other," I answered, smiling as I heard Zara
called a CHILD, knowing, as I did, her real age.

"She is actually wearing a small fortune on her person," went on Amy;
"I wonder her brother allows her. Girls never understand the value of
things of that sort. They should be kept for her till she is old enough
to appreciate them."

I made no reply; I was absorbed in watching Heliobas, who at that
moment entered the room accompanied by Father Paul. He greeted his
guests with warmth and unaffected heartiness, and all present were, I
could see, at once fascinated by the dignity of his presence and the
charm of his manner. To an uninstructed eye there was nothing unusual
about him; but to me there was a change in his expression which, as it
were, warned and startled me. A deep shadow of anxiety in his eyes made
them look more sombre and less keen; his smile was not so sweet as it
was stern, and there was an undefinable SOMETHING in his very bearing
that suggested--what? Defiance? Yes, defiance; and it was this which,
when I had realized it, curiously alarmed me. For what had he,
Heliobas, to do with even the thought of defiance? Did not all his
power come from the knowledge of the necessity of obedience to the
spiritual powers within and without? Quick as light the words spoken to
me by Aztul regarding him came back to my remembrance: "Even as he is
my Beloved, so let him not fail to hear my voice." What if he SHOULD
fail? A kind of instinct came upon me that some immediate danger of
this threatened him, and I braced myself up to a firm determination,
that, if this was so, I, out of my deep gratitude to him, would do my
utmost best to warn him in time. While these thoughts possessed me, the
hum of gay conversation went on, and Zara's bright laughter ever and
again broke like music on the air. Father Paul, too, proved himself to
be of quite a festive and jovial disposition, for he made himself
agreeable to Mrs. Challoner and her daughters, and entertained them
with the ease and bonhomie of an accomplished courtier and man of the
world.

Dinner was announced in the usual way--that is, with the sound of music
played by the electric instrument devoted to that purpose, a
performance which elicited much admiration from all the guests.
Heliobas led the way into the dining-room with Mrs. Everard; Colonel
Everard followed, with Zara on one arm and the eldest Miss Challoner on
the other; Mr. Challoner and myself came next; and Father Pa