ife and death. So--to her chosen angle of the
tank, she would go alone; and there--unwatched, save by Dewali lights of
earth and heaven--she would confide her lamp to the waters and the
breeze that rippled them in the first hour of darkness.

But Roy would not hear of her wandering alone in a Dewali crowd. In
Dyan's absence, he claimed the right to accompany her, to be somewhere
within hail. Having shed the Eastern protection of purdah, she must
accept the Western protection of escort. And straightway there sprang an
inspiration: he would wear his Indian dress, ready and waiting in every
detail, at Sir Lakshman's house. From there, he could set out unnoticed
on the Delhi adventure--which his grandfather happily approved, with
what profound heart-searchings and heart-stirrings Roy did not even
dimly guess.

At sundown the Residency party would drive through the city and finish
up at the gardens, before going on to dine at the Palace. That would be
Aruna's moment for slipping away. Roy--having slipped away in
advance--would rejoin her at a given spot. And then----?

The rest was a tremulous blur of hopes and fears and the thrill of his
presence, conjured into one of her own people....

* * * * *

Sundown at last; and the drive, in her exalted mood, was an ecstasy no
possible after-pain or disappointment could dim. As the flaming tint of
sunset faded and shafts of amethyst struck upward into the blue,
buildings grew shadowy; immense vistas seemed to melt into the
landscape, shrouded in a veil of desert dust.

Then--the first flickering points of fire--primrose-pale, in the half
light; deepening to orange, as night rolled up out of the East, and the
little blown flames seemed to flit along of their own volition, so
skilled and swift were the invisible hands at work.

From roof to roof, from balcony to balcony they ran: till vanished
Jaipur emerged from her shroud, a city transfigured: cupolas, arches,
balconies, and temples, palace of the Maharaja and lofty Hall of the
Winds--every detail faultlessly traced on darkness, in delicate,
tremulous lines of fire. Only here and there illusion was shattered by
garish globes of electric light, dimming the mellow radiance of
thousands on thousands of modest chiraghs.

Aruna had seen many Dewali nights in her time; but never at a moment so
charged with conflicting emotions. Silent, absorbed, she sat by Thea in
the barouche; Roy and Vernon opposi