That sister of mine, no longer little, but the mother of several bouncing boys had, with her husband, paid us several visits. They were leading a busy, happy, prosperous life. She had been well educated, so my wife found in her a genial companion, and their coming to us made a kind of festival in our home. On one of these visits an uncle and aunt of my wife’s had come to see us on their tour through India. Our Collector and this gentleman were old acquaintances, so we were all invited to a large dinner party at the Barra Sahib’s. On entering the drawing room we found quite an assembly of the society people of the station. As we went up to greet the hostess, to my consternation there stood my venerable father and my distinguished half brother. They were so placed that they could not escape if they had desired to, and we had acquired such momentum that we could not retire. There was no alternative but to face each other. My heart beat at a thumping pace, and every one of the seven hundred thousand pores in my body became an aqueduct, and in a moment I was in a glow of heat and perspiration. This was not from fear, far from it. Had I not been dared by this parent of mine, and had I not met him and thrown his insults back into his own face? I had no fear of him whatever, nor did I fear that white-haired, white-faced half brother of mine; he, too, had fallen before my well barbed shafts. It was not of myself that I thought. Had I been alone I would have risked my soul, but I would have given them each something to keep as a memento of our meeting. I truly confess that I would have hugely enjoyed this, let others say what they might about such a feeling. There was my wife. She knew nothing of my relation to this couple, nor would I for the life of me have revealed a word and I knew she could hold her own in any tilt with them, but my sister, the daughter of the one, the half sister of the other, to meet her own father who had betrayed and seduced her! Since that fearful time when I had rescued her from his baneful power, we had never mentioned his name. We would have erased and annihilated from our thoughts and lives every remembrance of him if we could. I know this was my feeling and I am sure it was hers. She was beautiful, as my little sister, as I think I have said before, but now developed into a very handsome matron. As she had been educated in the best schools in France and England and been polished by travel in different countries, she could appear in any society with dignity and grace.