ng of the long whip by Jantje, mounted upon the wagon box,
the creaking, lumbering vehicle was got under way, Ramoo Samee following
close behind and leading the horses, while the dogs and Leo came to heel
and trotted along close behind Grosvenor and Dick, as was their wont
when their masters chose to walk, which was not very often. As for the
soldiers, they arranged themselves as a cordon round the entire cortege,
the officer in command leading the way.

This order was maintained until the noon outspan, when the officer,
after some pressing, laid aside his aloofness sufficiently to accept
Grosvenor's invitation to join him and Dick at luncheon. This proved to
be the thin end of the wedge, so to speak; for the man could scarcely
sit at the same table with his two prisoners, partake of their fare, and
still preserve his original attitude of silence toward them; indeed it
soon became evident that he was consumed with curiosity concerning the
two people who had travelled such a distance with such few retainers;
who seemed to have absolutely no knowledge of what fear was; and who
apparently numbered lions as well as dogs among their domestic animals.
He began by making a few tentative remarks, to which Grosvenor responded
at some length, and then suddenly demanded, with an air of astonishment
that he made scarcely any effort to conceal, how it came about that he,
Grosvenor, a total stranger, was able to communicate with a native of
the country in what was practically his own language. Then Grosvenor
entered into a long explanation, involving a brief history of the
principal seats of learning in England, with the methods and subjects of
study pursued therein, and including the interesting fact that Hebrew,
being commonly regarded as one of the most ancient tongues in the world,
was there regarded as especially worthy of attention.

This last statement seemed to be particularly gratifying to the young
officer's vanity, and had a distinctly mollifying effect upon his
original hauteur and coldness. He thawed visibly, and even condescended
to laugh at some mild joke upon which Grosvenor ventured, and then
sought to further satisfy his curiosity by making a number of personal
enquiries as to where Phil and his friend came from, why they came, how
long they had been upon the journey, and so on. To all these enquiries
Grosvenor replied pretty fully, but when in his turn he attempted to
elicit some information respecting their d