You

ment. You call it mercy; but you will not find a man of them who would not immensely rather die and have done with it, and who does not look on the fuss you make about human life as so much incomprehensible folly, and useless cruelty into the bargain. make a perfectly absurd point of making man live a few years more, when he has got to die in the end; as if he ever could live when the drum of fate had beaten, or die when it had not."

"I agree with you in part there, Saadut. I daresay there are many cases where our mercy is more cruel than our severity; but I must carry out the laws as I find them, whatever I think. But you have not told me yet what you think these villagers will do if there should be, as is very probable, a disturbance by-and-by on the frontier?"

"Well, I hope there may not be," answered the other. "There has been enough illfeeling arising from the mutiny. True, we don't want any more; but if there should

be a war, I am sure these men, especially in the villages along the frontier, will need very careful handling. They will not be in a hurry to go over to the enemy; they have all to lose and little to gain by so doing; and they are grateful for the good they see; but they will act in tribes, and if the chief man of the tribe gives the signal for the holy war, you will have to do with men moved by love of religion beyond anything you are used to in the Hinduised Muslems of the south country, and, more, loving fighting, as you loved it, Arthur, at Sobraon, just for its own sake. thing to tame these

You have done somemen, but very little. Once let nature out, and each man's highest hope will be to kill one of you, his least thought his own life.”

"You think, then," said Craven gravely, "that they won't be in any hurry to rise?" "I am sure of it," said Saadut Khan quickly. "They don't think much of the Mulka refugees at present,-indeed rather

despise them as a pack of runaway Hindustani soldiers, whose faithlessness to their salt is a sin they quite understand; but if they should be strengthened by alliances with the tribes around them, if for instance the Bonairs should join, and the Akhund of Swat should recognise them, and send them aid, then take care of yourselves; you will be living on shifting sand, within reach of the scorching desert winds."

"But are there not religious reasons why the Akhund should not join the Mulka people."

"Yes; but hardly such forcible ones as those that make the whole party hate you. In times of peace, they would of course quarrel furiously among themselves; but if matters looked ever so little hopeful, they might easily patch up a reconciliation for long enough to be very disagreeable to you. I suppose you will increase your garrison

here ?"

"Yes," said Craven; "by degrees; but we don't want it spoken of till the turn actually comes."

"Very well," said the other.

"But when they do come, it will be very useful to hear what degree of excitement it causes."

"With seeing we shall know," said the Rohilla. "I don't much like the task. But for you, Arthur, I think I should be up on the black mountain helping to to organize this foolish opposition; for it is foolish, and will come to no good. When I think that as a boy my one ambition was to fight the battles of the faith against the Feringees, I rather hate myself for being a spy among my own people, and a worker for you; and I like it none the better that yours is the safe side.

But I am

only half-hearted any way now, since the days we fought and worked together against the Sikhs. I have more love for my friend than for my country, my people,

or my faith; God forgive me!" He rose and walked hurriedly away, and only when he had got to the end of the verandah, did he resume the air of grave composure habitual to him.

Colonel Craven looked thoughtfully after him. The breach of good manners in going away without leave-taking, did not excite his surprise. Saadut Khan had lost most of the formality of an Asiatic with him, though he kept it quite rigorously with other people; but he had noted the tone that showed him that his friend was deeply moved. There was conflict in it, and the Englishman, who would have been loyal to the death to his country and creed, under any circumstances of depression, could sympathize with him, and determined that if Saadut would work for them, as of course he must unless he resigned his appointment, it should be in the most open and manifest affairs, so that he might not feel himself a spy; and that in future he