in, and once more I suffered a kind
of martyrdom as I fully expected to find that the rope would slacken,
and that I should be precipitated on to the marble flags of the court.

Oh, how long it seemed. For it was a minute of gold drawn out into a
wire of what seemed to be endless length.

Then I was at the top, and passed my right hand over to seize the
parapet, while Dost's hands were busy about my chest, and the next thing
I remember is being dragged down on to the flat, Eastern roof, where I
lay panting with Dost lying by my side, but with his eyes level with the
parapet, as he listened for tokens of alarm.

There was not a sound, and satisfied that all was right so far, Dost
whispered to me to sit up, when he rapidly twisted the rope round my
breast, and turned in one end, while I looked about me, to try and make
out the kind of place we were on. But it was too dark to see much, and
I waited for my companion's next order, contenting myself to leave
everything in his hands.

"Now, sahib," he whispered, with his lips to my ear, "take my hand, keep
in a stooping attitude, and walk with me."

I should have liked to ask, "What are you going to do?" but he was
commanding-officer for the moment, and all I had to do was to obey.

I rose, and, bending down as I grasped his hand, walked softly to where
we reached the end of that side of the court--the roof seeming perfectly
flat--and then we turned off at right angles and walked along till we
had reached the end of the building which formed another side. Here the
process was repeated till we were about opposite to the spot where I had
been drawn up.

Here Dost stopped.

"We must get down here!" he whispered.

"Into the court?"

"No; down into the gardens," he said. "The next side would be best, but
there is a guard in the gateway, and sentries walking up and down."

"Are there sentries in the gardens?" I whispered.

"I think so. We'll look."

Crossing softly to the side of the palace furthest from the court, we
peered cautiously down into what looked intensely black, but dotted with
points of soft light which I knew at once to be lanthorns carried by
guards.

"Can we get across?" I whispered.

"We must, sahib. There is no other way. There are plenty of bushes to
hide us. What's that?"

I listened, and from a little distance off I could hear the trampling of
horses, which suddenly ceased, apparently somewhere on the other side of
the court.

"C