er, she had lamented that she had no children and no particular
interests, and that her energy, such as it was, was ebbing rapidly. Of
course, she had been too long in Lower Burma--eight years of Lower
Burma, merely diluted with an occasional few weeks at May Myo, was
enough to undermine any woman's mental and bodily state.

"And so your aunt has been ill?" she asked after a long pause.

"Yes, but she is much better now and very cheerful, so I was able to
leave her and accept Mrs. Muller's invitation to accompany her to this
play."

"You have seen nothing so far?"

"Well, not much, but there is lots of time."

Mrs. Gregory glanced at the girl and, in the searching electric light,
noticed that her lovely colour was already fading, the lines of the
face seemed a trifle sharper; beauty is fleeting in Lower Burma.
Meanwhile Shafto, sitting so silent at the ladies' feet, was secretly
boiling with rage.

So the fat old German, in spite of his wealth, had made his wife's
niece both sick nurse and house-keeper; one of these tasks was ample
for any girl; Miss Leigh had been six weeks in Rangoon and had never
even seen the Pagoda!

"I know you are fond of riding," he began; "do you think you could come
for a gallop if I produced a pony?"

"And a chaperon," supplemented Mrs. Gregory. "I can offer my services
and a mount, and I'll call for you at seven o'clock on Thursday
morning. You may come, too," she added, turning to Shafto, "and we
will go to the Pineapple Forest."

"How delightful, and how very kind of you!" said Sophy. "I am sure I
can manage--as long as I am in by nine o'clock."

"But why nine o'clock, my dear Cinderella?"

"Because I have to interview the cook when he returns from the bazaar.
Herr Krauss is something of a gourmand and rather querulous about his
food, and he often brings in one or two men to tiffin or dinner."

"A nice, amusing change," said Shafto. "You must find old Krauss a bit
monotonous. What does he talk about? Wolfram or sausages?"

"He talks a good deal about my aunt--he really is devoted to her."

"Well, I'll mark him up one for that. I suppose the guests are his own
compatriots?"

"Yes, they come on business, and are nearly always the same. They talk
German all the time, which I cannot understand--only when they stare at
me and say something about 'Englaenderin'; after dinner we have music
and Herr Krauss and I play duets. His instrument is the violin--most
of the nei