'Polly, I want to tell you something. Promise you won't tell
Dudley. I wasn't telling the truth just now. I do know this man. I
was engaged to him once.'
'What!'
'For goodness' sake don't tell Dudley!'
'But--'
'It's all over now; but I used to be engaged to him.'
'Not when I was in England?'
'No, after that.'
'Then he didn't know you are engaged to Dudley now?'
'N-no. I--I haven't seen him for a long time.'
Lady Wetherby looked remorseful.
'Poor man! I must have given him a jolt! But why didn't you tell
me about him before?'
'Oh, I don't know.'
'Oh, well, I'm not inquisitive. There's no rubber in my
composition. It's your affair.'
'You won't tell Dudley?'
'Of course not. But why not? You've nothing to be ashamed of.'
'No; but--'
'Well, I won't tell him, anyway. But I'm glad you told me about
him. Dudley was so eloquent about burglars that he almost had me
going. I wonder where he rushed off to?'
Dudley Pickering had rushed off to his bedroom, and was examining
a revolver there. He examined it carefully, keenly. Preparedness
was Dudley Pickering's slogan. He looked rather like a stout
sheriff in a film drama.
16
In the interesting land of India, where snakes abound and
scorpions are common objects of the wayside, a native who has had
the misfortune to be bitten by one of the latter pursues an
admirably common-sense plan.
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