presuming, with the prudence of middle-age, that he would not really be
called upon to perform so unimaginable a feat, he put two fingers up to
his mouth.

"Here goes then!" he said, greatly daring. (He knew perfectly well that
the dignity of Lady Ambermere would not permit rude vulgar whistling,
of which he was hopelessly incapable, to summon her motor. She made a
feint of stopping her ears with her hands.)

"Don't do anything of the kind," she said. "In a minute you shall walk
with me across to the Arms, but tell me this first. I have just been to
say to our good Mrs Lucas that very likely I will look in at her
garden-party on Friday, if I have nothing else to do. But who is this
wonderful creature she is expecting? Is it an Indian conjurer? If so, I
should like to see him, because when Ambermere was in Madras I remember
one coming to the Residency who had cobras and that sort of thing. I
told her I didn't like snakes, and she said there shouldn't be any. In
fact, it was all rather mysterious, and she didn't at present know if
he was coming or not. I only said, 'No snakes: I insist on no snakes.'"

Georgie relieved her mind about the chance of there being snakes, and
gave a short _precis_ of the ascertained habits of the Guru,
laying special stress on his high-caste.

"Yes, some of these Brahmins are of very decent family," admitted Lady
Ambermere. "I was always against lumping all dark-skinned people
together and calling them niggers. When we were at Madras I was famed
for my discrimination."

They were walking across the green as Lady Ambermere gave vent to these