“I hope you taxed Fath-ud-Din with being an Englishman on the same grounds,” said Lady Haigh.
“Certainly not,” replied Sir Dugald. “You forget that he was ill. His illness may have been diplomatic and momentary; but it has to be accepted as a fact. Well, Hicks supplied the next link in the chain. It seems that Fath-ud-Din granted him the interview which Jahan Beg refused, and in the course of conversation asked him casually what he would think if he heard that a solitary Englishman had lived in Ethiopia disguised for years. Hicks replied, as most men would naturally do, that he should conclude he had done something which had made British territory too hot to hold him, and had run away from fear of the law. That struck Fath-ud-Din as a bright idea, and he came to tell me of his suspicions, and to suggest that I should invite the King to give up Jahan Beg as an escaped criminal. He assured me that he and his party would give me all possible support, which I could well believe; and he let out that he anticipated that Rustam Khan would be involved in his father-in-law’s downfall. That would leave the way clear for Antar Khan, to whom Fath-ud-Din hopes to marry his daughter. A suitable _bakhshish_ was also understood, and in return for these various boons, Fath-ud-Din would be good enough to further the objects of the Mission, and guarantee its success.”
“And I hope you kicked him down the steps?” said Lady Haigh.
“No, Elma; I did not. I should have thought you knew by this time that my disposition was eminently a peaceful one. I merely told Fath-ud-Din that I knew of no criminal answering to the description of Jahan Beg, but that if he could find out what he had done, and it was sufficiently heinous, I would apply for his extradition with pleasure. With that he had to be content, which leaves us a breathing-space.”
“I suppose you will be able to get the treaty concluded while he is hunting about for proofs of Jahan Beg’s guilt?” said Georgia.
“That is what we must hope to do. I was most careful to make everything hinge on his own efforts. It was necessary to avoid like poison anything that might sound like offering him help in his quest, or he would have understood it as a definite pledge to assist him by fair means or foul to ruin Jahan Beg.”
