on.

"My lord is getting well," he said. And I gave my head a feeble nod.

"Tell me whereabouts we are," I said at last.

He shook his head. "I am only to tell you that you are in my lord the
rajah's care," he replied.

"Well, I can guess," I replied. "I can hear nothing of people; there is
no town near; and I know from the noises made by birds and beasts, and
by the coming of those serpents, that we must be in the forest. I am at
some hunting-station, I suppose. Look here," I continued, as the man
remained silent, "tell me where the English soldiers are."

"I cannot, my lord. I do not know," he replied.

"It is of no use to ask you anything," I cried pettishly. "Yes, it is;
you can tell me this--what is your name?"

"Salaman, my lord," he replied, with a smile.

"Humph!" I said sourly, for I was getting into an invalid's tetchy,
weary state. "Salaman! why couldn't they call you Solomon? That's the
proper way to pronounce it."

"My lord can call me Solomon," he said quietly.

"Of course I can," I said, "and I will. Then look here, Solomon, did
you bury that great snake?"

"Yes, my lord, as soon as it was light, and the others found and killed
its mate. They are now dead, and covered with the earth."

"That's right. No fear of their getting out?" I added, as I remembered
my dream.

He laughed and shook his head.

"Tell me this too; the rajah, will he be here to-day?"

"Who can say, my lord? His highness is master, and he goes and comes as
he pleases. Perhaps he will come, perhaps he will not. I never know."

"The doctor, then; will he be here?"

"Oh yes, my lord, and soon."

He left the tent, and I lay thinking again, ready to quarrel with
everything, for my arm pained me, and my head felt stiff and sore.

"I wish he'd speak in a plain, matter-of-fact way," I grumbled to
myself. "I'm sick of being `my lorded' and bowed down to. I always
feel as if I could kick a fellow over when he bows down to me as if I
were one of their precious idols."

Then I laughed to myself long and heartily, for I knew that I must be
getting better by my irritable ways. And now I forced myself into
thinking about our position as English rulers of the land, and wondered
whether it would be possible for our power to be overthrown. Then came
on a feverish desire to know where Brace was, and in what kind of
condition his men were, and those of the colonel.

"It seems hard that they do not come and try t