II.
The rustling of a dress moving over the stone floor, accompanied by a whispered "Sahib, awake!" roused me from sleep, and looking up, I saw a woman standing with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head. She was clothed entirely in white, her form being partly concealed by a long, loose garment, which was gathered in about the waist by a girdle. Scanning her features closely, I observed that she had the olive complexion and lustrous eyes which distinguish Hindu women. The peculiar glitter of a bracelet which she wore attracted my attention, and presently I observed it change its position and encircle her arm higher up than before. The bracelet was a living snake, worn, no doubt, as a charm to ward off evil from the woman!
"Standing with a lamp in her hand."
"Is the sahib awake?" my visitant asked. "Speak quietly, sahib, for outside the door of this vault a Hindu guard is posted, and he sleeps but little."
AT I moved slowly and endeavoured to raise myself, but the bonds with which I had been secured previously had been tied tightly, so that both my wrists and ankles were exceedingly swollen and painful. The woman stooped down, and with a wide-bladed knife she cut the thongs which bound me, and afterwards performed the same good service for my companion.
"Sahib," she murmured, "I come at this hour to save you if you will trust me. Speak not, but follow me."
Denviers, who by this time was fully aroused, rose to his feet, and together we passed from the apartment by means of a different door to that by which we had entered, and beyond which the Hindu lay. We moved along almost noiselessly, our guide holding high the lamp, the fitful flame from which lit up the passage down which we hastened, expecting every moment that our attempted flight would be discovered. Fortunately, this was not so, however, and our guide, touching a knob in the wall, caused a door to open, after passing through which we found that we were in the main temple wherein stood the mighty image or idol which represented Nadhir Shah. The light from the lamp cast a weird glow upon the huge idol, which occupied the central part of the temple. Ranged round the sides were to be seen many large idols, as varied in form as they were grotesque in appearance. The ceiling was very lofty indeed, and from it there hung long golden chains which supported crystal vessels, in which small lighted wicks glimmered feebly and threw their faint light upon the scene around. In the stillness which reigned on every side of us a feeling of awe possessed me, and I glanced nervously at the strange shadows which were cast from the idols, which seemed to look down grimly at us!
"Sahibs," said our guide and deliverer, "I am endeavouring to save your lives in order to repay, if possible, a debt which I owe to one of your countrymen. When a great famine was upon the fair lands through which the Ganges flows, an Englishman saved my parents from the oppression of the ryots, who would otherwise have ground them into the very dust by their cruel exactions. They at last became prosperous, and vowed that I should recompense Shiva for what had been done in their favour. So they consecrated me to this temple as one of the Dasis, or dancing girls, for whom the Brahmins are solemnly vowed to furnish food and protection. Yet I have never forgotten the deed of the Englishman who saved my parents' lives, and they would indeed rejoice that their daughter had at last an opportunity to repay their debt in such a way as this."
"Are we then able to at once escape from this temple?" I ejaculated.
The Hindu woman replied: "Yes, sahib, you shall escape, but not immediately. Tonight I will hide you where none will be able to discover your place of concealment; when morning dawns you must make the effort upon which your life will depend. Hidden within this temple, you will hear
