umour; "and what was the
answer?"

"Why, the answer was two hundred rupees, full tale, and a present of
goats beside. And the Hindu--whom fear and the delay of his marriage had
most marvellously thinned--was restored to his home, with good wishes
for a long life and many sons--for our sons to pluck likewise."

And in the midst of the laughter this story evoked, one of the guests
asked a question--

"But why, O Sherdil, hast thou given up the dress of thy
forefathers--the chogah, and the blue trousers drawn in at the ankles,
and the sandals? Why dost thou wear this strange garb, like the dust of
the plain or corn of the fields in colour?"

"Eha, that is a strange story too," said Sherdil, and he drew himself
up. "I am a servant of the sahib-log."

"Hai! hai!" gasped the company in astonishment. "A servant of the
sahib-log! the accursed Feringhis! sayest thou, O Sherdil?"

"'Tis true. My coat is the colour of corn, say you? yes, but it is the
colour of the lion also. Is not my name Sherdil? A great sahib, his name
Lumsden, heard of me; he knows everything; no man who does brave deeds
escapes him. Having heard of my great daring in the hills, he sent one
to me who had served him long and was as brave as myself, and begged me,
if it were not too much trouble, to go and see him. And then he spoke
fairly to me: the sahibs are just and speak true; he told me that he had
learnt somewhat of my doings, and asked whether it would suit my honour
to join a company of warriors like myself--Afridis and Gurkhas, Sikhs
and Hazaras, Waziris and even Kafirs, many bloods but one spirit. And
before I made my answer he showed me them at their sports, and verily,
brothers, never did I see such skill among so many men. I saw them throw
the spear at a mark, and doing nazabaze, which is, to fix a stake of a
span length in the ground and take it up on the spear's point when
passing at a full gallop; and, for another sport, putting an orange on
the top of a bamboo three spans high, and slicing it through with the
sword as they ride by at full speed. 'By my beard!' I thought, 'these
are fit mates for me;' and I asked the sahib whether I might try the
nazabaze myself. And he allowed me, and when I caught up the stake on my
spear point he smote his hands together and said words in his tongue to
Hodson Sahib that stood by him, and then he offered me good wages to be
one of his men--Guides, they call them. And I agreed, and therefore it
is, my f