was being prosecuted for the murder in the diamond
arrayal. He was then an advocate at Villa Rica, and he
it was who defended the prisoner at the trial. He took
the cause to heart and made it his own, and from an exami-
nation of the papers and detailed information, and not
from the simple fact of his position in the matter, he came
to the conclusion that his client was wrongfully accused,
and that he had taken not the slightest part in the murder
of the escort of the diamonds — in a word, that Joam Da-
costa was innocent.

But, notwithstanding this conviction, notwithstanding his

RETROSPECTIVE 9

talent and zeal, Ribeiro was unable to persuade the jury to
take the same view of the matter. How could he remove
so strong a presumption? If it was not Joam Dacosta, who
had every facility for informing the scoundrels of the con-
voy's departure, who was it? The official who accompanied
the escort had perished with the greater part of the soldiers,
and suspicion could not point against him. Everything
agreed in distinguishing Dacosta as the true and only author
of the crime.

Ribeiro defended him with great warmth and with all
his powers, but he could not succeed in saving him. The
verdict of the jury was affirmative on all the questions.
Joam Dacosta, convicted of aggravated and premeditated
murder, did not even obtain the benefit of extenuating cir-
cumstances, and heard himself condemned to death.

There was no hope left for the accused. No commuta-
tion of the sentence was possible, for the crime was com-
mitted in the diamond arrayal. The condemned man was
lost. But during the night which preceded his execution,
and when the gallows was already erected, Joam Dacosta
managed to escape from the prison at Villa Rica. We know
the rest.

Twenty years later Ribeiro the advocate became the chief
justice of Manaos. In the depths of his retreat the fazender
of Iquitos heard of the change, and in it saw a favorable
opportunity for bringing forward the revision of the former
proceedings against him, with some chance of success. He
knew that the old convictions of the advocate would be still
unshaken in the mind of the judge. He therefore resolved
to try and rehabilitate himself. Had it not been for Ri-
beiro's nomination to the chief justiceship in the province
of Amazones, he might perhaps have hesitated, for he had
no new material proof of his innocence to bring forward.
Although the honest man suffered acutely, he might still
have remained hidden in exile at Iquitos, and still have
asked for time to smother the remembrances of the horrible
occurrence, but something was urging him to act in the
matter without delay.

In fact, before Yaquita had spoken to him, Joam Dacosta
had noticed that Manoel was in love with his daughter.

The union of the young army doctor and his daughter
was in every respect a suitable one. It was evident to Joam

10 THE CRYPTOGRAM

that some day or other he would be asked for her hand in
marriage, and he did not wish to be obliged to refuse.

But then the thought that his daughter would have to
marry under a name which did not belong to her, that
Manoel Valdez, thinking he was entering the family of
Garral, would enter that of Dacosta, the head of which was
under sentence of death, was intolerable to him. No ! The
wedding should not take place unless under proper condi-
tions ! Never !

Let us recall what had happened up to this time. Four
years after the young clerk who eventually became the part-
ner of Magalhaes, had arrived at Iquitos, the old Portu-
guese had been taken back to the farm mortally injured.
A few days only were left for him to live. He was alarmed
at the thought that his daughter would be left alone and
unprotected ; but knowing that Joam and Yaquita were in
love with each other, he desired their union without delay.

Joam at first refused. He offered to remain the protector
or the servant of Yaquita without becoming her husband.
The wish of the dying Magalhaes was so urgent that re-
sistance became impossible. Yaquita put her hand into the
hand of Joam, and Joam did not withdraw it.

Yes! It was a serious matter! Joam Dacosta ought to
have confessed all, or to have fled forever from the house
in which he had been so hospitably received, from the estab-
lishment of which he had built up the prosperity! Yes!
To confess everything rather than to give to the daughter
of his benefactor a name which was not his, instead of the
name of a felon condemned to death for murder, innocent
though he might be !

But the case was pressing, the old fazender was on the
point of death, his hands were stretched out toward the
young people! Joam was silent, the marriage took place,
and the remainder of his life was devoted to the happiness
of the girl he had made his wife.

" The day when I confess everything," Joam repeated,
"Yaquita will pardon everything! She will not doubt me
for an instant! But if I ought not to have deceived her,
I certainly will not deceive the honest fellow who wishes
to enter our family by marrying Minha ! No ! I would
rather give myself up and have done with this life! '

Many times had Joam thought of telling his wife about

RETROSPECTIVE 11

his past life. Yes! the avowal was on his lips whenever
she asked him to take her into Brazil, and with her and
her daughter descend the beautiful Amazon River. He
knew sufficient of Yaquita to be sure that her affection for
him would not thereby be diminished in the least. But
courage failed him!

And this is easily intelligible in the face of the happiness
of the family which increased on every side. This happi-
ness was his work, and it might be destroyed forever by his
return.

Such had been his life for those long years; such had
been the continuous source of his sufferings, of which he
had kept the secret so well; such had been the existence of
this man, who had no action to be ashamed of, and whom a
great injustice compelled to hide!

But at length the day arrived when there could no longer
remain a doubt as to the affection which Manoel bore to
Minha, when he could see that a year would not go by
before he was asked to give his consent to her marriage,
and after a short delay he no longer hesitated to proceed
in the matter.

A letter from him, addressed to Judge Ribeiro, acquaint-
ed the chief justice with the secret of the existence of Joam
Dacosta, with the name under which he was concealed, with
the place where he lived with his family, and at the same
time with his formal intention of delivering himself up to
justice, and taking steps to procure the revision of the pro-
ceedings, which would either result in his rehabilitation or
in the execution of the iniquitous judgment delivered at
Villa Rica.

What were the feelings which agitated the heart of the
worthy magistrate? We can easily divine them. It was
no longer to the advocate that the accused applied, it was
to the chief justice of the province that the convict appealed.
Joam Dacosta gave himself over to him entirely, and did
not even ask him to keep the secret.

Judge Ribeiro was at first troubled about this unexpected
revelation, but he soon recovered himself, and scrupulously
considered the duties which the position imposed on him.
It was his place to pursue criminals, and here was one who
delivered himself into his hands. This criminal, it was
true, he had defended; he had never doubted but that he

12 THE CRYPTOGRAM

had been unjustly condemned ; his joy had been extreme
when he saw him escape by flight from the last penalty ; he
had even instigated and facilitated his flight ! But what the
advocate had done in the past could the magistrate do in
the present?

"Well, yes!" had the judge said, "my conscience tells
me not to abandon that just man. The step he is taking
is a fresh proof of his innocence, a moral proof, even if
he brings me others, which may be the most convincing of
all. No! I will not abandon him! "

From this day forward a secret correspondence took place
between the magistrate and Joam Dacosta. Ribeiro at the
outset cautioned his client against compromising himself by
his imprudence. He had again to work up the matter,
again to read over the papers, again to look through the
inquiries. He had to find out if any new facts had come
to light in the diamond province referring to so serious a
case. Had any of the accomplices of the crime, of the
smugglers who had attacked the convoy, been arrested
since the attempt? Had any confessions or half-con-
fessions been brought forward? Joam Dacosta had done
nothing but protest his innocence from the very first.
But that was not enough, and Judge Ribeiro was de-
sirous of finding in the case itself the clue to the real
culprit.

Joam Dacosta had accordingly been prudent. He had
promised to be so. But in all his trials it was an immense
consolation for him to find his old advocate, though now
a chief justice, so firmly convinced that he was not guilty.
Yes! Joam Dacosta, in spite of his condemnation, was a
victim, a martyr, an honest man to whom society owed a
signal reparation ! And when the magistrate knew the past
career of the fazender of Iquitos since his sentence, the
position of his family, all that life of devotion, of work,
employed unceasingly for the happiness of those belonging
to him, he was not only more convinced but more affected,
and determined to do all he could to procure the rehabilita-
tion of the felon of Tijuco.

For six months a correspondence had passed between
these two men.

One day, the case being pressing, Joam Dacosta wrote to
Judge Ribeiro :

RETROSPECTIVE 13

" In two months I will be with you, in the power of the
chief justice of the province!"

" Come, then," replied Ribeiro.

The jangada was then ready to go down the river. Joam
Dacosta embarked on it with all his people. During the
voyage, to the great astonishment of his wife and son, he
landed but rarely, as we know. More often he remained
shut up in his room, writing, working, not at his trade
accounts, but, without saying anything about it, at a kind
of memoir, which he called " The History of My Life,"
and which was meant to be used in the revision of the legal
proceedings.

Eight days before his new arrest, made on account of
information given by Torres, which forestalled and per-
haps would ruin his prospects, he intrusted to an Indian
on the Amazon a letter, in which he warned Judge Ribeiro
of his approaching arrival.

The letter was sent and delivered as addressed, and the
magistrate only waited for Joam Dacosta to commence on
the serious undertaking which he hoped to bring to a suc-
cessful issue.

During the night before the arrival of the raft ai Ma-
naos, Judge Ribeiro was seized with an attack of apoplexy.
But the denunciation of Torres, whose scheme of extortion
had collapsed in face of the noble anger of his victim, had
produced its effect. Joam Dacosta was arrested in the
bosom of his family, and his old advocate was no longer
in this world to defend him.

Yes! the blow was terrible indeed. His lot was cast,
whatever his fate might be; there was no going back for
him! And Joam Dacosta rose from beneath the blow
which had so unexpectedly struck him! It was not only
his own honor which was in question, but the honor of all
who belonged to him!

CHAPTER III

MORAL PROOFS

The warrant against Joam Dacosta, alias Joam Garral,
had been issued by the assistant of Judge Ribeiro, who
filled the position of magistrate in the province of Amazones,
until the nomination of the successor of the late justice.

This assistant bore the name of Vicente Jarriquez. He
was a surly little fellow, whom forty years' practice in
criminal procedure had not rendered particularly friendly
toward those who came before him. He had had so many
cases of this sort, and tried and sentenced so many rascals,
that a prisoner's innocence seemed to him a priori inad-
missible. To be sure, he did not come to a decision un-
conscientiously ; but his conscience was strongly fortified,
and was not easily affected by the circumstances of the
examination or the arguments for the defense. Like a good
many judges, he thought but little of the indulgence of the
jury, and when a prisoner was brought before him, after
having passed through the sieve of inquest, inquiry, and
examination, there was every presumption in his eyes that
the man was quite ten times guilty.

Jarriquez, however, was not a bad man. Nervous,
fidgety, talkative, keen, crafty, he had a curious look about
him, with his big head on his little body; his ruffled hair,
which would not have disgraced the judge's wig of the past ;
his piercing, gimletlike eyes, with their expression of sur-
prising acuteness ; his prominent nose, with which he would
assuredly have gesticulated had it been movable; his ears
wide open, so as to better catch all that was said, even
when it was out of range of ordinary auditory apparatus;
his fingers unceasingly tapping the table in front of him,
like those of a pianist practising on the mute ; and his body
so long and his legs so short, and his feet perpetually cross-
ing and recrossing, as he sat in state in his magistrate's
chair.

In private life, Jarriquez, who was a confirmed old
bachelor, never left his law books but for the table, which
he did not despise ; for chess, of which he was a past master ;
and above all things for Chinese puzzles, enigmas, charades,
rebuses, anagrams, riddles, and such things, with which,
like more than one European justice — thorough sphinxes

14

MORAL PROOFS 15

by taste as well as by profession — he principally passed his
leisure.

It will be seen that he was an original, and it will be
seen also how much Joam Dacosta had lost by the death
of Judge Ribeiro, inasmuch as his case would come before
this not very agreeable judge.

Moreover, the task of Jarriquez was in a way very simple.
He had neither to inquire nor to rule; he had not even to
regulate a discussion nor to obtain a verdict, neither to
apply the articles of the penal code, nor to pronounce a
sentence. Unfortunately for the fazender, such formalities
were no longer necessary ; Joam Dacosta had been arrested,
convicted, and sentenced three-and-twenty years ago for
the crime at Tijuco ; no limitation had yet affected his
sentence. No demand in commutation of the penalty could
be introduced, and no appeal for mercy could be received.
It was only necessary then to establish his identity, and
as soon as the order arrived from Rio Janeiro justice would
have taken its course.

But in the nature of things Joam Dacosta would protest
his innocence ; he would say he had been unjustly con-
demned. The magistrate's duty, notwithstanding the opin-
ions he held, would be to listen to him. The question would
be, what proofs could the convict offer to make good his
assertions? And if he was not able to produce them when
he appeared before his first judges, was he able to do so
now?

Herein consisted all the interest of the examination.
There would have to be admitted the fact of a defaulter,
prosperous and safe in a foreign country, leaving his re-
fuge of his own free will to face the justice which his past
life should have taught him to dread, and herein would be
one of those rare and curious cases which ought to interest
even a magistrate hardened with all the surroundings of
forensic strife. Was it impudent folly on the part of the
doomed man of Tijuco, who was tired of his life, or was
it the impulse of a conscience which would at all risks have
wrong set right? The problem was a strange one, it must
be acknowledged.

On the morrow of Joam Dacosta's arrest, Judge Jar-
riquez made his way to the prison in God-the-Son Street,
where the convict had been placed. The prison was an old

16 THE CRYPTOGRAM

missionary convent, situated on the bank of one of the
principal inguarapes of the town. To the voluntary pris-
oners of former times there had succeeded in this build-
ing, which was but little adapted for the purpose, the com-
pulsory prisoners of to-day. The room occupied by Joam
Dacosta was nothing like one of those sad little cells which
form part of our modern penitentiary system; but an old
monk's room, with a barred window without shutters, open-
ing on to an uncultivated space, a bench in one corner, and
a kind of pallet in the other.

It was from this apartment that Joam Dacosta, on this
25th of August, about eleven o'clock in the morning, was
taken and brought into the judge's room, which was the old
common hall of the convent.

Judge Jarriquez was there in front of his desk, perched
on his high chair, his back turned toward the window, so
that his face was in shadow while that of the accused re-
mained in full daylight. His clerk, with the indifference
which characterizes these legal folks, had taken his seat at
the end of the table, his pen behind his ear, ready to record
the questions and answers.

Joam Dacosta was introduced into the room, and at a
sign from the judge the guards who had brought him
withdrew.

Judge Jarriquez looked at the accused for some time.
The latter, leaning slightly forward and maintaining a be-
coming attitude, neither careless nor humble, waited with
dignity for the questions to which he was expected to
reply.

" Your name? " said Judge Jarriquez.

" Joam Dacosta."

"Your age?"

" Fifty-two."

" Where do you live? "

" In Peru, at the village of Iquitos."

" Under what name ? "

" Under that of Garral, which is that of my mother."

" And why do you bear that name ? "

" Because for three-and-twenty years I wished to hide
myself from the pursuit of Brazilian justice."

The answers were so exact, and seemed to show that
Joam Dacosta had made up his mind to confess everything

MORAL PROOFS 17.

concerning his past life, that Judge Jarriquez, little accus-
tomed to such a course, cocked up his nose more than was
usual to him.

" And why," he continued, " should Brazilian justice
pursue you? "

" Because I was sentenced to death in 1826 in the diamond
affair at Tijuco."

" You confess then that you are Joam Dacosta? ':

" I am Joam Dacosta."

All this was said with great calmness, and as simply as
possible. The little eyes of Judge Jarriquez, hidden by their
lids, seemed to say:

" Never came across anything like this before."

He had put the invariable question which had hitherto
brought the invariable reply from culprits of every category
protesting their innocence. The fingers of the judge began
to beat a gentle tattoo on the table.

" Joam Dacosta," he asked, " what were you doing at
Iquitos?"

" I was a fazender, and engaged in managing a farm-
ing establishment of considerable size."

" It was prospering? "

" Greatly prospering."

" How long ago did you leave your f azenda ? ':

" About nine weeks."

"Why?"

" As to that, sir," answered Dacosta, " I invented a
pretext, but in reality I had a motive."

" What was the pretext ? "

" The responsibility of taking into Para a large raft, and
a cargo of different products of the Amazon."

" Ah! and what was the real motive of your departure? "

And in asking this question Jarriquez said to himself:

" Now we shall get into denials and falsehoods."

" The real motive," replied Joam Dacosta, in a firm
voice, " was the resolution I had taken to give myself up
to the justice of my country."

"You give yourself up!" exclaimed the judge, rising
from his stool. " You give yourself up of your own free
will?"

" Of my own free will."

"And why?"

V XII Verne

18 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" Because I had had enough of this lying life, this obli-
gation to live under a false name, of this impossibility to
be able to restore to my wife and children that which be-
longs to them ; in short, sir, because "

"Because?"

" I was innocent ! "

"That is what I was waiting for!" said Judge Jarri-
quez aside.

And while his fingers tattoed a slightly more audible
march, he made a sign with his head to Dacosta, which sig-
nified as clearly as possible: "Go on! Tell me your his-
tory! I know it, but I do not wish to interrupt you in
telling it in your own way."

Joam Dacosta, who did not disregard the magistrate's
far from encouraging attitude, could not but see this, and
he told the history of his whole life. He spoke quietly
without departing from the calm he had imposed upon him-
self, without omitting any circumstances which had preceded
or succeeded his condemnation. In the same tone he in-
sisted on the honored and honorable life he had led since
his escape, and his duties as head of his family, as husband
and father, which he had so worthily fulfilled. He laid
stress only on one circumstance — that which had brought
him to Manaos to urge on the revision of the proceedings
against him, to procure his rehabilitation — and that he was
compelled to do.

Judge Jarriquez, who was naturally prepossessed against
all criminals, did not interrupt him. He contented himself
with opening and shutting his eyes like a man who heard
the story told for the hundredth time ; and when Joam
Dacosta laid on the table the memoir which he had drawn
up, he made no movement to take it.

" You have finished? " he said.

" Yes, sir."

" And you persist in asserting that you only left Iquitos
to procure the revision of the judgment against you? ':

" I had no other intention."

"What is there to prove that? Who can prove, that
without the denunciation which brought about your arrest,
you would have given yourself up?"

" This memoir in the first place."

" That memoir was in your possession, and there is noth-

MORAL PROOFS 19

ing to show that had you not been arrested you would have
put it to the use you say you intended."

" At the least, sir, there was one thing that was not in
my possession, and of the authenticity of which there can
be no doubt."

"What?"

" The letter I wrote to your predecessor, Judge Ribeiro,
the letter which gave him notice of my early arrival."

"Ah! you wrote?"

" Yes. And the letter which ought to have arrived at its
destination should have been handed over to you."

" Really ! " answered Judge Jarriquez, in a slightly in-
credulous tone. " You wrote to Judge Ribeiro."

" Before he was a judge in this province," answered Joam
Dacosta, " he was an advocate at Villa Rica. He it was
who defended me in the trial at Tijuco. He never doubted
the justice of my cause. He did all he could to save me.
Twenty years later, when he had become chief justice at
Manaos, I let him know who I was, where I was, and what
I wished to attempt. His opinion about me had not changed,
and it was at his advice I left the fazenda, and came in
person to proceed with my rehabilitation. But death un-
fortunately struck him, and maybe I shall be lost,
sir, if in Judge Jarriquez I do not find another Judge
Ribeiro." '

The magistrate, appealed to so directly, was about to
start up in defiance of all the traditions of the judicial
bench, but he managed to restrain himself, and was con-
tented with muttering, " Very strong, indeed; very strong!"

Judge Jarriquez was evidently hard of heart, and proof
against all surprise.

At this moment a guard entered the room, and handed
a sealed package to the magistrate.

He broke the seal and drew a letter from the envelope.
He opened it and read it, not without a certain contraction
of the eyebrows, and then said, " I have no reason for
hiding from you, Joam Dacosta, that this is the letter you
have been speaking about, addressed by you to Judge Ri-
beiro and sent on to me. I have, therefore, no reason to
doubt what you have said on the subject."

" Not only on that subject," answered Dacosta, " but on
the subject of all the circumstances of my life which I have

20 THE CRYPTOGRAM

brought to your knowledge, and which are none of them
open to question."

"Eh! Joam Dacosta," quickly replied Judge Jarriquez.
" You protest your innocence; but all prisoners do as much!
After all, you only offer moral presumptions. Have you
any material proof?"

" Perhaps I have," answered Joam Dacosta.

At these words, Judge Jarriquez left his chair. This was
too much for him, and he had to take two or three circuits
of the room to recover himself.

CHAPTER IV

MATERIAL PROOFS

When the magistrate had again taken his place, like a
man who considered he was perfectly master of himself,
he leaned back in his chair, and with his head raised and
his eyes looking straight in front, as though not even notic-
ing the accused, remarked in a tone of the most perfect
indifference: "Go on."

Joam Dacosta reflected for a minute, as if hesitating to
resume the order of his thoughts, and then answered as
follows :

" Up to the present, sir, I have only given you moral
presumptions of my innocence grounded on the dignity,
propriety, and honesty of the whole of my life. I should
have thought that such proofs were those most worthy of
being brought forward in matters of justice."

Judge Jarriquez could not restrain a movement of his
shoulders, showing that such was not his opinion.

" Since they are not enough, I proceed with the ma-
terial proofs which I shall perhaps be able to produce,"
continued Dacosta ; " I say perhaps, for I do not yet
know what credit to attach to them. And, sir, I
have never spoken of these things to my wife or
children, not wishing to raise a hope which might be de-
stroyed."

" To the point," answered Jarriquez.

" I have every reason to believe, sir, that my arrest on
the eve of the arrival of the raft at Manaos is due to in-
formation given to the chief of the police? "

MATERIAL PROOFS 21

" You are not mistaken, Joam Dacosta, but I ought to
tell you that the information is anonymous."

" It matters little, for I know that it could only come
from a scoundrel called Torres."

" And what right have you to speak in such a way of this
— informer? "

" A scoundrel! Yes, sir! " replied Joam, quickly. " This
man, whom I received with hospitality, only came to me to
propose that I should purchase his silence, to offer me an
odious bargain that I shall never regret having refused,
whatever may be the consequences of his denunciation!'

" Always this method ! " thought Judge Jarriquez ; " ac-
cusing others to clear himself."

But he none the less listened with extreme attention to
Joam's recital of his relations with the adventurer up to
the moment when Torres let Jhim know that he knew and
could reveal the name of the true author of the crime of
Tijuco.

" And what is the name of the guilty man? " asked Jar-
riquez, shaken in his indifference.

" I do not know," answered Joam Dacosta. ' Torres
was too cautious to let it out."

"And the culprit is living?"

" He is dead."

The fingers of Judge Jarriquez tattooed more quickly,
and he could not avoid exclaiming : " The man who can
furnish the proof of a prisoner's innocence is always dead."

" If the real culprit is dead, sir," replied Dacosta, " Tor-
res at least is living, and the proof, written throughout in
the handwriting of the author of the crime, he has assured
me is in his hands! He offered to sell it to me! '

" Eh! Joam Dacosta! " answered Judge Jarriquez, " that
would not have been dear at the cost of your whole for-
tune!"

' If Torres had only asked my fortune, I would have
given it to him, and not one of my people would have
demurred ! Yes, you are right, sir ; a man cannot pay
too dearly for the redemption of his honor! But this
scoundrel, knowing that I was at his mercy, required more
than my fortune! "

"How so?"

' My daughter's hand was to be the cost of the bargain!

22 THE CRYPTOGRAM

I refused; he denounced me; and that is why I am now
before you ! "

" And if Torres had not informed against you," asked
Judge Jarriquez — " if Torres had not met with you on
your voyage, what would you have done on learning on
your arrival of the death of Judge Ribeiro? Would you
then have delivered yourself into the hands of justice? "

" Without the slightest hesitation," replied Joam, in a
firm voice ; " for, I repeat it, I had no other object in leav-
ing Iquitos to come to Manaos."

This was said in such a tone of truthfulness, that Judge
Jarriquez experienced a kind of feeling making its way to
that corner of the heart where convictions are formed, but
he did not give in.

He could scarcely help being astonished. A judge en-
gaged merely in this examination, he knew nothing of what
is known by those who have followed this history, and
who cannot doubt but that Torres held in his hands the
material proof of Joam Dacosta's innocence. They know
that the document existed ; that it contained this evidence ;
and perhaps they may be led to think that Judge Jarriquez
was pitilessly incredulous. But they should remember that
Judge Jarriquez was not in their position ; that he was
accustomed to the invariable protestations of the culprits
who came before him. The document which Joam Dacosta
appealed to was not produced ; he did not really know if
it actually existed ; and to conclude, he had before him a
man whose guilt had for him the certainty of a settled
thing.

However, he wished, perhaps through curiosity, to drive
Joam Dacosta behind his last entrenchments.

" And so," he said, " all your hope now rests on the
declaration which has been made to you by Torres."

" Yes, sir, if my whole life does not plead for me."

" Where do you think Torres really is? "

" I think in Manaos."

" And you hope that he will speak — that he will consent
good-naturedly to hand over to you the document for
which you have declined to pay the price he asked? ':

" I hope so, sir," replied Joam Dacosta ; " the situation
now is not the same for Torres ; he has denounced me, and
consequently he cannot retain any hope of resuming his

MATERIAL PROOFS 23

bargaining under the previous conditions. But this docu-
ment might still be worth a fortune if, supposing I am
acquitted or executed, it should ever escape him. Hence
his interest is to sell me the document, which cannot thus
injure him in any way, and I think he will act according
to his interest."

The reasoning of Joam Dacosta was unanswerable, and
Judge Jarriquez felt it to be so. He made the only pos-
sible objection.

" The interest of Torres is doubtless to sell you the docu-
ment— if the document exists."

" If it does not exist," answered Joam Dacosta, in a
penetrating voice, " in trusting to the justice of men, I
must put my trust only in God! "

At these words Judge Jarriquez rose, and, in not quite
such an indifferent tone, said, " Joam Dacosta, in examining
you here, in allowing you to relate the particulars of your
past life and to protest your innocence, I have gone further
than my instructions allow me. An information has already
been laid in this affair, and you have appeared before the
jury at Villa Rica, whose verdict was given unanimously
and without even the addition of extenuating circumstances.
You have been found guilty of the instigation of, and com-
plicity in, the murder of the soldiers and the robbery of the
diamonds at Tijuco, the capital sentence was pronounced on
you, and it was only by flight that you escaped execution.
But that you came here to deliver yourself over, or not, to
the hands of justice three-and-twenty years afterward, you
would never have been retaken. For the last time, you
admit that you are Joam Dacosta, the condemned man of
the diamond arrayal ? "

" I am Joam Dacosta! "

" You are ready to sign this declaration? "

" I am ready."

And with a hand without a tremble Joam Dacosta put
his name to the foot of the declaration and the report which
Judge Jarriquez had made his clerk draw up.

" The report, addressed to the minister of justice, is to
be sent off to Rio Janeiro," said the magistrate. " Many
days will elapse before we receive orders to carry out your
sentence. If then, as you say, Torres possesses the proof
of your innocence, do all you can yourself — do all you can

24 THE CRYPTOGRAM

through your friends — do everything, so that that proof
can be produced in time. Once the order arrives no delay
will be possible, and justice must take its course."

Joam Dacosta bowed slightly.

" Shall I be allowed in the meantime to see my wife and
children? " he asked.

" After to-day, if you wish," answered Judge Jarriquez;
" you are no longer in close confinement, and they can be
brought to you as soon as they apply."

The magistrate then rang the bell. The guards entered
the room, and took away Joam Dacosta.

Judge Jarriquez watched him as he went out, and shook
his head, and muttered, " Well, well ! This is a much
stranger affair than I ever thought it would be ! "

CHAPTER V

THE LAST BLOW

While Joam Dacosta was undergoing this examination,
Yaquita, from an inquiry made by Manoel, ascertained that
she and her children would be permitted to see the prisoner
that very day about four o'clock in the afternoon.

Yaquita had not left her room since the evening before.
Minha and Lina kept near her, waiting for the time when
she would be admitted to see her husband. Yaquita Garral
or Yaquita Dacosta, he would still find her the devoted
wife and brave companion he had ever known her
to be.

About eleven o'clock in the morning Benito joined Manoel
and Fragoso, who were talking in the bow of the jangada.
" Manoel," said he, " I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

" And you, too, Fragoso."

" I am at your service, Mr. Benito," answered the barber.

"What is the matter?" asked Manoel, looking at his
friend, whose expression was that of a man who had come
to some unalterable resolution.

" You never doubt my father's innocence ? Is that so ? ':
said Benito.

" Ah ! " exclaimed Fragoso, " rather I think it was I
who committed the crime."

THE LAST BLOW 25

" Well, we must now commence on the project I thought
of yesterday."

" To find out Torres? " asked Manoel.

" Yes, and know from him how he found out my father's
retreat. There is something inexplicable about it. Did he
know it before? I cannot understand it, for my father
never left Iquitos for more than twenty years, and this
scoundrel is hardly thirty ! But the day will not close be-
fore I know it ; or, woe to Torres ! "

Benito's resolution admitted of no discussion ; and besides,
neither Manoel nor Fragoso had the slightest thought of
dissuading him.

" I will ask, then," continued Benito, " for both of you
to accompany me. We shall start in a minute or two. It
will not do to wait till Torres has left Manaos. He has no
longer got his silence to sell, and the idea might occur to
him. Let us be off! " And so all three of them landed on
the bank of the Rio Negro and started for the town.

Manaos was not so considerable that it could not be
searched in a few hours. They had made up their minds
to go from house to house, if necessary, to look for Torres,
but their better plan seemed to be to apply in the first in-
stance to the keepers of the taverns and lojas, where the
adventurer was likely to put up. There could hardly be a
doubt that the ex-captain of the woods would not have
given his name ; he might have personal reasons for avoid-
ing all communication with the police. Nevertheless, unless
he had left Manaos it was almost impossible for him to
escape the young fellows' search. In any case, there would
be no use in applying to the police, for it was very probable
— in fact, we know that it actually was so — that the infor-
mation given to them had been anonymous.

For an hour Benito, Manoel, and Fragoso walked along
the principal streets of the town, inquiring of tradesmen
in their shops, the tavern-keepers in their cabarets, and even
the bystanders, without any one being able to recognize the
individual whose description they so accurately gave. Had
Torres left Manaos? Would they have to give up all hope
of coming across him?

In vain Manoel tried to calm Benito, whose head seemed
on fire. Cost what it might, he must get at Torres !

Chance at last favored them, and it was Fragoso who

26 THE CRYPTOGRAM

pitt them on the right track. In a tavern in Holy Ghost
Street, from the description which the people received of
the adventurer, they replied that the individual in question
had put up at the loja the evening before.

" Did he sleep here?" asked Fragoso.

" Yes," answered the tavern-keeper.

" Is he here now ? "

" No. He has gone out."

' But he has settled his bill, as a man would who has
gone for good ? "

" By no means ; he left his room about an hour ago, and
he will doubtless come back to supper."

" Do you know what road he took when he went out? "

" We saw him turning toward the Amazon, going through
the lower town, and you will probably meet him on that
side."

Fragoso did not want any more. A few seconds after-
ward he rejoined the young fellows, and said, " I am on
the track."

" He is there ! " exclaimed Benito.

"No; he has just gone out, and they have seen him
walking across to the bank of the Amazon."

" Come on ! " replied Benito.

They had to go back toward the river, and the shortest
way was for them to take the left bank of the Rio Negro,
down to its mouth.

They soon left the last houses of the town behind, and
followed the bank, making a slight detour so as not to be
observed from the jangada. The plain was at this time
deserted. Far away the view extended across the flat, where
cultivated fields had replaced the former forests.

Benito did not speak; he could not utter a word. Manoel
and Fragoso respected his silence. And so the three of
them went along and looked about on all sides as they
traversed the space between the bank of the Rio Negro
and that of the Amazon. Three-quarters of an hour after
leaving Manaos, and still they had seen nothing!

Once or twice Indians working in the fields were met
with. Manoel questioned them, and one of them at length
told him that a man, such as he described, had just passed
in the direction of the angle formed by the two rivers at
their confluence.

THE LAST BLOW 27

Without waiting for more, Benito, by an irresistible move-
ment, strode to the front, and his two companions had to
hurry on to avoid being left behind.

The left bank of the Amazon was then about a quarter
of a mile off. A sort of cliff appeared ahead, hiding a part
of the horizon, and bounding the view a few hundred paces
in advance. Benito, hurrying on, soon disappeared behind
one of the sandy knolls.

"Quicker! quicker!" said Manoel to Fragoso. "We
must not leave him alone for an instant." And they were
dashing along when a shot struck on their ears. Had
Benito caught sight of Torres? What had he seen? Had
Benito and Torres already met?

Manoel and Fragoso, fifty paces farther on, after swiftly
running round the bank, saw two men standing face to face.
They were Torres and Benito.

In an instant Manoel and Fragoso had hurried up to
them. It might have been supposed that in Benito's state
of excitement he would be unable to restrain himself when
he found himself once again in the presence of the ad-
venturer. It was not so.

As soon as the young man saw Torres, and was certain
that he could not escape, a complete change took place in
his manner, his coolness returned, and he became once more
master of himself. The two men looked at one another for
a few moments without a word. Torres first broke silence,
and in the impudent tone habitual to him, remarked, " Ah!
How goes it, Mr. Benito Garral? "

"No, Benito Dacosta!" answered the young man.

" Quite so," continued Torres. " Mr. Benito Dacosta,
accompanied by Mr. Manoel Valdez and my friend Fra-
goso! "

At the irritating qualification thus accorded him by the
adventurer, Fragoso, who was by no means loth to do him
some damage, was about to rush to the attack, when Benito,
quite unmoved, held him back.

" What is the matter with you, my lad? " exclaimed Tor-
res, retreating for a few steps. " I think I had better put
myself on guard."

And as he spoke he drew from beneath his poncho his
manchetta, the weapon, adapted at will for offense or de-
fense, which a Brazilian is never without. And then,

28 THE CRYPTOGRAM

slightly stooping, and planted firmly on his feet, he waited
for what was to follow.

" I have come to look for you, Torres," said Benito, who
had not stirred in the least at this threatening attitude.

" To look for me? " answered the adventurer. " It is not
very difficult to find me. And why have you come to look
for me? "

" To know from your own lips what you appear to know
of the past life of my father."

"Really!"

" Yes. I want to know how you recognized him, why
you were prowling about our fazenda in the forest of Iqui-
tos, and why you were waiting for us at Tabatinga? '

"Well! it seems to me nothing could be clearer!" an-
swered Torres, with a grin. " I was waiting to get a pas-
sage on the jangada, and I went on board with the intention
of making him a very simple proposition — which possibly
he was wrong in rejecting."

At these words Manoel could stand it no longer. With
pale face and eye of fire he strode up to Torres.

Benito, wishing to exhaust every means of conciliation,
thrust himself between them.

" Calm yourself, Manoel! " he said. " I am calm — even
I ! " And then continuing, " Quite so, Torres ; I know the
reason of your coming on board the raft. Possessed of a
secret which was doubtless given to you, you wanted to
make it a means of extortion. But that is not what I want
to know at present."

"What is it, then?"

" I want to know how you recognized Joam Dacosta in
the fazender of Iquitos?"

"How I recognized him?" replied Torres. "That is
my business, and I see no reason why I should tell you.
The important fact is, that I was not mistaken when I
denounced in him the real author of the crime of Tijuco! '!

" You say that to me! " exclaimed Benito, who began to
lose his self-possession.

" I will tell you nothing," returned Torres ; " Joam Da-
costa declined my propositions! He refused to admit me
into his family! Well! now that his secret is known,
now that he is a prisoner, it is I who refuse to enter
his family, the family of a thief, of a murderer, of

THE LAST BLOW 29

a condemned felon, for whom the gallows now waits!"

" Scoundrel ! " exclaimed Benito, who drew h;s man-
chetta from his belt and put himself in position.

Manoel and Fragoso, by a similar movement, quickly
drew their weapons.

" Three against one ! " said Torres.

" No ! one against one ! " answered Benito.

" Really ! I should have thought an assassination would
have better suited an assassin's son ! "

"Torres!' exclaimed Benito, "defend yourself, or I
will kill you like a mad dog! "

" Mad! so be it! " answered Torres, "but I bite, Benito
Dacosta, and beware of the wounds!' And then again
grasping his manchetta, he put himself on guard and ready
to attack his enemy.

Benito had stepped back a few paces. " Torres," he said,
regaining all his coolness, which for a moment he had lost,
" you were the guest of my father, you threatened him,
you betrayed him, you denounced him, you accused an in-
nocent man, and with God's help I am going to kill you! "

Torres replied with the most insolent smile imaginable.
Perhaps at the moment the scoundrel had an idea of stop-
ping any struggle between Benito and him, and he could
have done so. In fact, he had seen that Joam Dacosta had
said nothing about the document which formed the material
proof of his innocence.

Had he revealed to Benito that he, Torres, possessed
this proof, Benito would have been that instant disarmed.
But his desire to wait till the very last moment, so as to
get the very best price for the document he possessed, the
recollection of the young man's insulting words, and the
hate which he bore to all that belonged to him, made him
forget his own interest.

In addition to being thoroughly accustomed to the man-
chetta, which he often had had occasion to use, the advent-
urer was strong, active, and artful, so that against an ad-
versary who was scarcely twenty, who could have neither
his strength nor his dexterity, the chances were greatly in
his favor.

Manoel by a last effort wished to insist on fighting him
instead of Benito.

' No, Manoel," was the cool reply, " it is for me alone

30 THE CRYPTOGRAM

to avenge my father, and as everything here ought to be
in order, you shall be my second."

"Benito!"

" As for you, Fragoso, you will not refuse if I ask you
to act as second for that man? "

" So be it," answered Fragoso, " though it is not an
office of honor! Without the least ceremony," he added,
" I would have killed him like a wild beast ! "

The place where the duel was about to take place was a
level bank about fifty paces long, on the top of a cliff
rising perpendicularly some fifty feet above the Amazon.
The river slowly flowed at the foot, and bathed the clumps
of reeds which bristled round its base.

There was, therefore, none too much room, and the com-
batant who was the first to give way would quickly be driven
over into the abyss.

The signal was given by Manoel, and Torres and Benito
stepped forward. Benito had complete command over him-
self. The defender of a sacred cause, his coolness was
unruffled, much more so than that of Torres, whose con-
science, insensible and hardened as it was, was bound at
the moment to trouble him.

The two met, and the first blow came from Benito. Tor-
res parried it. They then jumped back, but almost at the
same instant they rushed together, and with their left hands
seized each other by the shoulders — never to leave go again.

Torres, who was the strongest, struck a side blow with
his manchetta which Benito could not quite parry. His
left side was touched, and his poncho was reddened with
his blood. But he quickly replied, and slightly wounded
Torres in the hand.

Several blows were then interchanged, but nothing de-
cisive was done. The ever silent gaze of Benito pierced
the eyes of Torres like a sword-blade thrust to his very
heart. Visibly, the scoundrel began to quail. He recoiled
little by little, pressed back by his implacable foe, who was
more determined on taking the life of his father's denouncer
than in defending his own. To strike was all that Benito
longed for; to parry was all that the other now attempted
to do.

Soon Torres saw himself thrust to the very edge of the
bank, at a spot where, slightly scooped away, it overhung

THE LAST BLOW 31

the river. He perceived the danger; he tried to retake the
offensive and regain the lost ground. His agitation in-
creased, his looks grew livid. At length he was obliged to
stoop beneath the arm which threatened him.

"Die, then!" exclaimed Benito.

The blow was struck full on the chest, but the point of
the manchetta was stopped by a hard substance hidden be-
neath the poncho of the adventurer.

Benito renewed his attack, and Torres, whose return
thrust did not touch his adversary, felt himself lost. He
was again obliged to retreat. Then he would have shouted
— shouted that the life of Joam Dacosta depended on his
own! He had not time!

A second thrust of the manchetta pierced his heart. He
fell backward, and the ground suddenly failing him, he was
precipitated down the cliff. As a last effort his hands con-
vulsively clutched at a clump of reeds, but they could not
stop him, and he disappeared beneath the waters of the
river.

Benito was supported on Manoel's shoulder ; Fragoso
grasped his hands. He would not even give his companions
time to dress his wound, which was very silght.

" To the jangada! " he said, " to the jangada! '

Manoel and Fragoso with deep emotion followed him
without speaking a word.

A quarter of an hour afterward the three reached the
bank to which the raft was moored. Benito and Manoel
rushed into the room where were Yaquita and Minna, and
told them all that had passed.

"My son!" "My brother!"

The words were uttered at the same moment.
To the prison ! " said Benito.
Yes ! Come ! come ! " replied Yaquita.

Benito, followed by Manoel, hurried along his mother,
and half an hour later they arrived before the prison.

Owing to the order previously given by Judge Jarriquez
they were immediately admitted, and conducted to the
chamber occupied by the prisoner. The door opened. Joam
Dacosta saw his wife, his son, and Manoel enter the room.

' Ah ! Joam, my Joam ! " exclaimed Yaquita.

' Yaquita! my wife! my children! " replied the prisoner,
who opened his arms and pressed them to his heart.

n

32 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" My Joam, innocent ! "
" Innocent and avenged! " said Benito.
"Avenged? What do you mean?"
" Torres is dead, father ; killed by my hand ! "
" Dead ! — Torres ! — Dead ! " gasped Joam Dacosta. " My
son! You have ruined me! "

CHAPTER VI

RESOLUTIONS

A few hours later the whole family had returned to the
raft, and were assembled in the large room. All were there,
except the prisoner, on whom the last blow had just fallen.
Benito was quite overwhelmed, and accused himself of hav-
ing destroyed his father, and had it not been for the en-
treaties of Yaquita, of his sister, or Padre Passanha, and
of Manoel, the distracted youth would in the first moments
of despair have probably made away with himself. But
he was never allowed to get out of sight, he was never left
alone. And besides, how could he have acted otherwise?
Ah! why had not Joam Dacosta told him all before he left
the jangada? Why had he refrained from speaking, except
before a judge, of this material proof of his innocence?
Why, in his interview with Manoel after the expulsion of
Torres, had he been silent about the document which the
adventurer pretended to hold in his hands? But, after all,
what faith ought he to place in what Torres had said?
Could he be certain that such a document was in the rascal's
possession?

Whatever might be the reason, the family now knew
everything, and that from the lips of Joam Dacosta himself.
They knew that Torres had declared that the proof of the
innocence of the convict of Tijuco actually existed ; that
the document had been written by the very hand of the
author of the attack; that the criminal, seized by remorse
at the moment of his death, had intrusted it to his com-
panion, Torres; and that he, instead of fulfilling the wishes
of fhe dying man, had made the handing over of the docu-
ment an excuse for extortion. But they knew also that
Torres had just been killed, and that his body was
engulfed in the waters of the Amazon, and that he

RESOLUTIONS 33

died without even mentioning the name of the guilty man.

Unless he was saved by a miracle, Joam Dacosta might
now be considered as irrevocably lost. The death of Judge
Ribeiro on the one hand, the death of Torres on the other,
were blows from which he could not recover! It should
here be said that public opinion at Manaos, unreasoning as
it always is, was all against the prisoner. The unexpected
arrest of Joam Dacosta had revived the memory of the
terrible crime of Tijuco, which had lain forgotten for three-
and-twenty years. The trial of the young clerk at the
mines of the diamond arrayal, his capital sentence, his escape
a few hours before his intended execution — all were re-
membered, analyzed, and commented on. An article which
had just appeared in the O Diario d'o Grand Para, the most
widely circulated journal in these parts, after giving a his-
tory of the circumstances of the crime, showed itself de-
cidedly hostile to the prisoner. Why should these people
believe in Joam Dacosta's innocence, when they were igno-
rant of all that his friends knew — of what they alone knew?

And so the people of Manaos became excited. A mob
of Indians and negroes hurried, in their blind folly, to sur-
round the prison and roar forth tumultuous shouts of death.
In this part of the two Americas, where executions under
Lynch law are of frequent occurrence, the mob soon sur-
renders itself to its cruel instincts, and it was feared that
on this occasion it would do justice with its own hands.

What a night it was for the passengers from the jangada!
Masters and servants had been affected by the blow ! Were
not the servants of the fazenda members of one family?
Every one of them would watch over the safety of Yaquita
and her people! On the bank of the Rio Negro there was
a constant coming and going of the natives, evidently ex-
cited by the arrest of Joam Dacosta, and who could say
to what excesses these half -barbarous men might be led?

The time, however, passed without any demonstration
against the jangada.

On the morrow, the 26th of August, as soon as the sun
rose, Manoel and Fragoso, who had never left Benito for
an instant during this terrible night, attempted to distract
his attention. After taking him aside they made him under-
stand that there was no time to be lost — that they must
make up their minds to act.

V XII Verne

34 THE CRYPTOGRAM

"Benito," said Manoel, "pull yourself together! Be a
man again! Be a son again!"

"My father!" exclaimed Benito, "I have killed him!"

" No! " replied Manoel. " With heaven's help it is pos-
sible that all may not be lost ! "

" Listen to us, Mr. Benito," said Fragoso.

The young man, passing his hands over his eyes, made
a violent effort to collect himself.

" Benito," continued Manoel, " Torres never gave a hint
to put us on the track of his past life. We therefore cannot
tell who was the author of the crime of Tijuco, or under
what conditions it was committed. To try in that direc-
tion is to lose our time ! "

"And time presses!" added Fragoso.

" Besides," said Manoel, " suppose we do find out who
this companion of Torres was, he is dead, and he could
not testify in any way to the innocence of Joam Dacosta.
But it is none the less certain that the proof of this in-
nocence exists, and there is no room to doubt the existence
of a document which Torres was anxious to make the sub-
ject of a bargain. He told us so himself. The document
is a complete avowal written in the handwriting of the
culprit, which relates the attack in its smallest detail, and
which clears our father! Yes! a hundred times, yes! The
document exists ! "

" But Torres does not exist ! " groaned Benito, " and the
document has perished with him! "

" Wait, and don't despair yet ! " answered Manoel. " You
remember under what circumstances we made the acquaint-
ance of Torres? It was in the depths of the forest of
Iquitos. He was in pursuit of a monkey which had stolen
a metal case, which it so strangely kept, and the chase had
lasted a couple of hours when the monkey fell to our guns.
Now, do you think it was for the few pieces of gold con-
tained in the case that Torres was in such a fury to
recover it ? and do you not remember the extraordinary sat-
isfaction which he displayed when we gave him back the
case which he had taken out of the monkey's paw? "

" Yes ! yes ! " answered Benito. " This case which I held
— which I gave back to him! Perhaps it contained "

" It is more than probable ! It is certain ! " replied
Manoel.

RESOLUTIONS 35

" And I beg to add," said Fragoso, " for now the fact
recurs to my memory, that during the time you were at Ega
I remained on board, at Lina's advice, to keep an eye on
Torres, and I saw him — yes, I saw him — reading, and again
reading, an old, faded paper, and muttering words which
I could not understand ! "

" That was the document ! " exclaimed Benito, who
snatched at the hope — the only one that was left. " But
this document; had he not put it in some place of security? '

" No," answered Manoel, " no ; it was too precious for
Torres to dream of parting with it. He was bound to carry
it always about with him, and doubtless in that very case ! "

" Wait ! wait, Manoel ! " exclaimed Benito ; " I remem-
ber— yes, I remember. During the struggle, at the first
blow I struck Torres in his chest, my manchetta was stopped
by some hard substance under his poncho, like a plate of
metal "

That was the case ! " said Fragoso.

" Yes," replied Manoel ; " doubt is impossible ! That was
the case; it was in his breast-pocket."

" But the corpse of Torres? "

" We will recover it ! "

" But the paper ! The water will have stained it, perhaps
destroyed it, or rendered it indecipherable ! "

" Why," answered Manoel, " if the metal case which held
it was water-tight? "

" Manoel," replied Benito, who seized on the last hope,
" you are right ! The corpse of Torres must be recovered !
We will ransack the whole of this part of the river, if
necessary, but we will recover it ! "

The pilot Araujo was then summoned and informed of
what they were going to do.

" Good ! " replied he ; "I know all the eddies and cur-
rents where the Rio Negro and the Amazon join, and we
shall succeed in recovering the body. Let us take two
pirogues, two ubas, a dozen of our Indians, and make a
start."

Padre Passanha was then coming out of Yaquita's room.
Benito went to him, and in a few words told him what they
were going to do to get possession of the document. " Say
nothing to my mother or my sister," he added ; " if this
last hope fails it will kill them ! "

36 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" Go, my lad, go," replied Passanha, " and may God help
you in your search! "

Five minutes afterward the four boats started from the
raft. After descending the Rio Negro they arrived near
the bank of the Amazon, at the very place where Torres,
mortally wounded, had disappeared beneath the waters of
the stream.

CHAPTER VII

THE FIRST SEARCH

The search had to commence at once, and that for two
weighty reasons.

The first of these was — and this was a question of life or
death — that this proof of Joam Dacosta's innocence must
be produced before the arrival of the order from Rio
Janeiro. Once the identity of the prisoner was established,
it was impossible that such an order could be other than
the order for his execution.

The second was that the body of Torres should be got
out of the water as quickly as possible so as to regain un-
damaged the metal case and the paper it ought to contain.

At this juncture Araujo displayed not only zeal and in-
telligence, but also a perfect knowledge of the state of the
river at its confluence with the Rio Negro.

" If Torres," he said to the young men, " had been from
the first carried away by the current, we should have to
drag the river throughout a large area, for we shall have
a good many days to wait for his body to reappear on the
surface through the effects of decomposition."

" We cannot do that," replied Manoel. " This very day
we ought to succeed."

" If, on the contrary," continued the pilot, " the corpse
has got stuck among the reeds and vegetation at the foot
of the bank, we shall not be an hour before we find it."

"To work, then!" answered Benito.

There was but one way of working. The boats ap-
proached the bank, and the Indians, furnished with long
poles, began to sound every part of the river at the base
of the bluff which had served for the scene of combat.

The place had been easily recognized. A track of blood

THE FIRST SEARCH 37

stained the declivity in its chalky part, and ran perpendic-
ularly down it into the water ; and there many a clot scat-
tered on the reeds indicated the very spot where the corpse
had disappeared.

About fifty feet down stream a point jutted out from the
river-side and kept back the waters in a kind of eddy, as
in a large basin. There was no current whatever near the
shore, and the reeds shot up out of the river unbent. Every
hope then existed that Torres' body had not been carried
away by the main stream. Where the bed of the river
showed sufficient slope, it was perhaps possible for the
corpse to have rolled several feet along the ridge, and even
there no effect of the current could be traced.

The ubas and the pirogues, dividing the work among
them, limited the field of their researches to the extreme
edge of the eddy, and from the circumference to the center
the crew's long poles left not a single point unexplored. But
no amount of sounding discovered the body of the advent-
urer, neither among the clumps of reeds nor on the bottom
of the river, whose slope was then carefully examined.

Two hours after the work had begun they had been led
to think that the body, having probably struck against the
declivity, had fallen off obliquely and rolled beyond the
limits of this eddy, where the action of the current com-
menced to be felt.

" But that is no reason why we should despair," said
Manoel, " still less why we should give up our search."

" Will it be necessary," exclaimed Benito, " to search the
river throughout its breadth and its length ? "

" Throughout its breadth, perhaps," answered Araujo,
" throughout its length, no, fortunately."

" And why? " asked Manoel.

" Because the Amazon, about a mile away from its junc-
tion with the Rio Negro, makes a sudden bend, and at
the same time its bed rises, so that there is a kind of natural
barrier, well known to sailors as the Bar of Frias, which
things floating near the surface are alone able to clear. In
short, the currents are ponded back, and they cannot pos-
sibly have any effect over this depression."

This was fortunate, it must be admitted. But was
Araujo mistaken? The old pilot of the Amazon could be
relied on. For the thirty years that he had followed his

38 THE CRYPTOGRAM

profession the crossing of the Bar of Frias, where the
current was increased in force by its decrease in depth, had
often given him trouble. The larrowness of the channel
and the elevation of the bed maoe the passage exceedingly
difficult, and many a raft had there come to grief.

And so Araujo was right in declaring that if the corpse
of Torres was still retained by its weight on the sandy bed
of the river, it could not have been dragged over the bar.
It is true that, later on, when, on account of the expansion
of the gases, it would again rise to the surface, the current
would bear it away, and it would be irrecoverably lost down
the stream, a long way beyond the obstruction. But this
purely physical effect would not take place for several days.
They could not have applied to a man who was more
skillful or more conversant with the locality than Araujo,
and when he affirmed that the body could not have been
borne out of the narrow channel for more than a mile or
so, they were sure to recover it if they thoroughly sounded
that portion of the river.

Not an island, not an inlet, checked the course of the
Amazon in these parts. Hence, when the foot of the two
banks had been visited up to the bar, it was in the bed
itself, about five hundred feet in width, that more careful
investigations had to be commenced.

The way the work was conducted was this : The boats
taking the right and left of the Amazon lay alongside the
banks. The reeds and vegetation were tried with the poles.
Of the smallest ledges in the banks in which a body could
rest, not one escaped the scrutiny of Araujo and his Indians.
But all this labor produced no result, and half the day
had elapsed without the body being brought to the surface
of the stream.

An hour's rest was given to the Indians. During this
time they partook of some refreshment, and then they re-
turned to their task.

Four of the boats, in charge of the pilot, Benito, Fra-
goso, and Manoel, divided the river between the Rio Negro
and the Bar of Frias into four portions. They set to work
to explore its very bed. In certain places the poles proved
insufficient to thoroughly search among the deeps, and hence
a few dredges — or rather harrows, made of stones and old
iron, bound round with a solid bar — were taken on board,

THE FIRST SEARCH 39

and when the boats had pushed off these rakes were thrown
in and the river bottom stirred up in every direction.

It was in this difficult task that Benito and his com-
panions were employed till the evening. The ubas and
pirogues, worked by the oars, traversed the whole surface
of the river up to the Bar of Frias.

There had been moments of excitement during this spell
of work, when the harrows, catching in something at the
bottom, offered some slight resistance. They were then
hauled up, but in place of the body so eagerly searched for,
there would appear only heavy stones or tufts of herbage
which they had dragged from their sandy bed. No one,
however, had an idea of giving up the enterprise. They
none of them thought of themselves in this work of salva-
tion. Benito, Manoel, Araujo had not even to stir up the
Indians or to encourage them. The gallant fellows knew
that they were working for the fazender of Iquitos — for
the man whom they loved, for the chief of the excellent
family who treated their servants so well.

Yes ; and so they would have passed the night in dragging
the river. Of every minute lost all knew the value.

A little before the sun disappeared, Araujo, finding it
useless to continue his operations in the gloom, gave the
signal for the boats to join company and return together to
the confluence of the Rio Negro and regain the jangada.

The work so carefully and intelligently conducted was
not, however, at an end.

Manoel and Fragoso, as they came back, dared not men-
tion their ill-success before Benito. They feared that the
disappointment would only force him to some act of
despair.

But neither courage nor coolness deserted the young fel-
low ; he was determined to follow to the end this supreme
effort to save the honor and the life of his father, and
he it was who addressed his companions, and said : " To-
morrow we will try again, and under better conditions if
possible."

" Yes," answered Manoel ; " you are right, Benito. We
can do better. We cannot pretend to have entirely explored
the river along the whole of the banks and over the whole
of its bed."

" No ; we cannot have done that," replied Araujo ; " and

40 THE CRYPTOGRAM

I maintain what I said — that the body of Torres is there,
and that it is there because it has not been carried away,
because it will take many days before it rises to the surface
and floats down the stream. Yes, it is there, and not a
demijohn of tafia will pass my lips until I find it! ':

This affirmation from the pilot was worth a good deal,
and was of a hope-inspiring nature.

However, Benito, who did not care so much for words
as he did for things, thought proper to reply : " Yes, Araujo ;
the body of Torres is in the river, and we shall find it
if "

"If?" said the pilot.

"If it has not become the prey of the alligators!'1

Manoel and Fragoso waited anxiously for Araujo's
reply.

The pilot was silent for a few moments; they felt that
he was reflecting before he spoke. "Mr. Benito," he said,
at length, " I am not in the habit of speaking lightly. I
had the same idea as you ; but listen. During the ten hours
we have been at work have you seen a single cayman in the
river? "

" Not one ! " said Fragoso.

"If you have not seen one," continued the pilot, " it was
because there were none to see, for these animals have
nothing to keep them in the white waters when, a quarter
of a mile off, there are large stretches of the black waters,
which they so greatly prefer. When the raft was attacked
by some of these creatures it was in a part where there was
no place for them to flee to. Here it is quite different.
Go to the Rio Negro, and there you will see caymans by
the score. Had Torres' body fallen into that tributary there
might be no chance of recovering it. But it was in the
Amazon that it was lost, and in the Amazon it will be
found!"

Benito, relieved from his fears, took the pilot's hand and
shook it, and contented himself with the reply : " To-mor-
row, my friends! "

Ten minutes later they were all on board the jangada.
During the day Yaquita had passed some hours with her
husband. But before she started, and when she saw neither
the pilot, nor Manoel, nor Benito, nor the boats, she had
guessed the search on which they had gone, but she said

THE SECOND ATTEMPT 41

nothing to Joam Dacosta, as she hoped that in the morning
she would be able to inform him of their success.

But when Benito set foot on the raft she perceived that
their search had been fruitless. However, she advanced
toward him. "Nothing?" she asked.

" Nothing," replied Benito. " But the morrow is left to
us."

The members of the family retired to their rooms, and
nothing more was said as to what had passed.

Manoel tried to make Benito lie down so as to take a
few hours' rest.

" What is the good of that? " asked Benito. " Do you
think I could sleep? "

CHAPTER VIII

THE SECOND ATTEMPT

On the morrow, the 27th of August, Benito took Manoel
apart, before the sun had risen, and said to him : " Our
yesterday's search was vain. If we begin again under the
same conditions, we may be just as unlucky."

" We must do so, however," replied Manoel.

"Yes," continued Benito; "but suppose we do not find
the body, can you tell me how long it will be before it will
rise to the surface? "

" If Torres," answered Manoel, " had fallen into the
water living, and not mortally wounded, it would take
five or six days ; but if he had only disappeared after being
so wounded, perhaps two or three days would be enough
to bring him up again."

This answer of Manoel, which was quite correct, requires
some explanation. Every human body which falls into the
water will float if equilibrium is established between its
density and that of its liquid bed. This is well known to
be the fact, even when a person does not know how to
swim. Under such circumstances, if you are entirely sub-
merged, and only keep your mouth and nose away from the
water, you are sure to float. But this is not generally done.
The first movement of a drowning man is to try and hold
as much as he can of himself above water; he holds up his
head and lifts up his arms, and these parts of his body,

42 THE CRYPTOGRAM

being no longer supported by the liquid, do not lose that
amount of weight which they would do if completely im-
mersed. Hence an excess of weight, and eventually entire
submersion, for the water makes its way to the lungs
through the mouth, takes the place of the air which fills
them, and the body sinks to the bottom.

On the other hand, when the man who falls into the
water is already dead, the conditions are different, and more
favorable for his floating, for then the movements of which
we have spoken are checked, and the liquid does not make
its way to the lungs so copiously, as there is no attempt to
respire, and he is consequently more likely to promptly re-
appear. Manoel then was right in drawing the distinction
between the man who falls into the water living and the
man who falls into it dead. In the one case the return to
the surface takes much longer than in the other.

The reappearance of the body after an immersion more
or less prolonged, is always determined by the decomposi-
tion, which causes the gases to form. These bring about
the expansion of the cellular tissues, the volume augments
and the weight decreases, and then, weighing less than the
water it displaces, the body attains the proper conditions for
floating.

" And thus," continued Manoel, " supposing the condi-
tions continue favorable, and Torres did not live after he
fell into the water, if the decomposition is not modified by
circumstances which we cannot foresee, he will not reap-
pear before three days."

" We have not got three days," answered Benito. " We
cannot wait, you know ; we must try again, and in some
new way."

"What can you do?" asked Manoel.

" Plunge down myself beneath the waters," replied
Benito, " and search with my eyes — with my hands."

" Plunge in a hundred times — a thousand times ! " ex-
claimed Manoel. " So be it. I think, like you, that we
ought to go straight at what we want, and not struggle on
with poles and drag like a blind man, who only works by
touch. I also think that we cannot wait three days. But
to jump in, come up again, and go down again will give
only a short period for the exploration. No; it will never
do and we shall only risk a second failure."

THE SECOND ATTEMPT 43

" Have you no other plan to propose, Manoel ? " asked
Benito, looking earnestly at his friend.

" Well, listen. There is what would seem to be a Provi-
dential circumstance that may be of use to us."

"What is that?"

" Yesterday, as we hurried through Manaos, I noticed
that they were repairing one of the quays on the bank of
the Rio Negro. The submarine works were being carried
on with the aid of a diving-dress. Let us borrow, or hire,
or buy, at any price, this apparatus, and then we may re-
sume our researches under more favorable conditions."

" Tell Araujo, Fragoso, and our men, and let us be off,"
was the instant reply of Benito.

The pilot and the barber were informed of the decision
with regard to Manoel's project. Both were ordered to
go with the four boats and the Indians to the basin of
Frias, and thence to wait for the two young men.

Manoel and Benito started off without losing a moment,
and reached the quay at Manaos. There they offered the
contractor such a price that he put the apparatus at their
service for the whole day.

" Will you not have one of my men," he asked, " to help
you?"

" Give us your foreman and one of his mates to work
the air-pump," replied Manoel.

" But who is going to wear the diving-dress? "

" I am," answered Benito.

"You!" exclaimed Manoel.

" I intend to do so."

It was useless to resist.

An hour afterward the raft and all the instruments neces-
sary for the enterprise had drifted down to the bank where
the boats were waiting.

The diving-dress is well known. By its means men can
descend beneath the waters and remain there a certain time
without the action of the lungs being in any way injured.
The diver is clothed in a waterproof suit of india rubber,
and his feet are attached to leaden shoes, which allow him
to retain his upright position beneath the surface. At the
collar of the dress, and about the height of the neck, there
is fitted a collar of copper, on which is screwed a metal globe
with a glass front. In this globe the diver places his head,

44 THE CRYPTOGRAM

which he can move about at ease. To the globe are attached
two pipes; one used for carrying off the air ejected from
the lungs, and the other in communication with a pump
worked on the raft, and bringing in the fresh air. When
the diver is at work the raft remains immovable above him ;
when the diver moves about on the bottom of the river
the raft follows his movements, or he follows those of the
raft, according to his convenience.

These diving-dresses are now much improved, and are
less dangerous than formerly. The man beneath the liquid
mass can easily bear the additional pressure, and if anything
was to be feared below the waters it was rather some cay-
man who might there be met with. But, as had been ob-
served by Araujo, not one of these amphibians had been
seen, and they are well known to prefer the black waters
of the tributaries of the Amazon. Besides, in case of dan-
ger, the diver has always his check-string fastened to the
raft, and at the least warning can be quickly hauled to the
surface.

Benito, invariably very cool once his resolution was taken,
commenced to put his idea into execution, and got into the
diving-dress. His head disappeared in the metal globe,
his hand grasped a sort of iron spar with which to stir up
the vegetation and detritus accumulated in the river-bed,
and on his giving the signal he was lowered into the stream.

The men on the raft immediately commenced to work
the air pump, while four Indians from the jangada, under
the orders of Araujo, gently propelled it with their long
poles in the desired direction.

The two pirogues, commanded one by Fragoso, the other
by Manoel, escorted the raft, and held themselves ready
to start in any direction, should Benito find the corpse of
Torres and again bring it to the surface of the Amazon.

CHAPTER IX

A CANNON SHOT

Benito then had disappeared beneath the vast sheet which
still covered the corpse of the adventurer. Ah! if he had
had the power to divert the waters of the river, to turn
them into vapor, or to turn them off — if he could have made

A CANNON SHOT 45

the Frias basin dry down stream, from the bar up to the
influx of the Rio Negro, the case hidden in Torres' clothes
would already have been in his hands! His father's inno-
cence would have been recognized ! Joam Dacosta, restored
to liberty, would have again started on the descent of the
river, and what terrible trials would have been avoided !

Benito had reached the bottom. His heavy shoes made
the gravel on the beach crunch beneath them. He was in
some ten or fifteen feet of water, at the base of the cliff,
which was here very steep, and at the very spot where
Torres had disappeared.

Near him was a tangled mass of reeds and twigs and
aquatic plants, all laced together, which assuredly during
the researches of the previous day no pole could have pene-
trated. It was consequently possible that the body was
entangled among the submarine shrubs, and still in the place
where it had originally fallen.

Hereabouts, thanks to the eddy produced by the pro-
longation of one of the spurs running out into the stream,
the current was absolutely nil. Benito guided his move-
ments by those of the raft, which the long poles of the
Indians kept just over his head.

The light penetrated deep through the clear waters, and
the magnificent sun, shining in a cloudless sky, shot its
rays down into them unchecked. Under ordinary condi-
tions, at a depth of some twenty feet in water, the view
becomes exceedingly blurred, but here the waters seemed
to be impregnated with a luminous fluid, and Benito was
able to descend still lower without the darkness concealing
the river bed.

The young man slowly made his way along the bank.
With his iron-shod spear he probed the plants and rubbish
accumulated along its foot. Flocks of fish, if we can use
such an expression, escaped on all sides from the dense
thickets like flocks of birds. It seemed as though the thou-
sand pieces of a broken mirror glimmered through the
waters. At the same time scores of crustaceans scampered
over the sand, like huge ants hurrying from their hills.

Notwithstanding that Benito did not leave a single point
of the river unexplored, he never caught sight of the object
of his search. He noticed, however, that the slope of the
river-bed was very abrupt, and he concluded that Torres

46 THE CRYPTOGRAM

had rolled beyond the eddy toward the centre of the stream.
If so, he would probably still recover the body, for the
current could hardly touch it at the depth which was already
great, and seemed sensibly to increase. Benito then re-
solved to pursue his investigations on the side where he had
begun to probe the vegetation. This was why he continued
to advance in that direction, and the raft had to follow him
during a quarter of an hour, as had been previously ar-
ranged.

The quarter of an hour had elapsed, and Benito had
found nothing. He felt the need of ascending to the sur-
face, so as to once more experience those physiological con-
ditions in which he could recoup his strength. In certain
spots, where the depth of the river necessitated it, he had
had to descend about thirty feet. He had thus to support
a pressure almost equal to an atmosphere, with the result
of the physical fatigue and mental agitation which attack
those who are not used to this kind of work. Benito then
pulled the communication cord, and the men on the raft
commenced to haul him in, but they worked slowly, taking
a minute to draw him up two or three feet, so as not to
produce in his internal organs the dreadful effects of de-
compression.

As soon as the young man had set foot on the raft, the
metallic sphere of the diving-dress was raised, and he took
a long breath and sat down to rest.

The pirogues immediately rowed alongside. Manoel,
Fragoso and Araujo came close to him, waiting for him
to speak.

"Well?" asked Manoel.

"Still nothing! Nothing!"

" Have you not seen a trace? "

"Not one!"

" Shall I go down now ? "

"No, Manoel," answered Benito; "I have begun; I
know where to go. Let me do it ! " %

Benito then explained to the pilot that his intention was
to visit the lower part of the bank up to the Bar of Frias,
for there the slope had perhaps stopped the corpse, if, float-
ing between the two streams, it had in the least degree
been affected by the current. But first he wanted to skirt
the bank and carefully explore a sort of hole formed in the

A CANNON SHOT 47

slope of the bed, to the bottom of which the poles had not
been able to penetrate. Araujo approved of the plan, and
made the necessary preparations.

Manoel gave Benito a little advice. " As you want to
pursue your search on that side," he said, " the raft will
have to go over there obliquely; but mind what you are
doing, Benito. That is much deeper than where you have
been yet : it may be fifty or sixty feet, and you will have
to support a pressure of quite two atmospheres. Only ven-
ture with extreme caution, or you may lose your presence
of mind, and no longer know where you are or what to do.
If your head feels as if in a vise, and your ears tingle, do
not hesitate to give us the signal, and we will at once haul
you up. You can then begin again if you like, as you will
have got accustomed to move about in the deeper parts of
the river."

Benito promised to attend to these hints, of which he
recognized the importance. He was particularly struck
with the fact that his presence of mind might abandon him
at the very moment he wanted it most.

Benito shook hands with Manoel ; the sphere of the div-
ing-dress was again screwed to his neck, the pump began
to work, and the diver once more disappeared beneath the
stream.

The raft was then taken about forty feet along the left
bank, but as it moved toward the center of the river the
current increased in strength, the ubas was moored, and
the rowers kept it from drifting, so as only to allow it to
advance with extreme slowness.

Benito descended very gently, and again found himself
on the firm sand. When his heels touched the ground it
could be seen, by the length of the haulage cord, that he
was at a depth of some sixty-five or seventy feet. He was
therefore in a considerable hole, excavated far below the
ordinary level.

The liquid medium was more obscure, but the limpidity
of these transparent waters still allowed the light to pene-
trate sufficiently for Benito to distinguish the objects scat-
tered on the bed of the river, and to approach them with
some safety. Besides, the sand, sprinkled with mica flakes,
seemed to form a sort of reflector, and the very grains could
be counted glittering like luminous dust.

48 THE CRYPTOGRAM

Benito moved on, examining and sounding the smallest
cavities with his spear. He continued to advance very
slowly; the communication cord was paid out, and as the
pipes which served for the inlet and outlet of the air were
never tightened, the pump was worked under the proper
conditions.

Benito turned off so as to reach the middle of the bed
of the Amazon, where there was the greatest depression.
Sometimes profound obscurity thickened around him, and
then he could see nothing, so feeble was the light ; but this
was a purely passing phenomenon, and due to the raft,
which, floating above his head, intercepted the solar rays,
and made the night replace the day. An instant afterward
the huge shadow would be dissipated, and the reflection of
the sands appear again in full force.

All the time Benito was going deeper. He felt the in-
crease of the pressure with which his body was wrapped by
the liquid mass. His respiration became less easy ; his or-
gans no longer worked with as much ease as in the midst
of an atmosphere more conveniently adapted for them. And
so he found himself under the action of physiological effects
to which he was unaccustomed. The rumbling grew louder
in his ears, but as his thought was always lucid, as he felt
that the action of his brain was quite clear — even a little
more so than usual — he delayed giving the signal for return,
and continued to go down deeper still.

Suddenly, in the subdued light which surrounded him, his
attention was attracted by a confused mass. It seemed to
take the form of a corpse, entangled beneath a clump of
aquatic plants. Intense excitement seized him. He stepped
toward the mass ; with his spear he felt it. It was the car-
cass of a huge cayman, already reduced to a skeleton, and
which the current of the Rio Negro had swept into the bed
of the Amazon. Benito recoiled, and, in spite of the asser-
tions of the pilot, the thought recurred to him that some
living cayman might even then be met with in the deeps
near the Bar of Frias!

But he repelled the idea, and continued his progress, so
as to reach the very bottom of the depression.

And now he had arrived at a depth of from eighty to a
hundred feet, and consequently was experiencing a
pressure of three atmospheres. If, then, this cavity was

A CANNON SHOT 49

also drawn blank, he would have to suspend his researches.

Experience has shown that the extreme limit for such
submarine explorations lies between a hundred and twenty
and a hundred and thirty feet, and that below this there
is great danger, the human organism not only being hin-
dered from performing its functions under such a pressure,
but the apparatus failing to keep up a sufficient supply of air
with the desirable regularity.

But Benito was resolved to go as far as his mental powers
and physical energies would let him. By some strange pre-
sentiment he was drawn toward this abyss; it seemed to
him as though the corpse was very likely to have rolled
to the bottom of the hole, and that Torres, if he had any
heavy things about him, such as a belt containing either
money or arms, would have sunk to the very lowest point.
Of a sudden, in a deep hollow, he saw a body through the
gloom! Yes! A corpse, still clothed, stretched out like a
man asleep, with his arms folded under his head.

Was that Torres? In the obscurity, then very dense, he
found it difficult to see; but it was a human body that lay
there, less than ten paces off, and perfectly motionless.

A sharp pang shot through Benito. His heart, for an
instant, ceased to beat. He thought he was going to lose
consciousness. By a supreme effort he recovered himself.
He stepped toward the corpse.

Suddenly a shock as violent as unexpected made his
whole frame vibrate! A long whip seemed to twine round
his body, and in spite of the thick diving-dress he felt him-
self lashed again and again.

" A gymnotus ! " he said.

It was the only word that passed his lips.

In fact, it was a puraquc, the name given by the Brazil-
ians to the gymnotus, or electric snake, which had just at-
tacked him.

It is well known that the gymnotus is a kind of eel, with
a blackish, slimy skin, furnished along the back and tail
with an apparatus composed of plates joined by vertical
lamellae, and acted on by nerves of considerable power.
This apparatus is endowed with singular electrical proper-
ties, and is apt to produce very formidable results. Some
of these gymnotuses are about the length of a common
snake, others are about ten feet long, while others which.

V XII Verne

50 THE CRYPTOGRAM

however, are rare, even reach fifteen or twenty feet, and
are from eight to ten inches in diameter.

Gymnotuses are plentiful enough both in the Amazon and
its tributaries; and it was one of these living coils, about
ten feet long, which, after uncurving itself like a bow,
again attacked the diver.

Benito knew what he had to fear from this formidable
animal. His clothes were powerless to protect him. The
discharges of the gymnotus, at first somewhat weak, be-
came more and more violent, and there would come a time
when, exhausted by the shocks, he would be rendered
powerless.

Benito, unable to resist the blows, half dropped upon the
sand. His limbs were becoming paralyzed little by little
under the electric influences of the gymnotus, which lightly
touched his body as it wrapped him in its folds. His arms
even he could not lift, and soon his spear escaped him, and
his hand had not strength enough left to pull the cord and
give the signal.

Benito felt that he was lost. Neither Manoel nor his
companions could suspect the horrible combat which was
going on beneath them between the formidable puraque and
the unhappy diver, who only fought to suffer, without any
power of defending himself.

And that at the moment when a body — the body of Tor-
res without a doubt! — had just met his view.

By a supreme instinct of self-preservation Benito uttered
a cry. His voice was lost in the metallic sphere from which
not a sound could escape !

And now the puraque redoubled its attacks ; it gave forth
shock after shock, which made Benito writhe on the sand
like the sections of a divided worm, and his muscles were
wrenched again and again beneath the living lash!

Benito thought that all was over; his eyes grew dim, his
limbs began to stiffen.

But before he quite lost his power or sight and reason he
became the witness of a phenomenon, unexpected, inexplic-
able, and marvelous in the extreme.

A deadened roar resounded through the liquid depths. It
was like a thunder-clap, the reverberations of which rolled
along the river-bed, then violently agitated by the electrical
discharges of the gymnotus. Benito felt himself bathed as

THE CONTENTS OF THE CASE 51

it were in the dreadful booming which found an echo in the
very deepest of the river deeps.

And then a last cry escaped him, for fearful was the
vision which appeared before his eyes!

The corpse of the drowned man which had been stretched
on the sand arose! The undulations of the water lifted up
the arms, and they swayed about as if with some peculiar
animation. Convulsive throbs made the movement of the
corpse still more alarming.

It was indeed the body of Torres. One of the sun's rays
shot down to it through the liquid mass, and Benito recog-
nized the bloated, ashy features of the scoundrel who fell
by his own hand, and whose last breath had left him beneath
the waters.

And while Benito could not make a single movement with
his paralyzed limbs, while his heavy shoes kept him down
as if he had been nailed to the sand, the corpse straightened
itself up, the head swayed to and fro, and disentangling
itself from the hole in which it had been kept by a mass
of aquatic weeds, it slowly ascended to the surface of the
Amazon.

CHAPTER X

THE CONTENTS OF THE CASE

What was it that had happened ? A purely physical phe-
nomenon, of which the following is an explanation.

The gunboat Santa Ana, bound for Manaos, had come up
the river and passed the bar at Frias. Just before she
reached the embouchure of the Rio Negro she hoisted her
colors and saluted the Brazilian flag.

At the report vibrations were produced along the surface
of the stream, and these vibrations making their way down
to the bottom of the river, had been sufficient to raise the
corpse of Torres, already lightened by the commencement
of its decomposition and the distention of its cellular sys-
tem. The body of the drowned man had in the ordinary
course risen to the surface of the water.

This well-known phenomenon explains the reappearance
of the corpse, but it must be admitted that the arrival of
the Santa Ana was a fortunate coincidence.

52 THE CRYPTOGRAM

By a shout from Manoel, repeated by all his companions,
one of the pirogues was immediately steered for the body
while the diver was at the same time hauled up to the raft.

Great was Manoel's emotion when Benito, drawn on to
the platform, was laid there in a state of complete inertia,
not a single exterior movement betraying that he still lived.
Was not this a second corpse which the waters of the Ama-
zon had given up ?

As quickly as possible the diving-dress was taken off him.
Benito had entirely lost consciousness beneath the violent
shocks of the gymnotus.

Manoel, distracted, called to him, breathed into him, and
endeavored to recover the heart's pulsation. " It beats !
It beats! " he exclaimed.

Yes! Benito's heart did still beat, and in a few minutes
Manoel's efforts restored him to life.

" The body! the body! " Such were the first words, the
only ones which escaped from Benito's lips.

" There it is! " answered Fragoso, pointing to a pirogue
then coming up to the raft with the corpse.

" But what has been the matter, Benito? " asked Manoel.
" Has it been the want of air? "

" No ! " said Benito ; " a puraque attacked me ! But the
noise? the detonation?"

" A cannon shot ! " replied Manoel. " It was the cannon
shot which brought the corpse to the surface."

At this moment the pirogue came up to the raft with the
body of Torres, which had been taken on board by the
Indians. His sojourn in the water had not disfigured him
very much. He was easily recognizable, and there was no
doubt as to his identity.

Fragoso, kneeling down in the pirogue, had already be-
gun to undo the clothes of the drowned man, which came
away in fragments. At the moment, Torres' right arm,
which was now left bare, attracted his attention. On it ap-
peared the distinct scar of an old wound produced by a blow
from a knife. " That scar! " exclaimed Fragoso. " But —
that is good ! I remember now "

"What?" demanded Manoel.

" A quarrel ! Yes ! a quarrel I witnessed in the province
of Madeira three years ago. How could I have for-
gotten it. This Torres was then a captain of the woods.

THE CONTENTS OF THE CASE 53

Ah! I know now where I had seen him, the scoundrel!'

" That does not matter to us now! " cried Benito. " The
case! the case! Has he still got that?" and Benito was
about to tear away the last coverings of the corpse to get
at it.

Manoel stopped him. " One moment, Benito," he said ;
and then, turning to the men on the raft who did not belong
to the jangada, and whose evidence could not be suspected
at any future time, " Just take note, my friends," he said,
" of what we are doing here, so that you can relate before
the magistrate what has passed."

The men came up to the pirogue.

Fragoso undid the belt which encircled the body of Tor-
res underneath the torn poncho, and feeling his breast-
pocket, exclaimed, "The case!"

A cry of joy escaped from Benito. He stretched for-
ward to seize the case, to make sure that it contained

" No! " again interrupted Manoel, whose coolness did not
forsake him. " It is necessary that not the slightest possible
doubt should exist in the mind of the magistrate! It is
better that disinterested witnesses should affirm that this
case was really found on the corpse of Torres ! ':

" You are right," replied Benito.

" My friend," said Manoel to the foreman of the raft,
" just feel in the pocket of the waistcoat."

The foreman obeyed. He drew forth a metal case, with
the cover screwed on^ and which seemed to have suffered
in no way from its sojourn in the water.

"The paper! Is the paper still inside?" exclaimed
Benito, who could not contain himself.

" It is for the magistrate to open this case! " answered
Manoel. " To him belongs the duty of verifying that the
document was found within it."

" Yes, yes. Again you are right, Manoel," said Benito.
" To Manaos, my friends — to Manaos! "

Benito, Manoel, Fragoso, and the foreman, who held the
case, immediately jumped into one of the pirogues,
and were starting off, when Fragoso said, " And the
corpse? "

The pirogue stopped. In fact, the Indians had already
thrown back the body into the water, and it was drifting
away down the river

54 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" Torres was only a scoundrel," said Benito. " If I had
to fight him, it was God that struck him, and his body
ought not to go unburied ! " And so orders were given to
the second pirogue to recover the corpse, and take it to
the bank to await its burial.

But at the same moment a flock of birds of prey, which
skimmed along the surface of the stream, pounced on the
floating body. They were urubus, a kind of small vulture,
with naked necks and long claws, and black as crows. In
South America they are known as gallinazos, and their
voracity is unparalleled. The body, torn open by their
beaks, gave forth the gases which inflated it, its density
increased, it sank down little by little, and for the last time
what remained of Torres disappeared beneath the waters of
the Amazon.

Ten minutes afterward the pirogue arrived at Manaos.
Benito and his companions jumped ashore, and hurried
through the streets of the town. In a few minutes they
had reached the dwelling of Judge Jarriquez, and informed
him, through one of his servants, that they wished to see
him immediately. The judge ordered them to be shown
into his study.

There Manoel recounted all that had passed, from the
moment when Torres had been killed until the moment
when the case had been found on his corpse, and taken from
his breast-pocket by the foreman.

Although this recital was of a nature to corroborate all
that Joam Dacosta had said on the subject of Torres, and
of the bargain which he had endeavored to make, Judge
Jarriquez could not restrain a smile of incredulity.

" There is the case, sir," said Manoel. " For not a single
instant has it been in our hands, and the man who gives it
to you is he who took it from the body of Torres."

The magistrate took the case and examined it with care,
turning it over and over as though it were made of some
precious material. Then he shook it, and a few coins inside
sounded with a metallic ring. Did not, then, the case con-
tain the document which had been so much sought after —
the document written in the very hand of the true author
of the crime of Tijuco, and which Torres had wished to
sell at such an ignoble price to Joam Dacosta? Was this
material proof of the convict's innocence irrecoverably lost?

THE DOCUMENT 55

We can easily imagine the violent agitation which had
seized upon the spectators of this scene. Benito could
scarcely utter a word ; he felt his heart ready to burst.
''Open it, sir! open the case!" he at last exclaimed, in a
broken voice.

Judge Jarriquez began to unscrew the lid; then, when
the cover was removed, he turned up the case, and from it
a few pieces of gold dropped out and rolled on the table.

" But the paper ! the paper ! " again gasped Benito, who
clutched hold of the table to save himself from falling.

The magistrate put his fingers into the case and drew out,
not without difficulty, a faded paper, folded with care, and
which the water did not seem to have touched.

" The document ! that is the document ! " shouted Fra-
goso ; " that is the very paper I saw in the hands of
Torres!"

Judge Jarriquez unfolded the paper and cast his eyes over
it, and then he turned it over so as to examine it on the
back and the front, which were both covered with writing.
" A document it really is ! " said he ; " there is no doubt
of that. It is indeed a document ! "

" Yes," replied Benito ; " and that is the document which
proves my father's innocence!"

" I do not know that," replied Judge Jarriquez; "and I
am afraid it will be very difficult to know it."

" Why? " exclaimed Benito, who became pale as death.

" Because this document is a cryptogram, and "

"Well?"

" We have not got the key ! "

CHAPTER XI

THE DOCUMENT

This was a contingency which neither Joam Dacosta nor
his people could have anticipated. In fact, as those who
have not forgotten the first scene in this story are aware,
the document was written in a disguised form in one of the
numerous systems used in cryptography.

But which of them? To discover this would require all
the ingenuity of which the human brain was capable.

Before dismissing Benito and his companions, Judge Jar-

56 THE CRYPTOGRAM

riquez had an exact copy made of the document, and, keep-
ing the original, handed the copy to them after due com-
parison, so that they could communicate with the prisoner.

Then, making an appointment for the morrow, they re-
tired, and, not wishing to lose an instant in seeing Joam
Dacosta, they hastened on to the prison; and there, in a
short interview, informed him of all that had passed.

Joam Dacosta took the document and carefully examined
it. Shaking his head, he handed it back to his son. " Per-
haps," he said, " there is therein written the proof I shall
never be able to produce. But if that proof escapes me, if
the whole tenor of my life does not plead for me, I have
nothing more to expect from the justice of men, and my
fate is in the hands of God! "

And all felt it to be so. If the document remained
indecipherable, the position of the convict was a desperate
one.

" We shall find it, father ! " exclaimed Benito. " There
never was a document of this sort yet which could stand
examination. Have confidence — ves, confidence! Heaven
has, so to speak, miraculously given us the paper which
vindicates you, and, after guiding our hands to recover it,
it will not refuse to direct our brains to unravel it."

Joam Dacosta shook hands wtih Benito and Manoel, and
then the three young men, much agitated, retired to the
jangada, where Yaquita was awaiting them.

Yaquita was soon informed of what had happened since
the evening — the reappearance of the body of Torres, the
discovery of the document, and the strange form under
which the real culprit, the companion of the adventurer,
had thought proper to write his confession — doubtless, so
that it should not compromise him if it fell into strange
hands.

Naturally, Lina was informed of this unexpected com-
plication, and of the discovery made by Fragoso, that Tor-
res was an old captain of the woods belonging to the gang
who were employed about the mouths of the Madeira.

"But under what circumstances did you meet him?"
asked the young mulatto.

" It was during one of my runs across the province of
Amazones," replied Fragoso, " when I was going from vil-
lage to village, working at my trade."

THE DOCUMENT 57

"And the scar?"

" What happened was this : One day I arrived at the mis-
sion of Aranas at the moment that Torres, whom I had
never before seen, had picked a quarrel with one of his
comrades — and a Dad lot they are! and this quarrel ended
with a stab from a knife, which entered the arm of the cap-
tain of the woods. There was no doctor there, and so I
took charge of the wound, and that is how I made his
acquaintance."

" What does it matter, after all," replied the young girl,
" that we know what Torres had been ? He was not the
author of the crime, and it does not help us in the least."

" No, it does not," answered Fragoso ; " for we shall
end by reading this document, and then the innocence of
Joam Dacosta will be palpable to the eyes of all."

This was likewise the hope of Yaquita, of Benito, of
Manoel, and of Minha, and, shut up in the house, they
passed long hours in endeavoring to decipher the writ-
ing.

But if it was their hope — and there is no need to insist
on that point — it was none the less that of Judge Jarriquez.
After having drawn up his report at the end of his exam-
ination establishing the identity of Joam Dacosta, the mag-
istrate had sent it off to headquarters, and therewith he
thought he had finished with the affair so far as he was
concerned. It could not well be otherwise.

On the discovery of the document, Jarriquez suddenly
found himself face to face with the study of which he was
a master. He, the seeker after numerical combinations, the
solver of amusing problems, the answerer of charades,
rebuses, logogryphs, and such things, was at last in his true
clement.

At the thought that the document might perhaps contain
the justification of Joam Dacosta, he felt all the instinct
of an analyst aroused. Here, before his very eyes, was a
cryptogram! And so from that moment he thought of
nothing but how to discover its meaning, and it is scarcely
necessary to say that he made up his mind to work at it
continuously, even if he forgot to eat or to drink.

After the departure of the young people, Judge Jarriquez
installed himself in his study. His door, barred against
every one, assured him of several hours of perfect solitude.

58 THE CRYPTOGRAM

His spectacles were on his nose, his snuff-box on the table.
He took a good pinch so as to develop the finesse and
sagacity of his mind. He picked up the document and
became absorbed in meditation, which soon became materi-
alized in the shape of a monologue. The worthy justice
was one of those unreserved men who think more
easily aloud than to himself. " Let us proceed with
method," he said. "No method, no logic; no logic, no
success."

Then, taking the document, he ran through it from be-
ginning to end, without understanding it in the least.

The document contained a hundred lines, which were
divided into half a dozen paragraphs.

"Hum!' said the judge, after a little reflection; "to
try every paragraph, one after the other, would be to lose
precious time, and be of no use. I had better select one of
these paragraphs, and take the one which is likely to prove
the most interesting. Which of them would do this better
than the last, where the recital of the whole affair is prob-
ably summed up ? Proper names might put me on the track,
among others that of Joam Dacosta ; and if he has anything
to do with this document, his name will evidently not be
absent from its concluding paragraph."

The magistrate's reasoning was logical, and he was de-
cidedly right in bringing all his resources to bear in the
first place on the gist of the cryptogram as contained in its
last paragraph.

Here is the paragraph, for it is necessary to again bring
it before the eyes of the reader so as to show how an analyst
set to work to discover its meaning:

"Phyjslyddqfdzxgasgzzqqehxgkfn
drxujugiocytdxvksbxhhuypohdvyry
m h u h p u y d k j o x p h e t o z si e t n p m v ff o v p d p
ajxhynojyggaymeqynfuqlnmvlyfgsu
zmqiztlbqgyngsqeubvnrcredgruzblr
m x y u h q h p z d r r g c r o h e p q x n f i v v r p I p h
onthvddqfhqsntzhhhnfepmqkyuuexk
togzgkyuumfvijdqdpzjqsykrplxhxq
rymvklohhhotozvdksppsuvjh d."

THE DOCUMENT 59

At the outset. Judge Jarriquez noticed that the lines of
the document were not divided either into words or phrases,
and that there was a complete absence of punctuation. This
fact could but render the reading of the document more
difficult.

" Let me see, however," he said, " if there is not some
assemblage of the letters which appears to form a word —
I mean a pronounceable word, whose number of consonants
is in proportion to its vowels. And at the beginning I see
the word phy; farther on the word gas. Hallo ! ujngi. Does
this mean the African town on the banks of Tanganyika!
What has this got to do with all this? Farther on
here is the word ypo. Is it Greek, then? Close by here
is rym and puy, and jox, and phctoz, and jyggay,
and mv, and qrus. And before that we had got
red and let. That is good! those are two English words.
Then ohe — syk; then rym once more, and then the word
oto."

Judge Jarriquez let the paper drop, and thought for a
few minutes.

" All the words I see in this thing seem queer! " he said.
" In fact, there is nothing to give a clue to their origin.
Some look like Greek, some like Dutch; some have an
English twist, and some look like nothing at all! To
say nothing of these series of consonants which are
not wanted in any human pronunciation. Most assuredly
it would not be very easy to find the key to this crypto-
gram."

The magistrate's fingers commenced to beat a tattoo on
his desk — a kind of reveille to arouse his dormant facul-
ties.

" Let us see," he said, " how many letters there are in
the paragraph."

He then counted them, pen in hand.

' Two hundred and seventy-six! " he said. " Well, now
let us try what proportion these different letters bear to
each other."

This occupied him for some time. The judge took up
the document, and, with his pen in his hand, he noted each
letter in alphabetical order.

In a quarter of an hour he had obtained the following
table : —

60 THE CRYPTOGRAM

a — 3 times.

b= 4 —

c= 3 —

d= 16 —

<?= 9 —

/=10 -

g=\3 -

h = 23 —

*= 4 —

;= 8 -

fc = 9 —

/= 9 —

w = 9 —

»= 9 —

o= 12 —

p=16 —

g= 16 —

r=12 —

j= 10 —

t= 8 —

w = 17 —

w=13 —

JT= 12 —

y= 19 —

3= 12 —

Total . . 276 times.

" Ah, ah ! ' he exclaimed. " One thing strikes me at
once, and that is that in this paragraph all the letters of
the alphabet are used. This is very strange. If we
take up a book and open it by chance it will be very seldom
that we hit upon two hundred and seventy-six letters with
all the signs of the alphabet figuring among them.
After all, it may be chance," and then he passed to a differ-
ent train of thought. " One important point is to see if
the vowels and consonants are in their normal propor-
tion."

And so he seized his pen, counted up the vowels, and
obtained the following result: —

THE DOCUMENT 61

a =

■ 3

times.

e =

9

—

i =

4

—

o =

12

—

u =

17

—

y =

19

—

64 vowels.

Total

" And thus there are in this paragraph, after we have
done our subtraction, sixty-four vowels and two hundred
and twelve consonants. Good ! that is the normal propor-
tion. That is about a fifth, as in the alphabet, where there
are six vowels among twenty-five letters. It is possible,
therefore, that the document is written in the language of
our country, and that only the signification of each letter
is changed. If it has been modified in regular order, and
a & is always represented by an /, an o by a v, a g by a k, an
u by an r, etc., I will give up my judgeship if I do not read
it. What can I do better than follow the method of that
great analytical genius, Edgar Allan Poe? "

Judge Jarriquez herein alluded to a story by the great
American romancer, which is a masterpiece. Who has not
read the " Gold Bug? ' In this novel a cryptogram, com-
posed of ciphers, letters, algebraic signs, asterisks, full-stops,
and commas, is submitted to a truly mathematical analysis,
and is deciphered under extraordinary conditions, which the
admirers of that strange genius can never forget. On the
reading of the American document depended only a treas-
ure, while on that of this one depended a man's life. Its
solution was consequently all the more interesting.

The magistrate, who had often read and re-read his
" Gold Bug," was perfectly acquainted with the steps in
the analysis so minutely described by Edgar Poe, and he
resolved to proceed in the same way on this occasion. In
doing so he was certain, as he had said, that if the value
or signification of each letter remained constant, he would,
sooner or later, arrive at the solution of the document.

" What did Edgar Poe do? " he repeated. " First of all
he began by finding out the sign — here there are only let-
ters, let us say the letter — which was reproduced the often-
est. I see that that is h, for it is met with twenty-three

62 THE CRYPTOGRAM

times. This enormous proportion shows, to begin with,
that h does not stand for h, but, on the contrary, that it
represents the letter which recurs most frequently in our
language, for I suppose the document is written in Portu-
guese. In English or French it would certainly be e, in
Italian it would be * or a, in Portuguese it will be a or o.
Now let us say that h signifies a or o."

After this was done, the judge found out the letter
which recurred most frequently after h, and so on, and he
formed the following table : —

h

—

23 times

y

=

19 —

u

=

17 —

dpq

=

16 —

gv

—

13 —

o r x z

=

12 —

fs

—

10 —

e k I m n

=

9 —

it

=

8 —

bi

=

4 —

a c

=

3 —

" Now the letter a only occurs thrice ! " exclaimed the
judge, " and it ought to occur the oftenest. Ah ! that clearly
proves that the meaning has been changed. And now, after
a or o, what are the letters which figure oftenest in our
language? Let us see," and Judge Jarriquez, with truly
remarkable sagacity, which denoted a very observant mind,
started on this new quest. In this he was only imitating
the American romancer, who, great analyst as he was, had,
by simple induction, been able to construct an alphabet cor-
responding to the signs of the cryptogram, and by means
of it to eventually read the pirate's parchment note with
ease.

The magistrate set to work in the same way, and we
may affirm that he was no whit inferior to his illustrious
master. Thanks to his previous work at logogryphs and
squares, rectangular arrangements, and other enigmas,
which depend only on an arbitrary disposition of the letters,
he was already pretty strong in such mental pastimes. On
this occasion he sought to establish the order in which the

THE DOCUMENT 63

letters were reproduced — vowels first, consonants after-t
ward.

Three hours had elapsed since he began. He had before
his eyes an alphabet which, if his procedure were right,
would give him the right meaning of the letters in the docu-
ment. He had only to successively apply the letters of his
alphabet to those of his paragraph. But before making this
application some slight emotion seized upon the judge. He
fully experienced the intellectual gratification — much greater
than, perhaps, would be thought — of the man who, after
hours of obstinate endeavor, saw the impatiently sought-for
sense of the logogryph coming into view.

" Now let us try," he said ; " and I shall be very much
surprised if I have not got the solution of the enigma! ':

Judge Jarriquez took off his spectacles and wiped the
glasses ; then he put them back again, and bent over the
table. His special alphabet was in one hand, the crypto-
gram in the other. He commenced to write under the first
line of the paragraph the true letters, which, according to
him, ought to correspond exactly with each of the crypto-
graphic letters. As with the first line so did he with the
second, and the third, and the fourth, until he had reached
the end of the paragraph.

Oddity as he was, he did not stop to see as he wrote if
the assemblage of letters made intelligible words. No ; dur-
ing the first stage his mind refused all verification of that
sort. What he desired was to give himself the ecstasy of
reading it all straight off at once.

And now he had done.

" Let us read ! " he exclaimed.

And he read. Good heavens ! what cacophony ! The lines
he had formed with the letters of his alphabet had no more
sense in them than those of the document ! It was another
series of letters, and that was all. They formed no word ;
they had no value. In short, they were just as hieroglyphic.

" Confound the thing! " exclaimed Judge Jarriquez.

CHAPTER XII

IS IT A MATTER OF FIGURES?

It was seven o'clock in the evening. Judge Jarriquez had
all the time been absorbed in working at the puzzle — and
was no farther advanced — and had forgotten the time of
repast and the time of repose, when there came a knock at
his study door.

It was^time. An hour later, and all the cerebral substance
of the vexed magistrate would certainly have evaporated
under the intense heat into which he had worked his
head.

At the order to enter — which was given in an impatient
tone — the door opened and Manoel presented himself. The
young doctor had left his friends on board the jangada at
work on the indecipherable document, and had come to see
Judge Jarriquez. He was anxious to know if he had been
fortunate in his researches. He had come to ask if he had
at length discovered the system on which the cryptogram
had been written.

The magistrate was not sorry to see Manoel come in. He
was in that state of excitement that solitude was exasper-
ating to him. He wanted some one to speak to, some one
as anxious to penetrate the mystery as he was. Manoel was
just the man.

" Sir," said Manoel, as he entered, " one question! Have
you succeeded better than we have? "

" Sit down first," exclaimed Judge Jarriquez, who got up
and began to pace the room. " Sit down! If we are both
of us standing, you will walk one way and I shall walk the
other, and the room will be too narrow to hold us."

Manoel sat down and repeated his question.

"No! I have not had any success!" replied the magis-
trate ; " I do not think I am any better off. I have got
nothing to tell you ; but I have found out a certainty.'*

"What is that, sir?"

" That the document is not based on conventional signs,
but on what is known in cryptology as a cipher, that is to
say, on a number."

" Well, sir," answered Manoel, " cannot a document of
that kind always be read ? "

" Yes," said Jarriquez, " if a letter is invariably repre-

64

IS IT A MATTER OF FIGURES? 65

sented by the same letter; if an a, for example, is always a
p, and a p is always an x; if not, it cannot."

"And in this document?"

" In this document the value of the letter changes with
the arbitrarily selected cipher which necessitates it. So a
b which will in one place be represented by a k will later
on become a s, later on a u or an n or an /, or any other
letter."

" And then, I am sorry to say, the cryptogram is inde-
cipherable."

" Indecipherable ! " exclaimed Manoel. " No, sir ; we
shall end by finding the key of the document on which a
man's life depends."

Manoel had risen, a prey to the excitement he could not
control; the reply he had received was too hopeless, and
he refused to accept it for good. At a gesture from the
judge, however, he sat down again, and in a calmer voice
asked, " And in the first place, sir, what makes you think
that the basis of this document is a number, or, as you call
it, a cipher? "

" Listen to me, young man," replied the judge, " and you
will be forced to give in to the evidence."

The magistrate took the document and put it before the
eyes of Manoel and showed him what he had done.

" I began," he said, " by treating this document in the
proper way, that is to say, logically, leaving nothing to
chance. I applied to it an alphabet based on the proportion
the letters bear to one another which is usual in our lan-
guage, and I sought to obtain the meaning by following
the precepts of our immortal analyst, Edgar Poe. Well,
what succeeded with him collapsed with me."

" Collapsed ! " exclaimed Manoel.

" Yes, my dear young man, and I at once saw that suc-
cess sought in that fashion was impossible. In truth, a
stronger man than I might have been deceived."

" But I should like to understand," said Manoel, " and
I do not "

" Take the document," continued Judge Jarriquez ; " first
look at the disposition of the letters, and read it through."

Manoel obeyed.

' Do you not see that the combination of several of the
letters is very strange? " asked the magistrate.

V XII Verne

66 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" I do not see anything," said Manoel, after having for
perhaps the hundredth time read through the document.

" Well ! study the last paragraph ! There you understand
the sense of the whole is bound to be summed up. Do you
see anything abnormal ? "

" Nothing."

" There is, however, one thing which absolutely proves
that the language is subject to the laws of number."

"And that is?"

" That is that you see three h's coming together in two
different places."

What Jarriquez said was correct, and it was of a nature
to attract attention. The two hundred and fourth, two hun-
dred and fifth, and two hundred and sixth letters of the
paragraph, and the two hundred and fifty-eighth, two hun-
dred and fifty-ninth, and two hundred and sixtieth letters
of the paragraph, were consecutive h's. At first this peculiar-
ity had not struck the magistrate.

"And that proves? " asked Manoel, without divining the
deduction that could be drawn from the combination.

" That simply proves that the basis of the document is a
number. It shows a priori that each letter is modified in
virtue of the ciphers of the number and according to the
place which it occupies."

"And why?"

" Because in no language will you find words with three
consecutive repetitions of the letter h."

Manoel was struck with the argument ; he thought about
it, and, in short, had no reply to make.

" And had I made the observation sooner," continued the
magistrate, " I might have spared myself a good deal of
trouble and a headache which extends from my occiput to
my sinciput."

" But, sir," asked Manoel, who felt the little hope van-
ishing on which he had hitherto rested, " what do you mean
by a cipher? "

" Tell me a number."

" Any number you like."

" Give me an example and you will understand the ex-
planation better."

Judge Jarriquez sat down at the table, took up a sheet
of paper and a pencil, and said:

IS IT A MATTER OF FIGURES? 67

" Now, Mr. Manoel, let us choose a sentence by chance,
the first that comes; for instance —

Judge Jarriquez has an ingenious mind.

I write this phrase so as to space the letters differently, and
I get—

Judge jarriquezhasaningeniousmind.

That done," said the magistrate, to whom the phrase seemed
to contain a proposition beyond dispute, looking Manoel
straight in the face, " suppose I take a number by chance,
so as to give a cryptographic form to this natural succession
of words; suppose now this word is composed of three
ciphers, and let these ciphers be 2, 3 and 4. Now on the
line below I put the number 234, and repeat it as many times
as are necessary to get to the end of the phrase, and so that
every cipher comes underneath a letter. This is what we
get—

Judge jarriquezhasaningeniousmind.
23423423423423423423423423 423423

And now, Mr. Manoel, replacing each letter by the letter
in advance of it in alphabetical order according to the value
of the cipher, we get —

/ plus 2 equal /

u plus 3 equal x

d plus 4 equal h

g plus 2 equal i

e plus 3 equal h

j plus 4 equal n

a plus 2 equal c

r plus 3 equal u

r plus 4 equal v

i plus 2 equal k

q plus 3 equal t

u plus 4 equal y

e plus 2 equal g

z plus 3 equal c

h plus 4 equal t

a plus 2 equal c

s plus 3 equal v

a plus 4 equal e

n plus 2 equal p

68, THE CRYPTOGRAM

i plus 3 equal /
n plus 4 equal r
g plus 2 equal i
e plus 3 equal h
n plus 4 equal r
i plus 2 equal £
0 plus 3 equal r
u plus 4 equal y
^ plus 2 equal w
and so on.

" If, on account of the value of the ciphers which com-
pose the number, I come to the end of the alphabet without
having enough complementary letters to deduct, I begin
again at the beginning. That is what happens at the end
of my name when the z is replaced by the 3. As after z
the alphabet has no more letters, I commence to count from
a and so get the c. That done, when I get to the end of this
cryptographic system, made up of the 234 — which was arbi-
trarily selected, do not forget ! — the phrase which you recog-
nize above is replaced by —

Ixhihncuvktygclcveplrihrkryupmpg.

" And now, young man, just look at it, and do you not
think it is very much like what is in the document? Well,
what is the consequence ? Why, that the signification of the
letters depends on a cipher which chance put beneath them,
and the cryptographic letter which answers to a true one is
not always the same. So in this phrase the first / is repre-
sented by an /, the second by an n; the first e by an h, the
second by a g, the third by an h; the first d is represented
by an h, the last by a g, and so on. Now you see that if
you do not know the cipher 234 you will never be able to
read the lines, and consequently if we do not know the num-
ber of the document, it remains indecipherable!'3

On hearing the magistrate reason with such careful logic,
Manoel was at first overwhelmed, but, raising his head, he
exclaimed :

" No, sir, I will not renounce the hope of finding the
number ! "

" We might have done so," answered Judge Jarriquez,
" if the lines of the document had been divided into words."

"And why?"

IS IT A MATTER OF FIGURES? 69

" For this reason, young man. I think we can assume
that in the last paragraph all that is written in these earlier
paragraphs is summed up. Now I am convinced that in it
will be found the name of Joam Dacosta. Well, if the lines
had been divided into words, in trying the words one after
the other — I mean the words composed of seven letters, as
the name of Dacosta is — it would not have been impossible
to evolve the number which is the key of the document."

" Will you explain to me how you ought to proceed to do
that, sir?" asked Manoel, who probably caught a glimpse
of one more hope.

" Nothing can be more simple," answered the judge.
" Let us take, for example, one of the words in the sen-
tence we have just written — my name, if you like. It is
represented in the cryptogram by this queer succession of
letters, ncuvktygc. Well, arranging these letters in a col-
umn, one under the other, and then placing them against the
letters of my name, and deducting one from the other the
numbers of their places in alphabetical order, I get the fol-
lowing result: —

Between n and ; we have 4 letters

c — a

- 2

u — r

- 3

v — r
k — i -
t — q -
y — u

- 4

- 2

- 3

- 4

g — e

- 2

c — z

- 3

" Now what is the column of ciphers made up of that
we have got by this simple operation? Look here! 423,
423, 423, that is to say, of repetitions of the numbers 423,
or 234, or 342."

" Yes, that is it ! " answered Manoel.

" You understand, then, by this means, that in calculat-
ing the true letter from the false, instead of the false from
the true, I have been able to discover the number with ease ;
and the number I was in search of is really the 234 which
I took as the key to my cryptogram."

" Well, sir! " exclaimed Manoel, " if that is so, the name
of Dacosta is in the last paragraph ; and taking successively

70 THE CRYPTOGRAM

each letter of these lines for the first of the seven letters
which compose his name, we ought to get "

" That would be impossible," interrupted the judge, " ex-
cept on one condition."

"What is that?"

" That the first cipher of the number should happen to
be the first letter of the word Dacosta, and I think you will
agree with me that it is not probable."

"Quite so!" sighed Manoel, who, with this improbabil-
ity, saw the last chance vanish.

" And so we must trust to chance alone," continued Jar-
riquez, who shook his head, " and chance does not often do
much in things of this sort."

" But still," said Manoel, " chance might give us this
number."

" This number," exclaimed the magistrate — " this num-
ber? But how many ciphers is it composed of? Of two,
or three, or four, or nine, or ten? Is it made up of differ-
ent ciphers only, or of ciphers in different order many times
repeated? Do you not know, young man, that with the
ordinary ten ciphers, using all at a time, but without any
repetition, you can make 3,268,800 different numbers, and
that if you use the same cipher more than once in the num-
ber, these millions of combinations will be enormously in-
creased? And do you not know that if we employ every
one of the 525,600 minutes of which the year is composed
to try at each of these numbers, it would take you six years,
and that you would want three centuries if each operation
took you an hour? No! You ask the impossible! ':

"Impossible, sir?" answered Manoel. "An innocent
man has been branded as guilty, and Joam Dacosta is to
lose his life and his honor while you hold in your hands
the material proof of his innocence. That is what is im-
possible ! "

" Ah, young man! " exclaimed Jarriquez, " who told you,
after all, that Torres did not tell a lie ? Who told you that
he really did have in his hands a document written by the
author of the crime ? that this paper was the document, and
that this document refers to Joam Dacosta? ':

"Who told me so? " repeated Manoel, and his face was
hidden in his hands.

In fact, nothing could prove for certain that the docu-

CHANCE! 71

ment had anything to do with the affair in the diamond
province. There was, in fact, nothing to show that it was
not utterly devoid of meaning, and that it had been imagined
by Torres himself, who was as capable of selling a false
thing as a true one!

" It does not matter, Manoel," continued the judge, ris-
ing ; " it does not matter ! Whatever it may be to which
the document refers, I have not yet given up discovering
the cipher. After all, it is worth more than a logogryph or
a rebus ! "

At these words Manoel rose, shook hands with the mag-
istrate, and returned to the jangada, feeling more hopeless
when he went back than when he set out.

CHAPTER XIII

chance!

A complete change took place in public opinion on the
subject of Joam Dacosta. To anger succeeded pity. The
population no longer thronged to the prison of Manaos to
roar out cries of death to the prisoner. On the contrary,
the most forward of them in accusing him of being the
principal author of the crime of Tijuco now averred that
he was not guilty, and demanded his immediate restoration
to liberty. Thus it always is with the mob — from one ex-
treme they run to the other. But the change was in-
telligible.

The events which had happened in the last few days —
the struggle between Benito and Torres ; the search for the
corpse, which had reappeared under such extraordinary cir-
cumstances ; the finding of the " indecipherable " document,
if we can so call it; the information it concealed, the assur-
ance that it contained, or rather the wish that it contained,
the material proof of the guiltlessness of Joam Dacosta ; and
the hope that it was written by the real culprit — all these
things had contributed to work the change in public opinion.
What the people had desired and impatiently demanded
forty-eight hours before, they now feared, and that was the
arrival of the instructions due from Rio de Janeiro.

These, however, were not likely to be delayed.

Joam Dacosta had been arrested on the 24th of August,

r72 THE CRYPTOGRAM

and examined next day. The judge's report was sent! oft*
on the 26th. It was now the 28th. In three or four days

more the Minister would have come to a decision regarding
the convict, and it was only too certain that justice would
take its course.

There was no doubt that such would be the case. On

'the other hand, that the assurance of Dacosta's innocence

> would appear from the document, was not doubted by any-
body, neither by his family nor by the fickle population of
Manaos, who excitedly followed the phases of this dramatic
affair.

But, on the other hand, in the eyes of disinterested or
indifferent persons who were not affected by the event, what
value could be assigned to this document? and how could
they even declare that it referred to the crime in the diamond
arrayal ? It existed, that was undeniable ; it had been found
on the corpse of Torres, nothing could be more certain. ^ It
could even be seen, by comparing it with the letter in which
Torres gave the information about Joam Dacosta, that the
document was not in the handwriting of the adventurer.
But, as had been suggested by Judge Jarriquez, why should
not the scoundrel have invented it for the sake of his bar-
gain ? And this was less unlikely to be the case, considering
that Torres had declined to part with it until after his mar-
riage with Dacosta's daughter — that is to say, when it
would have been impossible to undo an accomplished fact.
All these views were held by some people in some form,
and we can quite understand what interest the affair created.
In any case, the situation of Joam Dacosta was most hazard-
ous. If the document were not deciphered, it would be just
the same as if it did not exist ; and if the secret of the crypto-
gram were not miraculously divined or revealed before the
end of the three days, the supreme sentence would inevitably
be suffered by the doomed man of Tijuco. And this miracle
a man attempted to perform ! The man was Jarriquez, and
he now really set to work more in the interest of Joam
Dacosta than for the satisfaction of his analytical^ faculties.
A complete change had also taken place in his opinion. Was
not this man, who had voluntarily abandoned his retreat at
Iquitos, who had come at the risk of his life to demand his
rehabilitation at the hands of Brazilian justice, a moral enig-
ma worth all the others put together? And so the judge

CHANCE! 73

had resolved never to leave the document until he had dis-
covered the cipher. He set to work at it in a fury. He ate
no more; he slept no more! All his time was passed in
inventing combinations of numbers, in forging a key to
force this lock!

This idea had taken possession of Judge Jarriquez's brain
at the end of the first day. Suppressed frenzy consumed
him, and kept him in a perpetual heat. His whole house
trembled ; his servants, black or white, dared not come near
him. Fortunately he was a bachelor; had there been a
Madame Jarriquez she would have had a very uncomfortable
time of it. Never had a problem so taken possession of this
oddity, and he had thoroughly made up his mind to get at
the solution, even if his head exploded like an overheated
boiler under the tension of its vapor.

It was perfectly clear to the mind of the worthy magistrate
that the key to the document was a number, composed of
two or more ciphers, but what this number was all investiga-
tion seemed powerless to discover.

This was the enterprise on which Jarriquez, in quite a
fury, was engaged, and during this 28th of August he
brought all his faculties to bear on it, and worked away
almost superhumanly.

To arrive at the number by chance, he said, was to lose
himself in millions of combinations, which would absorb
the life of a first-rate calculator. But if he could in no
respect reckon on chance, was it impossible to proceed by
reasoning? Decidedly not! And so it was "to reason till
he became unreasoning " that Judge Jarriquez gave him-
self up after vainly seeking repose in a few hours of sleep.
He who ventured in upon him at this moment after braving
the formal defenses which protected his solitude, would have
found him, as on the day before, in his study, before his
desk, with the document under his eyes, the thousands of
letters of which seemed all jumbled together and flying about
his head.

" Ah ! " he exclaimed, " why did not the scoundrel who
wrote this separate the words in this paragraph ? We might
— we will try — but no ! However, if there is anything here
about the murder and the robbery, two or three words there
must be in it — ' arrayal,' ' diamond,' ' Tijuco,' ' Dacosta,'
and others ; and in putting down their cryptological equiva-

74 THE CRYPTOGRAM

lents the number could be arrived at. But there is nothing
— not a break! — not one word by itself! One word of two
hundred and seventy-six letters! I hope the wretch may
be blessed two hundred and seventy-six times for complicat-
ing his system in this way! He ought to be hanged two
hundred and seventy-six times ! "

And a violent thump with his fist on the document em-
phasized this charitable wish.

" But," continued the magistrate, " if I cannot find one of
the words in the body of the document, I might at least
try my hand at the beginning and end of each paragraph.
There may be a chance there that I ought not to miss."

And impressed with this idea Judge Jarriquez successively
tried if the letters which commenced or finished the differ-
ent paragraphs could be made to correspond with those
which formed the most important word, which was sure to
be found somewhere, that of Dacosta.

To take only the last paragraph with which he began,
the formula was-

p

D

h

—

a

y

—

c

j

=

0

s

=

s

I

=

t

y

■=.

a

Now at the very first letter Jarriquez was stopped in his
calculations, for the difference in alphabetical position be-
tween the d and p gave him not one cipher but two, namely :
12, and in this kind of cryptogram only one letter can take
the place of another.

It was the same for the seven last letters of the paragraph,
p s u v j h d, of which the series also commences with a
p, and which could in no case stand for the d in Dacosta,
because these letters were in like manner twelve spaces apart.

So it was not his name that figured here.

The same observation applied to the words arrayal and
Tijuco, which were successively tried, but whose construc-
tion did not correspond with the cryptographic series.

After he had got so far, Judge Jarriquez, with his head

CHANCE! 75

nearly splitting, arose and paced his office, went for fresh
air to the window, and gave utterance to a growl, at the noise
of which a flock of humming-birds, murmuring among the
foliage of a mimosa-tree, betook themselves to flight. Then
he returned to the document.

He picked it up and turned it over.

"The humbug! the rascal!" he hissed; "it will end by
driving me mad! But steady! Be calm! Don't let our
spirits go down! This is not the time! "

And then having refreshed himself by giving his head a
thorough sluicing with cold water: —

" Let us try another way," he said, " and as I cannot hit
upon the number from the arrangement of the letters, let
us see what number the author of the document would have
chosen in confessing that he was the author of the crime
at Tijuco."

This was another method for the magistrate to enter upon,
and maybe he was right, for there was a certain amount
of logic about it.

" And first let us try a date. Why should not the culprit
have taken the date of the year in which Dacosta, the in-
nocent man he allowed to be sentenced in his place, was
born? Was he likely to forget a number which was so
important to him? Then Joam Dacosta was born in 1804.
Let us see what 1804 will give us as a cryptological
number."

And Judge Jarriquez wrote the first letters of the para-
graph, and putting over them the number 1804 repeated
thrice, he obtained

1804 1804 1804

p hy j sly d aqfd

Then in counting up the spaces in alphabetical order he
obtained

o.yf r dy. cif.

And this was meaningless! And he wanted three letters
which he had to replace by points because the ciphers, 8,
4, and 4, which command the three letters, h, d, and d, do
not give corresponding letters in ascending the series.

" That is not it again ! " exclaimed Jarriquez. " Let us
try another number."

And he asked himself, if instead of this first date the

76 THE CRYPTOGRAM

author of the document had not rather selected the date of
the year in which the crime was committed.

This was in 1826.

And so proceeding as above, he obtained

1826 1826 1826

p hy i si y d d qf d

and that gave

o .v d rdv. cid.

the same meaningless series, the same absence of sense, as
many letters wanting as in the former instance, and for the
same reason.

" Bother the number ! " exclaimed the magistrate. " We
must give it up again. Let us have another one ! Perhaps
the rascal chose the number of contos representing the
amount of the booty! "

Now the value of the stolen diamonds was estimated at
eight hundred and thirty-four contos, or about 2,500,000
francs, and so the formula became

834 834 834 834

p hy j s I y d d q f d

and this gave a result as little gratifying as the others —

het bph pa. ic.

" Confound the document and him who imagined it ! "
shouted Jarriquez, throwing down the paper, which was
wafted to the other side of the room. " It would try the
patience of a saint ! "

But the short burst of anger passed away, and the magis-
trate, who had no idea of being beaten, picked up the
paper. What he had done with the first letters of the differ-
ent paragraphs he did with the last — and to no purpose.
Then he tried everything his excited imagination could sug-
gest.

He tried in succession the numbers which represented
Dacosta's age, which should have been known to the author
of the crime, the date of his arrest, the date of the sentence
at the Villa Rica assizes, the date fixed for the execution,
etc., etc., even the number of victims at the affray at Tijuco!

Nothing! All the time nothing!

Judge Jarriquez had worked himself into such a state of

CHANCE! 77

exasperation that there really was some fear that his mental
faculties would lose their balance. He jumped about, and
twisted about, and wrestled about as if he really had got
hold of his enemy's body. Then suddenly he cried : " Now
for chance ! Heaven help me now, logic is powerless ! "

His hand seized a bell-pull hanging near his table. The
bell rang furiously, and the magistrate strode up to the
door, which he opened. " Bobo ! " he shouted.

A moment or two elapsed.

Bobo was a freed negro, who was the privileged servant
of Jarriquez. He did not appear; it was evident that Bobo
was afraid to come into his master's room.

Another ring at the bell ; another call to Bobo, who, for
his own safety, pretended to be deaf on this occasion. And
now a third ring at the bell, which unhitched the crank and
broke the cord.

This time Bobo came up. " What is it, sir? " asked Bobo,
prudently waiting on the threshold.

"Advance, without uttering a single word! " replied the
judge, whose flaming eyes made the negro quake again.

Bobo advanced.

" Bobo," said Jarriquez, " attend to what I say, and
answer immediately; do not even take time to think, or
I "

Bobo, with fixed eyes and open mouth, brought his feet
together like a soldier and stood at attention.

" Are you ready ? " asked his master.

" I am."

" Now, then, tell me, without a moment's thought — you
understand — the first number that comes into your head."

" 76223," answered Bobo, all in a breath. Bobo thought
he would please his master by giving him a pretty large one !

Judge Jarriquez had run to the table, and, pencil in hand,
had made out a formula with the number given by Bobo,
and which Bobo had in his way only given him at a venture.

It is obvious that it was most unlikely that a number such
as 76223 was the key of the document, and it produced
no other result than to bring to the lips of Jarriquez such
a vigorous ejaculation that Bobo disappeared like a shot !

CHAPTER XIV,

THE LAST EFFORT

The magistrate, however, was not the only one who
passed his time unprofitably. Benito, Manoel, Minha tried
all they could together to extract the secret from the docu-
ment on which depended their father's life and honor. On
his part, Fragoso, aided by Lina, could not remain quiet,
but all their ingenuity had failed, and the number still
escaped them.

" Why don't you find it, Fragoso ? " asked the young
mulatto.

" I will find it," answered Fragoso.

And he did not find it !

Here we should say that Fragoso had an idea of a project
of which he had not even spoken to Lina, but which had
taken full possession of his mind. This was to go in search
of the gang to which the ex-captain of the woods had be-
longed, and to find out who was the probable author of
this cipher document, which was supposed to be the con-
fession of the culprit of Tijuco. The part of the Amazon
where these people were employed, the very place where
Fragoso had met Torres a few years before, was not very
far from Manaos. He would only have to descend the
river for about fifty miles, to the mouth of the Madeira,
a tributary coming in on the right, and there he was almost
sure to meet the head of these " capitaes do mato," to
which Torres belonged. In two days, or three days at the
outside, Fragoso could get into communication with the
old comrades of the adventurer.

" Yes ! I could do that," he repeated to himself ; " but
what would be the good of it, supposing I succeeded ? If we
are sure that one of Torres' companions has recently died,
would that prove him to be the author of this crime ? Would
that show that he gave Torres a document in which he an-
nounced himself the author of this crime, and exonerated
Joam Dacosta? Would this give us the key of the docu-
ment? No! Two men only knew the cipher — the culprit
and Torres! And these two men are no more! ':

So reasoned Fragoso. It was evident that his enterprise
would do no good. But the thought of it was too much
for him. An irresistible influence impelled him to set out,

78

THE LAST EFFORT 79

although he was not even sure of finding the band on the
Madeira. In fact, it might be engaged in some other part
of the province, and to come up with it might require more
time than Fragoso had at his disposal! And what would
be the result?

It is none the less true, however, that on the 29th of
August, before sunrise, Fragoso, without saying anything
to anybody, secretly left the jangada, arrived at Manaos,
and embarked in one of the egariteas which daily descend
the Amazon.

And great was the astonishment when he was not seen
on board, and did not appear during the day. No one, not
even Lina, could explain the absence of so devoted a servant
at such a crisis. Some of them even asked, and not with-
out reason, if the poor fellow, rendered desperate at having,
when he met him on the frontier, personally contributed to
bringing Torres on board the raft, had not made away with
himself.

But if Fragoso could so reproach himself, how about
Benito? In the first place, at Iquitos he had invited Torres
to visit the fazenda; in the second place, he had brought
him on board the jangada, to become a passenger on it;
and in the third place, in killing him, he had annihilated
the only witness whose evidence could save the condemned
man. And so Benito considered himself responsible for
everything — the arrest of his father, and the terrible events
of which it had been the consequence.

In fact, had Torres been alive, Benito could not tell
but that, in some way or another, from pity or for reward,
he would have finished by handing over the document.
Would not Torres, whom nothing could compromise, have
been persuaded to speak, had money been brought to bear
upon him? Would not the long-sought- for proof have been
furnished to the judge? Yes, undoubtedly! And the only
man who could have furnished this evidence had been killed
through Benito!

Such was what the wretched man continually repeated
to his mother, to Manoel, and to himself; were the cruel
responsibilities which his conscience laid to his charge.

Between her husband, with whom she passed all the time
that was allowed to her, and her son, a prey to despair
which made her tremble for his reason, the brave Yaquita,

80 THE CRYPTOGRAM

lost none of her moral energy. In her they found the
valiant daughter of Magalhaes, the worthy wife of the
fazender of Iquitos.

The attitude of Joam Dacosta was well adapted to sus-
tain her in this ordeal. That gallant man, that rigid Puritan,
that austere worker, whose whole life had been a battle,
had not yet shown a moment of weakness.

The most terrible blow which had struck him without
prostrating him had been the death of Judge Ribeiro, in
whose mind his innocence did not admit of a doubt. Was
it not with the help of his old defender that he had hoped
to strive for his rehabilitation? The intervention of Tor-
res he had regarded throughout as being quite secondary
for him. And of this document he had no knowledge when
he left Iquitos to hand himself over to the justice of his
country. He only took with him moral proofs. When a
material proof was unexpectedly produced in the course
of the affair, before or after his arrest, he was certainly
not the man to despise it. But, if, on account of regrettable
circumstances, the proof disappeared, he would find himself
once more in the same position as when he passed the
Brazilian frontier — the position of a man who came to say :
" Here is my past life ; here is my present ; here is an en-
tirely honest existence of work and devotion which I bring
you. You passed on me at first an erroneous judgment.
After three-and-twenty years of exile I have come to give
myself up! Here I am; judge me again! "

The death of Torres, the impossibility of reading the
document found on him, had thus not produced on Joam
Dacosta the impression which it had on his children, his
friends, his household, and all who were interested in
him.

" I have faith in my innocence," ne repeated to Yaquita,
" as I have faith in God. If my life is still useful to my
people, and a miracle is necessary to save me, that miracle
will be performed; if not, I shall die! God alone is my
judge!"

The excitement increased in Manaos as the time ran on ;
the affair was discussed with unexampled acerbity. In the
midst of this enthrallment of public opinion, which evoked
so much of the mysterious, the document was the principal
object of conversation.

THE LAST EFFORT 81

At the end of this fourth day not a single person doubted
but that it contained the vindication of the doomed man.
Every one had been given an opportunity of deciphering
its incomprehensible contents, for the Diario d'o Grand
Para had reproduced it in facsimile. Autograph copies
were spread about in great numbers at the suggestion of
Manoel, who neglected nothing that might lead to the
penetration of the mystery — not even chance, that " nick-
name of providence," as some one has called it.

In addition, a reward of 100 contos (or 300,000 francs)
was promised to any one who could discover the cipher so
fruitlessly sought after — and read the document. This was
quite a fortune, and so people of all classes forgot to eat,
drink, or sleep to attack this unintelligible cryptogram.

Up to the present, however, all had been useless, and
probably the most ingenious analysts in the world would
have spent their time in vain. It had been advertised that
any solution should be sent, without delay, to Judge Jarri-
quez, to his house in God-the-Son Street ; but the evening
of the 29th of August came and none had arrived, nor was
any likely to arrive.

Of all those who took up the study of the puzzle, Judge
Jarriquez was one of the most to be pitied. By a natural
association of ideas, he also joined in the general opinion
that the document referred to the affair at Tijuco, and that
it had been written by the hand of the guilty man, and
exonerated Joam Dacosta. And so he put even more ardor
into his search for the key. It was not only the art for
the art's sake which guided him, it was a sentiment of
justice, of pity toward a man suffering under an unjust
condemnation. If it is the fact that a certain quantity of
phosphorus is expended in the work of the brain, it would
be difficult to say how many milligrammes the judge had
parted with to excite the network of his " sensorium," and
after all, to find out nothing, absolutely nothing.

But Jarriquez had no idea of abandoning the inquiry.
If he could only now trust to chance, he would work on
for that chance. He tried to evoke it by all means possible
and impossible. He had given himself over to fury and
anger, and what was worse, to impotent anger!

During the latter part of this day he had been trying
different numbers — numbers selected arbitrarily — and how

82 THE CRYPTOGRAM

many of them can scarcely be imagined. Had he had the
time, he would not have shrunk from plunging into the
millions of combinations of which the ten symbols of numer-
ation are capable. He would have given his whole life to
it at the risk of going mad before the year was out. Mad!
was he not that already? He had had the idea that the
document might be read through the paper, and so he turned
it round and exposed it to the light, and tried it in that way.

Nothing! The numbers already thought of, and which
he tried in this new way, gave no result. Perhaps the
document read backward, and the last letter was really the
first, for the author would have done this had he wished
to make the reading more difficult.

Nothing! The new combination only furnished a series
of letters just as enigmatic.

At eight o'clock in the evening Jarriquez, with his face
in his hands, knocked up, worn out mentally and physically,
had neither strength to move, to speak, to think, or to
associate one idea with another.

Suddenly a noise was heard outside. Almost immedi-
ately, notwithstanding his formal orders, the door of his
study was thrown open. Benito and Manoel were before
him, Benito looking dreadfully pale, and Manoel supporting
him, for the unfortunate young man had hardly strength
to support himself.

The magistrate quickly arose.

" What is it, gentlemen ? What do you want ? " he asked.

"The cipher! — the cipher! " exclaimed Benito, mad with
grief — " the cipher of the document."

" Do you know it, then? " shouted the judge.

" No, sir! " said Manoel. " But you? "

" Nothing — nothing! "

"Nothing?" gasped Benito, and in a paroxysm of de-
spair he took a knife from his belt, and would have plunged
it into his breast had not the judge and Manoel jumped
forward and managed to disarm him.

" Benito," said Jarriquez, in a voice which he tried to
keep calm, " if your father cannot escape the expiation of
a crime which is not his, you could do something better than
kill yourself."

"What?" said Benito.

"Try and save his life!"

PREPARATIONS 83

"How?"

" That is for you to discover," answered the magistrate,
and not for me to say."

CHAPTER XV

PREPARATIONS

On the following day, the 30th of August, Benito and
Manoel talked matters over together. They had under-
stood the thought to which the judge had not dared to give
utterance in their presence, and were engaged in devising
some means by which the condemned man could escape the
penalty of the law.

Nothing else was left for them to do. It was only too
certain that for the authorities at Rio Janeiro the undeci-
phered document would have no value whatever, that it would
be a dead letter, that the first verdict which declared Joam
Dacosta the perpetrator of the crime at Tijuco would not
be set aside, and that, as in such cases no commutation was
possible, the order for his execution would inevitably be
received.

Once more, then, Joam Dacosta would have to escape
by flight from an unjust punishment.

It was at the outset agreed by the two young men that
the secret should be carefully kept, and that neither Yaquita
nor Minha should be informed of preparations, which would
probably only give rise to hopes destined never to be real-
ized. Who could tell if, owing to some unforeseen circum-
stance, the attempt at escape would not prove a miserable
failure ?

The presence of Fragoso on such an occasion would have
been most valuable. Discreet and devoted, his services would
have been most welcome to the two young fellows; but
Fragoso had not reappeared. Lina, when asked, could only
say that she knew not what had become of him, nor why
he had left the raft without telling her anything about
it.

And assuredly, had Fragoso foreseen that things would
have turned out as they were doing, he would never have
left the Dacosta family on an expedition which appeared to
promise no serious results. Far better for him to have

84 THE CRYPTOGRAM

assisted in the escape of the doomed man than to have hur-
ried off in search of the former comrades of Torres! But
Fragoso was away, and his assistance had to be dispensed
with.

At daybreak Benito and Manoel left the raft and pro-
ceeded to Manaos. They soon reached the town, and passed
through its narrow streets, which at that early hour were
quite deserted. In a few minutes they arrived in front of
the prison. The waste ground, amid which the old convent
which served for a house of detention was built, was trav-
ersed by them in all directions, for they had come to study
it with the utmost care.

Fifty-five feet from the ground, in an angle of the build-
ing, they recognized the window of the cell in which Joam
Dacosta was confined. The window was secured with iron
bars in a miserable state of repair, which it would be easy
to tear down or cut through if they could only get near
enough. The badly jointed stones in the wall, which were
crumbled away every here and there, offered many a ledge
for the feet to rest on, if only a rope could be fixed to climb
up by. One of the bars had slipped out of its socket, and
formed a hook over which it might be possible to throw
a rope. That done, one or two of the bars could be re-
moved so as to permit a man to get through. Benito and
Manoel would then have to make their way into the pris-
oner's room, and without much difficulty the escape could
be managed by means of the rope fastened to the projecting
iron. During the night, if the sky were very cloudy, none
of these operations would be noticed, and before the day
dawned Joam Dacosta could get safely away.

Manoel and Benito spent an hour about the spot, tak-
ing care not to attract attention, but examining the locality
with great exactness, particularly as regarded the position
of the window, the arrangement of the iron bars, and the
place from which it would be best to throw the line.

" That is agreed ! " said Manoel, at length. " And now,
ought Joam Dacosta to be told about this ? "

" No, Manoel. Neither to him, any more than to my
mother, ought we to impart the secret of an attempt in which
there is such a risk of failure."

" We shall succeed, Benito! " continued Manoel. " How-
ever, we must prepare for everything; and in case the

PREPARATIONS 85

chief of the prison should discover us at the moment of
escape "

" We shall have money enough to purchase his silence,"
answered Benito.

" Good! " replied Manoel. " But once your father is out
of prison he cannot remain hidden in the town or on the
jangada. Where is he to find refuge? "

This was the second question to solve : and a very dif-
ficult one it was.

A hundred paces away from the prison, however, the
waste land was crossed by one of those canals which flow
through the town into the Rio Negro. This canal afforded
an easy way of gaining the river if a pirogue were in wait-
ing for the fugitive. From the foot of the wall to the
canal side was hardly a hundred yards.

Benito and Manoel decided that about eight o'clock in
the evening one of the pirogues, with two strong rowers,
under the command of the pilot Araujo, should start from
the jangada. They could ascend the Rio Negro, enter the
canal, and, crossing the waste land, remain concealed
throughout the night under the tall vegetation on the banks.

But once on board, where was Joam Dacosta to seek
refuge? To return to Iquitos was to follow a road full
of difficulties and peril, and a long one in any case, should
the fugitive either travel across the country or by the river.
Neither by horse nor pirogue could he be got out of danger
quickly enough, and the fazenda was no longer a safe
retreat. He would not return to it as the fazender, Joam
Garral, but as the convict, Joam Dacosta, continually in
fear of extradition. He could never dream of resuming
his former life.

To get away by the Rio Negro into the north of the
province, or even beyond the Brazilian territory, would re-
quire more time than he could spare, and his first care
must be to escape from immediate pursuit.

To start again down the Amazon? But stations, villages,
and towns abounded on both sides of the river. The de-
scription of the fugitive would be sent to all the police, and
he would run the risk of being arrested long before he
reached the Atlantic. And supposing he reached the coast,
where and how was he to hide and wait for a passage to
put the sea between himself and his pursuers?

B6 THE CRYPTOGRAM

On consideration of these various plans, Benito and Ma-
noel agreed that neither of them was practicable. One,
however, did offer some chance of safety, and that was
to embark in a pirogue, follow the canal into the Rio Negro,
descend this tributary under the guidance of the pilot, reach
the confluence of the rivers, and run down the Amazon
along its right bank for some sixty miles during the nights,
resting during the daylight, and so gaining the embouchure
of the Madeira.

This tributary, which, fed by a hundred affluents, descends
from the waterheads of the Cordilleras, is a regular water-
way opening into the very heart of Bolivia. A pirogue could
pass up it and leave no trace of his passage, and a refuge
could be found in some town or village beyond the Brazilian
frontier. There Joam Dacosta would be comparatively
safe, and there for several months he could wait for an
opportunity of reaching the Pacific coast and taking passage
in some vessel leaving one of its ports; and if the ship were
bound for one of the States of North America he would be
free. Once there, he could sell the fazenda, leave his coun-
try forever, and seek beyond the sea, in the Old World, a
final retreat in which to end an existence so cruelly and un-
justly disturbed. Anywhere he might go, his family — not
excepting Manoel, who was bound to him by so many ties —
would assuredly follow without the slightest hesitation.

" Let us go," said Benito ; " we must have all ready be-
fore night, and we have no time to lose."

The young men returned on board by way of the canal
bank, which led along the Rio Negro. They satisfied them-
selves that the passage of the pirogue would be quite
possible, and that no obstacles such as locks or boats under
repair were there to stop it. They then descended the left
bank of the tributary, avoiding the slowly filling streets of
the town, and reached the jangada.

Benito's first care was to see his mother. He felt suf-
ficiently master of himself to dissemble the anxiety which
consumed him. He wished to assure her that all hope was
not lost, that the mystery of the document would be cleared
up, that in any case public opinion was in favor of Joam,
and that, in face of the agitation which was being made in
his favor, justice would grant all the necessary time for the
production of the material proof of his innocence. " Yes,

PREPARATIONS 87

mother," he added, " before to-morrow we shall be free
from anxiety."

" May heaven grant it so ! " replied Yaquita, and she
looked at him so keenly that Benito could hardly meet her
glance.

On his part, and as if by prearrangement, Manoel had
tried to reassure Minha by telling her that Judge Jarriquez
was convinced of the innocence of Joam, and would try
to save him by every means in his power.

" I only wish he would, Manoel," answered she, endeav-
oring to restrain her tears.

And Manoel left her, for the tears were also welling up
in his eyes and witnessing against the words of hope to
which he had just given utterance.

And now the time had arrived for them to make their
daily visit to the prisoner, and Yaquita and her daughter
set off to Manaos.

For an hour the young men were in consultation with
(Araujo. They acquainted him with their plan in all its
details, and they discussed not only the projected escape,
but the measures which were necessary for the safety of
the fugitive.

Araujo approved of everything; he undertook, during
the approaching night, to take the pirogue up the canal
without attracting any notice, and he knew its course thor-
oughly as far as the spot where he was to await the arrival
of Joam Dacosta. To get back to the mouth of the Rio
Negro was easy enough, and the pirogue would be able to
pass unnoticed among the numerous craft continually de-
scending the river.

Araujo had no objection to offer to the idea of follow-
ing the Amazon down to its confluence with the Madeira.
The course of the Madeira was familiar to him for quite
two hundred miles up, and in the midst of these thinly
peopled provinces, even if pursuit took place in their direc-
tion, all attempts at capture could be easily frustrated ; they
could reach the interior of Bolivia, and if Joam decided
to leave his country he could procure a passage with less
danger on the coast of the Pacific than on that of the
Atlantic.

Araujo's approval was most welcome to the young fel-
lows; they had great faith in the practical good sense of

88 THE CRYPTOGRAM

the pilot, and not without reason. His zeal was undoubted,
and he would assuredly have risked both life and liberty
to save the fazender of Iquitos.

With the utmost secrecy, Araujo at once set about his
preparations. A considerable sum in gold was handed over
to him by Benito to meet all eventualities during the voyage
on the Madeira. In getting the pirogue ready, he announced
his intention of going in search of Fragoso, whose fate
excited a good deal of anxiety among his companions. He
stowed away in the boat provisions for many days, and did
not forget the ropes and tools which would be required
by the young men when they reached the canal at the ap-
pointed time and place.

These preparations evoked no curiosity on the part of
the crew of the jangada, and even the two stalwart negroes
were not let into the secret. They, however, could be ab-
solutely depended on. Whenever they learned what the
work of safety was in which they were engaged — when
Joam Dacosta, once more free, was confided to their charge
i — Araujo knew well that they would dare anything, even
to the risk of their own lives, to save the life of their master.

By the afternoon all was ready, and they had only the
night to wait for. But before making a start Manoel wished
to call on Judge Jarriquez for the last time. The magistrate
might perhaps have found out something new about the
document. Benito preferred to remain on the raft and
wait for the return of his mother and sister.

Manoel, then, presented himself at the abode of Judge
Jarriquez, and was immediately admitted.

The magistrate, in the study which he never quitted, was
still the victim of the same excitement. The document,
crumpled by his impatient fingers, was still there, before
his eyes, on the table.

" Sir," said Manoel, whose voice trembled as he asked
the question, " have you received anything from Rio de
Janeiro? "

" No," answered the judge ; " the order has not yet come
to hand, but it may at any moment."

" And the document? "

" Nothing yet ! " exclaimed he. " Everything my imag-
ination can suggest I have tried, and no result."

"None?"

THE LAST NIGHT 89

' Nevertheless, I distinctly see one word in the document
— only one! "

" What is that— what is the word ? "

" ' Fly ' ! "

Manoel said nothing, but he pressed the hand which Jar-
riquez held out to him, and returned to the jangada to wait
for the moment of action.

CHAPTER XVI

THE LAST NIGHT

The visit of Yaquita and her daughter had been like all
such visits during the few hours which each day the hus-
band and wife spent together. In the presence of the two
beings whom Joam so dearly loved his heart nearly failed
him. But the husband — the father — retained his self-com-
mand. It was he who comforted the two poor women and
inspired them with a little of the hope of which so little
now remained to him. They had come with the intention
of cheering the prisoner. Alas! far more than he they
themselves were in want of cheering! But when they found
him still bearing himself unflinchingly in the midst of his
terrible trial, they recovered a little of their hope.

Once more had Joam spoken encouraging words to them.
His indomitable energy was due not only to the feeling of
his innocence, but to his faith in that God, a portion of
whose justice yet dwells in the hearts of men. No! Joam
Dacosta would never lose his life for the crime of Tijuco!

Hardly ever did he mention the document. Whether it
were apochryphal or no, whether it were in the handwriting
of Torres or in that of the real perpetrator of the crime,
whether it contained or did not contain the longed-for vindi-
cation, it was on no such doubtful hypotheses that Joam
Dacosta presumed to trust. No; he reckoned on a better
argument in his favor, and it was to his long life of toil
and honor that he relegated the task of pleading for him.

This evening, then, his wife and daughter, strengthened
by the manly words, which thrilled them to the core of their
hearts, had left him more confident than they had ever been
since his arrest. For the last time the prisoner had em-
braced them; and with redoubled tenderness. It seemed

90 THE CRYPTOGRAM

as though he had a presentiment that, whatever it might
be, the denouement was nigh.

Joam Dacosta, after they had left, remained for some
time perfectly motionless. His arms rested on a small table
and supported his head. Of what was he thinking? Had
he at last been convinced that human justice, after failing
the first time, would at length pronounce his acquittal ?

Yes, he still hoped. With the report of Judge Jarriquez
establishing his identity, he knew that his memoir, which he
had penned with so much sincerity, would have been sent to
Rio Janeiro, and was now in the hands of the Chief Justice.
This memoir, as we know, was the history of his life from
his entry into the offices of the diamond arrayal until the
very moment when the jangada stopped before Manaos.
Joam Dacosta was pondering over his whole career. He
again lived his past life from the moment when, as an
orphan, he had set foot in Tijuco. There his zeal had raised
him high in the offices of the governor-general, into which
he had been admitted when still very young. The future
smiled on him ; he would have filled some important position.
Then this sudden catastrophe; the robbery of the diamond
convoy, the massacre of the escort, the suspicion directed
against him as the only official who could have divulged the
secret of the expedition, his arrest, his appearance before
the jury, his conviction in spite of all the efforts of his
advocate, the last hours spent in the condemned cell at
Villa Rica, his escape under conditions which betokened
almost superhuman courage, his flight through the northern
provinces, his arrival on the Peruvian frontier, and the
reception which the starving fugitive had met with from
the hospitable fazender Magalhaes.

The prisoner once more passed in review these events,
which had so cruelly marred his life. And then, lost in his
thoughts and recollections, he sat, regardless of a peculiar
noise on the outer wall of the convent, of the jerkings of a
rope hitched on to a bar of his window, and of grating
steel as it cut through iron, which ought at once to have
attracted the attention of a less absorbed man.

Joam Dacosta continued to live the years of his youth
after his arrival in Peru. He again saw the fazender, the
clerk, the partner of the old Portuguese, toiling hard for
the prosperity of the establishment at Iquitos. Ah! why

THE LAST NIGHT 91

at the outset had he not told all to his benefactor? He
would never have doubted him. It was the only error with
which he could reproach himself. Why had he not con-
fessed to him whence he had come, and who he was — above
all, at the moment when Magalhaes had placed in his hand
the hand of the daughter who would never have believed
that he was the author of so frightful a crime.

And now the noise outside became loud enough to attract
the prisoner's attention. For an instant Joam raised his
head ; his eyes sought the window, but with a vacant look,
as though he were unconscious, and the next instant his head
again sank into his hand. Again he was in thought back
at Iquitos.

There the old fazender was dying; before his end he
longed for the future of his daughter to be assured, for his
partner to be the sole master of the settlement which had
grown so prosperous under his management. Should Da-
costa have spoken then ? Perhaps ; but he dared not do it.
He again lived the happy days he had spent with Yaquita,
and again he thought of the birth of his children, again he
felt the happiness which had its only trouble in the remem-
brances of Tijuco and the remorse that he had not confessed
his terrible secret.

The chain of events was reproduced in Joam's mind with
a clearness and completeness quite remarkable.

And now he was thinking of the day when his daughter's
marriage with Manoel had been decided. Could he allow-
that union to take place under a false name without acquaint-
ing the lad with the mystery of his life? No! And so at
the advice of Judge Ribeiro he resolved to come and claim
the revision of his sentence, to demand the rehabilitation
which was his due! He was starting with his people, and
then came the intervention of Torres, the detestable bargain
proposed by the scoundrel, the indignant refusal of the
father to hand over his daughter to save his honor and his
life, and then the denunciation and the arrest?

Suddenly the window flew open with a violent push from
without. Joam started up; the souvenirs of the past van-
ished like a shadow.

Benito leaped into the room ; he was in the presence of
his father, and the next moment Manoel, tearing down the
remaining bars, appeared before him.

92 THE CRYPTOGRAM

Joam Dacosta would have uttered a cry of surprise.
Benito left him no time to do so.

" Father," he said, " the window grating is down. A
rope leads to the ground. A pirogue is waiting for you on
the canal not a hundred yards off. Araujo is there ready
to take you away from Manaos, on the other bank of the
Amazon, where your track will never be discovered ! Father,
you must escape this very moment ! It was the judge's own
suggestion! "

" It must be done ! " added Manoel.

" Fly! I! — Fly a second time! Escape again? "

And with crossed arms, and head erect, Joam Dacosta
stepped backward.

"Never!" he said, in a voice so firm that Benito and
Manoel stood bewildered.

The young men had never thought of a difficulty like this.
They had never reckoned on the hindrances to escape com-
ing from the prisoner himself.

Benito advanced to his father, and looking him straight
in the face, and taking both his hands in his, not to force
him, but to try and convince him, said, Never, did you
say, father ? "

"Never!"

" Father," said Manoel — " for I also have the right to
call you father — listen to us! If we tell you that you ought
to fly without losing an instant, it is because if you remain
you will be guilty toward others, toward yourself ! "

" To remain," continued Benito, " is to remain to die !
The order for execution may come at any moment! If you
imagine that the justice of men will nullify a wrong decision,
if you think it will rehabilitate you whom it condemned
twenty years since, you are mistaken! There is hope no
longer! You must escape! Come! "

By an irresistible impulse Benito seized his father and
drew him toward the window.

Joam Dacosta struggled from his son's grasp and recoiled
a second time. " To fly," he answered, in the tone of a
man whose resolution was unalterable, " is to dishonor my-
self, and you with me! It would be a confession of my
guilt! Of my own free will I surrendered myself to
my country's judges, and I will await their decision, what-
ever that decision may be ! "

THE LAST NIGHT 93

" But the presumptions on which you trusted are insuf-
ficient," replied Manoel, "and the material proof of your
innocence is still wanting! If we tell you that you ought to
fly, it is because Judge Jarriquez himself told us so. You
have now only this one chance left to escape from death ! ':

" I will die, then," said Joam, in a calm voice. " I will
die protesting against the decision which condemned me!
The first time, a few hours before the execution — I fled!
Yes! I was then young. I had all my life before me in
which to struggle against man's injustice! But to save my-
self now, to begin again the miserable existence of a felon
hiding under a false name, whose every effort is required
to avoid the pursuit of the police, again to live the life of
anxiety which I have led for three-and-twenty years, and
oblige you to share it with me; to wait each day for a
denunciation which sooner or later must come, to wait for
the claim for extradition which would follow me to a
foreign country ! Am I to live for that ? No ! Never ! "

" Father," interrupted Benito, whose mind threatened to
give way before such obstinacy, " you shall fly ! I will
have it so ! " And he caught hold of Joam Dacosta, and
tried by force to drag him toward the window.

"No! no!"

" You wish to drive me mad ! "

"My son," exclaimed Joam .Dacosta, "listen to me!
Once already I escaped from prison at Villa Rica, and peo-
ple believed I fled from well-merited punishment. Yes, they
had reason to think so. Well, for the honor of the name
which you bear I shall not do so again."

Benito had fallen on his knees before his father. He
held up his hands to him ; he begged him —

" But this order, father," he repeated, " this order, which
is due to-day — even now — it will contain your sentence of
death."

" The order may come, but my determination will not
change. No, my son! Joam Dacosta, guilty, might fly!
Joam Dacosta, innocent, will not fly ! "

The scene which followed these words was heart-rending.
Benito struggled with his father. Manoel, distracted, kept
near the window ready to carry off the prisoner — when the
door of the room opened.

On the threshold appeared the chief of police, accom-

94 THE CRYPTOGRAM

parried by the head warder of the prison and a few soldiers.
The chief of the police understood at a glance that an
attempt at escape was being made; but he also understood
from the prisoner's attitude that he it was who had no
wish to go! He said nothing. The sincerest pity was
depicted on his face. Doubtless he also, like Judge Jarri-
quez, would have liked Dacosta to have escaped.

It was too late ! The chief of the police, who held a paper
in his hand, advanced toward the prisoner.

" Before all of you," said Joam Dacosta, " let me tell
you, sir, that it only rested with me to get away and that
I would not do so."

The chief of the police bowed his head, and then, in a
voice which he vainly tried to control, " Joam Dacosta," he
said, " the order has this moment arrived from the Chief
Justice at Rio de Janeiro."

"Father!" exclaimed Manoel and Benito.

" This order," asked Joam Dacosta, who had crossed his
arms, " this order requires the execution of my sentence? ':

"Yes!"

" And that will take place ? "

" To-morrow."

Benito threw himself on his father. Again would he
have dragged him from his cell, but the soldiers came and
drew away the prisoner from his grasp.

At a sign from the chief of the police Benito and Manoel
were taken away. An end had to be put to this painful
scene, which had already lasted too long.

" Sir," said the doomed man, " before to-morrow, before
the hour of my execution, may I pass a few moments with
Padre Passanha, whom I asked you to tell ? "

" It will be forbidden."

" May I see my family, and embrace for the last time
my wife and children? "

" You shall see them."

" Thank you, sir," answered Joam ; " and now keep guard
over that window : it will not do for them to take me out
of here against my will."

The chief of the police, after a respectful bow, retired
with the warder and the soldiers. The doomed man, who
had but a few hours to live, was left alone.

CHAPTER XVII

FRAGOSO

And so the order had come, and, as Judge Jarriquez had
foreseen, it was an order requiring the immediate execution
of the sentence pronounced on Joam Dacosta. No proof
had been produced ; justice must take its course.

It was the very day — the 31st of August, at nine o'clock
in the morning of which the condemned man was to perish
on the gallows. The death penalty in Brazil is generally
commuted except in the case of negroes, but this time it
was to be suffered by a white man. Such are the penal
arrangements relative to crimes in the diamond arrayal, for
which, in the public interest, the law allows no appeal to
mercy.

Nothing could now save Joam Dacosta. It was not only
life, but honor that he was about to lose. But on the 31st
of August a man was approaching Manaos with all the
speed his horse was capable of, and such had been the pace
at which he had come, that half a mile from the town, the
gallant creature fell, incapable of carrying him any
farther.

The rider did not even stop to raise his steed. Evidently
he had asked and obtained from it all that was possible, and,
despite the state of exhaustion in which he found himself,
he rushed off in the direction of the city. The man came
from the eastern provinces, and had followed the left bank
of the river. All his means had gone in the purchase of
this horse, which, swifter far than any pirogue on the
Amazon, had brought him to Manaos. It was Fragoso !

Had, then, the brave fellow succeeded in the enterprise
of which he had spoken to nobody? Had he found the
party to which Torres belonged? Had he discovered some
secret which would yet save Joam Dacosta?

He hardly knew. But in any case, he was in great haste
to acquaint Judge Jarriquez with what he had ascertained
during his short journey.

And this is what had happened. Fragoso had made no
mistake when he recognized Torres as one of the captains
of the party which was employed in the river provinces of
the Madeira. He set out, and on reaching the mouth offhat
tributary he learned that the chief of these capitaes da mato

95

96 THE CRYPTOGRAM

was then in the neighborhood. Without losing a minute,
Fragoso started on the search, and, not without difficulty,
succeeded in meeting him.

To Fragoso's questions the chief of the party had no
hesitation in replying; he had no interest in keeping silence
with regard to the few simple matters on which he was
interrogated. In fact, three questions only of importance
were asked him by Fragoso, and these were : " Did not a
captain of the woods named Torres belong to your party
three months ago ? "

" Yes."

" At that time had he not one intimate friend among
his companions who has recently died?"

"Just so!"

" And the name of that friend was ? "

" Ortega."

This was all that Fragoso had learned. Was this infor-
mation of a kind to modify Dacosta's position? It was
hardly likely. Fragoso saw this, and pressed the chief of
the band to tell him what he knew of this Ortega, of the
place where he came from, and of his antecedents generally.
Such information would have been of great importance if
Ortega, as Torres had declared, was the true author of the
crime of Tijuco. But unfortunately the chief could give
him no information whatever in the matter.

What was certain was that Ortega had been a member
of the band for many years, that an intimate friendship
existed between him and Torres, that they were always
seen together, and that Torres had watched at his bedside
when he died.

This was all the chief of the band knew, and he could
tell no more. Fragoso, then, had to be contented with these
insignificant details, and departed immediately.

But if the devoted fellow had not brought back the proof
that Ortega was the author of the crime of Tijuco, he had
gained one thing, and that was the knowledge that Torres
had told the truth when he affirmed that one of his comrades
in the band had died, and that he had been present during
his last moments.

The hypothesis that Ortega had given him the document
in question had now become admissible. Nothing was more
probable than that this document had reference to the crime

3HT

:!*:>& Blli iiT

-JiW

trfoirfw
>rfw

,fcl .IoV

THE AMAZONS.

The town of Villa Bella, which is the principal guarana market in
the whole province, was soon left behind by the giant raft. And so was
the village of Faro and its celebrated river of the Nhamundas, on
which, in 1539, Orellana asserted he was attacked by female warriors,
who have never been seen again since, and thus gave us the legend which
justifies the immortal name of the river of the Amazons. — Page 106.

Vol. 12.

FRAGOSO 97

of which Ortega was really the author, and that it con-
tained the confession of the culprit, accompanied by circum-
stances which permitted no doubt as to its truth.

And so, if the document could be read, if the key had
been found, if the cipher on which the system hung were
known, no doubt of its truth could be entertained.

But this cipher Fragoso did not know. A few more pre-
sumptions, a half-certainty that the adventurer had invented
nothing, certain circumstances tending to prove that the
secret of the matter was contained in the document — and
that was all that the gallant fellow brought back from his
visit to the chief of the gang of which Torres had been
a member.

Nevertheless, little as it was, he was in all haste to relate
it to Judge Jarriquez. He knew that he had not an hour
to lose, and that was why on this very morning, at about
eight o'clock, he arrived, exhausted with fatigue, within
half a mile of Manaos. The distance between there and
the town he traversed in a few minutes. A kind of irre-
sistible presentiment urged him on, and he had almost come
to believe that Joam Dacosta's safety rested in his hands.

Suddenly Fragoso stopped as if his feet had become rooted
in the ground. He had reached the entrance to a small
square, on to which opened one of the town gates. There,
in the midst of a dense crowd, arose the gallows, towering
up some twenty feet, and from it there hung the rope !

Fragoso felt his consciousness abandon him. He fell;
his eyes involuntarily closed. He did not wish to look, and
these words escaped his lips : " Too late ! too late ! " but by
a superhuman effort he raised himself up. No : it was not
too late, the corpse of Joam Dacosta was not dangling at
the end of the rope.

" Judge Jarriquez — Judge Jarriquez ! " shouted Fragoso,
and, panting and bewildered, he rushed toward the city gate,
dashed up the principal street of Manaos, and fell, half
dead, on the threshold of the judge's house. The door was
shut. Fragoso had still strength enough left to knock at it.
One of the magistrate's servants came to open it ; his master
would see no one.

In spite of this denial, Fragoso pushed back the man
who guarded the entrance, and with a bound threw himself
into the judge's study.

V XII Verne

98 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" I come from the province where Torres pursued his
calling as captain of the woods ! " he gasped. " Mr. Judge,
Torres told the truth. Stop — stop the execution ! "

" You found the gang? "

" Yes."

"And you have brought me the cipher of the docu-
ment?"

Fragoso did not reply.

" Come, leave me alone ! leave me alone ! " shouted Jar-
riquez, and, a prey to an outburst of rage, he grasped the
document to tear it to atoms.

Fragoso seized his hands and stopped him. " The truth
is there ! " he said.

" I know," answered Jarriquez ; " but it is a truth which
will never see the light ! "

" It will appear — it must ! it must ! "

" Once more, have you the cipher? "

" No," replied Fragoso ; " but, I repeat, Torres has not
lied. One of his companions, with whom he was very in-
timate, died a few months ago, and there can be no doubt
but that this man gave him the document he came to sell to
Joam Dacosta."

" No," answered Jarriquez — " no, there is no doubt about
it — as far as we are concerned ; but that is not enough for
those who dispose of the doomed man's life. Leave
me!"

Fragoso, repulsed, would not quit the spot. Again he
threw himself at the judge's feet. " Joam Dacosta is in-
nocent ! " he cried ; " you will not leave him to die ? It was
not he who committed the crime of Tijuco, it was the
comrade of Torres, the author of that document! It was
Ortega!"

As he uttered the name the judge bounded backward. "A3
kind of calm swiftly succeeded to the tempest which raged
within him. He dropped the document from his clenched
hand, smoothed it out on the table, sat down, and, passing
his hand over his eyes — " That name? " he said — " Ortega!
Let us see," and then he proceeded with the new name
brought back by Fragoso as he had done with the other
names so vainly tried by himself.

After placing it above the first six letters of the paragraph,
he obtained the following formula:

FRAGOSO 99

Ortega
P h y j si

" Nothing! " he said. " That gives us — nothing! "

And in fact the h placed under the r could not be expressed
by a cipher, for, in alphabetical order, this letter occupies
an earlier position to that of the r.

The p, the y, the j, arranged beneath the letters o, t, e,
disclosed the cipher 1, 4, 5, but as for the s and the / at the
end of the word, the interval which separated them from
the g and the a was a dozen letters, and hence impossible
to express by a single cipher, so that they corresponded to
neither g nor a.

And here appalling shouts arose in the streets ; they were
the cries of despair. Fragoso jumped to one of the win-
dows, and opened it before the judge could hinder him.

The people filled the road. The hour had come at which
the doomed man was to start from the prison, and the crowd
was flocking back to the spot where the gallows had been
erected.

Judge Jarriquez, quite frightful to look upon, devoured
the lines of the document with a fixed stare. " The last
letters ! " he muttered. " Let us try once more the last
letters ! "

It was the last hope.

And then, with a hand whose agitation nearly prevented
him from writing at all, he placed the name of Ortega over
the six last letters of the paragraph, as he had done over
the first.

An exclamation immediately escaped him. He saw, at
first glance, that the six letters were inferior in alphabetical
order to those which composed Ortega's name, and that
consequently they might yield the number.

And when he reduced the formula, reckoning each later
letter from the earlier letter of the word, he obtained

Ortega
432513
S u v j h d

The number thus disclosed was 432513.

But was this number that which had been used in the
document? Was it not as erroneous as those he had previ-
ously tried?

100 THE CRYPTOGRAM

At this moment the shouts below redoubled — shouts of
pity which betrayed the sympathy of the excited crowd. A
few minutes more were all that the doomed man had to
live!

Fragoso, maddened with grief, darted from the room.
He wished to see, for the last time, his benefactor who was
on his road to death! He longed to throw himself before
the mournful procession and stop it, shouting: "Do not
kill this just man ! do not kill him ! "

But already Judge Jarriquez had placed the given num-
ber above the first letters of the paragraph, repeating them
as often as was necessary, as follows :

432513432513432513432513
P h y j s I yddqfdzxgasgzzqqeh

And then, reckoning the true letters according to their
alphabetical order, he read :

" Le veritable anteur du vol de — "

A yell of delight escaped him! This number, 432513,
was the number sought for so long! The name of Ortega
had enabled him to discover it! At length he held the key
of the document, which would incontestably prove the in-
nocence of Joam Dacosta, and without reading any more he
flew from his study into the street, shouting, " Halt !
Halt!"

To cleave the crowd, which opened as he ran, to dash
to the prison, whence the convict was coming at the moment,
with his wife and children clinging to him with the violence
of despair, was but the work of a minute for Judge Jar-
riquez.

Stopping before Joam Dacosta, he could not speak for a
second, and then these words escaped his lips:

" Innocent ! Innocent ! "

CHAPTER XVIII

THE CRIME OF TIJUCO

On the arrival of the judge the mournful procession
halted. A roaring echo had repeated after him and again
repeated the cry which escaped from every mouth :

" Innocent ! Innocent ! "

Then complete silence fell on all. The people did not
want to lose one syllable of what was about to be proclaimed.

Judge Jarriquez sat down on a stone seat, and then,
while Minha, Benito, Manoel, and Fragoso stood round
him, while Joam Dacosta clasped Yaquita to his heart, he
first unraveled the last paragraph of the document by means
of the number, and as the words appeared by the institution
of the true letters for the cryptological ones, he divided and
punctuated them, and then read it out in a loud voice. And
this is what he read in the midst of profound silence: —
L e veritable a u t e ur duvoldesdiamantset
43 251343251 343251 34325 1343251343251
Ph yjslyddqf dzxgasgzzqqehxgkfndrxuju

de Vassassinat des soldats qui esc ortaient le
34 32 513432513 432 5134325 134 32 513432513 43
g i ocyt dxv ksb x hhu ypohd v y rym huhpuyd k j ox ph
convoi, c ommis dans la nuitduvingt-deux jan-
251343 251343 2513 43 2513 43 251343251 343
etozsl etnpmv ffov pd pajx hy ynojyggay meq
vier mil huit cent vingt-six, n'est d one pas J o a m
2513 432 5134 3251 34325134 32513432513 4325
ynfu qln mvly fgsu zmqis tlb qgyu gsqeubv nrcr
Dacosta, injustement c ondamne a mort, c' est
134325134325134325 13432513 4 32513432
edgruzb Irmxyuhqhpz drr gcroh e pqxu fivv
moi, le mis er able employe de I 'administration
513 43 251343251 3432513 43 2513 43 251343251
rpl ph onthvddqf hqsntzhhhnfe pmq k y uuexk t o
du district diamantin, oui, moi senl, qui signe
34 32513432 513432513 432 513 4325 134 32513
gz gkyuumfv ijdqdpzjq syk rpl xhxq rym vkloh
de monvr ai nom , Ortega.
43 2513432 513 432513

hh o t ozvdk sp p suv jhd .

101

102 THE CRYPTOGRAM

" The real author of the robbery of the diamonds and of
the murder of the soldiers who escorted the convoy, com-
mitted during the night of the twenty-second of January,
one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, was thus not
Joam Dacosta, unjustly condemned to death; it was I, the
wretched servant of the Administration of the diamond dis-
trict; yes, I alone, who sign this with my true name,
Ortega."

The reading of this had hardly finished when the air
was rent with prolonged hurrahs.

What could be more conclusive than this last paragraph,
which summarized the whole of the document, and pro-
claimed so absolutely the innocence of the fazender of Iqui-
tos, and which snatched from the gallows this victim of a
frightful judicial mistake!

Joam Dacosta surrounded by his wife, his children, and
his friends, was unable to shake the hands which were held
out to him. Such was the strength of his character, that a
reaction occurred, tears of joy escaped from his eyes, at
the same instant his heart was lifted up to that Providence
which had come to save him so miraculously at the moment
he was about to offer the last expiation to that God who
would not permit the accomplishment of that greatest of
crimes, the death of an innocent man!

Yes! There could be no doubt as to the vindication of
Joam Dacosta. The true author of the crime of Tijuco
confessed of his own free will, and described the circum-
stances under which it had been perpetrated !

By means of the number Judge Jarriquez interpreted the
whole of the cryptogram.

And this was what Ortega confessed :

He had been the colleague of Joam Dacosta, employed,
like him, at Tijuco, in the offices of the governor of the
diamond arrayal. He had been the official appointed to ac-
company the convoy to Rio de Janeiro, and, far from re-
coiling at the horrible idea of enriching himself by means
of murder and robbery, he had informed the smugglers of
the very day the convoy was to leave Tijuco.

During the attack of the scoundrels, who awaited the
convoy just beyond Villa Rica, he pretended to defend him-
self with the soldiers of the escort, and then, falling among
the dead, he was carried away by his accomplices. Hence

THE CRIME OF TIJUCO 103

it was that the solitary soldier who survived the massacre
had reported that Ortega had perished in the struggle.

But the robbery did not profit the guilty man in the long
run, for, a little time afterward, he was robbed by those
whom he had helped to commit the crime.

Penniless, and unable to enter Tijuco again, Ortega fled
away to the provinces in the north of Brazil, to those dis-
tricts of the Upper Amazon where the capitaes da mato are
to be found. He had to live somehow, and so he joined
this not very honorable company; they neither asked him
who he was nor whence he came, and so Ortega became a
captain of the woods, and for many years he followed the
trade of a chaser of men.

During this time, Torres, the adventurer, himself in ab-
solute want, became his companion. Ortega and he became
most intimate. But, as he had told Torres, remorse began
gradually to trouble the scoundrel's life. The remembrance
of his crime became horrible to him. He knew that another
had been condemned in his place ! He knew subsequently
that the innocent man had escaped from the last penalty, but
that he would never be free from the shadow of his capital
sentence ! And then, during an expedition of his party for
several months beyond the Peruvian frontier, chance caused
Ortega to visit the neighborhood of Iquitos, and there, in
Joam Garral, who did not recognize him, he recognized
Joam Dacosta.

Henceforth he resolved to make all the reparation he could
for the injustice of which his old comrade had been the
victim. He committed to the document all the facts relative
to the crime of Tijuco, writing it first in French, which had
been his mother's native tongue, and then putting it into
the mysterious form we know, his intention being to trans-
mit it to the fazender of Iquitos, with the cipher by which
it could be read.

Death prevented his completing his work of reparation.
Mortally wounded in a scuffle with some negroes on the
Madeira, Ortega felt he was doomed. His comrade Torres
was then with him. He thought he could intrust to his
friend the secret which had so grievously darkened his life.
He gave him the document, and made him swear to con-
vey it to Joam Dacosta, whose name and address he gave
him, and with his last breath he whispered the number

104 THE CRYPTOGRAM

432513, without which the document would remain inde-
cipherable.

Ortega dead, we know how the unworthy Torres acquitted
himself of his mission, how he resolved to turn to his own
profit the secret of which he was the possessor, and how he
tried to make it the subject of an odious bargain.

Torres died without accomplishing his work, and carried
his secret with him. But the name of Ortega, brought back
by Fragoso, had afforded the means of unraveling the
cryptogram, thanks to the sagacity of Judge Jarriquez. Yes,
the material proof sought after for so long was the incon-
testable witness of the innocence of Joam Dacosta, returned
to life, restored to honor.

The cheers redoubled when the worthy magistrate, in a
loud voice, and for the edification of all, read from the
document this terrible history.

From that moment Judge Jarriquez, who possessed this
indubitable proof, arranged with the chief of police, and
declined to allow Joam Dacosta, while waiting new instruc-
tions from Rio de Janeiro, to stay in any prison but his
own house.

There could be no difficulty about this, and in the center
of the crowd of the entire population of Manaos, Joam
Dacosta, accompanied by all his family, beheld himself con-
ducted like a conqueror to the magistrate's residence.

In that minute the honest fazender of Iquitos was well
repaid for all that he had suffered during the long years of
exile, and if he was happy for his family's sake more than
for his own, he was none the less proud for his country's
sake that this supreme injustice had not been con-
summated !

And in all this what had become of Fragoso? Well,
the good-hearted fellow was covered with caresses ! Benito,
Manoel, and Minha, had overwhelmed him, and Lina had
by no means spared him. He did not know what to do, he
defended himself as best he could. He did not deserve
anything like it. Chance alone had done it. Were any
thanks due to him for having recognized Torres as the
captain of the woods? No, certainly not. As for his idea
of hurrying off in search of the band to which Torres be-
longed, he did not think it had been worth much, and as
to the name of Ortega, he did not even know its value.

THE CRIME OF TIJUCO 105

Gallant Fragoso! Whether he wished it or not he had
none the less saved Joam Dacosta!

And herein what a strange succession of different events
all tending to the same end. The deliverance of Fragoso at
the time he was dying of exhaustion in the forest of Iquitos;
the hospitable reception he had met with at the fazenda,
the meeting with Torres on the Brazilian frontier, his em-
barkation on the jangada ; and lastly, the fact that Fragoso
had seen him somewhere before.

"Well, yes!" Fragoso ended by exclaiming; "but it is
not to me that all this happiness is due, it is due to Lina! ':

" To me? " replied the young mulatto.

" No doubt of it. Without the liana, without the idea of
the liana, could I ever have been the cause of so much hap-
piness?' So that Fragoso and Lina were praised and
petted by all the family, and by all the new friends whom
so many trials had procured them at Manaos.

But had not Judge Jarriquez also had his share in this
rehabilitation of an innocent man? Though, in spite of
all the shrewdness of his analytical talents, he had not been
able to read the document, which was absolutely indecipher-
able to any one who had not got the key, had he not at any
rate discovered the system on which the cryptogram was
composed? Without him what could have been done with
only the name of Ortega to reconstruct the number which
the author of the crime and Torres, both of whom were
dead, alone knew ? And so he also received abundant thanks.

Needless to say that the same day there was sent to Rio
de Janeiro a detailed report of the whole affair, and with
it the original document and the cipher to enable it to be
read. New instructions from the Minister of Justice had to
be waited for, though there could be no doubt that they
would order the immediate discharge of the prisoner. A
few days would thus have to be passed at Manaos, and then
Joam Dacosta and his people, free from all constraint, and
released from all apprehension, would take leave of their
host to go on board once more and continue their descent
of the Amazon to Para, where the voyage was intended to
terminate with the double marriage of Minha and Manoel
and Lina and Fragoso.

Four days afterward, on the fourth of September, the
order of discharge arrived. The document had been re-

106 THE CRYPTOGRAM

cognized as authentic. The handwriting was really that
of Ortega, who had been formerly employed in the diamond
district, and there could be no doubt that the confession of
his crime, with the minutest details that were given, had
been written entirely with his own hand.

The innocence of the convict of Villa Rica was at length
admitted. The rehabilitation of Joam Dacosta was at last
officially proclaimed.

CHAPTER XIX

THE LOWER AMAZON

Little remains to tell of the second part of the voyage
down the mighty river. It was but a series of days of joy.
Joam Dacosta returned to a new life, which shed its happi-
ness on all who belonged to him.

The giant raft glided along with greater rapidity on the
waters now swollen by the floods. The town of Villa Bella,
which is the principal guarana market in the whole province,
was soon left behind by the giant raft. And so was the
village of Faro and its celebrated river of the Nhamundas,
on which, in 1539, Orellana asserted he was attacked by
female warriors, who have never been seen again since, and
thus gave us the legend which justifies the immortal name
of the river of the Amazons.

Here it is that the province of Rio Negro terminates.
The jurisdiction of Para then commences ; and on the 22d
of September the family, marveling much at a valley which
has no equal in the world, entered that portion of the
Brazilian empire which has no boundary to the east except
the Atlantic.

" How magnificent ! " remarked Minha over and over
again.

" How long ! " murmured Manoel.

" How beautiful ! " repeated Lina.

" When shall we get there ? " murmured Fragoso.

And this was what might have been expected of these
folks from their different points of view, though time passed
pleasantly enough with them all the same. Benito, who
was neither patient nor impatient, had recovered all his
former good humor.

THE LOWER AMAZON 107

Soon the jangada glided between interminable planta-
tions of cocoa-trees, with their somber green flanked by the
yellow thatch or ruddy tiles of the roofs of the huts of the
settlers on both banks from Chidos up to the town of Monte
Alegre.

Then there opened out the mouth of the Rio Trombetas,
bathing with its black waters the houses of Obidos, situated
at about one hundred and eighty miles from Belem, quite a
small town, and even a citade with large streets bordered
with handsome habitations, and a great center for cocoa
produce. Then they saw another tributary, the Tapajoz,
with its greenish-gray waters descending from the south-
west; and then Santarem, a wealthy town of not less than
five thousand inhabitants, Indians for the most part, whose
nearest houses were built on the vast beach of white sand.

After its departure from Manaos the jangada did not
stop anywhere as it passed down the much less encumbered
course of the Amazon. Day and night it moved along under
the vigilant care of its trusty pilot ; no more stoppages either
for the gratification of the passengers or for business pur-
poses. Unceasingly it progressed, and the end rapidly grew
nearer.

In this jurisdiction of Para Manoel was at home, and
he could tell them the names of the double chain of moun-
tains which gradually narrowed the valley of the huge river.
" To the right," said he, " that is the Sierra de Paracuarta,
which curves in a half circle to the south! To the left,
that is the Sierra de Curuva, of which we have already
passed the first outposts."

"Then they close in?" asked Fragoso.

" They close in ! " replied Manoel.

And the two young men seemed to understand each other,
for the same slight but significant nodding of the head ac-
companied the question and reply.

To what a superb size the Amazon had now developed,
as already this monarch of rivers gave signs of opening out
like a sea! Plants from eight to ten feet high clustered
along the beach, and bordered it with a forest of reeds.

Then the river divided into two important branches, which
flowed off toward the Atlantic, one going away northeast-
ward, the other eastward, and between them appeared the
beginning of the large Island of Marajo. This island is

108 THE CRYPTOGRAM

quite a province in itself. It measures no less than a Hun-
dred and eighty leagues in circumference. Cut up by
marshes and rivers, all savannah to the east, all forest to
the west, it offers most excellent advantages for the rais-
ing of cattle, which can here be seen in their thousands.
This immense barricade of Marajo is the natural obstacle
which has compelled the Amazon to divide before precipitat-
ing its torrents of water into the sea. Following the upper
branch, the jangada, after passing the islands of Caviana
and Mexiana, would have found an embouchure of some
fifty leagues across, but it would also have met with the
bar of the prororoca, that terrible eddy which, for the three
days preceding the new or full moon, takes but two minutes
instead of six hours to raise the river from twelve to fifteen
feet above ordinary high water mark.

This is by far the most formidable of tide-races. Most
fortunately the lower branch, known as the Canal of Breves,
which is the natural arm of the Para, is not subject to
the visitations of this terrible phenomenon, and its tides are
of a more regular description. Araujo, the pilot, was quite
aware of this. He steered, therefore, into the midst of
magnificent forests, here and there gliding past islands cov-
ered with muritis palms ; and the weather was so favorable
that they did not experience any of the storms which so
frequently rage along this Breves Canal.

At length there appeared on the left Santa Maria de Belem
do Para — the " town " as they call it in that country — with
its picturesque lines of white houses at many different levels,
its convents nestled among the palm-trees, the steeples of
its cathedral and of Nostra Senora de Merced, and the
flotilla of its brigantines, brigs, and barks, which form its
commercial communications with the Old World.

The hearts of the passengers of the giant raft beat high.
At length they were coming to the end of the voyage which
they had thought they would never reach. While the arrest
of Joam detained them at Manaos, half-way on their jour-
ney, could they ever have hoped to see the capital of the
province of Para?

It was in the course of this day, the 15th of October —
four months and a half after leaving the fazenda of Iquitos
— that, as they rounded a sharp bend in the river, Belem
came in sight.

THE LOWER AMAZON 109

The arrival of the jangada had been signaled for some
days. The whole town knew the story of Joam Dacosta.
They came forth to welcome him, and to him and his peo-
ple accorded a most sympathetic reception. Hundreds of
craft of all sorts conveyed them to the wharf, and soon the
jangada was invaded by all those who wished to welcome
the return of their compatriot after his long exile. Thou-
sands of sightseers — or more correctly speaking, thousands
of friends — crowded on to the floating village as soon as
it came to its moorings, and it was vast and solid enough
to support the entire population. Among those who hur-
ried on board one of the first pirogues had brought Madame
Valdez. Manoel's mother was at last able to clasp to her
arms the daughter whom her son had chosen. If the good
lady had not been able to come to Iquitos, was it not as
though a portion of the fazenda, with her new family, had
come down the Amazon to her?

Before evening the pilot Araujo had securely moored the
raft at the entrance of a creek behind the arsenal. That
was to be its last resting-place, its last halt, after its voyage
of eight hundred leagues on the great Brazilian artery.
There the huts of the Indians, the cottages of the negroes,
the storerooms which held the valuable cargo, would be
gradually demolished ; there the principal dwelling, nestled
beneath its verdant tapestry of flowers and foliage, and the
little chapel whose humble bell was then replying to the
sounding clangor from the steeples of Belem, would each
in its turn disappear.

But, ere this was done, a ceremony had to take place on
the jangada — the marriage of Manoel and Minha, the mar-
riage of Lina and Fragoso. To Father Passanha fell the
duty of celebrating the double union which promised so
happily. In that little chapel the two couples were to re-
ceive the nuptial benediction from his hands. If it hap-
pened to be so small as to be only capable of holding the
members of Dacosta's family, was not the giant raft large
enough to receive all those who wished to assist at the
ceremony? and if not, and the crowd became so great, did
not the ledges of the river banks afford sufficient room for
as many others of the sympathizing crowd as were desirous
of welcoming him whom so signal a reparation had made
the hero of the day?

110 THE CRYPTOGRAM

It was on the morrow, the 16th of October, that witK
great pomp the marriages were celebrated.

The Dacosta family came forth from their house and
moved through the crowd toward the little chapel. Joam
was received with absolutely frantic applause. He gave
his arm to Madame Valdez; Yaquita was escorted by the
Governor of Belem, who, accompanied by the friends of the
young army surgeon, had expressed a wish to honor the
ceremony with his presence. Manoel walked by the side
of Minha, who looked most fascinating in her bride's cos-
tume, and then came Fragoso, holding the hand of Lina,
who seemed quite radiant with joy. Then followed Benito,
then old Cybele and the servants of the worthy family
between the double ranks of the crew of the jangada.

Padre Passanha awaited the two couples at the entrance
of the chapel. The ceremony was very simple, and the
same hands which had formerly blessed Joam and Yaquita
were again stretched forth to give the nuptial benediction
to their child.

So much happiness was not likely to be interrupted by
the sorrow of long separation. In fact, Manoel Valdez al-
most immediately sent in his resignation, so as to join the
family at Iquitos, where he is still following his profession
as a country doctor.

Naturally the Fragosos did not hesitate to go back with
those who were to them friends rather than masters.

Madame Valdez had no desire to separate so happy a
group, but she insisted on one thing, and that was that they
should often come and see her at Belem. Nothing could be
easier. Was not the mighty river a bond of communication
between Belem and Iquitos? In a few days the first mail
steamer was to begin a regular and rapid service, and it
would then only take a week to ascend the Amazon, on
which it had taken the giant raft so many months to drift.
The important commercial negotiations, ably managed by
Benito, were carried through under the best of conditions,
and soon of what had formed this jangada — that is to say,
the huge raft of timber constructed from an entire forest
at Iquitos — there remained not a trace.

A month afterward the fazender, his wife, his son, Ma-
noel and Minha Valdez, Lina and Fragoso, departed by
one of the Amazon steamers for the immense establish-

THE LOWER AMAZON 111

ment at Iquitos of which Benito was to take the manage-
ment.

Joam Dacosta reentered his home with his head erect,
and it was indeed a family of happy hearts which he brought
back with him from beyond the Brazilian frontier. As for
Fragoso, twenty times a day at least was he heard to re-
peat, "What! without the liana?" and he wound up by
bestowing the name on the young mulatto who, by her affec-
tion for the gallant fellow fully justified its appropriateness,
" If it were not for the one letter," he said, " would not
Lina and Liana be the same ? "

THE END

The Steam House

BOOK ONE

The Demon of Cawnpore

V XII Vern«

The Demon of
Gawnpore

it

CHAPTER I

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HEAD

}>

X

REWARD of two thousand pounds will be paid
to any one who will deliver up, dead or alive,
one of the prime movers of the Sepoy revolt,
at present known to be in the Bombay presi-
dency, the Nabob Dandou Pant, commonly
called

Such was the fragmentary notice read by the inhabitants
of Aurungabad, on the evening of the 6th of March, 1867.
A copy of the placard had been recently affixed to the
wall of a lonely and ruined bungalow on the banks of the
Doudhma, and already the corner of the paper bearing the
second name — a name execrated by some, secretly admired
by others — was gone.

The name had been there, printed in large letters, but
it was torn off by the hand of a solitary fakir who passed
by that desolate spot. The name of the Governor of the
Bombay presidency, countersigning that of the Viceroy of
India, had also disappeared. What could have been the
fakir's motive in doing this?

By defacing the notice, did he hope that the rebel of 1857
would escape public prosecution, and the consequences of
the steps taken to secure his arrest? Could he imagine that
a notoriety so terrible as his would vanish with the frag-
ments of this scrap of paper?

To suppose such a thing would have been madness. The
notices were affixed in profusion to the walls of the houses,
palaces, mosques, and hotels of Aurungabad. Besides which,
a crier had gone through all the streets, reading in a loud
voice the proclamation of the Viceroy. So that the in-
habitants of the lowest quarters knew by this time that a
sum, amounting to a fortune, was promised to whomso-

115

116 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

ever would deliver up this Dandou Pant. The name, an-
nihilated in one solitary instance, would, before twelve hours
were over, be proclaimed throughout the province.

If, indeed, the report was correct that the Nabob had
taken refuge in this part of Hindoostan, there could be no
doubt that he would shortly fall into the hands of those
strongly interested in his capture. Under what impulse,
then, had the fakir defaced a placard of which thousands
of copies had been circulated?

The impulse was doubtless one of anger, mingled perhaps
with contempt; for he turned from the place with a scorn-
ful gesture, and entering the city was soon lost to view amid
the swarming populace of its more crowded and disreputable
quarter.

That portion of the Indian peninsula which lies between
the Western Ghauts, and the Ghauts of the Bay of Bengal,
is called the Deccan. It is the name commonly given to
the southern part of India below the Ganges. The Deccan,
of which the name in Sanscrit signifies " south," contains
a certain number of provinces in the presidencies of Bom-
bay and Madras. Chief among these is the province of
Aurungabad, the capital of which was, in former days, that
of the entire Deccan.

In the seventeenth century the celebrated Mogul Emperor,
Aurungzebe, established his court in the town of Aurunga-
bad, known in the early history of India by the name of
Kirkhi. It then contained one hundred thousand inhabitants.
Now, in the hands of the English who rule it in the name
of the Nizam of Hyderabad, there are not more than fifty
thousand. Yet it is one of the most healthful cities of the
peninsula, having hitherto escaped the scourge of Asiatic
cholera, as well as the visitations of the fever epidemics so
much to be dreaded in India.

Aurungabad possesses magnificent remains of its ancient
splendor. Many artistic and richly ornamental buildings
bear witness to the power and grandeur of the most illustri-
ous of the conquerors of India, the renowned Aurungzebe,
who raised this empire, increased by the addition of Cabul
and Assam, to a marvelous height of prosperity.

The palace of the Great Mogul stands on the right bank
of the Doudhma. The mausoleum of the favorite Sultana
of the Shah Jahan, the father of Aurungzebe, is also a

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HEAD 117

remarkable edifice; so likewise is the elegant mosque built
in imitation of the Tadje at Agra, which rears its four
minarets round a graceful swelling cupola.

Among the mixed and varied population of Aurungabad,
such a man as the fakir above mentioned easily concealed
himself from observation. Whether his character was real
or assumed, he was in no respect to be distinguished from
others of his class. Men like him abound in India, and
form, with the sayeds, a body of religious mendicants, who,
traveling through the country on foot or on horseback, ask
alms, which, if not bestowed willingly, they demand as a
right. They also play the part of voluntary martyrs, and
are held in great reverence by the lower orders of the
Hindoo people.

This particular fakir was a man of good height, being
more than five feet nine inches. His age could not have
been more than forty, and his countenance reminded one
of the handsome Mahratta type, especially in the brilliancy
of his keen black eyes ; but it was difficult to trace the fine
features of the race, disfigured and pitted as they were by
the marks of smallpox. He was in the prime of life, and
his figure was robust and supple. A close observer would
have seen that he had lost one finger of his left hand. His
hair was dyed a red color, and he went barefoot, wearing
only a turban, and a scanty shirt or tunic of striped woolen
stuff girded round his waist.

On his breast were represented in bright colors the em-
blems of the two principles of preservation and destruction
taught by Hindoo mythology: the lion's head of the fourth
incarnation of Vishnu, the three eyes and the symbolic
trident of the ferocious Siva.

There was great stir and commotion that evening in the
streets of Aurungabad, especially in the lower quarters,
where the populace swarmed outside the hovels in which
they lived. Men, women, children ; English soldiers, sepoys,
beggars of all descriptions ; peasants from the villages, met,
talked, gesticulated, discussed the proclamation, and cal-
culated the chances of winning the enormous reward offered
by Government.

The excitement was as great as it could have been before
the wheel of a lottery where the prize was 2,000/. In this
case the fortunate ticket was the head of Dandou Pant,

118 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

and to obtain it a man must first have the good luck to fall
in with the Nabob, and then the courage to seize him.

The fakir, apparently the only person unexcited by the
hope of winning the prize, threaded his way among the
eager groups, occasionally stopping and listening to what
was said, as though he might hear something of use to him.
He spoke to no one, but if his lips were silent his eyes and
ears were on the alert.

"Two thousand pounds for finding the Nabob!" ex-
claimed one, raising his clenched hands to heaven.

" Not for finding him," replied another, " but for catch-
ing him, which is a very different thing!"

" Well, to be sure, he is not a man to let himself be taken
without a resolute struggle."

" But surely it was said he died of fever in the jungles
of Nepaul?"

" That story was quite untrue ! The cunning fellow chose
to pass for dead, that he might live in greater security ! ':

" The report was spread that he had been buried in the
midst of his encampment on the frontier ! "

" It was a false funeral, on purpose to deceive peo-
ple."

The fakir did not change a muscle of his countenance on
hearing this latter assertion, which was made in a tone
admitting of no doubt. But when one of the more excited
of the group near which he was standing began to relate
the following circumstantial details, his brows knit in-
voluntarily as he listened.

" It is very certain," said the speaker, " that in 1859 the
Nabob took refuge with his brother, Balao Rao, and the
ex-rajah of Gonda, Debi-Bux-Singh, in a camp at the foot
of the mountains of Nepaul. There, finding themselves
closely pressed by the British troops, they all three resolved
to cross the Indo-Chinese frontier. Before doing so, they
caused a report of their death to be circulated, in order to
confirm which they went through the ceremony of actual
funerals; but in fact only a finger from the left hand of
each man had been really buried. These they cut off them-
selves when the rites were celebrated."

"How do you know all this?" demanded one of the
crowd of listeners.

" I myself was present," answered the man. " The sol-

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HEAD 1 19

diers of Dandou Pant had taken me prisoner. I only effected
my escape six months afterward."

While the Hindoo was speaking, the fakir never took
his gaze off him. His eyes blazed like lightning. He kept
his left hand under the ragged folds of his garment, and
his lips quivered as they parted over his sharp-pointed teeth.

"So you have seen the Nabob?" inquired one of the
audience.

" I have," replied the former prisoner of Dandou Pant.

" And would know him for certain if accident were to
bring you face to face with him? "

" Assuredly I would : I know him as well as I know
myself."

" Then you have a good chance of gaining the 2,000/. ! "
returned his questioner, not without a touch of envy in
his tone.

" Perhaps so," replied the Hindoo, " if it be true that the
Nabob has been so imprudent as to venture into the presi-
dency of Bombay, which to me appears very unlikely."

"What would be the reason of his venturing so far?
What reason would induce him to dare so much? '

" No doubt he might hope to instigate a fresh rebellion,
either among the sepoys or among the country populations
of Central India."

" Since Government asserts that he is known to be in
the province," said one of the speakers, who belonged to
that class which takes for gospel everything stated by author-
ity, " of course Government has reliable information on
the subject."

" Be it so ! " responded the Hindoo ; " only let it be the
will of Brahma that Dandou Pant crosses my path, and my
fortune is made ! "

The fakir withdrew a few paces, but he did not lose sight
of the ex-prisoner of the Nabob.

It was by this time dark night, but there was no diminu-
tion of the commotion in the streets of Aurungabad. Gossip
about the Nabob circulated faster than ever. Here, peo-
ple were saying that he had been seen in the town; there,
that he was known to be at a great distance. A courier
from the north was reported to have arrived, with news
for the Governor, of his arrest. At nine o'clock the best
informed asserted that he was already imprisoned in the

120 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

town jail — in company with some Thugs who had been
vegetating there for more than thirty years; that he was
going to be hanged next day at sunrise without a trial,
just like Tantia Topi, his celebrated comrade in revolt.

But by ten o'clock there was fresh news. The prisoner
had escaped, and the hopes of those who coveted the reward
revived. In reality all these reports were false. Those sup-
posed to be the best informed knew no more than any one
else. The Nabob's head was safe. The prize was still to
be won.

It was evident that the Indian who was acquainted with
the person of Dandou Pant had a better chance of gaining
the reward than any one else. Very few people, especially
in the presidency of Bombay, had had occasion to meet with
the savage leader of the great insurrection.

Farther to the north, or more in the center of the country
— in Scinde, in Bundelkund, in Oude, near Agra, Delhi,
Cawnpore, Lucknow, on the principal theater of the atroci-
ties committed by his order — the population would have
risen in a body, and delivered him over to British justice.
The relatives of his victims — husbands, brothers, children,
wives — still wept for those whom he had caused to be
massacred by hundreds. Ten years had passed, but had not
extinguished the righteous sentiments of horror and venge-
ance. It seemed, therefore, impossible that Dandou Pant
should be so imprudent as to trust himself in districts where
his name was held in execration.

If, then, he really had, as was supposed, recrossed the
Indo-Chinese frontier — if some hidden motive, whether
projects for new revolt or otherwise, had induced him to
quit the secret asylum which had hitherto remained un-
known even to the Anglo-Indian police — it was only in the
provinces of the Deccan that he could expect an open course
and a species of security. And we have seen that the Gov-
ernor had, in point of fact, got wind of his appearance in the
presidency, and instantly a price had been set on his head.
Still it must be remarked that men of the upper ranks at
Aurungabad — magistrates, military officers, and public func-
tionaries— considerably doubted the truth of the informa-
tion received by the Governor.

It had so often been reported that this man had been
seen, and even captured! So much false intelligence had

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HEAD 121

been circulated respecting him, that there began to be a
kind of legendary belief in a gift of ubiquity possessed by
him, to account for the skill with which he eluded the most
able and active agents of the police. The population, how-
ever, made no doubt that the intelligence as to his appear-
ance was reliable.

Among those now most convinced that the Nabob was to
be found was, of course, his ex-prisoner. The poor wretch,
allured by the hope of gain, and likewise animated by a
spirit of personal revenge, began to set about the under-
taking at once, and regarded his success as almost cer-
tain.

His plan was very simple. He proposed next day to offer
his services to the Governor; then, after having learned
exactly all that was known of Dandou Pant — that is to say,
the particulars on which was founded the information re-
ferred to in the proclamation, he intended to make his way
at once to the locality in which the Nabob was reported to
have been seen.

About eleven o'clock at night the Indian began to think
of retiring to take some repose. His only resting-place was
a small boat moored by the banks of the Doudhma; and
thither he directed his steps, his mind full of the various
reports he had heard, as, with half-closed eyes and thought-
ful brow, he revolved the project he had resolved to carry
out.

Quite unknown to him the fakir dogged his steps; he
followed noiselessly, and, keeping in the shadow, never for
an instant lost sight of him. Toward the outskirts of this
quarter of Aurungabad the streets became gradually de-
serted. The chief thoroughfare opened upon bare, unoccu-
pied ground, one circuit of which skirted the stream of the
Doudhma. The place was a kind of desert beyond the town,
though within its walls a few passengers were hastily trav-
ersing it, evidently anxious to reach more frequented paths.
The footsteps of the last died away in the distance, the
Hindoo was now alone on the river's bank.

The fakir was at no great distance, but concealed by trees,
or beneath the somber walls of ruined habitations, which
were scattered here and there. His precautions were need-
ful. When the moon rose and shed uncertain rays athwart
the gloom, the Hindoo might have seen that he was watched,

122 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

and even very closely followed. As to hearing the sound
of the fakir's tread, it was utterly impossible. Barefoot,
he glided, rather than walked. Nothing revealed his pres-
ence on the banks of the Doudhma.

Five minutes passed. The Hindoo took his way mechan-
ically toward his wretched boat, like a man accustomed to
withdraw night after night to this desert place.

He was absorbed in the thought of the interview he meant
to have next day with the Governor; while the hope of
revenging himself on the Nabob — never remarkable for his
tenderness toward his prisoners — united with a burning de-
sire to obtain the reward, rendered him blind and deaf to
everything around him ; and though the fakir was gradually
approaching him, he was totally unconscious of the danger
in which his imprudent words had placed him.

Suddenly a man sprang upon him with a bound like that
of a tiger! He seemed to grasp a lightning flash. It was
the moonlight glancing on the blade of a Malay dag-
ger!

The Hindoo, struck in the breast, fell heavily to the
ground. The wound, inflicted by an unerring hand, was
mortal ; but a few inarticulate words escaped the unhappy
man's lips, with a torrent of blood. The assassin stooped,
raised his victim, and supported him while he turned his
own face to the full light of the moon.

" Dost know me? " he asked.

" It is he ! " murmured the Indian ; and the dreaded name
would have been his last choking utterance, but his head
fell back, and he expired. In another instant the corpse
had disappeared beneath the waters of the Doudhma.

The fakir waited until the noise of the plunge had passed
away; then, turning swiftly, he traversed the open ground,
and passing along the now deserted streets and lanes, ap-
proached one of the city gates.

This gate was closed for the night just as he reached
it, and a military guard occupied the post, to prevent either
ingress or egress. The fakir could not leave Aurungabad,
as he had intended to do. " Yet depart this night I must,
if ever I am to do it alive ! " muttered he.

He turned away, and followed the inner line of fortifica-
tions for some little distance; then, ascending the slope,
reached the upper part of the rampart. The crest towered

TWO THOUSAND POUNDS FOR A HEAD 123

fifty feet above the level of the fosse which lay between
the scarp and counterscarp, and was devoid of any salient
points or projections which could have afforded support.
It seemed quite impossible that any man could descend
without a rope, and the cord he wore as a girdle was but
a few feet in length. He paused, glanced keenly round, and
considered what was to be done.

Great trees rise within the walls of Aurungabad, which
seems set in a verdant frame of foliage. The branches
of these being long and flexible, it might be possible to
cling to one, and at great risk, drop over the wall. No
sooner did this idea occur to the fakir, than, without a
moment's hesitation, he plunged among the boughs, and
soon reappeared outside the wall, holding a long pliable
branch, which he grasped midway, and which gradually bent
beneath his weight.

When the branch rested on the edge of the wall, the
fakir began to let himself slowly downward, as though he
held a knotted rope in his hands. By this means he de-
scended a considerable distance; but when close to the ex-
tremity of the bough, at least thirty feet still intervened
between him and the ground. There he hung, swinging
in the air by his outstretched arms, while his feet sought
some crevice or rough stone for support.

A flash! — another! The report of musketry!

The sentries had perceived the fugitive and fired upon
him. He was not hit, but a ball struck the branch which
supported him, and splintered it.

In a few seconds it gave way, and down went the fakir
into the fosse. Such a fearful fall would have killed an-
other man — he was uninjured. To spring to his feet, dart
up the slope of the counterscarp amid a storm of bullets
— not one of which touched him — and vanish in the dark-
ness, was mere play to the agile fugitive.

At a distance of two miles he passed the cantonments of
the English troops, quartered outside Aurungabad.

A couple of hundred paces beyond that he stopped, turned
round, and stretching his mutilated hand toward the city,
fiercely uttered these words : " Woe betide those who fall
now into the power of Dandou Pant! Englishmen have not
seen the last of Nana Sahib! "

Nana Sahib! This name, the most formidable to which

124 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

the revolt of 1857 had given a horrid notoriety, was there
once more flung like a haughty challenge at the conquerors
of India.

CHAPTER II

COLONEL MUNRO

" Maucler, my dear fellow, you tell us nothing about
your journey ! " said my friend Banks, the engineer, to me.
" One would suppose you had never got beyond your native
Paris ! What do you think of India? "

" Think of India! " I replied. " I really must see it be-
fore I can answer that question ! "

"Well, that is good!" returned Banks. "Why, you
have just traversed the entire peninsula from Bombay to
Calcutta, and unless you are downright blind "

" I am not blind, my dear Banks ; but during that jour-
ney you speak of I was blinded."

"Blinded?"

" Yes ! quite blinded by smoke, steam, dust ; and, above
all, by the rapid motion. I don't want to speak evil of rail-
roads, Banks, since it is your business to make them; but
let me ask whether you call it traveling to be jammed up in
the compartment of a carriage, see no farther than the glass
of the windows on each side of you, tear along day and
night, now over viaducts among the eagles and vultures,
now through tunnels among moles and rats, stopping only
at stations one exactly like another, seeing nothing of towns
but the outside of their walls and the tops of their minarets,
and all this amid an uproar of snorting engines, shrieking
steam-whistles, grinding and grating of rails, varied by the
mournful groans of the brake? Can you, I say, call this
traveling so as to see a country? "

" Well done ! " cried Captain Hood. " There, Banks !
answer that if you can. What is your opinion, colonel? "

The colonel, thus addressed, bent his head slightly, and
merely said, " I am curious to know what reply Banks can
make to our guest, Monsieur Maucler."

" I reply without the slightest hesitation," said the en-
gineer, " that I quite agree with Maucler."

COLONEL MUNRO 125

" But then," cried Captain Hood, " why do you construct
these railroads at all? "

" To enable you to go from Calcutta to Bombay in sixty
hours when you are in a hurry."

" I am never in a hurry."

" Ah, well then, you had better take to the great trunk
road and walk ! "

" That is exactly what I intend doing."

"When?"

' When the colonel will agree to accompany me in a
pretty little stroll of eight or nine hundred miles across the
country ! "

The colonel smiled, and without speaking again fell into
one of the long reveries from which his most intimate
friends, among whom were Captain Hood and Banks the
engineer, found it difficult to rouse him.

I had arrived in India a month previously. Having jour-
neyed by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, which runs
from Bombay to Calcutta, via Allahabad. I knew literally
nothing of the country. But it was my purpose to travel
through its northern districts beyond the Ganges, to visit its
great cities, to examine and study the principal monuments
of antiquity, and to devote to my explorations sufficient
time to render them complete.

I had become acquainted with the engineer Banks in Paris.
For some years we had been united by a friendship which
only increased with greater intimacy. I had promised to
visit him at Calcutta as soon as the completion of that part
of the Scinde, Punjab, and Delhi Railroad, of which he was
engineer, should set him at liberty.

The works being now at an end, Banks had some months'
leave, and I had come to propose that he should take rest
by roaming over India with me ! As a matter of course he
had accepted my proposal with enthusiasm, and in a few
weeks, when the season would be favorable, we were to
set off.

On my arrival at Calcutta in the month of March, 1867,
Banks had introduced me to one of his gallant comrades,
Captain Hood, and afterward to his friend Colonel Munro,
at whose house we were spending the evening. The colonel,
at this time a man of about forty-seven, occupied a house
in the European quarter; it stood somewhat apart, and con-

126 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

sequently beyond the noise and stir of the great metropolis
of India, which consists in fact of two cities, one native, the
other foreign and commercial.

The colonel's house was evidently that of a man in easy
circumstances. There was a large staff of servants, such
as is required in Anglo-Indian families. The furniture and
every household arrangement was in the very best taste and
style. In everything about the establishment might be traced
the hand of an intelligent woman, whose thoughtful care
must have originally planned the comforts and conveniences
of the home, but at the same time one felt that this woman
was there no longer.

The management of the household was conducted entirely
by an old soldier of the colonel's regiment, who acted as
his steward or major-domo. Sergeant McNeil was a Scotch-
man, who had been with him in many campaigns, not merely
in his military capacity, but as an attached and devoted per-
sonal attendant.

He was a man of five-and- forty or thereabouts, of tall
and vigorous frame, and manly, well-bearded countenance.
Although he had retired from the service when his colonel
did, he continued to wear the uniform; and this national
costume, together with his martial bearing, bespoke him at
once the Highlander and the soldier.

Both had left the army in 1860. But instead of return-
ing to the hills and glens of their native land, both had
remained in India, and lived at Calcutta in a species of
retirement and solitude, which requires to be explained.

When my friend Banks was about to introduce me to
Colonel Munro, he gave me one piece of advice. " Make
no allusion to the sepoy revolt," he said : " and, above all,
never mention the name of Nana Sahib."

Colonel Edward Munro belonged to an old Scottish fam-
ily, whose members had made their mark in the history of
former days.

He was descended from that Sir Hector Munro who in
1760 commanded the army in Bengal, when a serious in-
surrection had to be quelled. This he effected with a stern
and pitiless energy. In one day twenty-eight rebels were
blown from the cannon's mouth — a fearful sentence, many
times afterward carried out during the mutiny of 1857.

At the period of that great revolt Colonel Munro was in

COLONEL MUNRO 127j

command of the 93d Regiment of Highlanders, which he
led during the campaign under Sir James Outram — one of
the heroes of that war — of whom Sir Charles Napier spoke
as " The Chevalier Bayard of the Indian Army." Colonel
Munro was with him at Cawnpore ; and also, in the second
campaign, he was at the siege of Lucknow, and continued
with Sir James until the latter was appointed a Member of
the Council of India at Calcutta.

In 1858 Colonel Munro was made a Knight Commander
of the Star of India, and was created a baronet. His be-
loved wife never bore the title of Lady Munro, for she
perished at Cawnpore on the 27th of June, 1857, in the
atrocious massacre perpetrated by the orders and before
the eyes of Nana Sahib.

Lady Munro (her friends always called her so) had
been perfectly adored by her husband. She was scarcely
seven-and-twenty at the time of her terrible death. Mrs.
Orr and Miss Jackson, after the taking of Lucknow, were
miraculously saved and restored to their husband and father.
But to Colonel Munro nothing remained of his wife. She
had disappeared with the two hundred victims in the well
of Cawnpore.

Sir Edward, now a desperate man, had but one object
remaining in life; it was to quench a burning thirst for
vengeance — for justice. The discovery of Nana Sahib, for
whom, by order of Government, search was being made in
all directions, was his one great desire, his sole aim.

It was in order to be free to prosecute this search that
he had retired from the army. Sergeant McNeil got his
discharge at the same time, and faithfully followed his
master. The two men were animated by one hope, lived
in one thought, had but one end in view ; and eagerly start-
ing in pursuit, followed up one track after another, only to
fail as completely as the Anglo-Indian police had done.
The Nana escaped all their efforts.

After three years spent in fruitless attempts, the colonel
and Sergeant McNeil suspended their exertions for a time.

Just then the report of Nana Sahib's death was current
in India, and this time it seemed to be so well attested as
to admit of no reasonable doubt.

Sir Edward Munro and McNeil returned to Calcutta, and
established themselves in the lonely bungalow which has

128 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

been described. There the colonel lived in retirement, never
left home, read nothing which could contain any reference
to the sanguinary time of the mutiny, and seemed to live
but for the cherished memory of his wife. Time in no way
mitigated his grief.

I learned these particulars from my friend Banks, on our
way to the house of mourning, as Sir Edward's bungalow
might be called. It was very evident why he had warned
me against making any allusion to the sepoy revolt and its
cruel chief.

It must be noted that a report of Nana's reappearance in
Bombay, which had for some days been circulating, had not
reached him. Had it done so, he would have been on the
move at once.

Banks and Captain Hood were tried friends of the col-
onel's, and they were his only constant visitors.

The former, as I have said, had recently completed the
works he had in charge, on the Great Indian Peninsular
Railway. He was a man in the prime of life, and was
now appointed to take an active part in constructing the
Madras Railway, designed to connect the Arabian Sea with
the Bay of Bengal, but which was not to be commenced for
a year. He was just now on leave at Calcutta, occupied
with many mechanical projects, for his mind was active and
fertile, incessantly devising some novel invention. His spare
time he devoted to the colonel, whose fast friend he had
been for twenty years. Thus most of his evenings were
spent in the veranda of the bungalow. There he usually
met Captain Hood, who belonged to the first squadron of
Carabineers, and had served in the campaign of 1857-58
first under Sir John Campbell in Oude and Rohilkund, and
afterward in Central India, under Sir Hugh Rose, during
the campaign which terminated in the taking of Gwalior.

Hood was not more than thirty ; he had spent most of his
life in India, and was a distinguished member of the Madras
Club. His hair and beard were auburn, and he belonged
to an English regiment ; otherwise he was thoroughly " In-
dianized," and loved the country as if it had been his by
birth. He thought India the only place worth living in.
And there, certainly, all his tastes were gratified. A soldier
by nature and temperament, opportunities for fighting were
of constant recurrence. An enthusiastic sportsman, was he

COLONEL MUNRO 129

not in a land where nature had collected together all the
wild animals in creation, all the furred and feathered game
of either hemisphere? A determined mountaineer, the mag-
nificent ranges of Thibet offered him the ascent of the
loftiest summits on the globe.

An intrepid traveler, what debarred him from setting foot
on the hitherto untrodden regions of the Himalayan fron-
tier? Madly fond of horse-racing, the race-courses of India
appeared to him fully as important as those of Newmarket
or Epsom.

On this latter subject Banks and Hood were quite at
variance. The engineer took very little interest in the turfy
triumphs of " Gladiator " and Co.

One day, when Hood had been urging him to express
some opinion on the point, Banks said that to his mind races
could never be really exciting but on one condition.

" And what is that ? " demanded Hood.

" It should be clearly understood," returned Banks quite
seriously, " that the jockey last at the winning-post is to
be shot in his saddle."

" Ah ! not a bad idea ! " exclaimed Hood, very simply.
Nor would he have hesitated to run the chance himself.

Such were Sir Edward Munro's two constant visitors,
and without joining in their conversations he liked to listen
to them. Their perpetual discussions and disputes, on all
sorts of subjects, often brought a smile to his lips.

One wish and desire these two brave fellows had in com-
mon. And that was to induce the colonel to join them in
making a journey, and so to vary the melancholy tenor of
his thoughts. Several times they had tried to persuade him
to go to places frequented during the hot season by the rich
dwellers in Calcutta.

The colonel was immovable.

He had heard of the journey which Banks and I pro-
posed to take. This evening the subject was resumed.
Captain Hood's idea was a vast walking-tour in the north
of India. He objected to railroads, as Banks did to horses.
The middle course proposed was to travel either in carriages
or in palanquins — easy enough on the great thoroughfares
of Hindoostan.

" Don't tell me about your bullock-wagons and your
humped-zebu carriages ! " cried Banks. " I believe if you

V XII Verne

130 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

had your way without us engineers, you would still go about
in primitive vehicles such as were discarded in Europe five
hundred years ago."

" I'm sure they are far more comfortable than some of
your contrivances, Banks. And think of those splendid
white bullocks ! why, they keep up a gallop admirably, and
you find relays at every two leagues "

" Yes ; and they drag a machine on four wheels after
them, in which one is tossed and pitched worse than in a
boat at sea in a storm."

" Well, I can't say much for these conveyances, cer-
tainly," answered Hood. " But have we not capital car-
riages for two, three, or four horses, which in speed can
rival some of your trains? For my part, give me a palan-
quin rather than a train."

" A palanquin, Hood ! Call it a coffin — a bier — where
you are laid out like a corpse ! "

" That's all very well, but at least you are not rattled and
shaken about. In a palanquin you may write, read, or sleep
at your ease, without being roused up for your ticket at
every station. A palanquin carried by four or six Bengalee
gamals (bearers) will take you at the rate of four-and-half
miles an hour, and ever so much safer, too, than your merci-
less express trains ! "

" The best plan of all," said I, " would certainly be to
carry one's house with one."

" Oh, you snail ! " cried Banks.

" My friend," replied I, " a snail who could leave his
shell, and return to it at pleasure, would not be badly off.
To travel in one's own house, a rolling house, will probably
be the climax of inventions in the matter of journey-
ing!"

" Perhaps it will," said Colonel Munro, who had not yet
spoken. " If the scene could be changed without leaving
home and all its associations, if the horizon, points of view,
atmosphere, and climate could be varied while one's daily
life went on as usual — yes, perhaps "

" No more traveler's bungalows," said Hood, " where
comfort is unknown, although for stopping there you re-
quire a leave from the local magistrate."

" No more detestable inns, in which one is fleeced morally
and physically! " said I.

COLONEL MUNRO 131

"What a vision of delight!' cried Captain Hood.
" Fancy stopping when you please, setting off when you
feel inclined, going at a foot's pace when disposed to linger,
racing away at a gallop the instant the humor strikes you!
Then to carry with you not only a bedroom, but drawing
and dining and smoking rooms! and a kitchen! and a cook!
That would be something like progress, indeed, Banks ! and
a hundred times better than railways. Contradict me if
you dare!"

" Far from contradicting, I should entirely agree with
you, if only you carried your notion of improvement far
enough."

' What? do you mean to say better still might be done? "

" Listen, and judge for yourself. You consider that a
moving house would be superior to a carriage — to a saloon-
carriage — even to a sleeping-car on a railroad. And sup-
posing one traveled for pleasure only, and not on business,
you are right; I suppose we are agreed as to that? '!

" Yes," said I, " we all think so ; " and Colonel Munro
made a sign of acquiescence.

" Well," continued Banks. " Now let us proceed. You
give your orders to your coach-builder and architect com-
bined, who turns you out a perfect realization of the idea,
and there you have your rolling house, answering in every
way to your requirements, replete with every convenience
and comfort ; not so high as to make one fear a somersault,
not so broad as to suggest the possibility of sticking in a
narrow road ; well hung — in short, perfection. Let us sup-
pose it has been built for our friend Colonel Munro ; he
invites us to share his hospitality, and proposes to visit the
northern parts of India — like snails if you please, but snails
who are not glued by the tail to their shells. All is prepared
— nothing forgotten, not even the precious cook and kitchen
so dear to our friend Hood. The day for starting comes!
All right! Holloa! who is to draw your house, my good
friend?"

"Draw it?' cried Hood; "why mules, asses, horses,
bullocks ! "

" In dozens? " said Banks.

" Ah ! let's see ; elephants, of course — elephants ! It would
be something superb, majestic, to see a house drawn by a
team of elephants, well-matched, and with splendid action.

132 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

Can you conceive a more lordly and magnificent style of
progression? Would it not be glorious?"

" Well— yes— but "

" But ! still another of your ' buts.' "

" And a very big ' but ' it is."

" Bother you engineers ! you are good for nothing but to
discover difficulties."

" And to surmount them when not insurmountable," re-
plied Banks quietly.

" Well then, surmount this one."

" I will — and in this way. My dear Munro, Captain Hood
offers us a large choice of motive power, but none which
is incapable of fatigue, none which will not on occasion
prove restive or obstinate, and above all, require to eat.
It follows that the traveling house we speak of is quite
impracticable unless it can be a steam house."

" And run upon rails, of course ! I thought so ! " cried
the captain, shrugging his shoulders.

"No, upon roads," returned Banks; "drawn by a first-
rate traction engine."

"Bravo!" shouted Hood, "bravo! Provided the house
need not follow your imperious lines of rails, I agree to the
steam."

" But," said I to Banks, " an engine requires food as
much as mules, asses, horses, bullocks, or elephants do, and
for want of it will come to a standstill."

" A steam horse," replied he, " is equal in strength to
several real horses, and the power may be indefinitely in-
creased. The steam horse is subject neither to fatigue nor
to sickness. In all latitudes, through all weathers, in sun-
shine, rain, or snow, he continues his unwearied course. He
fears not the attack of wild beasts, the bite of serpents, nor
the stings of venomous insects. Desiring neither rest nor
sleep, he needs no whip, spur, or goad. The steam horse,
provided only he is not required at last to be cooked for
dinner, is superior to every draught animal which Providence
has placed at the disposal of mankind. All he consumes is
a little oil or grease, a little coal or wood; and you know,
my friends, that forests are not scarce in our Indian Pen-
insula, and the wood belongs to everybody."

" Well said ! " exclaimed Captain Hood. " Hurrah for
the steam horse! I can almost fancy I see the traveling

COLONEL MUNRO 133

house, invented by Banks the great engineer, traveling the
highways and byways of India, penetrating jungles, plung-
ing through forests, venturing even into the haunts of lions,
tigers, bears, panthers, and leopards, while we, safe within
its walls, are dealing destruction on all and sundry! Ah,
Banks, it makes my mouth water! I wish I wasn't going
to be born for another fifty years! "

" Why not, my dear fellow? "

" Because fifty years hence your dream will come true ;
we shall have the steam house."

" It is ready now," said Banks simply.

' Ready! Who has made one? Have you? "

' I have ; and to tell you the truth, I rather expect it will
even surpass your visionary hopes."

" My dear Banks, let's be off at once! " cried Hood, as
if he had received an electric shock.

The engineer begged him to be calm, and turning to Sir
Edward Munro, addressed him in an earnest tone.

' Edward," said he, " if I place a steam house at your
command — if a month hence, when the season will be suit-
able, I come and tell you that your rooms are prepared, and
that you can occupy them and go wherever you like, while
your friends Maucler, Hood, and I are ready and willing
to accompany you on an excursion to the north of India —
will you answer me, ' Let us start, Banks, let us start ; and
the God of the traveler be our speed '? "

' Yes, my friends," replied Colonel Munro, after a few
moments' reflection. " Yes, I agree. I place at your dis-
posal, Banks, the requisite funds. Keep your promise.
Bring to us this ideal of a steam house, which is to surpass
even Hood's imagination, and we will travel over all India."

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " shouted Captain Hood.
" Now for wild sports on the frontiers of Nepaul ! "

At this moment Sergeant McNeil, attracted by the cap-
tain's ringing cheers, appeared at the entrance to the ver-
anda.

" McNeil," said Colonel Munro, " we start in a month
for the north of India. Will you go? "

" Certainly, colonel, if you do," he replied.

CHAPTER III

THE SEPOY REVOLT

Some account must now be given of the state of India at
the period when the events of this story took place, and
especially it will be necessary to relate the chief circum-
stances connected with the formidable revolt of the
sepoys.

The Honorable East India Company, called sometimes
by the nickname of " John Company," was founded in 1600,
in the reign of Elizabeth, in the midst of a population of
two hundred millions, inhabiting the sacred land of Arya-
varta.

Their first title was merely " The Governor and Company
of Merchants of London trading to the East Indies," and
at their head was placed the Duke of Cumberland.

About this time the power of the Portuguese, which till
then had been very great in the Indies, began to diminish.
Of this the English immediately took advantage, and made
their first attempt at a political and military administration
in the presidency of Bengal, its capital, Calcutta, becoming
the center of the new government.

A French Company was founded about the same period,
under the patronage of Colbert, and the conflicting interests
of the rival companies gave rise to endless contentions, in
which, a century later, the names of Dupleix, Labourdon-
nais, and Count de Lally, are distinguished both in successes
and reverses. The French were finally compelled to abandon
the Carnatic, that portion of the peninsula which compre-
hends a part of its eastern coast.

Lord Clive's brilliant successes having assured the Eng-
lish power in Bengal, Warren Hastings consolidated the
empire Clive had founded, and from that time war and
conquest went on, till England became master of that vast
empire which has been described as " not less splendid and
more durable than that of Alexander."

The Company, however, till then all powerful, began to
lose its authority, and in 1784 a bill was passed placing it
under the control of Government. In 1813 it lost the
monopoly of trading to India, and in 1833 the right of
trading to China.

Since the establishment of a military force in India, the

134

THE SEPOY REVOLT 135

army had always been composed of two distinct contingents,
European and native. The first consisted of British cavalry
and infantry regiments, and European infantry in service
of the Company ; the second, of native regulars, commanded
by English officers. There was also artillery, which belonged
to the Company, and was European with the exception of
a few batteries.

When Lord William Bentinck was made Governor of
Madras, he introduced some reforms which highly offended
the native troops. The sepoys were required to clip their
mustaches, shave their chins, and were forbidden to wear
their marks of caste. A new regulation turban was also
ordered for them. Incited by the sons of Tippoo Sahib,
this was made the excuse for an outbreak, in which the
garrison at Vellore rose against and massacred their officers
and about a hundred English soldiers, even the sick in the
hospital being butchered.

The English troops quartered at Arcot fortunately ar-
rived in time to stem that rebellion. This, however, showed
that a slight cause would at any moment set the natives
against their conquerors, and in 1857 imminent peril threat-
ened this Eastern Empire.

The Mohammedans of both sects longed to set themselves
free from the British yoke, but could not hope to do so
while the Hindoo soldiery remained true to their salt. Un-
happily the spark that was needed to inflame their passions
was not long in being supplied. A suspicion had seized the
Hindoo mind that their religion and caste were in danger;
that the English had determined that all the natives should
become Christians. They believed that the cartridges for
their new Enfield rifles were purposely greased with pig's
fat, so that when they bit off the ends they would be defiled,
lose caste, and be compelled to embrace the Christian re-
ligion.

Now, in a country where the population renounces even
the use of soap, because the fat of either a sacred or unclean
animal may enter into its composition, it was found very
difficult to enforce the use of cartridges prepared with this
substance, especially as they had to be touched with the lips.
The Government yielded in some degree to the outcry which
was made; but it was quite in vain to modify the drill with
the rifles, or to assert that the fats in question took no part

136 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

in the manufacture of the cartridges. Not a sepoy in the
army could be reassured or persuaded to the contrary.

At this time Lord Canning was at the head of the admin-
istration as governor-general. Perhaps this statesman de-
luded himself as to the extent of the movement. For some
years past the star of the United Kingdom had been grow-
ing visibly dimmer in the Hindoo sky. In 1842 the retreat
from Cabul had diminished the prestige of the European
conquerors. The attitude of the English army during the
Crimean war had not in some instances been such as to
sustain its military reputation. The sepoys, therefore, who
were well acquainted with all that was happening on the
shores of the Black Sea, thought the time had come when
a revolt of the native troops would probably be successful.
Their minds, already well prepared, were inflamed and ex-
cited by the bards, brahmins, and moulvis, who stirred them
up by songs and exhortations.

At the beginning of the year 1857, while the contingent
of the British army was reduced owing to exterior complica-
tions, Nana Sahib, otherwise called Dandou Pant, who had
been residing near Cawnpore, had gone to Delhi, and twice
to Lucknow, no doubt with the object of provoking the
rising, prepared so long ago, for, in fact, very shortly after
the departure of the Nana, the insurrection was declared.

On the 24th of February, at Berampore, the 34th regiment
refused the cartridges. In the middle of the month of
March an adjutant was massacred, and the regiment being
disbanded after the punishment of the assassins, carried into
the neighboring provinces most active elements of re-
volt.

On the 10th of May, at Meerut, a little to the north of
Delhi, the 3d, 11th, and 20th regiments mutinied, killed
their colonels and several staff officers, gave up the town
to pillage, and then fell back on Delhi. Here the rajah,
a descendant of Timour, joined them. The arsenal fell into
their power, and the officers of the 54th regiment were
slaughtered. On the 11th of May, at Delhi, Major Fraser
and his officers were pitilessly massacred by the mutineers
of Meerut, in the very palace of the European commandant ;
and on the 16th of May forty-nine prisoners, men, women,
and children, fell under the hatchets of the assassins. On
the 20th of May, the 26th regiment, cantoned near Lahore,

THE SEPOY REVOLT 137

killed the commandant of the fort and the European
sergeant-major.

The impulse once given to these frightful butcheries, it
was impossible to stop them. On the 28th of May, at
Nourabad, many Anglo-Indian officers fell victims. The
brigadier commandant, with his aide-de-camp, and many
other officers, were murdered in the cantonments of Luck-
now on the 30th of May. On the 31st of May, at Bareilly,
in the Rohilkund, several officers were surprised and mas-
sacred, without having time to defend themselves. At
Shahjahanpore, on the same date, were assassinated the
collector and a number of officers by the sepoys of the 38th
regiment; and the next day, beyond Barwar, many officers,
women, and children, who were en route for the station of
Sivapore, a mile from Aurungabad, fell victims.

In the first days of June, at Bhopal, were massacred a
part of the European population ; and at Jansi, under the
inspiration of the terrible dispossessed Rani, all the women
and children who took refuge in the fort were slaughtered
with unexampled refinement of cruelty. At Allahabad, on
the 6th of June, eight young ensigns fell by the sepoys'
hands. On the 14th of June, two native regiments revolted
at Gwalior, and assassinated their officers.

On the 27th of June, at Cawnpore, expired the first
hecatomb of victims, of every age and sex, all shot or
drowned — a prelude to the fearful drama which was to
take place there a few weeks later. On the 1st of July, at
Holkar, thirty-four Europeans — officers, women, and chil-
dren— were massacred, and the town pillaged and burned;
and on the same day, at Ugow, the colonel and adjutant
of the 23d regiment were slain.

The second massacre at Cawnpore was on the 15th of
July. On that day several hundred women and children —
among them Lady Munro — were butchered with unequaled
cruelty by the order of Nana himself, who called to his aid
the Mussulmen butchers from the slaughter-houses. This
atrocious act, and how the bodies were afterward thrown
down a well, is too well known to need further descrip-
tion.

On the 26th of September, in Lucknow, many were half
cut to pieces, and then thrown still living into the flames.
Besides these, in all the towns, and throughout the whole

138 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

country, there were isolated murders, which altogether gave
to this mutiny a horrible character of atrocity.

To these butcheries the English generals soon replied by
reprisals — necessary, no doubt, since they did much to in-
spire terror of the British name among the insurgents —
but which were truly frightful. At the beginning of the
insurrection, at Lahore, Chief Justice Montgomery and
Brigadier Corbett had managed to disarm, without blood-
shed, the 8th, 16th, 26th, and 49th native regiments. At
Moultan the 62d and 29th regiments were also forced to
surrender their arms, without being able to attempt any
serious resistance. The same thing was done at Peshawar
to the 24th, 27th, and 51st regiments, who were disarmed
by Brigadier S. Colton and Colonel Nicholson, just as the
rebellion was about to burst. But the native officers of the
51st regiment having fled to the mountains, a price was set
on their heads, and all were soon brought back by the hill-
men. This was the beginning of the reprisals.

A column, commanded by Colonel Nicholson, attacked a
native regiment, which was marching toward Delhi. The
mutineers were soon defeated and dispersed, and one hun-
dred and twenty prisoners brought to Peshawar. All were
indiscriminately condemned to death ; but one out of three
only were really executed. Ten cannon were placed on
the drilling-ground, a prisoner fastened to each of their
mouths, and five times were the ten guns fired covering the
plain with mutilated remains, in the midst of air tainted
with the smell of burning flesh.

These men, as M. de Valbezen says in his book called
" Nouvelles Etudes sur les Anglais et l'lnde," nearly all
died with that heroic indifference which Indians know so
well how to preserve even in the very face of death. " No
need to bind me, captain," said a fine young sepoy, twenty
years of age, to one of the officers present at the execution ;
and as he spoke he carelessly stroked the instrument of
death. " No need to bind me ; I have no wish to run away."
Such was the first and horrible execution, which was to be
followed by so many others.

At the same time Brigadier Chamberlain published the
following order to the native troops at Lahore, after the
execution of two sepoys of the 55th regiment: " You have
just seen two of your comrades bound to the cannon's mouth

THE SEPOY REVOLT 139

and blown to pieces; this will be the punishment of all
traitors. Your conscience will tell you what penalties they
will undergo in the other world. These two soldiers have
been shot rather than hung on the gallows, because I wished
to spare them the pollution of the executioner's touch, and
prove thus that the Government, even at this crisis, wishes
to avoid everything that would do the least injury to your
prejudices of religion and caste."

On the 30th of July, 1,237 prisoners fell successively be-
fore firing platoons, and fifty others only escaped to die of
hunger and suffocation in the prisons in which they were
shut up. On the 28th of August, of 870 sepoys who fled
from Lahore, 659 were pitilessly massacred by the soldiers
of the British army.

After the taking of Delhi, on the 23d of September, three
princes of the king's family, the heir presumptive and his
two cousins, surrendered unconditionally to Major Hod-
son, who brought them, with an escort of five men only,
into the midst of a menacing crowd of 5,000 Hindoos —
one against 1,000. And yet, halfway through, Hodson
stopped the cart which contained his prisoners, got into it,
ordered them to lay bare their breasts, and then shot them
all three with his revolver. " This bloody execution, by
the hand of an English officer," says M. de Valbezen, " ex-
cited the highest admiration throughout the Punjab."

After the capture of Delhi, 3,000 prisoners perished 5y
shot or on the gallows, and with them twenty-nine members
of the royal family. The siege of Delhi, it is true, had
cost the besiegers 2,151 Europeans, and 1,686 natives. At
Allahabad horrible slaughter was made, not among the
sepoys, but in the ranks of the humble population, whom
the fanatics had almost unconsciously enticed to pillage. At
Lucknow, on the 16th of November, 2,000 sepoys were shot
at the Sikander Bagh, and a space of 120 square yards was
strewed with their dead bodies.

At Cawnpore, after the massacre, Colonel Neil obliged
the condemned men, before giving them over to the gallows,
to lick and clean with their tongues, in proportion to their
rank of caste, each spot of blood remaining in the house
in which the victims had perished. To the Hindoos this
was preceding death with dishonor.

During the expedition into Central India executions were

140 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

continual, and under the fire of musketry " walls of human
flesh fell and perished on the earth ! " On the 9th of March,
1858, during the attack on the Yellow House, at the time
of the second siege of Lucknow, after the decimation of
the sepoys, it appears certain that one of these unfortunate
men was roasted alive by the Sikhs, under the very eyes of
the English officers ! On the 1 1th, the moats of the Begum's
palace at Lucknow were filled with sepoys' bodies; for the
English could not restrain the rage that possessed them. In
twelve days 3,000 natives were slain, either hung or shot,
including among them 380 fugitives on the island of Hydas-
spes, who were escaping into Cashmere.

In short, without counting the sepoys who were killed
under arms during this merciless repression — in which no
prisoners were made — in the Punjab only not less than 628
natives were shot or bound to the cannon's mouth by order
of the military authorities, 1,370 by order of the civil author-
ity, 386 hung by order of both.

At the beginning of the year 1859 it was estimated that
more than 120,000 native officers and soldiers had perished,
and more than 200,000 civilian natives, who paid with their
lives for their participation — often doubtful — in this insur-
rection. Terrible reprisals these! and perhaps, on that oc-
casion, Mr. Gladstone had some reason on his side when
he protested so energetically against them in Parliament.

It was important, for the better understanding of our
story, that the death-list on both sides should be given as
above, to make the reader comprehend the unsatiated hatred
which still remained in the hearts of the conquered, thirst-
ing for vengeance, as well as in those of the conquerors,
who, ten years afterward, were still mourning the victims
of Cawnpore and Lucknow.

As to the purely military facts of the campaign against
the rebels, they comprised the following expeditions, which
may be summarily mentioned.

To begin with, Sir John Lawrence lost his life in the first
Punjab campaign. Then came the siege of Delhi (that
central point of the insurrection), reenforced by thousands
of fugitives, and in which Mohammed Shah Bahadour was
proclaimed Emperor of Hindoostan. " Finish up Delhi ! "
was the impatient order of the governor-general in his last
dispatch to the commander-in-chief; and the siege, begun

THE SEPOY REVOLT 141

on the night of the 13th of June, was ended on the 19th
of September, after costing the lives of Generals Sir Harry
Barnard and John Nicholson.

At the same time, after Nana Sahib had had himself
declared Peishwar, and been crowned at the castle fort of
Bhitoor, General Havelock effected his march on Cawnpore.
He entered it the 17th of July, though too late to prevent
the second massacre, or to seize the Nana, who managed
to escape with 5,000 men and forty pieces of cannon.

Havelock then undertook a first campaign in the kingdom
of Oude, and on the 28th of July he crossed the Ganges
with 1,700 men and ten cannon only, and proceeded toward
Lucknow.

Sir Colin Campbell and Major-General Sir James Outram
now appeared on the scene. The siege of Lucknow lasted
eighty-seven days, and during it Sir Henry Lawrence and
General Havelock lost their lives. Then Sir Colin Campbell,
after having been obliged to retire on Cawnpore, of which
he took definite possession, prepared for a second campaign.

During this time other troops captured Mohir, a town
of Central India, and made an expedition across the Mulwa,
which established the British authority in that kingdom.

At the commencement of the year 1858 Campbell and
Outram again marched on Lucknow, with four divisions of
infantry, commanded by Major-Generals Sir James Outram
and Sir Edward Lugard, and Brigadiers Walpole and
Franks. Sir Hope Grant led the cavalry, while Wilson
and Robert Napier had other commands, the army consist-
ing of about 25,000 men, which were joined by the Maha-
rajah of Nepaul with 12,000 Ghoorkas. But the rebel
army numbered not less than 120,000 men, and the town
of Lucknow contained from 700,000 to 800,000 inhabitants.
The first attack was made on the 6th of March.

On the 16th, after a series of combats the English got
possession of that part of the town situated on the left bank
of the Goomtee. Moos-a-bagh was cannonaded and cap-
tured by Sir James Outram and Sir Hope Grant on the 19th ;
and on the 21st, after a fierce struggle the English took
final possession of the city.

In the month of April an expedition was made into Rohil-
kund, as a great number of the fugitive insurgents were
there. Bareilly, the capital of that kingdom, was the first

142 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

object of the English, who were not at the outset very
fortunate, as they suffered a sort of defeat at Jugdespore.
Here also Brigadier Adrian Hope was killed. But toward
the end of the month Campbell arrived, retook Shahjahan-
pore, and on the 5th of May, attacking Bareilly, he seized
it, without having been able to prevent the rebels evacu-
ating it.

The Central India Field Force, under the command of
Sir Hugh Rose, performed many gallant achievements.
This general, in January, 1858, marched through the king-
dom of Bhopal and relieved the town of Saugor on the 3d
of February, which had been closely besieged since July,
1857.

Ten days after he took the fort of Gurakota, forced the
defiles of the Vindhya chain, crossed the Betwa, and arrived
before Jhansi, defended by 11,000 rebels, under the com-
mand of the savage Amazon Ranee; invested this place on
the 22d of March, in the midst of intense heat, detached
2,000 men from the besieging army to meet 20,000 men
from Gwalior, led by the famous Tantia Topee, put this
chief to the rout, and then assaulted the town on the 22d
of April, forced the walls, and seized the citadel, from which
the Ranee managed to escape. On the 23d of May the Brit-
ish advanced on Calpee, and occupied it. The Ranee and
Tantia Topee having taken possession of Gwalior, Sir Hugh
Rose advanced upon that place; an action took place at
Morar on the 16th of June, and on the 19th another fierce
contest, in which the rebels were completely put to the rout,
and the Central India Field Force returned to Bombay
in triumph.

The Ranee was killed in a hand-to-hand fight before
Gwalior. This famous queen, who was devoted to the
Nabob, and was his most faithful companion during the in-
surrection, fell by the hand of Sir Edward Munro. Nana
Sahib, by the dead body of Lady Munro at Cawnpore, the
colonel, by the dead body of the Ranee at Gwalior, represent
the revolt and the suppression, and were thus made enemies
whose hatred would find terrible vent if they ever met face
to face !

The insurrection might now be considered to be quelled,
except in a few places in the kingdom of Oude. Campbell
resumed the campaign on the 2d of November, seized the

THE SEPOY REVOLT 143

last of the rebel places, and compelled several important
chiefs to submit themselves. One of them, however, Beni
Madho, was not taken. In December it was learned that
he had taken refuge in a neighboring district of Nepaul. It
was said that Nana Sahib, Balao Rao his brother, and the
Begum of Oude, were with him. Later it was reported that
they had sought refuge across the Raptee, on the boundaries
of the kingdoms of Nepaul and Oude. Campbell pressed
rapidly on, but they had crossed the frontier. In the begin-
ning of February, 1859, an English brigade, one of the
regiments being under command of Colonel Munro, pursued
them into Nepaul. Beni Madho was killed, the Begum of
Oude and her son were made prisoners, and obtained per-
mission to reside in the capital of Nepaul. As to Nana Sahib
and Balao Rao, though for long they were thought to be
dead, yet such was not the case.

Thus the terrible insurrection was crushed. Tantia Topee,
betrayed by his lieutenant Man-Singh, and condemned to
death, was executed on the 15th of April at Sipree. This
rebel, " this truly remarkable actor in the great drama of
the Indian insurrection," says M. de Valbezen, " one who
gave proofs of a political genius full of resources and dar-
ing," died courageously on the scaffold.

This sepoy mutiny, which might perhaps have lost India
to the English if it had extended all over the peninsula, and
especially if the rising had been national, caused the down-
fall of the Honorable East India Company. On the 1st of
November, 1858, a proclamation, published in twenty lan-
guages, announced that Victoria, Queen of England, would
wield the scepter of India — that country of which, some
years later, she was to be crowned Empress.

The governor, now called Viceroy, a Secretary of State,
and fifteen members, composed the supreme government.
The governors of the presidencies of Madras and Bombay
were henceforward to be nominated by the Queen. The
members of the Indian service and the commanders-in-chief
to be chosen by the Secretary of State. Such were the
principal arrangements of the new government.

As to the military force, the English army contained sev-
enteen thousand more men than before the sepoy mutiny.
The army in 1867 numbered 64,902 European officers and
men, and 125,246 native. Such was the actual state of the

144 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

peninsula from an administrative and military point of view ;
such the effective force which guarded a territory of 400,000
square miles.

" The English," says M. Grandidier, " have been fortu-
nate in finding in this large and magnificent country a gentle,
industrious, and civilized people, who for long have been
accustomed to a yoke. But they must be careful ; gentleness
has its limits, and the yoke should not be allowed to bruise
their necks, or they may one day rebel and cast it off."

CHAPTER IV

DEEP IN THE CAVES OF ELLORA

It was but too true. The Mahratta prince, Dandou Pant,
adopted son of Baji Rao, Peishwar of Poona, known as
Nana Sahib, and perhaps at this period the sole survivor
of the leaders in the great insurrection, had dared to leave
his inaccessible retreats amid the mountains of Nepaul. Full
of courage and audacity, accustomed to face danger, crafty
and skilled in the art of baffling and eluding pursuit in every
form, he had ventured forth into the provinces of the Dec-
can, animated by hatred intensified a hundredfold since the
terrible reprisals taken after the rebellion.

Yes ; Nana Sahib had sworn deadly hate to the possessors
of India. Was he not the heir of Baji Rao? and when the
Peishwar died in 1851, had not the Company refused to
continue to pay to him his pension of eight lacs of rupees?
This had been one of the causes of an enmity from which
resulted the greater excesses.

But what could Nana Sahib hope for now? The revolt
had been completely quelled eight years before. The Hon-
orable East India Company had gradually been superseded
by the English Government, which now held the entire pen-
insula under an authority very much firmer and better estab-
lished than that of the old mercantile associations.

Not a trace of the mutiny remained, for the ranks of the
native regiments had been wholly reorganized. Could the
Nana dream of success in an attempt to foment a national
movement among the lowest classes of Hindoostan? We
shall see.

He was aware that his presence in the province of Aurun-

DEEP IN THE CAVES OF ELLORA 145

gabad had been observed that the governor and viceroy were
informed of it, and that a price was set on his head. It
was clear that precipitate flight was necessary, and that his
place of refuge must be well concealed indeed if he
hoped to baffle the search of the agents of Anglo-Indian
police.

The Nana did not waste an hour of the night between
the 6th and 7th of March. He perfectly knew the country,
and resolved to gain Ellora, twenty-five miles from Aurun-
gabad, and there join one of his accomplices.

The night was very dark. The pretended fakir, satisfied
that no one was in pursuit, took his way toward the mau-
soleum, erected at some distance from the city, in honor of
the Mohammedan Sha-Soufi, a saint whose relics have a
high medicinal reputation. All within the mausoleum,
priests and pilgrims, slept profoundly, and the Nana passed
on without being subjected to inconvenient questioning.

Dark as it was, he soon discerned, four leagues farther
northward, the block of granite on which is reared the
impregnable fortress of Dowlatabad. Rising abruptly from
the plain to the height of two hundred and forty feet, its
vast outline could be traced against the sky. But Nana
Sahib, with a glance of hatred, turned his gaze away from
the place ; for one of his ancestors, an emperor of the Dec-
can, had wished to establish his capital at the base of this
stronghold. It would indeed have been an impregnable
position, well suited to be the central point of an insurrec-
tionary movement in this part of India.

Having traversed the plain, a region of more varied and
broken ground succeeded ; the undulations gave notice of
mountains in the distance. But the Nana did not slacken
his pace, although often making steep ascents. Twenty-five
miles, the distance that is between Ellora and Aurungabad,
had to be got over during the night; nothing therefore in-
duced him to make a halt, although an open caravanserai
lay near his path, and he passed a lonely and half-ruined
bungalow among the hills, where he might have sought an
hour's repose.

When the sun rose he was beyond the village of Ranzah,
which possesses the tomb of Aurungzeeb, the most famous
of Mogul emperors.

At length he had reached the celebrated group of excava-

V XII Verne

146 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

tions which take their name from the little neighboring
village of Ellora.

The hill in which these caves, to the number of thirty,
have been hollowed out, is crescent-shaped. The monuments
consist of twenty-four Buddhist monasteries and some grot-
toes of less importance. The basaltic quarry has been ex-
tensively worked by the hand of man. But the native
architects, who from the earliest ages extracted stones from
it, had not for their main object the erection of the marvel-
ous buildings here and there to be seen on the surface of the
vast peninsula. No ; they removed these stones in order to
procure space within the living rock.

The arrival of Nana Sahib at Ellora was unobserved ; he
entered the caves and glided into one of several deep cracks
or crevices which had opened in the basement, but were
concealed behind the supporting elephants.

This opening admitted him into a gloomy passage or drain
which ran beneath the temple, terminating in a sort of crypt
or vaulted reservoir, now dry and empty.

Advancing a short way into the passage, the Nana uttered
a peculiar whistle, to which a sound precisely similar im-
mediately replied, and a light flashed through the darkness,
proving that the answer was no mocking echo. Then an
Indian appeared carrying a small lantern.

" Away with the light! " said the Nana.

" Dandou Pant! " said the Indian, extinguishing the lamp;
"is it thou thyself?"

" My brother, it is I myself."

"Art thou ?,"

" Let me eat first," returned the Nana ; " we will converse
afterward. But let both eating and speaking be in darkness.
Take my hand and guide me."

The Indian took his hand and drew him into the crypt,
and he assisted him to lie down on a heap of withered grass
and leaves, where he himself had been sleeping when roused
by the fakir's signal.

The man, accustomed to move in the obscurity of this dis-
mal retreat, soon produced food, consisting of bread, the
flesh of fowls prepared in a way common in India, and a
gourd containing half a pint of the strong spirit known as
arrack, distilled from the sap of the cocoanut-tree.

The Nana ate and drank, but spoke never a word. He

DEEP IN THE CAVES OF ELLORA 147

was faint and sinking through hunger and fatigue, and his
whole vitality seemed concentrated in his eyes, which burned
and flashed in the darkness like those of a tiger. The In-
dian remained motionless, waiting till the Nabob chose to
speak.

This man was Balao Rao, the brother of Nana Sahib.
Balao Rao, a year older than Dandou Pant, resembled him
physically, and might easily be mistaken for him. Morally
the likeness was still more complete. In detestation of the
English in craft to form plots, and in cruelty to execute them,
they were as one soul, in two bodies. Throughout the rebel-
lion these two brothers had kept together. After it was sub-
dued, they shared together a refuge on the frontiers of
Nepaul. And now, united by the single aim of resuming
the struggle, they were both ready for action.

When the Nana had devoured the food set before him,
he remained for some time leaning his head on his folded
arms. Balao Rao kept silence, thinking he wished to sleep.

But Dandou Pant raised his head suddenly, and, grasp-
ing his brother's hand, said in a hollow voice, " I am de-
nounced ! There is a price set on my head ! 2,000/. prom-
ised to the man who delivers up Nana Sahib ! "

"Thy head is worth more than that, Dandou Pant!'
cried Balao Rao ; " 2,000/. is hardly enough even for
mine. They would be fortunate if they got the two for
20,000/."

" Yes," returned the Nana ; " in three months, on the
23d of June, will be the anniversary of the battle of Plassy.
Our prophets foretold that its hundredth anniversary, in
1857, should witness the downfall of British rule and the
emancipation of the children of the sun. Nine years more
than the hundred have now all but passed, and India still
lies crushed and trodden beneath the invader's heel."

" That effort which failed in 1857 may and ought to suc-
ceed ten years afterward," replied Balao Rao. " In 1827,
'37, and '47, there were risings in India. The fever of
revolt has broken out every ten years. Well — this year it
will be cured by a bath of European blood ! "

" Let but Brahma be our stay," murmured the Nana,
"and then — life for life! Woe to the leaders of our foe
who yet survive ! Lawrence is gone, Barnard, Hope, Napier,
Hodson, Havelock — all are gone. But Campbell and Rose

148 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

still live, and he whom, above all, I hate — that Colonel
Munro, whose ancestor was the first to blow our men from
the cannon's mouth, the man who with his own hand slew
my friend the Ranee of Jhansi. Let but that man fall into
my power, and he shall see whether I have forgotten the
horrors of Colonel Neil, the massacres of Secunderabad,
the slaughter in the Begum's palace, at Bareilly, Jhansi,
Morar, the island of Hydaspes,. and at Delhi. He shall
discover that I have sworn his death, as he did mine."

" Has he not left the army? " inquired Balao Rao.

" He would re-enter the service the moment any dis-
turbances broke out," replied Nana Sahib. " But even if
our attempted rising were to fail, he should not escape, for
I would stab him in his bungalow at Calcutta."

" So let it be — and now ? "

" Now the work must begin. This time it shall be a
national movement. Let but the Hindoos of towns, villages,
and country places rise simultaneously, and very soon the
sepoys will make common cause with them. I have traversed
the center and north of the Deccan; everywhere I have
found minds ripe for revolt. We have leaders ready to
act in every town and straggling village. The Brahmins
will fanaticize the people. Religion this time will carry
along with us the votaries of Siva and Vishnu. At the ap-
pointed time, at the given signal, millions of natives will
rise, and the royal army will be annihilated! '

"And Dandou Pant? " exclaimed Balao Rao, seizing his
brother's hand.

" Dandou Pant," continued the Nana, " will not only be
the Peishwar crowned in the hill-fort of Bithour. He will
be the sovereign of the whole sacred land of Hindoostan! '

Nana Sahib folded his arms, his abstracted look was that
of a man whose mental eye is bent on the distant future,
and he remained silent.

Balao Rao was careful not to rouse him. He loved to
see the working of that fierce soul, burning as it were with
a hidden fire, which he knew he could at any moment fan
into a flame.

The Nana could not have had an accomplice more de-
voted to his person, a counselor more eager to urge him
forward to attain his ends. He was to him, as has been
said, a second self.

DEEP IN THE CAVES OF ELLORA 149

After a silence of some duration, the Nana raised his
head — his thoughts had returned to the present.

" Where are our comrades? "

' In the caverns of Adjuntah, where they were appointed
to wait for us."

" And our horses? "

" I left them a gunshot from this place, on the road
between Ellora and Boregami."

" Is Kalagani with them? "

" He is, my brother. They are rested, refreshed, and
perfectly ready for us."

" Then let us start. We must be at Adjuntah before
daybreak."

"And after that what must be done? Has not this
enforced flight disarranged our previous plans? "

" No," replied Nana Sahib. " We must gain the heights
of Sautpourra, where every defile is known to me, and
where I can assuredly defy the pursuit of the English blood-
hounds of police. There we shall be in the territory of
the Bheels and Goonds, who are faithful to our cause.
There, in the midst of that mountainous region of the Vind-
hyas, where the standard of revolt may at any moment be
raised, I shall await the favorable juncture ! "

" Forward ! " exclaimed Balao Rao, starting up, " and
let those who want heads come and take them ! "

" Yes — let them come," responded the Nana, grinding
his teeth. " I am ready."

Balao Rao instantly made his way along the narrow pas-
sage which led to this dismal cell beneath the temple. On
reaching the secret opening behind the colossal elephant,
he cautiously emerged, looked anxiously on all sides, amid
the shadowy gloom, to ascertain that the coast was clear.
Then advancing some twenty paces, and being satisfied that
all was safe, he gave notice by a shrill whistle that the
Nana might follow him.

Shortly afterward the two brothers had quitted this arti-
ficial valley, the length of which is half a league, and
which, sometimes to a great height, and in several stories,
is pierced by galleries, vaulted chambers, and excavations.
The distance between Ellora and Adjuntah is fifty miles,
but the Nana was no longer the fugitive of Aurungabad,
traveling painfully on foot. Three horses awaited him,

150 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

as his brother had said, under the care of his faithful
servant Kalagani. They were concealed in a thick forest,
about a mile from Ellora, and the three men were speedily
mounted and galloping in the direction of Adjuntah. It
was no strange thing to see a fakir on horseback. In point
of fact, many of these impudent beggars demand alms from
their seat in the saddle !

Although the time of the year was not that at which
pilgrimages are usually made, yet the Nana avoided passing
near the Mohammedan mausoleum frequented as a bungalow
by pilgrims, travelers, and sightseers of all nations who
often flock thither attracted by the wonders of Ellora, and
pushed forward by a route as remote as possible from human
habitations. He only halted occasionally to breathe the
steeds and to partake of the simple provisions which Kala-
gani carried at his saddle-bow.

The ground was flat and level. In all directions stretched
expanses of heath, crossed by massive ridges of dense jungle.
But as they approached Adjuntah the country became more
varied.

The superb grottoes or caves of Adjuntah, which rival
those of Ellora, and perhaps in general beauty surpass them,
occupy the lower end of a small valley about half a mile
from the town. Nana Sahib could reach them without
passing through it, and therefore felt himself secure, al-
though so near a place where the governor's proclamation
was fixed to every building.

Fifteen hours after quitting Ellora he and his two com-
panions plunged into a narrow defile which led them into
the celebrated valley where twenty-seven temples, hewn in
the rocky wall, looked down into the giddy depths beneath.

It was night, superb though moonless, for the heavens
glittered with starry constellations, when the Nana, Balao
Rao, and Kalagani approached their destination. Lofty
trees and giant flowering plants stood out in strong relief
against the sparkling sky. Not a breath stirred the air, not
a leaf moved, not the faintest sound could be heard, save
the dull murmur of a torrent which rolled in the depths of
a ravine hundreds of feet below.

This murmur grew on the ear, however, and became a
hoarse roar as the riders advanced to the cataract of Sat-
kound, where the water, torn by sharp projections of quartz

DEEP IN THE CAVES OF ELLORA 151

and basalt, plunges over a fall of fifty fathoms. As the
travelers passed the chasm, a cloud of liquid dust whirled
and eddied over it, which moonlight would have tinted with
soft rainbow hues.

Here the defile made a sharp turn like an elbow, and
the valley, in all its wealth of Buddhist architecture, lay
before them.

On the walls of these temples — profusely adorned with
columns, rose-tracery, arabesques, and galleries peopled by
colossal forms of grotesque animals, hollowed out into cells
formerly occupied by the priests, who were the guardians
of these sacred abodes — the artist may admire the bright
colors of frescoes which seem as though painted but yes-
terday ; frescoes which represent royal ceremonies, religious
processions, and battles, exhibiting every weapon employed
long before the Christian era in the great and glorious em-
pire of India.

To Nana Sahib all the secrets of these mysterious tem-
ples were well known. Already, more than once, he had,
when closely pressed, sought refuge among them. The
subterranean galleries connecting the temples, the narrow
tunnels bored through solid walls of quartz, the winding
passages crossing and recrossing in every direction, all the
thousand ramifications of a labyrinth the clue to which
might be sought in vain by the most patient, were familiar
to him. Even with no torch to illumine their profound
gloom, he was perfectly at home there.

Like a man sure of what he was about, the Nana made
straight for one of the excavations less important than the
rest. The entrance to it was filled up by a curtain of
foliage and a mass of huge stones piled up in some ancient
landslip, and thickly overgrown by shrubs and creepers.

The Nana gave notice of his presence at this concealed
entrance simply by scraping his nail on a flat surface of
stone.

Instantly the heads of two or three natives appeared
among the branches; then ten, then twenty, showed them-
selves ; and then soon, creeping and winding out like ser-
pents from between the stones, came a party of forty well-
armed men.

" Forward ! " said Nana Sahib.

And seeking no explanation, ignorant of whither he led

152 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

them, these faithful followers were ready to obey ; and, if
needful, lay down their lives for Dandou Pant. They were
on foot, but could vie with the speed of any horse.

The little party made its way across the defile which
skirted the abyss, keeping in a northerly direction, and
rounding the shoulder of the hill. In an hour they reached
the road to Kandeish, which finally leads to the passes of
the Sautpourra mountains.

At daybreak they passed near the line of railway run-
ning from Bombay to Allahabad, above Nagpore.

On a sudden the Calcutta express dashed into sight, fling-
ing masses of white vapor among the stately banyans, and
startling with its shrieking whistle the wild inhabitants of
the jungle.

The Nana drew bridle, and stretching his hand toward
the flying train, exclaimed, in a strong, stern voice, " Speed
on thy way, and tell the Viceroy of India that Nana Sahib
lives ! Tell him that this railroad, the accursed work of the
invader's hands, shall ere long be drenched in their
blood."

CHAPTER V

THE IRON GIANT

On the morning of the 5th of May, the passengers along
the high road from Calcutta to Chandernagore, whether men,
women, or children, English or native, were completely
astounded by a sight which met their eyes. And certainly
the surprise they testified was extremely natural.

At sunrise a strange and most remarkable equipage had
been seen to issue from the suburbs of the Indian capital,
attended by a dense crowd of people drawn by curiosity
to watch its departure.

First, and apparently drawing the caravan, came a gigantic
elephant. The monstrous animal, twenty feet in height,
and thirty in length, advanced deliberately, steadily, and
with a certain mystery of movement which struck the gazer
with a thrill of awe. His trunk, curved like a cornucopia,
was uplifted high in the air. His gilded tusks, projecting
from behind the massive jaws, resembled a pair of huge
scythes. On his back was a highly ornamented howdah,

THE IRON GIANT 153

which looked like a tower surmounted, in Indian style, by
a dome-shaped roof and furnished with lens-shaped glasses
to serve for windows.

This elephant drew after him a train consisting of two
enormous cars, or actual houses, moving bungalows in fact,
each mounted on four wheels. The wheels, which, were
prodigiously strong, were carved, or rather sculptured in
every part. Their lowest portion only could be seen, as
they moved inside a sort of case, like a paddle-box, which
concealed the enormous locomotive apparatus. A flexible
gangway connected the two carriages.

How could a single elephant, however strong, manage to
drag these two enormous constructions, without any ap-
parent effort? Yet this astonishing animal did so! His
huge feet were raised and set down with mechanical reg-
ularity, and he changed his pace from a walk to a trot,
without either the voice or a hand of a mahout being ap-
parent.

The spectators were at first so astonished by all this, that
they kept at a respectful distance; but when they ventured
nearer, their surprise gave place to admiration. They could
hear a roar, very similar to the cry uttered by these giants
of the Indian forests. At intervals there issued from the
trunk a jet of vapor. And yet, it was an elephant! The
rugged greeny-black skin evidently covered the bony frame-
work of one that must be called the king of the pachyderms.
His eyes were lifelike; all his members were endowed with
movement !

Ay! But if some inquisitive person had chanced to lay
his hand on the animal, all would have been explained. It
was but a marvelous deception, a gigantic imitation, having
as nearly as possible every appearance of life. In fact, this
elephant was really encased in steel, and an actual steam-
engine was concealed within its sides.

The train, or Steam House, to give it its most suitable
name, was the traveling dwelling promised by the engineer.
The first carriage, or rather house, was the habitation of
Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, Banks, and myself. In the
second lodged Sergeant McNeil and the servants of the
expedition. Banks had kept his promise, Colonel Munro
had kept his ; and that was the reason why, on this May
morning, we were setting out in this extraordinary vehicle,

154 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

with the intention of visiting the northern regions of the
Indian peninsula.

But what was the good of this artificial elephant? Why
have this fantastic apparatus, so unlike the usual practical
inventions of the English? Till then, no one had ever
thought of giving to a locomotive destined to travel either
over macadam highways or iron rails, the shape and form
of a quadruped.

I must say, the first time we were admitted to view the
machine we were all lost in amazement. Questions about
the why and wherefore fell thick and fast upon our friend
Banks. We knew that this traction-engine had been con-
structed from his plans and under his directions. What,
then, had given him the idea of hiding it within the iron
sides of a mechanical elephant?

" My friends," answered Banks seriously, " do you know
the Rajah of Bhootan? "

" I know him," replied Captain Hood, " or rather I did
know him, for he died two months ago."

" Well, before dying," returned the engineer, " the Rajah
of Bhootan not only lived, but lived differently to any one
else. He loved pomp, and displayed it in every possible
manner. He never denied himself anything — I mean any-
thing that ever came into his head. His brain imagined the
most impossible things, and had not his purse been inex-
haustible, it would soon have been emptied in the process
of gratifying all his desires. He was enormously rich, had
coffers filled with lacs of rupees. Now one day an idea
occurred to him, which took such possession of his mind
as to keep him from sleeping — an idea which Solomon might
have been proud of, and would certainly have realized, had
he been acquainted with steam : this idea was to travel in
a perfectly new fashion, and to have an equipage such as
no one had before dreamed of. He knew me, and sent for
me to his court, and himself drew the plan of his locomotive.
If you imagine, my friends, that I burst into a laugh at
the Rajah's proposition, you are mistaken. I perfectly un-
derstood that this grandiose idea sprang naturally from the
brain of a Hindoo sovereign, and I had but one desire on
the subject — to realize it as soon as possible, and in a way
to satisfy both my poetic client and myself. A hardworking
engineer hasn't an opportunity every day to exercise his

THE IRON GIANT 155

taients in this fantastic way, and add an animal of this
description to the creations of the " Arabian Nights." In
short, I saw it was possible to realize the Rajah's whim.
All that has been done, that can be done, will be done in
machinery. I set to work, and in this iron-plated case, in
the shape of an elephant, I managed to inclose the boiler,
the machinery, and the tender of a traction-engine, with all
its accessories. The flexible trunk, which can be raised and
lowered at will, is the chimney ; the legs of my animal are
connected with the wheels of the apparatus ; I arranged his
eyes so as to dart out two jets of electric light, and the
artificial elephant was complete. But as it was not my own
spontaneous creation, I met with numerous difficulties which
delayed me. The gigantic plaything, as you may call it,
cost me many a sleepless night ; so many indeed, that my
rajah, who was wild with impatience, and passed the best
part of his time in my workshops, died before the finishing
touches were given that would allow the elephant to set
forth on his travels. The poor fellow had no time even
to make one trial of his invention. His heirs, however, less
fanciful than he, viewed the apparatus with the terror of
superstition, and as the work of a madman. They were
only eager to get rid of it at any price. I therefore bought
it up on the colonel's account. Now you know all the why
and wherefore of the matter, and how it is that in all the
world we alone are the proprietors of a steam elephant,
with the strength of eighty horses, not to mention eighty
elephants! "

'Bravo, Banks! well done!" exclaimed Captain Hood.
" A first-class engineer who is an artist, a poet in iron and
steel into the bargain, is a rara avis among us ! "

" The rajah being dead," resumed Banks, " and his ap-
paratus being in my possession, I had not the heart to de-
stroy my elephant, and give the locomotive its ordinary form."

" And you did well ! " replied the captain. " Our elephant
is superb, there's no other word for it ! " said the captain.
" And what a fine effect we shall have, careering over the
plains and through the jungles of Hindoostan ! It is a reg-
ular rajah-like idea, isn't it? and one of which we shall reap
the advantage, sha'n't we, colonel?"

Colonel Munro made a faint attempt at a smile, to show
that he quite approved of the captain's speech.

156 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

The journey was resolved upon then and there ; and now
this unique and wonderful steam elephant was reduced to
drag the traveling residence of four Englishmen, instead of
stalking along in state with one of the most opulent rajahs
of the Indian peninsula.

I quote the following description of the mechanism of
this road engine, on which Banks had brought to bear all
the improvements of modern science, from notes made at
the time.

" Between the four wheels are all the machinery of
cylinders, pistons, feed-pump, etc., covered by the body
of the boiler. This tubular boiler is in the fore part of the
elephant's body, and the tender, carrying fuel and water,
in the hinder part. The boiler and tender, though both on
the same truck, have a space between them, left for the
use of the stoker. The engine-driver is stationed in the
fireproof howdah on the animal's back, in which we all could
take refuge in case of any serious attack. He has there
everything in his power, safety-valves, regulating brakes,
etc., so that he can steer or back his engine at will. He has
also thick lens-shaped glass fixed in the narrow embrasures,
through which he can see the road both before and behind
him.

" The boiler and tender are fixed on springs of the best
steel, so as to lessen the jolting caused by the inequalities
of the ground. The wheels, constructed with vast solidity,
are grooved so as to bite the earth, and prevent them from
' skating.'

" The nominal strength of the engine is equal to that of
eighty horses, but its power can be increased to equal that
of one hundred and fifty, without any danger of an ex-
plosion. A case, hermetically sealed, incloses all the ma-
chinery, so as to protect it from the dust of the roads, which
would soon put the mechanism out of order. The machine
has a double cylinder after the Field system, and its great
perfection consists in this, that the expenditure is small and
the results great. Nothing could be better arranged in that
way, for in the furnace any kind of fuel may be burned,
either wood or coal. The engineer estimates the ordinary
speed at fifteen miles an hour, but on a good road it can
reach twenty-five. There is no danger of the wheels skat-
ing, not only from the grooves, but because of the perfect

THE IRON GIANT 157

poise of the apparatus, which is all so well balanced that
not even the severest jolting could disturb it. The atmos-
pheric brakes, with which the engine is provided, could
in a moment produce either a slackening of speed or a
sudden halt.

" The facility with which the machine can ascend slopes
is remarkable. Banks has succeeded most happily in this,
taking into consideration the weight and power of propulsion
of the machine. It can easily ascend a slope at an inclination
of from four to five inches in the yard, which is consider-
able."

There is a perfect network of magnificent roads made by
the English all over India, which are excellently fitted for
this mode of locomotion. The Great Trunk Road, for in-
stance, stretches uninterruptedly for one thousand and two
hundred miles.

I must now describe the Steam House.

Banks had not only bought from the Nabob's heirs the
traction-engine, but the train which it had in tow. This
had of course been constructed, according to the Oriental
taste of the rajah, in the most gorgeous Hindoo fashion.
I have already called it a traveling bungalow, and it merited
the name, for the two cars composing it were simply a
marvelous specimen of the architecture of the country.

Imagine two pagoda-shaped buildings without minarets,
but with double-ridged roofs surmounted by a dome, the
corbeling of the windows supported by sculptured pilasters,
all the ornamentation in exquisitely carved and colored
woods of rare kinds, a handsome veranda both back and
front. You might suppose them a couple of pagodas torn
from the sacred hill of Sonnaghur.

To complete the marvel of this prodigious locomotive I
must add that it can float! In fact, the stomach, or that
part of the elephant's body which contains the machinery,
as well as the lower portion of the buildings, form boats
of light steel. When a river is met with, the elephant
marches straight into it, the train follows, and as the animal's
feet can be moved by paddle-wheels, the Steam House moves
gayly over the surface of the water. This is an indescriba-
ble advantage for such a vast country as India, where there
are more rivers than bridges.

This was the train ordered by the capricious Rajah of

158 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

Bhootan. But though the carriages were like pagodas on
the outside, Banks thought it best to furnish the interior
to suit English tastes, with everything necessary for a long
journey, and in this he was very successful.

The width of the two carriages was not less than eighteen
feet; they therefore projected over the wheels, as the axles
were not more than fifteen. Being well hung on splendid
springs, any jolting would be as little felt as on a well-
made railroad.

The first carriage was forty-five feet long. In front was
an elegant veranda, in which a dozen people could sit com-
fortably. Two windows and a door led into the drawing-
room, lighted besides by two side windows. This room,
furnished with a table and book-case, and having luxurious
divans all round it, was artistically decorated and hung with
rich tapestry. A thick Turkey carpet covered the floor.
" Tatties," or blinds, hung before the windows, and were
kept moistened with perfumed water, so that a delightful
freshness was constantly diffused throughout all the apart-
ments. A punkah was suspended from the ceiling and kept
continually in motion, for it was necessary to provide against
the heat, which at certain times of the year is something
frightful.

Opposite the veranda door was another of valuable wood,
opening into the dining-room, which was lighted not only
by side windows, but by a ceiling of ground glass.

Eight guests might have been comfortably seated round
the table in the center, so as we were but four we had
ample room. It was furnished with sideboards and buffets
loaded with all the wealth of silver, glass, and china, which
is necessary to English comfort. Of course all these fragile
articles were put in specially made racks, as is done on board
ship, so that even on the roughest roads they would be
perfectly safe.

A door led out into the passage, which ended in another
veranda at the back. From this passage opened four rooms,
each containing a bed, dressing-table, wardrobe and sofa,
and fitted up like the cabins of the best transatlantic steam-
ers. The first of these rooms on the left was occupied by
Colonel Munro, the second on the right by Banks. Captain
Hood was established next to the engineer, and I next to
Sir Edward.

FIRST STAGES 159

The second carriage was thirty-six feet in length, and
also possessed a veranda which opened into a large kitchen,
flanked on each side with a pantry, and supplied with every-
thing that could be wanted. This kitchen communicated
with a passage which, widening into a square in the middle,
and lighted by a skylight, formed a dining-room for the
servants. In the four angles were four cabins, occupied by
Sergeant McNeil, the engine driver, the stoker, and Colonel
Munro's orderly; while at the back were two other rooms
for the cook and Captain Hood's man; besides a gun-room,
box-room and ice-house, all opening into the back veranda.

It could not be denied that Banks had intelligently and
comfortably arranged and furnished Steam House. There
was an apparatus for heating it in winter with hot air from
the engine, besides two small fireplaces in the drawing and
dining rooms. We were therefore quite prepared to brave
the rigors of the cold season, even on the slopes of the
mountains of Thibet.

The following is the itinerary of the journey which was
agreed on, subject to any modifications which unforeseen
circumstances might suggest. We proposed leaving Cal-
cutta, to follow the valley of the Ganges up to Allahabad,
to cross the kingdom of Oude, so as to reach the first slopes
of Thibet, to remain there for some months, sometimes in
one place, sometimes in another, so as to give Captain Hood
plenty of opportunity for hunting, and then to redescend to
Bombay. We had thus 900 leagues, or 2,700 miles before
us. But our house and servants traveled with us. Under
these conditions, who would refuse even to make the tour
of the world again and again?

CHAPTER VI

FIRST STAGES

Before dawn, on the morning of our start, I left the
Spencer Hotel, one of the best in Calcutta, which I had
made my residence ever since my arrival.

Our train awaited us at no great distance; we had only
to enter and establish ourselves. Our luggage had of course
been put "on board." Nothing unnecessary was allowed;
but Captain Hood had large ideas in the matter of firearms,

160 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

and considered an arsenal of four Enfield rifles, four fowl-
ing-pieces, two duck-guns, and several other guns, pistols,
and revolvers, quite indispensable for such a party as ours.
This armory appeared to threaten the lives of wild beasts
rather than simply to supply game for our table, but the
Nimrod of our expedition was very decided in his views on
the subject.

Captain Hood was in the highest spirits. The triumph
of having succeeded in persuading Colonel Munro to for-
sake his solitary retreat; the pleasure of setting out on such
a tour, with an equipage so entirely novel; the prospect
of unusual occupation, plenty of exercise, and grand Hima-
layan excursions; all combined to excite him to the great-
est degree; and he gave vent to his feelings in perpetual
exclamations, while he urged us to bestir ourselves.

The clock struck the hour of departure. Steam was up,
the engine ready for action. Our engine-driver stood at
his post, his hand on the regulator. The whistle sounded.

" Off with you, Behemoth ! " shouted Captain Hood, wav-
ing his cap. And this name, so well suited to our wonderful
traction-engine, was ever after bestowed upon it.

Now for a word as to our attendants, who occupied the
second house — No. 2, as we used to call it.

The engine-driver, Storr, was an Englishman, and had
been employed on " The Great Southern " line until a few
months previously. Banks knew him to be an efficient and
clever workman, thoroughly up to his business, and there-
fore engaged him for Colonel Munro's service. He was
a man of forty years of age, and proved exceedingly use-
ful to us.

The fireman's name was Kalouth. He belonged to a
tribe or class of Hindoos much sought after by railway com-
panies, to be employed as stokers, because they endure with
impunity the double heat of their tropical climate and that
of the engine furnaces. They resemble, in this, the Arabs
employed as firemen in the Red Sea steamers — good fellows
who are content to be merely boiled where Europeans would
be roasted in a few minutes.

Colonel Munro had a regimental servant named Goumi,
one of the tribe of Gourkas. He belonged to that regiment
which, as an act of good discipline, had accepted the use
of the Enfield rifles, the introduction of which into the

FIRST STAGES 161

service had been the reason, or at least the pretext, of the
sepoy revolt. Small, active, supple, and of tried fidelity,
Goumi always wore the dark uniform of the rifle brigade,
which was as dear to him as his own skin.

Sergeant McNeil and Goumi were attached heart and
soul to Colonel Munro. They had fought under his com-
mand all through the Indian campaign; they had accompa-
nied him in his fruitless search for Nana Sahib; they had
followed him into retirement, and would never dream of
leaving him.

Captain Hood had also a faithful follower — a frank,
lively young Englishman, whose name was Fox, and who
would not have changed places with any officer's servant
under the sun. He perfectly adored Captain Hood, and
was quite as keen a sportsman as his master. Having ac-
companied him on numberless tiger-hunts, Fox had proved
his skill, and reckoned the tigers which had fallen to his
gun at thirty-seven, only three less than his master could
boast of.

Our staff of attendants was completed by a negro cook,
whose dominion lay in the forepart of the second house.
He was of French origin, and having boiled, fried, and
fricasseed in every possible latitude, Monsieur Parazard —
for that was his name — had no small opinion of the im-
portance of his noble profession ; he would have scorned to
call it his trade.

He presided over his saucepans with the air of a high
priest, and distributed his condiments with the accuracy of
a chemist. Monsieur Parazard was vain, it is true, but
so clever that we readily pardoned his vanity.

Our expedition, then, was made up of ten persons ; namely,
Sir Edward Munro, Banks, Hood, and myself, who were ac-
commodated in one house ; McNeil, Storr, Kalouth, Goumi,
Fox, and Monsieur Parazard, in the other.

I must not forget the two dogs, Fan and Niger, whose
sporting qualities were to be put to the proof by Hood, in
many a stirring episode of the chase.

" Arrange the route exactly as you please, my friends,"
said Colonel Munro. " Decide without reference to me.
Whatever you do will be done well."

" Still, my dear Munro," replied Banks ; " it would be
satisfactory to have your opinion."

V XII Verne

162 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" No, Banks," returned the colonel ; " I give myself up
to you, and have no wish to visit one place rather than an-
other. One single question, however, I will ask. After
Benares, in what direction do you propose to travel? ':

" Northward, most certainly ! " exclaimed Hood impetu-
ously. " Right across the kingdom of Oude, up to the
lower ranges of the Himalayas ! "

" Well then, my friends," began Colonel Munro, '" per-
haps when we get so far, I will propose — but it will be soon
enough to speak of that when the time comes. Till then, go
just where you choose."

I could not help feeling somewhat surprised by these
words of Sir Edward Munro. What could he have in his
mind ? Had he only agreed to take this journey in the hope
that chance might serve his purpose better than his own will
and endeavor had done? Did it seem to him possible that,
supposing Nana Sahib to be still alive, he might yet find
trace of him in the extreme north of India? Was the hope
of vengeance still strong within him?

I could not resist the conviction that our friend was in-
fluenced by this hidden motive, and that Sergeant McNeil
shared his master's thoughts.

When we left Calcutta we were seated in the drawing-
room of Steam House. The door and the windows of the
veranda were open, and the measured beat of the punkah
kept up an agreeable temperature. Storr drove the engine
at a slow and steady rate of three miles an hour, for we
travelers were just then in no haste, and desired to see at
leisure the country we passed through.

For a long time we were followed by a number of Euro-
peans who were astonished at our equipage, and by crowds
of natives whose wonder and admiration was mingled with
fear. We gradually distanced this attendant mob, but met
people continually who lavished upon us admiring exclama-
tions of Wallah! wallah! The huge elephant, vomiting
clouds of steam, excited far more astonishment than the
two superb cars which he drew after him.

At ten o'clock breakfast was served in the dining-room;

and, seated at a table which was far less shaken than it

would have been in a first-class railway carriage, we did

ample justice to the culinary skill of Monsieur Parazard.

We were traveling along the left bank of the Hoogly,

FIRST STAGES 163

the most western of the numerous arms of the Ganges,
which form together the labyrinthine network of the del-
ta of the Sunderbunds, and is entirely an alluvial for-
mation.

" What you see there, my dear Maucler," said Banks,
" is a conquest won by the sacred river Ganges from the
not less sacred Bay of Bengal. It has been a mere affair
of time. There is probably not an atom of that soil which
has not been transported hither, by the mighty current, from
the Himalayan heights. Little by little the stream has
robbed the mountains in order to form this province, through
which it has worked its bed "

"And changes incessantly!" broke in Captain Hood.
" There never was such a whimsical, capricious, lunatic of
a river as this same Ganges. People take the trouble to
build a town on its banks, and behold, a few centuries later
the town is in the midst of a plain, its harbors are dry,
the river has changed its course! Thus Rajmahal, as well
as Gaur, were both formerly situated on this faithless
stream, and now there they are dying of thirst amidst the
parched rice-fields of the plains."

" Then may not some such fate be in store for Calcutta ? "
inquired I.

" Ah, who knows."

"Come, come," said Banks; "you forget the engineers!
It would only require skillful embankments. We could
easily put a straight waistcoat on the Ganges, and restrain
its vagaries."

" It is well for you, Banks," said I, " that no natives are
within earshot when you speak so irreverently of their
sacred stream! They would never forgive you."

" Well, really," returned Banks, " they look on their
river as a son of God, if not God himself, and in their eyes
it can do nothing amiss."

" Not even by maintaining, as it does, epidemics of the
plague, fever, and cholera ! " cried Captain Hood. " I must
say, however, that the atmosphere it engenders agrees splen-
didly with the tigers and crocodiles which swarm in the
Sunderbunds. Ah, the savages ! Fox ! " he added, turning
to his servant, who was clearing away the breakfast things.

" Yes, captain."

" Wasn't it there you killed your thirty-seventh ? "

164 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" Yes, captain, two miles from Fort Canning. It was
one evening-

" There, Fox ! that will do," interrupted the captain, as
he tossed off a large glass of brandy and soda. ' I know
all about the thirty-seventh. The history of your thirty-
eighth would interest me more."

" My thirty-eighth is not killed yet, captain."

" No, but you will bag him some day, Fox, as I shall
my forty-first."

It is to be noted, that in the conversations of Captain
Hood and his man, the word " tiger " was never mentioned.
It was quite unnecessary. The two hunters perfectly un-
derstood one another.

As we proceeded to the Hoogly, its banks, which above
Calcutta are rather low, gradually contracted, much reduc-
ing the width of the river. For some hours we kept near
the railroad, which from Burdwan passes on to Rajmahal,
in the valley of the Ganges, which it then follows till be-
yond Benares.

The Calcutta train passed us at great speed, and the
shouts of the passengers showed that while they admired us,
they mocked our slower pace. We did not return their
defiance. More rapidly they certainly did travel than our-
selves, but in comfort there was simply no comparison.

During these two days the scenery was invariably flat,
and therefore monotonous. Here and there waved a few
slender cocoanut-trees, the last of which we should leave
behind after passing Burdwan. These trees, which belong
to the great family of palms, are partial to the coast, and
love to breathe salt air. Thus they are not found beyond
a somewhat narrow belt along the sea coast, and it is vain
to seek them in Central India. The flora of the interior
is, however, extremely interesting and varied.

On each side of our route, the country in this part re-
sembles an immense chess-board marked out in squares of
rice-fields, and stretching as far as we could see. Shades
of green predominated, and the harvest promised to be
abundant in this moist, warm soil, the prodigious fertility
of which is well known.

On the evening of the second day, with punctuality which
an express might have envied, the engine gave its last snort
and stopped at the gates of Burdwan. This city is the

FIRST STAGES 165

judicial headquarters of an English district ; but properly
speaking, the country belongs to a Maharajah, who pays
taxes to Government amounting to not less than ten millions.

The town consists in a great part of low houses, standing
in fine avenues of trees, such as cocoanuts and arequipas.
These avenues being wide enough to admit our train, we
proceeded to encamp in a charming spot, full of shade and
freshness.

It seemed as though a large addition were suddenly made
to the city, when our houses took up their position in it,
and we would not have exchanged our residences for any
in the splendid quarter where stands the magnificent palace
of the sovereign of Burdwan.

It may well be supposed that our elephant produced all
the terror and admiration which he usually excited among
Bengalees. The people ran together from all sides, the men
bare-headed, their hair cut short a la Titus, and wearing
only loose cotton drawers, while the women were enveloped
from head to foot in white.

" I begin to be afraid," said Captain Hood, " that the
Maharajah will want to buy our Behemoth, and that he will
offer such a vast sum, we shall be forced to let his highness
have him."

"Never!' exclaimed Banks. "I will make another
elephant for him if he likes, of power enough to draw his
whole capital from one end of his dominion to the other.
But we won't part with Behemoth at any price, will we,
Munro?"

" Most certainly we will not," answered the colonel, in
the tone of a man who was not to be tempted by millions.

And after all there was no question as to whether our
colossal elephant was for sale or not. The Maharajah was
not at Burdwan, and the only visit we received was from
his kamdar, a sort of private secretary, who came to examine
our equipage. Having done so, this personage offered us
permission, which we very readily accepted, to examine the
gardens of the palace.

We found them well worth a visit. They were beauti-
fully laid out, filled with the finest specimens of tropical
vegetation, and watered by sparkling rivulets flowing from
miniature lakes. The park we also admired greatly : its
verdant lawns were adorned by fanciful kiosks, and in

166 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

superb menageries we found specimens of all the animals
of the country, wild as well as domestic. Here were goats,
stags, deer, elephants, tigers, lions, panthers, and bears, be-
sides others too numerous to mention.

"Oh, captain!" cried Fox, "here are tigers in cages
just like birds. Isn't it a pity ? "

" Indeed, Fox, and so it is," replied the captain. " If the
poor fellows had their choice, they certainly would far rather
be prowling about in the jungle, even within reach of our
rifle-balls! "

" That's just what I think, captain," sighed honest Fox.

Next morning, the 10th of May, having laid in a fresh
stock of provisions, we quitted Burdwan. Our Steam House
passed the line of railroad by a level crossing, and traveled
in the direction of Ramghur, a town situated about seventy
leagues from Calcutta.

During this part of the journey Behemoth was kept going
at a gentle trot, which pace proved the excellent structure
of our well-hung carriages ; the roads being good also fav-
ored our experiment.

To the great surprise of Captain Hood, we passed through
many jungles without seeing any wild animals. It seemed
not unlikely that they were terrified, and fled at the approach
of a gigantic elephant, vomiting steam and smoke ; but as
it was to the northern regions, and not to Bengal provinces,
that our hunter looked for the sport he loved so well, he
did not as yet begin to complain.

On the 15th of May we were near Ramghur, about fifty
leagues from Burdwan. The rate of speed at which we had
traveled was not more than fifteen leagues in twelve hours.
Three days afterward, on the 18th, we stopped at the little
town of Chittra. No incidents marked these stages of our
journey. The heat was intense; but what could be more
agreeable than a siesta beneath the cool shelter of the ver-
andas ! The burning hours passed away in luxurious repose.

In the evenings Storr and Kalouth cleaned the furnace
and oiled and thoroughly examined the engine, operations
which were always carefully superintended by Banks him-
self. While he was so employed, Captain Hood and I,
accompanied by Fox, Goumi, and the two dogs, used to
take our guns, and explore the neighborhood of our camp.
We fell in with nothing move important in the way of game

FIRST STAGES 167

than birds and a few small animals; and although the cap-
tain turned up his nose at such poor sport, he was always
highly delighted next day, when Monsieur Parazard regaled
us with a variety of new and savory dishes.

Banks, when he could, made our halting-places near some
wood, and on the banks of a stream or brook, because it
was always necessary to replenish the tender with what
was wanted for the next day's journey, and he attended
personally to every detail.

Goumi and Fox were frequently employed as hewers
of wood and drawers of water.

When the day's work was done we lighted our cigars (ex-
cellent Manilla cheroots), and while we smoked we talked
about this country with which Hood, as well as Banks, was
so thoroughly well acquainted, The captain disdained cigars,
and his vigorous lungs inhaled, through a pipe twenty feet
long, the aromatic smoke of a hookah, carefully filled for
him by the hand of Fox. It was our greatest wish that
Colonel Munro should accompany us on our little shooting
excursions round the camp. We invariably asked him to
do so, but he as invariably declined, and remained with
Sergeant McNeil, spending the time of our absence in pac-
ing up and down a distance of not more than a hundred
yards.

They spoke little, but so completely did they understand
one another, that words were not needed for the interchange
of thoughts.

Both were absorbed in tragic and indelible recollections.
It was possible that, in approaching the theater of the bloody
insurrection, these recollections would become more vivid.

Banks and Captain Hood shared with me the opinion that
some fixed idea, which would be developed later, had in-
duced Colonel Munro to join us in this expedition to the
north of India.

In that case we might be on the verge of great events.
Our steam Behemoth might be drawing us across these huge
plains and mountains to the scene of a thrilling and unex-
pected drama.

CHAPTER VII

THE PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER

What is now called Behar was in former days the em-
pire of Magadha. In the time of the Buddhists it was
sacred territory, and is still covered with temples and mon-
asteries. But, for many centuries, the Brahmins have oc-
cupied the place of the priests of Buddha. They have
taken possession of the viharas or temples, and, turning
them to their own account, live on the produce of the wor-
ship they teach. The faithful flock thither from all parts,
and in these sacred places the Brahmins compete with the
holy waters of the Ganges, the pilgrimages to Benares, the
ceremonies of Juggernaut ; in fact, one may say the country
belongs to them.

The soil is rich, there are immense rice-fields of emerald
green, and vast plantations of poppies. There are numerous
villages, buried in luxuriant verdure, and shaded by palms,
mangoes, and date-trees, over which nature has thrown,
like a net, a tangled web of creeping plants.

Steam House passed along roads which were embowered
in foliage, and beneath the leafy arches the air was cool
and fresh. We followed the chart of our route, and had
no fear of losing our way.

The snorting and trumpeting of our elephant mingled
with the deafening screams of the winged tribes and the
discordant chatterings and scoldings of apes and monkeys,
and the golden fruit of the bananas shone like stars through
light clouds, as smoke and steam rolled in volumes among
the trees. The delicate rice-birds rose in flocks as Behemoth
passed along, their white plumage almost concealed as they
flew through the spiral wreaths of steam.

But the heat ! the moist air scarcely made its way through
the tatties of our windows. The hot winds, charged with
caloric as they passed over the surface of the great western
plains, enveloped the land in their fiery embrace. One longs
for the month of June, when this state of the atmosphere
will be modified. Death threatens those who seek to brave
the stroke of this flaming sun.

The fields are deserted. Even the ryots themselves, in-
ured as they are to the burning heat, cannot continue their
agricultural labors. The shady roadway alone is prac-

168

PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER 169

ticable, and even there we require the shelter of our travel-
ing bungalow. Kalouth the fireman must be made of pure
carbon, or he would certainly dissolve before the grating
of his furnace. But the brave Hindoo holds out nobly. It
has become second nature with him, this existence on the
platform of the locomotives which scour the railway lines
of Central India !

During the daytime of May the 19th, the thermometer
suspended on the wall of the dining-room registered 106°
Fahrenheit. That evening we were unable to take our ac-
customed " constitutional " or hawakana. This word sig-
nifies literally " to eat air," and means that, after the stifling
heat of the tropical day, people go out to inhale the cool
pure air of evening. On this occasion we felt that, on
the contrary, the air would eat us !

" Monsieur Maucler," said Sergeant McNeil to me, " this
heat reminds me of one day in March, when Sir Hugh Rose,
with just two pieces of artillery, tried to storm the walls
at Lucknow. It was sixteen days since we had crossed the
river Betwa, and during all that time our horses had not
once been unsaddled. We were fighting between enormous
wralls of granite, and we might as well have been in a burn-
ing fiery furnace. The chitsis passed up and down our
ranks, carrying water in their leathern bottles, which they
poured on the men's heads as they stood to their guns,
otherwise we should have dropped. Well do I remember
how I felt ! I was exhausted, my skull was ready to burst
— I tottered. Colonel Munro saw me, and snatching the
bottle from the hand of a chitsi, he emptied it over me —
and it was the last water the carriers could procure. ... A
man can't forget that sort of thing, sir! No, no! When
I have shed the last drop of my blood for my colonel, I
shall still be in his debt."

" Sergeant McNeil," said I, " does it not seem to you that
since we left Calcutta, Colonel Munro has become more
absent and melancholy than ever? I think that every
day "

" Yes, sir," replied McNeil, hastily interrupting me, " but
that is quite natural. My colonel is approaching Lucknow
— Cawnpore — where Nana Sahib murdered. . . . Ah! it
drives me mad to speak of it ! Perhaps it would have been
better if this journey had been planned in some different

170 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

direction — if we had avoided the provinces ravaged by the
insurrection! The recollection of these awful events is not
yet softened by time."

"Why not even now change the route?" exclaimed I.
" If you like, McNeil, I will speak about it to Mr. Banks
and Captain Hood."

" It's too late now," replied the sergeant. " Besides, I
have reason to think that my colonel wishes to revisit, per-
haps for the last time, the theater of that horrible war;
that he will once more go to the scene of Lady Munro's
death."

" If you really think so, McNeil," said I, " it will be better
to let things take their course, and not attempt to alter our
plans. It is often felt to be a consolation to weep at the
grave of those who are dear to us."

" Yes, at their grave ! " cried McNeil. " But who can
call the well of Cawnpore a grave? Could that fearful
spot seem to anybody like a quiet grave in a Scotch church-
yard, where, among flowers and under shady trees, they
would stand on a spot, marked by a stone with one name,
just one, upon it? Ah, sir, I fear the colonel's grief will
be something terrible ! But I tell you again, it is too late to
change the route. If we did, who knows but he might
refuse to follow it? No, no; let things be, and may God
direct us! "

It was evident, from the way in which McNeil spoke, that
he well knew what was certain to influence his master's
plans, and I was by no means convinced that the opportunity
of revisiting Cawnpore had not led the colonel to quit Cal-
cutta. At all events, he now seemed attracted as by a
magnet to the scene where that fatal tragedy had been
enacted. To that force it would be necessary to yield.

I proceeded to ask the sergeant whether he himself had
relinquished the idea of revenge — in other words, whether
he believed Nana Sahib to be dead.

" No," replied McNeil frankly. " Although I have no
ground whatever for my belief, I feel persuaded that Nana
Sahib will not die unpunished for his many crimes. No;
I have heard nothing, I know nothing about him, but I am
inwardly convinced it is so. Ah, sir! righteous vengeance
is something to live for! Heaven grant that my presenti-
ment is true, and then — some day "

\

PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER 171

The sergeant left his sentence unfinished, but his looks
were sufficient. The servant and the master were of one
mind.

When I reported this conversation to Banks and the
captain, they were both of opinion that no change of route
ought to be made. It had never been proposed to go to
Cawnpore ; and, once across the Ganges at Benares, we in-
tended to push directly northwards, traversing the eastern
portion of the kingdoms of Oude and Rohilkund. McNeil
might after all be wrong in supposing that Sir Edward
Munro would wish to revisit Cawnpore ; but if he proposed
to do so, we determined to offer no opposition.

As to Nana Sahib, if there had been any truth in the
report of his reappearance in the Bombay presidency, we
ought by this time to have heard something more of him.
But, on the contrary, all the intelligence we could gain on
our route led to the conclusion that the authorities had been
in error.

If Colonel Munro really had any ulterior design in mak-
ing this journey, it might have seemed more natural that
he should have confided his intentions to Banks, who was
his most intimate friend, rather than to Sergeant McNeil.
But the latter was no doubt preferred, because he would
urge his master to undertake what Banks would probably
consider perilous and imprudent enterprises.

At noon, on the 19th of May, we left the small town of
Chittra, 280 miles from Calcutta. Next day, at nightfall,
we arrived, after a day of fearful heat, in the neighborhood
of Gaya. The halt was made on the banks of a sacred
river, the Phalgou, well known to pilgrims.

Our two houses were drawn up on a pretty bank, shaded
by fine trees, within a couple of miles of the town. This
place, being extremely curious and interesting, we intended
to remain in it for thirty-six hours, that is to say for two
nights and a day. Starting about four o'clock next morn-
ing, in order to avoid the midday heat, Banks, Captain
Hood, and I, left Colonel Munro, and took our way to
the town of Gaya.

It is stated that 150,000 devotees annually visit this center
of Brahminical institutions ; and we found every road to
the place was swarming with men, women, old people, and
children, who were advancing from all directions across the

172 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

country, having braved the thousand fatigues of a long pil-
grimage in order to fulfill their religious duties.

We could not have had a better guide than Banks, who
knew the neighborhood well, having previously been on a
survey in Behar, where a railroad was proposed, but not
yet constructed.

Just before entering the place, which is appropriately
called the Holy City, Banks stopped us near a sacred tree,
round which pilgrims of every age and sex were bowed in
the attitude of adoration. This tree was a peepul : the girth
of the trunk was enormous; but although many of its
branches were decayed and fallen, it was not more than
two or three hundred years old. This fact was ascertained
by M. Louis Rousselet, two years later, during his interest-
ing journey across the India of the Rajahs.

The " Tree of Buddha," as it is called, is the last of a
generation of sacred peepuls, which have for ages over-
shadowed the spot, the first having been planted there five
centuries before the Christian era; and probably the fanatics
kneeling before it believe this to be the original tree con-
secrated there by Buddha. It stands upon a ruined terrace
close to a temple built of brick, and evidently of great an-
tiquity.

The appearance of three Europeans, in the midst of these
swarming thousands of natives, was not regarded favor-
ably. Nothing was said, but we could not reach the terrace,
nor penetrate within the old temple : certainly it would have
been difficult to do so under any circumstances, on account
of the dense masses of pilgrims by whom the way was
blocked up.

" I wish we could fall in with a Brahmin," said Banks ;
" we might then inspect the temple, and feel we were doing
the thing thoroughly."

"What!" cried I, "would a priest be less strict than
his followers ? "

" My dear Maucler," answered Banks, " the strictest rules
will give way before the offer of a few rupees ! The Brah-
mins must live."

" I don't see why they should," bluntly said Captain
Hood, who never professed toleration toward the Hin-
doos, nor held in respect, as his countrymen generally do,
their manners, customs, prejudices, and objects of venera-

PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER 173

tion. In his eyes India was nothing but a vast hunting-
ground, and he felt a far deeper interest in the wild in-
habitants of the jungles than in the native population either
of town or country.

After remaining for some time at the foot of the sacred
tree, Banks led us on toward the town of Gaya, the crowd
of pilgrims increasing as we advanced. Very soon, through
a vista of verdure, the picturesque edifices of Gaya appeared
on the summit of a rock.

It is the temple of Vishnu which attracts travelers to this
place. The construction is modern, as it was rebuilt by the
Queen of Holcar only a few years ago. The great curiosity
of this temple are the marks left by Vishnu when he con-
descended to visit earth on purpose to contend with the
demon Maya. The struggle between a god and a fiend could
not long remain doubtful.

Maya succumbed, and a block of stone, visible within the
inclosure of Vishnu-Pad, bears witness, by the deep impress
of his adversary's footprints, that the demon had to deal
with a formidable foe.

I said the block of stone was " visible " ; I ought to have
said " visible to Hindoo natives only." No European is
permitted to gaze upon these divine relics.

Perhaps a more robust faith than is to be found in West-
ern minds may be necessary in order to distinguish these
traces on the miraculous stone. Be that as it may, Banks's
offer of money failed this time. No priest would accept
what would have been the price of a sacrilege; I dare not
venture to suppose that the sum offered was unequal to the
extent of the Brahminical conscience. Anyhow, we could
not get into the temple.

Captain Hood was furious. He seemed disposed to deal
summarily with the Brahmin who had turned us away.

Banks had to restrain him forcibly.

" Are you mad, Hood? " said he. " Don't you know that
the Hindoos regard their priests, the Brahmins, not merely
as a race of illustrious descent, but also as beings of alto-
gether superior and supernatural origin? "

When we reached that part of the river Phalgou which
bathes the rock of Gaya, the prodigious assemblage of pil-
grims lay before us in its full extent. There, in indescribable
confusion, was a heaving, huddling, jostling crowd of men

174 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

and women, old men and children, citizens and peasants, rich
babbos and poor ryots, of every imaginable degree. Some
came in palanquins, others in carriages drawn by large-
humped oxen. Some lie beside their camels, whose snake-
like heads are stretched out on the ground, while many travel
on foot from all parts of India. Here tents are set up ; there
carts and wagons are unyoked, and numerous huts made of
branches are prepared as temporary shelter for the crowd.

" What a mob ! " exclaimed Captain Hood.

" The water of the Phalgou will not be fit to drink this
evening," observed Banks.

" Why not ? " inquired I.

" Because its waters are sacred, and this unsavory crowd
will go and bathe in them, as they do in the Ganges."

"Are we down stream?" cried Hood, pointing toward
our encampment.

" No ! don't be uneasy, captain ! " answered Banks, laugh-
ing; " we are up the river."

" That's all right ! It would never do to water Behemoth
at an impure fountain ! "

We passed on through thousands of natives massed to-
gether in comparatively small space. The ear was struck
by a discordant noise of chains and small bells. It was thus
that mendicants appealed to public charity. Infinitely varied
specimens of this vagrant brotherhood swarmed in all direc-
tions. Most of them displayed false wounds and deform-
ities, but although the professed beggars only pretend to be
sufferers, it is very different with the religious fanatics. In
fact it would be difficult to carry enthusiasm further than
they do.

Some of the fakirs, nearly naked, were covered with
ashes ; one had his arm fixed in a painful position by pro-
longed tension; another had kept his hand closed until it
was pierced by the nails of his own fingers.

Some had measured the whole distance of their journey
by the length of their bodies. For hundreds of miles they
had continued incessantly to lie down, rise up, and lie down
again, as though acting the part of a surveyor's chain.

Here some of the faithful, stupefied with bang (which is
liquid opium mixed with a decoction of hemp), were sus-
pended on branches of trees, by iron hooks plunged into
their shoulders. Hanging thus, they whirled round and

PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER 175

round until the flesh gave way, and they fell into the waters
of the Phalgou.

Others, in honor of Siva, had pierced their arms, legs, or
tongues through and through with little darts, and made
serpents lick the blood which flowed from the wounds.

Such a spectacle could not be otherwise than repugnant
to a European eye. I was passing on in haste, when Banks
suddenly stopped me, saying, " The hour of prayer! ':

At the same instant a Brahmin appeared in the midst of
the crowd. He raised his right hand, and pointed toward
the rising sun, hitherto concealed behind the rocks of Gaya.

The first ray darted by the glorious luminary was the
signal. The all but naked crowd entered the sacred waters.
There were simple immersions, as in the early form of
baptism, but these soon changed into water parties of which
it was not easy to perceive the religious character. Per-
haps the initiated, who recited slocas or texts, which for
a given sum the priests dictated to them, thought no more
of the cleansing of their bodies than their souls. The truth
being that after having taken a little water in the hollow
of the hand, and sprinkled it toward the four cardinal points,
they merely threw up a few drops into their faces, like
bathers who amuse themselves on the beach as they enter
the shallow waves. I ought to add besides, that they never
forgot to pull out at least one hair for every sin they had
committed. A good many deserved to come forth bald from
the waters of the Phalgou!

So vehement were the watery gambols of the faithful,
as they plunged hither and thither, that the alligators in
terror fled to the opposite bank. There they remained in a
row, staring with their dull sea-green eyes at the noisy
crowd which had invaded their domain, and making the air
resound with the snapping of their formidable jaws. The
pilgrims paid no more attention to them than if they had
been harmless lizards.

It was time to leave these singular devotees, who were
getting ready to enter Ka'ilas, which is the paradise of
Brahm ; so we went up the river and returned to our en-
campment.

It might have been one o'clock the next morning when
I was roused from uneasy slumber by a dull murmuring
sound approaching along the banks of the Phalgou.

176 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

My first idea was, that the atmosphere being charged with
electricity, a storm of wind was rising in the west, which
would displace the strata of air, and perhaps make it more
suitable for respiration. I was mistaken; the branches of
the trees above us remained motionless; not a leaf stirred.

I put my head out at my window and listened. I plainly
heard the distant murmur, but nothing was to be seen. The
surface of the river was calm and placid, and the sound
proceeded neither from the air nor from the water. Al-
though puzzled, I could perceive no cause for alarm, and
returning to bed, fatigue overcame my wakefulness, and I
became drowsy. At intervals I was conscious of the in-
explicable murmuring noise, but finally fell fast asleep.

In about two hours, just as the first rays of dawn broke
through the darkness, I awoke with a start. Some one in
the passage was calling the engineer. " Mr. Banks ! "

"What is wanted?"

"Will you come here, sir?"

It was Storr the fireman who spoke to Banks. I rose
immediately, and joined them in the front veranda. Col-
onel Munro was already there, and Captain Hood came
soon after. " What's the matter? " I heard Banks say.

" Just you look, sir," replied Storr.

It was light enough for us to see the river banks and part
of the road which stretched away before us; and to our
great surprise these were encumbered by several hundred
Hindoos, who were lying about in groups.

" Ah! those are some of the pilgrims we saw yesterday! "
said Captain Hood.

" But what are they doing here? " said I.

" No doubt," replied the captain, " they are waiting for
sunrise, that they may perform their ablutions."

"No such thing," said Banks; "why should they leave
Gaya to do that? I suspect they have come here be-
cause "

" Because Behemoth has produced his usual effect," in-
terrupted Captain Hood. " They heard that a huge great
elephant — a colossus — bigger than the biggest they ever
saw, was in the neighborhood, and of course they came to
admire him."

"If they keep to admiration, it will be all very well,"
returned the engineer, shaking his head.

PILGRIMS OF THE PHALGOU RIVER 177

" What do you fear, Banks? " asked Colonel Munro.

" Well, I am afraid these fanatics may get in the wav
and impede our progress."

"Be prudent, whatever you do! One cannot act too
cautiously in dealing with such devotees."

" Kalouth! " cried Banks, calling the stoker, " are the fires
ready? "

" Yes, sir."

" Well, light up."

" Yes, light up by all means, Kalouth," cried Captain
Hood; " blaze away, Kalouth; and let Behemoth puff smoke
and steam into the ugly faces of all this rabble! ':

It was then half -past three in the morning. It would take
half an hour to get up steam. The fires were in-
stantly lighted. The wood cracked in the furnaces, and
dense smoke issued from the gigantic trunk of the ele-
phant, which was uplifted high among the boughs of the
great trees.

Several parties of natives approached; then a general
movement took place in the crowd. The people pressed
closer round us. Those in the foremost rank threw up their
arms in the air, stretched them toward the elephant, bowed
down, knelt, cast themselves prostrate on the ground, and
distinctly manifested the most profound adoration.

There we stood beneath the veranda, very anxious to
know what this display of fanaticism would lead to. Mc-
Neil joined us, and looked on in silence. Banks took his
place with Storr in the howdah, from which he could direct
every movement of Behemoth.

By four o'clock steam was up. The noise made by the
engine was, of course, taken by the Hindoos for the angry
trumpeting of an elephant belonging to a supernatural race.
Storr allowed the steam to escape by the valves, and it ap-
peared to issue from the sides and through the skin of the
gigantic quadruped.

" We are at high pressure."

" Go ahead, Banks," returned the colonel ; " but be care-
ful ; don't let us crush anybody."

It was almost day. The road along the river bank was
occupied by this great crowd of devotees, who seemed to
have no idea of making way for us, so that to go forward
and crush no one was anything but easy. The steam-whistle

V XII Verne

178 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

gave forth two or three short piercing shrieks, to which
the pilgrims replied by frantic howls.

"Clear the way there!" shouted the engineer, telling
the stoker at the same time to open the regulator. The
steam bellowed as it rushed into the cylinders, the wheels
made half a revolution, and a huge jet of white smoke issued
from the trunk.

For an instant the crowd swerved aside. The regulator
was then half open; the trumpeting and snorting of Behe-
moth increased in vehemence, and our train began to ad-
vance between the serried ranks of the natives, who seemed
loath to give place to it.

" Look out, Banks ! " I suddenly exclaimed.

I was leaning over the veranda rails, and I beheld a dozen
of these fanatics cast themselves on the road, with the
evident wish to be crushed beneath the wheels of the mon-
strous machine.

" Stand back there ! Attention ! " shouted Colonel Munro,
signing to them to rise.

" Oh, the idiots ! " cried Captain Hood ; " they take us for
the car of Juggernaut ! They want to get pounded beneath
the feet of the sacred elephant ! "

At a sign from Banks, the fireman shut off steam. The
pilgrims, lying across the road, seemed desirous not to move.
The fanatic crowd around them uttered loud cries, and ap-
peared by their gestures to encourage them to persevere.
The engine was at a standstill. Banks was excessively em-
barrassed.

All at once an idea struck him.

" Now we shall see ! " he cried ; and turning the tap of
the clearance pipes under the boiler, strong jets of steam
issued forth, and spread along the surface of the ground;
while the air was filled by the shrill, harsh screams of the
whistle.

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! " shouted Captain Hood. " Give it
them, Banks ! give it them well ! "

The method proved successful. As the streams of vapor
reached the fanatics, they sprang up with loud cries of pain.
They were prepared and anxious to be run over, but not
to be scalded.

The crowd drew back. The way was clear. Steam was
put on in good earnest, and the wheels revolved steadily.

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES 179

" Forward ! " exclaimed Captain Hood, clapping his hands
and laughing heartily.

And at a rapid rate Behemoth took his way along the
road, vanishing in a cloud of vapor, like some mysterious
visitant, from before the eyes of the wondering crowd.

CHAPTER VIII

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES

The high road now lay open before our Steam House,
a road which, via Sasseram, would lead us along the right
bank of the Ganges, up to Benares.

A mile beyond the encampment our engine slackened its
speed, and we proceeded at the more moderate pace of about
seven miles and a half an hour. It was Banks's intention
to camp that evening seventy-five miles from Gaya, and to
pass the night quietly in the neighborhood of the little town
of Sasseram.

In general, Indian roads avoid watercourses as much as
possible, for they necessitate bridges, which are very ex-
pensive affairs to erect on that alluvial soil. In many places
where it was found impossible to prevent a river or stream
from barring the path, there is no means of transit except
an ancient and clumsy ferry-boat, of no use for the con-
veyance of our train. Fortunately, however, we were in-
dependent.

We had that very day to cross an important river, the
Sone. This stream is fed above Rhotas by its affluents, the
Coput and the Coyle, and flows into the Ganges just between
Arrah and Dinapore.

Nothing could be easier than our passage. The elephant
took to the water quite naturally. It descended the gentle
slope of the bank straight into the river, rested on the sur-
face, and with its huge feet beating the water like a paddle-
wheel, it quietly drew our floating train to the opposite bank.

Captain Hood could not contain his delight.

" A traveling house! " he would exclaim, " a house which
is both a carriage and a steamboat. Now we only need
wings to enable us to fly through the air, and thus to cleave
space."

" That will be done some day or other, Hood," rejoined
the engineer, quite seriously.

180 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" I believe it, Banks," answered the captain, no less seri-
ously. " It will be done ! But what can't be done, is that
our life should be given back to us a couple of hundred
years hence to enable us to see all these marvels! Life is
not all sunshine, but yet I would willingly consent to live
ten centuries out of pure curiosity! "

That evening, twelve hours after leaving Gaya, we passed
under the magnificent tubular railway bridge, eighty feet
above the bed of the Sone, and encamped in the environs
of Sasseram. We merely wished to spend a night in this
spot, to replenish our stock of wood and water, and start
again at dawn of day.

This program we carried out, and next morning, before
the burning midday heat began, we were far on our way.

The landscape was still much the same ; that is, very rich
and very cultivated. Such it appeared on approaching the
marvelous valley of the Ganges. I will not stop to describe
the numberless villages we passed lying in the midst of ex-
tensive rice-fields, nestling amid groves of palms, inter-
spersed with mangoes and other trees of magnificent growth
and foliage.

We never paused on our way; for even if the road was
blocked by a cart drawn by slow-paced zebus, two or three
shrieks from our whistle caused them to draw on one side,
and we dashed past, to the great amazement of the ryots.

I was delighted and charmed at the sight of a great num-
ber of fields of roses. We were indeed not far distant from
Ghazipore, the great center of production of the water, or
rather essence, made from these flowers.

That evening, having traversed a tolerably level country
between immense fields of poppies and tracts of rice marked
out like a chess-board, we camped on the right bank of the
Ganges, before the ancient Jerusalem of the Hindoos — the
sacred city of Benares.

" Twenty-four hours' halt here," said Banks.

" At what distance from Calcutta are we now? " I asked
the engineer.

" About three hundred and fifty miles," he replied ; " and
you acknowledge, my friend, do you not, that we have felt
nothing of the length of the way or the fatigue of the
journey? "

The Ganges ! Is not that a name which calls up the most

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES 181

poetic legends, and does it not seem as if all India were
summed up in that word? Is there in the world a valley
to be compared to this, extending over a space of fifteen
hundred miles, and containing not less than a hundred mil-
lion inhabitants? Is there a spot on the globe where more
wonders have been heaped up since the appearance of the
Asiatic races?

When we looked out the next morning, the 23d of May,
the rising sun was shining on the sheet of water spread out
before our eyes. Several alligators of great size lay on
the white sand, as if drinking in the early sunlight. Mo-
tionless, they were turned toward the radiant orb, as if they
had been the most faithful votaries of Brahma. But the
sight of several corpses floating by aroused them from their
adoration.

It is said that these bodies float on the back when they
are men, and on the chest when they are women, but from
personal observation I can state that there is no truth in
this statement. In a moment the monsters had darted on
the prey, daily furnished to them on the waters of these
rivers, and with it plunged into the depths.

The Calcutta Railway, before branching off at Allahabad
to run toward Delhi, keeps close to the right bank of the
Ganges, although it does not follow the river in all its
numerous windings. At the Mogul-Serai station, from
which we were but a few miles distant, a small branch line
turns off, which passes Benares by crossing the river, and,
passing through the valley of the Goumtie, reaches Jaunpore
at a distance of about thirty-five miles.

Benares lies on the left bank. But it was at Allahabad,
and not here, that we were to cross the Ganges. Our Behe-
moth stood therefore in the encampment we had chosen
on the evening of the 22d of May. Several boats were
moored to the bank, ready to take us across to the sacred
town, which I was very desirous of exploring carefully.

These cities had been so often visited by Colonel Munro
that there was really nothing new to him to learn or see
in this one. He had, however, at first thought of accom-
panying us that day ; but on reflection decided to make an
excursion along the banks of the river instead, with Sergeant
McNeil as his companion ; so the two quitted Steam House
before we ourselves had started. Captain Hood had at one

182 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

time been quartered at Benares, and he was anxious to go
and see a few of his old friends there. Banks and I, there-
fore— the engineer having expressed a wish to be my guide
— were the only members of our party whom a feeling of
curiosity attracted to the city.

" Benares," said Banks, " is the most holy city of India.
It is the Hindoo Mecca, and whoever has lived in it, if only
for four-and-twenty hours, is assured of eternal happiness.
One can imagine, then, what an enormous crowd of pilgrims
such a belief would attract thither, and what a great pop-
ulation must reside in a city for which Brahma has reserved
blessings of such importance."

Benares is supposed to have existed for more than thirty
centuries, and must therefore have been founded about the
time when Troy disappeared. It always exercised a great
influence — not political, but spiritual — over Hindoostan, and
was the authorized center of the Buddhist religion until the
ninth century. A religious revolution then occurred. Brah-
minism destroyed the ancient worship. Benares became the
Brahmin capital, the center of attraction to the faithful, and
it is said that 300,000 pilgrims visit it annually.

The Holy City still has its Rajah. Though he is a stipen-
diary of the British, and his salary is somewhat poor, he is
still a prince, and inhabits a magnificent residence at Ram-
nagur, on the Ganges. He is a veritable descendant of the
kings of Kaci, the ancient name of Benares, but has no real
influence ; though he would console himself for that if his
pension had not been reduced to a lac of rupees, which is
100,000 rupees, or 10,000/., only enough for the pocket-
money of a Nabob in the old times.

Benares, like all towns in the valley of the Ganges, took
part in the great insurrection of 1857. Its garrison was at
this time composed of the 37th regiment of native infantry,
a corps of irregular cavalry, and half a Sikh regiment. The
English troops consisted merely of a half battery of artillery.
This handful of men could not attempt to disarm the native
soldiers. The authorities therefore waited with impatience
for the arrival of Colonel Neil, who set out for Allahabad
with the 10th regiment. Colonel Neil entered Benares with
only two hundred and fifty men, and gave orders for a
parade on the drill-ground.

When all were assembled, the sepoys were told to give

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES 183

up their arms. They refused. A fight then ensued between
them and Colonel Neil's infantry. The irregular cavalry
almost immediately joined the mutineers, as did the Sikhs,
who believed themselves betrayed.

The half battery, however, opened fire on them, and,
notwithstanding that they fought with valor and despera-
tion, all were put to the rout.

This fight took place outside the town. Inside there was
an attempt at insurrection on the part of the Mussul-
mans, who hoisted the green flag, but this was soon quelled.
From that time, and throughout the rest of the revolt,
Benares was troubled no more, even at the time when
the insurrection appeared triumphant in the province of
the west.

These details Banks gave me as our boat glided slowly
over the water of the Ganges.

" My dear fellow," he remarked, " you are now going to
pay your first visit to Benares. But although this city is
so ancient, you must not expect to find in it any monument
more than three hundred years old. Don't be astonished
at this. It is the consequence of those religious contests in
which fire and sword has played such a lamentable part.
But all the same, Benares is a very remarkable and curious
town, and you will not regret an excursion to it."

We now stopped our boat at a suitable distance to allow
us to gaze across a bay as blue as that of Naples, at the
picturesque amphitheater of terraced houses and palaces
descending to the water's edge, some of them projecting
over the river, so that the waves constantly washed their
base and appeared likely some day to undermine them. A
pagoda of Chinese architecture, consecrated to Buddha —
a perfect forest of towers, spires, and minarets — beautified
the city, studded as it is with mosques and temples, the
latter surmounted by the Lingam, one of the symbols of
Siva, while the lofty Mohammedan mosque built by Aurung-
zebe crowned the marvelous panorama.

Instead of disembarking at one of the ghats, or flights of
stone steps leading from the banks of the river up to the
terraces, Banks directed the boatman to take us first past
the quay.

Here I found the scene at Gaya reproduced, though with
a different landscape. Instead of the green forests of the

184 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

Phalgou, we had this holy city for a background. But
the life part of the picture was much the same. Thousands
of pilgrims covered the banks, the terraces, the stairs, and
devoutly plunged into the stream, in rows of three or four
deep. It must not be imagined that this bath was free.
Sentries in red turbans, with sabers at their sides, stood on
the lower steps of the ghats, and exacted tribute, in company
with industrious Brahmins, who sold chaplets, amulets,
charms, and other religious articles.

But besides the pilgrims who bathed on their own account,
there were also traders whose only business was to draw
this most sacred water, and transport it to the distant parts
of the peninsula. As a security, each phial is marked with
the seal of the Brahmins. But in spite of this, fraud is
carried on to a great extent, as the exportation of this
miraculous liquid is so considerable.

" Perhaps," as Banks said to me, " all the water of the
Ganges would not be sufficient to supply the wants of the
faithful."

I asked if these bathers did not often meet with accidents,
for no one seemed to try to prevent such a thing. There
were no swimmers to prevent imprudent people from ven-
turing too far into the rapid current.

" Accidents are indeed frequent," answered Banks ; " but
if the body of the devotee is lost, his soul is saved; there-
fore they do not concern themselves much about it."

" And crocodiles? " I added.

" Crocodiles," replied Banks, " usually keep their distance.
All this noise terrifies them. These monsters are not to be
feared so much as villains who dive under the water, seize
women and children, and tear off their jewels. There is
even a story about one of these wretches, who, by means
of an artificial head, played the part of a crocodile for a
long time, and made quite a little fortune by this profitable
though dangerous trade. Finally, this impertinent intruder
was devoured one day by a real alligator, and nothing was
found of him but his head of tanned skin, floating on the
surface of the water.

" There are also desperate fanatics who voluntarily seek
death in the depths of the Ganges; and this they do with
a curious species of refinement. Round their body they tie
a chaplet of open but empty urns ; gradually the water fills

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES 185

these vessels, and the devotee gently sinks down, amid the
applause of the crowd."

Our boat at last landed us at the Manmenka Ghat. Here
were arranged in layers the funeral piles on which the
corpses of all those who in their lifetime had had any care
for their future existence, were burned. In this sacred
spot, cremation is eagerly sought for by the faithful, and
these funeral piles burn night and day. Rich baboos of
distant territories cause themselves to be carried to Benares
as soon as they are attacked by an illness which they feel
will prove fatal. Benares is unquestionably the best start-
ing point for a journey to the other world. If the deceased
has only to reproach himself with venial faults, his soul is
wafted on the smoke of the Manmenka straight to the
regions of eternal bliss. If, on the contrary, he has been a
great sinner, his soul must go and inhabit the body of a
Brahmin yet to be born, for the purpose of being regener-
ated. It is to be hoped that his second life will be exemplary,
or he will be exposed to a third trial before he is finally
admitted to share the delights of Brahma's heaven.

The rest of the day we devoted to exploring the town,
its principal monuments, and its bazaars, lined with dark
shops after the Arab fashion. Here they sold principally
fine muslin of beautiful texture, and kinkob, a rich silk
material, brocaded with gold, which is one of the principal
products of the Benares industry. The streets were clean,
but so narrow as almost to prevent the sun's rays from
penetrating to the pavement. But although it was shady,
the heat was stifling. I pitied the bearers of our palanquin,
who yet seemed to make no complaint themselves.

However, it being an opportunity for the poor wretches
to earn a few rupees was sufficient to give them strength and
spirit. But a certain Hindoo, or rather Bengalee, with a
keen eye and cunning expression, had no such reason for
following us, as he did, the whole day, and without much
attempt at concealment. As we landed at the Manmenka
Ghat, I had been speaking to Banks, and uttered aloud
the name of Colonel Munro. The Bengalee, who was watch-
ing our boat put in, gave an evident start. I did not at
the time pay much attention to this, but recalled the circum-
stance when I perceived the spy incessantly dogging our
steps. He only left us to appear again, either before or

186 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

behind, a few minutes later. Whether friend or foe I could
not tell, but that he was a man to whom the name of Colonel
Munro was not indifferent was perfectly evident.

Our palanquin soon stopped at the foot of a staircase of
a hundred steps, leading from the quay to the mosque of
Aurungzebe. Formerly the devotees only ascended these
Santa Scala on their knees, after the manner of the faithful
at Rome ; but that was when a magnificent Hindoo temple
dedicated to Vishnu was on the site now occupied by the
mosque of the conqueror.

I should much have liked to survey Benares from the top
of one of the minarets of this mosque, the construction of
which is regarded as a perfect triumph of architecture.
Although one hundred and thirty-two feet in height, they
have scarcely the diameter of a manufactory chimney, and
yet the cylindrical shaft contains a winding stair. No one
is allowed to ascend, and there is a reason for this prohibi-
tion : the two minarets are already sensibly out of the
perpendicular, and unless endowed with the vitality of
the Tower of Pisa, they will end by coming down some
day.

On leaving the mosque of Aurungzebe, I found the Ben-
galee waiting for us at the door. This time I looked fixedly
at him, and he lowered his eyes. Before drawing Banks'
attention to this incident, I wished to ascertain if this in-
dividual would persist in his suspicious behavior, and for
the present I said nothing.

You may count pagodas and mosques by hundreds in
this marvelous town of Benares. Also splendid palaces —
the most beautiful of which is unquestionably that of the
King of Nagpore. Few rajahs indeed neglect to secure a
house in the Holy City, and always come to it at the time
of the great religious festivals of Mela.

I could not attempt to visit all these buildings during the
little time we had at our disposal. I contented myself, there-
fore, with making a visit to the temple of Bicheshwar, in
which is set up the Lingam of Siva. This — a shapeless
stone, looked upon as part of the body of this the most
savage god of the Hindoo mythology — covers a well, the
stagnant waters of which possess, they say, miraculous vir-
tues. I saw also the Mankarnika, or sacred fountain, where
devotees bathe, to the great profit of the Brahmins; then

A FEW HOURS AT BENARES 187

the Manmundir, an observatory built two hundred years ago
by the Emperor Akbar.

I had heard of a palace of monkeys, which all tourists
never failed to visit. A Parisian naturally imagined himself
about to behold something like the celebrated monkey-house
in the Jardin des Plantes. But there was nothing of the
sort. I found that this palace was a temple, called the
Dourga-Khound, situated a little beyond the outskirts. The
monkeys were by no means shut up in cages. They roamed
freely through the courts, leaping from wall to wall, climb-
ing to the tops of enormous mango-trees, noisily disputing
over the parched corn brought by their visitors, and to which
they are very partial.

There, as everywhere else, the Brahmins, who keep the
Dourga-Khound, levy a small contribution, which evidently
makes this profession one of the most lucrative in India.

It is needless to say that we were rather done up by the
heat, as toward evening we began to think of returning to
Steam House. We had breakfasted and dined at Secrole,
in one of the best hotels of that English town, and yet I
must say that the cuisine made us regret that of Monsieur
Parazard.

As we were stepping into our boat to return to the right
bank of the Ganges, I again caught sight of the Bengalee
a short distance from us. A skiff containing a Hindoo was
waiting for him, into which he got. Did he mean to cross
the river, and so follow us to our encampment ? This looked
suspicious.

" Banks," said I in a low tone, pointing to the Bengalee,
" that fellow is a spy, who has followed us every step of
the way."

" I have seen him," returned Banks ; " and I also noticed
that it was the colonel's name, uttered by you, which first
put him on the alert."

"Isn't there any—?" I said.

" No ; leave him alone," said Banks. " Better not to let
him know that he is suspected — besides, he has gone now."

In fact, the Bengalee's canoe had already disappeared
among the numerous vessels of all shapes and sizes covering
the dark waters of the Ganges. Banks turned to our boat-
man. " Do you know that man? " he asked, in a tone of
affected indifference.

188 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" No ; this is the first time I have seen him," replied the
native.

On reaching our encampment, we found Colonel Munro
and Sergeant McNeil already there. Banks asked the
sergeant if anything had happened during our absence.
" Nothing," was the reply.

" You haven't seen any suspicious-looking person prowl-
ing about ? ':

" No, Mr. Banks. Have you any reason for suspect-
ing ?"

" We have been dogged during our excursion in Benares,"
answered the engineer, " and I did not like the look of the
fellow who followed us."

" The spy was ? '

" A Bengalee, who was put on the alert by the mention
of Colonel Munro's name."

" What could the man want with us? "

" I don't know, McNeil. We must keep a lookout."

" We will ! " returned the sergeant emphatically.

CHAPTER IX

ALLAHABAD

The distance between Benares and Allahabad is about
eighty miles, and the road lies on the right bank of the
Ganges between the railway and the river. Storr had
loaded the tender with a good supply of coal, so that the
elephant would have no lack of nourishment for several
days. Well cleaned — I had almost said well curry-combed
— as bright as if he had just come out of the workshop, he
impatiently waited the moment for starting. He didn't
exactly paw the ground, but the quivering of the wheels
betrayed the tension of the steam which filled his lungs of
steel. Our train started early in the morning of the 24th,
at a rate of three to four miles an hour.

The night passed quietly, and we saw nothing of the
Bengalee.

I may as well mention here, once for all, that each day's
program, of getting up, going to bed, breakfasts, luncheons,
dinners, and siestas, was carried out with military exactitude.
Our life in the Steam House went on as regularly as in

ALLAHABAD 189

the bungalow at Calcutta. The landscape was constantly
changing under our eyes, without any perceptible movement
of our house. We soon grew accustomed to our life, as do
passengers on board an ocean steamer, though we had noth-
ing monotonous, for, unlike the sea, our horizon was ever
changing.

Toward eleven o'clock we caught sight, on the plain, of
a curious mausoleum, erected in honor of two holy person-
ages of Islam, " Cassim-Soliman," father and son. Half
an hour after this we passed the important fortress of
Chunar, an impregnable rock crowned by picturesque ram-
parts, and rising perpendicularly one hundred and fifty feet
above the river.

Of course we halted to pay this place a visit, as it is one
of the most important fortresses in the valley of the Ganges.

It is a very economical place with regard to expenditure
of powder and bullets, for when an assaulting column en-
deavors to scale the walls, it is immediately crushed by an
avalanche of rocks and stones kept for the purpose.

At its foot lies the town which bears its name, the houses
coquettishly peeping out from among the verdure.

In Benares, as we have seen, there exist many privileged
places, which are considered by the Hindoos as the most
sacred in the world. If one began to count, the number scat-
tered over the peninsula would amount to hundreds. Chunar
possesses one of these miraculous spots. Here you are
shown a marble slab, to which some god or other comes reg-
ularly to take his daily siesta. It is true that he is invisible,
so we did not stop see him.

About two o'clock next day we forded the little river
Tonsa, at that time only containing a foot of water, and by
the evening were encamped at the end of one of the suburbs
of Allahabad.

On the next day Banks again wished to accompany me
during the few hours I was able to spend in Allahabad.
One might easily have spent three days in exploring the
three towns of which it is composed, but it is less
curious than Benares, although numbered among the holy
cities.

There is really nothing to say about the Hindoo part of
the town. It is simply a mass of low houses, separated by
narrow streets, shaded by magnificent tamarind-trees.

190 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

Of the English town and cantonments, there is not much
to be said either. The fine well-planted avenues, wealthy
habitations, and wide squares, all look as if the town was
destined to become a great capital.

Allahabad is situated in a vast plain, bounded on the north
and south by the double course of the Jumna and Ganges.
It is called the " Plain of Almsgiving," because the Hindoo
princes have at all times come here to perform works of
charity. M. Rousselet, quoting a passage from the " Life
of Hionen Thsang," says, " It is more meritorious to give
away one piece of money in this place, than a hundred
thousand elsewhere."

The fort of Allahabad is well worth a visit. It is con-
structed to the west of the great Almsgiving Plain, from
which its high granite walls stand boldly out. In the middle
of the fort is a palace, now used as an arsenal, though for-
merly the favorite residence of the Sultan Akbar. In one
of the corners is the Lat of Feroze Schachs, a superb mo-
nolith thirty-six feet in height, supporting a lion. Not far
off is a little temple, which no Hindoo can visit, as they
are refused admission into the fort, although it is one of
the most sacred places in the world.

Banks told me that the fort of Allahabad also has its
legend, which reminds one of the story relative to the re-
construction of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. When the
Sultan wished to build this fort, it seems that the stones
turned very refractory. Directly a wall was built, it tum-
bled itself down again. The oracle was consulted. The
oracle replied, as usual, that a voluntary victim must be
offered to remove this spell.

A Hindoo offered himself as a holocaust; he was sacri-
ficed, and the fort was soon finished. This man was called
Brog, ?.nd that is the reason why the town is still designated
by the double name of Brog-Allahabad.

Banks took us to the deservedly celebrated gardens of
Khousroo. Here numerous Mohammedan mausoleums
stand under the shade of beautiful tamarinds. One of them
is the last resting-place of the sultan from whom these
gardens take their name. On one of the white marble walls
is printed the palm of an enormous hand. This was pointed
out to us with a complacency which was lacking in
the exhibition of the sacred impressions at Gaya. It

ALLAHABAD 191

is true this was not the print of a god's foot, but that
the hand of a simple mortal, the great nephew of Ma-
homet.

During the insurrection of 1857, blood flowed as freely
in Allahabad as in the other towns of the Ganges valley.
The fight between the English and the mutineers on the
drill-ground at Benares caused the rising of the native
troops, and in particular the revolt of the 6th regiment of
the Bengal army. Eight ensigns were massacred to begin
with ; but thanks to the energetic conduct of some European
artillerymen who were at Chunar, the sepoys ended by lay-
ing down their arms.

It was a more serious affair in the cantonments. The
natives rose, threw open the prisons, pillaged the docks,
and set fire to the European houses. In the midst of all
this, Colonel Neil, who had re-established order at Benares,
arrived with his own regiment and a hundred fusiliers be-
longing to a Madras regiment. He retook the bridge of
boats, seized the suburbs of the town, dispersed the mem-
bers of a provisional government installed by a Mussul-
man, and very soon again became master of the province.

During our short excursions in Allahabad, Banks and I
carefully watched to see if we were followed there as we
had been in Benares, but saw nothing to arouse our sus-
picions.

" Never mind," said the engineer, " we must all the same
be on our guard. I should have liked to have traveled
incognito, for Colonel Munro's name is too well known
among the natives of this province."

At six o'clock we returned to dinner. Sir Edward, who
had left the encampment for an hour or two, had also come
back, and was waiting for us, as was Captain Hood, who
had been visiting some of his old comrades in the canton-
ment.

I observed to Banks that Colonel Munro seemed not more
sad, but more anxious than was his wont. There appeared
in his eyes a latent fire that tears should surely long ago
have extinguished.

" You are right," answered Banks ; " there is something
the matter. What can have happened ? "

"Suppose you ask McNeil?" said I.

" Ah, yes, perhaps he will know."

192 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

And leaving the drawing-room, the engineer opened the
door of the sergeant's cabin.

He was not there.

"Where is McNeil?" asked Banks of Goumi, who was
getting ready to wait at table.

" He has left the camp," replied Goumi.

"How long?"

" He went nearly an hour ago, by Colonel Munro's
orders."

" You do not know where he has gone? "

" No, sahib, and I cannot tell why he went."

" Nothing fresh has happened here since we left? ':

" Nothing, sahib."

Banks returned, and telling me of the sergeant's absence
for a reason that no one knew, he repeated, " I do not know
what it is, but very certainly there is something up. We
must wait and see."

Every one now sat down to table. Ordinarily, Colonel
Munro took part in the conversation during meals. He
liked to hear us relate our adventures and excursions, and
was interested in all we had been doing during the day.

I always took care to avoid speaking of anything that
could in the slightest degree remind him of the mutiny. I
think that he perceived this; but whether he appreciated it
or not, it was sometimes difficult enough to maintain this
reserve, especially when we talked of towns such as Benares
and Allahabad.

During dinner, on the evening of which I speak, I feared
being obliged to speak of Allahabad. I need not have been
afraid, however. Colonel Munro questioned neither Banks
nor myself about the occupation of our day. He remained
mute during the whole of dinner, and as time went on his
preoccupation visibly increased. He cast frequent glances
along the road which led to the cantonments, and several
times was evidently on the point of rising from table, the
better to see in that direction. It was plain that he was
impatiently awaiting the return of Sergeant McNeil.

Our meal was dull enough. Hood looked interrogatively
at Banks, as if to ask him what was the matter, but Banks
knew no more than he did.

When dinner at last came to an end, Colonel Munro, in-
stead of as usual lying down to take a nap, stepped down

ALLAHABAD 193

from the veranda, went a few paces along the road, gave
one long look down it ; then, returning toward us, " Banks,
Hood, and you, too, Maucler," he said, " will you accom-
pany me as far as the nearest houses of the cantonments? '

We all immediately rose and followed the colonel, who
walked slowly on without uttering a word. After proceed-
ing thus for about a hundred paces, Sir Edward stopped
before a post standing on the right hand side of the road,
and having a notice stuck on it. " Read that," he said.

It was the placard, already more than two months old,
which put a price on the head of Nana Sahib, and gave
notice of his presence in the presidency of Bombay.

Banks and Hood could scarcely conceal their disappoint-
ment. While still in Calcutta, and during the journey, they
had so managed, up to the present time, that this notice
had never come under the colonel's eyes. But now a vex-
atious chance had baffled all their precautions.

" Banks ! " said Sir Edward, seizing the engineer's hand,
" did you know of this notice? "

Banks made no reply.

" You knew two months ago," continued the colonel, " of
this announcement that Nana Sahib was in the presidency
of Bombay, and yet you said nothing to me."

Banks remained silent, not knowing what to say.

" Well, yes, colonel," exclaimed Captain Hood, " we did
know of it, but what was the use of telling you? Who
was to prove that the announcement is true, and what was
the good of bringing to your mind those painful recollec-
tions which do you so much harm? "

" Banks," cried Colonel Munro, his face, as it were, trans-
formed, " have you forgotten that it is my right, that I of
all men must do justice on that wretch? Know this! when
I consented to leave Calcutta, I did so, because this journey
would take me to the north of India, because I never even
for a single day believed in the death of Nana Sahib, and
because I will never relinquish my purpose of vengeance.
In setting out with you, I had but one idea, one hope. For
the attainment of my purpose, on the chances of the jour-
ney, and the aid of heaven, I had relied. I was right in so
doing. Heaven directed me to this notice. It is in the
south, and not in the north, that Nana Sahib must be sought
for. Be it so; I shall go south."

V XII Verno

194 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

We had not been mistaken in our fears. It was but too
true. A fancy — nay more, a fixed idea — still governed the
mind of Colonel Munro. He had just disclosed it to us.

" Munro," returned Banks, " if I said nothing to you
about this, it was because I did not believe in Nana Sahib's
being in the Bombay Presidency. It is probable that the
authorities have been once more mistaken. In fact, that
notice is dated the 6th of March, and since that time nothing
has been heard to corroborate the statement of the appear-
ance of the nabob."

At first Colonel Munro made no answer to the engineer's
observation. He took another look along the road, then
said, " My friends, I am about to hear the latest news.
McNeil has gone to Allahabad with a letter for the gover-
nor. In a few minutes I shall know whether Nana Sahib
did indeed reappear in one of the western provinces ; whether
he is there still, or whether he has again been lost sight of."

" And if he has been seen, if the fact is indisputable, what
shall you do, Munro? " asked Banks, grasping the colonel's
hand.

" I shall go," replied Sir Edward, " as is my duty, where
justice leads me."

" That is positively decided, Munro ? "

" Yes, Banks, positively. You must continue your travels
without me, my friends — I shall take the train to Bombay
this evening."

" But not alone," responded the engineer, turning toward
us. " We will accompany you, Munro."

: Yes, yes, colonel," exclaimed Captain Hood. " We
shall certainly not let you go without us. Instead of hunt-
ing wild beasts, we will hunt villains."

" Colonel Munro," I added, " will you allow me to join
the captain as one of your friends? "

" Yes, Maucler," replied Banks ; " this very evening we
will leave Allahabad."

" It is needless," said a grave voice behind us.

We all turned, and beheld Sergeant McNeil standing
with a newspaper in his hand. " Read, colonel," said he.
' This is what the governor desired me to show you."

Sir Edward took the paper, and read as follows :

" The Governor of the Bombay Presidency requests the
public to take notice that the proclamation of the 6th of

ALLAHABAD 195

March, respecting the nabob, Dandou Pant, must now be
considered as canceled. Nana Sahib was yesterday attacked
in the defiles of the Sautpourra mountains, where he had
taken refuge with his band, and was killed in the skirmish.
The body has been identified by the inhabitants of Cawn-
pore and Lucknow. A finger is wanting on the left hand,
and it is known that Nana Sahib had one amputated at the
time when his mock obsequies were celebrated to make
people believe in his death. The kingdom of India has now
nothing further to dread from the machinations of the cruel
nabob who has cost her so much blood."

Colonel Munro read these lines in a hollow voice; then
the paper fell from his hands.

We remained silent. Nana Sahib's death, now indisputa-
ble, delivered us from all fear as to the future.

Colonel Munro said nothing for some minutes, but stood
with his hand pressed over his eyes, as if to efface all fright-
ful recollections. Then, " When should we leave Alla-
habad? " he asked.

" To-morrow, at daybreak," replied the engineer.

" Banks," resumed Sir Edward, " could we not stop for
a few hours at Cawnpore? "

"You wish it?"

" Yes, Banks, I should like it — I must see Cawnpore once
again — for the last time."

" We shall be there in a couple of days," replied the en-
gineer, quietly.

" And after that? " said the colonel.

" After that," answered Banks, " we shall continue bur
expedition to the north of India."

" Yes, to the north ! to the north ! " said the colonel, in
a tone which stirred me to the depths of my heart.

In truth, it was likely that Sir Edward Munro still enter-
tained some doubt as to the real result of that last skirmish
between Nana Sahib and the English. Yet what reason
could he have for disbelieving such evidence as this? The
future alone could explain.

CHAPTER X

VIA DOLOROSA

The kingdom of Oude was formerly one of the most im-
portant, as it is still one of the richest, provinces in India.
It had many sovereigns — some strong, some feeble. The
weakness of one of them, named Wajid Ali Shah, brought
about the annexation of his kingdom to the dominions of
the Company, on the 6th of February, 1857.

This took place only a few months before the outbreak
of this insurrection, and it was in Oude that the most fright-
ful massacres were committed, and followed by the most
terrible reprisals. The names of two cities remain in mourn-
ful celebrity ever since that time : Lucknow and Cawnpore.

Lucknow is the capital ; Cawnpore one of the principal
towns of the ancient kingdom. We reached the latter place
on the morning of the 29th of May, having followed the
right bank of the Ganges through a level plain covered with
immense fields of indigo. For two days we had traveled
at a speed of three leagues an hour, and were now nearly
one thousand " kilometers " from Calcutta.

Cawnpore is a town of about 60,000 inhabitants. It oc-
cupies a strip of land about five miles in length, on the right
bank of the Ganges. There is a military cantonment, in
which are quartered 7,000 men. The traveler would vainly
seek for anything worthy of his attention in this city, al-
though it is of very ancient origin ; anterior, they say, to
the Christian era. No sentiment of curiosity, then, brought
us to Cawnpore. The wishes of Sir Edward alone led us
thither.

Early on the morning of the 30th May we quitted our
encampment, and Banks, Captain Hood, and I, followed the
colonel and Sergeant McNeil along that melancholy route
on which the points of mournful interest were for the last
time to be revisited.

I will here repeat the facts, as related to me by Banks,
which it is necessary should be known. Cawnpore, which
was garrisoned by reliable troops at the time of the annexa-
tion of the kingdom of Oude, contained at the outbreak of
the mutiny no more than two hundred and fifty British
soldiers to three regiments of native infantry (the 1st, 53d,
and 56th), two regiments of cavalry, and a battery of Ben-

196

VIA DOLOROSA 197

gal artillery. There were in the place besides a consider-
able number of Europeans, workmen, clerks, merchants, etc.,
with 850 women and children of the 32d regiment, which
garrisoned Lucknow.

Colonel Munro had been living at Cawnpore for several
years. And it was there he met the lady who became his
wife. Miss Hanlay was a charming young Englishwoman,
high-spirited, intelligent, and noble-minded, worthy of the
love of such a man as the colonel, who adored her. She
and her mother resided in a bungalow near Cawnpore, and
there, in 1855, she was married to Edward Munro.

Two years afterward, in 1857, when the first acts of
rebellion occurred at Meerut, Colonel Munro had to rejoin
his regiment at a day's notice. He was therefore obliged
to leave his wife with his mother-in-law at Cawnpore, but
thinking that place unsafe, he charged them to make im-
mediate preparations for departure to Calcutta. Alas, his
fears were but too surely justified by what followed. The
departure of Mrs. Hanlay and Lady Munro was delayed,
and the consequences were fatal. The unfortunate ladies
were unable to leave Cawnpore.

Sir Hugh Wheeler was then in command of the division
— an upright, honorable soldier, who was but too soon to
fall a victim to the crafty designs of Nana Sahib. The
nabob at that time occupied his castle of Bithour, ten miles
from Cawnpore, and affected to be on the best possible terms
with the Europeans.

" You are aware, my dear Maucler," continued Banks,
" that the first outbreak of the insurrection took place at
Meerut and Delhi. The news reached Cawnpore on the
4th of May. And on the same day the 1st regiment of
sepoys exhibited symptoms of hostility. At this moment
Nana Sahib came forward with an offer of his services to
the Government. General Wheeler was so ill-advised as to
place confidence in the good faith of this villain and knave,
who immediately sent his own soldiers to occupy the Treas-
ury Buildings.

" That same day an irregular regiment of sepoys, on its
way to Cawnpore, mutinied and massacred its British of-
ficers at the very gates of the town. The danger then be-
came evident in all its magnitude. General Wheeler gave
orders that all Europeans should take refuge in the barracks,

198 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

where were quartered the women and children of the 32d
regiment, then at Lucknow. These barracks were situated
at the point nearest the road from Allahabad, by which alone
succor could arrive.

" It was there that Lady Munro and her mother were
shut up; and throughout this imprisonment she manifested
the utmost sympathy for her companions in misfortune,
tending them with her own hands, assisting them with
money, encouraging them by words and example; in short,
showing herself to be, as I have told you she was, a noble,
heroic woman.

" The arsenal was soon after confided to a guard of the
soldiers of Nana Sahib. Then the traitor displayed the
standard of rebellion; and, on the 7th of June, the sepoys,
at their own desire, attacked the barracks, which was not
defended by more than three hundred men who could be
relied upon. They held out bravely, however, against the
besiegers' fire, beneath showers of projectiles ; suffering sick-
ness of all sorts, dying of hunger and thirst, for the supply
of provisions was insufficient, and they had no water, be-
cause the wells dried up.

" This resistance lasted until the 27th of June. Nana
Sahib then proposed a capitulation, and General Wheeler
committed the unpardonable mistake of signing it, not-
withstanding the earnest entreaties of Lady Munro, who
besought him to continue the contest.

" In consequence of this capitulation, about five hundred
persons — men, women, and children — Lady Munro and her
mother being of the number, were embarked in boats, which
were to descend the Ganges, and convey them to Allahabad.
Scarcely were these unmoored, than the sepoys opened fire ;
bullets and grape-shot fell upon them like hail. Some of
the boats sank, others were burned; one alone succeeded
in passing several miles down the river. In this boat were
Lady Munro and her mother, and for an instant they could
believe themselves saved. But the soldiers of the Nana
pursued, overtook, captured, and brought them back to the
cantonments.

" There the prisoners were divided. All the men were
put to death at once. The women and children were added
to the number of those who had not been massacred on the
27th of June. These two hundred victims, for whom pro-

VIA DOLOROSA 199

tracted agony was reserved, were shut up in a bungalow,
the name of which, Bibi-Ghar, will ever be held in sorrow-
ful remembrance."

" How did these horrible details become known to you? ''
I inquired.

They were related to me," replied Banks, " by an old
sergeant of the 32d. This man escaped by a miracle, and
was sheltered by the Rajah of Raischwarah, a province of
the kingdom of Oude, who received him as well as some
other fugitives with the greatest humanity."

"And Lady Munro and her mother? — what became of
them?"

" My dear friend," replied Banks, " we have no direct
information of what happened, but it is only too easy to
conjecture. In fact, the sepoys were masters of Cawnpore,
and they were so until the 15th of July, during which period
(nineteen days, which were like so many years!) the un-
happy victims were in hourly expectation of succor, which
only came too late. General Havelock was marching from
Calcutta to the relief of Cawnpore, and, after repeatedly
defeating the mutineers, he entered it on the 17th of July.

" But two days previously, upon hearing that the British
troops had crossed the river Pandou-Naddi, Nana Sahib
resolved to signalize the last hours of his occupation of
Cawnpore by frightful massacres. No fate seemed to him
too severe for the invaders of India. Some prisoners, who
had shared the captivity of the prisoners at Bibi-Ghar, were
brought, and murdered before his eyes.

" The crowd of women and children remained, and among
them Lady Munro and her mother. A platoon of the 6th
regiment of sepoys received orders to fire upon them through
the windows of Bibi-Ghar. The execution began, but not
being carried out quickly enough to please the Nana, who
was about to be compelled to beat a retreat, this sanguinary
prince sent for Mussulman butchers to assist the soldiery.
It was the butchery of a slaughter-house.

" Next day, the children and women, dead or alive, were
flung into a well ; and when Havelock's soldiers came up,
this well, charged to the brim with corpses, was still
reeking !

" Then began the reprisals. A1 certain number of mu-
tineers, accomplices of Nana Sahib, had fallen into the

200 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

hands of General Havelock. And the following day he
issued that terrible Order of the Day, the terms of which
I shall never forget: —

" ' The well in which lie the mortal remains of the poor
women and children massacred by order of the miscreant
Nana Sahib, is to be filled up and carefully covered over in
the form of a tomb. A detachment of European British
soldiers, under an officer's command, will fulfill the pious
duty this evening. But the house and rooms in which the
massacre took place are not to be cleansed by the fellow-
countrymen of the victims. The officer is to understand
that every drop of innocent blood is to be removed by the
tongues of the mutineers condemned to die. After having
heard the sentence of death, each man is to be conducted
to the place of the massacre, and forced to cleanse a portion
of the floors. Care must be taken to render the task as
repulsive as possible to the religious sentiments of the con-
demned men; and the lash, if necessary, must not be spared.
This being accomplished, the sentence will be carried out on
gallows erected near the house.' "

" This," continued Banks, with deep emotion, " was the
order for the day. It was executed in all particulars. But
it could not restore the lost! And when, two days after-
ward, Colonel Munro arrived and sought for tidings or
traces of Lady Munro and her mother, he found nothing
— nothing! "

All this was related to me by Banks before reaching
Cawnpore. And now it was toward the scene of these
horrors that the colonel directed his steps. But first he
revisited the bungalow where Lady Munro had lived in her
youth, and where he had seen her for the last time.

It was situated a little outside the suburbs, not far from
the line of military cantonments. Nothing of the house
remained but ruins, blackened gables, fallen trees decaying
on the ground ; all was desolation, for the colonel had per-
mitted nothing to be repaired. After the lapse of ten years
the bungalow remained just as it had been left by the in-
cendiaries.

We spent an hour in this desolate place. Sir Edward
moved silently among ruins which awoke so many recollec-
tions, sometimes closing his eyes, as if in thought, he re-
called the happy existence which nothing could ever restore

VIA DOLOROSA 201

to him. At length hastily, and as if doing violence to his
feelings, he returned to us, and left the house.

We almost began to hope this visit would satisfy him.
But no! Sir Edward Munro had resolved to drain to the
dregs the bitterness of the sorrow which overwhelmed him
in this fatal town. He wished to go to the barracks where
his heroic wife had devoted herself so nobly to the care of
those who endured there the horrors of a siege.

These barracks stood in the plain outside the town, and
a church was being built on the spot. In order to reach it,
we followed a macadamized road shaded by fine trees, and
among the unfinished new buildings we could distinguish
remains of the brick walls which had formed part of the
works of defense raised by General Wheeler.

After Colonel Munro had long gazed motionless and in
silence upon the ruins of the barracks, he turned to go
toward Bibi-Ghar, but Banks, unable to restrain himself,
seized his arm, as though to arrest his steps.

Sir Edward looked steadfastly in his face, and said in a
terribly calm voice, " Let us proceed."

" Munro! I beseech of you! "

" Then I will go alone."

There was no resisting him. We went toward Bibi-Ghar,
which is approached through gardens very well laid out, and
planted with fine trees. The building is of octagonal form,
and has a colonnade in Gothic style, which surrounds the
place where was the well, now filled up and closed in by a
casing of stone. This forms a kind of pedestal on which
stands a white marble statue representing the Angel of Pity,
one of the last works due to the chisel of the sculptor
Marochetti.

It was Lord Canning, Governor-General of India during
the fearful insurrection of 1857, who caused this monument
to be erected. It was constructed from the design of Col-
onel Yule, of the engineers, who himself wished to have
defrayed all the expenses. Here Sir Edward Munro could
no longer restrain his tears. He fell on his knees beside
the statue; while Sergeant McNeil, who was close beside
him, wept in silence; and we, in the deepest pain, stood
looking on, powerless to console this unfathomable grief.

At lengfh Banks, aided by McNeil, succeeded in drawing
our friend away from the spot, and I thought of the words

202 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

traced with his bayonet by one of Havelock's soldiers on
the stone brink of the well:
" Remember Cawnpore ! "

CHAPTER XI

THE MONSOON

At eleven o'clock we returned to the encampment, anx-
ious to leave Cawnpore as quickly as possible ; but our engine
required some trifling repairs, and it was impossible to do
so before the following morning.

Part of a day, then, was at my disposal. I considered that
I could not employ it better than by visiting Lucknow, as
Banks did not intend to pass through that place, where
Colonel Munro would again have been brought in contact
with reminiscences of the war. He was right. These
vivid recollections were already far too poignant.

At midday, then, quitting Steam House, I took the little
branch railway which unites Cawnpore to Lucknow. The
distance is not more than twenty leagues, and in a couple
of hours I found myself in this important capital of the
kingdom of Oude, of which I wished merely to obtain a
glance, or, as I might say, an impression. I soon perceived
the truth of what I had heard respecting the great buildings
of Lucknow, built during the reigns of the Mohammedan
emperors of the seventeenth century.

A Frenchman, named Martin, a native of Lyons, and a
common soldier in the army of Lally-Tollendal, became, in
1730, a favorite with the king. He it was who designed,
and in fact may be called the architect of, the so-called
marvels of the capital of Oude.

The Kaiser Bagh, or official residence of the sovereigns,
is a whimsical and fantastic medley of every style of archi-
tecture which could possibly emanate from the imagination
of a corporal, and is a most superficial structure. The in-
terior is nothing ; all the labor has been lavished on the out-
side which is at once Hindoo, Chinese, Moorish, and —
European. It is the same with regard to another smaller
palace, called the Farid Bakch, which is likewise the work
of Martin.

As to the Imambara, built in the midst of the fortress by

THE MONSOON 203

Kaifiatoulla, (he greatest architect of India in the seventeenth
century, it is really superb, and, bristling with its hundreds
of bell-towers, has a grand and imposing effect !

I could not leave Lucknow without seeing the Constantine
Palace, which is another of the original performances of the
French corporal, and bears his name. I also wished to visit
the adjacent garden, called Secunder Bagh, where hundreds
of sepoys were executed for having violated the tomb of
the humble soldier of fortune before they abandoned the
town.

Another French name besides that of Martin is honored
at Lucknow. A non-commissioned officer, formerly of the
Chasseurs d'Afrique, named Duprat, so distinguished him-
self by his bravery during the mutiny, that the rebels offered
to make him their leader. Duprat nobly refused, notwith-
standing the promises of wealth held out to tempt him, and
the threats with which he was menaced when he stood firm.
He remained faithful to the English. But the sepoys, who
had failed to make him a traitor, directed against him their
special vengeance, and he was slain in an encounter. " In-
fidel dog! " they had said on his refusal to join them, " we
will have thee in spite of thyself ! " And they had him ;
but only when he was dead !

The names of these two French soldiers were united in
the reprisals ; for the sepoys who had insulted the tomb of
the one, and prepared the grave of the other, were ruth-
lessly put to death !

At length — having admired the magnificent parks which
encircle this great city of 500,000 inhabitants as with a belt
of verdure and flowers, and having ridden on elephant-back
through the principal streets, and the fine boulevard of
Hazrat Gaudj — I took the train, and returned to Cawnpore.

Next morning, the 31st of May, we resumed our route.

" Now then ! " cried Captain Hood ; " we are done at last
with your Allahabads, your Cawnpores, Lucknows, and the
rest, for which I care about as much as I do for a blank-
cartridge! "

" Yes, Hood, we have got through all that," replied
Banks ; " and now for the north, toward which we are to
travel almost in a direct line, to the base of the Hima-
layas."

" Bravo! " resumed the captain. " What I call real India

204 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

is not the provinces, crammed with native towns and swarm-
ing with people, but the region where live in freedom my
friends the elephants, lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, bears,
bisons, and serpents. That is, in reality, the only habitable
part of the whole peninsula! You will see that it is so,
Maucler, and you will have no reason to regret the valley
of the Ganges! "

" In your society I can regret nothing, my friend," re-
plied I.

" There are, however," said Banks, " some very interest-
ing towns in the northwest; such as Delhi, Agra, and La-
hore. ..."

" Oh ! my dear fellow ! who ever heard of those miser-
able little places ! " cried Hood.

" Miserable, indeed ! " replied Banks. " Let me tell you,
Hood, they are magnificent cities! And," he continued,
turning to me, " we must manage to let you see them,
Maucler, without throwing out the captain's plans for a
sporting campaign."

" All right, Banks," said Hood ; " but it is only from
to-day that I consider our journey to have fairly com-
menced."

Presently, in a loud voice, he shouted, " Fox ! "

" Here, captain ! " answered his servant.

" Fox ! get all the guns, rifles, and revolvers in good
order!"

" They are so, sir."

" Prepare the cartridges."

" They are prepared."

"Is everything ready?"

" Quite ready, sir."

" Make everything still more ready."

" I will, sir."

1 It won't be long before the thirty-eighth takes his place
on your glorious list, Fox ! "

"The thirty-eighth!" cried the man, with sudden light
in his eye ; " he won't have to complain of the nice little
ball I am keeping ready for him ! "

" Get along with you, Fox! "

With a military salute Fox faced about, and re-entered
the gun-room.

I will now give an outline of the plan for the second part

THE MONSOON 205

of our journey — a plan which only unforeseen events were
to induce us to alter.

By this route we were to ascend the course of the Ganges
toward the northwest for a long way, and then, turning
sharp to the north, continue our way between two rivers;
one a tributary of the great river, the other of the Goumi.
By this means a considerable number of streams would be
avoided; and, passing by Biswah, we should rise in an
oblique direction to the lower ranges of the mountains of
Nepaul across the western part of Oude and Rohilkund.

This route had been ingeniously planned by Banks so as
to surmount all difficulties. If coal were to fail in the north
of Hindoostan, we were sure of having abundance of wood,
and Behemoth would easily keep up any rate of speed we
wished, on good roads through the grandest forests of the
Indian Peninsula.

It was agreed that we might easily reach Biswah in six
days, allowing for stoppages at convenient places, and time
for the sportsmen of the party to exhibit their prowess.
Besides Captain Hood, with Fox and Goumi, could easily
explore the vicinity of the roads, while Behemoth moved
slowly along.

I was permitted to join them, although I was far from
being an experienced hunter, and I occasionally did so.

I ought to mention that from the moment our journey
took this new aspect, Colonel Munro became more sociable.
Once fairly among the plains and forests beyond the valley
of the Ganges, he appeared to resume the calm and even
tenor of the life he used to lead at Calcutta, although it was
impossible to suppose he could forget that we were grad-
ually approaching the north of India, the region whither he
was attracted as by an irresistible fatality. His conversa-
tion became more animated, both at meals and during the
pleasant evening hours when we halted. As for McNeil,
he seemed more gloomy than usual. Had the sight of Bibi-
Ghar revived his hatred and thirst for vengeance?

" Nana Sahib killed? " said he to me one day. " No, no,
sir; they have not done that for us yet! "

The first day of our journey passed without any incident
worth recording. Neither Captain Hood nor Fox had a
chance of aiming at any sort of animal. It was quite dis-
tressing, and so extraordinary that we began to wonder

206 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

whether the apparition of a steam elephant could be keep-
ing the savage dwellers of the plains at a distance. We
passed several jungles, known to be the resort of tigers and
other carnivorous feline creatures. Not one showed him-
self, although the hunters kept away full two miles from us.

They were forced to devote their energies, with Niger
and Fan, to shooting for Monsieur Parazard's larder. He
expected to be supplied regularly, and considered game for
the table of paramount importance, most unreasonably de-
spising the tigers and other beasts Fox talked to him about.

Disdainfully shrugging his shoulders, he would ask, " Are
they good to eat? "

In the evening we fixed our camp beneath the shelter of
a group of enormous banyans. The night was as tranquil
as the day had been calm. No roars or howlings of wild
animals broke the silence. The snorting of Behemoth him-
self was stilled.

When the camp-fires were extinguished, Banks, to please
the captain, refrained from connecting the electric current
by which the elephant's eyes would have become two power-
ful lamps. But nothing came of it. It was the same the
two following nights. Hood was getting desperate.

"What can have happened to my kingdom of Oude?'
repeated the captain. "It has been translated! There are
no more tigers here than in the lowlands of Scotland ! "

" Perhaps there may have been battues here lately," sug-
gested Colonel Munro. " The animals may have emigrated
en masse. But cheer up, my friend, and wait till we reach
the foot of the mountains of Nepaul. You will find scope
for your hunting instincts there ! "

" It is devoutly to be hoped it may be so, colonel," re-
plied Hood, sadly shaking his head. " Otherwise we may
as well recast our balls, and make small shot of them! '

The 3d of June was one of the hottest days which we
had endured. There was not a breath of wind, and had
not the road been shaded by huge trees, I think we must
have been literally baked in our rooms. It seemed possible
that, in heat like this, wild animals did not care to quit their
dens even during the night.

Next morning, at sunrise, the horizon to the westward
for the first time appeared somewhat misty. We then had
presented to our eyes a magnificent spectacle — the phenome-

THE MONSOON 207

non of the mirage, which is called in some parts of India
seekote, or castles in the air ; and in others, dessasur, or
illusion.

What we saw was not a visionary sheet of water, with
curious effects of refraction, but a complete chain of low
hills, crowned by castles of the most fantastic form, resem-
bling the rocky heights of some Rhenish valley with their
ancient fastnesses of the Margraves. In a moment we
seemed transported not only to that romantic part of Europe,
but into the Middle Ages five or six centuries back. This
phenomenon was surprisingly clear, and gave us a strange
sensation of absolute reality. So much so, that the gigantic
elephant-engine, with all its apparatus of modern machinery,
advancing toward the habitations of men of Europe, in the
eleventh century, struck us as far more out of place and
unnatural than when traversing, beneath clouds of vapor,
the country of Vishnu and Brahma.

" We thank you, fair Lady Nature ! " cried Captain Hood ;
" instead of the minarets and cupolas, mosques and pagodas,
we have been accustomed to, you are spreading before us
charming old towns and castles of feudal times ! "

" How poetical you are this morning, Hood ! " returned
Banks. " Pray have you been reading romantic ballads
lately?"

" Laugh away, Banks ; quiz me as much as you like, but
just look there! See how objects in the foreground are
growing in size! The bushes are turning into trees, the
hills into mountains, the-; "

" Why the very cats will be tigers soon, won't they,
Hood?"

" Ah, Banks ! how jolly that would be ! . . . There ! " con-
tinued the captain, " my Rhenish castles are melting away ;
the town is crumbling to ruins, and we return to realities,
seeing only a landscape in the kingdom of Oude, which the
very wild animals have deserted."

The sun, rising above the eastern horizon, quickly dis-
sipated the magical effects of refraction. The fortresses,
like castles built of cards, sank down with the hills, which
were suddenly transformed into plains.

" Well, now that the mirage has vanished, and with it
Hood's poetic vein, shall I tell you, my friends," said
Banks, "what the phenomenon presages? "

208 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" Say on, great engineer ! " quoth the captain.
' Nothing less than a great change of weather," replied
Banks. ' The early days of June are usually marked by
climacteric changes. The turn of the monsoon will bring
the periodical rainy season."

' My dear Banks," said I, " let it rain as it will, we are
snug enough here. Under cover like this I should prefer
a deluge to heat such as "

" All right, my dear friend, you shall be satisfied," re-
turned he ; "I believe the rain is not far off, and we shall
soon see the first clouds in the southwest."

Banks was right. Toward evening the western horizon
became obscured by vapors, showing that the monsoon, as
frequently happens, would commence during the night.
These mists, charged with electricity, came across the pen-
insula from the Indian Ocean, like so many vast leathern
bottles out of the cellars of yEolus, filled full of storm,
tempest, and hurricane.

Other signs, well known to Anglo-Indians, were observed
during the day. Spiral columns of very fine dust whirled
along the roads, in a manner quite unlike that which was
raised by our heavy wheels. They resembled a number of
those tufts of downy wool which can be set in motion by
an electrical machine. The ground might, therefore, be com-
pared to an immense receiver in which for several days
electricity had been stored up. This dust was strangely
tinted with yellow, and had a most curious effect, each atom
seeming to shine from a little luminous center. At times
we appeared to be traveling through flames, harmless flames,
it is true, though neither in color nor vivacity resembling
the ignis fatuus.

On this evening the encampment was arranged with
greater care than usual, because, if the heat of the follow-
ing day should prove equally overpowering, Banks proposed
to prolong the halt, so as to pursue the journey during the
night.

Colonel Munro was well pleased to think of spending
some hours in this noble forest, so shady, so deeply calm.
Everybody was satisfied with the arrangement; some be-
cause they really required rest, others because they longed
once more to endeavor to fall in with some animal worth
firing at. It is easy to guess who those persons were.

• I

■ ■ ■

I

]

NANA SAHIB'S DEFIANCE.

" i he arsenal was soon ai I to a guard of the soldiers of

Nana Sahib. Then the traitor displayed the standard of rebellion;

on the 7th of June, the sepoys, at their own desire, attacked the
barracks, which was not defended by more than three hundred men
who could be relied upon. They held out bravely, however, against
tlie besiegers' lire, beneath showers of projectiles; suffering sickness
-. dying of hunger and thirst, for the supply of provisions
was insufficient, and they had no water, because the wells dried up.

" This resistance lasted until the 27th of June. Nana Sahib then
proposed a capitulation." — Page 198.

Vol. 12.

THE MONSOON 209

"Fox! Goumi! it is only seven o'clock!" cried Captain
Hood, as soon as we came to a halt ; " let's take a turn in
the forest before it is quite dark. Will you come with us,
Maucler?"

" My dear Hood," said Banks, before I had time to an-
swer, " you had better not leave the encampment. The
weather looks threatening. Should the storm burst, you
would find some trouble in getting back to us. To-morrow,
if we remain here, you can go."

" But to-morrow it will be daylight again," replied Hood.
" The dark hours are what I want for adventure ! '

" I know that, Hood ; but the night which is coming on
is very unpromising. Still, if you are resolved to go, do
not wander to any distance. In an hour it will be very dark,
and you might have great difficulty in making your way
back to camp."

" Don't be uneasy, Banks ; it is hardly seven o'clock, and
I will only ask the colonel for leave of absence till ten."

" Go, if you wish it, my dear Hood," said Sir Edward,
" but pray attend to the advice Banks has given you."

" All right, colonel." And the captain, with his followers,
Fox and Goumi, all well equipped for the chase, left the
encampment, and quickly disappeared behind the thick trees.

Fatigued by the heat of the day, I remained in camp.

Banks gave orders that the engine fires should not, as
they usually were, be completely extinguished. He wished
to retain the power of quickly getting up steam, in case of
an emergency.

Storr and Kalouth betook themselves to their accustomed
tasks, and attended to the supplies of wood and water; in
doing so they found little difficulty, for a small stream
flowed near our halting-place, and there was no lack of
timber close at hand. M. Parazard diligently labored in
his vocation, and, while putting aside the remains of one
dinner, was busily planning the next.

As the evening continued pleasant, Sir Edward, Banks,
McNeil, and I, went to rest by the borders of the rivulet,
as the flow of its limpid waters refreshed the atmosphere,
which even at this hour was suffocating.

The sinking sun shed a light which tinged with a color
like dark-blue ink a mass of vapor which, through open-
ings in the dense foliage, we could see accumulating in the

V XII Verne

210 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

zenith. These thick, heavily condensed clouds were stirred
by no wind, but appeared to advance with a solemn motion
of their own.

We remained chatting here till about eight o'clock. From
time to time Banks rose to take a more extended view of the
horizon, going toward the borders of the forest, which ab-
ruptly crossed the plain within a quarter of a mile of the
camp. Each time on returning he looked uneasy, and only
shook his head in reply to our questions.

At last we rose and accompanied him. Beneath the ban-
yans it began to be dark already : I could see that an im-
mense plain stretched westward up to a line of indistinct
low hills, which were now almost enveloped in the clouds.
The aspect of the heavens was terrible in its calm. Not a
breath of air stirred the leaves of the highest trees. It was
not the soft repose of slumbering nature, so often sung by
poets, but the dull, heavy sleep of sickness. There was a
restrained tension in the atmosphere, like condensed steam
ready to explode.

And indeed the explosion was imminent. The storm-
clouds were high, as is usually the case over plains, and
presented wide curvilinear outlines, very strongly marked.
They seemed to swell out, and, uniting together, diminished
in number while they increased in size. Evidently, in a
short time, there would be but one dense mass spread over
the sky above us. Small detached clouds at a lower eleva-
tion hurried along, attracting, repelling, and crushing one
against another, then, confusedly joining the general melee,
were lost to view.

About half-past eight a sharp flash of forked lightning
rent the gloom asunder. Sixty-five seconds afterward, a
peal of thunder broke, and the hollow rumbling attendant
to that species of lightning lasted about fifteen seconds.

' Sixteen miles," said Banks, looking at his watch. " That
is almost the greatest distance at which thunder can be
heard. But the storm, once unchained, will travel quickly;
we must not wait for it. Let us go indoors, my friends."

"And what about Captain Hood ? " said Sergeant McNeil.

" The thunder has sounded the recall," replied Banks.
" It is to be hoped he will obey orders."

CHAPTER XII

THREE-FOLD LIGHT

Hindoostan shares with certain parts of Brazil — among
others with Rio Janeiro — the proud distinction of being
more frequently visited by storms than any other country
on the face of the globe.

I consulted the barometer as soon as we reentered our
apartments, and found that there had been a sudden fall
of two inches in the mercurial column. This I pointed out
to Colonel Munro.

" I am uneasy about Hood and his companions," he said.
" A storm is imminent ; night is coming on, and the darkness
rapidly increases. Sportsmen are certain always to go
farther than they say they will, and even than they intend.
How are they to find their way back to us? "

' Madman that he is! " cried Banks; " it was impossible
to make him listen to reason. They never ought to have
gone ! "

" That is true enough, Banks; but gone they are," replied
Sir Edward ; " all we can do now is to try and get them
back."

"Can we signal to them, anyhow?" I asked.

" To be sure we can. I will light the electric lamps at
once. That is a happy thought of yours, Maucler."

" Shall I go in search of Captain Hood, sir? " inquired
McNeil.

' No, my old friend," replied the colonel. " You would
not find him, and would be lost yourself."

Banks connected the electric current, and very soon
Behemoth's eyes, like two blazing beacons, shot glaring light
athwart the gloom of the banyan forest. It seemed certain
that it would be visible to our sportsmen at a considerable
distance.

At this moment a hurricane of great violence burst forth,
rending the tree-tops, and sounding among the columns of
banyan as though rushing through sonorous organ-pipes. It
was indeed a sudden outburst. Showers of leaves and dead
branches strewed the ground and rattled upon the roofs of
our carriages.

We closed every window; but the rain did not yet fall.
" It is a species of typhoon," remarked Banks.

211

212 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

"Storr!' cried Banks to the engine-driver, "are the
embrasures of the turret well closed? "

" Yes, Mr. Banks : there is nothing to fear there."

"Where is Kalouth?"

" He is stowing away the last of the fuel in the
tender."

" After this storm we shall only have to collect the wood.
The wind is playing wood-cutter, and sparing us all the
hard work," said the engineer. " Keep up the pressure,
Storr, and get under shelter."

" Ay, ay, sir."

" Are your tanks filled, Kalouth? "

" Yes, sahib ; the water-supply is made up."

" Well, come in, come in."

And the engine-driver and stoker hastened into the sec-
ond carriage.

Flashes of lightning were now frequent, and thunder
from the electric clouds kept up a sullen roar. The wind
blew like scorching blasts from the mouth of a furnace.
Occasionally we left the saloon, and went into the veranda.
Gazing upward at the lofty summits of the stately banyans,
the branches showed like fine black lace against the glowing
background of the illumined sky. The incessant lightning
was followed so rapidly by the peals of thunder, that the
echoes had not time to die away ; they were continually
aroused by new and yet louder explosions. A deep, con-
tinuous roll was maintained, and only broken by those sharp
detonations so well compared by Lucretius to the harsh
screaming sound of paper when it is torn.

" I wonder the storm has not yet driven them in," said
Colonel Munro.

" Perhaps Captain Hood has found some shelter in the
forest," answered Sergeant McNeil. " He may be waiting
in some cave or hollow tree, and will rejoin us in the morn-
ing. The camp will be here all right."

Banks shook his head somewhat doubtfully; he did not
seem to share McNeil's opinion.

It was now about nine o'clock, and the rain began to fall
with great force. It was mingled with enormous hailstones,
and they pelted on the hollow roofs of Steam House with
a noise like the roll of many drums. Even without the roar
of the thunder, it was impossible to hear our own voices.

THREE-FOLD LIGHT 213

iThe air was full of the leaves of trees, whirling in all
directions.

Banks did not attempt to speak, but pointed to the engine,
directing our attention to the hailstones as they struck the
metal sides of Behemoth. It was marvelous! Each stone
struck fire in the contact, like flint and steel. It seemed as
though showers of fiery metallic drops fell from the clouds,
sending forth sparks as they struck the steel-plated engine.
This proved how completely the atmosphere was saturated
with electricity. Fulminating matter traversed it incessantly,
till all space seemed to blaze with fire.

Banks signed to us to return to the saloon, and closed the
veranda door. The darkness within the room contrasted
strongly with the lightning which flashed without. We had
presently a proof that we were ourselves strongly charged
with the electric fluid, when, to our infinite astonishment,
we perceived our saliva to be luminous. This phenomenon,
rarely observed, and very alarming when it is so, has been
described as " spitting fire."

The tumult of the heavens seemed every instant to in-
crease, and the stoutest hearts beat thick and fast.

" And the others ! " said Colonel Munro.

" Ah, yes, indeed — the others ! " returned Banks.

We were horribly uneasy, yet could do nothing whatever
to assist Captain Hood and his companions, who were of
course in the utmost danger.

Even supposing they had found shelter, it could only be
beneath trees, where accidents during storms are most im-
minent; and in the middle of a dense forest, how could
they possibly maintain the distance of five or six yards
from a vertical line, drawn from the extremity of the
longest branches, which persons caught by storms in
the neighborhood of trees are scientifically advised to
do?

As these thoughts rushed through my mind, a peal of
thunder, louder than any we had heard, burst directly over
us. Steam House trembled throughout, and seemed to rise
on its springs. I expected it to be overturned.

At the same time a strong odor filled the room — the pene-
trating smell of nitrous vapors.

"A thunderbolt has fallen!" said McNeil.

"Storr! Kalouth! Parazard!" shouted Banks.

214 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

The three men came running into our apartment, while
the engineer stepped out on the balcony.

" There ! — look there ! " he cried. An enormous banyan
had been struck ten paces off, on the left of the road.

We could see everything distinctly by the glare of inces-
sant lightning. The immense trunk had fallen across the
neighboring trees, its sturdy saplings no longer able to sus-
tain it. The whole length of its bark had been peeled off,
and one long strip was waving about and lashing the air, as
the force of the gale made it twist and twine like a serpent.
It was seen that the bark must have been stripped off from
base to summit, under the influence of electricity which had
violently rushed upward.

" A narrow escape for Steam House," said the engineer.
" We must remain here ; we are safer than under those
trees."

As he spoke we heard cries. Could it be our friends re-
turning?

" It is Parazard's voice," said Storr.

It was indeed the cook, who, from the hinder balcony,
was loudly calling to us. We hastened to join him.

What a sight met our eyes ! Within a hundred yards of
us, behind, and to the right of, the camp, the banyan forest
was on fire!

Already the loftier tree-tops were disappearing behind a
curtain of flame.

The conflagration advanced fiercely and with incredible
velocity toward Steam House. The danger was imminent.
The heat and long continuous drought had combined to
make trees, grass, and bushes so dry and combustible that it
was probable the entire forest would be devoured by the
furious element.

As we witnessed its rapid spread and advance, we were
convinced that, should it reach the place of our encamp-
ment, our entire equipage would, in a very few minutes, be
destroyed.

We stood silent before this fearful danger.

Then, folding his arms, the colonel said quietly, " Banks,
you must get us out of this scrape."

" Yes, I must, Munro," replied the engineer ; " and since
we cannot possibly put out this fire, we must run away
from it."

THREE-FOLD LIGHT 215

"On foot?" exclaimed I.

" No; with our train all complete."

" And Captain Hood, sir? " said McNeil.

" We can do nothing for them. If they are not here
immediately, we shall start without them."

" We must not abandon them," said the colonel.

" My dear Munro, let me get the train out of reach of
the fire, and then we can search for them."

" Go on, then, Banks," replied Colonel Munro, who saw
that the engineer was in the right.

"Storr!" cried Banks, "to your engine at once! Ka-
louth! to your furnace — get the steam up! What pressure
have we ? "

" Two atmospheres," answered the engine-driver.

" Within ten minutes we must have four ! Look sharp,
my lads ! "

The men did not lose a moment. Torrents of black smoke
gushed from the elephant's trunk, meeting, and seeming to
defy, the torrents of rain. Behemoth replied with whirling
clouds of sparks to the vivid flashes which surrounded him ;
and draughts of air, whistling through the funnel, acceler-
ated the combustion of the wood which Kalouth heaped
and piled on his furnace.

Sir Edward Munro, Banks, and I remained on the ver-
anda in rear of the carriages, watching the progress of the
forest-fire. Huge trees tottered and fell across this vast
hearth; the branches cracked and crackled like musketry;
the burning creepers twisted in all directions, and led the
flames from tree to tree, thus spreading the devastation right
and left.

Within five minutes the conflagration had advanced fifty
yards, and the flames, torn and disheveled by the gale, shot
upward to such a height that the lightning flashes pierced
them in all directions.

" We must be off in five minutes," said Banks.

" At what a pace this fire goes ! " I replied.

"We shall go faster!"

"If only Hood and his men were back!" said Sir
Edward.

" The whistle !— sound the whistle ! " cried Banks ; " they
may, perhaps, hear that."

And darting into the turret, he made the air resound with

216 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

shrill screams, which were heard above the rumbling thun-
der, and must have sounded to an immense distance. The
situation can better be imagined than described. Necessity
urged to immediate flight, while it seemed impossible to for-
sake our absent friends.

Banks returned to the hinder balcony. The edge of the
fire was less than fifty yards from Steam House. The heat
became insufferable; we could scarcely breathe the burning
air. Flakes of fire fell on the carriages, which seemed pro-
tected in a measure by the floods and torrents of rain; but
these, we well knew, could not check the direct attack of
the flames.

The engine continued to send forth piercing shrieks. It
was all in vain. There were no signs of either Hood, Fox,
or Goumi.

The engine-driver came to Banks, "Steam is up, sir!"

" Go on, then, Storr ! " replied Banks, " but not too fast.
Just quick enough to keep up beyond the reach of the fire."

" Stop, Banks ! wait a few minutes ! " cried Colonel
Munro, who could not bring himself to quit the spot.

1 Three minutes, then, Munro," returned Banks coolly.
' But in three minutes the back of the train will begin to
burn."

Two minutes passed. It was impossible to stay in the
veranda. The iron plating could not be touched, and began
to burst open at the joints. It would be madness to stop
another instant.

"Goon, Storr!"

" Hallo ! " exclaimed the sergeant.
[ There they are ! God be praised ! " said the colonel.

To the right of the road appeared Captain Hood and Fox,
supporting Goumi in their arms as they approached the car-
riage door.

"Is he dead?"
No; but struck by lightning, which smashed his gun,
and has paralyzed his left leg."

' We should never have got back to camp but for your
steam whistle, Banks ! " said Hood.

" Forward ! forward ! " shouted the engineer.

Hood and Fox sprang on board the train, and Goumi,
who had not lost consciousness, was placed in his cabin.

It was half -past ten — Banks and Storr went into the tur-

THREE-FOLD LIGHT 217

ret, and the equipage moved steadily forward, amid the
blaze of a three-fold light, produced by the burning forest,
the electric lamps, and the vivid lightning flashing from the
skies.

Then Captain Hood in a few words related what had
happened during his excursion. They had seen no traces
of any wild animals. As the storm approached, darkness
overtook them much more rapidly than they expected. They
were three miles from camp when they heard the first thun-
der-clap, and endeavored to return, but quickly found they
had lost their way among the banyan trunks, all exactly
alike, and without a path in any direction whatever.

The tempest increased in violence ; they were far beyond
the limits of the light diffused by our electric lamp, and had
nothing to guide them as to our whereabouts, while the rain
and hail fell in torrents, quickly penetrating the shelter of
the leafy screen above them.

Suddenly, with a glare of intensely brilliant lightning, a
burst of thunder broke over them, and Goumi fell prostrate
at Captain Hood's feet; the butt-end of his gun alone re-
mained in his hand, for it was instantaneously stripped of
every bit of metal. They believed him to be killed, but
found that the electric fluid had not struck him directlv,
although his leg was paralyzed by the shock. Poor Goumi
could not walk a step, and had to be carried. His com-
panions would not listen to his entreaties that they would
leave him, escape themselves, and, if possible, return after-
ward to fetch him. They raised him between them, and, as
best they could, pursued their doubtful way through the
dark forest.

Thus for two hours they wandered about, hesitating,
stopping, resuming their march, without the slightest clue to
the direction in which to find the camp.

At last, to their infinite joy, they heard the shriek of the
steam whistle. It was the welcome voice of Behemoth.

A quarter of an hour afterward they arrived, as we were
on the point of quitting the halting-place, and only just in
time!

And now, though the train ran rapidly along the broad,
smooth forest-road, the fire kept pace with it, and the dan-
ger was rendered the more threatening by a change of wind,
such as frequently occurs during these violent meteoric

218 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

storms. Instead of blowing in flank, it now changed to the
rear, and by its vehemence materially increased the advance
of the flames, which perceptibly gained on the travelers. A
cloud of hot ashes whirled upward from the ground, as
from the mouth of some crater ; and into this rained down-
ward burning branches and flakes of fire. The conflagra-
tion really resembled, more than anything else, the advance
of a stream of lava, rushing across the country, and de-
stroying everything in its course.

Banks instantly perceived this, and, even if he had not,
he would have felt the scorching blast as it swept by.

Our speed was increased, although some danger attended
the doing so over an unknown path. The machine, how-
ever, would not proceed as fast as the engineer could have
wished, owing to the road being so cut up and flooded by
rain.

About half-past eleven another awful clap of thunder
burst directly over our heads. A cry escaped us. We
feared that Banks and Storr had both been struck in their
howdah, from which they were guiding the train.

This calamity, however, had not befallen us. Our ele-
phant only had been struck, the tip of one of his long,
hanging ears having attracted the electric current. No
damage resulted to the machine fortunately, and Behemoth
seemed to try to reply to the peals of thunder by renewed
and vigorous trumpetings.

" Hurrah ! " cried Captain Hood. " Hurrah ! An ele-
phant of flesh and blood would have been done for by this
time. But this old fellow braves thunder and lightning, and
sticks at nothing. Go it, Behemoth; hurrah! "

For another half hour the train was still ahead. Banks,
fearing to run it against some obstacle, only proceeded at
a rate sufficient to keep us out of reach of the fire.

From the veranda, in which Colonel Munro, Hood, and
I had placed ourselves, we could see passing, great shadows,
bounding through the blaze of the fire and lightning. We
soon discovered them to be those of wild animals.

As a precautionary measure, Captain Hood kept his gun
ready, for it was possible that some terrified beast might
leap on our train, in search of a shelter or refuge.

One huge tiger did indeed make the attempt, but in his
prodigious spring he was caught by the neck between two

THREE-FOLD LIGHT 219

branches of a banyan-tree, which, bending under the storm,
acted like great cords, and strangled the animal. " Poor
beast ! " said Fox.

; These creatures," remarked Captain Hood, in an indig-
nant manner, " are made to be killed by good, honest shot.
You may well say poor beast."

Poor Captain Hood was indeed out of luck. When he
wanted tigers, he couldn't find them; and now, when he
was not looking for them, they passed within range, without
his being able to get a shot at them, or were strangled before
his eyes, like mice in a trap.

At one in the morning, our situation, dangerous as it had
been before, became worse. The wind, which shifted about
from one point of the compass to another, continually swept
the fire across the road in front of us, so that now we were
absolutely hemmed in.

The storm, however, had much diminished in violence, as
is invariably the case when these pass above a forest, for
there the trees gradually draw off and absorb the electric
matter. But though the lightning and thunder were now
less frequent, and though the rain fell with gentler force,
yet the wind still roared with inconceivable fury.

At any cost it was absolutely necessary to hasten on,
even at the risk of running into an obstacle, or of dashing
over a precipice.

Banks directed our course with astonishing coolness, his
eyes glued to the glass of the howdah, his hand ever on the
regulator. Our way now led between two hedges of fire,
and these we were forced to go through. On went Banks,
resolutely and steadily, at the rate of five or six miles an
hour.

I thought at last we should be obliged to stop, when
before us lay a narrow passage, only fifty yards wide, with
a roaring furnace on either side. Our wheels crunched over
the glowing cinders, which strewed the soil, and a burning,
stifling atmosphere enveloped us.

We were past !

At two in the morning a flash of lightning revealed to us
the borders of the wood. Behind us lay a vast panorama
of flames, which would spread on, and never stop until they
had devoured the very last banyan of the immense forest.

At daybreak we halted at last; the storm had entirely

220 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

ceased, and we arranged our camp. Our elephant, who was
carefully examined, was found to have the tip of his right
ear pierced by several holes running in diverse directions.
If such a thing had happened to any other creature than an
animal of steel, it would most certainly have at once sunk
down, never again to rise, and our unfortunate train would
then have been rapidly overwhelmed by the advancing
flames.

At six that morning, after a very short rest, we again
resumed our journey, and by twelve o'clock we were en-
camped in the neighborhood of Rewah.

CHAPTER XIII

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS

The remainder of the day and the next night were quietly
spent in camp. After all our fatigue and danger, this rest
was well earned.

We had no longer before us the rich plains of the king-
dom of Oude. Steam House had now to pass through
Rohilkund, a fertile territory, though much cut up by
nullahs, or ravines. Bareilly is the capital of this province,
which is one hundred and fifty-five miles square, well
watered by the numerous affluents or tributaries of the
Cogra; here and there are many groups of magnificent
mango-trees, as well as thick jungles, which latter are grad-
ually disappearing as cultivation advances.

After the taking of Delhi, this was the center of the in-
surrection ; Sir Colin Campbell conducted one of his cam-
paigns here. Here, too, Brigadier Walpole's column was not
at the outset very fortunate, and here, also, fell a friend of
Sir Edward Munro, the colonel of the 93d Highlanders,
who had so distinguished himself in the two assaults on
Lucknow, during the affair of the 14th of April.

We could not have had a country better suited for the
advance of our train than this. Beautiful level roads, easily
crossed streams, running from the two more important
arteries, descending from the north, all united to render this
part of our journey pleasant. In a short time we should
come to the first rising ground which connected the plain
with the mountains of Nepaul.

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS 221

We had, however, to think seriously of the rainy season.

The monsoon, which is prevalent from the northeast to
the southwest during the first months of the year, is now
reversed. The rainy season is more violent on the coast
than in the interior of the peninsula, and also a little later;
the reason being that the clouds are exhausted before reach-
ing the center of India. Besides this, their direction is
somewhat altered by the barrier of high mountains which
form a sort of atmospheric eddy. On the coast of Malabar
the monsoon begins in the month of May ; in the central and
northern provinces, it is felt some weeks later on, in June.
We were now in June, and our journey was henceforward
to be performed under new though well-foreseen circum-
stances.

I should have said before that honest Goumi, who had
been disarmed by the lightning in such an untoward manner,
was nearly well again by the next day. The paralysis of his
left leg was merely temporary. Soon not a trace of his
accident remained, but it seemed to me he always bore
rather a grudge against that storm.

On both the 6th and 7th of June, Captain Hood, aided
by Fan and Niger, had better sport. He killed a couple of
those antelopes called nylghaus. They are the blue oxen of
the Hindoos, though it is certainly more correct to call them
deer, since they have a greater resemblance to that animal.

These were not the wild beasts Captain Hood hoped for ;
but all the same, the nylghau, though not actually ferocious,
is dangerous; for when slightly wounded, it turns on the
hunter.

A shot from the captain, and a second from Fox, stopped
short both of these superb creatures, killed, as it were, on
the wing ; and indeed Fox seemed to look on them as nothing
higher than feathered game.

Monsieur Parazard, fortunately, was quite of another
opinion, and the excellent haunch, cooked to a turn, which
he served up to us that day at dinner, brought us all over
to his side.

At daybreak on the 8th of June we left an encampment
we had made near a little village in Rohilkund. We had
arrived at it the evening before, after traversing the twenty-
five miles which lay between it and Rewah. Our train could
only go at a very moderate pace over the heavy ground

222 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

caused by the rains. Besides this, the streams began to
swell, and fording several delayed us some hours. After
all we had not now so very far to go. We were sure of
reaching the mountainous region before the end of June.
There we intended to install Steam House for several of the
summer months, as if in the midst of a sanitorium. We
had nothing to make us uneasy in that respect.

On the 8th of June Captain Hood missed a fine oppor-
tunity for a shot. The road was bordered by a thick bam-
boo jungle, as is often the case near villages, which look
as if built in a basket of flowers. This was not as yet the
true jungle, for that, in the Hindoo sense, applies to the
rugged, bare, and sterile plain, dotted with lines of gray
bushes. We, on the contrary, were in a cultivated country,
in the midst of a fertile territory, covered in most places
with marshy rice-grounds.

Behemoth went quietly along, guided by Storr's hand,
and emitting graceful, feathery clouds of vapor, which
curled away and dispersed among the bamboos at the road-
side.

All at once, out leaped an animal with the most wonder-
ful agility, and fastened on our elephant's neck.

" A cheetah ! a cheetah ! " shouted the engine-driver.

At this cry, Captain Hood darted out to the balcony, and
seized his gun, always ready and always at hand.

" A cheetah! " exclaimd he in his turn.

"Fire, then!" cried I.

: Time enough ! ' returned the captain, who contented
himself with merely taking a good aim at the animal.

The cheetah is a species of leopard peculiar to India, not
so large as the tiger, but almost as formidable, it is so
active, supple, and strong.

Colonel Munro, Banks, and I stood out on the veranda,
watching with interest for the captain to fire.

The leopard had evidently been deceived by the sight of
our elephant. He had boldly sprung at him, expecting to
bury his teeth and claws in living flesh, but instead of that,
met with an iron skin, on which neither teeth nor claws
could make any impression. Furious at his discomfiture,
he clung to the long ears of the artificial animal, and was
no doubt preparing to bound off again when he caught sight
of us.

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS 223

Captain Hood kept his gun pointed, after the manner of
a hunter who is sure of his aim, but does not wish to fire
until he is certain he can hit a vital part.

The cheetah drew itself up, roaring savagely. It no
doubt knew of its danger, but did not attempt to escape.
Perhaps it watchd for an opportunity to spring on to the
veranda.

Indeed, we soon saw it climbing up the elephant's head,
to the trunk or chimney, and almost to the opening out of
which puffed jets of vapor.

" Now fire, Hood ! " said I again.

" There's time enough," answered the captain. Then,
without taking his eyes off the leopard, who still gazed at
us, he addressed himself to me. " Did you ever kill a
cheetah, Maucler? " he asked.

" Never."

" Would you like to kill one? "

" Captain," I replied, " I should not like to deprive you
of this magnificent shot "

" Pooh! " returned Hood, " it's nothing of a shot Take
a gun and aim just below the beast's shoulder! If you
miss, I shall catch him as he springs."

" Be it so, then."

Fox, who had joined us, put a double-barreled gun into
my hands. I took it, cocked it, aimed just below the
leopard's shoulder, and fired.

The animal, wounded, though but slightly, took an
enormous bound, right over the driver's howdah, and
alighted on the first roof of Steam House.

Skilled sportsman as Captain Hood was, even he had not
time to fire. " Here Fox, after me ! " he shouted.

And the two, darting out of the veranda, hastened up into
the howdah.

The leopard immediately sprang on to the second roof,
clearing the foot-bridge at a bound.

The captain was on the point of firing, but another des-
perate leap carried the animal off the roof, and landed him
at the side of the road, when he instantly disappeared in
the jungle.

" Stop! stop! " cried Banks, to the engineer, who, apply-
ing the atmospheric brakes, brought the train to an instant
standstill.

224 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

The captain and Fox leaped out and ran into the thicket,
in hopes of finding the cheetah.

A few minutes passed. We listened somewhat impa-
tiently. No shot was fired, and very soon the two hunters
returned empty handed.

" Disappeared ! Got clear off ! " called out Captain Hood ;
" and not even a trace of blood on the grass ! ':

" It was my fault," said I. " It would have been better
if you had fired at the cheetah yourself. You wouldn't
have missed ! "

" Nonsense," returned Hood, " you hit him, I'm certain,
though not in a good place."

" The beast wasn't fated to be my thirty-ninth, nor your
forty-first, captain," remarked Fox, much out of coun-
tenance.

" Rubbish," said Hood, in a somewhat affected tone of
indifference, "a cheetah isn't a tiger? If it had been, my
dear Maucler, I couldn't have made up my mind to yield
that shot to you ! "

" Come to table, my friends," said Colonel Munro.
" Breakfast is ready, and will console you "

" I hope it may," put in McNeil ; " but it was all Fox's
fault!"

" My fault ? " said the man, quite nonplussed by this un-
expected observation.

" Certainly, Fox," returned the sergeant. " The gun you
handed to Mr. Maucler was only loaded with number six ! ''
And McNeil held out the second cartridge which he had
just withdrawn, to prove his words.

" Fox ! " said Captain Hood.

" Yes, sir."

" A couple of days under arrest ! "

" Yes, captain." And Fox retired into his cabin, resolved
not to appear again for forty-eight hours. He was quite
ashamed of himself, and wished to hide his disgraced head.

The next day Captain Hood, Goumi, and I went off to
beat about the plain at the side of the road, and thus to spend
the half day's halt which Banks allowed us. It rained all
the morning, but about midday the sky cleared, and we
hoped for a few hours of fine weather.

I must mention that it was not Hood, the hunter of wild
beasts, who took me out this time, but the sportsman in

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS 225

search of game. In the interests of the table, he intended
to stroll quietly about the rice-fields, accompanied by Fan
and Niger.

Monsieur Parazard had hinted to the captain that his
larder was empty, and that he expected his honor to take
the necessary measures to fill it again. Captain Hood re-
signed himself, and we set out. For two hours our battue
had no other result than to put up a few partridges, or
scare away a few hares ; but all at such a distance that,
notwithstanding our good dogs, we had no chance of hitting
them.

Captain Hood became utterly disgusted. In this vast
plain, without jungles, or thickets, and dotted with villages
and farms, he had no great hopes of meeting with any sort
of wild beast, which would make amends for the loss of the
leopard the preceding day. He had only come out now
in the character of a purveyor, and thought of the reception
Monsieur Parazard would give him if he returned with an
empty bag. It was not our fault that even by four o'clock
we had not had occasion to fire a single shot. A dry wind
blew, and, as I said, all the game rose out of range.

"My dear fellow," said Hood, "this won't do at all.
When we left Calcutta, I promised you such grand sport;
and all this time, bad luck, fatality, I don't know what to
call it, nor how to understand it, has prevented me from
keeping my promise ! "

" Come, captain," I replied, " you mustn't despair.
Though I do regret it, it is more on your account than my
own! We shall have better luck, no doubt, on the hills! "

" Yes," said Hood, " on the Himalayan slopes we shall
set to work under more favorable conditions. You see,
Maucler, I'd wager anything that our train, with all its
apparatus, its steam and its roaring, and especially the
gigantic elephant, terrifies the confounded brutes much more
than a railway train would do, and that's the reason we
don't see anything of them when traveling! When we halt,
we must hope to be more lucky. That leopard was a fool !
He must have been starving when he sprang on Behemoth,
and he was worthy of being killed outright by a good shot !
Hang that fellow Fox! I sha'n't forget that little job of
his in a hurry! What time is it now? "

"Nearly five o'clock!"

V XII Vera*

226 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" Five already, and we haven't bagged a thing! "

" They won't expect us back in camp till seven. Perhaps
by that time "

" No ; luck is against us ! " exclaimed the captain ; " and,
look you, luck is the half of success! "

" Perseverance, too," I answered. " Suppose we agree
that we won't go back empty-handed! Will that suit
you?"

" Suit me? of course it will! "

" Agreed, then."

" Look here, Maucler, I shall carry back a mouse or a
squirrel, rather than be foresworn."

Hood, Goumi, and I were now in a frame of mind to
attack anything. The chase was continued with a persever-
ance worthy of a better cause ; but it seemed as if even the
most inoffensive birds had become aware of our hostile
intentions. We couldn't get near a single one.

We roamed about thus among the rice-fields, beating first
one side of the road and then the other, and turning back
again, so as not to get too far from the camp. All was
useless. Half past six, and we had not had to reload our
guns. We might as well have had walking-sticks in our
hands, the results would have been all the same.

I glanced at Captain Hood. He was marching along
with his teeth set, while a deep frown on his brow betrayed
his angry feelings. Between his compressed lips he mut-
tered I don't know what vain menaces against every living
creature whether feathered or furred of which there was
not a specimen on the plain. He probably would soon fire
his gun at the first object which met his eye, a tree or rock,
may be — rather a cynical way of getting rid of his anger.
It was easy to see his weapon burned his fingers, as it were,
from the way he shifted it about, now to his shoulder, then
to his arm, now again carrying it in his hand.

Goumi looked at him. " The captain will be in a passion
if this goes on! " he said to me, shaking his head.

" Yes," I replied, " I'd willingly give thirty shillings for
the most modest little tame pigeon, if some charitable hand
would let it go within range ! It would appease him ! '

But neither for thirty shillings, nor for double, or triple
that amount, could we procure even the cheapest or the
most common of fowl. The country seemed deserted, and

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS 227

we saw neither farm nor village. Indeed if it had been pos-
sible, I believe I should have sent Goumi to buy at any
price some bird or other, if only a plucked chicken; any-
thing to set our fretful captain free from his vow.

Night was coming on. In an hour's time there would
not be light enough for us to continue our fruitless expedi-
tion. Although we had agreed not to return to camp with-
out something, yet we should be forced to do so, unless we
meant to stay out all night. Not only did it threaten rain,
but Colonel Munro and Banks would be seriously alarmed
if we did not reappear.

Captain Hood, with straining eyeballs, glancing from
right to left with birdlike quickness, walked ten paces
ahead in an opposite direction to that of Steam House.

I was thinking of hastening my steps so as to rejoin him
and beg him not to continue this struggle against ill-luck,
when a whirr of wings was heard on my right. I looked
toward the spot.

A dark mass was rising slowly above a thicket.

Instantly, without giving Captain Hood time to turn
round, I leveled my gun, and fired both barrels successively.
The unknown bird fell heavily.

Fan sprang forward, seized and brought it to the captain.

" At last ! " exclaimed Hood. " If Monsieur Parazard
isn't contented with this, he must be shoved into his pot
himself, head first."

" But is it an edible bird? " I asked.

" Certainly, for want of anything better! " answered the
captain.

"It was lucky nobody saw you, Mr. Maucler!': said
Goumi.

" What have I done wrong? "

" Why, you have killed a peacock, and that is forbidden,
for they are sacred birds all over India."

" The fiend fly away with sacred birds and those who
made them sacred, too ! " exclaimed Captain Hood impa-
tiently. " This one is killed at all events, and we shall eat
him — devoutly if you like, but devour him somehow! '

Since the expedition of Alexander into this peninsula, the
peacock has been a sacred animal in the Brahmins' country.
The Hindoos make it the emblem of the goddess Saravasti,
who presides over births and marriages. To destroy this

228 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

bird is forbidden under pain of punishment, which the Eng-
lish law has confirmed.

This one, which so rejoiced Captain Hood's heart, was
a magnificent specimen, with green metallic gleaming wings,
edged with gold. His beautifully marked tail formed a
superb fan of silky feathers.

" All right ; forward ! " said the captain.
' To-morrow, Monsieur Parazard will give us peacock
for dinner, in spite of what all the Brahmins in India may
think! Although, when cooked, this bird will indeed only
look like a somewhat pretentious chicken, yet with its feath-
ers artistically arranged, it will have a fine effect on our
table!"

" Then you are satisfied, captain ? "

' Satisfied — with you, yes, my dear fellow, but not pleased
with myself at all ! My bad luck isn't over yet, and I must
do away with it. Come along! "

Off we started to retrace our steps to the camp, now
about three miles distant. Captain Hood and I walked
close together along a winding path through thick bamboo
jungles; Goumi, carrying our game, bringing up the rear.
The sun had not yet disappeared, but it was shrouded in
great clouds, so that we had to find our way through semi-
obscurity.

All at once a terrific roar burst from a thicket on our
right. The sound was to me so awful that I stopped short,
almost in spite of myself.

Captain Hood grasped my hand. "A tiger!" he said.

Then an oath escaped him. "Thunder and lightning! "
he exclaimed, " there is only small shot in our guns! "

It was too true ; neither Hood, Goumi, nor I, had any ball
cartridges.

Besides, if we had, we should not have had time to re-
load. Ten seconds after uttering his first roar, the animal
leaped from the covert with a single bound, and landed on
the road twenty paces from us. It was a magnificent tiger,
what the Hindoos would have called a man-eater, his annual
victims might no doubt be counted by hundreds.

The situation was terrible. I gazed at the tiger, and must
confess that my gun trembled in my hand. He measured
from nine to ten feet in length, and was of a tawny color,
striped with black and white.

CAPTAIN HOOD'S PROWESS 229

He stared back at us, his catlike eyes blazing in the
shadow. His tail feverishly lashed his sides. He crouched
as if about to spring.

Hood had not lost his presence of mind. He took a care-
ful aim at the animal, muttering in a tone which it is im-
possible to describe, " Number six ! To fire at a tiger with
number six! If I don't hit him right in the eyes, we
are "

The captain had not time to finish. The tiger advanced
not by leaps, but slow steps.

Goumi crouched behind us, and also took aim, though his
gun, too, only contained small shot. As to mine, it was
not even loaded. I prepared to do this now.

' Not a movement, not a sound ! " muttered the captain.
" The tiger will spring, and that will never do ! '

We all three remained motionless. The tiger advanced
slowly, his eyes glaring fixedly, and his great jaws held
almost level with the ground. The brute was now only ten
paces from the captain.

Hood stood firm, steady as a statue, concentrating his
whole life in his gaze. The terrible struggle which was
about to take place, and which might leave none of us alive,
did not even make his heart beat more rapidly than usual.
I thought the tiger was about to make his spring. He took
five steps. I had need of all my self-control to keep from
calling out, " Fire, Hood ! now fire ! "

No ! The captain had said — and it was evidently his only
chance — that he meant to blind the animal ; and to do that
he must be very close before he fired. The tiger came three
paces nearer, and prepared to spring —

A loud report was heard, almost immediately followed by
a second. The second explosion seemed to have taken
place in the very body of the animal, which, after two or
three starts and roars of pain, fell dead on the ground.

" Wonderful ! " exclaimed Captain Hood, " my gun was
loaded with ball after all, and what's more, with an ex-
plosive ball ! Ah, thanks, Fox, this time many thanks ! "

" Is it possible? " I cried.

" Look for yourself." And as he spoke the captain drew
out the cartridge from the other barrel. There was the ball.

All was explained. Captain Hood possessed a double-
barrelled rifle and a double-barrelled gun, both of the same

230 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

caliber. Now, when Fox made the mistake of loading the
rifle with small shot, he at the same time put explosive ball
cartridges into the other. The day before, this mistake
saved the life of the leopard, to-day it saved ours!

" Yes," remarked Hood, " and never in my life have I
been nearer death ! "

Half an hour afterward, when we were safe back in
camp, Hood called up Fox and told him what had hap-
pened.

" Captain," returned the man, " that proves that instead
of two days in confinement, I deserved four, because I made
a mistake twice ! "

" That is my opinion," replied his master ; " but since
through your mistake I have bagged my forty-first, it is
also my opinion that I should offer you this sovereign "

" And mine that I should take it," answered Fox, pocket-
ing the piece of gold.

Such were the incidents which marked Captain Hood's
encounter with his forty-first tiger.

In the evening of the 12th of June, our train came to a
halt near a small village of no importance, and the next day
we set out to begin the ninety miles which still lay between
us and the mountains of Nepaul.

CHAPTER XIV

ONE AGAINST THREE

Some days passed away, and we had at last commenced
to ascend the first slopes of those northern regions of India,
which, from rising ground to rising ground, from hill to
hill, from mountain to mountain, at last attain to the highest
altitude on the globe. Till then we had been rising, but so
imperceptibly that Behemoth did not even appear to per-
ceive it.

The weather was stormy and rainy, but the temperature
was supportable. The roads were not yet bad, and heavy
as the train was, it passed easily over them.

When too large a rut opened before us, Storr just touched
the regulator, and a stronger press of the obedient fluid
was enough to take us over the obstacle. The machine, as
I said, had plenty of power, and a quarter of a turn given

ONE AGAINST THREE 231

to the supply valves instantly added immensely to its
strength.

As yet, we never had reason but to congratulate ourselves
on this species of locomotion, as well as on the engine Banks
had invented. Our rolling house was perfectly comfortable,
and before our eyes we had always a fresh and ever-chang-
ing landscape.

The vast plain which extends from the valley of the
Ganges into the territories of Oude and Rohilkund was
ended. The north was framed in by the summits of the
Himalayas, against which were swept the clouds driven by
the southwest wind. It was impossible as yet to get a good
view of the picturesque outline of this lofty chain; but on
approaching the Thibetian frontier, the aspect of the country
became more wild, and the jungle increased at the expense
of cultivated ground.

On the 17th of June our camp was made near a serai —
or traveler's bungalow. The weather was rather brighter,
and Behemoth, who had been worked hard for the last
four days, required, if not rest, at any rate some attention.
It was therefore agreed that the rest of the day and the
following night should be passed in this spot.

The serai or caravanserai, the inn to be found on all the
high roads, is a quadrangle of low buildings, surrounding
an inner court, and usually surmounted by a tower at each
corner, giving it quite an oriental appearance. The at-
tendants in the serai consist of the bhisti, or water-carrier,
the cook, who does well enough for travelers who can con-
tent themselves with eggs and chickens, and the khansama,
or provider of provisions, with whom you must treat, and
whose prices are low enough generally.

The keeper of the serai is simply an agent of the Honor-
able Company, to whom the greater number of these estab-
lishments belong, and they are inspected occasionally by the
engineer-in-chief of the district.

A strange but strictly kept rule is in force in these bun-
galows : a traveler may occupy the serai for four-and-twenty
hours, unquestioned, but in the event of his wishing to stay
longer, he must get a permit from the inspector. Without
this authorization the next comer, whether English or Hin-
doo, may turn him out.

It is needless to say that on our arrival at our halting-

232 THE DEMON OF CAWNPOR&

place Behemoth produced the usual sensation, that is to say,
he was very much stared at, and perhaps very much coveted.
I must say, though, that the actual guests in the serai looked
at him with somewhat of disdain, disdain too affected to
be real.

These people, however, were not simple mortals, travel-
ing on business or pleasure. Here was nothing less than
the Prince Gourou Singh, in person, son of an independent
rajah of Guzarate, and a rajah himself, traveling with great
pomp in the north of the Indian peninsula.

This prince not only occupied the three or four rooms in
the bungalow, but also all the neighborhood, which had been
arranged so as to lodge the people of his suite.

I had never before seen a traveling rajah; so as soon as
our camp had been settled at about a quarter of a mile from
the serai, in a charming spot beside a stream and under
magnificent trees, I went, in company with Captain Hood
and Banks, to visit the encampment of Prince Gourou Singh.
The son of a rajah who wishes to travel, cannot travel alone,
that is evident ! If there are any people in the world whom
I have not the slightest inclination to envy, they are those
who can't move hand or foot, without putting in motion
at least a hundred people! Far better to be the simplest
pedestrian, with knapsack on back, stick in hand, and gun
on shoulder, than an Indian prince traveling with all the
ceremonial which his rank requires.

" You can't call it a man going from one town to an-
other," said Banks to me; " it's a whole village altering its
geographical relations ! "

" I like Steam House far better," I answered, " and I
would not change with this rajah's son for anything! "

" Who knows," said Captain Hood, " whether this prince
may not prefer our rolling house to all his large and cum-
bersome equipage ! "

" There will be only one answer to make to that," cried
Banks, " though I shall have no objection to build him a
steam palace, provided he gives a good price! But while
awaiting his summons, let us look around the camp, it is
worth the trouble."

The prince's suite consisted of not less than five hundred
persons. Under the great trees stood two hundred chariots,
symmetrically arranged, like the tents of a vast camp. Some

ONE AGAINST THREE 233

had zebras to draw them, others buffaloes, and besides these,
there were three magnificent elephants, bearing on their
backs richly ornamented palanquins, and twenty camels,
from the country to the west of the Indus. Nothing was
wanting in the caravan, neither musicians to charm the ears
of his Highness, nor dancing-girls to delight his eyes, nor
jugglers to amuse his idle hours. Three hundred bearers
and two hundred guards completed the company, the pay-
ment of whose wages would soon have exhausted any other
purse than that of an independent Indian rajah.

Directly we appeared, the Hindoos started up and
salaamed to us, bending down to the earth. A number also
shouted, " Sahib ! sahib ! " and we answered with friendly
gestures.

It occurred to me that perhaps Prince Gourou Singh
might give in our honor one of those fetes of which rajahs
are so lavish. The wide court of the bungalow was there
all ready for any ceremony of this kind, and seemed to me
admirably suited for the dances of the nautch-girls, the
incantations of the charmers, or the tricks of the acrobats.

It would have delighted me, I acknowledge, to be present
at such a spectacle in the middle of a serai, beneath the shade
of magnificent trees, and with the natural get-up of the
attendants. It would all have been worth far more than the
boards of a narrow theater, with its scenery of painted can-
vas, and its imitation trees. I spoke my thoughts to my
companions, who, while sharing my desire, did not think
it would be realized.

" The Rajah of Guzarate," said Banks, " is an inde-
pendent man, who was with difficulty induced to submit,
after the sepoy revolt, during which his conduct was at least
suspicious. He does not at all like the English, and his son
is not likely to make himself agreeable."

" Well, well, we can do without his nautchs," responded
Captain Hood, shrugging his shoulders disdainfully.

Banks's idea was probably correct, for we were not even
admitted to the interior of the serai. Perhaps Prince Gourou
Singh expected an official visit from the colonel; but as
Sir Edward Munro had nothing to ask from this personage,
he expected nothing, and did not trouble himself.

We now all returned to our own camp, where we did
justice to the excellent dinner Monsieur Parazard served

234 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

up. Preserved meats now formed the staple of our food.
For several days the bad weather had prevented our hunt-
ing; but our cook was a clever man, and, under his know-
ing hands, preserved vegetables and meat resumed all their
natural flavor and freshness.

In spite of what Banks had said, a feeling of curiosity
led me to wait all that evening for an invitation which never
came. Captain Hood joked about my taste for ballets in
the open air, and even assured me that it was " no end
better " than the opera ; but of this, unless the prince showed
himself a little amiable, I should have no opportunity of
judging. It was settled that our departure should take
place at break of day the next morning, the 18th of June.

At five o'clock, Kalouth began to make up the fires. Our
elephant, which had been detached from the rest of the
train, stood about fifty paces off, and the engine-driver was
busy taking in water. While this was going on, we strolled
about beside the stream.

Forty minutes later the boiler was sufficiently under pres-
sure, and Storr had begun to back, when a party of Hin-
doos approached. These were five or six richly dressed men,
in white robes, silk tunics, and gold-embroidered turbans.
A dozen guards armed with muskets and sabers accom-
panied them, one of the soldiers bearing a crown of green
leaves, which showed the presence of some important person.

This important person was no other than Prince Gourou
Singh himself, a man of some thirty-five years, with a very
haughty expression, of a type common among the rajahs,
in whose features are often found traces of the Mahratta
character.

The prince did not deign to take notice of our presence.
He walked forward a few paces and approached the gigantic
elephant, which Storr's hand was now causing to move.
Then after gazing at it, not without some feeling of curios-
ity, though that he did not wish to betray, " Who made that
machine? " he demanded of Storr.

The engine-driver pointed to the engineer, who had joined
us, and was standing a short distance off.

Prince Gourou Singh expressed himself very easily in
English, and turning toward Banks, "Did you make — ?"
he forced himself to say.

"I did," replied Banks.

ONE AGAINST THREE 235

" Did not some one tell me that it was a fancy of the
late Rajah of Bhootan?"

Banks signed an affirmative.

' What is the good," returned his highness, rudely shrug-
ging his shoulders, " what is the good of being dragged
about by a machine, when one has elephants of flesh and
blood at one's command ? "

' Probably," said Banks, " because this elephant is more
powerful than all those of which the late rajah made use."

" Oh ! ' said Gourou Singh contemptuously, ;' more
powerful! "

" Infinitely more so ! " returned Banks.

' Not one of yours," put in Captain Hood, who much
disliked these manners, " not one of yours would be capable
of making that elephant stir an inch, if he did not wish
it."

" You say — ? " said the prince.

" My friend asserts," replied the engineer, " and I also
assert it, that this artificial animal could resist ten pair of
horses, and that your three elephants harnessed together,
could not make him move a foot ! "

" I don't believe a word of it," replied the prince.

1 Then you are quite wrong not to believe a word of it,"
replied Captain Hood.

" And if your highness chooses to name a price," added
Banks, " I will engage to supply you with one that will
have the strength of twenty of the best elephants in your
stables ! "

" It is easy to say so," replied Gourou Singh dryly.

" And it is easy to do so," returned Banks.

The prince began to get exasperated. It was plain to see
that he could not stand contradiction.

" Can the experiment be made here? " he asked, after a
moment's thought.

" It can," replied the engineer.

" I should like," added Prince Gourou Singh, " to make
this experiment the subject of a considerable wager, unless
you draw back at the fear of losing it, as no doubt your
elephant will draw back, when he has to struggle with mine."

"Behemoth draw back?' exclaimed Captain Hood.
" Who dares to say Behemoth will draw back? "

" I do," returned Gourou Singh.

236 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

" And what sum will your highness wager? " asked the
engineer, folding his arms.

" Four thousand rupees," replied the prince, " if you
have got four thousand rupees to lose."

This would amount to nearly 400/. The stake was con-
siderable, and I could see that Banks, confident as he was,
did not much care to risk such a sum.

As for Captain Hood, he would have betted double that,
if his modest pay would have allowed such a proceeding.

" You refuse? " at last said his highness, to whom 4,000
rupees merely represented the price of a passing fancy, " you
are afraid to risk it?"

"Done!" exclaimed Colonel Munro, who had just ap-
proached, and now uttered this single word which was of
much consequence to us.

"Will Colonel Munro wager 4,000 rupees?" inquired
Prince Gourou Singh.

" Or even ten thousand," answered Sir Edward, " if that
would suit your highness better."

" Be it so ! " replied Gourou Singh.

This was becoming interesting. The engineer grasped
the colonel's hand, as if to thank him for saving him from
the affront offered by the haughty rajah ; but his brows
knit for a moment, and I wondered whether he might not
have presumed too much on the mechanical power of his
apparatus.

Captain Hood had no such fears, he beamed all over,
rubbed his hands, and advancing toward the elephant, " At-
tention, Behemoth," he cried, " you have to work for the
honor of old England, remember."

All our party stood together, at the side of the road.
About a hundred Hindoos left their own camp, and ran to
be present at the forthcoming trial.

Banks left us and mounted into the howdah beside Storr,
who by means of an artificial draught, was blowing up the
furnaces so as to send a jet of vapor through Behemoth's
trunk.

While this was going on, at a sign from the prince, sev-
eral of his servants went to the serai, and brought back
the three elephants, freed from all their traveling harness.
They were magnificent beasts, natives of Bengal, and much
taller than their brethren of Southern India. The sight of

ONE AGAINST THREE 237

these superb animals, in all their pride of strength, caused
me a qualm of uneasiness. The mahouts, perched on their
great necks, guided them by hand and voice.

As these elephants passed before his highness, the biggest
of the three — a regular giant — stopped, bent his knees,
raised his trunk, and saluted the prince like the well-trained
courtier that he was. He with his two companions then
approached Behemoth, whom they apparently regarded with
astonishment, mingled with some fear.

Strong iron chains were fixed to the tender of our ele-
phant. I confess my heart beat quick. Captain Hood
gnawed his mustache and fidgeted about with anxiety.
Colonel Munro was calm enough, far calmer indeed than
Prince Gourou Singh.

" We are ready," said the engineer. " When your high-
ness pleases "

' It pleases me now," returned the prince. Gourou Singh
made a sign, the mahouts uttered a peculiar whistle, and
the three elephants, planting their huge feet firmly on
the ground, drew all together. The machine began to
move.

A cry escaped me. Hood stamped.

" Put on the brakes ! " said the engineer quietly, turning
to the driver. And with a quick turn, followed by a rush
of steam, the atmospheric brake was instantly brought to
bear.

Behemoth stopped, immovable.

The mahouts excited the three elephants, who with strain-
ing muscles renewed their efforts. All was in vain. Our
elephant appeared rooted to the ground.

Prince Gourou Singh bit his lip till the blood came.

Captain Hood clapped his hands.

" Forward ! " cried Banks.

" Yes, forward," repeated the captain, " forward ! '

The regulator was opened wide, great puffs of vapor
issued from the trunk, the wheels turned slowly round,
and the three elephants, notwithstanding their struggles,
were drawn backward, making deep ruts in the ground as
they went.

" Go ahead ! go ahead ! " yelled Captain Hood.

And as Behemoth still moved forward, the enormous
animals fell over on their sides, and were thus dragged

238 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

some twenty feet, without apparently making any difference
to our elephant.

"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" shouted the captain, who
could not contain himself. " They might fasten the whole
serai on to his highness's elephants! It wouldn't weigh
more than a cherry to our Behemoth! "

Colonel Munro made a sign. Banks closed the regulator,
and the machine stopped. Anything more piteous to behold
than the prince's three elephants now, could not be seen.
There they lay, their trunks covered with mud, their great
feet waving helplessly in the air, like gigantic beetles turned
on their backs !

The prince, both irritated and ashamed, had by this time
departed, without waiting for the end of the experiment.

The three elephants were now unharnessed. They rose,
visibly humiliated by their defeat. As they repassed Behe-
moth, the largest, in spite of his driver, could not help
bowing his knees and saluting with his trunk, just as he
had done to Prince Gourou Singh.

In a quarter of an hour, a Hindoo, the kamdar, or sec-
retary of his highness, appeared in our camp and handed to
the colonel a bag containing the lost wager of ten thousand
rupees.

Sir Edward took the bag, but tossed it scornfully back,
saying, " For the people of his highness ! "

Then turning on his heel, he walked quietly into Steam
House. No better way could have been devised for putting
down this arrogant prince who had so contemptuously pro-
voked us.

Behemoth being now in his place, Banks gave the signal
and we started off at full speed, in the midst of an enormous
crowd of amazed and wondering Hindoos.

Shouts and cries saluted us, and soon a turn of the road
hid Prince Gourou Singh's camp and serai from our sight.

The next day, Steam House began to ascend an acclivity
which connects the level country with the base of the Him-
alayan frontier. This was mere child's play to our Behe-
moth, whose twenty-four horse power had enabled him
successfully to cope with Prince Gourou Singh's three ele-
phants. He pressed easily up the steep roads of this region,
without its being found necessary to increase the regular
pressure of steam.

ONE AGAINST THREE 239

It was indeed a strange sight, to see our colossal animal
breasting the hill, giving vent to snorts and shrieks as he
dragged our train up after him. Our heavy wheels crashed
and ground along, not, it must be confessed, to the improve-
ment of the roads; in which, already softened by torrents
of rain, they made deep ruts. In spite of it all, Steam
House gradually rose, the panorama widened, the plain sub-
sided, and toward the south the horizon stretched at last
farther than the eye could reach.

We were more sensible of the effect produced, when for
some hours the road lay under the trees of a thick forest.
Now and then a wide glade opened before us, like an im-
mense window on the mountain ridge, when we would stop
our train, for a minute or two if the landscape was misty,
or for half a day, if the view was clear. All four
then leaning out of the back veranda would take our fill
of gazing at the magnificent panorama extended before our
eyes.

This ascent, interrupted by more or less prolonged halts
— for the view as well as for night encampments — continued
for no less than seven days, from the 19th to the 25th of
June.

With a little patience," remarked Captain Hood, " our
train will mount to the very highest summits of the Him-
alayas ! "

" Don't be too ambitious, captain," responded the en-
gineer.

"It could do it, Banks!"

" Yes, Hood, it could if the practicable road did not soon
come to an end, and provided we carried fuel, for that we
should no longer find among the glaciers, besides respirable
air, which would be wanting up there. But there is no need
for us to do more than just pass the habitable zone of the
Himalayas. When Behemoth has attained a medium alti-
tude, he will stop in some pleasant spot, on the border of
an Alpine-like forest, in delicious air refreshed by the breezes
from above. Our friend Munro will have transported his
Calcutta bungalow on to the mountains of Nepaul, that is
all, and there we can stay as long as we like."

On the 25th of June, we found the halting-place in which'
we were to camp for several months. For forty-eight hours
the road had been becoming less and less practicable, being

240 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

either half made or deeply cut up by the rain. It was a
regular tug for Behemoth, but he managed it by devouring
a little more fuel than usual. A few pieces of wood, added
to Kalouth's furnace, served to increase the steam pres-
sure.

For this last forty-eight hours our train had been travel-
ing through an almost deserted country. Settlements or
villages were no longer to be met with. Only here and
there a farm, or isolated dwelling, buried in the great pine-
forests, with which the southern ridges bristled. Three or
four times a solitary mountaineer greeted us with admiring
exclamations. No doubt, on seeing the marvelous apparatus
ascending the mountain, they imagined that Brahma had
taken it into his head to transport an entire pagoda to some
inaccessible and lofty height.

At last, on the 25th of June, Banks gave the word to
" Halt ! " and thus ended the first part of our journey into
Northern India.

The train came to a standstill in the middle of a wide
glade, near a torrent, the limpid waters of which would
supply the wants of our camp for several months. Our
outlook, too, extended for fifty or sixty miles over the plain.

Steam House was now 975 miles from its starting-place,
6,000 feet above the level of the sea, and resting at the foot
of the Dhawalagiri, whose summit rises 27,000 feet into
the air.

CHAPTER XV

THE PAL OF TANDIT

Having followed thus far the travels of Colonel Munro
and his companions, from Calcutta to the Indo-Chinese fron-
tier, and seen them safely encamped at the base of the
mountains of Thibet, we will leave them for a time in their
winter-quarters and devote a few pages to some other char-
acters who have appeared in our story.

Our readers may remember the incident which marked
the arrival of Steam House at Allahabad. From a news-
paper of that town, dated the 25th of May, Colonel Munro
learned the news of the death of Nana Sahib. Was this
report so often spread before, and again so often contra-

THE PAL OF TANDiT 241

dieted, this time indeed true? After reading such minute
details, could Sir Edward Munro still doubt, and was he
not justified in renouncing all expectation of being able
finally to do justice on the rebel of 1857?

We shall be enabled to judge of this, when we hear of
all that occurred after the night of the 7th of March, during
which Nana Sahib, accompanied by Balao Rao, his brother,
and escorted by most faithful companions, the Hindoo Kala-
gani among the number, left the caves of Adjuntah.

Sixty hours later, the nabob reached the narrow defiles
of the Sautpoora Mountains, after crossing the Taptee, which
flows into the sea on the west coast, near Surat. He was
then a hundred miles from Adjuntah, in a part of the
province little frequented, and thus tolerably secure for a
time. The place was well chosen.

Here Nana Sahib was near the country of the Ghoonds,
an aboriginal tribe, only half subdued, whom he hoped to
induce to revolt. Ghoondwana is a territory of two
hundred square miles containing a population of more than
three millions. M. Rousselet considers the inhabitants to
be always ripe for rebellion. It is quite an important part
of Hindoostan, and truth to say, is only nominally under
English rule. The railway from Bombay to Allahabad trav-
erses this district from southwest to northeast, and even
has a branch into the center of the province of Nagpore ; but
the tribes remain as savage as ever, become refractory at
any proposal of civilization, are very impatient of the Euro-
pean yoke, and in fact, as they can any moment retreat
into their mountain fastnesses, are extremely difficult to
keep in order, and this Nana Sahib well knew.

Here then he determined to seek shelter, so as to escape
the search of the English police, and there to await a fit
time to provoke an insurrectional movement.

If the nabob should succeed in his enterprise, if at his
summons the Ghoonds should rise and follow where he led,
the revolt would doubtless spread rapidly and widely.

To the north of Ghoondwana lies Bundelcund, which
comprises the mountainous region, situated between the
higher plateau of the Vindhyas and the important river the
Jumna. In this country, covered with beautiful virgin for-
ests, live a deceitful and cruel people, among whom all
criminals, political or otherwise, seek and easily find a

V XII Vern»

242 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

refuge. These provinces still remain barbarous, and here
still live the descendants of those who fought under Tippoo
Sahib against the invaders. Here, too, are the headquarters
of the celebrated stranglers, the Thugs, so long the terror
of India, fanatical assassins, who destroy innumerable vic-
tims, though without shedding blood ; as well as bands of
Pindarris, who perpetrate the most odious massacres, almost
with impunity. In every part are swarms of the terrible
Dacoits, a sect of poisoners, who follow in the footsteps of
the Thugs ; and finally Nana Sahib himself had taken refuge
here, after escaping the royal troops, now masters of Jansi.
He having thus thrown them off the scent, intended soon
to go and seek a more secure asylum in the inaccessible
retreats of the Indo-Chinese frontier.

To the east of Ghoondwana is Kondistan or the country
of the Konds. These people are the fierce votaries of Tado
Pennor, the god of the earth, and Maunek Soro, the red
god of battles. They are much given to those meriahs or
human sacrifices, which the English have so long endeavored
to abolish ; and can only be compared to the savage natives
of the most barbarous Polynesian islands. In 1840 and
1854, Major-General John Campbell with Captains Mac-
pherson, Macvicar, and Fry, engaged in long and trouble-
some expeditions against these daring fanatics, who will do
anything under a religious pretext, if an unscrupulous leader
can be found.

To the west of Ghoondwana lies a state containing from
1,500,000 to 2,000,000 souls, occupied by the Bheels, for-
merly so powerful in Malwa and Rajpootana, now divided
into clans, and spread all about the Vindhyas. They are
almost always intoxicated with the spirit they obtain from
the mikowah tree, but are brave, daring, hardy, and active,
and constantly prepared to answer to the kisri their cry
for war or pillage.

From this description it will be seen that Nana Sahib
had chosen well. In this central region of the peninsula, he
hoped this time, instead of a mere military insurrection, to
provoke a national movement, in which Hindoos of every
caste would take part.

But before taking any decided step, it was necessary to
settle in the country, so as to obtain as much influence, and
act as effectively as was possible under the circumstances.

THE PAL OF TANDIT 243

This, of course, necessitated the discovery of a safe retreat,
for a time at any rate, which he could be free to abandon,
directly it was suspected.

This was Nana Sahib's first care. The Hindoos who had
followed him from Adjuntah, could go and come as they
liked throughout the presidency. Balao Rao, who was not
included in the governor's notice, might also have enjoyed
the same immunity, had it not been for his likeness to his
brother. Since his flight to the frontiers of Nepaul, atten-
tion had not been drawn to his person, and there was every
reason to believe him dead. But, taken for Nana Sahib, he
would have been at once arrested, and this at any cost must
be avoided.

A single asylum then was needed for these two brothers,
one in thought and aim, and in the defiles of the Sautpoora
Mountains, this would neither take long nor be difficult
to find.

A suitable place was at last pointed out by one of the
natives of the band, a Ghoond, who knew every inch of the
valley, even to its innermost retreats.

On the right bank of a little tributary of the Nerbudda
was a deserted pal, called the Pal of Tandit.

A pal is something less than a village and scarcely a ham-
let, merely a collection of huts, or sometimes even a solitary
habitation. The wanderers who inhabit it take up their
abode there only for a time. After burning a few trees, the
cinders of which improve the ground for a time, the Ghoond
and his friends construct a dwelling. As the country is
anything but safe, the house has all the appearance of a
little fort. It is surrounded by palisades, and is capable of
being defended against a surprise. Besides which, hidden
in some thick clump of trees, or buried, so to speak, in a
bower of cactus and brushwood, it is no easy matter to
discover it at all.

Usually, the pal crowns some hillock with a narrow valley
on one side, between two steep spurs of the mountains, in
the midst of an impenetrable forest. It does not seem that
any human creature could live there. There is no road to
it, nor even the vestige of a path. To reach one, it is some-
times necessary to ascend the bed of a torrent, so that the
water may wash away all traces of any one having passed
that way. Besides this, a perfect avalanche of stones and

244 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

rocks is kept ready at the top, arranged so that even a child's
hand would be sufficient to push them over, and crush any-
one who attempted to reach the pal against the wish of the
inhabitants.

Isolated as they are in their inaccessible eyries, the
Ghoonds can yet communicate most rapidly from pal to
pal. From the unequal ridges of the Sautpooras, signals
are in a few minutes sent over sixty miles of country. A
fire lighted on the summit of a pointed rock, a tree changed
into a gigantic torch, a column of smoke on the top of a
spur of the hills: the inhabitants all know what these sig-
nify. The enemy, that is to say, a detachment of English
soldiers, or a squad of police, has penetrated into the valley,
ascended the course of the Nerbudda, is searching the
gorges, in quest of some criminal, to whom the district offers
a willing refuge. The war-cry, so familiar to the ear of the
mountaineers, becomes a cry of alarm. A stranger might
mistake it for the call of night-birds, or the hissing of
serpents.

The Ghoond does not so mistake it, however: it is a
warning that he must fly, and so he does. The suspected
pals are abandoned, or even burned. The nomads escape
to other retreats, to be in their turn deserted if close pressed,
so that when the agents of the authorities at last make their
way to them, they find nothing but ruins.

It was to one of these places, the Pal of Tandit, that
Nana Sahib and his friends came to take refuge. The
faithful Ghoond, so devoted to the person of the nabob,
brought them to it, and there, on the 12th of March, they
stationed themselves.

The brothers' first care, after taking possession of the
Pal of Tandit, was diligently to reconnoiter the neighbor-
hood. They observed in what directions they could see,
and how far. They found out what were the nearest habita-
tions, and who were their occupants. The position of this
lonely peak, on which in the midst of a group of trees, was
the Pal of Tandit, was minutely studied, until they finally
came to the conclusion that it was utterly impossible to
obtain access to it without following the bed of the Nazzur
torrent, up which they had themselves ascended.

The security this Pal offered was undoubted, more
especially as below it was a cave or tunnel, from

THE PAL OF TANDlx 245

which secret passages led out from the spur of the moun-
tain, and afforded another way of escape when necessary.

It was not enough, however, for Balao Rao to know only
what the Pal of Tandit was at the present time ; he wished
to know what it had been, and while the nabob was
examining the interior he continued to interrogate the
Ghoond.

' A few questions more," he said. " For how long has
this pal been deserted?"

" For more than a year," replied the Ghoond.

" Who last inhabited it?"

' A wandering family, who only stayed there a few
months."

"Why did they leave it?"

' Because the soil did not supply them with sufficient
nourishment on which to subsist."

' And since their departure, no one to your knowledge
has taken refuge there? "

" No one."

" A soldier or emissary of the police has never set foot
in this pal ? "

" Never."

" It has been visited by no stranger? "

" By none," answered the Ghoond, " unless it was a
woman."

" A woman? " exclaimed Balao Rao.

" Yes, a woman, who has been wandering about in the
valley of the Nerbudda for the last three years."

"Who is she?"

" I have no idea who she is," replied the man. " Where
she comes from I cannot tell, and not a person in the valley
knows more than I do about the matter. Whether she is
a foreigner, or a native, no one has ever been able to find
out."

Balao Rao reflected for a moment, then resumed, " What
does this woman do?" he asked.

" She goes to and fro," replied the Ghoond, " and lives
entirely on alms. Every one in the valley has a kind of
superstitious veneration for her. I have several times my-
self received her in my own pal. She never speaks, and is
generally supposed to be dumb, and I should not be surprised
if she were. At night she may be seen straying about, hold-

246 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

ing a lighted torch in her hand. For this reason she is
always known by the name of the ' Roving Flame.' "

" But," said Balao Rao, " if this woman knows the Pal
of Tandit, is she not likely to return to it while we are
here, and so cause us some danger? "

" Not at all," replied the Ghoond. " She is mad. Her
senses have fled; her eyes gaze without seeing; her ears
listen without hearing, her tongue cannot utter a word. It
is as though she were blind, deaf, and dumb to all that goes
on around her. She is quite mad, and madness is a living
death!"

The Ghoond, in the language of the hillmen, thus traced
the portrait of a strange creature, well known in the valley
under the name of the " Roving Flame " of the Nerbudda.
This was a woman whose pale, still beautiful, countenance,
worn, though not with years, and quite devoid of expression,
betrayed neither her origin nor age. The wild eyes looked
as though they had closed to all intellectual life on some
terrific scene, the horror of which still lingered in them.

The hillmen always received this poor inoffensive creature
kindly. Like all savage people, the Ghoonds hold persons
who have been deprived of reason in a sort of superstitious
reverence. Roving Flame was hospitably welcomed wher-
ever she appeared. No pal was closed to her. They fed
her when she was hungry, gave her a bed when she was
weary, without expecting a word of thanks from the poor
speechless mouth.

For how long had this woman led this existence ? Where
had she come from ? When did she first appear in Ghoond-
wana? Why did she rove about with a torch in her hand?
Was it to light her path or to scare away wild beasts? It
was impossible to find out. Sometimes she disappeared for
whole months together. What became of her then? Did
she leave the defiles of the Sautpooras for the gorges of the
Vindhyas? Did she wander beyond the Nerbudda into
Malwa or Bundelcund? No one knew. More than once,
when her absence was prolonged, it was thought that her
melancholy life had ended. But no ! She always came back,
still looking the same : for neither fatigue, nor illness, nor
privation had any visible effect on her apparently frail body.

Balao Rao heard the native with extreme attention. He
considered whether there might not be some danger in the

ROVING FLAME 247

fcircumstance that Roving Flame knew the Pal of Tandit,
for, as she had already before sought refuge there, her
instinct might lead her back to it. He therefore questioned
the Ghoond as to whether he or his friends knew where the
mad woman actually was at the present time.

" I cannot tell at all," answered the Ghoond. " For more
than six months no one has seen her in the valley. Possibly
she may be dead; but even should she reappear and come
to this pal, there is nothing to fear from her. She is but
a moving statue. She will not see you, nor hear you, nor
know in the least who you are! She will just enter, sit by
your hearth for a day or even two, then light her torch,
and begin again to wander from house to house. That is
the way her life is spent. But since her absence this time
has been so prolonged, most likely she will not return again.
The mind died long ago, and now the body must be dead
also!"

Balao Rao did not attach sufficient importance to this in-
cident to think it worth mentioning to Nana Sahib.

The fugitives spent a month in the Pal of Tandit, and as
yet Roving Flame had not returned to the Nerbudda valley.

CHAPTER XVI

ROVING FLAME

For a whole month, from the 12th of March to the 12th
of April, Nana Sahib remained concealed in the pal. He
wished to give the English authorities time either to make
some mistake by thinking he was dead, and so give up the
search, or to go on a false scent in quite another direction.

The two brothers did not go out in the daytime them-
selves, but their faithful followers went forth throughout
the valley, visiting the villages and hamlets, announcing in
ambiguous words the approaching apparition of a great
moulti, half god, half man, and thus preparing their minds
for a national rising.

When night fell, Nana Sahib and Balao Rao ventured to
quit their retreat. Following the banks of the Nerbudda,
they went from village to village, from pal to pal, awaiting
the time when, with some security, they might attempt the
domains of the rajahs under British rule. Nana Sahib
knew, besides, that there were many semi-independent tribes,

248 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

who were impatient of the foreign yoke, and would rally
round him at his summons. But in the first instance he must
only deal with the savage populations of Ghoondwana.

These barbarous Bheels, nomad Konds, and Ghoonds, as
little civilized as the natives of the Pacific isles, the Nana
found all ready to rise and follow where he would. Al-
though he prudently only made himself known to two or
three powerful chiefs, that was sufficient to prove to him
that his name alone would attract millions of natives from
the central plateau of Hindoostan.

When the two brothers met again in their pal, they com-
pared notes of all that they had seen, heard, and done.
Their companions then joined them, bringing from all parts
word that the spirit of revolt was blowing like a tempest
through the Nerbudda valley. The Ghoonds only longed
to be allowed to yell the " kisri," or war-cry of the hillmen,
and hurl themselves like a cataract on the military canton-
ments of the residency.

The time for that had not yet come.

It was in truth not enough that in the province lying be-
tween the Sautpooras and Vindhyas alone the spirit of revolt
should be smouldering. That the fire might gradually gain
on the country, it was necessary to carry the combustible
elements into the neighboring states, which were more di-
rectly under English authority.

The whole of the vast kingdom of Scindia, as well as the
states of Bhopal, Malwa, and Bundelcund were to be made
to resemble a huge bonfire, ready and prepared for lighting.
But Nana Sahib, wisely enough, did not intend to delegate
to others the task of visiting his partisans in the insurrec-
tion of 1857; those natives who remained faithful to his
cause, and never had believed in his death, were constantly
expecting his reappearance.

A month after his arrival in the Pal of Tandit, the Nana
began to consider he might act in safety. He thought that
by this time the story of his having been seen in the province
would be contradicted. Trusty spies kept him informed as
to all that the governor of the Bombay Presidency had done
to effect his capture. He knew that at first the authorities
had instituted a most active search, but without result. The
fisherman of Aurungabad, once the Nana's prisoner, had
fallen by his dagger, and no one had suspected that the

ROVING FLAME 249

fugitive fakir was the Nabob Dandoo Pant, on whose head
a price had been set. In a week the reports grew fewer,
the aspirants to the prize of 2,000/. lost hope, and the name
of Nana Sahib began to be forgotten.

Without much fear of being recognized, the nabob now
began his insurrectionary campaign. Now in the costume
of a parsee, and now in that of a humble ryot, one day alone,
and another accompanied by his brother, he went long dis-
tances from the Pal of Tandit, northward, to the other side
of the Nerbudda, and even beyond the Vindhyas.

If a spy had followed him in his wanderings he would,
soon after the 12th of April, have found him at Indore.

There, Nana Sahib, while preserving the strictest in-
cognito, put himself in communication with the extensive
rural population employed in the culture of poppy fields.
These were Rihillas, Mekranis, Valayalis, eager, courageous,
and fanatical, chiefly sepoy deserters, concealed by the dress
of native peasants.

Nana Sahib, on the 19th of April, passing through a mag-
nificent valley in which dates and mango-trees grew in
profusion, arrived at Suari.

Here rise numerous curious constructions, of very great
antiquity. They are called " topes," and resemble tumuli,
crowned with hemispheric domes, the principal group being
that of Saldhara, at the north of the valley. From these
funeral monuments — these dwellings of the dead — the altars
of which, dedicated to Buddhist rites, are shaded by stone
parasols — issued, at the voice of Nana Sahib, hundreds of
fugitives. Buried in these ruins to escape the retaliations of
the English, one word was sufficient to make them under-
stand what the nabob expected of them; when the hour
came, a signal would be enough to excite them to throw
themselves en masse on the invaders.

On the 24th of April the Nana reached Bhilsa, the chief
town of an important district of Malwa, and in the ruins
of that ancient place he collected men ripe for revolt, to
whom he gave the news.

On the 27th he entered Rajghur, and on the 30th the old
city of Saugor, not far from the spot where General Sir
Hugh Rose fought a bloody battle with the insurgents, and
with the hill of Maudanpoor, gained the key of the defiles
of the Vindhyas.

250 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

There the nabob was joined by his brother and Kalagani,
and the two then made themselves known to the chiefs of
the principal tribes of which they were sure. In these
councils the preliminaries of a general insurrection were
discussed and agreed upon. While Nana Sahib and Balao
Rao were pursuing their operations in these parts,
their allies were no less busy on the northern side of the
Vindhyas.

Before returning to the Nerbudda valley, the two brothers
wished to visit Punnah. They ventured up the Keyne,
under the shade of giant teaks and colossal bamboos. Here
they enrolled many wild fellows from among the miserable
people who work for the rajah in the valuable diamond-
mines of the territory. " This rajah," says M. Rousselet,
" understanding the position which English protection gives
to the princes of Bundelcund, prefers the role of a rich
land-holder to that of an insignificant prince." A rich land-
holder indeed ! The region he possesses extends for twenty
miles north of Punnah, and the working of his mines, the
products of which are most esteemed in the markets of
Benares and Allahabad, employs a large number of Hindoos.
They are very hardly treated, condemned to the severest
labor, and running a great chance of being decapitated as
soon as their work is no longer required : so it is not to be
wondered at that the Nana found many among them ready
to fight for the independence of their country.

Leaving this place, the brothers came southward again,
intending to return to the Pal of Tandit. However, before
provoking the southern rising which should coincide with
that of the north, they determined to stop at Bhopal.

This is an important Mussulman town, and the capital
of Islamism in India. Its begum remained faithful to the
English during the time of the rebellion.

Nana Sahib and Balao Rao, accompanied by a dozen
Ghoonds, arrived at Bhopal on the 24th of May, the last
day of the Moharum festival, instituted to celebrate the
revival of the Mussulman army. Both had assumed the
dress of jogiiis, religious mendicants armed with long dag-
gers with rounded blades, which they dig into their bodies
in a fanatical manner, though without doing any great harm.
Being unrecognizable in this disguise, the two brothers fol-
lowed the procession through the streets of the town, in the

ROVING FLAME 251

midst of numerous elephants, bearing on their back tadzias,
or little temples, twenty feet high; they mingled with the
Mussulmen, who were richly clothed in gold-embroidered
tunics and muslin turbans; they joined with the musicians,
soldiers, dancing-girls, young men disguised as women — a
strange agglomeration which gave to the ceremony quite
the look of a carnival. In this mob of natives were many
of their friends, with whom the conspirators could easily
manage to exchange a masonic sign, well known to the
rebels of 1857.

When evening came, the crowd surged toward the lake
which bathes the eastern suburb of the town.

There, in the midst of deafening cries, reports of firearms,
popping of crackers, and by the light of innumerable torches,
the fanatics seized the tadzias, and cast them into the waters
of the lake. The Moharum festival was ended.

Just then Nana Sahib felt a touch on his shoulder. He
turned and saw a Bengalee standing beside him.

The Nana recognized in this man one of his former fol-
lowers. He gave him a questioning look.

The Bengalee thereupon murmured the following words,
all of which were heard by the Nana without his betraying
emotion by a single word or look.

" Colonel Munro has left Calcutta."

"Where is he?"

" He was at Benares yesterday."

" Where is he going? "

" To the Nepaulese frontier."

"With what object?"

" To stay there a few months."

"And then ?"

" Return to Bombay."

A whistle was heard. At the signal a native glided
through the crowd and stood before them.

It was Kalagnani.

" Go this instant," said the nabob, " join Munro on his
way to the north. Attach yourself to him. Render him
some service, and risk your life if necessary. Never leave
him until he is beyond the Vindhyas in the Nerbudda valley.
Then — and then only — come and give me notice of his
presence."

Kalagnani signed an affirmative and disappeared. An

252 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

order from the nabob was enough. In ten minutes he had
left Bhopal.

At that moment Balao Rao approached his brother.

" It is time to set out," he said.

"Yes," replied the Nana; "and before daybreak we
must be at the Pal of Tandit."

"Forward, then!"

Followed by their Ghoonds, the two men skirted the
northern side of the lake until they reached an isolated
farm, where horses awaited them and their escort. They
were swift animals, fed upon spiced food, and capable of
doing fifty miles in a single night. By eight o'clock
they were galloping along the road from Bhopal to the
.Vindhyas.

The Nana prudently wished his return to the pal to pass
unnoticed ; so in order to reach their destination before day-
break, they pushed on at their utmost speed.

The brothers barely exchanged a word, but their minds
were occupied with the same thoughts. During their ex-
cursion they had gathered more than hope — the absolute
certainty that numberless followers would rally around them.
The center of India was entirely in their hands. The mili-
tary cantonments scattered over this vast territory could
not resist the first assault of the insurgents. Their annihila-
tion would leave the way open for the revolt, which, spread-
ing from coast to coast, would call up a wall of determined
natives, against which the English army would dash them-
selves in vain.

The Nana's thoughts were divided between this and the
fortunate chance, which would soon put Munro into his
power. The colonel had at last quitted Calcutta, where he
was so difficult to get at. Henceforth, none of his move-
ments would be unknown to the nabob. Without his sus-
pecting it, the hand of Kalagnani would guide him into the
wild country of the Vindhyas, and once there, none could
protect him from the punishment Nana Sahib's hate re-
served for him.

Balao Rao knew nothing of what had passed between
the Bengalee and his brother. It was not until they were
approaching the pal, when stopping to breathe their horses
for an instant, that Nana Sahib mentioned the subject.

' Munro has left Calcutta and is going to Bombay."

ROVING FLAME 253

" The road to Bombay," exclaimed Balao Rao, " leads
to the shores of the Indian Ocean."

" The road to Bombay, this time," returned the Nana,
" will end in the Vindhyas."

The horses set off again at a gallop through the thick
forest which covered the borders of the Nerbudda valley.

It was five in the morning, and day was dawning, as Nana
Sahib, Balao Rao, and their companions drew rein at the
foot of the Nazzur torrent. The party here dismounted
and left their horses in charge of a couple of Ghoonds, with
orders to take them to the nearest village. The rest then
followed the brothers, who were already ascending the tor-
rent.

All was still. The noise of day had not yet succeeded to
the silence of night. Suddenly a shot was heard, followed
by many others; then shouts arose. "Hurrah! hurrah!
forward ! "

An officer, with fifty British soldiers, appeared on the
crest of the pal. " Fire ! let none escape ! " he exclaimed.

Another volley was fired straight at the group of Ghoonds
which surrounded the Nana and his brother. Five or six
natives fell, the others throwing themselves into the stream
disappeared among the trees.

" Nana Sahib ! Nana Sahib ! " shouted the English, as
they penetrated the narrow ravine.

All at once, one of those who had been mortally wounded,
rose, his hand extended. " Death to the invaders ! ' he
cried, in a hoarse voice, then fell back dead.

The officer approached the body. " Is this indeed Nana
Sahib? " he asked.

" Yes, sir, it is," answered two of his men, who had been
at Cawnpore, and were well acquainted with the person of
the nabob.

" After the others now," called out the officer.

And he with all his detachment hastened off into the
forest in pursuit.

Scarcely had they disappeared, when a dark figure glided
out of the dim recesses of the pal. It was Roving Flame.

The evening before, the mad woman had been the un-
conscious guide of the officer and his men. She had entered
the valley and was mechanically bending her step toward
the Pal of Tandit, when she happened to pass a bivouac of

254 THE DEMON OF CAWNPORE

these soldiers who were engaged in the search for the Nana.
As the strange being glided by, the tongue which was sup-
posed to be speechless, uttered a word, a name, that of
the slaughterer of Cawnpore.

"Nana Sahib! Nana Sahib! " she repeated, as if some
unaccountable presentiment had called up the image in her
mind.

The officer heard and started. He instantly ordered up
his men and followed in her steps, she appearing neither
to see nor hear them. They reached the pal. Was this
indeed the place in which the miscreant had hidden himself?
The officer took the necessary measures for guarding the
bed of the Nazzur and waited for day.

Directly Nana Sahib and his Ghoonds appeared on the
scene, they were met with a volley, which laid many low,
and among them, the chief of the Sepoy Mutiny.

Such was the account of the skirmish sent by telegraph
to the Governor of the Bombay Presidency. The telegram
soon spread all over the peninsula, the papers copied it, and
thus Colonel Munro read it on the 26th of May in the
Allahabad Gazette.

No one could any longer have doubts about the death of
Nana Sahib. His identity had been proved, and as the
paragraph stated, " India has now nothing further to dread
from the machinations of the cruel nabob who has cost
her so much blood ! "

The madwoman left the pal and descended the bed of
the Nazzur. Her hollow eyes were burning with a strange
light, which was not there a short time before, and she still
muttered at intervals the name of the Nana.

She reached the spot where the dead bodies lay, and
stopped before the one recognized by the soldiers. The hor-
rid scowl with which he died was fixed on his features.
Having lived but for vengeance, his hate still survived.

The madwoman knelt down, laid her clasped hands on
the body, from which the blood flowed and stained the folds
of her dress and looked long and fixedly at the face. Then
she arose, and shaking her head, glided slowly away.

By the time she had gone a few yards, Roving Flame
had relapsed into her wonted indifference, and her lips no
longer uttered the cursed name of Nana Sahib.

END OF BOOK ONE

The Steam House

BOOK TWO

Tigers and Traitors

Tigers and Traitors

CHAPTER I

OUR SANITARIUM

PEAKING of the great American Andes, the
mineralogist Haiiy uses a grand expression
when he calls them " The incommensurable
parts of Creation."

These proud words may justly be applied to
the Himalayan chain, whose heights no man
can measure with any mathematical precision. They occurred
to my mind when I first viewed this incomparable region,
in the midst of which Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, Banks,
and myself were to sojourn for several weeks.

" Not only are these mountains immeasurable," said the
engineer, " but their summit must be regarded as inacces-
sible; for human organs cannot work at such a height,
where the air is not dense enough for breathing! '

This chain may be best described as a barrier of primitive
granite, gneiss, and schist rocks, 1,560 miles in length, ex-
tending from the seventy-second meridian to the ninety-fifth,
through two presidencies, Agra and Calcutta, and two king-
doms, Bhootan and Nepaul. It comprehends three distinct
zones; the first 5,000 feet high, being more temperate than
the lower plain, and yielding a harvest of corn in the winter,
and rice in the summer; the second, increasing from 5,000
to 9,000 feet, on which the snow melts in the spring time,
and the third, rising to 25,000, covered with ice and snow,
which even in the hot season defies the solar rays.

At an elevation of 20,000 feet the mountains are pierced
by eleven passes, which, incessantly threatened by ava-
lanches, swept by torrents, and encumbered by glaciers, yet
make it possible, though dangerous and difficult, to go from
India to Thibet. Above this ridge, which is sometimes
rounded and then again as flat as Table Mountain at the
Cape of Good Hope, rise seven or eight peaks, some volcanic,
commanding the sources of the Gogra, the Jumna, and the
Ganges. The chief are Mounts Dookia and Kinchinjinga,

V XII Verne 257

258 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

rising to 28,000 feet; Diodhoonga, 24,000; Dhawalagiri,
27,000; Chumalari, 28,000; and the highest in the world,
Mount Everest, 29,000 feet. Such is this magnificent pile
of mountains, which neither Alps, Pyrenees, nor Andes can
excel in loftiness.

The first slopes are extensively and thickly wooded. Here
may be found different representatives of the palm family,
which, in a higher zone, give place to vast forests of oaks,
cypress, and pines, to rich masses of bamboos and herbaceous
plants.

Banks, who gave us this information, told us also that the
snow-line is 6,000 feet lower on the Indian side of the chain
than on the Thibetian; the reason being that the vapors
brought by the south winds are arrested by the enormous
barrier. On the other side, therefore, villages have been
established at an altitude of 15,000 feet in the midst of
fields of barley and beautiful meadows. If you believe the
natives, one night is sufficient for a crop of grass to carpet
these pastures!

In the middle zone, peacocks, partridges, pheasants, bus-
tards, and quails, represent the winged tribe. Goats and
sheep abound. In the highest zone we only find the wild
boar, the chamois, the wild cat ; and the eagle soars above the
scanty vegetation, mere humble specimens of an arctic flora.

But there was nothing there to tempt Captain Hood.
Was it likely that this Nimrod would have come into the
Himalayan region merely to continue his trade of domestic
provider? Fortunately for him, there was no chance that
game worthy of his Enfield-rifle, and his explosive balls,
would be scarce.

At the foot of the first slopes of the chain extends a zone,
called by the natives the belt of Terrai. It is a long de-
clivitous stretch of land, four or five miles wide, damp,
warm, covered with vegetation and dense forests forming
favorite resorts for wild beasts. This Eden of the hunter
who loves the stirring features of the chase lay but 1,500
yards below us. It was therefore easy to enter into these
preserves, which seemed as it were quite distinct grounds.

It was more than probable that Captain Hood would
have greater pleasure in visiting the lower than the upper
zones of the Himalayas, although, even after the explora-
tions of that most ill-humored of travelers, Victor Jacque-

OUR SANITARIUM 259

mont, many important geographical discoveries remain yet
to be made.

" So this important chain is only very imperfectly
known ? " I remarked to Banks.

" Very imperfectly indeed," answered the engineer.
" The Himalayan chain may be likened to a little planet,
stuck on to our globe, and keeping its own secrets."

" They have been surveyed though," said I, " they have
been explored as much as is possible ! "

" Oh, yes ! There has been no lack of Himalayan trav-
elers," replied Banks. " Messrs. Gerard and Webb, the
officers Kirkpatrick, Fraser, Hodgson, Herbert, Lloyd,
Hooker, Cunningham, Strabing, Skinner, Johnson, Moor-
croft, Thomson, Griffith, Vigne, Hugel, the missionaries
Hue and Gabet, and more recently the brothers Schlagen-
tweit, Colonel Waugh, Lieutenants Reuillier and Mont-
gomery, have, by dint of great labor, made known in large
measure their orological arrangements. Nevertheless, my
friends, much remains to be learned.

" The exact heights of the principal peaks have given
rise to numberless rectifications. Formerly, Dhawalagiri
was the king of the whole chain; then after new measure-
ments, he was forced to yield the throne to Kinchinjinga,
who again has abdicated in favor of Mount Everest. At
the present time, the latter surpasses all its rivals. How-
ever, the Chinese now say that the Kuen-Lun Mountains, to
which it is true European measurements have not been
applied, surpass Mount Everest in a slight degree, and that
we must no longer look to the Himalayas as possessing the
highest point of our globe.

" But in reality these measurements must not be con-
sidered mathematical until they have been barometrically
obtained, and with every precaution that a direct determina-
tion will admit of. And how is this to be done without
carrying a barometer to the very top of one of these in-
accessible peaks? Of course no one has yet accomplished
this."

" It will be done," answered Captain Hood, " just as some
day voyages will be made to both the north and south pole ! '

"Evidently!"

" Or an exploring party to the lowest depths of old
Ocean."

260 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" Doubtless."

" Or a journey to the center of the earth? "

"Bravo, Hood!"

"As everything will be done!" I added.

" Even an aerial voyage to each of the planets of the
solar system ! " rejoined Hood, whom nothing daunted.

" No, captain," I replied. " Man, a mere inhabitant of
the earth, cannot overstep its boundaries! But though he
is confined to its crust, he may penetrate into all its
secrets."

" He can, he must ! " cried Banks. " All that is within
the limits of possibility may and shall be accomplished.
Then when man has nothing more to discover in the globe
which he inhabits "

" He will disappear with the spheroid which has no longer
any mysteries concealed from him," put in Captain Hood.

"Not so!' returned Banks. "He will enjoy it as a
master, and will derive far greater advantages from it. But
friend Hood, now that we are in the Himalayan country, I
wish to tell you of a curious discovery which you may make,
among others, and which will certainly interest you."

" What is it about, Banks ? "

" In the account of his travels, the missionary Hue speaks
of a singular tree which is called in Thibet ' the tree of ten
thousand pictures.' According to the Hindoo legend, Tong
Kabac, the reformer of the Buddhist religion, was changed
into a tree, some thousand years after the same adventure
happened to Philemon, Baucis, and Daphne, those curious
vegetable beings of the mythological flora. The hair of
Tong Kabac became the foliage of this sacred tree, and on
the leaves are — the missionary declares he saw it with his
own eyes — Thibetian characters, distinctly to be traced in
the veins."

" A tree producing printed leaves! " I exclaimed.

" And, moreover, on which you may read the purest and
most moral sentences," continued the engineer.

" That would be well worth the trouble of proving," said
I, laughing.

" Prove it, then, my friends," answered Banks. " If these
trees exist in the southern part of Thibet, they surely are
to be found in the upper zone, on the southern slopes of the
Himalayas. During your excursions, then, you can be on

OUR SANITARIUM 261

the look out for this — what shall I call it? — this maxim-
tree."

' No, by Jove! " returned Captain Hood. " I came here
to hunt, and have not the smallest intention of doing any-
thing in the climbing line."

" Well, my dear fellow," resumed Banks, " a daring
climber like you ought to make some ascent in all this
great chain."

" Never! " exclaimed the captain.

"Why not?"

" I have renounced ascents ! "

" Since when ? "

" Since the day when, after having risked my life twenty
times," answered Captain Hood, " I managed to reach the
summit of Vrigel, in the kingdom of Bhootan. It was said
that no human being had ever set foot on the top of that
peak! There was glory to be gained! my honor was at
stake! Well, after no end of narrow squeaks for it, I got
to the top, and what did I see but these words cut on a
rock: ' Durand, dentist, 14, Rue Caumartin, Paris!' I
climb no more ! "

The honest captain! I must confess that, while telling
us of his discomfiture, Hood looked so comical, that it was
impossible to help joining him in a hearty laugh.

I have several times spoken of the " sanatariums " of the
peninsula. These resorts in the mountains are much fre-
quented during the summer by landowners, officers, and
merchants, who are scorched by the glowing heat of the
plains. In the first rank we must name Simla. It is like
a little bit of Switzerland, with its torrents, its streams, its
chalets, pleasantly situated under the shade of cedars and
pines, 6,000 feet above the level of the sea.

After Simla, I must mention Darjeeling, with its pretty
white houses, overlooked by Mount Kinchinjinga, 312 miles
to the north of Calcutta, 6,900 feet above the level of the
sea — a charming situation, in the most beautiful country
in the world.

And now to these fresh and healthy stations, rendered
indispensable by the burning climate of India, was added our
Steam House. But it belonged to ourselves alone. It
offered all the comforts of the most luxurious dwellings on
the peninsula. Here, in this delicious climate, surrounded

262 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

by all the necessaries and appliances of modern life, we
dwelt in an atmosphere of quietness which we might have
sought for in vain at Simla or Darjeeling, where there
are swarms of Anglo-Indians.

The site for our sanitarium was judiciously chosen. The
road, leaving the lower part of the mountain, diverged at
this point both to the east and to the west, so as to connect
several scattered villages. The nearest of these hamlets
was five miles from Steam House. It was occupied by a
hospitable race of mountaineers, who rear goats and sheep,
and cultivate rich fields of wheat and barley.

One of the spurs supporting the great framework of the
Himalayas formed a gently undulating plateau, nearly a
mile in length, and half a mile in width. This was cov-
ered with a thick carpet of short, close, velvety grass, dotted
all over with violets. Clusters of beautiful rhododendrons,
as large as small oaks, and natural arbors of camellias, gave
a gay and gardenlike aspect to the scene. Nature had had
no need to call in the aid of workmen from Ispahan or
Smyrna, to manufacture this vegetable carpet. Several
million seeds, brought by the sweet South breezes to the
fertile ground, a little rain, a little sunshine, and there lay
the green, soft fabric!

In the background roared a torrent, whose course could
be traced by its silvery gleam many hundred feet, as it de-
scended the mountainside. It flowed down the right slope
of the spur, and plunged, at no great distance from us, into
a natural basin, overhung by splendid trees.

The overflow from this basin formed a stream, which,
running across our plateau, ended in a noisy cascade, which
dashed itself finally into a bottomless gulf.

From this description it may be seen how favorably Steam
House was situated, both for comfort for the body and
pleasure for the eye. Below us lay other and lesser crests,
descending in gigantic steps to the plain. All this we could
see from our high place of observation.

Number One of Steam House was placed so that the
view to the south might be seen from the veranda as well
as from the side windows of the drawing and dining rooms.
Over us " a cedar spread his dark-green layers of shade,"
contrasting with the eternal show which glittered on the
distant mountain peaks.

OUR SANITARIUM 263

On the left, Number Two stood close to an enormous
granite rock, gilded by the sun. This, our attendants' house,
was placed about twenty feet from the principal dwelling.
From the end of one of its roofs curled upward a little-
stream of blue-gray smoke, showing the position of Mon-
sieur Parazard's culinary laboratory.

In the midst of the trees which lay between the two
habitations might be seen a huge mastodon. It was Behe-
moth, standing under a great beech-tree, with his trunk
upraised, as if browsing on the branches. He, too, was
stationary now ; resting, albeit he had no need of rest.
However, there he stood, resolute defender of Steam House,
like some enormous antediluvian animal, guarding the way.

Colossal as we had always thought our elephant, now
that he stood before the everlasting hills, he, the handiwork
of puny man, faded into insignificance. " Like a fly on
the facade of a cathedral ! " remarked Captain Hood con-
temptuously.

The comparison was good. Here, behind us, was a block
of granite, from which a thousand elephants the size of
ours might have been carved, and this block was but a simple
step in the stair which leads up and up to the topmost crest
crowned by the peak of Dhawalagiri.

At times, when the sky lowers, not only the highest sum-
mits, but the lower crests, disappear. This is caused by
thick vapors sweeping across the middle zone, and veiling
all the upper part. The landscape shrinks, and then, by
an optical effect, it is as if the houses, the trees, the rocks,
and Behemoth himself, resumed their natural size.

When certain moist winds blow, the clouds often roll
below the plateau. The eye then rests on nothing but a sea
of clouds, illumined here and there by the sun's rays. All
land both above and beneath vanishes, and we feel as if
transported into some aerial region, beyond the earth.

Suddenly the wind changes. A northern breeze blows
through the mountain gulleys, the fog is swept away, the
cloudy sea disappears as if by magic, the grand rocks and
peaks stand out again, and once more our view extends
over a panorama of sixty miles.

CHAPTER II

MATHIAS VAN GUITT

At daybreak on the 26th of June, the jovial tones of a
well-known voice aroused me from my slumbers. Captain
Hood and his man Fox were engaged in lively conversa-
tion in the dining-room, where I soon joined them.

At the same moment Banks made his appearance, upon
which the captain greeted him with, " Well, Banks, here we
are at last, arrived in safety. It's a positive halt this time.
Not a mere stoppage for an hour or two, but a stay of
some months."

" Very true, my dear Hood," replied the engineer, " now
you can arrange your hunting excursions as you please.
Behemoth's whistle won't hurry you back to camp."

" Do you hear, Fox? "

" Ay, ay, captain," answered the man.

" St. Hubert be my speed ! '" cried Hood. " I vow I
won't leave this sanitarium, as you call it, until the fiftieth
is added to my list ! The fiftieth, Fox ! I have an idea
that fellow will be particularly hard to get hold of."

" He will be got, though," put in Fox.

"What has put that idea into your head, captain?" I
asked.

" Oh, Maucler, it is merely a presentiment — a sports-
man's presentiment, nothing more."

" Well, then," said Banks, " from to-day, I suppose, you
will commence the campaign?''*

" From to-day," answered Captain Hood, " we shall be-
gin by reconnoitering the ground, so as to explore the lower
zone, by descending into the Terrai. Provided the tigers
have not abandoned their residences."

" Can you imagine such a thing? "

" Remember! my bad luck! "

" Bad luck! — in the Himalayas! " returned the engineer.
" Would that be possible? "

" Well, we shall see ! You will accompany us, Maucler? "
asked Captain Hood, turning to me.

" Yes, certainly."

"And you, Banks?"

"I also," replied the engineer; "and I fancy too that
Munro will join you, like myself — as an amateur."

264

MATHIAS VAN GUITT 265

" Oh," returned Hood, " come as amateurs if you like,
but you must be amateurs well armed. It would never do
to walk about with nothing but sticks in your hands. The
very wild beasts would hide themselves for shame."

" Agreed, then," said the engineer.

1 Now, Fox," continued the captain, addressing his ser-
vant, " no mistakes this time, please. We are in the tiger
country. Four Enfield rifles for the colonel, Mr. Banks,
Monsieur Maucler, and myself; two guns loaded with ex-
plosive ball for yourself and Goumi."

" Don't be afraid, captain," replied Fox. " The game
sha'n't have any reason to complain, I warrant you."

About eleven o'clock, therefore, Sir Edward Munro,
Banks, Hood, Fox, Goumi, and myself, all well armed,
descended the road which slanted toward the plain, taking
care to leave behind our two dogs, whose services were not
required in an expedition of this sort.

Sergeant McNeil remained in camp with Storr, Kalouth,
and the cook, to complete the arrangements. After his
two months' journey, Behemoth required to be examined
both inside and out, cleaned, and put in order. This was,
of course, a long, minute, and delicate operation, which
would give his usual keepers, the driver and stoker, occu-
pation for some time.

Soon after leaving our camp, a turn of the road quite hid
Steam House, which disappeared from our sight, behind a
thick curtain of trees. It no longer rained. A fresh wind
blew from the northeast, driving the hurrying clouds before
it. The sky was overcast, and the temperature consequently
suitable for pedestrians, but we missed the pretty variations
of light and shade which add such a charm to woodland
scenery.

The six thousand feet down a direct road would have
been but an affair of five-and-twenty or thirty minutes, but
it was lengthened by the windings it took to avoid
steep places. It took us not less than an hour and a half
to reach the outskirts of the forest, but we all enjoyed the
walk.

" Attention ! " exclaimed Captain Hood. " We are now
entering the domain of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and
other interesting inhabitants of the Himalayan region. It
is very exciting to destroy wild beasts, but it wouldn't be

266 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

quite so pleasant to be destroyed by them! Therefore, do
not stray away from each other, and be prudent."

Such advice from the lips of so bold a hunter was of con-
siderable value, and we respected it accordingly. We all
looked to the loading of our guns, and kept our eyes open.
I may add that we not only had to be on our guard against
wild beasts, but against serpents also, as the most dangerous
of their species infest the Indian forests. Belongas, green
serpents, whip snakes are frightfully venomous. The num-
ber of victims who succumb annually to the bite of these
reptiles is five or six times greater than that of do-
mestic animals or human beings who are killed by wild
beasts.

In this region it was no more than the commonest pru-
dence required, to look where you set your foot, or placed
your hand, to keep your ears open for the slightest rustle in
the grass or bushes, and your eyes, as much as possible,
everywhere at once.

At half-past twelve we were well into the forest. The
great trees formed wide alleys through which even Behe-
moth and his train might have passed with ease. Indeed,
this part of the forest had been partially cleared by the
hill-men, as we ascertained from the marks their carts had
left in the soft clay ground. The principal alleys ran
parallel with the mountain chain, along the greatest length
of the Terrai, connecting the glades formed by the wood-
man's ax, with more narrow paths which led off from them,
and ended in impenetrable thickets.

We followed these avenues, more like surveyors than
sportsmen, so as to ascertain their general direction. No
roar or scream broke the silence of the woods; but great
footprints, plainly recent, showed that wild beasts had not
deserted the Terrai.

Suddenly, just as we were turning an angle formed by
the hill, an exclamation from Captain Hood brought us all
to a standstill.

Twenty paces from us was a construction most peculiar
in its shape. It was not a house, for it had neither chimney
nor windows. It was not a hunter's lodge, for it had neither
loopholes nor embrasures. It might rather have been taken
for a native tomb, lost in the depths of the forest.

Imagine a sort of long cube, formed of trunks placed

MATHIAS VAN GUITT 267

vertically side by side, fixed firmly in the ground, and con-
nected with the upper part by a thick border of boughs.
For a roof, other transverse trunks were strongly mortised
into the walls. Evidently the builder of this edifice had
determined to make it proof against anything. It was
nearly six feet high, and twelve feet by five in length and
width. There was no sign of any opening, unless one was
hidden by a thick beam, of which the rounded top rose a
little above the rest of the building. Above the roof were
several long flexible tendrils, curiously arranged and tied
together. At the extremity of a horizontal lever, which
supported all this, hung a running knot, or rather noose,
made of a thick twist of creepers.

"Hallo, what's that?" I exclaimed.

" That," answered Banks, after examining it well, " is
simply a mouse-trap, and I leave you, my friends, to guess
what sort of mice it is destined to catch."

"A tiger-trap?" asked Hood.

" Yes," replied Banks, " a tiger-trap. You see the door
is closed by that beam, which was kept up by those tendrils,
and which must have dropped when the inner weight was
touched by some animal."

" It is the first time," said Hood, " that I ever saw a
snare of that kind in an Indian forest. A mouse-trap, in-
deed! But it isn't worthy of a sportsman."

" Nor of a tiger," added Fox.

" No doubt," said Banks, " but when it is a question of
destroying these ferocious animals, and not merely hunting
them for pleasure, the best trap is the one which catches
most. Now this appears to me most ingeniously arranged
to attract and detain wild creatures, however sly and strong
they may be."

" Allow me to remark, my friends," said Colonel Munro,
" that since the equilibrium of the weight which holds back
the door of the trap has been disturbed, the probability is
that some animal is taken in it."

" We shall soon know that," cried Captain Hood, " and
if the mouse is not dead "

The captain, giving force to his words, put his gun at full
cock. All followed his example.

We had no doubt now that the erection before us was a
trap, which, if it was not the work of a native, at any rate

268 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

was a very practical engine of destruction, being extremely
sensitive and uncommonly strong.

Our arrangements made, Captain Hood, Fox, and Goumi
approached and marched round the snare, examining it
minutely.

Not the smallest chink, however, gave them the least
glimpse into the interior.

They listened attentively. Not a sound betrayed the
presence of any living creature. All was silent as the grave.

Hood and his companions came round again to the front.
They ascertained that the beam slid up and down in two
wide vertical grooves. It was only necessary, therefore, to
raise this, and the entrance would be open.

" There's not the slightest sound," said Captain Hood,
with his ear close against the door, " not even a breath.
The mouse-trap is empty ! "

" Never mind that, you must be careful," and saying this,
Colonel Munro seated himself on the trunk of a fallen tree
to the left of the clearing. I placed myself beside him.

" Come, Goumi," said the captain.

Goumi, with his supple, well-knit frame, active as a
monkey, lithe as a leopard, a regular native acrobat, under-
stood directly what was required of him. His natural
adroitness designed him for the service the captain wished
done. One spring, and he was on the roof, and grasping
one of the rods. Then he crept along the lever till he
reached the rope of creepers, and by his weight brought it
down to the beam which closed the opening.

The loop was then passed over the head of the beam in
a notch made for the purpose. All that now remained to
be done was to move it by weighing down the other end
of the lever.

The united strength of our little party was required for
this, so Colonel Munro, Banks, Fox, and I proceeded to the
back of the trap. Goumi remained on the roof to look
after the lever, in case anything prevented it from working
freely.

" I say, you fellows," shouted Captain Hood, " if you
want me, I will come ; but if you can do without me, I would
prefer to stop where I am, near the opening. If a tiger pops
out, he shall be saluted with one shot, at any rate ! '

" And will that count for your forty-second ? " asked I.

MATHIAS VAN GUITT 269

" Why not? " answered Hood. " If I shoot him, he will
have fallen in freedom."

' Don't count your chickens before they are hatched,"
said the engineer.

" Especially when the chicken may turn out to be a
tiger," added the colonel.

" Now, my friends," cried Banks, " all together."

The beam was heavy, and did not run easily in the
grooves ; we managed, however, to move it just a foot from
the ground, but then it stuck.

Captain Hood, with his gun at full cock, bent down, ex-
pecting to see some huge paw or nose poking out. Nothing
was to be seen.

" Once more ! " cried Banks. Goumi now gave a jerk
or two to the lever, and the beam again moved up. Grad-
ually the opening became large enough to give passage even
to an animal of great size. But no creature of any descrip-
tion appeared.

It was possible, after all, that owing to the noise made
around the trap, the prisoner might have retreated into the
farthest corner of his prison. He might perhaps be waiting
for a favorable opportunity to spring out, overturn any-
thing that opposed him, and disappear in the depths of the
forest. It was very exciting.

At last I saw Captain Hood step forward, his finger on
the trigger, and cast a keen glance into the interior of the
snare. The beam was by this time completely raised, and
the sunlight streamed freely into the building.

At that moment, a slight rustle was heard inside, then a
great snore, or rather a tremendous yawn which had a very
suspicious sound. Evidently an animal was in there, which
had been fast asleep and was now awakening.

Captain Hood advanced still nearer, and pointed his gun
at a dark object which he now saw moving in a corner.

Suddenly a cry of terror burst forth, followed imme-
diately by these words, spoken in good English, " Don't
fire ! For heaven's sake, don't fire ! "

The man who uttered them ran out. Our astonishment
was such that our hands left their grasp of the lever,
and the beam fell again with a dull sound before the
opening.

In the meantime, the personage who had so unexpectedly

270 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

made his appearance, came up to Captain Hood, whose
gun was aimed full at the stranger's breast, and in a some-
what affected tone, accompanied by an emphatic gesture,
' I beg you will lower your weapon, sir," he said. " It is
no tiger that you have to deal with."

Captain Hood, after some hesitation, returned his rifle
to a less threatening position.

" Whom have I the honor of addressing? " asked Banks,
advancing in his turn.

" The naturalist Mathias van Guitt, purveyor of pachy-
dermata, tardigrades, plantigrades, proboscidate animals,
carnivora, and other mammalia for the house of Mr.
Charles Rice of London, and Messrs. Hagenback of Ham-
burg."

Then indicating us by a comprehensive wave of the arm —
"These gentlemen ?"

" Are Colonel Munro and his traveling companions," an-
swered Banks.

" Taking a walk in the Himalayan forest," resumed the
purveyor. " A charming excursion indeed. I am happy
to pay my respects to you, gentlemen."

Who could this original be, whom we had met in such
a strange way? He looked rather as if his wits had gone
astray during his imprisonment in the tiger-trap. Was he
mad, or was he in possession of his senses? Lastly, to
what order of bimana did this individual belong?

We were about to ascertain all this, and we were destined
eventually to learn to know well this singular person, who
with perfect truth termed himself a naturalist. Mathias van
Guitt, menagerie purveyor, was a spectacled man of about
fifty. His smooth face, his twinkling eyes, his turned-up
nose, the perpetual stir of his whole person, his exaggerated
gestures, suited to each of the sentences which issued from
his wide mouth, all combined to make him a perfect type
of the old provincial comedian. Who has not, at some time
or another, met one of these ancient actors, whose whole
existence, limited by a horizon of foot-lamps and drop-
scene, has been passed between the green-room and stage
of a theater? Indefatigable talkers, worrying gesticulators,
always striking some theatrical attitude or other, and the
head, which is too empty at old age to have ever had much
in it, carried high in air, and thrown a little back. There

MATHTAS VAN GUITT, 271

was certainly something of the old actor in Mathias van
Guitt.

I have heard an amusing anecdote about a poor wretch
of a singer, who prided himself on always suiting his actions
to the words of his part. Thus, in the opera of " Ma-
saniello," when he sung, —

" If of a Neapolitan fisher ..."

his right arm, extended toward the audience, would shake
as if he held at the end of a line the fish which had just
swallowed his hook. Then continuing, —

" Heaven wish'd to make a monarch,"

while one hand was raised toward the roof to indicate
Heaven, the other, tracing a circle around his proudly-set
head, denoted a royal crown.

" Rebelling against the decrees of destiny,"

his whole body seemed strongly to resist some unseen
agency which almost threw him backward.

" He would say as he steer'd his bark . . . . "

Then his two arms, quickly brought from left to right, and
from right to left, as if moving the scull, showed his skill
in guiding a boat.

Well, these gestures, customary with the singer in ques-
tion, were very similar to those used by Mathias van Guitt.
His language was always composed of the choicest terms,
and he was sometimes rather annoying to his interlocu-
tors if they could not keep beyond the radius of his
gestures.

As we learned later, from his own mouth, Mathias van
Guitt was formerly Professor of Natural History in the
Rotterdam Museum, but did not succeed in his teaching.
The worthy man was doubtless a subject for much laughter,
and though pupils flocked to his chair, it was to amuse
themselves, not to learn. In short, circumstances induced
him to leave his wearisome, unsuccessful teaching of theoret-
ical zoology and take to practical zoology in the East
Indies. This sort of trade suited him better, and he be-
came the agent of important firms in London and Ham-

272 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

burg, who provide both public and private menageries in
the two worlds. A large order from Europe for wild
beasts had now brought him into the Terrai. Indeed, his
camp was not more than a couple of miles from the trap
out of which we had just extricated him.

But how had the purveyor got into the snare? This
Banks soon asked, and the reply was made in high-flown
language, adorned with various gestures.

" It was yesterday. Already had the sun completed half
his daily round, when the thought occurred to me that I
would go and visit one of the tiger-traps erected in the
forest. I therefore quitted my kraal, which I trust you will
honor with a visit, gentlemen, and soon reached this clear-
ing. My servants were attending to some urgent work,
and I did not wish to disturb them. It was imprudent, I
confess. When I arrived before this snare, I observed that
the movable beam was raised. From this I drew the
logical conclusion that no wild animal had allowed itself
to be taken in it. However, wishing to ascertain if the
bait was still in its place, and if the working of the
weight was in good order, I, with a quick movement, in-
sinuated my body through the narrow aperture." Here
the hand of Mathias van Guitt imitated the graceful un-
dulations of a serpent as it glides through the long
grass.

" When I reached the other side of the trap," he con-
tinued, " I examined the quarter of a goat, the emanations
from which were to attract guests to partake of it from
this part of the forest. The bait was intact. I was about
to withdraw, when an involuntary blow from my arm dis-
placed the weight, the rope became loose, the beam fell,
and I found myself taken in my own snare, without any
possible means of escape." Mathias van Guitt paused
a moment to allow us to take in all the gravity of the situa-
tion.

" Yet, gentlemen," he resumed, " I will not conceal from
you, that I was first of all struck by the comic view of the
matter. I was imprisoned, well ! There was no jailer to
open the door of my dungeon, granted ! But I thought
indeed, that my people, finding that I did not reappear at
the kraal, would become uneasy at my prolonged absence
and commence a search which sooner or later would

MATHIAS VAN GUITT 273

end in my being discovered. It was but an affair of time.

1 Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage.'

I consoled myself with these thoughts, and the hours passed
away without anything occurring to modify my situation.
The shades of evening fell, and pangs of hunger made
themselves felt. I imagined the best thing I could do would
be to cheat time by sleeping. I resigned myself then phil-
osophically, and was soon in the arms of Morpheus. The
night was calm, and silence reigned throughout the forest.
Nothing troubled my slumber, and perhaps I should even
now be oblivious, if it had not been that I was awakened
by an unusual noise. The door of the trap rose slowly,
the blessed light of day streamed into my darksome retreat,
the way of escape was open before me ! What was my dis-
may, when I perceived the instrument of death aimed full
at my heart! A moment more, and I should have been
stretched lifeless on the ground! The hour of my deliver-
ance would have been the last of my life! But the gallant
captain soon recognized in me a creature of his own species.
And I have still to thank you, gentlemen, for having restored
to me my liberty."

Such was our new friend's account of himself. It must
be acknowledged that we had some difficulty in keeping
our gravity, so absurd were his tone and gestures. ■

" So, sir," said Banks, " your camp is established in this
part of the Terrai? "

" Yes, sir," replied Mathias van Guitt. " As I had the
pleasure of informing you, my kraal is not more than two
miles from here, and if you will honor it with your presence,
I shall be happy to receive you there."

" Certainly, Mr. van Guitt," answered Colonel Munro,
" we will come and pay you a visit."

" We are hunters," added Captain Hood, " and the ar-
rangements of a kraal will interest us."

" Hunters! " cried Mathias van Guitt, " hunters! " And
his countenance betrayed that he held the sons of Nimrod
in very moderate estimation. " You hunt wild beasts — for

V XII Verne

274 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

the sake of killing them doubtless? " he resumed, addressing
the captain.

" Only to kill them," replied Hood.

" And I only to catch them," answered the purveyor,
with evident pride.

" Well, Mr. van Guitt, we sha'n't agree upon that point,"
said Captain Hood.

The purveyor shook his head. The discovery of our hunt-
ing propensities was not, however, of importance enough
to make him withdraw his invitation. " When you are
ready to follow me, gentlemen," said he, bowing gracefully.

As he spoke, voices were heard in the distance, and very
soon half a dozen natives appeared at the other end of the
glade. "Ah! here are my people," said Van Guitt.

Then approaching us closer, and placing his finger on his
lips, " Not a word of my adventure ! " he whispered. " The
attendants and servants of the kraal must not know that I
have been caught in my own trap like some common animal !
It would lessen the reputation for wisdom which I endeavor
to preserve in their eyes."

Our sign of acquiescence reassured the purveyor.

" Master," said one of the natives, whose impassible and
intelligent countenance attracted my attention ; " master,
we have been searching for you for more than an hour,
without "

" I was with these gentlemen, who wish to accompany
me to the kraal," answered Van Guitt. " But before quit-
ting the clearing, the trap must be put in order."

While the natives were proceeding to obey their master's
orders, Mathias van Guitt invited us to visit the interior
of the trap. Captain Hood entered with alacrity, and I
followed. The space was somewhat limited for the display
of our host's gestures, but he nevertheless did the honors
as though it were a drawing-room.

" I congratulate you," said Hood, after examining the
apparatus. " It is exceedingly well contrived."

" I do not hesitate to say that it is, captain," replied Van
Guitt. " This description of snare is infinitely preferable
to the ditches set with stakes of hardened wood, or the
flexible branches of trees bent together so as to form a
running knot. In the first case, the animal is impaled on
the sharp points; in the second, it is strangled. That, of

MATHIAS VAN GUITT 275

course, matters little when the object is merely to kill and
destroy. But I who now speak to you must procure the
living creature intact, with not the slightest blemish."

"Certainly," said Captain Hood; " we do not proceed in
the same way."

" Mine is perhaps the best," said the purveyor. " If you
were to consult the animals themselves "

" But I have no intention of consulting them," replied
the captain.

Mathias van Guitt and Captain Hood would have some
trouble in getting on together, most decidedly.

" Now when the animals are caught in the trap," I asked,
"what do you do next?"

" A rolling cage is brought close to the trap," replied
Van Guitt, " the prisoners run into it of their own accord,
and then all I have to do is to convey them to the kraal,
drawn at a slow and steady pace by my domestic buffaloes."

Scarcely were these words uttered when cries arose out-
side. Captain Hood and I immediately hastened out of the
building. What had happened?

A whip-snake, of the most venomous species, lay on the
ground, cut in two pieces by a rod which one of the natives
held in his hand, just as it was darting at the colonel. The
man was the one I had at first remarked, and his rapid in-
tervention had certainly saved Sir Edward from immediate
death.

The cry we had heard was uttered by another of the
servants, who now lay on the grass in the agonies of death.
By a deplorable fatality, the head of the snake, as it was
severed from the body, had bounded against the unfortunate
man's chest, its fangs had entered him, and penetrated by
the subtle poison, in less than a minute he was dead, all
help proving unavailing.

Rousing ourselves from the horror caused by this dread-
ful sight, we ran up to Colonel Munro. " You are not
hurt? " exclaimed Banks, grasping his hand.

" No, Banks, no, make yourself easy," answered Sir
Edward.

Then advancing toward the native, to whom he owed
his life. " I thank you, friend," he said.

The native made a sign as if to say that no thanks were
necessary, for that.

276 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" What is your name? " asked the colonel.
" Kalagani," answered the Hindoo.

CHAPTER III

THE KRAAL

The death of this unfortunate man made a deep impres-
sion upon us, both from the fact itself and from the cause,
though it was anything but an unusual occurrence. It was
but one more added to the thousands who annually fall vic-
tims in India to the formidable reptiles.

It has been said — jestingly I presume — that formerly
there were no snakes in Martinique, but that the English
imported them when they were obliged to give up the island
to France. The French had no occasion to retaliate in this
manner when they yielded their conquest in India, for
Nature had shown herself only too prodigal in that respect.

Under the influence of the venom, the body of the Hindoo
began to exhibit signs of rapid decomposition. A speedy
burial was necessary. His companions, therefore, set to
work, and soon laid him in a grave deep enough to protect
the body from wild beasts. When this sad ceremony was
ended, Mathias van Guitt invited us to accompany him to
his kraal, and we readily did so.

Half an hour's walk brought us to the place, which de-
served its name of kraal, though it is a word more especially
used by the settlers of South Africa.

It was a wide inclosure, standing in a glade in the depths
of the forest. Mathias van Guitt had arranged it with a
perfect understanding of the requirements of his trade. A
row of high palisades, having a gate wide enough to admit
carts, surrounded it on the four sides. Inside was a long
hut, made of trunks of trees and planks, which was the
dwelling-place.

Six cages, divided into several compartments, and each
mounted on four wheels, were drawn up in the left end of
the inclosure. From the roars which issued from them,
we concluded they were not untenanted.

To the left were penned a dozen buffaloes, which were
fed on the mountain grass. These were the animals used
to draw the traveling menagerie. Six men, who attended to

THE KRAAL 277

these creatures and drove the carts, and ten others who
were especially skillful in the chase, completed the staff of
attendants in the kraal.

The carters were hired only for the duration of the cam-
paign. Their services ended by driving the carts to the
nearest railway station. There the cages were placed on
trucks, and wheeled off, via Allahabad, to Bombay or Cal-
cutta. The hunters, who were Hindoos, are called shikar-
rics. They were employed to discover and follow up the
traces of animals, dislodge them, and then assist in their
capture.

Mathias van Guitt and his men had lived for some months
in this kraal. They were there exposed, not only to the
attacks of ferocious beasts, but also to the fevers with which
the Terrai is infested. The damp nights, the pernicious
evaporations from the ground, the moist heat hanging about
under the thick-growing trees, through which the sun never
penetrates, all combine to make this lower zone of the Him-
alayas a most unhealthy region. The purveyor and his men
were, however, so well acclimatized, that the malaria affected
them no more than it did the tigers or other inhabitants
of the Terrai.

It would not have been wise for us to live in the kraal,
nor did this enter into Captain Hood's plan. Except for a
night or two passed on the watch, we intended living in
Steam House, which was too high up for any baleful vapors
to reach us there.

Here were we, then, arrived at Van Guitt's encampment.
The door opened for us to enter. Mathias van Guitt ap-
peared particularly flattered by our visit. " Now, gentle-
men," he said, " permit me to do the honors of my kraal.
This establishment is replete with every necessary for the
pursuit of my vocation. In reality, it is but a hut on a
large scale, which, in this country, hunters call a houddi."

Saying this, our host opened the door of the dwelling
which he and his people occupied together. Nothing could
have been more simple. One room for the master, another
for the carters, and another for the shikarries. A fourth,
rather larger, serving for both kitchen and dining-room.

After visiting the habitation of " these bimana, belonging
to the highest order of mammalia," we were requested to
look at the nearest of the quadruped's dwellings. This was

278 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

the most interesting part of the kraal. The cages were not
like the comfortable dens of a zoological garden, but re-
called rather the appearance of a traveling show. All that
was required to complete them was a gaudily-painted canvas
hung above a stage, and representing in startling colors a
tamer, in pink tights and velvet jacket, striking an attitude
in the midst of a bounding herd of wild beasts, who, with
bloody jaws and claws outspread, were cowering under the
lash of some heroic Van Amburgh.

A few paces farther on were the buffaloes. They oc-
cupied a portion of the kraal on the right, and their daily
rations of fresh grass were brought to them there. It would
have been impossible to allow these animals to stray in the
neighboring pastures. As Mathias van Guitt elegantly re-
marked, " the freedom of pasture, allowable in the United
Kingdom, is incompatible with the dangers presented by the
Himalayan forests."

The menagerie, properly so called, comprised six cages
on wheels. Each cage, with a barred front, was divided
into three compartments. Doors, or rather partitions, moved
from the top, made it easy for the animals in one compart-
ment to be driven into another when necessary.

The cages at the present time contained seven tigers, two
lions, three panthers, and a couple of leopards.

Van Guitt informed us that his stock would not be com-
plete until he had captured two leopards, three tigers, and
one lion more. Then he intended leaving this camp, pro-
ceeding to the nearest railway station, and thence traveling
to Bombay.

The wild beasts were easily watched in their cages, and
proved to be magnificent creatures, but particularly fero-
cious. They had been too recently caught to have yet become
accustomed to a state of captivity. This was plain from
their constant roars, their restless pacings up and down, and
the blows they gave the bars, straining them in many places.

On seeing us, their rage was redoubled ; but Van Guitt
was not in the least disturbed.

" Poor beasts ! " remarked Captain Hood.

" Poor beasts ! " echoed Fox.

" Do you believe, then, that they are more to be pitied
than those which you kill?" asked our host, somewhat
sharply.

THE KRAAL 279

" Less to be pitied than blamed . . . for allowing them-
selves to be caught! " returned Hood.

If it is true that the wild beasts of a country such as
Africa are sometimes compelled to undergo a long fast,
because the animals upon which they feed are scarce, such
could never be the case in the Terrai zone. Here abound
bisons, buffaloes, zebras, boars, antelopes, to which the lions,
tigers, and panthers are constantly giving chase. Besides
goats and flocks of sheep, not to mention the poor ryots
who are their shepherds, offer a certain and easy prey.
They always find abundance in the Himalayan forests to
satisfy their hunger. The purveyor fed his menagerie chiefly
on the flesh of bison and zebras, and it was the shikarries'
duty to procure this meat.

It is a mistake to imagine that this species of hunting
is without danger. Quite the contrary. The tiger himself
has much to fear from the savage buffalo, who is a terrible
animal when wounded. Many a hunter has, to his horror,
found his antagonist rooting up, with its horns, the tree in
which he has taken refuge.

It is said that the eye of a ruminant is a regular mag-
nifying lens, increasing the size of an object threefold, and
that man, in this gigantic aspect, awes him. It is also
asserted that the upright position of a human being walking
is of a nature to terrify ferocious animals, and, therefore,
that it is far better to face them standing than lying or
crouching down. I cannot tell how much truth there may
be in these statements ; but it is very certain that a man,
even when drawn up to his full height, produces no effect
whatever on the savage buffalo; and if his shot misses, he
is almost certainly lost.

The buffalo of India has a short, square head, smooth
horns, flattened at the base, a humped back — like its Amer-
ican congener — its legs, from the foot to the knee, being
white, and its size, from the root of the tail to the end of
its muzzle, measuring sometimes twelve feet. Although it
is not particularly ferocious when feeding in herds on the
plain, it yet is very formidable to any hunter who rashly
attacks it.

The purveyor, who knew his business, was very sparing
as to his captives' food. Once a day, at twelve o'clock, four
or five pounds of meat were given them, and nothing more.

280 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

He even, though not from any religious motive, allowed
them to fast from Saturday to Monday. They must have
passed a dismal Sunday! Then, when forty-eight hours
had elapsed, and their modest pittance appeared, the excite-
ment and the roaring may be imagined, the cages actually
swaying backward and forward with the movement of the
springing, bounding creatures inside.

Yes, poor beasts! we may be tempted to say with Cap-
tain Hood. But Mathias van Guitt did not act thus without
a motive; and this enforced abstinence was good for the
animals, and heightened their price in the European market.

It may easily be imagined that while Van Guitt was ex-
hibiting his collection, more as a naturalist than a show-
man, his tongue was not allowed to stand still. On the
contrary. He talked, he described, he related; and as wild
beasts were the principal subjects of his redundant periods,
it was all tolerably interesting to us.

" But, Mr. van Guitt," said Banks, " can you tell me if
the profits of the trade are in proportion to the risks that
are run? "

" Sir," answered the purveyor, " it was formerly ex-
tremely remunerative. However, for the last few years, I
have been forced to perceive that ferocious animals have
declined. You may judge of this by the current prices of
the last quotation. Our principal market is the Zoological
Garden in Antwerp. Volatiles, ophidians, specimens of the
simian and saurian family, representatives of the carnivora
of both hemispheres, such is the consuetudinal "

At this word Captain Hood bowed.

" — produce of our adventurous battues in the forests of
the peninsula. From one cause or another the public taste
seems to have altered, and the sale price is sometimes less
than what was expended on the capture! For instance, a
male ostrich is now sold but for 44/., and the female for 32/.
A black panther found a purchaser for only 60/., a Java
tigress for 96/., and a family of lions — father, mother,
uncle, and two healthy cubs — were sold in a lump for 280//'
They really went for nothing," said Banks.

" As to proboscidate animals — " resumed Van Guitt.

" Proboscidate ? " said Captain Hood.
' We call by that scientific name those pachydermata
which nature has furnished with a trunk."

THE KRAAL 281

" Such as elephants ! "

" Yes, elephants since the quaternary period. They were
* mastodons ' in the prehistoric times."

" Thank you," replied Hood.

" As to proboscidate animals," resumed Van Guitt, " we
must soon renounce even their capture, unless it is for the
sake of their tusks ; for the consumption of ivory has in no
way diminished. But since the authors of dramatic pieces,
at their wit's end for some novelty, have conceived the idea
of introducing these creatures on the stage, they are taken
about from one town to another ; so that the same elephant,
parading the country with a strolling company, satisfies the
curiosity of a whole province. From this cause, elephants
are in less request than formerly."

" But," I asked, " do you only supply European men-
ageries with these specimens of the Indian fauna? '

" You will pardon me," replied Mathias van Guitt, " if
on this subject, sir, I allow myself, without being too curious,
to put to you a simple question? "

I bowed in token of acquiescence.

" You are French, sir," said the purveyor. " That is
plainly seen, not only by your accent, but by your type, which
is an agreeable combination of the Gallo-Roman and the
Celt. Now, as a Frenchman, you cannot have any propensity
for distant journeys, and probably have not made the tour
of the world ? " Here Van Guitt's hand described one of
the great circles of the sphere.

" I have not yet had that pleasure," I replied.

" I will ask you, then, sir," continued our friend, " not
if you have been to. the Indies, as you are already here,
but if you are thoroughly acquainted with the Indian pen-
insula? "

" Imperfectly as yet," I answered. " However, I have
already visited Bombay, Calcutta, Benares, Allahabad, and
the valley of the Ganges. I have seen their monuments, I
have admired "

"Ah! what is that, sir, what is all that?" interrupted
Mathias van Guitt, turning away his head, and shaking his
hand, in a manner to express supreme disdain.

Then launching out into an animated description, " Yes,
what is all that, if you have not visited the menageries of
those powerful rajahs, who maintain the worship of the

282 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

superb animals, on which the sacred territory of India prides
itself? Resume your tourist's staff, sir. Go into Guicowar,
and render homage to the King of Baroda. Inspect his
menageries, which owe the greater number of their tenants,
lions from Kattiwar, bears, panthers, cheetahs, lynx, and
tigers, to me. Be present at the celebration of the marriage
of his sixty thousand pigeons, which takes place every year,
with great pomp! Admire his five hundred bulbuls, the
nightingales of the peninsula, whose education is attended
to as carefully as if they were heirs to the throne! Con-
template the elephants ; one of them is the executioner, and
his business it is to dash the head of the condemned man
on the stone of punishment! Then transfer yourself to the
establishments of the Rajah of Maissour, the richest of
Asiatic sovereigns. Enter his palace, where you may count
hundreds of rhinoceri, elephants, tigers, and every creature
of high rank which belongs to the animal aristocracy of
India! And when you have seen all this, sir, perhaps you
need no longer be accused of ignorance of the marvels of
this incomparable country! "

I could do no more than bow before these remarks. Van
Guitt's impassioned style of representing things admitted
of no discussion.

Captain Hood, however, pressed him more directly about
the particular fauna of this region of the Terrai.

" A little information, if you please," he said, " about the
wild beasts which I have come to this part of India to hunt.
Although I am only a sportsman, and I repeat, I do not
compete with you, Mr. van Guitt, yet if I could be of any
use in capturing the tigers which you still want for your
collection, I shall only be too pleased to do so. But, when
your menagerie is completed, you must not take it ill if I,
in my turn, shoot a few for my own personal amusement."

Mathias van Guitt put himself into the attitude of a man
who has resigned himself to submit to what he disapproves
of, but does not know how to prevent. He admitted, how-
ever, that the Terrai contains a considerable number of
troublesome animals, in no great request in the European
markets, so that their sacrifice might be permitted.

" Kill the boars, I consent to that," said he. " Although
these swine of the order of pachydermata, are not carni-
vorous "

THE KRAAL 283

" Carnivorous? " said Captain Hood.
' I mean by that, that they are herbivorous ; their ferocity
is so great, that hunters who are rash enough to attack
them run the greatest danger."

"And wolves?"

' Wolves are numerous all over the peninsula, and are
much to be dreaded when they advance in herds on some
solitary farm. These animals slightly resemble the wolf of
Poland, and I certainly have not much esteem either for
jackals or wild dogs. I do not deny the ravages they com-
mit, and as they have not the smallest marketable value,
and are unworthy to figure among the higher classes of
zoo-ocracy, I will abandon them also to you, Captain Hood."

"And bears?" I next asked.

" Bears are good, sir," answered the zoologist with a nod
of approval. " Although those of India are not sought for
quite as eagerly as others of the family Ursidae, they never-
theless possess a certain commercial value which recom-
mends them to the benevolent attention of connoisseurs.
Your taste might hesitate between the two species which we
find in the valleys of Cashmere and the hills of Rajmahal.
But, except perhaps in the hibernating period, these crea-
tures are almost inoffensive, and, in short, would not tempt
the cynegetic instincts of a true sportsman, such as I hold
Captain Hood to be."

The captain smiled in a significant manner, showing well
that with or without the permission of Mathias van Guitt,
he meant only to refer to himself on these special questions.

" These animals," continued Van Guitt, " feed only on
vegetables, and have nothing in common with the ferocious
species, on which the peninsula so justly plumes itself."

" Do you include the leopard in your list of wild beasts ? "
asked Captain Hood.

" Most certainly, sir. This creature is active, bold, full
of courage, and he can climb trees, so for that reason he is
sometimes more formidable than the tiger."

" Oh! " ejaculated the captain.

" Sir," answered Mathias van Guitt in a dignified tone,
" when a hunter is no longer sure of finding a refuge in
trees, he is very near being hunted in his turn ! ':

" And the panther? " asked Captain Hood, willing to cut
short this discussion.

284 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" The panther is superb," answered Mathias van Guitt ;
" and you may observe, gentlemen, that I have some mag-
nificent specimens. Astonishing animals, which by a singular
contradiction, an antilogy, to use an uncommon word, may
be trained for the chase. Yes, gentlemen, in Guicowar
especially, the rajahs use panthers in this noble exercise.
They are taken out in a palanquin, with their heads muffled
like a falcon or a merlin! Indeed, they are regular four-
footed hawks! No sooner do the hunters come in sight
of a herd of antelopes, than the panther is unhooded, and
flies upon the timid ruminants, whose feet, swift as they
are, cannot carry them beyond the reach of those terrible
claws! Yes, captain, yes! You will find panthers in the
Terrai ! You may perhaps find more than you care for, but
I warn you charitably that they are by no means tame ! ':

" I should hope not," was Captain Hood's reply.

" Nor the lions either," added the zoologist, somewhat
vexed at this answer.

"Ah! lions!" said Hood. "Let us speak a little about
lions, please! "

" Well, sir," resumed Mathias van Guitt, " I regard the
so-called king of beasts as inferior to his congeners of an-
cient Libya. Here the males do not wear that mane which
is the appendage of the African lion, and in my opinion,
they are, therefore, but shorn Sampsons! They have, be-
sides, almost entirely disappeared from Central India to
seek a refuge in the Kattiwar peninsula, the desert of Theil,
and the Terrai forest. These degenerate felines, living soli-
tary, like hermits, do not gain strength by frequenting the
company of their fellows. Therefore, I do not give them
the first place in the scale of quadrupeds. Indeed, gentle-
men, you may escape from a lion, from a tiger, never!'

" Ah! tigers! " cried Captain Hood.

" Yes, tigers ! " echoed Fox.

" The tiger," replied Van Guitt, growing animated, " to
him belongs the crown. We speak of the royal tiger, not
the royal lion, and that is but justice. India belongs en-
tirely to him, and may be summed up in him. Was he not
the first occupant of the soil ? Was it not his right to look
upon as invaders, not only the representatives of the Anglo-
Saxon race, but also the polar race? Is he not indeed the
true child of this sacred land of Aryvarta? These mag-

THE KRAAL 285

nificent animals are spread over the whole surface of the
peninsula, and they have not abandoned a single district
of their ancestors, from Cape Comerin to the Himalayan
barrier! "

And Mathias van Guitt's arm, stretched out to denote the
southern promontory, was now waved northward toward
the mountain peaks.

" In the Sunderbunds," he continued, " they are at home!
There they reign as masters, and woe to all who attempt
to dispute with them their territory! In the Neilgherry
Hills they roam about in a body, like wild cats.

"'Si parva licet componere magnis!'

You can understand from this why these superb felidae
are in such demand in all European markets, and are the
pride of menageries! What is the great attraction in the
public or private wild beast show? The tiger! When
do you most fear for the life of the tamer? When he is
in the tiger's cage! For what animals do the rajahs pay
their weight in gold to obtain them to ornament their royal
gardens? The tiger! What creature is always at a pre-
mium in the wild animal market exchange of London, Ant-
werp, and Hamburg? The tiger! In what chase do British
officers in India so distinguish themselves? In the tiger
hunt! Do you know, gentlemen, what entertainment the
independent sovereigns of India provide for their guests?
A royal tiger in a cage is brought. The cage is placed in
the midst of a wide plain. The rajah, his guests, his officers,
his guards, are armed with lances, revolvers, and rifles, and
are, for the most part, mounted on gallant solipeds "

" Solipeds? " said Captain Hood.

" Their horses, if you prefer the more vulgar word.
Already the solipeds, terrified by the near neighborhood of
the tiger, his scent, and the light which gleams from his
eyes, rear, so that it requires all their rider's skill to manage
them. Suddenly the door of the cage is thrown open. The
monster springs forth ; with wild leaps he flies on the
scattered groups ; in his fury he immolates a hecatomb of
victims. Although sometimes he contrives to break through
the circle of fire and sword with which he is surrounded,
more often he is overcome and falls, one against a hundred.

286 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

But, at least, his death is a glorious one, it is avenged be-
forehand."

" Bravo, Mr. van Guitt," cried Captain Hood, in his turn
becoming quite excited. " Yes, that must be a fine sight.
Truly the tiger is the king of beasts."

" A royalty, too, which defies revolution," added the
zoologist.

" You have caught many, Mr. van Guitt," said Hood,
" I have killed many, and I hope not to leave the Terrai
until the fiftieth has fallen by my shot."

" Captain," said the purveyor with a frown, " I have de-
livered up to you boars, wolves, bears, and buffaloes, will
not those suffice to gratify your sporting mania? '

I saw that our friend Hood would burst forth with as
much animation as Mathias van Guitt on this exciting ques-
tion. Had the one captured more tigers than the other had
killed? Was it better to catch or shoot them? This was
the matter and theme of discussion! The captain and the
zoologist commenced to exchange rapid sentences, both
speaking at once, and apparently not in the least comprehend-
ing what the other said.

Banks interposed. " That tigers are the kings of creation
is understood, gentlemen, but I must be permitted to add
that they are very dangerous to their subjects. In 1862,
if I am not mistaken, these excellent felidse devoured all
the telegraph clerks in the Island of Sangor. We are also
told of a tigress who, in three years, made no less than a
hundred and eighteen victims, and another, who in the
same space of time destroyed a hundred and twenty-seven
persons. That is rather too much, even for a queen ! Lastly,
since the mutiny, in an interval of three years, twelve thou-
sand five hundred and fifty-four individuals have perished
by tigers teeth or claws."

" But, sir," replied Van Guitt, " you seem to forget that
these animals are omophagae."

"Omophagse?" said Captain Hood.

" Yes, eaters of raw flesh, and the natives say that when
they have once tasted human flesh, they never care for any
other!"

"Well, sir?" said Banks.

" Well, sir," answered Mathias van Guitt, smiling, " they
obey their nature! . . . They certainly must eat! '

CHAPTER IV

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI

This remark of the zoologist ended our visit to the kraal,
as it was time to return to Steam House.

I must say that Captain Hood and Mathias van Guitt
did not part the best friends in the world. One wished to
destroy the wild beasts of the Terrai, the other wished to
catch them ; yet there were plenty to satisfy both.

It was, however, agreed that intercourse between the
kraal and the sanitarium should be frequent. Each was
to give information to the other. Van Guitt's shikarries,
who were well acquainted with this sort of expedition, and
knew every turn of the forest, were to render a service to
Captain Hood by showing him the tracks of animals. The
zoologist most obligingly placed all his men, and especially
Kalagani, at his disposal. This native, although but re-
cently engaged at the kraal, showed himself very intelligent,
and completely to be depended on.

In return, Captain Hood promised, as far as lay in his
power, to aid in the capture of the animals which were yet
wanting to complete the stock of Mathias van Guitt.

Before leaving the kraal, Sir Edward Munro, who prob-
ably did not purpose making many visits there, again thanked
Kalagani, whose intervention had saved him. He told him
that he should always be welcome at Steam House.

The native saluted coldly. Although he must have felt
some sentiment of satisfaction at hearing the man whose
life he had preserved speak thus, he allowed no trace of it
to appear on his countenance.

We returned in time for dinner. As may be imagined,
Mathias van Guitt was our chief subject of conversation.
" By Jove! what an absurd fellow he is," said the captain.
" What with his gestures, his fine choice of words, and his
grand expression, he is a caution! Only, if he fancies that
wild beasts are mere subjects for exhibition, he is greatly
mistaken ! "

On the three following days, the 27th, 28th, and 29th of
June, rain fell with such violence, that our hunters, to their
great annoyance, could not dream of leaving Steam House.
In such dreadful weather it would be impossible to find a
track, and the carnivora, who are no fonder of water than

287

238 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

are cats, would not willingly leave their clens. At last the
weather showed signs of clearing, and Hood, Fox, Goumi,
and I made preparations for descending to the kraal.

During the morning, some mountaineers came to pay us
a visit. They had heard that a miraculous pagoda had been
transported to the Himalayas, and a lively feeling of curios-
ity had brought them to Steam House.

They were fine types of the Thibetian frontier race. Full
of warlike virtues, of tried loyalty, practising liberal hospital-
ity, and far superior, both morally and physically, to the
natives of the plains. The supposed pagoda astonished
them; but Behemoth so impressed them as to draw from
them marks of adoration. He was now at rest, what would
not these good people have felt if they had seen him, vomit-
ing forth flame and smoke, and ascending with a steady step
the rough slopes of their mountains !

Colonel Munro gave a kind reception to these men, who
usually frequented the territories of Nepaul, on the Indo
Chinese boundary. The conversation turned for a time on
that part of the frontier where Nana Sahib had taken re-
fuge, after the defeat of the sepoys.

These hillmen knew scarcely so much as we did our-
selves on this matter. The rumors of the nabob's death
had reached them, and they cast no doubt upon it. As to
those of his companions who had survived, perhaps they
had sought a more secure refuge in the depths of Thibet;
but to find them in that country would have been difficult.
Indeed, if Colonel Munro, in coming to the north of the
peninsula, had had any idea of throwing light on Nana
Sahib's history, this reply should have satisfied him. In
listening to our visitors he remained thoughtful, and took
no more part in the conversation.

Captain Hood put some questions to them, but on quite
another point. He learned that wild beasts, more partic-
ularly tigers, had made frightful ravages in the lower zone
of the Himalayas. Farms, and even whole villages, had
been deserted by their inhabitants. Many flocks of goats
and sheep had been already destroyed, besides numerous
victims among the natives. Notwithstanding the consider-
able sum offered by the government — three hundred rupees
for every tiger's head — the number of these creatures did
not appear to diminish, and people were asking themselves

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 289

whether they would not soon be obliged to leave the country
to them entirely.

The hillmen also added this information, that the tigers
did not confine themselves entirely to the Terrai. When-
ever the plain offered them tall grass, jungle, and trees
among which they could crouch, there they might be met
with in great numbers. " The evil beasts ! ' was their
expression.

These honest people had very good cause not to profess
the same opinions on the subject of tigers as the zoologist
Mathias van Guitt and our friend Captain Hood.

The mountaineers retired, enchanted with the reception
they had met with, and promising to repeat their visit to
Steam House. After their departure our preparations were
completed, and Captain Hood, our two companions, and I,
all well armed ready for any encounter, descended to the
Terrai.

On arriving at the trap from which we had so fortunately
extracted Mathias van Guitt, that gentleman presented him-
self before our eyes, not without some ceremony.

Five or six of his people, Kalagani among the number,
were occupied in getting a tiger, which had been caught
during the night, from the snare into a traveling-cage. It
was a magnificent animal indeed, and, as a matter of course,
caused Captain Hood to feel corresponding envy!

" One less in the Terrai ! ' ' he murmured, between two
sighs which found their echo in Fox's manly breast.

" One more in the menagerie," replied the zoologist.
" Still two tigers, a lion, and two leopards, and I shall be
in a position to honor my engagements before the end of
the season. Will you come with me to the kraal, gentle-
men?"

"Thank you," said Captain Hood; "to-day, however,
we are out on our own account."

" Kalagani is at your disposal, Captain Hood," replied
the purveyor. " He is well acquainted with the forest, and
may be useful to you."

" We will gladly take him as a guide."

" Farewell, gentlemen," said Van Guitt ; " I wish you
good sport! But promise me not to massacre them all!'

" We will leave you a few," returned Hood.

And Mathias van Guitt, saluting us with a superb bow,

V XII Verne

290 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

followed his cage, and soon disappeared among the trees.

"Forward!" said Hood, "forward, my men. Hurrah
for my forty-second! "

" And my thirty-eighth ! " responded Fox.

" And my first ! " I added. But the quiet way in which
I uttered the words, made the captain lau°ri. Evidently, I
did not feel the sacred fire.

Hood turned to Kalagani. " So you know the forest
well ? " he asked.

" I have been over it twenty times, day and night, in every
direction," replied the man.

" Have you heard that a particular tiger has been lately
noticed near the kraal ? "

" Yes ; but this tiger is a tigress. She has been seen two
miles from here, in the upper part of the forest, and they
have been trying to get hold of her for several days. Should
you like "

" That's just what we want! " answered Captain Hood,
without giving the native time to finish the sentence.

To follow Kalagani was the best thing we could do, so
we did it. Wild beasts were apparently very plentiful in
the Terrai, but here, as everywhere else, each required two
bullocks a week for their own particular consumption ! Just
calculate what the cost of such a " keep " would be to the
entire peninsula.

It must not be imagined that the numerous tigers visit
inhabited country unless impelled by necessity. Till urged
by hunger, they remain hidden in their lairs. Very many
travelers have journeyed through these forests without even
catching a glimpse of one. When a hunt is organized, the
first thing to be done is to reconnoiter the places most fre-
quented by the animal, and especially to find out the stream
or spring to which he comes to slake his thirst.

Sometimes this is not sufficient, and he has to be attracted
to the spot. This is done easily enough by putting a quarter
of beef tied to a stake in some place surrounded by trees
and rocks to shelter the hunters. This at least, is the way
they proceed in the forest.

In the plains, it is another thing, and there the elephant
becomes the most useful auxiliary to man in his dangerous
sport. These animals have, however, to be trained to the
work, though even then, they are sometimes seized with a

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 291

panic which renders the position of the men perched on
their backs dangerous in the extreme. It must also be said
that sometimes the tiger does not hesitate to spring on the
elephant. The struggle between the man and beast then
takes place on the very back of the gigantic steed, and it is
rarely indeed that it does not end in favor of the tiger.

In this way the grand hunts of the rajahs and great sports-
men of India are conducted, but it was by no means Captain
Hood's manner of proceeding. He was going to search
for tigers on foot, and it was on foot that he was accustomed
to fight them.

In the meantime, we were following Kalagani, who was
walking on at a round pace. Reserved as all Hindoos are,
he spoke little, and contented himself with replying briefly
to the questions which we put to him.

After walking for an hour, we halted by a rapid stream,
and on its banks were the still fresh tracks of animals. In
a little glade was a stake, to which was fastened a quarter of
beef. The bait had not been entirely untouched. It had been
recently gnawed by the teeth of jackals, those thieves of
the Indian fauna, always in quest of prey, but this was not
intended for them. A dozen or so of these creatures fled
at our approach, and left the place clear.

"Captain," said Kalagani, " we must wait for the tigress
here. You see that it is a good place for an ambush."

It was, indeed, easy to post ourselves in trees or behind
rocks, so as to have a cross-fire over the post in the center
of the glade. This was immediately done. Goumi and I
took our places in the same tree. Hood and Fox perched
themselves in two magnificent oaks opposite each other.
Kalagani hid behind a high rock, which he could climb if
the danger became imminent.

The animal would be thus enclosed in a circle. All the
chances were against it, although we were as yet reckoning
on the unforeseen. We had now to wait.

We could still hear the hoarse bark of the dispersed jack-
als in the neighboring thickets, but they did not dare to
return. Nearly an hour had thus passed, when the yelps
suddenly ceased. Almost immediately two or three jackals
bounded out of the wood, and darting across the glade, dis-
appeared in the thicker part of the forest.

A sign from Kalagani, who was ready to climb his rock,

292 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

told us to be on our guard. We guessed that the precipitate
flight of the jackals must have been caused by the approach
of some savage animal — the tigress no doubt — so that we
were ready to see her at any moment appear on one side
or other of the glade.

Our guns were all ready. Captain Hood and his man
held their weapons pointed at the place from which the
jackals had issued.

Very soon I saw a slight agitation among the upper
branches of the thicket. The snapping of dry wood was
also heard. Some animal was approaching, but slowly and
warily. Though evidently seeing nothing of the hunters
in wait among the branches, its instinct warned it that the
place was not quite safe. Certainly, unless urged by hunger,
and attracted by the smell of the beef, it would not have
ventured farther.

At last we could see it through the branches, where it
stopped, probably mistrustful. It was a huge tigress, power-
ful and active. She began to advance, crouching, and with
an undulatory movement.

With one consent, we allowed her to approach the post.
She smelt the ground, she drew herself up and arched her
back, like a gigantic cat, prepared to spring.

Suddenly two sharp reports rang out.

"Forty-two!" cried Captain Hood.

"Thirty-eight! " shouted Fox.

The captain and his man had fired at the same moment,
and with such true aim, that the animal, shot through the
heart, fell dead on the ground.

Kalagani ran up. We all quickly descended from our
various trees. The tigress did not stir.

But to whom belonged the honor of having killed her?
To the captain or to Fox? This was an important question,
as may be imagined. The beast was examined. Two balls
were found in the heart !

" Come," said Hood, not without a slight touch of regret
in his voice, " we've got half a tiger apiece."

" So we have, captain; half a tiger apiece," answered Fox,
in the same tone.

And I verily believe neither of the two would, on any
account have given up the share he reckoned to his own
account.

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 293

Such was this wonderful shot, of which the clearest result
was that the animal had fallen without a struggle, and con-
sequently without danger to the assailants — a very rare oc-
currence. Fox and Goumi remained on the field of battle,
in order to despoil the animal of her magnificent skin, while
Captain Hood and I returned to Steam House.

It is not my intention to note every incident of our ex-
peditions into the Terrai forest, but only those which present
some particular characteristic. I shall content myself with
saying that, so far, Captain Hood and Fox found no reason
to complain.

On the 10th of July, during a houddi hunt, a happy
chance again favored them, without their running any real
danger. The houddi, or hut, its walls pierced with loop-
holes, is built on the borders of a stream at which animals
are accustomed to come and drink. Used to the sight of
these erections, they are not alarmed, and carelessly expose
themselves to be shot at. But, to be safe, it is necessary to
mortally wound the creature at the first, or he becomes
dangerous, and the hut does not always protect the hunter
from his infuriated spring.

This is exactly what occurred on the occasion of which
I am about to speak. Mathias van Guitt accompanied us.
Perhaps he hoped that some tiger, slightly wounded, might
fall to his share, to take home to his kraal and be cured.

This time our sportsmen had three tigers to deal with.
The first discharge was not sufficient to prevent them from
springing on to the walls of the houddi. The two first,
to the zoologist's great disgust, were each killed by a second
ball, but the third leaped right in, his shoulder covered with
blood, but not mortally wounded.

" We must have that fellow ! " cried Van Guitt, who
risked not a little in speaking thus. " We must take him
alive!"

Scarcely had he uttered the words when, with a bound,
the animal was upon him. He was overthrown in an instant,
and it would have been all up with our friend had not
Captain Hood sent a ball through the tiger's head, and thus
saved the Dutchman, who sprang up, exclaiming, " Well,
captain, you might just as well have waited "

"Waited — what for?" answered Captain Hood; "until
that brute had torn you to bits with his claws? ':

294 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" A wound with a claw needn't be mortal ! "

" All right," returned Captain Hood quietly. " Another
time I will wait ! "

This tiger, however, instead of figuring in a menagerie,
was fated only to be used as a hearthrug; but it brought
up the list to forty-two for the captain, and thirty-eight for
his man, without counting the half-tigress.

It must not be imagined that these grand hunts made us
neglect smaller ones. Monsieur Parazard could not allow
that. Antelopes, chamois, great bustards, of which there
were numbers around Steam House, partridges and hares
supplied our table with a great variety of game.

When we went into the Terrai, it was very rarely that
Banks accompanied us. Although these expeditions began
to interest me, he did not seem to care for them. The upper
zones of the Himalayas evidently offered him greater at-
tractions, and he took pleasure in these excursions, especially
when Colonel Munro consented to join him.

But it was only once or twice that the engineer could
persuade his friend to do so. We observed that since our
installation in the sanitarium, Sir Edward Munro had again
become anxious. He spoke less, he kept aloof from us,
but held long conferences with Sergeant McNeil. Were
these two men meditating some new project which they
wished to keep concealed even from Banks?

On the 13th of July Mathias van Guitt came to pay us
a visit. Less favored than the captain, he had not added
a single fresh tenant to his menagerie. Neither tigers, lions,
nor leopards seemed disposed to be caught. The idea of
going to exhibit themselves in the countries of the West
apparently did not allure them. Consequently the zoologist
was in a very bad humor, and did not seek to hide it. _ Kala-
gani and two shikarries accompanied him on this visit.

The situation of our house pleased him much. Colonel
Munro begged him to remain and dine. He consented with
pleasure to honor our table. While waiting for dinner, Van
Guitt wished to go over Steam House, the comfort of which
was a contrast to the modest arrangements of the kraal.
Our dwellings drew forth many compliments from him, but
I must confess that Behemoth did not excite his admiration
in the least. A naturalist, such as he was, could not but
be indifferent to this masterpiece of mechanics. Remarkable

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 295

as it was, how could he admire a mere imitation — a mechan-
ical creation?

"Do not think badly of our elephant, Mr. van Guitt! '
said Banks. " He is a powerful animal, who would make
nothing of drawing all your menagerie cages and our cars
as well."

" I have my buffaloes," answered the naturalist, " and I
prefer their slow and steady pace."

" Behemoth fears neither the claws nor teeth of tigers! "
cried Hood.

' No doubt, gentlemen," replied Mathias van Guitt, " but
why should wild beasts attack him? They would not care
for iron flesh ! "

Though the zoologist did not conceal his indifference to
our elephant, his men and Kalagani in particular were never
tired of staring at it. Mingled with their admiration for
the gigantic animal, there was evidently some superstitious
respect. Kalagani appeared very much surprised when the
engineer repeated that our iron elephant was more powerful
than all the teams at the kraal put together. This was an
opportunity for Captain Hood to describe, not without pride,
our adventure with the three " proboscidate animals ' be-
longing to Prince Gourou Singh. A slight incredulous smile
curled the lip of the naturalist, but he said nothing.

On the 16th of July something occurred which made a
regular quarrel between the zoologist and the captain. Hood
shot a tiger just as it was about to enter one of the traps;
and though this made his forty-third, it was not the eighth
which the purveyor wished for.

However, after a lively interchange of epithets, harmony
was once more restored, thanks to Colonel Munro's inter-
vention, and Captain Hood promised to respect any animal
who " had intentions " of being caught in Van Guitt's traps.

For the ensuing days the weather was detestable. We
were obliged to stay indoors nolens volens. We were anx-
ious that the rainy season should come to an end, and that
could not now be long, for it had already lasted for more
than three months. If the program of our journey was
carried out as Banks had arranged, we had only six weeks
to pass in our sanitarium.

On the 23d of July some hillmen came to pay a second
visit to Colonel Munro. Their village, called. Souari, lay

296 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

but five miles from our encampment on the upper limit of
the Terrai. One of them told us, that for several weeks
past, a tigress had been making frightful ravages on this
part of the territory. The flocks were being carried off, and
they even talked of abandoning Souari as uninhabitable.
There was no safety in it, either for man or beast. Snares
and traps had been tried without any success on the ravenous
beast, which already was spoken of as one of the most
formidable ever known among even the oldest mountaineers.

It may be guessed that the story excited Captain Hood
at once. He immediately offered to accompany the men
back to their village, ready to put his hunting experience
and his accurate aim at the service of these honest people,
who, I imagine, counted not a little on such an offer.

" Shall you come, Maucler? " asked the captain, in the
tone of a man who did not wish to influence a determination.

" Certainly," I replied. " I should not like to miss such
an interesting expedition."

" I will join you, this time," said the engineer.

" That's capital, Banks."

" Yes, Hood. I have a great wish to see you at work! ':

" Am I not to go, captain ? " asked Fox.

" Ah, you rascal ! " laughed his master. " You won't be
sorry for an opportunity to make up your half-tigress ! Yes,
Fox, yes, you shall go ! "

As we should probably be absent from Steam House for
three or four days, Banks asked the colonel whether he
would not like to go with us to the village of Souari. Sir
Edward thanked him, but said he proposed to profit by our
absence to visit the middle zone of the Himalayas above
the belt of forest, with Goumi and Sergeant McNeil. Banks
did not urge the matter.

It was decided that we should set out directly for the
kraal, in order to borrow from Mathias van Guitt a few of
his shikarries, who might be useful to us. About midday
we arrived there, and acquainted the naturalist with our
intentions. He could not conceal his secret satisfaction in
hearing of the exploits of this tigress, " well calculated,"
said he, " to heighten the reputation of these felidae of the
peninsula in the minds of connoisseurs." He then placed
at our disposal three of his men, besides Kalagani, always
ready for any danger.

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 297

It was settled with Captain Hood that, if by any possibil-
ity the tigress should be taken living, it was to belong to
Van Guitt's menagerie. What an attraction it would be
to have a placard hung in front of its cage, stating in elo-
quent terms the great deeds of " one of the Queens of the
Terrai, who has devoured no less than a hundred and thirty-
eight persons of both sexes! "

Our little band left the kraal about two o'clock in the
afternoon. Before four o'clock, after ascending in an east-
erly direction, we arrived without adventure at Souari.

The panic here was at its height. That very morning a
native had been surprised by the tigress near a stream and
carried off into the forest.

We were received most hospitably in the house of a well-
to-do-farmer, an Englishman. Our host had had more
reason than any one else to complain of the savage beast,
and would willingly pay several thousand rupees for its skin.
" Several years ago, Captain Hood," he said, " a tigress
obliged the inhabitants of thirteen villages of the central
provinces to take to flight, and in consequence a hundred
and fifty miles were forced to lie fallow ! Well, if that sort
of thing takes place here the whole province will have to
be deserted ! "

" Have you employed every possible means to get rid of
this tigress? " asked Banks.

"Yes, indeed, everything: traps, pitfalls, and even baits
prepared with strychnine! Nothing has succeeded! ':

" Well, my friend," said Captain Hood, " I can't promise
for certain to give satisfaction, but I assure you we will
do our very best."

Thereupon a battue was organized for that same day.
Our party and the shikarries were joined by about twenty
mountaineers, who were well acquainted with the country.
Although Banks was so little of a sportsman he accompanied
our expedition with the most lively interest.

For three days we searched about all round the neighbor-
hood, but with no result, except that a couple of tigers,
which no one thought much of, fell by the captain's gun.
" Forty-five! " was all the remark he made.

At last the tigress signalized herself by a fresh misdeed.
A buffalo, belonging to our host, disappeared from its
pasture, and its remains were found about a quarter of a

298 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

mile from the village. The assassination — premeditated
murder, as a lawyer would say — had been accomplished be-
fore daybreak. The assassin could not be far off.

But was the principal author of this crime indeed the
tigress so long sought in vain? The natives of Souari had
no doubt of it. "I know it was my uncle, he did the mis-
chief ! " said one of the villagers to us.

" My uncle " is the natives' usual name for the tiger, they
believing that the soul of each of their ancestors is lodged
for eternity in the body of some member of the cat tribe.
On this occasion it would certainly have been more correct
to say " My aunt!"

It was immediately decided that we should set out in
quest of the animal without waiting for night, as the dark-
ness would conceal it more effectually than ever. We knew
it must be gorged, and would probably not leave its den for
two or three days.

We took the field. Starting from the place where the
buffalo had been seized, traces of blood showed the direc-
tion the tigress had taken. These marks led us toward a
thicket, which had been beaten many times already, without
discovering anything. It was resolved to surround this
spot so as to form a circle through which the animal could
not escape, at least without being seen.

The villagers dispersed themselves around, so as to grad-
ually narrow the circle. Captain Hood, Kalagani, and I
were on one side, Banks and Fox on the other, but in con-
stant communication with the rest of the people. Each point
of the ring was dangerous, since the tigress might try to
break through anywhere.

There was no doubt that the animal was in this thicket,
for the traces which entered one side did not reappear on
the other. This did not prove though that it was its habitual
retreat, for it had been searched before. It was early, only
eight o'clock. When all arrangements were made, we began
to advance noiselessly, contracting the investing circle. In
half an hour we were at the limit of the first trees.

Nothing had occurred, nothing had announced the pres-
ence of any creature, and for my own part I began to ques-
tion whether we were not wasting our time. Each could
now only see the men next him, and yet it was important
that we should advance with perfect unanimity.

M QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 299

It had been previously agreed that the man who first
entered the wood should fire a shot. The signal was given
by Captain Hood, who was always first in everything, and
the border was crossed. I looked at my watch; it was
thirty-five minutes past eight.

In a quarter of an hour the circle had so drawn in that
our elbows touched, but we still had seen nothing.

Till now the silence had been unbroken, except by the
snapping of dry branches under our feet. Suddenly a roar
was heard.

" The beast is in there ! " cried Captain Hood, pointing
to the mouth of a cavern in a mass of rocks and trees. He
was not mistaken. If it was not the usual haunt of the
tigress, it was evidently her refuge now.

Hood, Banks, Fox, Kalagani, and several other men ap-
proached the narrow opening to which the bloody traces led.

" We shall have to go in there," said the captain.

" A dangerous job ! " remarked Banks. " It will be a
serious matter for the first who enters ! ':

" I shall go in though," returned Hood, looking carefully
to his rifle.

"After me, captain!" put in Fox, who was already
stooping to enter the cave.

" No, no, Fox! " cried Hood. " This is my affair! "

"Ah, captain!" said Fox, in most persuasive yet re-
proachful accents, "I am six behind you!' Just imagine
their reckoning up their tigers at such a moment!

"Neither one nor the other shall enter!' exclaimed
Banks. " No! I can't allow it."

" There is another way," interrupted Kalagani.

"What is that?"

" To smoke her out," replied the native. ' She will be
forced to appear then. It will be easier and less risky to
kill her outside."

" Kalagani is right," said Banks. " Come, my men, dead
wood, dry grass! Stop up the opening partly, so that the
wind may drive the smoke and flame inside. The beast
must either be roasted or run away ! "

" It will run away," said the native.

" So much the better! " remarked Captain Hood. <rWe
shall be ready to give her a salute on her way."

In a few minutes branches, grass, and dead wood, of

300 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

which there was plenty lying near, were piled in a heap
before the entrance to the den. Nothing had stirred inside.
Nothing could be seen in the gloomy depths. Yet our ears
could not have deceived us, the roar certainly came from
that place.

A light was set to the heap, and soon the whole was in
a blaze. From this bonfire issued a thick, choking smoke,
blowing right into the interior. A second roar, more furious
than the first, burst forth. The creature was being driven
to extremities, and would make a rush.

We all waited anxiously, our faces toward the rocks,
and partially sheltered by the trees, so as to avoid the first
infuriated spring. The captain had chosen another position,
which, to suit him, must, of course, be the most perilous.
This was in a gap between the brushwood, the only one
which offered a passage from the den. There Hood knelt
on one knee, so as to steady his aim, his rifle at his shoulder,
and looking as if carved in marble.

Three minutes had passed since the fire was first lighted,
when a third roar, a stifled, suffocated roar, was heard. A
huge monster dashed through the fire and smoke !

" Fire ! ' shouted Banks. Ten shots rang out, though
we found afterward that not one had touched the animal.

Amid volumes of smoke, a second and yet longer bound
carried the animal toward the thicket. Captain Hood, who
waited with the greatest coolness, fired, hitting her below
the shoulder.

Like a lightning flash the tigress was upon him, over he
went, and in another moment her terrible claws would have
torn open his head.

But Kalagani sprang forward, knife in hand. In an in-
stant the brave fellow had seized the tigress by the throat.

The animal on this sudden attack shook off the native,
and turned upon him.

Feeling himself free, the captain leaped up, and grasping
the knife which had fallen from Kalagani's hand, plunged
it into the creature's very heart. The tigress rolled
over.

This exciting scene had taken place in less time than it
takes to write it.

" Bag mahryaga! Bag mahryaga! " shouted the natives
■ — meaning, " the tigress is dead ! "

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI 301

Yes, quite dead ! But what a magnificent animal ! Ten
feet from muzzle to tail, tall in proportion, and its enormous
paws armed with long claws, which looked as if they had
been sharpened up on a grindstone!

While we were admiring the creature the natives, who
had good reason for the grudge they bore against it, over-
whelmed it with invectives.

Kalagani approached Captain Hood. " I thank you,
sahib! " he said.

' What are you thanking me for? " cried Hood. " It's
I who owe you thanks, my brave fellow ! If it hadn't been
for you, I should have been done for ! "

" I should have been killed without your help ! " replied
the man coldly.

" What ! By Jove — didn't you rush forward, knife in
hand, to stab the tigress just as she was going to tear my
skull open ? "

" You killed him though, sahib, and that makes your
forty-sixth ! "

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! " cried the natives. " Hurrah for
Captain Hood ! "

The captain had certainly every right to add this tigress
to his list, but he gave Kalagani a grateful shake of the
hand.

" Come to Steam House," said Banks to the man. " Your
shoulder has been torn, and is bleeding; but we will find
something in our medicine-chest to heal the wound.

Kalagani acquiesced, and so, having taken leave of the
inhabitants of Souari, who loaded us with thanks, we all
proceeded in the direction of our sanitarium.

The shikarries now left us, to return to the kraal. Again
they went back empty-handed, and if Mathias van Guitt had
counted on this " Queen of the Terrai," he must mourn
for her; under the circumstances it was utterly impossible
to take her alive.

We reached Steam House about midday. Here unex-
pected news awaited us. To our extreme disappointment
Colonel Munro, Sergeant McNeil, and Goumi had gone
away.

A note addressed to Banks told us not to be uneasy at
their absence ; that Sir Edward was desirous of reconnoiter-
ing the Nepaulese frontier, so as to clear up certain sus-

302 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

picions relating to the companions of Nana Sahib, but that
he would return before the time at which we had arranged
to leave the Himalayas.

On hearing this note read, I fancied that an involuntary
movement denoting vexation escaped Kalagani.

What could have occasioned this? I wondered.

CHAPTER V

A NIGHT ATTACK

The colonel's unexpected departure made us seriously
uneasy. He was evidently still brooding over past events.
But what could we do? Follow Sir Edward? We were
ignorant of the direction he had taken, or even what point
of the Nepaulese frontier he wished to reach.

On the other hand, we could not conceal from ourselves
that as he had said nothing to Banks about this plan, it was
because he dreaded his friend's expostulations had wished
to avoid hearing them. Banks much regretted having fol-
lowed us on our expedition.

All we could do now was to resign ourselves and wait.
Colonel Munro would certainly return before the end of
August, that month being the last we were to pass here
before proceeding southwest by the road to Bombay.

Kalagani, who was well doctored by Banks, only remained
four-and-twenty hours in Steam House. His wound began
to heal rapidly, and he left us, to return to his duties at
the kraal.

The month of August was ushered in by violent rains —
weather bad enough to give a frog a cold in its head, as
Captain Hood remarked; but as there was less wet than in
July, it was consequently more propitious for our excursions
into the Terrai. Intercourse with the kraal was frequent.
Mathias van Guitt continued dissatisfied. He, too, hoped
to leave his camp in the beginning of September; but a
lion, two tigers, and two leopards were still wanting, and
he needed them to complete his troupe.

By way of retaliation, instead of the actors which he
wished to engage on his employers' account, others came
and presented themselves at his agency, for whom he had
no occasion. Thus, on the 4th of August, a fine bear was

A NIGHT ATTACK 303

caught in one of his traps. We happened to be in the
kraal when the shikarries brought back a cage containing
a prisoner of great size, with black fur, sharp claws, and
long hairy ears, which is a specialty of the ursine family in
India.

" Now what do I want with this useless tardigrade ? " ex-
claimed the naturalist, shrugging his shoulders.

" Brother Ballon! Brother Ballon! " repeated the shikar-
ries. Apparently though the natives are only nephews of
tigers, they are the brothers of bears.

But Mathias van Guitt, notwithstanding this degree of
relationship, received brother Ballon with a very evident
show of ill-humor. It certainly did not please him to catch
bears when he wanted tigers. What was he to do with
this inconvenient beast? It did not suit him to feed the
animal without hopes of making anything by it. The Indian
bear is little in request in the European market. It has
not the mercantile value of the American grizzily, nor the
Polar bear. Therefore Mathias van Guitt, being a good
business man, did not care to possess a cumbersome brute,
which he might find it very difficult to get rid of!

" Will you have him? " asked he of Captain Hood.

"What on earth do you expect me to do with him?'
returned the captain.

" You can make him into beefsteaks," replied the zo-
ologist, " if I may make use of the catachresis! "

" Mr. van Guitt," said Banks gravely, " the catachresis
is allowable, when for lack of any other expression, it ren-
ders the thought properly."

: That is quite my opinion," replied the zoologist.

" Well, Hood," said Banks, " will you or will you not
take Mr. van Guitt's bear? "

" Of course not," replied the captain. " To eat bear
steaks when once the bear is killed is all very well; but to
kill a bear on purpose to make steaks of him isn't an
appetizing job ! "

" Then you may give that plantigrade his liberty," said
Van Guitt, turning to his shikarries.

They obeyed. The cage was brought out of the kraal.
One of the men opened the door. Brother Ballon, who
seemed rather ashamed of the situation, did not require
to be asked twice. He walked calmly out of the cage, shook

304 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

his head, which might be interpreted as meaning thanks,
and marched off uttering a grunt of satisfaction.

" That is a good deed you have performed," said Banks.
" It will bring you luck, Mr. van Guitt! "

Banks was right enough. On the 6th of August the zo-
ologist was rewarded by procuring one of the animals he
wished for. These were the circumstances of the capture:
Mathias van Guitt, Captain Hood, and I, accompanied by
Fox, Storr, and Kalagani, had been beating a thicket of
cactus and lentisks since daybreak, when a half-stifled roar
was heard.

With our guns ready cocked, and walking near together
so as to guard against an isolated attack, we proceeded im-
mediately to the suspected spot. Fifty paces off the natur-
alist made us halt. He appeared to recognize the animal by
the nature of the roar, and addressing himself more par-
ticularly to Captain Hood, " No useless firing, I beg," he
whispered.

Then advancing a few steps, while we, obeying his sign,
remained behind, " A lion ! " he cried.

There, indeed, at the end of a strong rope fastened to
the forked branch of a tree, an animal was struggling. The
fierce beast, hanging by one of its forepaws, which was
tight in the slip-knot of the rope, gave terrible jerks with-
out managing to free itself.

Captain Hood's first impulse, in spite of Van Guitt's re-
quest, was to make ready to fire.

"Do not fire, captain!" exclaimed the naturalist. "I
conjure you not to fire! "

" But "

" No, no ; I tell you ! That lion is caught in one of my
own snares, and he belongs to me ! "

It was indeed a gallows-snare, at once simple and very
ingenious. A very strong rope is fixed to the branch of a
tree which is both tough and flexible. This branch is then
bent down to the ground, so that the lower end of the cord,
terminating in a running loop, hangs in a notch cut in a
stake fixed firmly in the ground. On this stake is placed
a bait in such a position that if any animal wishes to get
at it, he must put either his head or one of his paws in
the noose. But as soon as he does this, and moves the
bait ever so slightly, the cord is disengaged from the stake,

A NIGHT ATTACK 305

the branch flies up, the animal is raised, and at the same
moment a heavy cylinder of wood, sliding along the rope,
falls on the knot, fixing it tightly and rendering vain all
the efforts of the suspended animal to get free.

This species of snare is frequently set in the Indian for-
ests, and wild animals allow themselves to be caught in them
far more frequently than one would be tempted to believe.
It usually happens that the beast is seized by the neck, caus-
ing almost immediate strangulation, while at the same time;
the skull is half fractured by the heavy wooden cylinder.
But the lion which was now struggling before our eyes had
only been caught by the paw. He was decidedly " all alive
and kicking," as Captain Hood remarked, and well worthy
to figure among the zoologist's guests.

Mathias van Guitt, in high delight, at once dispatched
Kalagani to the kraal, with orders to bring a cage in charge
of a driver. While he was gone we had ample leisure and
opportunity to observe the captive, whose fury was re-
doubled by our presence.

The naturalist never took his eyes off him. He walked
round and round the tree, taking good care, however, to
keep out of reach of the claws which the poor lion struck
out in every direction.

In half an hour's time the cage appeared, drawn by two
buffaloes. The suspended animal was cut down, not with-
out some trouble, and we took the road to the kraal.

" Truly I was beginning to despair," said Van Guitt.
" Lions do not figure in great numbers among the nemoral
beasts of India "

"Nemoral?" said Captain Hood.

" Yes, beasts which haunt forests, and I have reason to
congratulate myself on capturing this animal, which will do
honor to my menagerie."

Dating from this day, Mathias van Guitt had no further
reason to complain of ill-luck. On the 11th of August two
leopards were taken together in that first trap from which
we liberated the naturalist. These creatures were cheetahs,
similar to the one which so audaciously attacked Behemoth
on the plains of Rohilkund, and which we were not able
to shoot. Two tigers only were now required to complete
Van Guitt's stock.

It was now the 15th of August. Colonel Munro had not

V XII Verne

306 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

yet reappeared, and we had not received any news of him.
Banks was more uneasy than he cared to show. He inter-
rogated Kalagani, who knew the Nepaul frontier, as to
the danger Sir Edward might run by venturing into these
independent territories.

The native assured him that not one of Nana Sahib's
partisans remained within the confines of Thibet. How-
ever, he seemed to regret that the colonel had not chosen
him for a guide. His services would have been very use-
ful in a country, with every path of which he was well
acquainted. But there was no use now in thinking of join-
ing him.

In the meanwhile, Captain Hood and Fox more especially
continued their excursions in the Terrai. Aided by the
shikarries, they contrived to kill three more tigers of medium
size, not without great risk. Two of the animals went to
the captain's account, the third to his man.

" Forty-eight ! " said Hood, who greatly longed to make
up the round number of fifty before quitting the Himalayas.

" Thirty-nine ! " said Fox, without counting a formidable
panther which had fallen by his gun.

On the 20th of August the last but one of the tigers
wanted by Van Guitt was found in one of the pits, which
either by instinct or chance the creatures had till then
escaped. As is usually the case, the animal was hurt in
its fall, but the injury was not serious. A few days' rest
was sufficient to effect a cure, so that there would be nothing
visible when delivery was made to Messrs. Hagenbeck, of
Hamburg.

The use of this pit is regarded by connoisseurs as a bar-
barous method. When it is merely a question of destroying
the animals, any way is good ; but when it is necessary to
take them alive, death is too often the consequence of their
fall, especially when they are precipitated into a pit fifteen
or twenty feet deep, destined for the capture of elephants.
Out of ten there may be only one without some mortal in-
jury. Therefore, even in Mysore, the naturalist told us,
where the plan was at first so highly extolled, they are now
beginning to give it up.

Mathias van Guitt being anxious to set out for Bombay,
did all in his power to obtain his last tiger. It was not
long before he had it in his possession, but at what a

A NIGHT ATTACK 307

price! This incident deserves a detailed account, for the
animal was dearly — too dearly — bought.

An expedition had been arranged by Captain Hood, for
the evening of the 26th of August. Circumstances com-
bined to render it a favorable opportunity — a cloudless sky,
a calm, still night, and a waning moon. When the darkness
is very profound, wild beasts do not care to quit their
lairs, but a half light attracts them. Thus the meniscus —
a word which Mathias van Guitt applied to the crescent
moon — shed a few faint beams after midnight.

Captain Hood and I, Fox and Storr, who had taken a
liking for the chase, formed the nucleus of this expedition,
which was joined by the zoologist, Kalagani, and a few
of the natives. Dinner ended, after taking leave of Banks,
who had declined accompanying us, we left Steam House
about seven in the evening, and at eight reached the kraal,
without having met with any misadventure. Mathias van
Guitt was just finishing his supper. He received us in his
usual demonstrative style. A council of war was held, and
a plan agreed upon.

It was thought advisable to lie in wait at the edge of a
stream, falling down one of those ravines called nullahs,
a couple of miles from the kraal, at a place which a pair of
tigers visited every night. No bait had been placed at this
spot, as the natives pronounced it useless. A battue recently
made in that part of the Terrai proved that the need to
quench their thirst was sufficient to attract the tigers to
the bottom of that nullah. They also said that it would be
easy for us to post ourselves advantageously there.

As we were not to leave the kraal before midnight, and it
was then but eight o'clock, we had to wait with what pa-
tience we might until the hour for departure. " Gentle-
men," said Mathias van Guitt, " my habitation is entirely
at your disposal. I invite you to do as I intend doing,
lie down and endeavor to obtain some sleep. We shall have
to rise more than early, and a few hours slumber will do
much to fit us for our exertions."

"Do you care to have a snooze, Maucler?" asked Cap-
tain Hood.

" No, thanks," I answered, " and I would rather keep
myself awake by walking about than be roused out of my
first sleep."

308 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" Just as you please, gentlemen," answered the zoologist.
" As for myself, I already feel that spasmodic winking of
the eyelid which is caused by the need of sleep. You see
I have already the pendulum movement! ' And Mathias
van Guitt, raising his arms and throwing back his head and
body, gave vent to several portentous yawns. Then mak-
ing us a profound bow, he retired into his hut, and was
doubtless soon fast asleep.

" Now what are we going to do? " asked I.

" Let us walk about, Maucler," answered Captain Hood,
" up and down in the kraal. It is a fine night, and I shall
feel much more fit for a start than if I had three or four
hour's nap first. Besides, though sleep is called our best
friend, it is a friend who often keeps us waiting! ':

We were now strolling up and down in the inclosure,
thinking or chatting as we chose. Storr, ' whose best
friend was not likely to keep him waiting," was already
asleep, lying at the foot of a tree. The shikarries and the
rest were all crouched in their several corners, and no one
in the place was awake but ourselves.

Keeping a watch would have been useless, as the kraal
was entirely surrounded by a close and solid palisade. Kala-
gani himself made sure that the door was securely fastened ;
then, that duty performed, he wished us good night as he
passed and joined his companions.

Our stroll took us first to the place occupied by the buf-
faloes. These magnificent ruminants, quiet and docile, were
not even tethered. Accustomed to repose under the shade
of gigantic maples, there they lay, their great horns en-
tangled, their feet folded beneath them, and deep, sonorous
breathing issuing from their enormous bodies. Even our
approach did not arouse them. One only lifted his huge
head for a moment, and looked sleepily at us, but soon put
it down again.

" See to what a state tameness, or rather domestication,
has reduced them," I remarked.

" Yes," replied Hood ; " and yet buffaloes are terrible
animals when in a savage state. But though they are so
strong, they have not agility, and what can their horns do
against the teeth and claws of lions and tigers? The ad-
vantage is decidedly on the side of the latter."

Talking thus, we approached the cages. There, too, all

A NIGHT ATTACK 309

was still. Tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, all were asleep
in their various compartments. Mathias van Guitt wisely
did not put them together until they were somewhat tamed
by a few weeks of captivity. Otherwise, the brutes would
most certainly have eaten each other up the very first day.

The three lions crouched motionless in a half circle like
huge cats. Nothing of their heads could be seen, so buried
were they in a thick muff of black fur, and they slept the
sleep of the just.

Slumber was less profound in the tigers' apartment.
Their glowing eyes flamed through the dusk. Now and
again a great paw would be stretched out, clawing at the
iron bars. This was the sleep of fretful and impatient
carnivora.

"They are having bad dreams, and I feel for them!':
said the compassionate captain.

Some remorse, no doubt, troubled the three panthers, or
at least some regret. At this hour, in their free life, they
would have been roaming through the forest ! They would
have prowled around the pastures in quest of living flesh.

As to the four leopards, no nightmare disturbed their
rest. They reposed peacefully. Two of these felines, a
male and female, occupied the same room, being to all ap-
pearance as comfortable as if they were in their own den.

A single compartment was still empty — the one destined
for the sixth and impracticable tiger, for whose capture
Mathias van Guitt yet lingered in the Terrai.

Our promenade had lasted for nearly an hour. After
once more making the tour of the kraal, we seated ourselves
at the foot of an enormous mimosa. Absolute silence
reigned over the entire forest. The wind, which whistled
through the trees as night fell, had now died away. Not
a leaf rustled.

Captain Hood and I, now seated near each other, no
longer chatted. Not that we were becoming drowsy. It
was rather that sort of absorption, more moral than physi-
cal, which is the effect produced by the perfect repose of
nature. One thinks without forming the thought. One
dreams as a man dreams without sleeping, when the wide
open eyes gaze far away, seeing only some vision of the
fancy.

One peculiarity surprised the captain, and unconsciously

310 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

speaking in an undertone, as if fearing to break the silence,
he said, " Maucler, this stillness astonishes me ! Generally
there are wild beasts roaring all night and making the forest
a most noisy place. If not tigers or panthers, at any rate
the jackals never rest. This kraal, full of living beings,
ought to attract hundreds of them, and yet we hear noth-
ing, not a snap of dry wood, or even a howl. If Mathias
van Guitt was awake he would wonder as much as I do, no
doubt, and would find some long break-jaw word by which
to express his surprise ! "

" Your observation is correct, my dear Hood," I replied ;
" and I do not know to what cause to attribute the absence
of these night prowlers. But we must take care, or we
shall end by going to sleep ourselves ! "

" No, no, fight against it ! " returned the captain, stretch-
ing himself. " It will soon be time for us to start."

And we continued to interchange sentences at somewhat
long intervals. How long this lasted I cannot say, but
suddenly a noise was heard which quickly aroused me from
my drowsy state.

There was no doubt about it, the noise issued from the
wild beasts' cage. Lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, till
now so peaceful, were uttering sullen growls of anger. Pa-
cing up and down their narrow dens, they seemed to scent
something afar off, and stopped every now and again to rear
themselves up against the bars and sniff the air.

" What's the matter with them? " asked I.

" I don't know," answered Hood, " but I fear they scent
the approach of "

At that moment tremendous roars were heard outside
the inclosure.

" Tigers! " exclaimed Hood, running toward Van Guitt's
hut. But such was the violence of the roaring that all the
inhabitants of the kraal were already on foot, and the zo-
ologist met him at the door.

" An attack ! " he cried.

" I believe so," replied the captain.

"Stop! I will see!"

And without taking time to finish his phrase, Mathias
van Guitt, seizing a ladder, placed it against the palisade.
In a moment he was at the top.

" Ten tigers and a dozen panthers ! " he cried.

A NIGHT ATTACK 311

" That's serious," answered Captain Hood. " We in-
tended hunting them, and now they have come hunting us! "

" Your guns — get your guns ! " cried the zoologist. Obey-
ing his orders, in half a minute we were ready to fire.

Attacks by a band of wild beasts are not rare in India.
The inhabitants of districts infested by tigers, particularly
the Sunderbunds, have often been besieged in their dwell-
ings. This is a dreadful event, and too often the victory
rests with the assailants.

In the meanwhile to the roars outside were joined howls
and growls from the inside. The kraal was answering the
forest. We could scarcely hear ourselves speak.

" To the palisades ! " shouted Van Guitt, making us un-
derstand what he wanted more by his gestures than his voice.
We all hastened forward.

At that moment, the buffaloes, a prey to the wildest terror,
endeavored to force their way out from their inclosure,
while the men vainly tried to keep them back.

Suddenly, the gate, having no doubt been insecurely fast-
ened, was burst violently open, and a whole troop of wild
beasts rushed in.

And yet Kalagani was supposed to have closed that gate
carefully; he did so every evening!

" To the hut ! to the hut ! " shouted Van Guitt, running
toward his house, which alone offered a refuge.

But should we have time to reach it? Already two shik-
arries lay stretched on the earth. The others fled across
the inclosure seeking a shelter. The zoologist, Storr, and
six natives were already in the house, and closed the door
just in time, as a couple of tigers were about to spring
in.

Kalagani, Fox, and the rest had caught hold of trees,
and hoisted themselves up among the branches. As for the
captain and myself we had no time nor opportunity for join-
ing Van Guitt.

" Maucler ! Maucler ! " shouted Hood, whose right arm
had just received a wound.

With a blow of his tail a huge tiger had thrown me to
the ground. Before he had time to turn upon me, I rose
and hastened to Captain Hood's assistance.

One refuge still remained to us; the empty compart-
ment of the sixth cage. We sprung in, and in a moment we

312 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

had closed the door, and were for a time safe from the
brutes who threw themselves, growling savagely, against
the iron bars.

Such was the fierceness of the furious beasts, joined to
the anger of the tigers imprisoned in the neighboring com-
partments, that the cage, oscillating on its wheels, seemed
on the point of being capsized.

The tigers, however, soon abandoned it to attack some
more certain prey. What a scene it was! not a detail of
it was lost to us, looking through the bars of our cage !

" The world is turned upside down ! " cried Hood, who
was almost mad with vexation.

"Those brutes to be out and we shut up!"

" Your wound ? " I asked.

"That's nothing!"

Five or six shots were at this moment heard. The firing
was from the hut, around which two tigers and three
panthers were raging. One of the animals was killed by
an explosive ball from Storr's rifle.

The others retreated and fell upon the herd of buffaloes,
who were utterly defenceless against such adversaries. Fox,
Kalagani, and the natives, who had dropped their weapons
in their haste to climb the trees, could give no assistance.

However, Captain Hood, taking aim between the bars
of our cage, fired. Although his right arm being almost
paralyzed by his wound prevented him from taking his
usual unerring aim, he was lucky enough to " pot his forty-
ninth tiger."

The buffaloes leaped from their inclosure and rushed bel-
lowing through the kraal. They vainly endeavored to gore
the tigers, who, however, easily kept out of reach of their
horns. One of them, mounted by a panther, his claws tear-
ing its neck, rushed out and away through the forest.

Five or six others, pursued closely by the beasts, also
disappeared. A few of the tigers followed ; but the buffaloes
who had not been able to escape, lay slaughtered and torn
on the ground.

Other shots were fired through the windows of the hut.
But while Hood and I were doing our part, a new danger
menaced us. The animals shut up in the cages, excited by
the rage of the struggle, the smell of blood, the roars of
their brethren, rampaged about with indescribable violence.

A NIGHT ATTACK 313

Would they end by breaking their bars? This seemed
really likely.

In faet, one of the tigers' cages was turned over. I
thought for a moment that it would burst open and let
them loose !

Fortunately nothing like this happened, and the prisoners
could not even see what was passing outside, since it was
the barred side of the cage which was downwards.

"Decidedly there are too many of them! " muttered the
captain, as he reloaded.

At that moment, a tiger made a prodigious spring, and
clung to the fork of a tree, on which two or three shikarries
had sought refuge. One of the unfortunate men was seized
and dragged down to the ground.

There a panther disputed with the tiger for the possession
of the dead body, crunching the bones in the midst of a
sea of blood.

" Fire now ! Why don't you fire ! " shouted the captain,
as if Van Guitt and his companions could hear him.

As to us, we could do nothing more. Our cartridges were
exhausted, and we could only remain powerless spectators
of the scene. Even this did not last long, a tiger in the
next compartment to ours who had been endeavoring to break
out, managed by giving a violent shake to destroy the equi-
librium of the cage. It oscillated for a moment, and then
over it went.

Slightly bruised by the fall, we soon scrambled again to
our knees. The sides bore the shock, but now we could
no longer see what was going on outside. Though we
could not see, we could at least hear! What a hideous
din ! What a horrid odor of blood ! The fight seemed to
have taken a still more violent character. What had hap-
pened? Had the prisoners in the other cages escaped?
Where they attacking Van Guitt's hut? Were the tigers
and panthers springing into the trees and tearing down the
natives ?

" And we all the time shut up in this abominable box ! '
exclaimed Captain Hood, wild with excitement and
rage.

Nearly a quarter of an hour — which appeared whole hours
to us — passed in this way. Then the uproar began to calm
down. The roaring and howling diminished. The bounds

314 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

of the tigers which occupied the compartments in one cage
were less frequent. Had the massacre come to an end ?

All at once, I heard the gate of the kraal slammed to with
great noise ; and Kalagani's voice calling to us loudly, then
Fox shouting, " Captain! captain! ':

"This way! " cried Hood.

He was heard, and we soon felt the cage being lifted.
A moment more and we were free.

"Fox! Storr!" called the captain, whose first thought
was for his companions.

Here, sir! " answered both the men.

They were not even wounded. Mathias van Guitt and
Kalagani were equally safe and sound. Two tigers and a
panther lay lifeless on the ground. The others had left
the kraal, and Kalagani had shut them out. We were all
in safety. None of the beasts of the menagerie had effected
an escape during the combat, and besides that the zoologist
now counted one prisoner more. This was a young tiger
imprisoned in the small traveling cage, which had upset
over him, and under which he was caught as in a snare.

The stock of Mathias van Guitt was thus completed ; but
it had cost him dear! Five of his buffaloes were killed,
and three of his natives, horribly mutilated, weltered in
their blood on the grass of the inclosure!

CHAPTER VI

MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL

During the rest of the night no other incident occurred
either in or outside the kraal. The gate was securely fast-
ened this time. How was it that at the very time the wild
beasts surrounded the palisade it should have been open?
This was truly most unaccountable, for Kalagani had him-
self placed the strong bars which fastened it.

Captain Hood's wound gave him considerable pain, al-
though it was but skin-deep. A little more though would
have caused him to lose the use of his right arm.

For my part, I felt nothing of the violent blow which
had thrown me to the ground. We resolved to return to
Steam House as soon as day began to dawn.

As to Mathias van Guitt, except for regretting the loss

MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL 315

of three of his people, he was not at all disheartened, al-
though the being deprived of his buffaloes must put him to
some inconvenience when the time for his departure came.
' It is but the chances of the trade," he said, " and I have
for long had a presentiment that an adventure of this kind
would befall me."

He then proceeded to arrange for the interment of the
three natives, whose remains were laid in a corner of the
kraal in a grave deep enough to prevent any wild animals
disturbing them.

Soon, however, the dawn began to light up the dark
avenues of the Terrai, and after many shakes of the hand,
we took leave of Mathias van Guitt. To accompany us on
our walk through the forest the zoologist put at our disposal
Kalagani and two natives. His offer was accepted, and at
six o'clock we left the kraal.

No untoward incident marked our return journey. Of
tigers and panthers there was not a trace. The animals
having been so severely repulsed had no doubt retreated
to their dens, and this was not the time to go and rouse
them up. As to the buffaloes which had escaped from the
kraal, they had either been slain and devoured in the depths
of the forest, or, if still alive, having fled to a great distance,
it was not to be expected that their instinct would lead them
back to the encampment. They must therefore be con-
sidered as positively lost to the naturalist.

At the border of the forest, Kalagani and the other men
left us, and not long after Fan and Niger welcomed us
back with joyful barks to Steam House.

I recounted our adventures to Banks, and it is needless
to say that he congratulated us heartily on having got off
so well! Too often in attacks of this nature not one of
the assailed party escapes to tell the tale of the exploits
of the assailants!

As to Captain Hood, he was obliged, whether he liked
it or not, to keep his arm in a sling ; but the engineer, who
was the doctor of the expedition, found his wound not
serious, and declared that in a few days no trace of it
would remain. At heart Captain Hood was much mortified
at having received a wound without having returned it.
And yet, he had added another tiger to the forty-eight al-
ready on his list.

316 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

On the afternoon of the 27th our attention was aroused
by the joyful and excited barking of the dogs. We hast-
ened out and saw Colonel Munro, McNeil, and Goumi.
Their return was a real relief to us. Had Sir Edward suc-
ceeded in his expedition? This we did not yet know. He,
was there, however, safe and sound, and that was the most
important thing after all.

Banks immediately hurried up to him, grasped his hand,
and gave him a questioning look.

"Nothing!" was all the reply he received, accompanied
by a shake of the head.

This word signified not only that the search of the
Nepaulese frontier had resulted in nothing, but that any
conversation on this subject would be useless. It appeared
to mean that there was nothing to speak about.

McNeil and Goumi, whom Banks interrogated in the
evening, were more explicit. They told him that Colonel
Munro had indeed wished to survey that portion of Hin-
doostan in which Nana Sahib had taken refuge before his
reappearance in the Bombay Presidency; to ascertain what
had become of the nabob's companions ; to search for any
traces which might remain of their passage over that part
of the frontier; to endeavor to learn whether, instead of
Nana Sahib, his brother, Balao Rao, was hiding in that
country. Such had been Sir Edward's object.

The result of this search was that there could no longer
be any doubt that the rebels had left the country. There
was not a vestige of that camp in which the false obsequies
of Nana Sahib had been celebrated. No news was heard
of Balao Rao. Of his companions, nothing that could urge
them to set off on the track. The nabob killed in the
defiles of the Sautpoora Mountains, his friends probably
dispersed beyond the limits of the peninsula, the work of
the avenger seemed already performed. To quit the Him-
alayas, continue southward, and thus finish our journey
from Calcutta to Bombay, was all we had now to think of.

The departure was fixed for a week from that time, for
the 3d of September. That time was necessary to com-
plete the healing of Captain Hood's wound. Colonel
Munro, too, who was plainly fatigued by his excursion
through that rough country, was also glad of a few days'
rest.

MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL 317

During this time Banks began his preparations by getting
our train in order, and in a state for the journey from 1 lie-
Himalayas to Bombay. To begin with it was agreed that
the route should be a second time altered so as to avoid
the great towns of the northwest, Mi rat, Delhi, Agra,
Gwalior, Jansi, and others, in which so many disasters of
the mutiny of 1857 had taken place. With the last rebels
of the insurrection had disappeared all that could arouse
the recollections of Colonel Munro.

Our traveling dwelling would thus go straight through
the provinces without stopping at the principal cities, but
the country was well worth a visit, if only for its natural
beauties. The immense kingdom of Scindia is unequalled
in this respect. The most picturesque roads in the peninsula
now lay before Behemoth.

The season of the monsoons had ended with the rainy
season, which is not prolonged beyond the month of August.
The first days of September promised a most agreeable tem-
perature, which would render the second part of our journey
far pleasanter than the first.

During the last week of our stay in the sanitarium, Fox
and Gofimi purveyed daily for the pantry. Accompanied
by the two dogs they found swarms of partridges, pheasants,
and bustards. These birds, preserved in the ice-house, were
to supply us with game during the journey.

We paid two or three more visits to the kraal. There
Mathias van Guitt was also preparing for his departure for
Bombay, bearing his troubles with the philosophy which
carried him calmly through all the miseries of existence
both great and small.

The capture of the tenth tiger had completed his stock.

It was now only necessary to make up the number of his
buffaloes. Not one of those which fled during the night
attack had been recaptured. The chances were that all,
dispersed in the forest, had met with violent deaths. The
difficulty was how to make up the teams. In hopes of ob-
taining animals among the scattered farms and villages of
the neighborhood, Van Guitt had sent Kalagani to inquire,
and awaited his return with some impatience.

The last week of our abode at the sanitarium passed
without incident. Captain Hood's wound gradually healed,
and he seemed to hope for one more expedition before clos-

318 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

ing the campaign. But this idea Colonel Munro would
not encourage.

Why risk himself needlessly while his arm was weak?

During the rest of our journey he would be very likely
to meet with sport en route.

" Besides," observed Banks, " you surely ought to be
satisfied to find yourself alive and well, with a score of
forty-nine tigers fallen to your gun. The balance is all in
your favor."

" Forty-nine — yes," returned the captain with a sigh ;
" but I wanted fifty."

He was evidently dissatisfied.

The 2d of September arrived, and we were on the eve
of departure. In the morning Goumi came in to announce
a visit from the purveyor. Van Guitt, accompanied by
Kalagani, came to Steam House; no doubt he wished to
take formal leave at the last moment.

Colonel Munro received him cordially, and the Dutch-
man plunged into a course of speechifying more astonish-
ing than ever. It struck me that his high-flown compli-
ments concealed something which he hesitated to propose.
Banks brought him to the point by inquiring whether he had
succeeded in making up his buffalo teams.

" No, indeed, Mr. Banks," he replied, " Kalagani has been
unsuccessful. Although I gave him carte blanche as to price,
he failed to procure a single pair of these useful animals.
I am forced to admit myself wholly at a loss how to con-
vey my menagerie to the nearest railway station. This loss
of my buffaloes, by the sudden attack on the night between
the 25th and 26th of August, embarrasses me exceedingly.
My cages with their four-footed prisoners are heavy,
and "

"Well, how are you going to manage?" demanded the
engineer.

" I can't exactly say," returned Mathias. " I plan — I con-
trive— I hesitate — but the fact is that on the 20th of Sep-
tember, that is to say eighteen days hence, I am bound to
deliver the animals at Bombay."

" In eighteen days ! " echoed Banks. " Why you have
not an hour to lose."

"I know it, sir, and I have but one resource, just one."

"What may that be?"

MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL 319

" It is to entreat the colonel to do me a very great favor."

"Speak freely, Mr. van Guitt," said Colonel Munro;
" if I can oblige you, I will do so with pleasure."

Mathias bowed, placed his right hand on his lips, swayed
himself from side to side, and in every gesture betokened
himself overwhelmed by unexpected kindness. He then
explained that understanding our giant engine to be of
immense power, he wished to know if it would be possible
to attach his caravan of cages to our train, and so to drag
them to Etawah, the nearest station on the line between
Delhi and Allahabad.

The colonel turned to the engineer, saying, " Can we do
what Mr. van Guitt requires?"

" I see no difficulty," replied Banks. " Behemoth will
never know that he draws a heavier weight."

" It shall be done, Mr. van Guitt," said Colonel Munro.
" We will take your goods to Etawah. People ought to
be neighborly and help one another even in the Hima-
layas."

' I am aware of your goodness, colonel," replied Van
Guitt, " and indeed felt I might reckon on it."

" You were right," said Colonel Munro.

Everything being thus arranged, the Dutchman prepared
to return to his kraal, in order to dismiss such of his at-
tendants as were no longer required, retaining only four
shikarries who were wanted to tend the animals.

" We meet to-morrow, then," said Colonel Munro.

" To-morrow, gentlemen, I shall be ready, and waiting
for you and your steam monster at my kraal." And the
purveyor, delighted with the success of his visit, retired
with all the airs of an actor leaving the stage.

Kalagani, after fixedly regarding Colonel Munro, whose
journey to the frontiers of Nepaul appeared to interest him
deeply, followed his master.

The last arrangements were completed. Everything was
in traveling order, and of the Steam House sanitarium
nothing remained. We were ready to descend to the plains,
where our elephant was to leave us and fetch the Dutch-
man's caravan to join our train, which then was to start
across Rohilkund.

At seven o'clock on the morning of the 3d of September,
Behemoth stood ready to resume the duties he had hitherto

320 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

so well fulfilled. But a very unexpected occurrence now
excited the surprise of every one.

After lighting the furnace to heat the boiler, Kalouth
opened the different flues and the soot doors, in order to
be sure that nothing impeded the draught of air, but started
back when, with a strange sound of hissing, a score of
what seemed like leathern thongs darted toward him from
the tubes.

" Hallo, Kalouth ! What's the matter? " said Banks.

" A swarm of serpents, sahib," cried the stoker.

In fact, what appeared like straps were snakes which had
chosen to make themselves at home in the furnace chimneys,
whence the heat now dislodged them. Some were scorched,
and fell to the ground ; had not Kalouth opened the valves,
all would speedily have been roasted.

" What ! " cried Captain Hood, running forward, " has
Behemoth been cherishing a brood of serpents in his
bosom ? "

Yes, of the most dangerous and numerous description
and a superb tiger-python now showed his pointed head
from the tip of the elephant's trunk, and began to unfold
his coils, amid spiral volumes of smoke. The other ser-
pents, which were so lucky as to escape with their lives,
quickly vanished among the bushes.

But the python could not easily ascend the cast iron
cylinder, and Captain Hood had time to get his rifle and
send a bullet through its head.

Then Goumi mounted the elephant, and scrambling up
the trunk, succeeded, with the help of Kalouth and Storr,
in hoisting out the huge reptile. It was a most magnificent
boa, in a vesture of gorgeous green and purple, adorned with
regular rings, which seemed as though cut out of splendid
tiger skin. It was as thick as a man's arm, and measured
quite five yards in length.

Truly it was a superb specimen, and would have made
an advantageous addition to Van Guitt's collection could
it have been secured alive.

The excitement of this incident having subsided, Kalouth
rearranged his furnace, the boiler soon began to do its part,
and steam being fairly got up, we were ready to be off. One
last glance over the marvelous panorama spread before us
to the south, one last lingering look toward the indented

MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL 321

outlines of the mighty mountain peaks which stood forth
sharply against the northern sky, and then the shriek of the
whistle gave notice of departure.

We descended the winding road without difficulty, the
atmospheric brake acting admirably on the steep pitches,
and in an hour we halted on the lower limit of the Terrai,
at the edge of the plain. Here Behemoth, under charge
of Banks and the fireman, left us, and at a dignified pace
entered one of the broad roads through the forest.

A couple of hours later we heard the snorting and puffing
of the steam giant, and he issued from the thicket of trees
with the Dutchman's caravan menagerie in tow.

Mathias van Guitt made his appearance, and renewed
his thanks to the colonel. The wild beast cages, with a van
in front for the purveyor and his men, were attached to
our train, now composed of eight carriages.

Banks gave the signal, the regulation whistle sounded,
and Behemoth, with stately motion, began to advance along
the magnificent road leading to the south. The addition of
Van Guitt and his wild beast vans made no difference to him.

"Well, Van Guitt, what do you think of it?" inquired
Captain Hood.

" I think, captain," replied Mathias, with some reason,
" that this elephant would be much more wonderful if he
were made of flesh and blood."

We did not follow the route by which we had reached
the foot of the Himalayas, but traveled southwest toward
the little town of Philibit. We went at a moderate and
easy pace, and met with no hindrance or discomfort.

The Dutchman daily took his seat at our table, when
his splendid appetite never failed to do honor to the culinary
talents of Monsieur Parazard. It speedily became necessary
to call upon our sportsmen to do their duty, and Captain
Hood resumed his labors for the larder. Food was re-
quired for our four-footed passengers, as well as for our-
selves, and the shikarries took care to provide it. They
were clever hunters; and led by Kalagani, himself a first-
rate shot, kept up a supply of bison and antelope meat.

Kalagani maintained his peculiar and reserved manners,
although very kindly treated by Colonel Munro, who was
not a man to forget a good service done him.

On the 10th of September our train skirted the town of

V XII Verna

322 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Philibit without making a halt, but a considerable number
of natives came to see us. Van Guitt's wild beast show
attracted little attention in comparison with Behemoth, and
without more than a passing glance at the splendid creatures
within their cages, all hastened to admire the Steam Ele-
phant.

We traversed the great plains of Northern India, passing,
at a distance of some leagues, Bareilly, one of the chief
cities of Rohilkund. Sometimes we were surrounded by-
forests filled with birds of brilliant plumage, sometimes by
dense thickets of the thorny acacia two or three yards high,
which is called by the English " Wait-a-bit."

There we met with many wild boars, whose flesh was of
a remarkably fine flavor, from the fact of their feeding on
the yellowish berry of these plants. These boars are ex-
tremely savage animals, and on several occasions they were
killed by Captain Hood and Kalagani, under circumstances
which displayed to advantage all the courage and skill pos-
sessed by our mighty hunters.

Between Philibit, and Etawah railway station our train
had to cross the Upper Ganges, and shortly after an im-
portant tributary, the Kali-Nacli.

The menagerie vans were detached, and Stqam House,
assuming its nautical character, easily floated from one bank
to the other. It was different with the Dutchman's vans.
They had to be transported singly by a ferry boat, and
though tedious, the passage was effected without much dif-
ficulty, as both he and his men knew exactly what to do.

At length without any adventure worthy of notice we
reached the line of rail between Delhi and Allahabad. Here
the two parts of our train were to separate, the first con-
tinuing to descend southward across the vast territories of
Scind, in order to reach the Vindhyas and the presidency
of Bombay. The second, was to be placed on railway trucks
to travel to Bombay, and so by ship to Europe.

We encamped together for one night, and the respective
starts were to be made at daybreak. Mathias van Guitt
was about to dismiss such of his attendants as were no
longer necessary to him, retaining the natives only until
he should reach the ship.

Among the men now paid off was Kalagani, the hunter.

We had become attached to this native since he had

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 323

rendered good service both to Colonel Munro and Captain
Hood ; and Banks, perceiving him to be at a loss for em-
ployment, asked if it would suit him to accompany us as
far as Bombay.

After some moments consideration, Kalagani accepted
the proposal, which seemed to please Colonel Munro very
much. He was well acquainted with all this part of India,
and attached to the staff of Steam House was likely to be
extremely useful to us.

The next morning the camp was struck. Steam was
up, and Storr only awaited final orders.

The ceremony of leave-taking was very simple on our
part, highly theatrical on that of Van Guitt, who amplified
his expressions of thanks, and specially distinguished him-
self in the final scene, when, as he disappeared from our
sight he indicated by pantomimic gestures that never, either
here below or in life hereafter, should our kindness fade
from his memory.

CHAPTER VII

PASSAGE CF THE BETTWA

Our position on the 18th of September stood thus,
Distance from Calcutta . . . 812 miles.

From Sanitarium on the Himalayas 236
From Bombay .... 1,000 "
With regard to distance, not half of our proposed journey
had been accomplished, but reckoning the seven weeks spent
on the Himalayan frontier above half the time allotted to
it had elapsed. We left Calcutta on the 6th of March, and
in two months we hoped to reach the western shores of
Hindostan. Avoiding the great towns concerned in the
revolt of 1857, we should travel nearly due south. There
being excellent roads through Scind, we should meet no
difficulties until we came to the mountains of Central India.
The presence of an experienced man like Kalagani would
give additional security as well as facility to our progress,
as he seemed so thoroughly well acquainted with this part
of Hindostan. Banks called him the first day, while Colonel
Munro was taking his siesta, and asked in what capacity
he had so frequently traversed these provinces.

324 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" I belonged," replied the man, " to one of the numerous
caravans of Brinjarees, who convey to the interior, on the
backs of oxen, supplies of grain, either ordered by the
government or private persons. In this capacity I have
passed a score of times across the territories of North and
Central India."

" Do such caravans still cross this part of the peninsula? "

" Yes, sir, they do, and at this season of the year I
should expect to meet Brinjarees on their way north."

" Well, Kalagani, you are likely to be very useful to us.
We wish to avoid the great cities, and to pass through the
open country. You shall be our guide."

" Certainly, sir," answered the Hindoo, in the cold tone
which was habitual to him, and to which I could never get
quite reconciled. Then, he added, " Shall I state in a gen-
eral way the direction we shall have to take? "

" Do so, Kalagani," said Banks, spreading a large map
on the table, and preparing to verify by observation the in-
formation about to be given him.

" It is very simple," said the Indian. " A direct line takes
us from the Delhi railroad to that of Bombay. The junc-
tion is at Allahabad. Between Etawah and the frontier of
Bundelkund, there is but one important river to cross, the
Jumna ; between that and the Vindhyas Mountains there
is another, the Bettwa. These two rivers may have over-
flowed their banks, but I think your train would be able
to cross them even if it were so."

" There would be no serious difficulty," replied the en-
gineer. " And having reached the Vindhyas ? '

" We should turn slightly to the southeast, in order to
reach a practicable pass. There will be no difficulty there
either, for I know a spot where the ascents are easy. Wheel
carriages prefer that way; it is the pass of Sirgour."

" That ought to suit us," returned Banks, " but I perceive
that beyond the pass of Sirgour the country is very hilly.
Could we not approach the Vindhyas by crossing Bhopal ? '

" There are a great many towns in that direction," an-
swered Kalagani ; " it would be difficult to avoid them. The
sepoys distinguished themselves particularly there during
the war of independence."

I was struck by this expression, " the war of indepen-
dence," which Kalagani applied to the Mutiny. However,

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 325

I reflected that it was a native, not an Englishman, who
used it. Besides, we had no reason to suppose that Kala-
gani had taken part in the revolt.

" Well," resumed Banks, " leaving the cities of Bhopal
to the west, are you certain that the pass of Sirgour will
give us access to a practicable road? "

" To a road I have often traveled, sir, which, after mak-
ing the circuit of Lake Puturia, will bring you near Jub-
bulpore, on the Bombay railway."

" I see," said Banks, who followed on the map all that
the man said; " and after that ? "

" After that the road turns to the southwest, and, more
or less, runs alongside the line as far as Bombay."

" Of course — so it does," returned Banks. " I see no
particular difficulty anywhere, and the route suits us. We
shall not forget your services, Kalagani."

Kalagani made his salaam, and was about to retire, when
changing his mind, he again approached the engineer.

" Have you any question to put to me? " said Banks.

" I have, sir ; may I be permitted to ask why you especially
want to avoid the great towns of the Bundelkund? '

Banks looked at me. There seemed no reason for con-
cealing the facts of the case from this man, and after a
little consideration, Colonel Munro's position was explained
to him.

He listened attentively to what the engineer related to
him, and then he said in a tone denoting surprise, " Colonel
Munro has nothing more to fear from Nana Sahib — at
least not in these provinces."

" Neither in these provinces nor anywhere else," returned
Banks. " Why do you say ' in these provinces ? ' "

" Because it was reported several months ago that the
nabob had reappeared in the Bombay Presidency, but by
no research could his retreat be discovered, and supposing
him ever to have been there, it is probable that he has
now again passed beyond the Indo-Chinese frontier."

This answer seemed to prove that Kalagani was ignorant
of what had taken place in the Sautpourra Mountains, and
that in the month of May, Nana Sahib had been slain by
British soldiers at the Pal of Tandit.

" It seems that news takes a long time to reach the Him-
alayan forests ! " exclaimed Banks.

326 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Kalagani looked at him fixedly, like one not in the least
comprehending his words.

" You do not seem to know that Nana Sahib is dead,"
continued the engineer.

" Nana Sahib dead ! " cried the native.

" Certainly," replied Banks, " government announced the
fact that he had been killed, with all the details."

" Killed? " said Kalagani, shaking his head, " where do
they say Nana Sahib was killed ? "

" At the Pal of Tandit, in the Sautpourra Mountains."

"And when?"

" Nearly four months ago, on the 25th of last May."

I noticed a peculiar look flit over Kalagani's face as he
folded his arms and remained silent.

" Have you any reason," inquired I, " for discrediting
the account of Nana Sahib's death? "

" None, sir; I believe what you tell me."

In another instant Banks and I were alone, and he ex-
claimed, "You see what these fellows are! They regard
the chief of the rebel sepoys as something more than mortal,
and because they have not seen him hanged, they never
will believe he is dead."

" Why," replied I, " that is just like the old soldiers of
the empire, who for twenty years after Napoleon's death
stoutly maintained that he was still alive."

Since passing across the Upper Ganges fifteen days pre-
vious to this, a fertile country had opened before us, called
the Doab, a district lying in the angle formed by the
Ganges and the Jumna, which two rivers unite near Al-
lahabad.

My impressions of the Doab are of alluvial plains cleared
by the Brahmins twenty centuries before the Christian era,
farming operations of the rudest description carried on by
the peasantry, vast canal works due to English engineers,
fields of the cotton plant, which especially thrives in this
part of the country, the groans of the cotton mill machinery
at work near every village, mingled with the songs of the
men who are employed about it.

We went on our way very comfortably. Scenery and
situations changed before our eyes, while we enjoyed in
luxury the climax of the art of locomotion.

What mode ~f progression could be superior to this?

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 327

We reached the left bank of the Jumna. This important
stream forms the boundary of Rajasthan, the country of
the Rajahs, dividing it from Hindostan, or the country of
the Hindoos.

We found that an early flood had already raised the
waters of the Jumna. The current was rapid, but although
this made our transit somewhat less easy, it did not hinder
it at all. Banks took some few precautions, found a suit-
able landing-place, and within half an hour, Steam House
was mounting the opposite bank of the river.

Railway trains require massive bridges to be built at
great expense; one of these, of tubular construction, spans
the Jumna at the fortress of Pelimghur near Delhi.

But our Behemoth drew his double cars over the surface
of the current with as much ease as along the best macadam-
ized high road.

Beyond the Jumna lay several of the towns which our
engineer intended to pass by unvisited.

Among these was Gwalior, situated near the river Sa-
wunrika, built on a basaltic rock, with its superb mosque of
Musjid, its palace of Pal, its curious Gate of Elephants,
its famous fortress, and the Vihura erected by Buddhists.
The modern town of Lashkar, built at a little distance, forms
a singular contrast to this ancient city, and competes in
trade with it vigorously.

It was at Gwalior that the Ranee of Jansi, the devoted
friend of Nana Sahib, defended herself heroically to the
last. There, as we have already said, she fell by the hand
of Colonel Munro during an engagement with two squad-
rons of the British troops, where he was in command of a
battalion of his regiment, and from that moment dated the
mortal hatred borne toward him by the Nabob, who sought
till death to gratify it by revenge.

Yes! it certainly was desirable that Sir Edward Munro
should not renew his recollections of the scenes which took
place before the gates of Gwalior!

After Gwalior we passed Antri, and its vast plain broken
by numerous peaks, like islands in an archipelago.

Then Duttiah, which has not been in existence for more
than five centuries. It possesses a central fortress, elegant
houses, temples of various forms, the deserted palace of
Birsing-Deo, and the arsenal of Tope-Kana, the whole form-

328 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

ing the capital of the province of Duttiah, which lies in
the northern angle of Bundelkund, and is under British
protection. Antri and Duttiah, as well as Gwalior, were
seriously compromised by the insurrectional disturbances
of 1857.

On the 22d of September, Jansi was passed at a con-
siderable distance. This city is the most important military
station in the Bundelkund, and the spirit of revolt is strong
in the lower classes of its population. The town is com-
paratively modern, and has a great trade in Indian muslins,
and blue cotton cloths. There are no ancient remains in
this place, but it is interesting to visit its citadel, whose
walls the English artillery and projectiles failed to destroy,
also the Necropolis of the rajahs, which is remarkably pic-
turesque.

This was the chief stronghold of the sepoy mutineers in
Central India. There the intrepid Ranee instigated the first
rising, which speedily spread throughout the Bundelkund.

There Sir Hugh Rose maintained an engagement which
lasted no less than six days, during which time he lost
fifteen per cent, of his force.

There, in spite of the obstinate resistance of a garrison
of twelve thousand sepoys, and backed by an army of
twenty thousand, Tantia Topi. Balao Rao (brother of the
Nana), and last not least, the Ranee herself, were compelled
to yield to the superiority of British arms.

It was there, at Jansi, that Colonel Munro had saved
the life of his sergeant, McNeil, and given up to him his
last drop of water. Yes ! Jansi of all places must be avoided
in a journey where the route was planned and marked out
by Sir Edward's warmest friends!

After passing Jansi, we were detained for several hours
by an encounter with travelers of whom Kalagani had pre-
viously spoken.

It was about eleven o'clock. Breakfast was over, and
we were lounging under the veranda, or in the saloon,
while Behemoth plodded steadily on at a moderate speed.
The road was magnificent. Shaded by lofty trees it passed
through fields of cotton and grain. The weather was fine,
the sun very hot. All we could wish for was a metropolitan
water-cart, to keep down the puffs of fine white dust which
occasionally rose round our equipage.

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 329

But after a while the atmosphere appeared to become
absolutely darkened with clouds of dust as dense as any
ever blown up by the simoom of the Libyan Desert.

" I cannot imagine the cause of such a phenomenon," said
Banks, " for the wind blows quite a light breeze."

" Probably Kalagani can explain it," said Colonel
Munro.

He was called, and entering the veranda, looked along
the road, and at once said, " It is a long caravan going
northward, and is most likely a party of the Brinjarees I
spoke of to you, Mr. Banks."

" Ah ! and no doubt you will find some old friends among
them."

" Possibly, sahib; I lived a long time among those wan-
dering tribes."

" Perhaps you will want to leave us and join them again,"
remarked Captain Hood.

" Not at all," answered Kalagani.

Half an hour later, it was proved that his opinion was
correct. A moving wall of oxen advanced, and our mighty
elephant himself was brought to a standstill. There was
nothing to regret in this enforced halt, however, for a most
curious spectacle was presented to our observations.

A drove of four or five thousand oxen encumbered the
road, and, as our guide had supposed, they belonged to a
caravan of Brinjarees.

" These people," said Banks, " are the Zingaris of Hin-
dostan. They are a people rather than a tribe, and have
no fixed abode, dwelling under tents in summer, in huts
during the winter or rainy season. They are the porters
and carriers of India, and I saw how they worked during
the insurrection of 1857. By a sort of tacit agreement be-
tween the belligerents, their convoys were permitted to
pass through the disturbed provinces. In fact, they kept
up the supply of provisions to both armies. If these Brin-
jarees belong to one part of India more than to another,
I should say it was Rajpootana, and perhaps more par-
ticularly the kingdom of Milwar. Pray examine them at-
tentively, my dear Maucler, as they pass before vou in
defile."

Our equipage was prudently drawn up on one side of
the great highway. Nothing could have withstood this

330 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

avalanche of horned cattle, even wild beasts hasten out of
their way.

Following Banks' advice, I set myself to observe closely
the enormous procession as it passed by, and the first thing
I noticed was that our Steam Elephant, so accustomed to
create surprise and admiration, seemed scarcely to attract
the attention of these people at all; they looked as if noth-
ing ever could astonish them.

Both men and women of the race were extremely hand-
some ; the former tall and strong, with fine features, curly
hair, and a clear bronze complexion. They wore long tunics
and turbans, and carried lances, bucklers, or round shields,
and large swords slung across their shoulders, the latter,
also very tall and well formed, were dressed in becoming
bodices with full skirts, a loose mantle enveloping the whole
form in graceful drapery. They wore jewels in their ears,
and necklaces, bracelets, bangles, and anklets, made of gold,
ivory, or shells.

Thousands of oxen paced quietly along with these men,
women, old men, and children. They had neither harness
nor halter, only bells or red tassels on their heads, and
double packs thrown across their backs, which contained
wheat and other grains.

A whole tribe journeyed in this manner, under the direc-
tions of an elected chief, called the naik, whose power
is despotic while it lasts. He controls the movements of the
caravan, fixes the hours for the start and the halt, and
arranges the dispositions of the camp.

I was struck by the magnificent appearance of a large
bull, who with superb and imperial step led the van. He
was covered with a bright colored cloth, ornamented with
bells and shell embroidery, and I asked Banks if he knew
what was the special office of this splendid animal.

" Kalagani will of course be able to tell us," answered he.
"Where is the fellow?"

He was called, but did not make his appearance, and
search being made, it was found he had left Steam
House.

" No doubt he has gone to renew acquaintance with some
old comrade," said Colonel Munro. " He will return be-
fore we resume our journey."

This seemed very natural. There was nothing in the

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 331

temporary absence of the man to occasion uneasiness, but
somehow it haunted me uncomfortably.

" Well," said Banks, " to the best of my belief this bull
represents, or is an emblem of, their deity. Where he goes
they follow ; where he stops, there they encamp ; but of
course we are to suppose he is in reality under the secret
control of the naik. Anyhow, he is to these wanderers
an embodiment of their religion."

The cortege seemed interminable, and for two hours there
was no sign of an approaching end. Soon afterward, how-
ever, the rear guard came in sight, and at last I perceived
Kalagani accompanied by a native who was not of the
Brinjaree type. They were conversing together very coolly,
and he was no doubt one who, as Kalagani had frequently
done, had joined the caravan for a time only. Probably
they were talking of the country which the caravan had
just passed through, and across which lay the route by which
our new guide had undertaken to lead us.

This man, who was the last of all the procession to pass
us, paused for a moment before Steam House. He looked
at the equipage with some interest, and I thought his eye
rested particularly on Sir Edward Munro ; but without utter-
ing a word, he made a parting sign to Kalagani, rejoined
the troop, and disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Kalagani then came up, and before any questions were
asked, addressed himself to Colonel Munro, and simply
saying, " One of my old comrades, who has been with the
caravan for the last two months," he resumed his place in
our train, and we were speedily moving along a road now
deeply marked by the footprints of thousands of men and
oxen.

Next day, the 24th of September, we halted to pass the
night a little to the east of Ourtcha on the left bank of
the Bettwa, which is one of the chief tributaries of the
Jumna.

There is nothing to see or say about Ourtcha. It is the
old capital of Bundelkund, and was a flourishing town dur-
ing the earlier part of the seventeenth century. But hard
blows from the Mahrattas on one side, and the Mongols on
the other, reduced it to a low condition, from which it has
never recovered, so that, at the present time, one of the
great cities of Central India is nothing more than a

ZZ2 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

large village, miserably housing a few hundred peasants.

I said we encamped on the banks of the Bettwa, but the
halt was made at some distance from the river, which, we
learned, had considerably overflowed its banks. Night was
coming on and it would be necessary next day to examine
carefully the nature of the ground before attempting a pas-
sage. We therefore spent our evening in the usual way
and retired to rest.

Except under very peculiar circumstances, we never kept
watch by night. There seemed to be no occasion for it.
Could anybody run away with our houses? No! Could
they steal our elephant? Rather not! Nothing was more
unlikely than an attack of thieves; but at all times our two
dogs, Fan and Niger, were on the alert, and ready to give
notice of approaching footsteps.

This very thing happened that night. Their violent bark-
ing aroused us about two in the morning. When I opened
the door of my room, I found all my companions on foot.
"Is anything the matter? " inquired Colonel Munro.

" The dogs seem to think so," replied Banks. " I don't
believe they would bark like that for nothing."

" I should not wonder if a panther had coughed in the
jungle," said Hood. " Let's take our guns and make a
search."

McNeil, Kalagani, and Goumi were all out listening and
trying to find out what was going on. We joined them.

" Weil," said the captain, " I suppose a few wild animals
have passed on their way to the drinking-place ? '

" Kalagani thinks this is something very different," re-
plied Sergeant McNeil.

"What then, Kalagani?"

" I don't know yet, colonel," said the Indian ; " but cer-
tainly neither panthers, tigers, nor jackals. I fancy I can
discern a confused mass among the trees "

"Let's have at them at once!" exclaimed the captain,
with eager hopes of his fiftieth tiger.

" Wait, Hood, wait," said Banks ; " caution is desirable
in this case."

" But we are in force, and well armed ! I want to be
at the bottom of this disturbance," persisted the cap-
tain.

" All right then," cried Banks. " Munro, you must re-

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 333

main in camp with McNeil and the other men, while Hood,
Maucler, Kalagani, and I go to reconnoiter."

All this time the dogs continued to bark, but without
any symptoms of the fury which they always displayed on
the approach of wild beasts.

" Come along, Fox ! " cried Captain Hood, beckoning to
his servant.

Fan and Niger darted into the thicket. We followed
them, and presently distinguished the sound of footsteps.
It seemed as though the scouts of a large party were prowl-
ing round our camp. A few figures vanished silently among
the bushes. The two dogs, barking loudly, ran backward
and forward some paces in advance of us.

" Who goes there ? " shouted Captain Hood.

No answer.

" These people either do not choose to speak or else un-
derstand no English," said Banks.

" Well — give it them in Hindoostanee ! Tell them we
will fire if they don't answer."

In the dialect of Central India, Kalagani summoned the
invisible rovers to advance and show themselves. Still no
answer.

A rifle shot broke the silence. The impetuous captain
could stand it no longer, and had taken aim apparently at
a shadow flitting through the trees. The report was fol-
lowed by a confused rushing sound, as if a multitude of
people were dispersing right and left. Fan and Niger ran
forward, and then returning to us quietly, showed no
further uneasiness.

" Well, they beat a retreat double quick, these fellows,
whoever they were," exclaimed Hood.

" That is very certain," returned Banks, " and now,
whether they were robbers or rovers, all we have to do is
to get back to Steam House. But we must set a watch till
daybreak."

In a very few minutes we had rejoined our party. Mc-
Neil, Goumi, and Fox arranged to take turns as sentries,
and we once more retired to our cabins. The night passed
without disturbance; it was clear, that seeing we were on
our guard, the visitors had decamped.

Next day, the 25th of September, while preparation was
being made for a start, Colonel Munro, Hood, McNeil,

334 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Kalagani, and I set out to explore the borders of the forest.
We saw no trace whatever of the nocturnal adventurers,
and on our return found Banks busily arranging for the,
passage of the river Bettwa, whose tawny waters were flow-
ing far beyond their accustomed bed. The current was
running at so rapid a rate, that Behemoth would have to
make head against it to avoid being carried down stream.

The engineer, field-glass in hand, was endeavoring to de-
termine our landing-place on the opposite bank. The Bettwa
was at this point about a mile in width. Our train had as
yet crossed no river so broad.

" What," said I, " becomes of travelers and traders when
they are stopped by floods like this? These currents re-
semble rapids ; ordinary ferry-boats could not resist them."

"Why! it is quite simple," replied Captain Hood, "they
stay where they are."

" They can always cross if they have elephants," said
Banks.

" You don't mean to say elephants can swim such dis-
tances? "

" Of course they can, and the thing is managed thus,"
answered the engineer. " All the baggage is placed on the
back of these "

"•Proboscidians," suggested Hood, recollecting his friend
the Dutchman's fine words.

" And the mahouts force them, at first reluctantly, to
enter the stream. The animals hesitate, draw back, trumpet
loudly; but finally make up their minds to face the dif-
ficulty, and beginning to swim, gallantly effect the passage.
It must be admitted that some are occasionally swept away
by the current and drowned, but that rarely happens if any
experienced person is in charge."

" Well," said Hood, " Behemoth is thoroughly amphibi-
ous, and no doubt will make a fine passage."

We all took our places ; Kalouth by his furnace, Storr
in the howdah, Banks acting as steersman. With gentle
pace the elephant began his march. His great feet were
covered, but the water was for about fifty feet too shallow
to float him. Great caution was requisite, and the train
moved slowly from terra firm a.

All of a sudden we became aware that the sounds we
had heard in the night were renewed and drawing near us.

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA 335

About a hundred creatures, gesticulating and grimacing, is-
sued from the woods.

" Monkeys, by Jove ! " exclaimed Hood, with a burst of
laughter, as a whole regiment of apes advanced in close
order toward Steam House.

" What on earth do they want? " inquired McNeil.

" Of course they are going to attack us," answered the
belligerent captain.

" No, you have nothing to fear," said Kalagani, who was
watching them.

" Well, but what are they up to? " repeated McNeil.

" They only want to cross the river with us," said the
Indian.

And Kalagani was right. These were not insolent gib-
bons, with long hairy arms and importunate manners, nor
were they members of the aristocratic family which inhabit
the palace at Benares ; but black monkeys, the largest in
India, very active, and with white whiskers round their
smooth faces, which make them look like old lawyers. In
fantastic airs and attitudes they almost rivaled our friend
Mathias van Guitt himself.

I then learned that these apes are sacred throughout In-
dia. One legend asserts that they are the descendants of
Rama, who conquered the island of Ceylon. At Amber
they occupy the Zenana palace, and do the honors to visitors.
It is expressly forbidden to kill them, several English
officers have lost their lives through disregard of this
law.

These monkeys are usually very gentle, and easily do-
mesticated, but are dangerous if attacked, and when only
slightly wounded, become, according to the statement of
M. Louis Rousselet, quite as formidable as hyenas or pan-
thers. But we had no intention of attacking them, and
Captain Hood's gun was not called into requisition. Could
Kalagani be right in saying that these creatures, unable
otherwise to cross the river, intended to avail themselves
of our floating equipage?

We were speedily to see that it was so. When, after
passing through the shallows, Behemoth reached the bed of
the river, our train floated after him, and encountering a
kind of eddy from a turn in the bank, remained at first
almost stationary.

336 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Just then the troop of monkeys approached, wading and
dabbling in the shallow water. They made no demonstra-
tion of hostility; but suddenly the whole party, males,
females, old and young, began to gambol and spring toward
us, and, finally seizing each other by the hand, they fairly
bounded up on our train, which actually seemed to be
waiting for them.

In a few seconds there were a dozen on Behemoth's back,
thirty on the top of each carriage, and soon we had quite
a hundred passengers, gay, familiar, even talkative (at least
among themselves), no doubt congratulating one another
on the fortunate chance by which they had secured their
passage across the river.

Behemoth now fairly entered the current, and boldly fac-
ing it, proceeded on his way.

For an instant Banks looked anxiously at the apes, but
they disposed themselves judiciously, so as to trim the
flotilla. They sat or clung in all directions over the back
of the elephant, on his neck, on his tusks, even on his
upraised trunk, caring nothing for the jets of steam which
it cast forth.

They clustered on the arched roofs of our carriages, some
squatting down, some standing upright, some on all fours,
others dangling by the tail from the veranda roofs. Steam
House maintained its equilibrium, and the excess of cargo
proved to be quite immaterial.

Captain Hood was immensely amused, and his man Fox
excessively astonished. He soon made friends with the
free and easy creatures, who were grimacing on all sides
of him, and began to do the honors of the house. He
talked to them, shook hands, made his best bows, offered
lumps of sugar, and would willingly have handed sweet-
meats all round if Monsieur Parazard would have allowed
it.

Behemoth worked his four feet strenuously; they beat
the water, and acted like paddles.

Drifting downward in the current, he followed the direc-
tion which took us toward the landing-place. This we
safely reached in about half an hour; and the moment our
train touched the shore, the whole troop of monkeys sprang
down, and with numberless absurd antics and capers, scam-
pered off as hard as they could go.

HOOD VERSUS BANKS 337

" They might as well have said ' Thank'ee ! ' ' cried Fox,
quite disgusted with the bad manners of his fellow pas-
sengers.

CHAPTER VIII

HOOD VERSUS BANKS

Having passed the Bettwa, we found ourselves already
sixty-two miles from the station of Etawah, where we had
left the Dutchman, Van Guitt.

Four days passed without incident — without even any
sport for Captain Hood, wild animals being scarce in that
part of Scind. " Upon my word," he kept repeating in
tones of great annoyance, " I begin to fear I shall arrive
at Bombay without having bagged my fiftieth! '

Kalagani evidently knew this thinly-peopled region per-
fectly, and guided us across it most admirably. On the 29th
of September our train began to ascend the northern slope
of the Vindhyas, in order to reach the pass of Sirgour.

Hitherto we had met with no obstacle or difficulty, al-
though this country is one of the worst in repute of all
India, because it is a favorite retreat of criminals. Robbers
haunt the highways, and it is here that the Dacoits carry
on their double trade of thieves and poisoners. Great cau-
tion is desirable when traveling in this district.

Steam House was now about to penetrate the very worst
part of the Bundelkund, namely, the mountainous region
of the Vindhyas. We were within about sixty miles of
Jubbulpore, the nearest station on the railway between Bom-
bay and Allahabad ; it was no great distance, but we could
not expect to get over the ground as quickly as we had done
on the plains of Scind. Steep ascents, bad roads, rocky
ground, sharp turnings, and narrow defiles. All these must
be looked for, and would reduce the rate of our speed. It
would be necessary to reconnoiter carefully our line of
march, as well as the halting-places, and during both day
and night keep a very sharp lookout.

Kalagani was the first to urge these precautions. It was
certainly wise to be prepared for every contingency; pru-
dence is always a virtue.

Nevertheless, we had little to fear, being a numerous

V XII Verne

338 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

party, thoroughly armed, and, as it were, garrisoning two
strong houses and a castle, which it was hardly likely
marauders of any sort, Dacoits or even Thugs, supposing
any still lurked in this wild part of the Bundelkund, would
venture to assault.

The pass of Sirgour was attained with no great difficulty.
In some places it was necessary to put on steam, when
Behemoth instantly displayed power amply sufficient for
the occasion.

Kalagani appeared so well acquainted with the winding
passes among which we found ourselves, that we ceased to
feel anxiety as to the route we were on. Fie never showed
the smallest hesitation, but led the way confidently among
deep gorges, lofty precipices, and dense forests of pines and
other alpine trees, even where cross-roads would have puz-
zled many guides.

At times he stopped the train, and went forward to sur-
vey the road, but it was to ascertain its condition, which
after the rainy season was often torn up by torrents, and
retreat being difficult, it was awkward to come upon such
chasms unawares.

The weather was perfect. The rains were over, and the
burning sky was veiled by light mists, which tempered the
solar rays, so that the heat we experienced was temperate,
very endurable for travelers so well sheltered as we were.
It was easy for our sportsmen to shoot what game we
needed for the table without going any great distance from
Steam House.

Captain Hood, however, and doubtless Fox also, regretted
the absence of the wild beasts which abounded in the Terrai.
But how could they hope to find lions, tigers, and panthers,
where there was nothing for them to eat?

If, however, there was a lack of carnivora, we found oc-
casion to make better acquaintance with Indian elephants —
I mean wild elephants, of whom hitherto we had seen but
rare examples.

It was about noon on the 30th of September that we
perceived a pair of these superb animals in front of our
train. On our approach, they left the road to let us pass,
as though alarmed by the novel appearance of our equipage.

Even Captain Hood never thought of firing at the mag-
nificent creatures unnecessarily. We all stood admiring

HOOD VERSUS BANKS 339

them thus roaming at liberty their native wilds, where
streams, torrents, and pastures afforded all they required.

" What a fine opportunity now for our friend Van Guitt
to deliver a lecture on zoology! " cried the captain.

Everybody knows that India is, par excellence, the coun-
try for elephants ; the species is rather smaller than the
African elephant; it abounds in the various provinces of
the peninsula, and is sought after also in Burmah, Siam, in
the territories east of the Bay of Bengal.

They are usually captured by means of a keddah, which
is an enclosure surrounded by palisades. Sometimes it is
intended to secure a whole herd at once, and then the hunters
assemble to the number of three or four hundred, under
command of a jemidar, that is, a native sergeant, or head-
man, and drive them gradually toward the keddah.

This they are enticed to enter by the aid of tame ele-
phants trained to the business ; they are then separated, and
have their hind legs shackled. The capture is then complete.
But this method, besides being tedious, and troublesome, is
generally unsuccesful with the large male elephants, who
are bolder, and cunning enough to burst through the circle
of beaters, thus escaping imprisonment in the keddah. The
tame female elephants are appointed to follow these males
for several days, the mahouts, wrapped in dark clothes, re-
main on their backs, and at last the unsuspecting elephants,
when peacefully slumbering, are seized, chained, and led
away captive before they recover from their first sur-
prise.

In former times, as I have already had occasion to men-
tion, elephants were taken in deep pits dug near their haunts,
but by falling into these, which were about fifteen feet
deep, the animals were often hurt or even killed, and the
barbarous practice is now almost given up.

In Bengal and Nepaul, where the lasso is still in use, the
chase becomes highly exciting and replete with adventure.
Well-trained elephants are mounted by three men; one, the
mahout, rides on the neck, and directs the animal's move-
ments ; another behind, whose duty it is to spur and goad
him, while the hunter is seated on his back, armed with a
lasso, the noose ready prepared to fling. Thus equipped,
the pursuit may last for hours, over plains and through
forests, the hunters running great danger in the chase, but

340 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

at length the huge quarry is lassoed, falls heavily, and is
at the mercy of his captors.

By these different methods a vast number of elephants is
annually caught in India. It is not a bad speculation. The
price of a female elephant is sometimes 280/., of a male
800/., or even 2,000/., if he is of noble race.

But are the animals which cost such sums really so useful
as to be worth it ?

Yes, provided they are well fed. They must have six or
seven hundred pounds' weight of green fodder in every
eighteen hours, that is about the amount allowed for aver-
age rations, and are then fit for active service ; for the
transport of troops and military stores, transport of artil-
lery and wagons in mountainous countries, or through jun-
gle impassable for horses ; also in many great works of
civil engineering, and other undertakings, where they are
employed as beasts of burden.

These strong and docile giants are easily and quickly
trained, seeming by instinct to be disposed to obedience;
they are universally employed in Hindoostan, and as they
do not multiply in captivity, it is necessary to keep up the
supply for the country and for exportation, by continually
hunting those which roam the forests. Notwithstanding
this the herds of wild elephants appear in no way dimin-
ished. Numbers are still to be found in the different king-
doms of India.

Indeed, as far as we were concerned, far too many were
at liberty, and this I shall presently show.

The two elephants in advance of us drew aside as I
described, so as to allow our train to pass by them, imme-
diately afterward resuming their march in the rear.

Presently several other elephants came in sight, ?md quick-
ening their pace, overtook and joined the pair we had just
passed. In a quarter of an hour as many as a dozen were
behind us. They were evidently watching our equipage,
and followed us at a distance of fifty yards. They did not
try to overtake us, still less did they show any intention of
leaving our company. They might easily have done so, for
an elephant's pace can be much more rapid than at first
sight one would suppose, and among the rugged steeps of
the Vindhyas, Behemoth could travel but slowly.

But their object evidently was to assemble in greater

HOOD VERSUS BANKS 341

numbers. As they advanced they uttered peremptory calls,
which appeared to be a summons to companions lingering
behind, for cries, unmistakably in answer, sounded in the
distance.

By one o'clock a troop of full thirty elephants followed
us closely, and it was quite likely the number would in-
crease.

Herds of these animals, consisting of thirty individuals,
and forming a family party more or less nearly related, are
frequently seen together; at times a formidable assemblage
of at least a hundred are encountered with no great pleasure
by travelers.

We all stood in the veranda behind our second carriage,
and watched proceedings with some anxiety.

" The numbers continue to increase," remarked Banks.
" I suppose they mean to bring all the elephants in the dis-
trict about us? "

" But," said I, " they cannot call to each other at any
great distance."

" No," replied the engineer ; " but they have a very acute
sense of smell, and we know it, because tame elephants
detect the presence of wild ones three or four miles
off."

"Why it is like a migration — an exodus! " said Colonel
Munro. " We ought to increase our speed, Banks."

" Behemoth is doing his best, Munro. He has heavy
work on this steep and rugged way."

"What's the use of hurrying? " cried Hood, always de-
lighted with fresh adventure. " Let them come along with
us, the jolly beasts! They form an escort just suited to
us! The country, which seemed so desolate and deserted,
is much more interesting now, and we go along with a
retinue fit for a rajah ! "

" We shall have to submit to their presence certainly,"
said Banks. " I don't see how we are to prevent it."

" Why, what in the world are you afraid of ? " asked the
captain. " You know very well that a herd is always less
dangerous than a solitary elephant. These are good, quiet
beasts! Sheep, big sheep, with trunks — that's all! '

" Hood's enthusiasm is rising fast," said Colonel Munro.
" I am willing to believe that if these animals remain in
the rear and keep their distance, we have nothing to fear;

342 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

but if they take it into their heads to try to pass us on this
narrow road, the consequences might be serious ! "

" Besides," I added, " what sort of reception will they
give Behemoth, if they find themselves face to face with
him?"

"Oh, nonsense! They will only salute him!" cried
Hood. " They will make grand salaams to him as Prince
Gourou Singh's elephants did ! "

" But those were tame elephants, sir, and well trained,"
remarked Sergeant McNeil very sensibly.

" Well, those fellows behind there will become tame too.
Their astonishment at meeting our giant will produce the
deepest respect."

Our friend's admiration for the artificial elephant con-
tinued unabated ; the chef-d'ceuvre of mechanism, created
by the hand of an English engineer.

"Besides," he continued, "these animals are intelligent;
they reason, compare, and judge. They can associate ideas
like human beings."

" I question that," said Banks.

" Question that, do you? " cried the captain. " One would
almost think you had never lived in India! Are not these
excellent fellows put to all manner of domestic service?
Have we any servant to equal them? Is not the elephant
always ready to be useful? Don't you know, Maucler,
what accounts of him are given by the best informed
authors? According to them, the elephant is devoted to
those he loves, carries their parcels, gathers flowers for
them, goes out to shop in the bazaars, buys his own sugar-
cane, bananas, and mangoes, and pays for them himself,
guards the house from wild beasts, and takes the children
out walking more carefully than the best nurse in all Eng-
land. He is kind, grateful, has a prodigious memory ; and
never forgets either a benefit or an injury. And then so
tender-hearted! Why, an elephant won't hurt a fly, if he
can help it ! Look here ! a friend of mine told me this him-
self. He saw a ladybird placed on a big stone, and the
elephant was ordered to crush the little insect. Not a bit of
it ! The good beast would not put his foot on the creature ;
neither commands nor blows could drive him to the cruel
deed! But directly he was told to lift it, he picked it up
most tenderly with the delicate tip of his trunk, and let it

HOOD VERSUS BANKS 343

fly away ! Now then, Banks, I hope you will admit that the
elephant is good and generous, superior to every other ani-
mal in creation, even to the ape and the dog. Are not the
natives in the right when they attribute to him almost
human intelligence? "

And the captain wound up his tirade by taking off his
hat, and making a flourishing bow to the formidable army,
which, with measured pace, came marching after us.

"Well spoken, Hood!" exclaimed Colonel Munro, with
a smile. " Elephants have in you a very warm advocate."

" Don't you think I am in the right, colonel ? '

"Hood may possibly be right," said Banks; "but I am
disposed to agree with the opinion of Sanderson, a great
hunter, and the best authority in such matters."

"Well; and what may this Sanderson say?" cried the
captain in a tone of contempt.

" He maintains that the elephant possesses no unusual
amount of intelligence, and that his most wonderful per-
formances are simply the result of absolute obedience to
orders given more or less secretly by their drivers."

" Oh ! indeed ! " exclaimed Hood with some warmth.

" And he points to the fact," continued Banks, " that the
Hindoos have never chosen the elephant to symbolize wis-
dom ; but in their sculptures, and sacred carvings have given
in this respect the preference to the fox, the crow, and
the ape."

" Oh! oh! I protest! " cried the captain vehemently.

" Protest as much as you like, but listen to me. San-
derson adds that in the elephant the organ of obedience is
phrenologically developed to an extraordinary degree — any
one may see the protuberance of his skull. Besides he lets
himself be taken in traps which are perfectly childish in
their simplicity, such as holes covered over with sticks and
branches, from which he never contrives to escape. He is
easily decoyed into enclosures which no other wild animal
would go near. And if he escapes from captivity he is re-
taken with a facility which is very little credit to his good
sense. Even experience does not teach him prudence."

" Poor beggars ! ' interposed Hood in a comic tone,
" what a character this engineer is giving you, to be sure! ':

" I will add as my final argument," continued Banks.
" that it is often extremely difficult to domesticate and train

344 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

these creatures, especially while they are young, and when
they belong to the weaker sex."

" Why that only proves more than ever that they resem-
ble human beings!" exclaimed Hood joyfully. "Isn't it
much easier to manage men than children and women? "

" My dear fellow, I do not see that either you or I, as
bachelors, can be competent to decide such a question as
that"

" Ha! ha! well answered! "

" In short," added Banks, " I do not think we ought to
place too much reliance on the amiability of the elephant;
if anything were to excite a troop of them to fury, it would
be impossible to resist them, and as for those who are at
this moment escorting us to the south, I heartily wish that
they had urgent business in the opposite direction! "

" While you and Hood have been disputing about them,
my dear Banks, their number has increased to an alarming
extent," remarked Colonel Munro.

CHAPTER IX

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE

Sir Edward was not mistaken. A herd of from fifty to
sixty elephants was now behind our train. They advanced
in close ranks and were already so near to Steam House —
within ten yards — that it was possible to survey them
minutely.

At their head marched one of the largest in the herd,
although its height, measured from the shoulder, was cer-
tainly not more than nine feet. As I remarked before, the
Asiatic elephant is smaller than the African, which is fre-
quently twelve feet high, and its tusks are in proportion.
In the island of Ceylon a certain number of animals are
found deprived of these appendages, but mncknas, which
is the name given them, are rare on the mainland of India.

Behind the first elephant came several females, who in
general are the leaders, while the males remain in the rear.
Apparently on this occasion the usual order was changed,
because of our presence on the line of march. The males
in fact have nothing to do with the guidance of the herd.
They have not the charge of their young ones ; they cannot

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 345

know when the babies ought to have a rest, nor can they
tell what sort of camping-place is most fit for them. It
is the females who, figuratively, " carry the tusks " of the
household and direct the great migrations.

It was really difficult to answer the question of why they
were now on the move, whether it was to seek more abun-
dant pasture or to escape the sting of certain venomous
insects, or a mere fancy to follow our strange equipage,
the country was open enough, and according to their usual
custom when they are not in wooded regions, these ele-
phants journey by daylight. Before long we should see
whether they would stop at nightfall, as we should ourselves
be obliged to do.

" Hood," said I, " see how our rearguard has increased !
Do you still persist in thinking there is no danger? '

" Pooh ! " said the captain. " Why should those animals
want to do us any harm? They are not like tigers, are they,
Fox?"

"Nor even panthers!" was the answer of the servant,
who always chimed in with his master's ideas.

But at this reply I perceived Kalagani shake his head
disapprovingly. He evidently did not share in the perfect
equanimity of the two hunters.

" You seem to be uneasy, Kalagani," said Banks, looking
at him.

" Cannot the speed of the train be increased? " was the
man's only reply.

" It will be rather difficult," returned the engineer, " but
we will try."

So saying, Banks left the veranda, and ascended to the
howdah in which Storr was standing. Almost immediately
the snorts of Behemoth increased, as well as the speed of
the train.

Very little, though, for the road was rough. But even if
our rate had been redoubled, the state of things would have
remained the same. The herd of elephants also advanced
more rapidly, and the distance between them and Steam
House did not diminish.

Several hours passed thus without any important altera-
tion taking place. After dinner we resumed our places on
the veranda of the second carriage.

The road now stretched away behind us for two miles or

346 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

so in a straight line. Our view of it was no longer inter-
cepted by sudden turnings.

To our extreme uneasiness we perceived that the number
of elephants had increased within the last hour! We now
counted at least a hundred.

The creatures marched in double or treble file, according
to the width of the road, silently, at an even step, with
their trunks in the air. It was like the advance of the tide
flowing quietly in. All was calm now, to continue the
metaphor, but if a tempest lashed into fury this moving
mass, to what danger might we not be exposed ?

In the meantime evening came on. There would be no
moon, nor would the stars give any light, for a sort of fog
or haze shrouded the heavens.

As Banks said, it would be impossible to follow such a
difficult road in the dark. He resolved, therefore, to halt
as soon as the valley widened, or we met with some gorge
into which we could go, and allow the alarming-look-
ing herd to pass us, and continue their migration to the
south.

But would they do so? Might they not halt in or near
our encampment?

This was the great question.

With nightfall came a sort of agitation among the ele-
phants which we had not observed during the day. A sort
of roar, powerful but dull, escaped from their mighty lungs.
To this uproar succeeded another peculiar noise.

" What does that mean? " asked the colonel.

" That is the sound they make," replied Kalagani, " when
they are in presence of an enemy."

" And it is we, it can only be we whom they consider as
such," said Banks.

" I fear so," replied the native.

The sound now resembled distant thunder. It recalled
that which is produced in the side-scenes of a theater by
the vibration of sheets of iron. Rubbing the extremity of
their trunks on the ground, the elephants sent forth pro-
longed breaths with a deep and sullen roar.

It was now nine in the evening.

We had reached a sort of little plain, almost circular, and
half a mile in width, from which debouched the road to the
lake Puturia, near which Kalagani had proposed our halt-

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 347

ing. But this lake being still ten miles off, it was hopeless
to think of reaching it that night.

Banks now gave the signal to stop. Behemoth became
stationary, but he was not unharnessed. The fires were
not even raked out. Storr received orders to keep up the
pressure so that the train might move on again at a mo-
ment's notice. We were thus ready for any emergency.

Colonel Munro retired to his room. Banks and Hood
did not care to go to bed, and I preferred sitting up with
them. All our servants were also afoot. But what could we
possibly do, if the elephants took it into their heads to
attack Steam House?

For the first hour a dull murmur continued around our
encampment. The herd was evidently spreading over the
little plain. Were they merely crossing it, and pursuing
their way southward?

" That's possible, after all," said Banks.

" It is even more than probable," added Captain Hood,
whose optimism was never at fault.

Toward eleven o'clock the sounds began to diminish and
at ten minutes past it had totally ceased.

It was a perfectly calm night, so that the slightest noise
would have reached our ears. Nothing was to be heard but
the panting of Behemoth, and nothing was to be seen but
the sparks which flew occasionally from his trunk.

"Well! " remarked Hood, " wasn't I right? Those fine
fellows have taken their departure."

" And a pleasant journey to them," I rejoined.

' I am not at all sure they are gone," said Banks, shak-
ing his head. " But we must find out."

Then calling to the engine-driver, —

" Storr," he said, " the signal lamps."

"Ay, ay, sir!"

In twenty seconds' time the two electric lights blazed
from Behemoth's eyes, and by automatic mechanism were
directed in turn to every point of the horizon.

There lay the elephants in a great circle round Steam
House motionless, perhaps asleep. The brilliant light turned
upon their dark bodies seemed to animate them with super-
natural life. By a natural optical illusion the monsters
assumed gigantic proportions, rivaling our Behemoth.
Aroused by the glare they started as if touched by a fiery

348 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

sting. Trunks were raised and tusks pointed as if the
creatures were making ready for a rush at the train. Roars
issued from each vast throat. This sudden fury communi-
cated itself to all, and round our encampment soon arose a
deafening concert as if a hundred clarions at once were
sounding a startling call.

" Out with the light ! " called Banks.

The electric current was suddenly interrupted, and as
suddenly the commotion ceased.

" They are there, you see, camped in a circle," said the
engineer; "and there they will still be at daybreak."

" Hum! " observed Captain Hood, whose confidence ap-
peared to be somewhat shaken.

What was to be done next ? Kalagani was consulted. He
did not attempt to conceal the anxiety he felt.

Could we leave the encampment under cover of the dark-
ness? That was impossible. Besides, what use would it
be? The herd of elephants would certainly follow us, and
the difficulties of the road would be far greater than by day.

It was therefore agreed that the departure should not be
attempted until dawn. We would then proceed with all
possible prudence and celerity, but without startling or
offending our formidable retinue.

"And suppose these animals persist in escorting us? " I
asked.

" We will endeavor to reach some spot where Steam
House can be put out of their reach," answered Banks.

" Shall we find such a spot, before we get beyond the
Vindhyas ? " asked the captain.

" There is one," said the Hindoo.

"What is it?" demanded Banks.

"Lake Puturia."

" At what distance is it ? "

" About nine miles."

" But elephants swim," replied Banks, " perhaps better
than any other quadruped. They have been seen to keep
themselves on the surface of the water for more than half
a day! Now, is it not to be feared that they might follow
us into Lake Puturia, and thus the situation of Steam
House be made still more serious? "

" I cannot see any other way of escaping their attack ! "
said the native.

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 349

" Then we will try it! " said the engineer.

It was indeed the only thing to be done. The elephants
might perhaps not venture to swim after us, and if they
did, we might outstrip them.

We waited impatiently for day, which was not long in
appearing. No hostile demonstration was made during the
night, but at sunrise not an elephant had stirred, and Steam
House was surrounded on all sides.

All at once a general move was made, as if the creatures
were obeying a word of command. They shook their
trunks, rubbed their tusks on the ground, made their toilet
by squirting water all over their bodies, gathered several
mouthfuls of the thick grass with which the ground was
covered, and finally approached so near to Steam House
that we could have touched them through the windows.

Banks, however, expressly forbade us to provoke them.
It was important that no pretext should be given for a sud-
den attack.

In the meantime, several elephants pressed up close to
Behemoth. They evidently wished to ascertain what the
enormous animal, now standing so motionless, could be.
Did they consider him as a relation? Did they suspect that
he was endowed with marvelous power ?

On the day before they had had no opportunity for seeing
him at work, for their first ranks had always kept a certain
distance from the rear of the train. But what would they
do when they heard him snort and bellow, when his trunk
ejected torrents of vapor, when they saw him raise and set
down his great feet and begin to march, dragging the two
great vans after him?

Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, Kalagani, and I took our
places in the forepart of the train. Sergeant McNeil and
his companions were at the back. Kalouth, at the furnaces,
kept up the supply of fuel, so that the pressure of vapor
had already reached five atmospheres. Banks was in the
howdah with Storr, and kept his hand on the regulator.

The moment for departure came. At a sign from Banks,
the driver touched the spring, and an ear-piercing whistle
resounded through the air.

The elephants raised their heads, then drawing back a
little, they left the way open for a few feet.

A jet of vapor started from the trunk, the wheels of the

350 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

machine were put in motion, Behemoth and the train ad-
vanced together. None of my companions will contradict
me when I assert that there was at first a lively movement
of surprise among the foremost animals. A wider passage
opened, and the road appeared free enough to allow the
train to proceed at a pace equal to a horse's trot.

But at the same moment all the " proboscidian herd," to
use an expression of the captain's, moved too, both in front
and rear. The first took the lead of the procession, the rest
followed the train. All seemed quite determined not to
abandon it.

At the same time, as the road was here wider, others
walked at the sides, like horsemen accompanying a carriage.
Male and female mingled, of all sizes, of all ages, adults of
five-and-twenty years, and " grown men " of sixty, old fel-
lows of more than a hundred, and little ones who had not
yet left their mother's side, but sucking with their lips and
not with their trunks — as is sometimes supposed — got their
breakfasts as they trotted along.

The entire troop kept a certain order, not hurrying, but
regulating their pace to that of Behemoth.

" If they escort us like this to the lake," said Colonel
Munro, " I shall make no objection."

" Yes," replied Kalagani, " but what will happen when the
road narrows?"

In this lay the danger.

No incident occurred during the three hours which were
employed in traveling eight out of the ten miles to Lake
Puturia. Two or three times only a few elephants stood
across the road, as if it was their intention to bar it; but
Behemoth pointed his tusks straight at them, sputtered out
smoke in their faces, advancing all the time, so that they
thought better of it, and started out of his way.

At ten o'clock two miles only lay between us and the lake.
There — at least, so we hoped — we should be in comparative
safety.

Of course, if no hostile demonstration was made before
we reached the lake, Banks intended to leave Puturia on the
west without stopping there, so as to quit the region of the
Vindhyas the next day. From thence to the station of
Jubbulpore was but a few hours' journey.

I may here add that the country was not only very wild,

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 351

but absolutely a desert. Not a village, not a farm — the insuf-
ficiency of pasture accounting for this — not a caravan, or
even a solitary traveler. Since our entry into this mountain-
ous part of Bundelkund, we had not met a single human being.

About eleven o'clock the valley through which Steam
House was passing, between two great spurs of the chain,
began to narrow.

The danger of our situation, already fraught with so
much to cause uneasiness, was now aggravated.

If the elephants had simply gone on in front or followed
the train, the difficulty would not have occurred. But those
marching alongside could not remain there. We should
either crush them against the rocky sides of the road, or
tumble them over the precipices which bordered it in some
places. Instinctively they tried to get either forward or
back, the consequence being that it was no longer possible
either to advance or retreat.

" This complicates matters," remarked the colonel.

" Yes," said Banks; " we are now under the necessity of
breaking through the herd."

" Well, break through, dash into them ! " exclaimed Cap-
tain Hood. " By Jove ! Behemoth's iron tusks are worth
much more than the ivory tusks of those idiotic brutes! "

The " proboscidians " were now only " idiotic brutes " in
the eyes of our lively and changeable captain.

" No doubt," said McNeil," " but we are one against a
hundred."

" Forward", whatever happens ! " cried Banks, " or the
herd will trample us under foot ! "

Several puffs of steam now gave notice of more rapid
movement on Behemoth's part. His tusks ran into the ele-
phant nearest him.

A cry of pain burst from the animal, which was answered
by the furious clamor of the whole herd. A struggle, the
issue of which we could not foresee, was imminent.

We had our weapons already in our hands, the rifles
loaded with explosive ball and the revolvers charged. We
were thus prepared to repel any aggression.

The first attack was made by a gigantic male, of ferocious
aspect, who, planting his hind feet firmly on the ground,
turned against Behemoth.

" A gunesh! " cried Kalagani.

352 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" Pooh! he has only one tusk! " replied Hood, shrugging
his shoulders disdainfully.

" He is the more terrible! " answered the native.

Kalagani had given to this elephant a name which hunters
used to designate the males which have only one tusk.
These are animals particularly reverenced by the natives,
especially when it is the right tusk which is wanting. Such
was the case with this one, and, as Kalagani said, it was,
like all its species, uncommonly fierce.

This was soon proved.

The gunesh uttered a trumpet-note of defiance, turned
back his trunk, which elephants never use for fighting, and
rushed against Behemoth.

His tusk struck the iron side with such violence as to
pierce through, but meeting with the thick armor of the
inner plating, it broke against it.

The whole train felt the shock.

However, it continued to advance and drove back the
gunesh, which boldly, but vainly, endeavored to resist it.

His call had been heard and understood.

The whole mass of animals stopped, presenting an in-
surmountable obstacle of living flesh.

At the same moment the hinder troops, continuing their
march, pressed violently against the veranda. How could
we resist such a crushing force.

Those which still remained at the side, raised their trunks,
and twining them round the uprights of the carriages, shook
them violently.

It would not do to stop, or it would soon be all up with
the train, but we had to defend ourselves. No hesitation was
possible. Guns and rifles were instantly aimed at our assailants.

" Don't waste a single shot! " cried the captain. " Aim
at the root of the trunk, or the hollow below the eye. Those
are the vital parts! "

Captain Hood was obeyed. Several reports rang out, fol-
lowed by yells of pain.

Three or four elephants, hit in a vital spot, had fallen
behind us and at the side — a fortunate circumstance, since
their corpses did not obstruct our road. Those in front
drew to one side, and the train continued its advance.

" Reload and wait! " cried Hood.

If what he ordered us to wait for was the attack of the

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 353

entire herd, there was no long delay. It was made
with such violence that we almost gave ourselves up for lost.

A perfect chorus of hoarse and furious trumpeting sud-
denly burst forth. One might have supposed them to be
an army of those fighting elephants, which, when possessed
by the excitement called " must," are treated by the natives
so as to increase their rage.

Nothing can be more terrible, and the boldest clcphan-
tador, trained in Guicowar for the express purpose of fight-
ing these formidable animals, would certainly have quailed
before the assailants of Steam House.

" Forward! " cried Banks.

" Fire ! " shouted Hood.

And with the snorts and shrieks of the engine were min-
gled the crack of our rifles. It was next to impossible to
aim carefully, as the captain had advised, in such confusion.
Every ball found a mark in the mass of flesh, but few
hit a mortal part. The wounded animals, therefore, re-
doubled their fury, and to our shots they answered with
blows of their tusks, which seriously damaged the walls.

To the reports of the guns, discharged both in front and
rear of the train, and the bursting of the explosive balls
in the bodies of the animals, was joined the hissing and
whistling of the steam. Pressure rapidly increased.

Behemoth dashed into the bellowing crowd, dividing and
repelling it. At the same time, his movable trunk, rising
and falling like a formidable club, dealt repeated blows on
the quivering bodies which he pierced with his tusks.

Thus we advanced along the narrow road.

Sometimes the wheels seemed about to stick fast, but
on we struggled, till we were within a short distance of
the lake.

" Hurrah ! " shouted Captain Hood, like a soldier who
is about to dash into the thick of the fight.

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! " we echoed.

All at once I caught sight of a huge trunk darting across
the front veranda. In another minute Colonel Munro would
be seized by this living lasso and be dashed under the mon-
ster's feet. Just in time, however, Kalagani bounded for-
ward and severed the trunk by a vigorous blow from a
hatchet.

After this, while all were taking part in the common

V XII Verne

354 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

defence, the Hindoo never lost sight of Sir Edward. In
his unfailing devotion and exposure of his own person to
shield the colonel, he showed how sincere was his desire
to protect him.

Behemoth's power and strength of endurance were now
put to the proof. How he worked his way, like a wedge,
penetrating through the mass! And as at the same time
the hindermost elephants butted at us with their heads the
train advanced, not only without stopping, although with
many a jolt and shock, but even faster than we could have
hoped.

All at once a fresh noise arose amid the general din and

clamor.

A party of elephants were crushing the second carriage
against the rocks!

"Join us! join us!" shouted Banks to those of our
friends who were defending the back of Steam House._

Already Fox, Goumi, and the sergeant had darted into
our house.

" Where is Parazard ? " asked Captain Hood.

" He won't leave his kitchen," answered Fox.

"He must come! — haul him along!"

Doubtless our cook considered it a point of honor not
to leave the post which had been confided to him. But to
attempt to resist Goumi's powerful arms, when those arms
had once grasped him, would have been of as much use as
to endeavor to escape from the jaws of a crocodile.

Monsieur Parazard was soon deposited in the drawing-
room.

" Are you all there ? " cried Banks.

" Yes, sahib," returned Goumi.

" Cut through the connecting bar! "

" What, and leave half of our train behind! " cried Cap-
tain Hood.

" It must be done ! " answered Banks.

The bar was cut through, the gangway hacked to pieces,
and our second carriage was detached.

Not too soon! The carriage was crushed, heaved up,
capsized, the elephants ending by pounding it beneath their
feet. Nothing but a shapeless ruin was left, obstructing
the road.

" Hum! " uttered Hood in a tone which would have made

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE 355

us laugh had the occasion allowed of it, " and those ani-
mals wouldn't crush a ladybird ! "

If the maddened elephants treated the first carriage as
they had treated the last, we now knew the fate which
awaited us.

" Pile up the fires, Kalouth! " called the engineer.

A few more vards — a last effort, and Lake Puturia might
be reached.

Storr opened wide the regulator, thus showing Behemoth
what was expected of him. He made a regular break
through the rampart of elephants, and not contenting him-
self with merely thrusting them with his tusks, he squirted
at them jets of burning steam, as he had done to the pil-
grims of the Phalgou, scalded them with boiling water! It
was magnificent!

The lake lay before us.

Ten minutes would put us in comparative safety.

The elephants no doubt knew this — which was a proof
in favor of the intelligence Captain Hood had argued for.
For the last time they bent all their efforts to capsize our
train.

Still we used our firearms. The balls fell on the animals
like hail. Only five or six elephants now barred our pass-
age. Many fell, and the wheels ground over earth red with
blood. These last remaining brutes had now to be got out
of our way.

"Again! again!" shouted Banks to the driver.

At this Behemoth roared as if his inside was a workshop
full of spinning-jennies. Steam rushed through the valves
under the pressure of eight atmospheres. To increase this
would have burst the boiler, which already vibrated. Hap-
pily this was needless.

Behemoth's power was now irresistible. We could actu-
ally feel him bounding forward with the throbbing of the
piston. The remains of the train followed him, jolting over
the legs of the elephants which covered the ground, at the
risk of being overset. If such an accident had happened,
Steam House and its inhabitants would most certainly have
come to an untimely end.

Mercifully this we were saved from; the edge of the lake
was safely reached, into it dashed our brave Behemoth, and
the train floated on the surface of its tranquil waters!

356 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

"Heaven be praised! " ejaculated the colonel.

Two or three elephants, blind with fury, rushed after us
into the lake, attempting to pursue on its surface those
whom they had vainly endeavored to annihilate on dry land.
But Behemoth's feet did their work well.

The train drew gradually from the shore, and a few well-
directed shots soon freed us from the " marine monsters,"
just as their trunks were getting closer than was pleasant
to our back veranda.

" Well, captain," remarked Banks, " what do you think
of the gentleness of Indian elephants? "

"Pooh!" said Hood, "they aren't worth being called
wild beasts! Just suppose thirty tigers or so in the place
of those hundred pachydermata, and I wager my commis-
sion that by this time not one of us would be alive to tell
the tale!"

CHAPTER X

LAKE PUTURIA

Lake Puturia, on which Steam House had found a tem-
porary refuge, is situated twenty-five miles to the east of
Dumoh. This town, the chief place in the English pro-
vince to which it has given its name, is in a fair way of pros-
perity, and with its twelve hundred inhabitants reenforced
by a small garrison, commands this dangerous portion of
Bundelkund. Beyond its walls, however, especially toward
the east, in the uncultivated region of the Vindhyas
partly occupied by the lake, its influence can only slightly
make itself felt.

But after all, what could happen to us worse than the
adventure with the elephants from which we had come out
safe and sound?

Our situation was still, however, somewhat critical, since
the greater part of our stores had disappeared with " No.
2." It was hopeless, even to think of patching up our ill-
fated carriage. Turned over and crushed among the rocks,
we knew that the mass of elephants must have passed over
its remains, and that only shapeless debris could be left.

And yet, besides being the lodging of our attendants,
that house contained not only the kitchen and pantry, but

LAKE PUTURIA 357

our store of provisions and ammunition. Of the latter we
now had but a dozen cartridges; it was not probable, how-
ever, that we should wish to use firearms before our arrival
at Jubbulpore. As to food, that was another question, and
one more difficult to answer.

We had indeed nothing to eat of any description.

Even supposing that we reached the town, forty-three
miles distant, by the next evening, we must resign ourselves
to passing four-and-twenty hours without food.

There was no help for it!

Under these circumstances the most melancholy among
us was naturally Monsieur Parazard. The loss of his
pantry, the destruction of his apparatus, the scattering of
his stores, had pierced him to the heart. He could not
conceal his despair, and forgetful of the dangers through
which we had been sc miraculously preserved, regarded the
disaster as an entirely personal misfortune. While we were
all assembled in the saloon, discussing what was best to be
done, Monsieur Parazard, with a most solemn face, appeared
at the door, and begged to " make a communication of the
utmost importance."

' Speak, Monsieur Parazard," replied Colonel Munro,
signing to him to enter.

"Gentlemen," gravely said our dismal cook, " you cannot
but know that all the stores contained in the second carriage
of Steam House have been destroyed in the late catastrophe !
Had a few provisions remained, I should have had some
difficulty in preparing you even the most modest repast with-
out a kitchen."

' We know it, Monsieur Parazard," answered the colonel.
" It is to be regretted, but if we are compelled to fast, we
must fast, and make the best of it."

" It is the more to be regretted indeed, gentlemen," re-
sumed our cook, " when we are actually within sight of the
herd of elephants which assailed us, of which more than
one fell under your murderous fire "

" That's a fine sentence, Monsieur Parazard," interrupted
Captain Hood. " With a few lessons you would soon learn
to express yourself with as much elegance as our friend
Mathias van Guitt."

At this compliment Monsieur Parazard bowed, taking it
all seriously, then with a sigh continued, —

358 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" I say then, gentlemen, that a unique occasion for dis-
tinguishing myself in my business has offered itself. The
flesh of the elephant, as may be supposed, is not all good,
most of the parts being unquestionably hard and tough;
but it appears that the Author of all Things has placed in
the huge mass of flesh two choice morsels, worthy to be
served at the table of the Viceroy of India. I mean the
tongue of the animal, which is extraordinarily savory when
it is prepared by a recipe which is exclusively my own, and
also the feet of the pachyderm "

" Pachyderm — ? Very good, although proboscidian may
be more elegant," put in Hood, with an approving gesture.

" With the feet," resumed Parazard, " may be made one
of the best soups known in the culinary art, of which I am
the representative in Steam House."

" You make our mouths water, Monsieur Parazard," an-
swered Banks. " Unfortunately on one account, and for-
tunately on another, the elephants have not followed us into
the lake, and I fear much that we must renounce, for some
time at least, any idea of foot soup or a tongue ragout made
from this savory but formidable animal."

" Would it not be possible," said the cook, " to return to
land and procure "

" Out of the question, Monsieur Parazard. However
dainty and perfect your preparations would be, it would not
do to run such a risk."

" Well, gentlemen," returned our cook, " pray accept my
expression of the great regret I feel on the subject of this
deplorable adventure."

" Your regrets are well expressed, Monsieur Parazard,"
replied Colonel Munro, " and we give you credit for them.
As to dinner and breakfast, don't think about such a thing
until we reach Jubbulpore."

" I must then withdraw," said Parazard, bowing with-
out losing any of the gravity which was habitual to him.

We could have laughed heartily at our cook's speeches
and appearance had we not been so occupied with other
matters.

In fact, another complication had arisen. Banks informed
us that the thing most to be regretted was not the want of
provisions, not the want of ammunition, but the lack of
fuel. There was nothing wonderful in this, since for forty-

LAKE PUTURIA 359

eight hours it had not been possible to renew the supply of
wood necessary for the feeding of the machine. The last
of our store was thrown into the furnaces as we reached
the lake. It would have been impossible to go on for an-
other hour, so if we had not found a refuge then, the first
carriage of Steam House would have shared the fate of the
second.

" Now," added Banks, " we have nothing more to burn,
pressure is becoming lower, it has already fallen to two
atmospheres, and there is no means of raising it."

" Is our situation really as serious as you seem to think,
Banks ? " asked the colonel.

"If we only wanted to get back to the shore from which
we are now but a little distant, that would be practicable,"
said Banks. " A quarter of an hour would do it. But to
return to a spot where doubtless the elephants are still col-
lected, would be highly imprudent. No, we must, on the
contrary, cross this lake, and seek a landing place on its
southern shore."

" How wide may it be at this part ? ' asked Colonel
Munro.

" Kalagani reckons it to be about seven or eight miles.
Now, under present circumstances it would take several
hours to cross, and as I say, in forty minutes the engine
will cease working."

" Well," answered Sir Edward, " to begin with, we must
pass the night quietly on the lake. We are safe here. To-
morrow we shall see what is to be done."

This was decidedly the best thing to be done. We were
all in great need of rest. At our last halting place in the
middle of the circle of elephants, no one in Steam House
had been able to sleep. But if that was a " white night,"
as we say in French, meaning sleepless night, this one was
black, and much blacker than we liked.

In fact, toward seven o'clock, a slight mist began to
rise over the surface of the lake. There had been a great
deal of fog the preceding night in the higher regions of the
atmosphere, but owing to the difference of locality and
evaporation of the water, it was here low. After a hot
day there was confusion between the higher and lower layers
of the air, and the lake soon began to disappear in a fog,
slight at first, but every moment increasing in density. This,

360 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

as Banks said, was a complication which we had to take
into consideration.

As we had foreseen, about half-past seven, the panting
of Behemoth grew fainter, the throbbing of the piston be-
came weaker, his feet at last ceased to beat the water, and
the mighty beast and our single house floated peacefully
on the bosom of the lake. We no longer moved ; there was
no fuel, and no means of procuring any!

Under the circumstances, it was difficult to make out our
situation exactly. During the short time the machine was
working, we steered toward the southeastern shore, there
to seek a landing place. Puturia being in form a long
oval, it was possible that Steam House was not so very far
from one or other of its banks.

It is needless to say that the trumpetings of the elephants,
which we had heard for quite an hour after leaving the
shore, had now died away in the distance.

While talking of the different eventualities which might
occur in this new situation, Banks summoned Kalagani to
share in our consultation. The native soon appeared, and
was invited to give his opinion.

We were all assembled in the dining-room, which had a
skylight but no side windows. The light from the lamps
could not, therefore, be seen outside.

This was a wise precaution, it being just as well that the
situation of Steam House should not be known by any
prowlers who might happen to be on the shore.

In answering the questions put to him, Kalagani — at least,
so it appeared to me — hesitated somewhat. We wished to
know the position which the train now occupied, and that,
I confess, was rather embarrassing to answer; perhaps a
slight breeze from the northwest had had an effect upon
Steam House, or perhaps a current was insensibly drifting
us to the lower point of the lake.

" Look here, Kalagani," said Banks, " do you know the
exact extent of the Puturia?"

" Doubtless, sahib," replied the man, " but in such a fog
it is difficult "

" Can you make a rough guess at the distance which we
now are from the nearest bank? "

' Yes," answered the native, after some thought. " The
distance cannot be more than a mile and a half."

LAKE PUTURIA 361

" To the east? " asked Banks.

" To the east."

" So then, if we land there, we shall be nearer Jubbulpore
than Dumoh ? "

" Certainly."

" At Jubbulpore then we must refit," said Banks. " But
now who knows when or how we can reach the shore ? It
may be a day or a couple of days before we can do so,
and our provisions are exhausted ! "

" But," said Kalagani, " could we not try, or at any rate
one of us try, to land this very night ? "

"How?"

" By swimming to shore."

"A mile and a half in such a dense fog?' returned
Banks. " A man would risk his life "

" That is no reason for not making the attempt," replied
Kalagani. I cannot tell why, but again it appeared to me
that the man's voice had not its accustomed frankness.

" Would you attempt this swim? " asked Colonel Munro,
fixing his steady gaze on the countenance of the native.

" Yes, colonel, and I have every reason to believe I should
succeed."

" Well, my man,': resumed Banks, " in doing this you
would render us a great service! Once on shore you will
easily reach Jubbulpore, and from that place send us the
help we need."

" I am ready to start at once! " was Kalagani's quiet re-
sponse.

I expected Colonel Munro to thank our guide for having
consented to perform such a perilous task; but after giving
him another long and attentive look, he summoned Goiimi.
The servant appeared.

" Goumi," said his master, " are you not an excellent
swimmer? "

" Yes, sahib."

" A mile and a half on a night like this, through the
calm waters of the lake, would not be too much for you ? "

" Not one mile nor even two."

" Well," resumed the colonel, " here is Kalagani offering
to swim across to the shore nearest to Jubbulpore. Now
in the water, as well as on the land, in this part of Bundel-
kund, two bold and intelligent men being able to assist each

362 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

other, have a better chance of succeeding. Will you accom-
pany Kalagani ? "

" Directly, sahib," answered Goumi.

" I do not need any one," said Kalagani, " but if Colonel
Munro insists, I willingly accept Goumi as a companion."

" Go then, my men," said Banks, " and be as prudent as
you are brave ! "

This settled, Colonel Munro called Goumi aside, and gave
him a few brief directions. Five minutes after, the two
natives, each with a parcel of clothes on his head, slipped
over the side into the water. The fog being now very
dense, a few strokes carried them out of sight.

I asked Colonel Munro why he had been so anxious to
send a companion with Kalagani.

" My friends," returned Sir Edward, " that man's re-
plies, although till now I have never suspected his fidelity,
did not appear frank to me!"

" The same thing struck me," said I.

" I cannot say I noticed anything of the kind," observed
the engineer.

" Listen, Banks," resumed the colonel. " In offering to
swim ashore, Kalagani had some ulterior motive."

"What?"

" I do not know, but though he wished to land, it was
not to bring us help from Jubbulpore."

"Hullo!" exclaimed Hood.

Banks knit his brows as he looked at the colonel. Then —

" Munro," he said, " till now that native has been most
devoted to us all, and more particularly to you ! And now
you imagine that Kalagani would betray us! What
possible reason can you have for thinking such a
thing?"

" While Kalagani was speaking," answered Sir Edward,
" I noticed that his skin darkened, and when a copper-col-
ored complexion becomes darker, it means that the man is
lying! Scores of times, I have, by knowing this, been able
to convict of falsehood both Hindoos and Bengalees, and
have never been mistaken. I repeat, then, that Kalagani,
notwithstanding all the presumptions in his favor, has not
told the truth."

This observation of the colonel's, which I have often
since seen verified, was quite correct. When they lie, the

LAKE PUTUR1A 363

natives of India turn a shade darker, just as white people
turn red.

This symptom had not escaped the colonel's penetration,
and he had therefore acted upon it.

" But what could Kalagani's plans be," questioned Banks,
" and why should he betray us? "

That remains to be seen," answered Colonel Munro,
" we shall know later, perhaps too late."

" Too late, colonel! " cried the captain. " Why what do
you expect ? We aren't going quite to destruction, I should
hope!"

" At any rate, Munro," said the engineer, " you did very
right in sending Goumi as well. That fellow would serve
us till his last breath. Active, intelligent, as he is, if he
suspects any danger, he will know "

" So much the more," observed the colonel, " that he has
been warned beforehand, and mistrusts his companion."

" Good," said Banks. " Now we can wait for day. The
mist will doubtless disperse as the sun rises, and then we
shall better know where we are."

The fog was dense, but nothing denoted the approach of
bad weather.. This was fortunate, for though our train
could float, it was not built for a sea voyage !

Our attendants took up their abode for the night in the
dining-room, we ourselves lying down on the sofas in the
saloon, talking little, but listening to every sound from the
outside.

About two in the morning, a perfect concert of wild
beasts suddenly broke the stillness.

This showed the direction of the southwest shore, but it
was evidently at some distance, from the sounds, and Banks
guessed it to be a good mile from us. A band of wild
animals had doubtless come to drink at the extreme point of
the lake.

Very soon we became sure that, urged by a slight breeze,
our train was drifting in a slow but steady manner toward
the shore. In fact, by degrees the sounds not only came
more distinctly to our ears, but we could already distinguish
the deep roar of the tiger from the hoarse howl of the
panther.

" By Jove ! " Hood could not refrain from saying, " what
a splendid opportunity for potting my fiftieth! "

364 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

" Another time for that, captain," observed Banks.
" When day breaks, I prefer to think that when we touch
the shore that band of wild beasts will have left the place
free for us! "

" Would it be at all dangerous," I asked, " to light the
electric lamps ? "

" I do not think so," replied Banks. " That part of the
shore is probably only occupied by those animals who have
come to drink. There can be no danger in trying to get
a look at them."

By Banks's orders the brilliant light was thrown in a
southwesterly direction. But powerless to pierce the thick
mist, it only illuminated a short space before Steam House,
and the shore remained totally invisible.

However, the sounds becoming more and more clear
showed that the train had not ceased to drift. The wild
beasts were evidently very numerous, though there was noth-
ing astonishing in this, since Lake Puturia is the natural
watering place for all the animals in that part of Bundel-
kund.

" I only hope Goumi and Kalagani won't fall into the
clutches of those brutes," observed Captain Hood.

" It is not tigers that I dread for Goumi," responded the
colonel.

Colonel Munro's suspicions had evidently increased, and
for my part I began to share them. Yet the good offices
of Kalagani since our arrival in the Himalayan regions,
his unquestionably useful services, his devotion on both
occasions that he had risked his life for Sir Edward and
Captain Hood, all told in his favor. But when the mind
once allows a doubt to gain an entrance, the value of deeds
performed grow less, their character changes, we forget the
past and dread the future.

And yet what motive could the man possibly have for
betraying us? Had he any reason for personal hatred
against the inhabitants of Steam House? Assuredly not.
Why then should he lead them into an ambush? It was
most inexplicable. All felt quite bewildered on the subject
and longed impatiently for the denouement.

About four o'clock the roaring of the wild beasts abruptly
ceased. What struck us as curious in this was that they
did not grow gradually distant and drop off, one after an-

LAKE PUTURIA 365

other, as each took a last bumper and roared a farewell to
his fellows. No, this was instantaneous. It was just as
if some chance disturbed them in their carouse and caused
their flight. Evidently they returned to their dens and
lairs, not like beasts going quietly homeward, but like beasts
running away.

Silence succeeded. The cause was not apparent to us
now, but nevertheless it increased our anxiety.

As a precautionary measure, Banks ordered the lamps
to be extinguished. If the animals had fled on the approach
of a band of those highway rovers who frequent Bundel-
kund and the Vindhyas, it was most necessary carefully to
conceal the situation of Steam House.

The stillness was not even broken by the ripple of the
water, for the breeze had fallen. Whether or not the train
was continuing to drift in a current, it was impossible to
know, but with the day we hoped the fog would disperse.

I looked at my watch; it was five o'clock. Without the
mist there should have been light enough to allow us to
see some miles round. But the veil was not lifted ; we were
compelled to wait.

Colonel Munro, McNeil, and I in front; Fox, Kalouth,
and Monsieur Parazard at the back; Banks and Storr in
the howdah ; and Captain Hood perched on the neck of the
gigantic animal near the trunk, like a sailor on the topmast
of a ship, all watched and waited for the first shout of
"Land!"

Toward six o'clock a breeze sprang up which gradually
freshened. The first rays of the sun pierced the fog; it
Ueared, and the horizon lay before us.

" Land! " shouted Captain Hood.

There to the southeast was the shore. It formed at the
extremity of the lake a sort of narrow creek with a well-
wooded background. The mist rose and left exposed to
view the distant mountains. The train was now floating
not more than two hundred yards from the other end of the
creek, and it was still drifting on under the influence of the
northwest breeze.

Nothing was to be seen on the shore. Not an animal
nor a human being. It seemed a perfect desert. We could
not even perceive a cottage or farm under the trees. A1
landing might surely be effected here without danger.

366 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

The wind sent us slowly onward. We neared the shore.
At last we touched ! A better place for landing could not
have been chosen, for here the bank was low, sandy, and
shelving. But now it was impossible to move another inch.
Without steam we could not advance a step on the road
which the compass told us must be the way to Jubbul-
pore.

Without losing a moment, therefore, we all followed
Hood, who was, of course, the first to leap on to the beach.

" Fuel, fuel ! " cried Banks. " In an hour we shall be
under pressure, and then forward ! "

This was easy work. The ground all around was strewn
with dead wood, fortunately dry enough to be used at once.
We had only to fill the furnaces and load the tender.

All hands were soon hard at it. Kalouth alone remain-
ing on the engine to receive and stow away what we col-
lected. This was amply sufficient to take us to Jubbulpore,
and at that place we could take in a supply of coal. As
to food, the want of which speedily made itself felt, why,
the hunters belonging to the expedition were not forbidden
to shoot any game they might come across ! Monsieur Par-
azard could borrow Kalouth's fire, and we must satisfy our
hunger as well as we could.

In an hour's time the steam had reached a sufficient pres-
sure, Behemoth began to move, ascended the slope, and set
foot on the road.

" Now for Jubbulpore! " cried Banks.

But before Storr had time to give even a half turn to
the regulator, furious shouts burst from the neighboring
forest. A band of at least one hundred and fifty natives
rushed out, and made directly at Steam House. In a
moment the howdah, the carriage, both front and rear were
invaded.

Before we knew where we were, we found ourselves
seized, dragged fifty paces from our train, and held so
firmly that it was impossible to free ourselves.

Judge of our wrath and fury when we were compelled
to behold the scene of destruction and pillage which ensued.
The natives, hatchet in hand, fell to the work of devastation
and ruin. Of the interior furniture soon nothing was left!
Then fire finished what the ax began, and in a few minutes
all that could burn in our second carriage was in flames!

LAKE PUTURIA 367

u The blackguards ! the scoundrels ! ' yelled Captain
Hood, struggling in the grasp of several natives.

All abuse was in vain, for the robbers could not even
understand what was said. As to escaping from those
who held us, it was not to be thought of.

The flames died down, leaving only the bare skeleton of
our traveling house, which had journeyed half over the
peninsula.

The natives next applied themselves to Behemoth, eager
to destroy him also ! But here they were impotent. Neither
ax nor fire could make the smallest impression on the thick
iron skin of the creature, nor on the engine which he bore
within. In spite of all their efforts, he remained unhurt, to
the triumph of Captain Hood, who uttered shouts of mingled
joy and rage.

At this moment a man came forward. Evidently the
chief of the band. The men immediately drew up in order
before him. Another man accompanied him. All was ex-
plained, for in him we recognized our guide, Kalagani.

Of Goumi there was not a trace. The faithful servant
had disappeared, and the traitor only remained. No doubt
the devotion of the brave man had cost him his life, and we
should never see him again!

Kalagani advanced straight to Colonel Munro, and quite
coolly, without the faintest sign of shame, pointed him out.
" This one! " said he.

Instantly Colonel Munro was seized, and dragged away
soon disappearing in the midst of the band, who at once
set off in a southerly direction, without allowing us to give
him one grasp of the hand, or exchange a last farewell !

Hood, Banks, and the rest of us struggled in vain to free
ourselves, and fly to our friend's assistance. Fifty rough
hands threw us to the ground. Another movement and we
would have been strangled.

" Don't resist ! It's useless ! " said Banks.

The engineer was right. We could do absolutely nothing
to save the colonel. It was better to reserve all our energies
for another attempt.

When a quarter of an hour had elapsed, the natives who
detained us suddenly let go their hold, and darted off in
the track of the first band. To follow them would have
caused a catastrophe of no advantage to Sir Edward, and

368 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

yet we would have done anything to be with him once more.

" Not another step," said Banks.

We obeyed.

It was very evident that Colonel Munro, and he alone,
was the object of this attack of the natives led by Kalagani.

What were the intentions of the traitor? He surely was
not acting on his own account. Who then could he be
obeying? The name of Nana Sahib came with ominous
meaning into my mind!

Here ends the manuscript written by Maucler. The young
Frenchman did not witness the events which occurred after
this, and hastened the denouement of the drama, but on
their becoming known later, they were put together in a
narrative form, thus completing the account of this journey
across Northern India.

CHAPTER XI

FACE TO FACE

The murderous " Thugs," from whom India appears now
to be delivered, have left worthy successors behind them.

These are the " Dacoits," who are really only Thugs, with
a difference. These assassins have not the same object in
view, and they carry it out in another way, but the result
is identical : it is premeditated murder — assassination.

The Thugs devoted their victims to the ferocious Kali,
goddess of Death, and effected murder by strangulation.
The Dacoits practise poisoining for the purpose of robbery.
They are more commonplace criminals than the fanatical
Thugs, but quite as formidable.

Certain territories of the peninsula are infested with
bands of Dacoits, recruited ever and anon by such evil-
doers as manage to slip through the fingers of Anglo-Indian
justice. Day and night they haunt the highways of the
wilder and more uncultivated regions, the Bundelkund, in
particular, affording them favorable localities for their deeds
of violence and pillage. At times the bandits unite in num-
bers to attack a lonely and defenceless village.

The wretched population has no safety but in flight;
torture awaits all who remain in the hands of the Dacoits.

FACE TO FACE 369

Their cruelties, according to M. Louis Rousselet, surpass
all that imagination can conceive.

Colonel Munro had fallen into the power of a band of
Dacoits, conducted by Kalagani. Rudely torn from his
companions, he found himself hurried along the road to
Jubbulpore, before he had time to collect his thoughts.

The conduct of Kalagani, from the day he joined our
party, had been that of a traitor. He was the emissary of
Nana Sahib: the instrument chosen by him to procure his
revenge.

It will be recollected that on the 24th of May, at Bhopal,
during the festivals of the Moharum, which the Nabob had
audaciously attended, he had become aware of Sir Edward
Munro's departure on a journey to the northern provinces
of India. Kalagani, one of the followers most absolutely
devoted to his cause and to his person, had then instantly
quitted Bhopal. His orders were to throw himself on the
track of the colonel ; to find and to follow him, and at all
hazards to obtain confidential employment about the person
of the enemy of Nana Sahib.

Without an hour's delay, Kalagani had pushed northward.
He overtook the Steam House train at Cawnpore, and from
that moment never lost sight of it, but failed to find op-
portunity to do more. Therefore, when Colonel Munro and
his party were installed in the sanitarium on the Himalayas,
he determined to enter the service of Mathias van Guitt

Kalagani foresaw that almost daily intercourse would in-
fallibly take place between the kraal and the sanitarium.
He was right, and immediately succeeded, not only in at-
tracting the notice of Colonel Munro, but in securing a
claim upon his gratitude.

The most difficult part of his mission was thus accom-
plished. We know the sequel. The Indian often came to
Steam House ; he became acquainted with our future plans,
he heard what route Banks proposed to take when the
journey was resumed. Thenceforth one single idea and
design possessed him, that of securing the office of guide
to the expedition.

For the attainment of his purpose, Kalagani left no stone
unturned. He risked his own life, and that of others, under
what circumstances the reader will not have forgotten, but
they demand explanation.

V XII Verne

370 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

He wished to disarm suspicion by accompanying the ex-
pedition at first starting without leaving the sen-ice of Van
Guitt, hoping that something might afterward lead to the
very post being offered to him which it was his sole object
to obtain.

But the union of the two parties could not be effected,
while the Dutchman had his full complement of draught
oxen, or rather buffaloes. Deprived of them* he would be
obliged to seek the aid of Behemoth. That the buffaloes
might leave the inclosure and wander away during the night,
Kalagani, at the risk of such disaster as actually occurred,
withdrew the bolts, and left the gate open. Tigers, pan-
thers, and what not, rushed into the kraal, the buffaloes were
killed or dispersed, several natives lost their lives — what
matter? the plan had succeeded, and Mathias van Guitt was
forced to entreat Colonel Munro to help his menagerie along
the road to Bombay.

He did not do this without an attempt to make up his
teams, but this was naturally a matter of great difficulty in
the desert regions of the Himalaya, and the business being
intrusted to Kalagani, had not the slightest chance of suc-
cess. The result was, that Mathias van Guitt, with his
whole menagerie and personal goods, traveled in tow of
Behemoth to Etawah Station. There, availing himself of
the railway, Kalagani and the other shikarries became of
no further use to him, and were consequently dismissed.

Banks, observing the embarrassment evinced by Kalagani,
and well aware of his intelligence, and perfect acquaintance
with this part of India, concluded that he would render
important service as a guide, offered him the situation. It
was accepted, and from that moment Kalagani held the
fate of the expedition in his hands.

V, 'ho could suspect treason in a man always ready to
venture his life?

Once only was Kalagani on the point of betraying him-
self. It was when Banks spoke of the death of Nana Sahib.
An incredulous gesture escaped him ; he shook his head
like one who knows better than to believe what is stated.
To us, however, it seemed only natural that he. in common
with his race, should regard that fiendish man with super-
stitious veneration, and believe he bore a charmed life.

Kalagani may have had our news confirmed, when — cer-

FACE TO FACE 371

tainly not by accident — he met an old comrade in the caravan
of the Brinjarees. Whatever he may then have heard, he
in no way changed his tactics; but led us on through the
defiles of the Vindhyas, and finally, after the various ad-
ventures which have been related, to the banks of Lake
Puturia, amid whose waters we were forced to take refuge.

Then, under pretext that he would seek help at Jubbul-
pore, the traitor proposed to leave us. Colonel Munro or-
dered Goumi to accompany him. The two men plunged
into the lake, and within the hour reached its southwestern
bank.

They proceeded together through the darkness of the
night, one full of suspicion, the other ignorant that he was
suspected. Goumi, therefore, as faithful to his colonel as
McNeil could be, had the advantage.

During three hours they journeyed side by side along
the road which leads across the southern slopes of the
Vindhyas to the station of Jubbulpore. The fog became
less dense, and Goumi closely surveyed his companion. A
strong knife hung at his girdle. Goumi, rapid in all he did,
was prepared to spring on his campanion and disarm him
on the slightest suspicious movement.

Unfortunately the faithful fellow had no time to act as
he intended. The night was pitchy dark, even a moving
figure could not be discerned a few paces distant. Thus it
happened that at a turning in the path, a voice suddenly
called, " Kalagani ! "

" Here am I, Nassim," replied the Hindoo.

At the same instant a strange, shrill cry sounded to the
left of the way. This sound was the kisri of the fierce
tribes of the Gondwana, well known to Goumi. He was
taken by surprise and attempted nothing. The cry was a
summons to a whole band, and even had he struck down
Kalagani, of what use would that have been? Escape! — •
he must escape — he must fly at once, and strive to rejoin
his friends so as to warn them of their danger. Once more
by the lake, he would endeavor to swim back to them, and
prevent any attempt to reach the shore.

Without an instant's hesitation he moved aside, and, while
Kalagani joined Nassim, who had spoken, sprang into the
jungle and disappeared.

Presently Kalagani turned back with his accomplice, in-

372 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

tending to rid himself of the companion thrust upon him
by Colonel Munro — but Goumi was gone !

Nassim was the chief of a band of Dacoits devoted to the
cause of Nana Sahib. When he heard of Goumi and that
he had fled, he dispersed his men on all sides in pursuit.
It was important to secure at any price so brave an adherent
of Sir Edward Munro. But search was useless. Goumi
made good his escape !

What, after all, had these Dacoits to fear from him? He
was thrown on his own resources in a wild and unknown
country, already three hours' march from Lake Puturia;
make what speed he might, he could not reach it before
they did!

Kalagani took his measures. He conferred for a few
moments with the chief of the Dacoits, who appeared to
await his orders, and the whole band was speedily in hasty
march toward the lake.

Now, by what means had this troop been summoned from
the gorges of the Vindhyas? How were they made aware
of the approach of Colonel Munro to the neighborhood of
Puturia? By Nassim himself, who was none other than
the Indian who followed the caravan of Brinjarees !

In fact, everything that happened was the result of a
well-laid plan, in which Colonel Munro and his companions
merely acted the parts prepared for them. And thus, at
the moment when the train touched the southern border of
the lake, the Dacoits were ready to attack it, under com-
mand of Nassim and Kalagani.

It was their object to seize Colonel Munro alone. His
companions, abandoned to their fate in this wild region,
their last house destroyed, were powerless. He only there-
fore was made prisoner, and hurried away, so that by seven
o'clock in the morning Lake Puturia lay six miles behind
them.

Sir Edward at once concluded that his enemies, having
secured him in this desolate place, would never let him leave
the Vindhya region alive. Yet the brave man maintained
his calm and dignified aspect. He walked with the utmost
coolness in the midst of his savage captors, ready for any-
thing that might occur, and by no sign or look showing
that he perceived Kalagani. Flight was, of course, im-
possible, for although unbound, he was so closely sur-

FACE TO FACE 373

rounded, that no gap in the crowd was available. Besides,
instant recapture must have ensued.

All the circumstances of the case passed in review before
the colonel's mind. Was it credible that this seizure was
brought about by Nana Sahib? Impossible! Was not that
terrible man dead? Yet it might be that to some devoted
follower — perhaps to Balao Rao — he had bequeathed the
fulfillment of his long-cherished revenge. Thus only could
Sir Edward account for his misfortune.

Then he thought of poor Goumi. He was not apparently
a prisoner of these Dacoits. Could he have escaped from
them? It was possible. Had he not rather been slain at
once? That was much more likely. But supposing him
to be safe and at liberty, might his assistance be reckoned
upon? It was hard to say.

If he had pressed forward to demand help at Jubbul-
pore, he would arrive too late.

If, on the other hand, he had gone to rejoin Banks and
the rest at the lake, what could be done, destitute as they
were of all stores and supplies? They might endeavor to
reach Jubbulpore, but long ere they could do so, the un-
happy captive would be dragged into the inaccessible retreats
of the robbers among the mountains !

The case appeared hopeless, as Colonel Munro carefully
and deliberately examined its bearings. He would not des-
pair, neither would he indulge in groundless visions of de-
liverance.

The Dacoits marched with extreme rapidity. Nassim and
Kalagani seemed anxious to reach, before sunset, an ap-
pointed rendezvous, where their prisoner's fate would prob-
ably be decided. Colonel Munro was equally anxious to
advance and end his suspense.

Once only, for half an hour at midday, Kalagani called
a halt. The Dacoits carried provisions, which were eaten
by the margin of a little brook. A morsel of bread and
dried meat was given to the colonel, who ate it readily, not
wishing to refuse what was necessary to sustain his powers
at this dreadful crisis.

By this time they had traveled nearly sixteen miles.
When Kalagani gave orders to resume the march, they still
proceeded in the direction of Jubbulpore.

It was not until five o'clock in the afternoon that the

374 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Dacoits abandoned the highway, and turned off to the left.
Then indeed did Sir Edward Munro feel that he was beyond
human help. God alone could save him now.

In a short time Kalagani and his followers were passing
through a narrow defile at the extreme limit of the valley
of the Nerbudda, and approaching the wildest and most
savage part of Bundelkund.

The place is two hundred and sixteen miles from the
Pal of Tandit, at the east end of the Sautpoora Mountains,
which may be called the western point of the Vindhyas, on
one of the spurs of which stood the ancient fortress of
Ripore, now long abandoned, because when the defiles were
occupied by the enemy, even in small numbers, it was im-
possible to obtain supplies.

This fort occupied a commanding position, which formed
a kind of natural redan, five hundred feet in height, and
overhanging a wide gorge amid adjacent precipices. The
only access to it was by a narrow winding path, cut in the
solid rock, and extremely difficult even for foot soldiers.

Dismantled walls, ruined bastions, crowned the summit;
a stone parapet guarded the esplanade from the abyss be-
neath, and part remained of the building which had served
as barracks for the little garrison of Ripore.

One alone was left of all the guns which had formerly
defended the fort. This was an enormous cannon, pointed
from the front of the esplanade. Too heavy for removal,
too much impaired to be of any value, it had been left
there a prey to devouring -rust. This piece of artillery, in
size and length, was a match for the famous bronze cannon
of Bhilsa; which was cast in the time of Jehanghir, and is
an enormous gun, six yards in length, with a caliber of
forty-four. It might also bear comparison with the equally
celebrated cannon of Bidjapoor, whose detonation, accord-
ing to the natives, was enough to overthrow every building
in the city.

Such was the hill-fort of Ripore, to which Kalagani led
his prisoner.

It was late when they reached it, after a fatiguing march
of more than five-and-twenty miles. In whose presence was
Colonel Munro about to find himself? He was soon to
know.

At the farther end of the esplanade, a group of natives

FACE TO FACE 375

could be seen within the ruined barracks. They left it,
and advanced, while along the opposite parapet the Dacoits
ranged themselves in a half circle, of which Colonel Munro
occupied the center.

He stood, with folded arms, awaiting his fate. Kalagani,
quitting his place in the ranks, advanced a few paces to
meet the party.

A native, simply dressed, walked in front. Before him
Kalagani bent respectfully, and kissed his extended hand,
receiving a sign of approbation for good service ren-
dered.

His leader then approached the prisoner ; deliberately, but
with flaming eyes, and in every feature showing symptoms
of rage — intense, although restrained.

He was like a wild beast drawing near his prey. Colonel
Munro let him come ; he drew not back an inch, but regarded
the man as fixedly as he was himself regarded. When but
five paces apart, —

" 'Tis only Balao Rao," said the colonel, in a tone of
profound contempt.

" Look again ! " returned the Hindoo.

"Nana Sahib!" cried Colonel Munro; and now indeed
he started back. "Nana Sahib alive!"

It was indeed the nabob himself, the notorious leader of
the sepoy revolt, the deadly enemy of Sir Edward Munro.

Who then fell at the Pal of Tandit?

His brother, Balao Rao.

The extraordinary resemblance of these two men, both
marked with smallpox, both having lost the same finger of
the same hand, had deceived the soldiers of Lucknow and
Cawnpore; they had not hesitated to express absolute cer-
tainty that that man was the nabob, who in fact was his
brother. The mistake was inevitable, and thus Government
was informed of the death of Nana Sahib, while he yet
lived, and Balao Rao was no more.

He failed not to take advantage of this new aspect of
affairs, by which almost absolute security was afforded him.
No such indefatigable search would be made for his brother
as for himself, because neither had he taken a leading part
in the Cawnpore massacres, nor had he the pernicious in-
fluence possessed by the Nana over his countrymen.

Nana Sahib therefore resolved to maintain the idea of

376 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

his death, and renounce for the present his insurrectionary
schemes, devoting himself wholly to private revenge.

Never had circumstances in this respect so favored him.
Colonel Munro had left Calcutta on a long journey, by
which he meant to reach Bombay.

Believing it possible to decoy him across the Bundelkund
into the lonely region of the Vindhyas, Nana Sahib had
previously put that mission into the hands of the crafty
Kalagani.

After the affair at the Pal of Tandit, he himself of course
quitted what was no longer a safe retreat, and plunging
into the Nerbudda valleys, concealed himself among the deep
gorges of the Vindhyas.

There, with a band of followers devoted to his person,
he established himself in the deserted fort of Ripore, where
he was soon reenforced by a party of Dacoits, worthy allies
of such a chief, and month after month he waited.

Four months he waited, until, having done his part,
Kalagani should inform him of the near approach of his
enemy.

One fear possessed Nana Sahib. It was lest news of his
death should reach the ears of Kalagani ; for if he had reason
to believe it, would he not abandon his treacherous design?

In order to prevent any such mistake, Nassim had been
dispatched to meet the Steam House train on the road from
Scind, communicate with Kalagani, and acquaint him with
the exact state of the case.

Immediately after doing so in the crowded caravan of
the Brinjarees, Nassim hastened back to the Fort of Ripore,
and gave him the latest intelligence of the progress of his
victim. Kalagani was bringing him by short journeys to-
ward the Vindhyas, and he was to be taken prisoner on
the banks of Lake Puturia.

All had succeeded to a wish. This time revenge was
certain.

And now! Now Colonel Munro stood before Nana
Sahib, disarmed, alone, at his mercy.

After the first few words, these two men continued to
gaze in silence one upon another. On a sudden the image
of Lady Munro rose so vividly before his eyes, that the
blood rushed from her husband's heart to his head. He
sprang at the murderer of the prisoners of Cawnpore! Nana

FACE TO FACE 377

Sahib merely stepped back two paces, while several men
flung themselves upon the colonel, whom they overpowered,
though not without difficulty.

Sir Edward Munro resumed his self-possession, which,
no doubt, the nabob perceived, for by a sign he made his
men retire.

Once more the foes stood face to face.

At length the Nana spoke.

' Munro," he said, " by your people a hundred and
twenty prisoners were blown from the cannon's mouth at
Peshawur ; since then more than twelve hundred sepoys have
perished by that frightful death. Your people ruthlessly
massacred the fugitives of Lahore; after the siege of Delhi
they slaughtered three princes and twenty-nine members of
the royal family ; at Lucknow they slew six thousand of our
race, and three thousand after the campaign of the Punjaub.
In all, by cannon, musketry, by the gallows and the sword,
a hundred and twenty thousand sepoys and two hundred
thousand natives have paid with their lives for the rising
in defence of national independence."

" Death ! death ! " cried the Dacoits and all the followers
of Nana Sahib.

He silenced them by a gesture, and waited for Colonel
Munro to speak. The colonel gave no answer.

:< As for thee, Munro," resumed the nabob, " my faithful
friend the Ranee of Jansi was slain by thy hand. She is
not yet avenged."

Still no reply.

' Four months ago," said Nana Sahib, " my brother Balao
Rao fell under English balls aimed at me, and my brother
is not yet avenged."

"Death! death!"

This time these words were uttered more furiously, and
the whole band made a movement as though to fall upon
the prisoner.

" Silence ! " exclaimed the Nana. " Await the hour of
justice! "

All drew back.

" Munro," once more continued the nabob, " an ancestor
of yours, one Hector Munro, first invented the punishment,
of which fearful use was made during the war of 1857.
He gave the first order to tie the living bodies of our peo-

378 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

pie, our parents, our brothers to the cannon's mouth "

These words excited a fresh outburst of rage among his
followers ; once more he calmed them, and said, —

" Munro, as they perished so shalt thou perish ! Behold
this gun! " and turning round, he pointed to the enormous
cannon which occupied the center of the esplanade.

"It is already loaded. You are about to be bound to
its mouth; and to-morrow morning, when the sun rises,
that cannon's roar shall announce throughout the depths of
the Vindhyas that the vengeance of Nana Sahib is at last
complete ! "

Colonel Munro fixed his eyes on the nabob with a com-
posure which proved that death, even such a death, had no
terrors for him.

" It is well," he said. " You do as I should have done had
you fallen into my hands." And walking up to the gun, he
placed himself before it; his hands were tied behind his
back, and by strong cords he was bound across its deadly
mouth.

There, for more than an hour, he was subjected to the
base insults of all these savage men.

The brave colonel remained unmoved before their out-
rages, as before death itself.

Night fell. Nana Sahib, Kalagani, and Nassim withdrew
into the old barracks. Their men, at length weary of tor-
menting the captive, followed their leaders.

Sir Edward Munro was alone in the presence of Death,
and of his God.

CHAPTER XII

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH

The silence was not long unbroken.

An ample supply of provisions and abundance of arrack
quickly excited the Dacoits, who ate and drank immod-
erately, to noisy and vociferous clamor.

By degrees, however, the uproar subsided. Sleep over-
took the ruffians, who were wearied by days spent on the
watch, before capturing their prisoner.

Was it possible he would be left thus alone until the
hour of execution? Even though secured by triple cords

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH 379

round breast and arms, incapable of the least movement,
would not Nana Sahib place a guard over his victim?

While such thoughts passed through the colonel's mind
a Dacoit left the barracks, and came across the esplanade.

This man was appointed to keep watch over the prisoner
throughout the night.

He approached the gun, and after ascertaining that Col-
onel Munro's position remained unaltered, he tried the cords
with no gentle hand, muttering, —

: Ten pounds of gunpowder ! The old gun has not spoken
for a long time. To-morrow she will say something worth
hearing."

This remark brought a haughty smile to the lips of the
gallant colonel. The most fearful death had no terrors
for him.

The native then went round the cannon caressing it with
his hand, and resting his finger for an instant on the touch-
hole. There he stood, leaning on the breach of the gun,
apparently losing all recollection of the prisoner, who re-
mained like a culprit beneath the gibbet, waiting till the
fatal bolt be withdrawn.

Somewhat affected by the powerful spirit he had been
drinking, and utterly indifferent to the awful position of
the unhappy prisoner, the Hindoo indistinctly hummed the
air of an old Hindostanee song, breaking off and resuming
the tune as a man does when, under the influence of liquor,
his thoughts gradually escape control.

Presently he stood erect. Again passing his hand all over
the gun, he came round it and stopped in front of the col-
onel, gazing stupidly as he muttered incoherent words. He
touched the cords and seemed about to draw them tighter,
then nodding his head as if reassured, sauntered up to the
parapet about a dozen paces off.

For ten minutes he remained there, resting his arms on
the top, sometimes glancing round, and then again gazing
far down into the abyss at the foot of the fortress.

It was plain he was making a last effort against the
drowsiness which threatened to overcome him. But at last
he yielded, let himself drop to the ground and there lay
stretched, the shadow of the parapet completely hiding him.

The night was intensely dark. Heavy clouds hung low
and motionless. The atmosphere was still and oppressive.

380 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

No sound from the valley reached this height, perfect silence
reigned around.

For the honor of brave Colonel Munro we must describe
how he spent this terrible night. Not for a moment did
he allow his thoughts to dwell on that last moment of his
life, now fast approaching when with rude force his body
would be blown to pieces and the atoms scattered far and
wide. After all it would be instantaneous, and such a death
had no terrors for a nature on which no moral or physical
danger ever had effect. A few hours were still his, they
belonged to this life which for the greater part had been
spent so happily. His whole existence passed before him
with wonderful exactitude. The image of Lady Munro
arose. Once more he saw, he heard that dear one whom
still he mourned as in the first days of his bereavement, no
longer with tears but with an ever-aching heart! In his
thoughts he returned to the beginning of his acquaintance
with her, then a fair young girl living in the doomed town
of Cawnpore, in the house where first he admired, knew,
and loved her ! He lived over again those few years of hap-
piness, suddenly terminated by that most frightful catas-
trophe. He could recall every word, look, glance of hers,
with such distinctness that the reality itself could hardly
have been more real ! Midnight passed without his being
aware of it. The present was forgotten by him. Nothing
could disturb him in his blissful recollections of his adored
wife. In three hours he had gone over every day of the
three years they had spent together. Yes ! he was far away
in imagination from the plateau and fortress of Ripore,
far away from the mouth of that cannon, which the first
rays of the sun were to fire!

But now came that horrible siege of Cawnpore, the im-
prisonment of Lady Munro and her mother in the Bibi-
Ghar, the frightful massacre, and lastly the well, the tomb
of two hundred victims on which four months ago he had
wept for the last time.

And now that demon, Nana Sahib, was here, only a few
yards from him, behind the walls of the ruined barrack.
The leader of the massacres, the murderer of Lady Munro
and of so many other unhappy beings! It was into this
assassin's hands he had fallen, he who had hoped to do
justice on the assassin who had hitherto escaped.

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH 381

These thoughts roused Sir Edward. With an impulse of
blind anger he made one desperate effort to free himself.
The cords stretched, but the tightened knots cut into his
flesh. He uttered a cry, not of pain, but of impotent rage.
At the sound the native raised his head. His senses re-
turned, he remembered that he was guarding the prisoner.

He got up and staggered to the colonel, laid his hand
on his shoulder to make sure his prisoner was still there,
and in a drowsy tone muttered, —

"To-morrow, at sunrise — Boom!"

Then he returned to the parapet as if for support, but
no sooner did he touch it than he again lay down and was
soon sound asleep.

After that one vain effort, calm fell upon Colonel Munro.
The course of his thoughts was changed, though not directed
to the fate which awaited him. By a natural association of
ideas his mind reverted to his friends, his companions. He
wondered whether they also had fallen into the hands of
the Dacoits who swarm all over the Vindhyas, whether a
fate similar to his own might not be reserved for them:
the very idea sent a pang through his heart. But then he
told himself that such a thing could not be. If the nabob
had wished their death, would he not have united them
together in the same punishment, to double his agony by
the sight of his friends? No! it was on him, and on him
alone — this he strove to believe — that Nana Sahib wished
to wreak his hatred !

Then if Banks, Captain Hood, and Maucler were free
what were they doing? Had they taken the road to Jub-
bulpore, mounted on Behemoth ? The Dacoits had not been
able to destroy him, and he could carry them quickly. Once
there, they could soon get help. But what would be the
use of it then? How could they find out where the colonel
was? No one knew of the fortress of Ripore, the retreat
of Nana Sahib. And besides, why should the name of
the nabob come into their minds? Did they not believe
that Nana Sahib was dead, that he fell in the attack on the
Pal of Tandit ? No, they could do nothing for the prisoner !

Neither from Goumi could help be expected. Kalagani
had had every reason for getting rid of this faithful servant ;
and since Goumi was not there, it was because his death had
preceded that of his master!

382 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

It was useless to count on even one chance of deliverance.
Colonel Munro was not the sort of man who would delude
himself with vain hopes. He saw his position in its true
light, and he returned to his thoughts of the past, and all
its happy days and hours.

How long a time was spent thus he would have found it
difficult to determine. The night was still dark. No faint
streak of light as yet appeared on the mountain peaks to
herald the approach of dawn.

It must have been about four in the morning, when the
attention of Colonel Munro was arrested by a most singular
phenomenon. While living that past inner existence, he had
no eyes for anything near him; scenes of other days were
before him.

Exterior objects, indistinctly seen in the gloom, had no
attraction for him, when suddenly his eyes became conscious
of something which caused the vision called up by his
imagination totally to vanish. In fact, the colonel was no
longer alone on the esplanade of Ripore. A wavering light
had all at once appeared toward the end of the path, near
the postern of the fortress. It went to and fro, now dim,
now bright, one moment almost extinguished, the next re-
suming its brilliancy, as if held in an insecure hand.

In the prisoner's position, every incident had its impor-
tance. He watched the light intently. Observing that a
smoky vapor rose from it, he concluded it was not inclosed
in a lantern.

" One of my companions," thought the colonel. " Goumi,
perhaps! But no! He would not be there with a light to
betray his presence. Who can it be? "

The flame slowly advanced. It glided along the wall of
the old barrack, so close, indeed, that Sir Edward feared
it would be perceived by the natives sleeping within.

No notice was taken. The light passed unobserved.
Every now and then, when the hand that bore it waved it
wildly aloft, it blazed up afresh, and burned more brightly.
By the time it reached the parapet, and moved along the
crest, like St. Elmo's Fire in a stormy night, the colonel
had begun to distinguish a phantom — no distinct outline, but
a vague shadow flitting onward. The being, whoever it was,
was clothed in a long garment, covering both arms and
head.

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH 383

The prisoner did not move. He scarcely dared to breathe.
He feared to terrify this apparition, or see the flame dis-
appear in the darkness. He kept as motionless as the
weighty piece of metal which held him, as it were, in its
enormous jaws.

In the meantime the phantom continued to glide along
the parapet. Suppose it stumbled over the body of the
sleeping Hindoo ! No, that was not likely ; for the man
lay to the left of the cannon, while the apparition advanced
from the right, stopping sometimes, but ever gradually draw-
ing nearer.

It at last came so close that Colonel Munro could see it
distinctly. What he saw was a being of medium height,
entirely covered by a long mantle. One hand alone was
visible, bearing a lighted torch.

" It is some madman," thought the colonel, " who is so
accustomed to visit the Dacoits' encampment, that they
take no notice of him ! Why hasn't he a dagger in his hand
instead of a torch ? Perhaps I should be able "

It was not a madman, and yet Sir Edward had nearly
guessed aright.

This was the madwoman of the Nerbudda valley, the
unconscious creature who for the last four months had
strayed about the Vindhyas, always respected and hospitably
received by the superstitious Ghoonds. Neither Nana Sahib
nor any of his companions knew of the part " Roving
Flame " had taken in the attack on the Pal of Tandit. Many
a time had they met her in this mountainous district of
Bundelkund, but her presence had never caused them any
anxiety. Often had her incessant wanderings led her to
the fortress of Ripore, and no one ever dreamed of driving
her away. It was only by chance that her nocturnal peregri-
nations had brought her there that night.

Colonel Munro knew nothing about this madwoman. He
had never heard of Roving Flame ; and yet as this unknown
being approached, and was about to touch and perhaps speak
to him, his heart beat with unaccountable violence.

Little by little the madwoman drew near the cannon.
Her torch burned dimly; she did not appear to see the
prisoner, although she was face to face with him, and her
eyes were visible through openings like holes in the hood
of a " penitent."

384 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Sir Edward did not stir. Neither by word nor by gesture
did he seek to attract the attention of this strange being.

At last she turned and flitted round the huge gun, the
light she carried casting little wandering shadows over its
surface.

Did the poor, bewildered brain know the use of this gun,
standing there like a monster; that a man was bound to
its mouth, and that, at the first morning beam of light, it
would vomit forth a fearful burst of thunder and light-
ning?

Far from it. Roving Flame was there as she might be
anywhere, quite unconscious. She wandered about to-night
as she had done many a time before on the esplanade. Then
she would probably leave the spot, glide down the winding
path to the valley, and thence stray wherever her fancy
took her.

As Colonel Munro could freely turn his head, he fol-
lowed all her movements. He saw her pass round the gun
and direct her steps in the direction of the postern.

Suddenly Roving Flame stopped only a few paces from
the sleeping native, and turned. Some invisible power
seemed to draw her forward, some unaccountable instinct
brought her back to the colonel, and again she stood motion-
less before him.

Sir Edward's heart beat vehemently, as though it would
burst from his bosom.

Roving Flame moved yet nearer. She raised her torch
to a level with the prisoner's face, as though the better to
see him. Nothing of her own face was visible except her
eyes, and they were brilliant with a feverish fire.

Colonel Munro gazed intently, as if fascinated.

The left hand of this strange being gradually drew back
the folds of its garment until her face was exposed to view,
and at the same time she shook the torch until it blazed
afresh, and threw a bright light around.

A half-stifled cry broke from the prisoner, —

"Laura! Laura!"

He thought he must be going mad himself.

He closed his eyes for a moment. Then again he looked
at her. It was Lady Munro! It was his wife who stood
before him!

" Laura ! — you ! — is it you ? " he stammered.

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH 385

Lady Munro answered not a word. She did not recognize
him. She did not even appear to hear him.

"Laura! Mad! — yes, mad! but living!"

Sir Edward could not have been deceived by a mere re-
semblance. The image of his wife was too deeply graven
on his heart. Sadly changed, but still beautiful, was Lady
Munro, and even after nine years of a separation which
her husband had deemed eternal, he knew her to be his wife.

This poor lady, after doing all in her power to defend
her mother, slain before her eyes, had herself fallen
wounded, but not mortally ; she was one of the last thrown
into the well of Cawnpore on the heap of victims already
filling it. When night fell, the instinct of self-preservation
caused her to struggle to the margin of the well — instinct
alone, for reason had fled at the horror of these awful
scenes. After all she had suffered from the commence-
ment of the siege, in the prison of the Bibi-Ghar, and at
the massacre, finally seeing her mother slain had driven
away her senses. She was mad, quite mad, but living, just
as Munro had said. Crazed, she had dragged herself out of
the well, and had wandered away and left the town, as did
Nana Sahib and his followers after the bloody execution.
Mad, she had escaped in the darkness through the country ;
avoiding town and inhabited districts, received by the poor
ryots, and respected by them as a being deprived of reason,
the poor creature had roamed onward until she reached the
Sautpoora Mountains, and then the Vindhyas. Dead to
every one for nine years, crazed by the horrors she had wit-
nessed, she wandered incessantly, unable ever to rest !

And this was she !

Colonel Munro called again. No answer.

Oh, what would he not have given for power to fold her
in his arms, carry her, fly with her, and commence a new
life at her side! With the care and the great love he would
lavish on her, reason could surely be won back ! But what
vain fancies were these? Was he not powerless, bound to
this mass of metal, his limbs cut and numb with the tightly
drawn cords, utterly unable to stir, in spite of all his wild
longing to tear her away from that accursed spot !

What torture, what agony was that! Far beyond even
what Nana Sahib's cruel imagination could have conceived.
Ah, if that demon had been there, if he had known that

V XII Verno

386 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

Lady Munro was in his power, what horrible joy he would
have felt. With what refinement of cruelty he could have
increased the sufferings of his prisoner.

'' Laura ! Laura ! " repeated Sir Edward, raising his voice
even at the risk of arousing his guard, sleeping but a few
steps distant, or the Dacoits in the old barrack, or Nana
Sahib himself.

Neither comprehending him nor seeing who he was, Lady
Munro kept her wild eyes fixed on the colonel's face. She
understood nothing of the frightful torture inflicted on him,
at thus finding his wife again, only when he himself had
but an hour to live. She shook her head slightly, as though
she had no wish to reply.

A' few minutes passed like this ; then her hand sunk down,
her mantle fell again over her face, and she drew back a step
or two.

She was leaving him!

" Laura ! " cried once more the agonized husband, as
though he were bidding her a last farewell.

But no, it was evidently not yet her intention to leave
the esplanade. The situation, already so dreadful, was now
to be aggravated in a terrible degree.

Lady Munro stopped. The cannon had attracted her at-
tention. Perhaps it awoke in her darkened mind some
shadowy recollection of the siege of Cawnpore. At any
rate, she slowly returned. The hand which held the torch
cast the light over every part of the gun. The smallest
spark falling on the touch-hole would take instant effect !

Must he then die by that hand, the one in all the world
most dear to him ?

The thought was too awful to be endured. Far better
were it to perish before the eyes of the Nana and his men.

He must shout and arouse his executioners !

Suddenly from the interior of the cannon he felt a hand
grasp his. Yes, it was true; a friendly hand was busy at
the cords. Then he became aware that a sharp blade was
carefully cutting between the knots and his wrists. By
some miracle a liberator was near him, in the very heart
of the instrument of death!

One by one the cords were severed.

In a second it was done, he took a step forward! He
was free!

BEHEMOTH 387

All his self-command was required to restrain himself.
The least sound would be certain ruin.

From the mouth of the piece issued a hand. Munro
grasped it; with his assistance a man struggled forth, and
fell at his feet.

It was Goumi !

After his escape from Kalagani, this faithful servant had
followed the road to Jubbulpore, instead of returning to the
lake toward which Nassim's band was proceeding. On
reaching the path to Ripore, he had been obliged to conceal
himself a second time on meeting a party of natives. From
his hiding-place he overheard them speaking of Colonel
Munro, who was to be brought by the Dacoits, headed by
Kalagani, to the fortress, where Nana Sahib had determined
his death should take place.

Unhesitatingly, Goumi crept cautiously up the winding
path, and reached the then deserted esplanade. There the
heroic idea occurred to him that he would creep into the
huge gun, hoping to save his master if it were possible, and
if not, to die with him!

" Day is breaking! " whispered Goumi. " We must fly."

" And Lady Munro? " murmured the colonel, pointing to
the motionless figure, now standing with her hand resting
on the breech of the gun.

" In our arms, master ! " answered Goumi, asking no ex-
planation.

It was too late!

As the colonel and Goumi approached to seize her, the
poor lady to escape them leaned across the gun. A spark
fell from her torch, and a terrific roar, echoing from cliff
to cliff of the Vindhyas, filled the valley as with a burst
of thunder.

CHAPTER XIII.

BEHEMOTH !

rAr this tremendous report, Lady Munro fell fainting into
the arms of her husband. Without losing a moment the
colonel darted across the esplanade, Goumi, after giving his
quietus to the astounded guard, following.

Scarcely had they passed through the postern before the

388 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

esplanade was covered with the suddenly awakened men.
A moment's hesitation ensued, which was favorable to the
fugitives.

Nana Sahib rarely passed the night in the fortress; and
the evening before, after binding Colonel Munro to the
cannon's mouth, he had gone to meet some chiefs whom he
did not dare to visit in open day. But this was the hour at
which he usually returned, and he would not be long in
appearing.

Kalagani, Nassim, Hindoos, and Dacoits, more than a
hundred men in all, would instantly have set off in pursuit
of the prisoner. One thing alone delayed them. They
were perfectly ignorant of what had occurred ; and the dead
body of the native who had been entrusted with the charge
of the colonel completely mystified them.

Their natural thought was that in all probability, by some
strange mischance, the gun had gone off before the hour
fixed, and that now the body of the prisoner was blown to
pieces.

The fury of Kalagani and the others vented itself in a
storm of oaths and abuse. Had Nana Sahib and the rest
been after all deprived of the pleasure of witnessing the last
moments of Colonel Munro? The nabob was at no great
distance. He must have heard the report, and be even now
returning in all haste to the fortress. What reply could
they make when he required at their hands the prisoner
whom he had left in their charge? This hesitation and
delay, slight as it was, gave the fugitives time to get some
little distance before being perceived.

Sir Edward and Goumi, full of hope after their mirac-
ulous deliverance, rapidly descended the winding path, the
strong arms of the colonel scarcely feeling their burden.
His faithful servant kept- close at his side, ready to defend
or assist him.

Five minutes after leaving the postern, they were half
way between the plateau and the valley. But day was
breaking, and already a glimmering light penetrated to the
bottom of the narrow gorge.

A yell burst from the heights above them.

As he leaned over the parapet, Kalagani had caught sight
of two fugitives. One of them must be the prisoner of the
Nana.

BEHEMOTH 389

"Munro! There is Munro! " shouted Kalagani, mad
with rage.

And with a bound he was through the postern, and in hot
pursuit, followed by all his band.

' We are seen," said the colonel, increasing his speed.

' I will stop the first ! " said Goumi. " They will kill me,
but it may give you time to reach the high road."

" They shall either kill us both, or we will escape to-
gether!" responded Munro.

The part of the way now reached was less rough, and
they could therefore proceed faster. Forty feet farther
and they would be in the Ripore road leading to the high-
way.

But though flight would be easier, so also would be the
pursuit. To seek concealment was useless. Both would
have been discovered immediately. The only chance of
ultimate escape was to reach the open country.

Colonel Munro's resolve was taken. He would not again
fall alive into the hands of Nana Sahib. Rather than leave
her, who had just been restored to him, in the power of the
nabob, he would plunge Goumi's dagger into her heart, and
then himself die by the same weapon.

" Courage, master! " said Goumi, ready, if need were, to
shield the colonel with his own body. " In five minutes we
shall be on the Jubbulpore road ! "

" God grant that we may find help there! " murmured the
colonel.

The shouts of the natives were becoming more and more
distinct.

On hurried the fugitives ; they were at the road ; they
turned the corner. To their horror there, close to them,
were two men, rapidly advancing from the opposite direc-
tion.

It was now light enough to distinguish faces clearly, and
two names, uttered like a cry of hatred, burst forth at the
same moment.

"Munro!"

"Nana Sahib!"

On hearing the report of the cannon, the nabob had
hastened with all speed toward the fortress. He could not
understand why his orders should have been executed before
the hour he had named.

390 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

A Hindoo accompanied him; but before this man had
time to make even a sign, he fell at Goumi's feet, stabbed
with the same knife which had severed the colonel's bonds.

" Help ! here ! " cried the Nana to the men who were
dashing down the path.

" Yes, here ! " returned Goumi ; and like a lightning flash
he was upon the nabob.

His intention was — if he failed in killing him at the first
blow — at least to struggle with him, so as to give Colonel
Munro time to reach the high road ; but the knife was struck
from his grasp, and fell to the ground.

Furious at being disarmed, Goumi seized his adversary
round the body, and lifting him in his powerful arms,
actually carried him off, determining to spring with him
over the nearest precipice into the abyss beneath.

In the meanwhile, Kalagani and his companions were
rapidly approaching ; in another minute they would be upon
them, and then what hope of escape could there be ?

"Another effort!" repeated Goumi. "I can keep them
at bay for a few minutes by using their nabob as a shield!
Fly, master, fly without me ! "

The pursuers were close behind. In a half -strangled voice
the nabob called on Kalagani. Suddenly, not twenty paces
from them, other cries rose.

" Munro ! Munro ! "

There on the Ripore road was Banks, with him Captain
Hood, Maucler, Sergeant McNeil, Fox, Parazard, and a
little way behind them, on the high road, vomiting forth
torrents of steam, Behemoth, in charge of Storr and Ka-
louth.

After the destruction of the last car composing Steam
House, the engineer and his companions had no alternative
but to use as a vehicle the elephant, which the Dacoits had
been unable to destroy. Perched on Behemoth, they soon
left Lake Puturia, and advanced along the Jubbulpore road.
But just as they were passing the turning which led to the
fortress, the tremendous report bursting over their heads
caused them to halt.

Some presentiment, instinct, call it what you will, made
them spring to the ground, and hurry at full speed up the
steep road. What they hoped or expected they could not
have told.

BEHEMOTH 391

A sudden turn brought them all at once in full view of the
colonel, whose first cry was, —

"Save Lady Munro!"

"And keep fast hold of the true Nana Sahib!" gasped
Goumi, who with a last furious effort had thrown the half
suffocated man to the ground.

Captain Hood, McNeil, and Fox quickly seized and made
him prisoner, and without asking any other explanation the
whole party hastened back to Behemoth.

By order of the colonel, who wished to give him up to
English justice, Nana Sahib was bound to the elephant's
neck. Lady Munro was placed in the howdah, her husband
by her side; she was gradually recovering from her faint,
and he anxiously watched for the least gleam of reason.

All were soon on the elephant's back.

" At full speed ! " cried Banks.

It was time. Already the foremost natives were but a
hundred yards distant. All would be well if Behemoth
could only reach before them the advanced post of the mili-
tary cantonment of Jubbulpore, commanding the last defile
of the Vindhyas.

The engine was abundantly supplied with water and fuel,
everything necessary to maintain pressure, and keep up the
utmost speed. But the road being full of sudden turns and
angles, careful steering was necessary, it was not safe to
rush blindly on.

The natives gained visibly, and their shouts redoubled.

" We shall have to defend ourselves," said McNeil.

"And we will defend ourselves!" returned Captain
Hood, with determination.

A dozen cartridges were all they had ! Not a single shot
must miss, for their pursuers were armed, and everything
depended on their being kept at a distance.

Hood and Fox, rifle in hand, posted themselves in the
rear, at the back of the howdah. Goumi was forward, but
still able to take good aim ; McNeil was stationed near Nana
Sahib, revolver in one hand, and dagger in the other, ready
to stab him if the Hindoos seemed likely to overpower them.
Kalouth and Parazard supplied the furnaces. Banks and
Storr drove the engine.

Already the pursuit had lasted ten minutes. Two hun-
dred paces at most divided the parties. Though the natives

392 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

went faster, the elephant could of course keep up his speed
longer. The only tactics it was possible to employ were to
keep the enemy from getting ahead.

At that moment a dozen shots rang out from the pur-
suers. The balls whistled harmlessly over Behemoth, ex-
cept one which struck the end of his trunk.

" Don't fire yet ! We mustn't fire till we are certain of
hitting ! " cried Captain Hood. " Save your fire ! they are
too far off yet ! "

Banks, now seeing a straight line of road before him,
opened wide the regulator ; and Behemoth, dashing forward,
left the enemy several hundred yards behind.

" Hurrah ! hurrah for old Behemoth ! " shouted the cap-
tain, wild with excitement. " Ha, ha! those scoundrels can't
catch him ! "

But at the end of this straight bit of road lay a steep and
winding pass or defile, the last on this south side of the
Vindhyas, which must necessarily delay the progress of
Banks and his companions. Kalagani and his party, know-
ing this, redoubled their efforts.

On went Behemoth, and now he was in the narrow road
with a precipitous cliff on their side.

Speed was slackened, and Banks had to steer with the
greatest care. Of course the natives soon regained all the
ground they had lost. Though they had no hope of saving
Nana Sahib, who was at the mercy of a dagger-thrust, at
least they could avenge his death !

Another discharge was fired, but without touching any
one on Behemoth's back.

" This is getting serious ! " said the captain, leveling his
gun. " Attention ! "

He and Goumi fired simultaneously. Two of the fore-
most natives were struck full in the chest and fell.

" Two less ! " said Goumi, reloading his weapon.

" Two out of a hundred ! " returned Hood. " That is not
nearly enough ! We must make them pay more dearly than
that!"

And three more natives fell dead.

It was impossible to go fast along this winding defile;
and besides, as it narrowed, the way became steeper. How-
ever, another half mile and the last slope of the Vindhyas
would be crossed, and Behemoth would find himself not a

BEHEMOTH 393

hundred yards from an outpost almost in sight of Jubbul-
pore.

These natives were not the sort of men to be terrified at
the fire directed against them. They counted their lives as
nothing when the duty of saving or avenging Nana Sahib
was in question. Ten — twenty of them might fall ; but
eighty would still remain to rush on Behemoth, the moving
citadel, and attack with murderous intent the little party it
contained.

Kalagani was well aware of the fact that Captain Hood
and his friends had but a few cartridges left, and that con-
sequently their guns would soon be but useless weapons in
their hands. Half of their ammunition was indeed already
gone.

However, four more shots were fired, and four more
Hindoos fell. Hood and Fox had now but a bullet a piece.

At that moment Kalagani, who had till now been very
cautious, sprang forward nearer than was prudent.

" Ha ! that's you, is it ? I'll have you now ! " remarked
the captain, taking aim with the greatest coolness.

The shot struck the traitor in the very middle of the
forehead. His hands clutched wildly at the air; he made
one bound, and fell dead on the spot !

Suddenly the end of the pass appeared before them.
Behemoth made one last effort. Once more Fox's rifle rang
out, and one more native sank to the ground ! The natives
perceiving immediately that the firing had ceased, pressed
forward to the assault.

" Jump off! " cried Banks.

Under the circumstances it was indeed best to abandon
Behemoth, and hasten on foot to the outpost.

Colonel Munro, his wife in his arms, stepped down.

Hood, Maucler, the sergeant, and the rest speedily leaped
off. Banks alone remained in the howdah !

" And that villain ! " cried Captain Hood, pointing to
Nana Sahib, who was still bound to the elephant's neck.

" Leave him to me, captain! " returned Banks, in a signifi-
cant tone. Then, giving a last turn to the regulator, he also
descended.

All hurried as fast as they could along the road, daggers
in their hands, prepared to sell their lives dearly.

Behemoth, left to himself, continued to move, but having

394 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

no one to guide him, soon ran against the cliff and there
abruptly stopped, entirely barring the road.

On came the natives; with a rush they were upon him,
eager to liberate the Nana. Suddenly a tremendous roar,
like a most frightful crash of thunder, rent the air.

Before leaving the howdah, Banks had heavily charged
the valves of the engine. The vapor reached extreme ten-
sion, and when Behemoth ran against the cliff, finding no
way of escape through the cylinders, it burst the boiler, the
fragments flying far and wide.

" Poor Behemoth! " cried Captain Hood. " He has died
to save us ! "

CHAPTER XIV

CAPTAIN HOOD'S FIFTIETH TIGER

Colonel Munro and his party had now nothing further
to fear either from the nabob and the natives who followed
his fortunes, or from the Dacoits who had so long troubled
this part of Bundelkund.

At the sound of the explosion, soldiers issued from the
guard-house in imposing numbers. Finding themselves
without a leader, the Dacoits no sooner perceived this re-
enforcement than they instantly took to flight.

Colonel Munro made himself known. In half an hour's
time they reached the station, where they were supplied with
all they needed, and especially food, of which they were in
great want.

Lady Munro was lodged in a comfortable hotel, until it
was possible for her to be removed to Bombay. There Sir
Edward trusted that his tender care would at last restore
life to the soul of her whose body was at present the only
living part, and who would be still dead to him unless her
reason returned!

None of his friends despaired of the final recovery of
Lady Munro. All confidently awaited it as the only thing
which could entirely alter the colonel's existence.

It was settled that the next day they should start for
Bombay by the first train. This time they would be car-
ried away by a common locomotive, instead of the indefatig-
able Behemoth, who now, alas! lay in shapeless ruins.

CAPTAIN HOOD'S FIFTIETH TIGER 395

But neither his ardent admirer, Captain Hood, nor Banks,
his ingenious inventor, nor indeed any of the members of
the expedition could ever forget the " faithful animal," to
whom they all agreed in ascribing real life. Long did the
noise of the explosion which annihilated him ring in their
ears.

Before leaving Jubbulpore, Banks, Hood, Maucler, Fox,
and Goumi naturally wished to pay a visit to the scene of
the catastrophe.

There was nothing to be feared from the band of Dacoits,
yet as a precautionary measure, when the engineer and his
companions reached the outpost, a detachment of soldiers
joined them, and proceeded with them to the entrance of
the defile.

On the ground lay five or six mutilated corpses, the bodies
of those who had rushed on Behemoth for the purpose of
freeing Nana Sahib.

Of the remainder of the band there was not a trace.
Instead of returning to the ruined fortress, the last faithful
followers of the Nana had dispersed through the Nerbudda
Valley.

Poor Behemoth had been utterly destroyed by the burst-
ing of his boiler. One of his huge feet was found at a
great distance. A part of his trunk blown against the cliff,
stuck fast, and now projected like a gigantic arm. To a
great distance the ground was strewn with fragments of
iron, screws, bolts, pins, remains of pipes, valves, and cyl-
inders. At the moment of the explosion the tension of the
force of steam must indeed have been terrific, perhaps ex-
ceeding twenty atmospheres.

And now, of that artificial elephant of which the dwellers
in Steam House had been so proud, that colossal animal
which had provoked the superstitious admiration of the na-
tives, the mechanical masterpiece of Banks the engineer, the
realized dream of the whimsical Rajah of Bhootan, what
remained? Only a valueless and unrecognizable skeleton!

" Poor beast ! " sighed Captain Hood as he gazed on the
body of his beloved Behemoth.

" We can make another — another which shall be even
still more powerful ! " said Banks.

" No doubt," returned the captain, heaving another deep
sigh, " but it won't be him ! "

396 TIGERS AND TRAITORS

While pursuing their investigations, the engineer and his
companions anxiously looked for the remains of Nana
Sahib. Even if his face were not recognizable, the finding
of a hand which had lost a finger would be sufficient to
prove his identity. It would be satisfactory to have this un-
questionable proof of the death of the man who could no
longer be mistaken for his brother, Balao Rao.

But none of the bloody remains which strewed the ground
appeared to belong to him who once was Nana Sahib. Had
his followers carried away every trace and vestige of him?
That was more than probable.

The result of this was, that there being no certain proof
of the death of Nana Sahib, a legend sprang up among the
population of Central India. To them their unseen
nabob was still living; they regarded him as an immortal
being.

Banks and his friends were, however, positive that Nana
Sahib could not have survived the explosion.

They returned to the town, though not until Captain
Hood had picked up a piece of one of Behemoth's tusks,
which he ever afterward treasured as a remembrance.

The next day, the 4th of October, all left Jubbulpore by
train. Four-and-twenty hours later, they crossed the West-
ern Ghauts, the Andes of Hindostan, which stretch their
immense length through dense forests of banyans, syca-
mores, teaks, mingled with palms, cocoa-trees, arecas, pep-
per-trees, sandalwood, and bamboos. In a few hours more,
the railway deposited them on the island of Bombay, which
with the islands of Salsette, Elephanta, and others, forms a
magnificent roadstead and port, at the southeastern extrem-
ity of which stands the capital of the presidency.

Colonel Munro did not wish to remain in this great town,
swarming with Arabs, Persians, Banyans, Abyssinians, Par-
sees or Guebres, Scindes, Europeans of every nationality,
and also Hindoos.

The physicians whom he consulted on the state of Lady
Munro, recommended him to take her to a villa in the neigh-
borhood, where perfect quiet, combined with their great at-
tention and the incessant care of her husband, could not fail
to produce a salutary effect.

A month passed. Not one of the colonel's companions,
not one of his servants, thought of leaving him ; they wished

CAPTAIN HOOD'S FIFTIETH TIGER 397

to be near him on the not far-distant day which they hoped
would witness the cure of the poor lady.

This joy came at last. Little by little Lady Munro's
senses returned. The mind resumed its natural balance.
Of her who had been Roving Flame there remained not a
trace, she herself had no recollection of that sad time.

"Laura, Laura! " exclaimed the colonel, as Lady Munro
at last fully recognizing him, was clasped in his arms.

A week after this, the inhabitants of Steam House were
united once more in the bungalow at Calcutta. Another life
was beginning in the beautiful dwelling very different to
that which had formerly been passed within its walls. Banks
was entreated to pass his leisure time there, Hood to return
whenever he could get leave. As to McNeil and Goumi,
they belonged to the house, and could never be separated
from Colonel Munro. About this time Maucler was obliged
to leave Calcutta to return to Europe. He took leave at
the same time as Hood, whom the devoted Fox was to fol-
low to the military cantonments of Madras.

" Good-by, captain," said Colonel Munro ; " I am glad to
think that you have nothing to regret in your journey across
Northern India, except not having shot your fiftieth tiger ! '

" But I did shoot him, colonel."

" What ! the fiftieth? When was that? "

" Why," returned the captain, with a flourish, " forty-nine
tigers, and Kalagani. Does not that make fifty? "

THE END.

MAR 1 5 1978

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