“I could not trust myself to speak longer with the man. Themore I looked at his fat, frightened face, the harder did it seemthat we should slay him in cold blood. It was best to get it over.
“ Take him to the main guard,’ said I. The two Sikhs closedin upon him on each side, and the giant walked behind, whilethey marched in through the dark gateway. Never was a man socompassed round with death. I remained at the gateway with thelantern.
“I could hear the measured tramp of their footsteps soundingthrough the lonely corridors. Suddenly it ceased, and I heardvoices and a scuffle, with the sound of blows. A moment later therecame, to my horror, a rush of footsteps coming in my direction,with a loud breathing of a running man. I turned my lantern downthe long straight passage, and there was the fat man, running likethe wind, with a smear of blood across his face, and close at hisheels, bounding like a tiger, the great black-bearded Sikh, with aknife flashing in his hand. I have never seen a man run so fast asthat little merchant. He was gaining on the Sikh, and I could seethat if he once passed me and got to the open air he would savehimself yet. My heart softened to him, but again the thought ofhis treasure turned me hard and bitter. I cast my firelock betweenhis legs as he raced past, and he rolled twice over like a shotrabbit. Ere he could stagger to his feet the Sikh was upon him andburied his knife twice in his side. The man never uttered moannor moved muscle but lay were he had fallen. I think myself thathe may have broken his neck with the fall. You see, gentlemen,that I am keeping my promise. I am telling you every work of thebusiness just exactly as it happened, whether it is in my favor ornot.”
He stopped and held out his manacled hands for the whiskeyand water which Holmes had brewed for him. For myself, I confessthat I had now conceived the utmost horror of the man not onlyfor this cold-blooded business in which he had been concernedbut even more for the somewhat flippant and careless way inwhich he narrated it. Whatever punishment was in store for him, Ifelt that he might expect no sympathy from me. Sherlock Holmesand Jones sat with their hands upon their knees, deeply interestedin the story but with the same disgust written upon their faces.
He may have observed it, for there was a touch of defiance in hisvoice and manner as he proceeded.
“It was all very bad, no doubt,” said he. “I should like to knowhow many fellows in my shoes would have refused a share of thisloot when they knew that they would have their throats cut fortheir pains. Besides, it was my life or his when once he was in thefort. If he had got out, the whole business would come to light,and I should have been court-martialled and shot as likely as not;for people were not very lenient at a time like that.”
“Go on with your story,” said Holmes shortly.
“Well, we carried him in, Abdullah, Akbar, and I. A fine weighthe was, too, for all that he was so short. Mahomet Singh wasleft to guard the door. We took him to a place which the Sikhshad already prepared. It was some distance off, where a windingpassage leads to a great empty hall, the brick walls of which wereall crumbling to pieces. The earth floor had sunk in at one place,making a natural grave, so we left Achmet the merchant there,having first covered him over with loose bricks. This done, we allwent back to the treasure.
“It lay where he had dropped it when he was first attacked. Thebox was the same which now lies open upon your table. A keywas hung by a silken cord to that carved handle upon the top. Weopened it, and the light of the lantern gleamed upon a collectionof gems such as I have read of and thought about when I was alittle lad at Pershore. It was blinding to look upon them. When wehad feasted our eyes we took them all out and made a list of them.
There were one hundred and forty-three diamonds of the firstwater, including one which has been called, I believe, ‘the GreatMogul,and is said to be the second largest stone in existence. Thenthere were ninety-seven very fine emeralds, and one hundred andseventy rubies, some of which, however, were small. There wereforty carbuncles, two hundred and ten sapphires, sixty-one agates,and a great quantity of beryls, onyxes, cats’-eyes, turquoises, andother stones, the very names of which I did not know at the time,though I have become more familiar with them since. Besides this,there were nearly three hundred very fine pearls, twelve of whichwere set in a gold coronet. By the way, these last had been taken outof the chest, and were not there when I recovered it.
After we had counted our treasures we put them back into thechest and carried them to the gateway to show them to MahometSingh. Then we solemnly renewed our oath to stand by eachother and be true to our secret. We agreed to conceal our loot ina safe place until the country should be at peace again, and thento divide it equally among ourselves. There was no use dividing itat present, for if gems of such value were found upon us it wouldcause suspicion, and there was no privacy in the fort nor any placewhere we could keep them. We carried the box, therefore, into thesame hall where we had buried the body, and there, under certainbricks in the best-preserved wall, we made a hollow and put ourtreasure. We made careful note of the place, and next day I drewfour plans, one for each of us, and put the sign of the four of us atthe bottom, for we had sworn that we should each always act forall, so that none might take advantage. That is an oath that I canput my hand to my heart and swear that I have never broken.
Well, theres no use my telling you gentlemen what came ofthe Indian mutiny. After Wilson took Delhi and Sir Colin relievedLucknow the back of the business was broken. Fresh troops camepouring in, and Nana Sahib made himself scarce over the frontier.