The Jesuits, say their opponents, teach that at times a "white lie" is permissible. Surely this was an instance.
"It is a small thing to trouble about, sweetheart," he explained. "You spotted the enemy so promptly, and blazed away with such ferocity, that they never got within yards of me."
"Are you sure?"
"I vow and declare that after we have eaten something, and sampled our remaining bottle of wine, I will tell you exactly what happened."
"Why not now?"
"Because I must first see to Mir Jan. I bundled him neck and crop into the cave. I hope I did not hurt him."
"You are not going down there again?"
"No need, I trust."
He went to the side of the ledge, recovered the ladder which he had hastily hauled out of the Dyaks' reach after his climb, and cried—
"Mir Jan."