His captain entered and saluted.

“Highness, a mahout has news.”

“News?  Of what?”

“He claims that he saw the king’s turban in a howdah which passed the ancient gate about an hour gone.”

“That is not possible,” replied Umballa.

“I told him that the king was in his chamber.”

“So he is.  Wait!  I will go myself and see,” all at once vaguely perturbed.  He was back in a very short time, furious.

“It is true!  Woe to those who permitted him to escape!”

“Highness, the escape of the leopards and the confusion which followed . . .”

“By all the gods of Hind, and ’twas you who left the door open!  You opened it for me to pass out first.  Summon the council.  Off with you, and give this handful of silver to the only man who has sense enough to believe his eyes.  Hare Sahib is mine, and I will follow him into the very house of the British Raj!  Guards and elephants!  And the bride to be, what of her?  Look and see.  Nay, I will go with you.”

Umballa found an empty chamber; the future queen was gone.  More, he found one of the women of the zenana—­his favorite—­bound and gagged with handkerchiefs.  Quickly he freed her.

“Highness, the bride’s face was dark like my own, but her arms were as light as clotted cream!  And she spake the tongue of the white people.”

Kathlyn Hare!  She lived; she had escaped the brigands; she had fooled him!  And Ramabai had played with him as a cat plays with a wounded mouse.  Oh, they should see this time!

Suddenly he laughed.  It echoed down the corridor, and one of the treasury leopards roared back at the sinister sound.

“Highness!” timidly.

“Enough!  I hold you blameless.”  He rushed from the palace.

Poor fools!  Let them believe that they had escaped.  There was still the little sister; in a short time now she would be inside the city walls.  The Colonel Sahib would return; indeed, yes.  There would be no further difficulty regarding the filigree basket of gold and gems.  Still, he would pursue them, if only for the mere sport of it.  If he failed to catch them all he had to do was to sit down and wait for them to return of their own volition.

Ramabai, however, was a menace; and Umballa wondered how he was going to lay hold of him.  While waiting for his elephants to be harnessed he summoned the council.  Ramabai’s property must be confiscated and Ramabai put to death.  Here for the first time the council flatly refused to fall in with Umballa’s plans.  And they gave very good reasons.  Yes, Ramabai was a menace, but till the soldiery was fully paid, to touch Ramabai would mean the bursting forth of the hidden fire and they would all be consumed.

“Open the treasury door for me, then!”

“We dare not.  The keepers understand.  They would loose the leopards, which we dare not shoot.  The law . . .”