King's merry eyes looked into Saunders' as if there were no world
war really and they two were puppets in a comedy.

"--are you absolutely certain Yasmini is in Delhi?"

"No," said Saunders. "What I swear to is that she has not left
by train. It's my business to know who leaves by train."

"What can you suggest?" asked King, twisting at his scrubby little
mustache. But if be wished to convey the impression of a man at
his wits'end, he failed signally.

"I? Nothing! She's the most elusive individual in Asia! One
person in the world knows where she is, unless she has an accomplice.
My information's negative. I know she has not gone by--"

King struck a match and held it out, so the sentence was unfinished;
the first few puffs of the astonishing cigar wiped out all memory
of the missing word. And then King changed the subject.

"Those men I asked you to arrest--?"

"Nabbed"--puff--"every one of 'em!"--puff--puff--"all under"--puff--
puff--"lock and key,--best smoke I ever tasted--where d'you get 'em?"

"Had they been in communication with her?"

Puff--puff--"You bet they had! Where d'you get these things?"