human
Lallajee, he said, every now and then looking up:
gpt
O friend, dost thou love gold? See, this is red and pure--ah, yes, lovely--and so it need be, coming out of the King's mint direct. More than ten thousand rupees, too, they said. Well, there are just five hundred and fifty ashruffees. That is--how much, Maun Singh? thou art a better accountant than I am.
human
Somewhere about eleven thousand rupees, I believe, Maharaj,
gpt
Well, that will do, Lallajee, continued Pahar Singh.
human
That is my share for taking care of thee, thou knowest, and getting thee a good market for thy papers. The gods be praised! I vow ten of these to the Holy Mother's necklace at Tooljapoor,
gpt
Nay, valiant sir, interposed the Lalla:
human
Ill-begotten! cried the robber, snatching a brand from the fire and striking the Lalla's hand, which had advanced towards the heap,--
gpt
I am your slave, whimpered the man, wringing his hand;
human
Listen to the coward, brother, said Pahar Singh with a sneer;
gpt
Of course, said that worthy,
human
Well, then, hold out thine hand, brother, returned Pahar Singh, taking up a few coins and dropping them into his hand.
gpt
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good gold, good gold, Lallajee! he said, looking up:
human
True; I swear by your head and eyes, by the holy Krishna and his temple at Muttra. Canst thou doubt, after what has passed, O Jemadar?
gpt
Nay, how could I understand thy jabbering of Persian? That was no honest talk, Maun Singh; they meant to cheat us by it, and this slave joined in it. Twenty-one, twenty-two, --he was counting the remainder of the gold, and dropping the coins into his own bag as he spoke,
human
May I be your sacrifice, Maharaj, no, cried the Lalla, terrified at his manner, and watching, with evident and ill-concealed uneasiness, coin after coin disappearing into the bag.
gpt
Why should my lord be angry if I spoke in Persian?
human
Ho, ho, thou art frightened again--art thou? Well, perhaps thou couldst not help the Persian, as the letter had to be read; but I understood it all the time, O Lalla. Thou couldst not have cheated me--listen! he continued in that language, speaking it with a broad Mahratta accent;
gpt
Nay, Maharaj, I know not, returned the man in a bewildered manner.
human
My lord said half would be mine, and the Meerza told us there were more than ten thousand rupees.
gpt
Good, O Lalla, thou patron of valiant men like me: but dost thou expect it? Five thousand rupees! dost thou think that such a sum will come to thee?
human
My lord! noble prince! I--I--I, stammered the now trembling wretch.
gpt
I--I--mean the promise to me. Nay, look not so, Maharaj, as he observed the robber's face distorted with suppressed rage, the veins of his forehead swelled, and white foam gathering about the corners of the mouth.
human
Nay, look not so angry! Behold, I kiss your feet: I am a very poor man, and a stranger; and he joined his hands in supplication as he rose from his heels partly to a kneeling posture.
gpt
Would my lord ever have known of the value of those papers had I not told it? Would they not have been thrown away, scattered to the winds, if my poor life had been taken at Itga?
human
My promise!--my promise to thee, O son of a base mother! Didst thou not swear to me they would be worth thousands?--lakhs! cried the robber, raising his voice and gesticulating violently, as he now took up the gold pieces by handfuls, and thrust them into the bag.
gpt
A lakh of rupees! and here are only a few paltry coins, for which thou hast brought me fifty coss! What will Anunt Geer of Kullianee say to this poor instalment on his debt? Thief! get me the rest--the rest of the gold they have put aside for thee. Didst thou not promise a lakh?