as afraid lest she
should break down in the sudden relief from the strain and anxiety. But
there was no cause to fear it. The girl was quietly brave and imitated his
air of unconcern, behaving after the first moment as if they were meeting
under the most ordinary circumstances. She smiled, though somewhat feebly,
as she said:

"Oh, not a clown, Major Dermot. Rather the hero of a cinema drama, who
always appears in time to rescue the persecuted maiden. I am beginning to
feel quite like the unlucky heroine of a film play."

The cords fastening her had now been cut, so she tried to stand up but
found no strength in her numbed limbs.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm--I'm rather stiff," she said, sinking back into the
chair again. She felt angry at her weakness, but she was almost glad of it
when she saw Dermot's instant look of concern.

"You are cramped from being tied up," he said. "Don't hurry."

The cords had chafed her wrists cruelly. He stooped to examine the
abrasions, and the girl thrilled at his gentle touch. A feeling of shyness
overcame her, and she turned her eyes away from his face. They fell on the
bodies of the dead raiders, and she hastily averted her gaze.

"Hadn't we better hurry away from here?" she asked, apprehensively.

"No; I don't think there is any necessity. The men who ran away seemed too
scared to think of returning. But still, we'll start as soon as you feel
strong enough."

"What was it that they cried out?"

"Oh, merely an uncomplimentary remark about Badshah and me," he replied.

The girl made another attempt to rise and succeeded with his assistance. He
lifted her on to Badshah's pad and went over to examine the dead men. After
his first casual glance at the wearer of shoes he knelt down and looked
closely into the face of the corpse. Then he pulled open the single
garment. A thin cord consisting of three strings of spun cotton was round
the body next the skin, passing over the left shoulder and under the right
arm. This Dermot cut off. From inside the garment he took out some other
articles, all of which he pocketed. He then searched the corpse of the
scarred Bhuttia, taking a small packet tied up in cloth from the breast of
the garment. Noreen watched him with curiosity and marvelled at his courage
in handling the dead bodies.

He returned to the kneeling elephant and took his place on the neck.

"Hold on now, Miss Daleham," he said. "Badshah's going to rise. _Uth_"

Noreen gripped the s