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The air was still and hot, for the Indian sureat peninsula The pale dust, the

white stucco of the buildings, blinded the eyes

They proceeded at once to the single hotel, where they found plenty of

accommodation Then the colonel hurried off to the cable office and

wired Winnie Next he ascertained that the British ship Si for Bombay; that there they could

pick up the _Delhi_, bound for England There was nothing further to

do but wait for the answer to the colonel's cable to Winnie, which

would arrive somewhere about noon of the next day

And that answer struck the hearts of all of them with the coldness of

death Uo for

Allaha, in search of father and sister!

Ahmed spat out his betel-nut and squared his shoulders So like this The reason for Umballa's

half-hearted pursuit stood forth clearly

"Sahib, it is fate," he said "We must return at once to Allaha

Truly, the curse of that old guru sticks like the blood leeches of the

Bengal swauru, I have faith in

mine Not a hair of our heads shall be harmed"