as called down to tell what I knew by speech of tongue. Mahbub came
South too. See the end! Over the Passes this year after
snow-melting'--he shivered afresh--'come two strangers under cover of
shooting wild goats. They bear guns, but they bear also chains and
levels and compasses.'

'Oho! The thing gets clearer.'

'They are well received by Hilas and Bunar. They make great promises;
they speak as the mouthpiece of a Kaisar with gifts. Up the valleys,
down the valleys go they, saying, "Here is a place to build a
breastwork; here can ye pitch a fort. Here can ye hold the road
against an army"--the very roads for which I paid out the rupees
monthly. The Government knows, but does nothing. The three other
Kings, who were not paid for guarding the Passes, tell them by runner
of the bad faith of Bunar and Hilas. When all the evil is done, look
you--when these two strangers with the levels and the compasses make
the Five Kings to believe that a great army will sweep the Passes
tomorrow or the next day--Hill-people are all fools--comes the order to
me, Hurree Babu, "Go North and see what those strangers do." I say to
Creighton Sahib, "This is not a lawsuit, that we go about to collect
evidence."' Hurree returned to his English with a jerk: "'By Jove," I
said, "why the dooce do you not issue demi-offeecial orders to some
brave man to poison them, for an example? It is, if you permit the
observation, most reprehensible laxity on your part." And Colonel
Creighton, he laughed at me! It is all your beastly English pride.
You think no one dare conspire! That is all tommy-rott.'

Kim smoked slowly, revolving the business, so far as he understood it,
in his quick mind.

'Then thou goest forth to follow the strangers?'

'No. To meet them. They are coming in to Simla to send down their
horns and heads to be dressed at Calcutta. They are exclusively
sporting gentlemen, and they are allowed special faceelities by the
Government. Of course, we always do that. It is our British pride.'

'Then what is to fear from them?'

'By Jove, they are not black people. I can do all sorts of things with
black people, of course. They are Russians, and highly unscrupulous
people. I--I do not want to consort with them without a witness.'

'Will they kill thee?'

'Oah, thatt is nothing. I am good enough Herbert Spencerian, I trust,
to meet little thing like death, which is all in my fate, you know.
But--but they may beat