Percy had felt hungry when he rode into the fortress, but although he saw his uncle eat as heartily as usual, his appetite seemed to desert him, and he ate very sparingly of each dish placed before him. His uncle smiled.
"You are not such a good trencher-man as you were, Percy."
"Oh, I am all right, uncle; but just at first the thought that any of these dishes may be poisoned is an unpleasant one."
"You will get over it in time. Frankly, I do not think that there is any ground for uneasiness. From the day Gough crossed the Sutlej I felt safe; from the day Gujerat was won I have felt absolutely at my ease. I have no longer the slightest fear of Ghoolab. This district is part of the Punjaub, and the Punjaub will assuredly be annexed to British India."
"Yes, uncle, they say the proclamation will be out in another fortnight or so."
"That being so, lad, Ghoolab's game is finally up. Did I die to-morrow, surely no nominee of his would obtain the appointment of governor, or whatever your people call him, of a district adjoining Cashmere. He may not like me, he may owe me a grudge for thwarting him so long, but he has no longer the slightest interest in my death; and although Ghoolab would without scruple remove a hundred men who stood in his way, he would not run the slightest risk—and there is always a certain risk of a tool turning traitor—when there was nothing whatever to be gained by it."
"I hear that you rode into Rawal-Pindee to meet General Gilbert's column, as it came through."
"Yes, I took all my cavalry over, but by the time we got there all opposition had ceased, and the sirdars were pouring in to make their submission, and beg for forgiveness. So there was no occasion for their services. Of course he thanked me, and said that he would report my offer."
"I almost thought you might come down and join us, uncle."
"I thought it over, lad, but there might have been trouble here in my absence; but I thought I would keep my force together, so that if there should be any tough fighting in the north, I should be able to march away horse and foot to join our men. I did not calculate upon so complete and sudden a collapse of the Sikhs. Now we have talked enough about myself; it is time that you tell me the story of your adventures, of which as yet I know nothing, and how you came by that desperately ugly wound on your head."
It was late before Percy finished the story of his adventures.
"You have had great luck, lad, to have got so well out of your scrapes," the colonel said. "Well, it is late now, and we must be off to bed; we shall have plenty of time to talk matters over in the morning."
"I should think, uncle," Percy said, when they had lighted their cigars after breakfast, "that the government will recognize your position, and either grant you the same power over your district that the sirdars have over their estates, or else that they will appoint you as their official over the district."
"I have no doubt they would do so, Percy, were I willing to accept it; but I have quite made up my mind to give it all up and go home."
"You have, uncle!" Percy exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, I have stuck here all these years for three reasons: first, because I am an obstinate beggar, and would not be turned out; secondly, because my wife would not have liked to leave her native land, and would never have been happy in England; thirdly, because the people of my district have been rich and prosperous under me, and I was not going to hand them over to be pillaged and robbed by one of these Sikh harpies. Now, however, the case is altogether changed. If I go, I go of my own free will and choosing. Mahtab has gone, and there is no longer anything to tie me to India. Lastly, I can with confidence hand over the district to English administrators, secure that the people will not be taxed unfairly, and will be safe from all oppression and extortion. During the last two years I have reduced my force here considerably. I was certain that after the lesson we gave them, there was no fear of their ever again making an open assault on the place. I began by not filling up vacancies caused by death or from men being superannuated. Fortunately, there is a good deal of cultivable land down this valley, and, indeed, in other parts of the district, and I have given grants of small holdings to all who were willing to take their discharge."
"I noticed that there was a great change in the valley below, since I went away, uncle, that fields have been marked out, and that there was quite a village down where the Sikhs were encamped when they besieged us."
"Yes, over two hundred holdings have been taken up there. I granted them free of all taxes for the first three years, gave those men who had no savings a little assistance in the way of a loan, and in time there will be a large and, I hope, thriving village there. I have urged the men to keep up a certain organization among themselves,—to form, in fact, a kind of military colony, so as to be in a position to resist dacoits or attacks by the marauding hill tribes. I have similarly settled that other valley three miles to the north; altogether I have given a start to nearly a thousand of the men. They have served me faithfully, and nothing would induce me to go away and abandon them. I think that it is very likely a force may be formed by our people for the protection of the frontier; and, as you and Mr. Fullarton, with whom I have had a good deal of correspondence, and the Lawrences, are all aware that the men have behaved most faithfully and can be trusted, I hope I shall be able to get all those who wish to continue soldiering to be mustered into the service."
"I should think you might manage that, uncle; one or other of the Lawrences, perhaps both, are certain to be appointed commissioners of the Punjaub. Of course, I am not in a position to speak to them on such a subject, but I am sure Mr. Fullarton would do so. I did not see him after I was wounded, as before I was about he had been taken down to Lahore. I heard that he was recovering fast, and was expected to rejoin the head-quarters camp in a short time. Having been so long on the frontier, I should think probably he will get a large district here, but at any rate he would, I am sure, bring your matter before the Lawrences."
"I should think it by no means improbable, Percy, that they may appoint you district magistrate, or collector, or whatever they call it, of this district; that is, if they keep it as a district."
"I should think they are not likely to do that, uncle. Rawal-Pindee will be made, I should say, the centre of a district of which this will form part. Still, possibly I may be appointed an assistant in this district, as I know the country and the people so well; and if so, I will follow up the methods that have made it in your hands the most flourishing little corner of the Punjaub, in spite of the greater part of it being merely hill country."
"Well, Percy, I don't think you can do better than stick to it. You have got a splendid start in the service, and have every chance of rising in it rapidly. It is good for you to work, and the exciting scenes you have passed through during the last four years have been a good preparation for making you an active and efficient officer. But what I want to say is this: if your health fails, or if, sooner or later, you marry and would like to settle down at home, or if from any other cause you want to leave the service, remember there is no occasion for you to work for your living. I am a rich man, and, thank God, I do not owe my wealth to grinding the last penny out of the natives. I could have retired and lived more than comfortably in England had I chosen to do so when Runjeet Singh died, for the Old Lion, with all his faults, was the most liberal of masters to those who served him well. Since then I have, of course, largely increased my means. I had but to pay a fixed sum annually to Lahore, and the revenue of the district has multiplied itself by ten since I took charge of it. I could, therefore, give you an income sufficient to keep you comfortably at home during my lifetime, and it will, of course, all come to you at my death. Still, much as I should like to have you with me, I think that, at any rate, it would be better for you to remain in the service of the Company for some years. It is a bad thing for any man to have nothing to do, and there is no better training than that afforded by the civil service of the Company."
"Thank you very much, uncle. I like the service greatly, so far as I have seen of it; and I should certainly wish to remain in it. Even if I did not like India, I should do so. I think that a man with health and strength ought to have a career, and not to owe everything to another, however close a relation he may be. I certainly hope to be appointed to the Punjaub, and I should think there would always be a spice of excitement here. There are sure to be constant troubles with the Afghans and hill tribes all round it. I have been awfully lucky in getting noticed so young, and so gaining at least eight or ten years' start of fresh comers of my own age from England; and I feel, above all things, how indebted to you I am for this."
"You are indebted to me that you came out to India, Percy, but almost everything else is due to yourself. The turning-point in your career was when you sat down on board ship to take your first lesson in Punjaubi. It was the steadfastness with which you stuck to your studies during your voyage which won for you the liking and patronage of Mr. Fullarton, and so enabled you to take part in the Sutlej campaign. There you showed pluck and presence of mind, and so gained the attention of Sir Henry Hardinge and of the commander-in-chief. After that it was the fact that you had got up Pathan, which procured for you your early appointment and your nomination to accompany Agnew. Had it not been for that you would have been out of all this last business. I have done what little I could in the way of teaching you to ride well and use your weapons, and have given you the best advice I could; but beyond that everything has depended on yourself. I feel proud of you, lad, very proud of you, and I only wish Mahtab had been here to share my satisfaction. She was as fond of you, lad, as if she had been your mother. Life here has been altogether different since I lost her; and the sorest point of all is the thought that the blow that struck her was aimed at me."
"I know that you must feel that, uncle. I can quite understand your wanting to get away from here now."
Percy did not take the whole of his leave. His uncle was restless and unsettled, and when, a week later, the news came of the annexation of the Punjaub, Percy said:
"Why should you stop, uncle? The sooner you are away the better, and I do not care to stay here longer. The place is not the same as it was; besides, I cannot help feeling that just at the present time it would be better for me to be at head-quarters. There is nothing like being on the spot when changes are being made."
"I think you are right there, lad. I have been telling my officers what you said about trying to get them into the Company's employment, and all have expressed their willingness to remain in the district and hold themselves in readiness to join should they receive a message from you. I have but eight hundred men left now, and have given it to be understood that I shall give them fifty rupees each when they are disbanded, and a grant of land large enough to keep them. I have no doubt the grant will be confirmed, as the authorities will be glad enough to see a body of men, who might be troublesome if turned adrift, settle down as cultivators, so adding to the revenue. Well, there is nothing to stay for. I will put it in orders this evening, that as the whole country has now been taken over by the British government, the force will be disbanded to-morrow."
The next day the troops paraded for the last time. The colonel made them a little speech, thanking them for the fidelity they had shown, and expressing his deep regret at leaving them. He told them that if a force should be raised by the British for service on the frontier, his nephew would endeavour to procure enrolment in its ranks for such of them as desired it; that he had set aside a tract of land for them, and that Nand Chund had his authority to divide it fairly among them; and that he himself, as a token of his appreciation of their faithful services, had directed fifty rupees to be given to each man in addition to the pay due to him, and that his vakeel was writing for each a paper testifying to his services, which he himself would sign, and which they would find useful in their dealings with British officials.
When he had finished the men broke their ranks and crowded round him, tears flowing down most of their faces, calling down blessings upon him, and pouring out their regret at leaving the service of so good and kind a master. It was with some difficulty that the colonel, who was himself deeply affected, extricated himself from them and returned to his residence. The next morning he and Percy started. The colonel had made a very handsome present to Bhop Lal and Akram Chunder, and they of course accompanied them; but in addition the whole of the cavalry mounted and formed a voluntary escort to them as far as Rawal-Pindee.
Travelling quietly they reached head-quarters on the day when the proclamation was read to the troops, amid the booming of cannon, announcing to the Punjaub that it was now an integral portion of British India. Percy introduced his uncle to Mr. Fullarton, and the latter took him to Sir Henry Lawrence, with whom, during a stay of a week in the British camp, he had several long conversations, the chief-commissioner being desirous of ascertaining the views of one of such long experience in the country.
Colonel Groves was strongly of opinion that henceforth there would be no more trouble in the Punjaub. "The Sikh power is altogether broken," he said; "the former danger to India existed in the fact that hitherto they had been so successful in war that they had come to consider themselves almost invincible, and that the great army Runjeet had got together was demoralized by inactivity, and each man thirsted for an opportunity to distinguish himself, and dreamt of a share in the plunder of India. The population in general were, in his opinion, peace-loving and industrious; they had suffered terribly under the exactions of the grasping sirdars, who amassed fortunes out of their toil, and of the tax-gatherers, who had to collect vast sums for the maintenance of the army. That army had ceased to exist—Gujerat and Chillianwalla had accounted for the greater part of those who had escaped Ferozeshah and Sobraon. I believe," he said, "that in the course of a generation there will be no more orderly or loyal province than the Punjaub. There will be always a certain number of restless and adventurous spirits, but for these there will in time, I presume, be an opening in the regiments which, when you feel that you can trust them, will be raised here as in other parts of India. There is no finer fighting material to be found than among the Sikhs, and the fidelity with which they have fought to the last for their country is an earnest of that which they will show to our colours when they once take a pride in them."
He then instanced the conduct of his own men, who had proved faithful to him throughout, and had fought as bravely against the Sikh forces as they had formerly done under the Sikh flag. "They were for the most part," he said, "men of hill tribes, and Pathan rather than Sikh by blood, and should you be raising a force for the defence of the frontier against Afghans or hill men, you would find them admirably suited to the service. They are already well drilled and accustomed to discipline, and I promised them, when I disbanded them the other day, that I would speak to you in their favour, and would guarantee their fidelity should they be admitted into the Company's service."
"I will think the matter over," Sir Henry Lawrence said; "a force of that kind, if it could be relied upon, would be of immense service."
"Well, Sir Henry, there is one ready at hand. If I might venture to suggest, I should say, if my nephew happens to have an appointment in the Punjaub, it would be useful he should go for a week or two to the district with the officer charged to raise the force; in a few days he would produce a squadron two hundred strong of well-drilled cavalry, and four or five hundred infantry, with a complement of native officers thoroughly up to their work."
"Your nephew will certainly have an appointment in the Punjaub, Colonel Groves. He has proved himself a most efficient and zealous officer, and his knowledge of Punjaubi and Pathan, and of the country, would be thrown away in any other province. I had his early record in my hands when I was Resident at Lahore. Major Edwardes has written very strongly of the valuable assistance Mr. Groves rendered him, and he has been very useful during the late campaign. I can promise you that his appointment will show that his services have been thoroughly appreciated. I consider him an exceedingly promising young officer, and shall be glad to have an assistant on whom I can so thoroughly rely in any emergency."
"There is one thing I want to say to you, sir, and that is, that, when I disbanded my regiments, I gave to each man a grant of an acre or two of land in a valley so far untilled, but good land, and capable of irrigation. I had previously planted a thousand of them in two similar colonies, both of which are doing well. I hope that the grants may be confirmed."
"That they certainly would in any case, Colonel Groves; it is a great thing to have so many men, who might otherwise be troublesome, settled on the land; but, indeed, as your grants were made previous to the formal annexation, they would in any case remain good."
At the end of the week Colonel Groves left the camp and took a boat to go down the Indus. The short stay among his countrymen, from whom he had been for many years separated, had done him good, and dispelled the melancholy thoughts with which he had ridden down from the fortress, which had been for some twelve years his home. He had met with great hospitality during his stay in camp, for all were interested in the talk and adventures of one who had been among the best known of Runjeet Singh's officers, and his hearty and genial manner had won for him the liking of all who met him.
Ten days later Percy, who was getting somewhat tired of idleness, received a message saying that he was to appear before the commissioners on the following day. Sir Henry, as president, addressed him when he appeared.
"Mr. Groves, I am happy to say that my brother and Mr. Mansell thoroughly agree with me that at the present moment experience rather than age must guide us in the distribution of our appointments. Although you have been but a short time in the Company's service, you have a wide experience in the country, and your knowledge of its languages is invaluable at the present juncture. We feel that you are naturally specially acquainted with the wants and necessities of that portion of the country in which you have lived for upwards of two years, and have therefore determined to appoint you to the charge of the strip of country lying north of Dhangah and running along by the side of the Jhelum. It will be about twenty miles wide, and will extend to the end of the............