, God!" burst from her lips.

"Honey! Honey! What is it you fear?" Mrs. Bright cried, gripping her by
the shoulders.

But Honor broke away from her mother and, with shaking fingers, flung on
her out-door clothes.

"Surely you are not going out?"

"Can't you understand, Mother?" she cried in strained, unnatural tones.
"They have killed him! I know they have killed him!"

"Sahib! Sahib!" called voices loudly on the verandah.

The coolies pulling at the _punkha_ joined in a chorus of "Sahib,
Sahib!"

"We are sent to call the _Bara Sahib_. Haste and wake him. A great
calamity hath befallen."

"A murder has been committed, wake the Sahib!"

"Good God!" exclaimed Mr. Bright springing from his bed. "What are they
saying? A murder? Where?"

"At Captain Dalton's bungalow. The doctor has been murdered!--how
terrible! Honor always said people were plotting against his life," said
Mrs. Bright, horror-stricken.

"Good God!" said Mr. Bright again as he pulled on his boots. "Tell them
I will be with them in a minute. Send someone to call Tommy Deare,
quickly."

In the meantime, Honor was speeding across the grass on her way to the
scene of the tragedy.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE ATONEMENT

When Honor's letter of warning was received by Mrs. Dalton, she was
greatly disturbed in mind at the apparent gravity of its purport.

On being awakened, she had carried the letter to the table, raised the
light, and read all that Honor had to say, after which she felt
undecided how to act. The lateness of the hour made it certain that her
husband was sound asleep after his fatiguing day, and to rouse him for
the purpose of passing on a caution which he had previously disregarded,
would be, she thought, both inconsiderate and tactless. Besides, no good
could be gained by disturbing him, as no action could possibly be taken
at the moment, even presuming that he were disposed to move in the
matter. It seemed, therefore, wisest to allow the letter to stand over
till the morning. Attempts had been made on his life, but Mrs. Dalton
had understood that the enmity and ill feeling in the District had
practically died down. Yet, here it was shown to be smouldering
dangerously and an imminent menace to her husband, sleeping or waking.

Though she was not passionately fond of him, and was unlikely ever to
be,--having grown weary of strenuous emotions and the disappointments of
life,--she valued the legal tie that bound them together as