could restore
her to her friends."

"Certainly I will, Dick," Mrs. Holland said warmly.

"Will you tell the girls, Gholla," she said to her sister-in-law, "to
have a bed made up for her, in my room?"

"I will do so at once," the ranee said. "Poor little thing, she must
have had a journey, indeed."

"She will be here directly, Mother," Dick said, as his aunt gave the
necessary directions for the bed to be prepared, and a dish of rice
and strong gravy. "She is very nervous, and I am sure it will be best
if you will meet her, when she arrives, and take her straight to her
room."

"That is what I was going to do, Dick," his mother said, with a smile.
"Well, I will go down with you, at once."

Two or three minutes later, the cart entered the courtyard. Mrs.
Holland was on the steps. Dick ran down, and helped Annie from the
cart. The girl was trembling violently.

"Don't be afraid, Annie," Dick whispered, as he lifted her down. "Here
is my mother, waiting to receive you.

"This is the young lady," he went on cheerfully, as he turned to his
mother. "I promised her a warm welcome, in your name."

Mrs. Holland had already come down the steps, and as the girl turned
towards her, she took her in her arms, and kissed her in motherly
fashion.

"Welcome, indeed," she said. "I will be a mother to you, poor child,
till I can hand you over to your own. I thank God for sending you to
me. It will be a comfort to me to know that, even if my son should
never bring my husband back to me, he has at least succeeded in
rescuing one victim from Tippoo, and in making one family happy."

The girl clung to her, crying softly.

"Oh, how good you all are!" she sobbed. "It seems too much happiness
to be true."

"It is quite true, dear. Come with me. We will go up the private
stairs, and I will put you straight to bed in my room, and no one else
shall see you, or question you, until you are quite recovered from
your fatigue."

"I am afraid," Annie began faintly.

She did not need to say more. Mrs. Holland interrupted her.

"Dick, you must lift her up, and carry her into my room. Poor child,
she is utterly exhausted, and no wonder."

A couple of minutes later, Dick returned to the dining room. He had
run down, first, to tell Surajah to come up with him, but found that
he had already gone to his father's apartments.

"Well, Dick," the Rajah said, as he entered, "I was prepared, after
hearing of that tiger adventure, and of you a