“In the desert, on the way to Khemistan. There are two forts on two hills, Bir-ul-Malik and Bir-ul-Malikat. Bir-ul-Malik used to belong to my father, but Khadija dried up the water in the well by her arts, and the garrison almost died of thirst. My father complained to our lord the King, and he, thinking that the place was now useless, commanded Fath-ud-Din to give my father another town in exchange, and this he did, in another part of the kingdom. But as soon as my father’s men were gone from Bir-ul-Malik, Fath-ud-Din took possession of the place, and Khadija brought back the water into the well, and now he holds the only two forts and wells in all that region.” This was all the information that could be gained from the household at the Palace, and Georgia’s desire not to alarm her friends kept her from uttering aloud the thought that was in her mind, so that she allowed the subject to drop. During the remainder of the visit, however, and while she was being carried home in the litter, the determination rose strong within her to find Khadija and get hold of the secret of that antidote, if she had to make an expedition into Ethiopia all by herself, after the Mission had returned to Khemistan, for the sake of doing so. After the farewell visit to the Palace, there was still another visit to be paid, and this was to Nur Jahan’s mother, who had returned with her husband to her own house, which might now be considered a place of comparative safety. The Princess sent her litter to the Mission, and Georgia made the transit in the usual seclusion, escorted by Dick and a number of armed servants. Arrived at the Grand Vizier’s house, Dick whiled away the time by a chat with Jahan Beg, and Georgia and Rahah were conducted to the harem, where the Princess received them with great kindness. There was even a touch of compassion in her manner, for which Georgia was at a loss to account until she learnt that Nur Jahan had told her mother of the doctor lady’s intended marriage. “Art thou well advised in this that thou art intending, O doctor lady?” asked the Princess. “If it is true that thou art free to act in the matter according to thine own will, consider what thou doest before it is too late. My daughter tells me that thou hast no fear, since thy betrothed husband is an Englishman; but I know too well that all husbands are alike, for I also am married to an Englishman, although I was not aware of the truth until Fath-ud-Din’s servants shouted it at me as they drove me from my own house a month ago.” “Perhaps,” suggested Georgia, diffidently, “the Amir Jahan Beg was not then acquainted with the customs of Ethiopia, which differ from ours, and he may have appeared unkind through ignorance.”