X. FLIGHT
The warning of the Emperor was not lost on Noren. He knew his dangers at Agra. Rumours had spread that a female spy had been admitted into the palace by Prince Selim, that a eunuch had been wounded in the darkness of the night, that a Tartar slave had run away. None knew how the spy had escaped, but suspicion pointed to Jelekha. She had introduced the spy, she had wounded Musroor in a scuffle, and she had escaped. None knew, not even the Emperor, perhaps, that the suspected spy was Noren himself, but it was whispered far and wide that Jelekha had fled on the morning on which Noren had left the palace. There was a dark combination among the eunuchs of the palace; their secret inquiry was proceeding, and they had the tenacity and determination of blood-hounds.
Noren's escort had been sent ahead, and prudence urged him to leave Agra at once. But, true to his word, he waited outside the gate of the fort on the appointed night when the drums of the Nakara Khana proclaimed the hour of midnight. No sylph-like form appeared. A feeble old man, bent double with the weight of faggots he was carrying, stood before the gate. The soldiers rudely shoved him away. The man tottered and fell, and his load rolled down from his back. He rose slowly, wailing and lamenting his ill-luck, and withdrew. As he passed close to Noren one whispered word reached Noren's ears—"Come."
A bullet from the red ramparts could scarcely have startled Noren more. He knew that voice, and he knew those snake-like glistening eyes under the disguise. The wood-cutter went his way, and then as if listlessly, he followed in the same direction.
Not a mile from the gate of the fort there was a thick wood. The wood-cutter disappeared in the darkest part of the jungle, and Noren followed close.
"Thou hast been true to thy word," said Jelekha, casting off her disguise. "I knew it, for the light of truth shone in thy eyes. But may Heaven protect us to-night, for the blood-hounds of the palace are on our track."
"I have faced the blood-hounds of war before, Jelekha; nor has an Emperor's messenger anything to fear from the base menials of the palace."
"Thou little knowest the menials, young soldier. The Emperor's sons are not safe from them."
"Whom dost thou dread, Jelekha? That hideous eunuch, Musroor?"
"Musroor will not trouble us for some time. I have laid him on his soft bed, which he will not leave for another month. But all the eunuchs are comrades in intrigue and foul deeds. They scent their prey, they stalk him in the dark."
"Let them bark as they may. Before yon eastern sky is glowing with the crimson dawn Noren will be in the midst of his faithful guards."
"Yes, if he lives until the crimson dawn. Hark!"
A low whistle rang through the woods. Soldier as he was Noren shuddered. He drew closer to Jelekha, held her in his strong left arm, and laid his right hand on his sword.
The whistle was repeated. One or two men were seen under the trees, as if on search. But the deep shadow of the bush in which Noren and Jelekha stood concealed them from view, and within a few moments all was silent and still.
Jelekha then drew a long breath. "They marked thee at the palace gate, and they marked thee entering the wood. They have not done with thee yet; a stronger party will come and search the wood soon if I caught their words correctly. Thou hast no time to lose."
"I understand not their movements, Jelekha. Why search for me here at night? I have been in the Court and in the city by day and by night; they might have faced me when they liked."
"That is not their way, foolish man. They assail not the Emperor's officer in the streets of Agra in broad daylight. But if some blood is spilt here at midnight these silent trees do not tell tales, and the earth receives the corpse in her bosom. But we are wasting time. Where is thy escort?"
"Forty miles ahead."
"How wilt thou reach that place to-night?"
"My horse waits in the stalls of Sambhunath the waggoner."
"That is well arranged; the waggoner lives close by. And knowest thou thy way to thy camp?"
"As well as the streets of Agra."
"Then be off, brave soldier, we shall meet again."
"And thou, Jelekha, how wilt thou escape?"
"I have seen worse dangers than this, and few are there in the land of Hind who can cage the wild eagle of Tartary when she takes to her wing."
"I will not move one inch from this spot, leaving thee to these prowling wolves."
"I do not choose to die yet, senseless man—the blood is still hot in my Tartar veins. I will know how to protect myself and to see thee again. Speed thee, soldier, for thy time is short."
"I do not choose to move, Jelekha, unless I bear thee away from this place of horrors. I have trusted my life to thee before now, girl, trust me to-night."
"I see, young man, thy days are not passed in camp in vain. Thou knowest the ways to win a girl. But a Tartar does not choose to be won thus. Go thy way, young soldier, I will meet thee again when I choose."
"Knowest thou, proud maid, those blood-hounds thou speakest of are seeking thy life rather than mine? I have heard something in the palace of a young Tartar slave who has run away, and her dagger did foul work before she fled. Thinkest thou there is forgiveness in Musroor and his dark comrades? And shall I leave thee to be pursued and hunted in these woods, to be chained and dragged to the palace, to be tortured and branded before thou art stabbed to death?"
A shudder went through the iron frame of Jelekha at these words, but she laughed and replied, "Ah, my young lover, I see thou hast been into the palace to some purpose and learnt something of its mysteries. But seest thou not thy life is not safe if thou takest me with thee? Go, go, soldier; I will meet thee again."
Noren's answer was brief. "Stay here then if thou wishest, Jelekha. I can stand by thee and fall."
Something in Noren's determined voice struck Jelekha. She softened and said, "Brave, foolish man, I accept thy offer. Few are those on earth who would have risked so much for a poor slave. Come, then, thou art the man I have long waited for."
Silently they left the wood and stole to the waggoner's hut. The horse was tied to a tree, saddled and bridled. Noren sprang on the steed, helped Jelekha to sit behind him, and passed his leather belt tightly round her waist. Without another word the steed and riders crept out of the precincts of Agra in complete darkness.
When they were out in the open fields Noren spurred his horse and swept past dewy corn-fields and slumbering villages. He avoided the main road, and whenever he saw a watch-fire under the trees in the far distance he took a long circuit to escape notice. The moon would be up in a couple of hours, but the most perilous half of the journey would be finished before that time.
The long canter was unbroken by a single whispered word. Not once did Noren turn backwards to cheer his fair companion by word or sign, but the fiery girl needed no cheering. Coiling her left arm round the waist of her deliverer like a cord of steel, she held her dirk in her strong right hand as she peered through the darkness with her snake-like, glistening eyes. Her untied hair streamed in the air, and her frame shook with excitement. Few would have chosen such a companion for a midnight ride; none would have ventured to whisper love to such a maiden with the naked steel in her hand.
Mile after mile was cleared at a gentle canter in the light of the stars. Occasionally a village dog barked at the silent wayfarers, and once only by a wayside Dharamsala the glistening of muskets in the light of a fire betrayed a party of soldiers. Jelekha's grip tightened. Noren understood the hint, swerved half a mile round the straight course, and was soon beyond view of the Dharamsala. He never knew if the soldiers were sent by his pursuers or if a royal guard was escorting treasure to Agra and halting in the village till dawn.
Twenty miles were done and the noble steed was reined in under a tree. "Brave girl," said Noren, as he helped his companion down, "bravely hast thou borne thyself. We are safe from danger now. methinks."
"Be not quite sure of that yet, my friend, the intriguers of the palace have a long arm."
"But we are twenty miles from Agra, Jelekha, and this is the halting-place where a fresh horse awaits us."
"Their arm can reach two hundred miles, brave soldier, and thy halting-place may be as well known to them as to thee."
"Cast away thy needless alarms, girl, I hear my horse neighing, and I know his mettle well. He will take us to our encampment in less than two hours as the moon is rising."
"Look at thy steed," said Jelekha, when they came to the tree where it was tied. "He can scarcely stand—he totters."
A closer examination showed two deep sword-cuts in the hind legs of the noble beast. There was a pool of blood where it stood.
"What means this?" exclaimed Noren with horror.
"What means this? Why, a blind man can see that!" rejoined Jelekha. "Thy destination was known, thy horse has been followed and maimed, and they wait hard by—those who seek thy life and mine."
"And where are the vile caitiffs concealing themselves?"
"Not here, for it is too open a place. They hide themselves in yonder bushes, I warrant thee."
"They shall not hide themselves long if my good sword can reach them."
"Be not rash, and remember thou art the Emperor's messenger. They have not marked us yet in the dark. Leave the wounded horse to die and let us steal ahead. If the tired horse cannot carry us, surely we can walk twenty miles before the sun is high in the heavens."
With a heavy heart Noren walked forward with Jelekha, leading the spent horse. Yet often he looked back towards the tree where the wounded beast was tied, and his blood boiled at the idea of the cowardly deed left unrevenged.
But they had not proceeded far when they heard the sound of hoofs; and in the light of the rising moon they could see two horsemen coming towards them from the bushes where they had concealed themselves, as Jelekha had rightly guessed.
"Lead this horse behind the tree, Jelekha, and leave a soldier to his work. They are two against one, but this rock will befriend me."
The horsemen had marked Noren and Jelekha from the time of their arrival, and now came forward slowly and cautiously. Noren had taken his stand against a huge black boulder, sword in hand, and Jelekha stood behind the tree where she had tied the noble animal, now tired and worn out with the journey from Agra.
The horsemen knew the King's officer and the slave girl too, and preferred a parley to an open attack.
"You will answer for this night's work," said one of the horsemen to Noren. "You will answer to one who never forgives."
"I will answer to the great Emperor, whose bidding I perform, for chastising midnight robbers who waylay a royal messenger and maim a royal horse."
"Fine work for a royal messenger to steal a palace slave! Knowest thou not, Norendra Nath, that he who steals a slave from the palace dies the death? Go thy way, messenger, there is time yet to recede, and with thee we have no business. Leave the slave of Jodh Bai to justice; it is her we demand; it is her we have been bidden to pursue and arrest."
"Was it Queen Jodh Bai, then, who desired this brave girl to be poniarded in the palace on a dark night, or was the deed that of your master, the black Musroor, who seeks now for her life-blood? Infamous slaves of the infamous eunuch, I will save this woman from his dark revenge with my sword, as I would save all God's creatures from undeserved death!"
"We know naught of the night's scuffle in which wounds were given and received. We demand Jelekha in the name of justice for running away from the palace, and we ask you, a King's officer, to render her back to us."
"Show me the King's warrant by which you make the demand. Show me the royal order by which you maimed a King's horse and waylaid a King's messenger! I recognise no other mandate. I despise those of your black master."
Further parley was useless. "Thou wilt answer for yonder runaway slave before to-morrow's sun goes down," said the horseman as he and his companion rushed on Noren.
"Thou wilt answer to me now, before to-morrow's sun rises, for the royal horse thou hast maimed," thundered Norendra Nath as he suddenly sprang on one of the horsemen and sent him sprawling on the ground with a blow with the back of his sword. "I claim this horse in exchange."
"And I claim this," screamed Jelekha as she clutched the bridle of the other horse and drove her dagger into the left arm of the horseman. The wounded man avoided a second blow by leaping on the ground.
The unseated horsemen now drew their swords and their brows were dark as midnight; but Noren wished to stop further bloodshed. "Go back," he said, "or you may find a woman's dagger more than a match for your swords, as your master has done before. Go back and tell the black Musroor that you killed an officer's horse and paid for it with yours. Take care of the animal we leave by yonder tree, and the wounded man requires care and tendance too. I spare your lives to-night, for death by the rope, sooner or later, is writ on your foreheads."
Resistance was useless. The wounded man, leaning on his companion, sullenly left the place.
Nor did Noren and Jelekha wait long. The two horses were fresh, the night wind was cold, and they left in a canter. Jelekha led, and Noren could scarcely keep pace with the wilful creature. Her hair was loose, her dress fluttered, her laughter rang wildly, and with her white arms extended she seemed a witch sailing through the air. Nor did they stop till the white tents of Noren's escort loomed in the distance.
And then they paused. Noren sprang from his horse and came to Jelekha, still seated on her saddle. Was it a vision that suddenly broke upon his sight?
The girl's light seat on the saddle was that of a Peri rather than of a human being. Her face was flushed, and drops of toil beaded her forehead. The crimson dawn flashed on her keen wicked eyes, and a wicked smile parted her thin red lips. The loose hair shaded her marble brow and fell on her shoulders, and her disordered dress scarcely concealed her palpitating bosom. Never had Noren's eyes rested on a form so lithe and supple, so bright and bewitching.
The sylph-like form slid from the saddle and Noren caught her in his arms. And did his passionate lips press for a moment on the trembling lips of the struggling, ravishing Musalmanee? But Jelekha sprang away with a scream and a laugh, and Noren stood confused.
But she came back to him lovingly and spoke to him gently, and a tear glistened in her eye as she spoke.
"Much hast thou dared, brave soldier, for a stranger who was friendless, for a slave who was helpless. The spirits of my father's land called thee to Agra, and I waited for thee till thou camest and brokest my chains. We part to-day, Noren, for our paths are in different directions, but a Tartar never forgets a kindness, and Jelekha will not forget—a friend."
The strange creature had disappeared in the woods before Noren could shape a reply. His guards sought far and wide for a Moslem woman who had acted as his guide from Agra (so he said), but could not find her. Noren pondered over Jelekha's parting words and parting tears, but never quite understood the strange girl.