Part 20 (1/2)

CHAPTER IX

Now, India is unlike every other country in the world in all particulars, and Delhi is in soh which India's unusualness flows Delhi has five railway stations hich to cope with latter-day floods of paradoxical necessity; and nobody knew froht be expected to entrain or whither, although Delhi knew that there ar

There did not see very much out of the ordinary at any of the stations In India one or two sidings are nearly always full of empty trains; there did not seem to be more of them than usual

At the British barracks there was more or less commotion, because Tho peace breaks at last and he nity is differently understood, the only men who really seemed unusually busy were the farriers, and the arovernment offices appeared to be undisturbed, and certainly no ers ran about than usual, the only difference was that one or two of thelishmen were busy in theht to catch her breath and continue listening; for, unlike ood reason, Delhi is listening nearly all the tiiest of all the offices on the ground floor of a big building on the side away from the street-a uard around his thumb and untwisted it incessantly There was a telephone beside hiraph forms, but beyond that not ht be He did not look aggressive, but he seemed nervous, for he juovern loud

”Yes,” he said, with the receiver at his ear ”Yes, yes Who else?

Oh, I forgot for the moment Four, three, two, nine, two Give yours!

Very well, I' at the other end had a lot to say, and none of it can have been expected, for the man in the drab silk suit twisted his wrinkled face and worked his eyes in a hundred expressions that began with displeasure and passed through different stages of surprise to acquiescence

”I want you to know,” he said, ”that I got ot it from Yasmini herself, from three of the hill-men ere present, and from the Afridi as kicked and beaten All except the Afridi, asn't there by that tih had words with the Gerain for about fiveup the receiver with an expression ofon the wrong leg this tiain

Presently he sat up and looked bored, for he heard the fast trot of a big, long-striding horse A cart drew up in the street, and he heard around the corner

”Like horse, like iment!” he muttered ”Pick his stride or his horse's out of a hundred, and”-he pulled out his nickel watch -”he's ten , Colonel Kirby!” he said pleasantly, as Kirby strode in, helmet in hand ”Take a seat”

He noticed Kirby's scalp was red and that he s!” said Kirby

”I'ht you,” said the h,” said Kirby; and the man in drab tried to look surprised

”What about him? Reconsidered yesterday's decision?”

”No,” said Kirby ”I've come to ask what news you have of him” And Kirby's eye, that some men seemed to think so like a bird's, transfixed the man in drab, so that he squirmed as if he had been impaled

”You must understand, Colonel Kirby-in fact, I'm sure you do understand-that my business doesn't ade information, I'm not allowed to I stretched a point yesterday when I confided in you h, but that doesn't i to tell you all I know I asked you what you knew, you may reh still under suspicion?”

That was a straight question of the true Kirby type that admitted of no evasion, and theit on the desk absent- that he wished to crack He must either answer or not, it seemed, so he did neither

”Why do you ask?” he parried

”I've a right to know! Ranjoor Singh's entleman doesn't exist I want him! I want to knohere he is! And if he's under a cloud, I want to knohy! Where is he?”

”I don't knohere he is,” said the man in drab ”Is he-ah-absent without leave?”

”Certainly not!” said Kirby ”I've seen to that!”