Her next move brought her to the thermometer. It registered 95 deg. A long while after sundown the mercury might drop three degrees, certainly not more. She cast an anxious glance at the sleeper, and her quick eye caught the lagging of the punkah, broken by fitful jerks, which denotes that the coolie--squatting on his heels in the verandah--is pulling the inexorable rope in his dreams. Opening the outer door and letting in a blast as from the mouth of hell, she reasoned with that much-enduring human machine in a forcible Irish whisper, that set the towel flapping and billowing like a flag in a wind. The room was none the cooler for his exertions, but in such intensity of heat mere movement of the air serves to prevent suffocation. Mrs Olliver sat down beside her patient and her mind reverted to her own domestic calamity. She wondered with a simple practical wonderment, devoid of fear, whether or no she had a case of cholera in her compound. To-morrow it would be well to ascertain the truth; and in the meantime she dismissed the matter from her mind. Before tiffin was over at the station Mess, Wyndham made his appearance, and with a friendly nod of welcome took the reins out of her hands. But by seven o'clock she was back at her post; and one look at Harry's flushed face and unseeing eyes convinced her that the next twelve hours would make a high demand upon her energies, and her resolute hopefulness of heart. Desmond came in before Mess. His eyes were grave and anxious, and for many minutes he stood looking down upon the boy in silence; the slim uprightness of his figure emphasised by the close-fitting white uniform, with its wide splash of scarlet at the waist. Then he crossed to the table and studied the chart, that strange hieroglyph, like a negative print of forked lightning, so full of dread meaning to those who can read it aright. The latest entry was 106 deg. "You saw Mackay?" he asked, under his breath. "I did." "You're in for a hard night of it. I'd better stay up and help." "I'll not have you at any price," she answered bluntly. He frowned. But the fact that he did not insist spoke volumes to her understanding heart. "Swear you'll send Amar Singh to wake me if it seems necessary." "I will--no fear." "He'll sit handy, just outside, all night and help you in any possible way. He's a jewel at times like this. I'll look in again when I get home." "Come back early," she commanded with a sudden smile, "and have a solid night of sleep. It's plain your needing it badly." "Thanks. I believe I am. I'll make a fresh start afterwards and take my fair share of the work. Jove! It's a furnace of a night. There goes the trumpet; I'll be back before long." His words were truer than he knew.