en, in fact, he and two or three other fellows had been
out at a public house. He never forgave me for it, for he himself would
have told a lie without hesitation to screen himself, or, to do him
justice, to screen anyone else; and the mere fact that I myself had
been involved in the matter, having been sent out by one of the bigger
fellows, and, therefore, having got myself a flogging by my admission,
was no mitigation in his eyes of my offense of what he called sneaking.

"So you may imagine I have no particular desire to meet him again.
Unless he has greatly changed, he would do me a bad turn if he had the
chance."

"I don't think he has greatly changed," the Doctor said. "That was
really what I came in here for this evening rather than to talk about
this Sepoy business. I am sorry to say, Bathurst, that when he was in
at the Major's today your name happened to be mentioned, and he said
at once, 'Is that the Bathurst who they say showed the white feather at
Chillianwalla and left the army in consequence?'"

Bathurst's face grew pale and his fingers closed. He remained silent a
minute, and then said, "It does not matter; she would have been sure to
hear it sooner or later, and I should have told her myself if he had not
done so; besides, if, as I am afraid, this Berhampore business is the
beginning of trouble, and of such trouble as we have never had since we
set foot in India, it is likely that everyone will know what she knows
now. Has she spoken to you about it? I suppose she has, or you would not
have known that he mentioned it."

"Yes, she was most indignant about it, and did not believe it."

"And what did you say, Doctor?" he asked indifferently.

"Well, I was sorry I could not tell her exactly what you told me. It
would have been better if I could have done so. I simply said there were
many sorts of courage, and that I was sure that you possessed many sorts
in a very high degree, but I could not, of course, deny; although I did
not admit, the truth of the report he had mentioned."

"I don't think it makes much difference one way or the other," Bathurst
said wearily. "I have known all along that Isobel Hannay would not marry
a coward, only I have gone on living in a fool's paradise. However, it
is over now--the sooner it is all over the better."

"My dear fellow," the Doctor said earnestly, "don't take this thing too
much to heart. I don't wish to try and persuade you that it is not a
grave misfortune,