wishing she had thrown him a
life belt. However, it did not matter; it was up to him to act in a
sane manner, men of the Service were taught to rely on themselves. And
in Barlow was the something of breeding that held him to the true
thing, to the pole; the breeding might be compared to the elusive thing
in the magnetic needle. It did not matter, he would probably marry
Elizabeth--it seemed the proper thing to do. Devilish few of the chaps
he knew babbled much about love and being batty over a girl--that is,
the girls they married.

Then the bearer brought Hodson's salaams to the Captain.

And Hodson was a Civil Servant in excelsis. He took to bed with him
his Form D and Form C--even the "D. O.", the Demi Official business,
and worried over it when he should have slept or read himself to sleep.
Duty to him was a more exacting god than the black Kali to the
Brahmins; it had dried up his blood--atrophied his nerves of enjoyment.
And now he was depressed though he strove to greet Barlow cheerily.

"It's a devilish shindy, this killing of our two chaps," he burst forth
with; "I've pondered over it, I've worried over it; the only solace in
the thing is, that the arm of the law is long."

"I think you've got it, sir," Barlow encouraged. "When we've smashed
Sindhia--and we will--we'll demand these murderers, hang a few of them,
and send the rest to the Andamans."

"Yes, it has simply got to wait; to stir up things now would only let
the Peshwa know what you are going to do--we'd show him our hand. And
I don't mind telling you, Captain, that he is an absolute traitor; and
I believe that it's that damn Nana Sahib who's influencing him."

"There's no doubt about it, sir."

"No, there is not!" the Resident declared gloomily. "The two dead
_sowars_ must be considered as sacrifice, just as though they had
fallen in battle; it's for the good of the Raj. If I get hauled over
the coals for this I don't give a damn. I've pondered over it, almost
prayed over it, and it's the only way. There's talk of a big loot of
jewellery by these decoits, and the killing of the merchant and his
men, but I've got nothing to do with that. The one wonderful thing is,
that we saved the papers. That little native woman that brought them
to you must be rewarded later. By the way, Barlow, I took the liberty
of explaining all that to Elizabeth, and I think she's pretty badly cut
up over the way she acted. But you understand, don't you, C