N. Francis Xavier
Part XLVI, (Continued from last week)
No one slept in the boat. It was many hours after Cursun slipped into the water and swam towards the shore with powerful strokes. Would he come back? What if he were apprehended and tortured to reveal where he came from? How long should they wait for him? Questions plagued the minds of the men as they waited anxiously for his return.
It was well past midnight when the men spotted a phosphorescent glow moving towards them. It was Cursun. With sigh of relief the men helped him into the boat. Cursun lay on the floor boards for some time, recovering his breath after the long swim. At length he spoke.
“We are in a place called Cuddalore, land of the Tamils. The men we saw in the morning were convicts from the Central Jail. But most of them are mentally deranged or petty criminals. But we shall be easily identified if we enter the town.
“What shall we do then? Should we weigh anchor and move away?” There was despair in the voices of the men. Have come all the way only to be arrested again and sent back to the islands?
“I have made some enquiries,” Cursun continued.
“Just a little towards north lies Pondicherry, a French territory. The British have no jurisdiction there. You remember the ships that used to smuggle rum and guns into Nicobar? They used to come from there. I have spoken the crews once. They said many fugitives from British law find sanctuary there.
“Hoist the sails then. Let’s set sail immediately,” one of the men shouted.
“Not so fast my friend,” Cursun replied. “The sea is full of British ships. The two countries fought a bitter was earlier and are rivals in business. We will be spotted and caught. We must strike out on land.
“What about the boat?” Hemraj spoke finally.
“There’s a river emptying into the sea just ahead. We must enter it now and scuttle the boat. And then we just walk along the sea shore till we reach Pondicherry. So long we don’t use the roads or the railways we will be safe.
“You take the tiller then. Up men! Ship your oars. Give way gently.
Without a word the men took their places on the thwarts and bent their backs. With Cursun at the helm the boat glided gently towards the shore. The high tide took them over the sand bar into the river. They could see a huge bungalow on one side, with many lights. Giving a wide berth to it they approached a point where the water was quite deep. After all the men stepped on shore Cursun and Hemraj let boat drift back into the mid stream. There they knocked the bottom out of the boat with their axe. As the boat sank they swam back to the shore.
There was still a couple of hours time before day break. The men were tired and hungry. But there was no time to lose. In the dim starlight they started walking towards the north, looking at the Big Dipper in the clear sky and finding the Pole star. They bent down and took the sand in their hands. It was the soil of their motherland. They still couldn’t believe they were actually walking on it. Before day break they entered a thick mango grove. Quietly the men separated and found suitable trees to take rest. They will start their trek when the sun goes down again. The ripe mangoes would satisfy their hunger till then. ( To be continued…)
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