Page:Henry rideout--The siamese cat.djvu/125

 From the verandah Aunt Julia called down in astonishment—

"Are you taking him?"

"Yes," he laughed back. "Miss Holborow lends him. A friend of mine is anxious to see him. In fact, several men—Good-night."

Just how anxious, he was soon to learn. The moon still lurked behind the eastern palm-groves, the road was a gully of ragged shadows. Once or twice, as they rolled along it, he seemed to hear footsteps pattering swiftly.

"Hi, gharri-wallah!" he called. The bearded Mohammedan pulled up. "Who runs behind? We had no sais."

The driver listened.

"Master, I think Ee-Sander Sahib send one man."

But the sound had stopped. The carriage was slowly getting under way again, when some one dived in head first—a half-naked