The Adventures of Akbar
by Flora Annie Webster Steel · English · Gutenberg #18307 · 281,233 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Adventures of Akbar
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The Adventures of Akbar
Author: Flora Annie Webster Steel
Illustrator: Byam Shaw
Release date: May 4, 2006 [eBook #18307]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18307
Credits: Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF AKBAR ***
Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
[Transcriber's Note: The following variant spellings used by the
author were retained as printed: Babar/Baber, Sultanum/Sultanam,
gray/grey, Allah/Alâh, meaowed/miaowed.]
THE ADVENTURES OF AKBAR
_Uniform with this Volume_
Price 6/-net each
THE SECRET GARDEN, by FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT, author of "The Shuttle,"
etc., illustrated by CHARLES ROBINSON.
THE FOUR GARDENS, by "HANDASYDE," illustrated by CHARLES ROBINSON.
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, by LEWIS CARROLL, illustrated by
ARTHUR RACKHAM.
ÆSOP'S FABLES, translated by V. S. VERNON JONES, with an introduction by
G. K. CHESTERTON, illustrated by ARTHUR RACKHAM.
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
21, BEDFORD STREET, W.C.
[Illustration: _On a shelving bank of dry sand Baby Akbar sitting up and
rubbing his eyes._]
THE ADVENTURES OF AKBAR
by
FLORA ANNIE STEEL
ILLUSTRATED BY BYAM SHAW
LONDON · WILLIAM HEINEMANN · 1913
_All rights reserved_
A DEDICATION
Oft when the house lay silent in the heat
My thoughts would be so full of you, my sweet,
That dreaming half--I seemed to hear once more
Your little fingers fluttering at the door,
The pitter patter of your childish feet
In joyous rhythm cross the echoing floor.
Then small, soft hands would nestle into mine,
And warm soft arms around my neck would twine,
As soft and warm the dream child on my knees,
Cuddling so close in clear young voice would tease
And tease and tease in mimicked glad young whine
For "Just one little story if you please."
So half in jest and half in earnest, too,
Mostly I think to dream my dreaming true,
I'd conjure up long tales of lands afar
And days gone by that yet remembered are;
Shaping my stories with this end in view
To gain the verdict "Tell some more, Mamma."
For I was happy when I had beguiled
Into my life the spirit of a child.
Thus one by one the weary hours flew
And page by page a little volume grew,
So--that my dreams with truth be reconciled,
Take it, my darling, it was writ for you.
_April, 1875_
Long years have sped since that poor book was penned.
None read the pages. Therefore at the end
Of this world's life I dedicate to two
Small boys--her sons--whose question'ng eyes of blue
Tell me that dreams of childhood never end
_This_ book. So take it boys--'twas writ for you.
_1911_
PREFACE
This book is written for all little lads and lasses, but especially for
the former, since it is the true--_quite_ true--story of a little lad
who lived to be, perhaps, the greatest king this world has ever seen.
It is a strange, wild tale this of the adventures of Prince Akbar among
the snowy mountains between Kandahâr and Kâbul, and though the names may
be a bit of a puzzle at first, as they will have to be learned by and
bye in geography and history lessons, it might be as well to get
familiar with them in a story-book; though, indeed, as everybody in it
except Roy the Râjput, Meroo the cook boy; Tumbu, the dog; and Down, the
cat (and these four _may_ have been true, you know, though they have not
been remembered) really lived, I don't know whether this book oughtn't
to be considered real history, and therefore
A LESSON BOOK
Anyhow, I hope you won't find it dull.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE
CHAPTER I
FAREWELL 1
CHAPTER II
THE FIRST VICTORY 11
CHAPTER III
THE ROYAL UMBRELLA 20
CHAPTER IV
TUMBU-DOWN 27
CHAPTER V
ON THE ROAD 39
CHAPTER VI
AT COURT 50
CHAPTER VII
WINTER 58
CHAPTER VIII
DOWN'S STRATAGEM 68
CHAPTER IX
SPRING 77
CHAPTER X
THE NIGHT OF RECORD 88
CHAPTER XI
A WINTER MARCH 100
CHAPTER XII
SNOW AND ICE 109
CHAPTER XIII
OVER THE PASS 119
CHAPTER XIV
IN THE VALLEY 128
CHAPTER XV
DEAREST-LADY 138
CHAPTER XVI
CRUEL BROTHER KUMRAN 147
CHAPTER XVII
IMPRISONMENT 159
CHAPTER XVIII
THE GARDEN OF GAMES 169
CHAPTER XIX
BETWIXT CUP AND LIP 178
CHAPTER XX
ESCAPED 187
CHAPTER XXI
DAWN 196
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ON A SHELVING BANK OF DRY SAND BABY AKBAR
SITTING UP AND RUBBING HIS EYES _Frontispiece_
_To face page_
PRINCE ASKURRY ... STRODE ... INTO THE TENT 16
THE CHILD HAD SLIPPED IT ONTO HIS LITTLE FOREFINGER 62
SO THEY BOTH TOUCHED THE COLD MARBLE FLOOR WITH THEIR
WARM LITTLE FOREHEADS 98
AHEAD OF THEM, A SHADOW SHOWED, A SHAMBLING SHADOW!
TUMBU ... WITH A BOUND WAS OFF FULL TILT AFTER IT 126
AND ONE DAY THE DOOR DID OPEN.... "MY SON--MY LITTLE SON!" 166
"LADIES! UNVEIL!" 176
"I STAY MY HAND WHILE I COUNT TEN--NO MORE" 198
CHAPTER I
FAREWELL
_Bismillah Al-la-hu Akbar!_
These queer-looking, queer-sounding words, which in Arabic mean "thanks
be to God," were shrilled out at the very top of Head-nurse's voice. Had
she been in a room they would have filled it and echoed back from the
walls; for she was a big, deep-chested woman. But she was only in a
tent; a small tent, which had been pitched in a hurry in an
out-of-the-way valley among the low hills that lead from the wide plains
of India to Afghanistan. For Head-nurse's master and mistress, King
Humâyon and Queen Humeeda, with their thirteen months' old little son,
Prince Akbar, were flying for their lives before their enemies. And
these enemies were led by Humâyon's own brothers, Prince Kumran, Askurry
and Hindal. It is a long story, and a sad story, too, how Humâyon, so
brave, so clever, so courteous, fell into misfortune by his own fault,
and had to fly from his beautiful palaces at Delhi and wander for years,
pursued like a hare, amid the sandy deserts and pathless plains of
Western India. And now, as a last resource, his followers dwindled to a
mere handful, he was making a desperate effort to escape over the
Persian border and claim protection at the hands of Persia's King.
So the poor tent was ragged and out at elbows, for all that it was made
of costly Kashmir shawls, and that its poles were silver-gilt.
But Head-nurse's "Thanks be to God!" came from a full heart.
"What is it? What _is_ it?" called an anxious voice from behind the
curtain which divided the tent in two.
"What?" echoed Head-nurse in high glee. "Only this: His Imperial
Highness, Prince Akbar, the Admired-of-the-World, the Source-of-Dignity,
the Most-Magnificent-Person-of-the-Period--" She went on, after her
wont, rolling out all the titles that belonged of right to the little
Prince, until the soft, anxious voice lost patience and called again,
"Have done--have done; what is it? Heaven save he hath not been in
danger."
Head-nurse, stopped in her flow of fine words, sniffed contemptuously.
"Danger! with me to guard him? No! 'Tis that the High-in-Pomp hath cut
his first real back tooth! He can eat meat! He has come to man's estate!
He is no longer dependent upon milk diet." Here she gave a withering
glance at the gentle looking woman who was Baby Akbar's wet-nurse, who,
truth to tell, was looking just a little sad at the thought that her
nursling would soon leave her consoling arms.
"Heavens!" exclaimed the voice from within, "say you so?" And the next
instant the curtain parted, and there was Queen Humeeda, Baby Akbar's
mother, all smiling and eager.
Now, if you want to know what she was like, you must just think of your
own dearest dear mummie. At least that was what she seemed to little
Prince Akbar, who, at the sight of her, held out his little fat arms and
crowed, "Amma! Amma!" Now, this, you will observe, is only English
"Ma-Ma" arranged differently; from which you may guess that English and
Indian children are really very much alike.
And Queen Humeeda took the child and kissed him and hugged him just as
any English mother would have done. Head-nurse, however, was not a bit
satisfied with this display of affection. That would have been the
portion of any ordinary child, and Baby Akbar was more than that: he was
the heir apparent to the throne of India! If he had only been in the
palaces that belonged to him, instead of in a miserable tent, there
would have been ceremonials and festivities and fireworks over this
cutting of a tooth! Aye! _Certainly_ fireworks. But how could one keep
up court etiquette when royalty was flying for its life? Impossible!
Why, even her determination that, come what might, a royal umbrella must
be held over the blessed infant during their perilous journeys had very
nearly led to his being captured!
Despite this recollection, as she listened impatiently to the cooings
and gurglings, she turned over in her mind what she could do to
commemorate the occasion. And when pretty Queen Humeeda (thinking of her
husband, the king, who, with his few followers, had ridden off to see if
a neighboring chief would help them) said, "This will be joyful news
wherewith to cheer my lord on his return," Head-nurse's irritation found
voice.
"That is all very well," she cried. "So it would be to any
common father of any common child, Your Royal Highness! This one
is the Admired-of-the-Whole-World, the Source-of-Dignity, the
Most-Magnificent-Person-of-the-Period----"
And she went on rolling out queer guttural Arabic titles till
Foster-mother implored her to be silent or she would frighten the child.
Could she not see the look on the darling's face?
For Baby Akbar was indeed listening to something with his little finger
up to command attention. But it was not to Head-nurse's thunderings, but
to the first long, low growl of a coming storm that outside the
miserable tent was turning the distant hills to purple and darkening the
fast-fading daylight.
"Frighten?" echoed Head-nurse in derision. "The son of Humâyon the
heroic, the grandson of Baber the brave could never be frightened at
anything!"
And in truth the little lad was not a bit afraid, even when a distant
flash of lightning glimmered through the dusk.
"Heavens!" cried gentle Queen Humeeda, "his Majesty will be drenched to
the skin ere he returns." She was a brave woman, but the long, long
strain of daily, hourly danger was beginning to tell on her health, and
the knowledge that even this coming storm was against them brought the
tears to her eyes.
"Nay! Nay! my royal mistress," fussed Head-nurse, who, in spite of her
love of pomp, was a kind-hearted, good woman, "this must not be on such
an auspicious day. It must be celebrated otherwise, and for all we are
so poor, we can yet have ceremonial. When the child was born were we not
in direst danger? Such danger that all his royal father could do in
honor of the glad event was to break a musk-bag before his faithful
followers as sign that the birth of an heir to empire would diffuse
itself like perfume through the whole world? Even so now, and if I
cannot devise some ceremony, then am I no Head-nurse!"
So saying she began to bustle around, and ere long even poor, unhappy
Queen Humeeda began to take an interest in the proceedings.
A mule trunk, after being ransacked for useful odds and ends, was put in
a corner and covered with a worn satin quilt. This must do for a throne.
And a strip of red muslin wound about the little gold-embroidered skull
cap Baby Akbar wore must, with the heron's plume from his father's
state turban, make a monarch of the child.
In truth he looked very dignified indeed, standing on the mule trunk,
his little legs very wide apart, his little crimson silk trousers very
baggy, his little green brocade waistcoat buttoned tight over his little
fat body, and, trailing from his shoulders in great stiff folds, his
father's state cloth-of-gold coatee embroidered with seed pearls.
So, as he always wore great gold bracelets on his little fat arms, and
great gold jingling anklets fringing his little fat feet, he looked very
royal indeed. Very royal and large and calm, for he was a grave baby
with big, dark, piercing eyes and a decided chin.
"He is as like his grandfather as two splits of a pea!" cried Head-nurse
in rapture, and then she went to the tent door and shrilled out:
"Slaves! Quick! Come and perform your lowly salute on the occasion of
the cutting of a back tooth belonging to the Heir-to-Empire, the
Most----"
She cut short her string of titles, for a crash of thunder overhead
warned her she had best be speedy before the rain soaked through the
worn tent.
"Quick, slaves!" she added; "keep us not waiting all day. Enter and
prostrate yourselves on the ground with due reverence! Quick! Quick!"
She need not have been in such a hurry, for it did not take long for the
"slaves," as she called them, to perform their lowly salaam by touching
the very ground with their foreheads. There were but three of them--Old
Faithful, the trooper; Roy, the Râjput boy; and Meroo, the scullion; the
rest were away with their master, King Humâyon.
Old Faithful, however, tall, lank, grey-bearded, brought enough devotion
for half a dozen followers. He had served with little Akbar's
grandfather, Babar the brave, and when he saw the child standing so fair
and square, he gave almost a sharp cry of remembrance and delight. And
when he stood up after his prostration, in soldier fashion he held out
the hilt of his old sword for the baby to touch in token that its
service was accepted. Queen Humeeda, who stood beside her little son,
guided his fat fingers to the sword; but at the very moment a vivid
flash of lightning made her give a shriek and cover her face with her
hands. But little Prince Akbar having got a hold of the hilt, would not
let go. And to Old Faithful's huge delight he pulled and pulled till the
sword came out of the scabbard.
"An omen! An omen!" cried the old man. "Like his grandfather, he will
fight battles ere he be twelve!"
Then there was Roy, the Râjput lad, whom the royal fugitives had found
half dead from sunstroke in the wide, sandy Râjputana deserts, and whom,
with their customary kindness, they had succoured and befriended,
putting him on as a sort of page boy to the little Heir-to-Empire. He
was a tall, slim lad for his twelve years, was Roy, with a small,
well-set head and a keen, well-cut face. And his eyes! They were like a
deer's--large, brown, soft, but with a flash in them at times.
For the sunstroke which had so nearly killed the lad had left his mind a
little confused. As yet he could remember nothing of what had happened
to him before it, and could not even recollect who he was, or anything
save that his name was Roy. But every now and again he would say
something or do something which would make those around him look
surprised, and wonder who he could have been to know such things and
have such manners.
After him came Meroo, the misshapen cook-boy. He was an odd fellow, all
long limbs and broad smiles, who, when his time arrived, shambled
forward, cast himself in lowliest reverence full length on the ground
and blubbered out his delight--now that the princely baby could really
eat--at being able to supply all sorts of toothsome stews full of onions
and green ginger, to say nothing of watermelons and sugar cane. These
things, strange to say, being to little Indian children very much what
chocolate creams and toffee are to English ones.
So far all had gone well, and now there only remained one more salute to
be made. But little Adam, who was Head-nurse's own son, and who had
hitherto been Baby Akbar's playmate, refused absolutely to do as he was
bid. He was a short, sturdy boy of five, and nothing would induce him to
go down on his knees and touch the ground with his forehead. In vain
Meroo, the cook-boy, promised him sweets if he would only obey orders;
in vain Old Faithful spoke of a ride on his old war-horse, and Roy, who
was a most wonderful story-teller, promised him the best of all,
Bopuluchi. In vain his mother, losing patience at such a terrible piece
of indecorum, rushed at him and cuffed him soundly. He only howled and
kicked.
And then suddenly Baby Akbar, who had been listening with a solemn face,
brought his little bare foot down on the mule trunk with such a stamp
that the golden anklets jingled and jangled, and his little forefinger
went up over his head in the real Eastern attitude of royal command.
"Salute, slave, salute," he said with a tremendous dignity. And there
was something so comical about the little mite of a child, something so
masterful in the tiny figure, something so commanding in the loud,
deep-toned baby voice, that every one laughed, and somehow or other Adam
forgot his obstinacy and made his obeisance like a good boy.
And then once more pretty Queen Humeeda hugged and kissed her little
son, and all the rest applauded him, and made so much of him that he
began to think he had done something very fine indeed, and crowed and
clapped his hands in delight.
But the merriment did not last long, for there was a clatter of horses
and swords outside the tent.
"My husband!" cried Queen Humeeda in a flutter. "What news does my lord
bring?"
CHAPTER II
THE FIRST VICTORY
The next moment a tall, handsome man entered the tent; but one look at
his pale, anxious face was enough to tell those inside that the news was
bad. So for an instant there was silence; and in the silence, with a
deafening roar and a blinding blaze of blue light, came a terrific crash
of thunder followed by a sudden fierce pelt of hail upon the taut tent
roof.
It sent a shiver through the listeners. They felt that the storm had
broken indeed upon their heads, that danger was close beside them.
Then the King stepped to his wife's side and took her hand, and as he
spoke there was a sob in his breath as of an animal who after a long
chase finds himself at last driven to bay.
"Come!" he said briefly, "there may yet be a chance for us. My horse,
weary though it be, will suffice for thy light weight. In the mountains
lies possible safety. Come! There is not a moment to lose."
"But--but the child--" faltered the Queen.
King Humâyon's voice failed him. He could not speak for a moment; but he
shook his head.
"I will not leave the child--" began the wretched mother. "My lord! thou
canst not have the heart----"
"It is his only chance--" interrupted the poor King, his face full of
grief and anger, of bitter, bitter regret--"His only chance of life! In
the mountains yonder, with winter snow upon us, lies certain death for
one so young. Were we to stay with him here, he would find death with
us--for my brother Askurry is close behind us. But if we are gone, God
knows, but he might spare the child. Askurry is not all unkind, and the
little lad favors my father so much that his blessed memory may be
safeguard. God send it so. It is his best chance, his only chance. So
come----"
"I cannot! I cannot!" moaned the poor mother distractedly.
"There is no other way, sweetheart!" said the King, "so be brave, little
mother, and come for thy son's sake. He will be safer here than with
thee. Come! trusting in God's mercy for the child. And come quickly
while the darkness of the storm shrouds our going."
Then he looked round on those others--Head-nurse, Wet-nurse, Old
Faithful, Roy the Râjput, and Meroo the cook-boy--not much of a
bodyguard for the young prince, and yet, since force would be useless,
perhaps as good as any other, if they had a head between them. But the
nurses were women, Faithful nothing but an old soldier, and the two
others were mere boys. Some one else must be left. Who? Then he
remembered Foster-father, Foster-mother's husband. He was the man.
Solid, sober, clear-headed. So, as Queen Humeeda was being hurriedly
wrapped in a shawl by the two weeping nurses, he gave them a few
directions. They were to stay where they were, no matter what happened,
until Foster-father returned from showing the fugitives a path he knew
to the mountains, and then----
King Humâyon could say no more. Only as, after a hurried, tearless,
hopeless farewell to his little son, he paused at the tent door to take
a last look, his half-fainting wife in his arms, he said suddenly in a
sharp, loud voice:
"Remember! In your charge lies the safety of the Heir-to-Empire."
The words sank into the very hearts of those who stood watching the
group of hurrying figures making its way rapidly toward the hills.
"Pray Heaven," muttered Old Faithful anxiously, "that they be over the
rise before those who follow see them."
So they stood fearfully watching, watching. And Heaven was kind, for
though one great blue blaze of lightning showed the fugitives clear
against the sky line, when the next came there was nothing but the
rugged rocks.
Then for the first time Baby Akbar, who had been silent in his nurses'
arms, watching with the rest, lifted up his deep-toned baby voice:
"Daddy, Amma," he said contentedly, "gone up in a 'ky."
Whereupon Foster-mother wept loudly and prayed that good angels might
protect her darling.
But Head-nurse was more practical, and set about considering how best
that safety might be secured. Who was there who could help? No one of
much use, truly, though every one was brimful of devotion and ready to
give his or her life for the Heir-to-Empire.
"I will kill the first man who dares--" began Old Faithful.
"Aye! The first! But how about the last, old man?" interrupted
Head-nurse. "Force will be of no avail. Askurry hath half an army with
him."
"Harm shall only come to the child through my body," wept Foster-mother,
whereat Head-nurse laughed scornfully.
"Woman's flesh is a poor shield, fool! God send we find better
protection than thy carcass."
"Boo! hoo!" blubbered Meroo the cook-boy. "Lo! Head-nurse! I could kill
a whole army by poisoning their suppers."
Head-nurse nodded faint approval. "Now, there is some sense in that,
scullion, but what about that they may do supperless? If they should
dare----"
"They will not dare," said a clear, sharp voice, and Roy the Râjput lad
stepped forward, a light in his great eyes. "My mother used to say,
'Fear not! A king's son is a king's son always, so be that he forgets
not kingship.'"
Head-nurse stood puzzled for a second, then she caught the meaning of
the lad's words, for she was a clever, capable woman, and had all a
woman's quickness.
"Thou art right, my lad," she said slowly, looking curiously at Roy,
from whose face the flash of memory seemed to have passed. "Thou art
right. In royalty lies safety. The Heir-to-Empire must receive his
enemies as a King! Quick! slaves! Close the tent door and let us bring
forth all we have, and make all things as regal as we can. There is no
time to lose."
And they did not lose any. The result being that when, quarter of an
hour afterward, Prince Askurry, bitterly disappointed at finding that
his real quarry, the King and Queen, had escaped, strode with some of
his followers into the tent where he was told Baby Akbar was to be
found, he paused at the door, first in astonishment and then in
amusement.
It was really rather a pretty picture which he saw. To begin with the
tent had been lit up with the little rushlight lamps they call in India
_chiraghs_--tiny saucers which can be made of mud in which a cotton wick
floats in a few drops of oil--and a row of these outlined the mule trunk
throne. Then Meroo's misshapen limbs had been hidden under a chain
corselet and helmet, so he made quite a respectable fellow to Old
Faithful, as the two supporters stood bolt upright with drawn swords one
on either side, while beneath them, on the ragged old Persian carpet
which had been spread to hide the dirty tent drugget, crouched
Head-nurse and Foster-mother, their faces veiled with their best gold
embroidered veils.
A great pile of cushions had been placed on the muletrunk, and in the
centre of these sat Baby Akbar, the Royal heron's plume of his turban
waving gently in the breeze caused by the slow dignified sweep of the
Royal fan which Roy, who stood behind his young master, was swinging
backwards and forwards.
But it was not the prettiness of the picture which made Prince Askurry
pause. It was the child's open fearless face which reminded him at
once--as King Humâyon had hoped it might--of that dear, beloved father
whose memory, even in their worst wickednesses, was ever a good
influence in the lives of his sons. Babar the Brave! Babar of the
Generous Heart! the Kindly Smile! Who could forget him?
But behind Prince Askurry were others who did not remember; who were
eager to kill and have done with Humâyon and his son for ever.
And when they saw Prince Askurry pause, they were quick with advice.
"It is unwise to spare snakes' spawn," said one.
[Illustration: _Prince Askurry ... strode ... into the tent._]
"The boy is father to the man," said another. "He who is wise kills
young rats as well as old ones."
And still Prince Askurry paused while poor Head-nurse and Wet-nurse went
sick with fear under their veils at what might be going to happen, and
Old Faithful's hand clasped the hilt of his sword tighter, since come
what may he meant to strike one blow for his young master. But Roy's
keen eyes showed--as the peacock's feather fan swept past them backwards
and forwards--like a hawk's as it hovers above a partridge. There was in
them a defiance, a certainty that victory must come.
Suddenly a wicked laugh filled the tent. "Peace! brothers," said a
sneering voice, "Prince Askurry prefers to leave the snake to fight with
his own son in the future."
The taunt told. It was true! Better to scotch the snake now, than to
leave it to be dangerous by and by; dangerous perhaps to his own little
son who was but a few years older than Baby Akbar.
Prince Askurry strode forward drawn sword in hand; but whether he really
meant to use it or not cannot be told, for a very strange thing
happened. Baby Akbar had been listening to the fierce voices just as he
had listened to the angry voices when Adam had refused to salute. And
now he saw some one before him who appeared to have no intention--as
Adam had no intention--of making his reverence; so, remembering the
fine thing he had done when the latter had been naughty, up went the
little hand again, and once more the loud, deep, baby voice said
imperiously:
"Salute! Slave! salute!"
The words were barely uttered when by pure chance Prince Askurry's foot
caught in the ragged carpet, and----?
And down he came flat as a pancake on the floor in the very lowliest
salute that ever was made!
The next moment, however, he sat up, half-stunned, and looked wrathfully
at his little nephew.
But Baby Akbar's honest open face was full of grieved sympathy.
"Poor, poor!" he said, shaking his quaintly crowned head, "tumbu down.
Nanna kiss it, make it well."
Prince Askurry sat stupidly staring for a moment or two. Then the memory
of many a childish hurt cured by like gracious offer from his father
came back to him, making his heart soft. He sprang to his feet and waved
by his councillors to cruelty.
"Go, my lords!" he cried fiercely. "Go seek the King who is no true King
if ye will, and kill him. But this boy goes with me to Kandahâr; the
stuff of which he is made counts for life, not for death."
Then with a sudden generous impulse, for he was at heart his father's
son, he held the hilt of his drawn sword in token of vassalage for Baby
Akbar to touch.
And the child, clever, observant beyond his years, remembering how his
mother had guided his fingers to Old Faithful's weapon, put out his
little hand solemnly and touched it.
Behind their close-folded veils Head-nurse and Wet-nurse wept for joy.
And the old trooper's grip relaxed and the hard relentless look faded
from Roy's face.
For here was safety, for a while at any rate, for the Heir-to-Empire.
He, and Fate between them, had won his first victory. No! his second,
since the first had been the conquering of Adam's obstinacy.
But for that Baby Akbar might not have behaved with such dignity.
CHAPTER III
THE ROYAL UMBRELLA
That night even Roy the Râjput, who as a rule woke every hour to see to
his little master's safety, slept sound. And so did the others, though
they sat up till Foster-father crept in to the tent about midnight,
after having seen the Royal Fugitives safely over the Persian border. Of
course, there was nothing but miles on miles of snowy mountains before
them, nothing but long struggle and privation to be hoped for; still
they were out of India, out of an enemy's country. For which Heaven be
thanked!
So they wrapped themselves in their quilts and lay down to rest with
hearts eased for the time of immediate anxiety.
Head-nurse, however, began at once, after her wont, to make plans for
resuming some of the courtly ways which hurry had made impossible. The
gold embroidered royal red umbrella was one thing she was determined to
have.
But who was to hold it over the Royal Infant? Roy would get tired of it
during a long march. He was but a boy; and after all there should be a
Deputy, Assistant, Second, Umbrella Bearer to Majesty.
Could Meroo, properly dressed, of course, be promoted to the position?
She actually woke Foster-father from his well-earned first sleep to
propound this knotty question.
"Good woman," he murmured patiently, "make what court appointments ye
will. Create the scullion Prime Minister, so I have my sleep."
And he was snoring almost before the words were out of his mouth.
So next morning Head-nurse, refusing the baggage camel with panniers
which Prince Askurry sent for the use of the little Heir-to-Empire,
organised a procession of her own.
First of all came Foster-father, stout and solid, on his skew-bald hill
pony which was called Horse-chestnut because it was patched all over,
like an unripe chestnut, with yellow, brown and white.
It had a lovely tail that touched the ground, and a coat that was long
and wavy like an Irish setter's. A wise, sober pony was Horse-chestnut;
he never attempted to climb up anything he thought too difficult, but
just gave a look at it to make sure and then put down his head calmly,
and began to graze until his rider found an easier path.
Next came Trooper Faithful on his old white charger Lightning. Once upon
a time it had been like its name, swift exceedingly, but now, like its
master, it was slow and stiff.
Then followed Head-nurse, astride, in Indian fashion, the bay Belooch
mare which had been Queen Humeeda's favourite mount until it had had to
be left behind in one of the hasty moves which had of late been so
common in the hunted life of the Royal Fugitives. The mare, of course,
had been taken by the pursuers, and brought along with them; and the
groom in charge of it had come grinning with delight to Foster-father
when he found himself in the same camp again. Foster-father was for
riding the bay mare himself and giving sober Horse-chestnut to the
Heir-to-Empire, but Head-nurse would not hear of this. The bay mare was,
she said, altogether more royal. So there she was, with Baby Akbar
astride a cushion in front, perched on the skittish creature, feeling at
heart very nervous, for she was but a poor rider. However, she held on
very tight with one hand, held Baby Akbar still tighter with the other,
and trusted to Providence, while Roy and Meroo ran beside her on either
side, alternately holding up the Royal Umbrella as best they could.
Foster-mother on a mule, with little Adam perched in front of her
brought up the rear of the procession. It was a poor one for progress
even along the levels, because of the bay mare's fidgeting and
caperings, but when the steep hill sides were reached it became
impossible to keep up with the rest of the equipage. So Prince Askurry
and his men pushed on ahead leaving the little party alone, since escape
was impossible on that wild mountain road, especially with the rear
guard of the camp coming a few miles behind them. And, indeed, if such
an idea had entered the heads of any of the party it must soon have fled
before the difficulty of getting along at all. It was a steep zig-zag
path, and looking upwards you could see it zigging and zagging right
away to the sky line. Poor Foster-mother, who came last, could not take
her eyes off it, for the bends immediately above her were filled with
the most terrifying sights. First her stout husband, who seemed to be in
the act of slipping over Horse-chestnut's tail. On the next Old
Faithful, driven to dismounting and laboriously lugging Lightning up by
the bridle. But the last zig-zag in front of her called forth piercing
shrieks. For the bay mare, not having been ridden for some time, was
full of beans. Baby Akbar insisted on holding the reins, and Meroo,
whose turn it was to hold the umbrella, _would_ slip and slither among
the stones, thereby bringing its fringe right on the bay mare's nose.
"Oh! Head-nurse, have a care! The blessed child!" shrieked poor
Foster-mother as a more than usually bad stumble sent the umbrella on to
the mare's tail.
This was too much for it. Frightened out of its senses, it gave a
frenzied bound forwards, then rearing straight up, hung over the edge of
the path, as if it meant to take a downward plunge.
All seemed lost! Foster-father and Faithful stood petrified with
despair. Meroo would have dashed forward to catch at the rein but Roy,
knowing with that curious instinct of his, that that would only make
matters worse, as it would still further frighten the mare, held him
back by main force. The only person who was not spellbound with fear was
Baby Akbar. He thought it a fine joke that his mount should stand up on
its hind legs and paw the air. So he shrieked with delight, and dropped
the reins to clap his hands, as he always did when he was pleased. Now
this was the very best thing he, or anybody else, could have done. The
mare, feeling herself free, thought better of it, and wheeling round
dropped her fore feet on the path once more.
Foster-father's loud Arabic thanksgiving ended in an equally loud order.
"Get off the mare, woman. Horse-chestnut is the only mount thou art fit
for. Roy! carry that foolish umbrella behind."
"In front--the emblems are ever carried in front," protested Head-nurse
feebly.
"I said behind," was all the answer she got, and behind it went while
they toiled up and up.
After a while the road became surprisingly bad; nothing in fact but a
watercourse, and Foster-father began to doubt if they could be on the
right way. Possibly, when they were all excited over the mare's bad
behaviour, they had taken a wrong turning. But as the path led ever
upwards, he judged it better to go on, though it was terribly hard work.
Every moment the road became worse and worse until it ceased to be more
than a mere ladder of rocks which puzzled even Horse-chestnut. More than
once he stopped dead and would no doubt have refused any further attempt
to climb had there been anything at which to graze. But there was
nothing; nothing but rocks. So, after a pause he made the best of a bad
bargain, raised himself on his hind legs, sought a foothold for his fore
feet in some crevice, and then scrambled up. Only the two children
enjoyed themselves, Baby Akbar laughing with delight and clapping his
hands over all the slips and slitherings which even nimble
Horse-chestnut made, and which reduced Head-nurse and Wet-nurse to
piteous wails to Roy not for Heaven's sake to let go of the
Heir-to-Empire's baggy trousers. And Adam enjoyed himself, also, running
on in front and making snowballs in the drifts which, ere long, were to
be seen sheltering from the sun in the clefts of the rocks.
The sight of them made Foster-father frown. "We go too high," he said.
"Heaven send we have not to climb to a higher pass."
His remark made Head-nurse give way altogether. She wept loudly, saying
in that case she had better stay and die where she was, thus saving them
the trouble of carrying her down the hill.
At that very moment, however, Adam who had run far ahead began waving
his arms and shouting:
"He says 'The top! the top!'" cried Roy, who was keen in hearing as in
everything else. "Courage, mother! our troubles are over!"
They had not _quite_ ended, but in a few minutes more they had reached
the beginning of the pass proper. Before them lay a grassy boggy slope
curling gently upwards between higher rockier slopes. A little stream
plashed softly adown it, through a perfect wilderness of flowers, and
without one word the tired travellers threw themselves beside it for
rest and refreshment.
But Baby Akbar looked a little troubled.
"Amma, Dadda 'way 'way in a 'ky," he said solemnly, and essayed to crawl
on over the grass. For he could not walk yet, though he spoke so well.
They say he began to talk when he was nine months old.
CHAPTER IV
TUMBU-DOWN
After a while the party started on their way once more feeling greatly
brisked up. But the heat of the day was now upon them, and though the
snow lay close beside the path, the fierce sun melting it made the
vapour rise and turned the narrow valley into a regular steam bath.
The perspiration ran down the travellers' faces and especially down poor
Head-nurse's; for she had insisted on taking off her veil to twist it
turbanwise round Baby Akbar's head since the Royal Umbrella was
forbidden. Foster-mother had tried to take off hers also, but Head-nurse
had angrily forbidden her to do any such thing. If she, Head-nurse, died
of sunstroke what matter, but if Foster-mother failed, what--even though
one back tooth had been gloriously cut--would become of the
Heir-to-Empire, the Admired-of-the-World, the Great-in-Pomp, etc.?
So, to comfort herself she went on mumbling titles as she struggled
along, the sun beating fiercely on her bare head. Such a quaint head,
with sleek black hair parted and plaited and hung with jewels, even down
the long pigtail of brown wool that was added on to the back to make the
hair look more plentiful.
It was a piteous sight and Foster-mother was so conscious of the
devotion it meant that she said "Lo! Head-nurse, thou art a good, good
soul though a hard one to me; but I will never, never, never, forget
this day."
"Nor I," groaned Head-nurse, "but 'tis for the Heir-to-Empire."
It was a full hour before the slope ended in a level bog, on the other
side of which began a visible descent. Then in the angled hills a blue
shadow began to rise, telling of a valley below them.
"Bismillah!" (Thanks be to God) cried Foster-father piously. And every
one echoed the remark except Baby Akbar. He turned round and looked back
at the snowy peaks which were beginning to show behind them.
"Amma, Dadda 'way 'way mountains," he said regretfully and his little
mouth went down as for a cry, when everybody's attention was distracted
by the sudden appearance of a huge furry black dog which came bounding
down the hill side, its big white teeth gleaming as it uttered shrill,
sharp, growling barks.
Head-nurse and Foster-mother shrieked with fright, little Adam ran like
a hare for the shelter of his mother's petticoats, and Meroo the
cook-boy, remembering his bare legs--for like all Indian scullions he
wore short cotton drawers--squatted down where he was standing, in order
to protect them. Even Roy, brave boy that he was, looked uncomfortable,
and both Foster-father and Old Faithful whipped out their swords.
These were not needed, however, for the next instant a wild-looking
figure clad in a brown blanket started up from behind a rock and shouted
to the dog. It stopped instantly, but stood still--snarling, though
obedient.
It was the funniest looking dog you can imagine. Bigger than a big
collie, it was furry all over even to its tail. And it was black as ink.
In fact with its tiny prick ears and small sharp pointed muzzle all lost
in a huge soft black ruff and nothing to be seen but red tongue, white
teeth and beady black eyes, it was a regular golliwog of a dog.
When Foster-father saw the man in the brown blanket, who from his crook
was evidently a shepherd, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Now," he said,
"we shall be able to find out our way."
But he was mistaken. The man did not understand a word they said,
neither could they understand a word he said.
Head-nurse was in despair. "He speaks like a ghost of the desert," she
wept. "We shall all die of starvation before he understands."
"Die?" echoed Foster-father stoutly. "Not so, woman! There is one
language all understand."
Whereupon he placed himself right in front of the shepherd, opened his
mouth wide and then shook his head. Next he pointed to his stomach and
shook his head again. Finally he began to chew violently, rubbed his
stomach and grinned.
The shepherd grinned too and rubbed _his_ stomach, whereupon
Foster-father turned triumphantly to Head-nurse.
"Said I not sooth, woman," he asked. "Hunger hath a tongue of its own,
and all men know it."
Once begun, signs soon brought so much understanding, that, whistling to
his dog, the shepherd started down the hill at a great pace, beckoning
them to follow.
"Not so fast, friend, not so fast!" panted Foster-father, "we be not all
born on a mountain as thou art. And there are women and children, too."
He pointed to poor Head-nurse and Foster-mother, who were indeed
dropping with fatigue, and the man seemed to understand, for he pulled
up. But he had to keep some way off because his dog, who kept close as a
shadow to his master's heels, never ceased growling. So they tramped on
wearily until just below them they saw a _marg_ or mountain upland,
where some goats were grazing. One part of this dipped down into a
little valley, and there, in the shelter of some huge rocks, they saw
two or three small brown blanket tents, such as shepherds use on the
Beluchistan hills. They were just like waggon tilts only not so large.
Here, at any rate, was prospect of food and rest, and the poor
travellers brisked up again. But alas! between them and the tents lay a
formidable obstacle. Nothing less than a birch-twig bridge over a
rushing stream which filled up the bottom of a wide rift or chasm in the
upland. This chasm stretched right across the upland from a steep rock
which blocked up the head of the little valley, and out of which the
stream gushed, and there was no way of crossing it, so the shepherd
explained by signs, except the birch-twig bridge. Now a birch-twig
bridge is a very terrifying thing to anybody who is not accustomed to
them. It is simply a strong flat plait of birch twigs about nine inches
wide which is flung from one side to the other, and which, of course,
droops and sags like a rope in the middle. Into this plait are stuck
every few feet or so cross sticks, and to these sticks a rope is
fastened as a sort of hand rail. Across such a bridge as this the hill
children walk as easily as an English child does over a great brick
span; but Head-nurse resolutely refused to set foot over it herself,
much less to allow the Heir-to-Empire to risk his neck on such an
appallingly dangerous structure. In vain Foster-father, in order to set
a good example, allowed himself to be led over by the shepherd with his
eyes carefully bandaged lest he should get giddy in the middle by
looking down. As a matter of fact, this only made Head-nurse more
frightened, for, of course, the bridge swung and swayed with the weight
of the men on it. She would sooner, she declared, try to climb Heaven on
a rainbow! That was at least steady. Roy tried to hearten her up by
walking over himself with open eyes, though he felt frightfully dizzy
and had to fling himself flat on the grass to recover when he did get
over. Then Meroo, blubbering loudly that he was going to his death for
his young master, climbed up on the shepherd's back and allowed himself
to be carried over just to show how easy it was.
It was all in vain! Head-nurse was firm. They must bring the tents to
the Heir-to-Empire; the Heir-to-Empire should not go across a tight rope
to the tents. And there she would have remained had not a great, tall
burly woman with a fat baby on her hip come out of one of the tents, and
grasping the position, stalked over the bridge without even touching the
hand rail, caught Baby Akbar from Foster-mother, who was too taken aback
to resist, set him on her other hip and calmly stalked back again,
leaving the two women too surprised and horrified even to scream.
But when they saw the Heir-to-Empire safe on the other side, they
consented to be carried across pick-a-back.
So there they were before long eating goats' milk cheese fried like a
beefsteak and drinking long draughts of a sort of sour milk.
One of the shepherds could speak a little Persian, and from him
Foster-father, to his great relief, learned that Prince Askurry's camp
was only a mile or two down the valley, so, feeling certain of being
able to reach it before sundown, he called a halt, and they all lay down
to rest in one of the tents, Baby Akbar between his two nurses for
safety sake. For one could never tell, Head-nurse remarked, what might
happen amongst people who spoke the language of ghosts in the desert,
and kept such strange animals. A great golliwog of a black dog who sat
on one side of the tent like an image, watching them as if he meant to
eat them, and a great fluff of a white cat sitting on the other with her
eyes shut as if she did not want to watch them.
No! Indeed it was impossible to tell what might not happen!
And that is exactly how it turned out. What _really_ did happen no one
knew. It was Foster-mother who, waking first, let loose a shriek while
still half awake. This roused Head-nurse, who let loose another. For
Baby Akbar was no longer between them. The Heir-to-Empire had gone--had
disappeared--was not to be found!
Roy was out of the tent in a second, treading in his haste on Meroo, who
was sleeping outside, and who began to howl confusedly. Old Faithful
fumbled for his sword, Foster-father rubbed his eyes as if _they_ must
be at fault.
But there was no Baby! And what is more, both the black dog and the
white cat had disappeared also; at least they were no longer on the
watch.
Never was there such a commotion. The rocks resounded with cries and
every one searched everywhere; even in the great tall basket panniers in
which hill shepherds carry their goods and chattels.
But not one sign of the little fellow was to be found, until--horribly,
dreadfully, near to that awful birch-twig bridge--Foster-mother seized
on a tiny gold-embroidered skull cap that was lying on the grass.
"It is his!" she sobbed, "it is my darling's! He hath tried to get to
the mountains to his Amma, and he hath fallen from that accursed cats'
cradle. He is dead! He is killed!"
Every face, except the shepherds', who did not, of course, understand
what was said, turned pale. It was indeed possible, perhaps probable,
that the faithful little soul, who remembered when others forgot, had
tried----
It was a terrible thought. But the shepherds, seeing the cap, at once
whistled to their dog, and the one who spoke Persian explained that if
it were shown the cap it would take up the track of the child at once.
But though they whistled and whistled no dog came.
Then the shepherds began to look grave and mutter among themselves.
"What are they saying? What gibberish are they talking?" shrilled poor
Head-nurse, trying to keep hope alive by being angry. The man who spoke
Persian looked at her cheerfully.
"Only that perhaps the dog has eaten the child. We keep it hungry that
it may chase the wild animals."
This was too much for the womankind. They simply rent the air with
heartbroken sobs.
But Foster-father, grave and silent, would not give up hope. Every foot
of the ravine must be searched, first downwards, as, had the child
really fallen into the stream it must have been carried with it. Then as
a last forlorn hope upwards. So, peering down carefully from either
side, they traced the ravine till, gradually becoming shallower, less
steep, it merged into the grassy valley. But there was no sign. Then
sadly they commenced their upward search, until they were close to the
high cliff whence the stream gushed out. Here they found that the ravine
was wider, and at the bottom of it a patch of sand and boulders showed
that there was foothold beside the roaring torrent.
"I will climb down and see if there is aught," said Roy; "it is easier
here--if he had fallen here, he might--" the tears in his voice
prevented more, as he tucked up his garments preparatory to the
difficult descent.
But the shepherds raised an urgent outcry. There was a demon in the
cavern, they said, whence the water came. There was no use angering it,
no use in losing another life.
Roy struggled madly in their detaining hands, but Old Faithful and
Foster-father looked at each other. Whether there was a demon or not it
was a risk to another life and that should not be a young one.
"No, boy!" said the old warrior stoutly. "This is my task, not thine. I
am good swordsman to begin with, and demons--if there be any--like not a
clean sword thrust. Also I have been pilgrim to Holy Mecca and
demons--if there be any--like not pilgrims' flesh."
So, muttering prayers and holding his drawn sword in his teeth, since
both hands were needed for the parlous descent, he commenced his task
while the others watched him eagerly.
About half way down he paused, looked up and called back; but they could
not hear what he said.
"Take thy sword out of thy mouth, man," shrieked Head-nurse almost
beside herself with grief and rage; "it isn't manners to speak with the
mouth full."
True enough, but Old Faithful had some difficulty in obeying orders.
However, he managed to steady himself for a moment on his two feet; so
sword in hand he bawled back.
"'Tis true! There _is_ a demon. It growls. I hear it plainly. Farewell!
I go on, secure in my sword and Holy----"
Here a foot slipped and he went sliding, slithering, slipping down to
the bottom where, happily only bruised, he sat half-stunned staring in
front of him.
And then there echoed up to the listeners the most terrible barking, and
yelping, and growling, and spitting, that ever was heard!
"The demon! The demon!" yelled the shepherds in terror, and ran for
their lives.
But Roy, ear over the cliff, listened for a second, and the next had
followed Old Faithful. Foster-father was not long behind him, and Meroo
was close on his heels. Foster-mother and Head-nurse were not to be left
out, and somehow they all managed to get down in safety.
And then they all stood and sat silent and agape with surprise and
delight.
For what they saw was this. A low cavern in the rock, and on a shelving
bank of dry sand Baby Akbar sitting up and rubbing his eyes, while on
one side of him was the golliwog of a black dog, his fur all bristling,
his white teeth gleaming as he filled the air with furious barks; while
on the other was the white fluff of a cat, her back arched, her tail the
size of two, spitting and growling fiercely.
How had he got there? Foster-father looked at Foster-mother, Head-nurse
looked at Old Faithful, and Roy looked at Meroo, and they all looked at
each other.
But Baby Akbar only put out one fat hand towards the black dog and said
"Tumbu," and the other fat hand towards the cat and said "Down," and
that was all he would say.
He had tumbled down; but how, when, and where, and how the dog and the
cat came to be with him no one ever knew from that day to this.
CHAPTER V
ON THE ROAD
Naturally when, after an uneventful journey with the shepherd as guide,
they reached Prince Askurry's camp that evening, they came to talk over
the incident. Foster-father was not sparing of Head-nurse. The whole
tissue of misfortunes, which had ended in Baby Akbar so nearly losing
his life--and that he had been spared was simply a miracle--arose from
her insisting on a Royal Procession. But for that, both she and the
child would have gone comfortably on a camel. They would have kept up
with the other baggage animals and none of the distressful events would
have happened. It should not, however, happen again. Of course,
Head-nurse tried to brazen it out and assert that the Heir-to-Empire
could always count on a miracle in his favour; but in her
heart-of-hearts she knew that Foster-father was right.
So next morning she said nothing when she saw a camel with two panniers
kneeling in front of the tent, ready for its load. _That_ had to be
endured, but she revenged herself by objecting to the black dog and the
white cat, who sat expectantly one on either side, evidently prepared
for a start.
"Whose are those uncouth beasts?" she asked of Roy angrily. "Did I not
tell those ghosts of the desert who call themselves shepherds to remove
them last night? Why have they come back? Take them away! Catch them!
Tie them up! Such mean born animals have no right to attend the
Mighty-in-Pomp, the Lord-of-Light," etc., etc.
She rolled out the titles sonorously, determined that if she was docked
of dignity in one way she would have it in another.
Now it was not very hard to catch the big black golliwog of a dog, even
though he did snarl and snap and try to bite. There were a lot of camp
followers who were only too glad to have the amusement of capturing him,
so, after a very short space poor "Tumbu," for Baby Akbar insisted on
calling him so, was being dragged off at the end of a long rope to his
masters the shepherds, looking very sad, with his tail between his legs.
But it was quite different with "Down," the cat. She had made up her
mind to stay where she was, and it is very hard, indeed, to make a cat
change its mind when it is once made up.
So she moved about gently, from one place to the other, purring softly
and looking as mild as milk, her blue eye--for real Persian cats often
have their eyes of different colours and one of them is always
blue--ever so friendly, as if she were just longing to be picked up.
Only the very tip of her bushy tail swayed a little, and that is a sure
sign that a cat is contrary. And contrary Down was. The very instant any
one tried to pick her up--why! she was somewhere else!
Head-nurse ere long joined in the chase, saying all the rest didn't
understand cats. But she soon lost patience and declaring that she had
never been done by a dumb animal yet, started capture by force. A circle
was formed round the point where Down sat blinking in the sunlight, and
shawls and veils were held up to make it complete. Then step by step
they advanced towards the cat, who, in truth, viewed the enclosing wall
with polite indifference. It was really rather a funny sight to see
stout Head-nurse without her veil tip-toeing in line towards pussy and
shrilling out her orders to the others to close in and be sure to leave
no loopholes. Step by step her voice became more and more triumphant,
and it really seemed as if the cat _must_ be caught this time, for Down
sat sweetly purring until she was actually hidden from sight behind the
high-held screening cloths.
"Now then! quick!" shrilled Head-nurse. "Close in--close----"
But her order ended in a scream of fright, for there was pussy in one
flying leap on her bare head, scrabbling up her scanty hair, and with
another away up the hillside leaving nothing but claw-marks behind her!
Head-nurse wept with angry tears; but Foster-father, always sensible,
said "Enough! cry on the camel if you will, but now is the time to slip
away before the obstinate animal can return."
There was wisdom in this; therefore Head-nurse composed herself
comfortably in one pannier while Foster-mother, who was lighter, settled
into the other with Baby Akbar. So off they set at the dignified lollop
which camels affect, and Head-nurse began to congratulate herself on
having successfully evaded the "uncouth beasts."
But there is no counting on cats. If they are here one moment and gone
the next, they are also gone one moment and here the next. So, as the
camel was passing under a thorn tree about half a mile out from camp, a
great fluff of white hair sprang from the branches and landed right in
Head-nurse's broad lap. And there was Mistress Down looking as if butter
wouldn't melt in her mouth, and purring away like a kettle on the boil.
Head-nurse gave in _altogether_ then. "When a cat really makes up its
mind," she said with forced wisdom, "it is little use any one else
making up theirs!"
So pussy sat in her lap, and after a while the warmth of the pretty
creature and even the very roughness of the small three-cornered red
tongue that licked her hand, as half-unconsciously she began to stroke
the long soft fur, made her say suddenly:
"Who knows but it is the Will of the Creator! This mean-born
thing may in the future be of use to the Light-of-the-World, the
Observed-of-all-Observers," etc., etc., etc.
And her words were to come true, for, as you will see by and bye, Down
was of great use to her little master. Nevertheless when, at the very
next camping ground, a great big black golliwog of a dog with a gnawed
end of rope still round his neck was seen calmly awaiting them at the
door of the tent that was pitched for their reception, Head-nurse became
tearful again and said that if Providence intended to send all the wild
beasts of the field to look after Baby Akbar, there was no need for her;
so she would give up her place.
But the little Prince himself was delighted. He plumped down on the hot
sand beside the dog and hugged it, calling it "Dear Tumbu," and when the
white cat jealously rubbed her back against his little fat person he
hugged her too and called her "Darling Down."
"Hark to the Lord-of-the-Universe giving his creatures names!" said
Foster-mother piously. So after that everybody called the golliwog dog
Tumbu, and the fluffy cat Down.
This was the beginning of a whole week on camel back; a very pleasant
week too, though the minds of the elders were rather on the stretch
concerning the fate of King Humâyon and Queen Humeeda.
Still the sky was as blue as blue could be, the sun shone bright and the
air was crisp with coming winter. Head-nurse spent most of her days
dozing and mumbling long strings of titles in one pannier, while Down
slept and purred on her lap. In the other pannier were Foster-mother and
Baby Akbar. The little fellow did not sleep much, but spent most of his
time craning over the pannier side to see everything there was to be
seen. But what amused him most was to watch Tumbu, who would look up and
bark and gambol for hours to attract his little master's attention.
Whereat Down would become impatient and come over the camel's hump from
the other pannier, rub her back against the little Prince and watch,
too, with a sort of dignified contempt. It was the way of dogs to be
loud and effusive, and gushing; but it didn't mean much. Tumbu, for
instance, despite his display of affection, would leave his post to run
after every wild thing he saw; and though he always came back to it, he
was so helplessly breathless, with half a yard of red tongue hanging
out, that he would have been little use had an enemy turned up and his
protection been needed.
Cats were far wiser. They sat still and watched; so they were always
ready.
And one evening Down watched to some purpose. Baby Akbar was asleep on
some quilts and Down, as usual, lay keeping his feet warm, her eyes
closed, purring away like a steaming kettle.
You would have sworn she was half asleep, but in a second there was one
spring, something reared itself at her to strike, but her paws were too
quick. One, two, three, came the blows swiftly like boxes on the ears,
and there was a snake squirming and helpless in the dust. Old Faithful's
armoured feet were on its head in a second and the danger was over.
"Truly a cat is a terrible thing," said Head-nurse in a twitter. "There
is no fear in them. The reptile had not a chance."
But Down was back on her young master's feet, her eyes closed, purring
away as if nothing had happened.
Tumbu was in favour, however, next evening, but for a different cause.
He appeared with a great prickly porcupine held gingerly in his mouth
and laid it before Baby Akbar.
"Ohi! Porcupine for supper!" cried Meroo, the cook boy, who knew what a
delicacy it was; but Head-nurse shrieked, "Take it away quick--the
Heir-to-Empire will prick himself with the quills and they are
poisonous. Take it away at once, I say."
But alas! The Heir-to-Empire was wilful, like all Eastern Princelings,
and he shrieked to match at the suggestion. So there arose such a
hubbub, which was only calmed by Baby Akbar being allowed to do as he
chose.
"Poor! Poor!" he said as his little hand touched the sharp prickles and
no one found out, till Foster-mother came to put him to bed, that he
really _did_ scratch himself. There was quite a little runnel of blood
on the palm; but Akbar, even when he was a baby, was proud. He knew how
to bear discomfort and punishment when it was his own fault.
They were all rather merry that night, for they had roast porcupine
stuffed with pistachio nuts for supper. And afterward Roy sat by Baby
Akbar's pile of quilts and sang him to sleep with this royal lullaby:
"Baby, Baby-ling,
You are always King;
Always wear a crown,
Though you tumble down;
Call each thing your own,
Find each lap a throne;
Dearest, sweetest King,
Baby! Baby-ling!"
When the child had fallen asleep Roy sat at the door of the tent and
looked at the stars, which shone, as they do in the East, all colours,
like jewels in the velvety sky. They seemed so far away, but not farther
than he seemed to be from himself. For Roy's head had been dreadfully
confused by that sunstroke in the desert. Only that morning something
had seemed to come back to him in a flash, and he had so far forgotten
he was only a page boy as to call the little Heir-to-Empire "Brother,"
but Head-nurse's cuff had brought him back to reality in double quick
time. And as he sat there in the dark he saw a man creeping stealthily
to the tent. He was on his feet in a moment challenging him.
"Hush!" whispered the newcomer, "I bring a message from King Humâyon. I
must see Foster-father at once."
The good man was already between the quilts, but he got up quickly, and
when he had heard the message he sent for Head-nurse and Foster-mother
and Old Faithful, for he felt that a most momentous decision had to be
made. Yet the message was a very simple one. Those in charge of the
child were to creep away that very night with the messenger, who would
guide them in safety to King Humâyon, who had found help and shelter in
Persia.
Head-nurse and Foster-mother wept tears of joy at the glad news, and
proposed at once that they should wrap the child in a blanket and start.
But Foster-father was more wary.
"You come as a thief in the darkness," he said. "Where is your token
from the king, that I may know who you are?"
But there was no token.
"Then the child stays where he is," asserted Foster-father boldly. "Am I
not right oh! Faithful?"
"Assuredly my lord is right. Who knows but this man may be an emissary
of those who would wile away the little lad from his uncle, Prince
Askurry's protection. His other uncle, Kumran, is not so kind."
The messenger scowled at the old man. "As you please," he began
blusteringly, "but those who disobey the King's order may find their
lives forfeit."
"Mine is forfeit already to the child's service," replied Foster-father
with spirit. "And without a token I stir not--Peace! woman," he added to
Head-nurse, who would fain have sided with the messenger, "and go fetch
the Heir-to-Empire's cap. That shall go as sign that he is his father's
vassal, to do what he is told when the order comes accredited. So take
that as my answer to those who sent you, sir messenger!"
So despite Head-nurse's protestations the man went off with nothing but
the little gold-laced skull cap. And he had not to go far; only into a
tent on the outskirts of the camp. For Foster-father's suspicions had
been correct, and he had been sent to try and entice the child by some
of Prince Kumran's partisans who, booted and spurred, and with a swift
pacing camel for the child, were waiting eagerly for the return of their
messenger.
Their faces fell as he flung the little cap upon the ground.
"The old fox is too wary," he said. "We must get at the child some other
way."
One of the party took up the cap and fingered it, half idly. "He has a
large-sized head for his years," he remarked; "if it be full of brains,
hereafter he may do well."
CHAPTER VI
AT COURT
Of course, the messenger never returned from King Humâyon with the
token; but Foster-father was a good-natured man and did not boast of his
wisdom to Head-nurse, who, however, remained wonderfully meek and silent
until at the end of a fortnight's marching they saw, against the blue of
the distant valley, the white domes of the town of Kandahâr with the
citadel rising above them. Then, with the chance of a court before her
once more, she began chattering of ceremonials and titles and
etiquettes.
"Praise be!" she shrilled in her high voice. "No more jiggettings and
joggettings on camel back. I shall be on my own feet once more, and it
shall not be my fault if His just dues are not given to the
Great-in-Pomp----" etc., etc.
Foster-mother interrupted the string of titles. "So that they harm not
the child," she said, clasping her charge tight. She was always thinking
of his safety, always alarmed for danger; but he, young Turk that he
was, struggled from her arms and pointed to the hills they were leaving
behind them.
"Dadda, Amma 'way 'way mountains," he repeated once more; then added
cheerfully, "Akka 'way, too."
"It is a prophecy!" said Old Faithful, overhearing the remark. "Sure
his grand-dad Baber--on whom be peace--had the gift, and this babe may
have inherited it."
"May have," echoed Head-nurse indignantly. "He has inherited it, and has
much of his own besides. Mark my words! if this child live--which Heaven
grant--he will be the King of Kings! Not two summers old and he talks as
one of three."
"Aye!" assented Foster-mother, "but he does not walk yet."
Head-nurse sniffed. "Thou are a foolish soul, woman! Sure either the
feet or the tongue must come first, and for my part I prefer the tongue.
Any babe can walk!"
And Foster-mother was silent; it was true one could not have everything.
Their last camp was pitched just outside the city of Kandahâr, so that
Prince Askurry could make a regular triumphal entry the next morning and
let everybody see with their own eyes that he had come back victorious,
holding Baby Akbar as prisoner and hostage.
But this did not suit Head-nurse at all. She had no notion that her
Heir-to-Empire should be stared at as a captive; so, though she started
from camp humbly as ever on the baggage camel, no sooner had they passed
through the arched gate of the city with Prince Askurry well ahead of
them in the narrow streets, than out she whipped the Royal Umbrella
which she had patched up with an old scarlet silk petticoat, and there
was Baby Akbar under its shadow; and, having--young as he was--been
taught to salute to a crowd, he began waving his little fat hand with
much dignity, until the people who had come out to gape whispered among
themselves and said:
"He looks every inch a king's son."
"And that is what he is," said a bold voice in the crowd; but though
folk turned to see who spoke, there was no sign of the speaker. For
loyal men had to hide their loyalty in those days. Still the populace
were pleased with the little Prince's bearing, and many a hand was
raised to welcome him.
Before they reached the frowning palace, indeed, where Prince Askurry
kept a right royal court as Governor of Kandahâr, Head-nurse's mind was
full of the things she intended to insist upon for the honour and
dignity of her small charge. Meanwhile she had to obey the order to take
him at once into Princess Sultanam's apartments. Now Princess Sultanam
was Prince Askurry's wife, and she had a boy of her own who was about
three years older than Baby Akbar, and a little daughter who had just
been born about a month before. So, as she lay among cushions at the
farther end of the long room, with Prince Askurry, who had hurried to
see his wife on his return, beside her, she looked suspiciously at the
child which Head-nurse put down on the Persian carpet as soon as she
came into the room; since though others might carry him to the upstarts
at the farther end, _she_ was not going to do so, when _they_ were
clearly bound to come humbly to the Heir-to-Empire and prostrate
themselves before him!
So there stood Baby Akbar, fair and square, steadying himself by
Head-nurse's petticoats, but for all that looking bold and big and
brave.
Now Princess Sultanam was a kindly foolish woman at heart, much given to
impulses, and the sight of the upstanding little boy made her think
instantly what a fine man he would make, and that brought another
thought which made her sit up delightedly and clap her hands.
"I have it, my lord!" she exclaimed, turning to Prince Askurry. "It is a
grand idea! We will betroth our little Amina to this young master. That
will settle everything and they will be the handsomest couple in the
country!"
Now, strange as this may sound to my readers, Prince Askurry, who was
accustomed to the Indian habit of settling that quite little boys and
girls should marry each other when they grew up, could not help at once
seeing that his wife's suggestion was not such a bad one. It would help
him to keep a hold over the little Heir-to-Empire. If King Humâyon
returned it would make him more inclined to forgive, and if he did not,
why! it would prevent cruel brother Kumran from stepping in and getting
all, since as father-in-law to the young king he, Askurry, would be
Regent.
Still, taken aback, he hummed and hawed.
"It would be a long time to wait until they are old enough to marry," he
began.
"Long!" interrupted the lively Princess gaily. "All the longer for
merriment and festivities. Thy daughter, my lord, is already beautiful,
and I'll wager the boy will be a grown man ere we have time to turn
round. So that is settled. Therefore come hither, oh nephew! Jallaluddin
Mahomed Akbar, since that is thy long name, and kiss thy cousin
Amina--Nurse! bring my sweeting hither. Now then, woman," she continued
sharply, addressing Head-nurse, who stood petrified with astonishment
and anger at the very idea of such scant ceremony. "If the boy cannot
walk, carry him!"
Head-nurse could scarcely speak. To be called "Woman" by an upstart--for
Prince Askurry had married Princess Sultanam for her beauty--was too
much!
"The Feet-of-the-Most-Condescending-of-Majesties," she began pompously,
"have not yet conferred happiness on the earth by treading it underfoot,
neither----"
Here she broke off hurriedly, for at that very instant, as if in denial
of her words, Baby Akbar gave a little crow of assent, let go her
petticoats, and with outspread balancing arms, and legs very wide apart,
launched himself boldly for his very first steps!
"_Bismillah!_" (Well done!) shrieked Foster-mother in delight.
"_Bismillah! Bismillah!_" echoed every one in the room, while all eyes
full of smiles were on the stalwart young toddler as he lurched forward,
his face one broad grin.
Princess Sultanam clapped her hands again. "Thy turban, my lord!" she
cried in a flutter of amusement. "Thy turban, quick; as his father is
not here 'tis thy place to prevent him falling of himself--thy
turban--quick! quick!"
Prince Askurry, full of laughter, pulled off the soft turban he wore--it
was all wound round and round to fit the head like a cap--and in
obedience to the Indian custom, which always prevents a child from
falling of itself in its first attempt at walking, flung it full at the
little lad. It caught him between his outspread balancing arms and over
he went on to the thick pile carpet.
Foster-mother was beside him in a second, eager to snatch him up and
cover him with kisses; but Baby Akbar wriggled himself from her hold. He
had set himself a task and he meant to do it.
"Go way!" he said with determination. "Tumbu down. Get up again."
So, calmly reaching round for the turban which lay beside him, which he
evidently thought had tumbled down too, he clapped it on his head with
both hands, rose to his feet and recommenced his forward lurch; a yard
or two of the fringed turban, which had become unrolled, trailing behind
him like a royal robe.
It was a quainter little figure than before, but nobody laughed now.
They looked at each other, then at the child staggering along under the
Prince's plumed turban, then at Prince Askurry himself standing
bareheaded before his nephew.
It was an ill omen. And yet as Head-nurse said proudly when they got
back to the rooms that had been given them in a frowning bastion of the
palace, Baby Akbar had once more scored off his uncle.
Indeed, she was so cock-a-hoop about it that she stickled for this, and
she stickled for that until the attendants, who were at first inclined
to be civil, began to look askance, and Foster-father had to bid her
hold her tongue.
"Wise folk leave steel traps alone," he said; "fiddling with them lets
off the spring. Then--pouf!"
He shook his head significantly.
"Steel traps?" echoed Head-nurse sniffily, "who is talking of steel
traps?"
"I am, woman!" replied Foster-father sternly. "I tell you this Kandahâr
is as a steel trap ready to snap on us at any moment."
Head-nurse was silent, even though he also had ventured to call her
"woman"; but she was beginning to learn that nine times out of ten
Foster-father was right.
CHAPTER VII
WINTER
The winter settled in early that year, and with the passes of the hills
blocked by snow, the caravans of laden camels which, in addition to
merchandise of all sorts, brought news from the world to the east and
the world to the west of mountain-clipped Kandahâr, ceased to come into
the big bazaar. And the cold kept most people at home, or shivering
beside the glowing braziers set outside the shops. It was not the season
for active work, and so Prince Askurry let it slip by without really
making up his mind what he was to do with Baby Akbar. Meanwhile the
child could live in the bastion of the palace, and play with his little
cousins. Whether he was to be betrothed to Baby Amina or not could be
decided in the spring; this was the time for rest and home comfort
without fear of any disturbing, since none could cross the passes in
winter.
Princess Sultanam, however, to whom in her seclusion winter and summer
were much alike, grew fond of the little lad, and never ceased to urge
on her husband the wisdom of so treating Prince Akbar, that should King
Humâyon by good luck--and he _had_ a knack of being lucky--find himself
again with an army at his back, his hands would be tied from revenge on
the Court at Kâbul.
Now, Askurry was no fool; he saw that, for the present at any rate,
until Humâyon's fate was decided, it would be wiser to be kind; so he
decided that when he held the New Year's assemblage he would present the
little prince in due form to the chiefs and nobles.
Head-nurse was almost crazy with delight at the very idea. She and
Foster-mother sent all their jewels to the goldsmith to be made up into
suitable ornaments for Baby Akbar, and they ransacked the shops for odd
scraps of brocade with which to make him the finest of fine state robes.
And on the eventful day they began the child's toilette early, pressing
Roy the Râjput into service as tire-woman to hold the ointments, and
scents, and what not, that they deemed necessary for the due dressing of
a Prince.
So that it rather dashed their spirits when Foster-father came in with a
sober face and the news that a man had come into the bazaar bringing bad
tidings of the King and Queen. They had, he said, been lost in the snow;
but whether this was true or not, who could tell?
"Then what is the use of worrying?" snapped Head-nurse, who was too much
occupied in making her charge beautiful to think of other things. "Lo!
Foster-father, evil is never lost on the road. It arrives sooner or
later, so why watch for it at the door?"
"That is true," replied Foster-father, "but mark my words, all depends
on good news. If that comes, the child is safe; if evil--then God help
him!"
Roy, who, Baby Akbar being nearly dressed, was now holding the pot of
lamp-black and oil with which Head-nurse, after the Indian custom, would
put a finishing touch to her work by smearing a big black smut on the
child's forehead, lest he should be too sweet and so attract an envious,
evil eye, looked up at the words, his face full of light and
remembrance.
"God does help true kingship," he said proudly. "Mother used to say so,
and that is why she was never afraid--" He paused and the light in his
face faded. "I--I don't remember any more," he added apologetically.
"Remembrance or no," snapped Head-nurse, "hold the pot straight, boy, or
thou wilt spill it over the Mighty-in-Pomp, the Admired-of-the-World,"
etc.
But Foster-father looked at Old Faithful and laid his hand kindly on
Roy's shoulder. "It matters not, Roy! It is there within thee, all the
same. And 'twill come back some day, never fear. And I for one," he
added aside to the old trooper, "should not wonder at much; for the
lad's manners are ever above his present station."
Old Faithful shook his head wisely. "'Tis not the boy's manners,
friend," he said, "but his breed. A man may compass manners for himself,
but not that his father should have had them also."
By this time the black smear was on Baby Akbar's forehead, and despite
the smudge, he looked a very fine little fellow indeed. So much so that
quite a murmur of delighted admiration ran round the assemblage when
Askurry appeared, leading him by the hand; for he had quickly learned to
run about and was now quite steady on his legs.
"A chip of the old block," said an ancient mountain chief, who had known
his grandfather Babar, and many others nodded assent. Then Prince
Askurry began a set speech, little Akbar seated on his knee the while.
It was a very clever, crafty speech, that could be taken two ways, and
Prince Askurry was so much interested in it, and making sure that he was
neither too disloyal or too loyal to his unfortunate brother, the King,
that he did not notice what was passing on his knee until a sudden lack
of attention on the part of his audience made him follow their eyes, and
look down at the child upon his lap.
And then?
Then he sat dumbfounded, his face flushing to a dull, dark red, for he
saw in a moment what the thing that had happened would mean to those
others--the audience before him--the men he had summoned to listen to
his half-hearted words.
Yet it was a very simple little thing. Baby Akbar, tired, doubtless, of
his uncle's speechifying, had found amusement in a slender gold chain
which hung round his uncle's neck; had traced it to a secret pocket in
his inner waistcoat, and so had drawn out from its hiding place a golden
signet ring, set with an engraved emerald. A toy indeed! So after
playing with it for a bit the child had slipped it onto his little
forefinger, which he held up the better to admire his new-found
treasure. So it came to pass that as Askurry's smooth, oily voice went
on and on, those who listened could see a little image sitting on his
knee.
A dignified, gracious-looking image with forefinger held up in the
attitude of kingly command; and on that forefinger--what?
The Signet of the King!
The Ring of Empire!
It was unmistakable! Askurry must have found it in his fugitive
brother's tent. He must have concealed it. Uncertain what part he meant
to play in the end, he must have worn it on his person until the
child--the true Heir-to-Empire----
The chiefs looked at each other furtively. There was a pause. Then
suddenly an old, thin voice--the voice of the old mountain chief, who
remembered Babar the brave--rose on the silence.
"God save the Heir-to-Empire!"
It gave the lead, and from every side rose the cry:
"God save the Heir-to-Empire!"
[Illustration: _The child had slipped it onto his little
forefinger._]
Prince Askurry's face fell. He had not meant to rouse loyalty, but he
was quick and clever, so he saw that it _had_ been roused, and that now
was not the time to try and stifle it. So his frown turned to a smile as
he caught the child to him and rose, holding him in his arms.
"The rogue, my lords," he said lightly, "has forestalled me. I meant to
place the ring upon his finger myself before you all, in token that he
does in truth represent our King, but praise be to Heaven! he has saved
me the task. Long live the Heir-to-Empire!"
But the nobles as they passed out of the assembly, and the people who
heard the tale outside, said it was a strange happening that the
innocent child should so claim his right. And cruel brother Kumran's
party laid their heads together once more, and swore it was time to end
Prince Askurry's foolish hesitation. They must get at the child somehow.
But by this time, if Prince Askurry had not quite made up his mind how
he should treat Baby Akbar, he had quite settled that no one else--least
of all cruel brother Kumran--should have anything to do with the child.
So the little prince was carefully watched and guarded, rather to
Foster-father's and Old Faithful's relief. Indeed, as time went on they
almost forgot to watch themselves, being accustomed to see the sentry
walking up and down before the entry to the narrow stairs that led up to
the three rooms in the old bastion which were given them as lodgings.
They were large, comfortable rooms, and the inner one was used by
Foster-mother, Head-nurse and Baby Akbar, the outer one by the two men
and the two boys, while the middle one, a great wide hall of a place,
they used as a living room. It was lighter than the others, since it had
slits of windows--without glass, of course--high up in the walls, and
though these let the cold as well as the winter sunshine into the room,
there was a roaring great fireplace, which kept the farther end of the
hall nice and warm. And here on very frosty nights the women folk would
drag their beds and sleep, while during the snowy days they would spread
quilts on the floor, and Baby Akbar would have high jinks with Tumbu and
Down, who were his constant playmates. Then, when he was tired, Roy
would cradle his young master in his arms and sing to him. Not
lullabies, for little Akbar's mind kept pace with his body, and every
month saw him more and more of a boy and less and less of a baby.
"Tell me how Râjah Rasâlu did this," or "Tell me how Râjah Rasâlu did
that," he would say; and so Roy's boyish voice would go over the old
story of endless adventures, which has delighted so many Indian children
for so many generations.
So time passed quite merrily until one night, when something dreadful
happened. So dreadful that it will really require another chapter to
describe it. But it was one night when Roy had been telling the little
prince how "Râjah Rasâlu's friends forsook him for fear." And as this is
rather a nice story, it shall be told here.
"You know, great Kingly child," began Roy, "how Râjah Rasâlu was born
and how Râjah Rasâlu set out into the world to seek for fortune, taking
with him his dear horse, Baunwa-iraki, his parrot, Kilkila, who had
lived with him since he was born, besides the Carpenter-lad and the
Goldsmith-lad, who had sworn never to leave their young master. So he
journeyed north to a lonely place, all set with sombre trees. And the
night was dark, so he set a watch, and the goldsmith took the first,
while the young prince slept by the Carpenter-lad, on a couch of clean,
sweet leaves. And lest the heart of the prince should sink, they sang a
cheering song:
"'Cradled till now on softest down,
Leaves are thy bed to-night;
Yet grieve not thou at fortune's frown,
Brave men heed not her slight.'
"And while they slept and the goldsmith watched, a snake slid out from
the trees. 'Now, who are you?' quoth the Goldsmith-lad, 'who come to
disturb his rest?' 'Lo! I have killed all living things that have
ventured within ten miles of this my place of rest,' it hissed, 'and now
I will slay you, too!' So they fought and fought, but the Goldsmith-lad
he killed the snake in the end. Then he hid the body under his shield,
lest the others might be afraid, and he roused from his rest the
Carpenter-lad, to take his share of the watch, while he, in his turn, on
the clean, sweet leaves lay down beside the prince. And while they
slept, and the Carpenter watched, a dragon slid from the trees. 'Now,
who are you?' quoth the Carpenter-lad, 'who come to disturb his rest?'
'Lo! I have killed all living things for twenty miles round this place;
and I'll kill you, too,' it roared, 'and crack your bones to eat.' So
they fought and fought and fought till he killed the dragon at last.
Then he hid the body behind a bush lest the others should be afraid, and
roused Rasâlu from out his sleep to take his share of the watch; while
he in turn by the Goldsmith-lad lay down to take his rest.
"And while they slept and Rasâlu waked a THING slid out from the trees;
an awful THING! No man could tell th' unspeakable horror of it. But
Rasâlu smiled in its face of dread, and laughed in, its horrible eyes.
'Pray, who are you to disturb our rest, and why do you dare to come?'
'Lo! I have killed all living things for twenty times twenty miles, and
I will kill you, upstart boy, and crack your bones to dust.'
"So they fought and fought and fought, and Rasâlu drew his bow, and the
arrow fled like the wind and pierced the Awful Horror through. Then it
fled to a cave close by, with Rasâlu at its heels. So they fought and
fought and fought till the dawn showed clear in the sky, and the Awful
Horror gave up with a groan and rolled on its side and died. Now, just
as Rasâlu wiped his sword the sleepers awoke from their sleep. 'See
here!' said the Goldsmith-lad with pride, 'what I killed in my lonely
watch.' 'Pooh! only a snake!' said the Carpenter-lad; 'see the dragon I
have killed.' But Rasâlu took them both by the hand and led them into
the cave; but dead as it was, they shrieked with fear at the Awful
Horror they saw. And they fell at Rasâlu's feet and groaned and moaned
and prayed and wept. 'Let us go! Oh, hero, we are but men. We dare not
follow you now. It is nothing to you; it is death to us to follow and be
your friends.'
"Then tears came into Rasâlu's eyes, but he said no word of nay. 'Do as
you will,' he said to them. '_I_ will not bid you stay.
"'Aloes linger long before they flower,
Gracious rain too soon is overpast;
Youth and strength are with us but an hour,
All glad life must end in death at last.
But king reigns king without consent of courtier,
Rulers may rule, though none heed their command;
Heaven-crowned heads, stoop not, but rise the haughtier,
Alone and friendless in a strangers' land.'
"So his friends forsook him and fled. But Rasâlu went on his way."
CHAPTER VIII
DOWN'S STRATAGEM
Now the terrible thing that happened was one which Foster-father might
have expected, but for two things.
One was the sentry who walked up and down all night long below the high
second-story windows of the central room. He would be bound to see any
attempt to gain an entrance through them, even if they were wide enough
to admit the entry of a grown man, which they were not.
The other was the fact that he, Old Faithful, Meroo and Roy all slept in
the outer room, into which the only door opened, so that any intruder
would have to force an entrance over their bodies; for they slept with
drawn swords beside them.
So as the days passed on Foster-father's vigilance--though he knew that
cruel brother Kumran's agents were on the lookout for any opportunity of
kidnapping the Heir-to-Empire--slackened somewhat, especially when the
afternoons drew in, the fire in the big hall was made up, the quilts put
down and Baby Akbar, surrounded by his admiring circle, listened to
Roy's stories or tumbled about with his playmates, Tumbu, the dog, and
Down, the cat.
One day, however, Down did not appear until little Akbar was having his
supper, and then she came in a great hurry out of a small archway by the
big fireplace, which led to a sort of cupboard in the masonry, where
charcoal had been kept, gobbled up a plate of bread and milk, and
hurried in again as if she had to catch a train.
"She has had kittens," said Foster-mother; "I wonder if they are white
or black."
"Black!" sniffed Head-nurse. "What else could they be in that hole? Have
a care, woman! or the Heir-to-Empire will be blacking himself, too. The
archway is large enough for him to creep in, and Heaven only knows
whither it might lead."
"That is true," replied Foster-mother, alarmed, as she distracted the
child's attention.
But in a day or two his quick ear caught the sound of a feeble mewing
inside the arch, and, of course, he wanted to know what it was. So he
was told that kittens had to be kept quiet and that Down would be very
vexed if her kitten was disturbed; but that by-and-bye she would
doubtless bring it out for him to see, and then, of course, he could
play with it. Now, Baby Akbar was always a reasonable little fellow, so
he waited patiently; though every night when he went to bed and Down
came out for her supper, his little mouth would go down and he would
hold up his little hands and twiddle them round and say mournfully:
"Kitty not 'weady. Kitty not 'weady."
Now, one night there was a great festival in the palace, and the
Heir-to-Empire had to go and pay his respects, after the Indian manner
on feast days, to his aunt and uncle. Then, when he returned, they sent
him, after Indian wont, trays full of fruit and sugar-toffee made in the
shape of animals, and a few pieces of muslin and stuffs to make new
dresses for the party. In addition to this there was a trayful of
supper, which came afterward, when daylight had gone, with the Princess
Sultanum's best compliments. At least so said the man who brought it;
but he did not wait to be questioned, and disappeared so soon as Meroo
had taken the tray from him.
But it was full of the most delicious dainties, including a bowl of
sweet milk made with almonds and honey and rice meal for Baby Akbar.
Head-nurse, however, would not let him eat it. She was always afraid of
the little lad being poisoned, so Meroo always cooked with his own hands
everything the child ate. Therefore they gave it to Tumbu instead; for,
having been brought up by shepherds, he loved milk, and he licked his
lips after it and was soon sound asleep by the fire.
The lamb stewed with pistachio nuts and full of saffron looked, however,
so delicious that after Meroo had tasted it and pronounced it quite
safe, since all knew that saffron would not go with real poison, they
set to work and finished the platter.
They were all as jolly as could be afterward, though the heat of the
fire and their heavy supper made them sleepy; so Head-nurse, declaring
it was far too cold in the inner room, dragged her bed and
Foster-mother's close to the fire, the others retired to the outer room,
and before long they were all snoring away quite happily.
For if the supper had not truly been poisoned, it had been drugged.
Drugged with sleep-bringing drugs.
So, as the firelight flickered over the room faintly, it showed
Head-nurse's face and Foster-mother's face and even Tumbu's black muzzle
in a dead sleep that was almost unconsciousness. And in the outer room
Foster-father snored, and even Roy's keen, hawk-face lay like one dead.
Only Baby Akbar tossed and turned in his comfortable nest between his
two nurses.
Save for this, due to Head-nurse's precaution in not allowing the
Heir-to-Empire sweet milk for supper, all was as cruel brother Kumran's
agents had planned when they had sent the pretended messenger from the
palace with the platter of delicacies. Even the sentry below was
sleeping sound after his share of kid curry.
Thus, those who were on the roof waiting until the moon had set and they
could without fear of discovery lower the young lad, who was to steal
Baby Akbar, down to the window (through which, being slender, the thief
could slip easily), felt that their task was almost done.
But they reckoned without a great white fluff which after a time showed
itself at the entry to the charcoal bunker, yawning and stretching and
blinking its eyes. Head-nurse had been quite wrong in saying Down's
kitten must be black in that hole! Its mother, anyhow, was beautifully
white, perhaps because Down was a sensible cat and had only chosen the
charcoal bunker because she had found a lot of old straw and a blanket
tucked away in its farther corner. Besides, as she only had one kitten,
she could spend all her time in licking it and cleaning it with her
rough, red tongue, after the manner of cats. Anyhow, there it lay, right
out of reach of any one, a little bundle of white fluff, and Down was
just beginning to feel that there were other things in the world besides
kittens. For instance, was that scratching on the roof, think you, a
mouse? If so--? She passed to the fire. It was warm and nice; just the
very place for a kitten's first look at the world, and there were no
troublesome people about; not but what she was anxious to show her
kitten to Baby Akbar. But who knew if horrid Head-nurse might not try to
catch it? But Head-nurse was asleep. Down whisked her tail, disappeared
through the archway, and reappeared again gingerly, carrying the kitten
in her mouth. It sprawled in the firelight and mewed piteously. And
there was that scratching on the roof again ... really, kittens were a
bore when one wanted to mouse....
So far it is easy to follow Down's thoughts. What came next is more
difficult. No one can say whether the cat had _really_ any notion that
danger to her young master was abroad, or whether she only wanted to
show him her kitten, or whether she wanted it taken care of--for Persian
cats, if they kill a rat at night, have often been known to jump on
their master's bed and insist on his taking custody of their prize lest
it should somehow come to life again if they left it alone--only this
was certain, Baby Akbar woke with a rough, red tongue licking his nose,
and there, on the quilt, was Down beside the fluffiest, darlingest
little kitten that ever was!
He made a grab at it with his little fat hands. Whether this frightened
its anxious mother or whether Down really had a purpose in view, who can
say? Only this is sure: she was off the bed in a second, Miss Kitten in
her mouth. A minute afterward Baby Akbar was off it also with a little
crow of delight. But the drugged nurses did not stir; they were away in
the Land of Dreams. And hark! what was that curious noise outside the
window, as if something was slipping down the wall? Perhaps it was
_that_ that frightened Down once more; for just as Baby Akbar's hand
reached out to lay hold of the kitten, which she had set down by the
fire, Down snatched it up again and was off with it back to the
charcoal bunker, with Baby Akbar after her, his face full of solemn
resolve. He meant to play with that kitty.
And play with her he did. At least, after he disappeared down the
archway by the fireplace he did not come out again. Only Down reappeared
and seated herself at the entrance, her ears cocked, her eyes fixed on
the window.
For something very funny had happened there, which, though the flicker
of the fire had died down, she could see with her cat's eyes.
A lad had slipped in, carrying the end of a rope, to which was attached
a network bag. And now, since it was dark, he was striking a light. A
feeble little glimmer, but sufficient to show the two sleeping nurses
and the comfy little nest of quilts between them. But it was empty!
The boy seemed puzzled, and went into the inner room, only to return
without what he sought. Then he stole into the outer room, but came back
softly with a puzzled look on his face. Then he began to peer about him
on the floor, and in the corners, holding the feeble light in front of
him. Whereupon Down, apparently to satisfy herself that her kitten
really was safe in the corner of the charcoal bunker where she had left
it, retreated for a moment, so that as the searcher came round he saw
nothing but the low, round arch. The next he gave a stifled yell, for
something white that was all claws leaped right in his face, over he
went and out went his light.
"I look no more," he said, shivering as, after five minutes' hasty
retreat, he stood on the roof among those who had sent him down. "Let
some one else go; but I tell you the child is not there."
But one of the crafty, cruel men had sharp wits. "Could he have crept
into the charcoal bunker?" he suggested, and the faces round him lit up.
But the lad's remained sullen, as he wiped the blood from Down's
scratches.
"Mayhap," he said. "_But I go not near that cat again!_"
So, as no one else was small enough to slip through the narrow slits of
windows, the conspirators could only curse their bad luck.
Thus it came to pass that the hours passed by without further attempt at
baby-theft, while Foster-father snored and Head-nurse dreamed the most
heavenly dreams of wonderful court ceremonials, and all the others were
wrapped in the profoundest slumbers.
But they all woke at last, and once more there was the most terrible
hullabaloo until Foster-mother recollected the kitten in the charcoal
bunker. Whereupon every one in turn flattened themselves on the floor
and reached in, and Roy actually got his head and one shoulder in; but
no one could feel anything or find out how big it was or anything about
it. Whereupon the two women began mutual recriminations and the men
stood helpless, when suddenly Down appeared with the kitten in her
mouth, and Baby Akbar, who had evidently been comfortably asleep on the
blanket amid the straw, came crawling after his new pet.
"So far so good!" said Foster-father, who, noticing a fallen piece of
mortar at the window-sill, had been carefully examining certain signs
and scratches both without and within, "but if I be not much mistaken,
some one hath been through here this night. And that we were all drugged
ye must know if the inside of your mouths be like mine! So we have to
thank Heaven and the cat for an escape!"
And so they had, though it was a sore trial once more to the women to
have nothing but guesswork to go upon.
"I wish I knew," murmured poor Foster-mother mournfully, as she watched
Baby Akbar, and Down, and the kitten, and Tumbu, all playing together
before the fire.
But once more Baby Akbar was silent, and Down told nobody--unless it was
Tumbu. Perhaps he _did_ know, because he allowed Down's kitten to play
with his tail!
CHAPTER IX
SPRING
Winter passed to spring and spring to early summer, and yet no certain
news came of King Humâyon or Queen Humeeda. Foster-father almost gave up
hope, yet he said little, though he took counsel with Old Faithful, and
he in his turn consulted the old mountain chief, who at the assemblage
had been the first to cry, "Long live the Heir-to-Empire."
But the old man shook his head. The times were new, he said; very few
people remembered, as he did, the old ways, the old Kings. But for the
sake of Babar the brave they might always count on his sword and the
sabres of fifty or more of his followers. So, if the worst came to the
worst, they were welcome to an asylum in his eagle's eyrie of a
fortress, where at any rate they could all die together fighting for the
King; and what more did any brave man want?
This was not much consolation to Foster-father, who felt that there was
nothing to be done, save by every means in his power, to curry favour
with the Princess Sultanum.
But, indeed, the little Heir-to-Empire made himself friends wherever he
went; they could not help liking the frank little fellow who spoke to
them so freely, with a certain grave dignity of his own. For by the
time the peach gardens around Kandahâr lay like clouds of pink and white
about the old domed city, little Prince Akbar was in looks and ways a
child of three or even four; so big and strong was he. He spoke
perfectly in his childish way, with great emphasis and a curious, soft
burr over his r's and h's. And he actually tried to wrestle with his
cousin Ibrahim, who was, however, rather a puny boy, despite the fact
that he was three years older than the little Heir-to-Empire.
But with Roy as playmate Akbar began all sorts of games. There was a
high, walled peach garden not far from the bastion, where the little
Prince used to be allowed to go; and there, during the long sunny hours,
the Râjput lad, to whom such things were all curiously familiar, taught
the child how to ride on Tumbu's back, and how to hold a spear. Aye! and
to take a tent peg, too; the peg being only a soft carrot stuck in the
earth! But the great game was shooting with a bow and arrow, and in
this, before spring passed to summer, the pupil was a match with his
teacher except in strength; for, from the very beginning, Akbar showed
himself steady and straight as a shot; so it is no wonder he grew up to
be the finest marksman in India. But it would take too long to tell all
the games they played, all the manly sports which the little prince
learned without any difficulty. There was a shallow marble tank in the
middle of the garden, where he took to the water like a duck, and would
lie on his back and kick and shout with laughter as the tank got rough
with waves, till Foster-mother would beg him not to drown, as the water
splashed over him high in the air.
But Foster-father always reproved her for her fears. "Leave the lad to
learn King's ways," he said, "and thank Heaven the Râjput foundling is
here to teach him. Think you _I_ could tumble head over heels in air or
water or ride bareback standing on one leg?"
"No, indeed!" would reply Head-nurse, who stifled her terrors from a
sense of duty, "none, seeing thy figure, friend, would ask so much of
thee."
Then, when Akbar grew tired, Roy would sit leaning his back against a
peach tree so as to make a soft pillow for his little master, and Akbar
would lean against him and listen to endless stories while the soft
fresh breeze stole over the garden wall, and sent showers of pink peach
petals on both the boys. And sometimes the little Prince, outwearied,
would fall asleep, and then Roy would sit still as a mouse, gently
flicking away with the end of his muslin turban the blossoms that fell
on the little sleeper's face. But his thoughts would be busy, wondering
above other things why it was that, do what he would, he could not help
when they were alone at play sometimes calling the Heir-to-Empire
"little brother." It was dreadfully wrong of him, of course, and
Head-nurse would rightly cuff his ears if she overheard it!
Then Akbar would wake and call imperiously for some favourite story, and
as often as not it would be the tale of "How Râjah Rasâlu swung the
Seventy Maidens."
And Roy would reply submissively: "It is ordered, Highness!" and begin:
"Now Râjah Rasâlu, soft heart and strong, heard a pitiful voice as he
rode along. 'Oh traveller! traveller! turn aside, and help God's
creature,' it moaned and cried. So the Prince turned straight and saw
that a fire had caught a bush, blazing higher and higher, while a tiny
cricket lay gasping for breath, half-scorched, half-choked, and nigh to
its death. Then Râjah Rasâlu, soft hearted and stout, put his hand in
the fire and snatched it out! And the cricket drew forth a feeler and
said: 'Take this, my preserver, 'twill bring you aid; should _any_ thing
_ever_ prove troublesome, burn _this_ in the fire and _I_ will come.'
Then Rasâlu laughed with a great big laugh, 'I thank you, weakling! But
none of your chaff! _You_ couldn't help _me_ I'll go bail.' So he rode
on careless o'er hill and dale, a glittering knight in his shining mail,
till he came to the city of King Surkâp, whom he'd sworn to kill with
his sword so sharp. Now as he rode through a garden gay, Seventy Maidens
barred the way; Seventy Maidens young and fair, with flowers decking
their golden hair. Seventy daughters of the king, come out to play and
laugh and swing and jibe at the stripling who'd sworn to slay their
father, the mightiest king of this day. But the youngest maid had a
heart of gold, and when she saw Rasâlu so bold, and strong and handsome
riding to death, on his horse Irâki, she caught her breath, and
whispered to him as he passed her way:
"'Fair prince on thy charger so gray,
Turn thee back, turn thee back.
If thou lowerest thy lance for the fray,
Thy head will be forfeit to-day.
Dost love life? then, stranger! I pray
Turn thee back--turn thee back.'
"But Rasâlu smiled in the maiden's face, and drew his rein for an
instant's space, while he gave her answer with courtly grace: 'Fair
maiden, I come from afar, sworn conqueror in love and in war. Thy father
my coming will rue, for his head in four pieces I'll hew. Then forth as
a bridegroom I'll ride with you, little maid, as my bride.'
"Now at these words, and his face so kind, and strong, and brave, the
maiden's mind fluttered, the blood through her heartstrings whirled, she
felt she could follow him through the world; but her sixty-nine sisters
were jealous and cried: 'Not so fast, young man! If _she_ be your bride,
_you_ be our younger brother, beside! So do our bidding or go on your
way.' 'Fair sisters,' quoth he, 'let me hear your say!' Now the sisters
vowed he should not succeed, so they took a whole hundred-weight of
seed, as fine as the hundred-weight of sand they mixed it with, then
gave command: 'If you wish to marry our sister, sir, take the seed from
the sand without demur.'
"Then Râjah Rasâlu stood aghast; but he thought of the cricket's gift at
last, and taking it out of his pocket thrust it into the fire, and a
cloud as dust showed in the sky and the distant whirr of thousands of
wings caused the air to stir, as, dark'ning the day like a fun'ral pall,
a flight of crickets appeared at the call. 'What is our task?' asked his
friend with a laugh; 'only _that_? I've brought too many by half!' So
they set to work with a will indeed, till the sand lay separate from the
seed, and sixty-nine maidens pouted and frowned as they wondered _what_
new task could be found, to puzzle Rasâlu and keep him there a slave to
the wishes of maidens fair. 'Now swing us all, sir, one by one, when we
grow tired your task is done!'--they laughed in their sleeve, for they
knew right well, that when they'd be tired, none could tell!
"But Rasâlu laughed: 'What! seventy girls--for my little bride is the
pearl of pearls--and only one man to swing the lot! Shall I spend my
life in such silly rot? No! into one swing the seventy go; I'll fasten
the rope to my mighty bow, and shoot an arrow for all I know, so in
with you, girls, sit all in a row, and don't be frightened, my little
dears, I'll swing till you're tired, so have no fears.'
"Then the seventy clambered into one swing--so merry, so careless, their
voices ring. And Rasâlu stood in his shining array, as merry and
careless as happy as they. He fastened the ropes to his mighty bow, and
bent till it would no further go; then with a twang he loosed the
string, and like an arrow the laden swing with its burden of seventy
maidens fair, shot like an arrow into the air. Merry and careless with
laugh and smile, up in the sky for many a mile; like a soaring bird in
the distant blue, while merry and careless, and tall and true, Rasâlu
waited upon the plain, till the swing swung back to its place again.
Then he out with his sword and laughed anew, 'Ye have had a fine ride,
ye giggling crew; enough and to spare, so out with you there!' Then he
severed the ropes with one mighty sweep, and the seventy maidens fell in
a heap; and some were broken and some were bruised, and the only one
that was not ill-used was the youngest maid, for she did not drop till
the very last, so she fell on top!"
And here Prince Akbar used always to laugh gravely and say: "Glad she
didn't tumble down _really_, for she was a nice little girl."
One day when the peach blossoms had all floated away, leaving in their
place grey-green fluffy ovals that by-and-bye would be luscious ripe
fruits, Foster-father arrived in a great state of excitement just as
Rasâlu had finished swinging his Seventy Maidens.
"News, news!" he cried; "real news at last; and thank Heaven they are
good! My master, the King, has not only secured shelter, but help, and
hath written to his brother, Prince Askurry, advising him not to listen
to ill advice, but to give in his allegiance at once, when all shall be
forgotten. In token of which clemency he is sending to his
still-dearly-beloved brother, Her Royal Highness the Princess Bakshee
Bâni Begum, that she may be a companion to her half-brother, the
Heir-to-Empire."
Prince Akbar, who was leaning on Roy's breast, suddenly sat up. "Is that
my sister?" he asked eagerly, "is she a nice little girl like Rasâlu's
bride?"
Head-nurse laughed. "Nice enough I'll warrant, though I never saw her;
she has been since she was born, six years past, with her mother's
people; but so long as they send no fine ladies of nurses with her she
is welcome."
Little Prince Akbar stood up and stretched himself, and looked at
Head-nurse critically.
"Akka will welcome her, and Akka will tell you to be her nurse, and Akka
will swing her a great big swing."
So far as he was concerned _that_ settled the question; but up at the
Court there were endless questionings of heart. Prince Askurry was, as
ever, in two minds as to what he should do. Cruel brother Kumran, who
was Governor at Kâbul, pressed his advice to stand firm, to send the
child to him, to let him show King Humâyon that paid Persian troops
could not stand up against Indian ones. But Princess Sultanum had really
become fond of the little Heir-to-Empire, and felt sure that if they
only played their cards carefully the king, out of gratitude, would
consent to a betrothal between his son and her little daughter Amina.
And in the end the wife's counsel prevailed. So a better lodgment was
found for the royal children in an old palace surrounded by a lovely
garden, and here, just as the roses were beginning to bloom, little
Prince Akbar, dressed in his best, stood awaiting his sister's arrival.
He had insisted on having, like Râjah Rasâlu, a coat of mail; so
Foster-mother had made him a tight-fitting corselet of silver tissue, in
which he looked very fine indeed, as he stood brandishing a wooden sword
covered with tin foil.
But when the red and gold bedecked camel did finally come up the
marble-paved pathway with silent soft elastic swing, little Akbar forgot
all about the part he was playing, and when he saw his sister, just ran
up to her and hugged her tight, and said breathlessly: "Ah! you are a
nice little girl!"
And a very nice little girl she was! Very small for her age, with a
little oval delicate face, big hazel eyes, and brownish hair all plaited
in tiny, tiny little plaits on her forehead.
And she was dressed just like a grown-up, with little ear-rings and
wristlets and anklets and necklaces and rings, with the dearest,
daintiest of flimsey gauze veils set with little silver stars wound all
about her! Never, said Head-nurse, had been such a darling little
marionette, and when the small person fell gracefully at her brother's
feet and begged his favour in a little piping voice, that stern believer
in court etiquette was perfectly enchanted.
"It will be a real boon to the First-Gentleman-of-the-World, the
Courtly-one-of-Courts, etc., etc., to have the society of his equals,"
she said with a darkling look at Princess Sultanum's Head-nurse, who had
brought Prince Ibrahim and Baby Amina to welcome their cousin.
But, after all, Bakshee Bâni Begum did not turn out so demure as she
looked! Indeed, when Head-nurse was not by, she was a regular tomboy;
and after a whole morning spent in most lady-like fashion either playing
with her dolls, or stringing beads, while Down, the cat, on her lap
blinked and purred and stared out on the world with her big blue eyes
and her little white feet tucked well inside, she would, when the women
retired to get ready the mid-day meal, spring up like a squirrel,
scattering beads and cats as if they were of no account! Then the
garden would re-echo to children's laughter.
And she would let Mirak, as she elected to call her brother, swing her
for hours, but she obstinately refused to tumble down!
"But, Bija," expostulated the little lad, "the princess did tumble down
in the story."
"I am not a princess _in a story_," said Bija calmly, "I am Her Royal
Highness Princess Bakshee Bâni Begum."
CHAPTER X
THE NIGHT OF RECORD
So the summer days passed and winter set in once more. Though more
satisfied, Foster-father felt still that safety depended on King
Humâyon's success or failure.
So, whenever one of the long files of camels tied together in a string,
head-and-tail, showed on the hill road above Kandahâr, he was off to the
halting-place outside the city to see what news it had collected in its
march from Hindustan; for caravans in those days were the postmen.
And sometimes he heard one thing, and sometimes another, but as often as
not he returned as he went, without any remedy but patience.
"Anyhow the child grows in stature and strength," Head-nurse would say,
"and our present lodging is better than our last!"
Which was true; for the old house of three stories which they now
inhabited was full of little rooms leading one out of the other like a
rabbit-warren. And if there was no furniture in them, so much the better
for the children's games of "I espy" and "Touch who Touch can."
For Bija and Mirak played such games with infinite zest. As Head-nurse
had foretold, the coming of his little sister had been an immense gain
to the Heir-to-Empire; not only in manners, but also in his outlook upon
life. For Princess Bakshee Bâni Begum was a very determined small
person, who did not in the least see why the elder sister of a boy
should give way to him in all things, simply because he was
Heir-to-Empire.
"I won't have it, Mirak," she would say with a stamp of her little foot;
"you shall not break my doll's head just because you want to."
So Prince Akbar, who was full of sound common sense, began to think she
had reason on her side; and this was of great advantage to him, for with
Head-nurse, and Foster-mother and the others, he stood a great chance of
being spoiled.
And after a time he became quite devoted to the prim little maid, who,
for all her primness in general, could be as wild as a hawk on occasion.
And out of that arose an incident which, unfortunately, turned Princess
Sultanum against the little lad and so endangered his safety. It came
about in this way. Prince Askurry's son Yakoob was, as has been said,
three years older than Akbar, a lanky, rather weedy lad-ling of nearly
six. Now Prince Askurry was himself a noted wrestler, and was determined
his son should be one also. So he had the boy carefully taught, and set
a good deal of store by the quickness of the little fellow in learning
the grips, and how to trip up an adversary. On high days and holidays,
indeed, Prince Askurry and his wife used often to amuse themselves by
seeing the discomfiture of other less experienced children who were set
up to compete with the young wrestler. Baby Akbar had been one of these,
and being so much younger, he had always gone down before Yakoob's
skill; but he had always taken his overthrow in good part, though
Head-nurse had felt as if she could not keep her fingers off the victor.
It was not fair, she would say afterwards, to match a baby of two with a
child of six, and then she would try to hug the vanquished
Heir-to-Empire and cover him with kisses; but Akbar, always independent,
resented this. "Akbar tumble _him_ down some day," he would say
philosophically; and indeed there seemed every chance of it, for, mere
baby as he was, there was more promise of future strength in his little
finger than in Yakoob's whole body.
Now, as winter came on, the children were driven indoors for their play,
and Old Faithful at their earnest request, rigged up a swing in a large
empty room in the palace, and here Princess Bija would be swung like the
Seventy Maidens, until Prince Akbar wearied of swinging her; and knowing
that nothing would induce his elder sister to tumble down like the
princesses in the story, would say quite plaintively:
"Please, Bija, get down; I'm tired of being Rasâlu," when the little
maid would descend gracefully and they would play at something else.
But one day, just after the New Year, Prince Yakoob came to spend the
day with his cousins, and the children fell to acting the adventures of
Râjah Rasâlu; Yakoob, as the guest, playing the hero's part.
They got through several of them quite successfully, Princess Bija
making a spirited carpenter's lad and killing his dragon with great
vigour, while the Heir-to-Empire, disguising his deep baby voice in a
high squeak, doubled the parts of the seventy-nine maidens and the
cricket. So all went merry as a marriage bell until Rasâlu had to order
the giggling crew out of the swing.
Then, of course, Bija refused; whereupon Yakoob, a spoiled boy, cast
aside the tinsel-covered wooden sword, and whipped out from his belt a
toy dagger his father had given him that morning. It was not very sharp,
but very little cuts a taut rope, and one furious slash severed some of
the strands, the weight of the two children did the rest, and there they
were both on the marble floor!
And unfortunately the "pearl of pearls," Râjah Rasâlu's bride, did _not_
fall on top. She fell underneath the Heir-to-Empire, and the
Heir-to-Empire was heavy! So there was her poor little lip all cut and
her pretty little nose all bleeding. Then _two_ Head-nurses rushed in,
and _two_ Foster-mothers, and ever so many pairs of nursery attendants,
each taking the part of their respective nurslings, and there was a
terrible to-do, for, of course, one Head-nurse said it was the fault of
the other Head-nurse, and so on. In fact peace did not return until the
party separated and the offender, Prince Yakoob, was being joggetted
back to his mother by his excited attendants, while Princess Bija was
having her swollen nose soothed by cold water. She did not cry much, but
she was terribly indignant with every one, including her brother.
He couldn't have prevented his cousin from cutting the rope, of course,
but he might have made his cousin's nose bleed also! If she hadn't been
otherwise occupied she could have done it herself; she was quite sure
she could; or at any rate have done something quite as disagreeable!
She looked very fierce as she spoke, while Akbar listened with grieved
attention. In fact, what Bija would have done, had Head-nurse not had
her in her arms cossetting her, became quite a subject of conversation
between the two children, Bija sitting demurely threading beads and
inventing new methods of just punishment, and the Heir-to-Empire lolling
on the floor pretending to sharpen his tinfoil sword, and interposing
objections such as, "But you couldn't do _that_, Bija, you're not
_strong_ enough," or "_That_ wouldn't be fair, Bija, for he only hurt
you a little, you know." For Akbar was born with a sense of fair-play
and justice which never forsook him, because he always gave _it_ fair
play.
So the idea of somehow getting the better of Yakoob became a fixed one
in the little lad's mind until an opportunity for action came to him.
It was about a month afterwards, on the "Festival of Record"; that is to
say, the day when good Mohammedans pray for guidance during the coming
year, and believe that God's Angel, accompanied by the spirits of their
dead ancestors, appears on earth to judge the record of the past year,
and write on the forehead of each man and woman and child what reward or
punishment is deserved in the next. In the evening, thousands of little
lamps are lit, so that there shall be no darkness anywhere, but all
things shall be made manifest, and when the little platters of sweets
and food are set out lest any of the spirits, who come to plead for
their descendants, should feel hungry, it is a very solemn affair; but
the day is generally spent in amusement.
So Princess Sultanum arranged an entertainment, and, as usual, there was
to be a bout of wrestling between her son and some little companions,
amongst them the Heir-to-Empire. Head-nurse was furious, of course. The
show was invented, she declared, to disgrace the Mighty-in-Pomp, the
Pole-star of the Universe, etc., etc.
Akbar himself took it very complacently and allowed himself to be
undressed and oiled all over, so as to make a grip very hard; for these
are the Indian customs. And a very sturdy specimen he looked as he stood
up and crossed his arms and then slapped himself with resounding slaps
before crossing them again; also after Indian fashion, for so much he
had learned of wrestling.
Then the signal was given, and Yakoob, as was his wont, began, in
imitation of grown-up wrestlers, to steal an advance on his adversary.
But Akbar would none of that. Whether, watching real wrestling, he had
noticed the method of attack he employed, or whether Roy had taught him,
or whether he got it out of his own head, does not matter; but the
little fellow rushed forward furiously and charging like a butting ram,
caught his cousin full in the stomach, then making a snatch at his ankle
tripped him up. So there in a second was Yakoob on his back, and Akbar,
breathless but triumphant, on top of him.
"Now _you've_ tumbled down," remarked the Heir-to-Empire suavely, as,
astride his cousin's prostrate body, he paused for breath ere getting
up.
Of course, some people said it wasn't fair; but others admitted that
though not the _polite_ style of wrestling, such a method was strictly
within the rules. All, however, admired the big, bold, strong little
Heir-to-Empire; all but his aunt and uncle; and the former bid
Head-nurse take away her young savage at once, while the latter's crafty
face, uneasy before, settled into a scowl.
But Head-nurse could hardly contain her joy, even when Foster-father
shook his wise old head and said he would not have had it happen for all
the wealth of the world, for of late, if he were not much mistaken,
things had been shaping ill for his young master, and that very morning
a secret messenger had come in from Kâbul. What it might portend who
could say; but it was bad fortune the child should lose favour at Court
to such slight purpose.
"Slight, indeed!" sniffed Head-nurse. "Is it not something to have shown
that woman that her brat cannot stand up before true Kingship?"
"I would it were so, woman," replied Foster-father, "but a child under
three with but two old men and two boys for protection cannot show much
fight."
Head-nurse tossed her head. "So we women are not to count--" she began;
but Baby Akbar had been listening seriously and now put in with his deep
childish voice, and a wise little shake of the head:
"And there's Tumbu and Down, too; they can bite and scratch beautifully
for me when they like."
Whereupon Foster-mother caught him up, and wept, and swore that Heaven
must and would protect such a heart's darling.
Perhaps it was this conversation which put the idea of getting help into
the children's heads, but after a time it was evident they had some plan
between them, for after watching the women light hundreds of little
lamps, and set out a quantity of tiny platters full of sweets, they
stole off by themselves to an empty room which was almost dark and began
to whisper.
"I think it had better be grand-dad," said the Heir-to-Empire gravely,
"'cos my father isn't dead yet, and they must be deaders, you know, if
they are _really_ to help."
"And we'll take the little summer room at the very top of the house,
Mirak, so's we'll be able to stop him on his way down, 'case any one
else has got a platter for him," said Bija the practical. "Now, Mirak,
I'll fetch the sweets if you'll get some lamps. They won't be missed,
you know, if we take them betwixt and between."
After that there was much secret hurrying up and down stairs and secret
gurglings of delight as the preparations advanced.
"Oh, Mirak! Won't it be lovely? He's sure to come in when he sees it!"
said the little girl, clasping her hands. "And Old Faithful was saying
that Grand-dad Babar was as good as twenty other men in a fight, so
_then_ you'll be quite safe."
But Mirak's face was solemn. "If Grand-dad doesn't know it's for him he
won't come in, and he won't eat the sweets either. It's greedy to eat
sweets as doesn't belong to you, and _he_ wasn't greedy. Old Faithful
says he wasn't. He was a real King."
"Don't you think he might be greedy just to help you?" suggested Bija
mournfully; but after thinking a little she clapped her hands. "I have
it, Mirak! If his name was on it that would do! I think I could write
'Ba-ba.' It's only the two first letters, you see, and I know _them_;
and you could prick yourself for some blood to write with, and I could
use my little finger as a pen. It's very, very tiddly wee."
It was, indeed! and Mirak sat large-eyed in admiration of his sister's
ingenuity, while she, mistress of the situation, did this and that until
even she was satisfied. And really the little arched and domed cupola
set in Eastern fashion on the roof, looked quite pretty with the little
glittering lights in a square on the white marble floor, and the platter
of sweets placed in the middle of the square, whereon in smeared red
letters showed this:
[Illustration: BA BA]
"And now, Mirak!" chattered Bija, "we'll go down and go to bed like good
boys and girls, and then when the others are saying their prayers and
going to sleep we can come up again and sleep here."
"Won't it be very cold, Bija?" asked Mirak, whose little nose was half
frost-bitten already, for a cold wind was blowing off the snow hills.
"We will bring quilts," said the little lady with a superior air.
So, about an hour afterwards, after the children had been put to bed and
their elders had begun the serious work of watching and waiting and
dozing through the night, two little figures, well wrapped up in quilted
cotton gowns and dragging quilted cotton blankets behind them, stole up
the stairs to the roof of the house.
"I'm going to ask God to let him come," said Baby Akbar solemnly. So
they both touched the cold marble floor with their warm little foreheads
and said:
"Please Great God! Let our grand-dad Babar come and take care of us, and
be kind to us, and not let the Angel write nasty things on our foreheads
for this next year!"
Then they cuddled themselves closely together in the blankets and were
soon fast asleep.
So fast asleep that even when, after the short hullaballoo which
followed on the discovery that they were not in their beds, they were
traced to the roof, they did not thoroughly wake up, but were carried
down again without knowing much about it.
"Shall I blow out the lights?" asked Roy, as Head-nurse prepared to
descend also.
[Illustration: _So they both touched the cold marble floor with their
warm little foreheads._]
Head-nurse looked round to Foster-father for his opinion.
"No!" he said shortly, "leave them! The children have asked some one to
eat those sweets. Let be! They may want all the help they can get."
So all the night long the little lamps twinkled and twinkled.
But when morning came there was not a sweet left!
"It must have been the rats," said Meroo, who, as cook, had gone up to
see what he could save. "I saw the tail of one disappearing."
But Foster-father said swiftly: "I would it were some other helper, for
the time has come for help. Prince Askurry hath sent to say we start for
Kâbul and cruel brother Kumran at noon to-day!"
CHAPTER XI
A WINTER MARCH
It was only too true! The escort which was to see them on the road was
already occupying the garden, the horses champing their bits and
fretting because the long branches of the roses at which they snatched
held nothing but thorns.
Prince Akbar, indeed, was too much interested in watching them and
wondering if they were very hungry to take much heed of anything else,
but Princess Bakshee Bâni Begum, who was a very practical little person,
at once began to pack up her favourite doll.
"You had better choose out some toy, Mirak," said she, "or you will be
wanting to play with mine, and I won't let you."
But Mirak was busy with the horses.
"I sha'n't want anything but my sword," he replied valiantly. "I'm a big
boy now, and I'm going to play with real things." Then he turned to one
of the troopers with a quaint air of authority. "Your horse is too thin.
When I am King I shall see that my men give their horses enough to eat."
Foster-father, who overheard the child, paused in the hasty arrangements
he was making to look at the little Heir-to-Empire and put up a prayer
that the fates might let him be King; but the future looked black
indeed. The road to Kâbul must still be blocked with snow, even if more
did not fall by the way. A likely happening, with the bitter north wind
and the dull lowering sky. And if the young child escaped the danger of
extreme cold and extreme hardship, what might not be before him in Kâbul
itself?
Better, it might have been, for those in charge of him, to have risked
all, taken refuge with the old mountain chief, and died like brave men.
There was but one comfort in the whole affair. Prince Askurry must know
that Humâyon or his friends were close at hand, or he would not be in
such a desperate hurry to send away the Heir-to-Empire.
And this, indeed, was the truth. The fear of a rescue was so real and
immediate that Prince Askurry had had to make his decision in a minute.
So there was scarcely any time for preparation, and by noon the party
had started for the three hundred and odd miles of mountainous country
that lay between them and Kâbul. Only the children's faces were
cheerful; even Roy's showed grave and anxious.
They rode fast and far till dusk fell, when they had covered full twenty
miles. For the last few, both the women, who were mounted behind
troopers, had almost been dropping with fatigue, but the captain of the
escort was under orders to go as far as possible that night, so he
pushed on to reach a place called Robât. Here they were all
unceremoniously bundled into one large room, and by the steady tramp
through the night of a sentry outside, Foster-father judged they were
complete prisoners. Luckily they were given plenty of fuel to replenish
the fire that roared in the wide chimney, so the elders squatted round
it and dozed, holding the children in their laps. They slept as soundly
as if they had been in their beds, and so did Tumbu and Down, who had
both insisted on being of the party; the latter having quite calmly
taken her place on Horse-chestnut's broad wavy back on the wide cushion
of felt which Foster-father used as a saddle-cloth. She had left her
kitten behind her as it was now quite a big tom-cat, and able to take
care of itself.
In a way, both Tumbu and Down had already been of service to their young
master, for the troopers of the Escort had been amused by the golliwog's
gambols, and had admired Down's dignity, so they were more inclined to
treat the whole party in kindly fashion. Indeed, next morning, the
Captain of the Escort, whose anxiety about a rescue had, perhaps, been
lessened by the uneventful night, was much less strict in his orders,
and took Prince Akbar on his own saddle and let him hold the reins.
"He is a brave, bold lad," he said to Foster-father; "were he to live,
he would make a good King." Then he frowned, his mouth hardened and
Foster-father, watching him, augured ill for the safety of the
Heir-to-Empire. For the time, however, all went well, though
Foster-father remarked that they kept off the direct track as much as
possible; no doubt to avoid pursuit. And at Ghuznee, where they halted
the second night, the Captain of the Escort sent nearly all his men into
the city by one gate, taking with them, despite their protestations, Roy
and Meroo and Old Faithful, while he himself, with but one or two
troopers, Foster-father, Foster-mother, Head-nurse and the two children,
entered by another and found lodging in the caravanserai as common
travellers. Evidently, Foster-father surmised, it was thought best for
some reason or another to conceal the fact that the Heir-to-Empire was
being carried off to Kâbul; and something happened that evening to make
him certain that this was the case. It was dark ere they arrived, so the
other travellers in the _serai_ took little heed of the small party,
especially as there were women and children in it, and it is not polite
in Eastern countries to take any notice of them. But while Head-nurse
and Foster-mother were busy settling down the children's quilts in the
little dark archway room, which was all the accommodation available, and
Foster-father had gone to purchase them some milk for their supper, the
little Prince and Princess, greatly excited at the novelty of their
surroundings, wandered out into the dark square enclosure, where fires
burned here and there in the open, lit by travellers who were cooking
their evening meal. They stood by these watching what was going on with
quick interest, answering questions that were put to them with frank
smiles and laughter. Being dressed in heavy sheepskin outer coats to
keep out the cold, no one guessed that they were other than they seemed,
poor travellers' children, until at the end of a long row of picketed
horses at the further end of the courtyard, Akbar saw Horse-chestnut,
Foster-father's pony. Now Foster-father had only had time to tie the
poor beast head and heel, so there the honest creature stood, looking
very dejected, with emptiness before it, while the troopers' horses
beside him were enjoying great bundles of green grass. The little fellow
flushed up in a moment; he called loudly to a man who stood near:
"Ho! slave there! bring my pony grass--dost hear? and be quick!"
The man laughed. "Alâh!" he said; "whose son be you to give orders that
fashion?"
"Whose son?" echoed the child passionately. "I am----"
But Bija clung to his arm. "H'st, Mirak!" she whispered. "Remember what
Head-nurse said that we were not to tell----"
Akbar stood irresolute; he was wise beyond his years. "But
Horse-chestnut must not be hungry. I won't have it!--he shall have
grass," he said angrily; then, without another word he walked up to the
next horse, took a great armful of the grass that lay in front of it and
scattered it before his favourite.
"So there! slave!" he cried defiantly with a stamp of his foot.
The man looked at him curiously, said nothing, but went over to some
others and began to whisper.
A minute afterwards, Foster-father returning, found the children the
centre of a little crowd eager in enquiry whence they came, whither they
were going, and, ere he could get them safely to their quarters, the
attention of the Captain of the Escort had been arrested, he came out
frowning and fuming.
"We march again in an hour," he said angrily to Foster-father. "On thy
head be it if thou can'st not keep thy young fighting cock in
order--'twill be all over the town by midnight!"
Foster-father did not often let his temper get the better of his
prudence, but he could not resist saying mildly: "Kingship is like the
musk-bag, friend, that was broken at the royal child's birth. It
diffuses its perfume over the habitable world, and none can mistake it."
The Captain of the Escort shrugged his shoulders. "Then it shall smell
in the wilderness, friend; for I run no risks of rescue this side the
passes. So bid the women give the young crowing cockerel his supper and
prepare to start again. There will be a moon in another hour and we can
push on. Meanwhile I go to warn the other folk where to rejoin us."
It was a bitter cold night. The wind blew keenly from the snow before
them, and by the time they reached a miserable village, high up on the
slopes of the pass, every one save the two children was chilled to the
bone; but they, well happed in all the coverings the fugitives could
compass, were warm; Akbar, in Foster-father's arms, with Down, the cat,
cuddled up beside him, and acting as a hot bottle! Once more there was
plenty of fuel in the rude hut where they found shelter, and stiffened
limbs and half-frosted fingers soon began to thaw. Tumbu, who had kept
himself supple by, as usual, bounding about, was the only one of the
party who did not doze off at once, now comparative comfort was reached.
But he was curiously restless. Over and over again he rose, went to the
door and seemed to listen. Then he began to whine a little, then to
scratch at the door as if he wanted to get out. Finally, finding no one
paid any attention, he let loose one short, sharp bark, which awakened
Head-nurse, who with an impatient look to see if her children had been
disturbed, and an angry whisper, "Go, then! thou mean-born beast," rose
softly, set open the door for a second, then closed it again, shivering
with the chill blast that swept in. But Tumbu was out like a flash and
disappeared in the darkness.
It must have been an hour afterward that every one's slumber was
disturbed by the most insistent barking that ever was heard. Even Akbar,
usually the soundest of sleepers, sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"The evil-dispositioned hound!" said Head-nurse in drowsy anger. "I
deemed he had left us forever, and good riddance, too."
But little Prince Akbar, half awake, protested in defence of his dear
dog.
"Tumbu only barks when he wants something, nurse; go and see what it
is."
"A likely story!" cried Head-nurse.
"Well," interposed Foster-father philosophically, "some one must go if
any one is to sleep."
Whereat he went to the door; but Tumbu on the doorstep refused to come
in; he barked, bounced off, and returned the next minute to whine and
bark again.
"He only wants something; go and see what it is," came Mirak's
deep-toned voice. "I know he wants something."
"Lo! man alive!" grumbled Head-nurse; "shut the door whichever way it
is. I perish with cold!"
Foster-father was a wise man, so to avoid further discussion he stepped
out and shut the door behind him. Thus for a minute or two there was
peace. Then Foster-father's voice rose urgently from outside.
"Open! I say open! Quick!"
Foster-mother flew to obey, and her husband staggered in, bearing some
one in his arms. "God send the boy be not dead," he said as he laid down
his burden.
It was Roy the Râjput!
"I found him quite close, frozen by the cold," he continued, as they set
to work before the fire to rub the poor, stiff limbs and force a few
drops of hot milk through the blue lips.
It was some time before a faint sigh, a quiver of the eyelids told that
Roy was once more coming back to the world; but after that it was not
long before he could sit up and tell them what had happened.
He had managed to evade the eyes of the troopers, and had arrived at the
_serai_ just after the startled party had left it; had followed on their
traces until he had lost his way. In despair he had been stumbling along
aimlessly when Tumbu had suddenly appeared. Following his lead, he had
struggled on, gradually benumbed by cold, until at last his feet had
failed him, and he remembered no more.
"Tumbu wanted Roy!" said little Prince Akbar gravely. "I told you he
wanted something."
And Tumbu, hearing his name, roused his furry head from his furry paws
and looked at his young master with his sharp, beady, black eyes, as who
should say:
"Of course I did, because I knew you wanted him."
CHAPTER XII
SNOW AND ICE
The Captain of the Escort was not over pleased to find Roy when he came
in the next morning, and said curtly that the boy, having found his way
on foot, must make it on foot, and that none should wait for him. To
this the Râjput lad made no demur. His long limbs on that hilly country
were more than an equal even for Horse-chestnut's climbing powers, and
the cold was so intense that it was a relief not to sit still on
horseback. So he raced on ahead with Tumbu or held by Horse-chestnut's
stirrup, and, as he ran, told stories to amuse the Heir-to-Empire; for
neither of the nurses was in a fit state to do more than sit tight, tied
by leathern belts to the troopers behind whom they rode.
About sunset time they arrived at a lonely shed at the beginning of the
highest bit of the main road, which they were now obliged to take, as
there was no other way over the mountains ahead of them. Here, at the
end--as poor Head-nurse wailed--of the habitable world, the Captain of
the Escort had expected to find the remainder of his men; but they were
not there, and as his provisions were running short, he could not go on
till they did arrive. So, in an ill humor, he ordered a halt, and the
whole outwearied party hastily cooked themselves a meagre supper and
lay down in hot haste for rest at last. And rest they had, for that
night the snow, which had been threatening, began to fall, and by
daylight a good nine inches lay on the ground. The children, who had
never seen such thick snow before, were delighted; but Foster-father
looked fearfully at the passes before them, while the Captain of the
Escort fumed and fretted at the non-arrival of his men. Unless they came
soon, he said, if more snow fell, the pass immediately in front of them
might be closed for days. Not that there seemed much likelihood of
further storm, for the sky was blue as blue, the air, though keen,
pleasant. About noon, there being still no sign of the missing men with
provisions, the captain became impatient, and told Foster-father curtly
that he and his three troopers would ride back some fifteen miles to a
village, where perchance the others were waiting, and that meanwhile the
rest of them could wait till he returned; there were provisions enough
for a day or two. Foster-father protested against being left alone in
the snow with but a boy, two helpless women and two young children; but
the Captain only laughed and rode off, taking with him Horse-chestnut,
as a precaution, doubtless, against any attempt to escape with the
Heir-to-Empire.
There was nothing to be done, Foster-father felt, save to wait with what
patience he could; but his heart sank as, while Head-nurse and
Foster-mother slept, outwearied by the past two days' fatigue, and the
children under Roy's care played snowballs, he sat and watched the sky.
At first there was only a cloud or two in the west; then a sudden wind
sprang up and drove the fine, powdery snow in drifts. But still the sun
shone, though it seemed to grow a little dimmer, a little paler;
finally, about two hours after the others had left, Foster-father felt
uncertain whether it was all drift that seemed to fill the air with a
fine white film, or whether fresh snow was falling.
An hour later there was no doubt about it. Great flakes were circling
down silently, the sun had vanished, all things had become grey.
Head-nurse heaped up the fire, set a quilt before it for the children to
play upon, and then opened out the wallets to see what she could find
for supper. There was not much left, and she was about to knead up all
the flour to bake hearth cakes when Foster-father crossed over to her
and whispered:
"Half will do, sister; otherwise there may be none for to-morrow."
"None?" she echoed. "But they will be back----"
Foster-father pointed to the snow that, driven now by a rising wind, had
drifted underneath the door. "Not through that, sister! We may have to
stay here till the weather moderates, for none save friends will risk
their lives, and these men love us not!"
But even as he spoke there was a bustling at the door, Tumbu flew
forward, barking loudly, and in stumbled----
Old Faithful and Meroo the cook-boy!
They were heavily burdened, half-blinded by the snow, and they had a
disquieting tale to tell. About twelve miles back, just as the snow
began to fall, their party, which had been delayed on the main road by a
flooded river, had come upon the Captain of the Escort and his three
troopers. Then had ensued a hurried consultation, in which several of
the men had flatly refused to go on in face of the coming storm. It was,
they said, sheer madness. Better return to the nearest township and
await better weather. As for the prisoners, they had food enough to keep
life in them for a day or two, and after that they must take their
chance. Whereupon Old Faithful and Meroo had offered to go on, carrying
some of the provisions they had with them, and trusting to be able to
follow the tracks left by the horses in the snow. This had been agreed
upon, and--here they were!
"For," as Old Faithful went on, "see you, I am not afraid of snow,
having been with Babar the brave (on whom be peace) when he marched from
Herât to Kâbul and was nigh lost on the Great Zirrin pass."
Little Akbar, who was playing at cat's cradle with his sister, looked up
eagerly. "Was Grand-dad ever in the snow? 'Cos if he was, he's quite
sure to help us, for he ate all our sweeties, didn't he, Bija?"
The little girl shook her head and put her finger to her lip, in warning
to him not to give away their secret; but Head-nurse was sharp.
"Ohé," said she, "so that was it! Listen, Foster-father! these babes set
the platter for Firdoos Gita Makâni--on whom be peace! Is not that good
omen for us all?"
"Mayhap!" said Foster-father, clearing his throat cautiously, "and my
heart is comforted also by the presence of Faithful, who was with the
great king in his battle with snow and ice."
The Heir-to-Empire dropped his cat's cradle and went over to the old
trooper and stood before him with grave, questioning eyes.
"Is it so, slave? Were you with Grand-dad in the snow?"
"Most-Honourable! I was," replied the old man boastfully, "and I
remember as if 'twas yesterday----"
"Tell us the tale, trooper," interrupted Head-nurse. "'Twill hearten us
all up ere we sleep, since there is naught else to be done."
"That will I, mother," replied Old Faithful with alacrity, "and in the
very words of my revered master as written in that book of books, his
Memoirs, which doubtless the most Learned-of-the-Universe will read
some day."
Mirak, who was back at his cat's cradle, looked up with grave
superiority.
"Nay, slave! They shall read it to Akbar. He will be King."
"Hark to him!" ejaculated Foster-mother, delighted. "His words are all
fortunate."
"We have need of more fortune by works, not words, woman," said
Foster-father sternly. "So proceed, friend Faithful; the recitation of
brave deeds can never come amiss."
Old Faithful settled himself by the fire and began. "First you must know
that Firdoos Gita Makâni, or Babar the brave, had to get back to Kâbul,
because wicked men were waiting to be punished. Now, it was winter time,
and none dreamed of travelling over the passes at that season. But
Firdoos Gita Makâni was not one to hold back when a thing had to be
done. So we started, and this is what happened, in his own words:
"From the time we left Herât it snowed incessantly; the farther we
advanced the deeper it became. After three days it reached above the
stirrups. In places the horses' feet did not reach the ground; yet the
snow continued to fall. One Bishâi was our guide. I do not know whether
it was from old age, or from his heart failing him, but having once lost
the road, he never could find it again; so, as it was not to be found
with all our exertions, we were brought to a complete stand. Seeing no
other remedy, we returned back to a place where there was abundance of
firewood, and despatched sixty or seventy chosen men to retrace our
footsteps and find on lower ground any people who might be wintering
there, and bring back another guide. We halted thus for three or four
days awaiting the return of our messengers; but when they did appear it
was without any one to show the way. Placing my reliance on God alone,
therefore, I went on. For about a week we continued beating down the
snow so as to form a road, only advancing two or three miles a day.
Accompanied by ten or fifteen of my personal followers, I worked myself
with the others. Every step we took forward we sank up to the middle,
but still we went on, trampling till we got firm foothold. And as the
first person wearied of the exertion, he stood back and another took his
place. So, after a time, we managed to lead on a riderless horse. It
generally sank to the stirrups, and after floundering on a dozen paces
was worn out. But the second did better. Thus in this way the twenty or
so of us managed to prepare a sort of road for the rest, who with
hanging heads (though many of them had seemed our best men) advanced
along it without even dismounting! But this was no time for reproof or
authority. Every man of spirit hastens to such work of himself, and the
rest do not count. In this way after three or four days we reached a
cave at the foot of the Zirrin Pass. That day the wind and storm were
dreadful; the snow fell in quantities; we all expected to meet death
together. The snow was so deep, the path so narrow, the days were at
shortest. The first of the troops reached the cave while it was yet
daylight; but some men had to wait for morning on horseback. The cave
seemed to be too small for all, so I would not go in. I felt that for me
to be warm and comfortable while my men were in snow and drift; for me
to sleep at my ease while my followers were in trouble and distress,
would be unfair. I felt that whatever their sufferings might be, I ought
to share them. So I took a hoe and dug down into the snow as deep as my
breast; this gave me some shelter from the wind, and I sat down in the
hole. By bedtime prayers the snow had fallen so fast that four inches of
it had settled on my head----'"
Here Old Faithful paused and shook his head gravely. "His Majesty," he
went on, "writes in the margin, 'That night I caught a cold in my ear.'
It is only wonder he did not catch his death."
"But what happened next?" asked Akbar impatiently. "Did poor Grand-dad
sit in the snow all night?"
"No, Most-Honourable. He goes on to say, 'The cave was properly explored
and found to be large enough to hold us all. So I ordered all to go in,
and thus we escaped from the terrible cold, snow, and drift, into a
wonderfully warm, safe, comfortable place. And next morning the snow and
tempest ceased and we moved on, trampling down the snow as before; but
ere we quite got through the pass, night fell. Though the wind had
fallen, the cold was dreadful, and several lost fingers, toes, even
hands and feet from frostbite, as we waited for dawn in the open. As
early as we could we moved down the glen, descending, without road, over
difficult and precipitous places, the extreme depth of the snow enabling
us to pass over countless dangers. Thus our enemy became our friend.
"'It was evening prayer time ere we got from the mouth of the valley,
bedtime prayers when we reached the village of Auleng. The people
carried us to their warm houses, brought out fat sheep for us, a
superfluity of hay and grain for our horses, with abundance of wood to
kindle our fires. To pass from the cold and snow into such a village
with its warm houses, to find plenty of good food as we did after days
of hunger is an enjoyment that can only be understood by those who have
suffered similar hardship, have endured such heavy distress.'"
Old Faithful paused and sighed. "That is so like Firdoos Gita Makâni,"
he said. "When danger was over he would sit down and write beautiful
things about it; but when it was there he never seemed to think of
anything but trampling it down."
"That is like all Kings," said Roy proudly, "and brave men are always
Kings in danger."
But Foster-father was looking at the fire. "Abundance of fuel," he
murmured, "that is what we have not."
"We shall not need it here, friend," replied the old trooper. "Meroo,
remove that log; 'tis too hot as it is, and if the snow continues to
drift as it was doing a while agone--" he moved to the door, which
opened inward and set it wide. A great white wall reaching almost to the
eaves showed filling up the doorway! "It is as I thought," he said; "we
are prisoned here till the storm passes. Thank God we have provision
enough for some days."
"And thanks to others also," put in Foster-father heartily; "but for
thee and Meroo, old friend----"
"As Firdoos Gita Makâni used to say," remarked the old man with an air
of great virtue, "'Gratitude comes when danger has gone,' so she must
wait a bit yet."
CHAPTER XIII
OVER THE PASS
Gratitude had longer to wait than even Foster-father, who always took a
gloomy view of things, had thought for, since the next morning found the
shed almost hidden beneath a snowdrift. Still, as Old Faithful remarked,
it was not altogether to be regretted since the covering kept out the
cold and allowed them to save their small store of firewood for cooking.
The lack of light was, however, terrible until Old Faithful, whose
experience with Babar the brave made him full of expedients, hit on the
plan of setting Tumbu to work to dig out a hole through the drift, for
they had nothing with them to use as a spade. What he did was to set the
door wide, cut a narrow tunnel with his sword as far as he could reach
in the banked-up snow, and thrust a bit of food in its farther end. Then
Roy brought Tumbu and said:
"Fetch it out, good dog! fetch it out!" while Mirak and Bija looked on
delightedly, calling, "Good dog! Dig it out! dig it out!" Tumbu, the
most playful of animals, soon entered into the fun, and set to work
shovelling out the snow till he found the food. Then another bit was
thrust in, always in an upward direction.
"'Tis slow," said Old Faithful, "but not so slow as trampling down a
road!"
Not half so slow, for after a time Tumbu seemed to understand what they
would be at, and needed no more bits of food to make him dig, but went
on solidly, every now and again giving a yap just to make himself
believe he really _was_ digging something out. In fact, he got on so
fast that Roy, who, as the slimmest of the party, had to keep the tunnel
clear of the dug-out snow, had almost more to do than he could manage.
It was frightfully exciting, and Mirak and Bija were dancing about,
unable to keep still, when a sudden shaft of light that burst into the
dark shed, and a furiously joyful barking that came down the funnel as
if it had been a speaking trumpet, announced Tumbu's arrival in free
air.
"Now, we shall do," said Old Faithful with much importance. "Lo! how one
clever idea begets another. But for Firdoos Gita Makâni trampling a road
I should never have thought of a tunnel!"
Roy, however, was already hard at work improving on the idea by widening
the way with Old Faithful's sword, being only let from doing more by
Head-nurse's exclamation that the melting snow would flood the shed.
"Let be, boy!" said Foster-father; "the hot air from within, rising
through the tunnel, will melt the sides by degrees. To-morrow will see
it large enough for you, at any rate, to pass through."
And so it proved. Not next day, but the day after, not only Roy, but
Mirak and Bija, had managed to climb up to the outer world by the
notches which Roy cut in the snow walls.
It was a strange, chill world which they saw. Far as the eye could
reach, nothing but snow, the air frosty and sharp, though the sun was
shining once more. Mirak was keen to snowball, but Roy would not hear of
it; the snow was melting with the faint heat of the mid-day sun, he
said, and a step might make the frost film break, and down into the
powdery drift they might go, never to come up again. So they only stood
looking about them for a few minutes and then prepared to go back.
"Take care, my lord, take care!" cried Roy, as Mirak, who was preparing
to descend legs foremost, as he had been told to do, suddenly looked up
with a face full of mischief, let go with his hands, and pouf!
disappeared down the slippery tunnel like a pea in a pea-shooter. A
burst of laughter from below told them he had arrived safely, and
nothing would suit Bija but to do likewise, Roy being still too tight a
fit to slide quickly. In fact, the children were eager to climb up once
more and do it again, but Head-nurse said she could not hear of it;
their clothes were wet enough as it was; besides, it was most
unlady-like for a real Princess!
The days, therefore, did not pass so uncomfortably, though pressing
anxiety sat on Foster-father's honest face, and every time Roy returned
from a climb up to outer air he would ask him if he had seen anything.
"Nothing," Roy would reply, "and the snow wastes but little, we are so
high up."
At last one night, after the children were asleep, Foster-father
summoned a council of war. It would not be wise, he said, to remain
where they were, without making any effort at escape, until their
provisions were exhausted. Then they would be helpless. Now they still
had enough for two or three days, and it behooved them to make a
push--but whither?
"Not back on our steps," advised Old Faithful. "Firdoos Gita Makâni
always said: 'No retreat till there is no advance.' Besides, see you, if
we go down, the snow will be melting and give us no foothold. But at
night the frost will hold on the pass. And it is but little farther to
the next shelter; for, see you, I have come twice this way from
Kandahâr; but never the other way back. So my memory of land-marks--if
there be any--would be nothing on the downward journey. But upward it
might come to life. Again, upward there is less chance of missing the
way, as all the valleys converge to the Pass, whereas downward they
spread out in different directions."
In fact, there were so many points in favour of advance that the
decision was made for it, and the next night settled on for the start.
There were not many preparations to make except for the women, who had
to bake what flour they had into hearth cakes. They had a little wheat
and pulse, too, and this they roasted and tied up in the corners of
their veils. Everything that was heavy had to be left behind, for they
knew that even unburdened they might have difficulty in getting the
frost film on the snow to bear their weight. It was a bright, starlight
night when, the snow tunnel having been enlarged by Roy, regardless of
flooding the shed, the whole party crept out and stood on the wide,
snowy expanse. Tumbu was first, and with joyful yaps began to career
about in circles curved like a comma, biting and snapping at the snow.
Down came last, and _meaowed_ piteously, lifting up first one cold foot,
then another, and shaking it in disgust. Finally an idea seemed to come
into her head; she made a bound toward Tumbu, and the next moment was on
his back, clawing onto his fluffy black fur; whereat everybody laughed.
So, with many a prayer for guidance, the little party set off, Old
Faithful leading the way. At first they managed pretty well, though the
men and women, being heavy, sank over the ankles at each step. But both
Bija and Mirak, and even Roy, being light, found the surface hard enough
to bear them; so they ran on ahead and chattered and laughed, the whole
business being to them a huge joke. Thus an hour passed cheerfully
enough; then Bija began to get tired, and Foster-father took her in his
arms. The result sent his heart into his mouth with sudden fear, sudden
certainty that no help could come that way. Even her slight additional
weight sent him almost waist deep into the snow. He could scarcely move!
And ere long the Heir-to-Empire would doubtless weary also; then what
was to be done? For every hour after midnight would bring the thawing
sun nearer and nearer; they might have to remain on the Pass till night
brought frost again, and in that case what would become of the children?
Then suddenly his eye caught Tumbu, who was marching along sullenly,
Down nestling, fast clawed in his broad, furry back. Could the dog carry
a child? A creature with four feet had greater purchase of foothold than
one with two.
"Roy," he said, "turn the cat off and put the Heir-to-Empire on the
dog's back; he must be tired also."
Mirak, nothing loath, climbed quickly to his mount; but ere he had
settled himself on its back Tumbu had begun to sink slowly. The little
lad's weight was too much for even four feet; there was a struggle, over
went the little Prince, and both he and Tumbu had to be picked up and
set on their legs again on a fresh, unbroken place.
Foster-father looked in despair at Old Faithful, and for a minute no
one said anything. Then the old man's face lit up. "Lo! I had forgotten
it utterly, but the time and place bring memory back. Firdoos Gita
Makâni--who knew all things under the sun--had a favourite horse, that
strained itself falling into a drift. They were for leaving it to die,
but that did not suit Firdoos Gita Makâni, who was kind to all God's
creatures. So, having read of the like somewhere, he set us to make a
sort of platform with our lances and blankets underneath the poor brute,
and so we dragged him over the snow, until we reached a place where
there was water and grass."
"We have no lances," said Foster-father, "and there is no wood." He
looked around helplessly.
"My lord has a sword," put in Roy eagerly, "and so has Faithful. If he
were to tie them crossways to the scabbards--" He had already thrown off
his skin coat and was unwinding his long muslin waistband to tear it
into strips to use as a cord.
"It is worth the trying, friend Foster-father," said Old Faithful,
unbuckling his sword.
"Aye!" continued Roy, elated with the idea, "and Tumbu can drag it. He
makes no mark on the snow, so it will be smooth and slippy--and the
curved scabbards will be like runners."
His dexterous fingers were hard at work binding the long sword blades to
place. Then a strip of woollen shawl was fastened to them as a seat,
Meroo's turban served as harness, and in less time than could have been
imagined the quaint sledge was ready for trial.
Mirak sat on it first. "Now then, Tumbu! Good dog!" said Roy in a
flutter for fear of failure. Tumbu turned round, looked at his little
master with a broad grin of red tongue and white teeth, gave a little
grunt, and started.
The sledge slid on over the frozen snow quite easily!
"Now praise be to God!" cried Foster-father, overjoyed.
"And Grand-dad!" said the little Prince, who always listened to
everything; "but I knew he would help us, didn't you, Bija?"
"But I want to go on the thing, too," she whimpered.
"Mayhap it might support them both," put in Head-nurse; "she is but a
featherweight, and there is plenty of room."
Ere five minutes were over the little party, greatly heartened up by
finding this unexpected way out of their difficulties, started once
more, Roy encouraging Tumbu, who, in truth, seemed to feel his task
quite a light one, while Foster-father, in his relief and gratitude,
allowed Down, the cat, to creep once more inside his fur coat. Her
weight made him sink a little farther into the snow, but he was strong,
and felt he could have done more for the sake of the children's safety.
On and on they went, the frost film giving firmer foothold on the
top of the pass, while the chill which always precedes dawn took away
still more from the difficulty of Tumbu's task. In fact, the curved
scabbards slipped over the hard snow as if it had been ice.
[Illustration: _Ahead of them, a shadow showed, a shambling shadow!
Tumbu ... with a bound was off full tilt after it._]
So they went on till a glimmer of dawn showed them that the summit had
been reached, the downward slope begun. But still, far and near, nothing
but snow was to be seen. Then suddenly, ahead of them, a shadow showed,
a shambling shadow! Tumbu stopped dead, sniffed, then with a bound was
off full tilt after it, the sledge, with the two children in it, flying
behind him!
For an instant the others were too much astonished to speak. Then Roy,
with frantic cries to Tumbu to come back, was off after them. In vain!
As he crested a little rise he saw by the growing light a big brown
Isabelline bear shambling along contentedly, seeming to go no pace at
all, yet gaining steadily on the sledge that was giving chase.
"I will follow as fast as I can!" panted the Râjput lad breathlessly, as
Foster-father, Meroo, and Old Faithful, hampered by their greater
weight, ran up. "It is a bear; but they cannot catch it--and Tumbu will
tire--then he always comes back. Follow you on my tracks with the
women."
With that he was off like an arrow from a bow behind the bear, Tumbu,
the sledge, the Heir-to-Empire and the Princess Bakshee Bâni Begum, who
by this time had all disappeared behind the hilly horizon.
CHAPTER XIV
IN THE VALLEY
Roy ran and ran and ran until he was breathless; yet still he ran, until
little by little he recovered his breath again as wild animals do. Every
moment he hoped to see Tumbu either returning or standing still, panting
and waiting for the others to come up. But he saw nothing save,
stretching away as far as the eye could reach, a smooth, not over steep,
snowy slope. So far there was little fear of the sledge being overset.
Then, after he had run a long way, he paused, for there were now two
tracks instead of one. The marks of the bear went up a little side
valley, the marks of the sledge went down the slope. What could have
happened? Had Tumbu in his haste missed the bear's trail? That was not
likely. Having come so far, had he determined to go on? That was not
likely either, unless the children had urged him forward. Knowing
Mirak's bold, adventurous spirit, this seemed possible, and Roy's heart
sank; but he started off running again, knowing that no matter what had
happened he must follow his little master, and follow fast.
But as he ran downward and downward the frost film on the snow became
less and less firm. The sun was rising now, and even its earliest rays
seemed to melt his foothold, and he began to sink at every step. The
sledge, however, appeared from the faint marks it left to have slid on
without difficulty. No doubt, he thought, because of the children's
light weight, and because the platform between the swords and scabbards
which supported them was so large; many times larger than his own feet!
Why, even Tumbu's four broad, furry paws had sunk into the snow a
little, and would doubtless have sunk more but for the pace at which he
must have been going.
The sledge was the thing! How clever it was of Old Faithful to remember
Firdoos Gita Makâni's way of saving his horse; but after all, when one
came to think of it, the thanks were due to Babar the brave for being a
real King, kind-hearted to animals.
And now Roy's task became dangerous as well as hard, for every moment
lessened the firmness of the ice film. And he was now running down a
shallow valley, which was completely blocked up by drift, except in the
very middle, where every now and again you got a glimpse of a roaring
torrent--kept unfrozen by its snowy covering--hollowing its way
downward; but for the most part it was invisible, the only sign of it
being a roar, a tremble beneath your feet. Thus he was, as it were, on a
snow bridge, of which the surface might at any moment give way. And that
meant certain death in the dark pools below. In one place, indeed, he
was all but lost; however, a wild leap landed him on safe ground, and
with a gasp of fear, not for himself, but for the children ahead of
him, he ran on, comforted by the sight of the sledge track going on and
on.
After a while he had to cease running from sheer fatigue; but still he
plodded on, telling himself that even half an hour would have made a
difference in the snow. That where he found danger, the children might
have found safety; and always before him that track of the
scabbard-sledge showed him that so far, at any rate, all had gone well.
And then, as he turned a sharp curve in the shallow, snow-covered
valley, he saw a little below him something that made him turn sick with
fear. It was the sledge, empty, deserted! A second glance, however,
showed him that it was not overset. Those who had been in it must have
left it of their own accord; and the cause of this was soon made clear.
Within a few yards the snow ended and a rocky descent began, down which
the sledge could not have gone. So either Tumbu or the children had been
wise; and they were still in front of him, but how far off who could
tell? The sun was already high, hours must have passed since he first
started in chase; but now that they were on foot there was some chance
of overtaking them before anything dreadful happened.
In his hurry Roy almost flung himself from rock to rock down the
descent; but he had to pause to take off his fur coat, for in this
sheltered spot the sun beat shadelessly, the snow melted as he passed,
the stones ran with moisture, and in the crannies of the rocks young
green things were everywhere starting into growth. The past storm of
bitter cold had ended winter; spring had begun. And now the rushing
torrent, escaping finally from its snowy blanket, dashed over the
boulders beside him, carrying with it great blocks of melting snow.
On and on he went, thinking the descent would never end, till at a turn
he saw below him a tiny valley, just a sort of cup in the hills, through
which the stream rushed, sparkling in the sunshine. The banks were still
brown, but they were patched with great beds of rose-pink primula, blue
gentian, and yellow dog pansies. And on a perfect carpet of these sat
three dark figures! Never in his life was Roy so overjoyed. He forgot
his fatigue, and ran on until he could plainly see Princess Bakshee Bâni
Begum making cowslip balls out of the pink primulas, the Heir-to-Empire
contentedly munching a cold hearth cake, and giving bits of it to Tumbu,
who, with his head cocked on one side, had evidently heard Roy's distant
step. The next instant a furious barking showed that he was on the alert
to defend his young charges, and Roy had to call to him again and again
before he was satisfied that the newcomer was a friend.
"Why, what a long time you've been coming," said the Heir-to-Empire
calmly. "We've had our breakfast, 'cos we couldn't wait any longer. You
can't have come as fast as you could. No more would Tumbu, only we made
him not be lazy, 'cos Head-nurse says--what is it she says, Bija?"
The little girl looked solemn. "She says every one should do everything
as quick as ever they can. So we shouted at Tumbu and pulled his tail
just a liddly-wee bit like the bullock drivers do. And then we had the
loveliest ride, and Tumbu wasn't a bit cross; but he wouldn't go down
the rocks and growled. So we had to get out and walk. And then we came
here, and first of all we picked flowers; then I had hearth cakes and
popcorn in my veil, and so we ate our breakfast, and then you came--and
that's all, thank you!" She had just finished a lovely soft ball and she
flung it full at the Heir-to-Empire. It hit him, but he took no notice.
He was thinking of something else.
"But where," he began, and his little lip went down, "is Head-nurse--and
Foster-father--and Foster-mother--and Old Faithful--and Meroo--and Down?
What have you done with them, slave?"
He was half angry, half ready to cry, so Roy, though his own heart
failed him as he thought of the dangers of the road, had to soothe and
comfort him by saying, as cheerfully as he could, that they would come
before long. But would they? Now that the relief of finding the children
were safe was over, poor Roy began to see the difficulties before him.
If those others did not come, what would he, a mere lad, do? How could
he care for his little master and mistress? They had had their
breakfast, it is true--Roy forgot he had had none himself!--but what
could they have for supper? He could not even think, he felt too giddy
and tired even to sleep; so, after he had rolled his fur coat into a
soft pillow for the little Prince and Princess, who were drowsy for
their mid-day rest, and covered them over with their own, he sat with
his head between his hands, his eyes closed, wishing he were not so
stupid, wishing he could only think of something to do; for in reality
he was quite wearied out. If the others did not come! Of course they
might come at any moment; and yet the moments passed to minutes, the
minutes to hours, while the children slept in the sunshine, and Roy felt
that he was a fool.
And then something cold touched his hand. He opened his eyes and saw
that it was Tumbu's nose; Tumbu, who had something strange in his
mouth--something like a rabbit and yet like a squirrel!
In reality it was a fresh-killed young marmot, an animal that lives amid
the snow and ice and rocks of the very highest hills. Tumbu, having
handed over charge of the children, must have gone off on his own
hunting, found a colony of the quaint creatures, and, as usual, brought
home his bag! Roy did not in the least know what the marmot was, but he
saw it was something to eat! The relief was too much for him! Here, at
least, was supper. He flung his arms round Tumbu's neck and burst into
tears, murmuring with choking sobs that he, Roy, had been foolish, but
Tumbu was a wise, wise, good doggie. And so he was!
After this Roy felt better, and having, as all Indian boys used to have
in those days, a flint and steel with him, began to look around for fuel
with which to light a fire and cook the supper. There were, of course,
no trees and no bushes; but right away at the farther end of the long
valley there were some patches of very dark green. They did not look
promising, but he would go and see. They proved to be a creeping sort of
evergreen plant that trailed its stiff branches right on the very
ground. He picked a bit, and on trying to light it, found to his
surprise, that it blazed up in a fierce flame. For it was juniper, and
so full of resin.
He now had the possibility of fire, so that evening the little cup in
the hills held quite comfortable encampment.
Roy had brought down the sledge, and using the swords and their
scabbards as supports, had made a lean-to tent against a warm rock out
of the strip of shawl. In this he had strewn juniper branches to make a
soft bed, and the children could just creep into it. Then they had the
marmot, roasted in its skin, for supper, and all the three were too
hungry to ask themselves if marmot flesh was as toothsome as rabbit or
as bitter as squirrel! And Tumbu ate the bones with an air as if he
would say, "It is not bad, but to-morrow I must catch two marmots."
After that there was peace and quiet in the camp, Roy sitting beside the
fire and making it blaze up every now and again by putting on a fresh
juniper branch. For he knew that since the others had not arrived by
daylight, they must either all have perished on the road or else be
waiting until the cold of night once more froze the ice-film on the
snow. In this case the firelight seen from afar might be a guide.
So the night passed. More than once Roy fell asleep, for despite his
care the smoke of the juniper branches could not quite be avoided, and
that, every one knows, is terribly sleepifying. He woke every time,
however, before the fire was quite out, and hastened to send up a flare
of flame. As he did so the last time it was answered by a _hulloo_ from
the rocks above, and shortly afterward Meroo, the scullion's, blubbering
voice could be heard as he uttered thanks to Heaven.
"And the others?" asked Roy anxiously, as out of the darkness Meroo
appeared and cast himself at the lad's feet, bellowing joy.
"They come, they come! They are but a short way back. I saw the fire,
and the sight of it warmed the cockles of my heart! Lo! I shall cook
once more! I shall not die hungry in the wilderness. Nay! go not," for
Roy was starting up. "True! the women are nigh dead, and Foster-father
hath his fingers frost-bitten, but--nay, put more flame to the fire,
boy! It is the fire they need!"
He was half beside himself, but he was right. As the fresh juniper
branches blazed up Head-nurse came tottering and stumbling into its
light. Roy sprang to help her, but she pushed him aside.
"The Heir-to-Empire?" she muttered, her lips almost refusing to form the
words. "The Heir-to-Empire, the Admired-of-the-World----"
Roy pointed to the little tent. "There! Safe! Well! Asleep!" he cried;
and the poor woman with a sob sank as she stood, and lay prone muttering
long strings of titles.
Before a minute had passed Foster-father and Foster-mother struggled
into the circle of light, and after a word of question and reply, sank
down also.
Then there was a long pause, but no sign came of good Old Faithful's
tall, gaunt figure. At last Roy spoke.
"Faithful?" he asked in a low whisper. "What of him?"
There was no answer at first; only Foster-father covered his face with
his hands. At last he spoke gently.
"He was faithful to death. He was going first, as ever, cheering us all
with his sayings of Firdoos Gita Makâni. I saw him there one moment
turning to tell us words of wisdom--the next the snow bridge had given
way beneath his feet and he was gone. We waited on the bank of the awful
chasm for a long time, but there was no sound save the roaring of the
stream below. Firdoos Gita Makâni, his master, had called him. Peace be
with them both!"
CHAPTER XV
DEAREST-LADY
For two whole days the little party was too weary even to attempt a
move. They had some provisions with them, and Tumbu, as good as his
word, brought in more and more marmots; for being unaccustomed to dogs,
they were easily caught.
The death of Old Faithful weighed upon the spirits of all, and for the
first twelve hours or so the Heir-to-Empire was inconsolable for the
loss of his beloved cat; for Foster-father had found it impossible to
carry Down farther, and she had remained behind in the snow, protesting
piteously. It was a terrible grief, and the child had almost wept
himself sick, when, to every one's surprise and delight, Mistress Down
was seen walking sedately across the flowers, her bushy tail carried
very high, not one hair of her silky white coat awry. She took no notice
of anybody, but passed to the fire, sat down beside it with stiff
dignity, curled her tail round her paws, yawned and then began to purr
gently. It was as if nothing had happened. And she certainly was not
hungry, for she turned up her dainty nose at Tumbu's marmot bones.
"Cats," said Head-nurse, who had just awakened from a long sleep of many
hours, "are not to be counted as other beasts. Having nine lives, they
could afford to lose one; but they never do. They always fall on their
feet. It is the way of the world; the more you have the more you get.
Still, I am glad she has returned; and I wish there were a chance of
others turning up also," she added with a sigh.
The Heir-to-Empire looked up gravely. "But Faithful can't come back, you
know. He went to help Grand-dad to help us."
"Hark to the innocent," cried Foster-mother, half in smiles, half in
tears, "but it is true. If ever poor mortals were watched over by saints
in Paradise, we were; and for my part if ever I get to Kâbul, my duty
shall be paid to the tomb of Firdoos Gita Makâni--on whom be peace."
"Amen!" added her husband devoutly; "but for the memory of that good man
we should not be here now."
It was on the third day that leaving Meroo in charge for a few hours
Foster-father and Roy set off to explore. They were fortunate in finding
some shepherds' huts within a walking distance for even footsore women,
and returned ere nightfall with a skin bag of fresh milk.
Early next morning, therefore, they all set off, Roy girding on dead
Faithful's sword from the sledge that was wanted no more, and from that
moment feeling himself indeed bodyguard to the Heir-to-Empire.
Once they had reached safety from starvation in the shepherds' huts, a
great desire for rest came upon them all; and for three whole days they
did nothing but eat, and sleep, and rejoice in the early spring
sunshine, and the early spring flowers. For the late snap of extreme
cold had passed and every green thing was hurrying to be ahead of its
neighbour. Bija made endless cowslip balls out of the beautiful
rose-pink primulas, while Roy and Mirak, following the shepherds' boys,
came back with their hands full of young rhubarb shoots and green fern
croziers, which they ate like asparagus. But this sort of thing could
not last long, since they were close to the caravan route from Kandahâr
to Kâbul; and sure enough, no sooner had the snow on the uplands melted
than travellers began to pass through.
Thus news that the little party had escaped death soon filtered from
mouth to mouth, till it reached the Captain of the Escort, and ere long
Foster-father found himself and those in his care once more
semi-prisoners on their way to cruel brother Kumran; all the more cruel,
doubtless, because King Humâyon had already begun the siege of Kandahâr,
believing his little son to be still within its walls.
Now Kumran was a far cleverer fellow than his brother Askurry; but there
was in him a love of deceit for deceit's sake, which spoiled all his
cleverness, for it made him uncertain what he would do in the end. This
indeed is always the case with deceitful people. They know that what
they say and do is _not_ straightforward and true, and so they are like
sailors without a compass. They have no fixed pole by which to steer.
And, in addition, Kumran liked to be considered clever; so he was always
outwardly very courteous, very polite, very charming; but what he was
within none could say for long.
Thus Foster-father's heart sank within him, when in the distance, down
the rocky ravine through which the Kâbul River dashes, and along which
the caravan road took its high-perched way, he saw the battlemented wall
of the city, cresting the low hills on which the town was built. It was
a fully fortified town through which the river ran, and at its extreme
end, commanding the wider plain below, stood the citadel called the Bala
Hissar or High Fort. To reach this the travellers had to cross the iron
bridge and wend their way through the narrow bazaars.
Such wonderful bazaars as they were, too! Crowded with tiny dark arched
shops, like caverns, full to the brim with Persian silk carpets, furs
from the north, turquoises and all kinds of precious stones from
out-of-the-way places with unpronounceable names. And there were such a
quantity of cats! Grey Persian cats and white ones, and tabbies and
black cats who sat on the balconies and stared at Down as she lay on
Horse-chestnut's broad, wavy back. For the Captain of the Escort had
found out what an excellent creature the old pony was, and had brought
it along with him.
The High Fort was a huge place with great gardens within its battlements
and several separate palaces. Here, to Foster-father's unbounded
delight, they found that Prince Kumran was himself away, having gone out
with a small body of men to the Kandahâr frontier, where King Humâyon's
arrival had aroused loyalty. But what was still more cheering was the
news that he had left orders for the Heir-to-Empire and his sister to be
handed over on arrival to the charge of Dearest-Lady! Foster-father
could hardly believe his ears; for Dearest-Lady (as she was always
called by all her family, by all her nephews and nieces, by all her
grand nephews and nieces, and cousins, and every one who was lucky
enough to belong to her) was simply--Well! what was she not? Wise, and
gentle, and good, and clever--all this and more. She was the sort of
Dearest-Lady who lived so long in the hearts of those who knew her,
that, years after she was dead they would say, if there was any
difficult point to be settled--"We wonder what Dearest-Lady would have
said?"
She was old, of course, for she was Babar the Brave's elder sister; the
sister to whom he had been devoted, who had always been to him also "his
Dearest-One." Now, when you come to think of it, boys and girls, that
is a nice sort of fame to have--to remain for--let me see how many
hundred years?--nearly four--Dearest-Lady, or Dearest-Gentleman to all
the world.
This Dearest-Lady was, of course, the Heir-to-Empire's grand-aunt, and
the mere sound of her name was enough to calm Foster-father's fears.
Even Head-nurse, though she sniffed a little and said she had heard tell
that the Khânzâda Khânum was a trifle careless of ceremonials, was
satisfied. There was no doubt that she was the Highest-Born-in-the-Land.
As for little Prince Akbar himself, he only opened his big, grave eyes
widely when the tall white figure clasped him closely in its arms and
kissed his hair softly.
"So like his grandfather," she murmured, "so like! so like!--the very
hands, the very feet--so strong, so shapely." And both in turn felt the
touch of the soft old lips. "And thou, too, small maiden," she continued
kindly, "welcome to one who has never yet let it be said in her hearing
that God made women weaker than man! Thou shalt learn here to be proud
thou wast born a girl. And you also, Nurse! Bring cooling sherbets,
slaves, while she tells me all that has happened."
Then she sat and listened while Head-nurse told the tale of what had
happened, and her faded, gay, old face flashed and sparkled and grew
grave by turns.
"But where is Tumbu?" she interrupted, "and where is Down? Bring them
hither, slaves! Lo! I love all animals, as my dear brother did!"
And she laughed over their doings, and wept over Old Faithful's death,
while Bija and Mirak sat cuddled up close beside her, listening also and
enjoying the tale of their own adventures as if they had happened to
other children!
"Surely," she said softly when Head-nurse ended, "my dearest brother--on
whom be peace--must have protected them! Lo! Mirak! and Bija--for I
shall call you naught else since they are sweet kindly names, better
than fine sounding titles--this very afternoon ye shall come with me to
the garden he loved, and where his earthly form lies at rest, and lay
flowers on his grave for thanks. Since he loved flowers as he loved
everything."
So that evening, about an hour before sunset time, they were all carried
in litters to the Garden of the New Year, about a mile beyond the city.
It was a most peaceful, lovely spot, right up on the hillside with a
splendid view from it of valley and mountain and river. A fresh bubbling
spring ran through it, and beneath the Judas trees, whose leafless
branches were flushed with pink blossoms, stretched great carpets of
spring flowers.
"Pluck him yonder tulips, Mirak," said Dearest-Lady with a smile. "He
loved to count their kinds and those--as he wrote--are 'yellow, double,
and scented like a rose'!"
And the boy who was to grow to be a greater man even than his
grandfather, though he could scarcely be a more lovable one, plucked a
posy of the tulips and laid them on the plain marble slab which bore
nothing but the words, "Heaven is the eternal home of the Emperor
Babar." And when Bija, with many a little feminine ceremonial, had
deposited her nosegay of sweet violets, and Head-nurse and Foster-mother
had offered up their respects, they all went and sat down on a grassy
spot, and Dearest-Lady, who was always full of youthful curiosities
concerning all things, began to question Roy, who as a mere lad had been
allowed to come with them, as to what he could remember of the time
before he was picked up in the desert.
"Hold my hand, child, and think," she said at last, "mayhap it may come
to thee then. The touch of kinship has power, and if I do not mistake
me, there is that in thy blood that is in mine--royalty!"
So she clasped Roy's slim long-fingered hand and held it tight, and the
boy's face changed, his eyes grew startled, he shivered slightly.
"Yea!" he said, "now I do remember. Mother was like you, and she told me
I had the mark of Kingship strong enough, for all the rebels might
say--" As he spoke, he drew down his loose garments, and there upon the
clear olive of his breast, just above the heart, showed a small dark
stain.
Dearest-Lady bent close to look at it. "What is't?" she asked.
"Mother said it was the sign of uttermost truth, and that we all had
it," he replied, speaking dreamily.
"But who were we?" persisted Dearest-Lady, her kind eyes on the lad's.
Just at that moment, however, Tumbu, who had, of course, accompanied
them, burst out with a series of shrill, short barks, and Roy was on his
feet in a second, his hand on Old Faithful's sword, lest any newcomer
might bring danger to his little master. But as it turned out Tumbu was
only excited by a water-rat! All the same the interruption prevented
Dearest-Lady's question from being answered, for the spell was broken.
"Yea! thou wilt be true to the very uttermost, of that I am sure," said
Dearest-Lady, half pleased, half amused at the young Râjput's quick leap
to arms, "and so long as I have charge of the Heir-to-Empire thou shalt
be his esquire. So go call the litter-men, boy, it is time we returned.
I must remember I am gaoler as well as grand-aunt."
CHAPTER XVI
CRUEL BROTHER KUMRAN
If Dearest-Lady was in truth a gaoler, she was a very kind one, and her
prison the pleasantest prison in the world. It would take too long to
tell how happily the next four months passed, not only for the two
children, but for Roy and Foster-father, Head-nurse and Foster-mother.
Even misshapen Meroo, in the kitchen, felt the better for helping to
cook the Khânzâda Khânum's dinner. For that was one of Dearest-Lady's
virtues, she always made people feel contented, and as if they were
doing the right thing. So even Prince Kumran, when he returned to Kâbul,
though he frowned at the big, bold, frank-faced boy who claimed to be
the Heir-to-an-Empire which his own fingers itched to have, did not feel
inclined to interfere with his aunt. The truth being that, like the rest
of the family, he loved and trusted her beyond measure; perhaps more
than did any of his brothers, since she had brought him up as a child.
And she, in her turn, though she knew his faults, though she not only
bewailed them, but resented them, at times most fiercely, could not
forget that he had been her nursling, could not forget, above all, that
he was her dear brother Babar's son.
Thus all went smoothly in the Bala Hissar, where young Prince Akbar,
now close on three years old, looked and talked and acted like one of
six. This same strength of his was always getting him into scrapes with
people who did not believe he was so young, or, knowing him to be so
young, did not believe him to be so strong!
He played a similar trick to the one he had played on cousin Yakoob at
Kandahâr on his big cousin Ibrahim, Prince Kumran's son. It was about a
fine kettledrum all tasselled in royal fashion, with gold and silver,
that Ibrahim's father had given him. Being a selfish boy, he would not
allow Akbar to touch it; whereupon the Heir-to-Empire, after a brief
tussle, carried off the kettledrum and beat it loudly through the
palace!
Kumran hearing of this was very angry, for the beating of a kettledrum
is a sign of Empire.
"Keep that young fighting cock of thine in better order, madam," he said
to his aunt, "or I shall have to find him a sterner gaoler."
Whereupon she flashed out and told him fairly that short of killing the
child, and for that crime even _he_ was not prepared, there was no way
of preventing the Heir-to-Empire from being what he was, a born king.
That was her way of quelling Kumran. By boldly setting aside the thought
of murder as impossible, she hoped to make it so; but she was not sure,
and after this she kept Mirak and Bija under control.
It was not much good, however, when just as autumn was coming on news
arrived from Kandahâr that Humâyon had at last succeeded in taking the
city, and, disappointed in not finding his son in the palace, was
preparing to march on Kâbul.
Then the worst side of Prince Kumran showed itself at once. Like all
deceitful people, he was a coward at heart, and cowardice made him think
of immediate revenge upon his victorious brother. Of what use would even
two victories be to him if the Heir-to-Empire was beyond recall?
So Kumran's charming polished manner vanished in an instant, and one
day, without any warning, little Mirak, playing in the garden, was
kidnapped by two stalwart Abyssinian slaves and carried off, howling
horribly and fighting with his fists, to the palace where Kumran's wife
lived. Tumbu, who was with him at the time, made a gallant show of
resistance, and actually bit one of the kidnapper's calves to the bone;
but when he found himself confronted with a whole regiment of armed men
who ran out to their assistance, he gave up the hopeless fight, and flew
off to tell Roy what had happened. And Roy, missing his little master,
fled to tell Dearest-Lady. Her face paled, but she did not hesitate.
"My litter! page!" she cried, and drawing her white veil closer round
her, she went straight to the audience hall, where Kumran was receiving
his nobles; her great age, her great nobility, giving her a right, even
as a woman, to appear amongst them.
All eyes turned to her tall, upright, slim figure, every ear thrilled to
the tones of her clear voice.
"By what right," she asked, "has Kumran, the nephew I have nurtured,
stolen from my care the son of his elder brother, the Heir to that
Empire which Babar the Brave gave, dying, into the hands of Humâyon, his
eldest son? I say there can be no right; and if it be wrong then will
God's curse light on the man who undoes his father's work. Lo! he is
worse than parricide, for he would kill that for which his father gave
his life."
Now this appeal was a very strong one; for the story of how Babar the
Brave gave up his own life to save that of his darling son, Humâyon, is
one of the most touching tales in Indian history, and none of Babar's
immediate family could even think of it without strong emotion. So it
was Kumran's turn to grow pale.
"August lady," he replied, evading her question, "this is a matter of
policy with which women have naught to do. King Humâyon hath taken
Kandahâr, he hath imprisoned and degraded his brother Askurry, and for
this, I, Kumran, challenge him!"
"And wherefore?" asked Dearest-Lady boldly. "Did not Askurry deserve it?
Nay! did he not deserve death? Did he not steal the King-of-Empire? Did
he not defy the king? Did he not send the Heir-to-Empire away, instead
of returning him to his father's keeping? I tell you, nephew Kumran,
that your father, Babar the Brave, Babar the Kindly, Babar the Generous,
Babar the Just, whom all men loved for his mercy, would have given
_death_ for such faults--and given it rightly. And will you, like a
fool, court death also?" She looked round the assembly to see many a
sullen, suspicious face, and understood that danger lay close at hand.
So her resolution was taken in a moment. "See you!" she went on,
"nothing has been done yet to make forgiveness impossible. Well!
I--Khânzâda Khânum,--old as I am, will go forth to meet King Humâyon and
plead thy cause. I will ask what boon you wish, and I promise it shall
be yours. Humâyon will give much in exchange for his son, and none have
ever denied me anything. Shall it be so?" Then seeing hesitation she put
in a crafty word: "There will be time afterwards for--anything----"
Kumran looked round his nobles, then into his own heart. What he saw
there was such a tissue of lies and deceit that he could find no clear
decision; so, as usual, he temporised. "It is worth a trial," he
murmured. "I might ask for much."
"Ask for all and everything," said Dearest-Lady, who felt she had gained
her point; "I make but one condition. The child must remain unharmed
until I return."
Again Kumran hesitated. Again he looked in his own heart. Again he found
no clear cause for decision there; so he said doubtfully:
"Until you return?"
"Nay! swear it," came the high, insistent voice. "Say before them all,
'By the memory of my dear father no harm shall come to the child ere you
return.'"
Half unwillingly Kumran repeated the words and Dearest-Lady gave a sigh
of relief. She had gained her point. But now that she had to face the
consequences of her offer to go forth and meet Humâyon her heart sank
within her; for she was very old and not over strong. The journey was
long; winter was coming on fast. Still it had to be done, and at once.
For Kumran's promise of safety to the Heir-to-Empire was only _during
her absence_, and who knew whether his craft might not claim freedom to
do as he chose ere she started!
So she made her arrangements for that very evening, and she had much to
do. To begin with she must see the Heir-to-Empire the very last thing,
and make certain that he was well cared for. Then she had to arrange for
the safety and comfort of Head-nurse, Foster-mother and little Bija, for
it was unlikely they would be allowed to be with the little Prince. He
must, however, have some one with him to whom the child was accustomed,
and Roy, being still quite a lad, might not be considered dangerous.
Then his gift of story-telling might make the ladies in the women's
apartments more inclined to have him. Anyhow she must try her best to
secure his stopping with his young master, and to this end she ordered
him some fine clothes and gave him a finely bedizened lute; for since he
came to Kâbul they had found out that he could play the _vina_
beautifully.
Thus just before sunsetting, leaving poor Head-nurse and Foster-mother
in floods of tears, while poor little Bija was sobbing her very heart
out, and good dog Tumbu was slowly wagging his tail as his eyes asked
sorrowfully if he might not come, too, she started on her journey, going
round by the Chief Palace on her way.
Now, Dearest-Lady's visits were considered to be an honour, so she had
no difficulty in gaining admittance. And once inside the women's
apartments she simply turned to the first attendant and said curtly that
she had come to see the Heir-to-Empire and say farewell to him;
therefore he must
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/18307