"Oh, but isn't it only rogues that one need be afraid of?" the girl asked. "And aren't they rare?" "These jungles are full of them, Miss Daleham," said another planter. "We've had two men on our garden killed already this year." "The Forest Officer told me that several guards and wood-cutters have been attacked lately," joined in another. "One brute has held up the jungles around Mendabari for months." "Oh, don't tell us any more, Mr. Lane," cried Mrs. Rice with affected timidity. "I shall be afraid to leave the bungalow." "I heard that the fellow commanding the Military Police detachment at Ranga Duar was nearly killed by a rogue lately," remarked an engineer named Goddard. "Our _mahout_ had the story from one of the _mahouts_ of the Fort. He had a cock-and-bull yarn about the sahib being saved by his tame elephant, a single-tusker, which drove off the rogue. But, as the latter was a double tusker, it's not a very likely tale." "They've got a still more wonderful story about that fellow in Ranga Duar," remarked a planter named Lulworth. "They say he can do anything with wild elephants, goes about the jungle with a herd and they obey him like a pack of hounds." The men near him laughed. "Good old Lulworth!" said one. "That beats Goddard's yarn. Did you make it up on the spot or did it take you long to think it out?" Lulworth smiled good humouredly. "Oh, it's not an original lie," he replied. "I had it from a half-bred Gurkha living in the forest village near my garden." "Who is commanding Ranga Duar?" asked Lane. "A fellow called Dermot; a Major," replied Goddard. "Dermot? I wonder if by any chance it's a man who used to be in these parts before--commanded Buxa Duar when there was a detachment of an Indian regiment there," said Payne. "I believe it's the same," replied Goddard. "He knows these jungles well and did a lot of shooting in them. He bagged that _budmash_ (rogue) elephant that killed so many people. You heard of it. He chased the brute for a fortnight." "That's the man," said Payne. "I'm glad he's back. We used to be rather pals and stay with each other." "Oh, do ask him again, Mr. Payne, and bring him to the club," chimed in Mrs. Rice. "It would be such a pleasant change to have some of the officers here. They are so nice, such men of the world." A smile went round the table. All were so used to the lady's tactless remarks that they only amused. They had long lost the power to irritate. "I'm afraid Dermot wouldn't suit you, Mrs. Rice," said Payne laughing. "He's not a lady's man." "Indeed? Is he married?" she asked.