He tried to make light of the
adventure and asserted that she had been in no danger. Gradually he became
so offensive to the Major that Noreen was annoyed, and even her brother,
who usually saw no fault in his friend, felt uncomfortable at Chunerbutty's
incivility to their guest.
Dermot, however, appeared not to notice it. He behaved with perfect
courtesy to the Hindu, and ignored his attempts at impertinence, much to
Daleham's relief, winning Noreen's admiration by his self-control. He
skilfully steered the conversation to the subject of the Bengalis employed
on the estate. The engineer at first denied that there were Brahmins among
them, but when told of Narain Dass's claim to be one, he pretended
ignorance of the fact. This obvious falsehood confirmed Dermot's suspicion
of him.
The Dalehams were not sorry when Chunerbutty rose to say good-night shortly
after they had left the dining-room. He was starting at an early hour next
morning on a long ride to Lalpuri to visit his father, of whose health he
said he had received disquieting news.
When Noreen went to bed that night she lay awake for some time thinking of
their new friend. In addition to her natural feeling of gratitude to him
for saving her from deadly peril, there was the consciousness that he was
eminently likable in himself. His strength of character, his manliness, the
suggestion of mystery about him in his power over wild animals and the
fearlessness with which he risked the dangers of the forest, all increased
the attraction that he had for her.
Pages:
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122