I took him with me through all my Eastern pilgrimage. He was my
body-guard; my cook; my dragoman; everything. He slept on a mat at the foot
of my bed every night, like a dog. So he lived with me for nearly four
years--till I lost him."
He paused.
I did not dare to ask, "what more?" but waited breathlessly.
"The rest is soon told," he said presently; but in an altered voice. "It
happened in Ceylon. Our way lay along a bridle-path overhanging a steep
gorge on the one hand and skirting the jungle on the other. Do you know
what the jungle is, little Gretchen? Fancy an untrodden wilderness where
huge trees, matted together by trailing creepers of gigantic size, shut
out the sun and make a green roof of inextricable shade--where the very
grass grows taller than the tallest man--where apes chatter, and parrots
scream, and deadly reptiles swarm; and where nature has run wild since
ever the world began. Well, so we went--I on my horse; Ali at my bridle;
two porters following with food and baggage; the precipice below; the
forest above; the morning sun just risen over all. On a sudden, Ali held
his breath and listened. His practised ear had caught a sound that mine
could not detect. He seized my rein--forced my horse back upon his
haunches--drew his hunting knife, and ran forward to reconnoitre.
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