Part 19

Six months later he received a letter from Sir Philip Currie, who had just succeeded Mr. Lawrence as Resident, stating that he had been requested by Mr. Agnew, who was going as political officer to Mooltan, to furnish him with an assistant capable of speaking both Punjaubi and Pathan fluently. The Resident added that from what he had heard of Mr. Groves' conduct during the campaign, and from the strong manner in which the governor-general had personally recommended him to the Court of Directors, and the very favourable terms in which his friend Mr. Fullarton had more than once spoken of him, he would be well fitted to undertake the duties of assistant to Mr. Agnew. Having been authorized by the Court of Directors to appoint him at any time to a post where his services might be useful, he had therefore much pleasure in now nominating him Mr. Agnew's assistant.

*CHAPTER XIV.*

*TREACHERY.*

Bhop Lal and his comrade were delighted when they heard that Percy was again going off, and that, as before, they were to accompany him as his servants.

"There will be no fighting or adventures this time," Percy said. "I expect your life will be just as quiet there as it is here. Still it will be a change, and I suppose that sometimes I shall have to ride out from Mooltan to see people in the district. Your being a Pathan will be a great advantage, Bhop Lal, on this occasion, just as Akram Chunder's being a native of Cashmere got me out of a bad scrape last time. As a Pathan you will be able to gather intelligence, as the population is largely composed of your countrymen. Of course, on your journey you will take your arms with you, but you will have no occasion for them there as the followers of a peaceable civil servant."

"Arms are always useful," Akram Chunder said. "The Pathans are quarrelsome fellows, though Bhop Lal is an exception. The population of Mooltan are said to be the most turbulent of those of any town in the Punjaub. You will miss your horse, sahib. I suppose it is in Ghoolab Singh's stables. The one you ride now is a good one, but not so good as Sultan."

"My uncle has just given me Sheik. He says it will be more useful to me than to him."

"Then, sahib, you need never fear being caught when you are once on his back. Even with the colonel's weight there is not a horse in the district can touch him, and with you in the saddle he will go like the wind."

Before starting Colonel Groves presented the two men with horses of his own breeding.

"Without being comparable with Sheik, they are powerful and well-bred horses, fast, and capable of accomplishing long journeys. As I know you will serve my nephew as well and faithfully as you did last time, I shall never regret having parted with the horses," he said to them. "One or other of you will always be with him, and it is useless for a master to be well mounted if his followers cannot keep pace with him. I do not say that either of these horses could keep up with Sheik if he were pressed, but at least you will find few that can go faster."

The men were overjoyed with the present. The Sikhs, like the Indian irregular cavalry, provided their own horses and equipments, and it was a matter of personal pride to be well mounted. To be the possessors of animals like these, uniting the hardiness of the native horse with the power and speed of their English sire, was an unhoped-for pleasure, and they expressed their thanks in the warmest terms.

As it was evident that Mr. Agnew would very shortly be leaving for Mooltan, and that therefore speed was necessary, Percy and his two men started at daylight next morning and rode by long stages down to Lahore.

Until the last halt before reaching the city Percy had ridden in native dress, as, although things had now settled down a good deal, the feeling was as strong as ever against the British, who still, at the earnest request of the maharanee and the durbar, maintained a force at Lahore to support the young maharajah's authority. It was, therefore, advisable to avoid attention until they reached the capital. As soon as they arrived there Percy rode to the Residency.

"I am glad you have come, Mr. Groves," the Resident said as he was ushered into the study. "You must have come down fast indeed. I told my messenger to carry my note as quickly as he could, but I hardly fancied that you could have been down for another three days; and Mr. Agnew starts to-morrow, so you are just in time."

"You did not mention in your letter, sir, the day on which he would set out; but I came down as rapidly as I could in order to catch him here if possible." At this moment a gentleman in civilian dress, with a young officer, entered the room. They hesitated on seeing that the Resident was engaged.

"Come in, Mr. Agnew," Sir Frederick Currie said. "This is Mr. Groves. He has come down post-haste to take up his appointment as your assistant."

"I am very glad that you have arrived in time, Mr. Groves. I have learnt a good deal about you from the memorandum handed over to Sir Frederick by his predecessor, and shall be very glad to have your assistance. This is Lieutenant Anderson of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers, who also accompanies me. We will leave Sir Frederick to his work at present and talk over matters. I need not ask if you are well mounted," he went on when they were seated in another room; "the speed with which you have come down shows that. Are there any preparations you want to make in the way of hiring servants?"

"I have two excellent men, sir. They were with my uncle for many years, and accompanied me through the last campaign. They are thoroughly trustworthy, are up to their work in every way, and have plenty of courage."

"You are fortunate, Mr. Groves, in getting two such men. Sikh servants as a rule are not to be depended upon, especially in any trouble with their countrymen; while servants from other parts of India are of little use here from their ignorance of the language. Do you know anything in reference to the situation at Mooltan?"

"Nothing, sir. I know, of course, that Moolraj's conduct was very doubtful during the last campaign, and that it was considered probable he would have attacked General Napier's force coming from Scinde had it not been too strong to be meddled with. I do not know anything more than that."

"As you know he succeeded his father as Dewan of Mooltan, and in fact of all the country beyond the Jhelum, in 1844. He nominally remained neutral, but there was very little doubt that he would have taken part in the war had he seen his opportunity, and would have joined the Sikhs with every man he could put in the field on the condition that when we were crushed his government should be altogether independent of that of Lahore. The passage of General Napier's army overawed him at that time. He had promised to pay to Lahore a large sum of money in return for the confirmation by the durbar of his succession to his father's office; but when once firmly established in it he declined to pay the stipulated amount, and with the army in a state of mutiny the durbar was unable to compel him to do so; nor had he paid the regular revenue of the province.

"Accordingly one of the first measures of the durbar after things had settled down at the end of our campaign was to send a force against him. Moolraj, however, completely defeated it. Henry Lawrence then acted as mediator, and matters were arranged on the basis that Moolraj should pay up a considerable amount of arrears, and should, for three years from last autumn, pay a fixed sum annually. Last November he paid a visit here, and expressed to John Lawrence, who had succeeded his brother Henry as Resident, that he wished to give up his position as Dewan of Mooltan and its province, his reason being that by the new arrangement the people under his government had the right of appeal to Lahore, which interfered greatly with his power of taxation.

"Lawrence recommended him not to carry out his determination; but he insisted on sending in his resignation to the durbar. They at first refused it, but after some negotiations it was accepted on the understanding that it should, for a time, remain secret. When, six months later, in the beginning of March, 1848, Mr. Lawrence was about to give up his post to Sir Frederick Currie, the former wrote to Moolraj saying that if he wished to reconsider his resignation he had now the opportunity of withdrawing it. Upon his reply that he had not changed his mind, Sir Frederick took the matter up and laid it before the durbar, who had hitherto, in accordance with the agreement between Lawrence and Moolraj, remained in ignorance that the latter had persisted in giving in his resignation. The durbar, who I have no doubt were glad enough to be rid of a governor whose power and ambition rendered him very formidable, accepted the resignation, and have appointed Khan Singh in his place. He sets out to-morrow with us for his new government. We take with us as our escort a regiment composed of Ghoorkas in the Sikh pay six hundred strong, about the same number of Lahore Sikh cavalry, and a battery of native artillery.

"Such a force as this is not, of course, required for our protection on the road, but is intended as a garrison for Mooltan, where, for aught we know, the people may view the change of governors with disapprobation. You know yourself, Mr. Groves," he added with a smile, "that governors are not always amenable to orders from Lahore."

Percy laughed. "That is true, sir; I believe it is often the case. My uncle often said he would give up the governorship as soon as a maharajah with power to keep order was firmly seated on the throne; but to have given it over when there was neither law nor order would have been to have given up his life as well as the fortress. He has always recognized the authority of the durbar in all other matters, and has sent the revenues in regularly, deducting only the actual amount of pay given to his troops and his own pay as governor, according to the terms of his appointment by Runjeet Singh."

"Yes; I am aware that he has done so," Mr. Agnew said. "The matter was brought up at the first durbar I attended, by one of Ghoolab Singh's party, and I was asked whether I would give my approval to a force being sent against your uncle; but as both the Lawrences strongly protested against civil war when the matter was brought before them one after the other, I threw my weight altogether against such a project, especially at the present time when there will be trouble at Mooltan. But, indeed, the majority of the durbar were equally opposed to any action being taken, first upon the ground that the revenue was punctually paid by Colonel Groves, which was much more than could be said for most of the other sirdars; and in the second place, because the fort had already repulsed an attack by fifteen thousand of the regulars, or as they call them Khalsa troops, with great loss, and that another attempt might prove equally disastrous. But at bottom I think the real reason for the opposition to the proposal was that, were your uncle to be succeeded by Ghoolab Singh's son, the district would virtually become part of Cashmere, and Ghoolab's power is already much too great and threatening. From the instructions left by the two Lawrences for the guidance of their successors, I know that upon this ground alone, if upon no other, they opposed any operation that would tend to increase Ghoolab Singh's dangerous authority."

"At what time do we mount to-morrow, Mr. Agnew?"

"We do not mount at all. Our party, with our servants and baggage, will go down the river in boats. The troops will march, and we shall join each other at the Eedgah, a mile or so from the fort of Mooltan. There will be a boat for ourselves, one for our servants and baggage, and a flat for our horses."

"That will be much more pleasant, sir, than a march through the heat. I enjoyed my journey up from Calcutta by water very much indeed."

The journey was performed by easy stages, as the rate of travel by the boats had to be timed by that of the troops; but on the 18th of April they arrived at the Eedgah, a spacious Mohammedan building, round which the troops had already pitched their camp. Upon the journey Percy had been able to be of considerable service to the party in their communications with the natives at the various points at which they stopped. Mr. Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson had both some knowledge of the language, but were unable to converse with anything like the facility that he had attained. Mr. Agnew had with him several _moonshis_ to translate for him and to act as clerks. The conversation in the boat had naturally turned upon the subject of Moolraj's probable course.

"I am wholly unable to understand," Mr. Agnew said, the first time the matter was discussed, "what the man's object is in resigning the governorship. It is, of course, less profitable than it was, owing in the first place to certain districts being taken from his jurisdiction, and in the second, because the right of appeal to Lahore by persons who consider themselves oppressed renders it impossible for him to carry his exactions to so great an extent as before. Had Moolraj been a peace-loving man I should understand his resigning an office he considered no longer profitable; but he is an ambitious one, and has always been credited with the desire and intention of one day making himself independent of Lahore, just as Ghoolab has done. His natural course would have been to announce that he could not afford to pay so heavy a sum annually, and to declare that if pressed he should defend himself; especially as, on the last occasion, he defeated the troops sent from Lahore. Resignation means the annihilation of his hopes, and a descent from the rank of dewan to that of a sirdar of no great consideration. His conduct is an entire mystery to me. It is the very last thing one would have expected from a man of his character. If it had only been decided in a moment of irritation I could have understood it; but it is six months since he first sent in his resignation; he has again and again had opportunities of withdrawing, but has persisted in resigning. What do you think, Khan Singh?"

"I can understand it no more than you can, sahib," the new dewan replied. "I do not see what design he could have in thus maintaining his resignation if he did not intend to carry it out."

"That is the point," Mr. Agnew said thoughtfully. "If he wanted to raise the flag of rebellion he could have done so at any time, for they say that his troops are well paid and devoted to him."

"If he never meant all along to resign," Lieutenant Anderson remarked, "it seems to me that he could only have pretended to do so in the hope that the durbar would send a considerable force with his successor, and yet something less than an army, in which case he might have surprised and destroyed it, and thus have scored a material and moral success to begin with. He would scarcely have calculated upon his successor being accompanied by three British officers."

"That does seem a feasible explanation, Anderson. No doubt in that case our coming up with twelve hundred troops and a battery will have altogether destroyed his calculations, for although he might feel himself strong enough to defy Lahore, now that the resources of the government are so diminished, he would never be mad enough to think that he could oppose with the remotest hope of success the power of England."

Upon the morning after their arrival at Eedgah, Moolraj rode in with a small party of his officers and had an interview with Mr. Agnew. He expressed his satisfaction that his successor had arrived, and that he should now be relieved of a government that was burdensome to him. He said that he would return in the afternoon, when he would inform them of the arrangements he had made for handing over the fort on the following morning. This promise he fulfilled, and the arrangements were then completed for the fort to be transferred to Khan Singh early the next morning, Moolraj saying that he himself would be present to see that matters went off smoothly.

That evening when Percy went to his room he found his two men waiting for him there.

"What are you sitting up for?" he asked. "You know I never want you after dinner."

"We wanted to speak to you, sahib," Bhop Lal said. "Is it true that the fort is to be handed over to-morrow morning to Khan Singh?"

"It is quite true, Bhop Lal; the arrangements have all been made with Moolraj this afternoon."

"And will you go into the fort with Khan Singh, sahib?"

"No. Mr. Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson are going with him; and as there are arrangements to be made for the purchase of provisions for the troops, and other matters, Mr. Agnew asked me to remain here."

"That is a comfort indeed, sahib."

"Why so? Do you think there is going to be trouble?"

"I don't know that there will be trouble to-morrow, sahib; I cannot say what the plans of Moolraj are; but there is going to be trouble. You told me this morning to try and find out the sentiments of the people, so I dressed myself as a peasant and went boldly into the town. Everyone there thinks there will be fighting. They say the troops will never accept Khan Singh as their dewan instead of Moolraj, and the _budmashes_ of the city all seem to be of the same opinion.

"They are not, they say, going to submit, like the people of Lahore, to be governed by a man who is but a servant of the Feringhees. What they will do I don't know, but the place is all in an uproar, and I greatly fear there will be trouble. Now that we know you are going to remain here, we shall no longer be anxious. The Ghoorkas and the guns can defend the place if the Sikh cavalry go over, and at any rate we will have Sheik and our own horses saddled and in readiness either for fighting or flight."

The next morning, as soon as Mr. Agnew was up, Percy went to him and told him what he had learned from Bhop Lal. The officer, however, made light of it. "All that was, of course, to be expected, Mr. Groves. Soldiers may grumble when a leader who has paid and fed them well is removed; but one must not take their grumbling in earnest. As soon as they learn that they will not be disbanded, but that their new dewan will take them all into his service and will treat them well and liberally, they will soon be contented enough. As to the rabble of the town, no doubt they would be ready enough for any mischief, providing the troops were with them; but as soon as they learn that the fort has been handed over and that the troops have accepted Khan Singh as their dewan, they will know better than to give trouble. Moolraj is going with us to the fort, and his influence will easily bring the troops to a better frame of mind."

Percy had so much confidence in Bhop Lal, and the latter was so evidently convinced there was danger of serious trouble, that he by no means shared Mr. Agnew's sanguine anticipation that all would pass off well. He felt, however, that it would be altogether out of place for him, a newly-joined assistant, to urge his opinion against that of Mr. Agnew, and he therefore merely bowed and said:

"Very well, sir, I hope that it will all go off well, and that your anticipations as to the troops accepting Khan Singh will be realized."

An hour later Moolraj, with a number of officers, rode up to the Eedgah. Mr. Agnew, Lieutenant Anderson, and Khan Singh mounted, and started with the two companies of Ghoorkas who were to be placed in possession of the fort. Still feeling extremely uneasy, Percy first looked to the priming of his pistols, placed them and his sword in readiness near the table at which he was sitting, and then proceeded to interview the natives who came in offering to furnish supplies of grain, forage, and other provisions. An hour and half elapsed, and then Akram Chunder came in.

"Is anything the matter, Akram?"

"I don't know, sahib. I have been on the roof of the house looking towards the fort, and it seemed to me half an hour since that there was a sudden confusion at the bridge over the ditch. There were a number of men gathered round there, and directly afterwards I saw a group of horsemen, I think Moolraj and his officers, gallop away towards the city. Then presently I saw an elephant with a few footmen coming this way, but no signs of the white sahibs. The elephant is coming hither, and I can see by the trappings that it belongs to a person of importance. Will you call the troops under arms, sahib?"

"No; I can't do that until I know something definite. As likely as not they will refuse to take orders from me. Besides, there can be no danger from this elephant and a handful of footmen, and if all is well Mr. Agnew would naturally be very indignant at my interference."

Putting his pistols in his coat pockets and taking his sword in his hand, Percy went to the door. The elephant was now but two or three hundred yards distant, but a native who had run on ahead was close at hand.

"My master, Rung Ram, brother of the Dewan Moolraj, sends his greeting. The white officer is badly hurt, and he is bringing him hither; he and Khan Singh have themselves bound up his wounds as they brought him along in the _howdah_."

Percy at once called the servants to the door and then hurried forward to meet the coming party, anxious to discover which officer it was that had been wounded. When he came up with them he saw Mr. Agnew supported in his seat by Rung Ram and Khan Singh. He was conscious, and leaning forward said to Percy:

"Order the troops under arms at once, Mr. Groves."

Percy hurried away to the camp, and in two minutes the trumpets were calling to arms and the men hurrying out from their tents, surprised at this sudden summons. As soon as he saw that the troops were falling in, Percy returned to the house. Mr. Agnew had been carried into his room and laid on the couch.

"You were right, Mr. Groves, and I regret that I did not treat the warning you gave me as one of importance. Sit down, please, and take pen and paper. I must send off a despatch at once to Sir Frederick Currie. I am too weak to talk much, and you will learn what has happened from the despatch I dictate to you."

Percy was about to begin when Bhop Lal entered.

"There are a party of Ghoorkas carrying a litter approaching, sahib."

"Go out at once, Mr. Groves, and see if it is Anderson they are bringing in. I did not know what had become of him, and am most anxious concerning his fate."

"Your horse is ready, sahib," Bhop Lal said as Percy hurried out.

"Bring it round at once, and mount your own and ride with me."

The party were still but half-way between the fort and the Eedgah when Percy started, and dashing forward at full gallop he was soon alongside. Lieutenant Anderson was lying motionless on the litter.

"Is he dead?" Percy asked as he reined up his horse.

"No, sahib; he is insensible from loss of blood, but his heart beats."

"How did it happen?" Percy asked the native officer in command of the party.