in a large wood. Here, as soon as the horses
had been unsaddled, and the fire lighted, their talk naturally turned
to the fight they had gone through.

"I cannot make out how you came to suspect them, Dick."

"I can hardly account for it myself, but, as I told you, I did not
like the look of that man, and I had an uneasy sort of feeling, which
I could not explain even to myself, that there was danger in the air."

"But what made you think of these Stranglers? I had heard some talk
about them, but never anything for certain."

"The Rajah told me, when he was warning me against joining parties of
travellers, that although very little was known about the
organisation, it was certain that there was a sect who strangled and
robbed travellers in great numbers. He said that he was aware that
complaints had been made, to princes all over India, of numbers of
persons being missing; and that it was certain that these murders were
not the work of ordinary dacoits, but of some secret association; and
that even powerful princes were afraid to take any steps against it,
as one or two, who had made efforts to investigate the affair, had
been found strangled in their beds. Therefore, no one cared to take
any steps to search into the matter. It was not known whether these
Stranglers, scattered as they were very widely, obeyed one common
chief, or whether they acted separately; but all were glad to leave
this mysterious organisation alone, especially as they preyed only on
travellers, and in no case meddled in any way with rajahs, or
officials, who did not interfere with them. Consequently, the idea
occurred to me, directly, that these men who seemed like traders might
be a party of these Stranglers; and when the others came up, while the
leader was sitting talking to us, I felt as if cold water was running
down my back, and that someone was whispering to me, 'Be on your
guard, be on your guard!' Therefore, the moment something passed
before my face, I threw myself back and fired at the man behind me,
without a moment's thought as to what it was."

"Well, certainly you saved our lives by doing so, Dick; for I suppose,
if that man behind me had once got his silk scarf round my neck, he
would have choked me before I had time to so much as lift my hand."

"I have not the least doubt that he would, and I feel thankful,
indeed, that I had such a strange feeling that these men were
dangerous. Do you know, Surajah, it seems to me that it