"'Then must we start in all haste for Sengali,' he continued, excitedly. 'To-night, now, or it may be too late.'
"I was moved by this display of fervid sympathy on the part of a stranger for my humble friends in their sorry plight. But I could not avail myself of his proffered assistance.
"'Pardon me,' I replied, 'but I have first to find Sheikh Ahmed, who has been the cause—the innocent cause—of all this grievous anxiety, and whose presence is needed to put an end to the false charge of murder.'
"'Don't you know that I am Sheikh Ahmed?' cried the stranger.
"'Yes, yes, he is no other,' laughed our host, the munshi. 'I avoided giving the wounded traveller's name a while ago, Chunda Das, as a fitting curb to your eagerness, and now, thanks to the Sheikh paying me a visit, you have met somewhat quicker than I expected.'
"For full a minute I was speechless. Was it possible that I had so soon found my man, or, to put it more correctly, that the man had found me? The gods be praised for working on behalf of the helpless and oppressed!
"But my meditations were rudely interrupted. The Sheikh had again gripped me by the shoulder, and was speaking rapidly:
"'Rouse yourself, friend; rouse yourself. This is no time for wonderment.'
"'So you are indeed alive and well, Sheikh Ahmed?' I asked, in blundering fashion.
"'You can see for yourself,' he replied, impatiently. 'But I little thought I should have been the means of doing to these kind people who nursed and nourished me so grievous an injury. But, Allah be praised! there is yet time to repair the wrong and make amends. Let us away, away, without the delay of another hour.'