Harold Plays The Hero

The progress of the powder barrel had been halted in surprise. I swung by one hand and scrabbled at my holster. I pulled out my pistol left-handed, cocked it with my thumb and started to lift it to aim at the barrel. I was impeded by the swinging of the chandelier. When it stopped moving I must hit the barrel with at least one of the six shots. I wouldn't survive the explosion. Unfortunately one of the natives must have been a person of intelligence. He realised my intention. He threw the barrel from the gallery into the crowd below shouting to them to conceal it. It reached the people below before I could complete my aim. I pointed the pistol down at the commotion. The barrel was being moved away from me. Then I saw a glimpse of it and pulled the trigger.

The explosion caused me to drop my pistol and grab at the chandelier with both hands. I swung violently. I jumped for the other chandelier as it touched and used it as a swing until the pendulum action enabled me to reach the gallery I'd started from.

I was still in trouble. Although the explosion had killed and injured many, a few were running up the stairs towards me and I was unarmed. I turned to run to the secret entrance and met Lisa holding out a sword for me. I clutched it, turned and then she and I were fighting for our lives. Side by side we thrust, parried, thrust again. A few bodies testified to our skill then Lisa's sword jammed in her opponent's body. As she bent to withdraw it another attacker tried to run her through.

I parried, grabbed one of the dead men's swords and threw it like a spear. It skewered Lisa's attacker through an eye. She retrieved her sword and returned to the attack shouting "Thanks!"

Then George shouted from behind us "Fall back!"

We withdrew as his pistol roared. Five natives fell to his six shots and the gallery was cleared. We ran for the secret panel, through it and slammed it behind us. We rushed through to the main passage pulling the door closed, forgetting we didn't know how to open it.

We paused panting for breath.

"Thank you, Lisa," I puffed "I thought I was certain to die until you came with the swords. And thank you George. You saved both of us."

Lisa cuffed me round the ear. "Were you trying to commit suicide? I saw everything. You hadn't a hope of swinging from the chandelier and shooting as well. I don't know how you hit that barrel..."

"Neither do I." I admitted

" ...but I want my husband in one piece, not blown to bits." she finished.

"We'd better get back to the others and see how they're doing with the Rajah," said George. "You can save the recriminations till later."

As we returned to the Ranee's room we discussed what to do next.

"What if they break through here?" I said "Or through the viewing gallery? With their crowbars they could get in there even though we can't get out."

"I can stay here," said George as we entered the Ranee's room "If I sit on the gaddi I can see both secret panels and hold them off with my pistol. If you hear me fire you'll know I'm being attacked."

We agreed although we all knew that George could not hold them off with the six shots in his pistol which he was reloading carefully. If we heard him fire all we could do is prepare the women to ambush the attackers. George would be dead.

Lisa and I returned towards the main group of women by the entrance door. On the way we checked the two women guarding the room where the Ranee and the other native women were confined. There had been little sound from inside, just muted conversation. We could hear a faint murmur through the door. We saw Jane at the window. She had seen nothing unusual, nor any sign of a rescue party.

I wasn't prepared for the sight that met me when we rejoined the main group. The women had stripped the Rajah, tied him into a discarded dress and crinoline, and hung him by the heels from the ceiling. He was naked from the waist down, or rather up since he was upside-down. His head, hands and upper body were invisible under the inverted crinoline. His cries were muffled under the trailing skirts. There was good reason for his cries. His backside was being enthusiastically whipped with a riding crop. It was already reddened and the weals criss-crossed both buttocks.

Lisa's reaction was typical of her. She laughed heartily before asking "What are you trying to achieve?"

The answer was that the Rajah had refused to shout through the door to tell the attackers he was there. He'd said he rather die than admit that he'd been captured by women.

I asked the women to stop, got down on my knees and raised the skirts slightly so I could talk to the Rajah, but he couldn't see beyond me.

"Good afternoon." I said "While I might sympathise with your scruples, do you realise that your son might wish to blow you up with us? If he does, he will be the Rajah. If you tell those outside that you are here he will be unable to blame the British for your death."

The Rajah did not reply.

I continued "On the other hand the women are getting impatient. They are heating a poker to push up your arse because they think that might make you squeal. I think it will, don't you?"

That drew a response. The Rajah turned pale. "They wouldn't do that!" he squeaked.

"Oh yes they will. The poker isn't hot enough yet so they might castrate you first as an appetiser."

"Please stop them! I'll talk." The Rajah was obviously terrified at the thought of castration.

"I'll try," I said, dropping the skirts as I stood up.

I pulled Lisa aside and whispered what I had told the Rajah. She caught on straight away.

"Is that poker hot enough yet?" she asked in a loud voice. The other women looked at her wondering what she was asking. One of them caught on. "Nearly ready, Lisa. Only a couple of minutes more before it's really red-hot."

The inverted dome of skirts swung as the Rajah struggled inside. "Let me out!" he cried. "I'll talk to my people!"

Lisa and the others lowered the Rajah to the floor and turned him the right way up. He had to be held upright because his legs were still tied together. They bundled him towards the barricade and waited.

The Rajah gathered his breath then shouted in dialect through the door. The gist of what he said was that he had been captured (he didn't mention by women) and that he was held immediately behind the door. If they broke in he, the Rajah, would be killed.

We waited expectantly for a reply. There was a sudden silence. There was some scuffling outside. His son shouted the reply in the same dialect. He would not withdraw but he would try to capture someone important enough to exchange for his father. Then he repeated the reply in clear English, adding "If you harm my father you will die slowly and painfully."

We all relaxed. The relief was intense. We were now unlikely to have the door blown in and we hoped that the Rajah's son wouldn't capture anyone. While we held the Rajah we were safe - for a while.

Lisa and I decided to check on George while the others secured the Rajah to the barricade.

When we reached the Ranee's room there was no sign of George. The gaddi was disarranged, showing that the U-shaped cushion was fixed to a metal frame and the other cushions were in a heap. I looked through them and was horrified to find George's unfired revolver. I showed it to Lisa.

"How could they have got at George without him being able to fire a shot? It must have been very sudden. They can't have come from the passages that we know about because he would have seen them and have had time to fire."

Although I was speaking to Lisa both of us knew that the questions were rhetorical. Neither of us had any idea how George could have been captured. He must have been captured because there was no sign of blood anywhere.

Lisa stated the obvious. "There must be a third entrance that we don't know about. It can't be near the other two."

I thought for a moment. "It can't lead outside the zenana or the Rajah's son would have mentioned that he captured George. It must be internal."

Lisa suddenly realised "The only part of the zenana we don't patrol is the room where the Rajah's women are kept. The passage must lead there. The women must have George."

"Before we rush off there I'd like to know where the passage entrance is," I said, "Otherwise the women might escape through it."

As I was speaking I was rearranging the cushions of the gaddi, looking for any other clue to how George had been abducted. I peered closely at the U-shaped cushion and its metal support because I hadn't seen such a feature of a gaddi before. Then I stiffened and sniffed carefully. There was a sickly-sweet smell that I didn't recognise.

"Lisa," I called "Can you smell anything on this gaddi?"

She looked at me as if I'd gone mad. "Smell? Why a smell?"

To humour me she sniffed at the cushion. Then she stepped back suddenly. "So that's how they did it!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I asked stupidly

"That smell is an anaesthetic. If you smell enough of it you'll be unconscious. It's used by delicate ladies for childbirth and I'm told it's even used by dentists. Even our Queen has used it but it's very uncommon. We had a demonstration once at the Residency. The lady who tried out was unconscious for ten minutes but was violently sick afterwards. Most of us decided that bearing pain was preferable but we were told that she was sick because she'd taken the anaesthetic after a meal. If she'd starved for a couple of hours there would have been no problem."

We looked closer at the metal support. It was made of tubing which entered the U-shaped cushion. The gas must have been passed through the tubing. Anyone resting their head in the U would have breathed the anaesthetic and passed out.

"It must be a fixture. They didn't do this just now. I've been told that the ladies of the zenana control the Rajah's sexual desires. This must be one way that they do it." Lisa said.

We followed the tubing down the back of the gaddi to the floor. Now we were close we could see a faint join in the flooring outlining a square trap door.

"Get the table from the ante-room." Lisa ordered.

I dragged the heavy table in. Then we inverted it over the trapdoor and piled chairs and other furniture on top. Whether it opened up or down, that trapdoor was blocked.

We returned to the entrance hall. Lisa picked a group of women to accompany us to the room where the Rajah's women were locked in. When we arrived the women guarding the door whispered that there had been nothing unusual except that there had been some giggling. "The women inside seem remarkably happy," said one.

"We'll see about that!" whispered Lisa. She explained that we thought they had captured George. While the two women pretended to have a normal conversation the door was unlocked. We rushed in waving swords and cutlasses. The zenana women screeched. Some tried to hide a couch from our view but we thrust them aside. What a sight was revealed!

George was tied to the couch with silken saris. He was swathed so effectively that little of him was visible. His tool had been left exposed and a woman was just lifting herself off it, leaving it slick with her juices. His head was concealed under another woman's draperies. As she stood up he was shown to be tightly gagged with a long silk scarf. That also was moist with female secretions as was the rest of his face.

While Lisa stood in front to conceal George from the other Englishwomen I cut him free with my sword. I had to help him to stand up and I wrapped a sari around his privates. He sank down on to the couch as I searched the room for his clothes. They were strewn everywhere. They must have been thrown around the room as he was stripped.

Much later George told Lisa and me about his ordeal. He fell asleep on the gaddi and when he woke up he was tied to the couch. One woman was riding him and another was rubbing her yoni over his face. Every few minutes the women were replaced by others. He seemed to have been straddled by every woman present at least once. He couldn't understand how he had kept his erection until after I'd released him when he found a cord tied around the base of his penis. He hadn't felt it because he was so sore from all the action his penis had endured. He admitted that it took him several weeks before his wedding tackle was fit for use again.

The Ranee had been seized and hustled away. The rest of the zenana women were tied up by the outraged Englishwomen and lined up in a struggling line on the floor. The two who had been in the act with George were turned on their faces and whipped with riding crops. I didn't say anything at the time but the hussies seemed to be enjoying it as much as the Englishwomen wielding the crops. As George had not admitted that the two were the last of many (and he never did admit it except to us two and Jane) the rest were not maltreated.

I helped George to Jane's window. Jane thought that she could see movement at the cantonment but was not sure. I left her ministering to George while I returned to the entrance hall to see what the women were up to.

They'd inverted the Rajah again and now his Ranee was also caged in a crinoline and inverted. His and her private parts were clearly on view and hers were suspiciously wet. There was talk of red-hot pokers again. Lisa drew me aside, pulling me with my back to the view of the Ranee's yoni.

"We're trying to discover if they know of another way out," she explained.

"Oh shit!" I retorted "No-one is watching the ones that we do know about. I'd better get back there now."

I rushed back to the Ranee's room. I checked the passage with the viewing screen. It was empty. From the screen I could see natives moving around but no real action. I returned to the Ranee's room.

I entered the other passage under the statue's yoni. I crawled through until the passage opened out. I went to the eyehole but the scene was as before. There was no sign of any purposeful activity. I seemed to feel a presence in the passage with me but I couldn't see anything. I felt for the opening the Rajah had passed through and then cursed aloud because I had forgotten to look for the secret lever on this side before we had shut the door. I couldn't find it. I felt everywhere but there was no lever that I could find.

I decided to return to the Ranee's room and crouched down on my hands and knees in the low part of the passage. As I crawled along I felt that something was wrong. My hands were on a silky material that hadn't been there when I entered. I had just realised this and stopped when a head banged hard on my rump sending me toppling forward headfirst, with my arms beside me.

I expected to hit the stone floor hard but I landed on warm flesh. There was a soft grunt in a female voice then my head was tightly wrapped so I couldn't shout. Behind me the silken material was pulled backwards trapping my arms against my sides.

I was pulled out of the tunnel still unable to see until the cloth was repositioned over my mouth. Through a translucent material I was looking at a jewelled navel a few centimetres away. My head was resting on silk covered thighs. Then I was rolled over on to my back. As my head was lifted I could see that I had been bagged in a silk sack with a drawstring pulled around my ankles. Facing me was one of the Ranee's younger ladies who was lashing my legs with a scarf. Above me two breasts pressed down. Their owner was lashing my arms to my sides.

I was dragged across the floor and lowered down the open trapdoor to more waiting female arms. The two native ladies followed and the trapdoor swung shut. Why hadn't I noticed that the table had been moved? I must have seen it but was too concerned about the passages leading outside to worry about the internal one.

I was carried along the passage and into a dimly lit chamber. It was part of the secret passage. I was thinking furiously. How had I been caught? Some of the women must have been outside the locked room when we broke in to rescue George. Some could have been between that room and the Ranee's room but the table would have trapped them. The only place others could have been was the Rajah's entrance. Why hadn't they admitted the men who could have outflanked us? The women in the Rajah's entrance could have moved the table and released the others from behind the gaddi. I was in trouble but the Englishwomen guarding the zenana women were also at risk. There were at least six or seven women with me. If they could get through the passage they might overpower the guards and release their friends.

But my plight was more urgent. What would happen to me? Would I suffer like George?

I was laid down on a mattress on the floor. Then four or five women fell on me. While my gag was removed and replaced several hands covered my mouth. They tore away my bonds and the enclosing silk sack but I was held too tightly to escape. My clothes were stripped off me and I was bound hand and foot. I was naked except for the silken bonds holding me.

A woman sat beside me and lifted my head and shoulders on to her lap. My cheek was pressed against her naked midriff and I could barely see her face past the overhanging breasts. She spoke quietly to me.

"Well, Englishman? What should we do to you? Can you help us?"

I couldn't answer because I was still tightly gagged. She lifted me further and pressed me against her breasts.

She spoke again. "It would be pleasant to find out if you are a better love toy than the Rajah's sons but we have more important matters to consider. Are you willing to discuss them without raising an outcry?"

I looked carefully at her face. She seemed to be serious. Perhaps we could negotiate? I nodded which had the unfortunate side-effect of entering her cleavage. She forced my head further in and then pulled me out again.

"I would like to try an Englishman," she said "but I must think of my people first." She untied my gag. I moved my lips and jaw, easing them.

"What do you mean, your people?" I asked quietly.

"I am the Rajah's second son's wife," she replied. "The Rajah and his heir are deeply committed to the plot against the English. I am afraid that they are misguided and cannot succeed. When they fail you English will take terrible reprisals. We will all suffer for the madness of a few. That I want to prevent. Can you help me to protect those of us who are innocent of plotting?"

"It might be possible but not while you keep me a prisoner," I replied.

"Harold!" I started at the realisation that she knew who I was - "Will you give me your parole as an English Gentleman?"

I thought for a moment. "Of course." I said.

She untied me and the women returned my clothes to me. I felt more embarrassed getting dressed than I had lying naked on her breast. When I had finished I stood up. She stood beside me. She was nearly as tall as I am.

She kissed me on the cheek.

"What was that for?" I asked

"For giving your parole to a woman. Most of our men have a low regard for women." she replied.

"My wife has taught me that women are as important as men." I said

I realised I didn't know her name "I've met your husband, Vishaladeva, but not you. What is your name?"

"They call me Serena," she said "My full name is difficult to say in English."

"Well, Serena, how are we going to help your people? Have you any ideas?"

"Yes. We have kept my husband and his advisors out of the revolt..."

"How?" I interrupted.

"My husband honoured my bed last night. He didn't intend to and unfortunately he found that he couldn't leave it this morning. A message was sent to the Rajah that my husband and his advisors were sick and being tended in his zenana. So they are but not for sickness."

I couldn't contain my curiosity "How was it that all of them were sick?"