He put out his hand as he spoke and gripped the elder man's hard, then
ran down the steps, jumped in beside Leonie, and turned to wave
hilariously with her as they sped away to the Zoo.

The brain specialist went back thoughtfully to his room, and when he
had closed the door stood for a long time looking out at the little
garden with its one big tree.

"I wonder, I _wonder_," he mused. "I'd give a good deal to get at that
ayah--well! why not?--I could start for----" He looked round suddenly,
then laughed as he passed his hand over his eyes. "Funny! I thought
someone opened the door."

He moved to his desk and turned over his diary, showing blank page
after blank page.

"Strange," he muttered. "There is nothing written down after to-day,
not a single engagement. I must have entered them in some other book;
very careless of me."




CHAPTER VI

"And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry
in their desolate homes."--_The Bible_.