I will give you five minutes to save your
skin in.'
'But--but you are my COUNTRYMAN, burra sahib!' There was a sob in
his voice.
The only possible answer to that was a hug, so it went unanswered.
Colonel Starr set himself to think of his Midlanders.
Sunni lifted his blue eyes entreatingly to the Colonel's face, but
he had turned it away. He was watching a little brown lizard
sunning itself outside the tent door, and wondering how long he
could keep his disciplinary expression. You could hear nothing in
the tent but the ticking of the watch. Sunni looked down at the
lizard too, and so the minutes passed.
Three of them passed. Colonel Starr found himself hoping even more
that the boy should stand firm than that he should speak. Colonel
Starr began to say softly within himself, 'I am a brute.' The
fifth minute was up. 'Will you speak?' asked the Colonel.
'Burra sahib, no,' said Sunni.
At that instant Lieutenant Pink galloped up to the door of the
tent.
'They've come to their senses at last, sir. Six mounted men have
just left the north gate, signalling for a parley.'
The Colonel jumped to his feet and gave half a dozen orders without
stopping. The last one was to Sunni. 'Stay here,' he said; 'you
shall soon go back to your own country.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83