er Surajah, who was upon the watch, said:

"The girl is coming."

There was no one else in sight, and when Surajah beckoned to her, she
hurried on, and, passing through the curtains at the door, entered the
room. It had been arranged that Surajah should remain on watch, so
that should, by any chance, one of the officials of their acquaintance
come along, he might go out and talk with him in the corridor, and, on
some excuse or other, prevent his entering the room, if he showed any
intention of doing so.

"Now, in the first place," Dick said, as he led the girl to the divan
and seated her there, "what is your name?"

"My name is Goorla."

"No; I mean your proper name?"

"My name used to be Annie--Annie Mansfield, Bahador."

"And my name is Dick Holland," he said, in English.

She gave a start of surprise.

"Yes, Annie, I am a countryman of yours."

She looked at him almost incredulously, and then an expression of
aversion succeeded that of confidence in her face. She sprang from the
divan, and drew herself up indignantly.

"Please let me go," she said haughtily. "You have saved my life, but
if you had saved it twenty times, I could not like a man who is a
deserter!"

Dick had at first been speechless with astonishment at the girl's
change of manner, and at her reception of the news he had thought
would have been very pleasant to her. As her last words threw a light
upon the matter, he burst into a merry laugh.

"I am no deserter, Annie. Save my friend at the door and yourself,
there is no one here who knows that I am English. Sit down again, and
I will tell you how I come to be here.

"My father was the captain of an English ship. She was wrecked on the
west coast, and he was seized and brought up here a prisoner, eight
years ago. My mother, who is a daughter of the late Rajah of
Tripataly, who married an English lady, taught me to speak Hindustani,
so that when I got old enough I could come out here and try to find
out if my father was still alive, and if so, to help him to escape. I
had only just come up here, with my friend, who is an officer of the
Rajah's, when that affair with the tiger took place. Then, as you
know, Tippoo made us both officers in the Palace. Of course, while we
are here we can do nothing towards finding out about my father, and we
should not have remained here much longer anyway, and may have to
leave at any moment. Since you met me, and I found that there was an
English girl c