He and his stood to lose all that they owned--their honor--and the honor of their wives and families, should they fight on the wrong side.

Even as a soldier who had passed his word, he might have been excused for a lot of wordy questioning of orders, for he had enough at stake to make anybody cautious.
Yet, having said his say and sworn a dozen God-invoking Rangar oaths before he pledged his word, and then having pledged it, he threw Rajput tradition and the odds against him into one bottomless discard and proceeded to show Cunningham exactly what his fealty meant.
"By the boots and beard of Allah's Prophet!" he swore, growing freer-tongued now that his liberty of action had been limited.

"Here we stand and talk like two old hags, Mahommed Gunga! My word is given.

Let us find out now what this fledgling general of thine would have us do.
If he is to release my prisoner, at least I would like to get amusement out of it!" So he and Mahommed Gunga swaggered across the courtyard to where Cunningham had joined the McCleans again.
"We come with aid and not objections, sahib," he assured him.

"If we listen, it may save explanations afterward." So at a sign from Cunningham they enlarged the circle, and the East and West--bearded and clean-shaven, priest and soldiers, Christian and Mohammedan--stood in a ring, while almost the youngest of them--by far the youngest man of them--laid down the law for all.