"I have done so twice," was the reply,—an admission that sealed Ali's doom, if the fugitives were discovered.
"Then 'tis useless to look further."
At that moment the two stood so close that Dr. Avery feared he would betray himself by the tumultuous throbbing of his heart. He was still erect, with his back against the trunk of the mango, his pistol in his right hand, the muzzle pointed downward. Marian was partly behind him, with her tiny pistol ready for use, and the resolve to save one bullet for herself, in case the nerve of Baird should fail, when the crisis came. Neither dared whisper or move, for a strange hush brooded over the scene.
The clamorous mob in the road outside were impatient. Most of them moved away, while the rest were awaiting the verdict of their five representatives appointed to search the grounds.
At this juncture, when it looked as if the cunning of Ali Khan must prevail, a strange perversity took possession of his companion. Though Ramchundra had just remarked that it was useless to search further, he was determined to do so. He used his stick with much vigor, until all at once he met with a success for which he was not looking.
Underneath one of the bushes was coiled a deadly serpent, which with a slight hiss made a dart at the hand of the native, its fangs missing by a hair's breath. Ramchundra, with a quick flirt of the stick, decapitated it as neatly as Ali could have done with his scimeter.
Ramchundra seemed satisfied to go no further. Bloodthirsty as he was, he could not hope to succeed, where his equally revengeful companion (as he believed him to be) had failed, so at last he ceased his efforts. Side by side with Ali Khan, he sauntered toward the house.
If the other natives should take it into their heads to examine the lower part of the grounds, nothing could save the fugitives from discovery.
All at once Avery saw two strange figures walking directly toward him.
"It's all up now," he thought, knowing they were two of the ringleaders of the mob. "Ali does not see them; he imagines he has turned aside all danger, but he has failed——"