Vellenaux A Novel - Edmund William Forrest (best book club books of all time txt) 📗

Advise You To Draw On

Your Paymaster,  Go Under Stoppages Or Apply To A Friend,  But Not Under

Any Circumstances Have Recourse To Those Scourges Of The Country,  The

Native Sheroffs Or Money-Lenders,  And In Order To Fix Your Attention To

This Matter,  I Will Relate A Circumstance That Occurred To A Friend Of

Mine Some Years Ago,  Which Will,  I Think,  Prove To You The Danger Of

Having Anything To Do With Those Gentry,  As You Might Not Escape Their

Clutches As My Friend Ingeniously Did.

 

"There Was No Denying That Harry Esdale Was The Handsomest,  Gayest And

Most Popular Man In The Station,  And Was Generally To Be Found Taking

The Lead In Any Thing That Promised Fun And Frolic. In Fact,  No Ball,

Party,  Picnic,  Cricket-Match,  Race Or Private Theatricals Were

Considered Complete Without Him. Having Little Else To Depend Upon

Besides His Pay,  No Wander That His Pecuniary Affairs Became Embarrassed

And Were To Him A Source Of Great Annoyance And Trouble. To Extricate

Himself For The Time Being From This Unpleasant Dilemma,  He Had Recourse

Chapter 4 Pg 22

To The Native Sheroffs,  From Whom He Had Borrowed From Time To Time

Certain Sums Of Different Amounts At An Enormous Rate Of Interest,  Until

At Last He Found That He Was Totally Unable To Free Himself From His

Difficulties,  Or Evade His Creditors,  Who Haunted Him Night And Day,

Dogged His Steps,  And Presented Themselves Most Inopportunely When They

Were Least Expected Or Desired.

 

"He Had Procured A Furlough To Europe,  Which Alone Would Relieve Him

From His Tormentors,  But Alas,  He Was Too Well Watched To Admit Of His

Leaving The Presidency. Affairs Were In This Unpleasant State When A

Circumstance Occurred,  Which He Very Adroitly Took Advantage Of,  In

Order To Elude The Vigilance Of His Native Persecutors.

 

"It So Happened That In His Troop There Was A Man That Bore A Striking

Resemblance To Him In Height And Figure,  As Well As In Feature. Just At

This Particular Juncture,  And When His Creditors Were Most Clamorous For

Settlement,  This Man Died In The Regimental Hospital. On This

Circumstance Coming To His Knowledge,  It Struck Him That He Might Turn

It To His Own Advantage,  Could He But Obtain The Co-Operation Of The

Surgeon And One Or Two Of His Brother Officers. This He Soon Effected,

So Great A Favourite As He Was Could Not Be Refused,  Besides,  Was It Not

A Glorious Thing To Outwit Those Native Dealers In Extortion?

 

"The Body Of The Late Trooper Was Secretly Removed From The Hospital To

Esdale's Bungalow,  Dressed In His Full Uniform And Laid On The Bed; A

Pistol Was Then Discharged Into The Mouth Of The Corpse,  And The Head

And Pillow Besmeared With Blood,  Disfiguring The Face Considerably; The

Pistol Was Then Placed On The Bed,  Close To The Right Hand,  And There

Was All The Appearance That Death Had Been Caused By Suicide.

 

"Fortunately There Was A Ball At Government House That Evening; This

Accounted For His Being In Full Dress. His Absence Was Noticed By Many,

And Later In The Evening The Startling Intelligence Was Announced That

Captain Esdale,  Had Destroyed Himself By Blowing Out His Brains While

Laboring Under A Fit Of Temporary Insanity. This Report Spread Like

Wildfire Throughout The Native Town And Soon Reached The Ears Of His

Creditors,  Who Flocked To The Bungalow Like So Many Vultures,  Fighting

And Scrabbling With Each Other For Admission,  In Order That They Might

Secure For Themselves Whatever Effects Might Be In The Bungalow,  But

Were Informed By The Guard Which Had Been Placed There That Nothing

Could Be Touched Until After The Funeral,  Which Took Place In A Few Days

With All The Pomp And Ceremony Necessary On Such Occasions.

 

"All This Time Esdale Was Snugly Stowed Away In A Little Room In The

Bungalow Of One Of His Brother Officers,  And In About A Fortnight,  When

The Hubbub Caused By This Event Had Subsided,  And The Vigilance Of The

Money Lenders Withdrawn,  They Being Completely Outwitted,  He Quietly

Stepped On Board The English Mail.

 

"A Few Months After Reaching England,  He Obtained Some Cash From His

Governor,  And Through The Agency Of A Friend Who Offered His Creditors

An Amount Equal To What Esdale Had Received With An Interest Of Seven

Per Cent Added. This They Had At First Rejected,  But Seeing No Hope Of

Any Other Settlement,  At Last Concluded To Accept And Delivered Up The

I.O.U.'S They Had Against Esdale. Imagine The Surprise And Vexation Of

These People Some Two Years After On Seeing The Identical Harry Esdale,

Who Many Believed They Had Seen Buried,  Coolly Smoking His Cheroot In

The Mess Verandah,  Or Basking In Smiles Of The Fair Ones As They

Cantered Gaily Across The Midan After The Heat Of The Day Had Passed."

Horace Would,  Doubtless,  Have Added Other Words Of Warning And Advice,

But Arthur Was Summoned To Attend The Madame Sahib,  Either In Her

Drawing Room Or In The Spacious Verandah,  Where She Entertained Her

Friends. And For Nearly A Month Did He Enjoy This Kind Of Life,  Until He

Chapter 4 Pg 23

Began To Believe That India Was Not The Infernal Hole That It Had Been

Represented To Him By Snaffle Of The Lancers (Who,  By The Way,  Had Never

Been There); And In His Letters To Edith He Gave A Glowing Account Of

The City Of Palaces And The Fascinating Mrs. Barton.

 

But It Must Not Be Supposed That These Matters Dwelt Long In Arthur's

Mind,  For A More Engrossing Subject Was Ever Before Him,  And That Was

The Profession He Was Now Entering Upon,  And The Probabilities Of His

Attaining A Position In The Service Equal To That Held By His Father,

And He Started To Join His Regiment With A Determination To Accomplish

This Desirable End,  Or Perish In The Attempt.

 

The District Through Which He Had To Pass In Order To Reach Head

Quarters Was A Wild One. There Were Also Several Bheel Villages Along

The Route,  Nor Was There Any Scarcity Of Wild Beasts In That Region,  But

To Arthur This Was Not At All Alarming. He Had Read Of Adventures And

Difficulties That Had Been Met With By Officers Of The India Army While

Travelling From One Station To Another,  Besides He Had A Strong Desire

To Engage In The Exciting Sport Of Tiger Hunting,  Boar Spearing,  Etc.,

Within The Indian Jungles.

 

On Quitting Calcutta,  His Good Friends Gave Him A _Carte Blanche_ To

Visit Them Whenever Duty Or Pleasure Should Bring Him Into Their

Neighborhood.

 

Fortunately For Him A Small Party Of Sepoys Escorting Treasure To A

Station Not Far Distant From The One In Which His Regiment Was

Quartered,  Were To Start From Calcutta The Same Morning. This Party He

Was Directed To Take Charge Of As Far On The Road As He Was Going. Nor

Was His Journey Without An Adventure As The Following Incident Will

Show:

 

Within The Deep Shadow Of A Grove Of Stately Tamarind Trees That Grew

On The Roadside,  And Distant About Half A Mile From A Large And Populous

Bheel Village The Tent Of Our Young Traveller Had Been Pitched.

 

It Was A Lovely Night,  Corinnua In Her Glory Diffused Her Soft Silvery

Light Far And Near Rendering The Shades Of The Jungle Still More Deep By

Contrast. All Was Hushed In Silence; The Busy Hum In The Village Had

Ceased And No Sound Broke On The Silent Night,  Except The Occasional

Bark Of The Parrier Dog,  Or The Cry Of The Lurking Jackall And The

Measured Tread Of The Native Sentinel,  As He Paced To And Fro In Front

Of The Door Of The Tent. The Remainder Of The Small Guard Were Soundly

Sleeping In A Little Routie Tent On The Opposite Side Of The Road.

 

Arthur Had Been Out Shooting The Latter Part Of The Afternoon And

Evening,  And Had,  As Usual,  Taken From The Village Several Natives As

Guides And Beaters. On His Return He Had Called Them To The Door Of His

Tent,  Opened One Of His Trunks,  And Out Of A Bag,  Containing Two Or

Three Hundred Rupees,  Paid Them Liberally For Their Trouble; One Of The

Party He Noticed Appeared To Eye The Bag With A Greedy,  Covetous Eye,

But He Said Nothing,  And The Party Left,  Seeming Well Satisfied With

What They Had Received. After Indulging In A Bath He Was Ready For The

Evening Meal,  Which Consisted Of Chicken,  Curry Or Broiled Partridge

With Several Etceteras,  Which He Washed Down With A Bottle Of Allsopps'

Pale Ale,  And Betook Himself To His Easy Chair And Cheeroot Under The

Majestic Tamarinds,  Which Were Undulating Gently In The Soft Breeze Of

The Evening.

 

There Was A Small Shade Lamp Burning On The Camp Table By The Side Of

The Iron Cot,  On Which Arthur Had Thrown Himself,  Being Somewhat Tired

Of His Ramble In The Jungle. He Had Taken Up A Volume Of The Pindaree

War,  But Had Not Perused More Than A Dozen Pages When He Felt Drowsy And

Chapter 4 Pg 24

Sleepy. He Had Accustomed Himself To Sleep With His Revolver Under His

Pillow,  His Right Hand Grasping The Handle. Somewhere About Eleven

O'clock He Was Lying On His Back With His Left Arm Thrown Across His

Chest,  And His Hand Over His Face,  Half Asleep And Half Awake,  He

Fancied He Heard A Sound Similar To That Made By Sand Rats Or Rabbits

While Burrowing. The Sinister Look Of The Bheel He Had Paid In The

Evening Instantly Flashed Across His Mind. Separating His Fingers,

Sufficiently To Admit Of His Seeing Through Them,  He Glanced In The

Direction From Which The Sound Proceeded,  And Waited Patiently,  Keeping

A Firm Grasp Of His Pistol. Presently The Sand Beneath The Wall Of The

Tent Near The Foot Of His Cot Gave Way Gradually,  And A Small Aperture

Presented Itself,  Which Increased By Degrees. By And By The Head And

Shoulders Of The Identical Bheel Showed Themselves Inside The Tent; His

Hawk Eye Darted A Rapid Glance All Around,  But Most Especially At The

Prostrate And Apparently Sleeping Form Of Carlton He Then Drew The

Remainder Of His Body,  Which Was Perfectly Naked,  Through The Aperture

And Stood Erect And For A Few Seconds Remained At The Foot Of Arthur's

Bed,  And Listened To The Heavy Breathing Which He Effected; Then,  With A

Gliding Motion,  Moved Towards The Trunk Containing The Rupees,  But Still

Keeping His Face Half Turned In The Direction Of The Bed So That He

Could Observe The Slightest Alteration,  Should