managers of several gardens in that part of the district, who were to
assemble there to report to him the result of their investigations.

His suspicions were more than confirmed. All had the same tale to tell--a
story of strange restlessness, a turbulent spirit, a frequent display of
insolence and insubordination among the coolies ordinarily so docile and
respectful. But this was only in the gardens that numbered Brahmins in
their population. The influence of these dangerous men was growing daily.
This was not surprising to any one who knows the extraordinary power of
this priestly caste among all Hindus.

There was evidence of constant communication between the Bengalis on the
other estates and Malpura, which pointed to the latter as being the
headquarters of the promoters of disaffection. But few of the planters were
inclined to agree with Dermot in suspecting Chunerbutty as likely to prove
the leader, for they were of opinion that his repudiation and disregard of
all the beliefs and customs of the Brahmins would render him obnoxious to
them.

From Payne's the Major went on to visit some other gardens. Everywhere he
heard the same story. All the planters were convinced that the heart and
the brain of the disaffection was to be found in Malpura. So Dermot
determined to return there and expose the whole matter to Fred Daleham at
last, charging him on his loyalty not to give the faintest inkling to
Chunerbutty.

A delay in the advent of the rain, which falls earlier in the district of
the Himalayan foothills than elsewhere in India, had rendered the jungle
very dry. Consequently when Dermot on Badshah's neck emerged from it on to
the garden of Malpura, he was not surprised to see at the far end of the