In the morning they were up early, completed their slight preparations, and took their early breakfast, reserving a portion for Annie, who, they thought, would not improbably have eaten nothing before coming to them.

She was a quarter of an hour late in arriving, and looked somewhat pale and flurried.

"They did not send me out this morning," she said, "and so I had to stay, until I could slip out without being noticed; but they may miss me at any moment."

"That will be all right," d.i.c.k said confidently. "They will search all the rooms in the harem for you, first, and certainly won't look for you outside, until there has been a lot of talk over your absence. But even if they do search, you will be able, in a few minutes, to walk through the middle of them without being suspected.

"However, we will lose no time; and to begin with, I will cut off what hair is necessary. I shall do it a good deal quicker than you would.

Then we will leave you to yourself, to stain your skin and put on your disguise. When you have finished, clap your hands. Ibrahim will come in and see that your disguise is all right, and that your turban covers your hair. Then he will go with you. We shall be waiting near the gate. There is practically no chance of your being asked any questions, but if you are, and there is any difficulty, we will pa.s.s you through all right. Having seen you on your way, we shall mount and follow you."

The operation of cutting off Annie's hair, to the line of her ears, was speedily done; then, with a few rea.s.suring words, d.i.c.k joined Surajah in the corridor. As they walked down it he said:

"I don't like leaving them to themselves. Look here, Surajah, you go down to the stable, and mount at once. Tell the syce I shall come for my horse in a few minutes. Then ride out, and take your post where you can see them come out of the gate, and then follow them closely. I will stay here, and see them safely through the gate, and then mount and follow you. I shall overtake you before you get to the ford."

"That will perhaps be safest," Surajah agreed, "though I should think there is no chance of her being suspected, seeing that she will be with Ibrahim. Even if they met one of the Palace officers, and he asked Ibrahim who he had with him, he could say it was a lad who had come to you respecting some horses you had bought."

"Yes, that would do very well."

d.i.c.k returned to Ibrahim, who was squatting down in the corridor near the door.

"I am going to follow you, until you are through the gate, and shall keep a short distance behind you. If you should meet any officer on your way out, who may ask you who you have with you, say he has come with a message to me from a trader in the town. By the time you have told him that, I shall be up."

"There is no chance of being questioned, my lord. People come and go all day."

"That is so, Ibrahim, but one cannot be too careful."

They stood, talking together, until they heard Annie clap her hands within. Ibrahim entered at once, and in two or three minutes came out again with the girl. Ibrahim carried a bundle.

"You will do very well," d.i.c.k said to Annie. "I should not know you, in the least. You make a capital boy.

"What bundle is that, Ibrahim? I thought you took our other disguises on, yesterday, to the stable where the horses are."

"Yes, my lord, I took them on. These are the things she has taken off.

I thought, perhaps, it would be better not to leave them here, as, if they were found, it would be known that she had gone with you."

"I don't think it makes much difference, Ibrahim, but perhaps it is as well to bring them away. We can leave the bundle in the wood.

"Now, go along. I will follow. Perhaps I had better go first. Keep a few paces behind me."

They pa.s.sed through the long pa.s.sages of the Palace, without attracting the slightest attention. Once or twice, d.i.c.k paused to speak to some officials of his acquaintance, the others stopping respectfully a few paces away. Then he went out into the courtyard, and across to the gate, and as the sentries saluted he stopped, and asked them a few questions as to the regiment they belonged to, until Ibrahim and his companion, who had pa.s.sed straight through, were well away. He saw Surajah sitting upon his horse, a couple of hundred yards away, and then went to the stables.

Chapter 16: The Journey.

The syce brought out his horse, as soon as he saw d.i.c.k approaching.

"You need not wait up for us, after nine o'clock," d.i.c.k said, as he mounted. "It is possible that we may be detained, and shall not return until tomorrow evening. If we come, we shall certainly be back by nine at the latest, and we shall not be back before seven, at any rate, so that until then you are free to do as you like."

He rode quietly off, and did not quicken his pace until he had got beyond the fort. Then he touched the horse with his heel, and cantered down to the ford. Surajah was halfway across the river, when he reached it. The other two figures were just ascending the road up the other bank.

Surajah checked his horse, when he got across, and waited till d.i.c.k joined him.

"Shall we go on with them to the farmhouse?" he asked.

"We may as well do so as halt in the road. Besides, there are the things Ibrahim took over yesterday, to put into our saddlebags. There is another thing that I never thought of. Of course, the girl has never been on a horse, and that may give us a good deal of trouble. I wonder I did not think of it, though if I had, I don't see that anything else could have been done. We must see how she gets on, and if she cannot manage I must take her before me, whenever we see that the road is clear for a good distance ahead. Of course, it does not matter about country people, but if we see a body of troops coming in the distance, she must mount her own horse again, and follow us at a walk. If we find that things don't go well, we must halt in a wood somewhere, and ride only by night."

They cantered on now, and overtook the others just as they reached the farmhouse. The farmer was at his door, and looked a little surprised at seeing two of the officers of the Palace come up. He salaamed deeply.

"We have not come to requisition anything," d.i.c.k said, with a smile, as he saw that the farmer looked alarmed as well as surprised. "We have only come for the two horses that we have bought, for our servants, as we are going on a journey."

"Can I a.s.sist you in any way, my lords?"

"No, our men will saddle the horses," d.i.c.k said, and, dismounting, went into the stable with Ibrahim and Annie.

"You are not afraid of riding, I hope, Annie?" he said.

"I am not afraid of anything, d.i.c.k, so that I can but get away."

"We will go quietly at first, anyhow. Mind, as you mount, put your left foot in the stirrup. When you are seated, carry yourself as easily as you can. The pony looks quiet enough, but if, when we get fairly off, you find that you cannot sit comfortably, you must get up before me, and Ibrahim must lead your pony. When we are fairly on the road, I will fasten a bit of rope to your bridle to act as a leading rein, and you can ride by my side, unless we see people coming along; then you must drop behind, with Ibrahim."

"I won't give more trouble than I can help," she said.

Ibrahim had taken some rugs over with him, on the previous afternoon, which had been bought in case they should sleep out at night. When the horses were saddled, d.i.c.k rolled two of these up, strapped one on the high peak, and the other on the cantle of the saddle upon which the girl was to ride.

"That will wedge you in pretty tightly," he said.

"Now, Ibrahim, put the things into the saddlebag, and then we shall be ready."

When this was done, the two horses were led outside. The farmer had gone back into the house, and d.i.c.k, helping the girl into her seat, arranged the stirrups the right length for her.

"Now," he said, "you must keep your knees pressed against the roll of blankets in front, and hold on as well as you can with them; but the princ.i.p.al thing is for you to balance yourself with your body. Don't sit up stiffly, but as if you were in a chair.

"Now, we will start at a walk. Ibrahim will keep quite close to you, so as to be able to catch hold of your rein, should there be any occasion for him to do so."

Then, mounting, he and Surajah rode off at a walk, the others following a length or two behind them. d.i.c.k looked round, from time to time, and saw that Annie exhibited no signs of nervousness.

"I am quite comfortable," she said, in reply to one of his glances.

When they got into the road again, d.i.c.k said:

"We will go at an easy canter now, Annie. If you feel as if you could not keep on, call out, and we will stop directly; but first come up between Surajah and myself, and we will take the leading reins, so that you will have nothing to attend to but holding on."

Two cords had been attached to the bridle, before setting out, and Surajah and d.i.c.k each taking one, they started again, the horses instinctively breaking into a canter, which was their usual pace.

Annie at first grasped the strap of the rug in front of her, but as soon as she became accustomed to the motion, she let go. A small rug had been strapped over the saddle, before she mounted, and this afforded her a much better hold than she would have had of the leather; and as the pace of the horse was a gentle one, she found it much more easy to keep her seat than she had expected. Moreover, the fact that d.i.c.k and Surajah rode close by her side, and would be able to catch her, at once, if she swayed in the saddle, gave her confidence.

"It is much better than I thought it would be," she said. "It is quite a pleasant motion. I will go faster, if you like."