Bones thrust his face into the other's.
"Do you mean to tell me I dreamt it?" he hissed.
"Sir," said Ali, "self-preservation compels complete acquiescence in your diagnosis."
"You're childish," said Bones.
He gave a few vague instructions in the best Bones manner, and stole up to the dark Residency. He had solemnly promised Sanders that he would rouse the girl without waking up the rest of the house.
They were to go up stream to the Village Island, where the ironworkers of the Akasava had many curious implements to show her. Breakfast was to be taken on the boat, and they were to return for tiffin.
Overnight she had shown Bones the window of her room, and Hamilton had offered to make a chalk mark on the sash, so there could be no mistaking the situation of the room.
"If you wake me before sunrise, I shall do something I shall be sorry for," he warned Bones. "If you return without straightening the accounts, I shall do something which you will be sorry for."
Bones remembered this as he crept stealthily along the wooden verandah. To make doubly sure, he took off his boots and dropped them with a crash.
"Sh!" said Bones loudly. "Sh, Bones! Not so much noise, you silly old ass!"