"Which of my evening gowns has my maid laid out?" laughed Mona. "Ah, the delaine. Curious the partiality she shows for that delaine! Now tell me exactly how much time I have. I don't want to lose a moment of this _dolce far niente_, but I must not be late for supper, whatever happens." She was not late. The bell rang just as she was fastening her brooch. "Got back, Mona?" said Lady Munro, emerging fresh and fragrant from her room. "Yes, thank you." But before Mona had time to say more, Lady Munro turned to speak to Sir Douglas. It was impossible to begin a long story then. The sudden change in the weather had induced many of the tourists to stay on, so the large dining-room was crowded. Mona just caught a glimpse of the son of Anak at the opposite end of another table, and she attempted once more to give a modified account of her afternoon's adventure. But the Fates were against her. A well-known Edinburgh professor was sitting opposite Sir Douglas, and the conversation became general. "Let us hope he will give me five minutes' grace on the verandah," she said resignedly; but she had just remarked, by way of introduction, that the mist had almost entirely cleared, and Sir Douglas was in the act of lighting his first cigar, when the door opened, and her friend strode in with an air of infinite assurance. "Aunt Maud," she began, but her voice was drowned in a general exclamation. "Why, Sahib!" "Dickinson Sahib! Where on earth did you drop from?" "What a delightful surprise!" "Who would have thought of seeing you here? Sit down and tell us all about it. Oh, I forgot--Mr Dickinson, my niece, Miss Maclean." "I was sure of it," exclaimed the new-comer, shaking hands cordially with the astonished Mona. "If I had met her in the wilds of Arabia, I could have sworn that she was a relative of Lady Munro's." And then the whole story came out, with modifications. "Well, I must say," said Mona, when the questioning and explanations were over, "that you have treated me extremely badly." He laughed like a schoolboy. "I am sure you don't grudge me my very small joke." "No--especially as it makes us quits. Now we can begin a new page." "I hope it may prove as pleasant as the first." "Prettily said, Sahib," said Lady Munro. "Now, be sensible and give us an account of your eccentric movements." "Eccentric!" he said, meditating a far-fetched compliment, but he was a sensible man and he thought better of it. "That's easily done. One of my Scotch visits fell through--a death in the house--so I ran over here for a few days. I thought I should probably run against you,--they say people always do meet in Norway. Of course, I knew you had sailed to Bergen." "And what is your route now?" "Is it for you to ask me that, as the filing said to the magnet?" Sir Douglas went in search of maps and guide-books, and Mr Dickinson took a low chair beside Lady Munro.