"What a brilliant guess! She tells me her people live here, and has promised to introduce me."
"Yes," assented Salwey, with dispassionate brevity.
"I say, I've got a month's leave owing, and I intend to put it in here."
"Hullo! they are off!" and there was a dead silence.
The constantly moving dark clump had suddenly scattered into items—there was a hum-hum-hum of thundering hoofs—a cloud of dust, a flight of bright jackets, of bent backs and uplifted arms—they passed the post, and Dulcimer had won by a neck.
Captain Haig looked upon his success as a good omen. Beaming with pride—and the fact of having won eight hundred rupees—he led his pony into the paddock, and subsequently hurried out to the enclosure in order to seek for Miss Chandos, and receive her congratulations.
"Ah, here you are!" he exclaimed, when they met; "I have been hunting for you everywhere. Did you see the race well?"
"Yes—you won," she said, "I am so glad."
"It was a near thing, but Todd is a clever boy, and just pulled it off. Rajahpore seems to bring me good fortune. I shall make it my head quarters. When will you be so kind as to introduce me to your people?"
The words were hardly out of his mouth before he was surrounded by a crowd of half-castes—they actually pushed and jostled one another in order to get close to him, and an excited, over-dressed, elderly woman began: