"Then why do you want my help?"
"Because she has a plan now that is so magnificent in its audacity as to baffle even our secret council!"
King whistled, and the Mahatma looked annoyed—whether with himself or King I was not sure.
"That is what I have been hunting for three years—your secret council. I knew it existed; never could prove it," said King.
"Can you prove it now?" asked the Mahatma with even more visible annoyance.
"I think so. You'll have to help me."
"I?"
"You or the Princess!" King answered. "Shall I join you or her?"
"Thou fool! There was a sheep who asked, 'Which shall I run with, tiger or wolf?' Consider that a moment!"
King showed him the courtesy of considering it, and was silent for perhaps two minutes, during which the mahout judged it opportune to whine forth his own demands. But nobody took any notice of him.