“You did fine yesterday, ma’am!” he said admiringly—“almost frightened the Khan, one might say.”
“Sure I’m glad ’twas the right thing,” she answered wearily. “’Twas all I could do not to break down in the middle, and throw myself at his feet, and cry and entreat him to let us go.”
“I’m glad you didn’t, ma’am. His Highness was all taken aback. He has gone away to his army quite meek, as you might say. In fact, I have hopes of his letting you and the Major and your servants go away quietly when he comes again, but don’t you build too much upon it.”
It was well for Eveleen if she did not, for Carthew was too sanguine.
CHAPTER XXIII.
BRIAN TO THE RESCUE.
Visiting his various friends, and hearing all that had happened since the battle and his wound, Brian passed a pleasant three days at Khanpur. Nor was his enjoyment sensibly mitigated by the thunderstorm on his third night there—when he should have been returning to Qadirabad,—which kept him a prisoner for twenty-four hours more. In fact, he assured himself comfortably that ’twas a good thing entirely it had come, since it would show Evie the absurdity of her plan of getting down to Bab-us-Sahel before the floods began. Another pleasant idle day, rejoicing in the temporary coolness of the air after the rain, and he started back with a column returning for supplies and bringing a few sick to the base hospital. Great was his astonishment, when he rode up to the Residency in the morning, to find the servants smoking on the verandah in an undress which made it plain that no master was at hand. Their astonishment equalled his own, but they were past-masters in the art of keeping up appearances, and in an incredibly short space of time hookahs had been huddled out of sight, pagris donned or properly twisted, and the garments of office hurried on. The butler, as became his importance, was the first who was in a position to greet the young Sahib. “Sahib and Beebee done gone,” was the burden of his reply to every question asked him, and at last Brian gave up the attempt to obtain further information; and bidding his own servant get his things in, and see after breakfast and a bath, rode round to the hospital to question the surgeon. The surgeon received him with ill-timed jocularity.
“Ha, ha! so your sister has stole a march on you, young man—eh? No nice lazy time for you this morning—find a boat and set off after her; that’s about the ticket, ain’t it?”
“If the river is low enough. How in the world would she contrive to start yesterday?”
“Man alive, not yesterday! They went three evenings ago—two days after you left.”
“Three evenings ago? But that was before the storm! Will you tell me, was she mad enough to start down the river with that coming on?”