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will you run up to the house and telephone to Omoana for Doctor Spencer?”

Ann sped away towards the house. She knew that if Holmes had not arrived when he did, she would have put her arms around Rodney, or made some other equally ridiculous gesture of consolation. She had been prevented from making a fool of herself; but, as it was, she hadn’t uttered one word of thanks to Rodney Marsh for thus saving her a second time from sudden death.

The head-shepherd was right.

When the polo team departed for Wairiri, he was left lying in the cottage, with his knee in splints. The injury proved to be severe synovitis, and Dr. Spencer refused to allow the patient to move out of bed for the first ten days at least. Ann sent messages to the young man by Dick Holmes, but did not attempt to see him. He suffered from no lack of visitors however. Jack Smith motored over from Omoana to see him, and there were many other callers. But on Boxing Day he was to be alone. A race meeting further up the coast claimed the attention of most of the residents of Omoana; and before Dick Holmes departed with Vera and Waring for Wairiri, he asked Ann to visit the solitary invalid.

“I’m sure he’d like to see you,” he said. “And it’s rotten bad luck for him, knowing we’ve all gone off to the tournament. He’s very keen on polo. Try and cheer him up a bit.”

Ann was free, for the little girls had gone over to play with Alice and Connie Ralston, and about three