"It's the hardest place to reach I've ever known," said Wargrave. "It was a shock to learn that, after forty-eight hours in the train, I had two more days to travel after leaving the railway."
"How did you like that forty miles in a camel train over the salt desert? That made you sit up a bit, eh?"
"It was awful. The heat and the glare off the sand nearly killed me. You say there is no society here?"
"Society? The only Europeans here or in the whole State, besides those of us in the regiment, are the Resident and his wife."
"What is a Resident, exactly?"
"A Political Officer appointed by the Government of India to be a sort of adviser to a rajah and to keep a check on him if he rules his State badly. I shouldn't imagine that our fellow here, Major Norton, would be much good as an adviser to anybody. The only thing he seems to know anything about is insects. He's quite a famous entomologist. Personally he's not a bad sort, but a bit of a bore."
"What's his wife like?"
"Oh, very different. Much younger and fond of gaiety, I think. Not that she can get any here. She's a decidedly pretty woman. I haven't seen much of her; for she has been away most of the time, that the regiment has been here. She has relatives in Calcutta and stays a lot with them."
"I don't blame her," said Wargrave, laughing. "Rohar must be a very deadly place for a young woman. No amusements. No dances. No shops. And the only female society the wives of the Colonel and the Doctor."
"Luckily for Mrs. Norton she is rather keen on sport and is a good rider. You'll probably meet her to-day; for she generally comes out pigsticking with us, though she doesn't carry a spear. I've promised to take her shooting with us the next time we go. Hullo! here are the ponies at last. Are you ready, Frank?"