was impossible that the attempt upon the young man's life should be
repeated. The outer door was opened, and once more he stood on the
veranda.

Before venturing across the lawn in the direction of the river he spent
a minute or two in peering into the surrounding gloom and listening.
He may have been mistaken, but he fancied he heard more than one person
moving stealthily about in the house. Once he was sure he caught the
sound of whispered words, so that the astounding fact was established
that during the few minutes occupied in talking with Mustad he had a
friend within instant call.

"All of which goes to prove that these people are cowards at heart,"
was the sage conclusion of Jack Everson. "They will throw away their
lives for the sake of Islamism, and they will fight like wildcats if a
man turns his back upon them; but when he stands face to face they are
whipped curs."

Since there was no doubt that Mustad and his companions would be on the
alert to note the course taken by Everson, so as to learn what had
become of his friends, the young man saw the need of misleading them.
He took care not to return to the river over his own trail. Instead of
doing so he moved to the right, as if on his way to the nearby town of
Akwar. When satisfied he was beyond range of the keen vision of those
in the house of Dr. Marlowe he made an abrupt change, which led him
toward the Ganges, forgetting, when he did so, that there might be
natives in the vicinity who were not in the building at all.

CHAPTER IX.

SCOUTING.

Had Mr. Jack Everson spent a few years in Hindoostan he would not have
made the blunders that we are obliged to record concerning his
movements after parting from his friends on the boat. He had acquitted
himself pluckily while in the house of the physician, but his escape
from death at the hands of Mustad and his companion was providential
and, under similar circumstances, was not likely to be repeated once in
a thousand times.

Moreover, with his knowledge, already gained, of Asiatic cunning, he
ought to have reflected that if two of their dusky enemies were within
the house there were likely to be others in the immediate neighborhood.
It looked as if Mustad had entered the dwelling expecting to find the
physician there. He was prepared with an excuse for his abrupt
departure and an explanation that would satisfy his indulgent master
and mistress. Keeping his companion in the background the