"Oh!"
"Didn't know it was you, perhaps, until he saw you," suggested Bob.
"He was rather surprised to see me," said the Major, and a slow smile gathered upon his face, and passed.
"My heart was in my mouth when I saw you go alone into the rest-house," said Lawrence. "And I couldn't get a word out of your man."
"Pretty close, isn't he?" said the Major. "But look here, my lads, I called you a couple of young fools a while ago. I take that back, for without you I shouldn't have had the opportunity of enjoying the surprise of Nagdu and his crew. All the same, you were fools, you know," he added reflectively.
While this conversation was proceeding beneath the extended flap of the tent, another, of quite a different tenor, was going on at the nearest camp fire, fifty yards away. There Ganda Singh the dafadar and his old comrade Nagdu were seated, gazing into the glow, with their rifles across their knees.
"Hai! Ennicott Sahib is truly a very great man," said Nagdu. "We were there in the little house, with our guns on the wall, looking up the road, when there came a soft voice behind us. 'Twas like cold water trickling down my back, O Ganda. And when I turned and saw the huzur's two eyes like little bits of blue steel, I felt my soul shrivel up inside me: that is true, old friend. 'You are keeping good watch upon the road, Nagdu,' said he, and I shivered, and my voice was like a woman's when I said my salaam."
"Keeping watch upon the road!" repeated the dafadar with a sly look at the other. "Do you know, Nagdu, if any harm had come to the sahib-ji I would have put a bullet there, and there."
He touched the man's neck and breast.
"Hai! what harm could come to the huzur?" said Nagdu protestingly. "He is heaven-born, and knows. 'Keeping good watch upon the road,' he said, and when I stammered out my 'Salaam, sahib,' he went on: 'It is well. There are rascals about. I go to hold a talk with your people on that very matter, and 'tis good luck I met you, for you can take me to your village.' And I said the huzur's face was like the sun shining upon the hills, for by that time my soul was come to me again, and after a little talk we came out. Hai! Truly is Ennicott Sahib a very great man."