who will come up," he said at last, "would he reside on
shore?"

"Certainly he would. A portion of ground would be allotted for the
Residency; on this a fort would be erected, which would be manned by a
small force for his protection; and he might either reside in the fort
or in a residence erected for him close to it, and under shelter of its
guns. The fort would, of course, be used for the protection of the town
against enemies, as well as for the protection of the officer against
any rising on the part of your people; in which case you, as well as
himself, would find a refuge in it."

"Then I should no longer be a ruler," the rajah said angrily. "I should
not be able to order those who offended me to be punished."

"Not at all," the captain replied quietly. "Your powers as a ruler
would not be interfered with in any way, as long as they were properly
exercised. You would have the power of executing ill doers in accordance
with the custom of your country; but the murder of a person who had
committed no crime whatever is not to be permitted, and anything like
wholesale cruelty and tyranny would be sternly repressed."

For some time the rajah sat without speaking; then he said, with an
evident effort of self control, "I must think all this over; it is all
new to me."

"By all means do so," the captain replied. "The matter is an important
one, and you will do well to consider it in all lights before you take a
step that, once taken, cannot be undone."

"I don't like the fellow's looks, Doctor," the captain said; "he
intended to use us as a cat's paw against his neighbors."

"I think that he is a thoroughly bad lot, sir; and if he accepted the
terms, I should be very sorry to be appointed Resident, for I should not
feel that my life was worth a day's purchase."

"Well, there is nothing to do but to wait until we get a definite answer
from him; and my instructions are that, if I find that he is not a
desirable man to have to deal with, I am to enter into negotiations with
other rajahs, and to endeavor to do something to open the trade of
the river and to render it safe for merchants who come up to trade. If
Hassan's account of this man's doings is correct, he is the main cause
of the falling off in the trade, and, moreover, the author of the
piracies of which we have had so many complaints; indeed, it is possible
that when the Governor learns the true state of things, I may get an
order to present an ultimatum to