“It’s all in the day’s work,” with discreet evasiveness. “Come, now, make up your mind you’re campaigning—‘climbing the Afghan mountain-track,’ you know.”
“In the Khoord-Cabul disaster?” with the ghost of a smile.
“What a cheerful mind you have! But after all, the captives were rescued that time, so it’s a good omen. There! that’s right,” as Zoe stumbled and saved herself by catching at him. “Don’t make us feel that our tremendous sacrifice was in vain. I’m afraid your sister hasn’t forgiven me yet. She refused my help so decidedly just now that I had no choice but to leave her to your brother.”
“She has rather strained ideas of honour,” said Zoe hesitatingly, “and I think she imagines you lead Maurice wrong. You see, it was you who offered to give the parole, and I suppose that sends you down in her estimation.”
“Well, it’s a good fault, at any rate—too keen a sense of honour. We English are too ready, no doubt, to think that because a thing is a compromise it must be right. Your sister will be a fine woman when her angles are a little rubbed off, if she sticks to her creed.”
“But she doesn’t stick to it in little things!” broke out Zoe involuntarily. “Oh, I oughtn’t to have said that!” she cried in distress, realising how her speech must sound from Wylie’s standpoint. “We have been brought up so differently, you know; she is always surprising us.”
“It was rather an experiment bringing her on a trip of this kind, wasn’t it? Take my hand across here. I mean, some people are all right as long as everything goes well, and they have all their own things about them; but trouble or strangeness of any kind seems to bring all their rough edges to light. Of course, she only wants to knock about a bit—that’ll make all the difference,” he added hastily.
“I—I can’t explain all the circumstances,” said Zoe, in some confusion, “but it seemed the only thing we could do, to have her with us. And she really means to be sisterly, I am sure. It’s only that she doesn’t quite understand things. And we must all sink or swim together, of course.”
“Quite so; and I hope I may be considered a brother in that particular sense. You wouldn’t all make your escape, and leave me in the hands of these fellows, would you?”
“Do you think it likely?” asked Zoe indignantly. “And I don’t think we should have much chance of escaping without you, either. Oh,” lowering her voice, “do tell me why you suddenly changed your mind about our being rescued? At first, you said over and over again that we should only be prisoners for one night, but when we got to the shed yesterday evening you stopped in the middle of a sentence and seemed to remember something, and since then you have made no more prophecies.”