ot till they had gone, that he was recalled to a sense of duty
with regard to the note, and the hour was then late. However, it was as
much as his place was worth for him to leave the delivery of it till the
morning; so, making his way across to the Civil Surgeon's bungalow, he
aroused Mrs. Dalton's ayah, who, in her turn, roused her mistress, and
handed her the communication from Honor.

Thus does Fate control the destinies of individuals; for, had the
orderly done his duty earlier, there might have been a very different
ending to this story.

Meanwhile, a letter by the last post from Joyce in Darjeeling, engaged
Honor till close upon midnight. It had given her much to think about,
and called for a reply of congratulations, as it was written at a time
of intense joy and thanksgiving over the restoration of happy relations
with her husband:

Joyce had written at great length, beginning her letter with a
description of her journey and the miserable thoughts that had occupied
her all the way. After giving a brief outline of the circumstances
connected with her arrival at her husband's rooms, she continued:

"You can imagine the shock it was to find her there and so very much at
home! I could have killed her! But I did nothing melodramatic, believe
me. I was too stunned. Instead, I boiled with the desire for a reprisal.
Since I could not fight her like a savage, being, of course, a highly
civilised person, I fought her with the only weapons at my command. I
went to the Planters' Ball, tired though I was, and made an amazing hit.
Did you ever imagine that I was an actress, born? If you had seen me
dance and smile while my heart was breaking, you would have had to
revise all previous impressions of little Me.

"Ray looked completely dazed at first, and could hardly believe his
eyes. I obliged him to keep up appearances, so that we danced a great
deal together, and he had my sweetest smiles, though he knew all the
while that my heart was turned to stone. I was an angel to him before
others, but alone with him I was adamant. And Mrs. Dalton had the lesson
of her life. I saw to it that Ray dropped her entirely, and as people
are like sheep, there was no one brave enough to have anything to do
with her. Her humiliation was complete. Before half the night was over,
she left, looking mad with everybody. Even those who had been in the
habit of speaking to her, gave her a wide berth, so you can imagine how
comforted I felt!--th