occupying the neighboring estate, had installed a retinue of Hindu servants, and was the talk of the countryside.
For a time Luey was puzzled at the reason for his presence in America. But naturally keen when intrigue was in the wind, she guessed from his discreet questionings that Carmelita was at least partly at the bottom of it. He still coveted Carmelita. He wanted to know if she lived in New York still, if she was happy, if her husband was doing well—all these questions sprinkled through many tête-à-têtes over the tea-cups and lazy afternoons upon the Hodges' bathing raft. His interest piqued Lucy. She was not above a little piece of mischief. She would bring Rao-Singh and Carmelita together and see what happened. She did not care a snap of her fingers for Dudley Drake and his feelings. He had no right to submit a glamorous creature like Carmelita to poverty and a stifling New York apartment anyway. If trouble ensued between Carmelita and her husband, so much the better.
The invitation to Carmelita for the week-end had followed and the fact that Dudley had found it impossible to accept made matters all the more interesting.
Rao-Singh extinguished his cigarette and flicked it out upon the grass. "You are look-
