"All the same, take Sita Ram!" she advised.
So the babu was roused again out of a comfortable snooze, and Yasmini whispered to him something that frightened him so much that he trembled like a man with palsy.
"I am married man with children!" he expostulated.
"I will be kind to your widow!" purred Yasmini.
"I will not go!" vowed the babu.
"Put him in the cobra room!" she commanded, and some maids came closer to obey.
"I will go!" said Sita Ram. "But, oh, my God, a man should receive pecuniary recompense far greater than legendary ransom! I shall not come back alive! I know I shall not come back alive!"
"Who cares, babuji?" asked Yasmini.
"True!" said Sita Ram. "This is land of devil-take-hindmost, and with my big stomach I am often last. I am veree full of fear!"
"We shall need food," interposed the German. "Water will be there, but we had better have sufficient food with us for two nights."