To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War

by G. A. Henty

Azim's eyes twinkled. "I see, master, you do not like to use a knife. Good, we can bind and hide him. Perhaps no one would come for a long time, may be a year, and, finding only a skeleton, would not bother about him. He would just say it was some fellow killed by robbers."

"No, no, Azim," Angus said in a tone of horror. "I never thought of such a thing. No doubt someone would come along and let him out."

"Someone might come, master. He might come a few minutes after we had gone, then they would catch us at once. If someone did not come in an hour, why should he come in a week or a month?"

Angus was silent. "No, Azim, you don't quite understand me. I meant that he should be gagged and bound after dark, and then be left in some place a little distance from the road, where he would not be seen till morning. Then the first person who came along would turn aside and look at him, and he would be loosed, but we should have got twelve hours' start."

"That would be a good plan, master. But how should we get the camel?"

"In that case we should make a start without it, for we might ride fifty miles, perhaps a good deal more than that, before it would be discovered that we had gone. We could do that in our present dress, and then I could put on my Afghan clothes and go into a village off the road and say that the horses were tired and that I wanted to go on, and so buy a camel."

Azim shook his head. "Anyone who wanted to go on fast, master, would not buy a camel."

Angus uttered an exclamation of disgust, and Azim struck another blow at his plan by saying, "How would you get the horses out, master? The gates are shut at dark. You could not tie up the spy till after the gates were shut, and in the morning he might be found, and we should be caught as we went out."

"I am getting altogether stupid," Angus said. "Of course you are right; the horses could not be sent out beforehand, for if the spy saw them going out he would at once inform his employers, and I should be arrested. Ah, I have an idea! That trader from Scinde, who arrived here yesterday, was saying that as he intended to stay here for some time he would sell his horses if he could get a fair price for them. I might say that I would buy two of them, as they are better than mine, and as I wanted to travel fast, I would give him my two and some money for them. I dare say he would be willing to do that, as our horses would sell more easily than his. One can always sell a poor horse, while one might have to wait some time before finding a purchaser for a good one. I don't suppose really there is much difference in value between his and mine, and he would think he was making a good bargain. I should say that for certain reasons, which it would not be necessary to explain to him, it must be a part of the bargain that he should deliver them outside the city, and that one of his men should take them out during the day and wait for us at a spot we could agree upon."