and
have sent me here."

"Bravely done, girl! Bravely and nobly done! We had best keep the secret
to ourselves; there are constantly men looking through the bars of the
window, and some of them may understand English."

Then she looked up and said, "It is Miss Hannay, she was captured with
us in the boats; please help me to carry her over to the wall there, and
my daughter and I will nurse her; it looks as if she had been terribly
burnt, somehow."

Many of the ladies had met Isobel in the happy days before the troubles
began, and great was the pity expressed at her appearance. She was
carried to the side of the wall, where Mary and Mrs. Hunter at once made
her as comfortable as they could. Rabda, who had now thrown back her
veil, produced from under her dress the net containing some fifty small
limes, and handed to Mrs. Hunter the pot of ointment and the lotion.

"She has saved me," Isobel said; "it is the daughter of the juggler who
performed at your house, Mrs. Hunter; do thank her for me, and tell her
how grateful I am."

Mrs. Hunter took Rabda's hand, and in her own language thanked her for
her kindness to Isobel.

"I have done as I was told," Rabda said simply; "the Sahib Bathurst
saved my life, and when he said the lady must be rescued from the hands
of the Nana, it was only right that I should do so, even at the risk of
my life."

"So Bathurst has escaped," Mrs. Hunter said, turning to Isobel. "I am
glad of that, dear; I was afraid that all were gone."

"Yes, I had a note from him; it is by his means that I got away from
Bithoor. He sent me the caustic and acid to burn my face. He told me
Mr. Wilson had also escaped, and perhaps some others may have got away,
though he did not seem to know it."

"But surely there could be no occasion to burn yourself as badly as you
have done, Isobel."

"I am afraid I did put on too much acid," she said. "I was so afraid
of not burning it enough; but it does not matter, it does not pain me
nearly so much since I put on that ointment; it will soon get well."

Mrs. Hunter shook her head regretfully.

"I am afraid it will leave marks for a long time."

"That is of no consequence at all, Mrs. Hunter; I am so thankful at
being here with you, that I should mind very little if I knew that it
was always to be as bad as it is now. What does it matter?"

"It does not matter at all at present, my dear; but if you ever get out
of this horrible place, some day you may think