"Dynamite bombs, my friend! You native soldiers have no artillery, and
we have seen from the first the necessity of supplying a substitute. By
making full use of the element of surprise, these bombs should serve
your purpose. There are one million of them, packed two hundred in a
bale--much more useful than artillery in the hands of untrained men!
"Those look like bales of blankets. They are. Cotton blankets from
Muenchen-Gladbach. Only, the middle blankets have been omitted, and the
outer ones have served as a cushion to prevent accidental discharge.
They have been imported in small lots at a time, and brought here four
or five at a time in ox-carts from one or other of the Delhi railway
stations by men who are no longer in this part of India--men who have
been pensioned off."
"How did you get them through the Customs?" wondered Ranjoor Singh.
"Did you ever see a rabbit go into his hole?" the German asked. "They
were very small consignments, obviously of blankets. The duty was paid
without demur, and the price paid the Customs men was worth their
while. That part was easy!"
"Of what size are the bombs?" asked Ranjoor Singh.
"About the size of an orange. Come, I'll show you."
He led him to an opened bale, and showed him two hundred of them
nestling like the eggs of some big bird.
"My God!" moaned Sita Ram. "Are those dynamite? Sahibs--snakes are
better! Snakes can feel afraid, but those--ow! Let me go away!"
"Let him go," said the German. "Let him take his message."
"Go, then!" ordered Ranjoor Singh; and the German walked to the door to
let him out.
"What is your message?" he asked.
"To Yasmini first, for she is in touch with all of them," said Sita
Ram. "First I will go to Yasmini. Then she will come here to say the
regiments have started. First she will come alone; after her the
regiments."
"She had better be alone!" said the German. "Go on, run! And don't
forget the way back? Wait! How will she know the way? How will you
describe it to her?"
"She? Describe it to her? I will tell her 'The Winds of the World,' and
she will come straight."
"How? How will she know?"
"The priest who used to be here--whom you bribed to go away--he is her
night doorkeeper now!" said Sita Ram. "Yes, she will come veree
quickly!"
The German let him out with an air mixed of surprise and disbelief, and
returned to Ranjoor Singh with far less iron in his stride, though with
no less determination.
"Now we shall see!" he said, drawing an automatic pistol and cocking it
carefully. "This is not meant as a personal threat to you, so long as
we two are in here alone. It's in case of trickery from outside. I
shall blow this place sky-high if anything goes wrong. If the regiments
come, good! You shall have the bombs. If they don't come, or if there's
a trick played--click! Good-by! We'll argue the rest in Heaven!"
"Very well," said Ranjoor Singh; and, to show how little he felt
concerned, he drew his basket to him and began to eat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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