"The leopard?"
"Yes; why not? A leopard was the basic cause of all this misery and treachery. Let us give Umballa a taste of it. Am I cruel? Well, yes; all that was gentle and tender in me seems either to have vanished or hardened. He has put terror into my heart; let me put it into his."
"It is all impractical," demurred Bruce.
"He will never follow Pundita," said Ahmed.
"Then shall we all sit down and wait?" Kathlyn asked bitterly. "At least let me try. He will not harm Pundita, since it is I he wants."
"She is right," averred Pundita. "A woman can do more at this moment than a hundred men. I will go, Mem-sahib; and, more, I will bring him back."
"But if he should hold you as a hostage?" suggested the harried Ahmed. "What then?"
"What will be will be," answered Pundita with oriental philosophy.
"You shall go, Pundita," said Ramabai; "and Durga Ram shall choke between these two hands if he harms a hair of your head."
"And now to bed," said Ahmed.