"No," shaking his head, "on purpose. It seems he had been playing high and lost his last shilling, and had not the courage to begin life at the foot of the ladder. He left a note for his mother, and one for Mrs. Waldershare, which she destroyed. They asked for it at the inquest, but she said it was private and most painful. Chotah-Bilat is enormously exercised. Mrs. Waldershare feels the business terribly, she knew him so well; you see, he was a sort of connection—that is partly what brought her here, to get away from the talk—and the—place. She is all right on the march, and has picked up, and been quite cheerful. Indeed, to hear the general squabbling with his coolies over a few annas was enough to make a cat laugh. But mind you don't breathe a word—about Hailes."
"You may be sure I won't," she answered emphatically.
"I'm glad I caught sight of you," continued Sir Capel in a confidential undertone, "and was able to give you this hint about Lola. She's awfully cut up. By Jove! women do say beastly things of one another. They have all got their knives in her just because she's so much better looking than themselves."
By this time the party were descending the hill to the encampment, and had overtaken the other travellers, who appeared to imagine that their visit was not merely welcome, but to be accepted in the light of an immense condescension. Mr. Brady, who was acting host in the absence of his senior officer, was immediately enslaved by the charming widow and her magical eyes. With such eyes, the gift of speech was almost superfluous.
"I wish I knew where to put you?" he said, helplessly, as soon as they had partaken of an excellent lunch. "Mrs. Waldershare, you are most welcome to my tent, and all my worldly goods."
"Oh, I hate a tent," she answered, ungratefully; "it's always so dark, I can never see to do my hair. The general finds that there are two capital quarters side by side about a hundred yards lower down."
"Yes," he added, "I took a look at them just now, not at all bad—temporary wooden huts, apparently new and clean. Mrs. Waldershare will have one, I'll occupy the other. Sir Capel prefers a tent. We don't expect spring beds and electric light on the borders of Thibet."
"If we get the common necessaries, we consider ourselves lucky," said Angel; "supplies are so scarce, and there are hardly any tracks passable for ponies. Those two huts were erected by mistake before Philip came here, and are considered much too near the possible flood-mark to be safe. They have been condemned."
The general laughed disagreeably, and said: "My dear lady, the water won't come within a hundred feet of them, even on the most imbecile computation, and I shall have my things moved down at once, and yours," turning to Mrs. Waldershare.
Mr. Brady opened his mouth to remonstrate, but the general, armed with the decision acquired by years of authority, silenced him by a gesture. As General Bothwell herded a tribe of clamorous coolies in the direction of these two somewhat tempting asylums, Mr. Brady turned to Angel, and said: