I bring myself to do all these things, do you believe she will
be content? Oh, Honey!--what a burden you are laying on my shoulders! Do
you know that I find it difficult to be even decently polite to her?
That is why I keep out of her way. And what is my reward to be?"

"If we do our duty day by day, it is enough. We should not look for
reward, yet, I am confident we shall receive it, never fear! It works
out right in the end."

"When I am dead?"--bitterly. "There is only one thing I want. Given
that, I would ask nothing more of life!"

He rose and stood aside to set her free, for Honor indicated that her
visit was at an end.

"Good-bye, and God bless you, Brian," she said with trembling lips,
giving him both her hands.

Dalton made no reply, but stooping, kissed them tenderly; for the moment
he was incapable of speech. Then going to the door he held the curtain
aside to allow her to pass out.

Honor found her way home, shaken with emotion. She had won her point,
but Mrs. Dalton would have to discover for herself the result of the
interview which she had contrived to bring about; and if it helped her
to begin afresh, the pain it had cost would not have been in vain.

So deeply engrossed had she been in the purpose of her visit, that she
had forgotten to repeat to Captain Dalton the conversation she had
overheard at the _mela_. Her father had scoffed at it, and Tommy had
treated it with indifference, explaining that all pioneers of progress
in India had to put up with opposition, threats, and bluff. The natives
of Bengal were too cowardly to risk their necks--didn't she remember her
Macaulay? After all, there was really nothing tangible to worry about.

Nevertheless, the matter so preyed upon her mind, that she wrote a note
after dinner to Mrs. Dalton, telling her all about it, and asking her to
persuade her husband to be always on his guard against sudden surprises,
as she believed men were plotting against his life. It would give the
poor woman an opportunity to begin friendly relations with her husband,
and possibly help to bring about a better understanding between them.

The note was entrusted to an orderly, who dropped it in the pocket of
his tunic and postponed the delivery of it to a more convenient season,
his friends from the bazaar having gathered at the door of his
_basha_[21], behind the bungalow, for a smoke, and to gossip about their
exploits at the _mela_.

[Footnote 21: Dwelling.]

It was n