There was no answer. The little crowd drew in, and one by one took up the fighting attitude that each man liked the best.
“I say I did not come for blood! I came for Ali Partab! If I get him, unharmed, I ride away again; but otherwise—”
“What otherwise?” asked the captain of the guard.
“This palace burns!”
There was a momentary consultation—no argument, but a quickly reached agreement.
“He is here, unharmed,” declared the captain gruffly.
“Bring him out!”
“What proof have we that he is all you came for?”
“My given word.”
“But the Jaimihr-sahib—”