The Waverley novels, by Sir Walter Scott, complete in 12 vol., printed from the latest English ed., embracing the author's last corrections, prefaces & notes.

536 WAVERLEY NOVELS.
the ripple of the ocean, when distorted by the course of a shark holding its
way near the surface. Sadhu drew his sabre and rushed forward in that
direction; the rest of the party remained motionless until roused by a short
roar of agony. They then plunged into the jungle with their drawn weapons,
where they speedily found Sadhu Sing holding in his arms the lifeless corpse
of his bride, where a little farther lay the body of the tiger, slain by such
a blow over the neck as desperation itself could alone have discharged.The brideless bridegroom would permit none to interfere with his sorrow.
He dug a grave for his Mora, and erected over it the rude tomb they saw,
and never afterwards left the spot. The beasts of prey themselves seemed
to respect or dread the extremity of his sorrow. His friends brought him
food and water from the nullah, but he neither smiled nor showed any
mark of acknowledgment, unless when they brought him flowers to deck
the grave of Mora. Four or five years, according to the guide, had passed
away, and there Sadhu Sing still remained among the trophies of his grief
and his vengeance, exhibiting all the symptoms of advanced age, though
still in the prime of youth. The tale hastened the travellers from their
resting-place; the Vakeel because it reminded him of the dangers of the
jungle, and Hartley because it coincided too well with the probable fate of
his beloved, almost within the grasp of a more formidable tiger than that
whose skeleton lay beside Sadhu Sing.
It was at the mud fort already mentioned that the travellers received the
first accounts of the progress of the Begum and her party, by a Peon (or
foot-soldier) who had been in their company, but was now on his return to
the coast. They had travelled, he said, with great speed, until they ascended
the Ghauts, where they were joined by a party of the Begum's own forces;
and he and others, who had been brought from Madras as a temporary
escort, were paid and dismissed to their homes. After this, he understood
it was the purpose of the Begum Mootee Mahul, to proceed by slow marches
and frequent halts, to Bangalore, the vicinity of which place she did not
desire to reach until Prince Tippoo, with whom she desired an interview,
should have returned from an expedition towards Vandicotta, in which he
had lately been engaged.
From the result of his anxious enquiries, Hartley had reason to hope,
that though Seringapatam was seventy-five miles more to the eastward than
Bangalore, yet, by using diligence, he might have time to throw himself at
the feet of Hyder, and beseech his interposition, before the meeting betwixt
Tippoo and the Begum should decide the fate of Menie Gray. On the other
hand, he trembled as the Peon told him that the Begum's Bukshee, or General, who had travelled to Madras with her in disguise, had now assumed
the dress and character belonging to his rank, and it was expected he was
to be honoured by the Mahomedan Prince with some high office of dignity.
With still deeper anxiety, he learned that a palanquin, watched with sedulous
care by the slaves of Oriental jealousy, contained, it was whispered, a Feringi, or Frankish woman, beautiful as a Houri, who had been brought from
England by the Begum, as a present to Tippoo. The deed of villany was
therefore in full train to be accomplished; it remained to see whether by
diligence on Iartley's side, its course could be interrupted.
When this eager vindicator of betrayed innocence arrived in the capital
of Hyder, it may be believed that he consumed no time in viewing the
temple of the celebrated Vishnoo, or in surveying the splendid Gardens
called Loll-bang, which were the monument of IIyder's magnificence, and
now hold his mortal remains. On the contrary, he was no sooner arrived
in the city, than he hastened to the principal Mosque, having no doubt that
he was there most likely to learn some tidings of Barak el HIadgi. IIe approached accordingly the sacred spot, and as to enter it would have cost a
Feringi his life, he employed the agency of a devout Mussulman to obtain
information concerning the person whom he sought. IIe was not long in