Page:Harold Lamb--The House of the Falcon.djvu/95

 to the chink of coins, well pleased with himself and the world.

He had been paid a good price for the woman. That price he would double in his claim upon Monsey for the money spent on their journey, and he would get a half of the profit from the blackmail received from Rand.

So Abbas Abad was well content. Not so very often had he been able to kill two birds with one stone and pluck the feathers of both in this fashion.

"Maili barlik," he repeated.

"Missing?" Arthur Rand was in bed with a high fever in his room at Fraser-Carnie's bungalow, but he rose on an unsteady elbow. "Edith is missing from Srinagar and I wasn't told?"

Monsey glanced around warily. He had taken some pains to find the American alone; he feared that the other's high voice might attract attention.

"Your daughter was carried off by some natives at the Maharaja's ball last night. Fraser-Carnie's orderly was supposed to be with her. I have had some dealings with a—trader of the bazaar, Mr. Rand. I believe he can trace Edith"

Abruptly the American sat up, his face flushed and his mouth drawn into a hard line.

"Mr. Monsey, I have heard you call yourself a friend of my daughter. Yet you sit here and talk, while natives no better than negroes—negroes—make away with Edith! Damnation!"

At this Monsey stiffened in disagreeable surprise. He had not counted on the hot anger of the Southerner. "Indeed, sir," he hesitated and then smiled, "to organize pursuit of these bandits it is necessary to