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 to those beauties upstairs being aware that you and I are on guard, and that any attempt on their part to give admission to outsiders would be frustrated.”

“But if she knows that a watch is being kept, surely madam will not dare to leave the house?” suggested Forsyth, in the tentative tone that was necessary to preserve his uncle’s good humor.

“If she does, it will show that she’s cornered, and that Sybil’s guess has hit the bull’s eye,” said the General, adding, with a significant grimace, “a preparatory headache has been started already. You had better go to bed and leave me to see to the commencement of the cure.”

Two hours later Azimoolah Khan, lying flattened out like a huge lizard on the parapet of the terrace, and thanking Allah that the rain had ceased, suddenly pricked up his ears and thanked Allah again that the time for relieving his cramped limbs had come. At first his ears were the only part of his body affected by the slight sound he had heard, but some thirty seconds later, keeping the rest of him motionless, he goggled his eyes round to one of the ground-floor windows and saw—seeing