"
"And the heart of things is--"
"Delhi!"
"You display a quite amazing knowledge of the game."
"I am a soldier, sahib!"
"You would leave Jailpore, then, to its fate?"
"Jailpore has already met its fate, sahib. The barracks are afire,
and the city has been given over to be looted. Reckon no more with
Jailpore! Reckon only of the others. Listen, sahib! Has any message
come from the next command? No? Then why? Think you that even a
local outbreak could occur without some message being sent to you,
and to the next division south of you? Why has no message come?
Where is the next command? The next command north? Harumpore?
Then why is there no news from Harumpore? I will tell you, sahib."
"You mean, I suppose, that the country is up, in between?"
"You know that it is up, sahib!"
"You think that no message could get through to me?"
"I know that it could not! Else had one already come. My advice
to you, sahib, as one soldier to another and tendered with all respect,
is to up and leave this Bholat. Here, of what use are you? Here
you can hold a small city, until the countryside has time to rise
and lay siege to you and hem you in! Outside of here, you can be
a hornet-storm! They will burn Bholat behind you.
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