mother, by the cross of your faith, to raise no hand and speak no word against us, either now or afterwards?’
“ ‘I will swear it,’ I answered, ‘provided that the fort is not endangered.’
“ ‘Then my comrade and I will swear that you shall have a quarter of the treasure which shall be equally divided among the four of us.’
“ ‘There are but three,’ said I.
“ ‘No; Dost Akbar must have his share. We can tell the tale to you while we await them. Do you stand at the gate, Muhammad Singh, and give notice of their coming. The thing stands thus, Sahib, and I tell it to you because I know that an oath is binding upon a Feringhee, and that we may trust you. Had you been a lying Hindu, though you had sworn by all the gods in their false temples, your blood would have been upon the knife, and your body in the water. But the Sikh knows the Englishman, and the Englishman knows the Sikh. Hearken, then, to what I have to say.