only married ladies in the regiment, and it will wake us up and do
us good to have Miss Hannay among us."

"There are the Colonel's daughters," the Major said, with a smile.

"Yes, there are, Major, but they hardly count; they are scarcely
conscious of the existence of poor creatures like us; nothing short
of a Resident or, at any rate, of a full blown Collector, will find
favor in their eyes."

"Well, I warn you all fairly," the Major said, "that I shall set
my face against all sorts of philandering and love making. I am
bringing my niece out here as my housekeeper and companion, and not
as a prospective wife for any of you youngsters. I hope she will
turn out to be as plain as a pikestaff, and then I may have some
hopes of keeping her with me for a time. The Doctor, in his letter
from Calcutta, says nothing as to what she is like, though he was
good enough to remark that she seemed to have a fair share of common
sense, and has given him no more trouble on the voyage than was to
be expected under the circumstances. And now, lads, it is nearly
two o'clock, and as there is early parade tomorrow, it is high time
for you to be all in your beds. What a blessing it would be if the
sun would forget to shine for a bit on this portion of the world,
and we could have an Arctic night of seven or eight months with a
full moon the whole time!"

A few minutes later the messroom was empty, the lights turned out,
and the servants wrapped up in their blankets had disposed themselves
for sleep in the veranda.