"I may say here that I never saw any of them again; although,
considering that they took nothing with them, how they regained
the nearest village is a mystery which I have never solved.
"Gentlemen, I know the East as few of my fellow-citizens know it.
I know something of the powers which are latent in some Orientals
and active in others. That my Brahmin guide was a hypnotist and
an illusionist, I have since thought.
"For, even as the pattering footsteps of the bearers grew faint
in the distance, the fiery torch disappeared as if by magic, and
a silken cord was about my throat!
"As I began a desperate fight for life, I realized that, whatever
else Vadi might be, he was certainly an expert thug. The jungle,
the rocks, seemed to swim around me as I crashed to the ground
and felt the Brahmin's knee in the small of my back."
CHAPTER XXXI. STORY OF THE CITY OF FIRE (CONTINUED)
"How I managed to think of any defense against such an attack,
and especially in the circumstances, is a matter I have often
wondered about since. How, having thought of it, I succeeded in
putting it into execution, is probably more wonderful still. But
I will just state what happened.
"You may observe that I have large hands. Their size and strength
served me well on this occasion. At the moment that the rope
tightened about my throat I reached up and grasped the Brahmin's
left thumb. Desperation gave me additional strength, and I
snapped it like a stick of candy.
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