"Aha! another son of a dyer, like Sherdil, son of Assad?"
Sherdil gasped. Was his origin known after all?
"The heaven-born knows everything," he said, with a sigh. "No; this friend is of high caste and the son of a chief—a good man."
"His name?"
"Ahmed, son of Rahmut Khan."
"The villain we chased not long ago!"
"The heaven-born says; and the same villain is my own chief, and is now laid up in the sahibs' prison, and can make no more trouble; but there is trouble in the village——"
"Disputed succession, I suppose?"
"Hazur! Dilasah, a fat rascal, makes himself chief until I can slay him, and Ahmed wishes to serve the heaven-born until such time as his father is mercifully set free."
"How old is he?"