to
persuasion and taken Joyce to see the old Mogul Palace, and supposing
that they had subsequently met with an accident, their plight might be
truly pitiable. Very few natives found it necessary to travel by the
jungle path so long disused, for the Government having constructed
metalled highways in all directions, travellers had ceased to travel
uncomfortably even if the old path was a short-cut between villages.
Occasionally woodmen in search of timber prowled around the ancient pile
and jackals gathered in packs to howl their grievances to the moon;
otherwise, a stray tourist on a visit to the Station or a winter picnic
party were the only visitors to the gaping halls and crumbling arches.

Just where the unused and overgrown track left the Sombari Road, Honor
stepped off her bicycle and searched the ground again for a clue without
success. None was to be found in the slush and puddles of the uneven
way.

Nothing daunted, she led her bicycle over the ruts towards the jungle in
which the palace lay buried, its dome and minarets visible through the
tangled tree-tops. It was not easy going on foot, much less could it
have been for a motor-car; moreover, Honor was not at all sure she liked
venturing on her visit of exploration alone, but all who were capable of
continuing the search were already occupied in its prosecution in
different parts of the District, and there was no one she could have
asked to keep her company.

It was when Honor came to shadowed glades where the undergrowth almost
hid the track and obstructed her progress, that she found the first
clue--snapped twigs and branches bent backward. These suggested the
passage of a cumbrous body on wheels, for sodden leaves were pressed
into the wet earth and creepers which had barred the way had been torn
and flung on the path.

If it had been Captain Dalton's car, why had it not returned? Honor's
heart grew sick with fear.

She pressed on. Presently, she came upon the car itself, beneath
overhanging boughs and a dense entanglement of bamboos. It had been
saturated by the rain, the hood lay back, and an empty luncheon basket
lay open on the seat.

Evidently, they had left the car with the full intention of returning to
it immediately, and were prevented by some unforeseen calamity. Honor
quivered with alarm and misgiving. Where were they if not in the
palace--killed, or injured and unable to help themselves?

Her mind flew to wild animals.

Though it had