“But you have no stake in the country, sir?”
“What, sir! I? Haven’t I my wife and my sister’s child?”
“Oh, I thought you meant something commercial, sir.”
“What! I? Pooh, boy! I was alluding to the uncertainty of our position here.”
“Oh! Oh, I see, sir. That’s all right enough. Here’s Sir Charles with a strong detachment of British infantry under his command, and the native chiefs are bound to respect him.”
“Tremendous!” said the Doctor, with a snort. “A couple of hundred men!”
“Three, sir.”
“Three indeed! What about the men on the sick-list, and the non-combatants that have to be counted in every squad? Why, if that fellow Suleiman turned nasty, where should we be, out here in the depths of this jungle?”
“Oh, there’s no occasion to fear anything of that sort, sir.”
“What! Not for a boy like you, Archie Maine, with a suit or two of clothes, a razor, and hair-brush. You put on your cap, and you cover all your responsibilities. What about the women, high and low, that we have to look after?”