“My dear girl, is it for me to advise you as to your clothes?” The tone, half severe and half humorous, stung Mabel with a recollection of their conversation of ten days before. “Considering poor Mrs North’s delusion, might it not be advisable to humour her, in so far as not to insist upon wearing mourning immediately?” “Oh, very well,” was the grudging reply, of which Mabel repented the next moment, adding contritely, “I’m sorry to have been so cross, Eustace. I will try to be brave.” “That is what I expect of my little girl. She would never bring discredit upon my choice by showing the white feather. I rely upon her to set an example of cheerfulness to the whole garrison.” He bestowed upon her what Mabel inwardly stigmatised as a lofty kiss of encouragement before departing, and she obeyed him meekly, going at once to her room to change her dress. She was so angry with herself for having deserved his rebuke that she forgot to be angry with him. After all, it was well for her to have this severe master to please, if she was in danger of bringing reproach upon her country by her faint-heartedness. She was taking herself to task in this strain, when the sound of voices in the outermost of Georgia’s two rooms, which was next to her own, interrupted her meditations. “Oh dear! Georgie hasn’t slept long,” she lamented to herself. “Who is that talking to her, I wonder? Oh, Mr Anstruther, of course.” “I came in to see if there was anything I could do for you,” she heard Fitz say. “I’m ashamed to have been so long in coming, but the fact is, I was up all night knocking down houses and setting coolies to cart away the remains, and when we had got the space all round pretty clear and came in, I was so dead tired that I just lay down and went to sleep where I was.” “Oh, you should have gone on resting while you had the chance,” said Georgia. “Everybody is only too kind to me, and there’s nothing I want done. Then we are really besieged now?” “I suppose we might say that we are in a state of siege. At present all the tribes are holding _jirgahs_ to consider the matter. Our outer circle of vedettes was driven in soon after we got here last night, but we held the houses facing the fort against a few spasmodic rushes until we had got the zone of fire cleared. The enemy are too close for comfort as it is, but at any rate they have a space to cross before they can get up to the walls.” “Then they are occupying the town?” “Decidedly, if that means looting all the houses and firing most of them.” “Is our house burnt?” “Almost as soon as you were out of it. I noticed the fire when I looked round once as we were driving. But I don’t think the enemy can have been as close behind us as that. I fancy the servants who shirked coming with us were looting, and some one had knocked over a lamp.” “And how are things going with us here?”