hand when they met, in token of their sympathy; and the
sepoys stood at attention, with mournful faces, when he passed
them. He spent the heat of the day with his books, and only stirred
out in the early morning and evening, meals being considerately
sent down to him from the mess. At the end of a fortnight he made a
great effort and joined the mess, and the kindness with which the
officers spoke to him gradually cheered him.

Then there came an excitement which cheered him further. There were
rumours of disaffection among the hill tribes, and the chances of a
campaign were discussed with animation, both among officers and
soldiers. The regiment was a very fine one, composed of sturdy
Punjabis; and all agreed that, if there were an expedition, they
would probably form part of it. Lisle entered fully into the
general feeling, and his eyes glistened as he listened to the
sepoys talking of the expeditions in which they had taken part.

"It would be splendid to go," he said to himself, "but I don't see
how the colonel could take me. I shall certainly ask him, when the
time comes; but I feel sure that he will refuse. Of course, I ought
to be starting before long for Calcutta; but the expedition will
probably not last many weeks and, if I were to go with it, the
excitement would keep me from thinking, and do me a lot of good.
Besides, a few weeks could make no difference in my working up for
the examination."

The more he thought of it, the more he felt determined to go with
the column. He felt sure that he could disguise himself so that no
one would suspect who he was. He had been so long associated with
the regiment that he talked Punjabi as well as English.

His father had now been dead two months and, as the rumours from
across the frontier grew more and more serious, he was filled with
fear lest an opportunity should occur to send him down country
before the regiment marched; in which case all his plans would be
upset. Day after day passed, however, without his hearing anything
about it, till one day the colonel sent for him.

"The time has come, lad, when we must part. We shall all be very
sorry to lose you, but it cannot be helped. I have received orders,
this morning, to go up to Chitral; and am sending down some sick,
at once. You must start with them. When you reach the railway, you
will be able to get a through ticket to Calcutta.

"As long as it was likely that we should be going down ourselves, I
was gla