"What do you mean by independence?"
"Self-government."
"I've been working for that ever since I cut my eye-teeth," answered King. "So has every other British officer and civil servant who has any sense of public duty."
"Will you continue to work for it, and employ the means that shall be pointed out to you?"
"Yes is the answer to the first part. Can't answer the second part until I've studied the means."
"Will you join me in preventing that princess from throwing the world into fresh confusion?"
"Dunno about joining you. It's part of my business to prevent her little game," King answered.
"She has proven herself almost too clever, even for us," said the Mahatma. "She spied on us, and she hid so many witnesses behind a wall pierced with holes that it would be impossible for us to make sure of destroying all of them. And somewhere or other she has hidden an account of what she knows, so that if anything should happen to her it would fall into the hands of the Government and compel investigation."
"Wise woman!" King said smiling.
"Yes! But not so altogether wise. Hitherto we fooled her for all her cleverness. Her price of silence was education in our mysteries, and we have made the education incomprehensible."