I put on speed and
Ali Khan, now very tired, toiled on behind me as I came up with
her and courteously asked the way. Her face was entirely hidden,
but the answering voice was clear and sweet. I made up my mind
she was young, for it had the bird-like thrill of youth.
"If the Presence continues to follow this path he will arrive. It
is not far. They wait for him."
That was all. It left me with a desire to see the veiled face. We
passed on and Ali Khan looked fearfully back.
"Ajaib! (Wonderful!) A strange place to meet one of the
purdah-nashin (veiled women)" he muttered. "What would she be
doing up here in the heights? She walked like a Khanam (khan's
wife) and I saw the gleam of gold under the boorka."
I turned with some curiosity as he spoke, and lo! there was no
human being in sight. She had disappeared from the track behind
us and it was impossible to say where. The darkening trees were
beginning to hold the dusk and it seemed unimaginable that a
woman should leave the way and take to the dangers of the woods.
"Puna-i-Khoda - God protect us!" said Ali Khan in a shuddering
whisper.
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