thout me."

This letter stung Wargrave like the lash of a whip across the face. To
do Violet justice no sooner had she sent it than she regretted it. But
deeply hurt as he was by the bitter words he forgave her; for he felt
that her life was indeed miserable and that he was unconsciously in a
great measure to blame for its being so. But it maddened him to realise
his present helplessness to alter matters. He was more than willing to
sacrifice himself to help her; but it would be a long time before he
could hope to save enough to pay his debts and make a home for her.
Whether it was wicked or not to take away another man's wife did not
occur to him; all that he knew was that a woman was unhappy and he alone
could help her. It seemed to him that the sin--if sin there were--was
the husband's, who starved her heart and rendered her miserable.

In his distress work and sport proved his salvation. He threw himself
heart and soul into his duty, and whenever there was nothing for him to
do with the detachment Major Hunt encouraged him to go with the
Political Officer into the jungle. For little as he suspected it the
senior guessed the young man's trouble and watched him sympathisingly.

One never-to-be-forgotten day as Wargrave was returning from afternoon
parade Colonel Dermot called to him from his gate and showed him a
telegram. It ran: "Tiger marked down. Come immediately _dak_ bungalow,
Madpur Duar. Muriel."

As the subaltern perused it with delight the Colonel said:

"Ask your C.O. for leave. Then, if he gives it, get something
substantial to eat in the Mess and be ready to start at once. Madpur
Duar is thirty odd miles away; and we'll have to travel all night. Come
to my bungalow as soon as you can."

Half an hour later the two were trudging down the road to the
_peelkhana_ carrying their rifles. Badshah, with a _howdah_ roped on to
his pad, plodded behind them; for it is far more comfortable to walk
down a steep descent than be carried down it by an elephant. At the foot
of the hills they mounted and were borne away into the gathering shadows
of the long road through the forest. As they proceeded their talk was
all of tigers; for in India, though there be bigger and more splendid
game in the land, its traditional animal never fails to interest, and
to Wargrave on his way to his first tiger-shoot all other topics were
insignificant.

The sun went down and darkness settled on the forest. The talk died away
and no