; although, as he sees how bent I am upon it, he
says nothing that might dash my hopes.

"If evil comes of it, Dick, I shall never forgive myself. I shall feel
that I have sacrificed you to a sort of hallucination."

"I can only say, Mother," Dick replied, "that I came out here, and
entered into your plans, only because I had the most implicit faith
that you were right. I should now continue it on my own account, even
if tomorrow you should be taken from me. Of course, I see plainly
enough that the chances are greatly against my ever hearing anything
of Father; but from what has taken place during the campaign, I have
seen that there must be many British captives still hidden away among
the hill forts, and it is quite possible he may be among them. I do
not even say that it is probable, but the chances are not so very
greatly against it; and even if I thought they were smaller--much
smaller than I believe them to be--I should still consider it my duty
to go up and try and find him. So, even if it should happen that I
never come back again, you will not have yourself to blame, for it is
not you that are sending me, but I who am going of my free will; and
indeed, I feel it so much my duty that, even were you to turn round
now and ask me to stay, I should still think it right to undertake
this mission.

"But indeed, Mother, I see no great danger in it; in fact, scarcely
any danger at all--at any rate, unless I find Father. If I do so,
there might certainly be risk in attempting to get him away; but this,
if I am lucky enough in discovering him, will not weigh with me for an
instant. If I do not find him, it seems to me that the risk is a mere
nothing. Surajah and I will wander about, enlisting in the garrisons
of forts. Then, if we find there are no prisoners there, we shall take
an early opportunity of getting away. In some places, no doubt, I
shall be able to learn from men of the garrison whether there are
prisoners, without being forced to enter at all; for although in the
great forts, like Savandroog and Outradroog, it is considered so
important the defences should be kept secret, that none of the
garrison are allowed to leave until they are discharged as too old for
service, there is no occasion for the same precaution in the case of
less important places. Thus, you see, we shall simply have to wander
about, keeping our eyes and ears open, and finding out, either from
the peasants or the soldiers themselves, wheth