t you obtain _khubber_ of a tiger--of course a man-eater--in the
direction of my boundary, when I will lay aside the cares of _office_
and join you in the chase, and the resulting skin, should there be one,
shall be laid, with our united respectful compliments, at the feet of a
lady who shall be nameless. We hear marvellous tales of your having
tamed a certain old bear, and leading him about with a silken string,
but ain't there something of over-confidence in accompanying him into
his very den? Even a tame bear is treacherous at times, and when
_riled_, an awkward customer to tackle. Why not guide your bear gently
in this direction, and settle the disputed boundary between Augpore and
Durwan while I am on this side of my kingdom? Give me open country and
room to move rather than the finest bear-pit ever built, says

R. C."

Gerrard read this second letter in the quarters assigned to him in
Partab Singh's fortified palace at Agpur, and appreciated the motive
which had led Charteris both to send the warning and to couch it in
veiled and sportive language. A kind of envy of his friend, whose
problems, if difficult, were comparatively simple, and whose enemies
attacked in front, seized upon him, for he also preferred open country
and room to move. Nothing was simple at Agpur; it seemed as though
there was a malign influence about the place which brought hints of
tragedy into the most ordinary sights and sounds. Even as Gerrard
approached the city, to which the Rajah had preceded him the day
before, the gay procession of soldiers and dancing-girls that escorted
him was interrupted by a very different crowd. Followed by a jeering
rabble, there hurried forth from the gate a portly Hindu, whose
spotless muslins were rapidly being converted into filthy rags by the
attentions of his pursuers, and whose shaven head glistened bare under
the sun's rays. Glancing hither and thither like a hunted animal for
some place of refuge, the wretched man missed his footing and fell,
with a red gash across his brow where a stone had struck him. Smiles
and sarcasms passed among the soldiery, and one of the dancing-girls
introduced into her song a verse inspired by the occasion, to judge by
the cruel laughter it evoked. Fearing that the victim would be done to
death as soon as his back was turned, Gerrard dismounted and went to
help him up, intending to send one of his own men a little way back
with him, to see him clear of the