"'You will swear, then,' said he, 'by the bones of your father, by the honor of your mother, by the cross of your faith, to raise no hand and speak no word against us, either now or afterwards?'
"'I will swear it,' I answered, 'provided that the fort is not endangered.' "'Then my comrade and I will swear that you shall have a quarter ofthe treasure which shall be equally divided among the four of us.' "'There are but three,' said I.
"'No; Dost Akbar must have his share.We can tell the tale to you while we await them.Do you stand at the gate, Mahomet Singh, and give notice of their coming.The thing stands thus, Sahib, and I tell it to you because I know that an oath is binding upon a Feringhee, and that we may trust you.Had you been a lying Hindoo, though you had sworn by all the gods in their false temples, your blood would have been upon the knife, and your body in the water.But the Sikh knows the Englishman, and the Englishman knows the Sikh.Hearken, then, to what I have to say.
"'There is a rajah in the northern provinces who has much wealth, though his lands are small.Much has come to him from his father, andmore still he has set by himself, for he is of a low nature and hoards his gold rather than spend it.When the troubles broke out he would be friends both with the lion and the tiger,--with the Sepoy and with the Company's Raj.Soon, however, it seemed to him that the white men's day was come, for through all the land he could hear of nothing but of their death and their overthrow.Yet, being a careful man, he made such plans that, come what might, half at least of his treasure should be left to him.That which was in gold and silver he kept by him in the vaults of his palace, but the most precious stones and the choicest pearls that he had he put in an iron box, and sent it by a trusty servant who, under the guise of a merchant, should take it to the fort at Agra, there to lie until the land is at peace.Thus, if the rebels won he would have his money, but if the Company conquered his jewels would be saved to him.Having thus divided his hoard, he threw himself into the cause of the Sepoys, since they were strong upon his borders.By doing this, mark you, Sahib, his property becomes the due of those who have been true to their salt.
"'This pretended merchant, who travels under the name of Achmet, is now in the city of Agra, and desires to gain his way into the fort.He has with him as travelling-companion my foster-brother Dost Akbar, who knows his secret.Dost Akbar has promised this night to lead him to a side-postern of the fort, and has chosen this one for his purpose.Here he will come presently, and here he will find Mahomet Singh and myself awaiting him.The place is lonely, and none shall know of his coming.The world shall know of the merchant Achmet no more, but the great treasure of the rajah shall be divided among us.What say you to it, Sahib?'
"In Worcestershire the life of a man seems a great and a sacred thing; but it is very different when there is fire and blood all round you and you have been used to meeting death at every turn.Whether Achmet the merchant lived or died was a thing as light as air to me, but at the talk about the treasure my heart turned to it, and I thought of what I might do in the old country with it, and how my folk would stare when they saw their ne'er-do-well coming back with his pockets full of gold moidores.I had, therefore, already made up my mind.Abdullah Khan, however,thinking that I hesitated, pressed the matter more closely.
"'Consider, Sahib,' said he, 'that if this man is taken by the commandant he will be hung or shot, and his jewels taken by the government, so that no man will be a rupee the better for them.Now, since we do the taking of him, why should we not do the rest as well? The jewels will be as well with us as in the Company's coffers.There will be enough to make every one of us rich men and great chiefs.No one can know about the matter, for here we are cut off from all men.What could be better for the purpose? Say again, then, Sahib, whether you are with us, or if we must look upon you as an enemy.'
"'I am with you heart and soul,' said I.
"'It is well,' he answered, handing me back my firelock.'You see that we trust you, for your word, like ours, is not to be broken.We have now only to wait for my brother and the merchant.'
"'Does your brother know, then, of what you will do?' I asked.
"'The plan is his.He has devised it.We will go to the gate and share the watch with Mahomet Singh.'
"The rain was still falling steadily, for it was just the beginning of the wet season.Brown, heavy clouds were drifting across the sky, and it was hard to see more than a stone-cast.A deep moat lay in front of our door, but the water was in places nearly dried up, and it could easily be crossed.It was strange to me to be standing there with those two wild Punjaubees waiting for the man who was coming to his death.
"Suddenly my eye caught the glint of a shaded lantern at the other side of the moat.It vanished among the mound-heaps, and then appeared again coming slowly in our direction.
"'Here they are!' I exclaimed.
"'You will challenge him, Sahib, as usual,' whispered Abdullah.'Give him no cause for fear.Send us in with him, and we shall do the rest while you stay here on guard.Have the lantern ready to uncover, that we may be sure that it is indeed the man.'
"The light had flickered onwards, now stopping and now advancing, until I could see two dark figures upon the other side of the moat.I let them scramble down the sloping bank, splash through the mire, and climbhalf-way up to the gate, before I challenged them."'Who goes there?' said I, in a subdued voice.
