Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1904-08-27

tiaDs, or your body this night shall be
| thrown into the ditch and we shall
pass over 20 our brothers in the rebel
| army There is no middle way.
Which is il TO be, death or life? We
can only give you three minutes to
decide, for the time is passing, and all
| must be done before the rounds come
| again
How can / decide% said l. You
! have not told me what you want of
me. But | tell you now that if it is
anything against the safety of the
| fort l will have no truck with il. SO
you can drive home your knife and
welcome
1t is nothing against the fort said
! he I'VE only ask you to do that which
your countrymen come to this land for.
| We ask you to be rich. If you will be
| one of us this night, we will swear to
you upon the naked knife. and by the
threefold oath which no Sikh was ever
known to break, that you shall have
your fair share of the loot. A quarter
of the treasure shall be yours. We can
/ say no fairer.'
But what is the treasure, then?'
asked. Il am as ready to be rich as
| you can be, if you will but show me
how it can be done
"You swear, them said he, by the
bones of your father, by the honor of
your mother, by the cross of your faith,
/ to raise no hand and speak no word
! against us, either now or afterwards?'
will swear it | answered, pro
vided that the fort is not endangered ,
Then my comrade 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 1.
| mo; Dost Al<bar must have his
| share. We can tell the tale to YOU
while we await them. Do you stand
at the gate, Mahomet Singh. and give
notice of their coming. The thing
stands thus, Sahib, and / tell it to YOU
because know that an oath is binding
upon Feringhee, and that we NAV
trust you. Had you been 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 Englishman, and the Eng
lishman knows the Sikh. Hearken,
then, to what have to say.
1 IhSiS 10 III the northern
provinces who has much wealth, though
his lands are small. Much has come to
him from his father, and more still he
has set by himself, for he is of a low
nature and boards his gold rather than
spend it. When the troubles broke out
he would be friends both with the lion
and the tiger-with the Sepoy and
with the company's raj. Soon, however,
1T seemed To him that the white mems
day was come, for through all the land
he could hear of nothing but their
death and their overthrow. Yet, being
n 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
| the most precious stones and the
choicest pearls that he had he put in
an iron box and sent it by a trustv
/, servant who under the guise of a mer-
chant, should take 1t TO the fort Mt
| Agra, there TO lie until the land is at
peace. Thus If the rebels won he would
have LTs lnoney, Nj < 1hc 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 we're strong
upon his borders. by doing this, mark
you, sahib, his property becomes the
d; due of those who have been true to
/ their salt
This pretended merchant, who
travels under the name of Achmet. is
now Ia The city of Agra, and de-
! sires to G in his way into the fort. He
has with MIN as travelling companion
my foster-0rothcr Dost-Al<bar. who
knows his secret Dost-Allbar has
/ promised this night to lead him In a
side-postern of the fort, and has chosen
this one for his purpose Here he will
| come presently and here he will
lind MahoIhd Singh and myself await
ing him. Tie 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
rajah shall be divided among us. What
say you TO it, sahib?'
I'm Worcestershire the life of a man
seems great and a sacred thing; but
1t is very different when there is fire
and blood all round you and you have
oeen used TO meeting death at every
turn. whether Achmet the merchant
lived or died was a thing as light as air
to me, but at the talk about the treas
ure my heart turned to it, and thou0bt
OF what might do in the old country
with 1T, and how my folks would stare
when they saw their ne'er-do-weu COM
ing back with his pockets full of gold
moidores- had, therefore, already
made up my mind. Abdullah Khan,
however, thinking that | hesitateS.i
pressed the matter more closely.
consider, sahib," said he, that If
this man is taken by the commandant
he viii be hung or shot, and his Jewels
taken ov the government, so that no
man Will be rupee the better for |
them. Now, since we do the taking of
him, why should we not do he rest as
as we'll? The jewels will be as well
with us as in the company's Golfers. /
There will be enough to make everv |