"You must eat, master," he said. "You have had nothing since we started, this morning; and sorrow, alone, makes a poor supper. You will want to do something, I know; and will need all your strength."
"You are right, Meinik. Yes, give me one of them, and take the other one yourself and, while we eat, we can talk. Of course, I must make an effort to rescue my cousin from the hands of this band."
"Yes, master, I knew that you would do that."
"Did you ask how many there were of them, Meinik?"
"Some say forty, some say sixty."
"If we knew where they are now, and could come up to them, we might manage to get them off while the robbers were asleep."
Meinik shook his head.
"They are sure to keep a strict guard, over a white officer," he said; "but if we rushed in and shouted, and fired pistols, they might all run away."
"I am afraid not, Meinik. There might be a scare for a minute but, directly they saw that there were only two of us, they would turn and kill us. Your people are brave enough. They may feel that they cannot stand against our troops, owing to our discipline; but they fight bravely hand-to-hand. However, we don't know exactly which way they have gone; and it would be hopeless to search for them in the forest, during the darkness.
"What should they go to Toungoo for?"