high official of H. B. M. service had left behind. There were traces of starvation
or dissipation in every movement. His hand trembled as he conveyed the hot
soup to his blue lips.
Gradually the color came back to his sunken cheeks, and by the time he had laid
in the second plate of curry and drank two whiskey and sodas he looked
comparatively sleek and respectable. Even his anxiety for the little sleeper
seemed to fade out of his weak face.
I had been watching him narrowly during the meal. I could not make up my
mind whether he was a clever actor or only an unfortunate; he might be the
latter, and still be what I was certain of,—a scamp.
The wind whistled and roared about the great verandas and into the glassless
windows with all the vehemence of a New England snowstorm. It caught our
well-protected punkah-lamps, and turned their broad flames into spiral columns
of smoke. Ever and again a flash of lightning flared in our eyes, and revealed the
water of the narrow straits lashed into a white fury.
I should have been thankful for the company of even a dog on such a night, and
think the loafer felt it, for I could see that he was more at ease with every crash
of thunder. I tiptoed over to the “little gal,” and noted her soft, regular breathing
and healthful sleep, undisturbed by the fierce storm outside.
I lit a manila, and handed one to my companion. We puffed a moment in silence,
while the boy replenished our glasses.
“Now,” I said, tipping my chair back against the wall, “tell me your story.”
My guest’s face at once assumed the expression of the professional loafer. My
faith in him began to wane.
“I am an American,” he began glibly enough under the combined effects of the
whiskey and dinner, “an old soldier. I fought with Grant in the Wilderness, and
—”
“Of course,” I interrupted, “and with Sherman in Georgia. I have heard it all by a
hundred better talkers than you. Suppose you skip it.”