m for foreswearing his native land, and he contrasted
bitterly their manner to him with the reception that he had met with in the
circles in which he moved in England. He had been regarded as a hero in
London boarding-houses. His well-cut features and dark complexion had
played havoc with the affections of shop-girls of a certain class and that
debased type of young Englishwoman whose perverted and unnatural taste
leads her to admire coloured men.

In one of these boarding-houses he had met Daleham, when the latter was a
clerk in the city. It was at Chunerbutty's suggestion and with an
introduction from him that Fred had sought for and obtained employment in
the tea company, and as a result the young Englishman had ever since felt
in the Bengali's debt. He inspired his sister with the same belief, and in
consequence Noreen always endeavoured to show her gratitude to Chunerbutty
by frank friendliness. They had all three sailed to India in the same ship,
and on the voyage she had resented what seemed to her the illiberal
prejudice of other English ladies on board to the Hindu. And all the more
since she had an uncomfortable suspicion that deep down in her heart she
shared their feeling. So she tried to seem the friendlier to Chunerbutty.

It said much for her own and her brother's popularity with the planters
that their intimacy with him did not cause them to be disliked. These men
as a class are not unjust to natives, but intimate acquaintance with the
Bengali does not tend to make them love him. For the Dalehams' sake most of
the men in the district received Chunerbutty with courtesy. But his
manager, a rough Welshman of the bad old school, who openly declared that
he "loathed all niggers," treated him with invariable rudeness.

As the Hindu engineer and Noreen ascended the steps of the verandah
together, the girl said:

"You are coming to the club this afternoon, are you not?"

"Yes, Miss Daleham, that is why I have been waiting at your bungalow to see
you. I wanted to ask if we'd ride over together."

"Of course. We must start early, though. I want to see that the servants
have everything ready."

"I don't think I'd be anxious to go if it were not _your_ 'At Home' day,"
said the Bengali, as they seated themselves in the drawing-room that Noreen
had made as pretty as she could with her limited resources. "I don't like
the club as a rule. The fellows are so stand-offish."

"You mustn't think so, Mr. Chunerbutty.