“The breath of rumor, sahib!”
“What rumor brought you?”
“Where a man's honor lies, there is he, in the hour of danger! Is all well with the Raj, sahib?”
“With the Raj? How d'you mean, Risaldar?”
Mahommed Khan pointed to the waiting guns and smiled.
“In my days, sahib,” he answered, “men seldom exercised the guns at night!”
“I received orders more than three hours ago to bring my section in to Jundhra immediately—immediately—and not a word of explanation!”
“Orders, sahib? And you wait?”
“They seem to have forgotten that I'm married, and by the same token, so do you! What else could I do but wait? My wife can't ride with the section; she isn't strong enough, for one thing; and besides, there's no knowing what this order means; there might be trouble to face of some kind. I've sent into Hanadra to try to drum up an escort for her and I'm waiting here until it comes.”
The Risaldar stroked at his beard reflectively.