1 a vizier's daughter - Hazara.net

47
A VIZIER’S DAUGHTER – A TALE OF THE HAZARA WAR
“Yes, but he’s dead now,” Wali Mohamed broke in. “He died in the
early part of the winter.
“True, but there is the son still living, and that is the chief thing at this
moment. He must be well off now. The old man had camels and carried
on some trade, they sa y. He had only this one son, so he must have got
it all.”
“How are you going to manage that?” his wife asked crossly. “You
surely are not going to ask him to take yo ur daughter in marriage now,
when a few months ago you refused to let him have her. That would be
a strange thing to do.”
“Don’t you trouble yourself over much, mother,” she said quietly. “It is
not easy to arrange all of a sudden. I grant, but I daresay we shall
manage it. You go off to your cooking and your sewing. I’ll let you
know what we decide in good time.” Then, turning to his companion,
he said, “Look here, Wali Mohamed, I might send the old grandmother
down to Mohamed Jan’s with a gun and some cloths, and a sheep or
two, and tell him he shall have them if he will let Gul Begum be
‘named on him,’ and will take her into his establishment till this war is
over (for war there’s going tobe, there can be no doubt about that), on
the full understanding, however, that the whole plan is a mere ruse to
take in this Colonel Ferad Shah. These are days when men will do
much for a rifle, and to purchase one by merely offering a home and
protection to a young and handsome girl for a few months would tempt
most men.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Wali Mohamed admitted. “You have some
cunning ideas about you, brother, we must all admit that, but how are
we to manage about this messenger ? He is still in my house.”
“Oh, we’ll easily dispose of him, we’ll presuppose that Mohamed Jan
will consent to take Gul Begum on my conditio ns, and we’ll tell him
she is married, that’s all. It’s quite simple.”
“Bah! What’s the use of that? The colonel won’t believe a word of it,
and will send another messenger here in less than two days, a
messenger that will bring death and destruction.”
“That may be so, but I think not, and we must risk something. Most
assuredly he will send some one to find out the truth of our statement,
but b y then my bird will have flown and will be beyond his reach. He
won’t want a married woman for his harem. The y are lawless, these
Afghans, but not so lawless as that. Send that messenger to me; or stay,
I will go with you to your house, he will be getting impatient.”
“Good day to you , soldier,” Ghulam Hossain said, smiling, as he
entered. “Do you know anything of the errand on which you have come,
and can I send a verbal message by you, or must I write your master a
letter?”