?" She looked up beseechingly. "I should love
that: and it would make me feel less of an intruder."

"You are forbidden, on pain of instantaneous eviction, to feel anything
of the sort! And I heartily vote for 'Quita,'" Desmond answered,
smiling into her troubled face with so irresistible a friendliness that
she must needs smile back at him, however mistily.

"Oh, but it's good to talk nonsense with you again!" she cried. "Only,
I want to know, . . please, about Eldred. He is too weak. Is that it?"

"Far too weak. You see, we only pulled him round the corner at three
o'clock this morning; and the great thing now is to avoid any risk of
reactionary fever. Well, you know yourself . . I may speak frankly?"
She inclined her head. "Your coming, besides being emotionally
disturbing, will make something of a complication under the
circumstances . ."

"Oh, I know . . I know! It seems like forcing his hand. Every minute
I see more plainly that I ought never to come at all."

"Waiting would have been wiser," Desmond reproved her gently. "But I
admire the pluck of the whole thing far too much to scold you for it."

Her smile had a touch of wistfulness.

"That's so like you! But I don't know about pluck. Perhaps, if I had
realised all the details, I might have hesitated; though I doubt it. I
half lost my senses for the time being; and I believe poor Michel
thought I'd lost them permanently! He was furious with me for going."

"Rather rough on him, when you come to think of it! But why on earth
didn't you wire to us before starting?"

"At first it simply didn't occur to me; and when it did, I had just
sense enough to know that you would probably wire back 'Don't come.'
And even _I_ could hardly have persisted in the face of that! So I
determined to take the small risk with the big one. Dak bungalows seem
to grow wild in India; and I thought there would surely be one here
where I could get some sort of a bed."

"Dak bungalow, indeed! If there is one, _I_ won't help you to find
it!" This from Honor, in a burst of righteous wrath. "So you may as
well resign yourself to staying with us, whether you like it or not!"

"With you? Is it possible? I thought . . . But have you really a
corner available? I could sleep divinely on the hearth-rug, I'm so
desperately tired, and so relieved."

"Very well. That settles it. But I'll let you off the hearth-rug,
even though you did fling Dak bungalows at my hea