“Assuredly it is true, sahib. Had I had my daughter with me at Deennugghur, I could have sent you a message as easily; as it was, I had to trust only to the power of my mind upon yours. The information is of use, sahib.”
“It is indeed. It is a great thing to know that the key is left in the lock, and also that at night there are the prison keepers only inside the building.”
“Does she know what she has been doing?” he asked, as Rabda languidly rose from her chair.
“No, sahib, she knows nothing after she has recovered from these trances.”
“I will watch tomorrow night,” Bathurst said, “and see at what hour the sentries are relieved. It is evident that the Sepoys are not trusted to enter the prison, which is left entirely to the warders, the outside posts being furnished by some regiment in the lines. It is important to know the exact hour at which the changes are made, and perhaps you could find out tomorrow, Rujub, who these warders are; whether they are permanently on duty, or are relieved once a day.”
“I will do that, sahib; if they are changed we may be able to get at some of them.”
“I have no money,” Bathurst said; “but—”
“I have money, sahib, and if they can be bribed, will do it; our caste is a rich one. We sometimes receive large presents, and we are everywhere made welcome. We have little need of money. I am wealthy, and practice my art more because I love it than for gain. There are few in the land that know the secrets that I do. Men die without having sons to pass down their knowledge; thus it is the number of those who possess the secrets of the ancient grows smaller every day. There are hundreds of jugglers, but very few who know, as I do, the secrets of nature, and can control the spirits of the air. Did I need greater wealth than I have, Rabda could discover for me all the hidden treasures of India; and I could obtain them, guarded though they may be by djins and evil spirits.”
“Have you a son to come after you, Rujub?”
“Yes; he is traveling in Persia, to confer with one or two of the great ones there who still possess the knowledge of the ancient magicians.”