"I thank thee, Ram Lal," replied Isaacs, "and I gladly accept thy offer.
Whither wilt thou conduct our friend the Amir?"

"I will lead him by a sure road into Thibet, and my brethren shall take
care of him, and presently he shall journey safely northwards into the
Tartar country, and thence to the Russ people, where the followers of
your prophet are many, and if thou wilt give him the letters thou hast
written, which he may present to the principal moolahs, he shall
prosper. And as for money, if thou hast gold, give him of it, and if
not, give him silver; and if thou hast none, take no thought, for the
freedom of the spirit is better than the obesity of the body."

"Bishmillah! Thou speakest with the tongue of wisdom, old man," said
Shere Ali; "nevertheless a few rupees--"

"Fear nothing," broke in Isaacs. "I have for thee a store of a few
rupees in silver, and there are two hundred gold mohurs in this bag.
They are scarce in Hind and pass not as money, but the value of them
whither thou goest shall buy thee food many days. Take also this
diamond, which if thou be in want thou shalt sell and be rich."

Shere Ali, who had been suspicious of treachery, or at least was afraid
to believe himself really free, was convinced by this generosity. The
great rough warrior, the brave patriot who had shut the gates of Kabul
in the face of Sir Neville Chamberlain, and who had faced every danger
and defeat, rather than tamely suffer the advance of the all-devouring
English into his dominions, was proud and unbending still, through all
his captivity and poverty and trouble, and weariness of soul and
suffering of body; he could bear his calamities like a man, the
unrelenting chief of an unrelenting race. But when Isaacs stretched
forth his hand and freed him, and bestowed upon him, moreover, a goodly
stock of cash, and bid him go in peace, his gratitude got the better of
him, and he fairly broke down. The big tears coursed down over his rough
cheeks, and his face sank between his hands, which trembled violently
for a moment. Then his habitual calm of outward manner returned.

"Allah requite thee, my brother," he said, "I can never hope to."

"I have done nothing," said Isaacs. "Shall believers languish and perish
in the hands of swine without faith? Verily it is Allah's doing, whose
name is great and powerful. He will not suffer the followers of His
prophet to be devoured of jackals and unclean beasts. Masallah! There is
no God bu