ad just come. He opened it
mechanically but did not even glance at it. His thoughts were elsewhere.

Months had elapsed since the day on which he had seen his first tiger
killed. Not long afterwards the Rains had come to put a stop to descents
into the jungle. But his interest in the preparation for his new work
compensated him for the imprisonment within walls by the terrible
tropical storms and the never-ceasing downpour. He had flung himself
enthusiastically into the study of the frontier languages, of which
Colonel Dermot proved to be a painstaking and able teacher. Miss Benson,
who had returned to Ranga Duar and remained there longer than she had
originally intended, owing to fever contracted in the jungle, joined him
in these studies and astonished her fellow-pupil by her aptitude and
quickness of apprehension. But her presence proved disastrous to him.
Thrown constantly together as they were, spending hours every day side
by side, the subaltern realised to his dismay that he was falling in
love with the girl.

It would have been strange had it been otherwise so pretty and
attractive was she. Often Mrs. Dermot, peeping into her husband's office
and seeing the dark and the fair head bent close together over a book,
smiled to herself, well-pleased at the thought of her favourites being
mutually attracted. To her husband the thought never occurred. Men are
very dull in these matters.

But to Wargrave the realisation of the truth was unbearable. He was
pledged to another woman, whose heart he had won even if unconsciously,
who was willing for love of him to give up everything and face the
world's censure and scorn. He could not play her false. He had given her
his word. He could not now be disloyal to her without utterly wrecking
all her chances of happiness in life and dishonouring himself for ever
in his own eyes. Muriel Benson had left the station ten days ago to
rejoin her father; and Wargrave had instantly felt that he dared not see
her again until he was irrevocably and openly bound to Violet. So he had
written to her on the morrow of the girl's departure and, without giving
her the real reason for his action, begged her to come to him at once,
enclosing, as he was now able to do, a cheque for her expenses. It
seemed to him that only by her presence could he be saved from being a
traitor to his word.

As soon as he had sent the letter he went to his Commanding Officer and
told him everything. It was not unti