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ith a sore skull for weeks on end. Oh yes, you were * She held up her hand. comRemember I had to put ith your moods when you were a boy, the Ions si lences when something troubled you and vn, ouldn't speak of it. Well, shes something yo wouldn't speak about. And now it would seem you'v got both on your mind," and she thumbed towards the wall.

I aven't got both on my mind Mother Therell be no-one more upset than I'll be when Leonard goes Hes become my friend. I...I like him; in fact, I more than lie him

"No doubt, no doubt. I'm glad of that. And he's a

fine man. But that still leaves the question of when he goes, what will she do?"'

"rom what I understand from her own lips she's going to travel, get away."

"Oh! Oh, well, although you won't agree I'll say thank God for that because you're still married and she's your wife s sister. And what's more, you can look at m with your face blazing, but, you know I'm just bringing out into the open what's on your mind. Anyway, you were saying that he wanted to talk to you on Monday night, private. Now I wonder what that'll be about."

"Wll, Mother, I can tell you that whatever it is you won t get to know."

.no? Well, that's up to you. But remember the old adage, actions speak louder than words. So now lad if you can bear to touch me, you can give me a heave out of this chair and then leave me to myself; I can manage."

He heaved her up from the chair. Then, when she endently pulled her arm from his hold, she said 'I can manage. Give me fifteen minutes; that's wish to come and say good night."

e hobbled on her sticks across the room to the still, and he had not rushed to open it for her as he fly did, but watched her transfer the right-hand ing stick to the left hand and lean on the two e she pulled the door open. But as she made to jt she turned her head over her shoulder and said, Bk you very much Doctor, for your help' comthere a smile on her face now- "and, speaking of bar tecine, as you do most of the day, I would advise ow to take a dose in the form of a double Jky, neat."

fe stood stiffly, his head bowed. Then he turned at and dropped into the chair he had recently vala and, leaning his head back, he closed his eyes he could hear her saying, When he goes, I go, Hfar away' miles awa' across oceans." And he w this is what she meant to do.

bar *He had heard them laughing about Dashing Daisy. was apparently one of the few visitors who had

andFear of visiting a man dying of tuberculosis. She the widow of a District Commissioner from AfA who, he understood, had caused her husband "e trouble than any rebel chieftain or witch-doctor. bar bar "ohn had never met her, but now he was about to disve the experience. He learned from Johnson, who met him in the hall, that Lady Helen and the gfang couple had left at six o'clock and that Mrs. eeman Wheatland had called and was with Sir

onard in the drawing-room.

In the drawing-room, the woman sitting near the bamboo chaise-logue twisted her body round to wards him as Leonard said, 'Oh, hello there, John. By the way, this is Mrs Freeman Wheatland," but before John could acknowledge the introduction the lady cried loudly in a rough-tone voice, "Don't be two faced, Leonard.

Tell him what you usually call me, behind my back, of course. Dashing Daisy May, that's what he calls me Dashing Daisy May. I was stupid enough to tell him that's what Tommy used to call me. He... he was my husband. Sit down!" Her command was imperious.

John looked at Leonard. Leonard's face was streched with laughter; his own, he knew, was full of amazement. He sat down and looked at the visitor. . .dashing Daisy. Yes, the title seemed to suit her. He could imagine her sitting on a horse going hell for leather over the fells.

She was a gaunt woman, probably sixty. She was big-made, al bone; as his mother would say, no meat on her, all gristle. Her face looked fleshless, yet pixiefied. Yes, that was the word, pixiefied. An odd name to put to her looks because, taken over all, she was ugly. She had very long fingers which looked absolutely fleshless; and then there was her body: her shoulders looked broad, and likely, when she stood up, he would find she was tall, because there seemed a good length of leg under her long skirt at least fro her knees down to the caps of her sturdy brogues.

She startled him somewhat by saying, "I've heard all about you, you know, and not only rom im," she nodded towards Leonard, "but down in the town. They have their censors, you know. There's more for Ijjhan against you. How do you put up with old allis? There's an old shyster if ever there was jpfou know, he's got that bad leg of his insured ke sure it doesn't get better."

(js, Leonard, dear?"' i bar ve him a chance."

*r head back and her mouth wide open, she let roar of a laugh. He noticed, as far as he could ttiat she had all her teeth but that some were very leloured.

"disgreater-than

disJ greater-than and now turned her round bright eyes towards him, JB-GO, 'My nanny used to say to me when I wouldn't disjl bar iy oats,

"If you don't ike it you can lump it. jr'll go to it before it'll come to you.""

coneaJfffe was smiling as he returned her gaze. If you *ment like it you could lump it. That was plain dgh. He turned now to look at Leonard, who had dislead back into the cushion of the chair-bed. His

*?"'"

were closed and his teeth could be seen nipping ss lower lip.

disbar bar Have you ever been in Africa?"'

con.bar Wnat?"' The question almost swung John round in

chair, and he repeated, 'Africa? No. No, I've

er been to Africa."

bar *Well, in my opinion you haven't missed much. I all my flesh there, you know. I used to be round l plump. You wouldn't believe that, would you?"'

SS-EVERY did not know whether to say, 'Oh, yes,"

or "Oh,

bar bar They both turned to Leonard now, who still had his es closed but was saying, 'Tell him Daisy, about Js disinfectant bath."

"Oh, go on with you. Why should I entertain your guest and him a doctor?"' She turned a quick glance on John now, saying, "I never had much room for doctors. Witchdoctors can beat them any day in the week."

"I have no doubt of that."

"Go on Daisy, tell him about the bat,"

repeated Leonard. I

"Wy? You've heard it all before." bar I'd like to hear it again."

John was watching her face. Her eyes were on Leonard now, and he noticed a softness, like a pale cloud, pass over her dry and wrinkled skin.

And she blinked her round bright eyes for a moment before, returning to her former manner, she said, 'Well you've asked for it." Then turning to John again, she said, "I don't know whether you want to hear this or not. But it should happen that at one time I was a spanking lass. That's what they would have called me up here, a spanking lass. Can you believe that?"'

"Oh yes. Yes." He had not hesitated with this reply, and repeated, "Yes, I could imagine you being a spanking lass."

As she looked at him now there was cynicism in her eyes as she said, "Huh! The Colonial Office weren't alone in breeding their diplomats.

Anyway, there I was being quite happy as the sixth daughter not counting the four older brothers of a very busy father and I was the only one umarried.

But I was in love wih a horse, so it didn't matter..."

When Leonard made a coughing sound in his throat, she stopped for a moment to glance at hi. then went on,

"Then to my mother's dismay and j sjoy there rode into my life one Thomas Freeeatland, who was on leave from Africa. Apy he had gone out as Assistant Commissioner, ien his superior retired, he got the job. He was age, but that didn't matter, he liked horses, asked me to go to Arica with him. It was a i between Bruts and him. Brutus was my d had him since he was a foal. As for Africa,

it was on the map somewhere and that it was d, that there was a lot of sand, and it was full lels and sheiks and dung and flies and some nyway, I found myself married, and all I reThat of my wedding day was that my father got ious, or nearly so, even before the ceremony, belief at getting rid of me, and when I woke up rt morning on a boat in the middle of some "dis knew I didn't like marriage, and to make mat"...rse, I was sea-sick."

ohn watched Leonard press his hand across his he wanted to do the same. His eyes were wet s were tight pressed; that was until the next it when she said, 'allyou've likely dealt with , Doctor, including ones that have been in a And I'm sure the expression "being kicked in s" isn't new to you. But that's what Africa did right in the guts. And it was some time before I straighten up, metaphorically speaking, that

id not see her put her hand on her stomach, was wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, and he muttered,

'Oh, Mrs Wheatland," she red with, "Call me Daisy; I like it better."

"I

He did not call her Daisy, but Leonard was saying I 'Go on Daisy. Go on." His She tued to John again, and, her voice serious, she said, 'Can you imagine being dropped into the middle of a forest? No path, nothing, and just left there day after day. Not that the house wasn't comfortable, and the clearing roundabout good, and there were roads and paths leading off to this tribe and that tribe. But inside my mind I was in a forest and, at times was frightened to death.

Especially when bar Tommy had to go on these treks and I was left alone there. Oh, there were servants galore. Oh, yes. But only one could speak a smattering of English. Sometimes we had visitors, but what did they do? They sat on the verandah and drank, and talked about this head man, or that witch-doctor. That was when I was there. But I've good hearing, and when I was supposedly out of the way, bits of scandal would emerge; this one had left her husband, or a certain lady was being visited by so-and-so. I didn't know then that the certain lady being visited by so-and-so was the woan that Tommy had wanted to marry. But she had turned him down, and to ease his lacerated feelings he had taken leave and come to England and found a gir who was going cheap from the dregs at the bottom of the barrel."

"Oh, no! no!" Leonard had pulled himself up a littl in the chair now, and he said again,

"No, no; never think that of yourself Daisy. That isn't your character."

"You know nothing about it, Leonard. You've never reached desperation point and been number ten and nobody wanted you. Anyway" comher voice was BDOW as she tued back to John- "everybody H bar bar go trough an apprenticeship in life. And those

bar will months were my apprenticeship. And then I H bar People from the leper colony."

c nodded now at John, repeating, "Leper colony. Ijever heard of it, never heard anybody speak of

ell would I now? Would hear such a thing 1the few people I had conversation with? The leper was taboo.

Bi1 gne beyond the compound. I was out walka sort of main road and there, coming

I e, was this man who looked ike a downBjout priest: he wore a flat hat and a long black Jb. But I'm not being sentimental or ridiculous I say he had the face of an angel. And he was Qgel. When he introduced himself as Doctor Jand La-Mode, he laughed and swept his hand down

gSown and said that it was hardly a recommenda-J bar for his name. That was our first meeting. He Bg"...d to know who I was. Over the course of the few weeks I met him on that road three times.

jjtiways had two carriers with him and they always ed loaded down with parcels and boxes.

jjlhen one night I said to Tommy, "Do you know tor Prank La-Mode?" The name made him sit up

jght in his chair, and he said, "What do you know bar ltt Prank La-Mode?"

jationothing, only that I've met him two or three

bar 6." And this made him jump to his feet, de-1ding, "You didn't go there?"

bar 'Go where?" I asked. "The leper colony, of

Sse" was his reply."

nn watched her sit back in the chair, and when she didn't speak for a moment, he whispered, A eper colony?"'

Now she turned her head towards him and, nodding, repeated, A leper colony. My husband, Tommy, was a phlegmatic kind of man. Perhaps it was the lack of passion or any kind of real emotion that had lost him his true love. But at that oment I was confronted with another Tommy, who was actually yelling that I must not go near that man, and I must not go near the eper colony.

I remember thinking, where is the leper colony, i anyway? So vehement was he and so altered was his whole personality as he went for me that I realised he was afraid of the eper colony. He was afraid of leprosy. And that did something to me. As for me, I thought, I'm not afraid of the leper colony or lepers." She pouted her lips nov and smiled a sad smile before she went on, "Oh I knew nothing about lepers, except that they were untouchable people, and once you had leprosy it was a death warrant and you were hidden away somewhere. Yet, there was that man, Frank LaMode, looking so serene and peaceful. Yes, that was the word, peacefl. Ad the person I had to live with never looked peaceful, nor did any of his acquaintances. They drank too much to be peaceful. Whe he yelled, "Do you hear me? Do not speak to that man again, and not on your life, go to that colony Do you hear me?"..." and now she looked towards Leonard, saying, "I can still hear him yelling at me Leonard, no matter how many times I relate it. A the more he yelled the ore defiant I became inside." Her head was back agaist the cushion now, her eys turned ceilingwards, as she continued "It was a fort-1 . left-brace met Frank again, and I said to him

comrj en vould like to visit the colony, your yd h aid " m d6ar me! Have you your band's nermi107" less-than "n l o; but I mean to go there and see

I myself ith without rmss left-brace orl" And after a ihThat w "Very well. Can you come now?

"I have nothing else to do."" She brought Pin the chair and'lookmg ohn she said greater-than It was a very strange journey The in rt to P out into a forest and we

Sed I 't ow for ho long. It

* a n trs and take two abreast

to ow less-than ere the wooden palisades. It was "in, there * . . * This * J a fort in the Amencas, you know, i nad imasin . , . , n k T T less-than iSo ot My first

ntroduction to lep P the Indiai* , , was when t gate was was by a man who one finger on s hand'the rest a buniots And we were passlng tbrough bttle 'PS and everv who cold seemed to be bsy" is this tlhands And then there were those greater-than shainbier1 Frank their twisted faces 4.c i! ove' ade of bamboo with a number of lls touse wa' , * * r