"That is good news indeed," the Afghan said. "I was afraid that we should never get a chance. Which road will he go by?"
"I can't say exactly, but he is sure to leave by the western gate. He would have more chance of getting away unnoticed on that side. Of course we shall both be in our Afghan dress."
"We will be on the look-out. I suppose that he will be armed?"
"Yes, he will carry one of your long guns and a brace of pistols. You had best choose some spot where you can close on him suddenly, for he would certainly fight till the last."
"We will be careful," the man said. "I don't want to get a pistol ball in my body. We shall follow at a distance until we find a convenient spot."
"He is sure to keep along at the foot of the hill so as to avoid your people on the plain."
"It will suit us best also, as we shall not have far to carry him."
"Mind, you must make a struggle when you seize me as if I was violently resisting. Then, when we start you must order me to walk, and threaten to blow out my brains if I try to escape. My master can learn the truth afterwards. If he were to know it now, he would be furious with me; but in a few days, when fighting is going on in the passes, and a great disaster occurs, he will thank me for having prevented him from throwing away his life, especially as he knows perfectly well that the English in Jellalabad could not come out to assist those here."
When Angus returned to the tent he found Azim busy roasting the grain. The Afghan costume had been laid aside.