Affairs I'm a link,
And the chain ain't no stronger than me--or you.


"That will be the end of Gungadhura!"

It took longer to get the hamper ready than Tess expected, partly because
it did not seem expedient to have the butler Chamu in the secret. By
the time she and her husband were up side by side in the dog-cart there
was already a nearly full moon silvering the sky, and the jackals were
yelping miserably on the hillside. Before they reached the stifling town
a slow breeze had moved the river-mist, until a curtain shut off the whole
of the bazaar and merchants' quarters from the better residential section
where the palaces stood. It was an ideal night for adventure; an almost
perfect night for crime; one could step from street to street and leave
no clue, because of the drifting vapor.

Here and there a solitary policeman coughed after they had passed,
or slunk into a shadow lest they recognize and report him for sleeping
at his post. All sahibs have unreasonable habits, and not even a constable
can guess which one will not make trouble for him. An occasional stray
dog yapped at the wheels, and more than once heads peered over
roof-tops to try and glimpse them, because gossip--especially about
sahibs who are out after dark--is a coinage of its own that buys welcome
and refreshment almost anywhere. But nothing in particular happened
until the horse struck sparks from the granite flagstones outside Yasmini's
gate, and a sleepy Rajput sentry brought his rifle to the challenge.

Then it was not exactly obvious what to do next. Tess felt perfectly
confident on the high seat, with the pistol in her husband's pocket pressing