There was now no difficulty in collecting women; they came from every likely and unlikely place to stare on an English lady, or rather on the bridal dress which she wore. Premi alone stood on the roof above, with Darobti’s fat baby astride on her hip. “Sit down, sit down!” cried Chand Kor. “Sit down, sit down!” echoed the one-eyed Jai Dé. The bibis were evidently determined to indulge their curiosity to the full. “Keep back; bad zát” (low caste), shouted Darobti to the children who were pressing around Alicia to stroke her smooth satin and finger her jewels. When a little order was restored, Alicia had to play show-woman to the various parts of her dress and the ornaments which she wore. Her satin slippers, her silk stockings extorted many a “Wah! wah!” the women feasted on the sight of such pretty novelties. Alicia had to take even the silver ear-rings from her ears, to be passed round and admired. The lady’s patience was almost exhausted before she had any opportunity of pursuing the object for which she had come. Alicia seized that of the first lull in the noise and excitement. “Now show me your jewels—all, all!” she cried, repeating the lesson learned from Robin. The bibis were by no means loath to display their ornaments: chains and head-jewels of marvellous make, rings for thumbs and sheaths for toes, nose-gems and ear-gems, and jingling anklets, bracelets of gold, silver, and glass, were eagerly thrust on the visitor’s notice. But in vain did Alicia’s anxious eyes search for a black locket amongst them. “All, all,” she repeated—“show me all.” At length the bibis were tired of displaying their treasures; the Mem Sahiba seemed to have an unreasonable avidity for seeing jewels. Alicia, heated and tired, began to despair of ever finding what she had come expressly to see. Some of the women had gone away, Chanel Kor had taken to her hookah, and Alicia was about to rise and depart, when Darobti opened a curious old box to take out betel to chew—a very common custom amongst Eastern bibis. At the bottom of the box lay what looked like a dirty bit of rag, but Alicia’s quick eye detected in that rag something of European manufacture. “What’s that?” asked the lady, pointing to the rag. The question did not appear to be understood; at any rate it received no reply. Alicia put out her own jewelled hand, and to Darobti’s surprise pulled the dirty thing out of the box. It was part of a child’s sock, and out of it something dropped on the floor. Alicia could not repress an exclamation of surprise and delight: it was indeed a black locket in the shape of a heart!