To warn a King of his enemies?
We know what Heaven or Hell may bring,
But no man knoweth the mind of the King.
— The Ballad1 of the King’s Jest.
‘Want to see the Maharajah.’
‘He cannot be seen.’
‘I shall wait until he comes.’
‘He will not be seen all day.’
‘Then I shall wait all day.’
Tarvin settled himself comfortably in his saddle, and drew up in the centre of the courtyard, where he was wont2 to confer with the Maharajah.
The pigeons were asleep in the sunlight, and the little fountain was talking to itself, as a pigeon coos before settling to its nest. The white marble flagging glared like hot iron, and waves of heat flooded him from the green-shaded walls. The guardian3 of the gate tucked himself up in his sheet again and slept. And with him slept, as it seemed, the whole world in a welter of silence as intense as the heat. Tarvin’s horse champed his bit, and the echoes of the ringing iron tinkled4 from side to side of the courtyard. The man himself whipped a silk handkerchief round his neck as some slight protection against the peeling sunbeams, and, scorning the shade of the archway, waited in the open that the Maharajah might see there was an urgency in his visit.
In a few minutes there crept out of the stillness a sound like the far-off rustle5 of wind across a wheat-field on a still autumn day. It came from behind the green shutters6, and with its coming Tarvin mechanically straightened himself in the saddle. It grew, died down again, and at last remained fixed7 in a continuous murmur8, for which the ear strained uneasily — such a murmur as heralds9 the advance of a loud racing10 tide in a nightmare, when the dreamer cannot flee nor declare his terror in any voice but a whisper. After the rustle came the smell of jasmine and musk11 that Tarvin knew well.
The palace wing had wakened from its afternoon siesta12, and was looking at him with a hundred eyes. He felt the glances that he could not see, and they filled him with wrath13 as he sat immovable, while the horse swished at the flies. Somebody behind the shutters yawned a polite little yawn. Tarvin chose to regard it as an insult, and resolved to stay where he was till he or the horse dropped. The shadow of the afternoon sun crept across the courtyard inch by inch, and wrapped him at last in stifling14 shade.
There was a muffled15 hum — quite distinct from the rustle — of voices within the palace. A little ivory inlaid door opened, and the Maharajah rolled into the courtyard. He was in the ugliest muslin undress, and his little saffron-coloured Rajput turban was set awry16 on his head, so that the emerald plume17 tilted18 drunkenly. His eyes were red with opium19, and he walked as a bear walks when he is overtaken by the dawn in the poppyfield, where he has gorged20 his fill through the night watches.
Tarvin’s face darkened at the sight, and the Maharajah, catching21 the look, bade his attendants stand back out of earshot.
‘Have you been waiting long, Tarvin Sahib?’ he asked huskily, with an air of great good-will. ‘You know I see no man at this afternoon hour, and — and they did not bring me the news.’
‘I can wait,’ said Tarvin composedly.
The King seated himself in the broken Windsor chair, which was splitting in the heat, and eyed Tarvin suspiciously.
‘Have they given you enough convicts from the jails? Why are you not on the dam, then, instead of breaking my rest? By God! is a King to have no peace because of you and such as you?’
Tarvin let this outburst go by without comment.
‘I have come to you about the Maharaj Kunwar,’ he said quietly.
‘What of him?’ said the Maharajah quickly. ‘I— I— have not seen him for some days.’
‘Why?’ asked Tarvin bluntly.
‘Affairs of state and urgent political necessity,’ murmured the King, evading22 Tarvin’s wrathful eyes. ‘Why should I be troubled by these things, when I know that no harm has come to the boy?’
‘No harm!’
‘How could harm arrive?’ The voice dropped into an almost conciliatory whine23. ‘You yourself, Tarvin Sahib, promised to be his true friend. That was on the day you rode so well, and stood so well against my bodyguard24. Never have I seen such riding, and therefore why should I be troubled? Let us drink.’
He beckoned25 to his attendants. One of them came forward with a long silver tumbler concealed26 beneath his flowing garments, and poured into it an allowance of liqueur brandy that made Tarvin, used to potent27 drinks, open his eyes. The second man produced a bottle of champagne28, opened it with a skill born of long practice, and filled up the tumbler with the creaming wine.
The Maharajah drank deep, and wiped the foam29 from his beard, saying apologetically —‘Such things are not for political agents to see; but you, Sahib, are true friend of the State. Therefore I let you see. Shall they mix you one like this?’
‘Thanks. I didn’t come here to drink. I came to tell you that the Maharaj has been very ill.’
‘I was told there was a little fever,’ said the King, leaning back in his chair. ‘But he is with Miss Sheriff, and she will make all well. Just a little fever, Tarvin Sahib. Drink with me.’
‘A little hell! Can you understand what I am saying? The little chap has been half poisoned.’
‘Then it was the English medicines,’ said the Maharajah, with a bland30 smile. ‘Once they made me very sick, and I went back to the native hakims. You are always making funny talks, Tarvin Sahib.’
With a mighty31 effort Tarvin choked down his rage, and tapped his foot with his riding-whip, speaking very clearly and distinctly —‘I haven’t come here to make funny talk today. The little chap is with Miss Sheriff now. He was driven over there; and somebody in the palace has been trying to poison him with hemp32.’
‘Bhang!‘said the Maharajah stupidly.
‘I don’t know what you call the mess, but he has been poisoned. But for Miss Sheriff he would have died — your first son would have died. He has been poisoned — do you hear, Maharajah Sahib? — and by some one in the palace.’
‘He has eaten something bad, and it has made him sick,’ said the King surlily. ‘Little boys eat anything. By God! no man would dare to lay a finger on my son.’
‘What would you do to prevent it?’
The Maharajah half rose to his feet, and his red eyes filled with fury. ‘I would tie him to the forefoot of my biggest elephant, and kill him through an afternoon!’ Then he relapsed, foaming33, into the vernacular34, and poured out a list of the hideous35 tortures that were within his will but not in his power to inflict36. ‘I would do all these things to any man who touched him,’ he concluded.
Tarvin smiled incredulously.
‘I know what you think,’ stormed the King, maddened by the liquor and the opium. ‘You think that because there is an English government I can make trials only by law, and all that nonsense. Stuff! What do I care for the law that is in books? Will the walls of my palace tell anything that I do?’
‘They won’t. If they did, they might let you know that it is a woman inside the palace who is at the bottom of this.’
The Maharajah’s face turned grey under its brown. Then he burst forth37 anew, almost huskily —‘Am I a king or a potter that I must have the affairs of my zenana dragged into the sunlight by any white dog that chooses to howl at me? Go out, or the guard will drive you out like a jackal.’
‘That’s all right,’ said Tarvin calmly. ‘But what has it to do with the Prince, Maharajah Sahib? Come over to Mr. Estes’s and I’ll show you. You’ve had some experience of drugs, I suppose. You can decide for yourself. The boy has been poisoned.’
‘It was an accursed day for my State when I first allowed the missionaries38 to come, and a worse day when I did not drive you out.’
‘Not in the least. I’m here to look after the Maharaj Kunwar, and I’m going to do it. You prefer leaving him to be killed by your women.’
‘Tarvin Sahib, do you know what you say?’
‘Shouldn’t be saying it if I didn’t. I have all the proof in my hands.’
‘But when there is a poisoning there are no proofs of any kind, least of all when a woman poisons! One does justice on suspicion, and by the English law it is a most illiberal39 policy to kill on suspicion. Tarvin Sahib, the English have taken away from me everything that a Rajput desires, and I and the others are rolling in idleness like horses that never go to exercise. But at least I am master there!’
He waved a hand toward the green shutters, and spoke40 in a lower key, dropping back into his chair, and closing his eyes.
Tarvin looked at him despairingly.
‘No one man would dare — no man would dare,’ murmured the Maharajah more faintly. ‘And as for the other thing that you spoke of, it is not in your power. By God! I am a Rajput and a king. I do not talk of the life behind the curtain.’
Then Tarvin took his courage in both hands and spoke.
‘I don’t want you to talk,’ he said; ‘I merely want to warn you against Sitabhai. She’s poisoning the Prince.’
The Maharajah shuddered41. That a European should mention the name of his queen was in itself sufficient insult, and one beyond all his experience. But that a European should cry aloud in the open courtyard a charge such as Tarvin had just made surpassed imagination. The Maharajah had just come from Sitabhai, who had lulled42 him to rest with songs and endearments43 sacred to him alone; and here was this lean outlander assailing44 her with vile45 charges. But for the drugs he would, in the extremity46 of his rage, have fallen upon Tarvin, who was saying, ‘I can prove it quite enough to satisfy Colonel Nolan.’
The Maharajah stared at Tarvin with shiny eyes, and Tarvin thought for a moment that he was going to fall in a fit; but it was the drink and the opium reasserting their power upon him.
He mumbled47 angrily. The head fell forward, the words ceased, and he sat in his chair breathing heavily, as senseless as a log.
Tarvin gathered up his reins48, and watched the sodden49 monarch50 for a long time in silence, as the rustle behind the shutters rose and fell. Then he turned to go, and rode out through the arch, thinking.
Something sprang out of the darkness where the guard slept, and where the King’s fighting apes were tethered; and the horse reared as a grey ape, its chain broken at the waist-band, flung itself on the pommel of the saddle, chattering51. Tarvin felt and smelt52 the beast. It thrust one paw into the horse’s mane, and with the other encircled his own throat. Instinctively53 he reached back, and before the teeth under the grimy blue gums had time to close he had fired twice, pressing the muzzle54 of the pistol into the hide. The creature rolled off to the ground, moaning like a human being, and the smoke of the two shots drifted back through the hollow of the arch and dissolved in the open courtyard.
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1
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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heralds
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| n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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11
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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12
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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13
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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20
gorged
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| v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 )；作呕 | |
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21
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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22
evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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23
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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24
bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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25
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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27
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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28
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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29
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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30
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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32
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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34
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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35
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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36
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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38
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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39
illiberal
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| adj.气量狭小的，吝啬的 | |
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40
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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41
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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42
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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endearments
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| n.表示爱慕的话语，亲热的表示( endearment的名词复数 ) | |
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44
assailing
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| v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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45
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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46
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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49
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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50
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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51
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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52
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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53
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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54
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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