His voice sharpened as he continued,
“It was so sudden and unexpected that they must have killed him if it had not been for Bruce McDorn.”
“What did he do?” Vara asked.
“He acted more quickly than I could have believed possible,” Lord Belgrave replied. “He shot the first two men before they could even raise their long knives. Then he tripped up the third man so that he fell backwards. At last a soldier, somewhat belatedly, raised his rifle and shot him dead.”
“What happened – then?” Vara asked.
It did not sound as if the Earl had been injured in any way.
“It was then, while the Viceroy was now surrounded by soldiers, that suddenly out of the shadows, nobody could explain later how he managed to get there, there appeared a Fakir.”
“A Fakir!” Vara exclaimed.
“As you know, they are Ho
