He looked at the queer slender figure before him, in
its torn coat of embroidered silk, and its narrow, shapeless, dirty
cotton trousers; and especially he looked at the boy's hair and
eyes--his wavy yellow hair and his blue eyes.
'You are not a Rajput, you are an English boy,' he said finally,
with amazed conviction.
At another time the Colonel would have been wild with excitement at
such a discovery, but for the moment his mind was full of graver
things. In an hour he meant to attack Lalpore. He dismissed his
kindling enthusiasm, and added simply, 'How came you here?'
'I came by a rope from the palace to the pipal-tree, and thence to
the south wall, and thence to the river bed. It was not hard.
Knowing the shallows of the river, I arrived quite easily by
wading.'
'You come from the fort? Are there any other English there?' The
Colonel's voice was quick and eager.
'Not even one! Ee-Wobbis was there, but he is killed.'
'Ah!' said Colonel Starr. 'When was he killed?'
'In the evening on the tenth day of the month. I do not properly
know for why. It was not the Maharajah,' added Sunni quickly; 'it
was Maun Rao. Ee-Wobbis was my countryman, and I hate Maun Rao.'
The orderly came for the final message that was to be sent to the
Maharajah.
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