gaieties, and in the height of the summer it was very gay indeed.

The Rajah's summer palace, white and magnificent, occupied the brow of
the hill, and the bungalows that clustered among the pines below it
looked as if there had been some competition among them as to which
could get the nearest.

The Ralstons' bungalow was considerably lower down the hill. It stood
upon more open ground than most, and overlooked the race-course some
distance below. It was an ugly little place, and the small compound
surrounding it was a veritable wilderness. It had been named "The Grand
Stand" owing to its position, but no one less racy than its present
occupant could well have been found. Mrs. Ralston's wistful blue eyes
seldom rested upon the race-course. They looked beyond to the
mist-veiled plains.

The room she had prepared for Stella's reception looked in an easterly
direction towards the winding, wooded road that led up to the Rajah's
residence. Great care had been expended upon it. Her heart had yearned
to the girl ever since she had heard of her sudden bereavement, and her
delight at the thought of receiving her was only second to her sorrow
upon Stella's account.

Higher up the hill stood the dainty bungalow which Ralph Dacre had taken
for his bride. The thought of it tore Mrs. Ralston's tender heart. She
had written an urgent epistle to Tommy imploring him not to let his
sister go there in her desolation. And, swayed by Tommy's influence,
and, it might be, touched by Mrs. Ralston's own earnest solicitude,
Stella, not caring greatly whither she went, had agreed to take up her
abode for a time at least with the surgeon's wife. There was no