"Take with you the clothes you now wear, and those in which you came, so that at any moment, if you see a storm gathering, you can slip on a disguise, and leave the Palace unobserved. In that case hasten here, and you can then dress yourselves as merchants."
"The worst of it is, Pertaub, that our faces will soon become known to so many in the Palace that they would be recognised, whatever our dress."
"A little paint, and some false hair, and a somewhat darker stain to your skin, would alter you so that those who know you best would pass you without suspicion. I trust that no such misfortune will befall, but I will keep everything in readiness to effect a transformation, should it be required.
"Now I will go out at once, to get the clothes."
In two hours he returned, followed by a boy carrying the goods he had purchased; and in a few minutes, Dick and his companion were arrayed in Court dresses. The turbans were pure white, and the tunic was of dark, rich stuff, thickly woven with gold thread. A short cloak or mantle, secured at the neck by a gold chain, three or four inches in length, hung from the back; but could, if necessary, be drawn round the shoulders. A baldric, embroidered with gold, crossed the chest, and from this hung a sword with an ivory handle.
The waist sash was of blue and gold in Dick's case, purple and gold in that of Surajah. Silver-mounted pistols and daggers were stuck into the sashes. The dresses were precisely alike, except that they differed in colour. The trousers were white.
Surajah was greatly delighted with his dress. Dick laughed.
"Of course, it comes naturally to you," he said, "but I feel as if I were dressed up for a masquerade."
The other suits were similar in style, but the tunics were of richly-figured damask, instead of cloth of gold.
Half an hour later they started for the Palace, a coolie carrying a box containing their second suits, and the simple dresses they had worn on their arrival. Dick could not help smiling, at the manner in which the people in the streets obsequiously made way for them.