riends, had given up
the high position of head body-woman to a Ranee of the North, in order
to accept the humble post of ayah to a mem-sahib.

A post she had gained by the baffling methods of the East which bind
each man's work to that of his neighbour with an unbreakable,
untraceable chain; and gained too, over the sleek heads of many of her
sister ayahs, who, armed with countless and phenomenally laudatory
chits, had squatted patiently for hours in the servants' quarters of
the bungalow at Alipore.

CHAPTER XXVII

"For lo! the winter is past,
and the rain is over and gone!"--_The Bible_.

"That's Lady Hickle!"

The two men turned in their saddles as Leonie went by at a canter near
the rails.

The raking great waler forging ahead like an engine of destruction was
kept in check by Leonie, exuberant with health, the knowledge of a
perfect seat and hands, and that uprush of spirits which an early ride on
the Maidan brings--to some of us.

"Not _the_ Lady Hickle?"

"The same!"

"Well, I'm damned! she's only a girl, and _what_ a seat! Chucked the
millions, too, didn't she? Having a good time?"

John Thorne frowned as he backed his horse before answering.

"We're great friends," he said shortly, and the other man tapped his
teeth with his whip.

Thorne hadn't the slightest intention of implanting a snub, as the other
man knew, knowing him and his most unfortunate manner.

Friends, yes! they were friends, two strong, super-sensitive characters
drawn in sympathy one to the other; and John Thorne would have liked to
have been a good deal more than a friend, but he had the sense to realise
that the only kind of woman he could ever ask to share his rising
fortune, bad manners, and worse temper, would be of the type designated
in the short and unromantic word _cow_.

One of those slumbrous, sleek creatures who stand knee deep and content
in a field of domestic trivialities; ruminate placidly upon the happy
little events of the past hour; and always find a hedge under which to
shelter at the first intimation of a storm.

Lucky, lucky cattle who do not know the temperamental ups and downs, the
mental lights and shadows, the physical and psychological upheavals, or
the intense joys and griefs of the more highly strung goat.

At that moment Leonie rode back slowly with some friends, and smiled at
John Thorne.

"No!" Thorne went on meditatively, "no, she's _not_ having a good time.
I can't quite ma