"Mrs. Dacre
will like that too. It'll be something to amuse us when Tommy's gone."

Tommy looked across with a grin. "Yes, keep your spirits up!" he said.
"It's dull work with the boys away, isn't it, Aunt Mary? And Scooter is
a most sagacious animal--almost as intelligent as Peter the Great who
coils himself on Stella's threshold every night as if he thought the
bogeyman was coming to spirit her away. He's developing into a habit,
isn't he Stella? You'd better be careful."

Stella smiled her faint, tired smile. "I like to have him there," she
said. "I am not nervous, of course, but he is a friend."

"You'll never shake him off," predicted Tommy. "He comes of a romantic
stock. Hullo! Here is his high mightiness with the mail! Look at the
sparkle in Aunt Mary's eyes! Did you ever see the like? She expects to
draw a prize evidently."

He stretched a leisurely arm and took the letter from the salver that
the Indian extended. It was for Mrs. Ralston, and she received it
blushing like an eager girl.

"Why does Aunt Mary look like that?" piped Tessa, ever observant. "It's
only from the Major. Mother never looks like that when Daddy writes to
her."

"Perhaps Daddy's letters are not so interesting," suggested Tommy.

Tessa chuckled. "Shall I tell you what? She'd ever so much rather have a
letter from the Rajah. I know she would. She keeps his locked up, but
she never bothers about Daddy's. I can't think what the Rajah finds to
write about when they are always meeting. I think it's silly, don't
you?"

"Very silly," said Tommy. "I hate writing letters myself. Beastly dull
work."

"Perhaps you will excuse me while I read mine," said Mrs. Ralston.

Stella smiled at her. "Oh do! Perhaps there will be some interesting
news of Kurrumpore in it."

"News of Monck perhaps," suggested Tommy. "There's a fellow who never
writes a letter. I haven't the faintest idea where he is or what he is
doing, except that he went to his brother somewhere in England. He is
due back in about a fortnight, but I probably shan't hear a word of him
until he's there."

"You have not written to him either?" questioned Stella.

"I couldn't. I didn't know where to write." Tommy's eyes met hers with
slight hesitation. "I haven't been able to tell him anything of our
affairs. It's quite possible though that he will have heard before he
gets back to The Green Bungalow. He generally gets hold of things."

"It need not make any difference." Stella s