Shaking the snow from his furs, he lighted the lamp and filled up the stove before he sat down wearily.

The small room was not a cheerful place in which to spend the winter nights alone.

Walls and floor were uncovered and were roughly boarded with heat-cracked lumber; the stove was rusty, and gave out a smell of warm iron, while a black distillate had dripped from its pipe.

There were, however, several well-filled bookcases and one or two comfortable chairs, Clarke lighted his pipe and, drawing his seat as near the stove as possible, opened the English newspaper, which contained some news that interested him.

A short paragraph stated that Captain Bertram Challoner, then stationed at Delhi, had received an appointment which would shortly necessitate his return from India.