darling?" she said to us, with
just the same heart-rending lift to the left eyebrow and the same break
of her voice as sent Strickland mad among the horses in the year '84. We
were quiet when they were gone. We waited till Imam Din returned to us
from above and coughed at the door, as only dark-hearted Asia can.

"Now," said Strickland, "tell us what truly befell, son of my servant."

"All befell as our Sahib has said. Only--only there was an
arrangement--a little arrangement on account of his cotton-play."

"Tell! Sit! I beg your pardon, Infant," said Strickland.

But the Infant had already made the sign, and we heard Imam Din hunker
down on the floor: One gets little out of the East at attention.

"When the fever came on our Sahib in our roofed house at Dupe," he
began, "the Hajji listened intently to his talk. He expected the names
of women; though I had already told him that Our virtue was beyond
belief or compare, and that Our sole desire was this cotton-play. Being
at last convinced, the Hajji breathed on our Sahib's forehead, to sink
into his brain news concerning a slave-dealer in his district who had
made a mock of the law. Sahib," Imam Din turned to Strickland, "our
Sahib answered to those false words as a horse of blood answers to
the spur. He sat up. He issued orders for the apprehension of the
slavedealer. Then he fell back. Then we left him."

"Alone--servant of my son, and son of my servant?" said his father.

"There was an old woman which belonged to the Hajji. She had come in
with the Hajji's money-belt. The Hajji told her that if our Sahib died,
she would die with him. And truly our Sahib had given me orders to
depart."

"Being mad with fever--eh?"

"What could we do, Sahib? This cotton-play was his heart's desire. He
talked of it in his fever. Therefore it was his heart's desire that
the Hajji went to fetch. Doubtless the Hajji could have given him money
enough out of hand for ten cottonplays; but in this respect also our
Sahib's virtue was beyond belief or compare. Great Ones do not exchange
moneys. Therefore the Hajji said--and I helped with my counsel--that we
must make arrangements to get the money in all respects conformable with
the English Law. It was great trouble to us, but--the Law is the Law.
And the Hajji showed the old woman the knife by which she would die if
our Sahib died. So I accompanied the Hajji."

"Knowing who he was?" said Strickland.

"No! Fearing the man. A virtue