Chapter Eight

Considering that no fruit would come of sitting at the chati and brooding, Mahendra arose. He would go to the town, and there with the help of the king's officers institute a search for his wife and child — with this thought he set out in that direction. Going some way along the road, he saw a number of bullock-carts surrounded by many sepoys, all moving forward together.

In the year 1176 of the Bengali era, the province of Bengal had not yet come beneath the rule of the English. The English then were but Diwan of Bengal. They collected the moneys of the revenue; but as yet they had taken upon themselves no charge over the life or property of the Bengali. Then the task of taking the money rested with the English; while the charge of guarding life and property and the rest lay upon that sinful, base-born, faith-breaking blot upon the race of men — Mir Jafar. Mir Jafar was powerless to guard his own self; how then should he guard Bengal? Mir Jafar swallowed his opium and slept. The English collected revenue and wrote despatches. The Bengali wept, and went to ruin.

Therefore the taxes of Bengal were the right of the English. But the charge of governance lay upon the Nawab. Wheresoever the English collected their own dues themselves, there they had set up a sort of collector. And the revenue when gathered went to Calcutta. Let men die of hunger — the collection of revenue would not be stayed. Even so, what was gathered was not very great — for, unless mother Vasumati herself bring forth her wealth, no man can fashion wealth out of nothing.

Howsoever it might be, that which had been collected was being borne, loaded upon carts and guarded by sepoys, to the treasury of the Company at Calcutta. In those days the fear of dacoits was exceeding great; for this cause fifty armed sepoys, arrayed in line before and behind the carts, marched along with fixed bayonets. Their captain was an Englishman. The Englishman rode at the rear upon a horse. By reason of the heat of the sun the sepoys did not march by day, but only by night.

As they went, Mahendra's onward way was barred by these treasure-carts and their soldiery. Mahendra, seeing the road blocked by the sepoys and the bullock-carts, stood aside; but seeing that the sepoys were like to brush close against him, and considering that this was no time for quarrel, he stepped to the side of the road by the edge of the thicket and stood there.

Then one of the sepoys cried out, "Here is a dacoit running away!" Seeing a musket in Mahendra's hand, this belief grew firm in him.

He rushed upon Mahendra, seized him by the throat, and crying "Rogue — thief —" suddenly dealt him a blow with his fist, and snatched away the musket.

Mahendra, weaponless, returned the blow with his fist alone. That Mahendra's wrath had been somewhat the more aroused, needs no telling. Receiving the blow, the sepoy worthy spun about, fell senseless, and lay upon the road. Then three or four sepoys came up, laid hold upon Mahendra, dragged him by force before their captain sahib, and told the sahib that this fellow had killed one of their sepoys. The sahib was smoking his pipe, and being somewhat fuddled with the fumes of drink, he said, "Lay hold upon the rascal and marry him." The sepoys could not understand by what means they were to wed a musket-bearing dacoit.

But, considering that when the intoxication passed off the sahib's mind would alter and there would be no wedding to perform, three or four of the sepoys took the cord of the bullock of the cart, bound Mahendra hand and foot, and lifted him into a bullock-cart. Mahendra perceived that to struggle against so many was vain; and to what end should he gain his freedom by force? Stricken with grief for wife and child, Mahendra had no longer any wish to live. The sepoys bound him fast to the wheel of the cart.

Then, as the sepoys had been bearing the treasure along before, even so they passed on with their slow and solemn tread.