Ganesh hesitated a few moments, then he opened his vest and drew out a small roll of paper, which he placed in his master's hand, adjusting the light so that he could read it.
'Is this from Dost Ali Khan?' said Tom.
'Let my master read what is written,' answered the chuprassie.
Tom read the message, and re-read it. Then he looked up with blazing eyes.
'Do you know what is in this, Ganesh?' he said.
'Would Ganesh read a letter that was written for the eyes of his master?' answered the man.
'That is an evasion; and I do not ask if you have read. I ask if you know.'
'Where could Ganesh have seen the illustrious Dost Ali Khan?'
'Another evasion. Will you—can you—answer me directly? Do you know, or have you any suspicion of, the contents of this letter?'
Thus directly appealed to, Ganesh hesitated. He was a good servant, but he shared the weakness of his countrymen, in that the answering of a question with straightforward directness was so difficult to him as almost to amount to a physical pain.