sappeared among the trees.

"The rope, sahib," whispered Dost; and I rapidly drew it up and twisted
it round me.

"Now your hand," he said; and as I gave it to him, he led me cautiously
in and out among the trees, avoiding the men easily enough, for their
lanthorns showed exactly the direction in which they were going, though,
had a few been about without lights, we must have been taken! It was
slow work, and, as we crept along, the moving lights behind the windows
and the shouts and commands that came made me aware that a careful
search was being made for me, and, moment by moment, our chance of
escape appeared more hopeless.

But Dost did not seem to be in the slightest degree troubled. He kept
on right through the grounds toward where lights flitted about in the
window of a building, and he whispered--

"They are searching it, sahib. When they have done, we will go there."

I felt hopeless, but kept on close to his side, thinking all the time
that we must be taken before long.

Just now the capture was imminent, for men approached us, but in every
case something took off their attention, and we reached the great
building, to find it now all dark, as if the search there was at an end,
and the place deserted.

Dost uttered a low grunt of satisfaction, and crept softly along beneath
the windows; but we came upon no door, only reaching a blank stone wall
at the end of the building, and having to retrace our steps to where we
started, and then go in the other direction.

Here we were more fortunate, coming upon a door, and entering the
building, which was evidently a kind of summer-house, but of a very
substantial character.

It was perfectly empty, but lights flashed in through the windows on the
opposite side to that by which we had entered, and as we went cautiously
forward, it was to see scores of armed men with torches, their task
evidently being, as shown by their actions, to seek me out.

I say me, because I felt that they must be in profound ignorance of the
existence of Dost.

The light which shone in was enough to show his anxious, eager face, and
as his eyes met mine, he gave his head a nod in the direction of the
window.

"Not that way," he said, with a little laugh; "this."

We hunted about some moments, with the cries of the men outside sounding
wonderfully close to my ears, and then found the way to the upper floor,
which, though well-furnished, was utterly deserted.

Here we made at on