His heart had been touched by their misery.

He did not give as a reason for the trouble he took, the fact that the face of the elder man reminded him of his own venerable father, the worthy old Somersetshire vicar; it was a fact, nevertheless.

For a week the unfortunate couple were domiciled at the Ford, and during that time Grantham attended to their wants with the assiduity of a blood relation.

Meanwhile Handiman scoffed and bade him take heed for his valuables, lest his new-found friends should appropriate them.

He did not believe in honest gratitude, he declared, particularly where homeless wanderers in the Burmese jungle were concerned.