Part 4 (1/2)

”Atcha, sahib”

”Make yourself scarce, then!”

Major Hyde was dressed, having perfor less than record ti to?” he de continued to look out the door

Hyde ca did not seeeant had quite vanished into the shadows

”Let me pass, will you!” Hyde deht if the train has to wait a hile they do it!”

He pushed past, but he was scarcely on the step when the station-master blew his whistle, and his colored ine shrieked forthwith of death and tore doors slaine o-lifted at last, and a trainload of hot passengers sighed thanks to an unresponsive sky as the train gained speed and wind crept in through the therh the broken ther's co's berth and wrestled with it like a caged animal, but with no result except that the sweat poured out all over him and he wasat?” he de's berth His head swam He had to wait a few seconds before he could step across to his own side

”Only a knife,” said King He was standing under the dias lamp that helped make the darkness more unbearable

”Not that robber's knife? Did he drop it?”

”It'sat it, if it's yours! Didn't you ever see it before?”

King stowed the knife away in his boso I'll know it again, at all events!” King answered, sitting down ”Good night, sir”

”Good night”

Within tenpulled out the knife again and studied it for half an hour The blade was of bronze, with an edge hammered to the keenness of a razor The hilt was of nearly pure gold, in the for was so exquisitely wrought that age had only softened the lines, without in the least i them It looked like one of those Grecian toys hich Roman women of Nero's day stabbed their lovers But that was not why he began to whistle very softly to hie of papers, with the photograph on the top He stood up, to hold both knife and papers close to the light in the roof

It needed no great stretch of iest a likeness between the woolden knife-hilt And nobody, looking at hiination

If the knife had not been so ancient they uise, taken at the same tieneral sent her word that I a,” he muttered to himself ”Man number one had a try for me, but I had hi at Peshaired to Rawal-Pindi for this o on with the job She must have had him planted at Rawal-Pindi in case of accidents She seeive the man a knife with her own portrait on it? Is she queen of a secret society? Well-we shall see!”

He sat down on his berth again and sighed, not discontentedly Then he lit one of his great black cigars and blew rings for five or six minutes Then he lay back with his head on the pillow, and before five ar still clutched between his fingers

He looked as interesting in his sleep as when awake His mobile face in repose looked Roman, for the sun had tanned his skin and his nose was aquiline In enerals and emperors stand around the wall on pedestals, it would not be difficult to pick several that bore more than a faint resemblance to him He had breadth and depth of forehead and a jowl that lent itself to smiles as well as sternness, and a throat that expressed manly determination in every molded line

He slept like a boy until dawn; and he and Hyde had scarcely exchanged another dozen words when the train screamed next day into Delhi station Then he saluted stiffly and was gone

”Young jackanapes!” Hyde ht to be with his regiood example to his men! We'll have our work cut out to win this war, if there are many of his stamp! And I'm afraid there are-I'ht sters at the foot of the ladder would et beaten in this show Dear, oh, dear!”