zan not let anyone rob his master."

"Not to any great extent, you know, Rumzan. One doesn't expect more than
that."

"It is just the same here, Miss Hannay, as it is everywhere else,"
said the Doctor; "only in big establishments in England they rob you of
pounds, while here they rob you of annas, which, as I have explained to
you, are two pence halfpennies. The person who undertakes to put down
little peculations enters upon a war in which he is sure to get the
worst of it. He wastes his time, spoils his temper, makes himself and
everyone around him uncomfortable, and after all he is robbed. Life is
too short for it, especially in a climate like this. Of course, in time
you get to understand the language; if you see anything in the bills
that strikes you as showing waste you can go into the thing, but as a
rule you trust entirely to your butler; if you cannot trust him, get
another one. Rumzan has been with your uncle ten years, so you are
fortunate. If the Major had gone home instead of me, and if you had
had an entirely fresh establishment of servants to look after, the case
would have been different; as it is, you will have no trouble that way."

"Then what are my duties to be, uncle?"

"Your chief duties, my dear, are to look pleasant, which will evidently
be no trouble to you; to amuse me and keep me in a good temper as far
as possible; to keep on as good terms as may be with the other ladies of
the station; and, what will perhaps be the most difficult part of your
work, to snub and keep in order the young officers of our own and other
corps."

Isobel laughed. "That doesn't sound a very difficult programme, uncle,
except the last item; I have already had a little experience that way,
haven't I, Doctor? I hope I shall have the benefit of your assistance in
the future, as I had aboard the ship."

"I will do my best," the Doctor said grimly; "but the British subaltern
is pretty well impervious to snubs; he belongs to the pachydermatous
family of animals; his armor of self conceit renders him invulnerable
against the milder forms of raillery. However, I think you can be
trusted to hold your own with him, Miss Hannay, without much assistance
from the Major or myself. Your real difficulty will lie rather in your
struggle against the united female forces of the station."

"But why shall I have to struggle with them?" Isobel asked, in surprise,
while her uncle broke into a laugh.

"Don't frighten her, Doctor."