Regimental, Divisional and Army Headquarters. He found Major Hunt
sleeping peacefully; but Wargrave woke as he tiptoed into the room and
looked up at him, at first not seeing the women. He was fully conscious
and asked eagerly for an account of what had happened. Noreen and Muriel
shuddered at the delight with which he heard of the murderer's capture;
for they were too tender-hearted to understand his passionate desire to
avenge the cruel slaying of one of his men. When he turned away from
Macdonald and saw Muriel his eyes shone eagerly for a moment, then
seemed to dull as memory returned to him. He begged Mrs. Dermot to
forgive him for upsetting her domestic arrangements by his intrusion
into the house.

Later in the morning Noreen was sitting alone with him, having sent
Muriel to lie down for a couple of hours. She had not been to bed
herself, but after a bath and a change of clothing had given her
children their breakfast and bidden them make no noise, because their
beloved "Fwankie" was lying ill in the house. Yet she could not forbear
to smile when she saw the portentous gravity with which Eileen tiptoed
out into the garden to tell Badshah the news and order him to be very
quiet.

Now, looking fresh and bright, she sat beside Wargrave's bed. Since the
doctor had left him he had lain thinking. He felt that Violet must be
informed at once that he had been hurt but was in no danger, lest she
might learn of the occurrence through another source and believe him to
be worse than he really was. As he looked at Mrs. Dermot the desire to
ask her instead of Macdonald if she would be the one to communicate with
Mrs. Norton grew overwhelming, and he felt that he wanted to confide to
her the whole story, sure that she would understand. And she could tell
Muriel--for he had been quite conscious when he had spoken to the girl
in the morning. It was only right that she should know the truth, but he
shrank from telling it to her himself.

So he opened his heart to Noreen; and the understanding little woman
listened sympathisingly and made no comment, and undertook to explain
the situation to Muriel. So, an hour or two later, when Macdonald was
again with the subaltern, she went to her friend's room and told her the
whole story.

The girl's first feeling was anger at the thought of Frank making love
to a married woman.

"Seems to me it's the married woman who made it to him, from what I can
gather," said Noreen, a little anno