of perdition came out we seized on him, and have even now
brought him before thee; surely no punishment can be too great for him."

The khitmutgar returned with a light. Minghal and the darwan recognized
at the same moment that the prisoner was no other than the deferential
trader whom they had seen in the morning. Of the two the darwan was the
more amazed.

"Dog, what is this?" cried Minghal. "Comest thou in the night to rob me?
What hast thou to say, rogue?"

Being a robber by profession himself, Minghal felt no moral indignation,
and no great personal rancour against this trader who had broken into
his house. It was his chief thought to turn the incident in some way to
account.

"Hazur," began Ahmed, "I am the most unworthy of thy servants. I did but
come to visit my good friend the darwan."

"Hazur, he has a lying tongue," interrupted the scandalized darwan. "A
friend! Allah slay me if I would ever speak two comfortable words to
such a dog."

"Chup!" cried Minghal. "Say on, banijara."

"The darwan has even eaten of my sweetmeats----"

"Perdition light on him!" cried the darwan. "Verily I should choke
if----"

"Chup, I say! Make thy story short, dog."

"And when I found him not at the door I made bold to enter. But
bethinking me then that the hazur, not knowing of my great friendship
with the darwan, might see me and conceive ill thoughts, I feared, and
was seeking to slip out when this pig, who has eaten my sweetmeats, set
upon me most vilely, as the hazur sees."

"Verily thou art a monstrous liar, banijara," said Minghal. "What of the
rope and the hook, and the lathi? What hast thou to say of them, dog?"

"Hazur, what should I know of them; is thy servant a camel-driver?"

Minghal laughed. The trader's explanation was too glib. He wondered what
the truth was. Had the man heard of his recent present of rupees and
come to rob him? or was there more in it? He looked keenly at Ahmed, and
suddenly noticed something strange about his beard. He stepped up to him
and, taking it in his hand, began to pull, not too gently. Ahmed
protested; it is an insult to a Mohammedan to pluck his beard; but
Minghal laughed again, and continued pulling. In the struggle at the
door a small portion of the false beard had become detached, and Minghal
scented a disguise. He pulled, the beard came away gradually, with no
little pain to Ahmed, for the adhesive was a strong one.

"Hold thy light nearer, khitmutgar," said Minghal