Danger at Dahlkari Read Free Page B

too, then?”
    I nodded. “He makes me a bit uncomfortable.”
    â€œThat’s it. That’s it exactly. Oh, he’s a marvel with words, a regular poet, said my hair was like liquid gold, my eyes like dark topaz, my body like—well, uh, he is poetic, but I have the feeling something savage is lurking just beneath the surface, ready to spring. It’s most disconcerting.”
    Sally reached up to brush a lock of gold hair from her temple, a troubled look in her eyes. The horizon was a blaze of crimson now, the ashy gray sky turning darker. The blue haze of twilight grew thicker. A camel squealed. Horses neighed. Tents flapped as a slight breeze swept through the camp. One of the bearers had begun to play a flute. For some reason I was restless, and I could sense that Sally was, too. She sighed and looked at the green wall of jungle, trees festooned with garlands of vines and exotic plants. The birds and monkeys had grown silent.
    â€œI did so want to see that temple,” she said. “Ahmed said it was used for human sacrifice—Miss Lauren, let’s go find it! It’s just a short distance from camp, Ahmed said so. We could get there and back before it gets really dark.”
    â€œI—I’m not sure we should, Sally.”
    â€œWhy not? You’re not afraid , are you?”
    â€œWell, I thought I heard a leopard last night, and—”
    â€œI’ll take my pistol,” Sally informed me.
    â€œPistol?”
    She nodded and scurried away, her yellow skirt fluttering over rustling petticoats. I wasn’t really alarmed at the prospect of taking off into the jungle. None of the wild creatures would bother us, I knew, unless we bothered them first, but I wasn’t greatly taken with the idea of encountering a cobra or some other poisonous viper. Still, Sally and I were both wearing high kid boots, mine white, hers brown, and she would have her pistol. I wondered where on earth she had gotten it.
    â€œCorporal Hendricks gave it to me,” she said, returning a moment later. “He said if I was fool enough to go traipsing off with a band of heathens I’d best have some protection. Isn’t it lovely?” she inquired, brandishing it in front of me. It was long and black and looked perfectly villainous.
    â€œDo—do you know how to use it?” I asked.
    â€œI haven’t the foggiest notion, but I’m sure it’s simple enough. This is the safety catch. You just push it back and aim the barrel and pull the trigger. It can’t be difficult.”
    â€œYou’ve had it ever since we left Delhi?”
    â€œI kept it hidden under the cushions of my palanquin,” she said, “just in case we ran into some of those dreadful Thugs or something. Do let’s go while there’s still enough light, Miss Lauren. I’m quite eager to find that temple.”
    Our tent was nearest the jungle, pitched rather apart from the rest of the camp for propriety’s sake, and no one seemed to notice as Sally and I moved across the narrow stretch of clearing and on into the natural tunnels formed by tree trunks and vines. The jungle wasn’t really all that dense here, not nearly as dense as some of the stretches the whole caravan had passed through earlier on. There was a pathway of sorts between trees, and Sally moved ahead with great confidence, looking a bit ridiculous with petticoats billowing and the pistol clutched in her hand.
    â€œI’m not at all sure we should be doing this,” I told her.
    â€œWhere’s your sense of adventure?” Sally asked. “Just think, Miss Lauren, you could be sitting in some prim parlor, doing embroidery. This is more like it! Here we are, in the middle of the jungle. Who’d of thought it three months ago?”
    â€œCertainly not I. I had no idea what I was going to do after graduation. I rather imagined I’d be a governess.”
    â€œI can just see that ,”