Part 13 (1/2)

”Now the man ishes to ask questionssilence, for I suppose none wished to be accused of impudence and perhaps made an example for the rest Besides, they were too curious to knohat his next intentionthat he wished the that to be part of his plan for establishi+ng good feeling, asked the first question-the first that caendheim?” said I

”That I will show you presently,” said he ”Who else has a question to ask?” And again there was silence, save for the rain and the grinding and pounding on the beach

Then Gooja Singh reat He was behind the e; and it suited hiht suppose that to be due to insolence, whereas Ranjoor Singh must ascribe it to necessity Well I knew the , and I knittedword and start trouble Yet I need not have worried I observed that Ranjoor Singh seeh as well as I

”It seeiven the slip to both Turks and Gerh said, ”Aye! For the ti!”

”And we truly stand on Asia?” he asked

”Aye!” said Ranjoor Singh,

”Then why did we not put those Turks ashore, and steam away in their shi+p toward Gallipoli to join our friends?” said he

”Partly because of subun-fire Partly because of ain from lack of coal The bunkers were about empty It was because there was so little coal that the Germans trusted us alone on board”

”Yet, why let the Turks have the steah, bound, now that he was started, to prove hiht and then send signals Then will coh ”No so, for I sank the steah was silent for about a h it was dark and I could not see him I knew exactly the expression of his face-wrinkled thus, and with the lower lip thrust out, so!

”Any h, and by that tiain This time he seemed to think he had an unanswerable one, for his voice was full of insolence

”Then how comes it,” said he, ”that you turned those Turks loose in their ses? Now they will row to the land and set their masters on our tracks! Within an hour or te shall all be prisoners again! Tell us why!”

”For one thing,” said Ranjoor Singh, without any resenth THAT was no sign!), ”I had tomade it I must keep it The money hich I bribed the captain and his mate would have been of little use to them unless I allowed theive the alarh, his voice rising louder with each word

”Nay, I think not!” said Ranjoor Singh, as calmly as ever ”In the first place, I have a written receipt fro the reason for which it was paid; if ere ain, that paper would be found in o ill with those Turks In the second place, they ish to save their faces In the third place, they must explain the loss of their steamer So they will say the steaot away in the boats and watched us drown The creill bear out what the captain and the mate say, partly from fear, partly because that is the custom of the country, but chiefly because they will receive a set back safely-for their story will prevent pursuit!”

For about two h called out: ”Why did you not h coal!” said I, but Ranjoor Singh esture to o to Gallipoli,” said he, ”and I have noticed that whatever they e and not ours In Gallipoli they would have kept us out of range at the rear, and presently they would have caused a picture of us to be taken serving a the Turkish army That they would have published broadcast After that I have no idea ould have happened to us, except that I ah to the British lines to ood our escape We ht have h, and a dozen men murmured approval

”Simpletons!” came the answer ”The Gerraphs to lend color to lies about the Sikh troops fighting for them! Ye would have played into their hands!”

”What then?” said I, after a rown dumb

”What then?” said he ”Why, this: We are in Asia, but still on Turkish soil We need food We shall need shelter before many hours And we need discipline, to aid our will to overcoiment more fiercely disciplined than this shall be! Fro up in a British camp-and God knohen or where that may happen!-the man who as much as thinks of disobedience plays with death! Death-ye be as good as dead men now!” said he

He shook himself A sense of loneliness had come on me since he told us ere in Asia, and I think theto eat on the steaer and cold and rain were doing their work But Ranjoor Singh stood and shook hi the line to look in eachIf I could have knohat he had in store for us, I would have leaped and shouted Yet, no, sahib; that is not true If he had told , I would never have believed Can the sahib iine, for instance, as to happen next?