Thus, should I happen to make mistakes in speech or action, it may
be overlooked, and each man will unwittingly be my advocate,
explaining away my errors to himself and others instead of my enemy
denouncing me to all and sundry! Is that clear, thou oaf?"

"Aye! Thou art more cunning than any man I ever met!"

The great Afridi began to rub the tips of his fingers through his
straggly beard in a way that might mean anything, and King seemed
to draw considerable satisfaction from it, as if it were a sign
language that he understood. More than any one thing in the world
just then he needed a friend, and he certainly did not propose to
refuse such a useful one.

"And," he added, as if it were an afterthought, instead of his
chief reason, "if her special man Rewa Gunga is a Rangar, and is
known as a Rangar through out the 'Hills,' shall I not the more
likely win favor by being a Rangar too? If I wear her bracelet
and at the same time am a Rangar, who will not trust me?"

"True! Thou art a magician!"

"True!" agreed Ismail.

But the moon was getting low and Khyber would be dark again in half
an hour, for the great crags in the distance to either hand shut
off more light than do the Khyber walls. The mist, too, was growing
thicker. It was time to make a move.

King rose. "Pack the mule and bring my horse! he ordered and they