"That may be," Percy agreed, "but they would win—they always have won, and often against odds quite as great. Besides, when your two hundred thousand men are in the field you would have your whole fighting power, while if it were necessary England could send out army after army as strong as that now in India. How far is it to our first halting-place? The sun is beginning to get very hot."
"It is three hours' ride from Loodiana. Going at an easy pace we shall be there in another hour."
Percy was heartily glad when his companion pointed out a yellow speck under a clump of trees and told him it was the tent. "I brought with us only small tents, such as the soldiers use on their expeditions," he said, "so as to excite the less attention; they are mere shelters from the sun and night air."
"That is all we want, Nand Chund."
"They weigh only a few pounds, sahib, and can be carried by a horseman in addition to his ordinary baggage. We have three or four of them with us, so that we can at any time pitch one should we arrive at a halting-place before the baggage animals."
A quarter of an hour later Percy was lying under the shade of the tent, the sides of which were tied up to permit the air to pass freely through. In a short time tiffin was served, consisting of an excellent pillau of fowl, a dish of meat prepared with savoury condiments, followed by an assortment of delicious fruit. The drink consisted of water cooled in a porous jar, flavoured with the juice of a slightly acid fruit.
"I would have brought wine," the officer said apologetically, "but my lord your uncle said that you would not be accustomed to it, and that, riding in the sun, it was better you should take only cooling liquors. He has sent, however, a tin filled with an herb that with hot water makes a drink of which he is very fond; it is sent up to him in a chest from Calcutta. He said you would know what to do with it. He calls it tea."
"I am glad of that," Percy said. "There is no difficulty in preparing it. It needs but boiling water poured over it. I will have some this evening. I am very fond of it too, but I am accustomed to drink it with sugar and milk."
"We have sugar," the man said, "but milk will be difficult to obtain. Our master never uses it with his tea."
"I shall get accustomed to it," Percy said, "though I am sure I sha'n't like it so well at first. At what time do we move on again?"