“They are your guard. But you need not take any notice of them. Of course they will follow you about, and keep watch over your house, but they will never speak to you, or seem watching, unless you are straying too far.”
“This is pleasant,” said Ned, wiping his forehead.
“Oh, you will not mind after a day or two, and it is best: for it really is dangerous for an Englishman to be up here unless he is under the protection of the rajah.”
The pleasant evening came to a close, and after a friendly parting from their hosts, the two fresh additions to the rajah’s village walked back, Ned declaring that he could easily make out their house, and they smiled, passed out of the gate, and without catching a glimpse of either of the Malays on guard, they reached their own abode, where a shaded lamp was forming an attraction to the insects of the jungle, and Hamet was patiently awaiting their return.
“What a strange experience, Ned,” said Murray, as they stood at the top of their steps, watching the bright stars and the fireflies which were gliding about among the low growth at the edge of the jungle, of which they caught a glimpse hard by.
“But it is very beautiful and soft,” said Ned, thoughtfully. “What a lovely night!”
“Yes; not much like being in prison, is it?”
“No,” said Ned; but, as he gazed, he could see the shadowy form of one of the guards, a fact which he did not mention, though the fact of the proximity of armed men seemed strange in connection with his uncle’s next words.
“We will not tug at the tether for a few days or weeks, Ned,” he said. “I daresay we shall get some rare collecting, and when we are tired, we’ll slip down to the boat some night and get right away. Hamet, I daresay, could manage that.”
“He would do his best, sir,” said the Malay, gravely.