ut up that thing, sonny," said the Sergeant, "or by heaven, I'll loose
the dog upon you. Got your revolver handy, Doctor?"

Evidently, if the man did not understand Quick's words, their purport
was clear to him, for he sheathed his knife and fell back with the
others. Shadrach, too, rose from the ground and went with them. At a
distance of a few yards, however, he turned, and, glaring at Higgs out
of his swollen eyes, said:

"Be sure, accursed Gentile, that I will remember and repay."

At this moment, too, Orme arrived upon the scene, yawning.

"What the deuce is the matter?" he asked.

"I'd give five bob for a pint of iced stone ginger," replied Higgs
inconsequently. Then he drank off a pannikin of warmish, muddy-coloured
water which Quick gave to him, and handed it back, saying:

"Thanks, Sergeant; that's better than nothing, and cold drink is always
dangerous if you are hot. What's the matter? Oh! not much. Shadrach
tried to poison Pharaoh; that's all. I was watching him out of the
corner of my eye, and saw him go to the strychnine tin, roll a bit of
meat in it which he had first wetted, and throw it to the poor beast.
I got hold of it in time, and chucked it over that wall, where you will
find it if you care to look. I asked Shadrach why he had done such a
thing. He answered, 'To keep the dog quiet while we are passing through
the Fung,' adding that anyhow it was a savage beast and best out of the
way, as it had tried to bite him that morning. Then I lost my temper and
went for the blackguard, and although I gave up boxing twenty years ago,
very soon had the best of it, for, as you may have observed, no Oriental
can fight with his fists. That's all. Give me another cup of water,
Sergeant."

"I hope it may be," answered Orme, shrugging his shoulders. "To tell the
truth, old fellow, it would have been wiser to defer blacking Shadrach's
eyes till we were safe in Mur. But it's no use talking now, and I
daresay I should have done the same myself if I had seen him try to
poison Pharaoh," and he patted the head of the great dog, of which we
were all exceedingly fond, although in reality it only cared for Orme,
merely tolerating the rest of us.

"Doctor," he added, "perhaps you would try to patch up our guide's nose
and soothe his feelings. You know him better than we do. Give him a
rifle. No, don't do that, or he might shoot some one in the back--by
accident done on purpose. Promise him a rifle when we get into Mur