giving orders to a sais. The girl lifted her out of the
saddle, and kissed her on both cheeks.

"Such a very early Ladybird!" she said, laughing. "You might have let
me come too."

Accordingly they went out together the next morning, but on future
occasions Evelyn returned more cautiously, and changed her habit
before appearing at the breakfast-table. She went out once or twice in
the afternoons also, and Honor's thoughts flew to the Kresneys as a
matter of course; but remembering a certain incident at Murree, she
held her peace. She was disheartened, and very far from satisfied,
nevertheless.

* * * * *

In this fashion ten days slipped uneventfully past. Then, on a certain
afternoon, Kresney again met Evelyn by chance,--and begged her to come
back with him to tea before going home. Her consent was a foregone
conclusion; and as they neared Kresney's whitewashed gate-posts,
Captain Olliver trotted past. He had already met Miss Kresney jogging
out to tea on a long-tailed pony of uncertain age; and glancing
casually back over his shoulder, he saw Mrs Desmond's jhampan entering
the gateway. Whereat he swore vigorously under his breath, and urged
his pony to a brisker pace.

But of these facts Evelyn was blissfully unaware. Her uppermost
thought was a happy consciousness of looking her best. From the
forget-me-nots in her hat to the last frill of her India muslin gown
all was blue--the fragile blue of the far horizon at dawn. And Kresney
had an eye for such things.

She started slightly on discovering that the drawing-room was empty.

"Where's Miss Kresney?" she asked, stopping dead upon the threshold.

"Why, what a fool I am!" the man exclaimed with a creditable air of
frankness. "I clean forgot she had gone out to tea. But you're not
going to desert me on that account! You wouldn't be so unkind!"

Evelyn felt herself trapped. It would seem foolish and pointed to go;
yet she had sense enough to know that it would be very unwise to stay.
She compromised matters by saying sweetly that she would come in just
for ten minutes, to have a cup of tea before going back in the sun.

Kresney looked his gratification--looked it so eloquently that she
lowered her eyes, and went forwards hurriedly, as if fearing that
something more definite might follow the look.

But the man, though inwardly exultant, was well on his guard. If he
startled her this first time, he could not hope to repeat the