This word is changed once a year. On the
receipt of the new one every officer entitled to be in possession of it
must burn the paper on which is written the old word and send a signed
declaration to that effect to Army Headquarters.
Taking a pencil and a blank sheet of paper Dermot proceeded to decipher the
letter that he had just received. It was dated from the Adjutant General's
Office at Simla, and headed "Secret." It ran:
"Sir:
"In continuation of the instructions already given you orally, I have
the honour to convey to you the further orders of His Excellency the
Commander-in-Chief in India.
"Begins: 'Information received from the Secretary to the Foreign
Department, Government of India, confirms the intelligence that Chinese
emissaries have for some time past been endeavouring to re-establish the
former predominance of their nation over Tibet and Bhutan. In the former
country they appear to have met with little success; but in Bhutan, taking
advantage of the hereditary jealousies of the _Penlops_, the great feudal
chieftains, they appear to have gained many adherents. They aim at
instigating the Bhutanese to attempt an invasion of India through the
_duars_ leading into Eastern Bengal, their object being to provoke a war.
The danger to this country from an invading force of Bhutanese, even if
armed, equipped, and led by Chinese, is not great.
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