bivouac fires, around which the
loudest merriment was also taking place.

In reality he entertained very little hope that the Circassian would
be able to fulfil her bold promise, for what she had taken upon herself
appeared to him to be absolutely impracticable. Yet his heart throbbed
wildly when he thrust back the linen sheet that covered the entrance of
the tent which had been assigned to him.

On the folding-table in the middle of the little room were two
lighted candles beside a burning lantern. And in their light Heideck
discerned--not Edith Irwin, but instead, the handsomest young rajah who
had ever crossed his eyes under the glowing skies of India.

For a moment Heideck was uncertain, for the slender youth, in the silken
blouse tied round with a red scarf, English riding-breeches and neat
little boots, had turned his back to him, so that he could not see
his face, and his hair was completely hidden under the rose-and-yellow
striped turban. But the blissful presentiment which told him who was
concealed beneath the charming disguise could not deceive him. A few
rapid steps and he was by the side of the delicate-limbed Indian youth.
Overpowered by a storm of passionate emotions, he forgot all obstacles
and scruples, and the next moment clasped him in his arms with an
exultant cry of joy.

"Edith! my Edith!"

"My beloved friend!"

In the exceeding delight of this reunion the confession which had never
passed her lips in the hours of familiar tete-a-tete, or in the moments
of extreme peril which they had endured together, forced its way
irresistibly from her heart--the confession of a love which had long
absorbed her whole life.

XXI

EDITH'S ADVENTURES

It was a long time before the two lovers were sufficiently composed to
explain to each other fully the almost fabulous events that had lately
occurred.

Heideck, of course, wanted to know, first of all, how Edith had
contrived to escape without making a disturbance and calling for the aid
of those about her. What she told him was the most touching proof of her
affection for him. The Maharajah's creatures must have heard, somehow or
other, of Heideck's imprisonment and condemnation, and they had reckoned
correctly on Edith's attachment to the man who had saved her life.

She had been told that a single word from the Maharajah would be
sufficient to destroy the foolhardy German, and that her only hope
of saving him from death lay in a personal app