he was
entirely unable to understand. There seemed to be no one else who
knew. Tooni could have told him, but Tooni was under orders that
she did not dare to disobey. In the bazar two or three conflicting
stories, equally wonderful, were told of Sunni; but none that Dr.
Roberts could believe. In the end he found out about Sunni from
Sunni himself, who had never forgotten one word of what Tooni told
the Maharajah. Sunni mentioned also, with considerable pride, that
he had known three English words for a long time--'wass' and
'bruss' and 'isstockin'.'

Then Dr. Roberts, with his heart full of the awful grief of the
Mutiny, and thinking how gladly this waif and stray would be
received by somebody, hurried to the Maharajah, and begged that the
boy might be given back to his own people, that he, Dr. Roberts,
might take him back to his own people at his personal risk and
expense; that inquiries might at least be set on foot to find his
relatives.

'Yes,' said the Maharajah, 'but not yet, ee-Wobbis. The boy will
be well here for a year, and you shall teach him. At the end of
that time we will speak again of this matter.'

Dr. Roberts was not satisfied. He asked the Maharajah at all
events to allow Sunni to live with him in his empty jail, but His
Highness refused absolutely.

'And look you, ee-Wobbis,' said he, 'I have promised the Viceroy in
Calcutta that you shall be safe in my country, and you shall be
safe, though I never asked you to come here. But if any khaber
goes to Calcutta about this boy, and if there is the least
confusion regarding him, your mouth shall be stopped, and you shall
not talk any more to my people. For my part, I do not like your
medicines, and you have not yet cured Proteb Singh of his short
leg; he goes as lame as ever!'

This was Dr. Roberts' difficulty; his mouth would be stopped. He
did not doubt the Maharajah. If he wrote to Calcutta that a Rajput
prince still held a hostage from the Mutiny, and made a
disturbance, there would be an end to the work he had begun under
the shadow of the palace wall. And the work was prospering so
well! The people were listening now, Dr. Roberts thought, and
certainly he had been able to relieve a great deal of their
physical misery. Would he be justified in writing to Calcutta?
Dr. Roberts thought about it very long and very seriously. In the
end he believed that he would not be justified, at least until the
year was over of which the Mahar