"Yes, sir: and, as I suspected, Diggle is at the bottom of their disappearance."
He related the series of incidents up the river.
"Dressed like a native, was he? And looked like a risaldar?[#] There's no end to that fellow's villainy. But his day of reckoning will come I am sure of it, and the world will be none the worse for the loss of so vile a creature. If you take my advice, you'll say nothing to Mr. Merriman of this discovery. 'Twould only unsettle the poor man. He had better know nothing until we can either restore the ladies to him or tell him that there is no hope."
[#] Officer commanding a troop of horse.
"I don't give up hope, sir. They're alive, at any rate; and Diggle has lost them. I feel sure we shall find them."
"God grant it, my lad."
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH
In which an officer of the Nawab disappears; and Bulger reappears.
"This will be my last trip, sahib, for my present master. He says I waste too much time on the river. He also complains that I go to places without leave and without reason. He heard we were at Mayapur, and wanted to know why. I made excuses, sahib; I said whatever came into my head; but he was not satisfied, and I leave his service in a week."
"That is a pity, Hossain. Unless we are in the service of some well-known banya we cannot go up and down the river without exciting suspicion. However, let us hope that before the week is out the fleet will be here."