AJJHAINAH: i A STOI^OF AFGHA^ LIFE . ' RUHAINAH RUHAINAH A STORY OF AFGHAN LIFE BY EVAN STANTON CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED 739 & 741 BROADWAY, New York. COPYRIGHT 1886 BY O. M. DUNHAM All Rights Reserved. Fress of W. L. Mershon & Co., Rahway, N . J. DEDICATED SISTER LYDIA." 2228939 CONTENTS. PAGE. I. THE RUSTUM OF HERAT, . . i II. RUHAINAH, l6 III. THE MOSQUE, .... 29 IV. SWEET LITTLE SHAIDY, . . 39 V. THE LOVE-SICK YUSUF, . . 50 VI. THE GUILD OF THE RED HAND, 64 VII. BERTRAM BERNARD, ... 76 VIII. MRS. HESKETH'S DINNER PARTY, 85 IX. " SISTER LYDIA," .... 104 X. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET, . 119 XI. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, . . 133 XII. SHAIDY'S WEDDING, . . . 147 XIII. THE POISONED DISH, . . . 163 XIV. THE OILY HINDU, 181 XV. THE GUEST-CHAMBER, . . . 192 XVI. THE ABDUCTION, . . . 205 XVII. LOVE'S QUESTIONS, . . . 225 XVIII. EARTH TO EARTH, . . . 237 XIX. Is IT LAWFUL ? 242 XX. WITHOUT THE BENEDICTION, . 255 RUHAINAH. CHAPTER I. THE RUSTUM OF HERAT. IT was in the autumn of 1859 that Dost Mohamed, the Ameer of Cabul, was enjoy- ing some degree of repose in the beautiful winter gardens outside the dismantled walls of Jalal- abad. The arrival of the great Ameer, with his numerous retinue and extensive seraglio, was an occasion of great excitement in the little town, and its quaint bazar was crowded with motley groups of visitors from far and near. Tribesmen from all parts of the neighboring hills came to pay their respects to that popular Ameer, who in spite of British con- quests, had succeeded in establishing the inde- * RUHAINAH. pendence of his country and the stability of his dynasty. The Ameer's encampment presented a most picturesque spectacle. That strange admixture of glory, grandeur, and dirt which so charac- terizes everything in the bright but weary East. The garden in which the camp was placed was enclosed by a high brick wall, and in the centre of the quadrangle were two chaste white marble cisterns into which played fountains of pure water brought from the Cabul River. Majestic cypresses formed stately groves stretching from the fountains to the entrance gates, while trellised vines encircled the spa- cious area within the gloomy brick walls, and several large spreading peepal trees afforded that shade which is so restful and refreshing in a parched and sunny clime. It was under one of these large shady peepals that rich Persian carpets were spread on a raised dais, where every morning tbe ruler of the Afghans, for some three hours, received embassies from tributary tribes, heard appeals, and administered summary justice, very much THE RUSTUM OF HERA T. 3 in the same way as it had been done in these historic regions centuries ago. The Afghan Ameer, clothed in white flowing robes and wearing a massive white turban on his head, sat crossed-legged on a rich carpet and gracefully reclined on a large silken cushion over which was thrown a costly Cashmere shawl. Behind the Ameer stood the erect form of a faithful attendant, with a long dagger in his belt, who with a bright cotton handkerchief brushed away the flies, while a fair youth, a slave-boy from Kafiristan, occasionally handed his master a cup of sandal sherbet, and an old Abyssinian bond-servant supplied at intervals the calumet of peace. Seated on the Ameer's right was Shere Aly, the recently nominated heir to the throne, a sur- viving son of a favorite wife, and who, in after years, played so important a part in Afghan history. Close by stood the portly figure of Shergasi, the Lord Chamberlain, whose coun- tenance betrayed the fact that his good humor and courtly manners were fortified and sustained by libations such as were not consistent with a 4 RUHAINAH. true follower of the Prophet. But the Lord Chamberlain had often been heard to say that had sparkling champagne ever existed in the days of the Prophet it would have been made lawful, being so much more grateful to the human soul than scents and women which were the Prophet's foibles. A marked contrast to the well-conditioned appearance of the Lord Chamberlain was the gloomy countenance of the Ameer's trusted adviser who occupied the left of the throne and who sat in pious abstraction counting the ninety-nine names of God on his rosary. Afghan rulers love to do religion by deputy. The next best thing to being religious is to support and pamper a religious devotee. So thought the great Ameer. And the orthodoxy and bigotry of the saintly Fazlodeen served as a counterpoise to the erratic counsels of the wine- bibbing Shergasi. In the background stood some twenty armed retainers selected from the various tribes and held as hostages for the good behavior of their respective clans. The strongly marked Jewish features of the THE RUSTUM OF HERA T. 5 Ameer for the Afghans by their own genea- logies are descended from King Saul were evident as he took chief part in the discussions of the durbar. It is true the ameers of Cabul have auto- cratic power, but Dost Mohamed had intro- duced a kind of constitutional government, and consequently in the durbar, besides those already mentioned, were several sarddrs or nobles of distinction, whose advice was sought on all great state questions. Among these privileged courtiers there was none more honored and trusted than Abdullah, an old white-bearded chieftain, known as the " Rustum of Herat." Abdullah was an Afghan noble who in his youth had migrated from Herat to Cabul, and who had been a trusted adherent of the Ameer's cause during the British invasion. After the expulsion of the British he had returned to his own province, and had served the national interests of his country during the Persian invasion of Herat. " Rustum " is a mythical personage in Ori- ental romance, celebrated for his unbounded 6 RUHAINAH. hospitality; and such had been the generous and benevolent character of Abdullah, during his eventful life, that he had earned for himself the honorable distinction of " The Rustum of Herat." There had not been any notable event in the life of the Ameer with which this chieftain had not been associated, and rumor had it that this Abdullah had done many a dark deed of blood. But "God and the Prophet knew best." Abdullah's vices were all in the uncertain chaos of men's minds, while his virtues were evident to the world. To look at him you would have said Abdullah was a good man, good as Afghans go, which, after all, is not saying much for Abdullah's character. His was a tall well-built figure with a soldier- like bearing, a fine open face with arched eye- brows, so marked a feature in Afghan counten- ances. His eyes had a soft and kind expression which seemed to belie his reputation as a des- perate man. His beard was long and perfectly white, and his whole appearance would prove him to have attained the patriarchal age of three score years and ten. THE RUSTUM OF HERAT. f Abdullah was a man of simple habits, and even when he attended the durbar of the Ameer he seldom added any thing to his or- dinary white cotton turban, coat and pijamahs, save an Egyptian cimeter which he had so often wielded in the national cause. The full turban, some twenty yards in length, which encircled his head, was bound round a conical cap of rich Persian gold lace. His wide loose pijamahs of white cotton cloth were covered to the knee by a simple white kurta, such as is worn by an Afghan yeoman. When unarmed and pursuing the peaceful occupations of his village life Abdullah carried in his hand a long staff which added to his patriarchal character, but when he attended the councils of kings he buckled on his trusted sword and stepped as with the elasticity of youth, for in Afghanistan the old feel youthful in the service of the state. Abdullah entered the durbar and walked with a firm step up the center to the raised dais, on which the Ameer was seated. The whole company rose, as the Ameer advanced to wel- come the old man, whom he embraced with 8 RUHAINAH. the greatest cordiality and with the warmest affection. " Friend Abdullah ! " said the Ameer, " it is our intention to reward you for your faithful adherence to the interests of our person and our dynasty, by making you a free grant of the village and fort you now occupy." Requesting Abdullah to be seated, the Ameer in an authoritative voice ordered his secretary to read aloud the deed of gift which declared that " in consideration of the eminent services rendered to the state, that faithful Moslem and well trusted servant, Abdullah of Herat, shall receive for the use and enjoyment of himself and his heirs forever the village and fort of Abukilla in the province of Jalalabad." The document having been read, the Ameer affixed his signet on the top of the manu- script and handed it to the venerable chief- tain. As the Ameer thus made over the old his- toric fort of Abukilla to the stranger from Herat, a vindictive smile stole upon the lips of the Sheenwaree chieftains which but too truly indicated the feelings of jealousy with which THE RUSTUM OF HERA T. 9 they regarded the settling of strangers in Sheenwaree territory. Even the ascetic countenance of old Fazlo- deen relaxed its muscles as he raised his eyes and looking at Abdullah recited in a whisper the well-known couplet : " Thou hast piled up trays of various meats, Nor wilt thou with a single platter rest content." ****** The domain thus granted by the Ameer of Cabul to Abdullah of Herat was the pretty little village of Abukilla and its old fort. Abukilla lay nestling on one of the slopes of the lower mountain ranges which rise from the valley watered by the Cabul River. The village consisted of some seventy dwelling houses sur- rounded by a dilapidated mud wall ; and a small stone fort, said to have been erected by the Emperor Baber, occupied the side of the village exposed to the valley below. The stone watch-tower, which rose higher than the fort, could be seen peeping through the trees at a considerable distance, and the two lofty minarets of the old ruined mosque gave an antiquated and picturesque appearance to the place. 10 RUHAINAH. Abukilla, being about seven miles from the great highway from central Asia to India, had escaped the ravages of conquerors ; but having changed proprietors with the expiration of every reigning dynasty, the village, its fort, its watch-tower, and its mosque, had sadly fallen into decay. The hospitality of the " Rustum of Herat" had, however, made it a place of resort, and although Abdullah had but recently occupied the place, weary and needy travellers would often stop short of the town of Jalalabad, and turn aside from the public highway, to find a peaceful halting-place and a hospitable welcome in this secluded village. Among the Afghans hospitality is the very bond of perfectness. And the open-handed and generous treatment of all who visited the fort had secured for its new chieftain a world-wide reputation which even those who regarded him as an intruder could not gainsay. The chief institution of the village was its mosque, which had been erected by the Emperor Baber as a thank-offering for journey- ing mercies, and which still possessed some THE RUSTUM OF HERA T. 1 1 traces of its original beauty, and enjoyed a very considerable endowment. The mosque combined in itself the three-fold character of a hostel, a divinity school, and a house of prayer. Its lay-patron was the chief of the village, and in order to secure the relig- ious interests of the place Abdullah had forci- bly ejected the former incumbent, and had installed an Afghan scholar and poet of reputa- tion known as " Mullah Ahmad." Mullah Ahmad was a many-sided man ; well read in ponderous folios of tradition, and well skilled in theology, logic, and philosophy. But he was chiefly known as a poet. To the chieftain of Abukilla the special recommenda- tion in Mullah Ahmad's character was the fact that he was more genial in manner and more liberal in thought than that bigoted specimen of humanity who usually occupies the position of village priest in Moslem countries. There were in connection with the mosque a number of divinity students, chiefly supported by the liberality of Abdullah, and partly from the endowments of the institution. Mullah Ahmad was most regular in the observ- 12 RU HA IN AH. ance of the five stated periods of liturgical prayer, and so zealous was he in religious mat- ters, and so undisputed was his authority in things spiritual, that he sometimes applied the leathern whip to the backs of those who grew weary in their devotional duties. Ahmad used to say, for he had a sense of humor, that he found this one of the most wholesome injunctions of the Prophet, so much more effect- ual in rousing sluggish souls than even the most fervent sermons. The only other institution in this little village was the Hindu's shop. The Afghans never keep shop. In all Afghan villages there are Hindu shop-keepers. Idolater though he be, the Hindu is tolerated by the Moslem Afghan as a being absolutely necessary for his existence. But oftentimes when the Afghan chief has run up a heavy bill at the Hindu's store, he will clear off the bill by clearing off the shop- keeper. The Hindu shop-keeper of Abukilla was a tall, thin emaciated specimen of humanity named Nand Ram. Any morning as the traveller passed from THE K USTUM OF HERA T. 1 3 the fort to the mosque he might see Nand Ram seated at the door of his little shop encased in piles of sugar, dried fruits, salt, flour, rice, and butter, weighing out articles of food, and measuring off calico to the boys and girls, and 'he good wives of the village. But although Nand Ram was in Afghan eyes an insignificant idolater only allowed by a merciful Providence to live for the accom- modation of the faithful, he was by no means an unimportant personage. He was a paid spy of the British Government, and the special correspondent of the London Times. Nand Ram was a well paid political spy, and every week he transmitted his despatches sewn up in the sole of the shoe of a native runner. He had formerly resided in Cabul, but he had been ejected from that city on suspicion, and he had now settled in this obscure place so as to get his political information and Cabul news through the female members of Abdullah's family. Close to the Hindu's shop was the entrance to the fort in which resided the famous chief- tain. A wooden door opened upon a large 14 RUHAINAH. quadrangle, where everything betokened a hospitable welcome. Along either side of the open space were picketed some twenty horses, being a detachment of cavalry kept up by the chief of Abukilla in accordance with the Ameer's feudal system for the service of the state. Facing the entrance, and within the fort, were several large rooms used as guest- chambers, fitted up with cots which were every evening supplied with quilts and pillows for the weary traveller. This htifrah, or guest-chamber, is an institu- tion common to every Afghan village. Here every stranger can claim an evening meal and a night's sojourn. Above the guest-house was a bdlakhdna, or upper-chamber, in which the chief and his special guests usually sat. The wooden shutters of this apartment opening the whole length of the room gave the occupants the benefit of the sun on a winter's day, and of the cool breezes from the river below on a sultry night. Beneath the guest-houses was a large subter- ranean chamber, known as a tahkhdnah, where THE RUSTUM OF HERA T. 15 the chief and his family found a cool retreat from the intense heat of a summer's day. The entrance to the harem, or prohibited quarter, was in the corner of the outer court, but so screened off as to prevent the eye of the curious from penetrating its hidden mysteries. As the owners of Abukilla had generally kept up the orthodox number of four wives, with a numerous company of female slaves, the zenana apartments of the fort were unusually exten- sive. Each wife having a separate establish- ment of servants and slaves. The harem of an Afghan chief is generally held sacred from the prying curiosity of the outer-world, but there were circumstances con- nected with the female portion of Abdullah's household which had become the subject of village gossip. Abdullah himself was regarded as an intruder, but there were circumstances connected with the interior economy of his household which had become a grave public scandal, even among people whose lines of domestic morality are drawn as wide as those of the Afghan race. CHAPTER II. RUHAINAH. new chieftain of Abukilla was over 1 much married. Not that the " Rustum of Herat " had been a gay Lothario, but, like Jacob of old, he had been the victim of circum- stances. When a young man, his father had betrothed him to the daughter of a Cabul priest, by whom he had several children, the only sur- viving child being his son Alak. Then, a few years afterward, he made it a point of honor to espouse the widow of a Sadozie chief whom he had slain in battle. By her he had no family. And when resident in Herat, in order to con- ciliate the people of the city, he had taken to wife a lady of that province, by whom he had a daughter named Shaidy. And now, in his old age, he had been com- pelled to complete the legal number, for no RU HA IN AH. 17 sooner had he settled down in his new domain, than the Sheenwaree tribe had forced him to form an alliance with the family of their own chief. Abdullah being an old man, with a well- stocked harem, would most gladly have escaped the responsibility of a fourth wife. But among Oriental races a marriage is considered one of the easiest ways of settling political difficulties. For the Prophet himself said " Matrimonial alliances between tribes increase friendship more than anything else." The bonds-maids of Abdullah's household were also numerous. And even since his arrival in his new home, the Ameer had pre- sented him with a fair damsel taken captive in a recent war with the idolaters of Kafiristan. Among his numerous slave-girls the most active little busy-body was this Gulandamah, a girl about twenty years of age, who made it her mission in life to relate the tittle-tattle of the harem. If any of the wives were invited to weddings Gulandamah accompanied them, and so carefully did she attend to her business, that by all the lovers of local gossip she was 1 8 RV 'HA IN 'AH. regarded as a kind of court circular of the daily events of the harem. From morning till night the continuous din and clatter of Abdullah's harem were such as to turn the strongest brain. It is true that each wife had her separate establishment, separate rooms and servants, and daily allowances of corn allotted at each harvest, and that Nand Ram, the village shop-keeper, kept a separate account with each for her supplies of groceries and con- fections. But, notwithstanding all this, there were ceaseless bickerings regarding the most petty matters, with which we will not trouble our reader. In an Afghan household the mother of the chief takes the first place among the female members of the family. But Abdullah's mother had long been dead, and theCabul wife claimed precedence, not so much on account of her seniority, but as the mother of the chief's only son. And the imperious spirit of Alak took very good care that his mother received due honor. The Sadozie wife never really forgave the murder of her husband, and spent her time in RUHAIXAH. 19 turning her spinning wheel in supreme indif- ference to the affairs of life. The Heratee wife found some consolation in the sweet confiding love of her little daughter Shaidy. But the real termagant of the household was the young Sheenwaree wife. From the very first she had regarded her marriage with the aged chieftain as merely a political expedient, and the whole energies of her little brain were spent in concocting mischief. " What has a girl to do with the counsels of a nation ? " is an Oriental proverb. But the beautiful Taj at Agra erected by the Emperor Jehangeer, and some of the most remarkable events in the lives of Oriental potentates, all prove that, in the East as much as in the West, women, especially when they are pretty, have exerted enormous power. Even at the very time of which we write the mother of Shere Aly was the leading influence in all state matters at the Cabul court. With Abdullah's young Sheenwaree wife mis- chief was her mission. And as her little fingers embroidered in gold, or spun at the spinning 20 RUHAINAH. wheel, or mixed dainty dishes for special guests, each wife taking it in turn by the week to supply the guest-house, her little brain was actively engaged with the one thought of obtaining paramount authority in the village and fort of Abukilla, and, if possible, in the counsels of the Ameer of Cabul himself. Although six months of her married life had not passed, there was not a chieftain or prince in the whole country who had not heard of Nurejan, the young wife of the aged " Rustum of Herat." In all her intrigues Nurejan found a useful agent in the. thin bony banker and shop-keeper Nand Ram. It is within the limits of Afghan propriety for a village lady to go outside her harem when veiled with a bourka, such as is common to Central Asia, and oftentimes a veiled figure was seen at the shop of Nand Ram purchasing cloth, sugar, candy and spice, and talking treason and love. All the village knew it was none other than Abdullah's young wife. Poor Abdullah ! You have purchased the friend- ship of the treacherous Sheenwarees at an 'enormous cost ! RUHAINAH. 21 There was, however, one being in the harem who occupied an unique position. It was the eldest daughter of Abdullah, Ruhainah, who was known as " The Maid of Herat." Born of a Cashmere slave, so it was said, she was only three months old when her mother died. She had, however, been tenderly cared for byAlak's mother and had been fortunate in gaining the affection of that wild son of the desert. " Ruhainah ! " Alak would say, " nothing but the inscrutable decrees of God could have made you and me brother and sister! " "Yes, Alak!" the old father would say, " but even in the dark defile of the Khyber the wild flower clings to the rough and rugged rock." It is impossible to conceive two characters more strangely contrasted than these two chil- dren. Alak was the personification of an Afghan. A young man, some twenty-three years of age, of middle stature, with strong and active limbs, a quick but unsettled eye, and a strong impul- sive nature. His dark eyes and black beard 22 RUHAINAH. seemed destined to effect a marked and striking contrast with the brown eyes and the rich deep auburn tresses of his fair sister. Not even the fervid fancy of the Arabian Prophet had ever created a more graceful houri than this fair girl, who gave grace and elegance, and even peace, to the harem of Abdullah amid all its discordant elements. Even the Sheenwaree wife grew tame under the gentle and loving influence of Ruhainah's dreamy eyes. Ruhainah was a child of nature. For hours she would sit gazing into the starry heavens and indulge in strange, dreamy thoughts of God. And as she stood, in the early morn, on the top of her dwelling, she would look down on the valley below, and watch the rapid flowing waters of the "Cabul River with a deep yearning for some bliss supreme of which " time mocks the dream it never can destroy." "You're a strange little creature," Alak used to say. " Why ever the Almighty sent you into this world of sin I cannot tell." Ruhainah was only seventeen years of age, but she had for the last few years of her short RU HA IN AH. 23 life exerted an influence over her aged father's life of which he was fully conscious. Abdullah in his youth had been a desperate man, violent, fiery, and revengeful, but in the hands of his daughter Ruhainah he was as gen- tle as a lamb. Indeed, it was only in the apartment of Ruhainah that Abdullah found rest from the turmoils of life. For an Afghan girl Ruhainah was well edu- cated. She could read and write Persian and Pushto, and had studied carefully the poems of Hafiz of Shiraz, and the Gulistan of Shaikh Sadi. She was well read in Afghan poetry, and could recite with readiness the odes of Rahman. Among strict Moslems the cultivation of music is unlawful, for it is said that the Prophet put his fingers in his ears when he heard the strains of a pipe. " But that was not such music as Ruhai- nah's," old Abdullah would say. And the fond old father loved to recline and listen to the sweet strains of his daughter's melody as she would accompany herself on the rebdb. How the old man's face would lighten up as he gazed on the pensive profile of his 24 RUHAINAH. daughter's face as she would sing so sweetly the words of the Arab poetess! " O rare virtue and beautiful natural trait, Which never will change by the change of estate ! When clad in his armor and prepared for the fray, The army rejoiceth and winneth the day ! " " Father! why have you not married me to some old Cabul prince, or to some ugly Sheen- waree chief?" said Ruhainah, as she struck her little fingers playfully across the rebab and looked inquiringly into his face. " My child, why do you ask me ? " " I never thought of it before," she said ; " but this morning your Sheenwaree wife said her tribe were determined to claim me in mar- riage for their chief." The old man's face became serious, and tak- ing Ruhainah's hand tenderly, he said, very solemnly : " Ruhainah, do you really wish to be mar- ried ? " "No, why should I ?" " Ruhainah ! I once had a strange dream re- garding you." RUHAINAH. 25 " Oh, do tell it, father ; I do so like dreams." " It was many years ago in fact, it was not long after your mother's death," said Abdullah, with some hesitancy, " that I was sleeping at noonday under a shady rock in the Gandnamak Pass, and you, then a little babe, were resting in my arms, that Jesus, the Spirit of God upon whom be peace appeared to me and said, 'Abdullah! that child is mine; let her be as my Virgin Mother.' I thought he took you away, but when I awoke you were playing with my beard. I have often wondered what could be the meaning of that dream ! Can it be that you are destined to live a virgin life ? For, many a time since then have I sought to betroth you, but the fate of the Almighty God seems against it. When a child, you were betrothed to the youngest son of the Governor of Herat, but he was assassinated that very night. I had promised you to a Candahar chief, and he was slain in battle. And it was only yesterday that I heard the Ameer had decided to demand you for his son Gho- lam Hyder, the very day the young prince died. It has been well said in the sacred 26 RUHAINAH. Koran, 'All things have been created after a fixed decree,' and your destiny, my rose, seems to be but to cheer and comfort an aged father at the close of his long and checkered life." " And what more happy destiny than mine, father dear?" she said, as she playfully thrust her fingers into his long white beard and with her left hand struck a cheerful chord on the rebab. " What happier lot than mine ? " " Sing another song, Ruhainah." " Would you like the song of the seven wise women of Persia ? " " Yes." " Well then you shall have it. And remember, you dear old saint, I inflict it on you because you have so cruelly brought me a fourth mother to annoy my poor little life." And then taking her rebab she looked up into her father's face and sung : " Be that man's life immersed in gloom Who weds more wives than one, With one his cheeks retain their bloom, His voice a cheerful tone. These speak his honest heart at rest, And he and she are always blest : RUHAINAH. 27 But when with tu5 teachings of Mohamed, Gautama, and Nanak, with those of the Bible, but such a belief, while it attached him to the conquering race, es- tranged him from his own countrymen, and con- sequently made him a still more loyal and use- ful servant of the state. It was to Dilawar that Major Bernard care- fully unfolded his plans for the proposed mis- sion. " Sahib ! " said the Rasaldar, " it is impossi- ble. You will certainly be killed if you at- tempt the Khyber route, and, as you are aware, all the other mountain passes are closed." " There is danger, very great danger, I know, but you and I, friend Dilawar, have braved danger before," replied Bernard. " May my life be sacrificed for you ! If you go I shall go with you." " It was for this very purpose I sent for you, Dilawar, I want you to accompany me. You are about the only native I could trust." " Well, sir, if any man can go you can. Your kindness and hospitality to the Afghans are well known, and may secure you protec- tion." 106 RUHAINAH. " I have always been a well wisher to the Afghan race, for I believe there is still a high destiny in store for them." " But you must bear in mind that you are now going to seize one of their most desperate leaders." " That is true, but according to your own information Hasan and his band have already fled from their own country. We are therefore not likely to fall in with any of them in the Khyber." " That is quite true, sir," replied Dilawar. " Then I ought to tell you that I once enter- tained Hasan under peculiar circumstances. A price was set on his head, and yet, relying on my word, he came and stayed a night with me and gave very important information. And I do really believe if I were to meet Hasan he would give me protection in his own village, feeling bound to do so by the laws of hospital- ity." " Major Sahib ! " said Dilawar with great firm- ness, " you cannot trust an Afghan, although I say it who am an Afghan myself." " Dilawar ! I have trusted you, and I shall SISTER LYDIA. 107 always trust you. There are good and bad among all races of people." " No, Sahib ! don't trust even me," said the brave old soldier with a smile. " Indeed I shall. Now listen ! We must start at once, before it is possible for Hasan to know our intentions. I shall assume no dis- guise. Where British money goes there a British officer ought to find protection. We have poured lacs of rupees into Afghanistan and the Afghan people must protect me. I shall wear the native costume, because I know my Afghan friends like to see me in it. But I shall attempt no disguise. Our baggage must go on one mule and you must engage a good mule- teer. A Hindu will be safest, for, as you say, we can't trust an Afghan." The Rasaldar was amazed at his master's ap- parent rashness. "Well! just as you think wisest and right, sir. You know best. If I had my way I would disarm the whole Afghan nation, and hang every Khyber brigand I could lay my hands on." " And it is not so many years since you were a brigand yourself, my friend ! " 108 RUHAINAH. " Yes, and if you had hanged me it would have saved government a lot of trouble. But you have made me into a Rasaldar and have decorated me with all these bits of silver," he said, pointing to his medals and laughing heart- fly. "Ah, Dilawar! have you never heard the English proverb ' set a thief to catch a thief ' ? You were doubtless a first-class brigand and hence you are one of the smartest soldiers in the native army." Dilawar acknowledged the compliment with a salaam. " Yes, we also say, ' take a stick from the tree and fix it to the axe '." The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Garson, the major of brigade, Ber- nard's most intimate friend. The Rasaldar saluted the officers and retired to the cook- house, outside the bungalow, to enjoy his pipe. The two friends were soon engaged in serious conversation regarding the expedition. "Well, Bernard, all I can say is, if you succeed in capturing Hasan the Khyberee, and thus save our cheese-paring government the expense of an expedition, you will be knighted ! SISTER L YDIA. 109 knighted, sir ! And, as old Colonel Mangles is always saying, you will be commander-in- chief some day." " Yes," continued Garson, after a short pause, in which he had waited for Bernard to speak, "yes, it is worth the venture. Slain in the Khyber, or decorated with a K. C. B. Yes, by Jove ! it is worth the risk. Westminster Abbey or " " Abukilla," added Bernard, with a smile. " Garson ! " said Bernard, looking seriously, "you will not accuse me of cowardice, I know, when I tell you that I have a very strong pre- sentiment, indeed, an overpowering conviction, that I shall end my days in Afghanistan, as so many others have done before me." " Well, my dear fellow, don't be down-hearted about it. 7 have a strong presentiment that you will return and be a great man some day." " Now, Garson, let us descend from the re- gions of dream-land to the ordinary (or rather, to the extraordinary) affairs of life. There are one or two things I want you to do for me." " I am your honor's slave," said Garson, affecting a lightness of heart which he did not 110 RUHAINAH. feel, for he too thought it likely he would never see his friend Bernard again. " I want you to take charge of this dispatch- box. It contains my private papers. Should anything happen to me, send it to Sister Lydia, of the Dalston Sisterhood in London." " And who is ' Sister Lydia ' ? " " Garson ! I had almost said it is no business of yours, but you have always been a true friend to me, and you shall know. "When I was in London last year," Ber- nard continued, "I was seized with scarlet fever in my lonely lodgings in Gower Street. My pious old aunt, who is a district visitor in Canon Sleek's parish, and who is almost the only relative I have in the world, never came near me, but left me to the tender mercies of the lodging-house keeper. The doctor, who was a religious man, wrote to a sisterhood in Dalston, which was, at that time, being attacked in some of the religious newspapers, and they sent me a nurse in the person of a young lady clad in a religious habit. She never divulged her name, and was known to me and the doctor only as ' Sister Lydia.' She attended to my SZS TER L YD I A . Ill wants with the greatest devotion. She often read to me, and frequently spoke to me, on religious subjects. I became warmly attached to her, and although not a word on the sub- ject was ever exchanged between us, I could see that she was deeply interested in me." Garson elevated his eyebrows. ''You need not smile, Garson. Man of the world though I am, or rather was, I should have thought it sacrilege to have attempted to gain the affections of a girl who had taken, as I found she had, the vows of her order. She seemed to feel the awkward- ness of her position, and when she left me she made the strange compact that while she would allow me to correspond with her, I would never attempt to see her again. ' It is better not,' she said, with a tearful eye; and I made the promise on the one condition that I should pos- sess her portrait. That cameo over my mantel- piece, which I always show as ' my sister's ' por- trait, is her likeness. I tried to get some fur- ther information regarding her from my old landlady, but all she knew was that Sister Lydia's father had been killed somewhere in 112 RUHAINAH. India a circumstance which, I need scarcely tell you, did but increase my interest in her. I have a faint recollection .that she did once tell me her father's name. It was one night when she thought I was dying, but it has certainly passed from my memory. We correspond reg- ularly, but her letters are always on the subject of religion." "A very interesting flirtation!" exclaimed Garson. "Garson, my good fellow! you really make me angry. I tell you there has been no flirtation." " I beg your pardon. But you must admit that it is a very romantic and interesting epi- sode in a fellow's life," replied Garson. " I don't mind confessing to you, Garson, that that woman, child in fact, for she could not be much more than twenty years of age, not only saved my life but restored my faith. If I were on my death bed now, I should throw all systems of theology and of philosophy to the winds and say simply, my faith is that of Sister Lydia's." " Even as a little child," said Garson, quoting the chaplain's text of last Sunday's sermon. SISTER L YDIA. 1 13 " Yes, that is just it, Garson. The truth is, the Punjab has been rather overdone with religion of late. But, as I understand it, Sister Lydia's faith, as exemplified in her simple life, is more like the teaching of the Son of God than anything I have yet seen." "Well, I believe more in the religion of Sister Lydia than I do in that of Mrs. Lawson, who won't even give our good little chaplain a place in the Kingdom of Heaven." " I judge no man ; or woman either. Not even Mrs. Lawson," said Bernard. " You are the most charitable being I have ever met with. But you must admit there are some very unpleasant Christians in the world." "Yes, I admit it. And I must confess that until I was brought in contact with that simple minded little Christian from Dalston, I had always avoided the so called Christian society." " And no wonder," exclaimed Garson as he lit a cigar. " To tell you the honest truth, I hope these good Christian people will change their dispositions, be a little more amiable, talk 114 RUHAINAH. less scandal, etc., before they get into the King- dom of Heaven, or really I shall feel quite uncomfortable in their society. Heaven, no matter how angelic the music, would be a very unpleasant place with a bevy of Mrs. Lawsons inside its gates." "Do you know, Garson, I think you also will have to change a little before you reach the delectable land," said Bernard rather seriously. " But I quite agree with you. And yet, some of these people have very many good points. They are better than their creed. They could not sleep in their beds if they really believed all their theology. I quite expect a great reaction from the present state of things even in my own day." " You seem to think I might be better. Well, Bernard, I must go to London, live in Gower Street, get scarlet fever, send for a Dalston sister, yield to the gentle pressure of a loving hand on my feverish brow, respond to the sweet smile of bewitching eyes, and so forth ; and grow good," said Garson laughing. " I believe a good wife would be the making of you," said Bernard. SISTER LYDIA. 115 " No, I am too young to marry. No man should marry until he is thirty-five." " That is contrary to the generally received opinion, is it not ? " " I believe it is, and yet all the experience of life seems to prove that I am right. A young fellow, a mere boy, does not know his own mind as to the sort of wife he really needs." " But I always thought that falling in love had something to do with it." "Well, I suppose it has, but just see how soon men ' fall out ' of love. The genuine article is a very rare thing, I can assure you." "Why, Garson, you talk like a sage." " Bernard ! tell me candidly and honestly were you ever really in love?" Bernard remained for some time in a state of apparent abstraction. He was really thinking of his Lucknow days, and of Gower Street. " That is rather an awkward question." " I thought so," said Garson smiling. " Well, I do really believe I am telling you the downright honest truth when I say, I have never known what true love is. But at the same time I must tell you, it has been my mis- Ii6 RUHAINAH. fortune on two occasions to become very much fascinated with those with whom I could not honorably fall in love." "Ah ! I thought a man of your age couldn't have escaped altogether." , " But excuse me, my friend, were_jw/ ever in love?" inquired Bernard. " It is my chronic state and condition," said Garson. " I thought as much," said Bernard. " But let us proceed to business. Please take the greatest care of this little box, for it contains valuable government securities, and if you hear of my death send it to Sister Lydia." " All right, Bernard, if those Afghans do cut you up, ' Sister Lydia ' shall have the precious box, even if I go by the overland route and deliver it myself." Captain Garson then left for his own quarters with a native servant carrying the dispatch box behind him. And Major Bernard sat down at his office table, and wrote the following letter : " DEAR SISTER LYDIA " I am starting on an important politi- cal mission beyond the British frontier. In SISTER LYDIA. llf the present unsettled state of the country it is certainly a very hazardous undertaking. The chances (if you will allow me to speak of chances), are very much against my ever returning. I have, therefore, thought it neces- sary to arrange all my worldly affairs. " I am leaving in the charge of Captain Gar- son, the major of brigade at Peshavvur, a dispatch-box, which contains my last will and testament. You are my executrix and my sole legatee. I have considerable property, but it is all at your disposal. Your vows of poverty will, perhaps, prevent your taking it yourself, but you can apply it at your discretion to char- itable uses. You need not scruple to receive it, for my only surviving relative is a rich maiden aunt, who has more money than she knows what to do with. " And now, my dear friend, I cannot conclude this letter, written as it is under peculiar cir- cumstances, without saying once more, what I have often written, that you have, by your simple methods, exercised a marvellous influ- ence over both my mental and religious life. Your kind ministrations to me last year, and Il8 RUHAINAH. your many sweet Christian letters since, have made me both a wiser and a better man. Mine has, in many respects, been a disjointed and broken life, some would say an inconsistent life, but you have done much to bring the links together. " When we parted you said we must never meet again. Not in this world of sin and sorrow, perhaps, but I shall humbly hope to meet you in Heaven : ' Where thou, sweet saint, before the choir shall go, As harbinger of heaven, the way to show, The way which thou so well hast learned below.' " Ever sincerely yours, " BERTRAM BERNARD." CHAPTER X. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. WHO comes there?" " Friend ! " "Pass, friend! All is well!" replied the sentry. And Major Bernard and his faithful Afghan friend Dilawar passed the military guard on the very spot where, only a few weeks before, the whole cavalry picket had been massacred to a man by Hasan and his desperate band. " Don't loiter behind," said Dilawar to the muleteer who came with the baggage. "We must all keep together." It was a little past midnight when they started on their way, and they had scarcely reached the entrance of the dismal and uninviting Khyber by sunrise. " Har kala rasha ! May you ever come!" 120 RUHAINAH. exclaimed a horseman, as he galloped up to the side of the English officer. " Who are you ? " said Dilawar, placing his hand upon his revolver. "Come you as friend or foe ? " " I come as a friend. I am Alak, the son of Abdullah, the Rustum of Herat. I am sent by my father to escort the English officer in safety to our fort." " You are indeed welcome," replied Bernard. The arrival of the chieftain's son was a great relief to Major Bernard's mind, for, knowing that Alak was a secret member of the Guild of the Red Hand, he felt he could not possibly have a better or a safer escort. " Major Sahib ! " said Alak, " let me tell you before we enter the Pass, that neither I nor any human being can control the actions of a wild unmanageable spirit like Hasan the Khyberee." " Hasan and I are not strangers to each other. He was my guest on one occasion when his life was entirely at my mercy," replied Bernard. "That may be quite true," said Alak, " But RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 121 you must bear in mind that you are on a special expedition for his capture." " Well, not exactly for his capture. My special mission is the suppression of the raids on our frontier. But if I become his guest I shall expect the same protection in his country, as I once gave to him when he sojourned with me." " I will explain matters to him if we meet (which God grant we may not). Although I scarcely expect to see him, for I am told he has fled into the distant hills," said Alak. A tedious journey of some nineteen miles brought the party to Ali Masjid, the well- known fort in the centre of the defile. The fort is situated on the heights above the road and was at this time occupied by a strong garrison of the Ameer's troops. The Afghan commandant of the fort was an old and well-trusted servant of the Ameer, but as Major Bernard came with no creden- tials from his highness he did not receive the foreigner with the very best grace. " I admit," said Major Bernard, " that it would have been more in order if I possessed 122 RUHAINAH. a pass from the Ameer, but surely these letters from my own government ought to be sufficient. Afghans travel through the length and breadth of India with perfect safety. Why then is your country closed to the English traveller ? " " That is true, sir," said the command- ' ant; "but it was your invading army which closed Afghanistan against you. Before you forced yourselves as conquerors you were wel- come everywhere. The Afghans have ever been a hospitable race." The commandant supplied them with such fare as the garrison possessed and gave them comfortable quarters for the night. At sunrise they left with the salutations of peace and resumed their journey. The road from Ali Masjid to Lundi Kotal is through the stony bed of a mountain stream and opens on to a small arid plain in which are the ruins of an old Buddhist tope. It then rises along the side of the lower ranges until it descends to the valley of Dakka from whence the traveller obtains sight of the Cabul River and the eternal gnows of the Hindu-Kush in the far off distance. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 123 The hospitality of the fort and the assuring presence of Alak, together with the uneventful character of the journey, had made the travel- lers almost forget they were in an enemy's country, and as they were in sight of the Ameer's territory, Major Bernard had begun to think the perils of the journey were well nigh over. The faithful Dilawar had even begun to pay less attention to the loaded chambers of his Colt's revolver, while the Hindu muleteer- in restful security, was singing the familiar ditty of nani pant. Bernard had just lighted a cheroot, when a rapid fire of muskets from the rocks above opened briskly upon them. "Lubaika ! " cried Alak, giving the pass-word of the guild, and the firing ceased. In a few moments they were confronted with none other than the desperate brigand Hasan the Khyberee and two of his chosen band. Bernard and Dilawar presented their revolvers and the brigands at once saw the horsemen had the advantage. 124 RUHAINAH. " Not one step nearer, friends," exclaimed Dilawar, " or you are all dead men," " One question I will put to you, O brother Alak, and it is this : in the name of the Prophet, what brings you in company with infidels : with those who eat pork, drink wine, and curse our Prophet's holy name ? " said Hasan. " They are my father's guests." " True, but they are the enemies of our religion and of our race ! " "Stay!" exclaimed Bernard in excellent Pushto ; " if I remember rightly even Hasan the Khyberee once ate the salt of the infidel he now despises ! Hasan, heedless of the six chambers of Dilawar's revolver, sprang forward and seized Major Bernard's hand " And is it you, Major Sahib ! Hasan has never slain one whose salt he has eaten. You shall pass in peace." " You needn't talk about slaying," said Dilawar, " for it would appear we are more than a match for you." " Silence, Dilawar !" said Bernard; "this is not the time nor the place for a strife of words. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 125 We are Hasan's guests, and we are truly in- debted to him for protection." Hasan assisted Major Bernard to dismount, and his two followers led the horses behind them as they strolled leisurely to a little village close by.. Cots were soon drawn out in front of the vil- lage guest-house, and pillows and quilts were spread for the hospitable entertainment of the strangers by Hasan and his companions. " You can rest here in peace," said Hasan, " and continue your journey in the cool of the evening. Mounted as you are, you can easily reach the fort of the Rustum of Herat by night prayer." " Your kindness and hospitality are indeed great," said Bernard, " but we must take care of our baggage." " The baggage need not cause you any anxiety. We can take care of that," said the brigand with a suppressed smile. "Solomon the sage " soon arrived with two cups of sherbet, which he handed to the travellers, when, just as they raised the vessels to their lips, a gang of ruffians rushed upon 126 RUHAINAH. Bernard and Dilawar and seized their weapons. They soon found themselves bound hand and foot upon two cots, while in the distance they saw the poor helpless Hindu muleteer fall beneath Hasan's dagger. Alak had disap- peared, but whether he had fallen a victim to the treachery of his own guild it was impossible to tell. " This is rather a bold scheme of yours, major," said Hasan, as he stood beside the prostrate officer, his hands still stained with the blood of the poor helpless Hindu. " Rather a bold scheme to take the lion in his own lair." Bernard remained silent, for he knew that any words of protestation he might utter would but increase the anger of the enraged brigand. But he now saw the folly of trusting the word of a wild and desperate character such as Hasan. So fearful were the brigands of the soldierly prowess of the English major and his brave companion, that they kept them securely bound upon the charpoys, not even loosing the thongs to give them their scanty evening meal. In this helpless condition Bernard lay till long past midnight, when suddenly he felt the RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 127 thongs which bound him loosed by a friendly hand. " Dilawar, is that you ? " whispered Bernard, as he felt himself gradually restored to liberty. " Silence," said Alak (for it was he). " It can never be that a guest of the Rustum of Herat perish in the infernal regions of the Khyber." "But are you not a sworn member of their band ? " " This is not the time for questions. Follow me." " I cannot go without Dilawar." " That you must, for he was slain about an hour ago." " By whom ? " " By Hasan's own hand." " Then I shall not leave this place until I have avenged his death." " That is impossible. Remember, you are unarmed." "Where is Hasan? " " He has retired to his house, and has left me in charge of his prisoner. No time must be lost. Keep your lips closed. Follow me. 128 RU HA IN AH. Mount your horse and ride for your very life to our fort at Abukilla. The road is good." " Give me my sword and revolver." " There they are," said Alak. Alak led Major Bernard silently to a small coppice close to the village graveyard, where his white charger was tethered. They were soon mounted. "Why do you linger?" said Alak. " I must once more gaze on the face of my faithful Afghan friend Dilawar." " That is impossible," replied Alak, " for his corpse is still stretched on a cot in Hasan's court-yard." "Then call Hasan! for escape is impossible until Dilawar's death is avenged." " Major Sahib, you're mad ! " " Yes, I am." And Major Bernard shouted, " Hasan ! Hasan ! you traitor, come forth ! " In a few moments the little village was all excitement as Hasan appeared riding a poor half-starved beast such as usually exists in the barren defile of the Khyber. " Remember, Alak ! " said Bernard, with authority, " remember, your safety rests simply RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 129 in obeying my commands." And the cavalry officer appeared as confident of success as though he had been at the head of his own regiment, instead of commanding a company of " one" and that one a very doubtful ally. The villagers opened out an aimless fire from their muskets as Hasan advanced to attack Bernard, who feigned a retreat so as to separate the brigand from his unmounted fol- lowers. Hasan continued in hot pursuit, when sud- denly Bernard pulled up and exclaimed : " You traitor ! you coward ! you son of Satan ! " and taking deliberate aim, shot the brigand dead. " Shahbash ! Well done ! " exclaimed Alak, as they galloped away at full speed. " Major ! you are a true Afghan, and know how to avenge the death of a friend." " Alak ! " said Bernard, with evident emotion, " government could have spared me far better than they could part with a faithful Afghan soldier like Dilawar. But, friend Alak, are you not a member of Hasan's guild ? " " Thou hast truly spoken," said Alak, " but you must know that it was concerning the 130 RU II A IN AH. death of Dilawar that Hasan and I had a dis- pute last night. My plan was to spare your lives and dictate terms to the English government, but that hypocrite, " Solomon the sage," de- manded the life of the poor old infidel, Dila- war. True, I am a member of the Guild of the Red Hand (and he held up his open palm whereon was the ominous red spot), but I am also the son of the ' Rustum of Herat,' and all the world knows that Abdullah, even in his darkest deeds, ever acted as a man of honor." " Alak ! you Afghans are truly a strange peo- ple. The more I see of you the less do I under- stand you." " We are Bene Israel. We are indeed a strange people," said Alak, as he urged on his horse. " But if you want to see a real Afghan, wait until you behold the blessed face of my noble father." Major Bernard and Alak rode at full speed until they reached the little town of Dakka, where they found saddled horses, and a small escort of mounted retainers sent by the chief of Abukilla. Fatigued by the long and excit- ing journey, and almost broken-hearted at the RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 131 loss of his faithful friend, Major Bernard ar- rived at the pretty little village of Abukilla at sunset and was warmly welcomed as he entered its quaint old fort. " Staraima s/iaif " " May you never be tired," exclaimed the fine old chieftain as he received his English guest. " Har shah neki! " " May you ever be prosper- ous," responded Bernard, as he dismounted from his jaded steed. The whole fort was in a state of bustle and excitement with strenuous efforts to give a hospitable and real Afghan welcome to the for- eigner. Akbar, the slave, the chief's own per- sonal attendant, brought a large chilam, or pipe, another slave handed a glass of sandal sherbet, while the village jester stooped to shampoo the wearied limbs of the newly arrived guest. Addullah listened attentively as his son graphically described the exciting incidents of the journey ; and continuous and loud were the " sabashes " and " afreens" as he told the story of Bernard's determination to avenge the death of his Afghan friend. It was evidently a deed 132 RUHAINAH. which commended itself to the natural instincts of the Afghan mind. "You are right welcome, brave sir, to my poor dwelling. I saw much of the English dur- ing the last war. But we should have liked you better then had you come as friends instead of conquerors. We are of the same race, for our learned men say you also are the sons of Israel." "You must pardon my seeing but little of you the next day or two," the old man said, as he rose to leave his guest, " but I am busily engaged in preparations for my second daugh- ter's nuptials which are about to be celebrated." "Who is the fortunate man?" inquired Bernard. " The Khan of Lalpura, the leading Moh- mund chief." CHAPTER XI. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. room occupied by the English guest JL was one of those apartments in an Eastern dwelling known as a balakhana, or, upper room. The windows, of sliding shutters, opened the whole length of the chamber and com- manded an extensive view of the valley below and of the snow-clad mountains in the distance. A winding staircase communicated with the outer court in which was the chieftain's guest- house, and a small door opened on to the roof of the harem and led to the female apartments of the household, the chamber being usually tenanted by Abdullah himself, and only on very special occasions devoted to the accommo- dation of strangers. It had an air of comfort and even luxury. A Persian carpet covered the floor ; soft cushions and pillows of every conceivable size, 134 RUHAINAH. shape, and color were arranged as lounges on every sid ; and upon a handsomely gilded couch were thrown quilts of the richest Bukha- rah silks. The walls of the chamber were covered with gaudy French pictures representing nearly all the crowned heads of Europe, past and present, while the prominence given to a cheap painting of Napoleon, standing on the barren rocks of St. Helena, seemed to indicate that the military renown of the exiled Corsican had even excited the admiration of the old Af- ghan warrior who now held the fort of Abukilla. Curious recesses painted in fantastic colors were filled with glasses, cups, and tea-pots, of every design and shape ; and on the cornices above had been skilfully arranged alternate rows of oranges, apples, and yellow daffodils. It was evident that some report of Major Bernard's linguistic and literary fame had preceded him, for upon a small table in the corner were piles of books in Persian, Pushto and Arabic, includ- ing a copy of Carey's translation of the Pen- tateuch. After a night of heavy slumber Bernard was awakened soon after sunrise by the appearance LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. 135 of Alak holding up a pair of copious pijamahs, as Akbar the slave stood behind with an ewer of water, a towel, and a comb for the English- man's morning toilet. " My father has sent you these," said Alak, opening out a bundle of clothes, " for it will be some time before we can recover your baggage from those demons of Khyberees." " How elegantly this choga is embroidered," said Bernard as he examined a white robe of the most costly needle-work. " The house " by which Alak meant some one of the ladies of the harem " is very clever at this kind of work. I am surprised the old man sent it, for it is his favorite robe. The one he wears on feast days and weddings." " You had better change it for another," Alak continued, addressing Akbar. " The master specially selected it," replied the slave. " The generosity of your benevolent father flows even as the waters of Al-Kausar" said Bernard as the slave poured water on his hands and held the comb and towel. As Alak held a small hand-mirror, and Ber- 136 RU HA IN AH. nard combed out his long flowing beard, he exclaimed : " By the Prophet ! you are a capital shot, sir ! " " Well, I have the reputation of being a very fair one when my hand is steady." " You brought that Khyberee to the ground like a mountain deer." " I was sorry to shoot the fellow, but I was determined to avenge the death of one of my most faithful friends." " Major Sahib ! I am not surprised that the men of your regiment are devoted to you. You can love and you can hate with all the passion of an Afghan." "Alak!" said Bernard, very solemnly and looking the young man in the face, " friend Alak ! the color of a man's skin, or the language he speaks, or even the religion he professes never influences me in my friendships. God has made us all of one blood." " Why that is very much what my old father says. The Rustum of Herat is a very remark- able man, sir." " I am sure he must be, and I am most anx- ious to secure his friendship." LO VE A T FIRST SIGHT. 137 " Major Sahib!" said Alakin a whisper, " you know enough of our customs to be well aware that now you have slain Hasan the Khyberee, every member of his guild is in honor bound to avenge his death." " I feel safe in the hands of the Rustum of Herat," replied Bernard looking keenly at Alak as he left the room. Major Bernard fully realized the true import of the young Afghan's words, knowing, as he did, that Alak was a member of the notorious band. But it seemed unlikely that the young man would attempt anything as long as Bernard was under his father's roof. Reclining on his couch, and thinking of little else than the perilous position he was placed in, Bernard's eyes rested on a crevice in the lit- tle wooden door which communicated with the female apartments of the harem. Partly from curiosity, as well as to ascertain if he were being watched, Bernard sprang from his cot and peeped through the aperture, when to his amazement he found he had a full view of the central court of the harem! Knowing well the jealousy with which East- 138 RUHAINAH. ern races regard all communications with their seraglios, Major Bernard's first impulse was to call the chieftain's son, and to direct his atten- tion to the broken door, but a moment's reflect- ion convinced him that such a step would ex- cite the suspicions of so undisciplined a charac- ter as Alak. Bernard lost no time in cutting a splinter from one of the shutters. But, as he was endeav- oring to fix it to the door, his attention was arrested by a fairy-like scene in the court-yard below. There, standing on the marble parapet of the well in the centre of the court-yard was the nymph-like form of a most beautiful young girl draped in a loose white kurta. Her rich deep auburn tresses fell gracefully on her ex- quisitely formed shoulders, and her eyes sparkled, as with the freshness of the morning dew, as she playfully raised her pretty little hand in stern rebuke to the mischievous little olive-skinned slave girl who tenderly wiped her feet. The perfect symmetry of her delicately moulded figure was clearly shown as she sprang forward to catch the roguish little bondmaid, who ran and hid herself behind the charpoy on LOVE AT FIRS T SIGHT. 1 39 which were scattered the various articles of the fair maiden's wardrobe. " Good Heavens ! " exclaimed Bernard to himself, " what a captivating creature ! " He would fain have lingered on the forbidden scene, but the sound of footsteps on the outer staircase warned him to desist. Quickly cov- ering the treacherous crevice in the forbidden door, he returned to his couch with an enslaved heart. He had beheld, and he had loved (even at first sight) the fair girl who was known only to the outside world as the " Maid of Herat": Ruhainah, the daughter of Abdullah. In a few moments Abdullah entered the chamber, resting on his staff and somewhat out of breath from the steep ascent of the winding staircase. " May you ever come ! My house is yours ! We are all your honor's slaves ! " were the Afghan salutations with which the benevolent old chieftain welcomed his English guest. " You must be tired after your exciting ride of yesterday, but you seem to have done your, work in true Afghan fashion," he said. " I am certainly an Afghan in this, that I 140 RUHAINAH. know how to speedily avenge the foul assassina- tion of my friends," said Bernard. " True, true, Major Sahib ! but it all increases my responsibility. Hasan's friends will surely seek your life." " I feel perfectly safe in your hospitable fort." " True, true," said the old man thoughtfully, " but I do not always feel safe even in my own dwelling. These are the last days, sir, when there is decay of faith among men, and you cannot now even trust the word of a Moslem. Why, sir," he added in a suppressed tone of voice, " these are days when you cannot trust even your own children. "You like that choga ? " the old man con- tinued, glad, as it appeared, to change the sub- ject, " you like the beautiful needle-work in that robe ? " " It is indeed exquisite," replied Bernard, as he examined his coat more carefully. " Did you buy it in Persia? " " No," replied the old chieftain with a smile. " It was done by my by the house" An ex- pression which although framed in the inani- LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. 141 mate neuter was understood by Bernard to refer to some female member of the harem. After a long conversation with Major Ber- nard regarding the special object of his mission, Abdullah left his English guest in the upper chamber alone. " I am getting an old man, sir, but my son Alak will attend to your commands. My house is yours. May God protect you ! " said the hos- pitable host as he left his guest to descend the stairs. Looking around him Bernard observed that the splinter of wood which he had placed in the door had fallen from its place and that a pair of bright eyes evidently those of a girl- were peeping through the aperture. Could they be the eyes of the fair maiden who had so captivated him ? Impossible ! No Afghan girl of the reputed modesty of the Maid of Herat would be guilty of such conduct. It was Gulandamah the slave girl. " Open the door ! open the door ! " said the voice in a whisper. " Impossible," said Bernard, feeling that although he had escaped the designs of Hasan 142 RUHAINAH. the Khyberee he might not be so successful in resisting the intrigues of a pretty slave girl. " If you care for your life, you will let me in," whispered Gulandamah. " Where is the chief ? " " He is in the mosque." " Where is Alak?" " He has gone to the fields." "Are you quite alone?" " Yes." Bernard gently opened the door and admit- ted Gulandamah. " Tell me as quickly as you can all you wish to say and be as brief as possible," he said. " If you are found in my room I shall be killed." " You will be killed any way," said the girl. " What do you mean ? " " Alak, last night, told his sister Ruhainah that, as you had slain Hasan the chief of his guild, he must take your life ; and, as it is her turn to cook the food for the guests this morn- ing, he gave her a packet of poison to put in your food. So my mistress has sent me to warn you of your danger." Bernard, who from his long contact with LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. 1 43 Oriental life had become almost a fatalist, thought to himself, " How strange that I should owe my life to that beautiful creature who so captivated my heart only a short time ago it must be my kismet" " Stay, my little maid ! I will give you some- thing for your fair mistress," and taking a slip of paper he wrote the Pushto couplet : " Prudence sets great sttfre by name and fame, Love casteth both away." " Now please give this letter to the Fair Maid of Herat and tell her how truly grateful her English guest is for her kind protection," said Bernard, as he placed in the little slave-girl's hand the piece of paper and a few silver rupees. Gulandamah gently closed the door, and Bern- ard stealthily watched her through the crevice as she descended into the court-yard and approached her mistress. The beautiful Ruh- ainah blushed as she read Bernard's lines, and, as Gulandamah looked in the direction of the door, she sweetly smiled. . * - " That smile, how familiar it seems to me, and how sweet ! " 144 RUHAINAH. As some time elapsed before the serving of his morning meal Bernard reclined on his couch and abandoned himself to dreamy and romantic contemplation. " Only two days have passed since I emerged from the civilized life of a military cantonment, and here I am in the regions of semi-savagery, and entirely at the mercy of these brutes of Afghans ! Poor old Dilavvar is no more ! The very brigand, whose lawless acts it is my special mission to suppress, has been slain by my own hand ! And here I am on the very eve of being poisoned ! yes, poisoned ! and that just after I seem to have had a glimpse of the Prophet's own paradise ! " and Bernard laughed at his own joke. Yes, he could not, for the very life of him, get that young girl's face out of his mind. It was not the first pretty face he had seen by many a thousand, but never in the whole course of his life had he beheld a face like that. He was in love ! There was not the slightest doubt about it. In love witJi an Afghan girl ! The whole thing was just like a page of the Arabian Nights, or of some other strange Eastern LOVE AT FIRS T SIGHT. 145 romance. What would the end of the chapter be ? Would he die like a poisoned cur, or would he slay Alak and run off with the beautiful sister? What will be the end of it all ? Such were the thoughts passing through Ber- nard's mind when Alak entered the room with an attendant carrying several dishes of food, on a handsome tray. Spreading a large colored cloth on the floor, Alak, placing the dishes upon it, invited the major to partake heartily of his morning meal. " You must be hungry, sir, after your exer- tions of yesterday. The house has very care- fully prepared these dishes and I hope they will suit your honor's palate." " Will you not join me ? It is surely con- trary to your custom for a guest to eat alone ? " " It is one of my fast days," said Alak, and he left the room. " It is very evident that either you or I must die, friend Alak," thought Bernard, as he cast a glance at his revolver. " Eat on, you are safe ! " exclaimed a female voice from the inner door. 146 RUHAINAH. "Were these delightful dishes of plau, and curry and fleer eenee, and heaven kpows what, all prepared by the sweet little fingers of your fair mistress?" " And by my sweet little fingers too," said Gulandamah slyly. " Gulandamah ! my good little maid, you must go. But stay ! Tell me, was your young mistress very angry when she read my Pushto verse ? " " Not very." CHAPTER XII. SHAIDY'S WEDDING. A MID the deafening beatings of drums, the \ discordant pipings of pipes, and the inter- mittent firings of muskets in every street, lane, and alley of the village, the gloomy heart of the once bright little Shaidy thrilled and throbbed with the conflicting elements of wonder and despair, as she gazed pensively on the playful waters of the marble fountain as they rippled and glistened in the sunny morn. Clad in rich and luxurious pijamahs of bright crimson satin, covered to the knees with a graceful kurta of green and gold, her whole figure veiled with white spangled muslin wrought in skilful needle-work by her sister's loving hand, Shaidy reclined her dark dimpled cheek on Ruhainah's fair arm, as her large lustrous eyes (the truest type of Eastern beauty), seemed to speak more eloquently than mortal tongue that 148 RUHAINAH. all the sounds of merriment and joy on this her nuptial day were but as the wails of lamen- tation for a shrouded spirit. The joyous strains of the village minstrels penetrated even the thick walls of the secluded harem, but the flow of revelry and the round of merriment did but deepen the heavy gloom which overshadowed the soul of that sweet little Shaidy who for sixteen short years had been the joy, the pet, and the toy of the household of the Rustum of Herat. " Shaidy, my life ! " said her mother, " you must cheer up and not manifest such grief on this your wedding day." " Mother dear! I am reconciled to my fate. But it is indeed hard to leave you all. To leave you, my loving mother. To leave Ruhai- nah, my own sweet sister, to leave ! " But she dare not utter the beloved name, for none knew of her passion for Yusuf save her sister and the faithful little slave. " Look here ! " exclaimed the Sadozie wife of royal lineage. " Look here ! these heavy bangles of the purest gold have been sent as a wedding present by none other than the Ameer of SffAIDY'S WEDDING. 149 Cabul ! " and the noble lady stooped and bound them on the wrists and ankles of the young bride. " These beautiful earrings," said Alak's mother, " are my present, my child ! The Almighty never gave me a daughter, but I have ever loved you and Ruhainah with a mother's love," and she tenderly placed them in Shaidy's ears. " My offering," said the young Sheenwaree wife, " is this nose ring. Nand Ram, the Hindu, procured it from Ajmeer; it is of rare workmanship, I am told." " The old heathen stole it, I verily believe ! " whispered Gulandamah to Ruhainah. " Shaidy, my own darling sister ! my life ! my rose ! accept of my poor little offering, it is only a silver ring, for the learned say the Prophet never wore gold, but on its ruby signet is inscribed AR RAKEEB, 'the Watcher.' And may God watch between thee and me." And Ruhainah kissed her sister's hand as she placed on her finger the mystic ring. Gulandamah stood by in amazement as she beheld the sparkling jewels (for there were 150 RUHAINAH. many other rich gifts, including a brilliant tiara from the bridegroom's mother), as they glistened on the rich luxuriant dress of the veiled figure of her lovely young mistress ; and clapping her hands and dancing in the wildest excitement she exclaimed : " O you houri of paradise ! you royal princess ! you are just like the beautiful bride of Shahriyaar ! You are even as a bright star shot straight from the spangled heavens ! O my sweet Sultana ! you will be as happy as the favorite wife of some mighty Caliph. By the Prophet ! won't those other wives and slave girls be jealous of Shaidy the beautiful daughter of the Rustum of Herat? " " Gulandamah, do not be silly and talk nonsense ! " said Ruhainah with some au- thority. " O my good mistress ! I am but a slave ! " and Gulandamah knelt humbly and cast her turban at Ruhainah's feet. " Why even Shah- baz is paid for playing the fool." " True, but he is the village jester, and you are a serving maid." Gulandamah placed her hand on her lips and silently wondered if Ruhainah was SHA fDY'S WEDDING. 1 5 1 jealous of her sister's surpassing beauty. For her part, she had never been able to under- stand why the fair Ruhainah with her auburn tresses and her dreamy eyes was considered so much more beautiful than her younger sister with her glossy black ringlets and her full dark lustrous eyes. " Gulandamah ! " said Shaidy coaxingly, " Ruh- ainah is not angry with you ; she loves you just as much as I do, but, you know, her heart is sad to-day. Now that we three are alone, I want you to sew this little slip of paper you brought this morning, into a piece of silk, for I shall wear it as an amulet." " May I read it ? " enquired Ruhainah. " Yes. They are Yusuf s own lines." And she read : In vain I seek excitement's glare, Commune with friends or idly rove ; My breast still heaves with deep despair, O'erwrought by hopeless fatal love. " Poor Yusuf ! " added Ruhainah as she folded the slip of paper and gave it to the slave girl, who quickly sewed it in a piece of blue silk, 152 RUHAINAH. and suspended it on her mistress's neck. " Poor Yusuf ! " "Thank you, Gulandamah," said Shaidy. " And now you must tell Yusuf that it is here." And she clasped the precious talisman to her heart. While the interior of the chieftain's harem was presenting a somewhat gloomy spectacle, the outer court was the scene of the wildest revelry and excitement. Everything had been done that possibly could be done to impress the English guest with the importance of Abdullah's position as a leading Afghan chieftain. The entrance to the fort was lined with mounted retainers, some of whom were clad in ancient chain-armor. The interior of the court was crowded with minstrels and danc- ing girls. Busy attendants rushed to and fro serving costly sherbets, and handing round the calumet of peace. Numerous guests from all parts of the Afghan world came with hearty congratulations, as the venerable chieftain wel- comed them with the salutations of peace. Long rows of cots were arranged in a semi- circle, in the centre of which the Rustum of SffAIDY'S WEDDING. 153 Herat reclined resting on a huge white pillow, over which had been thrown a beautiful Cash- mere quilt. Major Bernard sat on his right and Mullah Ahmad the priest on his left, thus form- ing a strikingly picturesque group in the centre of a throng of turbaned guests representing the various tribes and families of Central Asia. So great was the reputation of the chief of Abukilla, that friends had hastened to congrat- ulate him on his alliance with the leading Moh- mund chief, even from the remotest regions of Bushire, Bukharah, and Nepal. The old man's face radiated with delight as he now realized the wide extent of his fame and popularity. It was evident that the depressing and gloomy atmosphere of the harem had not reached the hospitable environments of the chieftain's guest- house. Mullah Ahmad, the priest, sat in pious abstraction counting his beads with indifference, while his poor love-sick son was lonely seated on the minaret of the mosque in the agony of despair. The distant sounds of the bridegroom's pro- cession welled up the side of the hill from the valley beneath, and soon the hoofs of the horses, 154 RUHAINAH. the clatter of swords, and the firing of muskets, announced that the procession was at the threshold of the fort. " The bridegroom cometh ! go ye out to meet him ! " said Abdullah as he buckled on his sword and with a quick step led his friends to the gate- way of the fort, to welcome his future-son-in- law. The Khan ofLalpura,whowasathickset little man of stunted growth and with decidedly pugged features, dismounted from his horse and having exchanged salutations took his seat on Abdullah's right ; Major Bernard having spec- ially requested that he should not be intro- duced to the Mohmund chief, but retire and be allowed to view the ceremonies from the top of the watch-tower. " Let the marriage ceremonies begin," said Abdullah, addressing Ahmad the priest. An attorney was selected to wait on Shaidy to obtain her consent. The village barber, being best acquainted with the interior of the harem, was deputed to wait upon the bride. " Silence gives consent " in Moslem law, and SHAIDY'S WEDDING. 155 therefore no difficulty was caused by Shaidy's reticence. " Why don't you say ' no ' ? " said Ruhainah. "If I loved Yusuf as you do I would kill my- self rather than marry another." Shaidy hid her face and wept, and the vil- lage barber returned, and stated in due form that " Shaidy, the youngest daughter of Abdullah the exalted chief of Abukilla, had consented to marry Lateef the renowned chief of the Moh- munds." "The dowry must be settled ! " said the priest with great solemnity. " I will settle upon her five thousand tilahs of pure gold, and a well, with one hundred acres of good land ." " Afreen ! Well done ! "exclaimed the numer- ous spectators. " The chief has behaved right generously regarding the family of the Rustum of Herat." " Let the service proceed ! " said Abdullah. The priest then requested the bridegroom to stand in front of him and to recite the neces- sary prayers and confession of faith. With a slight stammer, for the generous 156 RUHAINAH. chief was afflicted with an impediment in his speech, the bridegroom recited as follows : " I desire forgiveness from God ! " There is no God but God, and Mohamed is His Prophet ! " I believe in God, in the angels, in the books, in the Prophets, in the day of judgment, and in the absolute decrees of the Almighty ! " The village barber, as Shaidy's agent, then seized the fat little hand of the stunted Moh- mund chief and declared : " In the presence of two witnesses and in consideration of the dowry already fixed, Shaidy the daughter of Abdullah consents to marry you. Do you consent? " " With all my heart, I consent ! I consent ! I consent ! " replied the bridegroom. Then raising his hands with great solemnity the priest said : " O Great God ! grant that mutual love may reign between these two persons, even as it did exist between Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and Zulaikah, Moses and Zipo- rah, Mohamed and Ayesha, Aly and Fatimah, Ameen." SHAIDY'S WEDDING, 157 " Ameen ! " said Abdullah with great fervency. " Ameen ! " reiterated the bridegroom. "Ameen !" exclaimed the whole company. A slight titter was heard in the assembly as Shahbaz the jester echoed "Ameen" from the remotest corner of the court. The wedding was over, and by this act Ab- dullah the Rustum of Herat had secured the-^ friendship of the leading chieftain of the dis- trict. There was a general shaking of hands and profuse congratulations on all sides, and the lucky little chief received an extra blessing as he placed in the priest's hand a liberal benefac- tion. The leading minstrel marshalled his force of musicians and dancing girls as the palanquin was brought into the harem to bear away the sorrowful little bride. " May God protect you, my child," said her mother. " The Prophet's blessing rest upon you," said her aged father. " God help you," exclaimed Ruhainah. And Shaidy, taking one lingering look at the 158 RUHAINAH. distant minaret, stepped into the covered litter and was borne away on the shoulders of four of her father's slaves. Major Bernard viewed the procession from the turret of the fort, but with very different feelings from those of the love-sick Yusuf who stood on the lofty minaret of his father's mosque. .It was truly a picturesque sight as the mar- riage procession wended its way down the winding pathway which led from the village to the plains below. The wild warlike steps of the numerous retainers ; the sweet strains of the lute ; the fantastic dance of the Nautch girls ; the beatings of drums; the clashing of cymbals ; the bridegroom mounted on his prancing white steed, whose long drooping tail had been dyed red with henna, and the closed litter covered with gorgeous trappings, all combined to make it both an interesting and a novel spectacle to the foreign guest. "This is not the only country in the world where girls are bought and sold, and there are ill-sorted matches in other countries than this," said Bernard to himself as he descended from the turret. SffAIDY'S WEDDING. 159 Major Bernard retired to his " upper chamber," for he was glad to escape an introduction to the crowd of visitors. But he had not been long in his solitary chamber before he saw the eyes of the irrepressible little slave girl peeping through the crevice. "This is a very dangerous game in a country like this," thought Bernard to himself. But the recollection of the captivating scene still lingered, and while discretion dictated that he should send Gulandamah away, love suggested that he should call her in. And love, as it generally does under such circumstances, gained the day. " Only for a few minutes," he said as he opened the door noiselessly. " Only for a few minutes." " Of course," said Gulandamah, flushed with the excitement of the day, and whose olive skin radiated with a beauty by no means to be despised. "You must have had an exciting day, my little maid ? " " Very. I have not had a single moment's rest until now." 160 RUHAINAH. " Did your mistress send you ? " " No, I came to please myself." " Now, tell me somethingabout your mistress," Bernard said as he placed in her hand a couple of rupees. " Tell me the young lady's name." " Ruhainah." " But she is always spoken of as the ' Maid of Herat.' Why is this ? " " Because they all come from Herat, and be- cause the old chief is so fond of her that he won't give her in marriage to any one." " She is very fair." " Have you seen her? " " Of course I have." " Oh fie, Major Sahib ! " said the little damsel raising her finger; " how dare you look at us ? The chieftain will kill you." Bernard felt he had made a grave mistake in letting out the secret. " You need not fear, Sahib ! I shall never tell. My mistress likes you too much, and I like you too much ever to betray you." " Does your mistress like me ? She has never seen me." " But she liked your verses. O Major Sahib ! SffAIDY'S WEDDING. 161 I do so wish I could write. I should have lots of lovers if I could only write." " It is a fortunate thing, my little damsel, that your education has been neglected, for you would certainly get into trouble. But tell me, who was Ruhainah's mother? She is very fair." " Her mother was a Cashmeree, and the chief loved her more than all his other wives, and so when Ruhainah's mother died, he loved her daughter more than anybody else in the whole world ; and I tell you, Major Sahib, if you fall in love with my mistress, the chief will kill you," and the slave girl laughinglydrewherhand across her throat to give emphasis to her warning. " It is not likely I shall fall in love with her." " Yes, you will, if you go on peeping through that crevice day after day." " Is she so beautiful?" " Beautiful ! Why every prince, sardar, and chief in the whole country wants to marry her ; and mark my word," she said, raising her hand, " one of the Cabul princes will run away with her some day." " Is she clever ? " " Clever ! Why there is not a single thing she 162 RUHAINAH. cannot do. Do you admire that beautiful choga you have on? Ruhainah worked it. Did you enjoy your dinner last evening ? Ruhainah cooked it. Do you ever hear beautiful music ? It is Ruhainah's rebab. Have you ever heard a sweet voice? It is Ruhainah's voice as she soothes her father to sleep. Do you see this pretty cap of mine ? Ruhainah embroidered it." " Is the young lady who was married to-day as beautiful as her sister? " " Far more beautiful, only her father does not think so. But listen, I hear the chieftain's footsteps, I must run away," and the bright little gad-about had scarcely closed the door when Abdullah entered. " I am much fatigued after the excitement of the day, sir," the old man said, " but I hope all your wants are attended to. I must await the Ameer's instructions ; till then remember my house is yours." " To reside even for a day under the hospit- able roof of the Rustum of Herat is to get a glimpse of the pleasures of paradise," and Major Bernard felt he was in truth not merely utter- ing an empty compliment. CHAPTER XIII. THE POISONED DIgH. "fT^ELL me, Gulandamah, is he very hand- \_ some ? " said Ruhainah, as she read once more the lines Bernard had sent her. "Well! he is certainly better looking than the chief of Lalpura." " He must be brave ! Even Alak says he is. He must love our race to risk his life as he did for his Afghan friend ! " " He evidently loves some of your race ! " said Gulandamah, slyly. "And he must be clever?" " He speaks your language like an Afghan." " Oh, Gulandamah ! do tell me more about him. You have simply told me nothing." " My sweet lady ! what can I tell you ?" "Tell me something." " Well, then, to begin," and the little slave held up her five fingers, and began to 164 RUHAINAH. count up the foreigner's graces. First / He is tall, exactly a hand's breadth taller than your noble father. Second! He has a long, flowing brown beard, exactly three shades darker than your own beautiful tresses. Third / His nose is turned in precisely the opposite direction to that of Shahbaz the Jester ! Shahbaz's nose is always looking at the heavens, but the for- eigner's is a fine, handsome nose, just like your father's. Fourth ! He has the most beautiful pearly teeth set in the prettiest ruby mouth I have ever seen. Fifth ! He has the softest and the most winning voice I have ever listened to. I had no idea that your poor little slave's name was so sweet and pretty until I heard the foreigner say Gul-an-da-a-mah ! " And she imitated Bernard's voice. "Go on, Gulandamah, you have still five fingers left on the other hand ! " said Ruhainah, laughing at the little mimic. " Sixth ! He wears his mustache uncut, just like an infidel." " Oh ! Horrid ! " exclaimed Ruhainah. "Yes, it completely covers his lips. He couldn't give one a kiss if he wanted ! " THE POISONED DISH. 165 "But go on, Gulandamah! You have still four fingers left." " Well, my lovely mistress. Seventh ! His skin is as fair as yours, and his cheeks are almost as rosy. Eighth! When he looks at one, his eyes seem to go right straight to one's very heart." And the little slave pointed to the region in which she thought the palpitating member resided. " How interesting ! " exclaimed Ruhainah. " Butfl/ease don't stop." " Ninth ! When he laughs he shows his back teeth just as the Prophet did." " Who told you the Prophet showed his back teeth ? " " Why, Yusuf did. He tells me I always laugh like the Prophet." (" Upon whom be peace," devoutly added Ruhainah.) " But you have ten fingers ! Now, tenth ! " said Ruhainah, impatiently. " Oh, dear me, what can I say ? Tenth ! Tenth ! Well, tenth ! Oh, my angelic mistress ! he does look so very, very handsome in that beautiful choga which you worked for your 1 66 RUHAINAH. father for the last great festival. I cannot tell you anything more!" And the little slave came and sat at Ruhai- nah's feet, as her mistress kissed her. Gulandamah's amusing description of the foreigner had intensely interested Ruhainah, who would gladly have encouraged the girl to proceed, but the aged chieftain entered and seated himself beside his daughter, and lov- ingly took her hand, and Gulandamah left. " Father ! dear father ! how feverish you are, and how anxious you look ! " " Yes, I am anxious, and there is much cause for it, my child ! " " Why-? " " The Englishman, who is my guest, shot the renowned brigand Hasan." " Yes, I know it. It was indeed brave and noble of him to avenge the death of his friend, especially when that friend was of an alien race. " "True! True! My child! But blood for blood ! A life for a life ! Your brother is one of Hasan's fraternity. Do you understand ? " "Yes, father, I do. You mean that Alak is sworn to take the foreigner's life ? " THE POISONED DISH. 167 "Verily, thou hast spoken the truth, my daughter! " said the old man solemnly. "I know it, father! Already Alak has tried to make me poison the Englishman's food." " Allah ! Good God ! Thou alone canst restrain the evil passions of men ! " said her father. "But I refused to obey him. I saidj 'Alak, if you must take the infidel's life, do it as a warrior, and not as a base assassin.' ' " Ruhainah, my brave girl, thou didst speak nobly. As long as I hold this fort it shall not be the scene of foul assassination." " Oh, take us all back to Herat ! " exclaimed Ruhainah. " There is nothing but wrong and robbery, treason and murder in this horrid place." " Have patience, my child. They are but the signs of the last days. Jesus will come and convert the whole world to Islam, and then all wrong shall cease. But till then, we must be resigned to our fate. But read me a little of Rahman, my favorite poet, to divert my mind. Give me my old favorite, ' The Three are Just the Same,' " he said. 1 68 RUHA1NAH. Ruhainah ran and brought a little stool, and seating herself beside the old man, as he re- clined on his cot, read a few verses from the national poet of the Afghans, with a soft, sweet cadence on the concluding words of each couplet : " The face of one's beloved, the sun, the moon, all three are just the same ; Her figure, the cypress, and the fir-tree, all three are just the same. No need have I for honey, nor for sugared sweets, Honey, sugar, and my mistress 1 lips, all three are just the same. If I on my couch recline, of my true love bereft, Lo ! fire, the bare earth, iny couch, all three are just the same. May God ne'er cause my exile from His love to know, Tyranny, murder, and this exile, all three are just the same. The instant that a mortal from this world departs, Black earth, white silver, gold, all three are just the same. THE POISONED DISH. 169 When the devotee, in very truth, to devotion doth resort, A prince, a king, and he, all three are just the same. No one should wanderings make into a foreign land, For there blind, deaf, and one who sees, all three are just the same. In the stores and in the marts of jewellers who are blind, Glass beads, rubies, pearls, all three are just the same. Because of unwise rulers, who despotic tyrants are, Hades, hell-fire, and Peshawur, all three are just the same." " Thank you, my child. How beautifully you read ; your voice is even more melodious than the priest's when he recites the night prayer." " Oh ! father, it is simply because you love me that you think my voice so sweet," and she placed her little hand upon his feverish fore- head. 170 RUHAINAH. " Remember, Ruhainah, that last verse re- specting Peshawur was written by our poet when the whole valley groaned under the tyr- anny of Moghal rule. These English (and as he spoke in suppressed tones, he looked in the direction of the upper chamber), these English do try to be just." "Do they?" And the young maiden's thoughts wandered also in the direction of the upper chamber. " I like this officer who has been sent to us ; he is evidently a sincere and a truly brave man." " I am glad you like him, father." " Yes, I do ; and although you are not inter- ested in his mission " (Ruhainah thought she was), " I must tell you that it will all tend to es- tablish my position as one of the leading counsellors of the Ameer." " Is he an old man ? " inquired Ruhainah, with affected indifference. "Certainly not ; he is just in the very prime of life." " Father, do not leave me," she pleaded, as her father rose from his couch, " I do so want to talk with you." THE POISONED DISH. \1\ " My presence is required in the guest- house," he said, and the chieftain bound his large white turban on his head, and taking his staff, returned to the outer court, to join his numerous guests. Ruhainah and several of the slave girls soon began to make preparations for the evening meal of the principal guests, the other women of the household preparing the meal for those lady guests who had attended Shaidy's wed- ding. Very special attention was devoted by Ruhainah to the preparation of dishes for the rude foreigner who had dared to send love verses to an Afghan maiden he had never seen. " Gulandamah ! you must never go to the foreigner's room again. Such forwardness ill becomes even a serving-maid. Does he like his curry with red pepper?" " How can I tell ? " replied Gulandamah, sulkily. " Did he enjoy \fatpeereenee I made yester- day? " " Ask Alak." " You must not be sulky, Gulandamah." " Oh, my lady, I can never please you." 172 RU HA IN AH. "Yes, my good girl, you always please me." "Even when I go to see the foreigner?" asked Gulandamah. " But you must be very careful, or you will be caught." " Oh ! my good mistress, if you had ever gazed on those eyes or listened to the soft, winning tones of that voice, you would feel as I do." As the various dishes were arranged, Alak entered and asked for those specially prepared for the English guest ; which his sister placed before him. " How nicely you have cooked them," he said. " I will take them to the foreigner myself." Ruhainah, suspecting treachery, watched her brother as he carried the dishes away. Alak paused at the door-way leading to the outer court and placing the tray on the ground he secretly dropped into the dish of plau the con- tents of a small packet. Ruhainah's watchful eye witnessed the deed ; but before she could reason with her brother, he had passed beyond the limits of the harem. THE POISONED DISH. 1 73 What could she do ? In a few minutes the poi- soned dish would be in the hands of the stranger in whom she had become so deeply interested. " Gulandamah ! Gulandamah ! " But there was no response. The little slave girl was far away in the mosque drawing water at the well, and consoling poor Yusuf. She had not a being to help her. She could not expect sympathy from the other women of the harem, for only Gulandamah knew her pe- culiar interest in the man whose life was now in peril. To delay was foul murder, for in a few more seconds he would eat of the poisoned dish and his blood would be on her own head. Nay, more, the world would say the Englishman had been poisoned by the hand of Ruhainah ! Mad- dened by such a thought she sprang toward the staircase and was soon standing at the door to Bernard's chamber. Evening had set in, and the bright light within enabled her to see Bernard seated on the carpet with the poisoned dish before him. She paused. " Thank God ! " she said to her- self, " he has not touched it. What a hand- some face ! God help you ! " 174 RUHAINAH, Bernard rose and unbuckling his sword and pistol placed them on his cot. " God be praised ! He will not eat ! He sus- pects it is poisoned ! " she thought. Fain would she open the door. But she was unveiled. In the hurry of her flight she had not even cov- ered her head. Only think of her position ! Never had she been allowed to speak to any man save to her aged father, and Alak, and Akbar the slave and the village barber ! Again she looked, and as she gazed on the handsome features of the foreigner the respon- sive throbbing of her heart told her now (even if she had not discovered it before), that she really loved. " How I should like to speak to him ! I am sure he would be kind ! He would not injure me, and I should then hear the voice which has so charmed my slave ! " And yet she had heard that English officers were very wicked ! He might seize her and take her away ! And what if Alak found her there ? Why he would kill them both ! Such were her dreamy mus- ings as she watched Bernard through the crevice in the door. When to her horror she saw him THE POISONED DISH. 175 seat himself once more on the carpet, and, hav- ing raised his hands in the act of invocation, dip his fingers into the poisoned dish. The life of a human being was in her power, her father's guest the only man she had ever felt she loved. Not a moment must be lost. As quick as thought she thrust open the door, and with bare arm, and unveiled face, pointed to the poisoned dish. " It is death," she cried, and fell senseless on the floor. Not a being was near, and in his room alone was none other than the beautiful and mysteri- ous Maid of Herat ! The lovely daughter of his hospitable host ! Bernard at once realized the true peril of his position. If discovered with the chieftain's daughter in his chamber no power on earth could save him, for the whole com- munity would be enraged. Bolting the outer door he at once endeavored to lift her almost lifeless figure and carry it outside to the roof of the harem, when to his relief Gulandamah appeared and assisted her young mistress. " God bless you," Bernard said as he released her slender form and placed her on a rug which 1 76 KUHAINAtf. Gulandamah had spread just outside the door- way, " God bless you, my own guardian angel," he said. And he felt the loving pressure of her hand as he parted from her and quietly closed the door. Such noble and disinterested conduct on the part of so beautiful a creature as Ruhainah was lr. Henry F. Keenan's * Trajan ' must be promptly accorded the first place." New York Herald. "It is much the best novel that has ap- peared for years in the English or any other language." Phila. Evening Bul- letin. " ' Trajan * is a classic, a real gem plucked from the mass of rubbish with which the bookstores are crowded." Boston Times. 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