Hunsa saw all this, for he was the one that often carried a message to
the Gulab that her presence was desired in the palace. But there were
always others there; the players and the musicians--the ones who played
the sitar (guitar) and the violin; and the officers.
Hunsa was getting impatient. Every time he looked at the handsome
black-bearded head of the warrior he was like a covetous thief gazing
upon a diamond necklace that is almost within his grasp. He had come
there to kill him and delay was dangerous. He had been warned by the
Dewan that they suspected Barlow meant to visit the Chief on behalf of
the British. He might turn up any day. When he spoke to Bootea about
her part in the mission, the enticing of Amir Khan to her tent so that
he might be killed, she simply answered:
"Hunsa, you will wait until I give you a command to kill the Chief. If
you do not, it is very likely that you will be the sacrifice, for he is
not one to be driven." She vowed that if he broke this injunction she
would denounce him to Amir Khan; she would have done so at first but
for the idea that treachery to her people could not be justified but by
dire necessity.
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