wels and valuables
and sought shelter in flight. It was decided to spend the night at
a place a few miles distant.

In the excitement a young mother was separated from her little boy,
a child of about three or four years of age. She concluded that he
was with some other member of the family in another carriage and did
not trouble herself about it. But on their arrival at their place of
refuge he was not found with any of the others.

The mother's distress of mind was pitiful. She wished to return
for her child; but it was growing dark and there was the danger of
meeting the dacoits. So her wish was overruled, and through the long
night she suffered terrible anxiety, picturing in her mind all that
was perhaps befalling her little son.

In the meantime the child was sleeping sweetly and peacefully in his
bed in his mother's room. Tired out with play, he had slipped into
bed unknown to any one and there he lay.

About twelve at night the dacoits arrived and broke into the
house. They searched the empty rooms and were furious at finding no
valuables worth carrying away. They came to the room where the little
boy slept, and their loud voices awakened him. He sat up and, seeing
their strange faces and glaring torches, screamed with fright. One
of them threatened to kill him if he did not stop his noise. Another
stepped to the bedside and taking the little boy in his arms said:
"Little one, do not cry. No one will hurt you."

The child recognised his father's servant and twined his little arms
around the man's neck. The other dacoits laughed and walked out of
the room leaving their comrade with the child.

When daylight broke, the family returned home, and the poor young
mother flew through the house in search of her child. To her surprise
and joy she found him sleeping peacefully in her own room. Her
hysterical caresses awakened him and the little fellow could not
understand what ailed his mother.

"Did nothing happen during the night?" she asked. "Did you see anything
or anyone, my son?"

Rubbing his chubby knuckles in his eyes the sleepy little boy answered:
"Oh, yes, where were you, mother? A lot of men came. Some wanted to
hit me, but--(naming the servant) was with them, and he sent them
away. Then he gave me sweets and put me to sleep."

The servant was arrested, and he confessed that he was one of the
band of dacoits who had sent the warning letter and had broken into
the house. Nearly the whole band was cap