St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-10-05
I,HApTER xII.--cosrrNUpD.

ihfe4sa 4 - 'S--
CHAPTER Kill CONTINUED
Then my cornrade and will swear
that you shall have a quarter of the
treasure, which shall be equally divided
among the four of us.
There are but three, said l.
No; Dost Akbar must have his
sshares We can tell the tale to you
while we await them. Do you stand
atsthe gate, Mahomet Singh, and give
notice Of their roning The thing
stands thus, Sallib, and j tell it to you
because know that an oath is binding
upon a Feringhce, and that we may
trust you. Had Eou been a lying Hin.
doc, though you had sworn by all the
gods in their false temples, your blood
would have been upon the knife, and
your body in the water But the Sikh
knows the English1nan, and the Eng
lishman knows the Sikh Hearkens
then. to what have to say.
s sThere is raiah in the noFthern
provinces yvhDha much wealt ths tlI0Igl1
his lands are small. Much has come to.
him from his father, and more stiH he.
has set by himself, for he is Of a low
nature and boards his gold rather than
spend ii. When the troubles broke out
he would be friends both with the lion
k-and the tiger-with the Sepoy and
4 with the company S raj, Soon, however,
it seemed to him that the white men S.
day was come, for through all the land
lie could hear of nothing but their
death and their overthrow. Yet, being
careful man, he made such plans that,
come what might, half at least of his
treasures would be left to him. That
which was in gold and silver he kept
by him in the vaults of his palace, but
She most precious stones and the
choicest pearls that he had he put in
+fn iron box and sent it by trusty
servant who, under the guise Of q mer-
chant, should take it to the fort at
Agra, there to lie until the land Is at
peace Thus if the rebels won he would
have his money, but If the company
conquer his jewels would be saved
to him. Having thus divided his
hoard he threw himself into the cause
of the Sepoys, since they were strong
nj an his borders. By doing this, mark
ydg, sahib, his property becomes the
due of those who have been true to
their salt.
ssThis pretended merchant, who
travels under the name of Achmet, is
now in the city of Agra, and de-
sires to gain his way into the fort He
has with him as travelling companion
my foster-brother t-Akbar, who
knows his secret. Dost-Akbar has
promised tits night to lead him to a
side-postern of the fort, and has chosen
this one for his purpose, Here he will
come presently and here he will
find Mahomet Singh and myself await
ing him The place is lonely, and none
shall know of his coming. The world
shall know of the merchant Achmet no
more. but the great treasure of the
raiah shall be divided among us. What
say yea to 1t, sahib@
In Worcestershire the life of a man
seems great and a sacred thing; but
tits very different when there is fire
and blood all round You and you have
been used to meeting death at every
tl,rn. Whether Achmet the merchant
lived or died was thing as light as air
to me, but at the talk about the treas
IRE my heart turned to 1t, and / thought
bf what might do in the old country
with 1t, and how my folks would stare
when they saw their ne'er-do-well COM
ing back with his pockets full of gold
Saoidores. had, therefore, already
aaade up my mind. Abdullah Khan,
However, thinking that ! hesitated,
pressed the matter more closely.
Consider, sahib, said he, that if
this man is taken by the commandant
he will be hung or shot, and his jewels
taken by the government, so that no
man will be a rupee the better for
them Now, since we do the taking of
him, why should we not do the rest as
as well? The Jewels win be as well
with us as in the company Golfers
There will be enough to make every
one of us rich men and great chiefs.
No one. can know about the matter. for
here we are cut Off from all men.
What could be better for the purpose2
Say again, then, sahib, whether you
are with us, or if we must look upon
you as an enemy.
Il am with you heart and soul, :
said /.
6 Tt is well, he answered handing
me back my fireloclt. You see that we
trust yon, for your word, like ours, is
not to be broken. We have now only
10 wait for my brother and the naer-
chant.
6 Does your brother know, then, of
what you will do2' I asked.
9 The plan Is his, He has devised it.
We will go to the gate and share the
watch with Mahomet Singh,
ssTyl, q ,..s n, rms EtiIl falling stead ilV
for II was just th@ beginning Of the
wet season. Brown. heavy clouds were
drifting across she sky, and il was hard