re boon she asked of him.

But Anstice was only mortal; and he could not refuse without giving her
the true reason of his refusal, although he and Garnett had agreed that
the undertaking of the night should be kept a secret lest the rest of
the little party be rendered nervous and uncomfortable by his absence.
The feelings of the other women were nothing to him, compared with those
of the girl he still loved with all the strength of his soul and heart;
and he could not have borne to let her think him callous, regardless of
her fears, content to leave her to pass through what must be one of the
darkest hours of her life alone.

Very gently he told her of the discovery Garnett and Hassan had made;
with the subsequent unhappy certainty of a water famine; and Iris had
been in Egypt long enough to know that in this desert waste of sun and
sand the lack of water and its attendant evil, thirst, were the most
fruitful sources of tragedy in the Egyptian land.

"You mean there is no water left?" She spoke very quietly, and he
answered her in the same tone.

"No--at least barely a bottleful. The rest was used for making coffee
for us all just now. And this remaining drop must be reserved for your
husband, in case he calls for it. Besides, there is to-morrow----" He
stopped short, with a tragic foreboding that there would be no morrow on
earth for the man who lay dying beneath their eyes.

"Yes. As you say, there is to-morrow. And"--her voice was low--"I
suppose there is no hope of rescue before to-morrow night at earliest?"

"I am afraid not before the following dawn." Somehow he could not lie to
Iris. "And since we must have water it is plain one of us must go and
get it."

"Go? Outside the Fort?" Her face blanched still further. "But it--would
be madness to venture out--you would be seen--and shot--at once...."

"Ah, but you haven't heard the plan Garnett and I have evolved!" He
spoke more lightly, though his voice was still low. "Listen, and tell me
if you approve of our strategy!"

He rapidly outlined their plan of campaign, making as light of the
perils of the undertaking as possible; and Iris listened breathlessly,
her eyes on his face the while.

When he had finished she spoke very quietly.

"Dr. Anstice, I think it is a terribly reckless thing to attempt, and if
I thought only of myself--or of you--I should beg you not to go. But as
you say, there are the others--the child for one--and if help should be
delaye