paddled to this place, for
we had no sail and there was scarcely any wind."

"Where are your friends?"

"I left them by the edge of the river in the boat, promising to rejoin
them in a few minutes."

"Have you no companions, but those you named?"

"None; my wife and I buried two children last Summer; Mr. Turner has
none, and Mr. Wharton and his young wife were but recently married."

"You have not told me why you come to me?"

"Chiefly to warn you of your peril and to beseech you to fly before it
is too late."

"I thank you very much for your solicitude; it was kind on the part of
you and your friends, but it strikes me that one place is about as safe
as another."

"We are so far from the large cities and the coast that it is useless
to attempt to reach any of them. Our first aim was to get as far from
Meerut as possible; then as we found ourselves approaching your home,
it seemed to us there was a chance for our lives by pushing to the
northward, into the wilder and less settled country, where the flames
of the insurrection may not reach."

"Your sentiments are our own; you have been wonderfully fortunate in
getting this far; my friends and I have seen enough to warn us to lose
no time, and we were on the point of starting when I saw you."

"May I ask what course you intend to take?"

"I have lived here for twenty years, so that I am acquainted with the
section. My intention was to follow a slightly travelled road, which,
in fact, is little more than a bridle path, until several miles beyond
Akwar, when we should come back to the main highway and keep to that
for fifty or perhaps a hundred miles. By that time, we should be safe,
if such a thing as safety is possible."

"Your plan is a good one, but is not mine better?"

"What is that?"

"I, too, am familiar with this part of the country; a stream empties
into the Ganges just eastward of your house, hardly a half mile
distant; it must have its source somewhere among the foothills of the
Himalayas. At any rate, it is navigable for all of a hundred miles.
It seems to me that when paddling up that stream at night, between the
wooded banks, there will be less chance of being discovered by enemies
than when travelling overland, as you contemplate."

"I am favorably impressed with your plan; do I understand you to invite
us to join your party?"

"You are more than welcome; our boat will accommodate us all without
crowding, but I regret to say we have