The Rajah's Treasure

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Raja's Treasure by H. G. Wells. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Read by CHRISTA Zeleski. The Rajah's Treasure, between Jehun and Bimabur,
and the Himalayan slopes, and between the jungles and the

(00:23):
higher country where the pines and deodars are gathered together,
ruled the petty Rajah of whose wonderful treasure I am telling.
Very great was the treasure people said, for the Rajah
had prospered all his days. He had found Mindepor a village,
and behold it was a city below his fort of
unhewn stone. The flat roofed HUDs of Mutt had multiplied,

(00:44):
and now there sprang up houses with upstairs rooms. And
the place which had once boasted no more than one
benign a man engendered a bazaar in the midst of it.
As a fat oyster secretes a pearl, and the holy
place up the river prospered, and the road of passes
was made safe. Merchants and fakirs multiplied about the wells.
Men came and went twice, even white men from the

(01:06):
plain on missions to the people over beyond the diodars,
and the streets of the town were ever denser with
poultry and children and little dogs dyed yellow, and with
all the multitudinous rich odors of human increase. As at last,
at the crown of his prosperity, this legend of his
treasures began. He was a portly, yellow faced man, with

(01:27):
a long black beard, now steadily growing gray, thick lips,
and shifty eyes. He was pious, very pious in his
daily routine, and swift and unaccountable in his actions. None
dared withstand him to his face, even in little things. Galumshah,
his vizier, was but a servant, a carrier of orders,

(01:47):
and samud Sing his master of horse, but a driller
of soldiers. They were tools, he would tell them outright
in his pride of power, staves in his hand that
he could break at his will. He was childless, and
his cut the youth Azim Khan feared him, and only
in the remotest recesses of his heart dared to wish
the Rajah would presently die and make away for the scions.

(02:10):
It would be hard to say. When the first rumor
spread that the Rajah of little Mindapoor was making a horde,
no one knew how it began or where, perhaps from
merchants of whom he had bought. It began long before
the days of the safe. It was said that rubies
had been bought and hidden away, and then not only rubies,
but ornaments of gold, and then pearls and diamonds from

(02:30):
Golconda and all manner of precious stones. Even the Deputy
Commissioner at Alipore had heard of it. At last the
story re entered the palace at Mindepor itself, and Azim Khan,
who was the Raja's cousin and his heir and nominally
his commander in chief, and Galimshah, the Chief Minister, talked
it over one with another inattentive way. He has something new,

(02:54):
said Galamshaw querulously. He has something new, and he is
keeping it from me. Azi Khan watched him cunningly. I
have told you what I have heard, he said. For
my own part, I know nothing. He goes to and
fro musing and humming to himself, said galem meditatively, as
one who thinks of a pleasure more rubies, they are saying,

(03:16):
said Azim dreamily, and repeated, as if for his own pleasure. Rubies.
For Azim was the heir. Especially is it? Since that
englishman came, said Galem, three months ago, a big old man,
not wrinkled as an old man should be, but red
and with red hair streaking his gray and with tight skin,
and a big body sticking out before so an elephant

(03:37):
of a man, a great quivering mud bank of a man,
who laughed mightily, so that the people stopped and listened
in the street. He came, he laughed, and as he
went away we heard them laugh together. Well, said Isim.
He was a diamond merchant, perhaps, or a dealer in rubies.
Do Englishmen deal in such things? Would I had seen him,

(03:57):
said Azim. He took golda, said Galum. Both were silent
for a space, and the purring noise of the wheel
of the upper well, and the chatter of voices about it,
rising and falling, made a pleasant sound in the air.
Since the Englishman went, said Galem. He has been different.
He hides something from me, something in his robe, rubies.
What else can it be? He has not buried it,

(04:20):
said Azim. He will then, he will want to dig
it up again and look at it, said Galem, for
he was a man of experience. I go softly, sometimes
I almost come upon him. Then he starts. He grows
old and nervous, said Azim. And there was a pause
before the English came, said Galum, looking at the rings
upon his fingers, as he recurred to his constant preoccupation.

(04:42):
There were no rajahs nervous and old. That I say
was even before the coming of the safe. It came
in a packing case. Such a case it was as
had never been seen before on all the slopes of
the Himalayan mountains. It was an elephant's burden. Even on
the plain, it was dazed, drying near and nearer. At Alapore,
crowds went to see it pass upon the railway. Afterwards

(05:05):
elephants and then a great multitude of men dragged it
up the hills. And this great case, being opened in
the hall of audience, revealed within itself a monstrous iron box,
like no other box that had ever come to the city.
It had been made, so the story went by necromancers
in England expressly to the order of the Rajah, that
he might keep his treasure therein and sleep in peace.

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It was so hard that the hardest files powdered upon
its corners, and so strong that cannon fired point blank
at it would have produced no effect upon it. And
it locked with a magic lock. There was a word,
and none knew the word, but the Rajah. With that
word and a little key that hung about his neck,
one could open the lock, but without it none could do. So.

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The Rajah caused this safe to be built into the
wall of his palace, in a little room beyond the
hall of audience. He superintended the building up of it
with jealous eyes, and thereafter after he would go thither
day by day, once at least every day, coming back
with brighter eyes. He goes to count his treasure, said Golamshaw,
standing beside the empty dais. And in those days it

(06:12):
was that the Rajah began to change. He who had
been cunning and subtle, became choleric and outspoken. His judgment
grew harsh, and a taint that seemed to all about
him to be assuredly the taint of avarice crept into
his axe. Moreover, which inclined Glimshaw to hopefulness. He seemed
to take a dislike to Asim Khan. Once, indeed, he

(06:32):
made a kind of speech in the hall of audience.
Therein he declared many times over, in a peculiarly husky voice,
husky yet full of conviction, that Azim Khan was not
worth a half anna, not worth a half anna to
any human soul. In these latter days of the Raja's decline. Moreover,
when merchants came, he would go aside with them secretly

(06:53):
into the little room, and speak low, so that those
in the hall of audience, howsoever they strained their ears,
could hear nothing of his speech. These things, Glamshaw and
Azim Khan, and Samad Singh, who had joined their councils,
treasured in their hearts. It is true about the treasure,
said Azim. They talked of it round the well of
the travelers. Even the merchants from Tibet had heard the

(07:13):
tale and had come this way with jewels of price.
And afterwards they went secretly telling no one, And ever
and again it was said, came a Negro mute from
the plains with secret parcels for the Rajah. Another stone
was the rumor that went round the city. The bee
makes hordes, said Azim Khan, the Rajah's heir, sitting in
the upper chamber of Galamshaw. Therefore we will wait awhile,

(07:36):
for Azim was more coward than traitor. At last, there
were men in the Dekan even who could tell you
particulars of the rubies and precious stones that the Rajah
had gathered together. But so circumspect was the Rajah that
Azim Khan and Golimshaw had never even set eyes on
the glittering heaps that they knew were accumulating in the safe.
The Rajah always went into the little room alone, and

(07:58):
even then he locked the door of the little room
and had a couple of locks before he went to
the safe and used the magic word. How all the
ministers and officers and guards listened and looked at one
another as the door of the room behind the curtain closed.
The Rajah changed, indeed in these days, not only in
the particulars of his rule, but in his appearance. He

(08:19):
is growing old, how fast he grows old. The time
is almost ripe, whispered Samud Singh. The Raja's hand became tremulous,
his step was now sometimes unsteady, and his memory curiously defective.
He would come back out from the treasure room, and
his hand would tighten fiercely on the curtain, and he
would stumble on the steps of the dais. His eyesight fails,

(08:42):
said gollem See his turban is askew. He is sleepy
even in the forenoon, before the heat of the day.
His judgments are those of a child. It was a
painful sight to see a man so suddenly old and enfeebled,
still ruling men. He may go on yet a score
of years, said gollom Shaw. Should a ruler horde riches,
said cheer Ali in the guard room, and leave his

(09:04):
soldiers unpaid? That was the beginning of the end. It
was the thought of the treasure went over the soldiers,
even as it did the molahs and the eunuchs. Why
had the Rajah not buried in some unthinkable place, as
his father had done before him, and killed the diggers
with his hand he has hoarded, said Samud with a chuckle.
For the old Rajah had once pulled his beard only

(09:26):
to pay for his own undoing, and in order to
ensure confidence, Golumshaw went beyond the truth, perhaps, and gave
a sketchy account of the treasures to this man, and
that even as a casual eye witness might do. Then
suddenly and swiftly, the Palace revolution was accomplished. When the
lonely old Rajah was killed, a shot was to be
fired from the harm lattice. Bugles were to be blown,

(09:48):
and the sapoys were to turn out in the square
before the palace and fire a volley in the air.
The murder was done in the dark, save for a
little red lamp that burnt in the corner. Azim knelt
on the body and held up the way beard and
cut the throat wide and deep to make sure it
was so easy. Why had he waited so long? And then,
with his hands covered with warm blood, he sprang up

(10:10):
eagerly Rajah at last, and followed Gullum and Samute and
the eunuchs down the long, faintly moonlit passage towards the
Hall of Audience. As they did so, the crack of
a rifle sounded far away, and after a pause came
the first awaking noises of the town. One of the
eunuchs had an iron bar, and Samud carried a pistol

(10:31):
in his hand. He fired into the locks of the
treasure room and erect them, and the eunuchs smashed the Dorian.
Then they all rushed in together, none standing aside for Azim.
It was dark, and the second eunuch went reluctantly to
get a torch, in fear lest his fellow murderer should
open the safe in his absence. But he need have
had no fear. The cardinal event of that night is

(10:52):
the triumphant vindication of the advertised merits of Chob's unrivaled safes.
The tumult that occurred between the mind the poor sepoys
and the people need not concern us. The people loved
not the new Rajah. Let that suffice. The conspirators got
the key from round the dead Raja's neck and tried
a multitude of the magic words of the English that
Samad Singh knew, even such words as kemeep and gorblimi

(11:17):
in vain. In the morning, the safe in the treasure
room remained intact and defiant. The woodwork about it smashed
to splinters, and great chunks of stone knocked out of
the wall, dents abundantly scattered over its impregnable door, and
a dust of files below. And the shifty Galum had
to explain the matter to the soldiers and molas as
best he could. This was an extremely difficult thing to do,

(11:40):
because in no kind of business is prompt cash so
necessary as in the revolutionary line. The state of affairs
for the next few days in Mindapoor was exceedingly strained.
One fact stands out prominently that Azim Khan was hopelessly feeble.
The soldiers would not at first believe in the exemplary
integrity of the safe and reputation insisted in the most

(12:01):
occidental manner in verifying the new Rajah's statements. Moreover, the
populace clamored, and then by a naked man running, came
the alarming intelligence that the new Deputy Commissioner at Alapour
was coming headlong and with soldiers to verify the account
of the revolution. Galomshaw and Samad Singh had sent him
in the name of Azim. The new deputy commissioner was

(12:22):
a raw young man, partly obscured by a pith helmet
and chalk full of zeal and the desire for distinction,
and he had heard of the treasure he was going.
He said to sift the matter thoroughly. On the arrival
of this distressing intelligence. There was a hasty and informal
Council of State, at which Azim was not present. A
counter revolution was arranged, and all that Azim ever learned

(12:45):
of it was the sound of a footfall behind him
and the cold touch of a pistol barrel on the neck.
When the Commissioner arrived, that dexterous statesman Galam Shaw and
that honest soldier Samad Singh were ready to receive him,
and they had two corpses, several witnesses, and a neat
little story. In addition to Azim, they had shot an
unpopular officer of them into poor sepoys. They told the

(13:07):
commissioner how Azim had plodded against the Rajah and raised
a military revolt, and how the people who loved the
old Rajah, even as Galimshaw and Samad Singh loved him,
had quelled the revolt, and how peace was restored again.
And Galem explained how Azim had fought for life even
in the hall of audience, and how he Gollum, had
been wounded in the struggle, and how Samud had shot

(13:28):
Azim with his own hand, and the deputy Commissioner, being
weak in his dialect, had swallowed it all all round
the Deputy Commissioner, in the minds of the people at
palace and the city hung the true story of the case,
as it seemed to Galamshaw like an avalanche ready to fall.
And yet the Deputy Commissioner did not learn of it
for four days. And Galem and Samud went to and fro,

(13:49):
whispering and pacifying, promising to get at the treasure as
soon as the Deputy Commissioner could be got out of
the way. And as they went to and fro, so
also the report went to and fro that Gallum and
Samoud had opened the safe and hidden the treasure, and
closed and locked it again. And bright eyes watched them
curiously and hungrily, even as they had watched the Rajah
in the days that were gone. The city is no

(14:12):
longer an abiding place for you and me, said Galimshaw,
in a moment of clear insight. They are mad about
this treasure. Golconda would not satisfy them. The Deputy Commissioner,
when he heard their story, did indeed make knowing inquiries,
as knowing as the knowingness of the English goes, in
order to show himself not too credulous but he elicited nothing.

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He had heard tales of treasure, had the commissioner, and
of a great box. So had Galem and Samud, But
where it was they could not tell. They too had
certainly heard tales of treasure, many tales. Indeed, perhaps there
was treasure. Had the Deputy Commissioner had the scientific turn
of mind, he would have observed that a strong smell
of gunpowder still hung about the audience chamber, more than

(14:56):
was explained by the narrative told him. And had he
explored the jail and apartments, he would presently have discovered
the small treasure room, with its smashed locks, and the
ceiling now dependent ruins, and amid the ruins, the safe
bulging perilously from the partly collapsed walls, but still unconquered,
and with its treasures unexplored. Also, it is a fact

(15:17):
that Golamshaw's bandage hand was not the consequence of heroism
in combat, but of certain private blasting operations too amateurishly prosecuted.
So you have the situation Deputy Commissioner installed in the palace,
sending incorrect information to headquarters and awaiting instructions. The safe
as safe as ever Assistant conspirators grumbling louder and louder,

(15:40):
and Golam and Samad getting more and more desperate lest
this voice should reach the deputy's ears. Then came the
night when the Commissioner heard a filing and a tapping,
and being a brave man, rose and went forthwith alone
and very quietly across the Hall of Audience, pistol in hand,
in search of the sound. Across the hall, a light

(16:00):
came from an open door that had been hidden in
the day by a curtain. Stopping silently in the darkness
of the utter apartment, he looked into the treasure room,
and there stood Golam with his arm in a sling,
holding a lantern, while Samud fumbled with pieces of wire
and some little keys. They were without boots, but otherwise
they were dressed ready for a journey. The Deputy Commissioner was,

(16:22):
for a government official, an exceedingly quick witted man. He
slipped back in the darkness again, and within five minutes
Golem and Samoud, still fumbling, heard footsteps hurrying across the
Hall of Audience, and saw a flicker of light. Out
went their lantern with a groan because of a bandaged arm,
but it was too late. In another moment, Lieutenant Earle,
in pajamas and boots, with a brace of revolvers and

(16:45):
a couple of rifles behind him, stood in the doorway
of the treasure room, and Golom and Samoud were caught.
Samoud clicked his pistol and then threw it down, for
it was three to one, Galum being not only a
bandaged man, but fundamentally a man of peace. When the
intelligence of this treachery filtered from the palace into the town,
there was an outbreak of popular feeling, and a dozen

(17:06):
officious persons set out to tell the Deputy Commissioner the
true connection between Galum Samud and the death of the Rajah.
The first to penetrate to the Deputy Commissioner's presence was
an angry faker from the colony that dwelt about the
holy place, and after a patient hearing, the Deputy Commissioner
extracted the thread of the narrative from the fabric of
curses in which the Holy Man presented it. This is

(17:28):
most singular, said the Deputy Commissioner to the Lieutenant standing
in the treasure room, which looked as though the palace
had been bombarded and regarding the battered but still inviolable
safe here we seem to have the key of the
whole position. Key, said the Lieutenant. It's the key they
haven't got. Curious mingling of the new and old, said
the Deputy Commissioner. Patent safe and a horde send to

(17:52):
Alipore and wire chobs, I suppose, said the lieutenant. The
Deputy Commissioner signified that was his intention, and they set
guards before and behind and all about the treasure room
until the proper instructions about the lock should come. So
it was that the Pax Britannica solemnly took possession of
the Rajah's horde. And men in Simla heard the anews

(18:14):
and envied the Deputy Commissioner his adventure with all their hearts,
for his promptitude and decision was a matter of praise,
and they said that Mindapoort would certainly be annexed and
added to the district over which he ruled. Only a
fat old man named mac Turk, living alone in Alipore,
a big man with a noisy, quivering laugh and a
secret trade with certain native potentates, did not hear the news,

(18:37):
excepting only the news of the murder of the Rajah
and the departure of the Deputy Commissioner. For several days
he heard nothing of the disposition of the treasure, an
unfortunate thing, since, among other things, he had sold the
Rajah his safe, and may even have known the word
by which the lock was opened. The Deputy Commissioner had
theatrical tastes. These he gratified, under the excuse that display was,

(19:00):
above all things necessary in dealing with Orientals. He imprisoned
his four malefactors theatrically, and when the instructions came from Chobs,
he had the safe lugged into the Hall of Audience
in order to open it with more effect. The commissioner
sat on the dais while the engineer worked at the
safe on the crimson steps. In this central space was

(19:20):
stretched a large white cloth. It reminded the Deputy Commissioner
of a picture he had seen of Alexander of Damascus
receiving the treasures of Darius. It is gold, said one
bystander to another. There was a sound of chinking as
it brought the safe in. My brother was among those
who hauled The engineer clicked the lock. Every eye in

(19:41):
the Hall of Audience grew brighter and keener, excepting the
eyes of the Deputy Commissioner. He felt the dignity of
his responsibilities, and sat upon the dais, looking as much
like the pack's Britannica as possible. Holy smoke, said the engineer,
and slammed safe again. A murmur of exclamations ran round
the hall, every one asking everyone else what they had seen.

(20:02):
An asp said some one. Deputy commissioner lost his imperturbability.
What is it? He said, springing to his feet. The
engineer leant across the safe and whispered two words, something
indistinct and with a blasphemous adjective in front. What, said
the deputy commissioner. Sharply glass, said the engineer, in a
bitter whisper. Broken bottles undreds, Let me see, said the

(20:25):
deputy commissioner, losing all his dignity. Scotch if I'm not mistaken,
said the engineer, sniffing curiously. Curse it, said the deputy commissioner,
and looked up to meet a multitude of ironical eyes.
Er the assembly is dismissed, said the deputy commissioner. What
a fool he must have looked, wheezed mc Turk. Who
did not like the deputy commissioner. What a fool he

(20:47):
must have looked, simply enough, said mc Turk, when you
know how it came about. But how did it come about,
asked the stationmaster. Secret drinking, said mc Terk. Bourbon whiskey.
I taught him how to take it myself, but he
didn't dare let on that he was doing it. Poor
old chap. Minda Pour is one of the most fanatically
Mahometan states in the hills, you see. And he always

(21:09):
was a secretive kind of chap, and given to doing
things by himself. So he got that safe to hide
it in and keep the bottles broke him up to pack.
I s'pose when it got too full. Lord, I might
have known when people spoke of his treasure. I never
thought of putting that in the safe and the bourbon together,
But how plain it is, and what a sulfur Parkinson
pounded glass the accumulation of years. Lord, I'd a given

(21:33):
a couple of stone off my weight to see him
open that safe. End of the Rajah's treasure