"I am quite used to it. My uncle, Sir Lionel, smokes much worse tobacco than yours." Gray considered her over his pipe. "Would you mind telling me," he asked gravely, "Miss Niece of Sir Lionel, what you are going to do with me? I'm fairly your prisoner. Your patrol under Ram Singh captured me within your lines." The girl nodded thoughtfully. Gray wondered if he had caught a glint of laughter in the demure eyes. He decided he was mistaken. "You are an officer, Captain Gray. You know all prisoners are questioned closely. I still have two more questions, before I decide your case. Are you really alone? And where are you bound?" "I am," stated Gray methodically. "Ansichow." "Really? I am going there. I should introduce you, as my prisoner, to Sir Lionel, but he is tired out and asleep, leaving me with Ram Singh." "Who is an excellent guardian, Miss Niece----" "Mary Hastings," said the girl quickly. "I have no reason to conceal my name." Gray thought she emphasized the _I_. "My uncle, Sir Lionel Hastings, is head of the British Asiatic Society in India. He is bound for the Gobi." Gray stared at her. The British Asiatic Society! Then this must be the expedition in search of the Wusun. Van Schaick had said that it was starting from India. "I begged Sir Lionel to take me," continued Mary Hastings calmly, "and he finds me very useful. I record his observations, you know, keep the journal of the expedition, and draw the maps. That gives him time for more important work." "But the desert----" Gray broke off. "The desert is no place for a woman. I suppose that is what you meant. But I am not an ordinary woman, I warn you, Captain Gray. Sir Lionel is my only relative, and we have traveled together for years. He did say that he anticipated some opposition from the Chinese authorities. But I refused to be left behind." The rounded chin lifted stubbornly. "This is the most important work my uncle has undertaken, and he is always visited with fever about this time of year." Gray was secretly envious of Sir Lionel. What an ally this girl would make! Yet, in their present positions, she was apt to be his most ardent foe. He glanced up, measuring her, and met her look. For a long moment the slate-green eyes of the man searched hers. They reminded him of the surface of water, sometimes quiet to an infinite depth and then tumultuous. For a discerning man, Gray was at a sad loss to fathom Mary Hastings. "To avoid attention from the Chinese," she continued, looking down, "we came up from Burma, along the Tibetan border. Rather a boring trip. But by going around the main towns at the Yang-tze headwaters, and by using these serviceable native huts--which can be taken down and put up quickly--we escape questioning." So that was the explanation of the clumsy _yurts_. "You were not quite so fortunate, Captain Gray? Curious, that, isn't it--when you are only a big game hunter?"