"Open the door and let me in, Mukhum Dass! The terms are these—"
"Nay, we can talk with the door between us."
"Very well, then, lose thy title-deed! Dhulap Singh, thine enemy, shall have it within the hour!"
She took her foot out from the door and turned away briskly. Promptly he opened the door wide, and called after her.
"Nay, come, we will discuss it."
"I discuss nothing!" she answered with a laugh. "I dictate terms!"
"Name them, then."
"I have here five women. They must stay in safety in your house until an hour before dawn."
"God forbid!"
"Until an hour before dawn, you hear me? If any come to inquire for them or me, you must deny any knowledge."