When Canopus began to sparkle gaily in the southern skies， the king arose and prepared for a night's work. He disguised his face by smearing it with a certain paint， by twirling his moustachios up to his eyes， by parting his beard upon his chin， and conducting the two ends towards his ears， and by tightly tying a hair from a horse's tail over his nose， so as quite to change its shape. He then wrapped himself in a coarse outer garment， girt his loins， buckled on his sword， drew his shield upon his arm， and without saying a word to those within the palace， he went out into the streets alone， and on foot.
It was dark， and Raja Randhir walked through the silent city for nearly an hour without meeting anyone. As， however， he passed through a back street in the merchants' quarter， he saw what appeared to be a homeless dog， lying at the foot of a house-wall. He approached it， and up leaped a human figure， whilst a loud voice cried， "Who art thou？"
Randhir replied， "I am a thief； who art thou？"
"And I also am a thief，" rejoined the other， much pleased at hearing this； "come， then， and let us make together. But what art thou， a high-loper or a lully-prigger[FN#97]？"
[FN#97] The high-toper is a swell-thief， the other is a low dog.
"A little more ceremony between coves in the lorst，[FN#98]" whispered the king， speaking as a flash man， "were not out of place. But， look sharp， mind old Oliver，[FN#99] or the lamb-skin man[FN#100] will have the pull of us， and as sure as eggs is eggs we shall be scragged as soon as lagged.[FN#101]"
[FN#98] Engaged in shoplifting.
[FN#99] The moon.
[FN#100] The judge.
[FN#101] To be lagged is to be taken； scragging is hanging.
"Well， keep your red rag[FN#102] quiet，" grumbled the other， "and let us be working."
[FN#102] The tongue.
Then the pair， king and thief， began work in right earnest. The gang seemed to swarm in the street. They were drinking spirits， slaying victims， rubbing their bodies with oil， daubing their eyes with lamp-black， and repeating incantations to enable them to see in the darkness； others were practicing the lessons of the god with the golden spear，[FN#103] and carrying out the four modes of breaching a house： 1. Picking out burnt bricks. 2.Cutting through unbaked ones when old， when softened by recent damp， by exposure to the sun， or by saline exudations. 3. Throwing water on a mud wall； and 4. Boring through one of wood. The sons of Skanda were making breaches in the shape of lotus blossoms， the sun， the new moon， the lake， and the water jar， and they seemed to be anointed with magic unguents， so that no eye could behold， no weapon harm them.
[FN#103] This is the god Kartikeya， a mixture of Mars and Mercury， who revealed to a certain Yugacharya the scriptures known as "Chauriya-Vidya"——Anglice， "Thieves' Manual." The classical robbers of the Hindu drama always perform according to its precepts. There is another work respected by thieves and called the "Chora-Panchashila，" because consisting of fifty lines.
At length having filled his bag with costly plunder， the thief said to the king， "Now， my rummy cove， we'll be off to the flash ken， where the lads and the morts are waiting to wet their whistles."
Randhir， who as a king was perfectly familiar with "thieves' Latin，" took heart， and resolved to hunt out the secrets of the den. On the way， his companion， perfectly satisfied with the importance which the new cove had attached to a rat-hole，[FN#104] and convinced that he was a true robber， taught him the whistle， the word， and the sign peculiar to the gang， and promised him that he should smack the lit[FN#105] that night before "turning in."
[FN#104] Supposed to be a good omen.
