"You . . . you're the Rajah!" Chalmers spluttered, and Shea took his cue, staring as though still stupefied. "You?"
Randhir permitted a slight smile to play over his lips. "Indeed. Your companion of the evening's search is truly the Rajah Randhir—and I gather, from your conduct and the strangeness of your garb, that you are no more thieves than I am."
"I assure Your Majesty that we most certainly are not!" Chalmers said. "But surely our observations can be of little value when we have seen only what so esteemed a personage as yourself has seen!"
Trust Doc, all right. When it came to knowing how to lay it on, he had no peer.
"Ah, but before our separate groups joined together, you saw what I did not see! Come, tell me of it!"
"We saw some men finishing the looting of a house," Shea said slowly. "Then we saw the rest of the gang gathered out in the street, getting ready for the night's work and practicing their skills. A few of them even practiced them on passersby, killing them for the few coins in their purses."
"It would seem you have indeed seen no more than I have myself," Ranahir sighed, "for from that time on, we were together. However, you can join us when we march against them, to help me remember the way, and the means of entering."
Shea wasn't all that sure he liked that idea, so he changed the subject—quickly. "Your Majesty must have been willing to sacrifice your pride enormously, to consort with such low-lifes for a night!" He didn't say anything about aiding and abetting a burglary.
But the stroke seemed to please Rajan Randhir. He nodded, saying, "The good of my subjects demanded such a sacrifice, since the spies I sent on that errand did not return. I could see that if I wanted knowledge of the thieves' ways, I should have to go myself. Now I know why, and it is fortunate that I disguised myself so thoroughly, for a number of the thieves were my own people—watchmen and guards, patrolmen and spies."
Chalmers stared. "Surely not the spies you sent to ferret out information about the gang!"
"The very same, and a merry laugh they must have had at their assignment. I do not think they shall laugh tomorrow."
His tone chilled Shea, and reminded him of the coldblooded killing he had witnessed. "Are you sure none of those men worshipped Kali? They seemed bloodthirsty enough to be genuine Thuggee." Even as he said the word, though, he realized that it only meant "rascals"—at least literally.
"Many of them were," Randhir admitted. "I lied to you at the time to prevent you from panicking, for I saw you knew of Kali, and that her worshippers sacrifice human lives to her. They whom you call Thuggee are more accurately termed Phansigars; you could tell them by the kerchiefs they wore round their necks—the kerchiefs with which they strangled women and men alike. Others worshipped Bnawani; those with little bags slung under the left arm were Dhaturiya-poisoners. Even some among Kartikeya's crew are dedicated to murder—for example, those who wore their poniards at their waists; they are stabbers by profession."
Shea shuddered.
"But how is it," Chalmers asked, "that Your Majesty found this gang of low-lifes worth your own personal attention? Should that not have been left to hired spies?"
"It should," Randhir confirmed, "but as I have told you, my spies disappeared; I have no doubt the thieves found them out and slew them."
"That leaves only one question," said Chalmers. "How did the thieves know who your spies were?"
"Because they had spies, Doc," Shea said, before the rajah could answer. "In fact, they had spies among the king's spies."
"It is true," said Randhir, "and the merchants of my city have become extremely upset over their constant losses, while the whole populace has begun to live in fear of the murderers. To make all worse, the kingdom to the east of mine has seen the weakness these thieves make in my land, and have begun to assemble armies near the border; I have no doubt their rajah means to invade. It became vital to find out these thieves, break up their gang, slaying the murderers and punishing the thieves."
"And since no one else could do it," Chalmers said slowly, "you undertook it yourself."
"That is a part of my dharma, the duty of the station in life to which I was born," the rajah confirmed. "Now, though, I know where they lair, and how many they are—so this night, I shall take my archers and my soldiers and set upon them."
"But what if their spies warn them you are coming?" Chalmers asked.
"Ah, but now I know who the men are that they managed to plant in my household," Randhir reminded him. "At last I have found the rats hidden in the walls of my palace, and can trap and exterminate them. First, though I must find some cats. Will you be among them?" The look he gave assured them that if they weren't, they would swing with the rest of the thieves. Apparently he still wasn't entirely sure of their innocence.
Well, at least they had a chance to survive the raid. Shea glanced at Chalmers, caught his infinitesimal nod, and turned back to the Rajah. "Why, sure, Your Majesty! After all, we know where the rat-hole is." Then he remembered how the robber chieftain had thought such holes were good omens, and swallowed.
A guard stepped up behind them and bowed.
"What is your message?" Randhir snapped.
"My Rajah," said the man, "a deputation of merchants awaits to heap upon you their grief over this last night's losses."
Randhir sighed. "Let them enter." Then, to Shea and Chalmers, "Do you stand against the wall, and you shall see the agitation and misery these thieves have caused."
Shea started to protest that he already had a pretty good idea, but Chalmers beat him to it. "Of course, Your Majesty. We are honored by the privilege of observing your court." He bowed, and Randhir gave him a gracious nod, apparently pleased by his courtesy. Shea began to understand how Chalmers had become Director of the Garaden Institute.
They stepped over next to one of the guards, maintaining a discreet distance from his spear, and watched the merchants file in. They wore plain white pyjamas, but the robes they wore over were of silk or damask, as were their turbans. They lined up in front of Randhir and bowed.
"O Pearl of Equity!" said the one who was presumably oldest, to judge by his gray hairs and lined face. "Only yesterday, you consoled us with the promise of some contrivance by the blessing of which our houses and coffers would be made safe from theft—but our goods have never yet suffered so severely as during the last twelve hours."
"The Rajah hears; the Rajah's heart bleeds with your own," Randhir assured them, "and I do indeed speak of blood, for I know men were slain this night past. Still, an elephant grows not in a single night, nor by eating only one heap of hay—so it is not likely to be slain by a single arrow. Go back to your shops and guard your goods and your family as well as you may; let none go out on the streets after the sun has set, but let them stay within doors. Tomorrow, or surely in two days' time, I shall, with the blessing of the Bhagwan, relieve you of further anxiety."
"But what more can you do?" asked another merchant. "You have hired watchmen, you have changed your officers, and you have established patrols; nevertheless the thieves have not diminished, and plundering is constantly taking place."