"Your lofty faith and devotion, my son, move me deeply. The heroic
spirit of my brother Raee seems once more to incite me to deeds of
daring which in these degenerate days would alas be vain."
So spoke Lehna Singh in the midst of luxury and splendour that had been
amassed in no hazardous career of adventure or enterprise, but by
methods of coldest calculation and avarice. His listeners were his
nephew, whom he addressed, and the Rajah Lal Singh, chief favourite of
the notorious Ranee, a man of cringing and servile demeanour,
notwithstanding his rank, whose crafty smile followed the speaker's
words as he scrutinized the countenance of Atma, as if to learn their
effect. The apartment in which they sat was an inner chamber, small,
secluded, and silent, for the fame of Lal, lately Wuzeer to the little
Maharajah, but for grave offences disgraced and removed from Lahore, was
such as to demand caution on the part of those who would consort with
him.
"Before I can explain to you," proceeded Lehna, "the last words of my
departed brother, I have a tale to unfold, a tale which will reveal to
you in how high a degree your coming has been opportune. In these
troubled days a loyal, brave, and trusty friend of the Khalsa is far to
seek, and it is in quest of such a one that my honoured guest Rajah Lal
Singh has, in the face of much peril, come to me from the Maharanee, now
at Feragpore, whither she was sent by Purwunnah, under seal of her
infant son, the Maharajah, thus made in tender years the instrument of
his mother's disgrace. But on the cruel affronts of our enemies I need
not dwell. These things are known to all. The plans which I am about to
reveal to you, Atma Singh relate to the future, and speak not of
disgrace, but of hope; know that in the treasures of Runjeet Singh there
was one jewel--a sapphire--of magical property. To its holder it ensured
success in war. This jewel, the late Maharajah received from my hands.
It was a family heirloom, and descended to your father, the eldest son
of our house, through countless generations. Being, when we were both
young, in sore straits, and hard pressed for money, he parted with this
talisman to me, on condition that after his death I should return it to
his eldest surviving son. You may guess the poignancy of the grief with
which I tell you then that this heirloom is no longer mine. Many years
ago I gave it into the hands of Runjeet Singh for a time, in the belief
that its potency would aid our national fortunes" (what equivalent Lehna
received, he doubtless deemed it irrelevant to state). "The brilliancy
of his career attests its worth. It should have been long ago restored
to me, but my efforts to regain it were repeatedly baffled, until I was
fain to content myself with the reflection that at least it served the
cause, and to trust in the future for its recovery. Believing it to be
in the treasury at Lahore, and firmly believing in its potency, those of
us who knew of its existence never abandoned hope until its
disappearance was, alas! ascertained beyond a doubt. To such, each
defeat of the Khalsa caused amazement deeper than consternation. The
overthrow of the Sikh power seemed a thing incredible until the recent
confiscation and plunder of the treasuries, when it became certain to
other vigilant onlookers as well as to myself that the Sapphire of Fate
was not in the possession of the true rulers of the Punjaub at the time
of their downfall. Contrast the victorious progress of the Lion of the
Punjaub with the fallen fortunes of his family, when robbed of what we
now believe to be the talisman of his fortunes. Not only does the Ranee
believe that the recovery of this gem will ensure the prosperity of the
descendants of Runjeet Singh, but I do firmly believe that its
re-possession will rally the Sikh forces to form again a conquering
faith. Son of Raee, have you the courage to serve the Ranee, to regain
this, your inheritance, and in obedience to your father's dying words,
to devote it and your own life to a fallen house, whose foes are the
foes of the Khalsa?"