Stafford stretched out his hand, catching hold of the back of a chair as if seeking support.
"Go on!" he said sharply.
"I have very little more to say. I did not wait, for I had heard enough to know that Marut was in instant danger. I made my escape as best I could, but in order to avoid notice I had to resort to circuitous paths, and only reached here this morning."
Colonel Carmichael brought his hand down angrily upon the table.
"To think that the scoundrel should have been pretending friendship all the time that he was preparing to murder us!" he exclaimed. "This comes of trusting a native!"
"Excuse me, Colonel," Nicholson answered, with emphasis. "I have every reason to believe that until yesterday Nehal Singh was our sincere ally."
"You mean to say that he stamped an armed crowd out of the earth in half an hour?"
"No. That armed crowd was the silent work of years. It was the tool which has been held ready for a long time—but not by Nehal Singh—"
"By whom, then, in the name of all—"
Nicholson drew out an old and faded photograph and handed it to the
Colonel.