By general although unspoken assent, the eyes of all the company were now directed to the venerable hakeem, as if to invite from him the next contribution to the night's entertainment. Meditatively for a moment the man of medicine stroked the broad white beard that descended almost to his girdle, and then began:

"Familiar to us all is the thought that death is but a birth into another state of existence, whether that state be the eternal paradise which is the final goal of every man's hopes, or merely another stage thitherward. Death is a birth, the truth of which will more forcibly appeal to our minds when we reflect also that birth is a death."

"How can that be, except for the still-born?" queried the astrologer.

The hakeem raised a hand deprecating the interruption.

"Nay, follow me in my argument," he continued quietly. "If death is a birth, then is a birth truly death. For the babe has been living through a prior stage of existence. To it the nine months passed in its mother's womb may have meant a long span of life. For time is but a relative term, and, measured against eternity, the whole period of man's sojourn on earth, be it three score or four score years, is but as the puff of a single breath. So the child in the womb lives there a full span of existence; it is nurtured and it grows, it sleeps and it wakes, it lies passive and it disports itself, it is sensitive to cold and to heat, to thirst and to hunger, and God alone knows what it thinks and what mental impressions it forms of the existence through which it is passing. And the hour of its birth is truly the hour of its death, for in pain and travail it is plucked from its warm and comfortable surroundings, and with the shock of physical change and unseeing dread it cries aloud in sharp anguish. Thus precisely do we ourselves die when we pass from this world to another existence, physically and mentally resenting the harsh change, terrified because of our very ignorance of what is really happening."

The physician paused, amid a deep hush that bore eloquent testimony to the impressiveness of the thought to which he had given utterance.

"But the parallel does not end here," he resumed.

"When the infant is born, then for the first time does it see face to face the divinity who through all the preceding stage of its existence has protected it, warmed it, and nourished it. In the presence of its mother it is in the presence of the God who has hitherto enveloped it, wholly and completely, in His own divine being. So when we die will we be face to face with the now unseen God who everywhere encompasses us, beholding Him at first only with the dazzled vision and dim half-consciousness of the new-born babe, but growing to know Him and to love Him as we have all known and loved the devoted mothers who bore us. For mother love is man's first foretaste of God love, the full glory of which we shall comprehend only when by death we are born into a higher and more spacious sphere of existence."

There was another brief interval of silence, again unbroken by any comment from the auditors. Then the hakeem continued in lighter tone:

"Now let me point my moral by telling you a story of a mother's supreme devotion for her son.

"At one time I practised my profession in the capital city of a state ruled over by a maharajah, who, although he had been a brave and honourable man in his prime, had degenerated into a mere voluptuary, spending his days in the companionship of nautch girls and disreputable men, indulging constantly in immoderate potations of strong wine, and given at times to the use of bhang, which does more than anything else to dull the faculties and deaden the conscience of the unfortunate who surrenders himself to its seductive spells. The inevitable results were for him the premature loss of health and strength, and for his people misrule, extortion and widespread unhappiness.

"It happened that, after several Hindu physicians had failed to restore their royal master from a fainting spell, I, a Moslem, was summoned in haste to the palace. I carried with me a small jar containing a certain pungent liquid, which I applied to the nostrils of my patient, with the result that he was straightway brought back from seeming death to consciousness of his surroundings. I take no special credit for effecting this recovery, but the maharajah himself deemed me to be a veritable worker of miracles, and, dismissing all his other doctors, kept me thenceforth constantly by his side. From the first I knew, by his trembling limbs and enfeebled condition, that death had marked him for its own; but I could, at least, prepare aromatic drinks to mitigate his pains and saffron meats to drive out the evil spirits that possessed him.

"Thus did it come about that I gained the confidence of the maharajah, and when it happened that one of his favourite wives had fallen into a decline, and had begged for the services of a physician, the honourable trust of ministering to her needs was confided to me. My examination of the invalid was in accordance with the usual restrictions. Accompanied by the feeble old maharajah himself, I was conducted to an apartment across which a heavy curtain was suspended. After an interval of waiting, the rustle of silken garments behind the purdah, followed by the gentle sigh of a woman, told me that my patient had arrived. It was the husband himself who bade her thrust her tongue through an orifice in the curtain. My inspection of this member revealed no internal disorder, and I requested from my master permission to touch the lady's hand so that I might feel the pulsing of the blood in her veins. Not too willingly he ordered her to push her arm through the opening.

"It was a dainty white hand, with many jewelled rings upon the taper fingers, and the nails, as with all ladies of quality, dyed the deep orange red of henna. Although I knew well that the jealously watchful eyes of her lord were upon me, I made no hesitancy in encompassing the wrist with my own fingers. But the little hand within mine was clenched tight, and, the better to conduct my examination, I freed my fingers from her wrist so as to straighten out hers as I required them. When I attempted to do this, however, I was conscious of some resistance and then of the presence of a small packet concealed in the palm of her hand. With a flash of comprehension I knew that the package must be intended to be conveyed to me surreptitiously, and, with no thought at that critical moment of what the ulterior object might be, I aided the act by a deft movement of my shoulder, which for a moment intercepted the maharajah's gaze.

"In another second he could see my finger-tips lightly pressed on her wrist, and her empty hand extended; but the package was safe in my other hand, and not the quiver of a muscle on my face betrayed that anything unusual had happened. Both to mask my feelings, and to give the lady behind the curtain confidence that she could repose trust in my discretion, I counted the pulse beats aloud.

"These indeed told me that the heart of my patient was beating at a mad gallop, but this I divined was simply caused by the daring deed she had essayed and successfully accomplished. I deemed it wise and prudent, however, to announce that the lady was suffering from a fever, and that I would send her a powder that would speedily restore her to good health. At this the maharajah was sufficiently overjoyed to permit of my withdrawal without obvious embarrassment. I had a smile upon my lips, and the secret package secure in the folds of my girdle. A chuprassi accompanied me to my home to bring back the medicine.

"I knew, of course, that it was only a dry powder that this high-born Hindu lady could take from my dispensary, for to have swallowed a liquid drug would have been a violation of her caste. I took pains to let the chuprassi see that my hands did not touch the powder, which, after due weighing, I bestowed in a paper carefully sealed, instructing him to deliver it to no one but his highness the maharajah. It was only finely ground sugar that the man carried away. But perhaps this is a harmless little trick of my profession which even now I should not disclose."

But a general smile among the company showed the hakeem that his calling was held in no undue reverence, at least by those without present need of his ministrations.

"When I was alone with my mortars and my drugs," resumed the narrator, "I lost no time in examining the mysterious packet. I unwound the silk threads that tightly tied it, both to restrict its bulk and to render it secure. Soon, to my amazement, I uncovered a string of ten pearls, of a size and lustrous purity that bespoke a high value even to my untutored eyes. Also there was a little seal of red chalcedony, with the antlered head of a deer and some scroll of lettering engraved upon it; but there was not one scrap of writing to explain to me the reason of these gifts.

"Had the lady, as often happens, imagined herself to be seriously sick, and devised this plan of invoking my interest and most skilful services on her behalf? But why, then, the seal, the value of which was quite insignificant?

"Even as I was pondering these questions, there came a clapping of hands at the gateway of my home that announced the arrival of a visitor. Hastily concealing the pearls and the seal in my girdle, I stepped forth into the outer court and took my seat upon the divan.

"Straightway there was ushered into my presence a big man clothed in rich garments. His sable complexion and thick lips declared him to be a moorman from across the seas, and his beardless chin further told at a glance that he was an attendant at the seraglio of some rich noble.

"He salaamed me with the cool confidence of his kind, and, without waiting for an invitation, seated himself on the carpet at my feet.

"'My name, O learned hakeem, is Malik Kafur,' he began in the shrill treble voice I had anticipated, 'and you know why I come here.'

"As my knowledge had been taken for granted, I bowed in acquiescence.

"'But her highness said that you would first of all show me her signet so as to prove that you are acting with her authority.'

"With all due gravity I produced the chalcedony seal from my belt, and, without quitting hold, extended it for my visitor's inspection. There was a swift gleam of recognition in his eyes.

"'That is right,' he murmured.

"'Then proceed,' I said, quietly. 'You can speak in the fullest confidence.'

"'I have promised the maharanee that to-morrow, when the fourth of the day is over, I shall conduct her into the bazaars. She bade me explain her plans precisely, so that you in turn should know how to act. Well, her highness will be, as usual, in her palankeen slung between two mules. When we turn from the coppersmiths' bazaar into the secluded bazaar where the money changers dwell, the two grooms in charge of the mules will be assailed by budmashes and beaten with sticks. I, too, will be knocked down and my clothes torn; but do not worry on my account.'

"I gave a cheerful nod to signify that his anxiety on this score might be set at rest.

"'It will devolve on you to have two men ready to take advantage of the confusion of the scuffle and lead away the mules with the palankeen, conducting the maharanee to a place which she herself will indicate. This you understand?'

"'I understand.'

"'At night, when I shall come to you again, under cover of the darkness, you will pay over to me the agreed-upon price—the ten pearls which her highness has placed in your custody.'

"'They are here,' I assented, holding aloft the little string of pearls, the purpose they were intended to serve at last made clear to my understanding.

"The eyes of the negro flashed with cupidity, and he reached forth a big, fat, black hand.

"'I can be trusted to do my share of the task,' he said, eagerly. 'To save trouble, let me be paid now.'

"'Not so, thou slave,' I replied, curtly and with authority, as I returned the pearls to their place of safe-keeping. 'The price will be paid when the service is performed. To-morrow night you will be admitted, Malik Kafur, if you knock three times at my gate.'

"The fellow rose to his feet, with a servile and submissive smile, and, by a wave of my hand, I dismissed him from my presence.

"Here, indeed, was an adventure thrust upon me, a man of peace and of studious habits, who had ever shrunk from deeds of violence; but the hand of fate was clearly beckoning me along the path of duty, and not for a moment did I shrink from the dangers into which, perchance, I was being hurried.

"For the maharajah, worthless, besotted, and on the verge of dishonoured death, I could have no respect. For the lady of his household, who was confiding to me her very life, whose soft hand I had touched with due reverence, there was an instinctive feeling of sympathy. In her hour of dire need, most likely of extreme danger, she had turned to me, a man of staid repute and old enough, no doubt, to be her father. So this was no affair of conjugal wrong, from which my religious scruples and my abiding principles alike, would have repelled me. Clearly was I the instrument in God's directing hand for some great happening, and it was not for me, through thought of self or cowardice, to interpose obstacles to the carrying out of the divine will.

"And as I thus ruminated there came from a minaret close by the call to evening prayer. 'The world is but an hour,' I murmured to myself as I spread my carpet; 'spend it in devotion, the rest is unseen.'

"On the morrow I was astir even before the morning call to prayer. 'Prayer is better than sleep'—I listened to the familiar cry of the muezzin. But while again I prayed I felt that a good deed done may count more for a man at the gates of Paradise than the record of many prayers.

"Full an hour before the appointed time I was at the corner of the coppersmiths' and the money-changers' bazaars. Here I posted two of my retainers, in whom I could place complete confidence. They had already been instructed how to act when the proper moment arrived. For myself, I sauntered through the crowded and noisy bazaar of the makers and menders of copper vessels, so as not to attract undue attention. In my heart was not one flutter of excitement or of uncertainty: I felt the quiet confidence which in the crises of life comes to a man whose trust in God the Most High is implicit.

"After a period of waiting there came into sight the huge black moorman, in his hand a white wand of office, and, following close behind him, a brilliantly decorated palankeen suspended between a pair of mules and attended by two grooms, leading the animals. The throng had parted before this little procession, averting their eyes from the covered palankeen, as was beseeming.

"But suddenly, at the intersection of the two bazaars, a group of loiterers sprang forward, and with cries assailed the moorman and the grooms, turning the mules into the quieter thoroughfare. There I had now posted myself, and, while the shopkeepers ran up the street to see what had befallen, the cavalcade under my directions, and with my attendants at the animals' heads, hurried along, and as we threaded our way through the maze of streets the tumult of voices soon died away behind us.

"After a little time I ventured to approach the curtained palankin.

"I spoke just loud enough to be heard by its occupant:

"'May your day, O queen, be peaceful! Your servant, most humble and devoted, awaits your orders.'

"'Peace be to thee, O thou trustful and brave hakeem. Take me to the protection of thy wife and home.'

"It was a soft, melodious woman's voice that had spoken, tremblingly, imploringly, and yet withal in a tone of authority.

"'As thou hast commanded, so shall it be done,' was my brief reply.

"After a little time the cavalcade, without any undue attention being attracted, had passed through the gateway of my home, and the doors had been barred behind us.

"To my surprise a gallant youth, some twelve years of age, sprang through the momentarily parted curtains of the palankeen.

"'I salute thee, O hakeem, our deliverer,' he exclaimed, kissing the hem of my robe. 'My royal mother is in the palankeen, and craves for sanctuary in your zenana.'

"'Let her pass,' I replied, and I urged the docile mules toward the second archway that led to the women's courtyard.

"At my bidding the inner gates opened, and they closed again when the palankeen had entered.

"'Within is sanctuary for your royal mother, and here is sanctuary for yourself, O prince,' I continued, with a profound obeisance, for, despite the modest garments he wore, I had recognized the eldest royal son of the maharajah, whom I had seen several times in his father's presence, and on one occasion at an affair of state clad in a robe of honour of silk and gold brocade, festoons of jewels around his neck, and a tiny sword with scabbard of gold girt at his side.

"Having once more impressed secrecy on my attendants, and bidding them give admission to no one, I led my young guest into an inner reception room. There, in a few concise sentences, he told me his story.

"A plot had been hatched in the royal zenana that, just so soon as the maharajah died, this youth, and seven or eight younger brothers, sons of other wives, should be slain, so that the undisputed succession might descend on one particular son, elder by several years, but not in the regular line of succession because born of a slave mother. It was this slave woman's brother who commanded the maharajah's bodyguard, and, in collusion with his sister, had conceived the damnable conspiracy. Only by the whisper of a woman who was close to the officer, but whose heart was tender, had the mother of the young heir to the throne been warned. With my aid, and that of the eunuch who had visited me the day before, they had made their escape, the youth having been hidden in the palankeen of his mother before the latter left the seraglio on one of her occasional visits to the bazaars.

"Such was the story. Now the future had to be planned, for up to this point the maharanee had acted blindly and impulsively—just swiftly—the moment she had realized the supreme danger for her son. In the boy I found high courage and a clear brain, and together we devised the measures to be followed that would best allay suspicion as to the whereabouts of the fugitives.

"As a first step I sallied forth as usual to pay my professional visit on the maharajah a little before the noontide hour. Perhaps I felt that, if by any chance suspicion had already alighted upon me, I was taking my life in my hands by entering the palace; but, trusting to the protection of Allah, I gave no second thought to any fear of this kind.

"I had not yet reached the palace gates when I encountered a messenger running in hot haste to summon me. His highness the maharajah had been seized with a fit, and the whole palace was in a turmoil.

"When I gained the royal apartment I saw at a glance that the sufferer was beyond human aid. I could but watch the deep laboured breathing, growing ever fainter and fainter, until the death-rattle in the throat proclaimed the end.

"During that hour of watching my soul had been gravely perturbed, not because of the dying debauchee, but in dread of sinister happenings in the royal zenana when the news of the maharajah's demise should come to be announced. But how was I to give warning without betraying to certain death the youth and his mother who had sought sanctuary in my defenceless home? For there, at the door of the sick room, stood the captain of the king's bodyguard, Todar Rao, the very man who, I knew, held his corrupt soldiery in leash for any villainy.

"Another high officer of the court, the diwan, had shared my vigil in the death chamber, and just before the end came had informed me that it was news of an attack by budmashes on one of the royal palankeens that morning in the bazaars that had inflicted the fatal stroke upon his master. But this treasurer was an aged man, who would have quailed under the eye of the stern and relentless soldier keeping watch and ward at the doorway, and, for all I knew, he, too, might be in the conspiracy—indeed, his furtive glances and the nervous twitching of his hands forewarned me of this danger.

"Surrounded by uncertainties, and utterly helpless in my isolation, I could but drift whither the stream of destiny carried me.

"'The king is dead,' I announced, when the last flutter of the heart had ceased. 'May God in His compassion give him peace.'

"The diwan summoned the captain of the bodyguard, and the latter, to make certainty doubly sure, brutally shook the dead man by the shoulder. I could see the savage gleam of satisfaction on his face when he threw from him the already stiffening arm. The two men, in close conclave, hastened from the chamber, and when the attendants set up the accustomed cries of wailing I profited by the clamour and confusion to slip discreetly from the palace and gain my own home.

"The terrible events of the next few days were, alas! just the same as have befallen a hundred times on the passing of a king. The outside world knew few details, but the news from the palace current in the bazaars was that all the sons of the late maharajah had perished excepting only the eldest. And this youth, although the whisper passed freely that he was merely the son of a slave woman, duly ascended the throne.

"Revolt by some of the nobles over such an indignity might come later on. But meanwhile, at all events, the show of military power quelled all opposition, while a judicious remission of taxes pleased the general populace, and indeed caused them joyfully to acclaim the new maharajah as he made a triumphal procession through the city, mounted on an elephant caparisoned with cloth of gold and bedecked with silver chains and bells, preceded by priests and the dancing girls of the temples, and surrounded by troops, both horsemen and foot soldiers.

"Only I and the members of my household knew that the rightful heir to the throne was alive and in safe hiding. For the moorman had never come to claim his string of pearls, and it was not until some days later that I had learned of his having been summarily dispatched by order of the dead maharajah, in the latter's first paroxysm of anger over the abduction of his favourite wife when visiting the bazaars. In this opportune removal of a greedy hireling and possible traitor I once more recognized the hand of Providence working for the noble woman whose quick wit had aided mother love to save her son.

"A noble woman I have called her, and such indeed she was. For me the maharanee had discarded the purdah, and in the sanctity of my harem, with my wife as her devoted attendant, I was privileged to converse with her hour after hour, gazing freely upon the most beautiful countenance I had ever beheld—beautiful not only by reason of soft and rounded features and the peach bloom of the skin, but also because of the soul-lit eyes that illumined it with joyous radiance. For this queen lived in her son, forgot every other sorrow in his safety, and now experienced all the glowing pride of a leader on the field of battle in planning the campaign for the vindication of his rightful claims to the royal inheritance.

"Her first step had been to send secret word to her father—she was the daughter of a mountain chieftain—bidding him to dispatch one of her brothers to me as a trusted messenger. The distance was far, and three months elapsed before the hillman arrived, a sturdy young fellow, serene of eye, slow of speech, and muscled like a panther. He departed back home again, carrying our tale by simple word of mouth for greater security, and having concealed on his person some of the gems which the maharanee had saved and which would be readily convertible into money. Then, after a second interval of time, other tribesmen came sifting into the city by twos and threes, until we had full fifty of the finest material for a bodyguard a young prince could desire. These men were quartered at different places in the vicinity of my home, armed and ready for a general muster when the moment should be ripe for action.

"Meanwhile a widespread spirit of dissatisfaction with the new raj was daily growing, and on every hand in the bazaars mutterings of trouble began to be heard. The young ruler had proved to be a mere puppet in the hands of his mother and uncle, who had not hesitated to advance their base-born relatives and associates to places of highest honour and emolument, thereby giving grievous offence among the families of proud and ancient lineage, both Hindu and Moslem, which had hitherto supplied the principal officers of state and had been the real buttresses of the throne. Then, to fill full the measure of discontent, came ominous rumours that the prince, although still a mere youth, had, like his father, become addicted to the use of bhang and strong wines, and, encouraged by a worthless following, was abandoning himself to all manner of expensive debauchery. And when at last the screw of heavily increased taxation gave proof to these stories the first timid whispers of displeasure among the populace swelled to sullen and continuous murmuring.

"For the true queen mother and her son the hour of destiny was approaching!

"But, although the embers of revolt were ready to burst into flame at the first fanning of a breeze, Todar Rao, now sirdar in command of the whole army, still dominated the situation. At his slightest word the mercenary soldiery under his control would have rushed into the bazaars with sword and torch, like ravening wolves among sheep helpless to defend themselves. As for the nobles, each surrounded by his own bodyguard, they were torn into rival factions, the one jealously watching the other lest open revolt should be made the excuse for usurpation of the throne by the strongest and best prepared among them.

"In these circumstances it would have been fatal to let word go forth prematurely that the rightful heir was alive, for disappointed ambitions among the feudal lords might have become an added danger to the fury of the sirdar. But any prolonged delay would also be disastrous, for it was only now that the boy prince would be recognized and received as the undoubted heir to his father's throne; a few years later he would, to a certainty, be looked at askance as a mere pretender—a pawn in the game of some unscrupulous king-maker playing for his own aggrandizement.

"It was the maharanee who devised the bold stroke which involved undoubted danger yet promised the best chance of success. Her idea was to take the whole court unawares at one and the same moment, so that the nobles might have presented to them, not only a common rallying-point for loyalty, but the chance by united action to break for all time the hated military power of the slave-born sirdar.

"It was the appointed day when the recently installed maharajah, according to custom immemorial, was to be publicly weighed, and the gold he counterbalanced distributed in charity. In the great courtyard of the palace all the people were assembled, nobles and officers of state, soldiers and traders, rich and poor, among the latter the halt, the blind and the maimed, the deformed and the leprous, in pitiful evidence as fitting objects for a share of the promised bounty. On a raised dais, seated upon a throne covered with cloth of gold, and sheltered by a canopy and awnings of crimson brocade, sat the reigning maharajah, a puny and sickly-looking stripling.

"Before the main ceremony of the day, heralds had announced that the sovereign was prepared to listen to any grievances or complaints from his people. For a few minutes no one came forward, but at last a pair of sleek mules, handsomely caparisoned, with a richly adorned palankeen slung between them, the identical equipage of the maharanee which had been harboured in my home, emerged from the crowd, and advanced at a grave pace toward the royal dais. That some high-born lady was within the silken coverings of the palankeen every one surmised, and at this extraordinary spectacle a hush of tense expectancy fell upon the assemblage.

"But the silence changed to murmurs of amazement and admiration when a queenly woman stepped upon the edge of the dais, and faced, not the maharajah on his throne, but the nobles and courtiers and officers clustered around.

"With a proud gesture she flung even the sari from her face, which the play of the sunbeams among the jewels in her hair and around her neck invested with a shimmering halo of radiance. On such a woman's face the multitude had never looked before. But stately and unabashed, serene in the purity of her womanhood, the dignity of her motherhood, and the majesty of her rank, she raised aloft a hand, and spake aloud in tones clear as the notes of a silver trumpet.

"'O nobles and O people, the royal son and heir of my husband, the late maharajah, is alive, spared by divine Providence from the massacre of his brothers and playmates in the seraglio of the palace. Many of you know him well, and behold now he comes to claim his heritage.'

"As these words were spoken, the crowd again parted, and there stepped forth the young prince, my protÉgÉ. At the edge of the throng he discarded a loose mantle of cotton that had concealed the rich garments befitting his rank. Then he advanced, looking proudly and gaily about him, while close behind, and pressing eagerly around his person, came full fifty stalwart tribesmen, treading with the bold swinging gait of the mountaineer, their drawn tulwars flashing in the sun, their voices shouting 'Jai, jai,—Hail, hail!' in deafening chorus.

"The effect was instantaneous and tremendous, and from all the assembled multitude went up the loud acclaim—'Jai, jai, jai!' There seemed to be not a dissentient in the throng. And a moment later the young prince was standing on the dais by his mother's side, one hand resting proudly on her shoulder.

"Among the nobles there had hitherto been the silence of stupefaction. But at last, one of their number, an elderly man, advanced, and prostrated himself on the rich carpet spread in front of the dais, thus rendering public homage to his rightful king. 'Jai, jai, jai!' shouted the mob, and soon a dozen others among the nobles had given the pledge of fealty.

"Meanwhile the kinglet on the throne of gold had been forgotten. He had made no move, but had contented himself with staring around in confused and helpless surprise. But now Todar Rao, the sirdar, had sprung to his side and dragged the youth to his feet.

"'O princes and people, this is your rightful king,' cried the soldier in stentorian tones, 'crowned and proclaimed and accepted by your pledges of loyalty. My orders to the troops are death to those who now betray him.'

"But the words had hardly passed his lips, when two score of the mountaineers, shouting 'Deen, deen,—Kill, kill,' had swarmed over the silver railings surrounding the throne. There was the momentary clash of steel on steel, the impotent curse of an angry man, a shrill pitiful cry of anguish from the youth who in his terror had crouched behind the awnings descending from the canopy. And when the tribesmen again faced the multitude, the soldierly figure of Todar Rao had disappeared, and the throne was vacant for the reception of its rightful occupant.

"Amidst a wild tumult of joy the young prince ascended from the dais and took the royal seat, showing in his every movement the natural grace and dignity that might almost in themselves have proved his right of heritage, and that certainly won to his cause the last waverers among the onlooking multitude. Even the bodyguard of the slain sirdar were now joining in the universal acclaim.

"The first to bend a knee to the rightful king enthroned was the royal queen, his mother. And then the lady stepped back, a little to the rear and to the side of the throne, drawing her silken sari over the lovely countenance that would never again be beholden by the people.

"'Never again!' The thought had scarce passed through my mind, as I watched the scene from the fringe of the crowd, when a more grim and terrible reality was given to the unspoken words than I had ever intended. Close to the spot where the maharanee had halted were some hangings of brocade arranged, as we understood later, so that the seated and veiled figure of a woman might observe the brilliant pageantry of the day from the privacy of this purdah.

"And from out these hangings there now stretched, stealthily but swiftly, a bejewelled hand, which plunged a long dagger between the shoulders of the queen mother.

"Without a cry she fell. I was quickly by her side, and the young maharajah and myself, as we bent over her, caught her dying words.

"'All is well, my beloved son,' she murmured. 'I have accomplished that which I was sent into the world to perform. In peace I yield my soul to God.'

"With the last word she breathed her last breath. And such is mother love."

There was a suppressed sob in more than one breast at the close of the venerable hakeem's tale. Down his own furrowed face the tears were streaming.

"And the woman who struck the foul blow?" inquired the Afghan in an eager whisper.

"The slave mother of the dead pretender. Well, she too had given her all for mother love. The tribesmen tore her limb from limb."

And the hakeem pressed a hand to his eyes to shut out the memory of a dreadful scene.