y tennis, polo, and cards, and swap stories at the bar until the
declining sun warns them of the necessity for departing before night falls
on the forest. After hearty farewells they swing themselves up into the
saddle again and dash off at breakneck speed to escape being trapped by the
darkness.

Many and strange are the adventures that befall them on the rough roads or
in the trackless wilds. Sometimes an elephant, a bear, or a tiger confronts
them on their way. But the intrepid planter, and his not less courageous
women-folk, if he has any to accompany him, gallops fearlessly by it or,
perhaps, rides unarmed at the astonished beast and scares it by wild cries.
Then on again to another week of lonely labour.

This day it had fallen to the lot of the Dalehams to be the hosts of their
community. Noreen had superintended the preparation and despatch of the
supplies for their guests and could ride home now with a clear conscience
to wait for her brother to return for their second breakfast. The early
morning repast, the _chota hazri_ of an Anglo-Indian household, is a very
light and frugal one, consisting of a cup of coffee or tea, a slice of
toast, and one or two bananas.

As she pulled up her pony in front of the bungalow a man came down the
steps of the verandah and helped her to dismount.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Chunerbutty," she exclaimed, "and good morning."

"Good morning, Miss Daleham. Just back from your ride with Fred, I
suppose?"

The newcomer was the engineer of the estate. The staff of the tea-garden of
Malpura consisted of three persons, the manager, a hard-drinking old
Welshman called Parry; the assistant manager, Daleham; and this man. As a
rule the employees of these estates are Europeans. Chunerbutty was an
exception. A Bengali Brahmin by birth, the son of a minor official in the
service of a petty rajah of Eastern Bengal, he had chosen engineering
instead of medicine or law, the two professions that appeal most to his
compatriots. A certain amount of native money was invested in the company
that owned the Malpura garden; and the directors apparently thought it good
policy to employ an Indian on it.

Like many other young Hindus who have studied in England, Chunerbutty
professed to be completely Anglicised. In the presence of Europeans he
sneered at the customs, beliefs, and religions of his fellow-countrymen and
posed as an agnostic. It galled him that Englishmen in India thought none
the more of hi