The Dilemma/Chapter XL
CHAPTER XL.
But the intimacy was rudely interrupted. One day Kirke received a letter from army headquarters, through the general commanding the station, enclosing an anonymous vernacular petition which had been addressed to the commander-in-chief, in which various irregularities were alleged to have been committed by him in regard to the regimental accounts; and, although it was not intended to take any action on an anonymous petition, it was suggested to be desirable that he should furnish any explanations he thought proper upon the allegations made. Kirke kept the matter from the knowledge of the other officers, although it leaked out through the station staff-office that such a letter had been received; but his suspicions pointed to the ressaldar Futteh Khan as the writer of the petition, some of the more specific allegations in it referring to transactions — principally relating to advances of pay — with which this officer was concerned; while the man, he recollected, had been reprimanded, not to say abused, publicly before the whole regiment one day, just about the time this petition was dated. Sending for the man therefore to his house, he taxed him with the authorship. The ressaldar, although denying it, did so in such a way as to confirm Kirke's suspicions, and to draw down upon him a volley of abuse from his infuriated commanding officer, which the man, instead of receiving quietly as would have been usual, losing his temper in turn, replied to insolently; whereon Kirke put him in arrest, and applied to the major-general for a court-martial to try him for insubordination. The man now sent in another petition, this time in his own name, containing numerous specific accusations against his commandant of irregular transactions in regard to the regimental accounts, improper dealings with the native banker of the regiment, and above all, that he had drawn pay for troopers in excess of the number enlisted, for many months after the regiment was first raised. On this petition being received at headquarters, an order was issued from the adjutant-general's office to Sir Montague Tartar to convene a court of inquiry, composed of the senior officers at the station, who had Colonel Kirke and the regimental records under examination for many days, and called numerous native officers and troopers of the regiment as witnesses. Kirke at first made light of the matter; it was a mere conspiracy of a scoundrel, who of course, after the manner of his race, was ready to swear to anything — a scoundrel whom he should have got rid of long before, and would get rid of now. For although no witnesses were present in the room where the ressaldar had been received by his commandant, the orderlies in the verandah heard the voices in altercation, and on their evidence the court-martial held upon the native officer found him guilty of insubordination, and he was dismissed the service — those not being times, just after the mutiny had been suppressed, for passing over breaches of discipline in the native army. Meanwhile the protracted sitting of the court of inquiry created great excitement among the European community, extending far beyond the station of Mustaphabad. The proceedings of the court were kept secret officially, but tolerably authentic rumours as to their nature leaked out; and while the general sentiment was one of dismay and regret that so distinguished a soldier should be subject to the indignity of inquiry into his conduct, there were not wanting others to remind the public that Colonel Kirke had already once before been in trouble for irregularities of the same sort; and while some people argued that the fact of his having suffered already in this way would naturally make him particularly careful not to commit himself again by a similar error, other critics explained the coincidence of events by the assumed natural propensities of the man. As for Yorke, although he shrank from suspecting his commanding officer of anything like dishonesty, he could not divest himself of an uneasy feeling regarding the regimental accounts, calling to mind the evident disinclination of the former to let them go out of his own hands, and also certain points in them which had come under observation during his examination of the regimental books, and which, although he did not perfectly understand them at the time, seemed now, seen by the light thrown upon them by these accusations, to suggest at least a mystification of facts. But the allegations made were of a kind which it would be almost impossible to prove. The regimental accounts had no doubt been irregularly kept, and there was a want of agreement between the sums charged for troopers' pay at the time of first embodiment, and the corresponding vouchers in the way of muster-rolls; but as Kirke fairly urged, how was it to be expected that they should have been properly kept, by a man who was spending day and night in the saddle, and had so many other things to attend to — among others, to help in saving the empire — besides keeping muster-rolls and cash-accounts? and was it fair to turn round on an officer whose services had been such as his, and call him to account for these matters, and this at the instance of a worthless native who had been dismissed the service? The court evidently thought so too; and although not altogether satisfied with his mode of explaining the transactions under inquiry, which had not tended to make a complicated business clearer, they were disposed on the whole to regard Kirke as an ill-used man, who had been at worst careless under great excuse; and they would have reported to this effect, when another communication was received from army headquarters — a letter from the ex-ressaldar, accusing his late commanding officer of having appropriated jewels captured during the war, instead of making them over to the prize-agents, — which accusation also the court was directed to inquire into.
The members of the court did not attach much importance to this complaint, it being generally supposed that such appropriations and stray plunder had been not infrequent during the war, few persons believing at the time that there would be any formal distribution of prize-money; and the prosecutor's statements on this head would have met with but little serious attention, but for a turn unexpectedly given to the inquiry. Yorke was under examination one day on a matter connected with the regimental accounts, when the president of the court asked him to state what he knew about certain jewels, supposed to have been seized by Colonel Kirke, as it was understood that he also was present at the capture.
Yorke, who did not know precisely with what object the question was put — for the fact of the charge having been made was still kept secret — did not immediately understand what was referred to; but on the matter coming to his recollection, he stated what he knew about it: how the colonel had let the ressaldar take the jewelled dagger found on the prisoner in the palkee, and the trooper the bag of money; while he himself took possession of the little case of jewels. Then, in reply to a question put by a member of the court, Yorke added that, so far as he could judge, the jewels were of some value; but, he continued, "all this, I submit, has nothing to do with the matter; because, whether they were valuable or not, the colonel gave them up to the prize-agent." And then, being pressed by certain questions, Yorke gave an account of what had passed between them on the subject; how he had written to Kirke to express his uneasiness at the retention of the jewels, and that the latter had replied to the effect that he had already made them over to the prize-agent.
Kirke bowed his acknowledgments across the table to Yorke for having thus cleared him from the accusation; but the latter could not help noticing that his commanding officer did not appear quite at his ease. And one of the members observed that what Colonel Kirke had said to Major Yorke was not evidence. The explanation seemed, however, to be generally accepted as satisfactory by the court; but as Yorke was leaving the room, the president asked him if he had the letter still in his possession.
"I really cannot say for certain," replied Yorke, "without examining my papers, whether I have or not; but I apprehend my word may be accepted as sufficient testimony of what took place."
There the matter might have rested, for the members of the court appeared by no means desirous of raking up bygone transactions relating to the war; but whether it was that the prosecutor — for so the ex-ressaldar may be styled — got word of what had happened, or that he was already pressing the same line of accusation, he now put in an affidavit from a native banker who had been employed by the prize-agents as custodian of the jewellery made over to him, to the effect that he had not received any jewels answering to the description of those in question; while the prize-agents, who were now residing in distant parts of India, in reply to the question now addressed to them by letter from army headquarters, stated specifically that no such articles had been delivered up to them by Colonel Kirke. This correspondence occupied some days; and meanwhile the prosecutor had submitted another petition to the court, to the effect that he could produce the banker as a witness, with whom some of the jewels had been deposited by the colonel sahib, as security for a loan of money.
On the evening of the day on which Yorke had made his statement before the court of inquiry, Kirke came over to his house, ostensibly to talk over some regimental business, but obviously with some other purpose, it being unusual to discuss such business anywhere but in the orderly-room at the mess-house, or at his own house. Moreover, the relations of Kirke with his officers were now always somewhat constrained; for the absorbing topic of the inquiry could not be referred to, and those of them who knew most of regimental affairs could not help feeling an uneasy suspicion that their commandant had not done his best to make his explanation clear of the transactions connected with the accounts under investigation.
At last Kirke, abruptly changing the subject of conversation, said, "By-the-by, what made you go out of the way to say anything to the court about there being any written correspondence between us regarding that jewellery business?"
This question, and the way it was put, opened Yorke's eyes to Kirke's character more than anything which had gone before. He did not know, except from rumour, how far the ex-ressaldar's accusations had tended to criminate his commanding officer, for the proceedings had been confidential, and each witness only knew so much as could be gleaned from his own examination: but he now saw clearly enough that Kirke would like to repudiate the correspondence altogether. It seemed useless, therefore, to reply, that his only motive was to clear the other from the suspicion of having retained the jewels; and he felt, indeed, that had he known so much at the time as he knew then, he would have tried to avoid saying anything about the letter. He replied, therefore —
"I could not do less than give a straightforward answer to a plain question."
"Of course not," said the other, with a sort of sneer implied in his tone. Then, after an awkward pause he added, "Perhaps you can show me the letter if you have got it — my memory on the subject is not so good as yours appears to be."
"Certainly," replied Yorke; "I will look for it, and if I find it, I will send it you — that is, a copy of it." He added these words from a conviction, suddenly forced on him by Kirke's eager manner, that the original letter would not be safe in his possession.
"Very good," said Kirke, rising from his chair with some heat; "then perhaps you would be good enough to search at once, and then to send me this copy;" and laying some stress on the last word, he strode out of the house, and, mounting the horse which was waiting for him, rode rapidly away.
Yorke at once proceeded to examine the contents of his dispatch-box, all the papers and letters which he had thought worth preserving since he entered the service. The contents were not heavy, his correspondence not being voluminous, and were soon examined; but although the impression on his mind was clear that he had not destroyed the note, it was not to be found; and accordingly, he wrote a few lines to Kirke to say that he had not been able to find the note among his papers, and concluded that it must have been lost or destroyed.
Two days afterwards he was again summoned to attend the court of inquiry which was still sitting at the mess-house of the regiment, when the president put the following question to him: —
"You stated. Major Yorke, when last under examination, that you had received a note from your commanding officer, Colonel Kirke, dated on or about the 30th April 1859, to the effect that he had made over the jewels taken from the body of a rebel to the prize-agents. Can you produce the letter for the information of the court?"
Yorke replied that he had searched for the letter, but had been unable to find it.
"Then do you wish to make any statement to the court with reference to the accompanying document?" and so saying, the president placed a letter in Yorke's hands.
It was from Kirke, written the previous day, addressed to the president of the court, and to the effect that with reference to a statement made to the court on a previous occasion by Major Yorke, regarding the receipt of a letter from him, Colonel Kirke, relative to the disposal of the jewels, he had to state that Major Yorke must be labouring under some extraordinary hallucination, to put the most generous construction on his conduct which it could be made to bear, for that no such letter had ever been written by him.
On reading this letter Yorke understood for the first time how matters stood with his unfortunate commandant; everything that had before seemed doubtful or confused now became clear. This letter was evidently the last resource of a desperate man.
Yorke remained silent for a space, the letter in his hand, and then returning it to the president said that he had nothing further to state at present. Kirke's case now was bad indeed, but he would at least do nothing to make it worse.
It was soon after this, and while the court were still deliberating, that the bankers' affidavits and the prize-agents' letters already referred to were received. Kirke's object in denying that he had written the letter was now apparent, and the report of the court was much more unfavourable than it would have been if the inquiry had been closed at an earlier stage. There was extreme disinclination at headquarters to take proceedings against so distinguished an officer as Colonel Kirke; but it was felt that even if the other matters could have been condoned in consideration of his eminent services, the suspicion of falsehood now attaching to him could not be passed over. General Tartar received orders to place him under arrest, and the judge-advocate-general of the division was directed to frame charges against him on all the different allegations.
Hitherto the proceedings had been nominally secret, although the nature of them had naturally leaked out; but there was now no longer any concealment about them, and the coming "Kirke court-martial" occupied public attention fully as much as the advance on Pekin, and was discussed in every station from one end of India to the other; and while there was a general sentiment of regret that so dashing a soldier should have fallen into such trouble, there were not wanting prophets after the event to say that it was no more than what they had expected from the man's antecedents; while most people felt that, even if acquitted, the very fact that it should have been necessary to bring him to trial must leave an indelible stain on his character. The list of charges was indeed a formidable one: drawing pay for men not on the muster-roll; withholding prize property; and lastly, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, in having stated in a letter, and so forth, he knowing the same statement to be false.
Happily for poor Olivia, the state of her health during the course of these proceedings prevented her from going into society, and so she escaped the allusions and questionings, and possibly the slights, which her husband's present position might have occasioned. She had indeed but a very imperfect knowledge of what was going on, for latterly she had seen no one but her husband, who professed to make light of the inquiry; and although it was plain to her, notwithstanding his efforts at concealment, that he was labouring under great anxiety, she ascribed it to the cause he assigned — the worry arising out of the misconduct of one of his native officers. The birth of her baby occurred before he was placed under arrest, and, confined to her room during a slow recovery, she did not know what otherwise could not have escaped her notice, that there were no longer any orderly troopers in attendance about the house, while it seemed only natural that during her illness her husband should be very much at home.
No one felt more keen regrets for Kirke than his second in command, although no one know better how strong was the evidence against him. They had had no private communication since Kirke's visit to him, the overtures of assistance which Yorke made having now been curtly repulsed, the former professing to consider himself an injured man. Yorke did not know any more than others what was the precise nature of the evidence to be brought forward on the other charges, and he cherished a hope that perhaps he might be allowed to refuse to give evidence before the court, in which case the charge of falsehood would break down; but he had not ventured to consult any third person on the subject, fearing to criminate Kirke still more by divulging the facts. Thus the time wore on; the officers of the regiment by tacit consent avoiding when together all reference to the matter which almost exclusively occupied their thoughts, and all the news he got of the Kirkes being by inquiries through the servants of Olivia's progress, when a paragraph appeared in one of the local newspapers reflecting upon himself, and which was of course shown to him at once by a good-natured friend. It was in the form of a newsletter from the local correspondent at Mustaphabad — a species of inane contributions common to Anglo-Indian newspapers — full as usual of the absorbing topic of conversation, and ending with the following paragraph: "The last and most serious charge against the gallant colonel is that of making a false statement to his second in command, to the effect that he had handed over the jewels to the prize-agents. But it is understood that the only evidence on this charge is the verbal statement of the latter; and as the gallant major in question, who is now acting commandant of the regiment, will probably succeed to the permanent appointment if the charge be sustained, ill-natured persons might say that he has a strong interest in maintaining his point. However, as the matter is sub judice, I, of course, Mr. Editor, abstain from all comment upon it; but it is clearly what the knowing ones call a very pretty imbroglio, for apparently one of the two distinguished officers in question must have stated 'the thing that is not.' But on this delicate point I will of course express no opinion myself."
On reading this slanderous letter, Yorke perceived for the first time the bearing of the case as it affected himself. The court of inquiry, indeed, knew the manner in which his evidence had been offered, that it had been given in ignorance of the case against Kirke, and that the statement about the letter was made in perfect good faith, in view of clearing his commanding officer from the scrape he had fallen into; but the public, with their imperfect knowledge of the facts, might take a different view of his conduct, and be disposed to adopt that which the unhappy man himself in his desperation had ventured to insinuate was the real one. No doubt there would be plenty of people to put the same malicious construction on his conduct as had this scoundrel of a news-writer. If Kirke were acquitted of the charge, then would not he be virtually accused of having made a false statement? And would not Kirke himself endeavour to give that colour to the case? And to the grief which Yorke had felt throughout these proceedings, both on Kirke's account and his wife's, there was now added a feeling of shame and indignation on his own account. Is it possible, he thought, as his cheeks tingled, that I am labouring under some horrible hallucination, and that it is I, and not Kirke, who has told the he? But no — it was no dream; and what is more, I have a distinct recollection of keeping the letter by me for a time, and none of destroying it. So saying to himself, he opened his despatch-box and again turned over the contents. But again without result; pay-certificates, commissions, receipted bills, extracts from newspapers referring to the actions in which the regiment had been engaged, and last but not least, the little packet of Olivia's letters, written during the campaign. There, in its well-worn cover, was the last she had ever sent him, the last element with which he had built up the unstable, foundationless structure of his foolish hopes. He had put these letters aside on hearing of her engagement to Kirke, with the resolution of never opening them again to read anew the tale of his infatuation and self-deception; but as he looked at the packet now, he took up this last letter and drew the enclosure from the envelope, contrasting in bitterness of heart his present mood with the different feeling that formerly possessed him when he was wont to perform that frequent operation. As he did so, another small note fell from under his fingers on to the table. It was Kirke's missing letter — short, and concluding with the damning statement on which so much depended.
The whole circumstances of the case now came back to his recollection. He had always carried Olivia's latest letter about with him, to read over and over again at leisure moments; and he remembered now that the envelope of Kirke's letter, having been overgummed, had been much torn in opening, and he had thrown it away and placed his note inside the envelope of Olivia's letter. There it had lain ever since.
Too late now to repair his mistake; but he must at least acquaint Kirke with his discovery. There had been no communication between them since the day of Kirke's being placed under arrest, and Yorke felt all the embarrassment of their relations as he wrote, "My dear colonel, I have just found your note to me about which this unhappy trouble has arisen. It was inside one received from Mrs. Kirke, where I put it at the time of receipt. I opened the letter accidentally just now, and it fell out. Can nothing be done to withdraw from the unfortunate mistake you have made? Ever yours truly."