He took care not to return to the river over his own trail. Instead of
doing so he moved to the right, as if on his way to the nearby town of
Akwar. When satisfied he was beyond range of the keen vision of those
in the house of Dr. Marlowe he made an abrupt change, which led him
toward the Ganges, forgetting, when he did so, that there might be
natives in the vicinity who were not in the building at all.




CHAPTER IX.

SCOUTING.

Had Mr. Jack Everson spent a few years in Hindoostan he would not have
made the blunders that we are obliged to record concerning his
movements after parting from his friends on the boat. He had acquitted
himself pluckily while in the house of the physician, but his escape
from death at the hands of Mustad and his companion was providential
and, under similar circumstances, was not likely to be repeated once in
a thousand times.

Moreover, with his knowledge, already gained, of Asiatic cunning, he
ought to have reflected that if two of their dusky enemies were within
the house there were likely to be others in the immediate neighborhood.
It looked as if Mustad had entered the dwelling expecting to find the
physician there. He was prepared with an excuse for his abrupt
departure and an explanation that would satisfy his indulgent master
and mistress. Keeping his companion in the background the wretch could
then complete his plans for turning the party over to the fury of their