human
Hold! he cried,
gpt
And his with me, returned the man.
human
Give it me;
gpt
Pay it to him--let him have it, cried the Lalla to the King,
human
I would do him no harm, said Pahar Singh to the Secretary,
gpt
and he drew a small dagger from his girdle with his left hand, and held it in an attitude to strike into the King.
human
Go, if the money is here; bring it quickly; but beware of any attempt to rescue him, or you will cause his death. You could not reach me ere I had struck him down. Go then, Meerza Sahib, my friend Maun Singh will bring the bags: he is strong enough.
gpt
Go, friend, said the King,
human
And leave thee with him! said the Meerza, anxiously.
gpt
I will not stir; there is peril, and my place is beside thee.
human
There is no peril if ye are true, said Pahar Singh;
gpt
Go, friend, I will trust him; his object is money, not my poor life. Go! I am not afraid of him, nor he of me,
human
How noble he is!
gpt
Ay, Meah, I would we were by his side, returned Bulwunt.
human
Who can he be? Whoever he may be, he is indeed fearless; but he will not be harmed if they bring the money. Hush! they may speak again.
gpt
Come, said the latter to the Lalla;
human
Afraid of thee? said Pahar Singh in a low voice, and dropping the arm which had held the dagger uplifted.
gpt
Afraid of thee? No, proud boy: he who defied thy father's power at its greatest, hath little to fear from thine. Ali Adil Shah, thinkest thou that this poor disguise could conceal thee? Yet thou art bold and true, and I rejoice that I have had proof of it, for men told me thou wert a coward--a boy of the zenana--only fit to herd with women. Now thou hast met the 'Lion of the Hill' bravely, he continued, using the play on his own name,
human
Thou Pahar Singh, the Lion of Allund?
gpt
Even so, monarch, returned the chief.
human
Ha! ha! The man whom thy slaves--cowards--tell thee they pursue. Aha! they dare not. Pahar Singh is monarch of his own wilds; no royal troops dare to come near them. But keep thine own counsel, and now listen. Thou mayst need me yet, and I may do thee good service. Two thousand good hearts and stout arms, such as thy money cannot hire, serve Pahar Singh. Swear to keep faith with me, and I will be true. Hadst thou been a coward, and quailed at the sight of this weapon, I should have been tempted to slay thee, Adil Khan, like a dog, for never yet did coward sit on the throne of Beejapoor. For what has happened, thou hast my respect. Enough! remember Pahar Singh, and in two days or less I will send thee more tidings, or come myself. Thou mayst kill the messenger, but he will not tell of my hiding-place; and if harm come to him, I swear to thee, by the Lady of Tooljapoor, my Holy Mother, that I will take a life for every hair of his head, and burn a hundred villages. Now, silence! I have spoken. Am I free to go, scathless as thou art? Thy hand upon it, monarch!