he charm of it, and because of her splendid teeth. Soulless men
admired Honor for her eyes, her teeth, and her figure which was truly
classical; others, for her honesty and directness, and the womanly
sympathy which never failed. Tommy Deare was among the latter, and he
had known her for the greater part of his life.

Asked to talk of the episode of the snake, Honor's expression changed
and she was strongly moved.

CHAPTER VII

AN ANXIOUS EXPERIENCE

"Have you ever wondered what it must feel like to have sentence of death
passed on you?" said Honor Bright thoughtfully leaning her chin on her
hand, her elbow on a low table before her.

"It must be too awful for description," murmured Joyce, large-eyed and
sympathetic.

"I shall always understand and feel for any one under sentence of death
either by the Courts of Justice or from disease. When I felt the sharp
prick on my ankle and looking down saw the snake glide into the
undergrowth I believed it was all up with me. I had seen two or three
natives who came up to the house for treatment die before my eyes. A
_saice_ bitten in the stables by a cobra died in twenty minutes. A
_mali_ cutting grass was struck on the hand and died in three quarters
of an hour. A _punkha_ coolie on the verandah lost his life within an
hour after being bitten by a karait.

"I could not tell the character of the snake that had bitten me, but it
was large and long, and many cobras are dark and lengthy creatures. My
father shot one with No. 8, in the roots of a banyan tree this very
year, and it measured over four feet."

"But, Honey, dear, why ever were you walking in jungly places?" Joyce
cried, wrought up to the verge of hysteria.

"I was out after snipe. You know how I enjoy shooting, and I generally
go alone, for I am not clever enough yet with my gun to be trusted to
shoot in company with others. One is so afraid of accidents!

"I had been walking along the 'aisles' of the paddy fields till I came
to a swampy bit and found I'd have to walk through it if I had any hope
of starting a bird. Just as I was stepping off the 'aisle,' a snake
passed over my foot, and biting me on the ankle vanished in the swamp.
It must have been some sort of a water-snake, but I did not know. All I
knew was that I had been bitten by a snake that might be poisonous. It
could easily have been an adder, or a karait--even a cobra--though I had
not a minute in which to observe a hood or any distincti