"'Chunda Das,' he began, 'you have known me now for many years. Have I ever done aught to shake your confidence?'
"'Never,' I affirmed.
"'Have you ever heard me tell a lie?'
"'Never,' I again replied.
"'Well, then, you will believe me when I say that I told the truth in declaring that the stranger went away in the night. His servant came back all in a hurry for him, and he would not tarry even until daylight, although I pleaded with him to stay.'
"'I believe you,' I said, for, even apart from my prior trust, the man's look convinced me that he was speaking true words.
"'Yes, this is the simple truth,' he went on. 'And yet'——here his voice faltered, and he glanced down pityingly on his wife crouched upon the ground, rocking herself and wringing her hands. 'And yet I know, we know, Devaka and I, that Sheikh Ahmed has been murdered.'
"I started aghast, and involuntarily drew my garments around me.
"'Nay,' he said reproachfully, reading my unacknowledged and almost unformed thought, 'but not at our hands, Chunda Das.'
"'Then how do you know that he is dead?' I questioned, already ashamed that a doubt could have crossed my mind as to my friends being art and part in such a dastardly deed. 'What makes you think so?'