was just the
same sort of feeling that my mother tells me she has, whenever my
father is in danger; and I shall be curious to know, when we get back,
whether she had the same feeling about me. Anyhow, I shall, in future,
have even more faith than I had before, in her confidence that she
would have certainly known if any evil had happened to my father."

Chapter 19: Found At Last.

The next morning, early, Dick and Surajah set to work to perfect their
disguises. They had, before, appeared simply as two young traders,
well to do, and of a class above the ordinary peddling merchant. They
now fitted on the ample beards that had been made at Tripataly. These
were attached so firmly to their faces, by an adhesive wax, that they
could not be pulled off without the use of a good deal of force. With
the same stuff, small patches of hair were fastened on, so as to hide
the edge of the foundation of the beard. Tufts of short grey hair were
attached to their eyebrows; a few grey lines were carefully drawn at
the corner of the eyes, and across the foreheads; and when this was
done, they felt assured that no one was likely to suspect the
disguise.

Ibrahim, who had assisted in the operation, declared that he should
take them for men of sixty-five, and as, before beginning it, both of
them had darkened their faces several shades, they felt confident that
no one at the fort was likely to recognise them. When Surajah had put
on the padded undergarment, and converted himself into a
portly-looking old man, and Dick the great horn spectacles, they
indulged in a burst of laughter at their changed appearance, while
Ibrahim fairly shouted with amusement.

He was to stay behind in the wood, when they went on, for it would but
have added to the risk had he accompanied them, as, unless also
completely disguised, he would have been recognised by the soldiers
with whom he had talked, during his twenty-four hours' stay inside the
Tower walls. He was, in the evening, to proceed along the road, to
encamp in the last grove he came to, at a distance of a quarter of a
mile from the gates, and to remain there until they returned.

Under his garments Dick had wound a thin, but very strong, silken cord
that he had purchased at Bangalore. It was four hundred feet in
length, and considerably increased his apparent bulk, although he was
still far from emulating the stoutness of Surajah. The halters of the
pack horses were attached to the cruppers