CHAPTER XIII
An omen of dire import all thugs believe is to hear the cry of a kite between midnight and dawn; to hear it before midnight does not matter, for the sleeper in turning over smothers the impending disaster beneath his body. But Captain Barlow had put up no such defence if evil hung over him, for when the chowkidar stood outside the door calling softly, "Captain Sahib! Captain Sahib!" Barlow lay just as he had flopped on the bed, his tiredness having held him as one dead.
Gently the soft voice of the chowkidar pulled him back out of his
Nirvana of non-existence, and he called sleepily, "What is it?"
"It is Jungwa," the watchman answered, "and I have received the Sahib's order to come at this hour."
Then Barlow remembered. He swung his feet to the floor, saying, "Come!"
When the watchman had walked out of his sandals to approach in his bare feet, the Captain said, "Is your tongue still to remain in your mouth, Jungwa, or has it been made sacrifice to the knife for the sin of telling in the cookhouse tales of your Sahib and last night?"
"No, Sahib, I have not spoken. I am a Meena of the Ossary jat. In Jaipur we guard the treasury and the zenanna of the Raja, and it is our chief who puts the tika upon the forehead of the Maharaja when he ascends to the throne. Think you, then, Sahib, that an Ossary would betray a trust?"
Barlow fixed the lean saffron-hued face with a searching look, and muttered, "Damned if I don't believe the old chap is straight!" "I think it is true," he said. "Shut the door." Then he continued: "The one who came last night is in the next room and you must take her out through the bathroom door, for there is cover of the crotons and oleanders, and then to the road. Acquire a gharry and go with her to where she directs you."
"Salaam, Sahib! your servant will obey. And as to the chota hazri,
Sahib?"
"By Jove! right you are, Jungwa"; for Barlow had forgotten that—the little breakfast, as it was called.
Then he ran his fingers through his hair. To send the Gulab off without even a cup of tea was one thing; to admit the bearer to know of her presence was another.
The wily old watchman sensed what was passing in his master's mind, and he hazarded, diplomatically, "If the One is of high caste she will not eat what is brought by the bearer who is of the Sudra caste, but from the hands of a Meena none but the Brahmin pundits refuse food."
Barlow laughed; indeed the grizzled one had perception—he was an accomplice in the plot of secrecy.
"Good! Eggs and toast and tea. Demand plenty—say your Sahib is hungry because of a long ride and nothing to eat. But hurry, I hear the 'seven sisters' (crows) calling to sleepers that the sun is here with its warmth."
Then the bearer entered, but Barlow ordered him away, saying, "Sit without till I call."
As he slipped into breeches and brown riding boots he cursed softly the entanglement that had thrust upon him this thing of ill flavour. Of course the watchman, even if he did keep his mouth shut, which would be a miracle in that land of bazaar gossip, would have but one opinion of why Bootea had spent the night in the bungalow. But if Barlow squared this by speaking of a secret mission, that would be a knowledge that could be exchanged for gold. Perhaps not all servants were spies, but there were always spies among servants.
"Damn the thing!" he muttered; but he was helpless. The old man would give no sign of what, no doubt, was in his mind; he would hold that leathery face in placid acquiescence in prevalent moral vagary.
Then he tapped lightly on the wooden door, calling softly,
"Bootea—Bootea!"
When it was opened he said: "Food is coming, Gulab. A man of caste brings it, and it is but eggs from which no life has been taken, so you may eat. Then the chowkidar will go with you."
Jungwa brought the breakfast and put it down, saying, "I will wait,
Sahib, outside the bathroom door."
"Here is money—ten rupees for whatever is needed. Be courteous to the lady, for she is not a nautchni."
"The Sahib would entertain none such," the chowkidar answered with a grave salaam.
"Damn the thing!" Barlow groaned.