"The Phansigars, or Thugs, of India," began the General, "are the most dangerous and dreaded of the tribes of North India.They are extremists in religion, and worship the horrid goddess Kali in the form of images.
Their rites are interesting and bloody.The robbing and murdering of travellers are taught as a worthy and obligatory deed by their strange religious code.Their worship of the three-eyed goddess Kali is conducted so secretly that no traveller has ever heretofore had the honour of witnessing the ceremonies.That distinction was reserved for myself.
"While at Sakaranpur, between Delhi and Khelat, I used to explore the jungle in every direction in the hope of learning something new about these mysterious Phansigars.
"One evening at twilight I was making my way through a teakwood forest, when I came upon a deep circular depression in an open space, in the centre of which was a rude stone temple.I was sure that this was one of the temples of the Thugs, so I concealed myself in the undergrowth to watch.
"When the moon rose the depression in the clearing was suddenly filled with hundreds of shadowy, swiftly gliding forms.Then a door opened in the temple, exposing a brightly illuminated image of the goddess Kali, before which a white-robed priest began a barbarous incantation, while the tribe of worshippers prostrated themselves upon the earth.
"But what interested me most was the central eye of the huge wooden idol.
I could see by its flashing brilliancy that it was an immense diamond of the purest water.