re I thoroughly recovered
my strength. A year or two later our regiment was ordered back to
England, but a day or two before we should have sailed I had a letter
telling me that my old sweetheart was dead. This news seemed to take all
care for life out of me, and on the spur of the moment I volunteered
into a regiment bound for China, in which country war was just breaking
out. There, and at other places abroad, I stopped till just four months
ago, when I was finally discharged, with my pension, and a bullet in my
pocket that had been taken out of my skull. I only landed in England
nine days ago, and as soon as it was possible for me to do so, I came to
see your ladyship. And I think that is all." The Sergeant's forefinger
went to his forehead again as he brought his narrative to an end.

Lady Chillington kept on fanning herself in silence for a little while
after the old soldier had done speaking. Her features wore the proud,
impassive look that they generally put on when before strangers: in the
present case they were no index to the feelings at work underneath. At
length she spoke.

"After the suicide of your Colonel did you mention the supposed robbery
of the diamond to anyone else?"

"To no one else, your ladyship. For several reasons. I was unaware what
steps he might have taken between the time of my telling him and the
time of his death to prove or disprove the truth of the story. In the
second place, Rung had disappeared. I could only tell the story at
secondhand. It had been told me by an eye-witness, but that witness was
a native, and the word of a native does not go for much in those parts.
In the third place, the Russian had also disappeared, and had left no
trace behind. What could I do? Had I told the story to my new Colonel, I
should mayhap only have been scouted as a liar or a madman. Besides, we
were every day expecting to be ordered home, and I had made up my mind
that I would at once come and see your ladyship. At that time I had no
intention of going to China, and when once I got there it was too late
to speak out. But through all the years I have been away my poor dear
master's last words have lived in my memory. Many a thousand times have
I thought of them both day and night, and prayed that I might live to
get back to Old England, if it was only to give your ladyship the
message with which I had been charged."

"But why could you not write to me?" asked Lady Chillington.

"Your ladyship, I a