“Of course. But, at the first sign that you intend to play us false, this knife of yours shall be driven into you between the shoulder blades. You know how sharp the knife is. It will surely find your life.”
“I shan’t play false,” growled the prisoner. “What I say I will do is done.”
“I don’t know so much about that,” muttered Patsy. “I wouldn’t trust him half a block with my back to him.”
“Bring him along. We will take him to our camp at the opening of the big cave. In the morning we will start.”
As the detective gave his orders, he stuck the knife into his own belt and watched Jai Singh and Chick help the man from the couch. After taking the rope from his ankles, they led him over to the shallow steps, and thence along the passage in the direction of the outer air.
The brazier was left burning, and none of the remainder of the witch man’s ghastly paraphernalia was interfered with.
Nick Carter did not like the willingness with which the man seemed to accompany them. It gave him a misgiving that there might be a trap ahead somewhere, and that it was the prisoner’s intention to lead them into it, even though it should mean his own destruction.
The fatalism of India tends to make its people fearless of death. If it cannot come till a certain time that has been set, then why be afraid?
When they got back to camp, the four coolies still had the fire going, and all of them seemed to be very much alive.