They heard the man unharness the horse and lead it to the shelter of a small shed used as stable, at one end of the house. The storm now broke furiously. The lightning and the thunder were terrific, and the rain came down—as it does come down in India—in a perfect deluge. The man went into the bungalow, and for four hours Gordon and Haidee waited in terrible suspense for the coming day. Several times Gordon wanted to go out and face the stranger, but Haidee restrained him.
“Wait,” she said, “until you can see with whom you have to deal. There may possibly be more than one person, and they are sure to be armed. Besides, they, or he, will depart when day breaks.”
Gradually the storm died away. The lightning flashed less frequently, the thunder growled at long intervals, the rain became a pattering shower, then a drizzle, and at last ceased. Darkness fled before the dawn, and the soft light of a new day spread over the land. The air was delightfully cool, and the birds sang merrily, as if thankful for the health-giving storm.
The stranger, who had been sleeping in the room previously occupied by Gordon and Haidee, awoke with the break of day, and going to his buggy, he procured a small brass lotah and some food; then he crossed the compound to the cook-house and tried the door, but found it fastened. He tried it again; put his shoulder to it; still it did not yield.
“That is strange,” he muttered, in Hindoostanee. “It seems to be fastened on the inside.”
“By heavens—I have heard that voice before?” Gordon whispered excitedly to Haidee. “There is only one man, and, at all hazards, I will see who it is.”
He undid the fastening carefully, and opened the door, having first drawn his revolver. The stranger had crossed over to the tank, and was stooping down, filling his brass vessel with water. The door made a slight noise on being opened. The stranger, whose senses were quickened by being constantly on the alert for danger, sprang up, dropping his dish, which sank in the water, and with a rapid movement of his arm, he drew a revolver.
As Gordon saw who the man was, his surprise overcame his caution, and he exclaimed—
“I thought I was not mistaken, Haidee—it is the villain, Jewan Bukht!”