But it is not so, most gracious.
The shaft is cracked, indeed, but it is not beyond repair. Moreover, it
was cracked by the _saice_ at his master's bidding, while the
_mem-sahib_ was at the fair."
He paused; but Beryl said nothing. She was listening to the whole story
in speechless, unfeigned astonishment.
"Also," her informant proceeded, "the _sahib's_ mare was frightened, not
by an accident, but by a trick. It was the _sahib's_ will that she
should run away. And he chose this road so that he might be far from
habitation, well knowing that for every mile on the lower road there are
two miles to be travelled on this. _Mem-sahib_, your servant has spoken,
and he prays you to beware. There is danger in your path."
"But--but," gasped Beryl, "how do you know all this? What makes you tell
me? You can't know what you are saying!"
She was thoroughly frightened by this time, and heat and faintness were
alike forgotten. Incredible as was the story to which she had listened,
there was about it a vividness that made it terrifying.
"But I don't understand," she said helplessly, as the snake-charmer
remained silent to her questions. "It is not possible! It could not be!"
He lifted his head a little and, from the depths of the _chuddah_, she
knew that piercing eyes surveyed her.
"_Mem-sahib_," he said, "your servant knew that this would happen, and
he came here swiftly by a secret way to warn you.
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