bring assistance to the missy sahib.
If only he were clad in the costume of Shagpur he would have risked the
attempt.

Suddenly a new idea crossed his mind. Was it possible to disguise
himself? The palki-wallahs could not help him; they had little on but
their loin-cloths. He wished he had stripped the zamindar whom he had
left on the ground. There was not likely to be a spare dhoti in the
palki. But he remembered the coloured hangings of that vehicle. If he
tore those down and wound them over his khaki tunic, they might raise a
question as to what his race and position were, but they would certainly
never cause any one to suspect that he was one of the Guides.

Hitherto he had shrunk from leaving the missy sahib. But now the
position was desperate. To die of fright, hunger, and exposure to the
heat might be her fate; an accident might at any moment lead to her
discovery; yet there was at least a chance that by carrying out the plan
which had suggested itself to him he could secure her safety. The
bearers had been cowed into submissiveness; the natives, for all their
brave talk, were very amenable to stern and authoritative handling.
Threats of grievous punishment on the one hand, and promises of liberal
bakshish on the other, might at any rate keep their wills in a state of
oscillation, so that they would not make up their minds to any positive
course. And if only the missy sahib would summon up a little resolution,
and show that she meant to use the knife he had given her if they
attempted to betray her whereabouts, he would feel a certain confidence
in leaving her for a time. He could at any rate fasten them more tightly
together. There were creepers growing on the sides of the nullah, and
strands of these would make very serviceable bonds.

His resolution fixed, he climbed down the tree and crept to the palki.
It was difficult for him to explain his purpose to the girl without the
assistance of the bearers, but he did not wish them to know too much.
The missy sahib herself was so depressed from anxiety and want of sleep,
as well as from the effects of the heat, that she was slower to
apprehend than she might otherwise have been. But he succeeded after a
time in making her understand that he was going to bring help from the
sahibs, who were very near at hand, and that during his absence she was
to strike without compunction any of the bearers who tried either to
free himself or to give an alarm. Then he cut length