“And Miss Desmond? Where is she?”
“She wait in the hall outside his door. Ranjab have speech with her. She does not believe Ranjab. She look into his eye and his eye is not honest; she see it all. She say the young master shoot himself and———”
“I shall tell her the truth, Ranjab,” said Brood stolidly. “She must know, she and her mother. To-night I shall see them, but not now. Suicide! Poor, poor Lydia!”
“Miss Lydia say she blame herself for everything. She is a coward, she say, and Ranjab he understand. She came yesterday and went away. Ranjab tell her the sahib no can see her.”
“Yesterday? I know. She came to plead with me. I know,” groaned Brood bitterly.
“She will not speak her thoughts to the world, sahib,” asserted Ranjab. “Thy servant have spoken his words and she will not deny him. It is for the young master's sake. But she say she know he shoot himself because he no can bear the disgrace———”
“Enough, Ranjab,” interrupted the master. “To-night I shall tell her everything. Go now and fetch me the latest word.”
The Hindu remained motionless just inside the door. His eyes were closed.
“Ranjab talk to the winds, sahib. The winds speak to him. The young master is alive. The great doctor he search for the bullet. It is bad. But the sahibah stand between him and death. She hold back death. She laugh at death. She say it no can be. Ranjab know her now. Here in this room he see the two woman in her, and he no more will be blind. She stand there before Ranjab, who would kill, and out of the air came a new spirit to shield her. Her eyes are the eyes of another who does not live in the flesh, and Ranjab bends the knee. He see the inside. It is not black. It is full of light, a great big light, sahib. Thy servant would kill his master's wife, but, Allah defend! He cannot kill the wife who is already dead. His master's wives stand before him—two, not one—and his hand is stop.”
Brood was regarding him through wide—open, incredulous eyes. “You—you saw it, too?” he gasped.