wondering if he possessed some small share of the adept’s powers and could read the thoughts then uppermost in my mind.
“Nothing absurd about it,” he answered, digging his heel into the thick crust which now covered the snow everywhere. “I’m no fool, Wylde. No man has studied the fair sex more carefully than I have. Let me tell you a secret. The girl is in love!”
“With Maurice?”
“With Maurice.”
“Don’t talk ridiculous nonsense, Doctor!”
“Ta, ta! Don’t you get mad, my boy, for we can’t afford to quarrel. By Jove! I guess we’d better drop the subject; though, if I chose, I could add a corollory to my problem—but I won’t.”
I gave him a look, but he had turned his head away and was lightly humming an air from La Grande Duchesse.”
“You fool,” I thought. “You had better take care!”
But my thought did not refer to the Doctor. On the contray, its reference was wholly to myself.
“We won’t talk any more about it,” I said quietly enough. “The question we are most interested in now is the crust. Is it strong enough to bear us? Are we going to start to-day or remain housed till another storm catches us.”
“Here comes old double face!” exclaimed the Doctor. “He’s running the whole business. Let him decide.”
It was Mr. Mirrikh. As we rounded a projecting corner of the overhanging ledge, we saw him approaching. His face was bare, for he had abandoned the mask the day we left Zhad-uan, there being no particular advantage in wearing it for our benefit, and I am sure it must have been a nuisance at the best.
Had he heard?
There was no reason why he should not have heard, for he was close upon us. I gave the Doctor a nudge of warning, but too late. Still if he heard he showed it by no sign.
“Good morning, Wylde; good morning, Doctor!” he shouted. “Glorious morning, is it not? The rain last night has done the work for us. Almost never rains at this season in Thibet, so we may take it as quite a miracle. There is now nothing to hinder us from making a start.”
“How long will it take us to reach the lamasery?” I inquired by way of answer.
