He was a sensible man and resigned himself to his fate, and then she trampled upon him because he yielded, and he bore it all with a silent misery eating at his heart. Then after a time his love seemed to sleep into a kind of intimate friendship; but Ruys saw this, and would fan it all up again, and, as soon as she succeeded, relapse into an icy dullness that made life almost unendurable. It was their last evening at Pazobin; the parsonage had been practically dismantled of its ornaments, and Ruys, with a straw hat in her hand, stood in what was once her very pretty drawing-room. Habakkuk stepped in with his slouching gait. "I wish," said she, "you wouldn't stoop so. Why don't you hold yourself up? There!" and she straightened him; "if you always carry yourself like that it would be so different." "I'll try," said Habakkuk. "I must enroll myself as chaplain to the Pazobin Volunteers. There are six men in the regiment, but I'll get drilled. Will that suit?" She was in a gay mood, and laughed blithely. "Yes, it will do very well, and I shall have to work some colours and give it to the gallant regiment. But you are not to go with them when they go fighting dacoits," and she came close up to him. Habakkuk for once plucked up courage, and, putting his arm round his wife's waist, kissed her, and to his surprise the caress was returned. He could hardly believe it, but she disengaged herself from his arm and said, "I want you to go down to the boats and see that everything is ready, like a dear; then you can come back for me, and take me on board." Habakkuk felt that he could have gone to the end of the world. He was off in a moment, and went away holding himself very erect. His wife looked after him with a strange smile on her face. "I have got him away for a good hour, at any rate," she said to herself, and stepping out into the garden walked slowly down to the ruined temple, and when she reached there she looked around as if expecting some one. "I wonder if he will come?" she said, and almost as the words escaped her Peregrine walked quickly across the side and came straight up to her. "I only got your note this minute, Mrs. Smalley," he said; "of course I was coming to see you off. It will be a great disappointment to Phipson. There was news which took him out this afternoon. Our friends the dacoits are to the fore again." "I thought you would come this way," she said, "and walked up here to meet you. Dr. Smalley will be back soon; he has gone down to the boats to see after things."