Note 03 — Chapter XIV · TELLS OF A VOYAGE ACCOMPLISHED FROM SCYLLA TO CHARYBDIS.

“Your slave has settled everything, Beebee,” she said, so eager as not to wait for me to address her first. “There’s but one thing fallen out different from what we planned, and that is, that Mr George is departed with his new-married lady to his house in Dacca, but his brother, Mr Gregory, who received my message instead, recognised in me the healer of his father, and will entertain us when we escape, and provide for our forwarding to Dacca, where you’ll questionless be able to obtain shelter on board a Europe ship, lying hid in Mr George’s house until the chance offer itself. The Jemmautdar and his soldiers believe you dead, for I departed so far from my duty as your attendant as to permit the chief rascal to peep in at the door, and see you lying stretched and stiff upon your bed, and he fancies that I landed when we reached Santipore merely in order to hire some hallicores”[03] (these are persons of low cast), “to carry away your body. In that he was right, Beebee, but those persons will be servants of Mr Gregory in disguise, and they will carry you to the Armenians’ garden on the outskirts of the place, where they bury such Christians as die here. There a palanqueen will be in waiting, with relays of bearers, which will set off at once with you and your slave, to carry us to another branch of the river, where a boat will be ordered to be ready on which we may drift down the stream to Dacca. This will mean an increase of the length of our voyage, but my Beebee won’t care for that, since ’tis to end in freedom.”