ains was wholly absent
from her now. She felt vividly alive, almost painfully conscious of the
quick blood pulsing through her veins. She was aware of an intense
longing to escape even while the magic of the night yet drew her
irresistibly. Deep in her heart there lurked an uncertainty which she
could not face. Up to that moment she had been barely aware of its
existence, but now she felt it stirring, and strangely she was afraid.
Was it the call of the East, the wonder of the moonlight? Or was it
some greater thing yet, such as had never before entered into her life?
She could not say; but her face was still firmly set towards the goal of
liberty. Whatever was in store for her, she meant to extricate herself.
She meant to cling to her freedom at all costs. When next she stood upon
that verandah, the ordeal she had begun to dread so needlessly, so
unreasonably, would be over, and she would have emerged triumphant.

So she told herself, even while the shiver of apprehension which she
could not control went through her, causing her to draw her wrap more
closely about her though there was nought but a pleasant coolness in the
soft air that blew across the plain.

She and Tommy were to drive with the Ralstons to the ruined palace in
the jungle of Khanmulla where the picnic was to take place. She had
never seen it, but had heard it described as the most romantic spot in
Markestan. It had been the site of a fierce battle in some bye-gone age,
and its glories had departed. For centuries it had lain deserted and
crumbling. Yet some of its ancient beauty remained. Its marble floors
and walls of carved stone were not utterly obliterated though only owls
and flying-foxes made it their dwelling-place. Natives regarded it with
superstitious awe and seldom approached it. But Europeans all looked
upon it as the most beautiful corner within reach, and had it been
nearer to Kurrumpore, it would have been a far more frequented
playground than it was.

The hoot of a motor-horn broke suddenly upon the silence, and Stella
started. It was the horn of Major Ralston's little two-seater; she knew
it well. But they had not proposed using it that night. She and Tommy
were to accompany them in a waggonette. The crunching of wheels and
throb of the engine at the gate told her it was stopping. Then the
Ralstons had altered their plans, unless--Something suddenly leapt up
within her. She was conscious of a curious constriction at the throat, a
sen