"They have gone into the guard room to sleep," he said; "there are two less to trouble you."

Then he turned towards the group of men by the fire and fixed his gaze upon them. In a short time one of them wrapped himself in his cloth and lay down. In five minutes two others had followed his example. Another ten minutes passed, and then Rujub turned to Bathurst and said, "I cannot affect the other three; we cannot influence everyone."

"That will do, Rujub, it is my turn now."

After a short search they found stairs leading down from the terrace, and after passing through some empty rooms reached a door opening into the courtyard.

"Do you stay here, Rujub," Bathurst said. "They will take me for one of themselves. If I succeed without noise, I shall come this way; if not, we will go out through the gate, and you had best leave by the way we came."

The door was standing open, and Bathurst, grasping a heavy tulwar, went out into the courtyard. Keeping close to the house, he sauntered along until he reached the grated windows of the prison room. Three lamps were burning within, to enable the guard outside to watch the prisoners. He passed the two first windows; at the third a figure was standing. She shrank back as Bathurst stopped before it.