h, well, I hope he got it hot; I _do_ hope he got it hot! I will
introduce you to all the people who can help you, Harry, but I must be
off just now."

Forsyth got every assistance from the authorities to take his wounded
friend away. And his old connection with Mr Williams and the English
firm at Cairo stood him in good stead; so that he reached Cairo, and
embarked for England with Fatima and her patient sooner than he had
expected.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

AT SHEEN.

The severity of the May of 1885 had at last abated, and the arrows on
the vanes proved that they had not got fixed by rust, as many suspected,
in a north-easterly direction, by turning to the south and west, so that
those inhabitants of Great Britain who had not succumbed to pneumonia
were able to let their fires out, open their windows, and enjoy out-of-
door games with impunity.

Mrs Forsyth and Beatrice now reaped the benefit of their work in the
garden, for the tulips, the various _arias_ and _otises_ made the
borders resplendent, while the delicious scent of the wallflowers was
almost oppressive. The May blossom was full out on the hedge which
bounded the little domain, and the apple-trees in that part devoted to
fruit and vegetables were one mass of pink and white.

Though still at Sheen, the Forsyths were not in their original cottage.
When their fortunes changed for the better, Mrs Forsyth had moved into
a larger villa, with a verandah round it, and modest stabling, and a
nice lawn. And on this lawn white chalk lines were drawn, and a net
fixed, on one side of which Beatrice Forsyth, racquet in hand, was
employed in affording exercise for her brother Harry, who was on the
other. He took the large court to her small court, and as she had a
special talent for placing the balls, she made him run about rarely.
The original layer out of that garden, who flourished before lawn-tennis
was invented, had perpetrated a prophetic pun by planting a service tree
on one side of the ground, and under this sat Mrs Forsyth before a
garden table which had wools and work-box on it, for she could not bear
to sit idle. Not far from her, and still under the shade of the service
tree, was a lounging chair or couch of cane and wicker-work of the most
comfortable description, with arms so broad and flat that you could
lodge books and papers upon them, and the right arm had a circular
hollow to hold a tumbler.

In this chair reclined a good-looking young m