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Courteously he asked Kathlyn how she had become injured and Ramabai

acted as interpreter He then ushered thes

and cushions for theht

the son of his old friend so far

Colonel Hare spoke several dialects fluently and briefly told (between

sips of tea and bites of cakes which had been set out for the guests)

his experiences in Allaha

"The rulers of Allaha," observed Bala Khan, "have always been half reeone back," went on Bala Khan, lighting a

cigarette and eying Kathlyn onder and interest "Ah, that Durga

Ram whom they call Umballa! I have heard of him, but fortunately for

him our paths have not crossed in any way" He blew a cloud of s me In front

of me, a desert; behind uarded I am too far away for them to bother Someti It keeps the

tulwar froreat knife at his side

Bala Khan was muscular; his lean hands denoted work; his clear eyes,

the sun and the wind He was in height and building so after

the pattern of the colonel

"And to force a crown on iven it to this Umballa"

"That I would not do"

"In each case you showed forethought The Durga Ram, when he had you

where he wanted you----" Bala Khan drew a finger suggestively across