Hussein, An Entertainment
Patrick O'Brian
 Hussein's mother dies in childbirth, and he is reared in the mahout trade by his father and grandfather. He learns the hathi-tongue, which is the private language mahouts use to bid their elephants, and grows up among a group of mahouts employed by the Indian Government's Public Works Department. A cholera epidemic strikes down his father and grandfather, and Hussein goes to live with his uncle Mustapha, his wife and three sons. Also in the mahout trade, Hussein's uncle is devoted to Islamic scriptures. He teaches Hussein to read, which places him in a select few among his class. Having traveled with his uncle and family to Rajkot, Hussein is recommended as a mahout to carry Gill, the "Stant Sahib," on the back of his uncle's elephant for a hunting expedition. The three are attacked and chased by a ferocious pack of wild dogs in what the Times Literary Supplement called the best adventure in the book. In finally escaping, they burst into a thieves' village. Gill, who is the chief of police, captures and returns to justice a notorious band of thieves with Hussein's help. That evening Gill overhears Hussein bragging of the feat to his family and friends, changing details to bring himself credit, and kindly allows the youth his moments of glory. Hussein's aunt and uncle die young, and Hussein must survive on his own. About 16 years old and still in the mahout trade, he inherits his uncle's responsibility for the elephant named Jehangir Bahadur in the town of Haiderabad. At this time in his life Hussein falls in love with a well-off young woman named Sashiya, which embroils him with a rival, Kadir Baksh. Hussein pays a fakir to place a curse upon Kadir Baksh, which causes the young man to die; and his family swears vengeance upon Hussein. This danger forces the young man to flee. After promising the elephant Jehangir he will return, Hussein sets out to live by his wits. Eased in this direction by the fakir he becomes an assistant to Feroze Khan, a man who practices the arts of snake charming and storytelling. Feroze Khan earns a living by following regiments and entertaining them. His tour de force involves display of a white cobra. Unknown to Hussein, he also gathers secret intelligence. Eventually the young man becomes suspicious of his movements when it becomes apparent that Feroze Khan has friends wherever they travel. Spying leads to Feroze Khan's murder in Peshawar, and Hussein resolves to put into practice the lessons he has learned about storytelling and snake charming. Succeeding in both pursuits, Hussein enhances his snake charming by buying additional snakes and a mongoose from an acquaintance of Feroze Khan's whom he accidentally meets. He learns to perform a scam for seeming to rid a house of dangerous snakes by bribing the houseservants and employing his mongoose. When he follows another regiment in the rainy season, the leaders must send for elephants to pull their cannons from the mud. One of the elephants which arrives is his beloved Jehangir. Hussein has alienated the chief mahout and is forbidden to rejoin the service. His attempts to regain his relationship with Jehangir lead to a severe beating for Hussein. Jehangir lifts the sleeping youth onto his back, bursts his shackles, and deserts the service. Failing to dissuade Jehangir from this course, Hussein accepts the desertion and determines to hide. When it is safe to do so, he plans to wander as a private mahout with an elephant and perform odd jobs which come their way. After adventures, Hussein and Jehangir reach the village of Laghat. Here Hussein buys fields with a tumbledown house. His dream is to prosper as a farmer, then send for Sashiya. He works hard in his fields, coming into contact with wild boars and a man-eating tiger. When the crops fail because of drought, he is forced to borrow money from the local bunnia. This man, Purun Dass, resents Hussein because of his ability to read. Realizing the young man's ability does not extend to Latin, the bunnia sets the loan to accrue "per mensa" (per month) instead of "per annum" (per year). Thus, the loans are crippling when Purun Dass applies for repayment. Hussein becomes drunk and attacks the bunnia in his temple, leaving the priest, he believes, beaten to death. Again Hussein flees on the back of Jehangir. When buying food in a village he encounters a man named Narain Ram, whom he had seen formerly when he worked for Feroze Khan. Hussein denies to Ram Narain that they have met. He sees Ram Narain again in another village, and the latter insists they dine. Here the Ram Narain presses Hussein for information about Feroze Khan and threatens to expose him to Kadir Baksh's family if he fails to comply. In the end Hussein accepts money from Narain Ram and agrees to become his ally, accepting an arranged position in Kappilavatthu working for the Rajah. Traveling to that locale, he leaves Jehangir with the Rajah's mahouts and becomes a leopard keeper. His responsibility is tending a young cheetah named Shaitan. Although ignorant of his task, he learns the practice from an older leopard keeper. This man, Yussuf, is the only other Mohammedan among the animal tenders, religious divisions being significant in the culture. Hussein distinguishes himself in the first hunt of the season, though he is injured. In gratitude, the Rajah gives him a ruby ring and orders his treasurer to fill Hussein's mouth with gold. Hussein lies on his back with his mouth open, but the resentful treasurer fills his mouth with mostly copper coins. While Hussein is recuperating from wounds suffered on the first hunt, Ram Narain arranges for his responsibilities to be transferred to the position of mahout for Jehangir. Amid episodes of intrigue, the Rajah's tiger hunt commences. Hussein carries the Rajah in a howdah on Jehangir's back. In the evening, Ram Narain confesses to Hussein that he works for a prince who is wholly for the Sirkar. This tiger hunt is the opportunity he and his allies have been waiting for, and Ram Narain and Hussein are able to observe the Rajah entering into a compact with another native party. The treaty is signed in exchange for a fortune in gold. Hussein, who has overheard the Rajah plot with his master of horse to kill the youth, aids Ram Narain in the frustration of the Rajah's party and capture of the newly signed treaty. All of the gold is contained in a pad bag which Hussein and Ram Narain place over Jehangir's back. Both Hussein and Ram Narain covet the gold, but their priority is escape. They travel through the night and with drama, ford a river seeking to reach British territory. Safety is not yet assured, and they must obtain food in villages along their route, disguised as storytellers. Hussein demonstrates his bona fides in this line, especially with a tale of a prince in Kathiawar. His performance convinces a suspicious a pair of men who are tracking the Rahjah of Kappilavatthu's enemies in the recent episode, and they leave the pair in peace. Hussein and Ram Narain reach Puniat safely with Jehangir. Before telegraphing his superiors, Ram Narain shares his wish to leave out any reference to the gold. He also informs Hussein that Purun Dass did not die of his beating. Ram Narain's superiors are very pleased with the result of the intrigue in Kapplilavatthu. After they have departed, Hussein and Ram Narain split the gold. Hussein hires a lawyer to deal with the affair of Purun Dass's grievance, and the fine is paid by an unknown party, in other words, by Ram Narain's grateful superiors. Influenced by his success with tales, Hussein conceives his own tale, which involves a happy ending with Sashiya. After extensive bargaining, he buys a costly necklace of rubies for her and sets into train the construction of a rich house on his farm in Laghat. With Jehangir dressed in grandeur he returns to Haiderabad and occupies the best accommodations. Then, disguised in poverty, he calls on Sashiya. The circumstance of poverty is no impediment to her love, and Hussein drapes the rubies about her neck. Revealing his true status of wealth, he carries her away—just as the Prince of Kathiawar carries away his beloved in Hussein's tale, her name being, by no coincidence, Sashiya.