but has trained up his son or grandson to the work; not to practice
it,--the hand of the whites was too heavy before, and the gains
are not large enough to tempt men to run the risk--but they teach
them for the love of the art. To a worshiper of the goddess there
is a joy in a cleverly contrived plan and in casting the roomal
round the neck of the victim, that can never die. Often in my young
days, when perhaps twelve of us were on the road in a party, we
made less than we could have done by labor, but none minded.

"We were sworn brothers; we were working for Kali, and so that we
sent her victims we cared little; and even after fifteen or twenty
years spent in the Feringhee's prisons, we love it still; none
hate the white man as we do; has he not destroyed our profession?
We have two things to work for; first, for vengeance; second, for
the certainty that if the white man's Raj were at an end, once again
would the brotherhood follow their profession, and reap booty for
ourselves and victims for Kali; for, assuredly, no native prince
would dare to meddle with us. Therefore, upon every man who was
once a Thug, and upon his sons and grandsons, you may depend. I do
not say that they would be useful for fighting, for we have never
been fighters, but the stranglers will be of use. You can trust them
with missions, and send them where you choose. From their fathers'
lips they have learnt all about places and roads; they can decoy
Feringhee travelers, the Company's servants or soldiers, into
quiet places, and slay them. They can creep into compounds and into
houses, and choose their victims from the sleepers. You can trust
them, Rajah, for they have learned to hate, and each in his way
will, when the times comes, aid to stir up men to rise. The past
had almost become a dream, but I have roused it into life again,
and upon the descendants of the stranglers throughout India you