ed.

"You forget Honor Bright?"

"I never forget Honor Bright," he replied unexpectedly. "I have looked
upon her as the exception that proves the rule."

"Your mother?" Joyce interposed gently.

"My father divorced her," he said harshly. "So you see I have had rather
a bad education!"

"I am very sorry for you."

"You are?--that's good. Then there is hope for me."

"I am sorry that you should have such a contempt for women, owing to
your unfortunate experience."

"I owe you an eternal debt of gratitude for teaching me what an
egotistical jackass I have been."

"Tell me," she asked, suddenly waking up to their dust-laden condition,
"am I covered with smuts and grime?"

Dalton surveyed her quizzically. "You are covered from head to foot,
like a miller, with fine white dust."

"So are you!" and they laughed together for the first time since the
calamity.

"Let's wash, there's a pool in the next room. Quite a respectable amount
of clean water is collected about the floor."

He showed her the pool and left her to make her toilet while he explored
their prison for some possibility of escape. Putting his hands to his
mouth he sent forth stentorian cries for help with no result. Without a
pick-axe to work with, he saw no chance of cutting a way through the
tons of material that lay around them.

It was midday, when Joyce was feeling weak with hunger, and Dalton
fighting a strong tendency to pessimism, that he heard Honor's
"_Coo-ee!_" and replied.

"Thank God!--at last here's someone to the rescue!" he exclaimed, and
Joyce burst into tears.

When Honor was able to locate the spot from which the answering voice
proceeded, she contrived with difficulty to get near enough to the
opening to hear what had happened. It was good to know, however terrible
had been the experience of the pair, that both were unhurt, and that
Joyce was bearing up wonderfully.

"I shall run back and get help at once, cheer up!" she called out.

"We don't, either of us, feel cheerful, I can assure you. It has been
ghastly here all night," the doctor shouted back.

"But it is great to have found you! I am so thankful," and she sped to
her bicycle and travelled at top speed to the Mission. Mr. Meek could
provide the labour at a moment's notice for the work of digging out the
imprisoned couple, and to him she went direct.

Immediately the Settlement hummed with activities; coolies swarmed to
the spot with pickaxes and spades, crowbar