“It is true.  I had to talk to him about some business; I am on the point of purchasing from him a large consignment of indigo for my Hamburg firm.”

“I have, of course, nothing to do with your business; but I must inform you that we do not approve of direct communication between Europeans and the native princes.  You will, therefore, for the future, be best advised to communicate with me when you are summoned to the Maharajah, so that we may arrive at an understanding as to what you may, or may not, say to him.  We cannot, unfortunately, trust all the Indian princes, and this one here is, perhaps, the most unreliable of them all.  You must not, however, regard what I say to you as an expression of any want of confidence in yourself.  The responsibility of my position imposes upon me, as you see, the greatest possible prudence.”

“I understand that completely, Colonel!”

“At this very moment the situation appears to be more than ever complicated.  I shall be very much surprised, if we are not on the eve of very disquieting times.  The Governor-General of Turkestan is marching this way, and his advance guard has already passed the Afghan frontier.”

Heideck had difficulty in concealing the excitement, which this confirmation of Tchajawadse’s story aroused in him.

“Is that certain, Colonel?  What do the Russians want in Afghanistan?”

“What do the Russians want there?  Now, my dear Mr. Heideck, I think that is plain enough.  Their advance means war with us.  Russia will, of course, not openly allow this at present.  They treat their advance as a matter which only concerns the Emir and with which we have nothing to do.  But one must be very simple not to discern their real intentions.”

“And may I ask, Colonel, what you are thinking of doing?”

Colonel Baird must really have held the young German for a very trustworthy or, at least, for a very harmless personage, for he replied to his question at once—­

“The Russian advance guard has crossed the Amu Darya and is marching up the Murghab Valley upon Herat.  We shall take our measures accordingly.  The Muscovites will have been deceived in us.  We are not, after all, so patient and long-suffering as to let our dear neighbours slip in by the open door.  I think the Russian generals will pull long faces when they suddenly find themselves confronted in Afghanistan by our battalions, by our Sikhs and Gourkas.”

The adjutant made his appearance with what was evidently an important message, and as Heideck perceived that the Colonel wished to speak privately to his orderly officer, he considered that politeness required him to retire.

The words of the Colonel, “The Russian advance into Afghanistan means war,” rung unceasingly in his ears.  He thanked his good fortune for having brought him at the right moment to the theatre of the great events in the world’s history, and all his thoughts were now solely directed as to the “where and how” of his being able, on the outbreak of hostilities, to be present both as spectator and observer.