"'And then, sahib, he will slay his wife because of thy ring in the pocket of her bodice.'
"'Budmash, thou hast been playing the spy!' and turning upon me like a wild boar, his face aflame, he caught me by the beard.
"'Sahib,' I said, 'I am but a poor man, and thou of consequence in the Terai, but, man to man, thou durst not lay thy hand on my beard in the jungle and away from thy camp. I fear not to tell thee, sahib, that I did, indeed, watch thee this morning; but the jungle is full of eyes, not the least keen being those of Cheeta Dutt, who slew thy dog this morning, and who will slay the woman thou lovest, or do worse to her, ere he sleepeth, as is his right.'
"'Gunga Ram, thou art a man, and I ask forgiveness of thee for blackening thy face, but I am moved from myself by great fear for what may befall the woman. Tell me what is to be done, for thou knowest the ways of these jungle folks better than I;' and the sahib walked the floor as one distraught.
"'Will one thousand—will ten thousand rupees save the young woman?' asked the sahib.
"'The honor of a Brahmin is not to be appraised in money, sahib,' I replied.
"'Will he fight, Gunga Ram, as a Faringi would under like circumstances?'
"'He will fight, assuredly, sahib; but he will fight after the manner of his kind, and in the dark.'
"Much talk had we, but we could only hope that Cheeta Dutt may not have witnessed the meeting that morning."
Gunga Ram stopped to "drink tobacco" once more, whilst the little bullock driver, who would start in the morning with freight for Moradabad, said, "That was a poor hope, O Seller of Cates, for the jungle hath ears and tongues as well as eyes."