“I gave Penelope a hint of it the other day, but she didn’t seem to take any interest,” Ferrers grumbled on; “and to-day again--I said I’d tell her about it if she’d ask me nicely, but she wouldn’t. There’s no meeting you half-way with Pen; one has to make all the running oneself. She doesn’t care what happens to me; but when I said that as soon as we were married we would drop that fellow Haigh and his ugly wife, she looked ready to cry.” “She and Lady Haigh are great friends,” said Colin, anxious to make peace, “and they have both been very kind to her. You would not wish her to be ungrateful, surely? But I haven’t heard your news yet.” “Ride as close to me as you can, then. I don’t want those sowars of yours to hear. Well, then, my chance is in sight at last. I know where to find Shir Hussein!” “The outlaw?” asked Colin, rather disappointed. “Of course. And I mean to catch him and his gang, and so leave Khemistan in a blaze of glory. You shall have a share in it, because you’re the only fellow that has treated me decently over this business. The rest will look pretty blue when they hear about it.” “But where is he? Is his band a large one?” Ferrers looked round mysteriously. “A good deal bigger than most people think. No wonder he has given us so much trouble! But he makes his headquarters in one of the ruined forts in my district, not so far from Shah Nawaz. The fact is, that’s why he has gone free so long--I never thought of looking for him there. But one of my spies met me on my way back from the river with the news, and the joke of it is that I know the place. I camped there for a week once, trying to get some shooting. Well, you see, since I know my way about there, we can do with a much smaller force than would otherwise be needed. I shall have to ask for some help from here, which I should hate if Porter or Haigh, or Keeling himself, had to come too, but I shall only ask for a small detachment with you in charge. Then we’ll astonish them all.” “But why don’t you want the Chief or any one to know about it?” “They’ll have to know that I want help to capture Shir Hussein, unfortunately, but I don’t want them to know what a stiff job it is until it’s over. Don’t you see that they would do me out of the credit of it if they could? They’re jealous of me--horribly jealous--because I happen to be the Commissioner’s nephew. Can I help it? Is it my doing if he gets me a post somewhere else? I didn’t come here because I liked the frontier--merely as a sort of favour to Old Harry--and if I’m offered a chance of leaving it I won’t refuse, but I don’t want to go as if I had been kicked out. Of course they would do anything rather than let me end up with a blaze of fireworks, but I think we can manage it in this way. Only mind you keep things dark, and make a point of coming when I send for help.” “Am I to tell the Chief what you think of doing?”