that
faint remaining twinge of jealousy. But the two had become drawn to
each other like sisters now. They had been through strange experiences
together, and each had come fully to rate the other at her own worth.

The room was cool and restful if not luxurious. Thornhill's tall form
lay there under the coverlet, a pathetic embodiment of strength laid
low. Even the bandages round his head, unsightly as all bandages are,
did not detract from the reposeful dignity of that calm strong face.
Evelyn stooped and kissed him on the cheek, taking, in her cool grasp,
the hand which was searching for hers.

"Well Inqoto, and you are much better now?" she said, and there was a
sort of cooing softness about the tone.

"No--I am not particularly--by the way, you seem to have got your tongue
round that dick at last."

"Practice," she answered smilingly.

"I'm not better, and I don't want to be. I've run out my time. Who
cares how soon I'm dead? I don't, for one." The pathos in the
naturalness of the voice brought something of a lump into the listener's
throat.

"Who cares?" she echoed after a moment of suspicious pause. "What about
Hyland for instance?"

"Hyland? Ah! Dear boy, he always believed in me."

"So does Edala," said the other boldly.

There was no answer. What was she to say? thought Evelyn.

"She does now," she went on. The wounded man opened his eyes wide.

"Does now? Rather late in the day. But," as if it had suddenly dawned
upon him, "what do you--I've had a whack on the head you know, and it's
left me rather stupid--what do you--know about things?"

"Nothing. Because there's nothing to know," came the cheerful confident
rejoinder. "Listen Inqoto--I believe it's useless, and worse, any
beating about the bush between you and me. Shall I speak plainly?"

Thornhill looked at her long and earnestly. As he did so a whole world
of reassurance came into his eyes. "Yes, of course," he said. "Talk as
plainly as you like."

"Well, I overheard a couple of silly cackling geese under the window the
other day, but the subject of their cackle was too farcical for words--
about you of course. Edala heard it too."

"Edala heard it?"

"Yes. Then we talked it out, and she said she didn't believe it
either."

There seemed no necessity on the part of Thornhill--perhaps from force
of mental habit no such occurred to him--to ask what the said `it' might
be.

"She has believed it up till now, anyh