h no
encumbrance to delay me when once I left the line of the railway. I
might have ridden five miles with Kiramat Ali behind me on a sturdy
_tat_, when I was surprised by the appearance of an unknown saice in
plain white clothes, holding a pair of strong young ponies by the halter
and salaaming low.

"Pundit Ram Lal sends your highness his peace, and bids you ride without
sparing. The _dak_ is laid to the fire-carriages."

The saddles were changed in a moment, Kiramat Ali and I assisting in the
operation. It was clear that Ram Lal's messengers were swift, for even
if he had met Isaacs when the latter reached the railroad, no ordinary
horse could have returned with the message at the time I had received
it. Still less would any ordinary Hindus be capable of laying a _dak_,
or post route of relays, over a hundred miles long in twelve hours. Once
prepared, it was a mere matter of physical endurance in the rider to
cover the ground, for the relays were stationed every five or six miles.
It was well known that Lord Steepleton Kildare had lately ridden from
Simla to Umballa one night and back the next day, ninety-two miles each
way, with constant change of cattle. What puzzled me was the rapidity
with which the necessary dispositions had been made. On the whole, I was
reassured. If Ram Lal had been able to prepare my way at such short
notice here, with two more days at his disposal he would doubtless
succeed in laying me a _dak_ most of the way from Julinder to Keitung. I
will not dwell upon the details of the journey. I reached the railroad
and prepared for forty-eight hours of jolting and jostling and broken
sleep. It is true that railway travelling is nowhere so luxurious as in
India, where a carriage has but two compartments, each holding as a rule
only two persons, though four can be accommodated by means of hanging
berths. Each compartment has a spacious bathroom attached, where you may
bathe as often as you please, and there are various contrivances for
ventilating and cooling the air. Nevertheless the heat is sometimes
unbearable, and a journey from Bombay to Calcutta direct during the warm
months is a severe trial to the strongest constitution. On this occasion
I had about forty-eight hours to travel, and I was resolved to get all
the rest in that time that the jolting made possible; for I knew that
once in the saddle again it might be days before I got a night's sleep.
And so we rumbled along, through the vast fie