r as she loved him? Was it not all a one-sided affair and
therefore despicable? Ah! but--she told herself--there was a
possibility; and this it was which underlaid the strange wellspring of
new-born happiness which had sprung up in Mona's heart, completely
transforming her. Now and then a corner of the curtain which hid his
inner nature was lifted--lifted just enough to convince her that the
capabilities which lay behind were those which it was in her power to
call into play, and that the day might come when her love should be
returned tenfold.

After all, thought is swift, and can cover a great deal while the
thinker is descending one flight of rather rickety and not very
well-swept stairs.

Nothing was said during dinner about Roden's impending trip, for an
absence from duty of upwards of two days was irregular, to say the least
of it, on any other terms than a formal application to headquarters,
which, at that distance from the Colonial Office, would necessitate a
couple of weeks' correspondence and a due expenditure of red tape. When
Roden returned to the office he found Mr Van Stolz already there,
letting off steam in a few harmless "cuss words," for the post had just
arrived, bringing with it from headquarters an unusually large batch of
circulars, desiring information of no conceivable utility; also some
returns.

"Musgrave, old chap, look at all this damn nonsense," said the jolly
little R.M., with a mischievous laugh, shoving away the obnoxious papers
and lighting his pipe. "What, the devil! do they think we've got
nothing better to do--and with all these troops of burghers pushing
through to the front, and knocking us up in the middle of the night to
find rations for them? These stoopid returns 'll take at least a week
of turning out dead-and-buried records to make up."

"Then I won't go down to the Camp to-morrow, sir," said Roden, thinking
how he would quietly chaff Mona as being in league with the people at
headquarters to knock his trip on the head.

"No, no, Musgrave. It isn't so important as all that. I'll get them
together, somehow, and Somers can give a hand. Besides, we needn't
hurry. It doesn't do, either, to break one's neck being over zealous.
You don't get any the more appreciation for it, or promotion either; at
least, that's what I've learnt after my twenty odd years in the Service,
though of course it wouldn't do to say that to every sort of a youngster
who happened to be one's