A flying column under Colonel Greathed came round to Agraand cleared the Pandies away from it. Peace seemed to be settlingupon the country, and we four were beginning to hope that thetime was at hand when we might safely go off with our shares ofthe plunder. In a moment, however, our hopes were shattered byour being arrested as the murderers of Achmet.
It came about in this way. When the rajah put his jewels intothe hands of Achmet he did it because he knew that he was atrusty man. They are suspicious folk in the East, however: so whatdoes this rajah do but take a second even more trusty servantand set him to play the spy upon the first. This second man wasordered never to let Achmet out of his sight, and he followed himlike his shadow. He went after him that night and saw him passthrough the doorway. Of course he thought he had taken refugein the fort and applied for admission there himself next day, butcould find no trace of Achmet. This seemed to him so strange thathe spoke about it to a sergeant of guides, who brought it to theears of the commandant. A thorough search was quickly made,and the body was discovered. Thus at the very moment that wethought that all was safe we were all four seized and brought totrial on a charge of murder—three of us because we had held thegate that night, and the fourth because he was known to havebeen in the company of the murdered man. Not a word about thejewels came out at the trial, for the rajah had been deposed anddriven out of India: so no one had any particular interest in them.
The murder, however, was clearly made out, and it was certainthat we must all have been concerned in it. The three Sikhs gotpenal servitude for life, and I was condemned to death, though mysentence was afterwards commuted to the same as the others.
It was rather a queer position that we found ourselves in then.
There we were all four tied by the leg and with precious littlechance of ever getting out again, while we each held a secret whichmight have put each of us in a palace if we could only have madeuse of it. It was enough to make a man eat his heart out to have tostand the kick and the cuff of every petty jack-in-office, to haverice to eat and water to drink, when that gorgeous fortune wasready for him outside, just waiting to be picked up. It might havedriven me mad; but I was always a pretty stubborn one, so I justheld on and bided my time.
At last it seemed to me to have come. I was changed fromAgra to Madras, and from there to Blair Island in the Andamans.
There are very few white convicts at this settlement, and, as Ihad behaved well from the first, I soon found myself a sort ofprivileged person. I was given a hut in Hope Town, which is asmall place on the slopes of Mount Harriet, and I was left prettymuch to myself. It is a dreary, fever-stricken place, and all beyondour little clearings was infested with wild cannibal natives, whowere ready enough to blow a poisoned dart at us if they saw achance. There was digging and ditching and yam-planting, and adozen other things to be done, so we were busy enough all day;though in the evening we had a little time to ourselves. Amongother things, I learned to dispense drugs for the surgeon, andpicked up a smattering of his knowledge. All the time I was on thelookout for a chance of escape; but it is hundreds of miles fromany other land, and there is little or no wind in those seas: so itwas a terribly difficult job to get away.
The surgeon, Dr. Somerton, was a fast, sporting young chap,and the other young officers would meet in his rooms of anevening and play cards. The surgery, where I used to make up mydrugs, was next to his sitting-room, with a small window betweenus. Often, if I felt lonesome, I used to turn out the lamp in thesurgery, and then, standing there, I could hear their talk and watchtheir play. I am fond of a hand at cards myself, and it was almost asgood as having one to watch the others. There was Major Sholto,Captain Morstan, and Lieutenant Bromley Brown, who were incommand of the native troops, and there was the surgeon himself,and two or three prison-officials, crafty old hands who played anice sly safe game. A very snug little party they used to make.
Well, there was one thing which very soon struck me, and thatwas that the soldiers used always to lose and the civilians to win.
Mind, I don’t say there was anything unfair, but so it was. Theseprison-chaps had done little else than play cards ever since theyhad been at the Andamans, and they knew each other’s game to apoint, while the others just played to pass the time and threw theircards down anyhow. Night after night the soldiers got up poorermen, and the poorer they got the more keen they were to play.
Major Sholto was the hardest hit. He used to pay in notes and goldat first, but soon it came to notes of hand and for big sums. Hesometimes would win for a few deals just to give him heart, andthen the luck would set in against him worse than ever. All day hewould wander about as black as thunder, and he took to drinking adeal more than was good for him.
One night he lost even more heavily than usual. I was sittingin my hut when he and Captain Morstan came stumbling alongon the way to their quarters. They were bosom friends, those two,and never far apart. The major was raving about his losses.
It’s all up, Morstan,’ he was saying as they passed my hut. ‘Ishall have to send in my papers. I am a ruined man.
Nonsense, old chap!’ said the other, slapping him upon theshoulder. ‘I’ve had a nasty facer myself, but—’ That was all I couldhear, but it was enough to set me thinking.
A couple of days later Major Sholto was strolling on the beach.
so I took the chance of speaking to him.
I wish to have your advice, major, said I.
Well, Small, what is it?’ he asked, taking his cheroot from hislips.