"I must certainly see her again,
and it seems to me, at present, that whatever risk there may be, I
must try to save this poor girl from the fate that awaits her. I
cannot conceal from myself that, however much I may refuse to admit
it, the hopes of my finding and saving my father are faint indeed; and
although this girl is nothing to me, I should feel that my mission had
not been an entire failure, if we could take her home with us and
restore her to her friends.
"No, I don't think," he went on, in answer to a grave shake of
Surajah's head, "that it would add to our danger in getting away. We
know that, if we try to escape and are caught, our lives will be
forfeited in any case; and if she were disguised as a boy, we could
travel with her without attracting any more observation than we should
alone. She would not be missed for hours after she had left, and there
would be no reason, whatever, for connecting her departure with ours.
I don't say, Surajah, that I have made up my mind about it--of course
it has all come fresh to me, and I have not had time to think it over
in any way. Still, it does seem to me that when the time for our
leaving comes, whether we ride off openly as Tippoo's officers, or
whether we go off in disguise, there ought to be no very great
difficulty in taking her away with us.
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