information to the Prince of Wales, he would be severely reprimanded – not by the Prime Minister, who would understand, but by Her Majesty the Queen.
Lord Kenington had realised, when he first had his instructions from the Prime Minister that it would be very difficult to find out exactly what they wanted to know.
He was quite certain that those in The Great Game kept themselves very much to themselves and they made it their policy never to talk freely to anyone who like himself was not directly taking part in the defence of India.
Yet, by what almost seemed a miracle, he was now able to get in touch with one of the men who was on the secret list Disraeli had given him.
The Prime Minister had told him,
“I have put down the names of half-a-dozen men who we know are reliable and who have been in India for a long time. You may find others, but you can be quite sure that they will all keep from you as much inside information as possible.
“Why should they do that?” he had enquired.
“For the simple reason, Charles, that people talk, and talk too much,” the Prime Minister had replied. “One fool returning from India had talked about his experiences, and, of course, the subject of The Great Game had come into the conversation. And because he had drunk freely at the party at which he was a guest, the man mentioned the name of one member he had been in contact with and two months later the man in question disappeared.”
“You mean he was murdered?” The Prime Minister had spread out his hands.
“No one knows what happened, he just vanished. But his murder, if that is what it was, is a warning not to confide in other people who, after they have visited India, are tempted to speak too freely of all that they have heard and what has taken place while they were there.”
Lord Kenington understood what he was saying and vowed to himself that he would never endanger any man’s life in such a careless way.
He had also wondered, if he was fortunate enough to discover the whereabouts of the men on the special list and make contact with them, whether they would trust him.
There must have been far too much said already and, as he had found in the Diplomatic Service, there were spies everywhere.
Sometimes those who cared so much for their own country were prepared to die for it, but there were those who merely found it an easy way of making money.
Whatever experiences he had had in the past, this he recognised would be the most interesting, intriguing and perhaps the most dangerous mission he had been given by the Prime Minister.
Having made contact by amazing good luck with Major Warde’s daughter, he had no intention of involving her in his investigations.
They had therefore talked about a great number of other subjects, especially the countries Lord Kenington had visited which Aisha had only read about in books.
“Have you really been to Tibet?” she asked. “It is somewhere I would love to go.”
“Their Monasteries, if one can get into them, are fascinating,” Lord Keningon replied. “But the land over which we travelled was rough and uncultivated.”
He paused as if he was thinking back.
“The Tibetans were not particularly friendly,” he went on, “they were dirty and in many cases disagreeable.”
“Nevertheless,” Aisha said, “their faith gives them a special place in the world. I am sure, because you have been to their Monasteries, that you have learnt more about Heaven and Hell than anyone else.”
Lord Kenington smiled.
“It’s not quite as simple as that, but I admit I was amazed by their faith and by their extraordinary ability to foresee what is going to happen long before it does.”
“How do they do that?” Aisha asked.
“I suppose we have all had a chance of doing the same, just as the Egyptians have their Third Eye , we too can get nearer to what is really fundamental than we do at present.”
“Do you believe in prayer, my Lord?” “Of course I do. At the same
Lord Kenington had realised, when he first had his instructions from the Prime Minister that it would be very difficult to find out exactly what they wanted to know.
He was quite certain that those in The Great Game kept themselves very much to themselves and they made it their policy never to talk freely to anyone who like himself was not directly taking part in the defence of India.
Yet, by what almost seemed a miracle, he was now able to get in touch with one of the men who was on the secret list Disraeli had given him.
The Prime Minister had told him,
“I have put down the names of half-a-dozen men who we know are reliable and who have been in India for a long time. You may find others, but you can be quite sure that they will all keep from you as much inside information as possible.
“Why should they do that?” he had enquired.
“For the simple reason, Charles, that people talk, and talk too much,” the Prime Minister had replied. “One fool returning from India had talked about his experiences, and, of course, the subject of The Great Game had come into the conversation. And because he had drunk freely at the party at which he was a guest, the man mentioned the name of one member he had been in contact with and two months later the man in question disappeared.”
“You mean he was murdered?” The Prime Minister had spread out his hands.
“No one knows what happened, he just vanished. But his murder, if that is what it was, is a warning not to confide in other people who, after they have visited India, are tempted to speak too freely of all that they have heard and what has taken place while they were there.”
Lord Kenington understood what he was saying and vowed to himself that he would never endanger any man’s life in such a careless way.
He had also wondered, if he was fortunate enough to discover the whereabouts of the men on the special list and make contact with them, whether they would trust him.
There must have been far too much said already and, as he had found in the Diplomatic Service, there were spies everywhere.
Sometimes those who cared so much for their own country were prepared to die for it, but there were those who merely found it an easy way of making money.
Whatever experiences he had had in the past, this he recognised would be the most interesting, intriguing and perhaps the most dangerous mission he had been given by the Prime Minister.
Having made contact by amazing good luck with Major Warde’s daughter, he had no intention of involving her in his investigations.
They had therefore talked about a great number of other subjects, especially the countries Lord Kenington had visited which Aisha had only read about in books.
“Have you really been to Tibet?” she asked. “It is somewhere I would love to go.”
“Their Monasteries, if one can get into them, are fascinating,” Lord Keningon replied. “But the land over which we travelled was rough and uncultivated.”
He paused as if he was thinking back.
“The Tibetans were not particularly friendly,” he went on, “they were dirty and in many cases disagreeable.”
“Nevertheless,” Aisha said, “their faith gives them a special place in the world. I am sure, because you have been to their Monasteries, that you have learnt more about Heaven and Hell than anyone else.”
Lord Kenington smiled.
“It’s not quite as simple as that, but I admit I was amazed by their faith and by their extraordinary ability to foresee what is going to happen long before it does.”
“How do they do that?” Aisha asked.
“I suppose we have all had a chance of doing the same, just as the Egyptians have their Third Eye , we too can get nearer to what is really fundamental than we do at present.”
“Do you believe in prayer, my Lord?” “Of course I do. At the same
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