Vellenaux A Novel - Edmund William Forrest (7 ebook reader txt) 📗

Chapter 4 Pg 27

Now,  Although Arthur And Edith In Their Long Rides Together Had

Canvassed Over The Subject Of His Departure Repeatedly,  And The Great

Benefit He Was Likely To Derive Therefrom Till They Had Quite Accustomed

Themselves To The Idea,  Yet,  When The Moment Arrived,  A Deep Feeling Of

Regret Visibly Agitated Them Both,  A Feeling Which They Had Never Before

Experienced,  And Which There Was Now No Time To Analyze. The Unbidden

Tear Rose To Edith'S Eye As He Clasped Her Hand Within His Own,  And

Unable To Control Himself Any Longer,  He Gently Drew Her Towards Him And

Imprinted A Loving Kiss On Her Rosy Lips. The Next Instant He Was Gone.

No Word Of Love Had Ever Been Spoken Between Them,  And This Was The

First Time That Their Lips Had Ever Met. At That Moment Mrs. Fraudhurst

Had Looked Up From Her Embroidery,  But Not In Their Direction; She Was

Too Discreet For That,  Her Glance Rested On One Of The Large Mirrors At

The Opposite End Of The Room,  Wherein Was Reflected The Full Length

Figures Of The Two Young Friends. The Salute Did Not Escape Her Notice,

Nor Did She Fail To Mark That The Deep Crimson Blush That Diffused

Itself Over Edith'S Beautiful Features Certainly Was Not One Of

Displeasure.

 

"Gone,  But Not A Moment Too Soon," She Muttered Half Aloud. Then Turning

To Address A Few Words To Edith Found That She Also Had Left The

Apartment; Gone,  Doubtless,  To Seek The Privacy Of Her Own Chamber.

 

On Reaching Calcutta,  The Young Cornet Presented Himself At The

Hospitable Bungalow Of The Bartons,  And Was By Them Cordially Received.

The Pretty Little Mrs. Barton And Arthur Had Not Previously Met,  He

Being At College When She Had Paid Her Wedding Visit To Devonshire,  But

Nevertheless,  She Was Much Pleased To Have So Handsome A Cavalier,  To

Occupy A Seat In Her Barouche While Driving Along The Chowringee Road Or

Cantering By Her Side Across The Esplanade Or Round And Round The Stand

While Listening To The Delightful Music Of The Band,  As Was Their Usual

Custom Of An Evening.

 

Good,  Easy Horace Barton Had Got Over That Sort Of Thing,  For After

Returning From The Suddur Aydowlett,  He Would Seek The Quiet Of His

Sanctum Sanctorum,  And With His Hooka And Iced Sherbet,  Would Regale

Himself Until The Dressing Bell Rang For Dinner,  After Which He Would

Entertain Arthur With Stories Of The Pindaree War,  The Suppression Of

Thuygee,  And Relate Wonderful Feats Of Looting,  Perpetrated By The Most

Expert Robbers In The World,  The Bheel Tribes.

 

"But,  My Friend," Said Horace,  On One Of These Occasions,  "The Greatest

Drawback To A Young Soldier'S Advancement In This Country,  Is The Great

Facility That Is Afforded Him For Getting Into Debt; And Should You

Unfortunately Fall Into The Difficulty,  I Strongly 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.

Chapter 4 Pg 28

 

"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

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

Chapter 4 Pg 29

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

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

Chapter 4 Pg 30

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