“The Khwaja,” said Desmond to them in the Armenian’s hearing, as they reached the ghat, “is coming a little way with us down the river.

“You, Kristodas Das, will go and tell Bulger Sahib that I wish him to follow the Khwaja’s boats at a few yards’ distance, and to be prepared to board at any moment.

“You,” turning to the other two peons, “will come with me.  The Khwaja will send word to his durwan that he is going to Murshidabad by river and will not return tonight; his house is to be locked up.  The Khwaja will, I am sure, give these orders correctly, for Surendra Nath will understand better than I what he says.”

With the Babu, the two peons, and Coja Solomon, who was now obviously ill at ease, Desmond went down the ghat to the place where the crews of the petalas were assigned to him.  The man dared not depart by a jot from the words put into his mouth.  One of his coolies left with the message, the rest followed their employer on board with Desmond and his companions, and in a few minutes the three boats were cast off and stood upstream.  As they started Desmond saw the boat containing Bulger and his men slip from the shade of the trees and begin to creep after them.

The boats had not gone more than a couple of hundred yards upstream when Coja Solomon, at Desmond’s orders, bade the men row toward the opposite shore and turn the boats’ heads round, explaining that he had decided after all to convey the goods to Hugli.  There was some grumbling among the crew, who had expected to go to Murshidabad, and did not relish the prospect of the longer voyage.  But the Armenian, knowing that every word was overheard by Desmond’s men, made haste to pacify the boatmen.

It was by no means easy work getting down the river.  The boats were flat bottomed and drew very little water; but the stream being very low, they stuck fast time after time in the shallows.  By day the boatmen might have picked their way more carefully, but the moon was new and shed too little light for river navigation.  More than once they had to leap overboard and, wading, shove and haul until the boats came off the mud banks into practicable water again.  They rowed hard when the course was clear, encouraged by promises of liberal bakshish made by their employer at Desmond’s prompting.  But the interruptions were so frequent that the dawn found the boats only some thirty miles from their starting-point.  The river being here a little deeper, Desmond could afford to let the rowers take a much-needed rest, while the boats floated down with the stream.

But as the day wore on the river again played them false, and progress was at times reduced to scarcely more than two miles an hour.  Things had been uncomfortable in the night, but the discomforts were increased tenfold in the day.  It was the hottest season of the year; out of the clear sky the sun’s rays beat down with pitiless ferocity; the whole landscape was a-quiver with heat; all things seemed to swoon