"Bless my soul! ... Miss MacAllister! ... Who else would have thought of it? ... Lord! ... Miss MacAllister! ... You have the kindness of an angel.... 'Pon my soul, you have! ... I assure you that I am quite well.... Nothing the matter with me.... Except that I sat up a little late with Carteret.... Talked over the delightful evening we had.... Nothing else, I assure you.... 'Pon my honour!"
"And how is Mr. Carteret this morning?" inquired Mrs. MacAllister solicitously. "I hope that he is very well."
"My dear Mrs. MacAllister, make your mind easy about that. He is sleeping quite naturally and soundly.... 'Pon my word of honour, he is! ... The commissioner tried to waken him to go to the office.... But he couldn't.... Not even with a bucket of water.... 'Pon my soul, that's the truth! I never saw a man sleep so soundly.... But he will be all right by this afternoon. He will waken up for tennis.... He's our best tennis player.... Bless my soul! There's no danger of his missing the tennis."
Miss MacAllister had tried to control herself through this exposé. But by the time De Vaux had finished the merry peal of laughter rang out without restraint. Her mother looked annoyed and mortified. Her father, scarcely able to conceal a smile, was diplomatically trying to lead De Vaux to some other subject.
"Did you chance to hear any more news of how the day went at Keelung, Mr. De Vaux?" he asked. "Have any reports come in from the Chinese side?"
"Bless my soul! ... How did I forget to tell you? ... I met Captain Whiteley as I came down.... Mrs. MacAllister, that is one of the reasons why I was late.... 'Pon my word! I was so upset and ashamed of myself that I could not present my apologies.... I beg your pardon, Mr. MacAllister.... Captain Whiteley told me that Dr. Sinclair was off to the front this morning before daybreak.... By——! ... 'Pon my soul, I mean, I was never so surprised in my life."
"Dr. Sinclair! Off to the front!" Mr. and Mrs. MacAllister spoke together.
"Yes," replied De Vaux. "He has gone to serve as a doctor with the Chinese army.... Never heard of a man taking such risk.... It's sheer suicide.... By——! ... 'Pon my soul, it is!"
Mrs. MacAllister glanced at her daughter, and her husband's eyes followed. Miss MacAllister was sitting up very erect and looking straight at De Vaux. Her lips were parted. Her face had paled a little. But her eyes were dark and glowing.
"Did any one go with him?" she asked abruptly.