“Nay, sahib! I, and my sons, and my sons' sons—thirteen men all told!”
“That is good of you, Mahommed Khan. Where are your sons?”
“Leagues from here, sahib. I must bring them. I need a horse.”
“And while you are gone?”
“My half-brother, sahib—he is here for no other purpose—he will answer to me for her safety!”
“All right, Mahommed Khan, and thank you! Take my second charger, if you care to; he is a little saddle-sore, but your light weight—”
“Sahib—listen! Between here and Siroeh, where my eldest-born and his three sons live, lie seven leagues. And on from there to Lungra, where the others live, are three more leagues. I need a horse this night!”
“What need of thirteen men, Mahommed? You are sufficient by yourself, unless a rebellion breaks out. If it did, why, you and thirteen others would be swamped as surely as you alone!”
“Thy father and I, sahib, rode through the guns at Dera thirteen strong! Alone, I am an old man—not without honor, but of little use; with twelve young blades behind me, though, these Hindu rabble—”
“Do you really mean, Mahommed Khan, that you think Hanadra here will rise?”