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Gungadhura's anger isn't mild in these days!" "Show me the letter again," said the Rajput. "Let me keep it in case I am brought to book." Tom translated that to Tess and her husband. "It's this way, ma'am. If you let him keep the letter I suspect he'll let you go in. But he may show it to the maharajah in the morning, and then there'll be hot fat in the fire.
True to his kidney, he trusted nobody, unlike Yasmini who knew whom to trust, and when, and just how far. It was all over the city that Gungadhura's practises were hastening his ruin, so it was obviously wise not to espouse the maharajah's cause, in addition to which he had become convinced in his own mind that Yasmini actually knew the whereabouts of the Sialpore treasure.
In a hurry, then, Tom's brass spurs rang on Gungadhura's marble staircase while a breathless major-domo tried to keep ahead of him. One takes no chances with a man who can change his mind as swiftly as Gungadhura habitually did.
Then go! Go swiftly to the guard and stop their tongues!" Tom whistled his dog and rode off at a canter. Dick gave the horse his head and drove home as fast as the steepness of the hill permitted, Yasmini talking to him nearly all the way. "You must dismiss Chamu," she insisted. "He is Gungadhura's man, and the cook is under the heel of Chamu.
Pinga passed the word along to another man, who told it to a third, who ran with it hot-foot to Gungadhura's palace. Once inside the house again Mukhum Dass lost no time, arguing to himself most likely that with the secret of the treasure of Sialpore in his possession it would not much matter what damage he had done. He would be able to settle for it.
She recognized the appeal to her own pride, and ignored it. What she was thinking of was Gungadhura's beastliness his attempts to poison Yasmini his treatment of women generally his cruelty to animals in the arena his viciousness; and then, of how much more queenly if nothing else, this girl would likely be than ever Gungadhura could be kingly.
So, on the morning following the flight of Yasmini and Tess, Tom, sore-eyed from lack of sleep but with an eye-opener of raw brandy inside him, and a sense of irritation due to the absence of his dog, roundly cursed nine unhappy mahouts for having dared let an elephant steal his rum drilled two companies of heavy infantry in marching order on parade until the sweat ran down into their boots and each miserable man saw two suns in the sky where one should be dismissed them with a threat of extra parades for a month to come unless they picked their feet up cleaner and reported, with his heart in his throat, at Gungadhura's palace.
He was sitting in the shade, chewing an unlit cigar, day-dreaming about water-pressure and dams and gallons-per-hour, when Gungadhura's note came and he ordered the dog-cart at once, rather glad of something to keep him occupied. As he drove away he did not see Mukhum Dass lurking near the small gate, as it was not intended that he should.
"It's known all over Sialpore that her ladyship's staying here, and Gungadhura's at large somewhere. You're well guarded; that's been seen to, but Trotters stays for double inner-guard. One or two men might go to sleep. Gungadhura might pass them a poisoned drink, or physic their rations in some way.
He would have been a prisoner for the rest of his life to all intents and purposes. No! He preferred to hide the treasure again, and then wait here for me, suspecting that I knew where it is and would come for it! Only we came too soon, before he had it hidden!" But it was Patali afterward, between boasting and confession, who explained that Dick was Gungadhura's real objective after all.
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