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There, on the edge of the fountain, two figures swayed and fought. One of them she saw at a glance was Fletcher. She had a glimpse of his face in the uncanny gloom, and it was set and devilish, bestial in its cruelty. The other the other she stared and gasped and stared again the other, beyond all possibility of doubt, was the ancient snake-charmer of Farabad.
"Genuine," suggested Fletcher very quietly. She accepted the word. The narration was making her very nervous. "Yes, genuine. He told me that the saice had cracked the shaft beforehand, that there was no possibility of getting it repaired at Farabad, that he would have to return to Kundaghat and might not, probably would not, come back for us before the following morning."
Slowly at length he turned his head, just as his silence was becoming too oppressive to be borne. "Mrs. Denvers," he said, his voice very deliberate and even, "I want to know what happened that day at Farabad to make you decide that I was not a fit escort for you." It had come, then. He meant to have a reckoning with her. A sharp tingle of dismay went through her as she realised it.
Beryl uttered a sharp sigh and let the matter drop. Nonentity though he might be, she would have given much for a glimpse of his inner soul just then. For three days after the reception at Farabad Beryl Denvers returned to her seclusion, and during those three days she devoted the whole of her attention to the plan that Lord Ronald Prior had laid before her. It worried her a good deal.
Major Fletcher was well versed in the ways of natives, and as they drove in his high dog-cart to Farabad a few days later, he imparted to his companion a good deal of information regarding them of which, till then, she had been quite ignorant. He succeeded in arousing her interest, and the long drive down the hillside in the early morning gave her the keenest enjoyment.
You simply have not the strength for such a venture." But Beryl was growing bolder in the face of emergency. She coolly set his assurance aside. "I do not quite agree with you," she said. "I am a better walker than you seem to imagine, and the walk into Farabad certainly would not kill me.
And after a moment she gave in. The man was probably far away by this time. She knew that the fair was over. "It was the old snake-charmer." "The man we saw at Farabad?" "Yes." Fletcher received the information in silence, and several seconds dragged away while he digested it.
"Oh, I think so," he said. "The Farabad men are strong, but our fellows are hard to beat. It won't be a walkover for either side." "Where will the match be played?" she asked, nervously afraid of letting the subject drop lest Lord Ronald should claim her attention. "Here," said Major Fletcher. "It was originally to have been at Farabad, but there was some difficulty about the ground.
She pressed on, however, and at length, hearing the tinkle of running water, realised that she was approaching one of the snow-fed mountain streams that went to swell the sacred waters that flowed by the temple at Farabad. She plunged downwards eagerly, for she was hot and thirsty, coming out at last upon the brink of a stream that gurgled over stones between great masses of undergrowth.
Mrs. Denvers, you will never forgive me, I know. That jump of the mare's damaged one of the shafts. The wonder is it didn't break altogether. I have had to send the saice back to Farabad to try and get it patched up, and there is very little chance of our getting back to Kundaghat for two or three hours to come."
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