“So am I,” replied Brace. “He does not come back. I hope he is faithful.”
“I feel sure he is,” I cried.
“Not so loud, my lad,” he whispered. “We are deep in the forest, but sound passes far on a night like this. Yes, I think he is faithful; but he belongs to another people, and if he thinks that his people are about to get the upper hand, it is too much to expect him to stand fast by an alien race.”
Just then one of our men uttered a deep sigh, and as I looked in the direction from which the sound had come, I could not help thinking how dependent we were upon our posts at a time like that, with our poor weary fellows lying about fast asleep, and the thought had hardly occurred to me, when I sprang up, for there was a challenge from our sentry out in the direction of the rajah’s town.
Brace was on the qui vive at once, and we stood there listening and trying to pierce the gloom when a dimly seen white figure stole up; and I was thinking how easily a daring party of natives might rush in amongst us, and, in a few minutes of surprise, cut us up, when the figure spoke, and I recognised Dost’s voice.
“What news?” cried Brace, eagerly.
“I got right in among the people,” said Dost, quietly. “They hardly noticed that I was a stranger, most of them taking me for one of the rajah’s followers.”
“And what have you learned?” said Brace, eagerly—“that they march to-morrow!”
“No, sahib, they stay here to drill till the maharajah is satisfied, and then they go to join the other chief.”
“Yes, yes,” said Brace. “But you are sure they stand fast here for the present?”