"But if she be greedy, let
her have more. There are girls in my _zenana_ that I would gladly be rid
of."
"The Holy Mother demands a worthier offering than some wanton that thou
hast wearied of."
Chunerbutty spoke for the first time.
"She wants the blood of one of the accursed race; of a _Feringhi_; of this
soldier and spy."
The Rajah shifted uneasily on his cushions. He hated but he feared the
white men, and he had not implicit faith in the _Dewan's_ talk of their
speedy overthrow.
"Mother Durga has rejected him," he said. "Have ye not all tried to slay
him and failed?"
The _Dewan_ nodded his head slowly and stared at the carpet.
"There is some strange and evil influence that sets my plans at naught."
"The gods, if there be gods as you Brahmins say, protect him. I think evil
will come to us if we harm him. And can we? Did he not lie down with the
hooded death itself, a cobra, young, active, full of venom, and rise
unhurt?"
"True. But perhaps the snake had escaped from the bed before the
_Feringhi_ entered it," said the _Dewan_ meditatively.
"To guard against that, did they not fasten the _karait_ in his shoe?"
"He may have discovered it in time," said the engineer. "Englishmen fear
snakes greatly and always look out for them."
"Ha! and did he not eat and drink the poisoned meal prepared for him by our
skilfullest physician?"
There was no answer to this.
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