With a trembling hand Bandhu unloosened the string which fastened the bag round his neck, and first took out the bracelet, which he slipped on his arm. There was no difficulty in doing this; but the next moment Bandhu could hardly suppress a cry of pain, for the bracelet grasped his wrist tightly, as if it would cut into the flesh, even to the bone! Here indeed was a warning against Idolatry and Vice, surely danger—great danger must be near! In terror Bandhu pulled forth his mirror, dropping as he did so the black bag of Ignorance in which it so long had lain hidden. He gazed by the moonlight upon the mirror; from the frame flashed forth in red light the word "Beware!" And behold! In the glass Bandhu saw reflected not only his own frightened face, but almost close behind him the horrible countenances of the two Thugs, stealing up with the deadly noose in their grasp! Had he not seen them in the mirror, in another minute or two the poor boy would have been a corpse under their murderous hands! Bandhu rushed off in terror, as the fawn flies from the cheetah, trampling Ignorance under his flying feet. But the two Thugs were determined not to lose their victim. They knew that if he escaped, he would give information against them. As the cheetah by successive springs gains on the fawn, so the Thugs gained upon Bandhu. The poor boy stumbled over the roots of a tree in his haste, and they were upon him at once. Happily for Bandhu help was near. Prem Chand had lingered still near the lad who had insulted and struck him, and seeing the chase, now rushed with a shout to the rescue. A sudden blow from a large stick held by Prem Chand laid Idolatry bleeding and stunned on the ground. Vice, hearing the shout, and seeing his father fall, fled like a coward as he is. Poor rescued Bandhu, thus a second time saved from a terrible fate, sobbed like a frightened child in the arms of his brave preserver. [Illustration] CHAPTER IX. HEALING. THE first care of Prem Chand was to bind Idolatry hand and foot, so that should the Thug revive, he might not be able to rise. His own noose, and the pugri which he wore, served to supply his bonds. Bandhu was in a most distressing state. His fright seemed to have taken from him all the little sense that Superstition had left. His bracelet squeezed him like a vice, till he was half maddened by the pain. The poor boy wept; he rolled himself in the dust, and moaned out, "I am lost! I am lost!" Prem Chand was perplexed as to what course to pursue, till he bethought himself of the mirror which Bandhu had dropped in his flight. It lay gleaming like a silver jewel in the clear light of the moon. Prem Chand raised it, and from the frame the words "Leaves of healing" shone forth. The thought struck Prem Chand that the mirror might thus be guiding him to a cure for his poor sick companion.