“And then, sir, it ought not to be impossible to secure the subahdar himself when the moment arrives.”

Clive looked at the bright eager countenance of the boy before him.

“Upon my word, my lad,” he said, “I believe you can do it.  How, I don’t know; but you have shown so much resource already that you may be able to help us in this fix—­for fix it is, and a bad one.  ’Tis the will that counts; if one is only determined enough no difficulty is insuperable—­a lesson that our friends from Calcutta might take to heart.  But have you a plan?”

“Not at present, sir.  I should like to think it over; and if I can hit on anything that seems feasible I should be glad of your leave to try.”

“By all means, my lad.  If you fail—­well, no one will be more sorry than I, for your sake.  If you succeed, you will find that I shall not forget.

“There’s one thing I want to ask you before you go.  Have you heard anything of my friend Merriman’s ladies?”

“Yes, sir; and, as I suspected, Diggle is at the bottom of their disappearance.”

He related the series of incidents up the river.

“Dressed like a native, was he?  And looked like a risaldar {officer commanding a troop of horse}?  There’s no end to that fellow’s villainy.  But his day of reckoning will come; I am sure of it, and the world will be none the worse for the loss of so vile a creature.  If you take my advice you’ll say nothing to Mr. Merriman of this discovery.  ’Twould only unsettle the poor man.  He had better know nothing until we can either restore the ladies to him or tell him that there is no hope.”

“I don’t give up hope, sir.  They’re alive, at any rate; and Diggle has lost them.  I feel sure we shall find them.”

“God grant it, my lad.”

Chapter 27:  In which an officer of the Nawab disappears; and Bulger reappears.

“This will be my last trip, sahib, for my present master.  He says I waste too much time on the river.  He also complains that I go to places without leave and without reason.  He heard we were at Mayapur, and wanted to know why.  I made excuses, sahib; I said whatever came into my head; but he was not satisfied, and I leave his service in a week.”

“That is a pity, Hossain.  Unless we are in the service of some well-known banya we cannot go up and down the river without exciting suspicion.  However, let us hope that before the week is out the fleet will be here.”

Desmond looked a little anxious.  The success of his project for preventing the fouling of the passage at Tanna Fort was more than ever doubtful.  The petala was moored opposite the Crane ghat at Calcutta, taking in a cargo of jawar {millet} for Chandernagore.  The work of loading had been protracted to the utmost by the serang; for Desmond did not wish to leave the neighborhood of Calcutta at the present juncture, when everything turned upon their being on the spot at the critical moment.