flickered out, too. His wife tended him faithfully to the last, and I think, forgot everything except those few Temple Bar.

weeks, when he had been so good and gentle, and had made friends with Hector.

A. Werner.

V.

ROSE OF THE WORLD.

"Awfully sorry, Mab, but I really can't ride with you this morning. It's bad enough when one of our wandering tribes comes in for a palaver, but to-day there are two of them, at daggers drawn with one another. They have both sent deputations to inform me that I am their father and their mother, and will I be good enough to pulverize the other lot? That means that I have a nice long day's work cut out for me."

"Oh, what a bother!" grumbled Mabel. "And Georgia has got a lot of dreadful women in the surgery, and is doctoring them all round. How can she bear to have them about? Do you like having an M.D. for a wife, Dick?" "Personally," said Dick solemnly, "I do; since Georgia is that M.D. Politically it's the making of me."

"No; really?"

"Rather! Every woman of all these nomad tribes has a stake in the country, so to speak-a personal interest in the maintenance of the system of government which has stuck Georgie and me down here. No Sarkar, no doctor; that's the way they look at it."

"Well," said Mabel, rather ashamed, "if it wasn't that I have got my habit on I would stay and help her. But we were going to try Laili, Dick, and you promised faithfully to come."

"I know; it's horribly rough on you. But I tell you what I'll do. I'll spare Anstruther to you for the morning, and he must ride out to me after lunch. Don't break his neck first, mind." "But will it be safe for you to go alone? Aren't you afraid?"

"Shade of my mighty father-in-law! Afraid of what?"

"Oh, I don't know. It sounds the sort of thing—”

"That one would naturally be afraid of? No, I would rather face any number of excited tribesmen than Burgrave at his blandest. I'll send a chaprasi down to Anstruther, and he'll be here in a few minutes."

Mabel had not long to wait. As she stood on the veranda, flicking her dainty riding-boot with her whip, and feasting her eyes on the satin skin of the beautiful little black mare which was being led up and down by its groom Fitz came trotting up the drive.

"Awfully good of the Major to lend me out this morning, Miss North! 1s that the new pony? She ought to be a flier."

"Yes, isn't she a little beauty? I want to test her paces to-day. I have had enough of riding her about the cantonments. She's all right there, but I should like to try her in a good gallop out in the desert."

"Out in the desert?" repeated Fitz, as he gathered up the reins and handed them to Mabel, after mounting her. "Well, I don't suppose it could hurt. If

you don't mind stopping a second at my place, I'll put a revolver in my pocket, and then we shall be all right." "Why, what could there be to hurt us?"

"We might happen upon a leopard, or something of the sort. It's not likely, but there's no harm in being provided. We have a sort of fashion here of not going much beyond our own bounds unarmed."

Mabel made no further objection, and after calling at Fitz's quarters they rode out into the desert. Laili's paces were perfect, and whenever Mabel raced her against Fitz's pony she won easily. It was a clear cold morning, really cold, as is often the case early on a winter's day in Khemistan, and horses and riders alike seemed to be possessed of tireless energy. The two grooms, to whom the cold was a highly disagreeable experience, were left behind again and again, and remembered only when they had become mere dots on the horizon, which involved some waiting before they could come up.

"Now let us race again!" cried Mabel when she and Fitz had reluctantly walked their horses for some distance, to allow the men to approach them.

"All right. I say, Miss North, there's a jerboa! Let's chase him!"

"Oh, do. I should so like to have one for a pet," cried Mabel.

It seemed, however, that the jerboa preferred freedom even to such a captivity, for it was gone in a moment, getting over the ground in tremendous leaps at a pace which taxed the horses sorely to keep it in sight.

"Oh, it's getting away!" lamented Mabel.

"Perhaps I can manage to wing him from here," said Fitz, bringing out his revolver. "We could easily patch up a broken leg. Steady, Sheikh, old boy."

The pace was fast and the ground rough, and it is scarcely surprising that

the jerboa escaped unscathed, while Fitz's shot had an effect that he had not anticipated. At the sound Mabel's little mare stopped dead with a suddenness which jerked the rider's foot from the stirrup, and nearly threw her out of the saddle, then took the bit in her teeth and dashed away in a frenzy of terror. Pull as she might Mabel could not stop her, nor could she get her foot again into the stirrup. The horror of that wild rush through the whirling sand-clouds, with the wind shrieking in her ears, was a thing she would never forget. Certain destruction seemed before her, for Laili was heading straight for the rocky ground at the foot of the mountains, where there was no hope that she would be able to keep her footing. Mabel was dimly conscious that she ought to form some plan, or at least to select a moment at which to throw herself off, but all her powers seemed to be concentrated in the effort to pull up, or better, to turn the pony's head towards the open desert. As it was, Laili made the decision for her.

An isolated rock, revealed unexpectedly by a lull in the wind, which caused the drifting sand to settle for a moinent, stood on the left hand of the course she was taking, and catching sight of it, she swerved away so violently that Mabel found herself all at once in a sitting position upon the sand. There she remained, too much dazed to make any attempt to rise, until Fitz dashed up, and flung himself recklessly from his horse, which promptly continued the chase of the runaway on its

own account.

"Oh, thank God, you are not killed!" he cried, rushing to Mabel, his face white and his tongue almost unable to articulate. "But you are frightfully hurt. What is it?-your back? Oh, for Heaven's sake, Miss North, try to move. Is your leg broken? Don't say it is your back!"

Mabel repressed a weak desire to

laugh. "I-I think I'm sitting here because you haven't offered to help me up," she replied feebly, but as well as her chattering teeth would let her.

He helped her up in silence, and began mechanically to brush the dust from her habit with shaking hands. When at last he looked up at her, Mabel saw that his lips were still trembling, and his eyes full of terror.

"Oh, don't look like that about me!" she cried impulsively. "I'm not worth it."

"Not worth it? You!" he cried violently, then, controlling himself with an effort, he laughed somewhat awkwardly. "If anything had happened to you, I should never have dared to face the Major and Mrs. North again," he said. "Or rather I could not have faced my own thoughts."

"But why?" asked Mabel, mystified. "Because it was all my fault for firing that shot-wretched, thoughtless beast that I am! I should have blown my brains out."

"Now that is wicked," said Mabel with decision, "and foolish too. But if you are going to talk in this agitating way, I think I should like to sit down in the shade over there. I feel rather shaky still."

"I'm an unfeeling idiot! Lean on me, please, Miss North."

He supported her gently across the intervening space, and found a seat for her on a fragment of rock in a nook which sheltered her partially from the Isun and the whirling sand. She made room for him beside her, but he persisted in tramping up and down, his face twitching painfully.

"I can't stay quiet!" he cried, in answer to her remonstrance. "When I think it's just a chance-a mercy, Mrs. North would say-that you're not-not

he skipped the word-"at this moment it knocks me over. And all my fault!"

Mabel's renewed protest was cut

short by the appearance of the two grooms, who ran up with scared faces, and inquired dolefully which way the horses had gone, and whether the Presences would wait where they were until the missing steeds had been captured and brought back.

"Why, what else should we do?" asked Fitz, calm enough now in the presence of the alien race. His own groom hastened to reply that Dera Gul, the ancestral stronghold of Bahram Khan, was only a bowshot off, and that there the Presences might find rest and refreshment.

"Not if I know it!" was Fitz's mental comment. "It's a blessing that the principal villain himself is away at Nalapur, but we won't trespass on his hospitality in his absence. We will wait here," he added to the servant, who replied sullenly that his master's words were law, and departed with his companion in search of the horses. "What was he saying?" asked Mabel curiously.

"Oh he was only gassing a little about the neighborhood," replied Fitz, who had had time to decide that he would not alarm his charge by telling her exactly where they were. It did not occur to him that the apprehension with which Bahram Khan's glance had inspired Mabel three days before had resolved itself into a sense of offended pride at what she took to be a premeditated insult, and that the idea of any danger to herself personally was absolutely remote from her mind. He did his best, therefore, to divert her thoughts from the question of the locality, and was congratulating himself upon his success when a little procession appeared round the corner of the cliff in whose shadow they were sitting. The principal figure was a sleek and shining Hindu, swathed in voluminous draperies of white muslin, with occasional glimpses of red brocade, who advanced with profound obei

sances, and entreated the exalted personages before him to honor his master's roof by deigning to rest under it until their horses were found. This time Fitz was obliged to refer the suggestion to Mabel, and learned to his surprise that she was inclined to accept it.

"I shouldn't like to meet Bahram Khan," she said, "but you say that he is away."

"When did the Prince start for Nalapur?" asked Fitz of the Hindu.

"Three days past, sahib-the same evening that he was present at the tamasha at Alibad."

"There!" said Mabel, "you see it's all right. My hair is full of sand, and it is so hot here. One never knows what to wear in this climate. I don't believe I shall be able to ride back unless I can rest in a cool place for a little first."

"I am pretty sure that Major North wouldn't like it," said Fitz doubtfully. The Hindu caught the purport of the words, and his countenance assumed an expression of the deepest woe. is the sad misfortune of the illustrious Prince that Nath Sahib has ever looked upon him with disfavor," he lamented.

"It

"Oh, dear!" remarked Mabel, when the words were translated to her, "it will be dreadful if these people get the idea that Dick has a prejudice against Bahram Khan. We had much better show confidence in him by going to his house. Who knows? It may be the beginning of better things."

"I shouldn't like to take the responsibility," Fitz began, but she cut him short.

"Very well; I will take it. I am sure Dick will be glad if we can establish a better feeling; and I think it's very inconsiderate of you to raise so many objections, when I have told you how hot and tired I am, and how I want a rest. It wasn't my fault that we were stranded here, you know."

This ungenerous use of the weapon he

himself had provided conquered Fitz, and he consented reluctantly to accept the Hindu's invitation. Mabel's smile of approval ought to have been sufficient reward for his complaisance, but it was not, for he felt an uneasy certainty that Dick would object very strongly to the visit when he came to hear of it. The Hindu led the way, smiling and bowing, and Fitz and Mabel followed him a short distance to the gate of the fortress, which was situated on the further side of the projecting cliff which had sheltered them. Two or three wild-looking men were lounging about half asleep, but otherwise the place seemed deserted. The Hindu led them across the courtyard and up a flight of steps into a large, cool room, saying that sherbet and sweetmeats should be brought to them immediately. He left them alone, ostensibly to hasten the appearance of the refreshments, but Fitz watching him idly as he crossed the court, followed the direction of his eyes to the ramparts, where, to his astonishment, he saw Bahram Khan himself, beginning to descend the steps which led down into the yard. Mabel had also caught sight of the apparition, and Fitz's eyes met hers.

"The great thing is not to show any sign of fright," he said hastily.

"I'm not frightened," retorted Mabel, "but I'm not going to sit here to be stared at by that man. You must tell him that I have come to see the ladies of the house, whoever they may be."

"I daren't let you go into the harem. Anything might happen there, and it would take an army to rescue you."

"But what could happen? You forget that Bahram Khan's mother is a patient of my sister's. She will be delighted to see me."

once, but if I fired now I'm afraid the result would be disastrous to myself alone. I shall feel much safer with the revolver in your possession, for I'm pretty sure that you won't leave the place alive without me."

The last words were spoken as Bahram Khan entered the hall, and Fitz had no opportunity to reply. There was a suppressed agitation in the Prince's manner which made him uneasy, and he made haste to beg that Mabel might bear the salutations of the doctor lady to the dwellers behind the curtain. Balıram Khan's face fell, and though he protested that the honor offered to his household was overwhelming, it was fairly clear from his manner that no honor could well have been more unwelcome. The ladies had only just arrived, and had not yet settled down properly in their new quarters; they had had no opportunity of making fit preparation for SO distinguished a visitor, and it was contrary to all precedent that the doctor lady should despatch a messenger to visit them before they had sent their respects to her.

"Oh, very well, I won't make my call to-day," said Mabel, rising, when Fitz had translated the long string of apologies that fell from the lips of the embarassed host. "We may as well come, then, Mr. Anstruther."

But this was by no means what Bahram Khan desired, and after vainly endeavoring to persuade Mabel to sit down on the cushions again, he summoned a slave boy, and ordered him to fetch Jehanara.

"There must be some one to interpret between the Miss Sahib and the women," he explained, and Mabel wondered why Fitz looked at once so stern and so uncomfortable. Presently the curtain at the end of the room was shaken a little, and Bahram Khan rose and spoke through it in a low voice to the person behind. Then he beckoned LIVING AGE. VOL. X. 539

A

to Mabel, the curtain was raised slightly, and she passed through to find herself in a small, dark antechamber. stout woman in native dress stood there with a great key in her hand, and, unlocking a door, motioned her into a dim passage. It was so gloomy and mysterious that she was conscious of a moment's hesitation, but as soon as the door was shut the woman began to speak in English, as rapidly as if she was reciting a history she had learnt by heart. She spoke mincingly, and with a peculiar clipping accent which struck Mabel as disagreeable.

"Yes, Miss North, and I don't wonder you're surprised, I'm sure, to find me here and as English as yourself. My poor papa was riding-master in a European regiment-none of your Black Horse and my mamma was pure-blood Portuguese, and yet here I am."

Even to the inexperienced eye, the woman's own face seen in the halflight, gave the lie to her statement, but Mabel had not yet acquired the AngloIndian's skill in distinguishing shades of color, and did not care to dispute the assertion. Having taken breath, Jehanara went on

"Yes, and I was educated at a real pucca boarding-school in the Hills, Miss North, quite genteel, I assure you; one of the young ladies was the daughter of the Collector of Krishnaganj. And everything done so handsomely-chinapainting and making wax-flowers, and all the extras-no expense spared. wish I could lay my hands on some of the rupees that were poured out like water on my education, I do. I should commence to astonish the people about here, I assure you, Miss North."

I

"You must have found this life very trying at first," murmured Mabel.

"Trying's no word for it, Miss North-it was just simply slavery. And I, that thought to be a princess, reduced to be treated like a common upper servant, and thankful for that! Oh,