The Elephant God | Page 4

seizing one of the great ears. Then
Badshah lifted him up with the trunk until he could get on to the head
into position astride the neck. Then the new mahout, salaaming again to
the officer, started his huge charge off, and the elephant lumbered away
with swaying stride to its peelkhana, or stable, two thousand feet below
in the forest at the foot of the hills on which stood the Fort of Ranga
Duar. For this outpost, which was garrisoned by Dermot's Double
Company of a Military Police Battalion, guarded one of the duars, or
passes, through the Himalayas into India from the wild and
little-known country of Bhutan.
Its Commanding Officer watched the elephant disappear down the hill
before returning to his little stone bungalow, which stood in a small
garden shaded by giant mango and jack-fruit trees and gay with the
flaming lines of bougainvillias and poinsettias.
Dismissing the post orderly, who was still waiting, Dermot threw
himself into a long chair and took up the letters that he had flung down
when Badshah's screams attracted his attention. They were all routine
official correspondence contained in the usual long envelopes marked
"On His Majesty's Service." The registered one, however, held a
smaller envelope heavily sealed, marked "Secret" and addressed to him
by name. In this was a letter in cipher.
Dermot got up from his chair and, going into his bedroom, opened a
trunk and lifted out of it a steel despatch box, which he unlocked. From
this he extracted a sealed envelope, which he carried back to the
sitting-room. First examining the seals to make sure that they were
intact, he opened the envelope and took from it two papers. One was a
cipher code and on the other was the keyword to the official cipher
used by the military authorities throughout India. This word is changed

once a year. On the receipt of the new one every officer entitled to be in
possession of it must burn the paper on which is written the old word
and send a signed declaration to that effect to Army Headquarters.
Taking a pencil and a blank sheet of paper Dermot proceeded to
decipher the letter that he had just received. It was dated from the
Adjutant General's Office at Simla, and headed "Secret." It ran:
"Sir:
"In continuation of the instructions already given you orally, I have the
honour to convey to you the further orders of His Excellency the
Commander-in-Chief in India.
"Begins: 'Information received from the Secretary to the Foreign
Department, Government of India, confirms the intelligence that
Chinese emissaries have for some time past been endeavouring to
re-establish the former predominance of their nation over Tibet and
Bhutan. In the former country they appear to have met with little
success; but in Bhutan, taking advantage of the hereditary jealousies of
the Penlops, the great feudal chieftains, they appear to have gained
many adherents. They aim at instigating the Bhutanese to attempt an
invasion of India through the duars leading into Eastern Bengal, their
object being to provoke a war. The danger to this country from an
invading force of Bhutanese, even if armed, equipped, and led by
Chinese, is not great. But its political importance must not be
minimised.
"'For the most serious feature of the movement is that information
received by the Political Department gives rise to the grave suspicion
that, not only many extremists in Bengal, but even some of the lesser
rajahs and nawabs, are in treasonable communication with these
outside enemies.
"'Major Dermot, at present commanding the detachment of the Military
Battalion stationed at Ranga Duar, has been specially selected, on
account of his acquaintance with the districts and dialects of the duars
and that part of the Terai Forest bordering on Bhutan, to carry out a

particular mission. You are to direct him to inspect and report on the
suitability, for the purposes of defence against an invasion from the
north, of:
(a) The line of the mountain passes at an altitude of from 3000 to 6000
feet.
(b) A line established in the Terai Forest itself.
"'In addition, if this officer in the course of his investigations discovers
any evidence of communication between the disloyal elements inside
our territory and possible enemies across the border, he will at once
inform you direct.' Ends.
"Please note His Excellency's orders and proceed to carry them out
forthwith. You can pursue your investigations under the pretence of big
game shooting in the hills and jungle. The British officer next in
seniority to you will command the detachment in your absences You
may communicate to him as much of the contents of this letter as you
deem advisable, impressing upon him the necessity for the strictest
secrecy.
"You will in all matters communicate directly and