'I understand,' said Tom, a shiver, which he could not control, running through him. 'Wild elephants! My life must be valuable to some one, Billy. Yes; I heard them. I thought it was thunder. I must have only jumped into the nullah in time. And I wasn't trying to escape. Well! it is over now, so there's no use thinking about it. I will stick to you for the future, my good friend! Why did you separate yourself from us last evening?' 'If I tell my master, he will scarcely believe me,' said Bâl Narîn. 'Billy! Billy!' Tom was trembling from head to foot. 'You have found something.' 'I have found those his Excellency is seeking.' 'What? The English lady and the child. And in life? Billy, you are torturing me. Speak plainly. No; no; I cannot bear it. Don't speak at all. I shall see. And yet--where has my manhood gone? If they are dead----' 'Master, they are not dead.' 'Not? Now Heaven be praised!' 'Yes; but my master must be careful. See! there are pits here! If his Excellency goes in so headlong a fashion, he will break his limbs, and how will that profit his friends? Let him follow me, and I will take him where they are.' 'Yes; yes; I will follow you--my good guide--my noble guide! If all I have can recompense you, it is yours. But it cannot.' 'That my master gives me his confidence still is all I ask,' said Bâl Narîn. 'My confidence! I am bound to you for ever and ever. From this day I look upon you as the nearest and dearest of my friends. But how, in the name of heaven, could you have found them in this thicket?' 'That is a long story. Some day I will tell my master. But truly those he loves are favoured by the gods, for the birds and the beasts that are their children have helped me in my search----' And there he broke off, for they had leapt over the last nullah that separated them from the clearing and the hermit's hut; and the moon having risen and floating freely overhead, Tom saw, as Bâl Narîn had seen before him, the little enclosure of dried twigs and leaves; but within there was darkness, and no one was moving to and fro. CHAPTER XLI WHAT THE MORNING BROUGHT How Tom lived through the next few moments he never knew. The next thing of which he was distinctly conscious was standing in front of the hut and looking within and seeing nothing but blackness. As he groped forward with arms extended blindly, Bâl Narîn, who had been busy kindling another torch, came up behind him, and the flashing light flamed suddenly upon a spectacle that made Tom's heart stand still, and brought a wild cry to his lips.