Very gently he told her of the discovery Garnett and Hassan had made; with the subsequent unhappy certainty of a water famine; and Iris had been in Egypt long enough to know that in this desert waste of sun and sand the lack of water and its attendant evil, thirst, were the most fruitful sources of tragedy in the Egyptian land.
"You mean there is no water left?" She spoke very quietly, and he answered her in the same tone.
"No--at least barely a bottleful. The rest was used for making coffee for us all just now. And this remaining drop must be reserved for your husband, in case he calls for it. Besides, there is to-morrow----" He stopped short, with a tragic foreboding that there would be no morrow on earth for the man who lay dying beneath their eyes.
"Yes. As you say, there is to-morrow. And"--her voice was low--"I suppose there is no hope of rescue before to-morrow night at earliest?"
"I am afraid not before the following dawn." Somehow he could not lie to Iris. "And since we must have water it is plain one of us must go and get it."
"Go? Outside the Fort?" Her face blanched still further. "But it--would be madness to venture out--you would be seen--and shot--at once...."
"Ah, but you haven't heard the plan Garnett and I have evolved!" He spoke more lightly, though his voice was still low. "Listen, and tell me if you approve of our strategy!"
He rapidly outlined their plan of campaign, making as light of the perils of the undertaking as possible; and Iris listened breathlessly, her eyes on his face the while.
When he had finished she spoke very quietly.
"Dr. Anstice, I think it is a terribly reckless thing to attempt, and if I thought only of myself--or of you--I should beg you not to go. But as you say, there are the others--the child for one--and if help should be delayed the lack of water would be--serious."
"So you approve the plan?" He felt unreasonably glad that she did not altogether condemn the idea, since, as go he must, he would certainly go more happily with her approval.
"I shall be terribly anxious all the while," she said simply, "but you are a brave man. Dr. Anstice, and I do not believe God will let you suffer for your courage."
"Then I am to go? You will not mind being left alone?"