The Argosy | Page 8

Platzoff. He was a gentleman of
fortune, and was travelling in India at the time, and had come to my
master with letters of introduction. Well, Captain Chillington just took
wonderfully to him, and the two were almost inseparable. Perhaps it
hardly becomes one like me to offer an opinion on such a point; but,
knowing what afterwards happened, I must say that I never either liked
or trusted that Russian from the day I first set eyes on him. He seemed
to me too double-faced and cunning for an honest English gentleman to
have much to do with. But he had travelled a great deal, and was very
good company, which was perhaps the reason why Captain Chillington
took so kindly to him. Be that as it may, however, it was decided that
they should go on the hunting excursion together--not that the Russian
was much of a shot, or cared a great deal about hunting, but because, as
I heard him say, he liked to see all kinds of life, and tiger-stalking was
something quite fresh to him.
"He was a curious-looking gentleman, too, that Russian--just the sort of
face that you would never forget after once seeing it, with skin that was
dried and yellow like parchment; black hair that was trained into a
heavy curl on the top of his forehead, and a big hooked nose.
"Well, your ladyship and miss, away we went with our elephants and
train of servants, and very pleasantly we spent our two months' leave of
absence. The Captain he shot tigers, and the Russian he did his best at
pig-sticking. Our last week had come, and in three more days we were
to set off on our return, when that terrible misfortune happened which
deprived me of the best of masters, and your ladyship of the best of
sons.
"Early one morning I was roused by Rung Budruck, the Captain's
favourite sycee or groom. 'Get up at once,' he said, shaking me by the
shoulder. 'The sahib Captain is very ill. The black devil has seized him.
He must have opium or he will die.' I ran at once to the Captain's tent,
and as soon as I set eyes on him I saw that he had been seized with

cholera. I went off at once and fetched M. Platzoff. We had nothing in
the way of medicine with us except brandy and opium. Under the
Russian's directions these were given to my poor master in large
quantities, but he grew gradually worse. Rung and I in everything
obeyed M. Platzoff, who seemed to know quite well what ought to be
done in such cases; and to tell the truth, your ladyship, he seemed as
much put about as if the Captain had been his own brother. Well, the
Captain grew weaker as the day went on, and towards evening it grew
quite clear that he could not last much longer. The pain had left him by
this time, but he was so frightfully reduced that we could not bring him
round. He was lying in every respect like one already dead, except for
his faint breathing, when the Russian left the tent for a moment, and I
took his place at the head of the bed. Rung was standing with folded
arms a yard or two away. None of the other native servants could be
persuaded to enter the tent, so frightened were they of catching the
complaint. Suddenly my poor master opened his eyes, and his lips
moved. I put my ear to his mouth. 'The diamond,' he whispered. 'Take
it--mother--give my love.' Not a word more on earth, your ladyship. His
limbs stiffened; his head fell back; he gave a great sigh and died. I
gently closed the eyes that could see no more, and left the tent crying.
"Your ladyship, we buried Captain Chillington by torchlight four hours
later. We dug his grave deep in a corner of the jungle, and there we left
him to his last sleep. Over his grave we piled a heap of stones, as I have
read that they used to do in the old times over the grave of a chief. It
was all we could do.
"About an hour later M. Platzoff came to me. 'I shall start before
daybreak for Chinapore,' he said, 'with one elephant and a couple of
men. I will take with me the news of my poor friend's untimely fate,
and you can come on with the luggage and other effects in the ordinary
way. You will find me at Chinapore when you reach there.' Next
morning I found that he was gone.
"What my dear master had said with his last breath about a diamond
puzzled me. I could only conclude that amongst his