e even knew the elm tree beneath which he seemed to stand on
the crest of a hill. It was that which ran from Mr. Champers-Haswell's
splendid house, The Court, to the church; he could see them both, the
house to the right, the church to the left, and his eyesight seemed to
have improved, since he was able to observe that at either place there
was bustle and preparation as though for some big ceremony.

Now the big gates of The Court opened and through them came a funeral.
It advanced toward him with unnatural swiftness, as though it floated
upon air, the whole melancholy procession of it. In a few seconds it had
come and gone and yet during those seconds he suffered agony, for there
arose in his mind a horrible terror that this was Barbara's burying. He
could not have endured it for another moment; he would have cried out or
died, only now the mourners passed him following the coffin, and in the
first carriage he saw Barbara seated, looking sad and somewhat troubled,
but well. A little further down the line came another carriage, and in
it was Sir Robert Aylward, staring before him with cold, impassive face.

In his dream Alan thought to himself that he must have borrowed this
carriage, which would not be strange, as he generally used motors,
for there was a peer's coronet upon the panels and the silver-mounted
harness.

The funeral passed and suddenly vanished into the churchyard gates,
leaving Alan wondering why his cousin Haswell was not seated at
Barbara's side. Then it occurred to him that it might be because he was
in the coffin, and at that moment in his dream he heard the Asika asking
Jeekie what he saw; heard Jeekie answering also, "A burying in the
country called England."

"Of whom, Jeekie?" Then after some hesitation, the answer:

"Of a lady whom my lord loves very much. They bury her."

"What was her name, Jeekie?"

"Her name was Barbara."

"Bar-bara, why that you told me was the name of his mother and his
sister. Which of them is buried?"

"Neither, O Asika. It was another lady who loved him very much and
wanted to marry him, and that was why he ran away to Africa. But now she
is dead and buried."

"Are all women in England called Barbara, Jeekie?"

"Yes, O Asika, Barbara means woman."

"If your lord loved this Barbara, why then did he run away from her?
Well, it matters not since she is dead and buried, for whatever their
spirits may feel, no man cares for a woman that is dead until she
clot