Monsieur de Bonnefon: how he had conveyed them to the house of his
friend Sinfray: how after many months their whereabouts had been revealed
to Surendra Nath by one of his numerous relatives, a man who had a
distant cousin among Sinfray's servants: how the Babu, displaying
unwonted energy, had come with a number of friends and fallen unawares
upon their captors, afterward taking them to a house of his father's in
this village: how the old man and his son had both been stricken with
jungle fever, and the father died, and when the Babu lay helpless and
unconscious on his sickbed they had found no means of communicating with
their friends.

Mrs. Merriman shuddered as she spoke of the terrors of their captivity.
They had been well treated, indeed; Monsieur de Bonnefon, or Diggle, as
she afterward learned to call him, had visited them several times and
seen that their wants were supplied. But their enforced seclusion and
inactivity, their dread of the unknown, their uncertainty as to what
might have befallen Mr. Merriman, had told heavily upon their health and
spirits. Rumor brought news of the tragedy of the Black Hole: they heard
that the few survivors were prisoners of the Nawab; and they feared the
worst. From Surendra Nath they learned that they need not despair; and
since then they had lived on in the hope that, when the Babu had
recovered from his illness, he would find some means of restoring them to
the husband and father from whom they had so long been parted.

"Surendra Nath has a heart of gold, Mr. Burke," said Mrs. Merriman in
concluding her story. "Poor man! he has been very ill. We must do
something to show our gratitude for his devotion when we get back to
Calcutta."

Desmond then in his turn told them all that had happened since their
disappearance. When they learned of the result of the Battle of Plassey,
and that Clive was marching toward Murshidabad, they were eager to set
off at once.

"Yes, ma'am," said Desmond, "we shall start as soon as possible. I shall
leave you to make your preparations. It may not be possible to start
before night, the country being so disturbed, so that if you can sleep
through the day you will be fitter for the journey."

He left them, and going into the compound, found Bulger and Toley looking
with curiosity at the body of Diggle.

"Hi, sir!" said Bulger as Desmond came up to them: "this here bit o'
velvet is explained at last. Mr. Toley, he slit it with his cutla