thrown wide open to the night air--as was
customary in the plains--with short curtains of lawn to screen the
interior from public view. Outside, the shrill chirping of crickets
vibrated in the air, and the occasional croak of a bull-frog from a pond
in the garden, could be heard. Otherwise, the silence of the night was
oppressive and ominous.

Open windows not far from the ground offered an easy opportunity for
entrance into the house of evil characters bent on mischief, and even
the drowsy _punkha_ coolie in the verandah would be none the wiser.

The thought was disquieting and banished sleep from her eyes.

Impelled almost against her inclinations by an inward force too urgent
to resist, Mrs. Dalton slipped on her kimona, and with her feet in
slippers, went forth to satisfy herself, personally, that all was well
with her husband. He did not desire her interest; he had no wish that
she should sacrifice her rest, nevertheless, a sense of undefined
apprehension made it impossible for her return to her bed and sleep.

On her way to his bedchamber through the rooms that intervened, she
could hear the squeak of the ungreased _punkha_ wheel as the rope passed
to and fro over it. It was proof positive that he was asleep, or he
could not have tolerated the noise for a moment. Suddenly, however, it
ceased, and Mrs. Dalton, comprehending the reason of its stoppage,
smiled to herself, appreciating the frailty of the _punkha wallah_.

Arriving on the spot with the intention of stirring up the slumbering
coolie, she was surprised to find that he had deserted his post after
the manner of new hands unaccustomed to the task. This one, she
remembered, had been engaged that very day. The rope hung idly against
the wall under the wheel, and Mrs. Dalton was in momentary expectation
of a curse from within as the mosquitoes settled on the sleeper.

The culprit being nowhere in sight, she applied her eye to the edge of
the curtain and looked towards the bed. Her husband lay, as she
expected, fast asleep, tired out thoroughly, and unconscious of
externals. Suddenly, as she peered at him, she became aware of a dark
form moving between her vision and the sleeper.

Paralysed with fear and incapable of uttering a sound, she saw the
figure of an Indian clothed only in a narrow loin-cloth, creeping
stealthily towards the bed.

Who was he? and what was he trying to do?

Mrs. Dalton was rooted to the spot and dumb with terror.

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