"O, the old Bawa!" said the Patel, laughing. "Curious, is it not, noble sir, that the old man thinks that there are devils in the tree? He tells me he was bewitched there once, and I ought to cut it down." "And I told him I was not afraid of them, Patel; but he said there was something else," returned the Lalla. "Robbers, I suppose," said Lukshmun, readily; "Pahar Singh's men, perhaps." "Perhaps," added the Lalla, "but he did not say so." "Well for him," thought the Putwari, "or his stacks would have been burnt to-morrow night." "Ah! no fear of thieves when you have one of 'the hunchbacks' with you," said Lukshmun. "Come, mount, my lord. Salaam, Maharaj," he continued, making a mock salutation to the sun, which was just struggling through a cloud. "Salaam! thou hast been moist to-day; come out and dry thyself and us too. Now, noble gentleman, mount, and you will see how fast the excellent dinner I have eaten in the Patel's kitchen will take my feet to Allund, and the good horse, too, looks as fresh as if he were but just starting," and he patted him. "Ah, well done, sir!" he continued, as the Lalla mounted not ungracefully; "we poor Dekhanies cannot compare ourselves on horseback with you northern cavaliers. Come, sir, the road waits for us." And with a salutation all round, the Lalla rode out of the gate, and our friend Lukshmun, cutting a caper which showed his marvellous activity by way, as he said, of getting the dinner out of his legs, and calling to the guide who carried the bundle, they passed on over the village common. The Putwari sighed as the party left the gate. "I tell thee, Seeta Ram," said the Patel, "he will come to no harm, and he is gone away happy." "I am glad he did not eat at my house; it is not pleasant feeding a man who has death in his throat," returned the Putwari. "I tell thee he is safe," retorted the Patel; "and if he is killed, it is no affair of ours." "No, it is no business of ours," said the Putwari, settling to his accounts with a sigh which vexed the Patel. "No, it is no business of ours," echoed the farmers. At that time Rama, who was seated on the heap of stones, looking from the top of the hill, exclaimed, as the three persons emerged from a lane into a low field in which the road was distinctly visible. "Jemadar! he is coming at last, and Lukshmun is with him; we must be ready. Look, they are there!" he continued, as Gopal Singh joined him, "between the village and the stream." "Ah, I see them, Rama, and thy brother is as true as gold. We will join them as they go on; he must not suspect us yet." FOOTNOTE: [5] Each village is obliged to furnish a guide to travellers on payment of a small gratuity, and these men relieve themselves at every village. CHAPTER XII.