The Heart of Tara

Summary

In a meticulously crafted tableau of colonial intrigue and visceral vengeance, 'The Heart of Tara' unfurls a saga steeped in the enduring bitterness of a past slight. Captain Delmar, returning to his Indian posting after two decades, is tasked with the delicate recovery of priceless jewels, an indemnity to the English crown that has mysteriously vanished. Unbeknownst to him, his very presence reawakens a dormant, yet potent, hatred in Rajah Selim. The Rajah, a figure of smoldering resentment, recalls Delmar's youthful indiscretion: the audacious theft of Tara's affections, a prized favorite from his own harem. Selim, in a fit of jealous rage, had orchestrated Tara's brutal murder, cunningly framing it as a robbery for the very jewels she wore, a deception that sent a heartbroken Delmar back to England, oblivious to the true perpetrator. Now, with Delmar's innocent daughter, Dorothy, accompanying him, Selim sees an opportunity for a chillingly elaborate retribution. Through a network of spies and clandestine passages, the Rajah engineers their abduction, feigning their demise in a staged bungalow fire. His ultimate design is a grotesque re-enactment of his past 'victory': imprisoning Delmar while transforming Dorothy into a new 'harem favorite,' bedecked in Tara's fabled jewels. The narrative escalates into a frantic rescue, as Dorothy's fiancé, Lieutenant Grey, uncovers the insidious plot with the unexpected aid of Soma, the Rajah's current, yet unloved, favorite. A desperate escape, a cavalry charge, and a final confrontation culminate in the dramatic liberation of the captives, with the long-lost jewels discovered upon Dorothy, a poignant echo of the original tragedy finally brought to light, and the Rajah's twisted obsession ultimately thwarted, though not without further cost.

Synopsis

Captain Delmar resumes command of Tower Post, India, after an absence of twenty years. In his commission is an order to make a secret investigation of some famous jewels, which are indemnity to the English crown and have mysteriously disappeared. The Rajah selim, an Indian prince, while reading the official communication that he is to pay his allegiance to Captain Delmar, relives the past, a past or hatred for the captain who, when a young man, was successful in winning of the heart of Tara, a Harem favorite of the prince. Captain Delmar really loved the Indian girl, and upon being called back to England, resolves to marry her. When he returns to the garden to get the girl, he finds her dead body. Her death is clothed in mystery and the young captain believes that she has been murdered by Hindoo slaves for the wonderful jewels she wears. He proceeds in England broken-hearted, but eventually marries an English girl. It is his daughter, Dorothy, now grown to young womanhood, whom he brings to India with him upon being ordered to the Post. The Rajah has carried out a secret, but hideous revenge upon the girl Tara. It was he who had her stolen from the garden and stabbed her to death. Only the departure of the young English officer at that time had saved him from a similar fate and now that he has returned, as commanding officer of the Post, his revenge again burns deeply. With Hindoo subtlety he covers up his deep designs, giving the usual audience to the captain and his daughter. He places at the disposal of the young English girl some of his own court servants. These servants are headed by Sahan, spy, through whom the Rajah is to carry out his plot. There is a secret passage from the palace to the Post, the trap door entering to the library of the Captain. Through this secret passage the spy carries messages, and at the Rajah's command he cuts the telephone wires, intending that night to steal the Captain and his daughter and bring them to the palace. By burning the bungalow he thinks to deflect suspicion, leaving the impression that they have been burned to death. The Captain, finding the telephone wires cut, has sent Lieutenant Grey, who is the fiancé of Dorothy, to a nearby post to investigate conditions. When the lieutenant returns he finds the bungalow burned and believes, as the Rajah has intended, that the Captain and his daughter have met their fate within it. In the meantime the Rajah has the Captain and the girl in his power. He tells the Captain that he will throw him into a cell and keep Dorothy for himself. The girl, as she sees her father dragged away, almost goes mad. Soma, the present favorite, but who has never won the love of the Rajah, as his heart is with the past, realizes the awful fate that is about to overtake the English girl, but can do little to help her. Fate steps in when the girl loses her mind under the strain, and the superstition of the Rajah places her beyond the earthly pale. The lieutenant has discovered the secret passage. His suspicion aroused, he makes his way to the palace and comes upon his sweetheart and the Hindoo girl. Dorothy regains her mind when she sees her lover. When the Rajah is about to enter, Soma, now the guardian angel of Dorothy tells the lieutenant that if he is to save the Captain and his daughter he must bring help. The lieutenant escapes through the secret passage and sends to a neighboring Post for a small company of cavalry. Meanwhile the Rajah has discovered that Dorothy has regained her mind. He brings forth the jewels that once bedecked Tara. He adorns her with the jewels, has the Captain brought before him and shows him his daughter dressed as a harem favorite. He gives orders to have the beasts, lions of the royal menagerie, starved. Soma has secreted herself in Dorothy's room, with the intention of stabbing the Rajah when he comes. The Captain is dragged forth to the jungle. The Rajah goes to bring Dorothy before he shall give the final order. The young Lieutenant arrives with his company and a battle ensues, as they are denied admittance to the palace. When the Captain is freed through this timely interference, he rushes to save his daughter and arrives just in time, as the arm of the brave Soma is not strong enough to deliver the death she intends. They find upon Dorothy the jewels that are sought by the English government.