bestriding his neck who was becoming identified with him.

When Dermot rode away on Badshah the next morning the same scenes were
repeated. The coolies left their work among the tea-bushes to flock to the
side of the road as he passed. But he paid as little attention to them as
Badshah did, and turned just before the Dalehams' bungalow was lost to
sight to wave a last farewell to the girl still standing on the verandah
steps. It was a vision that he took away with him in his heart.

But, as the elephant bore him away through the forest, Noreen faded from
his mind, for he had graver, sterner thoughts to fill it. Love can never be
a fair game between the sexes, for the man and the woman do not play with
equal stakes. The latter risks everything, her soul, her mind, her whole
being. The former wagers only a fragment of his heart, a part of his
thoughts. Yet he is not to blame; it is Nature's ordinance. For the world's
work would never go on if men, who chiefly carry it on, were possessed,
obsessed, by love as women are.

So Dermot was only complying with that ordinance when he allowed the
thoughts of his task, which indeed was ever present with him, to oust
Noreen from his mind. He was on his way to Payne's bungalow to meet the
managers of several gardens in that part of the district, who were to
assemble there to report to him the result of their investigations.

His suspicions were more than confirmed. All had the same tale to tell--a
story of strange restlessness, a turbulent spirit, a frequent display of
insolence and insubordination among the coolies ordinarily so docile and
respectful. But this was only in the gardens that numbered Brahmins in
their population. The influence of these dangerous men was growing daily.
This was not surprising to any one who knows the extraordinary power of
this priestly caste among all Hindus.

There was evidence of constant communication between the Bengalis on the
other estates and Malpura, which pointed to the latter as being the
headquarters of the promoters of disaffection. But few of the planters were
inclined to agree with Dermot in suspecting Chunerbutty as likely to prove
the leader, for they were of opinion that his repudiation and disregard of
all the beliefs and customs of the Brahmins would render him obnoxious to
them.

From Payne's the Major went on to visit some other gardens. Everywhere he
heard the same story. All the planters were convinced that the heart and
the