He held out his hand, but she threw her arms round his neck, and kissed him.
"You have never kissed me, not once," she said reproachfully, "and you were going away without it, now. Your mother kisses me, and the English girls in the harem always used to do so."
"But that is different, Annie. Girls and women do kiss each other, but boys and girls do not kiss, unless they are brothers and sisters, or are relations, or something of that sort."
"But you are not a boy. You are a great big man, Dick."
"I am not much more than a boy yet, Annie. However, there is no harm in kissing, when one is saying goodbye, so there.
"Now be a good girl, and don't fret;" and he ran downstairs to the door, where his uncle and the two boys were standing.
"Take care of yourself, lad," the Rajah said, as, after bidding them goodbye, Dick sprang upon his horse. "Whenever you get a chance, send down a letter as we arranged last night, to the care of Azol Afool, trader, Tripataly. That will seem natural enough, whoever you send it by, while a letter directed to me might excite suspicion.
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Uncle;" and, with a wave of his hand, Dick rode off and joined Surajah, who was waiting for him a short distance off. And then, followed by Ibrahim--who had begged so earnestly to be allowed to accompany them that Dick had consented to take him, feeling indeed that his services would be most useful to them--and the two troopers, they rode off at a sharp pace.
At Amboor they assumed their disguises. Dick purchased a pack pony, and some goods suitable to their appearance as pedlers, and then they started up the pass on foot. They passed the frontier line without any interruption, stopped and chatted for a few minutes with the guard, and then passed on up the valley.