I am afraid there is nothing for it but to wait till the
mischief is repaired. My only comfort is that you will feel the heat
less in returning later in the day. There are some pine trees on the
other side of the rise where you can rest. If I had only brought
something to eat I should have less cause to blame myself. As it is, do
you think you will be able to hold out?"
She smiled at that.
"Oh, I am not starving yet," she said, with more assurance; "but I do
not see the use of sitting still under the circumstances. I am quite
rested now. Let us walk back to Farabad, and we might start on foot
along the lower road for Kundaghat, and tell your man to overtake us."
Notwithstanding the resolution she infused into her voice, she made the
proposal somewhat breathlessly, for she knew--in her heart she
knew--that it would be instantly negatived.
And so it was. His face expressed sharp surprise for a second,
developing into prompt remonstrance.
"My dear Mrs. Denvers, in this heat! You have not the least idea of what
it would mean. You simply have not the strength for such a venture."
But Beryl was growing bolder in the face of emergency. She coolly set
his assurance aside.
"I do not quite agree with you," she said. "I am a better walker than
you seem to imagine, and the walk into Farabad certainly would not kill
me. We might be able to hire some conveyance there--a _tonga_ or even a
bullock-cart"--she laughed a little--"would be better than nothing.
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