d Robert
Boulger succeeded to the seat which Dick Lomas was only too glad to
vacate. Bobbie was very charming. He surrounded Lucy with a protecting
care, and she could not fail to be touched by his entire devotion. When
he thought she had recovered somewhat from the first blow of her
father's sentence, he sent her a letter in which once more he besought
her to marry him. She was grateful to him for having chosen that method
of expressing himself, for it seemed possible in writing to tell him
with greater tenderness that if she could not accept his love she deeply
valued his affection.

* * *

It seemed to Lucy that the life she led in London, or at Lady Kelsey's
house on the river, was no more than a dream. She was but a figure in
the procession of shadow pictures cast on a sheet in a fair, and nothing
that she did signified. Her spirit was away in the heart of Africa, and
by a vehement effort of her fancy she sought to see what each day her
friend and her brother were doing.

Now they had long left the railway and such civilisation as was to be
found in the lands where white men had already made their mark. She
knew the exultation which Alec felt, and the thrill of independence,
when he left behind him all traces of it. He held himself more proudly
because he knew that thenceforward he must rely on his own resources,
and success or failure depended only on himself.

Often as she lay awake and saw the ghostly dawn steal across the sky,
she seemed borne to the African camp, where the break of day, like a
gust of wind in a field of ripe corn, brought a sudden stir among the
sleepers. Alec had described to her so minutely the changing scene that
she was able to bring it vividly before her eyes. She saw him come out
of his tent, in heavy boots, buckling on his belt. He wore knee-breeches
and a pith helmet, and he was more bronzed than when she had bidden him
farewell. He gave the order to the headman of the caravan to take up the
loads. At the word there was a rush from all parts of the camp; each
porter seized his load, carrying it off to lash on his mat and his
cooking-pot, and then, sitting upon it, ate a few grains of roasted
maize or the remains of last night's game. And as the sun appeared above
the horizon, Alec, as was his custom, led the way, followed by a few
askari. A band of natives struck up a strange and musical chant, and the
camp, but now a scene of busy life, was deserted. The smouldering fires
died ou