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diff --git a/34978-0.txt b/34978-0.txt index 9a6c90a..48e4940 100644 --- a/34978-0.txt +++ b/34978-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ - BURNING SANDS - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Burning Sands - -Author: Arthur Weigall - -Release Date: January 15, 2011 [EBook #34978] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURNING SANDS *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 34978 *** Produced by Darleen Dove, Roger Frank, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. @@ -11867,375 +11846,4 @@ The author’s punctuation style is preserved. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Burning Sands - -Author: Arthur Weigall - -Release Date: January 15, 2011 [EBook #34978] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURNING SANDS *** - - - - -Produced by Darleen Dove, Roger Frank, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -*Burning Sands* - -By - -Arthur Weigall - -Author of -Madeline of the Desert, Etc. - - -Illustrated With Scenes From The Photoplay -A Paramount Picture -Directed by George Melford - - -Grosset & Dunlap -Publishers New York - -Made in the United States of America - - - - -Copyright, 1921. -By Dodd, Mead And Company, Inc. - -Printed in U. S. A. - - - - -Contents - - - - CHAPTER I--A STUDY IN BEHAVIOUR - - CHAPTER II--THE FREEDOM OF THE DESERT - - CHAPTER III--THE WORLD AND THE FLESH - - CHAPTER IV--A JACKAL IN A VILLAGE - - CHAPTER V--FAMILY AFFAIRS - - CHAPTER VI--TOWARDS THE SUNSET - - CHAPTER VII--THE DESERT AND THE CITY - - CHAPTER VIII--THE ACCOMPLICE - - CHAPTER IX--ON THE NILE - - CHAPTER X--"FOR TOMORROW WE DIE" - - CHAPTER XI--THE OASIS IN THE DESERT - - CHAPTER XII--THE HELPMATE - - CHAPTER XIII--THE NEW LIFE - - CHAPTER XIV--THE COURT PHILOSOPHER - - CHAPTER XV--A BALL AT THE GENERAL'S - - CHAPTER XVI--AT CHRISTMASTIDE - - CHAPTER XVII--DESTINY - - CHAPTER XVIII--MAN AND WOMAN - - CHAPTER XIX--THE SEEDS OF SORROW - - CHAPTER XX--PRIVATE INTERESTS - - CHAPTER XXI--THE CLASH - - CHAPTER XXII--THE CALL OF THE DESERT - - CHAPTER XXIII--THE NATURE OF WOMEN - - CHAPTER XXIV--THE GREAT ADVENTURE - - CHAPTER XXV--BREAKING LOOSE - - CHAPTER XXVI--THE STOLEN HOUR - - CHAPTER XXVII--THE FLIGHT - - CHAPTER XXVIII--THE SURPRISING FORTNIGHT - - CHAPTER XXIX--IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH - - CHAPTER XXX--THE REVOLT - - CHAPTER XXXI--PAYING THE PRICE - - CHAPTER XXXII--THINKING THINGS OVER - - CHAPTER XXXIII--THE RETURN - - - - -CHAPTER I--A STUDY IN BEHAVIOUR - - -The music ceased. For a full minute the many dancers stood as the dance -had left them, stranded, so to speak, upon the polished floor of the -ballroom, clapping their white-gloved hands in what seemed to be an -appeal to the tired musicians to release them from their awkward -situation. The _chef d'orchestre_ rose from his chair and shook his -head, pointing to the beads of moisture upon his sallow forehead. Two or -three couples, more merciful than their companions, turned and walked -away; and therewith the whole company ceased their vain clapping, and, -as though awakened from an hypnotic seizure, hastened to jam themselves -into the heated, chattering mass which moved out of the brilliantly -lighted room and dispersed into the shadows of the halls and passages -beyond. - -Lady Muriel Blair, to all appearances the only cool young person in the -throng, led her perspiring partner towards a group of elderly women who -sat fanning themselves near an open window, beyond which the palms could -be seen redundant in the light of the moon. An enormous-bosomed matron, -wearing a diamond tiara upon her dyed brown hair, and a rope of pearls -about her naked pink shoulders, turned to her as she approached, and -smiled upon her in a patronizing manner. She was the wife of Sir Henry -Smith-Evered, Commander-in-chief of the British Forces in Egypt; and her -smile was highly valued in Cairo society. - -"You seem to be enjoying yourself, my dear," she said, taking hold of -the girl's hand. "But you mustn't get overtired in this heat. Wait -another month, until the weather is cool, and then you can dance all -night." - -"Oh, but I don't feel it at all," Lady Muriel replied, looking with mild -disdain at her partner's somewhat limp collar. "Father warned me that -October in Cairo would be an ordeal, but so far I've simply loved it." - -Her voice had that very slight suggestion of husky tiredness in it which -has a certain fascination. With her it was habitual. - -"You've only been in Egypt twenty-four hours," Lady Smith-Evered -reminded her. "You must be careful." - -"Careful!" the girl muttered, with laughing scorn. "I hate the word." - -Her good-looking little partner, Rupert Helsingham, ran his finger -around the inside of his collar, and adjusted his eyeglass. "Let's go -and sit on the veranda," he suggested. - -Lady Muriel turned an eye of mocking enquiry upon the General's lady, -who was her official chaperone (though the office had little, if any, -meaning); for, in a strange country and in a diplomatic atmosphere, it -was as well, she thought, to ascertain the proprieties. Lady -Smith-Evered, aware of dear little Rupert's strict regard on all -occasions for his own reputation, nodded acquiescence; and therewith the -young couple sauntered out of the room. - -"A charming girl!" remarked the stout chaperone, turning her heavily -powdered face to her companions. - -"She is beautiful," said Madam Pappadoulopolos, an expansive, -black-eyed, black-haired, black-moustached, black-robed figure, wife of -the Greek Consul-General. - -"She has the sort of monkey-beauty of all the Blairs," declared Mrs. -Froscombe, the gaunt but romantic wife of the British Adviser to the -Ministry of Irrigation. She spoke authoritatively. She had recently -purchased a richly illustrated volume dealing with the history of that -eminent family. - -"It is a great responsibility for Lord Blair," said Lady Smith-Evered. -"Now that poor Lady Blair has been dead for over a year, he felt that he -ought not to leave his only daughter, his only child, with her relations -in England any longer; and, of course, it is very right that she should -take her place as mistress here at the Residency, though I could really -have acted as hostess for him perfectly well." - -"Indeed yes," Madam Pappadoulopolos assented, warmly. - -"You have a genius for _that_ sort of thing," murmured Mrs. Froscombe, -staring out of the window at the moonlit garden. - -"Thank you, Gladys dear," said Lady Smith-Evered, smiling coldly at her -friend's averted face. - -Muriel Blair's type of beauty was in a way monkey-like, if so ludicrous -a term can be employed in a laudatory sense to describe a face of great -charm. She was of about the average height; her head was gracefully set -upon her excellent neck and shoulders; and there was a sort of airy -dignity in her carriage and step. Her enemies called her sullen at -times, and named her Moody Muriel; her friends, on the contrary, -described her as a personification of the spirit of Youth; while her -feminine intimates said that, except for her dislike of the cold, she -might have earned her living as a sculptor's model. - -She possessed a much to be envied mane of rather coarse brown hair which -she wore coiled high upon her head; and her skin was that of a brunette, -though there was some nice colour in her cheeks. Her eyes were good, and -she had the habit of staring at her friends, sometimes, in a manner -which seemed to indicate a fortuitous mimicry of childlike and -incredulous questioning. - -It was perhaps the tilt of her small nose and an occasional setting of -her jaw which caused her undoubted beauty to be called monkey-like; or -possibly it was the occasional defiance of her brown eyes, or the -puckering of her eyebrows, or sometimes the sudden and whimsical grimace -which she made when she was displeased. - -As she seated herself now in the moonlight and leant back in the basket -chair, Rupert Helsingham looked at her with admiration; and in the -depths of his worldly little twenty-five-year-old mind he anticipated -with pleasurably audacious hopes a season tinctured with romance. He -held the position of Oriental Secretary at the Residency, and was -considered to be a rising young man, something of an Arabic scholar, and -an expert on points of native etiquette. She was his chief's daughter, -and heiress to the Blair estates. Every day they would meet; and -probably, since she was rather adorable, he would fall in love with her, -and perhaps she with him. It was a charming prospect. - -His father had recently been created Baron Helsingham of Singleton. The -old gentleman was the first of an ancient race of village squires who -had ever performed any public service or received any royal recognition; -and now he, the son and heir, might very possibly make the first notable -matrimonial alliance of his line. - -"I wonder what's happened to my father," said Muriel, breaking the -silence engendered by Rupert's reflections. "I haven't seen him since -the how-d'you-doing business." - -His whereabouts was only of casual interest to her, for she regarded him -with no particular love, nor, indeed, did she know him at all -intimately. His duties had taken him abroad a great deal during her -childhood, while her education had kept her in England; and for the last -three or four years he had passed almost entirely out of her scheme of -things. - -"He's working in his study," her companion replied, pointing to the wing -of the house which went to form the angle wherein they were sitting. "He -always dictates his telegrams at this time: he says he feels more -benevolent after dinner. He'll come into the ballroom presently, and say -the correct thing to the correct people. He's a paragon of tact, and, I -can tell you, tact is needed here in Cairo! There's such a mixture of -nationalities to deal with. What languages do you speak?" - -"Only French," she replied. - -"Good!" he laughed. "Speak French to everybody: especially to those who -are not French. It makes them think that you think them cosmopolitan. -Everybody wants to be thought cosmopolitan in a little place like this: -it indicates that they have had the money to travel." - -"I shall look to you for guidance," said Muriel, opening her mouth to -yawn, and shutting it again as though remembering her manners. - -"I'll give you a golden rule to start with," he answered. "Be very -gracious to all foreigners, because every little politeness helps the -international situation, but behave how you like to English people, -because their social aspirations require them to speak of you as _dear_ -Lady Muriel, however fiercely they burn with resentment." - -Muriel smiled. She had a really fascinating smile, and her teeth were -worthy of the great care she gave to them. "And how must I treat an -Egyptian--I mean an Egyptian gentleman?" she enquired. - -"There isn't such a thing," he laughed, having very insular ideas as to -the meaning of the word. - -"Well, a Prince or a Pasha or whatever they're called?" - -"O, that's simple enough. If his colour is anything lighter than black -coffee, ask him if he's a Frenchman. He will protest vehemently, and cry -'Mais non!--je suis Egyptien.' But he'll love you for ever all the -same." - -Muriel gazed before her into the mystery of the garden. For a brief -moment she had the feeling that their conversation was at variance with -their surroundings, that the sweet night and the moon and the stately -trees were bidding them be silent. But the thought was gone almost -before it was recorded. - -From where she sat she looked across one side of the short circular -entrance-drive, and behind the acacias and slender palms, which grew -close up to the veranda, she could see the high white wall of the -garden, whereon the purple bougainvillea clustered. Through the ornate -bars of the great front gates she watched the regular passage to and fro -of the kilted sentry, the moonlight gleaming upon the bayonet fixed to -his rifle. Beyond, there was an open lamp-lit square, in the middle of -which a jet of sparkling water shot up from a marble fountain. - -Roses grew in profusion at the edges of the drive, and the gentle -night-wind brought their fragrance to her nostrils; while to her ears -came the rustling of the trees, the ringing tramp of the sentry's heavy -boots, and the subdued chatter of the resting dancers to whom this part -of the veranda was forbidden. In the clear Egyptian atmosphere so strong -was the moonlight that every detail of the scene was almost as apparent -as it would have been at high noon; and, between the houses on the -opposite side of the square, her vision travelled out over the ranges of -white buildings which gradually rose towards the towering Citadel and -the hills of the desert beyond. Here and there a minaret pierced the -sky, so slender that its stability seemed a marvel of balance; and -countless domes and cupolas gleamed like great pearls in the silvery -light. - -She was about to ask a further languid question of her partner in regard -to the ways of Cairene society when her attention was attracted by the -appearance of a man wearing a slouch hat, who came suddenly into view -beyond the bars of the gates and was at once accosted by the Scotch -sentry. He looked something of a ruffian, and the sentry seemed to be -acting correctly in barring the way with his rifle held in both hands -across his bare knees. - -A rapid argument followed, the exact words of which she could not quite -catch; but it was evident that the Scotchman was not going to admit any -suspicious character or possible anarchist on to the premises until he -had consulted with the native policeman who was to be seen hurrying -across the square. On the other hand the intruder appeared to be in a -hurry, and his voice had clearly to be controlled as he explained to the -zealous guardian of the gate that he had business at the Residency. But -the sentry was obdurately silent, and the voice of the speaker, in -consequence, increased in volume. - -"Now don't be silly," Muriel heard him say, "or I'll take your gun away -from you." - -At this she laughed outright, and, turning to her companion, suggested -that he should go and find out what was the trouble; but he shook his -head. - -"No," he said. "We can't be seen here behind these flower-pots: let's -watch what happens." - -The newcomer made a sudden forward movement; the sentry assumed an -attitude as though about to bayonet him, or to pretend to do so; there -was a rapid scuffle; and a moment later the rifle was twisted out of its -owner's brawny hands. - -The soldier uttered an oath, stepped back a pace, and like a lion, leapt -upon his assailant. There was a confused movement; the rifle dropped -with a clatter upon the pavement; and the Scotchman seized about the -middle in a grip such as he was unlikely ever to have experienced -before, turned an amazingly unexpected somersault, landing, like a clown -at the circus, in a sitting position in which he appeared to be staring -open-mouthed at the beauties of a thousand dazzling stars. - -Thereupon the ruffian quietly picked up the rifle, opened the gate, shut -it behind him, and walked up the drive; while the Egyptian policeman ran -to the soldier's assistance, blowing the while upon his whistle with all -the wind God had given him. - -The dazed sentry scrambled to his feet, and, with a curious crouching -gait, suggestive of the ring, followed the intruder into the drive. - -"Gi' me ma rifle," he said, hoarsely. It was evident that he was trying -to collect his wits; and his attitude was that of a wrestler looking for -an opening. - -The ruffian stood still, and in voluble Arabic ordered the policeman to -stop his noise, at which the bewildered native, as though impressed by -the peremptory words, obediently took the whistle out of his mouth and -stood irresolute. - -"Gi' me ma rifle," repeated the Scot, in injured tones, warily circling -around his cool opponent. - -Rupert Helsingham suddenly got up from his chair. "Why," he exclaimed, -"it's Daniel Lane! Excuse me a moment." - -He hurried down the steps of the veranda; and, with breathless interest, -Muriel watched the two men shake hands, the one a small dapper ballroom -figure, the other a large, muscular brigand, a mighty man from the -wilds. He wore a battered, broad-brimmed felt hat, an old jacket of thin -tweed, and grey flannel trousers which sagged at the knees and were -rolled up above a pair of heavy brown boots, covered with dust. - -With an air of complete unconcern he gave the rifle back to the abashed -sentry; and, putting his hand on Helsingham's shoulder, strolled towards -the veranda. - -"I've ridden in at top speed," he said, and Muriel noticed that his -voice was deep and quiet, and that there was a trace of an American -accent. "A hundred and fifty miles in under three days. Pretty good -going, considering how bad the tracks are up there." He jerked his thumb -in the direction of the western desert. - -"The Great Man will be very pleased," the other replied. 'The Great Man' -was the designation generally used by the diplomatic staff in speaking -of Lord Blair. - -As they ascended the steps Daniel Lane cast a pair of searching blue -eyes upon the resplendent figure of the girl in the chair. In the sheen -of the moon her dress, of flimsy material, seemed to array her as it -were in a mist; and the diamonds about her throat and in her hair--for -she was wearing family jewels--gleamed like magic points of light. - -"Got a party on?" he asked, with somewhat disconcerting directness. - -"A dance," Rupert Helsingham replied, stiffly, "in honour of Lady -Muriel's arrival. But let me introduce you." - -He turned to the girl, and effected the introduction. "Mr. Lane," he -said, "is one of your father's most trusted friends. I don't know what -we should do sometimes without his counsel and advice. He knows the -native mind inside out." - -Now that the man had removed his hat, Lady Muriel felt sure that she had -seen him before, but where, she could not recall. The face was -unforgettable. The broad forehead from which the rough mud-coloured hair -was thrown back; the heavy brows which screened the steady blue eyes; -the bronzed skin; the white, regular teeth--these features she had -looked at across a drawing-room somewhere. His bulk and figure, too, -were not of the kind to be forgotten easily: the powerful neck, the -great shoulders, the mighty chest, the strong hands, were all familiar -to her. - -"I think we've met before," she ventured. - -"Yes, I fancy we have," he replied. "Use'n't you to wear your hair in -two fat pigtails?" - -"Four years ago," she laughed. - -"Then I guess it was four years ago that we met," he said; and without -further remark he turned to Rupert Helsingham, asking whether and when -he might see Lord Blair. "I was going to ring at the side door there," -he explained, pointing to the door behind them which led directly into -the corridor before the Great Man's study. "That's my usual way in: I've -no use for the main entrance and the footman." - -"And not much real use for sentries, either," Muriel laughed. - -"The lad only did his duty," he answered good-humouredly, pointing to -his rough clothes; "but somehow things like fixed bayonets always make -me impatient. I must try to get over it." - -"If Lady Muriel will excuse me, I'll go and find out if his Lordship can -see you at once," said Helsingham, in his most official tone of voice. A -sentry after all is a sentry, not an acrobat; and if people will wear -the garments of a tramp, they must take the consequences. - -Daniel Lane thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared out into the -garden; while Muriel, left alone with him, was aware of a feeling of -awkwardness and a consequent sense of annoyance. His broad back was -turned to her--if not wholly, certainly sufficiently to suggest a lack -of deference, a lack, almost, of consciousness of her presence. - -A minute or two passed. She hoped that her polite little partner would -quickly return to take her back to the ballroom, in which the music had -again begun. She felt stupid and curiously tongue-tied. She wanted to -make some remark, if only as a reminder to him of his manners. - -The remark which at length she made, however, was foolish, and unworthy -of her: she knew this before the words had passed her lips. "You seem to -find the garden very interesting," she said. - -He turned round slowly, a whimsical smile upon his face. "Very," he -answered; and then, after an embarrassing pause, "I haven't seen any -roses for six months: I'm revelling in them." - -"Do you live in the desert?" she asked. - -"Yes, most of my time. It's a fine free life." - -"Oh, one can be free anywhere," she replied. She felt an indefinable -desire to be contrary. - -"Nonsense!" he answered, abruptly. "You don't call yourself free, do -you, in those diamonds and those absurd shoes?" - -He turned again to the garden and breathed in the scent of the roses, -with head thrown back. To Lady Muriel's joy Rupert Helsingham returned -at this moment, followed by a footman. - -"Lord Blair will see you at once," he said. - -The girl gave a sigh of relief which she hoped Mr. Lane would observe; -but in this she was disappointed, for, with a nod to her partner and a -good-natured bow to herself, he strode away. - -"A very odd fellow," remarked Helsingham, when they were alone once -more. "His manners are atrocious; but what can one expect from a man who -spends his life in the desert?" - -"What makes him live there?" she asked. - -He shrugged his shoulders. "Being a crank, I suppose. He's studying -Bedouin manners and customs, or something. He's a great Arabic scholar." - -"He made me feel rather uncomfortable," she said, as she rose from her -chair and laid her fingers on her partner's arm. - -"Yes, he's boorish," he replied, smoothing his sleek, dark hair with his -disengaged hand. - -"It isn't that, quite," she corrected him, her eyebrows puckering. "But -he made me feel that I was of no importance whatsoever, and, being a -woman, I resented it. He brushed me aside, like the sentry." - -"He was probably shy," her companion suggested, for conciliation was his -_mtier_. "And of course he must have been tired after that long ride." - -"No," she said, as they entered the ballroom, "I don't think he was in -the least bit shy; and, as for being tired, could anything make a man of -that kind tired? He looks like a Hercules, or a Samson, or something -unconquerable of that sort." - -Rupert Helsingham glanced quickly at her. There was a tone in her voice -which suggested that their visitor's personality had at once imposed -itself on her mind. Women, he understood, were often attracted by -masculine strength and brutality. He had known cases where an assumption -of prehistoric manners had been eminently successful in the seduction of -the weaker sex, painfully more successful, indeed, than had been his own -well-bred dalliance with romance. - -A school-friend had told him once that no girl could resist the man who -took her by the throat, or pulled back her head by the hair, or, better -still, who picked her up in his arms and bit her in the neck. He -wondered whether Lady Muriel was heavy, and, with a sort of timorous -audacity, he asked himself whether she would be likely to enjoy being -bitten. He would have to be careful of Daniel Lane: he did not want any -rivals. - -She led him across to the three elderly ladies. He was her partner also -for the present dance; but Muriel, throwing herself into a chair beside -Lady Smith-Evered, told him that she would prefer not to take the floor. -He glanced at the forbidding aspect of the three, and admired what he -presumed to be her self-sacrifice in the interests of diplomacy. - -"Rupert, my dear," said the General's wife, "do be an angel and bring us -some ices." - -"What a willing little fellow he is," murmured Mrs. Froscombe, as he -hurried away on his errand, and there was a tone of derision in her -voice. - -"He's always very helpful," Lady Smith-Evered retorted, somewhat -sharply, for he was her pet. - -"I think he's a dear," said Muriel. "Nice manners are a tremendous -asset. I hate churlishness." - -"I think you seldom meet with churlishness in Englishmen," remarked -Madam Pappadoulopolos. Her husband had told her to flatter the English -whenever she could. - -Muriel laughed. "I don't know so much about that," she replied. "On the -veranda just now I met an Englishman who, to say the least, was not -exactly courteous." - -"Oh, who was that?" asked her chaperone, with interest. - -"A certain Daniel Lane," she replied. - -Lady Smith-Evered gave a gesture of impatience. "Oh, _that_ man!" she -exclaimed. "He's in Cairo again, is he? He's an absolute outsider." - -"What is he?--What's he do?" Muriel asked, desiring further particulars. - -"Ah! That's the mystery," said Lady Smith-Evered, with a look of -profound knowing. "Incidentally, my dear, he is said to keep a harm of -Bedouin women somewhere out in the desert. I shouldn't be surprised if -every night he beat them all soundly and sent them where the rhyme -says." - -She laughed nastily, and Muriel made a grimace. - - - - -CHAPTER II--THE FREEDOM OF THE DESERT - - -Lord Blair rose from his chair as the door opened, and removed from his -thin, furtive nose a pair of large horn-rimmed spectacles which he -always wore when quite alone in his study. - -"Come in, come in, my dear Mr. Lane," he exclaimed, taking a few blithe -steps forward and shaking his visitor warmly by the hand. "I'm very -well, thank you, very well indeed, and so are you, I see. That's right, -that's good,--splendid! Dear me, what physique! What a picture of -health! How did you get here so quickly?--do take a seat, do be seated. -Yes, yes, to be sure! Have a cigar? Now, where did I put my cigars?" - -He pushed a leather arm-chair around, so that it faced his own desk -chair, and began at once to hunt for his cigar-box, lifting and -replacing stacks of papers and books, glancing rapidly, like some sort -of rodent, around the room, and then again searching under his papers. - -"Thanks," said Daniel Lane, "I'll smoke my pipe, if it won't make you -sick." - -"Tut, tut!" Lord Blair laughed, extending his delicate hands in a -comprehensive gesture. "I sometimes smoke a pipe myself: I enjoy it. A -good, honest, English smoke! Dear me, where _are_ my cigars?" - -Lord Blair was a little man of somewhat remarkable -appearance--remarkable, that is to say, when considered in relation to -his historic name and excellent diplomatic record. In a company of -elderly club waiters he would, on superficial observation, have passed -unnoticed. He bore very little resemblance to his daughter; and, in -fact, he was often disposed to believe his late wife's declaration, made -whenever she desired to taunt him, that Muriel was no child of his. Lady -Blair had had many lovers; and it is notorious that twenty odd years ago -in Mayfair there was an exceptionally violent epidemic of adultery. - -He himself had thin auburn hair, now nearly grey, neatly parted in the -middle; nervous, quick-moving brown eyes; closely cut 'mutton-chop' -whiskers; an otherwise clean-shaven, sharp-featured face; and a wide -mouth, furnished with two somewhat apparent rows of false teeth. His -smile was kindly and gracious, and his expression, in spite of a certain -vigilance, mild. - -The evening dress which he was now wearing was noteworthy in four -particulars: his collar was so big for him that one might suppose that, -in moments of danger, his head totally disappeared into it; his bow-tie -was exceptionally wide and large; his links and studs were, as such -things go, enormous; and the legs of his trousers were cut so tightly as -to be bordering on the comic. In other respects there was nothing -striking in his appearance, except, perhaps, a general cleanliness, -almost a fastidiousness, especially to be noticed in the polished -surface of his chin and jaw, and in his carefully manicured -finger-nails. - -Daniel Lane pulled out his pipe and began to fill it from a worn old -pouch. "Please don't bother about cigars," he said, as Lord Blair -extended his hand towards the bell. "Tell me why you sent for me. Your -letter was brought over from El Homra by a nigger corporal of your -precious frontier-patrol, who nearly lamed his camel in trying to do the -thirty miles in under four hours. My Bedouin friends thought at the very -least that the King of England was dying and wished to give me his -blessing." - -"Dear, dear!--it was not so urgent as all that," his Lordship replied. -"I told them to mark the letter "Express," but I trust, I do trust, the -message itself was not peremptory." - -"Not at all," the other replied. "I was mighty glad of an excuse to come -into Cairo; I wanted to do some shopping; and there was another reason -also. A young cousin of mine--in the Guards--has come to Cairo, with his -regiment, and I ought to see him about some family business. I should -probably have let it slide if you hadn't sent for me. Tell me, what's -your trouble?" - -"Ah, that's the point!--you always come to the point quickly. It's -capital, capital!" Lord Blair leaned forward and tapped his friend's -knee with a sort of affection. "I don't know where I should be without -your advice, Mr. Lane--Daniel: may I call you Daniel?" - -"Sure," said Daniel, laconically. - -"When I came here two years ago, my predecessor said to me 'When in -doubt, send for Daniel Lane.' Do you remember how worried, indeed how -shaken--yes, I may say shaken--I was by the Michael Pasha affair? How -you laughed! Dear me, you were positively rude to me; and how right you -were! Personally I should have had him deported: it never occurred to me -to convert him into a friend." - -His visitor smiled. "'Bind a brave enemy with the chains of -absolution,'" he said. - -"Yes, yes, very true," replied Lord Blair, still hunting about for the -cigars. "Very true, very daring: a policy for brave men." He started -into rigidity, as though at a sudden thought: one might have supposed -that he had recollected where he had put the cigars. "Daniel!" he -exclaimed, "you bring with you an air of the medival! That's it! One -always forgets that Egypt is medival." - -Daniel blew a cloud of oriental tobacco-smoke through his nostrils, at -which his host frenziedly renewed his search for the less pungent -cigars. "About this business you want to ask my advice upon ...?" he -asked. - -"Ah yes, you must be tired," his Lordship murmured. "You want to go to -bed after your long ride. Let me put you up here. I'll ring and have a -room prepared." - -"No thanks," said Daniel, firmly. "I've left my kit at the Orient Hotel. -But fire away, and I'll give you my opinion either at once or in the -morning." - -Lord Blair laid his thin fingers upon a document, and handed it to his -friend. "Read that," he said, and therewith leaned back in his chair, -his dark eyes glancing anxiously about the room. - -The document was written in Arabic, and beneath the flowing script a -secretary had pencilled an English translation. "The translation is -appended," remarked his Lordship, as Daniel bent forward to study the -paper in the light of the electric reading-lamp. - -"I prefer the original," he replied, with a smile, "I don't trust -translations: they lose the spirit." - -For some considerable time there was silence. Suddenly Lord Blair rose -from his chair, and hurried across to a cupboard, from which he returned -bearing in triumph the missing cigars. He proffered them to his visitor, -who, without raising his eyes, took one, smelt it, and put it in his -breast pocket. - -At length, through a cloud of smoke, Daniel looked up. "The man's a -fool," he said, and laid the paper back upon the table. - -"You think I ought to refuse?" asked Lord Blair. - -"No, procrastinate. That's the basis of diplomacy, isn't it?" - -The document in question was a request made by the Egyptian Minister of -War that the nomadic Bedouin tribes of the desert should be brought -under the Conscription Act, from which, until now, they had been exempt. - -"I ventured to ask you to come in," said his Lordship, "because I am -sure, indeed I know, you have the interests of these rascals at heart. I -thought you would wish to be consulted; and at the same time I felt that -you would be able to tell me just what the consequences would be of any -action of this kind." - -Daniel nodded. "Yes, I can tell you the consequences," he answered. "If -you conscribe them, they will evade the law by all possible means, and -you will turn honest men into law-breakers." - -"But, as you see, he suggests that it will bring the benefits of -discipline into their lives," Lord Blair argued. "And if some of them -escape across the frontiers into Arabia or Tripoli, it will be, surely -it will be, no great loss to Egypt." - -Daniel spread out his hands. "What is military discipline?" he asked. -"Good Lord!--d'you think the Bedouin will be better men for having -learnt to form fours and present arms? Will barrack life in dirty cities -bring them some mystic benefit which they have missed in the open spaces -of the clean desert? Don't you realize that it is just their freedom -from the taint of what we call civilization that gives them their -particular good qualities? Why is it that the man of the desert is -faithful and honourable and truthful? Because time and money and power -and ambition and success and cunning are nothing to him. Because he is -not herded with other men." - -He leant forward earnestly. "Lord Blair," he said, and his voice was -grave, "hasn't the thought ever come to you that we civilized people, -with our rules and regulations, our etiquette and our conventions, have -built up a structure which screens us from the face of the sun?" - -"Ah, yes, indeed, my dear Daniel," he replied. "Back to the land: the -simple life: Fresh Air Fund--a capital sentiment. But, you know, I am -very anxious, most anxious, not to offend this particular minister--most -anxious." - -His visitor relapsed into silence, and the volume of smoke which issued -from his mouth was some indication that he had much to say which he -preferred to leave unsaid. - -At length he took the pipe from between his teeth. "You had better fix -your frontiers first," he declared. "There'll be a fine old row if -Egyptian patrols blunder into foreign territory. There's your chance for -procrastination. Send out a commission to settle the desert frontiers -definitely. That'll keep you all wrangling comfortably for five years." - -"Ah!--that is an idea, a very good idea," replied Lord Blair, bringing -the tips of the fingers of one hand against those of the other sharply -and repeatedly. - -"Write to the minister," Daniel went on, "and tell him you don't -altogether agree with him, but that you will consent to the preliminary -step of fixing the frontiers. Before that's accomplished you may both be -dead." - -"I trust not, I trust not," murmured Lord Blair. - -"Or retired," said his friend; and his Lordship nodded his thanks for -the correction. - -It was not long before Daniel rose to take his departure. "Oh, by the -way," he said, with a broad smile, "I have one little favor to ask -you...." - -"Certainly, certainly," responded Lord Blair warmly. "Anything I can do, -I'm sure--anything. You have put me under a great obligation by coming -so promptly to my aid in this matter." - -"Well, will you be so good as to walk as far as your front gate with me? -There's something I want to show you." - -Lord Blair, somewhat mystified, accompanied him on to the veranda; and -here they chanced upon Lady Muriel again taking the air with Rupert -Helsingham who was once more her partner. The couple were strolling -towards them as they came out of the house. - -Daniel made for the steps. "What I want you to see is over here," he -said, pointing to the gateway. - -"One moment," Lord Blair interjected, taking hold of his arm. "I want to -introduce you to my daughter." - -He called Muriel to him, who replied somewhat coldly that she had -already met Mr. Lane. - -"Really?" exclaimed his Lordship. "Splendid, capital!" - -"Yes," said Daniel, taking his pipe out of his mouth, "when she was -quite a kid; but I'm blest if I know where it was." - -He was standing again almost with his back to Muriel, his pipe between -his teeth, and once more a sense of annoyance entered her mind. She -would have liked to pinch him, but for all she knew he might turn round -and fling her into the middle of the drive. She racked her brains for -something to say, something which would show him that she was not to be -ignored in this fashion. - -"Ah," she exclaimed suddenly, "now I remember. It was in the Highlands -that we met. You came over to tea with us: I was staying with my cousin -the Duchess of Strathness." - -Daniel scratched his head. "I'm so bad at names," he said. "What's she -like?" - -Lord Blair uttered a sudden guffaw, but Muriel did not treat the matter -so lightly. A man with gentlemanly instincts, she thought to herself, -would at any rate _pretend_ he remembered. - -"Oh, why bother to think it out?" she answered, her foot ominously -tapping the floor. "It's of no consequence." - -"None," Daniel replied, looking at her with his steady laughing eyes. -"You're still you, and I'm still I.... But I did like your pigtails." - -Muriel turned to her partner, who stood anxiously fiddling with his -eyeglass. "Come along," she said; "let's go back. The music's begun -again." - -She nodded with decided coolness to Daniel, and turned away. He gazed -after her in silence for a moment; then he put his hand on her father's -arm, and gently propelled him towards the gates. - -As they walked down the drive in the moonlight, the sentry peered at -them through the iron bars, and, recognizing Lord Blair, suddenly -presented arms, becoming thereat a very passable imitation of a waxwork -figure. - -Lord Blair put his arm in Daniel's. "What is it you wanted to show me?" -he asked, as they passed through the gate and stood upon the pavement -outside. - -"A good soldier," said Daniel, indicating the sentry, whose face assumed -an expression of mingled anxiety and astonishment. "I wanted to call -your attention to this lad. Do you think you could put in a word for him -to his colonel? I was very much struck this evening with the way in -which he dealt with a ruffianly tramp who apparently wanted to get into -the grounds. He showed great self-restraint combined with determination -and devotion to duty." There was not the trace of a smile upon his face. - -Lord Blair turned to the rigid Scotchman, whose mouth had fallen open. -"What's your name, my man?" he asked. - -"John Macdonald, me Lord," he answered unsteadily. - -"Now, will you make a note of it?" said Daniel. "And if you get a -chance, recommend him for his soldierly conduct. Or, better still, send -him a little present as a mark of your regard." - -"Certainly, certainly," replied Lord Blair, still somewhat puzzled. - -"Thanks, that's all," said Daniel. "Good-night." - -"Will you come to luncheon tomorrow?" Lord Blair asked, as they shook -hands. "I will then show you the draft of my reply to the Minister of -War." - -"Thank you," Daniel answered, knocking the ashes from his pipe. "I'll be -delighted, if it isn't a party. I haven't got any respectable clothes -with me." - -"Tut, tut!" murmured his Lordship. "Come in anything you like." And with -that he patted his friend on the arm, and hastened with little tripping -steps back to the house. - -Daniel put his hands in his pockets and faced the sentry, who was once -more standing at ease. "John Macdonald," he said, "is the account -square?" - -The Scotchman looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Ye mus' na' -speak tae th' sentry on duty," he answered. - -Daniel uttered a chuckle, and walked off across the square. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE WORLD AND THE FLESH - - -When a man, in the heyday of his manhood, voluntarily lives the life of -a monk or hermit, his friends suppose him to be either religious, -defective, or possessed of a secret mistress. Now, nobody supposed -Daniel Lane to be religious, for he seldom put his foot inside a church: -and people seem to be agreed that religion is, as it were, black kid -gloves, handed out with the hymnbooks and, like them, "not to be taken -away." Nor did anybody think him abnormal, for a figure more sane, more -healthy, or more robust in its unqualified manhood, could not easily be -conjured before the imagination. - -Hence the rumour had arisen in Cairo that the daughters of the Bedouin -were not strangers to him; but actually, like most rumours, this was -entirely incorrect. He did, in very truth, live the life of a celibate -in his desert home; and if this manner of existence chanced to be in -accord with his ideas of bachelorhood, it was certainly in conformity -with the nature of his surroundings. Some men are not attracted by a -diet of onions, or by a skin-polish of castor oil. - -When he had been commissioned by a well-known scientific institute to -make a thorough study of the manners, customs, and folk-lore of the -Bedouin tribes of the Egyptian desert, he had entered upon his task in -the manner of one dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge; and he found in -the life he was called upon to lead the opportunity for the practice of -those precepts of the philosophers which, in spite of his impulsive -nature, had ever appealed to him in principle during the course of his -wide reading. - -Almost unwittingly he had cultivated the infinite joys of a mind free -from care, free from the desires of the flesh; and, with no apparent, -or, at any rate, no great effort, he had established in himself a -condition of undisturbed equanimity, by virtue of which he could smile -benevolently at the frantic efforts of his fellow men and women to make -life amusing. To him his existence in the desert was a continuous -pleasure, for the great secret of human life had been revealed to -him--that a mind at peace in itself is happiness. - -But here in Cairo circumstances were different; and as he walked from -the Residency through the moonlit streets to the Orient Hotel his -thoughts were by no means tranquil. He did not feel any very noticeable -fatigue after his long ride; for a series of recent expeditions through -the desert had hardened him to such a point that the hundred and fifty -miles which he had covered in the last three days had in no way strained -his always astonishing physical resources. His senses were alert and -active, and, indeed, were near to a riotous invasion of the placid -palace of his mind, where his soul was wont to sit enthroned above the -clamour of his mighty body. - -He took the road which led him past the Semiramis Hotel, and through its -brilliantly illuminated windows he could see the richly dressed throng -of visitors, and could hear the strains of the orchestra which was -playing selections from a popular musical comedy. He turned his head -away, and gazed across the Nile which lay on his other hand; but here -too the lights of the gay city glittered and were reflected in the -water, while from a dahabiyah moored against the opposite bank there -came the sound of tambourines and the rhythmic beating of the feet of -native dancers. - -In the main streets of the city the light of the lamps seemed strangely -bright to his unaccustomed eyes; and the great square in front of the -Orient Hotel presented an animated scene. Crowds of people were here -streaming out of the Opera House, and carriages and automobiles were -moving in all directions. The trees of the Esbekieh gardens were -illuminated by the neighbouring arc lamps, and rich clusters of exotic -flowers hung down towards the dazzling globes. The cafs on the other -side of the square were crowded, and hundreds of small tables, standing -in the open, were occupied by the native and continental inhabitants of -the city. The murmur of many voices and the continuous rattle of dice -upon the marble table-tops could be heard above the many sounds of the -traffic; and somewhere a Neapolitan orchestra was playing a lilting -tune. - -The terrace and faade of the hotel were illuminated by numerous rows of -small electric globes, and as Daniel ascended the steps to the -brilliantly lighted main entrance he was met by a throng of men and -women in evening dress pouring out on to the terrace. Evidently the -weekly ball was in progress, and the couples were emerging into the cool -night air to rest for a few brief moments from their exertions. - -For some time he wandered about the hotel, furtively watching the -dancers; but in his rough clothes he did not feel quite at his ease, and -he was conscious that many pairs of eyes looked at him from time to time -with wonder, while those of the hall-porter and the waiters, so he -thought, expressed frank disapproval, if not disgust. He had no wish, -however, to retire to his room; for the music of the orchestra would -undoubtedly prevent sleep for yet some time to come. Moreover, he felt -excited and disturbed by the brilliant scenes around him; and the -seclusion of his desert home seemed very far away. - -At length he found a seat upon a sofa at the end of a passage near the -American Bar, where, except during the intervals between the dances, he -was more or less alone; and here he settled himself down to enjoy the -cigar which he had pocketed at the Residency. He wanted to be quiet; his -mind was disturbed by his sudden incursion into the world, and he was -aware of a number of emotions which he had not experienced for many -months. - -Suddenly the swinging doors of the Bar were burst open and a red-headed -young man, muffled in an overcoat, sprang through and darted down the -passage. He was clutching at a lady's gold bag; and for a moment Daniel -supposed him to be a thief. An instant later, however, he was followed -by a girl, wearing an evening cloak and a large black hat, who called -after him in broken English, telling him to behave himself. At this the -man paused, tossed the bag to her, and, with a wave of his hand, -disappeared round the corner. - -The bag fell at Daniel's feet. He therefore stooped down, and, picking -it up, returned it to her. - -"A silly boy--that one," she smiled. "He like always the rag." - -"I nearly shot him for a thief," said Daniel, placing his hand -significantly upon his hip-pocket, where he still carried the revolver -which had accompanied him on his journey. - -The girl fixed her large dark eyes upon him in amazement. "Mais non!" -she exclaimed. "He has the red hair: he like joking and running about." - -She sat herself down beside him, and made a pretence to touch his -hip-pocket. - -"Why you carry a pistol?" she asked. - -Daniel looked at her with mild amusement. Her profession was evident, -but it did not shock him. - -"Because I'm a wild man," he answered, with a smile. - -"You not live in Cairo?" she queried. - -"No fear!" he replied. - -There was silence for some moments, while Daniel, smoking his cigar, -endeavoured to ignore her existence. Once or twice she looked -expectantly at him: it was evident that she could not quite classify -him. Then she rose to her feet, and, with a little friendly nod to him, -walked towards the swinging doors. - -Daniel suddenly felt lonely, felt that he would like to have somebody to -talk to, felt that he could keep any situation within bounds, felt that -he did not much mind whether he could do so or not. He took the cigar -out of his mouth, forming an instant resolution: "Hi!" he called out. - -She turned round. "Why you call me 'Hi'?" she asked. "I'm Lizette." - -"I beg your pardon," he answered, gravely. "Will you have supper with -me, Lizette?" - -"Have you got enough money?" she asked. - -"Plenty," he laughed. "Shall we have supper here?" - -She shook her head, "Oh, no," she replied frankly. "The Manager not like -me, because I'm not good girl. Everybody know Lizette--very bad, very -wicked girl. Everybody are shocked for Lizette." - -"I'm not shocked," said Daniel. "I like your face. You look truthful." - -He got up, and followed her into the bar, and, crossing it, made for the -street-entrance. - -"You give me supper at Berto's?" she said, putting her hand lightly upon -his arm, and looking up at him, as they stood upon the pavement outside. - -"Anywhere you like," he answered; and thus it came about that a few -minutes later he found himself seated before her at a small table in a -quiet restaurant. She was decidedly attractive. Her grey eyes were -tender and sympathetic; the expression of her mouth was kindly; and her -dark hair, which was drawn down over her ears, was soft and alluring. -She was wearing a low-necked black-velvet dress, and her slender throat -and shoulders by contrast seemed to be very white. - -Her broken English, however, was her chiefest charm; and Daniel listened -with pleasure as she talked away, candidly answering his somewhat direct -questions in regard to her early life and adventures. She hailed -originally, she told him, from Marseilles; but when her widowed mother -had died she had found herself at the age of seventeen, alone and -penniless. She had got into bad company, and at length had been advised -by a well-meaning young British guardsman, on his way to Egypt, to ply -her trade in Cairo. Here she had become a great favourite with his -particular battalion, and in fact, was so monopolized by them that when -she was seen in the company of a civilian her action was said to be "by -kind permission of the Colonel and officers" of the regiment in -question. - -"Good Lord, what a life!" said Daniel. - -"But what else can a girl do," she asked, "after the little first -mistake, eh? I get plenty good food; I not work eight hours, ten hours, -every day to get thirty francs the week; I not live in the little top -one room and cry: no, I have the beautiful _appartements au premier -tage_, and I laugh always--plenty friends, plenty dresses, plenty sun." - -At a table at the other side of the room, Daniel had noticed, while she -was talking, a heavy-jowled, red-faced young officer who was seated -alone, and whose sullen eyes appeared to be fixed upon him. The girl's -back was turned to this man; but presently she observed that her -companion was not paying attention to her remarks, and, wondering what -had attracted his attention, she looked behind her. Immediately she -uttered a little angry exclamation, and made an impatient shrug with her -shoulders. - -"That is a beast," she said. - -"He's drunk, I think," Daniel remarked. "Is he a friend of yours?" - -She made a gesture of denial. "He hate me because I not let him come -home with me ever." - -"Why not?" he asked. - -"Because he very cruel pig-man. He beat his dog. I see him beat his -dog." - -They rose presently to leave the restaurant, and as they did so the -objectionable officer floundered unsteadily to his feet, and placed -himself across the doorway. As in the case of most men of gigantic -physical strength, Daniel's nature was gentle, and wanting in all -bellicose tendencies; and, moreover, he had already once that evening -used his muscles in a manner which did not conform to his principles. He -therefore made an attempt to take no notice of the obstruction; but -finding the way entirely barred, he was obliged to request the man to -stand aside. The officer, however, stood his ground stolidly. - -Daniel raised his voice very slightly. "Will you kindly get out of the -way," he said. - -For answer the man shot out his hand, and made an ineffectual grab at -the girl's arm. She darted aside, and by a quick manoeuvre slipped out -through the glass doorway, standing thereafter in the entrance passage, -watching the two men with an expression of anger in her alert eyes. - -It was now Daniel's turn to bar the way, whereat his opponent thrust his -red face forward and uttered a string of oaths, his fists clenched. - -"I don't stand any nonsense from a damned civilian," he roared. "Let me -pass, or I'll put my fist through your face." - -Suddenly Daniel's self-control for the second time deserted him. He -blushed with shame for his countryman; he burnt with indignation at the -arrogance of this product of a militaristic age; he felt like an -exasperated schoolmaster dealing with a bully. With a quick movement he -gripped the man's raised arm, and seizing with his other hand the collar -of his tunic, shook him so that his head was bumped violently against -the wall behind him. - -"I don't believe in violence," he said, shaking him till the teeth -rattled in his head, "or I'd really hurt you. I don't believe in it." - -In his tremendous grip the wretched man was, in spite of his bulk, as -entirely powerless as the sentry at the Residency had been. His eyes -grew round and frightened: he had never before come up against strength -such as Daniel possessed. - -"Let me go," he gasped. - -"Shut your mouth, or you'll bite your tongue," said Daniel, a grim smile -upon his face, as he administered another shattering shake. Then with a -contemptuous movement he flung him backwards, so that he fell to the -floor at the feet of an amazed waiter who had hurried across the room. - -Daniel turned upon his heel, and, taking the girl's arm, conducted her -out of the building. She appeared to be too enthralled by the -discomfiture of her enemy to utter a word. - -An empty taxi-cab was passing, and this he hailed. - -"Where d'you want to go to?" he asked. - -She gave him her address. "You are coming home with me?" she asked. -"Please do." Her expression was eloquent. - -"I'll drive you as far as your door," he replied. - -"But...?" There was a question in her eyes. - -He sat himself down beside her, and she put her arm in his, looking up -into his face with admiration. - -"I never see a one so strong," she whispered, with a kind of awe. "I -think you very great man, very to be loved." - -Daniel laughed ironically, "Oh, yes, of course you're filled with -admiration because you've seen me handle a poor drunken fellow-creature -roughly. My girl, that is not the thing for which you should admire a -man. I'm ashamed of myself." - -"Ashamed?" she exclaimed, incredulously. - -"Yes," he answered, shortly. "D'you think I'm proud that I can master -any man in a fair fight? What I want to be able to do is to master -_myself_!" - -There was silence between them, but he was aware that she did not take -her eyes from him. At length he turned and looked at her and, seeing the -admiration in her face, laughed aloud. - -"Why you laugh?" she asked. - -"I'm laughing at you women," he answered. "How you love a little show of -muscle! Good God, we might be living in the year one!" - -"I not understand," she said. - -"No, I don't suppose you do," he answered. "But here we are: is this -where you live?" - -They had stopped before some large buildings in the vicinity of the main -station. She nodded her head. - -"Please don't go away," she said. - -"No," he answered. "I've had enough of the world, the flesh, and the -devil for one day. I guess we'll meet again some time or other. Good -night, my girl; and thank you for your company." - -She held her hand in his. "Thank you," she said, "for fighting that -pig-man, Barthampton." - -"Barthampton? Lord Barthampton?" he repeated. "Was that the man?" - -She nodded. "Why?" she asked, as he uttered a low whistle. - -"Gee!" he laughed. "He's my own cousin." - - - - -CHAPTER IV--A JACKAL IN A VILLAGE - - -Tired after the dance, Lady Muriel stayed upstairs next day until the -luncheon hour. The long windows of her room led out on to a balcony -which, being on the west side of the house, remained in the shade for -most of the morning; and here in a comfortable basket chair, she lay -back idly glancing at the week-old magazines and illustrated papers -which the mail had just brought from England. While the sun was not yet -high in the heavens the shadow cast by the house was broad enough to -mitigate to the eyes the glare of the Egyptian day; and every now and -then she laid down her literature to gaze at the brilliant scene before -her. - -The grounds of the Residency, with the rare flowering trees and imported -varieties of palm, the masses of variegated flowers and the fresh-sown -lawns of vivid grass, looked like well-kept Botanical Gardens, and -appealed more to her cultivated tastes than to the original emotions of -her nature. It was all very elegant and civilized and pleasing, and -seemed correspondent to the charming new garment--all silk and lace and -ribbons--which she was wearing, and to the fashionable literature which -she was reading. She, the balcony, the garden, and the deep blue sky -might have been a picture on the cover of a society journal. - -But when she raised her eyes, and looked over the Nile, which flowed -past the white terrace at the bottom of the lawn, and allowed her gaze -to rest upon the long line of the distant desert on the opposite bank, -the aspect of things, outward and inward, was altered; and momentarily -she felt the play of disused or wholly novel sensations lightly touching -upon her heart. - -So far she was delighted with her experience of Egypt. She enjoyed the -heat; she was charmed by the somewhat luxurious life at the Residency; -and the deference paid to her as the Great Man's daughter amused and -pleased her. At the dance the previous night she had met half a dozen -very possible young officers; and the secretaries whom she saw every day -were pleasant enough, little Rupert Helsingham being quite amusing. That -afternoon she was going to ride with him, which would be jolly.... - -There was, however, one small and almost insignificant source of unease -in her mind, one little blot upon the enjoyment of the last two or three -days. A ruffianly fellow had treated her in a manner bordering on -rudeness, and in his presence she had felt stupid. He had shown at first -complete indifference to her, and later he had spoken with a sort of -easy familiarity which suggested a long experience in dealing with her -sex, but no ability to discriminate between the bondwoman and the free. -And she had behaved as a bondwoman. - -The recollection caused her now to tap her foot angrily upon the tiled -floor, and to draw the delicate line of her eyebrows into a puckered -frown. The thought which lay at the root of her discomfort was this: she -had pretended that their previous meeting had been at the house of the -Duchess of Strathness simply because she had been lashed into a desire -to assert her own standing in response to his lack of respect. The -Duchess was her most exalted relative: she was a Royal Princess who had -married the Duke, and the Duke was cousin to her mother. She knew quite -well that she had not met Mr. Lane there: she had uttered the words -before her nicer instincts had had time to prevail. - -She had said it in self-defence--to make an impression; and his reply, -whether he had meant it as a snub or not, had stung her. "I'm so bad at -names: what's she like?" Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta Maria, -Duchess of Strathness! Of course it was a snub; and she had deserved it. -He couldn't have made a more shattering reply: he couldn't have said -more plainly to her "Now, no airs with me, please!--to me you are just -you." - -The recollection of the incident was unpleasant; it made her feel small. -She had behaved no better than the servants and shopkeepers who delight -to speak in familiar terms of duchesses and dukes. However!... she did -not suppose that she would see the man again: he belonged to the desert, -not to Cairo; and with this consolation, she dismissed the matter from -her mind. - -When at last she descended the stairs at the sound of the gong, she came -upon General Smith-Evered, who had called to see Lord Blair upon some -matter of business, and was just stumping across the hall on his way -out. He was a very martial little man. He greeted her with jocularity -tempered by deference; he kissed her hand in what he believed to be a -very charming old-world manner; he told her what a radiant vision she -made as she walked down the great staircase in her pretty summer dress; -he described himself as a bluff old soldier fairly bowled over by her -youthful grace; and he slapped his leggings with his cane and gloves and -kissed his fingers to England, home and beauty. - -Muriel knew the type well--in real life, on the stage, and in the comic -papers; nevertheless, she felt pleased with the rotund compliments, and -there was a pleasurable sense of well-being in her mind as she entered -the drawing-room. Here the sun-blinds shaded the long French windows, -and the light in the room was so subdued that she did not observe at -once that she was not alone. She had paused to rearrange a vase of -flowers which stood upon a small table, when a movement behind her -caused her to turn; and she found herself face to face with Daniel Lane, -who had just risen from the sofa. - -"Good morning!" he said, gravely looking at her with his deep-set blue -eyes. - -Her heart sank: she felt like a schoolgirl in the presence of a master -who had lately punished her. "Oh, good morning," she answered, but she -did not offer him her hand. - -She turned again to the flowers. "Are you waiting to see my father?" she -asked, as she aimlessly withdrew a rose from the bunch and inserted it -again at another angle. - -"I've come to lunch," he said. "I'm early, I suppose. My watch is -busted." - -Deeper sank her heart. "No, you're not early," she replied, "the gong's -gone." - -"Good!" he exclaimed; "then you haven't got a party. I was shy about my -clothes." - -He was wearing the same clothes in which she had seen him the night -before, except that he appeared to have a clean collar and shirt, his -hair was carefully combed back, and he had evidently visited a barber. - -"Do sit down," she said. - -"Thanks," he answered, and remained where he was, his hands deep in the -pockets of his jacket, and his eyes fixed upon her. - -There was an awkward pause, awkward, that is to say, to Muriel, who -could not for the life of her think what to talk about. - -"Will you smoke a cigarette?" she asked, handing him the box as a -preliminary to an escape from the room. - -He took it from her unthinkingly, and, without opening it, put it down -upon a table. - -"I've remembered where it was we met," he remarked suddenly, as she -moved towards the door. - -"Really?" There was a note of assumed indifference in her voice; and, as -she turned and came back to him, she made a desperate attempt to emulate -the cucumber. She felt that there was a challenge in his words, in face -of which she could not honourably run away. - -"Yes," he said. "It was at Eastbourne, at your school. I came down to -see your head mistress, who was a friend of mine; and they let you come -into the drawing-room to tea." - -A wave of recollection passed over her mind. "Of course," she exclaimed, -"that was it." - -They had let her, they had _allowed_ her, to come into the drawing-room -to have the honour of making his acquaintance! She paused: the scene of -their meeting developed in her mind. A girl had rushed into the -schoolroom where she was reading, and had told her that she and one or -two others were to go into the drawing-room to make themselves polite to -this man, who was described as a great scholar and explorer. She had -gone in shyly, and had shaken hands with him, and he had stared at her -and, later, had turned his back on her; and, after he had gone, the -headmistress had commended her manners as having been quiet, ladylike, -and respectful. Respectful! - -He was smiling at her when she looked up at him once more. "You were -wrong about it being at your cousin's," he said. - -Muriel felt as though she had been smacked. "Oh, I only suggested that," -she replied, witheringly, "to help you out. I didn't really suppose that -you knew her." - -"I know very few people," he answered, unmoved. "I can't afford the -time. Life is such a 'brief candle' that a man has to choose one of its -two pleasures--sociability or study: he can't enjoy both." - -She looked at him curiously. He must have a tough hide, she thought, to -be unruffled by a remark so biting as that she had made. For a moment -she stared straight at him, her hand resting on her hip. Then she caught -sight of herself in the great mirror against the wall, and her hand -slipped hastily from its resting-place: her attitude had been that of a -common Spanish dancing-girl. Her eyes fell before his. - -"I'll go and find the others," she said, and turned from him. - -As she did so Lord Blair hurried into the room. He was wearing a -hot-weather suit of some sort of drab-coloured silk, straight from the -laundry, where, one might have supposed, the trousers had been -accidentally shrunk. His stiff and spacious collar, and his expansive -tie, folded in the four-in-hand manner and fastened with a large gold -pin, detracted from the sense of coolness suggested by his suit; but a -rose in his buttonhole gave a comfortable touch of nature to an -otherwise artificial figure. - -"Ah, good morning, Muriel dear," he exclaimed, giving her cheek a -friendly but quite unaffectionate kiss. "You've had a lazy morning, eh? -Feel the heat, no doubt. Yes? No? Ah, that's good, that's capital! Good -morning Mr. Lane, or Daniel, I should say, since you permit it. I hope -Muriel has been amusing you." - -"She has," said Daniel, and Muriel blushed. - -Rupert Helsingham entered the room; and, when he had made his -salutations, Muriel turned to him with relief, strolling with him across -to the windows through which the warm scented air of the garden drifted, -bringing with it the drone of the flies and the incessant rustle of the -palms. - -"Please see that I don't sit next to that horrible man at lunch," she -whispered. - -"There's no choice," he answered. "The four of us are alone today." - -"Shall we go in?" said Lord Blair, nodding vigorously to Muriel; and the -three men followed her into the dining-room. - -The meal proved to be less of an ordeal than she had expected. Their -visitor talked at first almost exclusively to his host, who showed him, -and discussed, the draft of his reply to the Minister of War; and Muriel -made herself quite entrancing to Rupert Helsingham. Under ordinary -circumstances she was, in spite of occasional lapses into bored silence, -a quick and witty talker; one who speedily established a sympathetic -connection with the person with whom she was conversing; and her -laughter was frequent and infectious. It was only this Daniel Lane who -had such a disturbing effect upon her equanimity; but here, at the -opposite side of a large table, she seemed to be out of range of his -influence, and she rejoiced in her unimpaired power to captivate the -little Diplomatic secretary. - -"I am going to call you Rupert at once," she said to him; and, breaking -in on the opposite conversation, "Father," she demanded, "d'you mind if -I call this man by his Christian name? Everybody seems to." - -Lord Blair laughed, holding out his hands in a gesture which indicated -that he took no responsibility, and turned to Daniel. "Do you think I -ought to let her?" he asked. - -To Muriel his remark could hardly have been more unfortunate, and a -momentary frown gathered upon her face. - -"I think it's a good idea," replied Daniel, looking quietly at her. -"Then if you quarrel you can revert to 'Mr. Helsingham' with telling -effect." - -Muriel made a slight movement, not far removed from a toss of her head, -and, without giving any reply, continued her conversation to Rupert. - -The meal was nearly finished when she became aware that her friend was -not paying full attention to her remarks, but was listening to Daniel -Lane, whose tongue a glass of wine had loosened, and who was speaking in -a low vibrating voice, describing some phases of his life in the desert. -At this she, too, began to listen, at first with some irritation, but -soon with genuine interest. She had supposed him to be more or less -monosyllabic, and she was astonished at his command of languages. - -As she fixed her eyes upon him he glanced at her for a moment, and there -was a pause in his words. For the first time he was conscious of a look -of friendship in her face; and his heart responded to the expression. -The pause was hardly noticeable, but to him it was as though something -of importance had happened; and when he turned again to continue to -address himself to his host, there was a warm impulse behind his words. -Muriel thereafter made no further remark to Rupert; but leaning her -elbow upon the table, and fingering some grapes, gave her undivided -attention to the speaker. - -"It's always a matter of surprise to me," he was saying, "that people -don't come out more often into the desert. You all sit here in this -garden of Egypt, this little strip of fertile land on the banks of the -Nile, and you look up at the great wall of the hills to east and west; -but you don't ever seem to think of climbing over and running away into -the wonderful country beyond." - -Was it, he asked, that they were afraid of the roads that led -nowhere-in-particular, and the tracks that wandered like meandering -dreams? Why, those were the best kind of roads, because they merely took -your feet wherever your heart suggested--to shady places where you could -sprawl on the cool sand; or up to rocks where the sun beat on you and -the invigorating wind blew on your face; or down to wells of good water -where you could drink your fill and take your rest in the shade of the -tamarisks; or along echoing valleys where there was always an -interesting turning just ahead; or into the flat plains where the mirage -receded before you. - -"You soon grow desert-wise," he said: "you can't get lost; and at last -the tracks will always bring you to some Abraham's tent, and he'll lift -up his eyes and see you, and come running to you to bid you welcome. And -there's bread for you, and honey, and curds, and camel's milk, and maybe -venison; and tobacco; and quiet, courteous talk far into the night, -under the stars; and perhaps a boy's full-throated song.... I can't -think how you can live your crabbed life here in Cairo, when there's all -that vast liberty so near at hand." - -Muriel sipped her coffee, and listened, with a kind of excitement. His -voice had some quality in it which seemed to arouse a response deep in -the unfrequented places of her mind. It was as though she saw with her -own eyes the scenes which he was describing. With him she ascended the -bridlepath over the wall of the hills, and ran laughing down into the -valleys beyond, the wind in her face and the sun at her back; with him -she went sliding down the golden drifts of sand, or sprang from rock to -rock along the course of forgotten torrents; and with him she sat at the -camp fire and listened to the far-off cry of the little jackals. - -He told of warm moonlight nights spent in the open, when the drowsy eye -looks up at the Milky Way, and the mind drifts into sleep, rocked, as it -were, in a cradle slung between the planets. He spoke of the first sweet -vision of the opalescent dawn, when sleep ends in quiet wakefulness, -without a middle period of stupor; and of the rising sun over the low -horizon, when every pebble casts a liquid blue shadow and the shallowest -footprints in the sand look like little pools of water. - -He told of blazing days; of long journeys across hills and plains; of -the drumming of the pads of the camels upon the hard tracks; of deep, -shadowed gorges, and precipices touched only at the summit by the glare -of the sun; of the endless waves of the sand drifts, their sharp ridges -seen against the sky, like gold against blue enamel; of flaming sunsets, -and mysterious dusks, when, by creeping over the top of a hillock, one -might look down at ghostly gazelle drinking from a pool, and might -listen to the sucking in of the water. - -And more especially he spoke of the freedom of the desert. "Ah, there's -liberty for you!" he exclaimed, and his eyes seemed to be alight with -his enthusiasm. "That's the life for a man! There are no clocks out -there, no miserable appointments to keep, no laying of foolish -foundation stones, or inspecting of sweating troops, no diplomatic -speeches, no wordy documents signifying nothing. Out there the men that -you meet speak the truth openly, and do all that they have to do without -cunning, and without fuss or frills. If you are wandering and hungry -they give you shelter and feed you; if they like you they treat you as a -brother; and when they wish to kill you they tell you so, and give you -four-and-twenty hours in which to quit. They are free men, and to them -all men have the status of the free; all partake, so to speak, of the -liberty of the desert." - -He stopped rather abruptly: it was as though suddenly he had become -conscious that he had engaged the attention of the company, and was -abashed. - -"You make me quite restless," said Lord Blair, as they rose from the -table. "Some day you will find me, even conservative me, setting out -into that happy playground beyond the horizon. Aha! I grow lyrical, -too!" - -"I've stayed too long," said Daniel. "I must say good-bye at once. I -have a lot of shopping to do, and I told my men to meet me with the -camels at five o'clock at Mena House." - -"What!--are you going back at once?" exclaimed Rupert Helsingham, -adjusting his eyeglass. - -"Yes, I've had enough of Cairo," he laughed. "I feel like a fish out of -water here, or rather, I feel like a jackal that has ventured into a -village and must make tracks over the wall and away. I've stolen a -square meal and I'm off again." - -He stood at the door smiling at them. He seemed now to radiate -imperturbable and rather disconcerting happiness: it was as though he -regarded life as a quiet, good-natured comedy, and the friends before -him as participators in the fun. His talking about the desert had, as it -were, softened his uncouthness, and had made him of a sudden -surprisingly intelligible. - -"I'm immensely obliged to you for coming," said Lord Blair, warmly -clasping his hand. "In fact I can't tell you how highly I value your -advice and friendship." - -Muriel held out her hand. She saw this man in a new light, and her -hostility was temporarily checked. His words had aroused in her a number -of perplexing sensations: it was like tasting a new fruit, in part -sweet, in part bitter. - -"I've enjoyed listening to you," she said, frankly. - -"I've enjoyed talking to you," he replied, his voice sinking, but his -eyes fixed powerfully upon her. - -There was something dominating in his manner which again caused her to -be perverse. "I thought you were talking to my father," she answered -casually. - -"No," he said, "I was speaking to _you_." - - - - -CHAPTER V--FAMILY AFFAIRS - - -Daniel Lane left the Residency with curiously mixed feelings; and as he -made his way through the sun-scorched streets, he found some difficulty -in bringing his thoughts to bear upon the afternoon's business. He felt -that he had talked too much: it was almost as though he had faithlessly -given away secrets that were sacred. Lord Blair and young Helsingham -were hardly possessed of ears in which to repeat the confidences of the -desert; and as for Lady Muriel, he was not in a position to say whether -she had received his words with real understanding or not. - -He had enjoyed his luncheon, and he was obliged to confess to himself -that dainty dishes and a handsome table were by no means to be despised. -On the other hand, he had been conscious of an artificiality, a sort of -pose in much that was said or done at the Residency. His long absences -from his countrymen had made him rather critical, and seemed now to -reveal what might otherwise have passed undetected. - -On the previous evening Muriel Blair had appeared to him--in her -diamonds and frills and high-heeled shoes--to constitute as artificial a -picture as could well be imagined; and he was disconcerted by the fact -that nevertheless she had looked delightful. And today he had overheard -fragments of her conversation with Rupert Helsingham, and had been -alternately charmed and distressed by the manner in which they exhibited -to one another their familiarity with all that was thought to represent -modern culture and refinement of taste. It had seemed to be such empty -wit; and yet the effect was often, as though by accident, quite close to -the truth. - -"Epstein is plain-spoken by implication"; ... "dear Augustus John! He's -a striking instance of the power of matter over mind"; ... "I always -enjoy the Russian dancers: they are so stupid"; ... "the trouble with -English Art is that it is so Scotch"; ... and so forth. - -It was the wit of a certain section of London society, and it troubled -him because it was restless and superficial; and he did not want to find -an attractive girl, such as Muriel Blair, to be a kind of dragon-fly of -a summer's day. He would like to take her right out of her environment; -and yet--oh, he could not be bothered with her! - -With an effort he collected his thoughts, and, standing still at the -street corner, studied his notebook and his watch. The first thing to be -done was to go to find his cousin, to whom he had already sent a note -saying that he would call upon him in the early afternoon, a time of day -when at this season of the year most reasonable people remained within -doors. He had long dreaded the visit to this unknown relative; and now -after the tussle of the previous night, he felt keenly the awkwardness -of the situation. However, the painful family duty could not be shirked, -and the sooner it was over the better. - -He turned off to his left, and walked quickly over to the barracks, -which were not far distant; and at the gates he enquired his way to the -officers' quarters. - -"Who d'you want to see, mate?" said a young corporal who sat in the -shadow of the archway, picking his teeth. - -Daniel told him. - -"Oh, 'im!" chuckled the soldier. "Are you the man from Kodak's? I 'eard -him a-cursin' and a-swearin' this morning when 'e smashed 'is camera. -Just 'ere, it was. 'E'll give you 'Ell!--'e says the strap broke. It's -always somebody else's fault with 'is Lordship." - -Daniel smiled. "A bit impatient like, is he?" he asked. He saw no point -in explaining his identity. - -"Impatient!" laughed the corporal. "Twice already 'e's sent for the -whole shop. You'll catch it, mate, I warn yer!" - -Daniel followed the direction indicated to him, and crossing the flaming -compound, soon reached the entrance of his cousin's rooms. Here a -soldier-servant took in his name, and, quickly returning, ushered him -through the inner doorway. - -Lord Barthampton had risen from his chair, and was standing in what -appeared to be interested expectation of the meeting with his unknown -relation. His tunic was unfastened, and his collarless shirt was open at -the neck, revealing a pink, hairy chest. His heavy red face was damp -with perspiration, and it was evident that he was feeling the effects of -a large luncheon. He had a big lighted cigar in his hand, and on a table -beside him there were glasses, a decanter, and a syphon. The _Sporting -Times_ and _Referee_ lay on the floor at his feet. - -As Daniel appeared in the doorway his manner suddenly changed, and his -bloodshot blue eyes opened wide under frowning eyebrows. He slowly -replaced the cigar in his mouth and thrust his hands into his pockets. - -"What d'you want?" he muttered. - -"Well, Cousin Charles ..." said Daniel. He held out his hand, but Lord -Barthampton made no responding movement. - -"So _you_ are Daniel, are you!" he ejaculated. "I might have guessed it. -I'd heard that you were a sort of prize-fighting vagabond. What d'you -want to see me for?" - -"First of all," the visitor replied, "to say I'm sorry about last night. -I didn't know till afterwards who you were." - -His cousin grunted like a pig. "You took an unfair advantage of me," he -said. "You could see I was a bit tight. In England we don't think it's -sporting to knock a man down when he's full of whiskey; but you -Americans don't seem to know...." - -Daniel smiled. "I'm English too, you know." - -"Yes, in a way I suppose you are," he grumbled, dropping into an -arm-chair. "We're both Lanes; but your mother was a Yankee, and you've -spent half your life over there. You had no right to hit me." - -"I didn't hit you," said Daniel, with a broad smile. "I only shook you; -and I'll do it again if you don't offer me a chair." - -Charles Barthampton stared at him, and, taking the cigar out of his -mouth, blew a cloud of smoke from between his lips. "There's a chair -behind you," he replied, rudely. "You can sit in it if it doesn't make -you stay too long." - -Daniel fetched the chair, and, placing it immediately in front of his -cousin, sat himself down. "This is a bad start, cousin," he said. "I've -told you I'm sorry; but you know quite well it was your own fault." - -"I tell you I was tight," he answered petulantly. "And besides, what -right had you to be with Lizette? She belongs to the regiment." - -"She was good enough to have supper with me," Daniel answered, and there -was an unmistakable menace in his voice. "Please leave her out of the -question." - -Lord Barthampton laughed. "I suppose you feel a bit struck on her this -morning." - -Daniel suddenly rose to his feet; and his cousin, startled by the look -in his face, sprang from his chair, and placed his hand on the bell on -the wall behind him. - -"Sit down, _Cousin_ Daniel," he sneered, "or I'll ring the bell and have -you thrown out by the guard." - -Daniel shrugged his shoulders, and resumed his seat. "There's nothing to -be timid about," he replied, "if you're careful what you say. I tell you -again I apologize for my part in last night's affair: I'm always ashamed -of myself when I'm rough with anybody. I've come here to talk about -family business, so you'd better sit down too." - -He pulled out his pipe, and began to fill it, while Charles Barthampton, -with an awkward air of unconcern, sat heavily down once more. - -"Family business, is it?" he growled. "I suppose you're going to claim -some money or something. Well, your name was mentioned in my father's -will, if you want to know, but he didn't leave you anything." - -"He sent me a copy of the will last year, just before he died," Daniel -answered, unmoved. - -His cousin glanced quickly at him. "Did he really?" he remarked. "That -was odd, as he left you nothing; but he was a bit strange always. I -don't see what it had got to do with you, though. Your father, his -brother, died years ago, didn't he? And your mother hardly knew him." - -Daniel lit his pipe. "You forget," he said, "that your father and I had -a couple of months shooting together on the Peace River, three or four -years ago, while you were in India. We became good friends, and I saw -him in England afterwards." - -Lord Barthampton nodded, and was silent. He puffed viciously at his -cigar; then, as though deciding that there might be some call for -diplomacy, he pointed to the table. "Have a drink?" he said. - -"No, thanks," his visitor answered. - -"Well, what the Hell _do_ you want?" He was becoming exasperated. - -Daniel looked gravely at him. "I want you to turn over a new leaf," he -said. "Now that you've inherited the property, and now that you're head -of the family, you've got a lot of responsibilities." - -"That's my own business, not yours," muttered his cousin, again grunting -loudly. - -"No, it's my affair, too," Daniel answered. "You're not married; you -have no son. As things stand at present I'm the next of kin. I'm your -heir." - -The other uttered a short laugh. "Oh, I see," he scoffed. "You're -banking on my drinking myself to death, or something, before I can -become a proud father, eh? You wanted to have a look at me: and I -suppose you're disappointed to find I'm in the pink. You'd rather fancy -yourself as Daniel Lane, Earl of Barthampton." He made a gesture of -contempt. "A pretty sight you'd make in the House of Lords! I wonder -they even let you into the barracks!" - -Daniel laughed with genuine amusement. "They thought I'd come to mend -your camera." - -Lord Barthampton suddenly leapt to his feet. "God!" he exclaimed. "Where -the Hell is that man?" He rang the bell furiously. "Why the blasted Hell -don't they come when I send for them?" - -"Are you in a hurry to have it mended?" asked Daniel mildly. - -"Of course I am!" snapped his cousin. - -"Then why didn't you take it round to the shop, yourself, instead of -going into tantrums like a baby?" - -His Lordship stood stock still, and stared at Daniel, like an infuriated -bull. "I wish to God I knew why you were sitting here in my room!" he -roared. "Why don't you go?" - -There was a knock at the door. - -"Come in!" he snorted. - -The knock was repeated. - -"Come in, confound you!" he shouted, and thereat a soldier entered. "Are -you deaf? Send somebody over to the camera place at once, and tell them -that if they don't attend to my orders I'll break every damned thing in -the shop. D'you hear?" - -"In other words," said Daniel, turning to the soldier, "say Lord -Barthampton presents his compliments, and would be very grateful if they -would hustle a bit." - -His cousin turned on him as the soldier, prompted by natural tact, -speedily left the room. "Will you kindly mind your own business!" he -snapped. - -"How Lord Barthampton behaves _is_ my business," Daniel answered -sternly. "Now, sit down there," he added peremptorily, "and listen to -me." - -The infuriated man stood where he was, breathing hard and biting at his -cigar. - -"Sit down, I said!" Daniel repeated; and now there was a ring of command -in his voice at which the other started. He evidently had not forgotten -last night. - -"Oh, very well," he replied, and flung himself into his chair. - -Daniel leant forward and drew a long, type-written letter from his -pocket. "This," he said, "is a copy of your father's last letter to me." - -"If he promised you any money," the other interjected, "you won't get -it." - -Daniel took no notice. "I won't trouble you with the first pages of the -letter," he remarked. "They just tell an old man's disappointment in his -son, and his fears that you will not only ruin yourself, but also sully -the name and squander the estate. 'Now, Daniel,' he writes, 'I am going -to put the matter entirely into your hands, and to rely on your honour -to carry out my wishes. In spite of my son's shortcomings I love him for -his mother's sake, and it is my earnest desire that he should be a -worthy representative of our line. If, however, you find that he is -hopelessly going to the bad, I herewith place the documentary evidence -in your hands by means of which you can turn him out in favour of -yourself.'" - -"What's he mean?" exclaimed his cousin, half rising from his chair. -"It's forgery--it's a trick or something!" His voice was unsteady. - -Daniel, pipe in mouth, continued quietly to read: "'I regret to say -that, as these papers will show, my son was born out of wedlock. You are -aware, no doubt, that I met my wife in South Africa, when I had a farm -there, some years before I even expected to come into the title; but, -except you and I, no living person knows that Charles was born six -months before our marriage. I now leave the secret entirely in your -discretion, knowing that you will only reveal it if you feel that I -should wish you to do so.'" - -"It's a lie!" shouted Lord Barthampton. "It's blackmail!" - -"No," said Daniel. "There's no getting over it. The documents are all in -order. You're only Lord Barthampton on sufferance." - -His cousin sank back in his chair. His cigar had gone out, and he flung -it on the ground. Then he leant forward and rested his head in his -hands, scratching his red ear with one finger. In this attitude he -appeared fat, unpleasant, and altogether devoid of dignity. - -At length he looked up, sullenly, with a sort of cunning in his face. -"How much do you want for those papers?" he asked. - -Daniel sucked at his pipe for a few moments. "I want rather a stiff -price," he declared at length. - -"What?" said his cousin, in a dull voice. - -Daniel fixed his eyes upon him. "Your reformation," he said. - -"Oh, go to Hell!" was the reply, and Daniel rather liked him for it. He -felt uncomfortable in a mentorial rle. - -"Look here," he said, "let's understand what your father meant." - -Charles Barthampton got up and mixed himself a whiskey-and-soda. "If -that letter's genuine," he muttered, "there's no understanding him." - -"Oh, yes, it's simple enough," replied Daniel. "You are his son, whether -you're legitimate or not; and he didn't want to have your name, or his, -or especially your mother's, dragged through the mud by letting out his -secret. So he wished you to inherit. But at the same time, he had a very -Spartan sense of duty; and, as he was good enough to trust me, he -thought I would act as a bit of a brake on you, if you knew that I could -have you fired out if you didn't behave yourself." - -"A dirty trick!" the other grunted, pacing up and down the room, his -fists clenched, and much of the colour gone from his face. He swung -round on his heel, and stared at Daniel with fierce, bloodshot eyes. -"Oh, it'll be easy enough for you to find a pretext for outing me. I can -see already I'm done for. You've only got to say the word, but, by God! -if you do turn me out"--he shook his fist in his cousin's face--"I'll -send a bullet through you." - -Daniel put his hand to his hip-pocket, from which the butt of his -revolver protruded. "I'm not a bad shot myself," he replied. - -"Oh, really!" Barthampton ejaculated, with an explosive splutter, and, -darting to the table, he pulled open a drawer and dived his hand into -it. - -Instantly Daniel whipped out his revolver and covered him. "Stand back -from that table!" he called out, and there was something very terrible -in his voice. - -His cousin's hand fell to his side, and he took a pace back. Still -covering him, and not taking his eyes from him, Daniel leaned over the -table and felt for the revolver which lay there. Having found it, he -slipped it into the pocket of his jacket. - -"Now don't behave like a damned fool," he said. "Understand me: I am not -going to turn you out. I haven't the slightest wish to do so. I don't -want the beastly estates, and I much prefer to be plain Daniel Lane. By -law I'm Lord Barthampton, not you; but by something that's above law, I -mean fair-play, you are your father's son and the heir he wanted. And -nothing short of your utter damn-foolery will ever make me turn you out. -D'you understand? But, mind you," and his voice resumed its gravity, -"you've got to turn over a new leaf. You've got to give up your drink -and your pig ways, and your gambling, and your tantrums, and your women. -You've got to be a considerate landlord to your tenants, and a good -citizen, and a credit to your country, and your regiment, and your -family. And you've got to live within your income, and give generously -to the poor. D'you hear me?--give generously to the poor. We shan't see -much of each other, but from time to time I'll look you up, and I shall -be surprised if I don't find a great improvement in you." - -Lord Barthampton stood in front of him, staring at him as at a ghost. He -was visibly trembling, and his face had lost its colour. Very nearly he -had been a murderer. He appeared to be on the verge of collapse. - -"D'you mean what you say?" he whispered. "How can I trust you?" His -mouth was so dry that his tongue clicked as he spoke. - -"Your father trusted me," Daniel replied, and held out his hand. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -Very slowly his cousin responded, and a cold, trembling, clammy hand was -placed in his own. - -"Very well, then, good-bye, Cousin Charles. I'm off to the desert now. I -don't know when we'll meet again." - -He took his cousin's revolver from his pocket and, putting it back in -the place where he had found it, closed the drawer. "May I take one of -your cigars?" he asked. His pipe had gone out. - -"Y-yes, of course," the wretched man replied, still standing like one in -a dream. - -Daniel took the cigar, lit it, and, turning round, walked out of the -room. - -In the blazing sunlight outside he paused and stared across the dazzling -open space, which, towards the west, led down to the Nile. A scorching -wind beat in his face, and blew the dust of his footsteps towards the -building which he had left. "Phew!" he whispered. "Thus goes ten -thousand pounds a year and a peerage!" - -He gazed across the river to the shimmering line of the desert which -could be seen in the distance between the palms, and held out his hands -towards it. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--TOWARDS THE SUNSET - - -During the warm weather an afternoon siesta is habitual to the residents -in Egypt, and Muriel at once lent her support to the custom with -undisguised approval. This was but her third day in Cairo, yet, as soon -as Daniel Lane had taken his departure, she went up to her room as -though to the manner born, and slipped off her dress. - -The bed looked cool and inviting, and a mass of white roses upon a table -beside her pillow spread a gentle fragrance through the room; but this -she thoughtlessly dissipated by lighting a Turkish cigarette. She did -not particularly want to smoke, but she felt that the little gold-tipped -cigarette was in keeping with her state of dainty semi-undress, with her -somewhat exotic surroundings, and with the French novel which she had -selected as an inducement to sleep. - -Anybody peeping at her through the keyhole as she lay upon the rose-bud -coverlet, bare arms and silk-stockinged legs asprawl, would have been -hard put to it to decide whether here rested the girlish chastity of -English tradition or the naughtiness of French fiction; for nowadays, -when the one has had the hardihood at last to claim its share of the -habiliments of the other, appearances are astonishingly deceptive. -Actually, however, Muriel was but an innocent production of that form of -upbringing which, while encouraging independence of action, accustoms -the minds to the standards of the seraglio. - -She had moved freely in the segment of London society which patronizes -Covent Garden, hobnobs with the stage, and becomes ecstatic over the -latest painter, sculptor, poet, or dancer. She had been shown all the -little vices and failings of the world in their most attractive guise; -and for her special edification the ancient virtues had been rendered -even more seemingly ridiculous than the virtuous themselves had made -them. Obediently she had laid her thoughtless tribute at the altar of -the alluring goddess of today; and she had been shown the correct -posture of obeisance that was to be made to the World, the Flesh, and -the Devil. - -She had been taught, if she had not actually mastered, all the short -cuts to that appearance of culture which is so highly appraised; and, in -matters of taste and form, she had been shown how to be bizarre without -being crude, audacious without being vulgar. She knew just what to say -about men of letters, and what books to leave lying about the room; and -in regard to politics, the church, and sport, she had been shown how to -lump the three together under the one heading of "Tradition." - -It was now three years since this part of her education had begun; and -yet she had passed through the school with a surprisingly unsullied -mind. Like most pupils of her age, she was, of course, in complete -outward subjection to Mistress Fashion; but a spirit of mutiny still -plotted in the dark chambers of her heart. - -She had not yet altogether stupefied herself into that chronic semblance -of light-heartedness which passes for happiness; and there were moments -when in inward revolt she sent her entire circle of friends to blazes. -At such times she was vaguely aware that, in some subtle manner, she was -in bondage; but so carefully had she been trained to wear her golden -chains with grace that the fleeting consciousness of their presence -induced little more than an extra yawn or two, and a more luxurious -enjoyment of any opportunity to kick up her heels. - -As she lay now upon the bed, she was not conscious of any lack of -freedom in her life, and yet she was profoundly happy to be out here in -Egypt, where the day's routine was not so hide-bound as it was in -England. - -The drone of the flies and the plaintive cry of the circling kites, the -incessant cawing of the crows in the garden, and the occasional song of -the boatmen on the Nile, soon lulled her to sleep; and it was four -o'clock before she arose to dress herself for her ride with Rupert -Helsingham. When she descended the stairs half an hour later, she was -wearing a new riding-habit of white linen and a wide-brimmed felt hat in -which she was conscious of appearing at her best. - -Rupert, too, who awaited her at the tea-table in the drawing-room, was -aware of his own becoming costume; and the spurs upon his highly -polished boots clicked more frequently than was necessary. He was -certainly good-looking, if somewhat undersized. - -"I've told them to meet us with the horses on the other side of the -water," he said. "We'll go across in the launch, which will save a long -round by the bridge." - -After a hasty cup of tea, therefore, they walked through the garden to -the landing-steps, and were soon speeding over the river in the glare of -the afternoon sun, the cloudless heavens above them and the -swift-flowing waters of the ancient Nile shining beneath. - -They landed amidst the cool shade of the palms on the opposite bank, -near a road along which many native carriages and English dogcarts were -passing to and fro, this being the fashionable hour for taking the air; -and many curious eyes were turned upon the immaculate couple as they -mounted their horses, for the white launch with its little Union Jack at -the stern, and the scarlet livery of the native attendants, revealed -their identity, and Lady Muriel's charms had already become a topic of -general conversation. - -"Which way would you like to go?" asked Rupert. "By the native roads -across the fields, or straight along the main road out to Mena House?" - -Muriel looked quickly at him. "Mena House?" she said. "Isn't that on the -edge of the desert, where Mr. Lane said he was starting from?" - -Her companion nodded. "Yes," he answered. "We would probably run into -him. Shall we go the other way?" - -Muriel drew rein for a moment. She would like to take her first view -over that garden wall of which Daniel Lane had spoken, and it might be -interesting to watch him ride away towards the setting sun. She might -even have an opportunity of firing a parting shot at him--something -about his rumoured harm of Bedouin women to whom he seemed so anxious -to return. She would like to hurt him. - -"No, let's go to Mena House," she answered at length, and she gave as -her reason her anxiety to see the Pyramids which stand on the edge of -the desert, dominating the well-known Mena House Hotel. - -Rupert looked at his watch. "It's nearly five," he remarked, without any -particular reason. He was not thinking of the hour of Daniel Lane's -departure. - -But Muriel was thinking of it, and, for answer, she urged her horse -forward. - -"I enjoy a good long gallop, don't you?" she said, as they turned into -the avenue of acacias which runs in a fine straight line out to the -desert, flanked by a riding-track of soft earth. - -"It's a bit hot for anything strenuous, isn't it?" he suggested. He -wanted to ride quietly and talk to her as they went. - -For some distance they trotted in silence, but at length Muriel -shortened her rein. "Come in!" she laughed, and therewith she gave her -restless Arab a touch with her heel, and instantly was off and away in a -cloud of dust, as though she and her horse had been discharged in one -piece from some monstrous gun. - -Rupert swore peevishly, and followed in her wake, presently overtaking -her and galloping by her side. The tree-trunks on either hand seemed to -whirl past them, and the foliage, which met overhead, formed a sort of -tunnel pierced at one side by stabbing shafts of dazzling sunlight. The -effect was blinding, and soon Rupert, an excellent horseman, began to -feel as though he were the maddened villain of some flickering film of -the Wild West, whose career had soon to end in a frightful tumble. - -"Isn't it lovely?" shouted Muriel, ecstatically. Her blood seemed to be -boiling in her veins; she glowed like a fiery immortal being, full of -tremendous excitement and enthusiasm. This was life!--this was youth! -She dragged her hat over her eyes, regardless of her own appearance, -regardless of the hat's. She felt entirely crazy, and presumably her -horse felt the same, for not for a moment did he slacken his thundering -speed. The warm wind whistled in her ears; occasional roadside villas -appeared to whirl past almost as soon as they were sighted; an -automobile, full of gesticulating Egyptians, raced them and had -difficulty in beating them; the electric tram from the Pyramids to Cairo -appeared to leap past them with wildly clanging bell; she caught sudden -glimpses of peasant carts and an occasional smart carriage, astonished -brown faces and smiling white ones. Her hair began to come down. - -At last her horse had had enough, and his gallop decreased to a trot, -his trot to a walk. Her companion turned a laughing red face to her. He -had caught the infection of her spirits, and, like her, was conscious of -a burning sense of youth and strength. The perspiration was streaming -down his cheeks. - -"Phew!" he exclaimed, and recklessly mopped his forehead with a coloured -silk handkerchief intended only for a breast-pocket ornament. "D'you -often get taken like that?" - -Muriel laughed excitedly, and, twisting the reins around her arm, pulled -off her hat, thereby letting loose a tumbling mass of brown hair, which -fell about her shoulders. Then, handing the hat to Rupert to hold, she -raised her hands and coiled up the hair on to her head again, fastening -it with the few remaining hairpins. - -Rupert uttered an ordinary, vulgar whistle. He, too, had been galloped -into naturalness. "By Jove!" he cried. "You have got glorious hair!" - -Muriel settled her hat upon her head once more, and picked up her reins. - -"I'll let it down properly for you some day," she said. At that moment -she would have stood on her head, had anybody dared her to do so. A law -should be passed prohibiting women from galloping. - -"I'll kiss you if you do," replied Rupert. The law should, perhaps, -include young men as well. - -He was startled at his audacity; but Muriel was not in a mental -condition to do otherwise than laugh. - -Thus they arrived, like two flushed children, at the end of the road, -the hotel on their right, the mighty Pyramids rising up like hand-made -mountains on their left, backed by the descending sun. In front of them -stretched the desert--a ridge of white and yellow shelving rocks, and -great shadowed slopes of sand mounting to the clear sky. Southwards, at -the foot of the hills, stood a native village, the clustered white -houses and dignified groups of palms reflected in the still waters of -the inundation which, at this time of the year, cover the surrounding -fields. - -Outside the hotel several Bedouin dragomans sauntered about or sat -smoking and chatting; and a few camels and donkeys, saddled in readiness -for hire, stood tethered near by. - -Muriel hardly glanced at the Pyramids: they had been visible to her -through the trees during most of the ride, and they were just as she had -pictured them. But the Bedouin in their flowing silks, the betasselled -camels, and the background of the desert made a picture which delighted -her eyes. - -"What's the time?" she asked. "I wonder if he has gone." - -It was some seconds before Rupert took her meaning: he had forgotten -about Daniel Lane. He looked at his watch: it was half-past five. - -"I'll ask some of these fellows if they've seen him," he said, perhaps a -little put out. A shadow had fallen upon the gay opening scene of his -romance. - -He rode forward, and soon elicited the information that "the Englishman -who came in from the desert" had but a few minutes ago gone up the hill -to the rocky plateau above, where his camels were awaiting him. - -"We've missed him," he said, returning to her. "He's just gone." - -"Well, let's ride after him," she answered, and without further remark -she trotted up the short, winding road which led on to the higher -ground. Rupert followed her, musing upon the inscrutable ways of women. - -The road lay in the shadow of the hillside, but as they reached the -summit they came into the full glare of the setting sun which was now -nearing the distant horizon. On their left the Pyramids towered up into -the blazing sky, but before them the rock-strewn plateau lay open and -vast, and over it the wind blew warm and mysterious. - -Muriel arched her hand above her eyes and looked about her. - -"There he is!" she cried at length, directing her companion to a little -group in a sandy hollow about a hundred yards distant, and therewith -they both trotted forward. - -Daniel Lane was about to mount his camel as they approached. Muriel -waved her hand to him, whereat he pulled off his well-worn hat and -laughed aloud. - -"That's odd!" he said. "I had a sort of feeling you'd come." - -Muriel stared at him, and her responding smile died upon her lips. - -"We rode in this direction quite at random," said she, coldly. "I don't -yet know one way from another." - -"Well, you've found your way to the desert quickly enough," he replied. -"You know there are some people who seem to be drawn towards it at -once." - -Muriel glanced about her. "I think it looks a horrid place," she said, -which was entirely untruthful. "I don't feel at all drawn to it." - -She turned to Rupert Helsingham. He was slowly riding round the four -camels which crouched, grunting, on the sand, in charge of two lean and -wild-looking men of the desert, whose appearance was strikingly -different from that of the Bedouin of the Pyramids, grown prosperous in -their profession as guides and dragomans to the sightseers. Three of the -camels were saddled, the seat in each case being covered by a rough -sheepskin, and having on either side a coarsely embroidered bag -containing food, while a rifle and two water-bottles were slung across -the back. The fourth camel, which was to be led by one of the riders, -was lightly laden with stores and various purchases made in Cairo, and -two small water-skins depended at its sides. - -"I travel light, you see," said Daniel, as Rupert returned to them. - -"Yes, you couldn't otherwise have come in at the pace you did," he -answered. "Are you going back at the same rate?" - -Daniel laughed. "Oh, no," he said. "I shall travel in easy stages, -taking five or six days probably--as long as the food lasts, in fact. We -can pick up water at the wells, and if we shoot anything we can take it -still slower." - -Muriel looked curiously at him. "Then why were you in such a hurry to be -off?" she asked. - -"One night in a Cairo hotel is enough for me," he answered. "I'm -starting now so as to get ten or fifteen miles away by bedtime, where I -can sleep peacefully on the clean sand, away from mosquitoes and bad -smells and noise. And then we can just saunter. So long as we plan to -reach a water-hole every two days, there's nothing to hurry us." - -He turned towards the sunset and breathed in the pure air with evident -satisfaction. "It's splendid to think there's all that empty space in -front of one!" he exclaimed. "In a few minutes now I shall be swallowed -up in it! Gee! I'll think of you tonight, my girl, in your stuffy -bedroom; and you can envy me lying under God's heaven, talking with my -two good friends here about cities and slavery and civilization and -things, till we yawn ourselves to sleep." - -Muriel's interest in him began to revive. "It sounds wonderful," she -said, doubtfully. - -The sun had sunk behind the low line of the horizon when at length -Daniel bid good-bye and mounted his camel. Rupert, who was impatient to -be back, had already turned his horse's head and was slowly moving away -as the four camels, snarling and complaining in their wonted manner, -rose upon their long legs, lifting their riders high above the ground; -but Muriel remained for a moment or two, curbing her restless horse, -while Daniel looked down at her from his lofty seat. - -"I've enjoyed meeting you," he said. "I'm afraid you think I'm very rude -and rough. I don't mean to be, only--" - -"Only what?" she asked, as he paused. - -"Yes?" She was all attention now. - -"Only when I meet a girl like you--" - -"Oh, I don't know," he said, and there came a look of great earnestness -into his eyes. "There's so much you've got to unlearn, my dear." - -He struck his camel lightly with his stick, and trotted away. Then, -turning in his saddle, he put his hand to his mouth and called out to -her: "Why don't you break loose?" - -Muriel made a gesture indicating that she did not understand, but his -head was again averted, and he did not look round. She watched him, as, -followed by the men, he slid silently away into the barren vastness of -the desert. He seemed to be riding straight into the glory of the -sunset. - -Then she wheeled her horse around, and cantered after her companion. Far -off in front of her now the city was spread out amongst its trees and -luxuriant fields. From the high ground she looked down on distant roofs -of palaces and mansions, domes and cupolas, minarets and towers, and the -lights began to twinkle in the windows along the embankment of the Nile. -It looked like an enticing magic City of Happiness; and she glanced over -her shoulder with a sudden wave of terror at the darkening immensity of -the desert behind. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--THE DESERT AND THE CITY - - -Daniel's mind was not at ease as he rode through the gathering darkness. -His thoughts had been shaken out of their habitual tranquillity by his -few hours in the city, and he had the feeling that he had turned his -back upon a picture which he would have liked a little longer to -contemplate, that he had shut a book in which he would have preferred to -read yet another chapter. But when the moon rose and cast its early -mystery upon the empty wilderness around him, a greater calm fell upon -him, and he began to appreciate once more that sense of detachment from -the restless doings of the world which is the particular gift of the -desert. - -For two hours or more he rode in silence, and ever as he passed deeper -into the great void before him his musing mind contemplated with -increasing serenity the events of the last night and day. Out here in -this everlasting calm he could smile at the little agitations which had -beset him in Cairo, and could observe their triviality. Here the -strident call of flesh and blood was hushed, and the equable balance of -mind and body was able to be resumed. No wonder, he thought to himself -that the monks of old had hidden themselves in the wilderness: they had -discovered a blessed equanimity, and a consequent happiness not to be -found in the busy thoroughfares of the city. - -At length he called a halt in a rugged valley, through which a stream -had flowed in bygone ages. Its bed of fine shingle and sand made a soft -and pliable resting-place; and here he ate his evening meal, lying back -upon his sheepskin thereafter, smoking his pipe and talking to his -friends, until sleep came to him. - -On the following day they rode no more than five-and-twenty miles, -taking a course somewhat more roundabout than that of their outward -journey, and it was mid-afternoon when they reached the water-hole at -which the night was to be spent. Riding round a bend in a precipitous -valley, Daniel, who was some distance ahead of his retainers, suddenly -found himself looking down upon the rocky hollow in which lay the little -pool of water, so blue in its setting of mellow sun-bathed rocks that it -seemed even deeper in tone than the sky it reflected. Here grew the -greenest reeds and rushes, and, mirrored in the water, there was a -delicate tamarisk whose soft foliage swayed in the breeze as though -setting the time to the nodding dance of the reeds. - -Sitting beside the pool a little girl was tending a few goats whose -bleating came merrily to his ears on the wind. She had not heard the -soft pads of his approaching camel, and he was almost upon her before -she looked up. With a cry of surprise she fled down the valley, and -suddenly, from amidst the shadows of the boulders, a grey-bearded son of -the desert stepped forth into the sunlight, an ancient broadsword in his -hands, and a ragged cloak of many colours thrown over his shoulders. - -Daniel dismounted from his camel, and exchanged greetings with the -patriarch, while the little girl hid herself behind the man's thin brown -legs, and the goats leaped upon the rocks to stare at the stranger from -a safe distance. - -"Never fear, little one," said the old man as he patted the child's -head. "This is only an Englishman. There are many such: they harm not." - -The old goatherd, and two of his grandsons, who presently made their -appearance, proved to be related to families in the Oasis of El Hamrn -where Daniel resided; and the talk during the evening meal was all of -mutual acquaintances, of the movements of various groups of Bedouin, of -camping-grounds and water-holes. - -A woman and the little girl, her daughter, sat amidst the rocks in the -background as they talked, and Daniel observed that the child was -nursing a primitive doll made of three sticks and a piece of rag, and -that at length she fell asleep with this poor proxy held close in her -brown arms. Later in the evening, therefore, in the light of the moon, -he fashioned a very much more convincing article out of sticks, string, -and a handkerchief; and with his fountain-pen he outlined an audacious -face, which, with a few combings from his sheepskin in the place of -hair, gave an appearance of striking and awful reality to the figure. - -The goatherds encouraged his efforts with excited laughter, and when, at -last, the doll was finished, he walked over to the sleeping girl and -placed it in her arms. - -On the third day they made good going, passing across a range of low -hills, and descending into a wide plain where they disturbed a herd of -gazelle, which went galloping off at their approach and were lost in the -haze of the distance. - -So they journeyed in easy stages; and day by day Daniel more fully -resumed that jovial, contented mind which is the basis of happiness. The -benign influence of sun and breeze and open space was upon him once -more, and his heart was filled as it were with laughter. Riding ever -westward, he seemed to be following the course of the sun; and each -evening, as it passed down behind the horizon ahead, it marked -tomorrow's track, as though bidding him come deeper, ever deeper, into -the merry freedom of the desert. He whistled a tune to himself as he -rode through echoing valleys; he sang at the top of his voice as, far -ahead of his men, he passed over the hills, and viewed the great vistas -before him; and as he drew near to the oasis which was his destination, -and observed once again the presence of birds and the tracks of jackals, -he urged his camel forward with many an endearing and persuasive word. - -Now he met with goatherds and camelherds who were his friends, and -merrily he called his greetings to them; now he knew the lie of the -country, and noted the places where, from time to time, he had camped or -rested in the shade at noon when he had been out hunting gazelle, or -tracking the jackals to their lairs, by way of exercise. Now the west -wind brought the faint scent of the cultivated land to his sensitive -nostrils, and his camel lifted its head to snuff at the breeze. - -At last, in a golden sunset, amidst the chattering of innumerable -sparrows, he descended from the barren hills into the dense palm groves -of the Oasis of El Hamrn, from whose shadows the white-robed figures of -the Bedouin emerged to greet him. - -An all-pervading peace enfolded him, and his short visit to civilized -life seemed like a dream that was fading from his memory. The city -beside the Nile had become a thing of unreality, and he had awakened, as -it were, to the happy sunshine of life's placid day, and was eager to be -once more at his work. - -Yet, in far-away Cairo, there were five minds at least which retained a -vivid recollection of his brief incursion into the city. There was Lord -Barthampton, who, for forty-eight hours after Daniel's departure, had -lain in a drunken stupor which, for form's sake, was termed a touch of -the sun; and who, thereafter, had forsworn all intoxicating liquor, and -had resumed his place at the mess in the sullen silence of one who has -returned unwillingly to the fold. - -There was Lizette, who had wept a little, and for a little while had -bemoaned her lot, and who, later, had gone, as was her wont, to the -Franciscan Church, and had said her beads and had prayed that one day -she might meet again the mighty man who had sent the pig Barthampton so -beautifully sprawling upon the floor. - -There was Lord Blair, who had received an effusive reply from the -gratified Minister of War, and, thereat, had schemed and plotted to -bring the wise Daniel within closer reach of the Residency. There was -Rupert Helsingham, who, ever since the ride to Mena House, had been -filled with matrimonial dreams and fears of rivalry, and had racked his -brains to decide upon a course of action which should give him -opportunities of displaying those brutal tendencies of manhood which -seemed to be so successful with the opposite sex. - -And lastly, there was Muriel, who had aroused Rupert's jealousy by -talking from time to time about Daniel, with a sort of defiance in her -voice which could almost be mistaken for awe. - -It was inevitable that she and Charles Barthampton should meet: it was -only strange that they had not met before in London. On the same evening -upon which Daniel had arrived at his home in El Hamrn, his cousin was a -guest at dinner at the Residency, where he found himself seated next to -Muriel. The latter had been taken into dinner by one of the Egyptian -princes, an elegant personage who had lived most of his life in Vienna, -Paris, and Monte Carlo, and whose contempt for the English was only -equalled by his scorn of the Egyptians. He was an authority on modern -French art; and when Muriel, in a frenzy of tact, had rushed the -conversation again and again into that province, and had exhausted all -that she knew by rote upon the subject, she was glad of an opportunity -to turn in the opposite direction and address herself to Barthampton. - -He, on his part, had taken in the daughter of the French Consul-General, -who was much more interested in Rupert Helsingham upon her other hand; -and, being thus left alone to play with his toast and sip his wine, he -had turned to Muriel with relief. - -"I can't talk to this French girl," he whispered. "She doesn't -understand English, and my French isn't exactly ladylike." - -"Well, do you know anything about French art?" she asked, hopefully. -"I'm sitting next to a connoisseur, and I've run dry." - -"French art?" he laughed. "Rather! I've got a collection of -postcards--I've framed some of them; and I take _La Vie Parisienne_ -regularly." - -Muriel sighed. "No, I'm afraid that won't help," she said. - -"Well, try him on English art," he suggested. "Good stuff, you -know--Landseer and Leighton and Alma-Tadema." - -"No," said Muriel gravely, "he's very modern." - -"Oh, modern, is he? Then what about Kirchner? Or Cecil Aldin?--but I -don't suppose he knows a fox from a hound." He leaned forward and stared -at the Prince. "Queer little devil, isn't he, what? Doesn't look much -like a nigger." - -"Why should he?" Muriel asked. "The Royal house is Albanian--pure -Turkish." - -"Oh, I lump them all together," he answered, with a gesture of his red -hand. "Quaint country, Egypt, isn't it? What d'you think of it?" - -"So far, I like it immensely," she replied. "But I shouldn't think it -was an interesting place for a soldier. What do your men think of it?" - -"I don't know: I've never asked 'em," he replied. "Not much, I shouldn't -think. There are not enough housemaids to go round, and the beer's -atrocious. I can't think why we're not kept in London; after all, we're -the Guards. They ought to leave the dirty work to the ordinary regiments -of the line. I don't see why we should be made to sweat out here. It's -these Radicals: they never can mind their own business." - -"Father and I are Radicals, you know," she smiled. "And our forebears -were Whigs before us." - -"Beg pardon," he said, with a grunt. "I'd forgotten my history lessons. -We Lanes were always Tories." - -Muriel glanced at him quickly. "Oh, I'd quite forgotten," she said, with -interest. "Of course, you're a Lane. I wonder if you're any relation to -a certain Daniel Lane?" - -Lord Barthampton's face fell. "How d'you come to know Daniel Lane?" he -asked, as he busied himself with his food. - -"I met him the other day," she answered. "He's a friend of my father's. -Oh, yes, I remember now: he said he had a relation out here in the -Guards." - -"Yes," he replied, with his mouth full. "He's a cousin; but I hardly -know him. He's spent much of his life in the States." - -"Tell me about him," she said. She was all interest. - -"I don't know anything to tell you," he answered, casually. "He's a -crank--lives with the niggers in the desert or something. Looks like a -tramp." - -"He's very clever, isn't he? My father thinks the world of him." - -Lord Barthampton noisily threw down his knife and fork. "There's not -much love lost between him and me," he said, and relapsed into silence; -while Muriel, seeing that she had touched upon a sore subject, took the -opportunity to resume her conversation with her partner. - -Late that evening, after the guests had departed, Muriel, prompted by a -sense of duty, found herself in the library, bidding a motherly -good-night to her father, who was smoking a final cigar, and was -standing before the empty fireplace, his hands under his coattails in -unconscious retention of the habits of other days. - -"By the way," she said, "did you know that Lord Barthampton was Daniel -Lane's cousin?" - -"You don't say so!" he exclaimed. "Well, well! I had no idea." - -He opened a bookcase, and lifting out _Burke's Peerage_, turned over its -pages with evident interest. After a few moment's study, he uttered a -little ejaculation. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he remarked. "Daniel is not only his cousin, but his -heir presumptive." He stroked his chin, and carried the bulky volume -nearer to the light. "Hm! Well, well--to be sure!" he muttered. - -He laid the book down, and clasping his hands behind his back, walked to -and fro across the room, while Muriel turned to glance at the family -record. - -As she looked up once more, her father paused, his head on one side, his -fingers stroking his jaw. "Now, if that lout were to die ..." he mused. - -"D'you mean Mr. Lane?" asked Muriel innocently. - -"No, no! Tut, tut!" exclaimed her father, pinching the lobe of her ear, -and then, as though afraid of giving offence, patting her cheek instead. -"Daniel Lane is not a lout! I was referring to his cousin. If Daniel -were to inherit--" - -"If he were to inherit," Muriel put in, as he paused, "there'd be a -panic in the House of Lords--peers hiding under benches, Lord Chancellor -flung into gallery, Archbishop popped into waste-paper basket--" - -Lord Blair raised his delicate hand in protest: his thoughts were more -serious. "You know," he said, "that man is wasting himself in the -desert. I wish I could persuade him to accept some official position in -Cairo. I should like to push him into prominence--oblige him, force him, -to take an active part in the government of this country." - -An expression almost of sadness came into his face. "I sometimes feel," -he went on, "that we diplomatists, products of the Foreign Office, are -totally unfitted to rule a medival country such as this. Look at me, -Muriel; am I the romantic figure to impress the native mind? Egypt does -not want diplomacy; she wants physical strength combined with -philosophy--she wants a man who is a mighty hunter before the Lord, a -giant, a hero out of a legend." - -"Oh, father dear," Muriel replied, "everybody says you are the ideal -ruler." She felt sorry for him: he seemed such an insignificant little -figure, so fussy, so well-meaning, and just now so modest. - -"No," he continued, "I don't understand the native mind; I must confess, -I don't understand it. And I sometimes think that I am not serving the -best interests of England. I want my country to be respected, Muriel; I -have such vast ambition for England. I want our manhood to be seen to -the best advantage, so that the natives may say: 'Since we are to be -ruled, let us be glad that we are ruled by _men_.'" - -Muriel put her hands upon his shoulders. For the first time she really -liked him. "I think you're splendid, father," she said. - -"Now, if Daniel Lane took his position in society," he mused, "if, for -instance, he were Lord Barthampton, there would be no difficulty. I -could push him forward, and in a few years he would be old enough to -succeed me here at the Residency. A little more care about his -appearance, perhaps--" - -"And a little less rudeness," said Muriel. - -"No, he is not rude," Lord Blair corrected her. "He is only -unceremonious." - -There was a tap at the door, and Rupert entered. He was the only one of -the Secretaries who lived on the premises. - -"I'm just off to bed," he said. "Is there anything you want me to do, -sir?" - -Lord Blair looked at him, as though waking from a dream. "Let me see, -yes, there was something I was going to ask you to do. What was it, now? -Dear, dear! How bad my memory is! Ah, yes, I have it! A letter: I want -you to acknowledge it formally, the first thing in the morning. It's on -my study table. No, you could not find it in all that litter. I must -really have a grand tidying-up, I must indeed. One moment: I'll get it -for you." - -He hurried from the room, in short, nervous steps, and, as he -disappeared, Rupert turned to Muriel. "By Jove!" he exclaimed. "You do -look beautiful tonight. I could hardly take my eyes off you all the -evening." - -Muriel smiled happily. "I'm glad you think so. I thought I looked a -sight; and Prince What's-his-name was evidently bored with me." - -"On the contrary," he answered, "he told me he thought you were -charming, and such a connoisseur." - -"Of what," she asked brightly. - -"Of the art of the Stone Age, he said. I don't know what he meant." - -Muriel flushed. "The little beast!" she cried, angrily. "He was trying -to be rude." - -"Rude, was he?" said Rupert, viciously. He assumed a fighting attitude, -and, when Muriel had frankly explained the insinuation of the remark, he -set his teeth and made a determined attempt to appear grim. - -"He'll get one in the jaw, if he doesn't look out," he muttered. - -Lord Blair re-entered the room, carrying the letter (for some unknown -reason) extended in his thumb and first finger as though it smelt. He -paused on seeing Rupert's simulation of pugilism, and looked at him -critically, as it were measuring the young man's capacities in that -arena. Then he shook his head sadly, and handed him the letter. - -When Rupert had left them, Lord Blair turned to his daughter. -"Undersized," he murmured, "sadly undersized." - -"Oh, not so very," said Muriel, divining his thoughts. "And, any way, -he's a good-looking boy, and his manners are charming. I'm growing very -fond of Rupert." - -Lord Blair glanced at her quickly. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--THE ACCOMPLICE - - -Undoubtedly the ancients were quite right in regarding youth as a kind -of fever, an intermittent sickness lasting from puberty to middle age. -In Egypt this particular illness is rampant: everybody who is not old -feels youthful, and the actually youthful have hours of violent -delirium. - -As the weather, in the last days of October, became cooler and more -stimulating, Lady Muriel began to experience a series of startling -sensations. She felt excited, and her mind turned itself to a heated -study of the romantic possibilities of existence at the Residency. She -had always been told that a young woman's life was divided into two -distinct ages, the first being a period filled with romantic episodes -and terminated by marriage, and the second being a period crowded with -very serious love affairs and only curtailed by age or the divorce -court. - -So far she could safely say that she had only been in love three times. -Once at Eastbourne, during her school-days, she had fallen into a divine -frenzy over a curate, who had been a rugger blue at Oxford, and who, in -a certain brief and desperate sofa-episode, had apparently mistaken her -for the football with which he was touching down a try, but who, a -moment later, had recovered his feet and had staggered out into the -night calling upon God for mercy upon a married man. She had nursed her -bruises and had sorrowed for him for many days, ardently desiring to -poison his wife and all her babies, but his sudden appointment to a -far-away living had closed the story. - -A year later she fell in love with a Russian singer who, at the time, -was being heavily lionized in London; but, as luck would have it, she -met three of his mistresses in one day, and the fright sobered her. - -The third episode had been much more prosaic. The man was merely a young -Member of Parliament who made his overtures in the most approved style, -and might have succeeded in capturing her, had it not been discovered on -the day the engagement was to be announced that he had borrowed money on -the strength of the coming alliance. In this case she had not grieved -for long: indeed, when she happened to see him a week later she had -already sufficiently recovered to observe that his eyes were set too -close together, his teeth were like a rabbit's, his hands too hairy, his -head not hairy enough, and his legs bandy. - -That was a year ago, and since then she had been entirely heart-whole. -Now, however, the starry Egyptian nights, the sun-bathed days, the -multitude of officers, officials, and diplomats whose acquaintance she -was making, and the general court paid to her, both as a charming woman -and as the Great Man's daughter, were beginning to stimulate her senses. - -One morning, at the beginning of November, as she sat up in her bed, -playing with her toes, the thought came strongly to her that her season -in Egypt ought to be graced by some exceptional romance. Here was the -setting for the play; here was the heroine; but where was the hero? It -was true that Rupert Helsingham, of whom she had grown quite fond, was -becoming daily more bold; but he had ever an eye on her father, on whom -depended his budding career. In her exposed position whatever romance -came to her would have to be conducted on very correct lines; and would -probably be expected to end in marriage; but she did not want to be -married. Indeed, the thought appalled her. She vastly preferred the idea -of a great sorrow, a heartbreaking parting under the stars, a life-long -devotion to a sad, sweet memory. But that a man should walk nightly into -her bedroom in his striped pyjamas was a horrible thought. - -Pensively she gazed at her toes, upon which a shaft of the morning -sunlight was striking. They were pretty toes. A man's feet usually had -corns on them. No, she had little wish for a bare-footed romance: the -hero she pictured would make love in his boots, and tragedy should -descend before the hour came to take them off. - -Everything pointed to a clandestine affair--something in a garden, with -the scent of roses in it; or in a boat floating down the Nile, very -placid and mysterious; or far away in the desert.... - -In the desert! The thought brought back to her mind the parting words of -Daniel Lane. "Why don't you break loose?" Several times she had wondered -what he had meant: whether he were suggesting a breaking away from the -routine of her life, or whether he were advising her to run amuck in a -moral sense. The latter, it seemed to her, was the more probable, -judging by his reputation; but this was not a form of entertainment that -appealed to her. She did not mind playing with fire, but she had no wish -at all to be burnt. Her education had trained her to think lightly of -the chastity of others, but so far it had not injured her own natural -continence. - -Getting out of bed she stood for a few moments in the middle of the -room, staring through the open window at the distant line of the desert. -Yes, the desert would be a wonderful setting for a romance; and yet even -there she would not seem to be quite alone, quite unobserved. In her -mind the whole of those vast spaces belonged, somehow, to Daniel Lane. -She would feel his disturbing influence there: his head would rise from -behind a rock, and his quiet eyes would stare mockingly at her and her -lover, whoever he might be. He might even stroll forward, pick up the -wretched Romeo, with a yawn throw him over the cliffs, seat himself by -her side instead, and light his pipe. And if she protested he might -whistle up half a dozen cut-throat Bedouin and peg her to the ground for -the jackals to sniff at till he was ready to put her in his harm. - -She laughed nervously to herself as she went to her bath; and her -thoughts turned again to the possibilities of the garden and the Nile, -and once more the difficulties of her position were manifest. Female -accomplices are required in romance: she had none. There was her maid, -Ada, a large Scotchwoman, who would play the part about as nimbly as a -hobbled cow. Lady Smith-Evered was not to be trusted with secrets, even -if she were able to be flattered into acquiescence. There was no other -woman in Cairo with whom she was at all well acquainted as yet, and none -that gave promise of the paradoxical but necessary combination of -self-effacement and presence of mind. - -What she required was the friendship of a young married woman without -stain and without scruple. Then there would be some hope that the season -would not be entirely barren of romance, and, when she returned to -England in the spring, she would not be in the painful necessity of -having to invent confidences for the ears of her girl friends. - -There is, however, an ancient and once very popular Egyptian god who -seems to have survived to the present day, if one may judge by the -strange events which take place in the land of the Pharaohs. By the -Greeks he was called Pan-Who-is-Within-Hearing; and he must certainly -have been sitting in the bathroom. For no sooner had Muriel dressed and -come downstairs than the accomplice walked straight into the house. - -Muriel had just entered the drawing-room by one door when a footman -threw open the opposite door and announced "Mr. and Mrs. Benifett -Bindane." - -A moment later a plump, square-shouldered young woman hurried into the -room and flung herself into Muriel's arms. "Muriel--you darling!" she -cried, and "Kate--my dear!" cried Muriel, as they kissed one another -affectionately. - -Mrs. Bindane beckoned to the middle-aged man who had followed her into -the room. "This person is my husband," she said. "I think you saw him -when he was courting me." - -He came forward and gave Muriel a limp hand. He was very tall, and -appeared to be invertebrate; he had watery blue eyes, thin yellow hair, -a long, white, clean-shaven face, and a wet mouth which was seldom, if -ever, shut. - -"Benifett, my dear," said his capable, handsome wife, "say something -polite to the lady." - -"How-de-do," he murmured, staring at her awkwardly. - -"Yes, I think we did meet once, didn't we?" said Muriel. - -Mrs. Bindane intervened. "Yes, don't you remember? At the pictures, when -we were keeping company. We got wed at our chapel ten days ago--such a -to-do as you never saw! And afterwards a real beano at the Fried Fish -Shop: beer by the barrel, and port too! And Pa gave me away, in his -evening dress, red handkerchief and all!" - -Such was her peculiar and characteristic way of referring to the fact -that she had introduced Muriel to her fianc one night at Covent Garden, -and that she had been married to him at St. Margaret's, Westminster, -where she had been given away by her father, Lord Voycey, a reception -being later held at her paternal home in Berkeley Square. - -"I didn't know you were coming out here," said Muriel. "It's splendid." - -"We only decided on Egypt at the last minute," explained Mr. Bindane. -"Kate was so anxious to go up the Nile." - -"It's a blinkin' fine river, I'm told," remarked his wife, at which he -smiled reprovingly. - -Her friend's language was notorious, though actually she seldom -approached an oath except in mimicry. She was a woman of -five-and-twenty, and for seven years she had delighted London with her -pretended vulgarity. Her husband, on the other hand, was more or less -unknown to the metropolis, though, as the inheritor from his father of -an enormous fortune, his name had lately been heard in Mayfair, while in -the City it was well known. People said he was a fool; and everybody -supposed that the eccentric Kate had married him for his money. As a -matter of fact, she had married him for love. - -"Where are you staying?" Muriel asked. - -"We've got a little paddle-wheeled steamer on the river," he replied. -"We arrived last night." - -"And of course we came round to see you at once," said Kate. "Benifett's -rather a snob, you know: loves lords and ladies. So do I. How's your -pa?" - -"Oh, just the same as always," Muriel answered. "I don't seem to see -much of him." - -"People say he's rather a success at running this 'ere country," the -other remarked. "Personally, I detest the man: I think he's neglected -you shamefully all your life." - -"Oh, father's all right," said Muriel. "I'm very fond of him." - -"Rot!" muttered her friend. - -For some time they exchanged their news, and Muriel gave some account of -the quiet life she had spent since her arrival. - -"Any decent men?" Mrs. Bindane asked. "What about little Rupert -Helsingham?" - -"Oh, d'you know him?" - -"Lord! yes. He stayed with us once when he and I were kiddies. I saw him -when he was on leave last summer: he's grown into a handsome little -fellow." - -She asked if he were on the premises, and whether she might see him. In -reply, Muriel rang the bell, and sent a message to the office where -Rupert usually spent his mornings in interviewing native dignitaries. - -"Here's a friend of yours," she said to him as he came into the room, -and there ensued a rapid exchange of merry greetings. - -"This is what I've married," remarked Mrs. Bindane, taking her husband's -hand in hers and delivering it into Rupert's friendly grasp. - -"How-de-do," said Mr. Bindane, looking down from his great height at the -dapper little man before him. - -"Glad to meet you, sir," said Rupert, looking up at the limp figure, -which gave the appearance of being about to fall to pieces at any -moment. - -"His father's a lord, dear," whispered Mrs. Bindane to her husband, in a -hoarse aside. - -"You're just as impossible as ever, Kate," laughed Rupert. - -"It's my common blood," said she. "One of my ancestors married his cook: -she was the woman who cooked that surfeit of lampreys King John died -of." - -"Is Lord Blair in?" Mr. Bindane asked, very suddenly. - -Mrs. Bindane turned sharply and stared at him. "Now _what_ has Lord -Blair to do with you, Benifett?" she asked in surprise. "I didn't know -you knew him." - -Her husband flapped a loose hand. "I've met his Lordship," he said. - -"_His Lordship_," mimicked the impossible Kate, giving a nod of -simulated awe. "Rupert, my lad, go and tell the boss he's wanted in the -shop." - -"I'd like to see him," murmured Mr. Bindane, quite unmoved. - -"Well, I never!" said his wife. - -"I'll go and see if he's busy," Rupert volunteered. - -"Thanks," droned Mr. Bindane, his mouth dropping more widely open than -usual. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -"Well, you have got some nerve!" exclaimed his wife. - -Rupert went out of the room, and sought the Great Man in his study. - -"What is it, what is it?" Lord Blair muttered with some irritation, -looking up from a mass of disordered papers. - -"Oh, sorry, sir," said Rupert. "I didn't know you were busy. There's -somebody here who wants to see you." - -"I can't see anybody--no, nobody," Lord Blair expostulated. "What's he -want? Who is he?" - -"A Mr. Bindane. He's in the drawing-room with Lady Muriel." - -Lord Blair sat up briskly. "Benifett Bindane?" he asked, sharply. - -Rupert nodded, and thereat the Great Man jumped to his feet. - -"Where is he?" he exclaimed. "Show him in at once. Dear me, dear me! How -fortunate! I had no idea he was in Egypt. No, I'll come into the -drawing-room." - -He hurried past Rupert, and hastened across the corridor. - -"How d'you do, my dear sir, how d'you do," he exclaimed, as he tripped -into the room and wrung his visitor's feeble hand. - -"My wife," said Mr. Bindane, bowing towards his startled spouse. - -Lord Blair took her hand in both his own. "An old friend!" he cried. -"Capital, capital! We were reading about your marriage the other day. -Splendid!" And he beamed from one to the other. Then, turning again to -Mr. Bindane, "You've come to see for yourself, eh?" he exclaimed. "Very -wise, very wise indeed." - -"It's a pleasure trip," the other replied; "our honeymoon, you know." - -"Of course, yes," muttered Lord Blair. "Business and pleasure!" - -"Business?" muttered Mrs. Bindane. "It's the first I've heard of it. -What a dark horse you are, Benifett." And she abused him roundly in that -absurd mimicry of the dialect of the slums which was habitual with her. - -Muriel looked vacant. Her thoughts were racing ahead. Here was the -desired accomplice, married to a rich fool who was evidently on the best -of terms with her father. They had a private steamer on the Nile. Could -anything be better, more secluded, more romantic? All she had to do was -to find her Romeo. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--ON THE NILE - - -Muriel was not slow to spy out the possibilities of her friend's -steamer. Her father, she soon discovered, was glad enough that she -should make herself agreeable to the Bindanes; for, as he explained to -her at some length, Mr. Bindane was at that time engaged in raising an -enormous sum of money for agricultural investment in the western oases -of Egypt, and it was of great importance that the luxurious -river-steamer and the Residency should be on intimate terms. - -For years Lord Blair and his predecessors had endeavoured in vain to -interest the financial world in the mineral products and rich soil of -the chain of oases which spreads across the desert between Egypt and -Tripoli. But nobody, least of all the Government, would yet trust their -money in an outlying territory so recently explored and opened up. Then -Benifett Bindane had wandered into the Foreign Office, when Lord Blair -was on leave in England, and had remarked laconically that he would -raise the necessary millions. - -At first he had hardly been taken seriously, for he looked such a fool. -Later it was thought that because he looked such a fool it might be -worth while to help him to part with his money; and finally it was -discovered that he was not such a fool as he looked. The money he -proposed to find was to be mostly other people's, those other people -being likely to be persuaded by the fact that the money would appear to -be mostly his own. He had promised to send somebody out to Egypt to -investigate, and now, quietly and without any apparent pretext other -than that of his honeymoon, he had come himself. - -Three or four days after the Bindanes' arrival a thirty hours' excursion -up the river was planned, the party consisting of the bridal couple, -Lady Muriel, Lady Smith-Evered, Rupert Helsingham, and Professor Hyley, -the Egyptologist. The Pyramid of Meidm, some fifty miles upstream from -Cairo, was the objective; and it was proposed to start at noon, to moor -for the night near the village of Meidm, to ride over to the ruins on -the following morning, and to make the return journey to Cairo during -the afternoon and evening. - -Muriel boarded the steamer when the time came with keen interest hidden -under a casual exterior. For her it was to be a sort of trial run: she -was going to study the romantic possibilities of the Nile. If the trip -provided opportunities for Rupert Helsingham to make love to her, in -which direction his recent actions had begun to point, she would try to -arrange further excursions, perhaps with him, perhaps in other company. - -The professor was a neat and natty little man, with prominent teeth and -wistful eyes, a eunuch's voice and pretty manners; and an hour had not -passed before it was apparent that the General's lady had taken him to -her bosom. He examined an antique scarab ring upon her finger, and told -her to what dynasty it was to be dated; he showed her a somewhat similar -ring upon his own finger, and said it was not so good nor so old a -specimen as hers; he remarked what a fine old English soldier the -General was, and he sighed to think how few were left of that breed; he -poked delicate and kindly fun at the younger hostesses of Cairo, and -compared their social efforts with those of the elder generation, so -admirably represented by the lady to whom he was speaking. Lady -Smith-Evered thought him a dear little man, a designation the first two -words of which were certainly applicable. - -"They just love each other, don't they!" Rupert whispered to Muriel. - -"Yes," she replied. "I think that disposes of my chaperone." - -She made the remark with evident satisfaction, and Rupert glanced -quickly at her. His heart was beating fast. - -"You seem glad," he said. - -Muriel shrugged her shoulders. - -The afternoon was hot, and as the party lounged on deck the glare of the -sunlight upon the mirror of the water was dazzling. Mr. Bindane put on a -pair of blue spectacles, and presently gave vent to a series of -hay-feverish sneezes. - -"Good God!" exclaimed his wife. "Look at what I've married!" She seized -his unresisting arm. - -"Come, Benifett, let's go and lie down in the cabin." - -"A good idea," said Lady Smith-Evered, thankfully following her hostess -below. "I shall go to my cabin too." - -"I think forty winks for me, also," the Professor presently remarked, -feeling himself to be _de trop_. - -"Are you going to have a siesta?" asked Rupert, looking at Muriel with -fervour in his eyes. - -"Not unless I fall off to sleep in this comfy chair," she answered. "In -that case, you must promise to wake me if my mouth drops open. Pull up -your chair close to mine, and tell me the story of your life." - -Rupert stood up, and, taking off his coat, rolled back his -shirt-sleeves, revealing a pair of well-made blue-veined arms. The -leather belt which held up his white flannel trousers was pulled in -tightly, and Muriel did not fail to admire the slimness of his waist as -he settled himself in the long deck-chair at her side. - -They were screened from the sun by an Arabic awning of many colours, and -their eyes looked out across the oily surface of the water to the -luxuriant river bank which seemed to pass before them like an unfolding -picture, now revealing the open fields, now a village basking in the -sunlight, now groups of palms and cedars in the deep shadows of which -the peasants rested with their flocks, and now a native villa with -mysterious latticed shutters and silent walled gardens. Every hundred -yards or so there was a _sakieh_, by which the water was raised from the -river into the irrigation channels; and as each came into sight the -creaking of the great wooden cogwheel, and the song of the half-naked -boy who drove his patient ox round and round, drifted to their ears, -drowsily and with plaintive monotony. - -Neither Muriel nor Rupert talked much, but their sleepy proximity -engendered a quiet sympathy between them more potent than any words. Her -hands lay idly in her lap; and presently, with a lazy movement, he -extended his arm and let it fall across hers, so that his hand rested -upon her hand. She turned slightly and smiled at him, but she did not -move. Their two heads, each upon its cushion, drooped closer together. -Muriel's eyes closed, and, with a sense of gentle happiness pervading -her mind, she fell asleep. - -When she woke up, a quarter of an hour later, she knew that Rupert had -just kissed her: she still felt the touch of his lips. She did not -resent it; it was not unexpected. But somehow she felt that she was no -longer carrying out an experiment. The handsome young man beside her, -after these few weeks of probation, had managed, somehow, to step into -the sanctuary of her heart, and had seated himself audaciously upon the -throne which had stood vacant these many months. - -She sat up in her chair and passed her hands across her eyes. Then she -turned, and, with a smile upon her lips, looked steadily at her -companion. - -"You kissed me," she said. She spoke in a tone almost of awe. - -"Yes," he answered, and his voice failed him. He turned his eyes to the -bank of the river and clenched his teeth. He felt very uncomfortable. - -"Why?" she asked. Her face was very close to his, and his hand was about -her wrist. - -"Because I love you, Muriel," he whispered; and the hoarseness of his -voice would have seemed comical to her had she been in a normal -condition. - -Suddenly he put his arm about her shoulder and pulled her down to him, -so that her head lay upon his breast and her hair touched his face. She -did not resist; the drowsy warmth of the afternoon, the Oriental beauty -of their surroundings, and the still unevaporated magic of that great -enchanter, Sleep, held her powerless. - -Again and again he kissed her--kissed her mouth and her eyes, her -forehead and her cheeks, her throat and her hair; and with each touch of -his lips the fires of her womanhood leaped up within her, so that in -these few moments the whole course of her life, so it seemed to her, was -changed, and new directions, new vistas, were revealed in intense -illumination. - -At last, dazed and flushed, she released herself from his hold and stood -before him, her fingers clasping and unclasping themselves, her eyes -wild and yet tender in their wildness. - -"Rupert!" she gasped. "O Rupert!" - -Suddenly she turned and ran to the companionway, and the next moment had -disappeared. - -Rupert sprang from his chair, and banged his fist into the palm of his -other hand. "Gad!" he cried aloud, and there was exultation in his -voice. He walked the length of the deck, with his hands in his pockets; -then he sat down, and immediately got up again. His knees seemed to be -trembling under him. He wondered whether that was a symptom of love, and -decided that it was not. No he was not in love; he was just excited. And -no wonder! Muriel was one of the great heiresses of England, and one of -the most charming girls on the market, so to speak; and he had -practically got her! Well, perhaps he was in love: her kisses were -wonderful; the feeling of closeness to her was exquisite! How delighted -his father would be! "Lady Muriel Helsingham," and, in time to come, -"Lady Helsingham of Singleton!" And all that money! - -He lit a cigarette, puffed frenziedly at it, and threw it into the -river. Then he, too, went below. - -Muriel's cabin was opposite his own, and at the door he paused and -listened. He thought he heard her sigh, and his heart heat faster. She -was madly in love with him! Why hadn't he acted sooner? His -school-friend had been perfectly right: a man has only got to take his -courage in both hands and attack a woman forcibly, and she succumbs. - -He went into his cabin and shut the door briskly. He sat down on the -edge of the narrow bed, and stared critically at himself in the mirror -opposite. He was quite good-looking. He wondered how Lord Blair would -take it. After all, it was not a bad match for his daughter: he was the -son and heir of a Peer of the Realm, and his father had a very nice -little estate. - -In the cabin opposite, Muriel, likewise, sat upon the edge of her bed. -She had been crying, and there were still tears in her eyes. Surely, she -thought, this must be love that had come to her, though sudden and -unexpected had been its advent. She was profoundly stirred, and -wonderingly she recalled every moment of the experience through which -she had just passed. It had been so sweet; his eyes had looked into hers -so tenderly; his lips had aroused something so mighty within her. Of -course she would marry him if he asked her; but she was so selfish, so -stupid, and he was so clever. Everybody loved him: perhaps he would -quickly grow tired of her.... - -At tea-time she could not look at him. She talked at random to the -others, and as they all sat afterwards on deck watching the sun go down, -she still kept aloof from him. Later, in dressing for dinner, she -exacted particular care from her maid; and she was thankful that she had -brought her most becoming dress with her. - -"My dear, you look a dream!" exclaimed Kate Bindane as she came into the -dining-room. "A dam' sight too beautiful for my liking! I'll have to -keep my old man out of your way, or you'll make him feel all of a -twitter. As it is, I see him eyeing you all the time. He's a dark horse, -is Benifett: you never know what he's up to." - -And certainly during dinner his watery eyes were fixed upon her from -time to time with disconcerting directness. A glass or two of champagne -helped her to overcome a feeling of shyness in relation to Rupert, and -soon she became conscious of a growing excitement. She wondered what -would happen before the evening was over, and alternately she longed for -the meal to come to an end, and was dismayed to find it advancing so -quickly. She talked feverishly, and, indeed, Lady Smith-Evered once felt -it her duty to make signs to the butler to refrain from filling the -girl's glass. Muriel, however, observed the signal, and laughed aloud. - -"Am I talking too fast or something?" she asked, holding up her empty -glass to the hesitating butler. - -"No, it's only that wine is not very good for one in this climate," -whispered Lady Smith-Evered, her expression hinting at strange things. - -"It can't hurt her," said Mr. Bindane, yet he drank only water himself. - -As they went up on deck for their coffee, Muriel felt her face burning -and her heart thumping; and when Rupert stood at her side and -surreptitiously touched her hand she experienced so wondrous a thrill of -emotion that she forgot what she was saying at the moment to Professor -Hyley, and their conversation--something about ancient Egyptian -gods--completely broke down. - -Owing to some engine-trouble earlier in the day the steamer had not -nearly reached its destination; and now, for the sake of the passengers' -comfort, it was travelling quietly and at a much reduced pace. The night -was warm, windless, and intensely dark, for the waning moon had not yet -risen; but the stars were brilliant, and the Milky Way stretched across -the heavens like a band of ghostly silver. - -As soon as the coffee cups were removed Mr. Bindane proposed the -inevitable game of bridge, and therewith their host and hostess, Lady -Smith-Evered, and the Professor descended to the saloon, Muriel and -Rupert remaining on deck--by the tacit and tactful arrangement of Kate -Bindane, who seemed to anticipate their inclinations. - -"There's a nice little cosy corner at the stern," she whispered to -Rupert, and gave him a friendly dig in the ribs. Fortunately Muriel was -out of earshot. - -To the stern, therefore, he led his companion when at length they were -left alone, and here on a comfortable sofa they seated themselves. Nor -did he allow many moments to pass before he attempted to resume the -intimacy of the afternoon. Muriel, however, was self-conscious, and as -he kissed her she gently thrust him away from her. - -"Don't," she muttered. "Please don't, Rupert, dear." - -There was a tone of anguish in her voice, for at the dawn of love a -woman feels terror such as no man can understand. Instinctively, and -without definite reasoning, she dreads the consequences of her actions; -and whereas a man's new love is glorious with the exultation of careless -conquest, a woman's is tender with the vision of uncomprehended pain to -be. At the lightest touch of a new lover's lips she catches sight of her -whole destiny; and where a man rejoices, a woman quakes. - -Rupert was abashed, and, releasing her from his grasp, stared before him -into the darkness, while Muriel waited for him to make her quake again: -it was a wonderful sensation. - -"Why shouldn't I kiss you, Muriel?" he asked. "You love me, you know you -do." He turned to her, and his face came close to hers. "You do love me, -don't you?" - -For answer she ran her fingers through his hair and looked long at him. -In the dim light he could see that she was searching his face as though -endeavouring to find in it the assurance her womanhood required. He -hoped that her hands were not untidying him beyond quick repair: he very -much disliked having his hair ruffled. - -Again he put his arms about her, and now she did not resist. Her eyes -closed, and as in a dream she gave herself up to the emotion of the -moment. In some miraculous manner it seemed to her Rupert had developed, -and his arms that now enfolded her were suddenly endowed with celestial -strength. It was as though by loving her he had identified himself with -a force far greater than his own; and even the broken words which he -uttered seemed to have a more profound meaning. She forgot that she had -read such words in many a short story, many a novel; they sounded -beautiful to her; they came to her ears with all the enchantment of -things never before spoken in the whole history of the world. - -"O Rupert," she murmured, "do I mean all that to you?" - -"You mean heaven and hell to me, Muriel," he said, dramatically. - -For a considerable time--though time to her stood still--they sat -together in the darkness, closely held in one another's arms, his cheek -and his lips pressed against her bare shoulder and neck; and as the -moments passed the intoxication of love began to bewilder him as it had -already overwhelmed her. Her skin was so warm, so soft, so alluring, and -the surge of her breath was so entrancing! - -Suddenly they became conscious of the sound of much shouting amongst the -native crew, and at the same time the drone of the paddle-wheels ceased. -Rupert raised his head, and his hands began instinctively to tidy his -hair and to arrange his disordered tie. - -"We must have arrived," he said. "The others will be coming up on deck: -we'd better move." - -He stood up, and Muriel sank back into the corner of the sofa, her arm -across her eyes. For some moments she seemed to be unable to bring her -mind down from the heights of her dream; and Rupert watched her with -anxiety, hoping that she would speedily master herself. - -"Come," he said. "Let's walk along the deck." - -Very slowly she rose to her feet, and, with a sigh, put her arm in his. - -The steamer had evidently reached its destination, and the captain's -bell incessantly rang his orders to the engine-room, while the hurried -tread of bare feet could be heard on the bridge above them as they came -into the soft light amidships. On one side the bank of the river could -be discerned in the darkness, still some thirty or forty feet distant; -on the other the open water stretched, reflecting the innumerable stars. -To this latter side Rupert led her, and, leaning his back against the -railing above the now silent paddle-wheel, he held his hand out to her -as she stood before him. - -"Muriel," he whispered, when fervently he had kissed her fingers, "will -you be my wife?" - -She drew in her breath sharply, and her hands clasped themselves against -her breast. She had been waiting for these words, but now when she heard -them they frightened her. Somehow in the light of the electric lamps her -dream in the darkness had faded, and there was a sense of cooler reality -in her mind, a kind of reaction. Why should she say 'Yes' at once? Ought -she not to try him yet a little while before she gave herself to him? -She remembered that until today she had not known that she loved him: -perhaps it was all an illusion, created by the Nile. - -He saw the look in her face, and as he leaned back heavily against the -railing his heart sank within him. Was she only playing with him? Did -she only feel for him what he felt for her? - -"Well?" he asked, and his hands were clenched upon the iron rail. - -She did not answer. She stood staring at him with fixed eyes, and as she -did so a sensation of annoyance passed across his mind. - -"Ah!" he muttered. "You don't love me. You're only amusing yourself with -me." - -"Rupert!" she exclaimed. - -Seeing that his tactics were correct, he allowed his anger to develop. -He made a dramatic gesture and flung himself back against the railing. -At the same moment the paddle-wheel beneath him began suddenly to -revolve, as the captain manoeuvred the ship towards the shore. There was -a slight lurch; Rupert uttered an exclamation; he seemed to sway away -from her; and, heels over head, he fell into the churning water. - -Muriel sprang forward. In the half-light she saw the soles of his shoes -disappear as the black water swallowed him; then a dripping, writhing -form was lifted on a blade of the paddle and tossed into the air. She -saw his horrified eyes and his spread fingers. She heard him shriek.... - -"Help!" she screamed, and, screaming, she rushed across the deck. "Help! -Help!" - - - - -CHAPTER X--"FOR TOMORROW WE DIE" - - -Amidst the wildest clamour the rowing-boat was launched, and two -red-jerseyed native sailors took the oars, while a third, shouting and -gesticulating, stood at the tiller holding up a hurricane-lamp. Just as -they pushed off, Professor Hyley, carrying another lantern, tumbled into -the stern; and, in the unreasoning excitement of the moment, called out -"Mr. Helsingham, Mr. Helsingham! Hi, hi! Mr. Helsingham!" in a piping -voice which sounded through the darkness like that of a lost soul. - -The pandemonium upon the steamer was appalling. The jabbering native -sailors ran aimlessly to and fro, flinging ropes and buoys into the -river from the vessel's stern; while the Egyptian captain, completely -losing his head, rang and bawled orders down to the engine-room, as a -result of which the paddle-wheels churned up the water, now this way, -now that. Lady Smith-Evered and Mr. Bindane leant over the rail, -shouting instructions to Professor Hyley as the boat dropped into the -distance. - -Muriel and Kate Bindane stood together in agonized silence. There was -nothing to be done; for there was not a second rowing-boat, nor were -there any available lamps or buoys. Their eyes were fixed upon the two -points of light drifting astern, and on the illuminated figures of the -searchers. And now the misshapen moon, in its last quarter, crept out -from behind the horizon, as though curious to know what all the pother -was about, but too disdainful to throw any light upon the scene. - -At length there were renewed shouts from the boat, and much splashing of -the oars; and presently it was apparent that the men were lifting -something out of the ink-black water. A few minutes of horrible suspense -ensued as the searchers returned; and at last, in a dazed condition, -Muriel watched them raise the limp, dripping form out of the boat and -lay it on the deck. - -Mr. Bindane's servant, Dixon, knew something about the method of -resuscitation to be employed in such cases; and, with the aid of Muriel -and Professor Hyley, the sodden clothes were removed from the upper part -of the prostrate figure, and the bare white arms were worked to and fro. -Brandy in a teaspoon was forced between the blue lips by Kate Bindane, -who sent her helpless and apparently callous husband off with the -weeping Lady Smith-Evered to fetch blankets and the one hot-water bottle -which chanced to be available. - -Their efforts, however, were all in vain. With the tears flowing from -her eyes, Muriel rose from the puddle of water in which she had been -kneeling, and stood clinging to Kate's arm. - -"He's dead," she sobbed. "He's been dead all the time;" and a shudder -almost of repulsion shook her. - -She dried her tears and tried hard to pull herself together: she felt -that this undefined feeling of disgust was unworthy of any woman, and -was altogether despicable in one who had been so lately clasped in -Rupert's arms. She wanted to run away, and that primitive instinct which -produces in the mind the nameless horror of a dead body was strong upon -her. Yet, bracing herself, she resisted the sensation of nausea, and -stood staring down at the prostrate figure before her, vividly -illuminated in the glare of the electric light. - -His mouth, from which the water oozed, was slightly open, and a pale, -swollen tongue protruded somewhat from between his lips. His eyes were -closed, and wet strands of dark hair were plastered over his forehead. -His bare neck and shoulders looked thin and poor; and damp wisps of hair -covered his chest. The soaked, black trousers clung to his legs; and his -ill-shapen toes, from which the socks and shoes had been removed, were -ghastly in their greenish whiteness as they rested upon the hot-water -bottle. - -Suddenly she swayed, and the lights seemed to grow dim. She heard Kate -Bindane call out sharply for the brandy, and she was dimly conscious -that she was being led away by her maid, Ada. Her perceptions, however, -were not clear again until she aroused herself to find that she was -lying upon her bed in her cabin, and that Mr. Bindane was standing at -the door, staring down at her with his mouth open. - -She sat up quickly. "Did I faint?" she said, as the horror of -remembrance came upon her once more. - -"No," he answered. "You were only a bit giddy. You must try to sleep: -we're all going to try to. We shall be back in Cairo before sunrise." - -"Where is he?" she asked, pressing her fingers to her pale face. - -"On the sofa at the end of the deck," he said. - -She sprang to her feet. "No, no!" she cried. "Not there--please not -there!" - -She buried her face in her hands; and Benifett Bindane, disliking -hysteria, hurried away to the saloon, where he played Patience by -himself until the small hours; while his wife, Kate, wedging herself -into Muriel's narrow bed, comforted her friend until dozing sleep fell -upon them. - -The next two or three days were like a nightmare. An impenetrable gloom -seemed to rest upon the Residency; and, although the body lay in the -mortuary of a neighbouring hospital, it was as though the presence of -death were actually in the house. - -The funeral came almost as a relief; and when the imposing ceremony was -at an end, she felt as though the weight were beginning to be lifted -from her heart. For the first time since the tragedy she was able to -speak of it with calmness. - -"You know, father dear," she said, "Rupert and I came to mean a very -great deal to one another in these few weeks that we've been together." - -He glanced at her timidly, and patted her hand. - -"Yes," he answered, "I have eyes, Muriel." - -She turned and looked at him with a little smile of confidence. "We were -going to be married," she said. - -He started violently. "What!" he exclaimed. "Well, well, we must see -about that." - -"It's no good seeing about it, father," she corrected him, feeling an -hysterical desire to laugh; "he's dead." - -"The poor boy, the poor boy!" he murmured. "Such a capital fellow." - -"It was just after he had proposed to me that he fell overboard," she -told him. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he sighed. "And you had accepted him? I suppose the -shock.... How very, very sad!--He just fell backwards." - -Awkwardly, but with great tenderness, he put his arm about her. "You -must forget all about it," he whispered. "You must have a good time." - -"It was so ghastly," she said. "You see, when he asked me to be his -wife, I didn't say 'yes.'" - -"Of course not, of course not," he murmured. "Very proper, I'm sure." - -"But he thought I was only playing with him," she faltered. "He was so -angry, so hurt. And then the paddle-wheel started with a jerk, and he -overbalanced." - -"Ah, my dear," he answered, "the course of true love never runs -smoothly. An ancient saw, but a very true one! But you are young: you -will soon get over it. You must throw yourself into your duties as -hostess at the Residency; and, in the first place, I want you to help me -in a little scheme I have in mind." - -Muriel guessed what was coming, and her feelings were peculiarly -diversified. - -"I want to persuade Daniel Lane to accept some official position," he -said. "Of course I can't offer him the mere Oriental Secretaryship which -poor dear Rupert has left vacant; but I think its scope and importance -could be greatly extended, amplified, and he might be tempted." - -"I doubt it," Muriel replied. She did not know quite what to say. - -"I shall write to him at once," Lord Blair went on, nodding archly at -her. "I shall say how whole-heartedly you second my proposal." - -Muriel stiffened. "O, no, _please_," she answered, quickly, and the -colour mounted to her face. "Please leave me out of it; Mr. Lane and I -have nothing in common. I hardly know him, and much of what I do know I -dislike." - -Her father's face fell. There is no telling how far his scheming mind -had advanced into the future, nor what plans he was forming for the -well-being of his only child. It may only be stated with certainty that -he had a very great admiration for Daniel, and that he was not blind to -the fact that the object of this admiration was heir-presumptive to a -man who, by common report, was drinking himself to death. - -To Muriel, however, the prospect of having the masterful Mr. Lane -actually on the premises was disturbing in the extreme, and, during the -ensuing days, added not a little to her mental distress. - -She greatly missed Rupert's entertaining company; and although, as the -days passed, she realized that his death was not as shattering a blow to -her as she had thought, the remembrance of their brief romance often -brought the tears to her eyes. Yet even as she wiped them away she was -conscious that her sorrows were aroused rather by the tragedy itself -than by her own heart's desolation. It is true that her emotions had -been deeply stirred by his passion; but gradually the fires, lighted for -so brief a moment, died down, and she was obliged to admit that her -heart was not broken. - -But if the romantic effect of the sad affair was proved in these few -days to be less severe than she had at first supposed, there was another -aspect of the matter which had a very profound bearing upon her mental -attitude. The sudden termination of Rupert's career had set her thinking -about life in a way that she had never thought before. If death were -always so near at hand, if so simple an accident so quickly put out the -little lamp of existence, ought one not to concentrate all the forces of -the human constitution upon the enjoyment of each passing hour? - -She stood off from herself as an artist stands back from his picture, -and she saw that she was but a shadow amongst shadows, a speck of vapour -passing across time's fixed stare, having no substance of which one -could say, "this at least will remain." Today she was here; tomorrow she -would be dissolved and gone. - -To Kate Bindane she confessed all that had occurred on that fatal night. -"I don't want to be romantic," she told her. "I don't want to make more -of the thing than there was really in it. But his death means more to me -than it does to any of you others. I can't forget the sight of the soles -of his shoes disappearing into that black water. It's as though I'd seen -Death himself swallow him up. I had always thought of Death as a sort of -unknown country where one goes to; but in this case I saw it come for -him and swallow him. I saw it as an ink-black monster; it snapped him -up, and spit out the limp shell of him, but kept the essence of him in -its stomach. And it's waiting to snap up you and me. It's close at hand, -always close at hand...." - -She shuddered as she spoke; and her friend, putting her strong arm -around her, found difficulty in soothing her. - -"Well, perhaps," she replied, "it was an act of Providence to save you -from a mistaken marriage." - -"O, but he loved me," said Muriel, "and I should have come to love him -entirely. He was so sweet, so good-natured." - -"Perhaps there's something better in store for you, old girl." - -Muriel shook her head. "No," she answered, "there's nothing much but -Death for any of us. It all comes to that in the end: it all leads just -to Death." - -"Well, then, let's eat, drink, and be merry," said her friend. - -"Yes," Muriel replied, with conviction. "That's what I'm going to do. -Omar Khayyam was right: I've been reading him again." - -"He was a wise old bird," Kate Bindane commented. "Wasn't he the fellow -who said something about a bottle of claret and a hunk of -bread-and-butter in the desert? I've always thought it a fine conception -of bliss." - -Muriel clasped her hands together, and looked up with youthful fervour. -"Yes," she replied, "and he said 'Ah, make the most of what we yet may -spend, Before we too into the dust descend,' and 'Ah, fill the -cup:--what boots it to repeat how time is slipping underneath our -feet.'" - -"Yes," said Kate, "I always remember that line by thinking of boots and -slippers and feet." - -Muriel was speaking with too much earnestness to give heed to her -friend's lack of poetic reverence. "Life's so short," she went on, "that -I'm going to make the most of it. I'm going to have my fling, Kate. I'm -going to be merry." - -"Right-o!" said Kate. "I'm with you, old bean." - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THE OASIS IN THE DESERT - - -Upon a day towards the end of November, Daniel Lane was seated upon the -clean sand of the outer courtyard of the little mosque which stood at -the southern end of the Oasis of El Hamrn. It was the hour of noon, and -the shadow cast by the small, squat minaret behind him extended no -further than his white canvas shoes, as he leaned his back against the -unbaked bricks, and stared before him across the glaring enclosure to -the palm-groves outside the open gateway. - -In spite of the heat of the sun, the blue shadow in which he rested -still afforded a pleasant coolness; and clad in a somewhat frayed tennis -shirt, open at the neck, and a pair of well-worn grey flannel trousers, -held up by a stout leather belt, his figure gave the appearance of such -comfort and ease that his lazy reluctance to rise and go home to his -midday meal was understandable. - -Five Bedouin Arabs who had been laughing and talking with him, were now -standing a few yards distant at the whitewashed door of the mosque, and -were engaged in removing their red shoes before entering the sacred -building; while, at the same time, they were conversing together in -undertones, as though discussing some matter of importance. - -Daniel sprawled to his feet, and, pulling his hat over his eyes, walked -towards the whitewashed gateway which gleamed with dazzling brilliance -against the deep blue of the sky and the green of the palms; but as he -moved away his Bedouin friends hastened to him across the hot sand, and -one of the number, the white-bearded Sheikh Ali, the headman of the -Oasis, laid a hand upon his arm. - -"My friend," he faltered, speaking in the liquid-sounding Arabic of the -western desert, "there is something I would say to you." He seemed to -hesitate. - -"He is wise who listens to the wise," Daniel replied, taking hold of the -Sheikh's hand, in the native manner of friends. - -The old man smiled. "The Prophet has written: 'Seek wisdom even if it -were only to be found in China'," he said. - -Daniel looked into the kindly and, indeed, saintly face with perplexity. -He was wondering what was to come; and, raising his arms, he clasped his -two hands at the back of his neck, an attitude he was wont to assume -when he was puzzled. - -The four others, who had been hovering shyly at a little distance, came -forward; and the Sheikh, as though emboldened by their support, bared -his heart without much further preamble. He pointed out, as Daniel well -knew, that there was a feud of many years standing in the Oasis, between -the family of the speaker and that of a former Sheikh who had been -dispossessed of his office. The quarrel had become almost traditional; -and though, up till now, no very serious incident had occurred, there -was a growing danger that a brawl might take place in which somebody -might be shot, and that thus the feud might become an endless vendetta -with its reciprocal crimes of violence. - -Stripped of its pious and flowery decorations, the proposition put -forward by the Sheikh was of the simplest character. He proposed that -the Englishman should act as judge and mediator between the two -families, and should hold a court at which the whole trouble should be -ventilated; and so insistent was he that Daniel was obliged to -acquiesce. - -"Praise be to God!" exclaimed the old man, when at length he had -received the definite answer he desired; and with many pious -ejaculations of gratitude he and his friends turned to enter the mosque, -while Daniel passed out through the gateway into the rustling palm-grove -beyond. - -His way led him for four or five hundred yards through the shade of the -thickly growing trees--a dusty shade, pierced by innumerable little -shafts of sunlight; but presently he came out once more under the -dazzling sky, and, bearing off to the left, mounted a rugged path which -ascended the sloping side of a sandy hill, till, reaching the summit, it -passed over level ground towards his house which stood upon a spur of -rock overlooking the Oasis. - -Two years ago, when he had come to reside at El Hamrn to make, for the -Institute which had commissioned him, a study of the manners and customs -of the Bedouin, he had here found the abandoned ruins of an ancient -Coptic monastery, dating from the days when Christianity was still the -religion of the Egyptians; and he had established himself in their -shelter, and later had rebuilt some of the rooms, so that now his place -of abode had come to be a much-loved desert home, where month after -month was passed in quiet study, and the days slipped by in placid -contentment. - -From the windows of his rooms he could look down over the whole extent -of the dreamy little Oasis, with its sun-baked palm-groves, some three -miles in length and half a mile in breadth, its houses and tents, its -dozen wells, its few acres of tilled ground, and its miniature mosque. -All these lay in a kind of basin, surrounded by the cliffs and low hills -of the vast desert; and from his vantage-point he could look over the -swaying green sea of the massed palm-tops to the barren plateau around -about, and on a clear day he could just discern, far away to the east, -the first of the ranges of the hills which rose between his isolated -home and the far-off valley of the Nile. - -At the ruined gateway of his dwelling he was met by his three yellow -dogs who had been with him since they were puppies, and were fairly -well-mannered considering their low pariah breed; and while he was -playing with them, his servant, Hussein, came out to tell him that his -luncheon was served. Therewith he crossed the courtyard of the old -monastery, with its shattered row of cells to right and left, and its -still lofty walls of unbaked bricks, and entered the large refectory -which he had caused to be roofed over with palm-beams and dried -cornstalks spread in a loose thatch, and which now served as a kind of -entrance hall to his apartments. Upon its plastered walls some of the -ancient frescoes were still visible; and here and there a Coptic -inscription in dim red paint recorded the names of pious sentiments of -long forgotten monks; while over the ruined doorway there was an -indistinct figure of St. Michael, the patron saint of the place, whose -pale eyes and smudged lips seemed to look down on him with faded and -vacant mirth. - -A rebuilt doorway in the right-hand wall led into his whitewashed living -room, at the northeast end of which two large casements framed the -splendid view over the Oasis and the desert. - -In a corner of the room, on a small table, a simple but not uninviting -meal was spread upon a spotless tablecloth. Fresh poultry and eggs were -always plentiful in the Oasis; and on the store-room shelves there was a -large and varied supply of preserved foods, and even delicacies, which -had been brought over some months ago in a train of camels from Cairo. - -Daniel sat down to his meal with good appetite; and as he munched his -food in silence his gaze travelled round the airy room and brought back -to his heart a glow of pleasant contentment. After all, what could the -outside world give him in exchange for the peace and comfort of his -desert home? Here he had the intellectual companionship of his books and -his work, the simple friendship of courteous, good-hearted men, who had -come to regard him as a kind of teacher, and the devotion of three -well-meaning, if somewhat degenerate, yellow dogs. Here the brilliant -sun, and the splendid north wind, which blew continuously from the -distant Mediterranean across the great intervening spaces of clean -desert, brought vigour and health to his body and a kind of laughing -enthusiasm to his brain. Here he could amuse himself by long rambling -walks in the freedom of the empty desert, or, with his gun, could make -exciting expeditions in search of gazelle. Here, on the flat roof at the -top of one of the ancient towers of the monastery, he slept each night -under the blazing stars, lying in his comfortable camp-bed, breathing -the purest air in all the world, and gazing up into the vault of the -heavens, till the calm sleep of a child descended upon him. And here -from golden sunrise to golden sunset the days slipped by, each brought -to perfection by that greatest of all human blessings, an untroubled -mind. - -He rose from the table, and, lighting his pipe, sank luxuriously into a -deck-chair, a book of the poems of Hafiz in his hand, a cup of Turkish -coffee by his side, his feet resting crossed upon a wooden stool, and -the cry of the hawks and the drone of the bees making music in his ears. - -The barking of the dogs outside, followed by a knock at the door, -aroused him; and his servant entered the room. "Sir," he said, "a -soldier of the Frontier Patrol has ridden in from El Homra, bringing a -letter for your Excellency." - -Daniel threw down his book, and, making a broad gesture with his hands, -looked up at the smiling Hussein with a frowning pretence of anger. - -"Curses upon his father!" he thundered. "Will his confounded masters -never leave me in peace? Bring him in to me." - -A few moments later a smart, khaki-clad negro was shown into the room, -who saluted in military fashion, and produced a sealed envelope from the -breast pocket of his tunic. - -Daniel saw at a glance that the letter was from Lord Blair, as he had -expected. He opened it with misgiving, and read it through without any -apparent change of expression, though it was noticeable that the pipe in -his mouth was allowed to go out. Then he slowly folded the sheets, and, -thrusting them into his pocket, rose from his chair. - -"I cannot give you my answer until tomorrow morning," he said to the -messenger. "Go now and look after your camel, while Hussein prepares -food for you; and in the morning you may carry back my reply." - -As soon as he was alone once more, he pulled the letter from his pocket, -and spreading it out upon the window-sill, stood bending over it, with -wrinkled brows and brooding eyes, his elbows resting upon the sill and -his head in his hands. - - MY DEAR DANIEL, - - You will be surprised to hear from me again so soon, and you - will, I dare say, think me something of a nuisance. I am sorry - to say that a sad calamity has befallen us. Poor young Rupert - Helsingham was accidentally drowned in the Nile not many days - after you returned to the desert; and we have all been very much - cut up, especially my daughter, Muriel, in whose presence the - tragedy occurred. You will recollect that Helsingham held the - position here of Oriental Secretary; and it now falls to me to - fill the vacancy. I have therefore decided greatly to extend the - functions of the post and to offer it to you; and I shall esteem - myself fortunate if you decide to accept it. As I am very - anxious to increase by every means the respect in which the - holder of the position should be held by the native population, - I would propose to recommend you to His Majesty's Government for - early elevation to Knighthood, an honour which your scholarly - attainments and your services to the Residency fully deserve. I - trust, my dear Daniel, that you will give me the reply that I - desire; and I am sure you will know what a personal pleasure it - will be both to me and to my daughter to have you at the - Residency. - - Yours very sincerely, - - BLAIR. - -After reading through the letter two or three times, he stood for some -minutes staring before him with unseeing eyes. His first impulse had -been to reject the invitation on the instant, for he detested -officialdom and all its ways; and the thought of connecting himself with -the social life of the Residency was horrifying. But now, against his -inclinations, he obliged himself to consider the proposition with an -open mind. - -To some extent it might be said that his work in the Oasis was finished: -his notebooks contained an enormous mass of information. Yet he was loth -to consider that his task was accomplished. El Hamrn and its -inhabitants, and especially the saintly and benevolent Sheikh Ali, had -become very dear to him; and the detachment from the world made an -appeal to his nature which was very strong. His occasional journeys to -Cairo were always disturbing to the peace of his mind; and how then -could he expect to be happy in close daily contact with all that -produced unrest? - -There was this girl Muriel Blair, who, against his reason, had made some -sort of impression upon him which was hard to eradicate. He had tried -his best, even to the point of rudeness, to ignore her; and yet he had -found himself interested in her welfare, and, on his return journey to -the Oasis, he had given more thought to her than he supposed she -deserved. And now he had to confess that Lord Blair's reference to her -in his letter had aroused the response it was intended to arouse. - -During the whole afternoon he turned the matter over in his mind, and at -sunset he went out for a rambling walk into the desert behind his house; -nor did he return until his mind was made up. - -As he entered his gateway in the gathering darkness, he was met by the -Sheikh, who had come to discuss further the subject which he had opened -that morning. - -Daniel led him into his lamp-lit sitting-room, and bade him be seated; -but when the old man began to discuss the merits of his case and those -of his enemy, his host held up his hand. - -"I would first ask your advice upon my own affairs," he said. "My heart -is sad tonight, my father." - -"Let me share your sorrow," the Sheikh replied, with simple sincerity. - -"My father," said Daniel, "you have told me that long years ago you -resided for some years in Cairo and other great cities." - -The Sheikh nodded his head. "It is so," he replied. - -"Were you happy there?" - -"My son, I was young." - -"I mean," said Daniel, "do you believe that happiness is to be found in -cities?" - -The old man raised his hand and moved it from side to side. "No," he -answered, "not happiness--only pleasure. Why do you ask?" - -"Because I received a letter today...." - -"I saw the messenger," said the Sheikh. - -"I have been offered a position of some importance in Cairo. My friends -want me to leave El Hamrn, and to live in Egypt." - -Sheikh Ali uttered an exclamation of distress. "What is your reply?" he -asked. - -"Advise me, my father," Daniel answered. - -The Sheikh leant forward and silently examined his red leather shoes. -For some moments no word was spoken. At length he looked up, and his -hand stroked his white beard. "What use is it for me to advise you?" he -said. "Your decision is already made. You will leave us; but it is not -the glory of office which attracts you, nor yet the call of your duty -which bids you depart." - -"What then is it?" Daniel asked. - -"My friend," he answered, after a pause, "no son of Adam, having -strength and vitality such as yours, and enjoying the springtime of -life, can remain a _dervish_, an ascetic. It is true that you care -little for the world, that you do not desire fine clothes, nor wealth, -nor possessions. Yet you are man, and man looks for his mate. You go to -choose for yourself a wife." - -Daniel smiled. "You are mistaken," he answered. "I shall not marry for -some years to come." - -The Sheikh shook his head. "No man knows the secrets of his own heart," -he replied, "yet his friend may read them like a book written in a fair -hand. I say again, you go to choose for yourself a wife." - -The ready denial was checked upon Daniel's lips. For a moment he paused, -and it seemed to him that a sidelight had been flashed upon the workings -of his brain: then he dismissed the thought as being something very -nearly fantastic. - -"No," he said, "I am going because I believe it to be my duty. My -country needs me." - -The Sheikh made a gesture which seemed to indicate the uselessness of -argument. "It is not good for a man to live alone," he answered, with a -sigh. "Some day, perhaps, you will return to us, bringing with you your -wife." - -Daniel smiled again, but there was sadness in his face. "El Hamrn is my -wife," he said. "When I go, my heart will remain here." - -"When will your Excellency leave?" the Sheikh asked, becoming suddenly a -man of action. - -"In a few days" the other answered; "as soon as this matter of feud is -set to rights." And therewith he turned the conversation into that -channel. - -In the night as he lay upon his bed upon the tower-top, gazing up into -the immensity of the heavens, he repeated to himself, almost with -derision, the words of the Sheikh: "You go to choose for yourself a -wife." It was absurd, and yet somehow the thought made a way for itself -amongst the crowded places of his mind. To choose for himself a wife...! - -"Good Lord!" he muttered; "what a horrible idea!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE HELPMATE - - -Daniel was drying himself after his bath early next morning when Hussein -came to tell him that the soldier of the Frontier Patrol craved -permission to ask whether the reply was ready, as he was anxious to -start back as early as possible, so as not to delay the messenger who -wished to leave for Cairo at noon. - -He therefore fastened a towel around his waist, and, striding into the -adjoining room, scribbled his answer on a half-sheet of paper. - -"Excuse scrawl," he wrote, "but am having my bath, and the messenger, -whom I've kept all night, can't wait any longer. All right, I'll turn up -within a week or so and take on the job you so flatteringly offer. No -knighthood, please. D. L." - -He thrust the sheet into an envelope, and with a broad smile addressed -it: "The Rt. Hon. The Earl Blair of Hartlestone, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., etc.; -His Britannic Majesty's High Commissioner and Minister Plenipotentiary." -He felt that, since he was now to be a respectable member of society, he -ought to accustom himself at once to the world's accepted ways, even -though they seemed to him to belong to the realm of comic opera. -High-sounding titles always made him laugh. He could not explain it: it -was just a clear sense of actuality, a looking at things as they are and -not as ceremony presents them. - -Now that his mind was made up, and Lord Blair's invitation accepted, he -felt no longer troubled; and, his reply having been dispatched, he set -about packing his belongings and rounding off his affairs with the -greatest equanimity. - -To his great regret, however, he failed to bring the matter of the feud -to a successful conclusion. The chief members of the family opposed to -Sheikh Ali would not be reconciled; and all that Daniel's eloquence and -persuasion could accomplish was an agreement to maintain the _status -quo_ during the Sheikh's lifetime. But as the old man was already -bending under the weight of years, and as his hopes were concentrated -upon the succession of his son, Ibrahm, this compromise was not very -satisfactory. - -Daniel's departure was the cause of much regret in the Oasis, for he had -come to be regarded by the inhabitants as a loyal and helpful friend, -one who was full of wisdom and benevolence, and who could doctor both -their souls and their bodies. But in the case of Sheikh Ali the parting -was the occasion of deep sorrow; and the old man endeavoured on these -last days to pour into his ears all the good advice he could command. - -"This is my parting gift," said Daniel to him, when at length the hour -of setting out had arrived. "I give you my promise that when you go to -rest with your fathers, I will support with all my might the candidature -of your son, Ibrahm, for the office of Sheikh." - -The old man spread his arms wide. "God be praised!" he cried. "Now _am_ -I at peace, my dear." - -A crowd of natives followed his caravan for some distance, the men -firing their guns in the air and shouting words of encouragement and -blessing to him; and when at last the desert hills had swallowed him, he -felt that he had set behind him a phase of his life the happiness of -which he could never hope to enjoy again. - -The journey was accomplished at a moderate speed, and on the fifth -morning, soon after sunrise, they sighted the Pyramids in the distance -ahead of them, backed by the green belt of the Nile valley. The early -sun now struck full in their eyes; and Daniel, turning down the brim of -his hat, did not often look far in advance of his camel's nose until he -was within some two miles of the Pyramids. - -As he jogged along at the head of his caravan, his three yellow dogs -trotting after him, his thoughts began to be coloured by a gentle -excitement; and, for the first time, the future seemed to him to hold a -variety of interesting possibilities. - -After all, he said to himself, a man should rise above his surroundings; -and indeed his philosophy would be proved a mere pretence if his -happiness were dependent upon circumstances. Why should he dread the -restlessness of Cairene life? If there were to be unease it would arise -from within, not from without; and the citadel of his soul, of his -individuality, would hardly be a fortress worth holding if the clamour -of the world outside should be able to arouse an answering and -traitorous disturbance within. Even in Cairo he would remain master of -himself: one can be free anywhere. - -"One can be free anywhere" ... Why, those were the words used by Muriel -Blair when he had first met her; and he had laughed at them. Well, -certainly she had not appeared to be very free as she sat there in the -moonlight, with the diamonds sparkling around her throat. She did not -know what freedom was: she was a product of the social conventions. He -wondered whether she had taken his advice and had endeavoured to break -loose from them. - -He was aroused from his reverie by the sound of horses' hoofs, and, -looking up, he saw a man and two women approaching him at a fast trot. -Behind them were the Pyramids, and in the far distance the minarets and -domes of the great city rose into the splendour of the sunlight from -above the opalescent mist of the morning, backed by the shadows of the -eastern hills. The air now in the first days of December was cool and -sharp; and there was a sparkle in the sunshine which only this time of -day enjoys. - -The picture was exquisite, and for a moment his eyes rested upon it -entranced. Then he turned his attention to the three figures coming -towards him, and, with sudden excitement, he recognized the foremost of -the three as Lady Muriel. - -She reined in her horse and waved her hand. "I guessed it was you," she -cried. - -Without waiting for his camel to kneel, Daniel slid from the high saddle -and dropped to the ground. - -"Why, what are you doing out here at this time of day?" he asked her, -as, leading his camel behind him, he hastened to her side and grasped -her hand. "I'm mighty glad to see you." - -She turned to her companions, Mr. and Mrs. Benifett Bindane, and -introduced them to Daniel. She had been spending the night at Mena House -Hotel, she explained, where the Bindanes were staying, and the fresh -morning air having aroused her before sunrise, she had had an early -breakfast and had come out for a canter over the desert. - -"I spotted you a long way off," she said. "I knew you by your hat, if it -is a hat." Somehow she did not feel so shy of him as at their meeting at -the Residency. - -"I guess I'm going to shock you all in Cairo with that hat," he laughed. -"It's an old friend, and old friends are best." - -"Am I an old friend?" she asked. - -"Pretty old," he answered. "I've known you for four years, you must -remember." - -She told him that her father was not expecting his arrival for some -days, and that she feared no room had yet been prepared for him. - -"But I'm not going to stay in the house," he answered quickly. "You -didn't think I'd come and live in the town, did you?" - -Muriel felt somewhat relieved. Even if the feelings of ease in his -society which at the moment she was experiencing were to last, she had -no particular wish to have him always about the house, nor present at -every meal. - -"Well, where are you going to live?" she asked. - -He glanced around him. They were standing upon a level area of hard -sand, in the shadow of a spur of rock which formed the head of a low -ridge. The broken surface of the desert was spread out to their gaze to -north, east and west; but the rocks shut off the view towards the south. -The caravan had strayed considerably from the beaten track; and the sand -hereabouts was smooth and unmarked, except by their own footprints and -by those of the desert larks which were now singing high overhead. - -"Where am I going to live?" he repeated, suddenly coming to a decision, -in his impulsive way. "Why right here where we stand. It shall be my -home: just where I shook hands with you." - -Muriel glanced at him, wondering whether his words contained any deep -significance; but, by his smiling face, she judged that they did not. - -He looked about him with interest. "It couldn't be bettered," he -exclaimed. "It's a good mile-and-a-half back from the Pyramids, and well -out of the way of people. I'll ride in to Mena House on my camel every -morning, and take the tram into Cairo from there." - -Mr. Bindane stared at him open-mouthed. - -"Rather far away, isn't it?" he commented. "A bit lonely at nights." - -Daniel laughed. "I suppose there's something wrong with me," he -answered. "I'm always happiest alone." - -Kate Bindane picked up her reins. "I think that's the bird, Benifett, my -love," she remarked, "in fact the screeching peacock." - -Her husband looked blankly at her. - -"'The bird'," Kate explained; "a theatrical term indicating peremptory -dismissal." - -By this time the train of camels was within fifty yards of them; and -Daniel called out to his men to halt. His servant Hussein came forward, -and took charge of his camel. - -"I'll pitch my camp at once," he said to Muriel. "Then I can go and -announce myself to your father this afternoon." - -Acting on an impulse, a desire to establish friendly relations at the -outset, Muriel dismounted from her horse. "Do let me stay and help you," -she suggested. - -"Sure," said Daniel. He called to one of his men to hold her horse. - -Muriel turned and explained the situation to her friend Kate. - -"The man's practically going to live with us," she whispered: "I'd -better make friends." - -"Oh, rot!" said Kate. "He's a picturesque lunatic, and you're a bit mad -yourself, and it's a lovely day, and you've got nothing to do, and you -know you look a dream in that riding kit." She turned to her husband. -"Come along, Benifett; her ladyship's going to spend the day with the -gent from the Wild West." - -Muriel laughed. "I'll ride back to the hotel soon," she said. - -"No hurry, old sport," replied Kate; and, after a few polite remarks to -Daniel, she and her pliant husband trotted away. - -Muriel at once began to survey the surroundings. She clambered up the -sand drift to the top of the spur of rock, and there, in the fresh -morning breeze, she stood with her hand shading her eyes, gazing over -the undulating spaces of the desert. She felt like a child beginning a -holiday at the seaside and investigating the possibilities of the sands. - -The brisk morning air, the brilliant sunshine, the blue sky in which a -few little puffs of white cloud were floating, the golden desert with -its patches of strongly contrasted shadow, the distant green of the Nile -valley, the far-away minarets of the city, the singing of the larks, the -excited barkings of the three dogs, and the shouts of the camel-men: -these sights and sounds seemed to be full of vivid life. - -The shadow of her recent sorrow was quite removed from her mind; and -though her furious attempts at gaiety of late had been sadly -unsuccessful, this morning she felt that the world still contained -wonderful possibilities of adventure, and it must be admitted that her -fidelity to the memory of Rupert Helsingham was already indeterminate. - -She turned and watched Daniel as he helped in the work of unloading the -camels. He had taken off his coat, and his shirt sleeves were rolled -back from his mighty arms. He was wearing a shabby old pair of riding -breeches and gaiters; and the butt of his heavy revolver protruded from -his hip pocket. His wide-brimmed hat was pulled over his bronzed face, -and his pipe was in his mouth. He appeared to be lifting enormous loads -with incredible ease; and just now he had set all his Bedouin laughing -by walking off unceremoniously with a huge bundle of tenting, in the -ropes of which one of the natives had become entangled, thereby dragging -the astonished man across the sand as a puppy might be dragged at the -end of a string. - -Presently he came towards her, beckoning to her; and she slid down the -sandy slope to meet him. - -"Look here," he said, "this'll be a long job. I wish you'd let me send -your horse away: I'll be wanting the man who's holding him soon." - -Muriel felt abashed, and something of her old hostility returned to her. - -"I'd better go," she said. "I'm in your way." - -"No," he answered quickly "I don't want you to go. I like you to be -here--very much indeed." - -His obvious sincerity appeased her. He fetched a notebook and pencil -from the pocket of his coat, and handed them to her. - -"I'll send your horse back to the hotel," he said. "Please write a note -to your friends." - -"What d'you want me to say?" she asked, taking the writing materials -from him, her eyes curiously wide open, and having in them that -characteristic expression of assumed and mischievous innocence. - -"Say this," he replied, and, with mock obedience, she wrote at his -dictation: "Mr. Lane insists on my working. Please 'phone to my father -that he has arrived, and that I will bring him to the Residency for tea. -I'll look in at the hotel in the early afternoon." - -"Anything else?" she asked with a laugh. "Won't you send a few -directions to my maid to pack my things, and order a car to take us into -Cairo?" - -"Yes," he replied, without a smile. "You'd better add that." - -As she was writing he turned to the man who was holding her horse, and -gave him his instructions; then, having handed him the note, he sent him -galloping off. - -"Now what?" asked Muriel. Unaccountably, her heart was beating fast. - -"Now take your coat off, and come and help," he said. - -For a moment she hesitated, and a sensation very much like fear took -hold of her; but, recollecting that he was nothing more than her -father's new diplomatic Secretary, she gave herself up to the enticement -of the free and sparkling desert. - -"Come on then," she answered; "let's get at it." And pulling off her -long white linen coat, she tossed it aside, with her gloves and crop, -and rolled up the sleeves of her silk shirt. - -Daniel looked gravely at her as she stood before him in her well-cut -white breeches and brown top-boots; and for the first time Muriel could -see admiration in his eyes. She was feeling reckless, and her boyish -costume did not disconcert her: she was quite aware that her figure had -nothing of that ungainliness about the hips and knees which so often -makes the hunting-field a place of mirth. - -He wisely offered no comment upon her appearance, much as he liked the -graceful freedom and vigour which it suggested; and together they -hastened over to the camels, Muriel pretending, as they went, to spit on -her hands. - -For a couple of hours they worked with the Bedouin: erecting the tents -at the foot of the spur of rock; laying down the grass mats over the -level floors of sand; unpacking the kitchen utensils, the enamel jugs -and basins, the plates and dishes; setting up the camp bed and -collapsible tables and chairs; arranging the books in the portable -bookcase; and folding up the towels and blankets in the useful -camel-boxes, or lockers, of which there was a good supply. - -Muriel threw herself into the work with energy; and indeed she thought -it one of the best games she had ever played. She hastened to and fro, -laden with pots and pans; she crawled about on her hands and knees, -banging away at doubtful pegs, or scooping up the sand around the -skirting of the tents; she sorted out and arranged the tins and bottles -of food and drink; and she helped to heap up stones and sand to make a -sort of kennel for the dogs. - -Her labours gave her little time for conversation, and indeed a great -part of Daniel's remarks had the nature of somewhat peremptory orders -and instructions. When she dropped a glass bottle of jam, and smashed -it, he scolded her not altogether in jest; and she was quite relieved to -find that he did not make her lick it up, but, on the contrary, took -care that she did not cut her fingers. And when she tripped over one of -the tent-ropes and fell flat on her face he actually tempered his -reproofs with kindly enquiries after her general health, and dusted her -down with the greatest care. Every now and then, however, they had short -opportunities of exchanging their news; and she then gave him a few of -the less compromising details of the recent tragedy, at which he showed -genuine and undisguised distress. But she had no inclination to cast a -shadow on the morning's strenuous enjoyment; and she did not linger on -that sad subject. - -"This is just like a game of Indians or something," she said, as she sat -herself upon a packing case to rest. - -"Yes," he answered, looking down at her with amusement. "That's the -funny thing: life is generally lived on such rigid lines that when one -comes down to actuality it seems like pretence." - -He opened a tin of biscuits and a bottle of aerated water, and fetched a -couple of tin mugs from the kitchen-tent; and, thus refreshed, they -continued their work until midday. - -By this time the camp was spick and span; and the three tents which -served as dining-room, bedroom, and study, looked alluringly -comfortable. They were decorated inside in the usual Arab manner, with -bold designs and inscriptions cut out in bright coloured cotton-cloth -stitched to the canvas; and the camp-chairs of green sail-cloth, the -grass matting, and the plain wooden lockers, gave an appearance of clean -and cool comfort which rejoiced Daniel's heart. The kitchen, and the -smaller tent which was to shelter his servant at night, both stood -somewhat apart, tucked away behind a projecting arm of the rock. - -"What are you going to do with your camels and men?" Muriel asked, as -she stood in the sunlight, regarding her handiwork with satisfaction. - -"One of the camels belongs to me," he replied, "and its duties will be -to take me to and from Mena House every day, and to fetch water from the -well. My servant Hussein is going to remain with me; and his -brother--the lean fellow with the squint--will look after the camel. All -the rest of the bunch will be off back to the desert tomorrow morning, -the lucky devils." - -Muriel looked at him questioningly. "Why 'lucky'?" she asked. "Are you -sick of your fellow countrymen already?" - -He corrected himself quickly. "No," he said; "I spoke without thought. -As a matter of fact, I'm mighty glad to be here, thanks to you." - -"O, have I made any difference?" she queried, with an air of innocence. - -He put his hands into his pockets, and, sucking at his pipe, regarded -her thoughtfully. "Yes," he said at length, "I think you've made all the -difference." And then, as though afraid that his words might be thought -to bear a romantic interpretation, he added: "You've made the place look -fine." - -Hussein now served an excellent little luncheon consisting of particular -delicacies from the store-cupboard, washed down with refreshing -lime-juice and soda; and Muriel did full justice to the meal. When she -had devoured everything within sight, like a hungry schoolgirl, she -yawned loudly; and Daniel, without further question, arranged some -blankets on the floor at the side of the tent, and covered them with the -sheepskin from his saddle. - -She stared at him anxiously. "What's that for?" she asked. - -"For you to sleep on," he said. "I'm going out to see about the men, and -you'd better take the opportunity for a siesta. You look half asleep -already." - -"I think I'd better not," she replied. "We ought to be going soon." - -"Do what I tell you," he commanded, pointing to the sheepskin; and, -being indeed sleepy, she obeyed without further argument. - -"Comfy?" he asked, as she lay down. - -"Gorgeous," she answered drowsily, and shut her eyes. When she opened -them again a few moments later he had already left the tent; and, with a -sigh of supreme happiness, she settled herself down to her repose. - -Half an hour later Daniel looked into the tent and found her fast -asleep. She was lying upon her back with her legs crossed, and one arm -behind her head; and frankly he admitted to himself that she made a most -delightful picture. - -He went away again, and busied himself for half an hour in changing his -clothes and having something of a wash. He routed out quite a -respectable suit of grey flannels, and a white stock for his neck; and -thus arrayed, he returned to the sleeper. - -She lay now upon her side, her cheek resting on her two hands, her knees -drawn up; and he confessed to himself that she looked adorable. He did -not take his eyes from her for a full minute. - -He went out for a walk, and surveyed with satisfaction the position -which he had chosen for his camp; and it was half past three when he -returned once more to Muriel. - -This time she was lying on her back, with one knee raised, one arm -across her breast, and the other flung out upon the floor. He sat -himself down in the entrance of the tent, and lit his pipe. He did not -look at her; for suddenly some door in his heart had opened, revealing a -vista of thought which was new to him. The girl upon the sheepskin was -no longer merely a charming picture: she was a woman sleeping in his -tent after her labours in the camp. She was his companion, his mate, -tired out with helping him. She was Eve, and he was Adam: and lo!--the -desert was become the Garden of Paradise. - -He got up from his chair with a start, and uttered an exclamation of -dismay. His thoughts were riotous, mutinous, foolish: he had no business -to think of her like that. He knew nothing about her--nothing, except -that she did not belong truly to his system of life. Her little show of -vigorous, outdoor activity was a pretence on her part, a mere -experiment, a new experience filling an idle day. She was not a child of -the open desert: she was a daughter of that busy, dressed up, painted -old harlot, the World. Presently she would go back to her stuffy rooms -and trim gardens, her dinner-parties and balls, her diamonds and frocks -and frills, her conventions and mockeries of life. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -When he turned to her again she had opened her eyes, and was looking at -him in dazed wonderment. She sat up with a start, and the colour flushed -into her face. Then she threw her head back and laughed happily. - -"It's nothing to laugh about," he said, gloomily. "It's nearly -tea-time." - -She jumped to her feet, and began arranging her hair, which was falling -down. "Why didn't you wake me, man?" she asked. - -"I was too busy," he replied. - -He spoke roughly, and she thought he was angry with her. "I slept like a -log," she said. "I'm so sorry." - -"It's no good being sorry," he exclaimed. "The mischief's done." - -"What d'you mean?" she asked, perplexed. - -He did not answer. "I'll go and get the camels," he said. "Ever ridden a -camel?" - -She shook her head. - -"Well, that'll wake you up all right," he laughed, and therewith left -the tent. - -She thought him very ungracious, after all the work she had done for -him. "I suppose he wanted me to clean his boots," she muttered. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE NEW LIFE - - -Perched on the make-shift saddle of a baggage-camel at an apparently -break-neck height above the ground, Muriel still had the feeling that -she was playing an elaborate game as she jogged along beside Daniel's -taller and more magnificent beast, with its gaily coloured tassels and -trappings, and its rich white sheepskin upon which its rider was seated. -Behind them rode a black-bearded son of the desert, with a white -_bernous_ over his head, silver-mounted pistols stuck into his sash, and -a rifle slung over his shoulders. Daniel was holding her guiding-rope, -and her two hands were therefore free, as she bounced up and down, to -cling on to the sides of the saddle--a circumstance for which she was -grateful, although it caused her to feel like a captive being led into -slavery. - -At the gate of the hotel her companion's camel knelt at a word from him, -and he dismounted; but in her own case her less accustomed mount was not -so easily induced to go down on its knees, and startled by its antics, -she recklessly slid from the saddle and hung for a moment at its side, -her legs kicking about in the air. A moment later she tumbled into -Daniel's arms, and presently found herself deposited, like a piece of -baggage, upon the doorstep, in front of Mrs. Bindane, who happened to be -standing in the entrance bullying the hall porter. - -"Hullo," said Kate, casually, "the washing's come home." - -Muriel felt herself all over carefully, as though to make sure that her -anatomy was still reasonably complete, and then, linking her arm in that -of her friend, described to her the day's strenuous events; while -Daniel, feeling that his presence was not required during these -confidences, went over to his attendant to give him his instructions. - -"My dear," said Muriel enthusiastically, "we've made a lovely camp out -there. It's like a story out of the _Arabian Nights_." - -Kate Bindane looked at her suspiciously. "Well, you be careful of those -stories," she said. "They generally need a lot of expurgation before -they're fit for family reading. Isn't this the man you told me kept a -harm in the desert?" - -"So they say," she answered. "Anyway he's evidently given it up." - -"He'll soon collect another," her friend replied. "I expect that's the -Grand Chief Eunuch he's talking to now." - -"Did you get my note?" asked Muriel, anxious to change the subject. - -"Yes," she smiled, "and your esteemed orders received the prompt -attention of our Mr. Bindane, who 'phoned your papa, and ordered the -car, and made himself quite useful." - -After the tragic death of Rupert Helsingham, four weeks ago, Kate -Bindane had taken a gloomy aversion to their steamer, and had persuaded -her husband to get rid of it, and to come out to this hotel on the edge -of the desert. Muriel had, on more than one occasion, spent the night -here with them in their comfortable suite of rooms; and now as she said -"good-bye," she made arrangements for future meetings and visits, while -Daniel, in a spasm of hospitality, suggested that they should make use -of his camp as an occasional halting-place. - -"During the day, while I'm at work in Cairo," he said, "you can make use -of my tents. I'll tell my servant to look after you." - -Kate Bindane laughed. "O, come now," she answered, "that's driving your -birds right over my gun. It makes shooting too easy." - -Daniel was perplexed. "What d'you mean?" he asked, as he seated himself -beside Muriel in the car. - -"Well," said Mrs. Bindane, "you've got the reputation of being a bit -short with your fellow men; but to say you'll be glad to entertain us -provided that you yourself are not there is the limit." - -Muriel turned to Daniel. "She's only joking," she assured him; "that's -her way." - -Kate uttered an exclamation. "Oh, you little swine!" she said to Muriel. -"You're on _his_ side now!" - -"No, I'm not," Muriel protested, hastily, and the colour came into her -face. - -Daniel looked from one to the other. "I don't know what you're talking -about," he said. "I'm all at sea." - -The car moved away, and Muriel sat back in her corner luxuriously. She -was very tired, and her feet ached. She was happy to find that she no -longer felt awkward in this man's presence, and that her feminine -intuition had not deserted her, for she seemed to have learned the trick -of managing him. It was only necessary to make herself useful to him, to -roll her sleeves up and show a little muscle, and his antagonism -evaporated. He was prehistoric--that was all; and yet she could not -associate the idea of brutality with him. No, she had not quite -classified him; but at any rate she realized that she had probably been -wrong in regarding him as being contemptuous of her sex. He was only -contemptuous of uselessness. - -She glanced at him as he sat in silence by her side, and she noticed -that his expression had become grave, and even sad. - -"What's the matter?" she asked. "You look unhappy." - -He aroused himself, and smiled; but his eyes were troubled. - -"Yes, I feel a bit blue," he said. "I suppose it's the thought of my new -job." - -"I'm rather surprised," she commented, "that you have taken it on. Why -did you?" - -He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I thought it was my duty," he said. -"You see I happen to speak Arabic as fluently as I speak English, and -I've made a study of the native mind. I understand these fellows and -they understand me; and Egypt just now is craving for understanding." - -"You've got a lot to live up to," she told him. "My father thinks you -are going to be the saving of the country. I'm always hearing your -praises sung." - -He looked gravely at her. "You call to my mind," he said, "the prayer of -Abu-Bakr, the first Khalif. When he heard that people were praising him, -he used to say something like this: 'O God, Thou knowest me better than -I know myself, and I know myself better than other people know me. Make -me, I pray Thee, better than they suppose, and forgive me what they know -not.'" - -Therewith he relapsed into silence once more; and Muriel, feeling that -there was a sort of momentousness in this hour of his entrance into the -political arena, held her peace. There was in her mind a sense of pride -at the part she was playing in a great event. She felt that she was, as -it were, a sharer in a diplomatic secret; it was almost as though she, -too, were serving a great cause. Suddenly the things which made up her -social life seemed to become insignificant, and her existence took on a -larger aspect. - -As they drove up to the door of the Residency, she turned to him as -though he were an old friend. "I'm awfully glad my father is going to -have you with him," she said. "I feel a sort of personal interest in it -all." - -Daniel's reply was interrupted by Lord Blair's appearance on the steps. -He had heard the car drive up to the door, and had hastened out to greet -the newcomer. - -"Welcome, my dear Daniel," he exclaimed, holding out his arms as though -he were going to embrace his friend. "This is splendid, capital!" - -The two men shook hands, and as they did so, Lord Blair winced as though -his fingers had been crunched in a man-trap. For some minutes thereafter -he held his right hand loosely in his left, bending the joints carefully -to and fro, under the pretence of fiddling with his rings. Even after -they had entered the drawing-room and Muriel was dispensing the tea, he -was still clenching and unclenching his fist, and bending and -straightening his first finger as though surreptitiously beckoning to -somebody. - -Muriel told her father of her morning's work, and described with -enthusiasm the camp in the desert. - -"I'm very sorry," he answered, turning to Daniel, "very sorry indeed, -that you are not going to live here in the house, but I bow to your -wishes. You must consider yourself entirely free; and indeed I know we -shall lose you if you are not your own master." - -"Oh no," Daniel replied, "I'm quite prepared to follow a routine. I'll -work here all the morning, talking to your native callers, and I'll do -the correspondence at the camp in the evenings." - -"That will be admirable," said Lord Blair; and presently, when tea was -over, he led Daniel away to his study. - -"And now," he said, when they were seated, "let us discuss the question -of your salary...." - -Daniel interrupted him. "Oh, don't bother about that. I'll take whatever -the position carries--I don't suppose it's much, as it's a Foreign -Office job. I've got a small income of my own, you know; and my tastes -are simple. Get me as much as you reasonably can, of course; but don't -worry about it." - -Presently Lord Blair spoke of the question of Knighthood, and attempted -to persuade him to reconsider his decision; but Daniel was obdurate, and -very reluctantly his chief abandoned the project. - -"Let me follow my own instincts," said Daniel. "From the native point of -view your adviser on Oriental matters does not need that sort of thing." - -"Don't you think he does?" asked Lord Blair, rather doubtfully. - -"Certainly not. If you'll let me, I shall turn out all the fine English -office furniture from my official room: the desk, and the red leather -chairs, and the pictures. They're all right for a governor, but not for -the--what shall I say?--the court philosopher, as I intend to be. I want -plain bare walls, bare floors with just a rug or two, and a few chairs. -No books, or papers, or maps, or calendars, or clocks." - -"As you wish, my dear Daniel: I rely on you," said Lord Blair. - -"You see," he continued, "what English pro-consuls in the East so often -lack is the go-between, the man who tries to get at the native soul, so -to speak. You, as governor, must represent the might and the justice of -England; but I must be the voice saying 'Don't be afraid: we shall not -outrage your religion or your philosophies or your traditions.' Now I -can't be that if I'm sitting at an American desk, with an eyeglass in my -eye, and a stenographer tapping away beside me, and a large office clock -ticking on the wall. I should be so unconvincing. Do you see what I -mean?" - -"Quite, quite," Lord Blair answered. "I dare say you are right." - -His face, however, belied anything of conviction that he attempted to -put into the words. He did not want Daniel to orientalize himself to any -marked extent: he wished him to take his place in the English and -Continental society of the Residency. He had great ambitions for him, -and the idea of training him ultimately to occupy his own exalted -position was developing rapidly in his mind. He dreaded anything in the -nature of eccentricity: he had the characteristic British dislike of the -crank. Yet he could not imagine Daniel as ever becoming unbalanced, for -a kind of equilibrium and stability were apparent in all his actions. - -On the other hand, the idea of the new Oriental Secretary adopting the -rle of philosopher appealed to him; he saw the force of it; for his -experiences in the East had made him realize that if a white man is to -gain the confidence of a brown race he must be, in both senses of the -words, capable of a brown study. - -When Daniel returned to the drawing-room to say "good-bye" to Muriel and -to thank her, it was already dark outside, and the room was brilliantly -illuminated by a number of somewhat inadequately shaded electric globes. -There were five or six people in the room; and he paused for a moment in -the doorway, wondering whether he would give offence by beating an -immediate retreat. He was paying very careful regard to his behaviour, -however; and when Muriel called out to him, he was obliged to enter. - -"I'm going now," he said to her, approaching the sofa where she was -seated. "I just wanted to say 'thank you.'" He looked neither to right -nor left. - -Lady Muriel turned to a very smartly dressed woman who was seated beside -her on the sofa, and introduced Daniel. His hands were, at the moment, -clasped behind his back, and he bowed to her with great gravity. She -held out her hand, but, seeing that he had considered the more formal -bow sufficient to the occasion, withdrew it again. He thought that -perhaps he had been stiff, and at once held out his tanned and muscular -paw, but finding that it was too late, thrust it into his coat pocket, -at the moment when, for the second time, she offered her fingers. He -snatched his hand out of his pocket, but simultaneously she withdrew -hers again. - -Muriel laughed nervously, but Daniel faced the situation frankly. - -"I'm sure I don't know whether I'm supposed to shake hands or not," he -said. "What do people do in society?" - -"Which ever you like," the lady murmured, with a titter of laughter. - -"That's no good," he answered, "unless you do what the other fellow's -going to do. Anyway," he added, bending forward and very deliberately -taking hold of her irresolute hand, "how d'you do?" - -He glanced about him, and observed that the others were watching him -with mild amusement. Near him was Sir Frank Lestrange, the First -Secretary, whom he had met before--a fair-haired, clean-shaven man of -some forty years of age, whose rigid formality seemed incapable of -disturbance. Daniel shook him warmly by the hand, but for all the -impression he made he might have been greeting a tailor's dummy. - -Near the window he saw Lady Smith-Evered, talking to a pale young -Guardsman, who appeared to be in immediate need of a tonic. He went over -to her, and made his salutations with cordiality, for a year ago he had -made her acquaintance at the Residency, and he had a vague recollection -that she had taken offence at something or other he had said. He held -out his hand, but once more his pocket became its sudden place of refuge -as she bowed with all the stiffness that her undulating figure -permitted, and, with no more than a glance in his direction, turned to -continue her conversation with the Guardsman. - -In another part of the room an elderly man with sleek, grey hair was -talking to a heavy matron whose respectable cloth dress looked as though -it had been made for her by a builder of club-room furniture. Daniel -thought he recognized the man, and took a few steps towards him, but, -deciding that he was mistaken, turned on his heel and, narrowly avoiding -a collision with a small table, returned to Muriel. - -The curious thing was that though these situations were embarrassing, he -did not appear awkward. Muriel observed this remarkable fact, and -wondered at it. He was certainly out of place in a drawing-room, she -thought, but he was not therefore out of countenance; and his -_sang-froid_ seemed to deserve a more friendly treatment than it was -receiving. She therefore got up as he approached her, and in a very -audible voice asked him if he would let her help him to arrange his -official quarters on the morrow. - -He thanked her, and then, lowering his voice, asked her if she could -explain Lady Smith-Evered's very marked hostility. - -"Why, don't you know?" Muriel whispered. "She told me all about it: she -said you had run down the Army once when you were talking to her last -year." - -"Nonsense," said Daniel, "I'm sure I never did." - -Muriel nodded. "Yes, you did. She said you spoke of the officers of her -pet regiment as men who looked as though they'd been through the ranks." - -"But I meant that as a compliment," he answered. "I meant they looked as -though they weren't afraid of hard work. Had she any other complaints?" - -"No, I think that was her only grievance." - -Before she could stop him, he turned and walked straight across the room -to Lady Smith-Evered, and came to a halt immediately in front of her. - -"I was just asking Lady Muriel how I had offended you," he said, with -disconcerting directness; "and she tells me it was because you thought I -had disparaged some of our soldier friends." - -The General's lady flushed. He saw the red glow creep up from her neck -to her face, under the thick powder, and her eyes gleamed menacingly; -but she only inclined her head. - -"I want to apologize," he went on. "I'm most awfully sorry: my remarks -were stupid, and I think I must have been trying to say something -bright. Will you please forgive me?" - -The flush deepened. "I'm glad you apologize," she said, and she glanced -at the Guardsman beside her, as though to bid him take notice of what -she supposed to be the discomfiture of the offender. - -"I'm very glad that you accept my apology," he said, and with a bow he -left her. - -"What on earth did you say?" asked Muriel, when he had returned to her. - -"I apologized," he answered, quietly. - -"Ate humble pie?" she queried, with a touch of disdain. - -"I had hurt her feelings: I'm always sorry to annoy anybody," he -replied. - -"Well," she remarked, "I think you've rather annoyed _me_ now, by -climbing down like that." She did not feel that humility suited him, and -she was conscious of a sense of disappointment. - -"My good girl," he whispered, "you've got a lot to learn from the -philosophers. You must let me put you through a course of reading." - -Her disappointment flamed into anger at his words, and she responded -coldly to his adieux. When he had left the room she sat down once more -upon the sofa, and in the few moments of silence which followed, she -experienced a variety of sensations. She felt as though he were the -schoolmaster again who had scolded her; she felt abashed and did not -know why; she felt angry with him, and, after their happy hours -together, her displeasure fell like a destructive hand upon the day's -edifice; she felt that they belonged to different worlds, and that it -was hopeless to attempt to understand him; she felt that she was right -and he was wrong, and yet there was a doubt at the back of her mind as -to whether the opposite might not somehow be the case. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE COURT PHILOSOPHER - - -In the West an interest in Philosophy is considered to be an indication -of eccentricity; and the thought brings before the imagination some -long-haired and ancient professor, detached from the active world, -wandering around a college quadrangle, his hands folded, and his face -upturned to the sky as though averted from the stains of spilt food upon -his breast. In the East, however, the Philosopher is held in high -honour; and his vocation calls to mind a thousand tranquil figures each -of whom has been the power behind an Oriental throne. - -Daniel Lane was a philosopher by inclination and by education, and his -great common sense was the definite consequence of careful reasoning. - -He believed that Right was an unconquerable force which needed no -display of manners or sounding of trumpets to signal its movement; and -so long as he did not offend against the laws formulated by his -philosophy, he did not look for difficulties or defeat. - -Nor was he a man who could be terrorized by any threats; and though Lord -Blair had warned him that assassination was a likely end to a political -career in Cairo, he was not in the slightest degree troubled by the -thought. Very reluctantly he consented to profit by the activities of -the Secret Service; and he determined to dispense with their aid as soon -as he had made himself acquainted with the ramifications of native -intrigue. - -He began his work at the Residency, therefore, without trepidation; and -on the first morning of his official employment he inaugurated a -procedure which before nightfall was the talk of many in the native -quarter. - -In a secluded corner of the garden, at the end of a short terrace at the -edge of the Nile, there was a luxuriant group of palms, in the shade of -which stood a marble bench of Arabic design, built in a half-circle upon -a base of Damascus tiles. A mass of shrubs and prolific rose bushes shut -it off from the main grounds; while from passing boats it was screened -by a low parapet covered by a wild tangle of flowering creepers. This -sheltered and peaceful alcove was promptly appropriated by Daniel, and -in this setting he made his appearance in the political life of Cairo. - -His first visitor was a wealthy, silk-robed land-owner from Upper Egypt, -who desired to lay certain complaints before the British authorities, in -regard to the hostile actions of a native inspector of Irrigation. The -man had been shown into the waiting-room in the Residency, where he had -been filled with anxiety by the ticking of the typewriters in the -adjoining room, the constant ringing of telephone bells, and the hurried -passage to and fro of clerks and liveried servants. He had wondered -whether he knew sufficient English to make himself understood without -the aid of an interpreter, and whether, if the interpreter's services -were required, he would have to give him very handsome _backshish_ to -render his tongue persuasive. - -Therefore, when he was led presently across the lawn to the sunny -terrace beside the Nile, where he came upon a mild and quiet figure who -stood smoking his pipe, and idly tossing pebbles into the placid waters, -and who now greeted him in the benevolent language of the Koran, his -agitation left him upon the moment, and with it went the need of -cunning. He stated his case frankly, as he strolled to and fro with -Daniel in the sunlight, and he blessed God and his Prophet that the -interview which he had dreaded so long in anticipation should prove so -undisturbing in actuality. - -Daniel next found himself seated upon the marble bench with a -caravan-master who had failed through the ordinary channels to obtain -redress for the illegal seizure of certain goods at the Tripolitan -frontier; and this personage's amazement at the Englishman's knowledge -of the desert routes was profound. - -Later, a deputation of sheikhs from Dongola was received in the shade of -the rustling palms: grave, anxious men who had come to speak of the -disaffection of certain neighbouring tribes, and to express their own -loyalty, which was somewhat in doubt. - -At the close of the interview, while he was warning them against revolt, -Daniel happened to notice a bundle of stout wooden faggots lying near by -in readiness for use as supports for some young trees which had recently -been planted. He went across to them, and selecting one of them, carried -it back to his seat upon the bench; and presently, turning to the -sheikhs, he asked if any man amongst them could break such a faggot -across his knees. - -The youngest member of the deputation, a magnificent specimen of negroid -humanity, took the faggot in his brown hands, and strained his muscles -in the attempt to break it, but without success. His colleagues, older -men, made no trial of their lesser strength, but were satisfied to -declare the task to be impossible. - -Daniel rose and took it from them, and a moment later flung it to the -ground in two halves. "That faggot," he said, quietly resuming his seat, -"may be likened to the land of Dongola, which is to be the strong -support of the fruit-bearing tree of the Sudan. But if it fail in its -useful duty, it may thus be broken asunder by hands more powerful than -yours, and be cast into the flames." - -To the native mind a demonstration of this kind was more potent than any -words, and the deputation of sheikhs left the alcove, carrying with them -a tale which would be told to their children's children. - -As they retreated across the lawn towards the entrance, Daniel suddenly -caught sight of Muriel, whose face peered out from amongst the rose -bushes, as though she were looking to see if he were alone. - -"Hullo!" he called out; "what are you doing here?" - -"Spying on you," she answered, coming out into the open, her arms full -of roses which she had been picking. - -"That's very wrong of you," he said. - -"Well, you've taken possession of my particular corner," she laughed, -"and I always get my roses from here." - -"I'm sorry," he replied as they seated themselves upon the marble bench. -"I though you slacked about upstairs until midday." - -She looked at him squarely. "You've got a wrong idea about me -altogether," she declared. "It's true I don't spend my mornings in -smashing up Government property.... By the way, why did you break that -wooden stake across your knee?" - -He laughed quietly. "It was a parable: it represented a certain province -of the Soudan, and its possible fate at England's hands." - -She thought it out. "I wonder what would have happened," she mused, "if -you'd found that you couldn't break it. I suppose in that case you would -have said it represented England." - -"No," he answered, "I should have been in a bad fix, and it would have -served me right for showing off. But I don't often attempt what I don't -think I can do. It's a bad thing to fumble about with anything that's -beyond one, like a dog with an uncrackable bone." - -"Somebody ought to have invented a proverb," she said, "like 'Don't -worry what you can't bite.' But, you know, you're fumbling about with me -very badly." - -"Would you rather I bit clean through you right away?" he asked. -"Supposing I said I thought I had smashed you open already...?" - -"I'd pity your strange delusion," she answered, and they both laughed, -though Muriel did not feel hilarious. - -"Well, supposing I just said I thought I _could_ do so, and was going to -try?" - -"I'd reply: 'Any thing, so long as you don't worry me.'" - -Again they laughed, and this time Muriel did so with more sincerity, for -she felt that she had answered him well. - -He took a rose from the bunch in her hands, and smelt it thoughtfully. -"Yes, I'm going to try," he said at length. "I'm going to understand -you, and then make you understand yourself. I'm going to show you -yourself." - -"You're a busy man," she answered, at once estranged; "you'd better not -take on any new job." - -"It's worth while, I think," he replied. - -There was something in his voice which changed the tone of their -conversation, and arrested the development of her hostile feelings. The -flippancy of their words died away, and a new seriousness, a salient -eventfulness, took its place. Suddenly Muriel was filled with longing to -be understood, to be laid bare mentally both to him and to herself. She -felt solitary and her heart cried out for the enlightenment of -friendship; yet she did not dare to make an intimate of this man, whose -treatment of her sex did not seem to be conspicuously delicate. -Nevertheless the inadequacy, the inutility of her method of life was -very forcibly presented to her, and she seemed to be beating at the bars -of her cage. There was something so flat and unprofitable in all that -she had done, and the desire was urgent in her to realize herself and -expand. - -"O, I want to be taught," she exclaimed, "I want to be taught...." She -checked herself, and was silent. - -He looked at her in surprise, for she uttered the words with intensity, -and it was clear that she meant them; but it was not clear that they -were prompted by more than a passing emotion, for presently she began to -talk about the lighter things of her life, and she spoke of the various -events in prospect which would keep her from brooding. The greater part -of each day for the next week or so was already filled; and Muriel spoke -of these coming events as though they were dispensations granted to her -by a benevolent Fortune for her heart's comfort. - -"I've come to the conclusion," she said, "that the only way to be happy -is to be surrounded by amusing people, so that there is no opportunity -for thinking about oneself." - -He shook his head. "No, you're wrong. Your happiness must come from -within, from the contentment and fullness of your own mind. The Buddha -once said 'Let us dwell free from yearning, among men who are anxious'; -and there is an anonymous Oriental poem which says something about the -lost paradise being hidden, really, in the human breast. My good girl," -he exclaimed, warming to his subject, "don't you realize that what you -can get from this restless world of 'society' you live in is only -pleasure, not happiness, and even at that it doesn't last. You are like -a punctured wheel: so long as people are pumping you up, you seem to be -all right, but when they leave you alone you go flat, because your inner -tube isn't sound. You ought to be alone in the desert for a bit: it -would do you all the good in the world." - -Muriel looked at him questioningly. "Were you alone in the desert?" she -asked. There had come into her mind a vision of that harm of which she -had heard tell. - -"Well, I wasn't exactly alone ...," he replied; for he had many friends -among the natives. - -His answer gave fresh colour to her thoughts, and a sense of annoyance -crept over her. - -"It seems to me," she remarked, "that I ought to remind you of the -Biblical saying, 'Physician, heal thyself.'" - -She got up, and, with a little nod to him, strolled back to the -rose-bushes. He watched her as she added fresh blooms to the bunch she -was carrying; and he noticed how the sunlight caught her hair and made -it beautiful. He would have liked to have gone after her and taken her -in his arms. - -Presently he returned to the house, and, finding that there were no more -native visitors, went to talk over serious matters of policy with the -regular Secretaries. - -He remained to luncheon at the Residency, and at the table Lord Blair -enquired eagerly as to whether he had found his first morning's work -interesting, and appeared to be relieved to hear that such was the case. - -Muriel joined in the conversation. "I was eavesdropping behind the -bushes," she said, "and I can say with confidence that Mr. Lane enjoyed -it all thoroughly, especially the part where he smashed up the -gardener's work of weeks." Therewith she related the incident of the -wooden stake, but in her narrative the faggot became an immense -tree-trunk. - -Lord Blair rubbed his hands. "That's the sort of thing!" he exclaimed. -"Dear me, dear me!--what strength you have, Daniel!" - -"Yes," said Muriel, "his mere presence would make the dullest party -piquant. One has only to recollect that if he were suddenly to get out -of control, every person in the vicinity would run the risk of being -banged into a boneless emulsion...." - -She broke off with a laugh, and Daniel smiled affably. Somehow, in spite -of his Herculean proportions, he was not a man one would associate with -violence. - -After luncheon, Daniel spent some time in talking to Lord Blair in -regard to native affairs; and it was already half past three when he -left the Great Man's study, and walked across the hall to the main -entrance. Here he encountered Lady Muriel, who was just going off upon -her visit to the bazaars. She was about to step into a very new and -luxurious automobile, which Mrs. de Courcy Cavilland, wife of the -Colonel of the Dragoons, had recently purchased to the honour of the -regiment and to the dismay of her husband. This lady, a small fluffy -woman, with innocent blue eyes and sharp little teeth, was making -gushing remarks to Muriel as Daniel appeared at the head of the steps; -and three young Dragoon officers were standing behind her, like nice -little dogs awaiting their turn to go through their tricks. Actually -they were excellent fellows, but in the presence of their colonel's -wife, they bore little resemblance to the fire-eating cavalrymen of -tradition; and Daniel, as he looked down upon them from the top of the -steps, wondered which was the more disastrous influence in a -regiment--that of the colonel's wife upon the younger officers, or that -of the younger officers upon the colonel's wife. - -He felt a sort of gloomy interest in the group before him; and, as his -presence seemed to be unnoticed, he leaned against the jamb of the door, -hat in hand, watching the scene through a recurrent haze of -tobacco-smoke. - -"I suggest," Mrs. Cavilland was saying to Muriel whose back was turned -to him, "that we drive up the Mousky, and go first to the scent bazaar. -Willie Purdett, here, wants to buy some scent for his mother--Lady Mary, -you know. And then I must go to the brass bazaar: I promised dear Lady -Agatha Lawer I'd get her one of those tea-tray things. She so hates -going to the bazaars herself: she says they're so smelly. Personally, I -simply love the East...." - -Muriel took her seat in the car, and as she did so she caught sight of -Daniel. - -"Hullo!" she exclaimed, "I thought you'd gone." - -He took his pipe out of his mouth, and told her he was just going. - -Muriel introduced him to Mrs. Cavilland, who stared at him with disdain, -casting a withering glance upon the disreputable hat he was holding in -one hand, and upon the pipe in the other. She then turned away as though -the sight were unbearable. - -"Mr. Lane is a cousin of your friend Charles Barthampton," Muriel told -her; and thereat her manner changed with surprising suddenness, for the -British peerage was as meat and drink to her. - -"Why, of course," she answered, "I can see the likeness now;" and she -glanced with surprise at the mischievous smile--almost a wink--which -Muriel directed at him. "You're new to Cairo?" she added. "You must come -and see me: I'm always at home on Tuesdays." - -"Yes," said Muriel, "that will be very nice for him: he loves -tea-parties, don't you, Daniel dear?" - -Daniel looked at her curiously. His Christian name sounded strange from -her lips, and he wondered why she had used it now for the first time. -Her expression suggested that there was a private joke between them, and -the intimacy pleased him. - -"Yes, Muriel dear," he replied, gravely, and Muriel gasped; "but you -needn't blurt out my secret." He turned to Mrs. Cavilland as though to -explain. "I'm rather addicted to tea-drinking and quiet gossip," he -said. - -Mrs. Cavilland thought him somewhat forward, but she excused it in one -who was so well-connected. "We tear each other to pieces on Tuesdays," -she laughed. - -He did not reply. He was still wondering why his name, Daniel, should -have sounded so pleasant to his ears, and why the expression of silent -understanding on Muriel's face should have stirred him so subtly. It was -as though their friendship had taken a leap forward. - -He stepped to the side of the car, and put his hand on Muriel's arm. -"Don't get too tired," he said, "or you won't enjoy your dance tonight." - -"Are you coming?" Mrs. Cavilland asked him. - -"No," he answered, "I have a previous engagement with a lady in the -desert." - -"Who?" asked Muriel, quickly. She was taken off her guard. - -"A very dear friend," he replied. "Her name is Sleep." - - - - -CHAPTER XV--A BALL AT THE GENERAL'S - - -Lady Smith-Evered's dance was a social event of much importance, and -those members of the English community who were not invited had perforce -to regard themselves as outside the ranks of the elect: a fact which led -that night to much moodiness on the part of ambitious young women who -wandered about their creditable little flats and houses, hating their -mediocre husbands. On the other hand, those to whom invitations had come -somewhat unexpectedly, vied with one another in their efforts to -indicate that their presence at the General's house was to be regarded -as a matter of course; and herein, perhaps, lay the explanation of those -curious demonstrations of nonchalance which were so frequently to be -observed--the careless attitudes, the friendly words to the servants -behind the supper buffet, the assumed knowledge of the plan of the house -and garden, and the casual remarks to host and hostess. - -Muriel, of course, was the outstanding figure of the ball: not so much -because of her looks, for there were many well-favoured young women in -the ballroom, nor because of her charming frock, for the beginning of -the winter season in Cairo is notable for a general display of recent -purchases; but rather because she was her father's daughter, and, as his -heiress, one of the most frequent victims of the familiarities of the -London Press. - -She paid little attention, however, to the many pairs of eyes which -scrutinized her; for she had come here to enjoy herself, and her dancing -program was full. - -As an opening to the ball, she danced with the General; but her efforts -to avoid having her toes trodden upon caused her to indulge in such -antics that she speedily manoeuvred him to a convenient sofa, where he -puffed and blew until the military band had ceased and again renewed its -conscientious din. - -There are few noises so dispiriting as a British military band's -rendering of American ragtime; but, as has already been stated, Muriel -was determined to enjoy herself, and, save for an occasional desire to -sandbag the conductor, she was entirely untroubled by ill-humoured -thoughts as her elegant partners swung her around the room, or led her -out to rest in the illuminated garden, where a hundred gaily coloured -Chinese lanterns dispelled the mystic sorrow of the moonlight. - -After some two or three hours of dancing, however, she began to grow -weary; and when something went wrong temporarily with the suspender -which held up one of her stockings, she was glad enough to come to rest -in the supper-room. Here she seated herself next to her hostess, who was -just forming a big party at a little table, and who was jovially -endeavouring to pretend that there was much fun to be derived from -jamming oneself into the smallest possible space and eating with one -hand. - -Lady Smith-Evered, having swallowed during the evening quite a lot of -champagne, was in a talkative and even confidential mood. On several -occasions she nudged Muriel, and whispered loudly to her from behind her -fan, calling her attention to the General, who, at a neighbouring table, -was flirting resolutely with Kate Bindane. - -"He's such a Lothario," she whispered: "I'm quite thankful he's growing -old; though, mind you, he doesn't often show signs of age yet." She -laughed hoarsely, and turned her eyes upwards with a nod to express -admiration for his virility. - -Muriel, as she looked at her, conceived a violent horror of old age; and -inwardly she prayed that in her own case she would know when to abandon -the thoughts which only Youth can make beautiful. - -"Women used to be mad about him," Lady Smith-Evered went on presently, -still speaking in husky asides, "but I don't think he was unfaithful to -me, except, perhaps, when he was in India." She munched her -lobster-salad in silence for a few moments. "One can't blame him for -that, poor dear," she mused at length. "Men will be men--especially in -that climate...!" - -Muriel turned away in shame, and at once caught the eye of Lord -Barthampton, who was one of the party. He was staring at her from the -opposite side of the table. - -"Lady Muriel," he said, raising his glass to her, "Your very good -health. Cheerio!" - -Muriel thanked him, and busied herself in prodding at the food upon her -plate which was a full arm's length away from her. - -"Do let me feed you," said the good-looking youth who was sitting beside -her, and who had managed to ram himself closer to the table. - -He picked up her plate, and, screwing himself round on his chair, -presented a morsel on the end of the fork to her lips. The intimate -operation delighted him, and as he repeated it, Muriel observed the -excitement in his face. It is a most dangerous thing to feed a woman: it -arouses the dormant instincts of the Pliocene Age. - -Lady Smith-Evered patted her hand archly. "You mustn't let him do that," -she whispered. "That's the way doves begin. And look at Charles -Barthampton: he's madly jealous." - -"Jealous?--Why?" asked Muriel, glancing at Lord Barthampton, who was -scowling at her across the table. - -"My dear, haven't you eyes? Can't you see that he is making a dead set -at you?" - -"Oh, nonsense," said Muriel, a little crossly. "I've only met him once -or twice, and this evening I've had half a dance with him." - -Lady Smith-Evered smiled knowingly. "He's a very eligible young man," -she purred. - -"He drinks," Muriel remarked, shortly. - -"Oh, but he has turned over a new leaf," her hostess replied. "Didn't -you notice he drank your health in soda-water just now? He's a very good -sort. What a difference there is between him and that extraordinary -cousin of his!" - -"There is, indeed," Muriel answered, with feeling. - -The youth beside her had abandoned his attempts to feed her, and was -excitedly filling his own mouth with good things, women and food being -associated ideas in his pristine young mind. - -"Did you notice how he apologized to me?" Lady Smith-Evered remarked. - -"Who?" asked Muriel. Her thoughts were wandering. - -"Mr. Lane," she answered. "It was a great triumph." - -"Who for? You, or Mr. Lane?" Muriel's heart beat as she asked the -question, for it was meant to be a blow in defence of the man she was -beginning to regard as her good friend. - -Lady Smith-Evered was too befogged to divine her meaning. "It was a -triumph for me," she declared. "People generally find it better to be in -my good books." She made a menacing gesture to the company at large; and -three or four young officers, not quite catching her words, but judging -by her expression that she was demanding their approbation, nodded their -heads wisely. "But of course he's not quite right in his head," she went -on. "He has lived alone in the desert too much. Why, my dear, do you -know what I saw him doing yesterday in the street?" - -"What?" asked Muriel, at once alert. - -"It was just outside the Residency," she said. "I was talking to him, -when a donkey, left alone in a native vegetable cart, got its leg over -the shaft and started kicking. Well!... He lifted the creature clean off -the ground, got its leg back between the shafts, and then took hold of -its ear and whispered into it: 'Oh, you absurd ridiculous ass!' It -sounded quite uncanny." - -Lord Barthampton got up ponderously from his seat and came round the -table to Muriel. "The music's started again," he said. "It's our dance, -isn't it? Are you ready?" - -Muriel rose, somewhat relieved to take her departure from the -supper-table. As she did so her hostess again nudged her heavily. - -"Just look at the General!" she whispered. - -Kate Bindane turned round, and, catching Muriel's eye, burst out -laughing; while the General, finding his wife's gaze fixed upon him, put -his hand playfully over his face. - -"What's the joke?" Muriel asked. - -"Sir Henry is telling risky stories," replied Kate. - -"It's all right, my dear," said the General, waving his hand to his -wife. "It's only the one about the little boy and the Sunday school -teacher." - -Lady Smith-Evered laughed huskily. "I'm glad it's no worse," she -declared. "Henry, you must behave yourself." - -"She's egging me on," he replied, slapping his thigh. - -"Now then, now then!" exclaimed Kate, "none o' your sauce." - -Muriel put her hand on Lord Barthampton's arm, and turned away. She was -feeling an indefinable sense of disgust; and she was glad to merge once -more into the revolving mass of dancers, and to allow the brazen music -to beat the thoughts out of her brain. Her partner did not speak. He was -turning over in his mind the possibilities of future happiness, and the -effort absorbed his attention, so that his dancing, never of a high -standard, became atrocious. - -The only solution of his perplexing problem was for him to marry a rich -wife: then, if Daniel were to reveal the secret of his birth, he would -not suffer a knock-out blow. He would lose his title and the fortune -which went with it, but he would have refeathered his nest, and all -would be well. And the partner with whom he was now dancing was an -heiress, and a jolly fine girl into the bargain. - -He was making praiseworthy efforts to check the downward course of his -career, and ever since his interview with his cousin, he had been on the -water-waggon; but, even though his reform were complete, was Daniel to -be trusted not to dispossess him? He doubted it: the temptation would be -too great. What a dirty trick his father had played him! But he wasn't -so easily floored: he would obtain another fortune by marriage, and then -he could tell Cousin Daniel to go to hell. - -"You're looking very glum," said Muriel, as they wandered out, -presently, into the garden. - -Lord Barthampton braced himself. "Yes, I _am_ a bit down in the mouth, -little woman," he murmured. "You know, even we soldier fellows get the -hump sometimes--sort of lonely." - -Muriel glanced at him apprehensively. She saw at once that the moonlight -and the lanterns had had an instant effect upon him, and she presumed -that he would now become sentimental. Self-pity is the token of a fool, -and her feminine intuition told her that, since he was worse than a -fool, he would probably picture himself as a stern, silent Englishman of -heroic mould bravely battling against a deep and poetic loneliness. - -She sighed sweetly, for there was always something of the rogue in her. -"Yes, I understand," she whispered, and she pressed her fingers -sympathetically upon his arm. - -His line of attack seemed to be justified, and he developed it with -ardour. "Sometimes a chap comes to the end of his tether," he went on, -but paused again and squared his shoulders. "However, one's got to keep -a stiff upper lip, eh? We're out here, far from home, just to do our -duty, so we mustn't grouse. We have to keep the old flag flying." - -"The dear old flag," said Muriel fervently, feeling rather a beast thus -to play up to him, but excusing herself on the grounds of curiosity as -to what he would say next. - -"Sometimes it's hard, though," he confessed, "and I'm afraid I've been -reduced more than once to the whisky bottle and baccarat and bad -company. Ah! I know that sounds weak," he exclaimed, as she uttered a -little squeak of distress, "but you don't know the temptations of a -lonely man, with nothing to do, cursed with wealth...." - -"O, but I can guess," she replied, intoning her words as though she were -speaking Shakespearian lines. "Sunday afternoons, leaning over the -parapet, with nothing to do but spit in the river--why shouldn't you -join in a game of chance, instead of going to church? I can quite -understand it." - -He looked at her in astonishment, wondering if she were pulling his leg; -but in the moonlight he saw only a sympathetic girl, gazing into the -distance with an expression of saintly purity. - -"It's worse than that," he sighed. "A man has temptations that you -couldn't understand, little woman. What he wants is the pure friendship -of a girl." - -"An English girl," she murmured, with fervour. - -He bent forward and looked into her eyes. "Lady Muriel," he said, "will -you be a friend to me? Will you be my little English rose?" - -"Lord Barthampton ..." she began, wondering how she could terminate a -jest of which she was already tiring. - -He checked her. "Please call me 'Charles,'" he begged. - -The music began again in the ballroom, and Muriel rose with alacrity. -"Come," she said, dramatically. "Let us go back to the gay and frivolous -world." - -"Right-o!" he exclaimed, brightly, inadvertently changing his tone now -that the desired impression seemed to have been made. - -As they entered the house they encountered Lord Blair, who had looked in -at the dance for the purpose of demonstrating the perfect agreement -between the diplomatic and the military services, for it so happened -that his own policy and that of the General disagreed on every occasion -and on every essential point. He was standing in the hall, having just -made a parade of the ballroom with his hostess, and the latter was now -talking to him, calling him "George" for the benefit of the guests who -happened to be within earshot. - -As the girl and her partner approached, Lady Smith-Evered whispered that -Lord Barthampton seemed very attracted to Muriel; and she repeated her -assertion that he was a very eligible young man. - -At this, however, a frown gathered upon Lord Blair's forehead, and he -made a deprecating gesture with his thin hand. He had other plans for -his daughter which, if not yet mature, were already in train; and, it -must be confessed, he wished Barthampton an early and comfortable -demise. - -Muriel presently wandered off with her chaperone, Lady Smith-Evered; and -Lord Blair thereupon suggested that her late partner should come with -him into the smoking-room for a quiet cigar. The heavy-jowled young man -was inwardly astonished at the mark of consideration, and the thought -entered his slow-working mind that Lady Muriel's father was taking an -anticipatory interest in him. - -The smoking-room not being open to the ordinary guests, the two men -found themselves alone in it; and Lord Blair at once took up his stand, -as was his wont, upon the hearthrug, and made his customary pretence of -warming a certain part of his anatomy before the empty grate. Lord -Barthampton, meanwhile, seated himself upon the arm of a neighbouring -chair, and lit the cigar which had been proffered to him. - -"I'm afraid I shall never persuade your cousin Daniel to come to these -sort of functions," the elder man remarked, after a few casual -references had been made to the evening's entertainment. - -"No, he's a queer fellow," the other responded, shortly. - -"I have the greatest admiration for him," Lord Blair declared. "Tell me, -is he not your heir presumptive?" His words indicated only a polite -interest. - -"Yes," said Barthampton, puffing heavily at his cigar, and shifting his -legs. "But, of course, I shall marry soon--when I find the right -girl...." - -"Of course, of course," Lord Blair replied. "Very right, very proper. -But ..." he paused, "there is no hurry, is there?" - -"I'd like to have a son and heir," the other responded. "You see there's -a good deal of property involved. Luckily, I need not marry for money: -I've got plenty." He was anxious to announce his eligibility. - -"Well," said Lord Blair, speaking out of the blacker depths of his -scheming mind, "take my advice, my dear fellow, and don't marry yet -awhile. 'Marry in haste and repent at leisure,' you know--a very true -adage. You have a long life before you ... plenty of time, plenty, to -make your choice with care." - -"Yes, I'm pretty healthy," he answered; and Lord Blair looked at him -critically, hoping that he was mistaken. - -"Does the climate agree with you out here?" he asked, hopefully. - -"Well, I can't say I exactly enjoyed the summer," Lord Barthampton -laughed. "A heavy fellow like me feels the heat." - -Lord Blair's spirits rose. "A little tightness, perhaps, at the back of -the head, eh?" His thoughts were running on the possibilities of -apoplexy. - -"No," he answered, "but I'm always in such a devil of a sweat." - -"Yes, yes, very natural, I'm sure," Lord Blair murmured. "And a little -short of breath sometimes, I dare say?" - -The younger man stared at him warily. He was wondering whether the -questions were those of a prospective father-in-law; and he decided that -it was his policy to show as clean a bill of health as possible. - -"Oh, I'm as sound as a bell," he laughed. - -Lord Blair's face fell. If apoplexy were unlikely to carry him off, -perhaps there was some hope of kidney-trouble: there were ominous -pouches under the young man's eyes. - -"Some people," he said, "find that they suffer out here from pains in -the small of the back--stabbing pains, you know, with a sensation of -burning...." - -"Do they, now?" the other replied, quite interested. "No, I can't say I -ever felt 'em." - -Again Lord Blair's hopes were dashed to the ground. He knew, however, -that Barthampton was a heavy drinker, and he introduced the subject with -manifest interest, and with a disregard of principle which sorely -troubled him. - -"Doctors sometimes advise abstemiousness out here," he said, "but -personally I think a little stimulant is a good thing." - -Lord Barthampton warmed to him. "So do I," he replied heartily. "Still, -for the present I'm absolutely on the water-waggon." - -"Dear, dear!" muttered Lord Blair, fidgetting openly. "Dear me!--dear -me! That's a little drastic, isn't it?--a little unnecessary?" - -"I don't suppose I'll keep it up for long," was the reply. - -"No, why should you?" Lord Blair commented, and the younger man thought -him very broad-minded. - -The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the General, in -search of a quiet corner for a smoke, and Lord Blair, much dispirited, -presently made his way back to the ballroom, and thence home to bed. His -daughter, however, remained till past three o'clock in the morning, and -at last was one of the little group of enthusiasts which kept up the -revels to the accompaniment of amateur efforts on the piano, after the -weary band had dispersed. - -She traversed the short distance back to the Residency under the -protection of Lord Barthampton; who had managed by sheer obstinacy to -obtain this office for himself; and as she said "good-night," to him -upon the doorstep, he held her hand in his somewhat longer than was -necessary. - -"I shall always remember tonight," he said, "as the first time I have -really got to know you." - -"Will you?" she replied, feebly, not finding any appropriate comment. - -"Yes," he answered. "Good-night, little woman. Think kindly of your -lonely friend." He came closer to her. "If ever you hear anything -against me from Cousin Daniel, take it with a pinch of salt." - -"Oh, I always rely on my own judgment," she answered; and with that she -passed into the house. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--AT CHRISTMASTIDE - - -During the ensuing two or three weeks Daniel was absorbed in the -organization of his work, and it was not until the festivities of -Christmas interrupted his routine, that he was able to look about him -and take his bearings. He had found the work extremely interesting, and -already he could see some indications that his point of view was being -adopted in the general policy of the Residency, while in specific cases -Lord Blair accepted his advice with very little hesitation. - -In this atmosphere of confidence Daniel thrived and his labours -prospered. He was amused by his new insight into the Egyptian mind; and -he enjoyed his frequent rambles through those quarters of the city which -are unknown to the European visitor. Already he had native friends in -all parts of Cairo--from scavengers to Pashas; and in many of the -bazaars he was now greeted as a guest by the hospitable merchants. He -did not find any great difficulty in avoiding the more tedious of the -social functions at the Residency: and the early mornings and the -evenings were spent in tranquillity at his camp or in the surrounding -desert. - -Sometimes, returning from his duties soon after luncheon, he would fill -his pockets with biscuits and his water-bottle with cold tea, and, -mounting his camel, would ride for two hours or more into the desert, -until as the last light of day faded from the sky he would reach some -sheltered drift of sand or bed of shingle amongst the rocks; and here he -would refresh himself and take his rest, mental and physical, in the -vast solitude, until the blackness of the night enveloped him. Then, -under the glistening heavens, he would ride slowly home again, guiding -himself by the stars, and dreaming his way through the witchery of the -darkness, until the distant lights of his camp, with the promise of -supper and bed, brought him down from the dim regions of everlasting -quiescence to the pleasant things of the body, so that he would press -forward in a final rush through the night, the sharp air of the Egyptian -winter beating in his face, the planets swinging above him, and the -obscure jackal-track slipping like a trail of vapour beneath the soft -pads of his camel. - -He slept by night upon the top of the spur of rock above his tents; and -here on his camp bed, under the warm blankets, he would lie absorbed in -the splendour of the stars until sleep carried him outside the range of -astronomy. As the first shafts of the morning sun struck upon him from -above the eastern horizon, he would cast the blankets from him, and, -full of the joy of vigorous life, would clamber down to his camp, there -to bathe and dress himself in the keen air of the morning, and to devour -his breakfast in the brilliant sunshine at the door of his tent. - -Here in his beloved desert any anxieties which the day might bring were -wholly banished from his brain; and each morning he took up his duties -with a mind purged and washed clean of the dust of yesterday, enlivened -by healthy sleep and vigorous exercise, and, above all, renewed in its -unity with the everlasting Wisdom. It was as though his mighty hands -were clasped in the mightier hands of that Spirit which dwells in the -world's open spaces; and, if he strayed during his work into tangled -paths of disquietude, he stepped back, as it were, with the descending -sun into the grasp of the unfailing Friend. - -In one particular there was especial need of this refreshment and -renewal; for his thoughts were often disturbed in regard to his -friendship with Lady Muriel. He was sufficiently frank with himself to -realize that as the days passed he was growing more interested in her, -and at the same time he was well aware that any such interest was likely -to lead to discordance and unrest; for her method of life so greatly -differed from his own. - -Muriel was having what she called "a good time"; and the argument "eat, -drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die," was ever ready upon her lips. -There was a sort of defiance in her attitude to Daniel, and sometimes as -she set out upon some new chase of amusement she seemed to be daring him -to stop her. - -On a certain evening in Christmas-week this challenge had been -particularly evident. He had stayed on at the Residency until past seven -o'clock, for there had been an attempted assassination of one of the -native ministers, and Daniel had at once set himself to get to the -bottom of the trouble; and when at last he was crossing the hall on his -way out, he had come upon Muriel descending the staircase, dressed for a -dinner-party and dance which was being given at Mena House that evening. -Her luxurious automobile was standing at the door, and she had, of -course, offered to give him a lift. - -Sitting by her side under the electric light in the car, he had been -more than ever conscious of the dissimilarity of their views of life. It -was not that he disapproved of her enjoyments, but rather that he -regretted the absence of all attempt on her part to get below the -surface of things. She was satisfied by her pursuit of the pleasures of -what is called Society; and the trouble was that she had caused him to -be dissatisfied with his own more profound search after happiness. - -In his rough clothes he had seemed to be so far removed from this -exquisite dainty girl beside him, around whose white throat the pearls -glistened, and from whose gold-tasseled cloak of blue velvet there came -the faint scent of the lotus; and the disturbing fact had been -this--that he had been intoxicated by the fragrance of her, and the -touch of her arm against his. He had wanted to command her to abandon -her friends and to follow him into the desert; and suddenly he had been -aware that the expression in her eyes was one of disdain for the -hardihood that he loved. - -As they had driven up to the gates of the hotel he had called her -attention to his camel which awaited him at the roadside, in charge of a -silent native, who now raised his hand to his dazzled eyes as the -headlights of the car fell upon him. - -"Now confess," she had said, "that you would rather be coming with me -into the comfort of the hotel than bumping off on that great beast into -the cold bleak desert." - -"I confess I would rather be with you tonight than alone," he answered, -"but not in the hotel. I don't like noise and clatter and stuffiness." - -She had looked at him with a smile as the door of the car was opened by -a liveried servant. "I wonder," she mused, "why you play at being a -hermit. You are not a hermit at heart." She made a gesture with her arms -which was full of enticement. "Don't you ever hear the world calling -you?" she asked. - -"Yes," he answered, gravely, "I hear it calling now; and I am shutting -my ears, because I know that it has nothing worth having to offer me." - -"If you happen to be here at midnight," she said, "I dare say I shall be -wanting a breath of air." - -The words had thrilled in his ears, and as she disappeared into the -lighted hall of the hotel he had stood for a moment irresolute. If he -were to ride down from the desert at midnight, she would stroll with him -for a few moments amongst the palms, and who could say what advancement -in their relationship would take place? But in so doing would he not be -but offering her material for new amusement? - -He had ridden, then, in silence to his camp; and at his usual hour he -had gone to his bed beneath the stars; and though he was awake at -midnight he had not stirred from beneath his blankets. - -That was three days ago; and now Christmas was passed, with its -church-service which he had attended together with the whole diplomatic -staff, and its heavy luncheon thereafter, at which he had been one of -twenty guests. Already, today, he had resumed the routine of his work; -but the short interruption had given him time to look about him, and his -bearings troubled him with their threat of dangers ahead. - -Muriel, on her part, had felt herself snubbed that night when he failed -to take advantage of the midnight hour. She had slipped out on to the -veranda of the hotel and had waited for him, thereby missing a dance and -inconveniencing at least one partner. She had suggested the meeting -experimentally, to see what might be his attitude towards her; for she -could not decide whether he were fond of her or merely interested in her -as a case of needing reformation. And when he failed to turn up at the -trysting-hour, her foot tapped angrily upon the tiles of the veranda; -and at length she had gone indoors again with her head in the air but -her heart in the depths. - -She was undoubtedly attracted to him, but she was also very decidedly -afraid of him. Sometimes it was as though he were suggesting to her that -she should abandon the luxuries and the little frivolities which she so -much enjoyed, and should trail after him into the desert, the Lord knows -where, and cook his food for him, and dress in a sheepskin, and sleep on -the hard sand with a rock for a pillow. - -One of the most serious aspects of the matter was that her father was -very obviously attempting to throw her and Daniel Lane together. At -first she had supposed that Lord Blair desired her to come under his -influence for its philosophical value; but during the last few days -certain things that had been said led her to the amazing conclusion that -her father regarded him in the light of a possible son-in-law. - -She utterly failed to picture this man in the rle of husband: she could -imagine him as a companion or even as a lover, but as a husband never! -Husbands were people in top-hats, black coats, and stripey trousers, -with whom one went to St. Margaret's, Westminster, and then to -somebody's villa on the Riviera, "kindly lent," etc.; they had a lot of -old family servants who sniffed at you and said that such-and-such -wasn't his lordship's custom; they wanted sons and heirs, and, if you -failed to provide them, they cynically made you try again; they -developed money troubles sooner or later, and cut down your expenses at -the moment when you wanted to rebuild the ballroom; as the years passed -they became coldly courteous or hotly ill-tempered; and finally you were -either divorced or else laid by their crumbling side in the family -vault, in the sure and certain hope--thank God--that there were no -marriages in heaven. - -But Daniel Lane was not of this autocratic class; nor could she picture -him living in England. If he succeeded to the Barthampton earldom he -would make an appalling mess of it; if he had to wear London clothes he -would look a sight; and if he shared the conjugal bed, it would probably -be on the roof or in the shrubbery, with gnats and things biting your -nose or an icy wind blowing around your legs. - -She noticed her father's strategic dispositions one morning just after -Christmas, when Charles Barthampton called to take her to a military -review. She went into the study to tell him of her proposed absence; but -Lord Blair put his foot down, saying to her that if she attended this -particular function she ought to do so in the company of a civilian, so -as to avoid inter-regimental jealousies: a palpable excuse which did not -bear scrutiny. He suggested that Daniel Lane should go with her; and -before Lord Barthampton could escape, his cousin was sent for, and -Muriel went off into the garden in annoyance, leaving the three men -together in the hall. Lord Blair thereupon tripped back to his study, -bidding Daniel offer his cousin refreshment in the library. - -Lord Barthampton, however, was scowling with anger, and would have taken -his departure immediately. But Daniel took him by the arm in a grip -which, though friendly, was one of iron, and, forcing him into a chair, -handed him a cigar. - -"Have a whisky-and-soda?" he then suggested. - -"No," his cousin grunted. "I'm a teetotaller, damn you." - -Daniel chuckled. "Good for you," he laughed. "Have some barley water?" - -At this Lord Barthampton scrambled to his feet, but Daniel gently pushed -him back into the chair. - -"I want to have a talk with you," he said. "I want to tell you how glad -I am to see that you are pulling yourself together. You look a different -man already." - -His cousin glared at him warily from under his heavy brows. "Yes," he -replied, "I'm not going to give you any excuse for turning me out. When -you do so, you'll have to do it against my father's wishes and -intentions; and I hope he'll come back from the grave and haunt you." - -He spoke with dramatic gloom, and Daniel could not help being sorry for -him. - -"Oh, don't worry yourself," he assured him. "As long as you behave -yourself decently, you're quite safe." - -"I doubt it," the other muttered, despondently. - -"I heard the other day," said Daniel, "from one of your brother officers -that you'd sworn off cards too." - -Charles Barthampton puffed viciously at his cigar. "I suppose you'll rob -me of all my fun before I'm through with you. Hadn't you better ask me -whether I've joined the Y.M.C.A., and regularly say my prayers?" - -"No, I'll leave that to you," Daniel answered with a smile. "But there's -one thing I should like to ask you: have you taken any steps yet to give -anything to the poor?" - -His cousin shook his head. - -"Well, hurry up and do so," said Daniel. - -Once more Lord Barthampton rose from his chair, and this time to his -relief, he was not pushed back again. "I'm late for the show," he -grumbled, "and anyway it's no fun staying here, being put through my -paces. You've got all the cards, and the game's in your hands. It makes -me sick." - -"Yes, I'm sorry," Daniel replied, and he spoke with sincerity. "But -don't worry yourself. You're going on fine." - -With that he let him go. - -Upon the following day, Lord Blair again acted in a manner which showed -the movement of his thoughts. Muriel was going out to lunch at Mena -House, and Daniel suggested that she and the Bindanes should ride over -to his camp to tea. Lord Blair appeared to be delighted at the proposal, -and gave it such hearty support that Muriel was constrained to accept -the invitation. - -Thus it came about, that soon after four o'clock Daniel was helping his -three visitors to dismount from the hired camels which had jolted them -over the desert to his tents; and no sooner had the attendant camel-men -taken charge of the animals, than he found himself smilingly following -in his friends' wake as Muriel began enthusiastically to conduct them -around the camp, as though she were its proprietress. - -She pointed out the various lockers and revealed their contents with -pride; she showed how this table folded up, or how that chair could be -converted into a bed; she called attention to the portable book-shelf, -and held up for inspection some of the volumes which she had arranged; -she introduced the three yellow dogs, and explained the merits of the -kennel she had built for them. - -In her interest and pride in the work of her hands there was a complete -absence of self-consciousness; and the situation engendered so warm a -sense of intimacy that she found herself calling Daniel by his Christian -name, as though this had long been her habit. - -When tea had been drunk and the sun was setting, Kate Bindane took her -husband by the arm and suggested a stroll. At this, however, Muriel's -mind returned to the conventions, and she intimated her desire to -accompany them. But Kate, profiting by Daniel's momentary absence with -Benifett Bindane, argued the point with her. - -"You stay with Mr. Lane, old girl," she said. "He wants to be with you, -I'm sure; and any way I want to be alone with Benifett. Damn it, we're -on our honeymoon!" - -There was a touch of wistfulness in her friend's jocular words; and -Muriel had seen enough of their married life to be understanding. Kate -Bindane had a romantic heart under her uncompromising exterior; and her -cold-blooded husband, to whom she was obviously devoted, must have -played the lover about as ardently as a jellyfish. But out here in the -solitude, the glory of the setting sun might infuse a little warmth into -his veins, and might lift his thoughts above those schemes of commercial -enterprise which seemed to constitute his sole interest in Egypt. - -The two couples therefore separated for a while; and Muriel strolled -with Daniel to a cluster of rocks, amidst which they presently seated -themselves upon the slope of a sand-drift, facing towards the south and -west. Before them, framed between the great boulders of sun-browned -limestone, the desert stretched out to the purple hills in the distance; -and above the hills the glory of the cloud-flecked western sky was -spread like a vision of the Isles of the Blessed. - -The evening was warm and windless, and no sound came to their ears -except the occasional twitter of an early bat, and the far-off wail of a -circling kestrel. It was as though some magical leap through time had -been accomplished, whereby they two had alighted upon the earth in an -age before the advent of man and beast, or after the last trump had left -the planet again desolate. Yet there was no sense of death in these -rock-strewn spaces, but rather a pulse of sleeping nature which held the -reiterated promise of life. The sand upon which they lay was warm and -golden, and the rocks about them were not cold nor dead to the touch. - -Muriel lay upon the slope, her hands behind her head; and Daniel, -sitting beside her, and looking down at her with his calm blue eyes, had -the sunset as his aureola, so that he put her in mind of some figure by -Bonozzo Gozzoli painted against gold. His massive head and shoulders -seemed to tower above her like those of a rugged presence rising out of -the rocks and sand of the wilderness; and she noticed for the first time -that his face was reminiscent of Watts' "Samson," a picture which had -always delighted her. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -Neither she nor he found any need of words, and for some time there was -almost complete silence between them, so that one might have supposed -the spell of the desert to have bewitched them. His hands idly played -with the sand; and, as the grains ran between his fingers, she seemed to -feel the memories of all her days slipping from her, until only this one -little moment of the present remained. - -"Well?" she asked at last, and there was the question of all the ages in -her eyes. - -"No man can escape his destiny," he replied; but the words did not seem -to be detached: rather they were the conclusion of a mute analysis to -which they had both contributed. - -Again there fell a silence between them, a silence, however, so filled -with unspoken words that in it their relationship grew immeasurably more -close. The glory of the sunset began to fade, and the veil of the -twilight descended gently about them; but in their hearts it was dawn, -and the sunrise was very near. - -At length he arose and stretched his arms to their full extent. Muriel -gazed up at him, wondering how he would choose to seal the compact -which, so it seemed, had been made between them in this period of their -silence. Suddenly she was conscious that her heart was beating fast, and -its throbbing brought her back from her dream. - -She sat up, and looked at him for a moment with fear in her eyes; for it -was as though she had spoken words in the depths of her being which her -tongue would have been too reticent to utter. - -Daniel clasped his hands behind the back of his head, and stood watching -her, a whimsical smile on his face. His expression was one of -perplexity, almost of amusement at the incomprehensibility of Fate. - -"Come," he said, "we had better be going, Muriel, my dear." - -He took her hand in his and raised her to her feet. - -"Yes, Daniel, we had better be going," she replied. - -She linked her arm in his; and thus they walked slowly back to the -tents, he looking down at her, and she looking up at him, and around -them the vast spaces of the desert already dim with the coming of night. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--DESTINY - - -Upon the following morning, before eleven o'clock, Muriel installed -herself in a hammock slung from the lower branches of a shady sycamore, -some yards distant from the rose-bushes and shrubs which screened her -favourite alcove, now appropriated by Daniel. She had brought with her -from the house a handful of fashion-papers and illustrated journals, but -these she did not read as, with one foot touching the ground, she swung -herself gently to and fro. She looked up through the tracery of the -foliage to the brilliant blue of the sky, and her mind was too occupied -with her thoughts to give its attention to the latest manner in which -the women of Paris, London, and New York were adorning their nakedness. - -Little shafts of sunlight, like fiery rods, pierced through the cool -blue shadow wherein she lay; and beyond the protection of the heavy -foliage the lawn of newly-sown grass gleamed in the radiance of the -morning. The faithful northwest wind, which almost daily blows over the -desert from the Mediterranean, was gently rustling the greenery -overhead, and rattling the hard leaves of the palms; and she could hear -the cry of the circling kites above her, though she could only see these -scavengers of the air when they swooped and tumbled down, as though in -play, to snatch at any edible fragments floating upon the surface of the -Nile. - -All around her she was aware of the joy of existence, flashing out like -laughter and vibrating like song. The water sprinkled upon the lawn by -the garden hose seemed to be making merry in the sunshine; a black and -grey cow lurching across the grass seemed to be overcome with hilarity; -the palm-leaves swaying in the breeze might have been shaking with -mirth; and the babbling of the river as it swirled past the terrace was -like an endless lyric of well-being. - -Muriel was too happily content to indulge in any profound self-analysis; -but vaguely she was conscious that her life had entered upon a new -phase, and shamelessly she asked herself whether the guiding hand were -love. She had realized for some time that Rupert Helsingham had made a -spurious impression upon her heart, and during the recent weeks of -amusement she had come to wonder how it was that he had aroused any -emotion in her, except that caused by his tragic death. - -Now, however, she was aglow with buoyant happiness, and she had a -persistent feeling that all was well with her. Yesterday, on her return -from Daniel's camp, she had spoken to Kate Bindane of this sense of -well-being, and her friend's reply had set her laughing. - -"My dear," Kate had said, "I'm sure I don't want to mess up your bright -picture of things; but in my opinion, look at it as you will, the joy of -life is always some sort of an itch and the scratching of it." - -But today Muriel felt that the definition was false. Her happiness was -intangible, and all that she could say with certainty was that it was -the result of her little time of silence yesterday in the desert. - -It had been so quiet and gentle, so entirely opposite to the prehistoric -rough-and-tumble which might have been expected. Her thoughts went back -to the incident of the curate at Eastbourne, who had banged her about on -the sofa, and would have rolled her on the floor, had not the ten -commandments suddenly affrighted him. She thought, too, of Rupert and -his impassioned kisses: he had left red marks on her shoulder. - -But Daniel had been so silent, so tender, and withal so genuine. He had -seemed to be part of the vast sky and desert around him, enfolding her, -and harming her not. Yet with a twist of his hand he could have killed -her. - -In the distance she heard the murmur of his voice as he talked to his -native visitors in the alcove; and she had a curious feeling that his -proximity was protective. She was no longer afraid, or even shy of him. - -Presently, across the lawn, she saw him dismissing three silk-robed -Egyptians; and, when they had taken their departure, he waved his hand -to her before returning once more behind the screen of roses and trees. -The signal was like the caress of an old friend, and by it her happiness -was enhanced. - -A few minutes later she watched another caller being piloted by a native -servant across the lawn to the alcove. He was a young _effendi_ wearing -European clothes and the usual red _tarboush_ or fez--an unhealthy -little man, who paused once to cough and to spit unpleasantly. - -Lazily she watched the servant return to the house, and she hoped that -Daniel was finding his new visitor interesting. - -She closed her eyes, and sleep was stealing upon her when suddenly she -was startled into full consciousness by the sharp crack of a -pistol-shot. She sprang out of the hammock and stood for a moment -staring about her, her heart beating. - -The sound had come from the direction of the alcove, but now all was -silent once more. Evidently nobody in the house had heard the shot; and -she might have thought it to have been an illusion of sleep, had it not -been for the manifest excitement of the birds which had risen from the -branches of the trees around. - -Almost without definite thought she hastened across the lawn, and -paused, listening, near the rose bushes. A whimpering sound of moaning -came to her ears; and at this she ran forward impulsively, and, a moment -later, came to a sudden halt upon the secluded terrace. - -Before her, upon the flagstones, crouched the figure of the young -Egyptian. He was holding his right wrist in his left hand, and was -staring up, with open mouth, at Daniel who stood over him, fingering a -revolver which now he slipped quietly into his pocket as he caught sight -of her. - -"Go away, Muriel!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?" - -The Egyptian struggled to his feet, but Daniel caught him by the arm and -half dragged him to the marble bench. - -"What's happened?" she cried. "I heard a shot." - -"Did anybody else hear it?" he asked, so sharply that his voice startled -her. - -"I don't think so," she answered. - -"Good," he said. "This young man's revolver went off by mistake: that's -all. Please go away." - -"O Daniel!" she cried, realizing the truth. "He tried to kill you!" - -"Hush!" he whispered, impatiently. "Here, help me to tie up his wrist: -I've broken it, I think." - -The Egyptian rocked himself to and fro, making no resistance as Daniel -took hold of his injured arm, talking to him the while in Arabic, as -though bidding him have no fear. With the would-be assassin's -handkerchief he bound up the injured wrist, while Muriel gave all the -assistance of which her trembling fingers were capable; and then, with -his own large handkerchief he improvised a sling, never ceasing -meanwhile to soothe the man with soft words of sympathetic -consideration, as though he had been a doctor called in to attend the -victim of an accident. - -When the bandaging had been accomplished, he turned to Muriel. "Now -please go away, Muriel dear," he said, "and thanks very much for your -help. Remember, not a word about this to anybody at all." - -He smiled at her reassuringly, and obliged her to take her departure, -again cautioning her to keep the incident secret. She walked across the -lawn to the house, dazed and anxious; and thus she went up to her room, -where, looking into the mirror, she was surprised to observe the -paleness of her face. - -Meanwhile Daniel sat upon the bench beside the Egyptian, smoking his -pipe, and waiting for him to recover his composure. The incident had -been so foolish, and the attempt upon his life so bungled, that he felt -nothing but pity for the wretched man who, he presumed, had believed -himself to be performing a patriotic act. - -The Secret Service Agents had fully warned him of possible danger, and -he had spotted this youth as a suspicious character as soon as he had -entered the alcove. The man had been trembling visibly, and when his -unsteady hand had fumbled in his pocket, Daniel had gripped his wrist on -the instant that the revolver came into sight. The bullet had struck the -balustrade and had gone singing into the river, while the weapon had -fallen with a clatter upon the pavement. - -Daniel had experienced no alarm, and now he felt no anger. He was -determined, however, to get to the root of the plot; and it seemed to -him far wiser to take action here and now, than to await a judicial -enquiry. - -As soon, therefore, as his assailant had ceased his moaning and his -monotonous rocking to and fro, Daniel took him by his left arm, and led -him across the lawn and round to the front gates of the Residency. Here -he hailed one of the little open carriages from the stand at the other -side of the square, and, helping the Egyptian into it, told the coachman -to drive to the nearest hospital. - -In the consulting room he explained to the doctor that the man was a -friend of his who had injured his wrist by a fall; and soon the mischief -was rectified and the arm put into splints. - -Daniel then announced his intention of seeing him back to his house; but -at this the man aroused himself from the silent stupor into which he had -fallen, and vehemently protested. - -"You cannot come with me," he declared. "By God, I shall give no -address." - -Daniel had been told by his agents an address at which a certain group -of malcontents were known to meet; and, chancing the man's connection -with this fraternity, he now named the house to the driver. The -_effendi_ immediately sank back into the corner of the carriage with a -look of terror upon his face which indicated clearly enough that the -surmise had been correct. - -"Do not fear," said Daniel to him, "I mean you no harm. If God is -willing I shall meet some of your friends, and we shall be able to talk -over this matter." - -Once during the journey, when their carriage had come to a momentary -standstill, in the crowded Mousky, Daniel observed a certain tension in -his companion's attitude which indicated that he was contemplating -flight; and he was prepared, therefore, when the man made a sudden leap -forward. - -"Ass!" he exclaimed, pulling him down on to the seat. The meaning of the -expression in Arabic is much the same as it is in English. - -For the rest of the way Daniel kept an eye upon the injured man; but the -sharp twinge of pain consequent upon his attempted flight had led him -once more to prefer a condition of fatalistic apathy, and he made no -second effort to escape. - -A turning off the Mousky brought them into a winding native street, -where a few low-class Greeks were the only European pedestrians to be -observed in the crowd of Orientals; and at last the driver steered his -carriage into a quiet alley, and pulled up before the arched doorway of -a whitewashed house, the upper storeys of which projected outwards until -they abutted those of the buildings on the opposite side. - -Daniel assisted the Egyptian to alight, and, as they passed through the -archway into the stone-flagged hall beyond, where the light was dim, -warned him against treachery. - -"I still have your loaded revolver in my pocket," he reminded him. "I -have come to speak to your friends, and if they are here you must lead -me to them." - -For a moment the man hesitated, but Daniel accelerated matters by -clapping his hands loudly, which is the Egyptian method of summoning a -servant; and thereupon a door was opened at the head of the crazy flight -of wooden stairs, and an untidy figure of a man in a blue-cotton shirt -appeared before them. - -"Are the others here?" asked Daniel, seeing that his companion was -recognized. - -"Upstairs," the man answered, shortly, pointing to the gallery above -him, and therewith returned whence he came, his slouching attitude -displaying all the indifference of which the untrained Egyptian servant -is so eminently capable. - -"Lead the way," said Daniel to his companion, who, recognizing the -_Kismet al Allah_, the destiny of God, obeyed without protest, mounting -the stairs in silence. - -As they neared the shut door which had been indicated to them, the -Egyptian was overcome with a fit of coughing, the rasping sound of which -echoed through the house; and, as though the sound had been recognized, -the door before them was immediately opened, and the pock-marked face -and red _tarboush_ of another young native _effendi_ appeared. - -"What's this?" he exclaimed in astonishment, pointing to his friend's -injured arm. Then, seeing the Englishman, he checked himself warily. - -Daniel took a step forward. "I have brought him back to you," he said, -affably. "He is hurt." - -A moment later they were inside the room, and Daniel was fingering the -trigger of the revolver in his pocket, as he glanced from one to another -of the five men confronting him. They had risen to their feet, and were -standing in attitudes of manifest nervousness. They had evidently been -disturbed at their midday meal, for it was now a little past noon: three -or four dishes of food stood upon the floor, and the mouths of at least -two of the men were full. The smell of garlic and stale tobacco smoke -pervaded the room; and a shaft of sunlight striking through the window -revealed a mass of flies hovering and buzzing around a plate of -something which appeared to be cold minced meat. - -"Peace be unto you!" said Daniel, using the Islamic salutation; and the -men muttered the customary response, as though by force of habit. - -Daniel stood with his back to the door which he had closed behind. "I -ask your forgiveness for my intrusion," he said, still speaking in -Arabic, "but I thought the matter urgent. This morning this gentleman -came to the Residency, where I have the honour of being employed, and -fired the revolver at me which I am now holding in my pocket. But it -pleased God to spare my life, and I immediately came to ask you why you -wished my death. You know the words of the Prophet: 'Man is a building -erected by God, and he who destroys the building of God shall himself be -destroyed.'" - -The injured man had collapsed upon a stiff bench which stood against the -wall, and was now rocking himself to and fro once more, the tears of -pain and exasperation streaming down his face. - -"He is in great pain," said Daniel, "for I am sorry to say I have broken -his wrist. I took him to the hospital, and the bones are set; but he -will require much care. I think you would do well to give him something -to eat." - -One of the Egyptians, less concerned with his own interests than the -others, fetched a cup of water, and held it to the sufferer's lips; but -his companions still stood like startled sheep, eyeing their muscular -visitor with undisguised dismay. They were all young men--students, -perhaps, or clerks in minor employ; and it was evident that they were -entirely nonplussed, for they answered not a word. - -"My object in coming here," Daniel continued, "is simply to learn from -you the cause of your anger. You must be feeling something very deeply -to resort to assassination; but why should you desire to murder _me_? I -am the only person who can help you." - -He assured them of his desire to understand their point of view, and -gradually he was able to break down their anxious reserve, so that -presently they spoke to him with a certain amount of freedom, and they -heard, probably for the first time, the English attitude expounded in -terms of idealism. They were fanatical young men whose patriotism was -nothing more than dislike of the foreigner, which, indeed, is a large -part of all patriotism; and though Daniel made little attempt to argue -with them he was able very soon to establish more or less sympathetic -relations with his would-be murderers, and perhaps to convince them that -bloodshed is foolish. - -The situation had a piquancy which amused him vastly; and when, -presently, he unloaded the revolver and handed it back to the melancholy -figure upon the divan, he could not refrain from laughter, in which, to -his surprise, the others joined. - -"Cheer up, O son of complaint!" he said. "You ought to be praising God -that you are not about to be hanged." Then, turning to the others, he -told them how glad he was that they found cause for mirth in the -situation. "Are we not all like the pieces upon a chessboard?" he asked. -"But do we realize that God is playing both sides of the game? Remember -the words of the Koran: 'They plotted, and God plotted; and God is the -best of plotters.' Now let us laugh and give thanks that no blood has -been spilt, for it is precious stuff; and finally let us agree to forget -the incident. So far as I am concerned it is _khals khlas_--absolutely -closed; and on your part, if you have further cause for hostility, come -to the Residency and ask for me, but do not bring your revolvers with -you or I shall give you no coffee." - -He arrived back at the Residency somewhat late for luncheon, and his -high spirits were such that Muriel stared at him in amazement. When the -meal was finished she took him aside, as the others left the room, and -asked where he had been. - -"I took my murderer home," he explained, "and made friends with his -fellow-assassins, and we all had a good laugh together. It seemed to be -the best way of settling the matter." - -"O Daniel," she whispered, "you're either a hero or else you're crazy." - -"No," he answered, "I'm just a philosopher--that is to say, one who sees -the comic side of life." - -"There's not much comedy about the attempted murder of one's best -friend," she answered. - -His face became serious and his eyes sought hers. "Am I your best -friend?" he asked. - -She turned from him and stared out of the window. They were alone in the -room, and he put his hand upon her shoulder, as she nodded her head in -silence. - -Suddenly he observed that her eyes were full of tears, and at this his -heart seemed for a moment to stop beating. - -"Muriel," he whispered, but his voice failed him. - -She looked round at him, and smiled; and that which was destined to -happen happened all in a moment. His arms enfolded her, and, bending -down, he kissed her with the passion of revelation--fervently, -exultantly, joyously. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--MAN AND WOMAN - - -On the following morning Daniel received a message from Lord Blair -asking him to come into the study, and he presumed that the question of -his relationship to Muriel was to be discussed, for in his present state -of upheaval he could hardly imagine that there was anything else in the -world to talk about. He was deeply troubled in his mind, for he felt -that this fever of love which had kept him awake half the night, and -which hourly was growing more intense, was a menace to his happiness and -to hers. A thousand times he had told himself that their two lives were -incompatible, and yet their unity was now to him the vital object of his -existence. Nothing else seemed to matter. - -Lord Blair received him with a whimsical smile, and waved him to a chair -as though formally introducing him to it. "Sit down, my dear Daniel," he -said. "I want to know if you can throw any light upon this extraordinary -letter which was delivered here this morning, by hand." - -He held up a large pink envelope inscribed in green ink, and handed it -across the table; and, while Daniel examined it, he sat watching him -benevolently, the tips of his thin fingers pressed together. - -The document was written in English, and the wandering handwriting was -not unlike that of a child. The address upon the envelope was arresting -in its simplicity. "His Excel. The Lord's Deputy," it read. - -"Frank Lestrange opened it," said Lord Blair; "for he presumed that the -'Lord' referred to was myself and not the Almighty, and that the -'Deputy' indicated a secretary. But the letter itself was an enigma to -him, and the enclosure a mystery." - -He held up a carefully folded pocket-handkerchief which the envelope had -contained, and Daniel glanced at it with sudden recognition. - -The document was as follows: - - Dear sir we are sorry one assassnated you yesterday because you - came to us and we see you for the brave gentilman and the - Egyptian rispect the Chivalry herewith please find and oblige - - Your Wishwellers. - -"Well?" asked Lord Blair. - -Daniel burst out laughing. "Oh, what children they are!" he exclaimed. -"I think that if we all packed up and went home, and sent out half a -dozen schoolmasters in our place, the Egyptian question would be -solved." - -"Why?--what is the meaning of the letter?" asked his lordship. - -"I'd much rather not tell you," Daniel replied. - -"But I must insist," said Lord Blair. "I must indeed insist." - -Daniel felt awkward: the story was so silly. "It was nothing much," he -explained. "A wretched boy came here yesterday to kill me, and in taking -his revolver away from him I unfortunately broke his wrist. So I made a -sling with my handkerchief and took him to the doctor. He was in great -pain, poor chap." He paused and reread the letter. - -"Go on with the story," said Lord Blair. "'This is very serious, very -serious indeed." - -"Oh, no, it's not," replied Daniel. "I guessed where he came from and -took him home, and had a talk to the whole gang of them. They were all -very young and very ardent. But there's nothing more to hear from them -now. Poor lads!--I think they were mighty glad the bullet went wide." - -"D'you mean to say you bearded them in their den?" - -"Yes; luckily I found them assembled at their dinner." - -Lord Blair sat back in his chair and toyed with a paper-knife, while -Daniel gave him a few more details of the occurrence. There was a -curious expression on his face as he listened, and his dark eyes seemed -to be shining very brightly. When the brief tale was finished, he rose -to his feet, and made a flitting expedition to the window; drummed on -the pane; and then, coming round in front of his friend, put his hands -upon his broad shoulders. - -"My dear fellow ..." he said, and hesitated. Then: "Dear me, dear me, -Daniel." Suddenly he drew himself up, and, thrusting forward a stiff -arm, grasped the other's hand and wrung it shyly but fiercely. - -Daniel looked at him in surprise, for he appeared to be battling with -some powerful emotion; and, feeling that the situation no longer -required his presence, he rose to go. - -Lord Blair stopped him. "Wait," he said; "there is another matter about -which I want to speak to you." - -Daniel guessed what was coming, and waited with impatience for Lord -Blair to open the subject. It seemed to him that his relationship to -Muriel was the only thing worth discussing. But the Great Man's thoughts -were still occupied with the tale which Daniel had unfolded, and for -some time he continued to ask questions and to make ejaculatory -comments. - -At length, however, an awkward silence and some signs of nervousness -indicated that the all-important subject was about to be introduced; but -Lord Blair, as was his wont, circled round the outskirts of the matter -for some time, speaking of his advancing years and of a father's duty to -his only child. - -Daniel was impatient to get to grips. "I take it," he said, interrupting -him, "that you want to ask me what my intentions are in regard to Lady -Muriel." - -Lord Blair smiled nervously. "Or shall we say," he suggested, "that I -want to know what Muriel's intentions are in regard to you. I have -noticed the growing intimacy between you, and you will perhaps have -observed that I have not discouraged it. But today, it is my duty to -tell you, I saw you ... er ... ahem ... I saw you kiss one another good -morning." - -Lord Blair, having thus delivered himself, sat back in his chair, his -eyes fixed upon the younger man. - -"Yes, that's so," the latter replied; "and I wish to Heaven you'd tell -me what is to be done about it. I am afraid I have got to tell you that -I love Muriel." He leant forward and knitted his brows. "I'm sunk," he -groaned, running his hand through his hair. "It's no good fighting -against it any longer." - -Lord Blair drummed his fingers on the table. "Dear me, dear me!" he -muttered. "And what does Muriel say about it?" - -"I haven't asked her," Daniel replied. "I suppose she believes she cares -for me, too; but that's just the trouble: I've been wondering all night -whether she knows her own mind. You see we are so totally unsuited to -one another." - -"What makes you say that?" Lord Blair asked, obviously pained. - -Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm a serious-minded sort of -fellow, and Muriel seems to enjoy all this Society business which I -detest." - -"She is young," was the reply. - -"And then I'm a comparatively penniless nobody, and I've heard her -described as one of the most eligible young women in England." - -"Tut, tut," Lord Blair ejaculated. "It is true that she will inherit -whatever I am able to leave; but an alliance between the Lanes and the -Blairs does not seem to me to be open to criticism. After all, our -respective names have figured side by side in many pages of English -history." - -Daniel did not wish to pursue this aspect of the matter. He wanted -Muriel, but he wished her to be sure of her love before he bound her to -him by a formal engagement: this summed up his attitude in a single -sentence. He therefore discussed the question along these lines; but it -was apparent that he was labouring under great mental and emotional -stress. He begged Lord Blair not to influence his daughter in one -direction or the other, but to leave the solution of the problem in the -hands of Providence. - -"I just want her to feel," he explained, "that I am an intimate chum of -hers; and then if the thing carries us both off our feet, why we'll come -to you and say we want to get married. If not--well, I'm not going to -bind her unless it's clear she is as head over ears in love with me as I -am now with her." - -"You may lose her," said Lord Blair, shaking his head wisely. - -"If that is going to be at any time likely," Daniel answered, "I would -rather it happened now than after we are married." - -When the interview was at an end Lord Blair sat for some time in deep -thought. He was somewhat disappointed that Daniel was not more -impetuous, and he saw no reason why Muriel should be treated with such -careful consideration, lest she should make a mistake and suffer for it -later. He regarded his daughter as decidedly flighty, and, since she was -his heiress, he wanted to see her married as soon as possible to the man -of his choice, a man of strong will who would keep her well in hand: but -that, to his surprise, was just what the mighty Daniel seemed -disinclined to do. - -Lord Blair did not believe in a man pandering to the whims of the woman -he loved: his own experience had been too devastating for that. He would -have liked to have heard Daniel say to him: "Your daughter wants -mastering: I will take her in hand, and turn her into a dutiful wife and -a God-fearing mother of your Blair-Lane grandsons." But instead of this -he had said in effect: "Since I shall always want her, if she wants me -she can have me when she wants;" and this seemed a poor policy, -bordering on self-abnegation. - -Muriel's own attitude was interesting. During this and the day following -she waited breathlessly for a proposal of marriage, and when none was -forthcoming, she decided that she would give him one week and then lose -her temper. But the week went by, and nothing happened, except that -their intimacy grew and their eyes sought one another more frequently. - -His work kept him very busy, but daily he found some moment in which he -could be alone with her; and at these times he put his arms about her -and looked into her face with such tenderness in his eyes that she could -have cried. He seemed to be searching her heart, to be trying to assure -himself of her love; and when he kissed her he appeared to restrain the -passion which she knew was consuming him. - -Once he came so near to a definite offer of marriage that she held her -breath. Yet what he said was but this: "Life is short, and there is no -time for a mistake. Think, Muriel, think!--You and I will soon have to -make a decision which cannot be altered. Think of all those things in my -method of life which you don't like or don't understand. Because the -choice is close at hand." - -And in her bedroom, in the darkness of the night, she had thought; but -her thoughts had travelled in circles, leading her nowhere. Perhaps, she -said to herself, he wished to hint that there were ugly aspects of his -life which she ought to take into consideration: perhaps he was -referring to those Bedouin women who were said to have been his -mistresses in the desert; or perhaps his frequent visits to the bazaars -and to native houses were not entirely dictated by the needs of his -work. She knew that women of the poorer classes often came to see him at -the Residency; and the stories which had come to her ears of his -goodness to widows and destitute paupers might have their origin in less -worthy circumstances than was supposed. It looked as though his -conscience were smiting him. - -He had said to her: "The woman who loves me must give up much." Was he -suggesting, she wondered, that she should defy the conventions and fly -with him into the desert? Perhaps he had no thought of marriage: he only -wanted her to ride beside him over the limitless wilderness, and to -sleep with him under the stars. His words might be interpreted as -meaning that since one day they would grow tired of one another and he -would leave her to fish for herself, she ought to consider carefully -whether the adventure were worth while. But, no: that could hardly be -his meaning, though his refraining from a definite proposal of marriage -was suspicious. - -Another matter greatly puzzled her. He did not seem to be jealous of her -familiarity with other men; and though during the last few days she had -rather enjoyed the novel experience of asking his permission, more or -less, when she was going out on what she termed a "joy-ride," she had -observed that he assumed no authority over her. He appeared to be quite -indifferent to her exits from, and interested only by her entries on to, -the stage of life. - -Daniel, as a matter of fact, was determined to eradicate all those -fierce feelings of jealousy which shamefully he was aware she had -aroused in him. The green-eyed monster was a prehistoric beast, -unfitting the fair pastures of a philosopher's mind; and he would have -none of it. He believed passionately in freedom; and he was resolved to -regard love not as a prison but as a sphere of unbounded liberty--for -man and woman alike. - -He was wroth with himself when he wished to break the heads of the young -men who hovered around her. He had not believed himself capable of such -disturbances; and his control was exerted to so much purpose that Muriel -mistook it for indifference. - -Fortunately he was usually back in the solitude of his camp by -mid-afternoon, and he did not have to watch Muriel setting out for her -almost nightly dinners, dances, or opera-parties; and when, next day, -she used to relate her adventures, he would oblige himself to show -amusement and interest, though only black unrest could have been found -in his heart. He was impatient for the time when she should grow weary -of her amusements, and thus show that her heart was full of sweeter -interest, but he had no wish to force her to leave all, as it were, and -come to him. - -Muriel, on her part, was increasingly annoyed at his apparent -indifference; and matters reached a crisis one afternoon at the end of -the first week in January. An expedition to the ancient necropolis of -Sakkra had been arranged, the party consisting of Muriel, Daniel, Mr. -and Mrs. Bindane, and John Dregge, one of the younger Secretaries at the -Residency. The Tombs of Sakkra stand at the edge of the desert, some -ten miles south of Mena House; and the excursion was made on horseback, -servants having been sent on ahead to prepare tea at the little -rest-house in the necropolis. - -During the outward journey Benifett Bindane rode close to Daniel, -cross-questioning him in regard to the possibilities of agricultural -development in the Oases. He had decided to make a journey at the end of -February through the great chain of these oases; and Lord Blair, who, as -has been said, was keenly interested in the project, had already begun -to make arrangements for the expedition. Daniel was surprised to find -that Mr. Bindane had fully grasped all the essentials of the scheme, -and, in spite of his lethargic appearance, seemed to be making himself -master of the facts. - -The subject was very interesting to both men, and Kate Bindane, who rode -with them, put in some shrewd observations; but meanwhile Lady Muriel -was left to ride ahead with John Dregge, and their two horses could be -seen moving close abreast, while Muriel's laughter frequently floated -back to them with the suggestion that she was enjoying herself -thoroughly. - -This, however, was not the fact. She did not like her companion, who was -a very proper young man with a sallow face, side whiskers in the Byronic -style, a button of a mouth, and small, watchful eyes. - -She was growing decidedly cross--"turning nasty" as they say; and though -she laughed loudly so that Daniel should hear, she made two or three -remarks to Mr. Dregge which were neither kind nor clever. The three -o'clock sun was extremely hot, the glare was intense, and her horse--a -borrowed one--had an objectionable habit of ambling when she wished him -to trot and of walking when she attempted to correct the amble. - -When at last their destination was reached, and all five of them were -together again, she would not so much as look in Daniel's direction. Tea -was served at a tressel-table on the veranda of the rest-house, an -island of cool shadow in the golden sea of sand; but Muriel enjoyed -neither the meal nor the view. Nor did she give any great attention to -the beauties of the sculptured tombs and mausoleum which they -subsequently visited; and she felt only impatience when Daniel spoke -with enthusiasm of the grace of the ancient figures. - -"We haven't advanced much in these thousands of years, have we?" he said -to her. - -"No," she answered, "and judging by the progress made in the last ten -days, it'll be many thousands of years more before anything happens." - -Daniel glanced quickly at her, with an inward chuckle, but she turned -from him with her head in the air. - -The return journey was begun some time after the sun had set, and -complete darkness descended upon them while they were still two or three -miles from the hotel. Daniel now rode beside Muriel; and the others -having pushed ahead, they presently found themselves completely alone, -moving through the indigo of the night like two phantom riders wandering -over the uninhabited plains of the moon. - -The air was cold, and sharp; and the stars gleamed overhead, so -numberless, so vivid, that the tremendous sky was densely spangled and -jewelled, in brilliance unknown to the western eye. It is only in clear, -dry air such as this that one actually sees the heavens as a vault, an -inverted bowl of deep royal blue, with the Milky Way arched across like -a vaporous white rainbow, and the greater stars and planets standing out -in bold patterns amidst the glittering atoms powdered over the whole -amazing area. - -The pathway was obscure, and Daniel had to guide himself by the great -Pyramids which were silhouetted on the horizon against the stars; but -riding became altogether dangerous while yet there was over a mile to -go, and he proposed that they should dismount and lead their stumbling -horses. - -Muriel followed his lead without protest; and Daniel, taking hold of her -arm with one hand, and leading the horses with the other, piloted her -slowly over the rough ground. He was very tenderly solicitous, anxiously -enquiring whether she were cold or tired; and she, stirred by the marvel -of the night, very largely forgot her anger. This trudging through the -intense darkness was having an extraordinary effect upon her mind: she -began to feel that her safety, indeed her very existence, depended upon -the giant of the desert who held her arm so firmly. - -"I'm glad you're with me," she said to him. "I should be frightened with -anybody else." - -"Frightened?" he asked. "But don't you feel, as I do, that the desert at -night is protective? Down there in the inhabited lands there are robbers -and murderers of body or mind; but up here I'm in my own kingdom: I go -wherever I like, do whatever I like, and there's nobody to disturb me -and nobody I disturb except a shy little jackal or two." - -Presently Muriel paused. "Wait a minute," she said. "My boot has got -some sand in it." - -She sat down upon the ground and pulled it off; while Daniel, being in -no hurry to return to the world, tethered the horses by rolling a small -boulder on to the trailing ends of the reins. This done, he came to her, -and, sitting beside her, helped her to put on the boot once more. - -She was tired physically, and tired also of being angry. The astonishing -solitude caused her heart, as it were, to go to him for companionship. -Here in this tremendous silence, in this enveloping obscurity, she -seemed to belong to him, to be his property. - -He put his arms about her. "Why have you been so unfriendly to me -today?" he asked, reproachfully. - -She leaned her head back, and her hand went up around his neck. "Because -I love you, Daniel," she whispered. - -She drew him down to her. At that moment she had no morals: she had -shaken the conventions from her like so many pieces of useless armour. -Her education had ever taught her to put small value upon such methods -of protection; and now, with a mental shrug, they fell wholly from her. -She wished only to be his, body and soul: here couched in the lap of -this great Mother Earth, and in the presence of the starry host of -heaven. - -For a moment Daniel held her tightly within his arms; and the tempest of -his passion carried him forward to the brink of heedless disaster. But -mentally, as well as physically, he was a mighty man; and now his -philosophic training in control did not fail him. - -Roughly he threw her arms from him, and, rising to his feet, gripped her -wrist. "Get up," he commanded her. "For God's sake get up!" - -He dragged her up to him, and his fingers must have left bruises upon -her arm. - -"O Daniel," she murmured, and in her abandonment there was almost -laughter in her words, and almost tears. "I'm yours--yours to do what -you like with. You can put me in your harm if you want to." - -He turned from her, and fetched the horses. "Fool, fool!" said his body -to his mind. "Again, misunderstanding the meaning of life, you have -robbed me." "Be silent, rebel," said his mind to his body. "Give me time -to see if her passion be love." "Is there any difference?" sneered his -body; and his mind replied, "Had I not thought so, you should have had -your way." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--THE SEEDS OF SORROW - - -During the ensuing fortnight circumstances were not favourable to the -development of their romance. Daniel was closely occupied with the -settling of certain political difficulties which had cropped up; and -Muriel, on her part, found herself much occupied with the social -functions of the Residency which, in the month of January, are always -very exacting. - -But if there were few opportunities for the tender intimacy of love, -there was now the compensation of a very sweet understanding between -them. There was no need, so it seemed, for a formal betrothal: the -engagement was mutually assumed, and, though no binding words had been -spoken, Lord Blair did not have to ask again what were their intentions. - -Muriel was, of course, a little disturbed at Daniel's refusal to allow a -definite announcement to be made, or even an irrevocable word to be -spoken between them; but actually his attitude was quite understandable. -He was keenly aware that his method of life was somewhat peculiar, and -he was modest enough to regard himself as a thoroughly undesirable -husband. - -Muriel had told him all about the Rupert Helsingham affair, and, with -some degree of correctness, he had attributed it to the enchantment of -the Nile. He had realized, too, that in his own case his most intimate -moments with her had occurred under exceptionally romantic -circumstances; and though he was too deeply in love thus to explain away -her emotions, he could not blind himself to the possibility that their -origin was less profound than their intensity suggested. - -He was determined not to bind her yet awhile; for, he argued to himself, -if the miracle had happened, if really she had found in him her eternal -partner, time would prove the fact to them; but if she had been building -her love on the deceptive foundations of romantic passion, nothing but -ultimate misery would come of the immediate exchange of mutual vows. - -Being a philosopher, he did not judge love's day by the tempest of its -passion: indeed, he mistrusted such storms as a frequent cause of -disastrous miscalculation. But Muriel, being woman pure and simple--if -ever there could be a woman of her upbringing either pure or simple--did -not analyse her feelings nor mistrust them. She knew only that Daniel -hung like a thunderstorm over the meadows of her heart, and she waited -in breathless, headaching silence for his lightnings and his torrents to -descend upon her. - -There was one aspect of the matter, however, which troubled him. Muriel, -he recognized, belonged to a section of English society which was very -lax in its morals; and he knew quite well that, in the darkness of the -desert on the memorable night of their return from Sakkra, she had been -entirely carried away by her love. The fact did not disturb him in -itself, for he was a believer in instinct, and his judgment was not -influenced by the conventions. If she really loved him, and if they had -mutually taken one another for a life-partnership, no marriage ceremony -would make the compact in his eyes more binding, and her desire at once -to identify her life irrevocably with that of the chosen one would be -comprehended and condoned by him. - -But there was the fear at the back of his mind lest she had entered upon -the adventure lightly. He knew too much about the ways of Mayfair: -perhaps, indeed, his abhorrence of all that that name stood for was -exaggerated. Her upbringing, therefore, caused him anxiety: not, be it -understood, because of her possible willingness to break the traditional -law, but because she might be willing to break it lightly. He hated -himself for doubting her; but she was a child of Society, a daughter of -the Old Harlot, and no member of her particular branch of that family -was above suspicion. - -One day, yearning for an hour alone with her, he asked her to come out -to his camp on the following evening. She was to dine with the Bindanes -at Mena House, and he suggested that he should call for her after -dinner, when the young moon would be low in the heavens, and that they -should ride out to his tents and talk for a little while. - -Muriel fell in with the scheme readily enough; but there was something -in her manner and in the expression of her face which indicated that she -took the step with deliberation, fully conscious of all that it might -involve. And, in actual fact, she did not care what happened. She only -wanted to belong to him, to feel that she was in his power and he in -hers. - -But on the next morning she awoke with a bad cold in her head, and she -was obliged to take to her bed. One cannot be really romantic with one's -nose running, and any of love's most wonderful situations may be ruined -by a sneeze. - -A few days later, when she was more or less recovered, Daniel told her -how disappointed he had been that the arrangement had fallen through. - -"I expect it was my guardian angel," she whispered, with a laugh. "I had -made up my mind to come; and I suppose the angel read my thoughts, and -said 'You'd better not,' and sprinkled a handful of germs over me." - -Daniel was startled. "Why, you don't think that I...?" He paused. Men -are seldom so plain-spoken as women, and seldom face facts so -deliberately. - -On the following afternoon he was obliged to go to the railway station -to pay his farewell respects to a native dignitary on his departure for -England upon a commercial mission; and, while walking back through the -Levantine shopping quarter, he came upon Lizette who, as he now -recollected, lived in this part of the city. - -He had not seen her since that night, three and a half months ago, when -he had taken her out to supper at Berto's; and he was distressed to -observe the change that had taken place in her. She was looking thin and -haggard, and her eyes were like the melancholy eyes of a sick dog. - -She glanced at him as she approached and a quick smile of pleasure came -into her face; but the etiquette which is always observed in the best -circles on such occasions prevented her from showing recognition of a -client in a public place. (Money-lenders and dentists follow much the -same code.) - -Daniel, however, knew nothing about such rules of polite conduct. If -Lizette were good enough to talk to in a restaurant she ought to be good -enough to salute in the street. He therefore pulled off his hat as she -passed, and, pausing, bid her good day. - -"I believe you've forgotten me," he declared. - -"Forgotten?--no!" she exclaimed. "I not ever forget that pig Barthampton -jet par terre." - -"I'm sorry that's what you remember me by," he answered, seriously. - -"I remember many things," she said. "But now you are so great, so -important: one say you are like the Wazr of Egypt. I astonish me that -you speak here in the street. Lizette belong to the night, and to the -American Bar." - -She spoke with bitterness, and Daniel was sorry for her. She looked ill; -and the afternoon sun seemed to disintegrate the bloom of the powder -upon her face. - -"You're not looking very well," he commented. "Is there anything the -matter?" - -She shrugged her shoulders. "The matter is here," she answered, tapping -her heart. - -"In love?" he asked. - -"No, not love," she replied, with sudden intensity. "Hate, hate!" - -He shook his head. "That's bad. Whom do you hate?" - -"Men," she said. - -There was tragedy in her face; and Daniel, in his simple wisdom, guessed -that what she needed was the friendship of a man who had no ulterior -motive. He looked along the street, and, seeing that there was a large -French caf on the opposite side, asked her whether she would care to go -in there and have coffee with him. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -She hesitated for a moment; but when he had explained that he had no -more than half an hour to spare, and that he could not employ the time -better than by talking to her, she crossed the street with him and -entered the caf. - -"Now tell me what your trouble is," he said, when they were sipping -their coffee at a table in the almost deserted saloon. - -"O, it is nothing," she replied. "I suppose I am ill. I have--how do you -say?--the 'ump, eh? If I had the courage I should suicide myself; but -the priest he tell me that the little devils in hell are men, and the -angels in heaven are men: so you see I cannot escape from men." - -"Oh, men are not so bad," he told her. "You, of course, see them under -rather startling circumstances; and, if I may say so, you can't always -judge of what a man is by looking at a subaltern in the Guards." - -She laughed. "But they tell me they are the lite of England." - -"Yes, poor lads," he answered; "but it's not their fault that they think -so: it's due to other men being so bashful." - -Almost as he spoke a young officer walked past the caf, under the -awnings, with an expression on his face which suggested that he detected -a very unpleasant smell in the world. He glanced into the saloon, and, -seeing Lizette, looked quickly in the other direction. - -"That is one of them," she said. "He come to me every Sunday after -Church." - -Daniel turned his eyes to her, and there was pity and horror in them. -"Ah, my girl, no wonder you hate us," he declared. "If I were you, I'd -try not to speak to a man for, say, six months." - -"But how to live?" she asked. "I must get the money to live." - -She moved her head from side to side in despair; and Daniel, searching -his brains for a solution of the problem, stared out into the sun-bathed -street, his brows puckered, his fingers combing back his unruly hair. - -"Gee!" he muttered. "You're in a fix! Hav'n't you got any relations in -Marseilles?" - -She nodded, but without animation. "There is my brother -Georges-Antoine...." - -"Does he know how you earn your living?" he asked. - -"No," she replied. "He think I make the hat." - -"How much money have you saved?" he enquired. - -She shook her head. "None." - -"Well, look here," he said. "I'll pay your fare back to France, if -you'll go." - -She stared at him incredulously. "Why you say that?" she asked. - -"Because I hate to see a girl like you behaving like a filthy beast," he -answered sternly. "Oh, why were you such a fool as to start this life?" - -"It begin," she sighed, "it begin so sweet. I was very young; and the -man he love me so much. He was the real amant-passion--what you do not -know in England. He used to kiss me until my head went round and round; -and I was like a mad one when he came into the room. Never in my life -again or before was I so drunken by a man...." - -Daniel watched her as she told the story of her youthful love, and he -saw her eyes grow drowsy and full of memories. - -"You must have been very happy," he said at length. - -"Yes, I was happy," she answered, "but I paid for the happiness with -tears and weeping and bitterness." - -"Why?--did he desert you?" - -Her voice, which had grown so tender and so near to a whisper, became -light and clear in tone once more. "No," she said, with an almost -flippant gesture of the hand, "he died. He had the--how do you say?--the -gall-stones." - -Daniel finished his coffee, pensively. The tale, and especially its -ending, had a sound of stark and terrible truth about it. - -"Then what happened?" he asked. - -"Oh, then I was a good girl for half a year, perhaps; but presently when -another man made the love to me, I say to myself: 'If once, then why not -twice?' He was a soldier, big, very strong like you." She looked at him -closely. "Yes, he were very like you; and I thought in my heart, 'I love -him because he is so brave, and I am like a little bird in his hands.'" -She laughed. "Oh, I knew he was a man bonne fortunes. He had many -girls; but in love all women are like the Orientals, is it not?--and I -was content to have my day, like the new one in the harm of the -Egyptian pasha here...." - -Daniel suddenly clenched the fingers of his hand which rested upon the -table. Muriel's words came into his mind: "You can put me in your harm -if you want to." They rang in his ears again, and his heart seemed to -stand still in fear. - -The murmur of Lizette's voice continued, and he listened in terror now -as she told of her second love. - -"Then one night," she was saying, "we walked together on the road by the -sea, the Chemin de la Corniche, you know; and the beautiful stars were -in the sky, and there were little lights across the water on the islands -of Ratonneau and Pomegne. And I was so tired, and I sat down on the -rocks by the sea, and we were all alone...." - -Daniel stopped her with a sudden movement of his hand. "I know, I know," -he said. "Don't tell me!" - -"O, I soon forgot my love," she laughed, thinking that the intensity -with which he spoke denoted his concern for her sorrows. "A few months, -a few weeks, perhaps, and it was finish. Then some one else, and some -one else, and some one else...." - -He rose from the table, sick at heart. "I must be going," he said. "If -you will accept my offer, write to me at the Residency, and I'll send -you the money for you to go to your brother." - -She looked at his troubled face with a question in her eyes. "I think -you not like me," she sighed. "I think you have the disgust." - -He shook his head. "No," he answered, "I think you were not much -different from other women at first." - -"And afterwards?" - -"I suppose one's feelings soon get blunted," he replied; "and you had -need of money." - -She assumed an expression, an attitude, not far removed from dignity. -"Thank you for being--how you say? _fair_ to me," she said. - -He paid his bill, and walked out of the caf into the blaze of the -afternoon sun; but between him and its brilliance the shadow of doubt -had descended. "I am not the first of Muriel's lovers," he groaned in -his heart. "How do I know that I am the last?" - -He walked through the city, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, by reason -of the clamour in his mind; but as he came down to the river, he raised -his eyes and stared out into the west, where the sun was descending -towards the far-off hills of the wilderness. - -He stood stock still, and his lips moved. "Oh, peace of mind!" he was -whispering. "Will you never come down to me here in the valley? Must I -go up into the desert to find you once more?" - - - - -CHAPTER XX--PRIVATE INTERESTS - - -When Benifett Bindane found himself writing "February 1st" upon his -letters, he suddenly became the victim of a violent fit of energy. Time -was passing, and not much progress had been made with his great scheme -for the floating of the Egyptian Oases Development Company. By nature he -was indolent, and he had thoroughly enjoyed his three months basking in -the Egyptian sun. It was always a great pleasure to him to sit in the -warmest corner of a veranda, to glance at the _Financial News_, and then -to stare in front of him with an empty countenance and a mind full of -wonderful commercial schemes. - -He had the habit of thinking in millions; and his brain, in many ways so -deficient, was capable of visualizing an extraordinarily prolonged -repetition of the figure "o" at the end of any sum in pounds sterling. - -He had quickly made himself master of all the available information in -regard to the territory in question, but there were a great many points -on which he desired enlightenment before he made his projected grand -tour through the Oases at the end of this month. He wished to go there -fully primed, so that he should not fail to take note of all those -matters on which personal observation might prove to be of value; but -now the calendar had awakened him to the fact of the days' rapid -passage, and he was obliged to make a serious effort to put some -stiffening into the loose fabric of his bones and brain. - -In the secret council-chamber of his mind he had decided that Daniel -Lane was the one man really essential to the project, and it was his -main object now to enlist his services. He wondered what was the lowest -high salary that would tempt him; and he thought out many very fantastic -schemes for getting him away from the Residency. Lady Muriel was the -real obstacle; for Kate had kept him informed as to the progress of her -friend's love affair, and he realized that as matters now stood there -would be the utmost difficulty in persuading Daniel to abandon his -present post. Steps, however, in the desired direction ought to be -taken; and at any rate there would be no harm in ascertaining the -possibilities of the matter. - -He therefore telephoned to Lord Blair asking for an immediate interview; -and as the clock struck noon he was being ushered into the Great Man's -presence. - -Lord Blair received him in a very businesslike manner. A large map of -the Oases was spread upon the writing-table, entirely covering the -chronic litter of papers heaped thereon, and, indeed, covering the -greater part of his lordship himself as he sat in his desk-chair; while -upon a side-table there were numerous chorographic memoranda, and a -variety of type-written reports made upon the subject the last few -years. - -Lord Blair opened the proceedings by describing to his visitor the -arrangements which had already been made for the forthcoming tour. - -"The camels and camping-equipment are bespoken," he said; "perhaps you -would like to see the list of articles to be supplied." - -He lifted the map, and dived his head under it in search of the -document, while Benifett Bindane stared vacantly at the folds of the -large sheet which rose and fell, like pantomime waves, as Lord Blair -moved about under it. - -At length the long type-written inventory was found, and for some -minutes Mr. Bindane stared at it with dull, watery eyes. He might have -been thought to have gone off into a trance; and Lord Blair had begun to -fidget when at last the list was handed back. - -"Please add 'one tea-tray' and 'one toasting-fork,'" said Mr. Bindane. -"That's all that is omitted, I think." - -Lord Blair was profoundly impressed; but his rising enthusiasm was -somewhat damped when presently his visitor broached the subject which -was uppermost in his mind. - -"There are certain points about which I wish to be informed," said Mr. -Bindane, "before I go out to the Oases." He drew a piece of paper from -his pocketbook. "Here they are. Do you think it would be possible for -Mr. Lane to give me his help?" - -"Mr. Lane?" queried Lord Blair. "Why?" - -"Because I think Mr. Lane's advice is essential to the scheme," replied -Mr. Bindane. - -Lord Blair spread out his hands. "Oh, but I don't think he can be spared -just now," he protested. - -"I thought I understood you to tell me," said the other, "that the -political situation was extremely quiet just at present. I was hoping -you might let Mr. Lane turn his attention now to the Oases." - -"My dear sir," Lord Blair replied, leaning back in his chair, "the quiet -times that we are having, that we are enjoying, are very largely due to -Daniel Lane. His influence with the natives is extraordinary, quite -phenomenal." - -"Yes, I know," Mr. Bindane replied, his face devoid of expression. "That -is why I want him for the scheme." - -Lord Blair leaned forward. "I don't quite follow. Do I understand you to -mean that you want him to be associated definitely with the enterprise?" - -Benifett Bindane's mouth fell open more loosely than usual, and for a -second or two he stared vacantly before him. "Yes," he answered, at -length. "I want him to be our General Manager." - -Lord Blair started. "Tut, tut!" he ejaculated, "By the time the company -is floated I expect Daniel Lane will have made himself altogether -indispensable to his Majesty's Government here at the Residency." - -There was an uncomfortable silence. "I was counting on his support," -said Mr. Bindane, presently. "Without it I don't know whether I would be -inclined to find the necessary capital." - -Lord Blair instantly accepted the challenge. "Then the project will have -to be shelved," he replied, sharply: and when he spoke sharply there was -no doubt about his being the "Great Man." - -Benifett Bindane, however, appeared to be entirely unmoved. "I don't -think Mr. Lane is as happy now as he was when he lived in the desert," -he mused. - -Lord Blair rose to his feet. "Please regard his services as unavailable, -quite unavailable, for this project," he said deliberately, "except in -an occasional advisory capacity." - -Mr. Bindane had also risen, and now the two stood facing one another. -Outwardly the trim, eager little man and the tall, lifeless figure -before him might have appeared to the eye to be friendly enough; but a -reader of hearts would have detected in them two opposing forces arrayed -for battle, the one having in mind the extension of the prestige of -England, the other the increase of his private fortune. - -Meanwhile, in the library, another of life's little plays was being -enacted. - -Lord Barthampton had come to the Residency to invite Lady Muriel to a -picnic on the following day, and she had just disappointed him by saying -that she was already engaged. He had arrived with such a flourish, -spanking up to the door in his high dogcart, his little "tiger" leaping -to the cob's head as he pulled up, and the morning sunshine sparkling on -the harness and the varnished woodwork; and now, after waiting a very -long time in the rather severe library, Lady Muriel had come in and had -told him that every moment of her time was booked up apparently for -weeks to come. - -"I never seem to get the chance to say half a dozen words to you," he -grunted, feeling thoroughly put out. "You women are all so mad about -having a good time that you can't spare a moment for us lonely fellows." - -Muriel was quite concerned at his depression, and asked him whether he -would have a glass of port or a whiskey-and-soda. - -"No, I will not," he said, with a gloomy laugh. "I'm on the water-waggon -for your sake, and you don't even say you're glad." - -"O, but I am," she answered. "I'm awfully glad. I think you've shown -true British grit. You're one of the old Bulldog Breed, and, when once -you've set your jaw, nothing can get the better of you." - -Somehow she could not help pulling this man's leg; and she spoke to him -in this strain the more readily in that he evidently appreciated the -language of what she called the Submerged Male. - -"God knows it's been a struggle," he said: and, turning away from her, -he stared out of the window. - -"How did you get into all those bad habits?" she asked, looking at him -with interest. - -"Oh, India, I suppose," he replied, with a shrug. "When one's east of -Suez, and the memsahibs have all gone home...." - -She stopped him with a gesture. There were limits to the game of -leg-pulling; and if he were going to become Anglo-Indian in his phrases, -the jest would be intolerable. - -"I'm so sorry I can't come to your picnic," she said, checking the drift -of the conversation. "I'd come if I possibly could, but I've got to -attend a meeting." - -"A meeting?" he asked, in astonishment. "That sounds a funny thing for -you to be doing." - -"I'm honorary President of a fund for helping poor European children in -Egypt," she explained. "It's a very worthy object, I believe." - -He seized his opportunity. "Yes, we've all got to help the unfortunate, -hav'n't we?" he said. "I do all too little myself--just a yearly -donation." - -Muriel was impressed, and questioned him. - -"Yes," he told her, "I always try to give between 500 and 1,000 a year -to the poor." - -"I call that very fine of you," she declared, warming to him -immediately. - -"Oh, it's nothing," he answered. "I'm blessed with abundance, you know; -and I like to practise what I preach. I'm not like _some_ fellows I -could mention--full of high principles in public, and full of sins in -secret." - -"Who are you thinking of, specially?" she asked, noticing the marked -inflection in his words. - -He hesitated. "Well, Cousin Daniel, for example." - -"Oh, Daniel's all right," she replied. - -"I don't know so much about that," he laughed. "There are some things -you couldn't understand, little woman. But ... well, there are some -pretty tough female devils in the Cairo underworld; and Master Daniel -has been seen more than once in low cafs and places with a girl who's -known as the 'worst woman in Egypt'--the famous Lizette: but I don't -suppose you've heard of her." - -The words were like a knife in Muriel's heart. So people were right, -then, about Daniel's disreputable character. - -"Oh, that's all past," she replied, hardly knowing what she said. - -"No, it isn't," he answered. "Only the day before yesterday one of my -brother-officers saw him with her. And I saw him myself dining with her -not so long ago--in fact I tried to separate them. I admit it was only -for the honour of our family that I interfered. He was drunk, I think, -and wanted to fight me." - -Muriel stared at him with round, frightened eyes; but Lord Barthampton -had shot his arrow, and now desired only to make his escape. - -"I must be going," he said, nervously. "I oughtn't to have told you -that: it slipped out." - -He could see plainly enough that she was grievously wounded; and his -conscience certainly smote him, though it smote with a gentle forgiving -hand. - -She turned away from him with tears in her eyes; and he, feeling -decidedly awkward, bade her "good-bye," and hastened out of the room. - -In the hall he came upon Benifett Bindane, who was also making towards -the front door. The two malefactors greeted one another; and Mr. Bindane -being, as Kate had said, "very fond of lords," attached himself to the -younger man with evident pleasure. - -"That's a smart turn-out," he remarked, as they came out of the house -into the glare of the sunshine. - -"Give you a lift?" asked Lord Barthampton. "Anywhere you like." - -"Thanks," the other replied. "I'm going to the Turf Club." - -"Right-o!" said his friend. "In you get. Hold her head, damn you, you -little black monkey!" he shouted to the diminutive groom. "Now -then!--_imshee riglak!_"--which he believed to be Arabic. - -They drove off at a rattling pace, presently scattering the native -traffic in the open square outside the Kars-el-Nil barracks, and nearly -unseating a venerable sheikh from his slow-moving donkey. - -"Why don't you get out of the way!" shouted Lord Barthampton, turning a -red face to the mild brown wrinkles of the clinging rider. "Lord! these -niggers make me impatient." - -"Yes," said his companion, who always disliked a show of temper, "I -notice that it's only the English resident officials who have learned to -be patient with them." - -Arrived at the Turf Club, Lord Barthampton accepted Mr. Bindane's -invitation to refresh himself with dry ginger-ale; for, during the -drive, a good idea (with him something of a rarity) had come into his -head. He had suddenly recollected that Kate Bindane was Lady Muriel's -bosom friend; and it had occurred to him that if he could obtain the -sympathy of the husband, the wife might plead his cause. It would be -better not to say very much: he would adopt the manner which, he felt -sure, was natural to him, namely that of the stern, silent Englishman. - -He therefore lowered his brows as he entered the club, and looked with -frowning melancholy upon the groups of laughing and chattering young men -about him. - -"God, what a noise!" he muttered as he sank into a seat. - -Mr. Bindane stared vacantly around, and waving a flapper-like hand to a -passing waiter, ordered the ginger-ale as though he were totally -indifferent as to whether he ever got it or not. - -"I'm feeling a bit blue today," said Lord Barthampton, leaning back -gloomily in his chair. - -"What's the matter?" asked his friend. - -"I'm in love," was the short reply. - -Mr. Bindane was mildly interested. "Who with?" he asked. - -"Lady Muriel," the other replied, between his clenched teeth. He was -anxious to convey an impression of sorrow sternly controlled. - -"A very charming young lady," said Mr. Bindane, "and my wife's best -friend." - -"Yes, that's why I'm telling you," replied Lord Barthampton, looking -knowingly at him. "I've been wondering if you could get her to put in a -word for me." - -"I'll see," said Benifett Bindane. - -"Thanks awfully," answered his companion. - -That was all. There was no more said upon the subject; but Charles -Barthampton felt that the brief and pointed conversation had been very -British and straightforward. There had been no mincing of matters; what -he had said had been short and soldierly, as man to man. - -When he was once more alone, Mr. Bindane lay for awhile loosely in the -deep red-leather chair. His open mouth, his vacant eyes, the perpetual -pallor of his face, and his crumpled attitude of collapse, might have -led an observer to suppose that he had passed quietly away. He was, -however, merely absorbed in a series of interesting thoughts. He was -thinking that a possible engagement between Lady Muriel and Lord -Barthampton would probably have the effect of sending Daniel Lane back -to the desert in despair. He was thinking what a great deal of tact -would be needed in buying up the land of the Oases from the natives, as -he intended ultimately to do. He was thinking how very tactful Daniel -Lane was said to be; and how wasted, commercially, he seemed to be at -the Residency. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--THE CLASH - - -During the next three days Muriel flung herself into her social -engagements with desperation. She wanted to prevent herself from -thinking about Daniel, for her attitude towards him baffled her and put -her out of conceit with herself. She was violently jealous of this -Lizette, whoever she might be; but, somehow her jealousy did not -estrange her from her lover. All the more passionately she wanted Daniel -to belong to her: she wanted to step into his life, to drive all else -out, and to take possession of him. It is true that she meant to hurt -him, to punish him; but, even while being angry with him, she knew that -she would ultimately forgive him. - -Had her training been other than that of the typical young woman of the -world, she would probably have regarded her relationship to him as at an -end; but she had been brought up to the idea that men have to be -indulged in their little peccadillos and excused for their excesses, and -now, somewhat to her own annoyance, she found herself exonerating him. -She was hurt, she was offended, she was jealous, she was disgusted; but -she was not completely estranged. She declared to herself with her lips -that she could never feel the same to him again; but her heart, by its -very sorrows, gave the lie to her passionate mutterings. - -She did not have many opportunities of speaking to him during these -three days, and she shunned the beginning of what she knew was going to -be a serious quarrel. But on the fourth day circumstances threw them -together: and then the trouble began. - -They had both accepted an invitation to luncheon with Colonel and Mrs. -Cavilland; and, Muriel's presence being the social feature of the -occasion, she did not feel that she ought to disappoint her hostess. Nor -could she avoid driving to the house in Daniel's company; and it was -only the shortness of the distance that prevented some sort of an -outburst. - -As it was, she was distant and preoccupied, and Daniel looked at her -every now and then, wondering what could be the matter. - -Lady Smith-Evered was one of the guests; and the question as to whether -the Colonel should take her or Lady Muriel as his partner must have been -the subject of much discussion. It had evidently been decided, however, -that the daughter of Lord Blair took precedence of the wife of Sir Henry -Smith-Evered; and Colonel Cavilland therefore led the former into the -dining-room, and to Daniel fell the duty of giving his arm to the -latter. - -Lady Smith-Evered plainly showed her indignation at this outrage by a -mere colonel of Dragoons upon the martial dignity of the -Commander-in-Chief; and for much of the meal she hardly spoke a word. -Daniel was thus left to look about him; and he observed how gaily Muriel -laughed and joked with her partner, and with Captain Purdett upon her -other hand. - -Snatches of her conversation came to his ears; and he was conscious, as -ever, that the things she said in public had no relation to those meant -for his private hearing. When she was alone with him she spoke with -frankness and sincerity; but to other people she seemed to be striving -after an effect, and just now, somehow, he would have liked to have -shaken her, even though she made him laugh. - -The colonel was talking about the recent discovery at Alexandria of a -Greek papyrus, extracts from which had appeared in translation in the -Egyptian Gazette. - -"It's a treatise on love," Colonel Cavilland was saying. "The Greeks -were specialists on that subject." - -"Oh, I thought they were general practitioners," Muriel replied, and was -rewarded with a burst of laughter. - -He spoke of the passages quoted as being very charming, direct, and -simple; and Muriel remarked that she had always thought of the Greeks as -wicked old men who sat on cold marble and made hot epigrams. - -"But in this case," he laughed, "the author seems to have been a poor -shepherd." - -"Then no wonder his views were peculiar," said she. "'Poverty makes us -acquainted with strange bedfellows,' they say." - -The colonel glanced at her apprehensively, but Muriel's face seemed to -show perfect innocence. "Oh, well, for that matter," she added, -musingly, "I suppose wealth does, too." - -Her host's breath appeared to be taken away by her audacity. He was not -used to the style of chatter current in what are called "smart" circles. -He caught Daniel's eye, and, seeing that he had been listening, winked -at him; but Daniel turned quickly away, and made another abortive -attempt to engage Lady Smith-Evered in conversation. - -Mrs. Cavilland observed his difficulties, and helped him to enter the -gaieties at her end of the table; but here, again, he felt himself to be -out of harmony with the laughter, and he began to think himself a very -surly fellow. - -Mrs. Cavilland was amusing her neighbours by making fun of the wives of -the minor officials in Cairo; and she was clever enough to rend them so -gently that her feline claws were hardly to be observed, her victims -seeming, as it were, to fall to pieces of their own accord. - -"What a cat I am!" she laughed. "Mr. Lane, I can see your disapproving -eye on me." - -Lady Smith-Evered leant forward. "Mr. Lane disapproves of everything -English," she said. "He prefers natives." - -"Oh, it's not as bad as that," Daniel replied, with a smile. "I've got -the greatest admiration for my countrymen in the rough...." - -He checked himself. He felt that he was being a boor. He wanted to add: -"but I detest the ways of this politely infamous thing called Society." - -It was Muriel, strangely enough, who came to his rescue. "Oh, don't take -any notice of him," she said, speaking across the table. "That's only -his fun." - -If she spoke with bitterness she concealed the fact; and Mrs. Cavilland, -knowing that he had lived much of his life in America, presumed that his -form of drollery must be of that kind to which English people are -notoriously obtuse. She did not wish to be thought slow in the uptake, -and she therefore laughed merrily, declaring that he was "a perfect -scream," which so tickled Daniel that he, too, smiled. - -There was to be a garden party at the Residency that afternoon, which, -owing to the anticipated presence of a number of native dignitaries, he -would be obliged to attend. As soon as luncheon was finished, therefore, -he whispered to Muriel, suggesting that they should leave early, and -thus have a little time together before the afternoon's function. - -"I _must_ have an hour alone with you, Muriel," he said. "I'm feeling -all on edge." - -Muriel shook her head. "Can't be done," she answered casually. "I've -promised Willie Purdett I'd go for a spin with him in his new car." - -"Well, tell him you've changed your mind," he said, deliberately. "I -want you." - -"I'm afraid you're too late, my dear," replied Muriel, and turned away -from him. - -Later, at the garden party he watched her as she moved about the lawn; -and he seemed to be unusually sensitive to the number of young men who -hovered around her. His philosophy had wholly deserted him, and his mind -was disturbed and miserable. - -Once he joined a group in which she was the principal figure; and again -he was distressed by the tone of her remarks. It was almost as though -she were trying to offend his ear. - -Somebody had said "The good die young," but Daniel had not heard the -earlier part of the conversation; and Muriel replied, "Yes, dullness is -the most deadly thing on earth, and the most contagious." - -He did not wait to hear more: he turned his back on her and walked away, -his heart heavy within him. He was utterly out of tune with her. - -That evening she was to dine with the Bindanes at Mena House and to -spend the night with them, so as to be ready for an early start next -morning upon an all-day excursion into the desert. It was to be a large -and elegant picnic; and Daniel had been glad to be able to make his work -an excuse for not joining the party. - -Soon after dark, therefore, he found himself driving out to the Pyramids -with Muriel and her maid; and on reaching the hotel he asked her to come -into the garden for the half-hour before the first gong would ring. - -"Oh, it's so dark out there," she replied. "I want to have a talk to -you, too. Couldn't we find a corner in the lounge?" - -"No," he said, "it's stuffy inside." - -He took her arm, and led her towards the dense group of trees which -surrounded the tennis court. She did not resist. This state of veiled -hostility was intolerable, and she welcomed the thought of a pitched -battle with him. - -The night was moonless; and the hot south wind which had been blowing -during the day had dropped, leaving the upper air so filled with a hazy -dust that the stars were dim. The darkness, when they had passed out of -the range of the hotel lights, was intense; and it was with difficulty -that they found their way to a bench upon the lawn, under the blackness -of the overhanging foliage. - -Here they seated themselves in silence; and, though they were close to -one another, each could feel, rather than see, the presence of the -other. The distant clanging of the tram-car bells, and an occasional -grumble of an automobile, reminded them that civilization was not far -removed; but here in the obscurity all was hushed, and there was a sense -of detachment from the busy ways of mankind which was accentuated by the -ominous hooting of an owl and by the gentle rustle of the trees, as the -leaves were stirred by the dying wind. - -"Well?" said Muriel. - -"Well?" he replied. "Let's have it out." - -"Oh, then you know there's something wrong." - -"I know you have been trying to hurt me for the past two or three days," -he answered. - -He put his hand upon hers as it rested on her knee, and drew her towards -him; but she resisted the movement, and he noticed that her fingers, -which pushed his own away, were cold. - -"Tell me," he said. "What has been the matter? You have made me very -unhappy." - -"There's nothing to tell," she answered. "Only ..." - -"Only what?" - -"I don't think you know what love is," she murmured, and her voice was -so low that her words were almost lost in the darkness. - -"But that is just what I was going to say to you," he replied. - -She uttered a little laugh. "It seems that we shall always interpret -things differently," she said. - -She turned to him, and in the obscurity his face seemed strange to her. -She could not construct the features, nor supply the well-known lines -now lost in the shadow. She saw only the great forehead, faintly white, -and the upper part of his cheeks; but his eyes were hidden in two deep -cavities of blackness, and all expression was extinguished. - -"There will always be these misunderstandings," he told her, "so long as -you are tied to this sort of social life." - -"I prefer it to the underworld," she answered, and her heart beat, for -she was launching her attack. - -"What d'you mean by the 'underworld'?" he asked. - -"The world that Lizette belongs to," she replied. - -She had said it!--she had hurled her lightning, and now she waited for -the roll of the thunder. But there was no cracking of the heavens: only -silence; and, as she waited, she could feel the beating of her pulse in -her throat. - -At last he spoke, and his voice was quiet and clear. - -"Please tell me exactly what Cousin Charles has said about Lizette." - -She turned quickly on him. "Why should you think it was Charles -Barthampton who told me?" - -"Because I was with Lizette the day I first met him," he answered. - -"Then you don't deny it?" - -"Deny it?" he repeated, with scorn in his voice. "Why on earth should I -deny it?" - -She shrugged her shoulders. "A man generally denies that sort of thing -to the girl he wants to marry," she said. - -"That only shows how little you understand me," he replied, and there -was despair in his words. - -"O, I understand you well enough," she answered, bitterly. "You are just -like all men. But what I can't understand is how you could be going -about with that woman at the same time that you were making love to me." - -Again he was silent. It seemed that he had to turn her words over in his -mind before their significance was clear. - -"You mean," he said at length, "that if I had told you Lizette was an -old flame of mine now set aside, you would have condoned it?" - -"Women have to forgive a great deal in the men they love," she answered. - -"You mean," he went on, ruthlessly, "that you think me capable of coming -to you with that woman's kisses on my lips?" - -It was she, now, who was silent for a while. "I've got to think you -capable of it," she said at last. "You were with her only a few days -ago." - -"Yes," he answered. "I was with her, as you say, a few days ago. Well?" - -She moved restlessly in her seat. "That's not the way to ask my -forgiveness," she said. - -Suddenly his shadowy bulk seemed to loom up above her. He gripped her -wrist with his left hand, and drew her towards him; while the fingers of -his right hand laid themselves upon her throat. His face came close to -hers. - -"How dare you!" he whispered. "How dare you think of me like that? D'you -mean to say that if all this were true, if I were living with that -woman, you would be prepared to forgive me?" - -She did not speak. "Answer me!" he cried, and his arms crushed her to -him. - -"I don't know," she gasped. "I only know I love you, Daniel." - -He loosed his hold upon her. "Oh, you're tainted," he exclaimed. -"Intrigues, jealousies, deceptions, quarrels, reconciliations--they're -all part of your scheme of life. I suppose you revel in them, just as -you revel in the latest divorce case at your gossiping tea-parties, and -the latest dresses from Paris, and the latest dancing craze, and the -latest thing in erotic pictures or sensuous music...." - -Muriel put her hands over her ears. "I won't listen!" she cried. "You -don't know what you're saying." - -He stood in front of her, his hands driven into the pockets of his coat. -His massive head and shoulders shut out the misty stars, and as she -looked up at him he appeared to her as a black and vaporous elemental -risen from the ancient soil of Egypt. - -It was evident that he was trying to control his anger; and when he -spoke again his voice was quiet and restrained. - -"I'm afraid I must seem to you very rude," he said, "but when one is -speaking out of the pit of despair the words one utters are black words. -These last few days I've been seeing you with critical eyes: watching -you, listening to you. And the result is ..." - -"What?" she asked, as he paused. - -"I realize more and more how I dislike all this fooling with the surface -of things--surface emotions, surface wit, surface honesty. I can't get -down to the real You: the veneer is so thick. All that I have seen and -heard belongs to the superficial. I'm beginning to think there's nothing -real or solid under it all. The things you say are clever empty things; -the things you do...." - -She rose to her feet and faced him--a shadow confronting a shadow. - -"We seem to be getting further away all the time from the original point -of contention," she said, her voice rising. "I suppose that is what is -called 'confusing the issue.' It is rather clever. But please try to -remember that I am accusing you of deceit and disgusting duplicity. I am -accusing you of being with a woman whom even your obnoxious cousin -couldn't stand seeing you with, so that he had to try to separate you." - -"Oh, he said that, did he?" Daniel's tone was apathetic. - -"Do you deny it?" she asked, quickly. - -"No," he answered. "If you believe the story, it has served its -purpose." - -"How can I not believe it?" she cried. "You don't deny it." - -"Why should I deny it?" he demanded. "It is not a compromise with you I -am looking for: I am looking for your trust." - -"Trust!" she scoffed. "You come to me and whisper to me of your -wonderful desert, and the wonderful times we shall have there together; -you tell me that I am your mate, your sweetheart; your chosen one: and -all the time you are carrying on a liaison with a wretched woman in a -back street." - -"Yes," he answered, "and, believing that, you decide to have it out with -me and then make it up. Oh, you sicken me! If I were to tell you the -whole thing were nonsense, you wouldn't believe me. You might even be -disappointed. The tale would have been found to have no point: it -wouldn't be up to the standard of the stuff you read in your French -novels." - -Muriel sat down upon the bench once more, and her hands fell listlessly -to her sides. "I don't think there's any use in talking," she murmured. - -"No, none," he answered. "I shall never get to the real you until you -cut loose from all this. We belong at present to different worlds. I'm -all at sea when I try to look at things from your point of view." - -"Very well, then," she said. "Please take me back to the hotel. I shall -be late for dinner." - -There was a complete silence between them as they made their way through -the trees and along the gravel path towards the strongly-illuminated -veranda. Through open doors the lounge could be seen, and here groups of -visitors were gathering in readiness for dinner. The chatter of voices -and little gusts of laughter came to their ears as they approached; and -an elegant young man at the piano was lazily fingering the notes of -Georges He's haunting _J'ai pleur en rve_. - -Daniel paused at the steps of the veranda, but Muriel walked on, and, -without turning her head, passed into the house. He stood for a moment, -after she had gone, staring into the brightly lit room with dazed -uncomprehending eyes: then he turned towards the desert, and presently -was engulfed in the night. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--THE CALL OF THE DESERT - - -As soon as Daniel arrived at the Residency next morning he sent a -message to Lord Blair, asking that he might see him. He had hardly slept -at all during the night, and his haggard face showed the ravages of his -emotion. - -Lying on his bed upon the rocks above his camp, he had striven to -examine the entire situation with an impartial mind; and he would not -admit that his philosophy had failed him. His reason strove to assert -itself, and to quell the tumult of his tortured heart; and again and -again he reminded himself that there was no such thing as sorrow of the -soul. It was only his body that was miserable; and could he but manage -to identify himself with the spiritual aspect of his entity, the pain of -the material world would be forgotten in the serenity of his spirit. -This was a first principle of his philosophy; and yet it seemed now to -be utterly beyond his attainment. - -"I could not believe in a merciful God," he thought to himself, "unless -I believed that He had placed within the reach of every man the means to -overcome sorrow. Therefore the means must be at hand, if only I can take -hold of them." - -And again: "My reason, my soul, is unconquerable. It stands above my -miserable body. If only I can look at this disaster with the calm eyes -of the spirit, I shall get the victory over the wretched torment of my -heart." - -In itself the actual quarrel with Muriel had presented no insuperable -obstacle to their relationship. Had the trouble been an isolated -incident, it would not have been difficult for them to have kissed and -made friends; but Daniel realized that the differences between them had -been growing for some time, and for many days now it had seemed clear to -him that Muriel was too chained in the prison of her class ever to -understand the freedom of the desert. He despaired of her; yet he loved -her so deeply that their estrangement was, beyond all words, terrible to -him. - -While he waited in his room for Lord Blair's reply, he paced to and fro; -and in his weary brain the battle which had raged all night came ever -nearer to a definite issue. - -"I must get away from it all," he kept saying to himself. "I must go -back to the desert, for only there shall I find peace." - -At length a servant came to him, saying that Lord Blair would receive -him; and thereat he betook himself to the Great Man's study, his -impulsive mind made up on the instant and eager to meet his destiny. - -"Why, what is the matter, Daniel?" Lord Blair asked, as he entered the -room. "You looked troubled." - -"I am more than troubled," said Daniel. "I'm in despair. It's about -Muriel: I'm afraid we've had a definite quarrel." - -Lord Blair wiggled in his chair, apparently with annoyance, though -possibly with nothing more than an itch. - -"Ah--a lovers' tiff ...," he commented; but Daniel stopped him with a -gesture. - -"No, it's a total estrangement," he said, fiercely. "It's been growing -gradually, and now there's nothing to be done. I've come to give you my -resignation. I'm going back to El Hamrn." - -Lord Blair suddenly sat back in his chair, his eyes fixed on his friend, -the tips of his fingers touching the edge of the table as though some -movement had been arrested. "My dear Daniel," he said at last, and he -spoke sharply, "control yourself! This is an absurd situation." - -"Oh yes, I know," Daniel replied, "you think I'm just a fool in love, -who's going off in a huff. No, that's not it. I want to go because I've -lost my happiness since I've been in Cairo: I'm utterly out of tune with -the people I meet. Why, yesterday at the Cavillands' I could feel myself -being a boor and a bore. I couldn't laugh.... Yes, that's it; since I've -been amongst all these witty people I've forgotten how to laugh. Good -God!--I hav'n't smiled for weeks. Out there in the desert, when my mind -was at peace, I was always full of laughter; I was always chuckling to -myself, just from sheer light-heartedness or whatever you like to call -it. But here my heart's in my boots, and I'm blue all day long. I can't -even whistle." - -"I think--indeed, I am sure--you are taking things too seriously," said -Lord Blair. - -"You're right," Daniel answered, quickly, interrupting him. "The gay -life makes me painfully serious; this fashionable stuff fills me with -gloom. It's all this blasted chase after amusement, this immense -preoccupation with the surface of things, that gives me the hump. You -see, to my way of thinking, light-heartedness only comes from a tranquil -sort of mind. It's something deep inside oneself; one doesn't get it -from outside--though, on the other hand, outside things do certainly -obscure one's inner vision. Real happiness--not just pleasure--seems to -be absolutely essential to life and to all human relations. It's the key -to diplomacy. You've got to see the fun of things, you've got to bubble -inside with happiness before you can really govern or be governed. -You've got to be the exact opposite of sinister, and nearly the opposite -of solemn, before you can get any punch into your dealings with your -fellow men, don't you think? And how, in God's name, can one be happy -unless there is the right mental atmosphere of truth, and sincerity, and -trust, and benevolence, and broad understanding?" - -He spoke with intensity, and the movement of his hands added expression -to his words. - -"But do you realize," said Lord Blair, "what an immense, what an -unqualified success your work here has been? And now you would throw it -all up just because a chit of a girl has annoyed you." - -"No, you don't understand," Daniel replied. "I might have been able to -ignore all this miserable Society business; but when Muriel and I grew -fond of one another I was drawn into it. And then, gradually, I began to -see that that was her world. At first I hoped she would be the buffer -between me and that world, and a non-conductor, so to speak, but I find -that she transmits the shocks to me direct." - -He told Lord Blair something of the more tangible trouble between them, -but he would not reveal all the bitter yearning of his heart. He might -have said "I love her, I want her to be wholly mine, I want her to come -over to my way of thinking so that I can show her where real happiness -is to be found." He might have said "I am distracted by her, and I want -to go away to forget her dear eyes, and the touch of her lips, and the -intoxication of her personality." But on these matters he was silent. - -As he talked his mind was filled with a passionate desire for the peace -of the desert. He was like a monk, longing for the refuge of his quiet -monastery walls; and he seemed to hear in his heart the gentle voice of -the wilderness calling to him to come back into the sweet smiling -solitude, away from the sorrows of the superficial world. - -"I must go back to El Hamrn," he said. "I beg you not to stop me." - -Lord Blair looked at him with pity. He was in the presence of an emotion -which he could not altogether understand, but the reality of which was -very apparent. "There must be no question," he said, "of your -resignation. Go away for a time, if you wish, but you mustn't play the -deserter." - -An idea had suddenly come into his head, and he turned to Daniel with -relief in his anxious eyes. "Now listen to me," he said. "Go back to El -Hamrn: I can send you there on business." - -He hunted about amongst his papers, and presently produced the -memorandum which Benifett Bindane had handed to him. "Here are some -matters upon which Mr. Bindane desires information before he starts his -tour of the Oases in three or four weeks' time. You can send your -answers in to him on his arrival at El Homra; and after that you can -wait at El Hamrn in case he comes there. After that I won't hurry you -to return: I can give you leave of absence. And then, when your mind is -more settled you can come back here. The winter season will be over, and -what you call 'Society' will have left the country for the summer." - -Daniel fell in with the suggestion gladly. "You are very patient with -me," he said. "I don't deserve it: I feel I'm being very cranky." - -"I don't want to lose you," the elder man replied, and his sincerity was -apparent. But he was much startled when Daniel asked if he might leave -at once. - -"Today?" he exclaimed, in surprise. - -"Yes, now," said Daniel, emphatically. "There are practically no -outstanding matters. I can put Lestrange wise about everything in ten -minutes." - -Lord Blair looked at him, curiously. "Muriel won't be back from Mena -House until this evening," he said. "Don't you want to see her before -you go?" - -"No," he replied, quickly and decisively, rising to go, "I have nothing -to say to her." - -Lord Blair sighed as they walked to the door. "Daniel," he said, "all -this is a great blow to me." - -Thus it came about that an hour after Daniel had arrived at the -Residency he was on his way back to the desert, his teeth set, and his -brain occupied, by force of will, with his plans. He did not dare to -look into the future: he was going, as a sick man goes to an operation, -to find by a path of pain the health of mind that he had lost. Perhaps -he would return to the Residency; perhaps he would not; but for the -present it was of paramount importance that he should master his -complaint, and regain the power to see clearly, the power to work -happily, the power to laugh. - -By mid-afternoon his camp was struck, and he was ready to depart. A -camel-owner in the village of Kafr-el-Harm, near the Pyramids, had -supplied the necessary camels and men at a moment's notice, hastened by -the enthusiasm of Hussein and his brother, both overjoyed at the good -fortune which was to take them so suddenly back to their home. Some of -the tents and the unnecessary articles of furniture had been stored in -the village at the house of a native friend; and the remainder were -packed upon the camels. - -As the afternoon shadows were lengthening the start was made. The -camels, grumbling and complaining, lurched to their feet; the three -dogs, barking with excitement, ran in circles around the company; and -Daniel, swinging into his saddle, took his place at the head of the -caravan. In single file, and at a slow trot, they moved away westwards, -their long shadows stretching out behind them; and soon they had -disappeared into the waste of sand and rocks, golden in the light of the -descending sun. - -An hour later the picnic party, coming back from a point to the south, -rode towards the Pyramids. Muriel had been very silent all day; but -Kate, who was in her confidence, had helped her to conceal her -depression, and now was riding by her side, a little removed from the -others. The desert had had a soothing influence upon the raw wound which -the quarrel of the previous day had inflicted; and Muriel was already -somewhat happier in her mind. - -"Don't you worry, old girl," said Kate. "Men have got to be managed, and -you'll soon put things ship-shape in the morning." - -"But the morning is so far off," Muriel replied, pathetically. - -She did not altogether understand what the trouble was about. Daniel had -attacked her so suddenly, just when she had been wholly engaged in -attacking him. So far as she could make out, he had been angry with her -because she had made a fuss about his relationship with Lizette. "I -suppose," she thought to herself, "he thinks a woman oughtn't to -question a man's movements, or know anything about what he is doing when -he is not with her. It doesn't seem fair somehow...." - -She did not in the least realize that Daniel's hostility had been -aroused by her belief that there was anything between him and Lizette, -and by her readiness, in spite of that belief, to overlook his supposed -deception as soon as she had vented her feelings by a brief show of -temper. She felt that he had been harsh, and rather brazen about the -whole thing; and yet, so greatly did she yearn for his love, she was -prepared to forgive even his brutality. - -She turned to her companion. "I don't think I can wait till the -morning," she said. "I'm going to ride over to his camp now, and say I'm -sorry. It's only a mile out of the way, and I'll be home almost as soon -as you." - -Kate was sympathetic. "Go on, then," she replied. "I'll hint to the -others that you've got a stomach-ache or something, and have ridden on. -And let me see more colour in that old mug of yours when you get back." - -She leant forward in her saddle, and struck her companion's horse with -her cane, so that he went off at a gallop across the sand. - -Bearing off to the left, Muriel soon described the head of rock which -overlooked the camp; but approaching it thus from the south she knew -that the tents would not come into view until she had rounded this -ridge. - -She had no idea what she was going to say. She thought only that she -would go into his tent, where she would probably find him writing at his -table; and she would put her arms about him, and tell him that she could -not live under his displeasure. - -At last she reached the rocks; and, as she rode round them, she drew up -her reins and prepared to dismount. Then, with horrible suddenness, the -truth was, as it were flung at her. Where she had thought to see the -tents, there was only a patch of broken-up sand, a few bits of paper and -straw, and innumerable footprints. - -She uttered a little cry of dismay, and, with wide, frightened eyes, -gazed about her. The footprints of the camels passed in a thin line out -to the west, and she could see them winding away into the silent desert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE NATURE OF WOMEN - - -Kate Bindane had just gone up to her room and was standing there alone, -examining herself disapprovingly in the long mirror, when Muriel -staggered in, her face white, her knees giving way. - -"Kate!" she cried. "He's gone!" - -She threw herself down on the floor in front of a low arm-chair, and -spreading her arms across its seat, buried her face in them. - -Her friend stood perfectly still for a few moments, staring down at her -in amazement. She had never before seen Muriel give way to uncontrolled -grief in this manner; and she was frightened by the terrible rasping of -her muffled sobs, and by the convulsive heaving of her shoulders. She -did not know what to do, and her hands hesitated uncertainly between the -whiskey-bottle standing on a shelf and the smelling-salts upon the -dressing-table near to it. - -At last, discarding the stimulants, she knelt down by her friend's side, -and put her strong arm around her. The tears had come into her own eyes, -and as she patted Muriel's shoulder, she fumbled for her handkerchief -with her disengaged hand. - -"Hush, hush, my darling!" she whispered. "Tell me what has happened." - -"He's gone," Muriel sobbed. "The camp's gone. I saw the track of his -camels leading away into the desert." - -She could say no more, and for a considerable time continued her -passionate weeping. - -At length she raised her head. "There are only some bits of paper and -things left," she moaned; and therewith she returned to her bitter -tears. - -Kate rose to her feet. "I am going to 'phone your father," she said, -"and ask him what has happened." - -She gave Muriel an encouraging pat, and hastened into the adjoining -sitting-room, where a telephone was affixed to the wall. A few minutes -later she was speaking to Lord Blair, asking him the reason of Daniel's -departure. - -"We've just seen the deserted site of his camp," she said, "and poor -Muriel is in floods of tears." - -"Dear, dear!" came the reply. "Poor girl! Tell her Daniel has only gone -away for a short time. I have had to send him to the Oases on business, -that's all." - -"Rather sudden, wasn't it?" queried Kate. - -Lord Blair coughed. "Daniel is always very prompt to act, when action -has to be taken," he said. - -"Didn't he leave any note or message for Muriel?" - -"No, none," was the reply. "He went away in a great hurry. Am I to -expect Muriel back to dinner?" - -"With her eyes bunged up?" exclaimed Kate, impatiently. "Of course not. -I'll send her back to you in the morning. Hav'n't you anything to say to -comfort her?" - -There was a pause. "Yes," he replied at length, "tell her I've just seen -Ada going upstairs with two bandboxes. She says they are new -night-dresses from Maison Duprez." - -Kate uttered a contemptuous grunt. "That's the last thing to tell her!" -she exclaimed. "Good-night." - -She slammed down the receiver, and, going back to her bedroom, repeated -to Muriel her father's explanation of Daniel's departure. This brought -some comfort into the girl's forlorn heart; and a second outburst of -tears, which occurred an hour or so later, was due more to a kind of -self-pity, perhaps, than to despair. - -"It's so unkind of him," she cried, "to go off without even saying -good-bye, or leaving a note." - -"But from what I gather," Kate replied, "he doesn't think you really -care much about him." - -"Ah, I do, I do," Muriel wailed, wringing her hands. - -"Well, you know," Kate commented, somewhat brutally, "seeing how you've -been carrying on this last month, I shouldn't have said myself that you -were really stuck on him." - -"You don't understand," Muriel moaned. "I wanted to be properly engaged -to him, but he wouldn't hear of it--I told you at the time. I don't -believe he ever wanted to marry me at all," she exclaimed, passionately. -"I believe he only wanted me to run away with him." - -Suddenly she looked up, with a curious light in her face. "I wonder...." -She paused. She recalled the words he had said when he first knew her: -"Why don't you break loose?" And then last night he had said: "I shall -never get to the real you until you cut loose from all this." Could it -be that the manner of his going away was meant to be a sort of silent -gesture, a beckoning to her to follow? - -She was so absorbed in her thoughts that her tears dried upon her face; -and presently Kate was able to induce her to make somewhat more than a -pretence of tasting the little dinner which had been sent up to them. - -Later in the evening, when Benifett Bindane had come upstairs, and when -Muriel had gone to her own room, Kate told her husband that she would -sleep that night with her friend. - -"As you wish, my dear," he answered pleasantly. "You must help her to -get over this business. She'll soon live it down, I expect." - -Kate looked annoyed. "You needn't be so damned cheerful about it," she -said. "I sometimes think you haven't got a heart at all." - -He sat down loosely, and stared at her for some moments, as though about -to make a profound remark. - -"Spit it out," said Kate encouragingly. - -"I was just thinking," he droned, "that I shall probably get Lane as our -General Manager after all." - -She turned upon him. "Oh, you cold-blooded brute! It's always business -first with you. I suppose you're hoping he'll never want to come back to -Cairo." - -"Well," he mused, "he evidently feels that life in the Oases suits him -better." - -"Ugh!" his wife ejaculated. "I suppose you think he'll be content to be -a sort of pasha out there, with his harm of Bedouin women; raking in a -fat salary from your precious Company, and fleecing the natives to fill -your pockets. It's a pretty picture!" - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -"Well, it isn't a prettier picture," he answered, "to think of a fine -man like that messing about Cairo, wasting his time at dinner parties -and dances on a wretched Foreign Office pittance." - -Kate did not continue the discussion, and it was not long before she -went to her friend's room, where, entering quietly, she found Muriel -standing in her nightdress at the western window, her bare arms resting -on the high sill, and her gaze fixed upon the obscurity of the desert -which lay black and desolate under the stars. The window was open, and -the drifting night-wind stirred the mass of her dark hair which fell -about her shoulders. - -She turned quickly as she heard the footstep, and Kate was dismayed at -the pallor of her face. - -"I can't make him out," Muriel said. "I can't make him out. Right out -there somewhere, in that blackness, he is smoking his pipe and stroking -his dogs and yawning himself to sleep. And yet he must know that I'm -here, calling to him and crying to him." - -She stretched out her arms, her fists clenched. "O God!" she muttered, -"Let me understand him, let me see what's in his mind." - -Kate drew the curtain across the window, as though she would shut out -the dark menace of the desert, and drew her friend towards the bed. - -"It'll all come out in the wash, old girl," she choked. "You're not the -only woman who finds her man incomprehensible sometimes." - -She looked at Muriel and Muriel at her; and suddenly, like two children, -they put their heads each upon the other's shoulder, and sobbed as -though their hearts would break. - -When Muriel returned next morning to the Residency, she went up to her -own sitting-room at once; and presently she sent a message down to her -father, who was at work in his study, asking him to come to her as soon -as he had a few minutes to spare: nor was it long before he came -tripping into the room. - -It was evident that he felt the situation to be somewhat awkward; for -his remarks began on a piping note of jocularity, and so rapidly -descended the scale to one of profound melancholy that Muriel was -reminded of a gramophone running down. - -"Father," she said presently, "I want you to tell me exactly what Daniel -said about me before he left. I suppose he told you that we had had a -quarrel." - -Lord Blair seemed puzzled, and he raised his hands in a gesture -indicating his lack of grasp of the essential points in Daniel's recent -tirade. - -"Yes, he told me about the little tiff; but I really don't know whether -I apprehend his meaning exactly. He was very much upset, very -overwrought. It seems, if I have understood him aright, that he finds -fault with you because you are rather--what shall I say?--rather given -to the superficialities of our civilization. He would prefer you _in -puris naturalibus_"--he corrected himself--"that is to say -metaphorically speaking. He said that 'the fashionable world,' as he -called it, filled him with gloom, gave him the ... ah ... hump, I think -he said; and he was disappointed to find that you associated yourself so -fully with the frivolities of society, and were so foreign to the -liberties, the sincerities, of more primitive conditions. I don't know -whether I am making myself clear." - -"Perfectly," said Muriel. "I suppose he would have preferred to see me -turning head over heels in the desert _in puris_ ... -what-you-said-_ibus_." - -"I take it," Lord Blair explained, "that he was referring to your -mental, not your physical attitude." - -"Oh, quite so," replied Muriel; and she burst out laughing, but her -laughter was very close to tears. - -Lord Blair patted her cheek. "Ah, Muriel," he said, his manner again -becoming serious, "you mustn't lose Daniel. I would rather that he were -your husband than any man living." - -"But I don't think he wants to be my husband, or anybody's husband," she -replied. - -"He is deeply in love with you," her father told her. - -"That's another matter," said she; and Lord Blair glanced at her in -perplexity. - -He was not altogether sorry that events had taken their present course; -for it seemed to him that this temporary disunion would have a salutary -effect on his daughter's character. He could see clearly the faults of -which Daniel complained; and he could not help thinking that this -forceful show of disgust on her lover's part would be instrumental in -arousing her to the more serious things of life. It would be a lesson to -her which would serve to fit her to be the wife of a man of genuine -sincerity. - -Moreover, in the case of Daniel, his sudden return to El Hamrn, with -his heart left behind him here at the Residency, would probably dispel, -once and for all, that haunting dream of his desert paradise which -otherwise would always cause him to be restless in Cairo. This time, if -he were made of flesh and blood, he would find the desert intolerable, -and in a few weeks he would probably be lured back to civilization by -the call of his manhood. - -That Daniel should marry Muriel, and take up his permanent position at -the Residency, was his most ardent hope; and as the present events had -occurred he had fitted them each into place in his growing plan of -action. - -In brief, his scheme was as follows. At the end of the month he himself -would have to go up to the Sudan on his annual tour of inspection; and -about the same time the Bindanes would be going to the Oases. He had -expected to take his daughter with him to the Sudan, but, instead, he -would send her with the Bindanes, and thus she would be in a position to -effect a reconciliation with Daniel on his own ground, so to speak. -Hardy Muriel on camel-back in the desert would be more likely to win him -than dainty Muriel in the ballroom; and Lord Blair, priding himself on -his strategy, had almost come to believe that his sending Daniel off to -El Hamrn had been a definite move in his game, made with the object of -bringing about this romantic meeting in the desert. - -He rubbed his hands together now as he prepared to tell Muriel of his -plan, so far as she ought to know it. - -"Now, my dear," he said to her, "you must not fret. I have a little -scheme in my mind, of which I think you will approve. I am going to try -to arrange for you to go out to the Oases with our friends; and thus you -will be able to see Daniel for a day or two, and, if so you wish, you -will be able to make it up with him." - -He stood back from her, and beamed upon her, his hands raised as though -he were beating time to a visionary orchestra. But as he saw the -expression in her eyes his face fell, and his hands sank to his side. He -looked at her in dismay, and the thought came into his mind that she was -undoubtedly a Blair; for, like all the Blairs in a temper, she resembled -a beautiful monkey. Her eyebrows were knitted, her eyes were round and -wide open, her lips were pursed, and her jaw was set. He had never -realized before how very attractive she was. - -"Do you suppose," she said, slowly and distinctly, "that I shall again -put myself in a position to be snubbed? Do you think I would lower -myself to go out to him in the desert and ask his forgiveness? No! If he -wants me he can come back and ask _my_ forgiveness." - -He watched her anxiously as she turned haughtily away. Then he shrugged -his shoulders. "You both seem determined to lose one another," he -remarked; and presently, like a man who has no time to waste, he stepped -back to the door and opened it. - -"I never want to see him again," said Muriel over her shoulder. - -Lord Blair did not answer, but, shutting the door with a snap, left her -to her bitter reflections. - -Five minutes later a message was brought up from Lady Smith-Evered, who -had called to consult her in regard to a proposed picnic; and Muriel -therefore went downstairs to the drawing-room. There she found her -imposing visitor seated upon the sofa behind a great bunch of pink -peonies which stood in a vase upon a low table. She had evidently been -walking in the hot sun, and her face, in spite of its powder, was itself -extraordinarily suggestive of a pink peony in full bloom, so that, -appearing as it seemed to do from amongst these showy flowers, it was -like a burlesque of caricature of the works of nature. - -"Good morning, my dear: forgive my getting up," she said to Muriel. -"Your sofa is lower than I expected." - -Muriel sat down beside her. "I think Daniel Lane must have broken the -springs," she answered. "He always used to fling himself into that -corner when he had a fit of laziness." - -Lady Smith-Evered glanced at her. "Why d'you say he 'used to'? Doesn't -he do it now?" - -"He's gone," said Muriel. "Didn't you know?" - -"Gone?" - -Muriel told her how Lord Blair had sent him off on a mission to the -Oases. Her voice betrayed no trace of feeling as she explained away his -sudden departure. - -"Well, my dear," said Lady Smith-Evered, "I know you and he quite like -each other, but I must say I can't understand it. I'm relieved to hear -he has gone. I don't trust him in regard to women." - -Muriel uttered a short laugh. "One might say the same of any man," she -replied. - -Lady Smith-Evered looked at her curiously. "I wonder what's the real -reason of his being sent off so suddenly," she remarked, a crafty -expression coming into her face. "His going on a mission is probably -only eyewash." - -Muriel shrank before her prying eyes, and a feeling of anger was -awakened in her; but she only shrugged her shoulders. - -"I wonder if your father has been wise enough just to dismiss him in -this way," Lady Smith-Evered mused. "I'll find out: yes, I'll get to the -bottom of it." - -The expression of inquisitive, self-complacent cunning in the woman's -face, and her actual blindness to the real facts of the matter, combined -to arouse in Muriel an uncontrollable hostility. - -"Oh, you needn't bother to find out," she said. "You wouldn't understand -the real reason." - -"Ah, then there _is_ a secret: I thought as much," she replied, with a -knowing smile. "There's always a secret about the movements of such men -as Mr. Lane." - -"Yes," answered Muriel, suddenly seeing red, as the saying is; "absolute -frankness and absolute honesty must always seem fishy to those who can't -conceive what such things mean. If you want to know, Daniel Lane has -gone away because he was fed up with the rotten life we lead here in -Cairo. The sham of it all sickened him. He has gone away to escape from -the pretences and the hatefulness and the pettiness of people like you -and me. He's gone to get some fresh air: he was being suffocated here." - -Lady Smith-Evered stared at her in blank astonishment, and the pinkness -of her face turned to a deeper red. "Oh, that's what he has told you, is -it?" she scoffed. "He must think you very gullible." - -Muriel rose from the sofa, and faced her visitor with blazing eyes. "I -said you wouldn't be able to understand," she exclaimed. "There's no -mystery about it: he was just frankly disgusted, and off he went. But -he'll come back one day, when the hot weather begins and we've all gone -home. Then he and Father will be able to get on with their work, with -England's work, without being distracted by fussy little interruptions -from women like you and me...." - -Lady Smith-Evered managed to raise herself with some dignity from the -sofa. "I wanted to speak to you about plans," she said, stiffly; "but -that can wait now till another day. I don't know what is the matter with -you, but I know we shall quarrel if I remain. I don't care to be spoken -to as you are speaking to me." - -Her large bosom was heaving threateningly, and Muriel was abashed. - -"I'm sorry," she answered, the light of battle dying in her eyes. - -Lady Smith-Evered took her departure without many more words, and -thereon Muriel went directly up to her room again, her heart aching -within her. Here at the open window she stood staring out across the -lawn to the translucent Nile. A native boat, with huge bellying sails, -was making its way slowly up stream; and she could hear the wailing song -of the blue-gowned youth at the rudder. Away in the distance the -Pyramids marked the edge of the placid desert, now bathed in sunlight; -and above, the cloudless sky stretched in tranquil splendour. - -She was ashamed of herself, ashamed of her inconsistency. Her mind was -confused, but in its confusion she was conscious of one clear thought, -namely that Daniel would have rebuked her for her show of temper. "Look -away over there at the quiet desert," he would have said. "Do you see -how it is smiling at you for your angry thought and for that flush in -your face? You won't get at the root of things by raising your little -voice in protest." - -"O Daniel, Daniel," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears, "you -oughtn't to have left me here alone. You oughtn't, you oughtn't." - -And some time later, still staring out of the window, she said: "Did you -go away because you wanted me to follow you? Must I humiliate myself and -come to you? O Daniel, my darling, how I hate you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE GREAT ADVENTURE - - -As the days passed, and the Bindanes' departure for the Oases drew near, -Muriel's rather feeble resolution not to accompany them steadily -weakened. Lord Blair had done his best to alter her decision, and the -Great Man could be a clever strategist: his daughter, indeed, would have -had little chance of opposing his wishes successfully in this matter -even had she battled against him with a whole heart, but in the -vacillating condition to which love had brought her she had no chance at -all. - -"Don't be a dam' fool," Kate Bindane said to her one morning at the -Residency. "What's the good of moping about outside the ropes like a -heavyweight with a stomach-ache? You know you're fed up with everybody -here: Gor' blimy!--why don't you swallow your maidenly pride, and put on -the gloves, and have three rounds with Fate? It's better to be counted -out than never to have boxed at all. Tennyson." - -Thus it came about that at the end of February, when Lord Blair took the -train southwards upon his journey to the Sudan, Lady Muriel set out -westwards as a member of the Bindanes' elaborate caravan. The start was -made one morning from Mena House, and so great was the general confusion -and hullabaloo that Muriel's thoughts did not begin to clarify -themselves until a ride of two hours had brought them to the rocky -valley wherein they halted to eat their luncheon. - -Here, seating herself upon the rocks at the foot of the cliff, she -shaded her eyes with her hand, and surveyed the animated scene with -amused interest. There was Kate, in a white coat and skirt, and a -sun-helmet, stumping over the sand to cure the "pins-and-needles" from -which she was suffering; her husband, in a grey flannel suit and a -green-veiled helmet, was still seated upon his camel as though he had -forgotten to dismount; his man, Dixon, rather fat and red, and wearing -his new gaiters apparently back to front, was hastening to his master's -assistance; and the two imposing native dragomans, in silks all aflutter -in the wind, were shouting unnecessary orders to the Egyptian cook and -_sofragi_ to hasten the luncheon. - -A few yards down the valley a khaki-clad Egyptian police-officer, -wearing his red _tarboush_, or fez, at a rakish angle, was giving -instructions to his four negro troopers; a fat native gentleman from the -Ministry of Agriculture was mopping his forehead as he stood beside his -grumbling camel, and the Egyptian secretary to the party, a dapper youth -with mud-coloured complexion and coal-black eyes, had just thrown -himself down in the shade and had removed the _tarboush_ from his -close-cropped head, in conscious defiance of local etiquette. - -The baggage camels, carrying the camp equipment, the stores, and the -tanks of water, were lurching at a walking pace along the valley, led by -blue-robed camel-men, under the orders of the caravan-master, a -grey-bearded Arab who rode sleepily at the head of the line. These were -not to halt at the midday hour, but, pushing ahead, they would be -overtaken later in the day by the swifter riding-camels; and Muriel -watched them now as they slowly jogged along the little-used track -between the yellow cliffs, the brilliant sun striking down upon them -from a deep blue sky in which compact little bundles of snow-white cloud -went scudding past. - -There was a boisterous breeze blowing, and the tingling glow of the sun -and wind upon her cheeks, as she sat perched high upon the rocks, seemed -to match the exhilaration of her heart. The morning's ride had shaken -her brain free from the heavy gloom of the last three weeks; and already -the shining open spaces of the desert had produced their effect upon -her, so that she felt as though her mind had had a cold bath. - -It was good to be up and doing; it was good to be setting out upon this -adventure, the ambiguousness of which seemed every moment to be growing -less disconcerting; it was good to be in this great playground where the -rules of her life's schoolroom were mainly in abeyance. Up here in these -splendid spaces it would not matter if she pulled her skirt off, or let -her hair down, or turned a cartwheel, or stood on her head. Already she -was whistling loudly, and throwing fragments of stone into the valley -before her, in the manner of a child upon the seashore; and all her -love-sick sorrows of yesterday seemed to have vanished in the exaltation -of youth and youth's well-being. - -She watched the servants, in the distance at the other side of the -valley, spreading the picnic luncheon on a white tablecloth laid upon a -shaded patch of sand; and when at length the meal appeared to be ready, -she took a flying leap down from the rock where she had been sitting, -and landed sprawling upon the sand-drift below. The sensation pleased -her, and, clambering up the rocks once more, she repeated the jump, this -time arriving with a considerable thud upon her back, and sliding down -the drift with her legs in the air. - -She hopped across the valley, rubbing herself, and was presently joined -by the Bindanes. - -"I feel about twelve years old," she told them; and indeed at the moment -she did not look much more than that age. "The desert is having an -extraordinary effect on me." - -"But we're only ten or twelve miles into it so far," said the practical -Kate. "You wait another week...." - -"If I go on at this rate," Muriel laughed, "I'll be in arms by the time -we reach the Oases." - -"I wonder whose," muttered Kate, with a smile; but her friend's face at -once became serious. It was a jarring note, and it nearly ruined the -joviality of the picnic. - -The afternoon ride carried them another fifteen miles; and towards -sunset they came to a halt in the midst of a wide flat plain of sand, -across which a winding ribbon of stunted tamarisks and sparse vegetation -marked the bed of a primeval river now reduced to a mere subterranean -infiltration. In the far distance on all sides the low hills hemmed them -in, like a rugged wall encircling a sacred and enchanted area. - -The tents were pitched amongst the low-growing bushes in the dry, -shingly bed of the stream; and the hobbled camels were turned loose to -crop such twigs and grasses as they found edible. Muriel, meanwhile, -wandered away into the open desert; and presently, like warm sand, and -resting her chin on her hands, watched the sun go down behind the purple -hills. - -For some time the excitements of the day, and the physical exhilaration -produced by her long ride in the sun and wind, held her from thought. -But at length the dreamlike silence of the wilderness, the amazing sense -of isolation from the outside world, began to release her mind from the -captivity of the flesh, so that becoming one with the immensity of -nature, her spirit drifted out into the sunset with the freedom of light -or air. - -The little deeds of all her yesterdays appeared suddenly insignificant -to her, and she began to feel that life, and the happiness of life, was -something far greater than she had supposed. She wondered why she had -been troubled with regard to Daniel: he was just an expression of -nature, as she was: and here, in the solitude he so dearly loved, she -seemed to understand for the first time his scorn of the intricacies of -modern civilization. Here all was so simple, so devoid of complexities, -that she laughed aloud. It was only her wits, the mere fringe of her -mind, which had veiled her spirit from his spirit; but now she had -shaken herself loose from these ornamentations of life, and stood as it -were, revealed like a lost fragment dropped at last into place in the -great design. - -She rose to her feet at length, with a sense of light-heartedness such -as she had never before known; and, returning to the camp in the -gathering dusk, she looked with amused pity at Benifett Bindane who sat -in a deck-chair reading the _Financial News_ by the light of a -glass-protected candle. - -"Just look at him!" said Kate, who, herself, had been admiring the -sunset. "Isn't it pitiful?" - -Mr. Bindane laid the paper down, and stared at his wife with -uncomprehending eyes. - -"The market is showing a good deal of weakness in Home Rails," he said -to his wife; "but your South Africans are all buoyant enough, so you -needn't worry." - -"Worry!" exclaimed Kate, contemptuously, and turned from him to the -fading light in the west. - -"I'm glad I bought those Nitrates," he went on, addressing the back of -her neck; "they're improving, so far as one can tell from the closing -quotations given here." - -He held the newspaper out, but she struck at it viciously with her hand. - -"Oh, for God's sake shut up!" she cried. "It's money, money, money all -the time with you." - -"I was speaking," he said, very slowly, and as though he had been hurt, -"of stock I had bought for you, my dear." - -Kate turned to him, and her friend observed that her face softened, as -though at the thought that in his own way he was showing his affection -for her. But the picture was, nevertheless, pathetic; and the -recollection passed through Muriel's mind, in sudden illumination, that -Daniel was entirely free from financial interests. So long as he earned -a reasonable living he never seemed to trouble himself about money. - -Next morning they were in the saddle by eight o'clock, while yet the sun -was low in the heavens and the air cold and sharp. Crossing the wide -plain in which they had camped, they passed into the echoing valleys -amongst the hills; and for the next three days they made their way -through rugged and broken country, now mounting some eminence whence -they surveyed a wide prospect in which range behind range of rugged -peaks was revealed to them, now losing themselves in the intricate -valleys, where they rode in the blue shadow of the cliffs, and where the -sound of their voices and their laughter was flung back at them from the -walls of rock. - -Each night they camped beside some water-hole or well, known by name to -their guides, but which to them seemed to be a deserted and unvisited -place, frequented only by the unseen gazelle whose footprints were -marked upon the sand. It was cold here in the high ground, and they were -glad of all the blankets which they had brought; but in the mornings the -sun soon warmed them, and by noon they were glad to take their rest in -the shade. - -It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of their journey that, -descending from the higher level, they came into sight of the little -Oasis of El Homra, set like an emerald in the golden bowl of the desert. -Muriel was riding beside Kate Bindane when, emerging from the maze of -the hills, they first looked down into this wide basin in the centre of -which the Oasis was situated; and both she and her friend uttered a cry -of delight. - -In the case of Muriel the ejaculation was a response to the grandeur of -the scene; but in that of her friend the exclamation was one of devout -thankfulness that the outward journey was nearing its end. Being heavily -built and somewhat stout Kate had suffered very much more severely from -the long-protracted jolting than she had been willing to admit; and -there were many very sore places upon her body which caused the thought -of much further exercise of this kind to be intolerable. - -"You won't catch me coming out here again," she declared, "until the -Company has built its light railway. Five days of blinkin' -torture!--that's what it's been. And to think that five hours by train -would have done it...!" - -Muriel looked at her in dismay. "I'd much rather not think we were so -near Cairo as that," she answered. "The whole pleasure of the thing is -that we're so cut off from civilization." - -Kate groaned. "Well, I'm glad to say I've brought a bit of civilization -with me in the shape of a pot of ointment and a roll of lint." - -Her further remarks, however, were checked by her efforts to pull in her -camel; for the west wind had brought to its nostrils the scent of -vegetation, and its pace had suddenly increased. - -Muriel turned in her saddle as her own beast hurried forward, and waved -her hand excitedly to Mr. Bindane, who was holding on to his pommels -with both hands, his head wobbling, and his body swaying. - -As they neared their destination the police officer overtook her, and -directed her towards the south end of the Oasis, where, a little removed -from the palm-groves, some whitewashed buildings were clustered -together. He explained that these formed the headquarters of the -Frontier Patrol, near which their camp would be pitched; and soon he had -galloped ahead, followed by one of his troopers, to herald their -arrival. - -The sun was setting when at last the party dismounted within the walled -compound of the outpost; and it was dark before the baggage caravan came -creaking and grunting into the circle of light cast by the lanterns of -the police. Kate and her husband had at once gone into the bare-walled -room which had been placed at their disposal; but Muriel, who was -experiencing an extraordinary sense of activity, went out with the -dragoman to supervise the erection of the tents in the open desert some -little distance from the buildings. - -For some time she lent a hand to the work, but at length she sat herself -down upon a derelict packing-case, and watched the figures moving to and -fro, now lit up by the flickering light of the lanterns, now passing -again into the darkness. - -The evening was warm, for the month of March had begun; and there was -not that sharp tingle in the air which had been experienced up in the -high ground they had lately traversed. On her one hand there were the -dark palm-groves, their branches silhouetted against the brilliant -stars: she could hear the rustling of the leaves, and there came to her -ears, also, the sound of a flute, the notes rising and falling in -plaintive inconsequence like babbling water in a forest at night. On her -other hand the open desert lay obscure and mysterious, the darkness made -more intense by contrast with the flicker of the lanterns and the light -issuing from the open doorways of the adjacent buildings. - -It was so strange to feel that she was separated from El Hamrn, and -from the man she loved, by no more than thirty miles--an easy day's ride -to the southwest; and her heart was restless as she realized that Mr. -Bindane proposed to make an extended tour of the northern Oases before -getting into touch with Daniel. It seemed to her that she could not -tolerate another day of absence from him; and a wild thought entered her -mind that she would give her friends the slip next morning and ride -alone to El Hamrn. It was, indeed, the thought of such an escapade -which sent her presently hurrying back to the light of the outpost, as -though in flight from the mad suggestions of the starlit spaces about -her. - -The evening meal was served in the room where Mr. and Mrs. Bindane had -settled themselves; and it was still early when they went to their -tents. Muriel was already yawning loudly, as she helped Kate to doctor -herself; and no sooner was she alone than she crawled into bed, and, in -spite of the barking of the dogs, the lowing of the cattle, and the -braying of a donkey; fell instantly asleep. - -On the following morning Benifett Bindane displayed unwonted briskness, -and, after an early breakfast, set out with the native officials to make -a tour of inspection of the Oasis. His plan was to continue his journey -next day to the large Oasis of El Arbah, to the northwest, where he -would spend the night. Then, returning to El Homra, where they were at -present, he would ride northwards on a tour which would occupy twelve or -thirteen days; and that being accomplished, he would, if necessary, -visit El Hamrn where Daniel was staying, though he had now received the -latter's very full reply to the questions on which he had desired -information. - -When he got back to the camp, however, after his first day's work, he -found that his wife and Lady Muriel had made certain plans of their own, -consequent upon Kate's abrasions. They had decided to remain where they -were while Mr. Bindane paid his short visit to El Arbah; and it was -hoped that on his return his wife would be sufficiently recovered to go -north with him on his longer trip. - -He received the news with apparent indifference, merely remarking that -he would take with him on this short trip only one servant and one tent, -leaving the remainder of the camp where it was, under the care of the -two dragomans. The Bedouin of the Oases were a peaceful, law-abiding -people; and the two ladies would be as safe here, he well knew, as they -would be in an English village at home. - -That night, after Muriel had gone to her bed, Kate Bindane took her -husband into her confidence. - -"I don't know what's going on in Muriel's head," she told him, "but it -seems to me that she's about the most love-sick creature I've ever -struck. She won't even look in any other direction except the southwest, -because that's where her Daniel is." - -A slight expression of interest came into her husband's blank face. He -was sitting in his striped pyjamas on the side of his bed, scratching -himself dreamily; but now he paused and his arms fell loosely upon his -pointed knees. "I thought," he said, "she had got over all that. She has -been jolly enough all the way here." - -"Yes," answered Kate, "but now that she's within a day's ride of her -young man, she seems to have come over all funny-like. I can't make her -out." She waited a moment. "Wouldn't it be possible for us to go to El -Hamrn before we make the northern trip?" she asked, poking the wick of -the candle, absently, with the stump of a match. - -Her husband shook his head. "No," he replied. "The plans are all fixed. -And, you see, I don't suppose Mr. Lane will give me more than a couple -of days of his time just now; and I'd rather have it at the end of my -tour, when I know what I'm talking about, than now when I hav'n't yet -seen the lie of the land. I want to be able to come to him with a -definite offer." - -He relapsed into silence for some time, resuming his leisurely -scratching; but at length he surprised his wife by asking a further -question as to Muriel's state of mind. - -"Why, Benifett," she said, smiling upon him, "you seem quite interested. -You know, I believe you're rather a sport, after all." - -He looked at her with his mouth open. "Oh, it's a recognized maxim of -the commercial world," he answered: "'Make yourself a party to the love -affairs of your business friends.'" - -"But Muriel isn't a business friend," said Kate. - -"No," he replied, "but her father is." And with that enigmatical remark, -he blew out the candle. - -At sunrise next day he was up and about; and an hour later he had -assembled his party for the start upon their journey. Kate and Muriel -watched them as they filed out of the compound in front of the police -buildings, in the brilliant light of the morning. - -"Tomorrow evening, probably," called Mr. Bindane, waving his hand to -them; and, "No hurry," replied Kate, casually: "we'll be quite all -right." - -With that he moved away, riding with the fat Egyptian from the Ministry -of Agriculture. Behind him followed the police-officer and the native -secretary, and after them went their servants and baggage camels. - -As the cavalcade passed out of sight behind the palm-trees, Kate turned -to her friend. "Now for a quiet time with the ointment pot," she -laughed; but her words were checked as she observed the surprising -expression on Muriel's face. "Why, what's the matter?" she exclaimed. - -Muriel caught hold of her arm. "Kate," she said, "I'm going to shock -you. I'm going to Daniel." - -Mrs. Bindane stood perfectly still, her hands upon her hips in the -manner of a fishwife. "What the Hell d'you mean?" she asked. - -Muriel confronted her, the monkey expression suddenly developing upon -her face--her jaw set, her eyes wide open. "I'm going to leave you, -Kate," she said. "I made up my mind in the night. I can't bear it -another moment: I'm going to start at once." - -"Don't be a damned fool," her friend ejaculated, angrily. - -Muriel shrugged her shoulders. "I shall take my dragoman with me," she -went on. "He knows all the roads hereabouts. I shall be quite safe. I'm -going to Daniel for a fortnight: I've thought it all out, and I know now -that's what he's been wanting me to do. You'll find me at El Hamrn when -you come there--if you do come, and, if not, I'll join you here." - -"But, my good idiot," cried her friend, "there'll be the most awful -scandal! What d'you think Benifett will say?" - -"I'll leave that for you to find out," she answered. "I don't see Master -Benifett changing his plans for anybody. You can say I was ill, and -therefore went off to Daniel so that I shouldn't spoil your trip or -delay you. Father need never know, and I'm sure Benifett won't give me -away. Not that a scandal isn't just what he wants. Doesn't he want to -oblige Daniel to remain here in the Oases?--Oh, but I know what I'm -doing. Daniel never wanted to marry me: he wanted me to run away with -him." - -"Yes, but where are you going to run to?" - -"To seed," Muriel replied, with a little laugh. "I can't help it. He's -won: I can't stay away from him. I'm going to have this fortnight with -him, if I hang for it!" - -"Oh, you're mad!" exclaimed Kate, and, clutching hold of Muriel's arm, -she led her into her tent. - -Here they argued the matter to and fro; but it was apparent from the -first that the thing was irrevocably sealed, and that all the details of -the plan had been thought out so as to prevent the adventure becoming -public. - -"Very possibly there'll be no scandal at all," said Muriel; "the natives -can be bribed not to tell. I shall come back with you to Cairo when you -return there, and who is going to give me away?" - -"But what is a fortnight?" asked Kate, in despair. "Good God!--what is a -fortnight, when it means even the _possible_ ruin of your whole life?" - -"I can't look so far ahead," Muriel replied. "I only know I want him -now. And I'm going to him, Kate; I'm going to the man I love, the man -who loves me!" - -She ran out of the tent, calling to her dragoman, Mustafa, who appeared -at once from the domestic quarters. He received the news without -perturbation. - -"Yes, my leddy," he said. "I varry pleased. My wife's brother him live -at El Hamrn. Thirty mile'--it is nudding: five, six hours riding; and -the road him varry good, varry straight." - -She told him to get two camels ready at once, to fill the water-bottles, -collect a few eatables, and--to hold his tongue. "I have to take some -important papers over to Mr. Lane," she said, and he smiled at the lie. - -Her large dressing-case was already packed; but, returning to her tent, -she opened it to put into it her little revolver, which, for the fun of -the thing, she had purchased in Cairo. This done, she went back to Kate, -who received her in cold silence. - -"Oh, Kate," she cried, "don't be beastly to me. I'm only going to do the -sort of thing that's been done by most of the girls we know. It's human -nature, Kate. When you love a man and feel you absolutely can't live -without him, you've got to surrender to him and do what he wants; and I -know now that this is what he's been asking me to do all along." She put -her arms about her neck, and kissed her. - -Kate looked at her sorrowfully, and her face softened. "Muriel, you -blinkin' idiot," she said, "I don't know what'll come of this, but -whatever happens, old bean, I'm with you." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--BREAKING LOOSE - - -The road, or rather camel-track, from El Homra to El Hamrn passes -across a wide plain of comparatively flat sand, which looks like the bed -of a vast lake from which the waters have been drained off. It is a huge -hollow separated by high ground from the smaller basin in which the -former oasis is situated. Ranges of hills form the boundaries of this -area, those to the east being high and many-peaked, the others low and -undulating; and from one side of the plain to the other must be -something like twenty miles. There are three wells between the two -oases, the second being practically in the centre of the plain, and -marking the half-way point of the journey. - -Muriel and her dragoman reached this well at about one o'clock, when the -sun was almost directly overhead and the glare intense. It was a deep -pool not more than a dozen feet from side to side; but in the clear -water the blue of the sky was so vividly reflected that Muriel, as she -stood staring down into it, had the impression that the earth was flat -and that she was looking through a hole into further spaces of empty air -beneath. - -A few yards distant there were some tamarisks, providing a little patch -of shade, almost as blue as the sky and water; and a stone's throw away -there was a hillock of sand upon which grew a few low and dusty bushes. -With these exceptions there was no vegetation to be seen, and the sand -stretched out in all directions, barren and dazzling, until the surface -was lost in vaporous mirage, so that the far-off hills looked like -islands floating above the haze. - -She called her dragoman to her. "Mustafa," she said, "I'm going to -bathe. You must go and sit behind that hillock over there, and you -mustn't move till I tell you you may." - -Servants in the East are ever accustomed to be told to take themselves -off in this fashion, when their native mistresses desire to amuse -themselves; and he now received his orders from the daughter of the -foreign ruler of Egypt without surprise. He quickly filled the -water-bottles from the pool, and, telling her that he would prepare the -luncheon on the other side of the hillock, walked off across the sand. - -As soon as she was alone, Muriel divested herself of her clothes in the -shelter of the tamarisks, and plunged into the cool water. Never in her -life had she felt so boisterously, recklessly happy; never before had -she realized how cramped her existence had been. Here in these empty -spaces of the world she was like a child with all the delights of the -open garden to herself; and presently she would slip into the next -garden and greet there her playmate. - -As she splashed in the water she learned for the first time the -wonderful sensation of bathing without the weight of a costume about her -limbs; and her thoughts flashed back with disdain to those elegant days -at fashionable seaside resorts where she had almost feared to let the -waves wet her dainty bathing-dress, and where she had been aware of -opera glasses levelled upon her as she walked sedately into the sea. - -From side to side of the little pool she swam, tossing the water into -the air in showers of sparkling drops; and, presently, when, clambering -back on to the sand, she stood with arms stretched out to the sunlight, -she felt that at last she knew the meaning of life. - -The hot sun dried her body, without much need of the aid of her -handkerchief; and when she was dressed she hastened with a wonderful -appetite to her luncheon. Mustafa, being a well-trained dragoman, did -not trouble her with his presence; and she was thus able to make very -frank inroads into the tongue and sweet-pickles, the biscuits and the -jam, which he had provided. And after the meal she lay back in the -shade, against the slope of the sand, and slept for half an hour in -profound content. - -She awoke with the conviction that at last all was well with her. It -seemed to her that what Daniel had all along desired was that she should -renounce "the World," as he called it, and come to him; and now, in -these last few days, she had realized that this was no renunciation at -all. He had been perfectly right: a life in the open was the only life -for Youth; and here, not in the cities, real happiness was to be found. - -All he had asked of her was to break loose from her conventional -existence, and to come to him; and now she knew how incomprehensible her -reluctance must have seemed to him. He had been holding out to her the -free joys of her youth: he had been saying to her, "Come and be my -playmate and my dear companion," and when she had refused, he had gone -off by himself, bidding her follow him if at last she should shake -herself free of her imaginary bonds. How stupid to him, how vulgar, must -have been her wish for a correct betrothal!--no wonder he had given up -in dismay. - -Such thoughts occupied her brain during the afternoon as she trotted -exultantly, and with wild and reckless freedom from all restraint, -towards El Hamrn; but very different were the thoughts in the mind of -Daniel Lane, as, all unaware of her proximity, he sat peacefully in his -room, putting the finishing touches to his interrupted study of the -customs of the Bedouin of the Oases. - -In a manner it might be said that he was content. He had fought a -terrible battle with himself during these five-and-twenty days since he -had left Cairo, and his mighty spirit had won the victory over his -mutinous body. Like a monk abandoning the pleasures of the world, he had -crushed within him the one passionate episode of his continent life. - -Throughout his strenuous manhood he had put away from him the call of -the flesh: he had mastered his body, and had subordinated all other -interests to those of his work. In a sense he had lived the life of an -ascetic, save that he had not actually mortified his body. He had -governed and controlled his physical instincts, but he had found no need -to break them with rods. In perfect health, in perfect physical fitness, -he had passed his days, filled with that deep, laughing happiness which -comes from a quiet mind. His gigantic muscles were ever ruled by his -mighty reason; and serene, smiling tranquillity had been his reward. - -It was only since Muriel had come into his life that he had known any -disturbance; for she was practically the first woman with whom he had -ever been on intimate terms. And when she had failed him he had beaten -out the very thought of her from his riotous heart, and had fled to the -placid sanctuary of the desert, there to recover his equanimity. - -To him she had seemed to be tainted by her contact with that section of -society whose artificiality he so heartily disliked. These people paid -outward court to the conventions of life, but in secret they treated in -the lightest manner the very bases upon which these conventions were -founded. Being satisfied with the surface of things, they lived their -lives in turmoil and called it pleasure; nor had they any idea of that -deeper happiness which comes from contact with fundamental truth and -simplicity. - -And Muriel had been as blind as the blindest of them. She only played -with life--skimmed over the surface, snatching at such pleasures as lay -to hand. - -If she had turned her back on her dances and her parties, and had come -to him and had said, "Take me into the desert for ever," he would have -believed in her love, and nothing could have held them apart; but, -whether correctly or incorrectly he knew not, he had had the impression -that she had wished to fill but an idle hour with the sweets of love, -just as, so it seemed to him, all fair women of Mayfair were wont to do. - -Therefore he had come back to the clear and open spaces of the desert; -and here, in the ruined monastery which for so long had been his home, -he had sought and found once more his peace of mind. In a few weeks' -time he would return to Cairo; but in future he would arrange to receive -his Egyptian visitors away from the Residency, at some house in the -native quarter where he could work without distraction. - -As he sat writing in his shirt-sleeves at his table near the window and -the sun was descending towards the horizon, his attention was attracted -by the barking of his dogs, and he wondered whether some native from the -village had come to see him. He was concerned just now in regard to the -growing quarrel between the two main families of the Oasis, and visits -were frequently paid to him by persons connected with the great feud. - -The barking, however, presently ceased abruptly, and therewith he went -on with his work. The room was large, and the loud chattering of the -sparrows in the palms outside the window prevented him from hearing the -opening of the door behind him. He was not aware that his servant, -Hussein, had entered, agog with excitement; nor did he see Muriel, who, -followed him, as she waved him out of the room, and shut the door behind -her. - -It was only when she was close to him that he heard the footstep and -looked around. - -He sprang to his feet. "Muriel!" he exclaimed, as he stared at her in -astonishment. - -She did not speak. She ran to him, and, throwing her hands around his -neck, was lifted from the ground in his arms. For a few moments she did -nothing but kiss him--she rained kisses on his mouth and his bewildered -face in a very frenzy of love, so that he gasped. Then her hands, -slipping from behind his neck, passed over his forehead and his cheeks, -and through his hair, patting him and stroking him; while her hat fell -off, unnoticed, and her feet dangled above the ground, vainly seeking -for foothold in the vicinity of his shins. - -At last, having been lowered to the ground, she stood before him, her -hands held in his, her face flushed, her hair falling down. - -"Oh, my darling," she cried, "I couldn't live without you any longer. -I've broken loose: I've run away and come to you." - -And, as his arms went about her once more, nigh crushing the breath out -of her, she shut her eyes and received his answering kisses in -passionate glorious silence. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI--THE STOLEN HOUR - - -She had come to him! Impelled by her love she had come to him! That was -the jubilant thought in Daniel's rejoicing heart. At last she had turned -her back upon the amusements and pleasures of the old life, finding them -altogether unsatisfying now, and she had come to him! She loved him, and -she had given up all to come to him! No longer was romance to be -sandwiched in between race-meetings and dances, between "At Homes" and -opera-parties: she had renounced the whole thing, and had come to him! - -"How did you manage it?" he said, looking at her with admiration in his -eyes. - -"Oh, it was quite simple," she laughed. "There was nothing extraordinary -in my joining the Bindanes on their trip; and then ..." - -She told him how she had waited until Mr. Bindane was out of the way, -and had then made a bolt for it. - -"But what is the next step?" he asked. "What about the future?" - -"Oh, man," she cried, "don't talk about the future--that can wait till -you have time to think." - -The words may have had no particular significance, but to Daniel they -seemed to be the most wonderful he had ever heard. They meant to him -that she trusted him, that she placed her future in his hands, that she -gave herself unreservedly to him. She left it to him to think out what -he was going to do with her.... - -He looked at her with deep gratitude in his face; for she had, as it -were, crowned him as lord of their destinies and enthroned him upon the -very pinnacle of eventuality. - -He could not take his eyes from her as she stood at the window, the -reflected light of the sunset in her face, her well-proportioned figure -seeming to be more vigorous, more athletic, than he had known it before. -Her smile, always brilliant, was now intoxicating to him; and her eyes -were filled with such tenderness that he could find no adequate response -to their appeal. It was as though his kisses and his words of love were -all insufficient to this great hour; and, with inward, joyous laughter, -he found himself baffled in his search for means of expression. - -He lifted her up in his arms, and kissed her throat and her shoulders -and her knees. He lowered her to her feet again, and, with his arm about -her, walked half-way across the room and back. He buried his face in her -hair; held her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers one by one; he -sat her in a deck-chair, and, kneeling before her, laid his head for a -moment upon her lap. - -She was his, she belonged to him!--the thought went coursing through his -brain in headlong career, breaking down his reserve, overthrowing the -walls of the citadel of his being. - -At last, forcing himself down from the heights to the practicalities, he -went to the door and shouted for tea; but Hussein, who, like most loyal -Egyptian servants, regarded himself, with due deference, as _ibn el -bt_, "son of the house," or "one of the family" as we should say, had -thrown himself whole-heartedly into his master's excitement, and had -already prepared the tea and had opened the choicest tin of biscuits in -the store-cupboard. - -Muriel was hungry after her long ride; but she had so much to say, and -the interruptions induced by their love were so frequent, that the meal -occupied a great deal of time. She told him of the journey from Egypt, -and of the wonders of the desert which had been revealed to her; she -spoke of the bath that day in the pool at the roadside; she described -her sensations of increasing happiness and well-being as day by day the -old routine of her life had slipped further from her; and she talked -with enthusiasm of the beauties of El Hamrn as she had approached it -just now from the high ground. - -"I spotted this old ruin of yours from miles away," she said, "and we -skirted along the high ground on this side of the Oasis until we came -without a single wrong turning to your door." - -She went to the window, and, standing there with her arm linked in his, -gazed in silence over the shimmering sea of the tree-tops. Upon the near -side the shadow of the cliffs was spread, and the foliage seemed here to -be tinged with cobalt and purple; but on the far side the mellow light -of the vanishing sun still bathed the green of the leaves with a -tincture of gold and copper. - -The chirping of thousands of sparrows, as they gathered themselves in -the branches to roost, filled the air with clamorous sound; and at the -foot of the cliff, just below the window, a string of camels went by, -the foremost being ridden by a small boy, dressed in a single garment of -blue cotton, who was exultantly carolling a native song in a -full-throated voice which, with its chucks and gurgles, seemed to be an -imitation of the nightingale. - -"What is he singing about?" Muriel asked. "He's nearly bursting with -it." - -"It is a part of the story of Leila and her lover Majnn," Daniel -explained, after listening for a few moments; "the part where the Sultan -sees Leila, and tells Majnn that he doesn't think she is anything to -write home about; and Majnn says: 'O King, if you could only see her -from the window of Majnn's eyes, the miracle of her beauty would be -made known to you.'" - -The boy's voice passed into the distance; and Muriel stood gazing in -front of her in silence, while the golden light faded from the palms as -the sun went down. - -At length she turned to Daniel, asking him to show her over his house; -and, arm in arm, therefore, they went out of the airy, whitewashed -living-room, coming presently to the old monks' refectory, with its -roofing of dried cornstalks, and so to the servants' quarters and the -kitchen, and thence to the ruined tower at the top of which Daniel was -wont to sleep. They ascended this tower together, and from its summit -Muriel could see the whole extent of the building; and, in a rapid -passage of thought, she realized with inward satisfaction that the story -of his harm was a fabrication. - -The view from here was magnificent. In the west, above the rugged line -of the dark hills, the sunset was revealed to her in sudden, -overpowering splendour. To the east the Oasis lay in cool shadow; and -here and there a thin wisp of smoke rose into the air. Beyond lay the -silent desert, and the far-off ranges of pink and mauve hills; and above -them the sky was turquoise, fading into grey-blue. The wind had dropped, -and now the chattering of the sparrows was ceasing, so that there seemed -to be an increasing hush upon all things. - -The foliage of the palms screened from sight any movement of human life -in the Oasis; and Muriel had the feeling that she and Daniel stood quite -alone in this vast setting, like two little sparks of vibrant energy -dropped down from the hand of Fate in an empty, motionless world. - -She looked up at him as he stood before her, his rough grey shirt thrown -open at the neck, his sleeves rolled back from his bronzed arms, and his -white trousers held up by an old sash of faded red and yellow silk -knotted about his waist. He looked down at her, dressed in her silk -sweater, and the same white serge skirt with the little stripe of grey -in it which she had been wearing that afternoon at Sakkra. And as their -eyes met they both laughed, like two playmates of childhood who had -quarrelled, and whose quarrel was now forgotten. - -Presently he led her down the stairs again and across the outer kitchen -yard. Here her dragoman, Mustafa, was waiting to take his orders; and he -now asked permission to ride over to the house of his brother-in-law, -which was situated at the far end of the Oasis, and there to spend the -night; and this Muriel at once gave him. - -"Where are the camels?" she asked; and in reply he pointed to a shed -built against the outer wall of the monastery near the entrance. Here, -also, were the three yellow dogs, who, knowing her well, came now to her -with the fawning attitudes and uncertainly wagging tails of the real -pariah breed. - -Hussein was lighting the lamps in the living-room when they returned; -and he paused to ask whether the evening meal should be served at the -usual hour. Daniel referred him to Muriel. "Any time you like," she -answered, smiling happily at Daniel, as though even the arranging of -such trivial details were a matter of delight. "I want a bath first, if -I can have one." - -At this Daniel suddenly laughed. "Gee!" he exclaimed, "I'd forgotten to -fix up a bedroom for you." He scratched his head. "Now where on earth am -I to put you?" - -There was a small whitewashed chamber--originally a monk's cell--opening -off the refectory. This, Daniel used as his dressing-room, and in it -stood his large tin foot-bath. He now told his servant, therefore, to -set up the spare camp-bed in that room, to prepare the bath, and to -remove his own belongings to the chamber at the base of the tower below -the stairs. - -"You won't be nervous alone there, will you?" he asked her, and she -shook her head. "If you feel lonely or frightened, you've only got to -slip round to my tower and shout to me, or come up the stairs and wake -me up." - -To Muriel there seemed to be a wonderful intimacy in his words, and she -pictured herself creeping up the dark staircase in the night, and -standing by her lover's bedside under the stars, whispering to him that -she could not sleep. - -Hussein was not long in carrying out his instructions, and soon he came -back to announce that the bath was ready. Therewith, Daniel took Muriel -to this room, which looked exceedingly clean and comfortable in the -lamplight. Towels and jugs of hot and cold water stood upon the -grass-matted floor beside the bath-tub; the camp-bed had been made up in -one corner; and Muriel's dressing-case stood upon a chair near a table -above which a looking-glass was hung. In place of a door a grass mat was -suspended across the entrance; and the unglazed window, looking -westwards on to the open desert, was fitted with rough wooden shutters -now standing open to the warm night. - -Daniel was loathe to leave her even for this little while, and he stood -with his arm about her while she unfastened her dressing-case. He helped -her to lay out her brushes and toilet utensils; and there was a peculiar -and very tender sense of intimate companionship as she handed him her -slippers to place beside the bed and her nightdress to lay upon the -pillow. He made no attempt to go when she began to take the hairpins -from her hair; and, when it fell about her shoulders, he took her in his -arms once more, calling her by so many loving names that her brain -seemed to be singing with them, and she could feel her riotous heart -beating as it were in her throat. - -At last he left her, and went to his own improvised dressing-room, to -put on more presentable clothes; but when he was ready, and she had not -yet made her reappearance, he went back to her doorway and spoke to her -through the screen of the grass-matting. - -She told him he might enter, and he found her sitting before the mirror -fastening up her hair. She was dressed now in a kind of kimono; and he -seized her bare white arms, which were raised above her head, kissing -them fervently. - -When at length her toilet was finished, he led her back to the -living-room, where soon the evening meal was served at a small table -upon which two candles burned at either side of a bowl of wild flowers -hastily picked in the fields, where, at this time of the year, they grow -in great abundance; and never in all their lives had either of them felt -so completely happy. Through the open window the stars glinted in the -wonderful sky, like amazing jewels sprinkled upon velvet; and the dimly -lit room, with its series of shadowy domes, seemed to be a magical -banquet-hall, its walls of alabaster and its flooring of marble. It was -somewhat bare of furniture, for many things had been left behind at the -Pyramids; but its very bareness enhanced its Oriental effect and added -to its enchantment. - -Hussein had prepared a very excellent meal, not sparing the -store-cupboard; and he had opened a particularly large fiasco of Italian -red-wine to grace the occasion. He had donned a clean white garment, -held in at the waist by a crimson sash; and as he noiselessly entered or -left the room he seemed to Muriel to have taken to himself the nature of -a geni out of a tale of the _Arabian Nights_. - -When at last the meal was finished, and cleared away, and she and Daniel -were seated in the deck chairs at the open window to drink their coffee, -Muriel felt that the whole world of actuality had slid from her, leaving -her enthroned with her lover in a palace of glorious dream; and when, -out of the darkness of the palm-groves below, there came to their ears -the distant and wandering sound of a flute, played by some unseen -goatherd passing homewards with his flock, the magic of the desert was -almost overpowering in the measure of its enchantment. She was -bewildered and intoxicated by it; and in Daniel's eyes she found, too, a -light of love such as she had never seen there before. - -The hours passed unnoticed, for time had ceased to be; and it was -already late when at last Daniel arose, and stood looking down at her -with a smile upon his face. "Well," he said, with a sigh, "I didn't -think anything would induce me to return to Cairo so soon; but now.... -When shall we start?" - -Muriel looked at him in surprise. "O Daniel," she whispered, "there's no -hurry, is there? The Bindanes won't be going back for a fortnight." - -Her low voice set his heart beating for a moment, but he did not take -the real significance of her words. - -"Well," he said. "I suppose it will be all right for you to be here for -a day or two; and then we can ride straight to Cairo and be married by -special licence or whatever they call it." He lifted her fingers to his -lips. "Oh, darling, in less than a week you'll be my wife!" - -Muriel stared at him, wide-eyed. It was as though she had suddenly -awakened from a dream. "Oh, but the family will be horrified," she said. -"Everybody will expect a proper wedding in London: after we get home--in -May or June. You'll have to make that concession to the world, my -darling." - -Daniel laughed. "Yes, but what about our compromising situation, here?" -he asked. "Don't you see, my sweet, what I mean? Your bolting from the -Bindanes is to me a sort of sacred and wonderful thing that you have -done, because you've put your fate irrevocably in my hands. To my way of -thinking we are already married, because you have openly abandoned -everything and come to me; but I'm not going to give anybody the chance -to question our acts. We belong to each other, and the quicker the -position is regularized, so to speak, the better." - -"But who is to find out?" she said. "If I stay with you till the -Bindanes come, nobody will hear of it in Cairo." - -He looked quickly at her, his brows drawn together. "What d'you mean?" -he asked, as though he could not follow the workings of her mind. - -She laughed. "I mean, I've arranged it all," she answered. "Kate is to -say I was ill, and that I came to you so as not to be a nuisance to -them. She can prevent her husband ever giving me away, and I should -think you could manage the others, or at any rate keep them from talking -until we're married." - -He did not answer, but his eyes were fixed upon her. She got up from -their chair, and put her hands about his neck. "This is to be our -wonderful fortnight, darling," she whispered. "It is to be our secret." - -He lifted her arms from his shoulders, holding her wrists. "I don't -understand," he said, and his voice was hard. - -She looked at him with wonder. She could not comprehend what was -troubling him. "Darling, what's the matter?" she asked, in dismay. "What -I mean is that I've done what you always wanted me to do: I've broken -loose; only I've chosen my opportunity, and arranged it so that people -won't talk." - -Still he did not take his eyes from her; but he removed his hand from -her wrist. "You mean," he said very slowly, "that you will return with -the Bindanes, and finish up the Cairo season?" - -"Well," she answered, "I've got all sorts of more or less official -engagements, you know." - -"This is to be just a stolen fortnight?" he asked, and she was -frightened by the stern tones of his voice. - -She nodded, and again her arms sought his shoulders. But he stepped back -quickly from her, and his hand passed across has forehead. - -"You are going to cover up your tracks with a pack of lies," he said, -his breath sounding like that of one in pain. "And then you are going -back to your dances and your parties, pretending nothing has happened." - -"Oh, you don't understand," she cried. "I've given myself to you, body -and soul." - -"Yes," he scoffed, his voice rising. "You've given yourself to me for a -fortnight. A sneaking fortnight that you think nobody will ever hear -about. A fortnight sandwiched in between the middle and the end of the -Cairo season, to fill up the blank time while your father is away." - -"But I never want to go back," she answered, her voice trembling. - -"If that is true," he said, "why have you arranged everything for your -return? You've given yourself to me, you say! Yes, for a stolen -fortnight, as you call it yourself: it is to be just an underhand little -intrigue. Good God!--and I believed you had given up everything for your -love's sake; and now I find you've given up nothing. You've taken all -the necessary steps to prevent your action being decisive, to make your -return to society perfectly easy. And I thought you had burnt your -boats!" - -She faced him angrily. "Oh, you're incomprehensible," she exclaimed. -"You let me see in every possible way that you want me to give myself to -you and to follow you into the desert; you let me understand that this -is what you expect of a woman; you knew that I had heard about your -affairs with the Bedouin women here; you didn't seem to mind my having -heard about Lizette: and then, when I accept your point of view and come -to you, you tell me I've done wrong." - -"What on earth are you saying?" he cried. "What do you mean about -Bedouin women? I have never had any relations whatsoever with native -women in my life--never. And as for Lizette, I didn't tell at the time, -because I wanted you to trust me of your own accord; but I will tell you -now. I've only spoken to her twice in my life. Once we had supper -together, and once we had coffee together in a restaurant. That is the -beginning and the end of my relationship with her. Do you mean to say -that thinking me a sort of libertine, you have come out to live with me -here as my mistress for a fortnight? Is that what you mean?" - -She did not reply. She sat down on a cane chair near the table, and -twisted her handkerchief to and fro with her fingers. The expression on -her pale face revealed the black despair of her heart. - -"Answer me!" he said, sharply. - -"I have no answer," she replied. "I thought you wanted me, I thought you -loved me." - -He turned from her, sick at heart. It seemed now to him that his worst -fears were realized: he could almost have called her "Harlot." In no -wise had she abandoned the world and run to him, defying the conventions -because she desired to be his mate. She had merely planned a secret -love-affair: she had just slipped out of the ballroom, so to speak, to -enjoy an amorous interlude, and she would be back amongst the dancers -once more before anybody had missed her. This sort of clandestine, -cunningly arranged affair was an insult to the whole idea of union: it -was an intrigue out of a French novel. - -He looked at her once more as she sat at the table, and, in his -revulsion of feeling, he thought her kimono gaudy. The expression on her -face was angry, almost sullen. - -"I think you must be mad," she said. "In Cairo you wouldn't be publicly -engaged to me, and you made me understand quite clearly that it wasn't -our actual marriage you were thinking about: you wanted me to run away -with you. You always jibbed at the thought of marriage, and were silent -about it; but you talked freely enough about our life together. You made -it quite clear that you regarded morals with contempt; and now, you -suddenly have scruples, and pretend that you are shocked at my having -taken steps to prevent a scandal which would hurt my father's -reputation." - -"If you were afraid of a scandal," he answered, quickly, "why did you -come at all? When you arrived this afternoon I thought you had left that -question to me, and were ready to get married at once, which was the -only way to avoid hurting your father--unless I had sent you back this -very night to Kate Bindane. No, you weren't afraid of a scandal: you -arranged it all too cleverly for there to be much risk." - -"I was prepared to marry you," she said, "if you really wanted -marriage." - -"And if I didn't," he replied, "you were prepared to live with me for a -fortnight. Oh, you make me ashamed!" - -"I wanted to save you from these other women," she protested. - -"I tell you there never were any other women," he answered. "I'm not a -man out of one of your horrible novels." - -"I don't know what you are driving at," she exclaimed. "Anyway I won't -be played fast and loose with like this. I shall go back to my friends -tomorrow, and I hope I shall never see you again." - -Suddenly her voice broke, and throwing her arms out across the table, -she laid her head upon them, and cried bitterly. - -Daniel did not move. His heart was hardened against her, and he told -himself that her tears were but one of the wiles of her sex. - -"No," he said at length, coming suddenly to a decision, "you shall not -go back tomorrow. You have come here for a fortnight, and have made -arrangements for your visit to be secret. You say there is no fear of a -scandal such as would hurt your father. Very well then, you shall stay -here a fortnight whether you want to or not. I propose that we get to -know each other: we've had enough misunderstandings. You have -misunderstood everything I have ever said to you: it has all been warped -and twisted by your miserable society attitude of mind." - -"I shall never understand you," she answered, raising her head, and -drying her eyes with the back of her hand. "This is quite final. You've -insulted me and humiliated me. I might have known that that was what -you'd do." - -"Very well," he said, "I think you had better go to your room now. -Remember, you are going to stay here for the full fortnight." - -"I shall do no such thing," she declared, facing him defiantly. - -He gripped hold of her wrist. "Do you want me to have to lock you up?" -he asked; and she quailed before the authority of his voice. - -He went across to the door and opened it. Outside, upon the floor, a -hurricane lamp was burning; and this he picked up. - -"Here's a lamp," he said, "and here are matches. Now go to bed." - -She took them from him in silence, and slowly walked out of the room. - -He watched her as she passed across the refectory, the light from her -lantern casting her swaying shadow in huge size upon the ruinous walls. -Then he shut the door, and sitting down at the table, buried his face in -his hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII--THE FLIGHT - - -For a long time Daniel lay awake upon his bed at the top of the tower, -while his thoughts passed through a number of recurrent phases. More -than once he felt that he had made a mountain out of a molehill; but -this attitude of mind was dismissed by the recollection that, whether -Muriel truly loved him or not, she had come to him "on the sly," and, by -planning this surreptitious interlude (for she had meant it to be no -more than that) she had invested their relationship with that very -atmosphere of intrigue which he so strongly resented. - -He saw in her action the influence of that small section of London -society which he abhorred, wherein the women appeared to him to be -secret courtesans who would neither abide by the traditional law nor -openly flout it; and he was determined either to eradicate that -influence or to lose Muriel. He was not entirely clear in his mind as to -what he was going to do with her in the Oasis for this fortnight; but of -this he was sure, that she needed a lesson, and that he was going to -take her in hand, remorselessly, whatever might be the consequences. - -The moon, in the last quarter, rose above the far-off hills while yet he -was wearily thinking, and realizing thus that daybreak was not more than -two hours distant, he obliged himself by force of will, to compose his -mind for sleep. In this he was successful and presently he fell into a -deep slumber from which it would have been difficult to wake him. - -Meanwhile, Muriel had also watched the dim light of the rising moon as -it slowly spread over the desert. She had slept for two or three -hours--a miserable sleep of exhaustion; but when she was awakened by the -hooting of an owl outside the window, she lit her lamp and made no -further attempt at repose. - -Her one idea was to get away from Daniel and to go back to Kate Bindane, -who would still be alone at El Homra until the end of the coming day. -She did not want to wait until daybreak, for if Daniel were awake he -would perhaps try to stop her; and now the slight illumination given by -the moon encouraged her to make her immediate escape. She could hardly -miss the road: all she had to do was to mount her camel and ride -straight ahead. - -Hastily she put on her clothes, and soon she had crept out into the -refectory, carrying her heavy dressing-case in her hand. She had slipped -her revolver into one of the pockets of her skirt, and in the other she -had placed a packet of chocolate unused on the previous day, while her -water-bottle was slung across her shoulder. - -Her heart was beating, and she was frightened at the prospect of the -long journey alone, but there was no practicable way of getting into -touch with her dragoman, and she was obliged, therefore, to steel -herself for the adventure. - -By a stroke of good luck she found the three dogs wandering about the -refectory, and they were thus not startled into barking: they followed -her with wagging tails as she made her way to the camel-shed outside. -There were no doors to open, nor bolts or bars to unfasten; and she -could hear the servants snoring at the other end of the building. - -Creeping into the shed, lantern in hand, she found her camel and -Daniel's kneeling side by side upon the sand, dreamily chewing the cud, -and, having learned the tricks of the stable during her journey from -Cairo, she quickly slipped a rope around the bent knee-joint of the -foreleg of her own beast, thus preventing it from rising. - -The saddle was heavy, and was furnished with a number of confusing -straps; but, after a somewhat prolonged struggle, she managed at length -to adjust it, and to tie her dressing-case on to the back pommel. Then, -removing the tether, she held the nose-rope in one hand, and prodded the -unwilling beast with her toe until it floundered to its legs, snarling -and complaining as is the habit of the breed. - -Leading it out into the open she buckled the girth in a fashion, but for -some minutes she failed to make the creature kneel so as to allow her to -climb into the saddle. She tugged at the nose-rope, and tapped its legs -with her crop, but presently she was obliged to desist, owing to her -fear that its whining grumbles would be heard. - -She was in despair and was very near to tears, when suddenly she -recollected that the native makes a certain noise in the roof of his -mouth, like the rolling of a German _ch_, when he wishes his camel to -kneel; and no sooner had she imitated this sound than the creature went -down on its knees with the utmost docility. She clambered into the -saddle with a sigh of relief, and a moment later was trotting silently -northwards while the dogs stared at her in mild surprise as they stood -in the light of the lantern which she had left burning at the doorway of -the shed. - -The soft pads made little sound as she passed under the outer walls of -the monastery, and, looking up at the tower, she saw no signs of -movement, for Daniel was fast asleep. Nor was there any indication of -human life in the Oasis below her as she trotted along the cliff-tops, -but the sporadic barking of the village dogs much alarmed her. - -The day was now breaking in the east, while the moon also gave a certain -amount of light; and she therefore found the track with ease, and in -less than half an hour had left the Oasis behind and was heading out -into the open desert across the high ground. - -The excitement of her escape had prevented her from thinking of her -actual sorrow, and now she was too nervous, too overawed by her -surroundings, to be conscious of more than a general horror. A six -hours' ride across an absolutely uninhabited and lifeless stretch of -country, with nothing but a packet of chocolate for sustenance, was -likely to be a physical ordeal; and already she knew that the nervous -strain was going to be very great. - -As has been said, there were three wells upon the route, and the nearest -of these, some six miles from the Oasis, she reached within the hour. -The sun being now well above the horizon, she did not halt; for she -realized that Daniel, on his tower top, would already have been awakened -by its rays, and would perhaps be even now in pursuit. - -This, in fact, was the case. When he had descended from the tower he had -quickly discovered her flight, and had sent Hussein scuttling into the -stable, while he himself put on a shirt and a pair of trousers and -slipped his bare feet into the old canvas shoes which lay to hand. - -Snatching his water-bottle and a tin of biscuits from the living-room, -and pocketing his pipe and pouch, he ran through the refectory like a -charging bull, sprang on to his camel, and was off and away before his -servant had recovered from his first astonishment. - -"_Walla kilma!_" he shouted to the staring Hussein, which means "Not a -word!" And the loyal native thereupon went back to the kitchen, -muttering to himself "His Excellency has gone hunting," as though to -convince himself of the veracity of the statement, which, after all, was -not very far removed from the truth. - -As Daniel raced along in the sparkling sunshine he could detect here and -there the marks of Muriel's camel upon the tracks before him, and he -knew that, at the pace at which he was travelling, he would have the -chance of overtaking her before she had accomplished half the journey -back to El Homra; for he had not been long asleep, and her departure -could not have taken place earlier without attracting his attention. He -therefore settled down to a protracted and pounding chase, and in the -brisk morning air his steed did not fail to show its mettle. - -He was travelling at twice Muriel's pace, and he caught sight of her, -and she of him, as he descended from the high ground into the wide plain -which lay between the two oases. She was over a mile ahead of him, a -mere speck, like a little fly crawling across a vast brazen dish, and a -considerable time passed before he had come close enough to observe her -movements. - -He saw her now urging her camel forward, beating it with her crop. Her -hat had been discarded, and her hair had fallen down and was being -tossed out behind her by the north wind like a fluttering banner. - -She turned to glance at him, and he saw her flushed face, as again she -belaboured her tired beast. He was about to call out to her when -suddenly her camel stumbled. The loosely buckled girth gave way, and the -saddle slipped over to one side. For a moment she clutched on to it, -while her camel went round in a circle as though about to overbalance -and fall on top of her. Then she slid to the ground, fell on her hands -and knees, picked herself up, and set off running like a maniac, while -the startled camel went staggering off to one side. - -Daniel did not slacken his pace, and in a few moments he was close upon -her heels. - -"Stop!" he called, coming to a halt. "It's no good running like that!" - -For answer she suddenly swung round and faced him, panting and -distracted. Her hand dived into her pocket, and issued again holding her -revolver. He saw the sunlight flash upon it as she pointed it at him. - -His camel was well trained, and he did not wait to tether it. Vaulting -from the saddle he walked rapidly towards her, regardless of the menace -of the weapon which covered him. - -"Don't dare to come any nearer," she gasped, "or I'll shoot you, you -brute!" - -He stretched out his arms. "Very well, shoot!" he said. "Good God! D'you -think I value my life now?" - -He saw her fingers press the trigger. There was a flash, a sharp report, -and the bullet went singing past his ear, not close enough, perhaps, to -suggest that she had taken aim at him, but not so distant that he could -ignore it. He ran at her, therefore, and grasped her wrist, so that the -revolver fell to the ground. Instantly she flung herself upon her knees -and grabbed at it with her left hand, but he dragged her back by her -arm, pulling her to her feet. - -"You beast!" she exclaimed. "Leave me alone!" and she struck at him with -her free hand. Her eyes were flashing, and her hair was tossed about her -shoulders. - -He put his arm about her, holding her as in a vice, and, stooping, he -picked up and pocketed her revolver. - -"Now sit down there," he said, lowering her on to the sand, "and get -your breath." - -She saw that there was no use in resisting, and she sat, therefore, -glaring up at him as he stood before her. - -He turned his head and glanced at the camels, and as he did so she -stretched out her foot and kicked his shins. - -"Ough!" he exclaimed. "Don't do that--it hurts!" - -"Oh, I wish we were near Cairo," she cried. "I'd turn the servants on to -you and have you whipped. Go and fetch my camel!" - -"Yes," he answered, "I'm just going to. And don't you start running away -again, or I'll not be so gentle with you when I catch you." - -He hastened across the desert, and, without any difficulty, caught -Muriel's wandering and tired animal, and readjusted the saddle. Soon he -had tethered it beside his own; and coming back to her, he sat himself -down a yard or two away from her, and lit his pipe. - -"Say when you're ready to start back," he said, stretching himself out -and resting his head upon his elbow. - -"I'm not coming back with you," she replied. "I'm going back to El -Homra." - -"No, you're not," he told her. "You're going to stay with me for this -fortnight you've so carefully planned." - -She scrambled to her feet, her fists clenched. "If you try to force me -to come with you," she burst out, "I shall ... I shall _bite_ you." - -He also stood up. "Now look here," he said. "Understand me: you're going -back with me, whether you like it or not. And if you struggle I shall -tie you up. Now, come along quietly." - -He caught hold of her wrist, and led her towards the camels. - -"Take your hand off my arm!" she gasped. "You've got me in your power -now, but you just wait till my father hears of this. He'll have you -hounded out of Egypt." - -He did not reply, but releasing her, left her to climb into the saddle. - -"Go and get my crop," she said. "I dropped it somewhere here." - -"Very well," he replied, "but, remember, if you ride off while my back -is turned, I'll come after you and tie your hands behind your back." - -Muriel wriggled furiously in her seat, but she knew that it was useless -to attempt to escape. Presently Daniel found her crop and brought it -back to her. Then he mounted his camel, and the two of them rode off -southwards side by side. - -"We shall come across your hat soon," he said. "Be on the lookout for -it. You'll get sunstroke without it, in spite of all that mass of hair." - -She uttered something like a growl as she jogged along beside him over -the blazing sand. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII--THE SURPRISING FORTNIGHT - - -It was mid-morning when they reached the house, and Daniel advised -Muriel to go at once to her room, whither Hussein presently brought -refreshments and cans of water for the bath. - -"Send Mustafa to me," she said to him, but, understanding no English, -and grasping only the name of the dragoman, he pointed towards the -Oasis, indicating by signs that the man had not yet returned. - -At this she went to the door of her room and called out sharply "Mr. -Lane!" - -Daniel, who at the moment had just ducked his head in a pail of water, -came into the refectory drying his hair with a towel. - -"What's the matter?" he asked. "Anything I can do for you?" - -"Where's my dragoman?" she asked, suspiciously. - -"_I_ don't know," he replied. "I haven't touched him." - -Hussein volunteered the information that Mustafa had not yet returned, -and Daniel translated the statement into English. - -"Well, when he comes," she said, "please send him to me at once." - -"No," he replied, very decisively, "I'm going to send him straight off -to El Homra before he hears of our little trouble this morning. I can -trust Hussein to say nothing in the village, but Mustafa I don't know -very well." - -She turned angrily to him. "You do like bullying women, don't you!" she -sneered. - -He looked at her with steady, serene eyes, "You won't need a dragoman -for a fortnight," he remarked. "He may as well make himself useful to -the Bindanes." - -With that he went back to his ablutions, and when, half an hour later, -Mustafa made his appearance, Daniel immediately sent him off on his long -journey, telling him to convey his compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Bindane -and to say that her Ladyship was in the best of health, and would come -back to them on the thirteenth day from now. - -This done, he called Hussein to him and spoke to him somewhat after this -manner: "Her Excellency," he said, "desires to go back to her friends, -but I believe I shall be carrying out the wishes of her father by -obliging her to remain here. You will therefore take her camel and mine -into the village, so that she cannot get at them; and you will notify me -at once if she leaves the house. Otherwise you are to treat her with the -deference due to her high rank; and I think it will be best to make no -mention of what I have told you to your friends." - -Hussein bowed, and at once went off to find a suitable stable for the -camels. - -When luncheon was announced a couple of hours later Muriel came into the -living-room, carrying herself with dignity. - -"Am I obliged to eat my meals with you?" she asked. - -"It will be more convenient," he replied. - -"I shall probably be sick," she muttered. - -"You'll get used to it," he answered; and therewith they sat down at the -table. - -The meal was eaten in a distressing silence, broken only by Daniel's -polite profferring of salt, pepper, and the like, and by his pressing -but vain invitations to her to eat a little more of this or that dish. -When at length they rose from the table, he advised her to go to her -room to rest. "You must be very tired," he said, "after getting up so -early, and all that excitement." - -"I'll lie down," she replied, "but I don't suppose I shall sleep. The -very fact of being anywhere near you disgusts me too much to allow me to -go to sleep." - -"You must try to master that feeling," he said, with perfect -seriousness. "It hurts nobody but yourself. I can quite understand your -being angry; but I think Al Ghazzali, the Muslim philosopher, put the -matter in a nutshell when he said: 'God loves those who swallow down -their anger, and not those who have no anger at all.' It only makes you -yourself miserable to be in a temper; but try to say to yourself that -you won't let me be of such importance in your life as to have the power -to upset you. You ought to say: 'Nothing that this fellow does can shake -my equanimity: he has absolutely no power over my inner self.' If you -can really say that to yourself you'll sleep all right. There'll be some -tea going at half-past four." - -She stared at him freezingly and went out of the room, while Daniel -quietly settled down to his writing, refusing to allow himself any -further thoughts in regard to her. - -At tea-time he told her that he wanted her to come down into the Oasis -with him. "It will take your thoughts off yourself," he said. - -"Thank you," she replied. "I prefer to stay here in my prison. I wish -you'd realize that your society is obnoxious to me. I hate the sight of -you." - -"I quite understand that," he said, "but, all the same, I want you to -come, please." - -"If I refuse," she retorted, "I suppose you'll drag me down by the -hair?" - -"No." he replied, "not by your hair: only by your hand." - -She was too tired to put up any resistance, and soon they left the house -together, descending by the rough path down the cliffs to the lower -level, where the shadow lay deep. - -Presently they entered the forest of palms, wherein, here and there -stood a mud-brick hut or cluster of huts, upon the flat roofs of which -the goats and chickens ran about, and sometimes a dog looked down at -them and barked. - -The shadow of the cliffs extended for some distance, like a blue veil, -but further ahead the sun still struck down upon the Oasis, and the -mellow light, seen between the tree-trunks and foliage, was made so rich -by contrast with the cool tones of the shadowed foreground that Muriel -was constrained to remark on its beauty. Pigeons fluttered to and fro -amongst the trees, those close at hand being white as snow, but those in -the sunlit distance appearing to flash before the eyes like gilded birds -of a fairy tale. - -Soon they passed out of the shadow, and now the sunlight was sprinkled -upon them from between the rustling palm-branches overhead, and the dust -of their footsteps was like a haze of powdered gold. Before them, in a -clearing, a number of rough buildings, some of them whitewashed, -encircled an open space of sun-baked ground wherein a number of natives -sauntered to and fro. Here there were a few stalls, sheltered by tenting -or tattered fragments of brown camel-cloth: grain being on sale at one -of them; at another, basket-work; at another, pottery. - -The loiterers and salesmen greeted Daniel with polite salaams, and to -some of them he spoke a few words; but they were too well-mannered, or -perhaps too indifferent, to show any particular interest in Muriel, and -even when she paused to pat the shaven head of a little naked urchin, -and to give him a piastre, there were few curious eyes upon her. The -villagers seemed to be dawdling through a peaceful dream, unruffled by -the ardours and eagerness to which the Westerner is accustomed; and -Muriel had the feeling that she had come into a lull in the breeze of -life, as when a sailing boat is becalmed and the sails flap idly. Even -the tempest in her heart was quietened, and the warmth of the evening -caused her to feel a languor that was temporarily almost serene. - -Daniel led her across the open ground to a lane between the ramshackle -buildings on the far side. Here, at a crazy-looking door, he paused. - -"I want you just to shake hands with an old man," he said. "He acted as -guide years ago to one of your father's predecessors." - -"There's no need to say who I am, is there?" she asked, a little -anxiously. - -He smiled. "Your dragoman will have spread the news already." - -"I told him not to," she answered. - -Daniel made a gesture of impatience. "We must try to correct that," he -said. "Secrecy is very unpleasant, though it is sometimes necessary. -You'll find it always best to be frank when you can." - -In response to his knocking the door was opened by a small, smirking -boy, and they entered a little yard, wherein a clean cow, several -emaciated hens, and a couple of goats wandered about in front of a -two-roomed house, the rear wall of which appeared to be about to -collapse. Here a dim-eyed old man sat upon a native bedstead of split -palm-branches, engaged in hunting for fleas in his cloak, and, as his -gnarled old fingers plucked at the folds, his grey-bearded mouth was -pursed and pushed forward in the manner of a monkey. - -He rose, creaking, to his feet as he caught sight of his visitors, and, -tottering forward, grasped Daniel's extended hand, who then introduced -him to Muriel. - -Daniel spoke to him in Arabic, and presently, turning to his companion, -asked her to say something to the old man. - -"What shall I say?" Muriel enquired. - -"He is very old," Daniel replied. "Wish that God's face may shine upon -him. Say you hope the evening of his life may be full of peace and -blessedness." - -"Yes, tell him that," she answered. - -"Anything else?" he asked. - -"Oh, make up something for me," she replied. - -"No," he answered, severely. "Please take your thoughts from yourself, -and concentrate them on this old fellow. Think what is the best thing -you can wish him. Think hard." - -Muriel glanced at him in surprise, while her host turned his fading eyes -to Daniel, asking what she was saying. - -"She is trying to think what is the most blessed wish she can make for -you," he replied, speaking in Arabic; and the old man beamed upon her. - -Muriel made an effort, and, taking his horny hand in hers, told him that -she hoped he would keep his health and that his affairs would prosper. -With an eye on his cloak, she wanted to add that she hoped he would have -good hunting, but she restrained herself. - -Daniel translated the words into the native tongue, and, after a brief -conversation, they took their departure. - -As they walked down the lane Muriel asked him, freezingly, why he had so -particularly wished her to make herself polite to the old man. - -"I had no reason," he answered, "except that I wanted you to think of -him and not of yourself." - -"Why?" she asked with increasing ill-humor. "Am I usually selfish?" - -"You have been trained to think first of yourself," he answered, with -disconcerting candour, "though by nature you are not really selfish at -all. During this fortnight I want you to think mostly of other people." - -She had no time to reply before Daniel stopped at another and larger -door, which he pushed open without a preliminary knock. Here, in a shed, -two camels and a donkey stood feeding from a trough. - -"This," he told her, "is my hospital for sick animals. Both these camels -have saddle-sores, as you see, and the old moke foaled the other day, -but the youngster died. She is very depressed about it." - -Muriel was interested, and patted the donkey affectionately, while -Daniel, stepping on to an inverted box, examined the camels' sores. - -"Just hand me that bottle over there," he said. "It's my patent mixture -of carbolic and lamp-oil. It keeps the flies off, and heals up the sores -mighty quick." - -Muriel haughtily gave him the bottle, and watched him as he poured a few -drops on to the wounds. Her attention was presently attracted by a board -nailed to the wall, upon which an inscription was written in large, -flowing Arabic characters. - -"What does that say?" she asked, forgetting for the moment that she was -not really desirous of holding any communication with him. - -"It is a quotation from the Koran," he told her. "I wrote it and stuck -it up for a lesson to these people. It reads 'The _Prophet_ has written: -There is no _beast_ on earth, nor bird that flieth, but the same is a -people like unto you, and unto God shall they return.'" - -"I like that," she said. - -He fetched a broom from the corner of the shed and held it out to her. -"Would you mind just sweeping the ground a bit while I clean up the -troughs?" he asked. "The native attendant is off duty today." - -He busied himself with his work, and Muriel, making a grimace, did as -she was bid. It was less awkward than standing still, and the cause was -good though the job unpleasant. - -They walked home in silence through the gathering dusk. Daniel offered -her his hand to help her up the steep path which ascended the cliff to -his house, but she frigidly refused it; and when, presently, she -stumbled and nearly fell, she scrambled to her feet once more in -surprisingly quick time, as though to avoid his proffered aid. - -Later she sat down to the evening meal without uttering a word, and the -silence was extremely oppressive. - -"Look here," Daniel broke out at last, "I don't know what you feel about -it, but for my own part I rather object to this silence." - -"I have nothing to say to you," she replied. - -"That doesn't matter," he said. "I will do the talking. I shall choose a -subject and talk about it: you can listen if you want to." - -Therewith he gave her an account of the Bedouin tribes of this part of -the desert, how they had come to settle there, how he had recovered a -part of their history from the old tales and ballads which he had -recorded; and he told her something of their curious laws and customs. - -Muriel's face did not betray any interest whatsoever, but Daniel -persevered courageously until the meal was finished. - -"You can stay in this room and read a book if you like," he said to her, -as they rose from the table. - -Muriel looked at him coldly. "Thank you," she replied, with an emphasis -which she hoped was withering, "I prefer to go to my room. Good-night!" -And with that she took her departure. - -The day had seemed intolerably long to her, and her smouldering anger -had flamed up within her at frequent intervals. She realized that Daniel -was playing the schoolmaster to her, and she was determined not to -knuckle under to him. If he had decided to keep her a prisoner here for -the full fortnight, she would do her best to make him thoroughly -uncomfortable. His cool, impersonal attitude annoyed her; she was amazed -that a man who but yesterday was branding her with his burning kisses -could be today so entirely detached from emotion, and she flushed at the -insult of it. - -Her only consolation lay in the thought that he was injuring himself by -his behaviour. She would now never be even so much as a sister to -him--not even so much as a friend. When she had escaped from this -horrible place she would go to England, and soon, no doubt, she would -marry a nice, ordinary man, with sleek hair and a tooth-brush moustache -and long, thin legs; and as she came out of the church after the -marriage ceremony she would catch sight of Daniel in the crowd and would -smile contemptuously at him.... - -She was very tired, and many minutes had not passed before she abandoned -the pretence of reading the anthology of English verse which Daniel had -placed in her room on the previous evening, nor was it long before she -fell into a deep and dreamless sleep which held her as it were entombed -until Hussein caused her resurrection by bringing in the bath-water in -the morning. - -The cool breeze and the sparkling air brought a certain feeling of -well-being into her heart; but the meeting with Daniel at the breakfast -table was a wretched business, and was made all the more distasteful by -his evident good health and the morning freshness of his mind. - -"I hope you are feeling fit," he said to her. "We have a busy morning -before us." - -That he was not speaking in jest was proved by the event. Soon after -breakfast he took her down to the house of Sheikh Ali, and introduced -her to the old man and his son Ibrahm. Thereafter the four of them -walked over to the open ground outside the mosque, where a large number -of men and camels were gathered, while on the outskirts of the area many -women and children stood in the shade of the palms. Daniel explained to -her that a large number of the chief men of the El Hamrn were setting -out upon the long journey to the far-off Oasis of El Khargeh, where -there was to be a great gathering of the tribes. Sheikh Ali himself was -too old and too feeble to go with the caravan, and his eldest son, -Ibrahm, was remaining with him; but his younger sons and most of his -male relatives and adherents were going. - -She watched the animated scene with interest, and the hubbub came to her -ears with the wonder of novelty--the women uttering their strange, -whinnying cries in token of their grief at parting with their husbands; -the white-bearded old Sheikh embracing his sons, like a Biblical picture -come to life; the diversely robed figures steering their camels in -circles and firing their rifles in the air; the barking of innumerable -dogs skulking amongst the palms; and over all the brilliant sunshine and -the deep blue of the sky. - -She and Daniel shook hands with a very large number of men, and, as she -walked homewards after the caravan had departed, she had a confused -memory of smiling bearded faces, dark eyes, and many-coloured robes -fluttering in the wind. - -After sundown he took her down to the village, armed with pots of -ointment, to help him to doctor the eyes of two little grandchildren of -the Sheikh, who were suffering from ophthalmia, and whose sight his -daily ministrations were saving. And in the evening he continued his -writing, leaving her to read a book until, with many yawns, she betook -herself to her room. - -This day was typical of all the others in that surprising fortnight. -Quietly and impersonally he led her through her duties, obliging her to -make herself useful in a score of different ways. Now he set her to the -task of classifying his photographs and notes; now he sent her down to -the animals' hospital to doctor the camels' sores; now he asked her to -massage the sprained ankle of a small girl who had been brought to the -house for treatment; now he made her grace with her presence a village -wedding festival; and now he dispatched her with milk and eggs to the -hovel of a blind old woman who lived on her neighbours' charity. - -In the afternoons he would take her for painfully long tramps over the -desert, for the good of her health as he told her; and when the silence -became oppressive he would talk to her, whether she listened or no, -about the nature of the birds they saw or whose footprints were marked -upon the sand, about the geological formation of the country, about the -jackals and their habits, and so forth. During their meals together he -attempted, cold-bloodedly, to enlighten her on many subjects, and -sometimes he would talk philosophy to her, endeavouring to give her a -new standpoint on certain age-old themes, but "You do like preaching, -don't you?" was the kind of response he received. - -Sitting opposite to him at the table, it seemed to him that she carried -herself with great dignity; and he had to admit that, under the -circumstances, she was a great deal more self-possessed and high-mettled -than he had expected her to be. She stood up to him, so to speak, and -there were times at which he had the feeling, though he did not show it, -that he was behaving like a boor. - -On one occasion in particular he was conscious of having been put to -rights by her. He had been talking about the sincerity of Islm, and had -said how wise the Prophet was to refuse to organize a priesthood, -preferring to leave the faith in the hands of the laity. - -"It is so different from the empty ceremonials of our own religion," he -said. "It seems to me that the Church's idea of the imitation of Christ -is generally a burlesque in bad taste." - -"In every walk of life," she replied, "there are men who make an outward -hash of their inner ideals. You, for example, have great ideas as to -what women should be; but in actual fact you make a terrible mess of -your dealings with them." - -"I wonder," he mused. It was as though he had been chastised. - -She did not continue the argument. That was, to Daniel, the baffling -thing about her: she was growing so quiet now that she was in his power. -She performed the tasks he set her almost in silence, and he could never -tell whether she were learning her lesson or whether she were treating -him with contempt as a man who lacked sympathetic understanding. - -In her silence he seemed to find the quiet suggestion that she knew -already all he wished to teach her; and there were moments when he felt -that he had estranged himself needlessly from her. At such times he was -obliged to remind himself that she had deliberately treated his love as -a romantic adventure, and such treatment had had to be dealt with -drastically. It was better that it should die outright than live to -bring misery to them both; and with this thought he steeled his heart. - -Thus the days passed by--days of brilliant sunshine and warm, mysterious -nights, of active toil and healthy sleep; days meant for love and -companionship, but turned down, one after the other, in cold antagonism -and frigid reticence. Sometimes in the evening, after she had gone to -her room, he would sit with his head buried in his hands, calling -himself a fool and loathing his rle of schoolmaster; and more than once -there was a black hour of despair when, had she come to him, she would -have been astonished to see his huge arms spread out across the table -and his head sunk upon his mighty breast. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX--IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH - - -By the middle of March Muriel's enforced residence at El Hamrn was -drawing to a close. Already she had been with Daniel for eleven or -twelve days, and he had kept her so busy that the time had passed -rapidly. These days had been like a fantastic dream to her, and she -could hardly believe in the reality of her actions. The whole situation -was absurd; and yet, notwithstanding her artificial outward stiffness -and her actual inward rebellion, she was conscious that her experience -had not been unprofitable. - -In spite of Daniel's hectoring and churlish manners--for so she thought -them--she felt that she had seen something of life as it is lived under -primitive conditions which otherwise she would never have known. She had -even experienced, latterly, a pleasant sense of calm while she had been -carrying out her duties: it was almost as though being under orders were -a satisfactory condition--now and then. And as to her physical health, -she was obliged to admit that she had never before felt so thoroughly -fit. - -Her attitude to her monitor was one of unbending hostility, but now no -longer of furious anger. She was not afraid of him, but very decidedly -she did not feel the contempt for him which she endeavoured to show. She -regarded him as a man of difficult and contrary character, but she now -realized that she had greatly misjudged his outlook upon life. She had -thought that in regard to women he was a prurient savage: she now knew -that he was a high-principled and rather fastidious celibate. - -Undoubtedly he had taught her the lesson of her life, but she was -certainly not going to grasp his hand and thank him kindly on that -account. He had built up a barrier between them which would remain a -fixture for all time, and, though her heart often ached, she was far too -estranged from him to think of any future intimacy whatsoever between -them. - -Only in one respect, in these days of their life together, did she feel -drawn towards him. He had an indefinably benevolent and humorous -attitude towards life, of which she was daily more conscious. It was -something which could not be described, but on more than one occasion it -nearly served to break down the wall of ice within in which she had -enclosed herself. Sometimes it would be merely that he stopped in his -walk to make an absurd remark to a passing cow or to a wandering goat; -sometimes it would be the way in which he played with his dogs; or -sometimes it was his manner to the native children which would cause her -to unbend towards him. It was as though he had a private joke with every -living creature. It was too quiet to be termed joviality: it was in no -wise rollicking. It was a subtle droll and whimsical good-nature; it -seemed almost as if, conscious of his own great strength, he were saying -"Bless your little heart!" to all things weaker than he. - -One morning, just as they were finishing a silent breakfast, Hussein -entered the room, and delivered himself of a few rapid words in the -Arabic tongue, which so much upset Daniel that he rose to his feet and -paced up and down the floor in great perturbation. - -"Anything wrong?" asked Muriel, temporarily unfreezing. - -"Yes; very bad news," he replied. "Old Sheikh Ali is very ill. It sounds -like pneumonia. I must go down to him at once." - -He snatched up his hat, and, without taking any further notice of -Muriel, hurried out of the room. Sheikh Ali was a man whom he loved and -respected, and the possible death of his friend was so great a sorrow to -him that his mind was filled full of darkness, like a room in which the -blinds have suddenly been pulled down. And the condition in which he -found the old man confirmed his worst fears; and presently, in deep -anxiety, he hastened back to the house to procure the necessaries for -his proper nursing. - -"Will you come with me," he said to Muriel, "and help me to look after -him?" - -She hesitated. "I am not much good as a nurse," she demurred, "but I'll -do what I can." - -"Thank you," he replied, and the words were uttered with genuine -gratitude. - -Daniel knew something of the rudiments of medical science, and he was -aware that there was very little to be done in a case of pneumonia -except to keep the patient warm and to maintain his strength. When he -returned, therefore, to the Sheikh's house with Muriel, he was carrying -with him a small oil stove with which to warm the sick-room at night, -and a pillow in its clean white cover was thrust under his arm, while -Muriel held a basket containing a number of articles from the -store-cupboard and medicine-chest. - -The house, a whitewashed building of two storeys, stood amongst the -palms, not more than three or four hundred yards distant from the -monastery. As they approached it they heard the sound of wailing in the -women's quarters, and at this Daniel uttered an exclamation of disgust. - -"Oh, these women!" he muttered. "We mustn't let them do that. Wait a -minute." - -He went to the side door and knocked upon it. An old negress, a servant -of the house, opened the door, her eyes red with weeping, and her -withered breast bare. - -"The Sheikh is dying, the Sheikh is dying!" she wailed, as Daniel -questioned her. - -He put his hand on her shoulder. "Go and tell them," he said, "that if I -hear another sound of weeping I shall send somebody to beat you all with -a stick. Do you not know the saying of the Prophet: 'Trust in God, but -tether the camel'? If God has decreed that your camel shall run away it -will certainly run away, but nevertheless you must do your part in -preventing it. If the Sheikh is going to die he will die; but until he -is dead you must do all you can to tether him to life. Let me hear no -more sounds of mourning until the breath has left his body. In my -country we say 'While there is life there is hope.' Go now and -hope--hope in silence." - -He pushed her back into the house and returned to Muriel. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -They found the Sheikh lying upon a couch in the whitewashed upper room, -into which the sun struck through the open casements. He was propped up -upon the hard square pillows taken from an ordinary native divan, and -his laboured breathing sounded ominously in their ears. His son Ibrahm, -a grave, black-bearded man of middle age, stood by his side, drumming -the fist of one hand into the palm of the other in his great distress. - -"See," said Daniel, speaking to the patient in Arabic, "I have brought -her Excellency to nurse you. Let me put this soft pillow under your -head; and, look, here is a stove to keep off the chill of night. In two -or three days, my father, we shall bring you back to health." - -The old man shook his head. "No, my dear," he whispered, "I am going to -my God. God has said, 'I am a hidden treasure. I have made man that he -might find Me!' I go now to find Him." - -Daniel knelt down by his side, and, taking the thin hand in his, -remained silent for some moments, his eyes shut, his brows knitted. -Muriel watched him in surprise. It was evident that he was praying; and -she had never before seen anybody pray, though in church she had known -people go through the correct postures and outward formalities of -prayer. - -Presently he rose to his feet, and at once became businesslike and -practical. He took the patient's temperature; dexterously pinned the -native shawl about him; arranged the pillows under his head; opened a -bottle of meat-extract and administered a little of its contents; and, -sending for milk and eggs, made Muriel go out on the rickety landing to -beat up the eggs into the milk. - -When she returned with the beverage she found that he and Ibrahm had -fastened grass matting across the windows to check the glare of the sun, -and now were standing in the subdued light talking in quiet cheerful -tones to the sick man. - -Presently Daniel turned to her. "I think the best thing you can do," he -said, "is to sit beside him and fan away the flies when you see them -bothering him." - -He handed her a fly-whisk, and placed a small stool beside the couch; -and here she sat herself, while her patient closed his eyes and drowsed -in some degree of comfort. - -They went back to the house for luncheon, and during the meal Daniel -told her of the troubles which might ensue in the Oasis if the Sheikh -were to die. He spoke of the feud between the sick man's family and that -of their rivals; and he explained how Sheikh Ali desired to be succeeded -in his office as headman by his son Ibrahm, and that there was a danger -of the other party taking advantage of the absence of so many of the -Sheikh's adherents, who had gone to El Khargeh. - -"If Sheikh Ali dies," he pointed out, "the other faction may carry out a -_coup_, and establish their candidate in power while all these men are -away. That would be a disaster; for the man they wish to set up is a -crook, if ever there was one. He would be just the sort of fellow to -play into Benifett Bindane's hands and sell himself to the Company." - -"But," said Muriel in surprise, "aren't you in favour of this Company?" - -"No," he answered. "I have come to the conclusion that it is not in the -best interests of the natives. They are happier as they are, for their -products are sufficient to their needs, and are pretty evenly -distributed. I don't trust these Stock Exchange fellows: they'll exploit -the Oasis to fill their own pockets. That's what I'm going to tell your -father when I get back to Cairo." - -"Poor Mr. Bindane!" Muriel smiled. "He has set his heart on this -business." - -In the afternoon they returned to the sick-room, where she made herself -very useful, and showed a remarkable aptitude for nursing; and the sun -was setting before they came back to the house once more. Muriel was -very tired by now, and as soon as the evening meal was over Daniel -advised her to go to bed. - -"What about yourself?" she asked. - -"Oh, I'll go back to him for a bit," he answered, but he would not -accept her proffered help. - -She therefore went early to her room and soon fell asleep, nor did she -awake again until Hussein aroused her at sunrise with his clattering -preparations for her bath. - -She found herself alone at breakfast, and it was explained to her by -signs that Daniel was with Sheikh Ali. Presently, therefore, she went -down to the sick man's house, a little ashamed of herself for not having -risen earlier. - -As she entered the upper room she caught sight of Daniel's face, and its -expression of weary sorrow checked her. He was seated beside the couch, -his hand on the patient's pulse, his eyes fixed upon the old man, who -lay panting for breath, the beads of perspiration upon his wrinkled -forehead. - -"Is there anything I can do?" she whispered. - -He raised his head and gazed at her: she had never seen him look so -haggard before. "No," he answered, "he is beyond human aid. It's only a -question of minutes now." - -"I ought to have come to help you sooner," she said. "How long have you -been here?" - -"All night," he replied. "I couldn't leave my _friend_, could I?" There -was something in the inflection of his voice which very much touched -her. - -The Sheikh turned his head slightly, and Daniel bent forward to catch -the laboured words. - -"Ibrahm," he whispered. - -Muriel understood, and, at a nod from Daniel, went out of the room to -find the dying man's son, whom she had seen at the doorway of the house, -on her arrival, kneeling upon the praying-carpet, his hands extended -towards the East. He had just risen to his feet as she came now to him, -and she made signs to him to go upstairs. - -When she entered the sick room once more she saw the younger man -kneeling beside his father's couch. Daniel was holding the feeble old -hand, so that it rested upon Ibrahm's turbaned head. She heard and -seemed almost to understand the whispered words of the old man's -blessing, and presently, to her surprise, she observed the tears start -from Daniel's eyes, and their quick brushing away, with the back of his -hand. She had not thought him capable of tears. - -Then suddenly she saw the dying man raise himself; she saw Daniel and -Ibrahm leaning forward to support him. She heard the rattling of his -breath, and she recognized the words that he uttered as those of the -Moslem formula which Daniel had more than once repeated to her: "I -testify that there is no God but God...." They came rolling now from his -lips with passionate energy: it was as though the sum of his whole life -were being expressed in these guttural, rhyming sounds. But the -declaration remained unfinished. The voice ceased upon the name of -Allah, the mouth dropped open, and the patriarchal head fell back. - -Muriel had only once before stood at a deathbed; and later, as she -walked back to the monastery, she compared the scene of her mother's -death with that from which she had just come. - -In the one case there had been the big four-poster bed, with its -hangings of embroidered velvet; the sombre room, lit by a shaded bedside -lamp and by the flickering of the fire in the wide Tudor grate; the -tapestried walls with their designs of dim huntsmen pursuing phantom -deer through the time-worn twilight of forgotten forests; the faded -Jacobean painting upon the ceiling, representing the fat back-view of a -reclining Venus and the fat front-view of naked Cupid. There had been -the pompous family doctor and the frigid specialist in their black frock -coats, and in the bed, between the embroidered sheets, her mother had -lain inert, her dyed hair, tidy to the end, framing her carefully -powdered face. - -"Come here, my dear," she had whispered to Muriel. "Tell me, do you -believe in a God?" - -"Yes, I think I do," she had replied. - -"Well, I don't," was her mother's reply; and those were almost her last -words. - -And, in contrast, there was this patriarchal scene in the bare, -whitewashed room, the sun beating upon the grass matting, the palms -rustling outside, and the flies droning: the old, saintly face of the -dying man, his withered hand laid upon the head of his beloved son, and -the fervent affirmation of his faith in God upon his lips. - -Muriel was in a very subdued and reflective mood when she returned, and -as she stood at the window of the living-room, listening to the wailing -of the mourners in the distance, she wondered how best she could show -her sympathy with Daniel in his loss, without in other respects -unbending to him. He relieved her of the difficulty, however, when he -came in; for he showed no outward signs of his grief, and seemed in no -wise to be asking for her condolence. He spoke of the beauty of the -Sheikh's life, and of the serenity of his death; and when Muriel made -some remark in regard to the sadness of the event he quietly corrected -her. - -"Death," he said, "is not a calamity when a man has reached old age. It -is like the ripeness of corn, as Marcus Aurelius says, when the soul -drops out of the husk almost of its own accord. It is a natural action, -just as birth is. It is only we who are left behind who are -unhappy--because we have lost a friend; and as for that, why, I am not -going to let my loss make me wretched." - -"That sounds extremely selfish," she remarked, coldly. - -"No," he answered, "sorrow is selfish, not happiness. There's never any -use in pulling a long face." - - - - -CHAPTER XXX--THE REVOLT - - -The funeral took place next morning, as is the native custom, and it was -during the great gathering of the Sheikh's friends that the adherents of -the opposing faction made their feared _coup_. The event, and its -serious consequences for Muriel and Daniel, was upon them so quickly -that there was no time for preparation or retreat. - -Muriel had not gone to the funeral, and she was sitting quietly writing -in the living-room when Daniel flung open the door. - -"Quick!" he said. "Get ready to start at once. Leave your dressing-case: -you just want your water-bottle and a tin or two of food from the -cupboard. We've got to ride like the wind. I'm just going to get the -camels." - -She stared at him in amazement as he hastened away, and thought how -extremely inconsiderate he was; but the realization that her -extraordinary fortnight with him was now at an end led her to obey his -instructions with alacrity. She was soon ready, but for some time she -waited impatiently for his reappearance. - -At last he came in, this time slowly and with careful serenity. - -"I'm afraid the journey's off," he said. - -Muriel was angry, and she tapped her foot sharply on the floor. "Oh, -you're impossible!" she exclaimed. "I'm all ready to start, and now you -say you're not going." - -He looked at her gravely and steadily for a moment, and then very calmly -he told her what had occurred. While Ibrahm and those of his adherents -who had not gone to El Khargeh were attending the funeral, the rival -faction had seized every camel and donkey in the Oasis, for of the -former more than half the number owned by the inhabitants had gone with -the caravan. They had disarmed the village _ghaffirs_, or guards, they -had proclaimed their own chief as Sheikh of the Oasis, and they had -picketed every track leading out into the desert and to the lands -beyond. - -Daniel had found his and Muriel's camel gone from the stable, and he had -encountered a group of "enemy" leaders who had informed him that he -would not be permitted to communicate with the outside world for several -days. - -"Their idea," he explained, lighting his pipe, "is to get their man -firmly established in power before the police hear of it, and then it -will be a _fait accompli_. It is to be a peaceful revolution, without -bloodshed if possible; but I don't suppose they will hesitate to shoot -anybody who tries to get away. So, you see, we're caught." - -Muriel received the news calmly. According to the time-table the -Bindanes would return to El Homra tomorrow or the next day, and then, if -she had not made her reappearance, they would probably send her dragoman -and a trooper or two to fetch her. But Daniel pointed out that three -days might elapse before these men arrived, and two weeks before the -authorities in Egypt could give instructions. Moreover, their coming -might lead to an awkward situation for himself and her. - -"You see, they know that I will support Ibrahm's claim," he said, -puffing quietly at his pipe, "for I promised his father I would do so; -and if an unfortunate accident could account for you and me, it would be -all the better for them. Supposing, for example, you and I were found to -have gone out hunting, and to have lost our way, and to have fallen over -a cliff or something of that kind, there would be nobody much to uphold -Ibrahm against a rival already established in office." - -Daniel did not take his eyes from hers as he put this aspect of the -matter before her. It was as though he were testing her nerve; or -perhaps it was that he thought candour best in regard to a contingency -the possibility of which would doubtless occur to her. - -"It seems to me," she said presently, "that human nature is much the -same all the world over. You were rather intolerant of the intrigues of -Cairo; but rivalries and disputes evidently go on in the desert too. I'm -very disappointed." - -"So am I," he replied, with disarming candour. "The only thing to be -said for it is that it has been done pretty openly and boldly." - -"What do you intend to do?" she asked. She was remarkably calm. - -"I'm going to slip away after dark," he replied, with a smile, "and walk -to El Homra." - -"It's thirty miles," she said. "And supposing you get shot or -caught...?" - -"You can come too, if you like," he replied. He might have added that -this actually was his intention. - -She remained silent for some moments, her face a little flushed, her -fingers drumming on the table. In spite of her self-control he could see -that she realized the danger. "Yes," she said at length, "I'll come -too." - -He smiled broadly. She caught sight of his strong white teeth, in which -the stem of his pipe was gripped. - -"I don't see anything to smile about," she remarked. - -He did not answer. In his mind there was an astonishing sense of -exultation. He had had no idea that she would show such quiet pluck: he -had hardly dared to think, as he put the graver possibilities of their -situation before her, that she would receive the news without a tremor. -But now, suddenly, his heart was crying out within him: "This is my -mate; this is the woman who will dare all with me"; and he laughed to -think of their present absurd relationship. He did not realize how deep -was their estrangement. - -After the midday meal he sent her to her room to rest, and, pocketing -his revolver, went down into the village. Here all was quiet, but he -observed that small groups of the revolters were moving to and fro, some -of them carrying their antiquated firearms. Ibrahm, he was told, was -more or less a prisoner in his own house, and he thought it politic to -make no attempt to visit him. - -"Time will show," he said to an adherent of the usurper, "whether your -master is worthy to be Sheikh"; and that was as far as he would commit -himself. - -At tea-time he returned to the monastery, and now he gave full -instructions to Hussein. The latter was to go to bed as usual that -night, and was to take no part in the events of the darkness. He was to -call his master an hour after sunrise, and if it chanced that he failed -to find him, he was to take what steps he chose to report the -disappearance and exonerate himself from blame. - -It was not until after nightfall that any outward signs of their -dangerous situation were to be observed. Daniel found then that three -armed natives were loitering outside the ruined walls, and, in answer to -his enquiries as to their business, they told him amiably that they were -there to prevent him leaving the Oasis. - -"But how can I leave it without a camel?" he asked. "In the morning you -must tell your master that the two camels must be brought back to me. -They must be here before midday." His voice was peremptory, and the -natives salaamed respectfully. - -It was at about an hour before midnight that, from the top of his tower, -he took a final survey of his surroundings. There was a young moon in -the heavens, and by its pale light he observed the figure of one of the -guards reclining on the sand, his back against the wall, directly -beneath the window of Muriel's room. The other two, as he had previously -noticed, were seated in a more or less comatose state at the entrance of -the monastery, at which point they no doubt presumed that reason -required them to remain. - -He descended stealthily from the tower, and, feeling his way through the -dark refectory, found Muriel seated, ready, upon her bed. In silence she -rose to her feet, and thereupon Daniel gathered up the bedclothes in his -arms and crept with them to the window. She did not know what he was -about to do, but presently she saw him crouching upon the sill, his -figure silhouetted against the sky. - -Suddenly, with a flutter of the blankets, he disappeared, and from -outside she heard a series of muffled sounds. Darting to the window, she -saw him struggling with what appeared to be a furiously animated bundle -of bedclothes from which two kicking brown legs protruded; and, a moment -later, this bundle was lifted from the ground. - -"Quick!" he whispered, looking up at her, and thereupon she crawled -through the window and jumped on to the soft sand outside. - -Daniel, clasping his burden, with the head pressed against his breast, -told her to pick up the man's rifle and to put it through the window on -to her bed. When she had done so he at once set off at a run towards the -open desert, and Muriel followed him, her heart wildly beating. A -distance of not more than fifty yards separated them from some clusters -of rock which would shelter them from sight, and soon they were -scrambling over the rough ground in temporary immunity from detection. - -Here Daniel paused to rearrange his struggling captive, who was in grave -danger of suffocation, and, having warned him that a single sound would -mean instant death, he lifted him across his shoulder, with the blankets -more loosely thrown over his head, and again broke into a jog-trot. - -When about a quarter of a mile had been covered they descended into a -shallow ravine, with which Daniel was well acquainted; and here, being -screened from the Oasis, he set down his burden, cautiously removing the -bedclothes from the perspiring and anxious face. The man's eyes were -wide with fear as he found himself looking into the muzzle of a -revolver; but his captor smilingly reassured him, promising him that no -harm would come to him if he but walked ahead in complete silence. - -"I am afraid," he said in Arabic, "that you are about to have a somewhat -lengthy walk." - -"Where are we going?" the man asked. - -"To El Homra," Daniel replied casually. - -"_Ya salaam!_" exclaimed the man, in an awed whisper. In our language -the expression may be rendered "Oh, lor'!" - -The ravine led them to the northwest, and they must have covered nearly -two miles before Daniel deemed it safe to bear off more to the north, -over the higher ground. The going was easy, for the surface of the rocks -was smooth, and the light of the moon sufficient to prevent stumbling; -and an hour's walking brought them to a point at which they could -without risk move to the east, so as to pick up the track leading to El -Homra. This they found at length without any difficulty, and they now -judged themselves to be beyond the pickets, being already two or three -miles distant from the near end of the Oasis. - -The first danger was now past, and Daniel therefore began to discuss -with Muriel their chances of success. - -"We must have come six or seven miles," he said. "I suppose you are -pretty tired?" - -"No," she answered, "I can keep up for some time yet. You've taken me -for some pretty long walks during the last fortnight: it was good -training." - -"Well, say when you're done," he said, "and I'll carry you." - -"Thanks," she replied stiffly, "I'm not a child." - -They walked on in silence, three ghostly figures stalking through the -dim light of a dream. - -"I suppose," said Daniel presently, "that they'll not miss us until well -after sunrise, if then; so I think our chances are fairly rosy. It all -depends on your feet, my girl." - -With the extra mileage due to their detour, the distance to the half-way -pool would be about eighteen miles or so; and it was obvious to Daniel -that Muriel would not be able to stand more than twelve or fourteen. He -therefore glanced anxiously at her every now and then as they pushed -forward across the great open plain which lay between the two oases; and -at length he noticed that she was limping. - -It was nearly four o'clock in the morning, and they were still some four -or five miles distant from the pool, when Daniel suddenly took hold of -her arm. - -"Now I'm going to carry you," he said. - -She did not protest. For some time she had been hobbling forward in a -kind of nightmare, her feet sore and burning, her knees feeble, and her -brain fevered. The moon had now set, but the stars gave sufficient light -for them to see the straight track beneath them. She hardly realized -what he was doing as he lifted her from the ground, putting one of his -great arms about her shoulders and the other under her knees. In a -confused manner she was aware of a feeling of annoyance at her weakness; -but presently, nevertheless, her head dropped upon his shoulder. She did -not sleep, but she was certainly not awake. - -When at last she recovered full consciousness she found to her infinite -surprise that the day was breaking, and that Daniel was in the act of -depositing her upon the sand at the edge of the half-way pool. - -"Good heavens!" she exclaimed. "How far have you carried me, man?" - -"About five miles," he said, rubbing his stiff arms. "Now for a bit of a -rest." - -She was wide awake again, and to her great relief she found that her -feet were no longer burning. Their wretched captive, however, was -entirely exhausted, and was stretched upon his stomach, drinking -greedily from the pool. - -Daniel himself did not show any marked signs of fatigue. A walk of -eighteen miles was nothing to him, and the burden of Muriel's weight was -not intolerable to a man of his colossal strength. - -When half an hour later, they resumed their journey the sun was rising -above the distant hills. They walked off alone, for Daniel had extracted -an inviolable promise from their captive to rest where he was until noon -before setting out on his return journey; and he had given the man a few -biscuits and a slice or two of meat to keep him going. Both Muriel and -Daniel had bathed their feet in the pool, and having eaten a square meal -they fared forth once more with some degree of vigour. - -As the sun increased in power, however, this sense of freshness -vanished, and but five miles had been covered when Daniel was obliged -once more to take his companion in his arms, in spite of her valiant -protests. This time he set her upon his shoulder, clasping her about the -legs, and every mile or two he varied the position. - -From the pool to the hills which divided the plain from El Homra was, -roughly, ten miles, and when at last they mounted, at about ten o'clock, -on to the high ground, Daniel was already feeling the strain. For the -next couple of miles Muriel limped along by his side; and now their -practical immunity from capture permitted them to take an occasional -rest in the shade of the rocks. - -The last three miles of the journey were very exhausting to them both, -for it was now noon, and the sun was intensely hot. Their water-bottles -were nearly empty and their provisions were all gone; but the sight of -the Oasis in the distance served to keep up their courage. - -Muriel, much against her inclinations, had now to be carried almost -continuously, but Daniel would not listen to her repeated requests that -he would leave her while he went on to fetch help. He still feared a -possible pursuit, for even so near to their goal they were travelling -through uninhabited and utterly isolated country. He set his teeth, -therefore, and carried her forward, now on this shoulder, now on that, -now upon his back, and now, as originally, in his arms. He was aching -from head to toe, and his feet felt like burning coals of fire, while -the perspiration issued from every pore. - -"Gee!" he said, as he set her down a mile from their destination, "this -has been some walk!" - -He took her in his arms again, and set out upon the last lap. The -buildings of the police headquarters were now clearly visible against -the palms, and near them stood the tents which told them that the -Bindanes had returned from the north. - -Muriel looked up at his haggard face. "I'm ashamed of myself for being -so feeble," she said. "It is very humiliating for me to have to be -carried by _you_, of all people." - -For answer he suddenly bent her head down and kissed her. - -Muriel uttered an exclamation. "Put me down!" she cried. "How dare you!" - -Again he kissed her, holding her up in his arms as her legs kicked at -his hip. She freed her hand and pressed it into his face. - -"If you do that," he laughed, "I'll drop you." - -"How dare you!" she repeated. "Oh, you brute!" - -He threw his head back, and looked up at the sun from under the brim of -his battered old hat. "It's been an extraordinary fortnight," he panted, -as though he were addressing the heavens. - -Muriel did not answer, but she was breathing hard as he looked down into -her face once more, and her eyes were wide with anger. - -"I've learned a lot about you," he said, "during these days; and I guess -you're worth winning, after all." - -"In that case," she replied furiously, "I guess you'll be sorry that -you've lost me." - -"Have I lost you, Muriel?" he asked. - -"You have," she replied, shortly and decisively. "What else did you -expect, after the way you have insulted and bullied me? You've lost me -for ever." - -The intensity with which she spoke silenced him; and thus they came -stumbling into the camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI--PAYING THE PRICE - - -"Kate!--where are you?" Muriel called, as she stood in the blazing sun -in the midst of the silent camp. - -Daniel had deposited her here, and was now hastening, in a last spurt of -energy, towards the police headquarters, intent on gathering a force to -return with him to El Hamrn. - -"Good Lord!--it's Muriel," came a voice from one of the tents, and Kate -Bindane ran out into the sunlight, shading her eyes with her hand. - -She slapped Muriel lustily on the back, and led her to an empty tent, -where she put her arms about her and kissed her. "My word!--you're -looking tired!" she laughed. "Have you had a wonderful time?" - -"Lovely," said Muriel, sitting down upon the camp bed. - -"Where are your camels?--where's Daniel?" Kate asked, somewhat -bewildered. - -"Oh, we walked back," Muriel answered, with a casual gesture. "I'm -feeling quite tired." She began to laugh hysterically. - -"D'you mean to say he made you walk?" her friend asked, incredulously. - -"There wasn't much choice," she replied. "Oh, for heaven's sake, get me -something to drink, something long--miles long, and cold. I'll tell you -all about it presently." - -Kate hurried away to find refreshments, and as she crossed the hot sand -once more, carrying an assortment of bottles, she encountered Daniel -coming back with the local police officer. He pulled off his hat and -shook hands with her, rapidly. - -"How d'you do," he said. "Have you got a spare tent where I can have an -hour's sleep?" - -Kate stared at him. "You seem very pleased to see me," she laughed. -"You're bubbling over with news, aren't you?" - -"So sorry," he replied. "Muriel will tell you: there's been a bit of -trouble at El Hamrn. I'm going back there with the police presently. -Can I doss down in here?" He pointed to the tent behind him; and, hardly -waiting for her reply, walked into it, telling the officer to arouse him -in an hour's time. - -Kate shrugged her shoulders, and went back to Muriel, whom she found -pulling off her boots and stockings. - -"Muriel, what's happened?" she asked. "Daniel says he's going back to El -Hamrn with the police in an hour's time." - -Muriel looked up, her face flushed. "Oh, the man's mad!" she declared. -"He's fagged out. He carried me half the way." - -Rapidly she told her friend of the trouble in the Oasis and of their -escape, while Kate, uttering ejaculations of awe, plied her with -refreshment and helped her to pull off some of her clothes. Muriel was -far too exhausted to give a very intelligible account of their -adventures; and while yet Kate was fussing around, dabbing her feet with -eau de cologne, and rubbing her legs, she suddenly fell off to sleep. - -Benifett Bindane listened, later, to his wife's version of the story -with marked interest. - -"Well," he said, at length, "that settles our plans for us. We'll start -back for Cairo tomorrow." He looked at his wife curiously. "I wonder -what Lord Blair will say to it all," he mused. - -"He must never know that Muriel wasn't with us," said Kate. - -"That's impossible," he replied. "I shall have to tell him the truth." - -"Benifett!" exclaimed his wife, staring at him in horror. "You're not -going to give her away, are you?" - -His mouth hung open for some moments. "I've been thinking it over," he -said, at length, "and it seems to me that Lord Blair will have to be -told. If it leaked out, and we were found to have lied to him, there'd -be no hope of doing business with him in the future." - -"Business!" Kate snorted. "Oh, man alive, is business the only thing in -life?" She turned away in disgust. - -"No," he answered, "it's not the only thing, but it happens to be my -hobby, Kate, as you knew quite well when you married me. And I may as -well say now, that I am very hurt at the way you sneer at what is meat -and drink to me. I hope you'll think that over." - -He looked very nearly pathetic as he spoke; and his wife was -sufficiently touched by his dejection to turn an angry scene into one of -affectionate conciliation. - -"P'r'aps you're right," she said; and presently they went out together -to see what was happening to Daniel. - -They found him just emerging from the tent where he had slept. It was -evident that he was still thoroughly tired; but a group of troopers and -their camels outside the police buildings indicated that, nevertheless, -an immediate start was to be made. - -He was munching biscuits as he shook hands with Mr. Bindane. "I'm sorry -I can't stay," he said. "I've got to set this business to rights at -once. But I dare say we'll meet in Cairo before you leave for England. -Good-bye!" He held out his hand, but Kate checked him. - -"I'll go and see if Muriel is awake," she said. - -"No, never mind," Daniel answered, with his mouth full. "I won't disturb -her. Please tell her I'm coming to Cairo within a month from now." - -He waved his hand to them, and hurried away; and presently they saw him -mount his camel and ride away southwards, followed by half a dozen -troopers, their rifles slung across their shoulders. - -"Well, I'm blowed!" muttered Kate. - -"It seems to me it's business first with him, too," remarked Mr. -Bindane, looking vacantly before him. - -"Oh, rot!" replied his wife. "From what Muriel says it appears that he -had promised the old Sheikh that his son should hold office after him; -and he's going to keep his word." - -That night Muriel confessed the whole truth to her friend, only exacting -the promise that she would not tell of her humiliation to Benifett. She -related the events without emotion, her voice steady and the expression -of her face calm. It was as though she were telling the story of some -other woman in whom she felt no personal interest. It was as though -Daniel had now passed entirely out of her life. - -"I'm going to marry the first man who proposes to me," she said, setting -her jaw. - -"Well, you'll have to look sharp about it," Kate replied. "He's coming -to carry you off by the hair in a month's time, and don't you forget -it." - -Muriel put out her hand quickly, and touched her friend's arm. "No, you -don't understand him," she said. "He's not a bit that sort of man...." - -She checked herself, feeling that she had no desire to be inveigled into -discussing his character. - -Next morning, soon after breakfast, the start was made on the return -journey to the Nile. Muriel, after a long sleep, was quite recovered -from her fatigue; but she did not feel happy, and the wide vistas of the -desert did not make the same appeal to her as on the outward journey. -She felt herself to be very much older, very much more subdued; and -there was, as it were, a veil between her eyes and the beauty of the -wilderness. - -Moreover, she was very self-conscious. It seemed to her that she had -lost caste; and, now that all the alarums and excursions were over, she -was not a little dismayed at the affront she had put upon the -conventions. Benifett Bindane's attitude to her was non-committal, but -in his evasion of the subject of her adventures he displayed an -awkwardness which she found almost insulting. - -And then the natives.... She felt as though many pairs of eyes were upon -her, and more than once it seemed to her that she was not being treated -with the same deference as formerly. - -Once, when her camel had lagged behind the others, she found herself -riding beside the Egyptian secretary of the expedition, a young man who -evidently regarded his personal appearance with favour; and it seemed to -her that he turned his dark eyes upon her with a boldness which she had -not previously observed. - -But the most galling experience was provided by her dragoman, Mustafa, -who took the opportunity to speak to her on the day of their departure, -when she was sitting alone, waiting for the picnic luncheon to be -served. - -"I hope my leddy was varry happy at El Hamrn," he said, grinning at her -boldly. - -"Thank you, yes," she answered, fiddling with her shoe. - -"Mistair Lane he varry nice gentleman," he went on; and then, leaning -forward, he lowered his voice. "Mustafa know the beesness: he say -nudding; he keep varry quiet, my leddy. No talk 'bout El Hamrn...." - -"What d'you mean?" she exclaimed angrily, but he only smiled at her, and -salaamed. - -It was disgusting, and she felt a cold shiver creep down her spine, as -she hastened across to the others. - -As she jogged along, day after day, towards Cairo her thoughts were -given more and more to the subject of her coming return to her father. -What was she going to say to him? It had all seemed so easy before: she -had thought that there would be no difficulty in concocting a plausible -story. But now the idea of inventing a pack of lies revolted her; and as -they drew ever nearer to the Nile there grew steadily in her mind a -determination to tell him the truth. - -Daniel, it seemed to her, had deliberately left her to extricate -herself; and at the thought her heart was filled with renewed anger -against him. Yet had she not told him that her plans were all laid to -prevent gossip, to prevent her father's name being injured? He probably -supposed that there would be no scandal; and, after all, why should -there be? A little talk in the native quarter, perhaps, that would be -all. But these lies she would have to tell her father! They hung over -her like a menacing storm. - -Yet if she told the truth, what then? Daniel's reputation would suffer -as much as hers: she wondered whether he had realized this fact, when he -had obliged her to stay with him for the full fortnight. - -Yes, she would tell the truth. It would be a ghastly ordeal, that hour -when she would have to face her father; but it would be better than -lies, and shufflings, and the crooked ways of which she had seen so much -amongst the women she had known in her life. - -Suddenly the realization came to her that her character was not such as -theirs, that it took no delight in intrigue; and upon that disclosure -there followed a new understanding of Daniel's attitude to her when she -had told him of her arrangements for their secret fortnight. - -"Good heavens!" she exclaimed, almost speaking aloud in the surprise of -her sudden shame. "What a sneaking little liar I must have seemed to -him!" - -At last one day, in the blaze of noon, they descended from the desert -and dismounted from their camels at the gates of Mena House Hotel. Now, -towards the end of March, the days were growing hot, and Muriel -appreciated to the full the cool halls and shaded rooms of the hotel, -and at luncheon the ice which tinkled in her glass seemed to be a very -gift of the gods. - -Amongst her letters, addressed to the care of Mr. Bindane, she found one -from her father, written from the White Nile; and her heart leaped with -sudden relief when she read in it that he had decided to extend his tour -through the Sudan, and would not be back in Cairo for another three -weeks. He suggested to her that she should invite the Bindanes to stay -at the Residency, so that Kate could be with her, thereby relieving Lady -Smith-Evered of the responsibility of upholding the conventions by her -otherwise unnecessary presence; or else that she should remain at Mena -House with them until his return. - -She therefore put the two alternatives to her friends, and, though Kate -was all for remaining where they were, her husband could not resist the -aristocratic enticement of the Residency. Next day, therefore, they made -their adieux to the desert and drove into Cairo. Muriel's relief at not -having yet to face her father had raised her spirits; and for the first -time for many days she appeared once more to be vivacious and conscious -of the enjoyments of life. - -All went well for a week or more. Muriel entertained her guests at the -Residency with painstaking care; and every day had its list of -engagements. Indeed she was glad of the task, for, now that her life had -resumed its unadventurous course, she could not keep her mind from -thinking over the events of the last few months, although her -recollections brought her nothing but searchings of heart. - -Towards Daniel she maintained an attitude of estrangement. Though her -eyes had been opened to her own shortcomings, and she was no longer so -sure of herself as to be able to censure him without qualification, yet -she wanted to assert herself, and to show him that she was mistress of -her own destiny; and, like a spectator of her own life, she almost hoped -that she would find herself belonging to some other man by the time that -Daniel returned, so that she would be able to say, "There now!--you've -lost me, you see." - -The bombshell fell unexpectedly. One morning Lady Smith-Evered came over -to the Residency soon after breakfast, and asked Muriel if she might see -her alone. She had been dining with them only the night before, and -Muriel did not, therefore, anticipate any serious trouble. - -They went into the library together, and no sooner was the door shut -than the elder woman sat herself down in the desk chair, and cleared her -throat as though she were about to make a speech. - -"Now Muriel," she began, "I want you to tell me the truth, please. I -have acted more or less as your chaperone throughout the winter, and I'm -sure you can trust me to do what is right. I want you to give me a -direct answer to a direct question: did you or did you not spend a -fortnight alone with Mr. Lane in the Oases?" - -For a moment Muriel's head was in a whirl, and she felt the colour -mounting to her cheeks, as she hesitated to face the sudden crisis. -Then, fortifying herself to meet the situation with candour, she looked -at her questioner straight in the face. - -"Tell me, first," she replied, "the story you have heard." - -Lady Smith-Evered shrugged her shoulders. "I see no reason why I should -not. My maid told me late last night that she had heard it from our -native cook, who had heard it in the bazaars. The story was simply that -you left the Bindanes and went to stay with that man. I thought the best -thing I could do, and the General agreed, was to come and ask you -straight." - -"Thank you," Muriel replied. "Yes, it's perfectly true." - -Lady Smith-Evered threw up her fat hands. "My dear girl!--what on earth -made you do such a foolhardy thing? You might have known the natives -would talk. Of course I guessed you were in love with him, otherwise you -would never have been so rude to me as you were that day when I asked -you why he had left the Residency so suddenly. But I never dreamed that -things had gone so far. Supposing you have a baby...?" - -An expression of amazed indignation came into Muriel's eyes, and for a -few moments she was absolutely dumb. It was as though she had had a lump -of mud flung straight at her face; and at first she experienced only -burning resentment and blinding anger. Then, suddenly, she saw things as -they were: the thought had never come to her until now in all its -crudeness, its stark nakedness. - -"How can you suggest such a thing?" she answered at last, lamely, her -indignation strengthening her voice but not her wits. - -"You must have been mad," said Lady Smith-Evered. "And at your age, too! -It was more than naughtiness: it was downright folly. And as for the -man, he deserves to be thrashed." - -"But you don't understand," Muriel gasped. "There was no intimacy of any -kind." - -Her visitor moved impatiently on her chair. "Oh, don't tell me such -fibs," she exclaimed. "My dear Muriel, I am a woman of the world. I only -want to help you." - -Her words only served to accentuate the girl's alarm. - -"But it's true," she cried. "I swear to you there was nothing of that -kind between us." - -Lady Smith-Evered stared at her. "You can't expect me or anybody else to -believe that. Why, the man is a notorious bad character in regard to -women." - -"No, he's not," she answered. "He may be a brute in other ways, but all -this rot about his Bedouin harm is just the silly talk of Cairo. I'm -not going to beg you to believe me. I'm just telling you the truth; and -if you don't think it's the truth you can go to ..." - -She checked herself suddenly. - -"But what are we to do?" said the elder woman, spreading out her hands. -"I'm not a prude; but the whole thing is shocking in a country like -this. How are we to prevent it ever coming to your father's ears?" - -"I'm going to tell him as soon as he comes back," Muriel replied. - -"Oh, you're incorrigible," exclaimed Lady Smith-Evered, angrily. "You -hav'n't got the sense even to know when to hold your tongue." She rose -to her feet and paced up and down the room. "What's to be done? Will you -please tell me what's to be done?" - -"Nothing much," Muriel answered. She was becoming calmer now. She saw -herself in a new light, and her humiliation was extreme. Lady -Smith-Evered belonged to that world which Daniel had tried to teach her -to despise; and in this woman's eyes she appeared merely as a foolish, -naughty girl, whose rash actions had to be covered up by some sort of -lie. She would have infinitely preferred it if she had been instantly -ostracized and cut. - -"Of course," Lady Smith-Evered went on, "I shall tell my maid that the -whole thing is nonsense; and it's just possible that the story will go -no further. But you ought to be ashamed of yourself for taking such -risks. And I have no words to express what I feel about Mr. Lane." - -"Oh, please leave him out of it," Muriel exclaimed. "He never asked me -to come, or knew I was coming." - -Lady Smith-Evered sniffed. "He knows his own power over women," she -said. - -Muriel turned upon her fiercely. "I tell you he is in no way to blame." - -Her visitor bowed. "I respect you for trying to defend him," she -answered. "We women always defend the men we love." - -"But I don't love him," she cried. "I hate the sight of him." - -Lady Smith-Evered spread out her hands again, evidently baffled. "That -makes it all the worse," she said. "Romance is whitewash for the -sepulchres of passion: it makes these things presentable; but if you say -the affair was not prompted by love, then I absolutely fail to -understand you. It sounds unnatural, indecent." - -She moved towards the door. "I'll do my best to hush it up," she -concluded; "but the sooner you get married to some nice easy-going -Englishman the better. These sort of things are more _comme il faut_ -after marriage, my dear." - -And with that she left the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII--THINKING THINGS OVER - - -Benifett Bindane was seated on the front verandah of the Residency one -afternoon, when Lord Barthampton drove up to the door in his high -dogcart. He rose from his chair, and going to the steps, shook hands -with the younger man somewhat less limply than was his wont. - -"Is Lady Muriel in?" asked the visitor. - -Mr. Bindane shook his head. "I'm afraid not; but I think she'll be home -to tea. Come in and have a drink." - -He led him into the library, and rang the bell. "What will you have?" he -asked. "A whiskey and soda?" - -"Thanks," Lord Barthampton replied. "I've given up the temperance stunt. -I think one needs something with a punch in it now that the weather's -getting hot." - -A servant entered the room, and Mr. Bindane, playing the host with -relish, ordered the refreshments. - -Charles Barthampton had seen Muriel more than once since her return from -the desert, and now he had come with the determination to make her a -proposal of marriage. He was nervous, therefore, and soon he was helping -himself liberally from the decanter and with marked moderation from the -syphon. While doing so he thought he observed the older man's eye upon -him, and felt that candour would not here come amiss. - -"I'm fortifying myself," he laughed, holding up his glass. "Fact is, I'm -going to pop the question this afternoon." - -Mr. Bindane nodded slowly, with seeming abstraction, and his lordship -decided that a little drama ought to be added to his words. - -"Yes," he said, bracing his shoulders bravely, "this suspense is too -much for me; so I'm going to rattle the dice with Fate, and win all or -lose all at a single throw. What d'you think of my chances?" - -"Not much," replied Mr. Bindane, gloomily. "Lady Muriel is a difficult -sort of girl. Still, she may be suffering from a reaction: you may catch -her on the rebound." - -The words slipped from him without intention; but as soon as they were -spoken he realized that he would either have to explain them or cover -them up as best he could. - -"How d'you mean?" came the inevitable question, and Mr. Bindane's brains -were immediately set rapidly to work. He knew that Lord Barthampton was -running after the girl's fortune: such a chase seemed a very natural -thing to his business mind; and he did not suppose that the suitor would -be deterred by hearing that the lady's hand had already been given -temporarily to another. - -"Well," he replied, "you know, of course, that she was by way of being -in love with your cousin a short time ago." - -His visitor scowled. "No, I didn't know that," he muttered. "Confound -the fellow!--he's always getting in my way. I wish he'd stay in the -desert, and not come back." - -"Yes, so do I," Mr. Bindane remarked. "I want him to live out there, and -manage this Company I'm trying to launch. Frankly, that is why I wish -you success. At present it is Lady Muriel who attracts him to Cairo; and -if by any chance she should marry him, my plans would be spoilt." - -"Oh, I see," said the other, a look of cunning coming into his red face. -"So we both want the same thing." - -"Yes," replied Mr. Bindane. The conspiracy interested him, the more so -because he felt that he was acting in the best interests of Daniel, for -whom he had conceived an unbounded admiration. He thought that he was -wasted at the Residency: there was no money in his present work, -whereas, if he entered the proposed Company's employment, he might rise -to great wealth. Nor would he ever be happy in Cairo, certainly not if -he were tied to Lady Muriel: she was not the right wife for him. She was -too flighty, and this escapade of hers in the desert stamped her as a -woman of loose morals, who would bring only sorrow to a man of Daniel -Lane's temperament. - -Lord Barthampton leaned forward. "Did she see much of him in the Oases?" -he asked. - -Mr. Bindane hesitated. He did not like to give the secret away; yet he -felt that if this burly and rather unscrupulous young man were in -possession of the facts, he might terrorize Lady Muriel into marrying -him. Then Cairo would cease to have any attraction for Daniel Lane. "She -saw a great deal of him," he replied at length. - -"Why, was he with your party?" - -Mr. Bindane's lips moved flabbily, but he did not speak. - -"I thought you told me the other day that he wasn't with you," Lord -Barthampton added. - -"Yes, that's so," the other answered. "He wasn't." - -His visitor got up suddenly from his chair. "Do you mean that _she_ was -with _him_?" he asked, incredulously. - -"That is a secret," Mr. Bindane replied, a little scared, but at the -same time calming himself with the assurance that he was acting for the -best. - -Lord Barthampton paced the floor, chewing his lips, his heavy brows -knitted. "I see," he said, at length. "And you think that it will help -me if I hold this piece of information over her head." - -Mr. Bindane's blank expression indicated that nothing of the kind had -entered his head--in fact, that nothing of any kind had ever entered it. -"You could have heard it from the natives," he said. "They all know she -was at El Hamrn while we went north. If I hadn't let it slip out like -this, no doubt you would have heard it from somebody else in time." - -"No doubt," the other answered, and he drained his glass once more. - -Benifett Bindane also rose from his chair. He was alarmed, and the -qualms of conscience were upon him. "Of course it was just an escapade," -he murmured. "I don't suppose there was anything wrong in it." - -"Well, I won't use the information, unless I've got to," said Lord -Barthampton. - -As they issued from the library, they heard the sound of an automobile -driving up to the door. "That's probably her," Mr. Bindane remarked. -"You'd better go and wait in the drawing-room, and I'll make myself -scarce." - -He patted the young man on the shoulders and hurried up the stairs to -his room, while Charles Barthampton, nervously tidying himself, went -into the drawing-room, where a footman was arranging the tea-table. - -He had not long to wait. In a few minutes Muriel entered, and, seeing -him, held out her hand. - -"Hullo!" she said. "You here again?" - -"I don't seem to be able to keep away from you for long," he sighed. -"Can I see you alone?" - -Muriel glanced at him quickly. There was an expression of ludicrous -agony upon his face, and she knew full well what he had come to say to -her. "Let's have tea, first," she answered. "It will fortify us." - -He stared anxiously at her, but all further preliminary remarks were -checked by the entrance of Kate Bindane; and soon two or three callers -were ushered in. - -It was a long time before he managed successfully to outstay the other -visitors; but at length he found himself alone with Muriel. The removal -of the tea-tray caused another interruption; and he refrained with -difficulty from cursing aloud when the footman again entered to switch -on the lights. - -At last, however, the moment for his declaration arrived, and Muriel -settled herself down upon the cushions of the sofa to hear him, as -though she were preparing to listen to a recital upon the grand piano. -"Now tell me," she said, "what it is that you want to say to me." - -He was standing in front of her, the fingers of his hand scratching his -ear. He cleared his throat. "Well, it's like this," he began. "Ever -since I've known you I've felt that there was something lacking in my -life...." - -"I was wondering how you'd begin," she said, interrupting him. - -He flushed, and hastened on with his prepared speech. "Even soldiers, -you know, long for the comforts of home. I suppose every Englishman -likes to think of his own fireside...." - -"Not in this weather, surely," she put in, again interrupting him. - -He hurried on. "... With the woman he loves, seated before him, after -the day's toil is over." - -"Are you proposing to me?" she asked, wishing mercifully to cut him -short. - -"Well, yes, I am," he answered, with a deep sigh. "Ah, don't be cruel to -me. You know that I love you. I'm quite well off: I can give you a -fairly comfortable time of it." - -"Yes, but they say you have led a very wild life," she told him. "You -said yourself that you drank." - -"I've sown my wild oats, little woman," he sighed. - -"But drink is such a dreadful thing," she murmured. "I wonder your -conscience hasn't pricked you. Or are you one of those people who have -no conscience, only a religion?" - -Without waiting to reply he returned to the speech which he had -memorized, and drew a picture of his English home: the snow on the -ground at Nol, the bells of the little church ringing, the Yule log, -and his tenants singing carols to them as they dined in the great hall. -It reminded Muriel of a Christmas-card--something with sparkling stuff -powdered over it, and "Hark, the herald angels sing" printed in the -corner. - -Lord Barthampton, however, was very much touched by his own eloquence; -and, coming close to her, he held out his hands. "Will you?" he said, -brokenly. - -"I must have time to think," she answered. "This is so sudden." Then, -with deep seriousness, she added: "Yes, I want to think it over." - -"Well, I'm going off to the Fayoum tomorrow to shoot," he told her. "May -I come for my answer in three days from now?" - -"Very well," she replied. - -He seized her hand in his, and pressed it fervently to his lips. Then, -as though overcome with emotion, he whispered, "God bless you, little -woman," and, turning, walked slowly out of the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII--THE RETURN - - -Daniel's work at El Hamrn was soon accomplished. When he returned there -with the police, he was not empowered to use the aid of the law further -than to restore order, to release the camels which had been seized, and -to liberate Ibrahm from his illegal semi-captivity. The officer in -command of the troopers, however, was aware that the messengers who had -been dispatched at top speed to Cairo would bring back instructions to -him to act in accordance with the Englishman's dispositions; and thus -Ibrahm had been recognized already as Sheikh by the time that the -official confirmation of his appointment arrived, and when the men who -had made the journey to El Khargeh returned home, the abortive revolt -was a thing of the past. - -Daniel, however, was unable to reconcile the two parties, and the feud -thereafter continued its tedious course, though now in a more -underground manner. He was disappointed in the failure of his attempts -at conciliation, and was disgusted at the bickerings and the petty -insults exchanged between the one faction and the other. The -tranquillity of the desert had been rudely disturbed. - -It was, thus, with a feeling of relief that he packed up his belongings -once more, and turned his face towards Cairo. It was now the middle of -April, and he crossed the desert in a blaze of burning sunshine, but his -mind was so much occupied with his thoughts that he took little notice -of his surroundings. The shimmer of heat rising from the sand, the haze -of the distances, and the red dusk of the warm evenings, seemed but to -carry his sad heart into the region of speculation; and, at nights, the -stars and the crescent of the new moon lifted him into a sphere in which -his brain worked with terrible clarity. - -He saw his life spread out before his inward consciousness like a tale -written in a fair hand upon an open scroll, wherein his mistakes and his -shortcomings were inscribed in bolder letters, very apparent to the eye. -It seemed to him that his attitude towards Muriel, towards humanity, had -been illiberal, too one-sided. There had been need of so much greater -tolerance: he had been too inclined to be impulsive, to jump to a -conclusion. - -In teaching Muriel the lesson that the love between a man and a woman -should be a thing of frankness and permanence, not snatched at in -secret, nor lightly conceived, he had learned as much as he had taught. -He had found in her all manner of qualities to which he had paid -insufficient regard--dignity, control, bravery in face of danger, and -courage to act according to the dictates of her heart. - -He saw now that while she had walked the pathways of that world which he -had despised, he had taken refuge, like a coward, in the desert; yet -she, in spite of the pitfalls and the sloughs which he had shunned, was -not at heart contaminated. She had honestly believed that he had wished -her to come to him in the desert, and she had obeyed him. A less -impulsive man would have treated her mistake gently, and with more -understanding, as being something for which her lax education and not -her brave heart was to blame. - -In an agony of mind he asked himself whether he had really lost her. He -would go to her; he would make her look right into his mind, so that she -should see how greatly he had need of her. But would she have pity on -him? - -Would she have pity on him?... Suddenly an essential aspect of the -relationship of man and woman flashed before him. Man, mighty man, was -but a lonely, blundering wanderer, a weak thing, a dweller in the -desert, seeking where to lay his head. With all his strength, with all -his masterful handling of events, man was yet a vagabond in the world, -until he had found his mate; and woman, in spite of the greater sway of -her thoughtless instincts, held for him the keys, as it were, of his -heart's home. From the summit of her weakness she could look down upon -his strength, and could smile at his struggle to surmount the obstacles -which he had placed in his own path. In the loneliness of his soul she -could look down and pity him, and take him to her breast, and heal his -wounds. - -Over and over again he asked himself whether she would turn from him -when he came to her now, or whether she would forgive and be forgiven. -He was feeling mentally and physically tired, yet he found no respite -from his dark thoughts as he jogged along; and when at last he came into -sight of Cairo and the Pyramids he was nigh exhausted by his anxiety to -know what was to be his fate. - -He reached his old camping-ground at about three o'clock in the -afternoon, and in a short time one of the tents had been erected, -wherein he was able to have a wash and a change of clothes. He then left -his retainers to pitch the other tents and to arrange the camp, and, -mounting his camel once more, rode to Mena House, where he boarded the -electric tram for Cairo. - -Weary though he was, he was desperately impatient to find Muriel and to -get this matter settled at once. Nothing else was of the slightest -importance. - -At the terminus of the tramway he jumped into a carriage, calling to the -coachman to drive "like the wind" to the Residency; and, arrived there, -he handed to the _bowab_ at the gate a generous sum, telling him to keep -the driver waiting for a good half-hour before paying him off, so that -the sweating horses should have a rest after their exertions. - -In the hall he asked a footman whether Lord Blair were in, and was -surprised to hear that he had not yet returned from the Sudan. Lady -Muriel, he was told, was in the garden with Lord Barthampton: the man -thought that they were in the alcove beside the river. Mr. and Mrs. -Bindane were out driving, and the Secretaries had all gone home. - -Daniel hastened through the house, and out by the door at the back. His -legs were aching, but he went down the stone steps of the terrace two at -a time, and hurried across the lawn, his heart full of foreboding. He -could not understand why Muriel should be entertaining his cousin. - -At the rose bushes which screened the alcove, however, he paused; for -the thought came to him with renewed terror that he might be an -unwelcome visitor. - -But, even as he came to a halt, he heard his cousin's voice, and for a -moment he could not help playing the eavesdropper. - -"Yes," he was saying, "you'll have to marry me, or I shall tell all I -know, and then there'll be a fine old scandal. Come on, now, give me a -kiss." - -Daniel did not wait to hear more, but ran round the bushes on to the -terrace beyond. At a glance he took in the situation. Lord Barthampton, -his back turned to him, was endeavouring to take Muriel in his arms; and -from behind the screen of his burly form, the girl's figure was partly -visible, struggling to escape. - -Daniel leaped forward and grasped him by the scruff of the neck, -flinging him aside so that he staggered across the terrace. He saw -Muriel's wide frightened eyes; and hardly realizing what he was doing, -he put his arm about her. - -She, too, forgot her relationship to him: she only knew that he had -intervened between her and a half-drunken bully; and she clung to him, -clung desperately, her hands clutching at his coat. - -"What's the meaning of this?" Daniel exclaimed, angrily staring at his -cousin, who seemed to be about to spring upon him. - -"What the Hell do you want here?" Lord Barthampton roared, his face -scarlet. - -Muriel pointed her finger at the furious man. "You'd better go," she -said. "Go and tell everybody whatever you like--I don't care." She -turned to her protector. "There's a lot of gossip about my having stayed -at El Hamrn." - -Daniel stared from one to the other. "Well, and what is your answer to -it?" he asked her, and, waiting for her reply, he seemed to hold his -breath. - -"I hav'n't denied it," she said, looking at him full in the face. - -He uttered an exclamation, a sort of suppressed shout of joy. "Good for -you!" he cried; and, forgetting all else, he snatched off his battered -hat and flung it up into the air. Catching it again, he turned to his -cousin. "I take it," he said, "that you are trying to blackmail Lady -Muriel. Is that it?" - -"I have asked her to be my wife," he answered, his fists clenched, "and -it's no damned business of yours." - -"Well," said Daniel, "you've got your answer now, so you'd better go." - -Lord Barthampton was trembling with passion; he was beside himself. -"Yes, I'll go," he shouted, "and you'll very soon find, dear Cousin -Daniel, that you and Lady Muriel will be cut by all Cairo, and Lord -Blair will have to leave the country. I know enough to ruin the lot of -you." - -Daniel looked at him steadily. "Don't forget that I know something about -you, too," he replied; "and if you do what you say you're going to do, I -shall not consider you worthy to hold your present position any longer. -And you've been drinking again, too: you're half drunk now." - -"Very well then, dispossess me, you swine!" his cousin blurted out, -coming close to him and shaking his fist so menacingly that Muriel took -fresh hold upon Daniel's coat. "Take the title and the money, and be -damned to you! I'd rather be a penniless bastard than the smug pillar of -society you're trying to make of me. Good God!--I've stood enough from -you, you pious hypocrite." - -Daniel laughed aloud. "Don't be a fool," he said. "I've told you that so -long as you behave yourself you're quite safe. It surely isn't so -difficult as all that to be a gentleman." - -With a snort, Lord Barthampton lurched round, and, without another word, -took his departure. - -Muriel stepped back. "I don't know what I'm clinging on to you like that -for," she said, with a smile. "What on earth does he mean about your -taking his title and his money?" - -"Oh, I'll explain later," he answered, rather listlessly. "It's only -that by law I ought to have inherited when his father died, not he. It's -a great joke, because, you see, he thinks I'll dispossess him if he -misbehaves himself; but, of course, really he'd have to go altogether to -the dogs before I'd do such a thing. I don't want the bother of being a -peer, and I would be hopeless with a lot of money." - -Muriel looked up at him with wonder in her face. Quietly and naturally -she linked her arm in his, "I've been wanting so much to be beastly to -you, Daniel," she said, and her voice was husky; "but it's no good, my -dear. When a man like Charles Barthampton curses you and tells you to -take his money, and you simply laugh and say you don't want it, what -chance have _I_ got of upsetting this disgusting unworldliness of yours? -I should only hurt myself, not you." - -"No, you're wrong there," he answered. "You will hurt me more than I can -bear, _more than I can bear_, Muriel, if you keep up this quarrel any -longer. I don't feel that I can stand it." - -There was a weariness in his voice which startled her, and, looking at -him, she saw an expression in his eyes which made an instant and -overwhelming appeal to her. - -"Somehow," he said, speaking hardly above a whisper, "I feel that all -these misunderstandings are so superficial. D'you know, I believe that -if you were to remain implacable I should simply collapse. I've never -felt such a thing before in my whole life." - -It was the first time she had ever heard him speak in this way, and all -her woman's heart responded. "Oh, my dear," she answered, putting her -arm about his neck, "it's no good pretending that we don't belong to one -another, is it?" - -He looked at her with joy in his face, and led her towards the marble -seat under the palms. "We've got a great deal to tell each other," he -said. - -They had, indeed, so much to tell that the sun went down behind the -Pyramids while yet they were talking, and the dusk gathered about them. - -At length they arose and walked back to the house; but now they were -laughing like two children, and as they crossed the lawn their arms were -still linked together. - -Kate Bindane, having returned from her drive, was standing at the -drawing-room window as they approached the house. - -"Great Scott!" she exclaimed, turning to her husband. "Come here, -Benifett: just look at that!" - -He arose from his chair, laying aside the _Financial News_ which he had -been reading; but he gave no more than a single glance through the open -window. Then he returned to his newspaper, and looked at it with -listless eyes and open mouth. - -Two days later a telegram was received saying that Lord Blair would -arrive from the south by special train on the following morning at ten -A.M. - -Soon after breakfast next day, therefore, Daniel presented himself at -the Residency to take Muriel to the station. He was dressed in a suit of -grey flannels; and as he crossed the hall, he was carrying his now -famous old felt hat in one hand and his pipe in the other. - -Here, to his dismay, he came upon Sir Frank Lestrange and John Dregge, -both dressed as though they were about to attend a London wedding, and -carrying their gloves and silk hats in their hands. - -"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "What on earth are you rigged out like that -for?" - -"We're going to the station," replied Lestrange, somewhat stiffly. -"Aren't you coming too?" - -"Sure," said Daniel. - -"I'm afraid you'll be rather out of the picture," remarked the -punctilious Mr. Dregge, and he uttered a short laugh. "Two of the -Princes, and most of the Ministers and Advisers will be there, not to -mention the General in full war-paint." - -"Gee!" muttered Daniel. "In this hot weather, too! I guess I'll look the -only sane person on the platform." - -John Dregge glanced at his companion, and he at him, as Daniel, waving -his hat to them, went towards the dining-room to find Muriel; but they -were too startled even to exchange glances when, at the door of that -room, the Great Man's daughter made her appearance, and stood on tiptoe, -holding up her face to be kissed by Daniel. - -The scene at the railway-station, half an hour later, was very -disconcerting to a man so recently come from the wilds; but Daniel -either managed somehow to conceal his embarrassment or felt none at all. -Upon the platform the inevitable piece of red carpet was spread, and -under the draped British and Egyptian flags several frock-coated -celebrities were standing, the Europeans wearing silk hats, the -Egyptians the more becoming red _tarboushes_. A guard of honour of -British and native troops was drawn up near the iron palings; and at -intervals down the whole length of the platform stood brown-skinned -policemen, their hands looking curiously farcical in white cotton -gloves. - -Muriel's cool pink dress, her shady hat, and her parasol, gave by -contrast a remarkable appearance of discomfort and heat to the assembled -males; and Daniel appeared to be the only man present who could turn his -head or swing his limbs with ease. Strange to say, his unceremonious -clothes were inappropriate only in European eyes. The native mind -regarded them as perfectly suitable to one who was already recognized as -a kind of court philosopher: a Mohammedan holding a similar office would -probably have been garbed in the coarse robe of a _derwsh_. It was thus -noteworthy that while the Westerners regarded him askance, the Orientals -greeted him with particular respect, so that even John Dregge presently -began to walk beside him and to converse with him--in marked contrast to -his earlier attitude of distant disdain. - -At length the white, dusty train panted into the station; and the -black-faced engine-driver, by means of a desperate struggle with the -breaks, managed to manoeuvre the entrance of the saloon to a reasonable -proximity to the red carpet. - -"Now for the little surprise for Father," said Muriel, and suddenly she -linked her arm in Daniel's, allowing her hand to rest upon his own. - -Lord Blair, hat in hand, stepped on to the platform, and, at a sharp -word of command, the guard of honour presented arms. - -He did not seem to see the crowd of waiting dignitaries: he stared at -Muriel and Daniel, a wide smile revealing the two even rows of his false -teeth. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he exclaimed, kissing his daughter's cheek. "My dear -Muriel! How are you, Daniel? This is capital, capital! You two, arm in -arm...." - -"Yes, Father," Muriel laughed, "we're going to be married, ... please." - -"Aha!" chuckled Lord Blair. "I knew it, I knew it! A little bird told -me. Well, well!--I'm delighted. A Lane and a Blair: capital, splendid!" - -Frank Lestrange stepped forward anxiously glancing at the native -Princes. "Their Highnesses, sir, ..." he whispered. - -"Ah, yes, to be sure," said Lord Blair, turning to them, and holding out -his hand. "I beg you to excuse me for speaking first to my daughter and -my future son-in-law." - -THE END - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - -Spelling and punctuation inaccuracies were silently corrected. - -Archaic and variable spelling is preserved. - -The author's punctuation style is preserved. - -Hyphenation has been made consistent. - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURNING SANDS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34978 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. 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:PG.Producer: Roger Frank
:PG.Producer: the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
- :DC.Creator: Arthur Weigall
+ :DC.Creator: Arthur Weigal
:DC.Title: Burning Sands
:DC.Language: en
- :DC.Created: 1921
+ :DC.Created: 2011
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diff --git a/34978-rst.zip b/34978-rst.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ba061d3..0000000 --- a/34978-rst.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-058.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-058.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 71ed1b5..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-058.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-090.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-090.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index eea4efd..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-090.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-138.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-138.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 674bac6..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-138.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-186.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-186.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 921b087..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-186.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-218.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-218.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 66ce2b9..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-218.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-258.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-258.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ae36292..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-258.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-330.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-330.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2eb6970..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-330.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978-rst/images/illus-fpc.png b/34978-rst/images/illus-fpc.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 42afa8e..0000000 --- a/34978-rst/images/illus-fpc.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/34978.txt b/34978.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ded3c29..0000000 --- a/34978.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12251 +0,0 @@ - BURNING SANDS - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Burning Sands - -Author: Arthur Weigall - -Release Date: January 15, 2011 [EBook #34978] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURNING SANDS *** - - - - -Produced by Darleen Dove, Roger Frank, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -*Burning Sands* - -By - -Arthur Weigall - -Author of -Madeline of the Desert, Etc. - - -Illustrated With Scenes From The Photoplay -A Paramount Picture -Directed by George Melford - - -Grosset & Dunlap -Publishers New York - -Made in the United States of America - - - - -Copyright, 1921. -By Dodd, Mead And Company, Inc. - -Printed in U. S. A. - - - - -Contents - - - - CHAPTER I--A STUDY IN BEHAVIOUR - - CHAPTER II--THE FREEDOM OF THE DESERT - - CHAPTER III--THE WORLD AND THE FLESH - - CHAPTER IV--A JACKAL IN A VILLAGE - - CHAPTER V--FAMILY AFFAIRS - - CHAPTER VI--TOWARDS THE SUNSET - - CHAPTER VII--THE DESERT AND THE CITY - - CHAPTER VIII--THE ACCOMPLICE - - CHAPTER IX--ON THE NILE - - CHAPTER X--"FOR TOMORROW WE DIE" - - CHAPTER XI--THE OASIS IN THE DESERT - - CHAPTER XII--THE HELPMATE - - CHAPTER XIII--THE NEW LIFE - - CHAPTER XIV--THE COURT PHILOSOPHER - - CHAPTER XV--A BALL AT THE GENERAL'S - - CHAPTER XVI--AT CHRISTMASTIDE - - CHAPTER XVII--DESTINY - - CHAPTER XVIII--MAN AND WOMAN - - CHAPTER XIX--THE SEEDS OF SORROW - - CHAPTER XX--PRIVATE INTERESTS - - CHAPTER XXI--THE CLASH - - CHAPTER XXII--THE CALL OF THE DESERT - - CHAPTER XXIII--THE NATURE OF WOMEN - - CHAPTER XXIV--THE GREAT ADVENTURE - - CHAPTER XXV--BREAKING LOOSE - - CHAPTER XXVI--THE STOLEN HOUR - - CHAPTER XXVII--THE FLIGHT - - CHAPTER XXVIII--THE SURPRISING FORTNIGHT - - CHAPTER XXIX--IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH - - CHAPTER XXX--THE REVOLT - - CHAPTER XXXI--PAYING THE PRICE - - CHAPTER XXXII--THINKING THINGS OVER - - CHAPTER XXXIII--THE RETURN - - - - -CHAPTER I--A STUDY IN BEHAVIOUR - - -The music ceased. For a full minute the many dancers stood as the dance -had left them, stranded, so to speak, upon the polished floor of the -ballroom, clapping their white-gloved hands in what seemed to be an -appeal to the tired musicians to release them from their awkward -situation. The _chef d'orchestre_ rose from his chair and shook his -head, pointing to the beads of moisture upon his sallow forehead. Two or -three couples, more merciful than their companions, turned and walked -away; and therewith the whole company ceased their vain clapping, and, -as though awakened from an hypnotic seizure, hastened to jam themselves -into the heated, chattering mass which moved out of the brilliantly -lighted room and dispersed into the shadows of the halls and passages -beyond. - -Lady Muriel Blair, to all appearances the only cool young person in the -throng, led her perspiring partner towards a group of elderly women who -sat fanning themselves near an open window, beyond which the palms could -be seen redundant in the light of the moon. An enormous-bosomed matron, -wearing a diamond tiara upon her dyed brown hair, and a rope of pearls -about her naked pink shoulders, turned to her as she approached, and -smiled upon her in a patronizing manner. She was the wife of Sir Henry -Smith-Evered, Commander-in-chief of the British Forces in Egypt; and her -smile was highly valued in Cairo society. - -"You seem to be enjoying yourself, my dear," she said, taking hold of -the girl's hand. "But you mustn't get overtired in this heat. Wait -another month, until the weather is cool, and then you can dance all -night." - -"Oh, but I don't feel it at all," Lady Muriel replied, looking with mild -disdain at her partner's somewhat limp collar. "Father warned me that -October in Cairo would be an ordeal, but so far I've simply loved it." - -Her voice had that very slight suggestion of husky tiredness in it which -has a certain fascination. With her it was habitual. - -"You've only been in Egypt twenty-four hours," Lady Smith-Evered -reminded her. "You must be careful." - -"Careful!" the girl muttered, with laughing scorn. "I hate the word." - -Her good-looking little partner, Rupert Helsingham, ran his finger -around the inside of his collar, and adjusted his eyeglass. "Let's go -and sit on the veranda," he suggested. - -Lady Muriel turned an eye of mocking enquiry upon the General's lady, -who was her official chaperone (though the office had little, if any, -meaning); for, in a strange country and in a diplomatic atmosphere, it -was as well, she thought, to ascertain the proprieties. Lady -Smith-Evered, aware of dear little Rupert's strict regard on all -occasions for his own reputation, nodded acquiescence; and therewith the -young couple sauntered out of the room. - -"A charming girl!" remarked the stout chaperone, turning her heavily -powdered face to her companions. - -"She is beautiful," said Madam Pappadoulopolos, an expansive, -black-eyed, black-haired, black-moustached, black-robed figure, wife of -the Greek Consul-General. - -"She has the sort of monkey-beauty of all the Blairs," declared Mrs. -Froscombe, the gaunt but romantic wife of the British Adviser to the -Ministry of Irrigation. She spoke authoritatively. She had recently -purchased a richly illustrated volume dealing with the history of that -eminent family. - -"It is a great responsibility for Lord Blair," said Lady Smith-Evered. -"Now that poor Lady Blair has been dead for over a year, he felt that he -ought not to leave his only daughter, his only child, with her relations -in England any longer; and, of course, it is very right that she should -take her place as mistress here at the Residency, though I could really -have acted as hostess for him perfectly well." - -"Indeed yes," Madam Pappadoulopolos assented, warmly. - -"You have a genius for _that_ sort of thing," murmured Mrs. Froscombe, -staring out of the window at the moonlit garden. - -"Thank you, Gladys dear," said Lady Smith-Evered, smiling coldly at her -friend's averted face. - -Muriel Blair's type of beauty was in a way monkey-like, if so ludicrous -a term can be employed in a laudatory sense to describe a face of great -charm. She was of about the average height; her head was gracefully set -upon her excellent neck and shoulders; and there was a sort of airy -dignity in her carriage and step. Her enemies called her sullen at -times, and named her Moody Muriel; her friends, on the contrary, -described her as a personification of the spirit of Youth; while her -feminine intimates said that, except for her dislike of the cold, she -might have earned her living as a sculptor's model. - -She possessed a much to be envied mane of rather coarse brown hair which -she wore coiled high upon her head; and her skin was that of a brunette, -though there was some nice colour in her cheeks. Her eyes were good, and -she had the habit of staring at her friends, sometimes, in a manner -which seemed to indicate a fortuitous mimicry of childlike and -incredulous questioning. - -It was perhaps the tilt of her small nose and an occasional setting of -her jaw which caused her undoubted beauty to be called monkey-like; or -possibly it was the occasional defiance of her brown eyes, or the -puckering of her eyebrows, or sometimes the sudden and whimsical grimace -which she made when she was displeased. - -As she seated herself now in the moonlight and leant back in the basket -chair, Rupert Helsingham looked at her with admiration; and in the -depths of his worldly little twenty-five-year-old mind he anticipated -with pleasurably audacious hopes a season tinctured with romance. He -held the position of Oriental Secretary at the Residency, and was -considered to be a rising young man, something of an Arabic scholar, and -an expert on points of native etiquette. She was his chief's daughter, -and heiress to the Blair estates. Every day they would meet; and -probably, since she was rather adorable, he would fall in love with her, -and perhaps she with him. It was a charming prospect. - -His father had recently been created Baron Helsingham of Singleton. The -old gentleman was the first of an ancient race of village squires who -had ever performed any public service or received any royal recognition; -and now he, the son and heir, might very possibly make the first notable -matrimonial alliance of his line. - -"I wonder what's happened to my father," said Muriel, breaking the -silence engendered by Rupert's reflections. "I haven't seen him since -the how-d'you-doing business." - -His whereabouts was only of casual interest to her, for she regarded him -with no particular love, nor, indeed, did she know him at all -intimately. His duties had taken him abroad a great deal during her -childhood, while her education had kept her in England; and for the last -three or four years he had passed almost entirely out of her scheme of -things. - -"He's working in his study," her companion replied, pointing to the wing -of the house which went to form the angle wherein they were sitting. "He -always dictates his telegrams at this time: he says he feels more -benevolent after dinner. He'll come into the ballroom presently, and say -the correct thing to the correct people. He's a paragon of tact, and, I -can tell you, tact is needed here in Cairo! There's such a mixture of -nationalities to deal with. What languages do you speak?" - -"Only French," she replied. - -"Good!" he laughed. "Speak French to everybody: especially to those who -are not French. It makes them think that you think them cosmopolitan. -Everybody wants to be thought cosmopolitan in a little place like this: -it indicates that they have had the money to travel." - -"I shall look to you for guidance," said Muriel, opening her mouth to -yawn, and shutting it again as though remembering her manners. - -"I'll give you a golden rule to start with," he answered. "Be very -gracious to all foreigners, because every little politeness helps the -international situation, but behave how you like to English people, -because their social aspirations require them to speak of you as _dear_ -Lady Muriel, however fiercely they burn with resentment." - -Muriel smiled. She had a really fascinating smile, and her teeth were -worthy of the great care she gave to them. "And how must I treat an -Egyptian--I mean an Egyptian gentleman?" she enquired. - -"There isn't such a thing," he laughed, having very insular ideas as to -the meaning of the word. - -"Well, a Prince or a Pasha or whatever they're called?" - -"O, that's simple enough. If his colour is anything lighter than black -coffee, ask him if he's a Frenchman. He will protest vehemently, and cry -'Mais non!--je suis Egyptien.' But he'll love you for ever all the -same." - -Muriel gazed before her into the mystery of the garden. For a brief -moment she had the feeling that their conversation was at variance with -their surroundings, that the sweet night and the moon and the stately -trees were bidding them be silent. But the thought was gone almost -before it was recorded. - -From where she sat she looked across one side of the short circular -entrance-drive, and behind the acacias and slender palms, which grew -close up to the veranda, she could see the high white wall of the -garden, whereon the purple bougainvillea clustered. Through the ornate -bars of the great front gates she watched the regular passage to and fro -of the kilted sentry, the moonlight gleaming upon the bayonet fixed to -his rifle. Beyond, there was an open lamp-lit square, in the middle of -which a jet of sparkling water shot up from a marble fountain. - -Roses grew in profusion at the edges of the drive, and the gentle -night-wind brought their fragrance to her nostrils; while to her ears -came the rustling of the trees, the ringing tramp of the sentry's heavy -boots, and the subdued chatter of the resting dancers to whom this part -of the veranda was forbidden. In the clear Egyptian atmosphere so strong -was the moonlight that every detail of the scene was almost as apparent -as it would have been at high noon; and, between the houses on the -opposite side of the square, her vision travelled out over the ranges of -white buildings which gradually rose towards the towering Citadel and -the hills of the desert beyond. Here and there a minaret pierced the -sky, so slender that its stability seemed a marvel of balance; and -countless domes and cupolas gleamed like great pearls in the silvery -light. - -She was about to ask a further languid question of her partner in regard -to the ways of Cairene society when her attention was attracted by the -appearance of a man wearing a slouch hat, who came suddenly into view -beyond the bars of the gates and was at once accosted by the Scotch -sentry. He looked something of a ruffian, and the sentry seemed to be -acting correctly in barring the way with his rifle held in both hands -across his bare knees. - -A rapid argument followed, the exact words of which she could not quite -catch; but it was evident that the Scotchman was not going to admit any -suspicious character or possible anarchist on to the premises until he -had consulted with the native policeman who was to be seen hurrying -across the square. On the other hand the intruder appeared to be in a -hurry, and his voice had clearly to be controlled as he explained to the -zealous guardian of the gate that he had business at the Residency. But -the sentry was obdurately silent, and the voice of the speaker, in -consequence, increased in volume. - -"Now don't be silly," Muriel heard him say, "or I'll take your gun away -from you." - -At this she laughed outright, and, turning to her companion, suggested -that he should go and find out what was the trouble; but he shook his -head. - -"No," he said. "We can't be seen here behind these flower-pots: let's -watch what happens." - -The newcomer made a sudden forward movement; the sentry assumed an -attitude as though about to bayonet him, or to pretend to do so; there -was a rapid scuffle; and a moment later the rifle was twisted out of its -owner's brawny hands. - -The soldier uttered an oath, stepped back a pace, and like a lion, leapt -upon his assailant. There was a confused movement; the rifle dropped -with a clatter upon the pavement; and the Scotchman seized about the -middle in a grip such as he was unlikely ever to have experienced -before, turned an amazingly unexpected somersault, landing, like a clown -at the circus, in a sitting position in which he appeared to be staring -open-mouthed at the beauties of a thousand dazzling stars. - -Thereupon the ruffian quietly picked up the rifle, opened the gate, shut -it behind him, and walked up the drive; while the Egyptian policeman ran -to the soldier's assistance, blowing the while upon his whistle with all -the wind God had given him. - -The dazed sentry scrambled to his feet, and, with a curious crouching -gait, suggestive of the ring, followed the intruder into the drive. - -"Gi' me ma rifle," he said, hoarsely. It was evident that he was trying -to collect his wits; and his attitude was that of a wrestler looking for -an opening. - -The ruffian stood still, and in voluble Arabic ordered the policeman to -stop his noise, at which the bewildered native, as though impressed by -the peremptory words, obediently took the whistle out of his mouth and -stood irresolute. - -"Gi' me ma rifle," repeated the Scot, in injured tones, warily circling -around his cool opponent. - -Rupert Helsingham suddenly got up from his chair. "Why," he exclaimed, -"it's Daniel Lane! Excuse me a moment." - -He hurried down the steps of the veranda; and, with breathless interest, -Muriel watched the two men shake hands, the one a small dapper ballroom -figure, the other a large, muscular brigand, a mighty man from the -wilds. He wore a battered, broad-brimmed felt hat, an old jacket of thin -tweed, and grey flannel trousers which sagged at the knees and were -rolled up above a pair of heavy brown boots, covered with dust. - -With an air of complete unconcern he gave the rifle back to the abashed -sentry; and, putting his hand on Helsingham's shoulder, strolled towards -the veranda. - -"I've ridden in at top speed," he said, and Muriel noticed that his -voice was deep and quiet, and that there was a trace of an American -accent. "A hundred and fifty miles in under three days. Pretty good -going, considering how bad the tracks are up there." He jerked his thumb -in the direction of the western desert. - -"The Great Man will be very pleased," the other replied. 'The Great Man' -was the designation generally used by the diplomatic staff in speaking -of Lord Blair. - -As they ascended the steps Daniel Lane cast a pair of searching blue -eyes upon the resplendent figure of the girl in the chair. In the sheen -of the moon her dress, of flimsy material, seemed to array her as it -were in a mist; and the diamonds about her throat and in her hair--for -she was wearing family jewels--gleamed like magic points of light. - -"Got a party on?" he asked, with somewhat disconcerting directness. - -"A dance," Rupert Helsingham replied, stiffly, "in honour of Lady -Muriel's arrival. But let me introduce you." - -He turned to the girl, and effected the introduction. "Mr. Lane," he -said, "is one of your father's most trusted friends. I don't know what -we should do sometimes without his counsel and advice. He knows the -native mind inside out." - -Now that the man had removed his hat, Lady Muriel felt sure that she had -seen him before, but where, she could not recall. The face was -unforgettable. The broad forehead from which the rough mud-coloured hair -was thrown back; the heavy brows which screened the steady blue eyes; -the bronzed skin; the white, regular teeth--these features she had -looked at across a drawing-room somewhere. His bulk and figure, too, -were not of the kind to be forgotten easily: the powerful neck, the -great shoulders, the mighty chest, the strong hands, were all familiar -to her. - -"I think we've met before," she ventured. - -"Yes, I fancy we have," he replied. "Use'n't you to wear your hair in -two fat pigtails?" - -"Four years ago," she laughed. - -"Then I guess it was four years ago that we met," he said; and without -further remark he turned to Rupert Helsingham, asking whether and when -he might see Lord Blair. "I was going to ring at the side door there," -he explained, pointing to the door behind them which led directly into -the corridor before the Great Man's study. "That's my usual way in: I've -no use for the main entrance and the footman." - -"And not much real use for sentries, either," Muriel laughed. - -"The lad only did his duty," he answered good-humouredly, pointing to -his rough clothes; "but somehow things like fixed bayonets always make -me impatient. I must try to get over it." - -"If Lady Muriel will excuse me, I'll go and find out if his Lordship can -see you at once," said Helsingham, in his most official tone of voice. A -sentry after all is a sentry, not an acrobat; and if people will wear -the garments of a tramp, they must take the consequences. - -Daniel Lane thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared out into the -garden; while Muriel, left alone with him, was aware of a feeling of -awkwardness and a consequent sense of annoyance. His broad back was -turned to her--if not wholly, certainly sufficiently to suggest a lack -of deference, a lack, almost, of consciousness of her presence. - -A minute or two passed. She hoped that her polite little partner would -quickly return to take her back to the ballroom, in which the music had -again begun. She felt stupid and curiously tongue-tied. She wanted to -make some remark, if only as a reminder to him of his manners. - -The remark which at length she made, however, was foolish, and unworthy -of her: she knew this before the words had passed her lips. "You seem to -find the garden very interesting," she said. - -He turned round slowly, a whimsical smile upon his face. "Very," he -answered; and then, after an embarrassing pause, "I haven't seen any -roses for six months: I'm revelling in them." - -"Do you live in the desert?" she asked. - -"Yes, most of my time. It's a fine free life." - -"Oh, one can be free anywhere," she replied. She felt an indefinable -desire to be contrary. - -"Nonsense!" he answered, abruptly. "You don't call yourself free, do -you, in those diamonds and those absurd shoes?" - -He turned again to the garden and breathed in the scent of the roses, -with head thrown back. To Lady Muriel's joy Rupert Helsingham returned -at this moment, followed by a footman. - -"Lord Blair will see you at once," he said. - -The girl gave a sigh of relief which she hoped Mr. Lane would observe; -but in this she was disappointed, for, with a nod to her partner and a -good-natured bow to herself, he strode away. - -"A very odd fellow," remarked Helsingham, when they were alone once -more. "His manners are atrocious; but what can one expect from a man who -spends his life in the desert?" - -"What makes him live there?" she asked. - -He shrugged his shoulders. "Being a crank, I suppose. He's studying -Bedouin manners and customs, or something. He's a great Arabic scholar." - -"He made me feel rather uncomfortable," she said, as she rose from her -chair and laid her fingers on her partner's arm. - -"Yes, he's boorish," he replied, smoothing his sleek, dark hair with his -disengaged hand. - -"It isn't that, quite," she corrected him, her eyebrows puckering. "But -he made me feel that I was of no importance whatsoever, and, being a -woman, I resented it. He brushed me aside, like the sentry." - -"He was probably shy," her companion suggested, for conciliation was his -_metier_. "And of course he must have been tired after that long ride." - -"No," she said, as they entered the ballroom, "I don't think he was in -the least bit shy; and, as for being tired, could anything make a man of -that kind tired? He looks like a Hercules, or a Samson, or something -unconquerable of that sort." - -Rupert Helsingham glanced quickly at her. There was a tone in her voice -which suggested that their visitor's personality had at once imposed -itself on her mind. Women, he understood, were often attracted by -masculine strength and brutality. He had known cases where an assumption -of prehistoric manners had been eminently successful in the seduction of -the weaker sex, painfully more successful, indeed, than had been his own -well-bred dalliance with romance. - -A school-friend had told him once that no girl could resist the man who -took her by the throat, or pulled back her head by the hair, or, better -still, who picked her up in his arms and bit her in the neck. He -wondered whether Lady Muriel was heavy, and, with a sort of timorous -audacity, he asked himself whether she would be likely to enjoy being -bitten. He would have to be careful of Daniel Lane: he did not want any -rivals. - -She led him across to the three elderly ladies. He was her partner also -for the present dance; but Muriel, throwing herself into a chair beside -Lady Smith-Evered, told him that she would prefer not to take the floor. -He glanced at the forbidding aspect of the three, and admired what he -presumed to be her self-sacrifice in the interests of diplomacy. - -"Rupert, my dear," said the General's wife, "do be an angel and bring us -some ices." - -"What a willing little fellow he is," murmured Mrs. Froscombe, as he -hurried away on his errand, and there was a tone of derision in her -voice. - -"He's always very helpful," Lady Smith-Evered retorted, somewhat -sharply, for he was her pet. - -"I think he's a dear," said Muriel. "Nice manners are a tremendous -asset. I hate churlishness." - -"I think you seldom meet with churlishness in Englishmen," remarked -Madam Pappadoulopolos. Her husband had told her to flatter the English -whenever she could. - -Muriel laughed. "I don't know so much about that," she replied. "On the -veranda just now I met an Englishman who, to say the least, was not -exactly courteous." - -"Oh, who was that?" asked her chaperone, with interest. - -"A certain Daniel Lane," she replied. - -Lady Smith-Evered gave a gesture of impatience. "Oh, _that_ man!" she -exclaimed. "He's in Cairo again, is he? He's an absolute outsider." - -"What is he?--What's he do?" Muriel asked, desiring further particulars. - -"Ah! That's the mystery," said Lady Smith-Evered, with a look of -profound knowing. "Incidentally, my dear, he is said to keep a harim of -Bedouin women somewhere out in the desert. I shouldn't be surprised if -every night he beat them all soundly and sent them where the rhyme -says." - -She laughed nastily, and Muriel made a grimace. - - - - -CHAPTER II--THE FREEDOM OF THE DESERT - - -Lord Blair rose from his chair as the door opened, and removed from his -thin, furtive nose a pair of large horn-rimmed spectacles which he -always wore when quite alone in his study. - -"Come in, come in, my dear Mr. Lane," he exclaimed, taking a few blithe -steps forward and shaking his visitor warmly by the hand. "I'm very -well, thank you, very well indeed, and so are you, I see. That's right, -that's good,--splendid! Dear me, what physique! What a picture of -health! How did you get here so quickly?--do take a seat, do be seated. -Yes, yes, to be sure! Have a cigar? Now, where did I put my cigars?" - -He pushed a leather arm-chair around, so that it faced his own desk -chair, and began at once to hunt for his cigar-box, lifting and -replacing stacks of papers and books, glancing rapidly, like some sort -of rodent, around the room, and then again searching under his papers. - -"Thanks," said Daniel Lane, "I'll smoke my pipe, if it won't make you -sick." - -"Tut, tut!" Lord Blair laughed, extending his delicate hands in a -comprehensive gesture. "I sometimes smoke a pipe myself: I enjoy it. A -good, honest, English smoke! Dear me, where _are_ my cigars?" - -Lord Blair was a little man of somewhat remarkable -appearance--remarkable, that is to say, when considered in relation to -his historic name and excellent diplomatic record. In a company of -elderly club waiters he would, on superficial observation, have passed -unnoticed. He bore very little resemblance to his daughter; and, in -fact, he was often disposed to believe his late wife's declaration, made -whenever she desired to taunt him, that Muriel was no child of his. Lady -Blair had had many lovers; and it is notorious that twenty odd years ago -in Mayfair there was an exceptionally violent epidemic of adultery. - -He himself had thin auburn hair, now nearly grey, neatly parted in the -middle; nervous, quick-moving brown eyes; closely cut 'mutton-chop' -whiskers; an otherwise clean-shaven, sharp-featured face; and a wide -mouth, furnished with two somewhat apparent rows of false teeth. His -smile was kindly and gracious, and his expression, in spite of a certain -vigilance, mild. - -The evening dress which he was now wearing was noteworthy in four -particulars: his collar was so big for him that one might suppose that, -in moments of danger, his head totally disappeared into it; his bow-tie -was exceptionally wide and large; his links and studs were, as such -things go, enormous; and the legs of his trousers were cut so tightly as -to be bordering on the comic. In other respects there was nothing -striking in his appearance, except, perhaps, a general cleanliness, -almost a fastidiousness, especially to be noticed in the polished -surface of his chin and jaw, and in his carefully manicured -finger-nails. - -Daniel Lane pulled out his pipe and began to fill it from a worn old -pouch. "Please don't bother about cigars," he said, as Lord Blair -extended his hand towards the bell. "Tell me why you sent for me. Your -letter was brought over from El Homra by a nigger corporal of your -precious frontier-patrol, who nearly lamed his camel in trying to do the -thirty miles in under four hours. My Bedouin friends thought at the very -least that the King of England was dying and wished to give me his -blessing." - -"Dear, dear!--it was not so urgent as all that," his Lordship replied. -"I told them to mark the letter "Express," but I trust, I do trust, the -message itself was not peremptory." - -"Not at all," the other replied. "I was mighty glad of an excuse to come -into Cairo; I wanted to do some shopping; and there was another reason -also. A young cousin of mine--in the Guards--has come to Cairo, with his -regiment, and I ought to see him about some family business. I should -probably have let it slide if you hadn't sent for me. Tell me, what's -your trouble?" - -"Ah, that's the point!--you always come to the point quickly. It's -capital, capital!" Lord Blair leaned forward and tapped his friend's -knee with a sort of affection. "I don't know where I should be without -your advice, Mr. Lane--Daniel: may I call you Daniel?" - -"Sure," said Daniel, laconically. - -"When I came here two years ago, my predecessor said to me 'When in -doubt, send for Daniel Lane.' Do you remember how worried, indeed how -shaken--yes, I may say shaken--I was by the Michael Pasha affair? How -you laughed! Dear me, you were positively rude to me; and how right you -were! Personally I should have had him deported: it never occurred to me -to convert him into a friend." - -His visitor smiled. "'Bind a brave enemy with the chains of -absolution,'" he said. - -"Yes, yes, very true," replied Lord Blair, still hunting about for the -cigars. "Very true, very daring: a policy for brave men." He started -into rigidity, as though at a sudden thought: one might have supposed -that he had recollected where he had put the cigars. "Daniel!" he -exclaimed, "you bring with you an air of the mediaeval! That's it! One -always forgets that Egypt is mediaeval." - -Daniel blew a cloud of oriental tobacco-smoke through his nostrils, at -which his host frenziedly renewed his search for the less pungent -cigars. "About this business you want to ask my advice upon ...?" he -asked. - -"Ah yes, you must be tired," his Lordship murmured. "You want to go to -bed after your long ride. Let me put you up here. I'll ring and have a -room prepared." - -"No thanks," said Daniel, firmly. "I've left my kit at the Orient Hotel. -But fire away, and I'll give you my opinion either at once or in the -morning." - -Lord Blair laid his thin fingers upon a document, and handed it to his -friend. "Read that," he said, and therewith leaned back in his chair, -his dark eyes glancing anxiously about the room. - -The document was written in Arabic, and beneath the flowing script a -secretary had pencilled an English translation. "The translation is -appended," remarked his Lordship, as Daniel bent forward to study the -paper in the light of the electric reading-lamp. - -"I prefer the original," he replied, with a smile, "I don't trust -translations: they lose the spirit." - -For some considerable time there was silence. Suddenly Lord Blair rose -from his chair, and hurried across to a cupboard, from which he returned -bearing in triumph the missing cigars. He proffered them to his visitor, -who, without raising his eyes, took one, smelt it, and put it in his -breast pocket. - -At length, through a cloud of smoke, Daniel looked up. "The man's a -fool," he said, and laid the paper back upon the table. - -"You think I ought to refuse?" asked Lord Blair. - -"No, procrastinate. That's the basis of diplomacy, isn't it?" - -The document in question was a request made by the Egyptian Minister of -War that the nomadic Bedouin tribes of the desert should be brought -under the Conscription Act, from which, until now, they had been exempt. - -"I ventured to ask you to come in," said his Lordship, "because I am -sure, indeed I know, you have the interests of these rascals at heart. I -thought you would wish to be consulted; and at the same time I felt that -you would be able to tell me just what the consequences would be of any -action of this kind." - -Daniel nodded. "Yes, I can tell you the consequences," he answered. "If -you conscribe them, they will evade the law by all possible means, and -you will turn honest men into law-breakers." - -"But, as you see, he suggests that it will bring the benefits of -discipline into their lives," Lord Blair argued. "And if some of them -escape across the frontiers into Arabia or Tripoli, it will be, surely -it will be, no great loss to Egypt." - -Daniel spread out his hands. "What is military discipline?" he asked. -"Good Lord!--d'you think the Bedouin will be better men for having -learnt to form fours and present arms? Will barrack life in dirty cities -bring them some mystic benefit which they have missed in the open spaces -of the clean desert? Don't you realize that it is just their freedom -from the taint of what we call civilization that gives them their -particular good qualities? Why is it that the man of the desert is -faithful and honourable and truthful? Because time and money and power -and ambition and success and cunning are nothing to him. Because he is -not herded with other men." - -He leant forward earnestly. "Lord Blair," he said, and his voice was -grave, "hasn't the thought ever come to you that we civilized people, -with our rules and regulations, our etiquette and our conventions, have -built up a structure which screens us from the face of the sun?" - -"Ah, yes, indeed, my dear Daniel," he replied. "Back to the land: the -simple life: Fresh Air Fund--a capital sentiment. But, you know, I am -very anxious, most anxious, not to offend this particular minister--most -anxious." - -His visitor relapsed into silence, and the volume of smoke which issued -from his mouth was some indication that he had much to say which he -preferred to leave unsaid. - -At length he took the pipe from between his teeth. "You had better fix -your frontiers first," he declared. "There'll be a fine old row if -Egyptian patrols blunder into foreign territory. There's your chance for -procrastination. Send out a commission to settle the desert frontiers -definitely. That'll keep you all wrangling comfortably for five years." - -"Ah!--that is an idea, a very good idea," replied Lord Blair, bringing -the tips of the fingers of one hand against those of the other sharply -and repeatedly. - -"Write to the minister," Daniel went on, "and tell him you don't -altogether agree with him, but that you will consent to the preliminary -step of fixing the frontiers. Before that's accomplished you may both be -dead." - -"I trust not, I trust not," murmured Lord Blair. - -"Or retired," said his friend; and his Lordship nodded his thanks for -the correction. - -It was not long before Daniel rose to take his departure. "Oh, by the -way," he said, with a broad smile, "I have one little favor to ask -you...." - -"Certainly, certainly," responded Lord Blair warmly. "Anything I can do, -I'm sure--anything. You have put me under a great obligation by coming -so promptly to my aid in this matter." - -"Well, will you be so good as to walk as far as your front gate with me? -There's something I want to show you." - -Lord Blair, somewhat mystified, accompanied him on to the veranda; and -here they chanced upon Lady Muriel again taking the air with Rupert -Helsingham who was once more her partner. The couple were strolling -towards them as they came out of the house. - -Daniel made for the steps. "What I want you to see is over here," he -said, pointing to the gateway. - -"One moment," Lord Blair interjected, taking hold of his arm. "I want to -introduce you to my daughter." - -He called Muriel to him, who replied somewhat coldly that she had -already met Mr. Lane. - -"Really?" exclaimed his Lordship. "Splendid, capital!" - -"Yes," said Daniel, taking his pipe out of his mouth, "when she was -quite a kid; but I'm blest if I know where it was." - -He was standing again almost with his back to Muriel, his pipe between -his teeth, and once more a sense of annoyance entered her mind. She -would have liked to pinch him, but for all she knew he might turn round -and fling her into the middle of the drive. She racked her brains for -something to say, something which would show him that she was not to be -ignored in this fashion. - -"Ah," she exclaimed suddenly, "now I remember. It was in the Highlands -that we met. You came over to tea with us: I was staying with my cousin -the Duchess of Strathness." - -Daniel scratched his head. "I'm so bad at names," he said. "What's she -like?" - -Lord Blair uttered a sudden guffaw, but Muriel did not treat the matter -so lightly. A man with gentlemanly instincts, she thought to herself, -would at any rate _pretend_ he remembered. - -"Oh, why bother to think it out?" she answered, her foot ominously -tapping the floor. "It's of no consequence." - -"None," Daniel replied, looking at her with his steady laughing eyes. -"You're still you, and I'm still I.... But I did like your pigtails." - -Muriel turned to her partner, who stood anxiously fiddling with his -eyeglass. "Come along," she said; "let's go back. The music's begun -again." - -She nodded with decided coolness to Daniel, and turned away. He gazed -after her in silence for a moment; then he put his hand on her father's -arm, and gently propelled him towards the gates. - -As they walked down the drive in the moonlight, the sentry peered at -them through the iron bars, and, recognizing Lord Blair, suddenly -presented arms, becoming thereat a very passable imitation of a waxwork -figure. - -Lord Blair put his arm in Daniel's. "What is it you wanted to show me?" -he asked, as they passed through the gate and stood upon the pavement -outside. - -"A good soldier," said Daniel, indicating the sentry, whose face assumed -an expression of mingled anxiety and astonishment. "I wanted to call -your attention to this lad. Do you think you could put in a word for him -to his colonel? I was very much struck this evening with the way in -which he dealt with a ruffianly tramp who apparently wanted to get into -the grounds. He showed great self-restraint combined with determination -and devotion to duty." There was not the trace of a smile upon his face. - -Lord Blair turned to the rigid Scotchman, whose mouth had fallen open. -"What's your name, my man?" he asked. - -"John Macdonald, me Lord," he answered unsteadily. - -"Now, will you make a note of it?" said Daniel. "And if you get a -chance, recommend him for his soldierly conduct. Or, better still, send -him a little present as a mark of your regard." - -"Certainly, certainly," replied Lord Blair, still somewhat puzzled. - -"Thanks, that's all," said Daniel. "Good-night." - -"Will you come to luncheon tomorrow?" Lord Blair asked, as they shook -hands. "I will then show you the draft of my reply to the Minister of -War." - -"Thank you," Daniel answered, knocking the ashes from his pipe. "I'll be -delighted, if it isn't a party. I haven't got any respectable clothes -with me." - -"Tut, tut!" murmured his Lordship. "Come in anything you like." And with -that he patted his friend on the arm, and hastened with little tripping -steps back to the house. - -Daniel put his hands in his pockets and faced the sentry, who was once -more standing at ease. "John Macdonald," he said, "is the account -square?" - -The Scotchman looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Ye mus' na' -speak tae th' sentry on duty," he answered. - -Daniel uttered a chuckle, and walked off across the square. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE WORLD AND THE FLESH - - -When a man, in the heyday of his manhood, voluntarily lives the life of -a monk or hermit, his friends suppose him to be either religious, -defective, or possessed of a secret mistress. Now, nobody supposed -Daniel Lane to be religious, for he seldom put his foot inside a church: -and people seem to be agreed that religion is, as it were, black kid -gloves, handed out with the hymnbooks and, like them, "not to be taken -away." Nor did anybody think him abnormal, for a figure more sane, more -healthy, or more robust in its unqualified manhood, could not easily be -conjured before the imagination. - -Hence the rumour had arisen in Cairo that the daughters of the Bedouin -were not strangers to him; but actually, like most rumours, this was -entirely incorrect. He did, in very truth, live the life of a celibate -in his desert home; and if this manner of existence chanced to be in -accord with his ideas of bachelorhood, it was certainly in conformity -with the nature of his surroundings. Some men are not attracted by a -diet of onions, or by a skin-polish of castor oil. - -When he had been commissioned by a well-known scientific institute to -make a thorough study of the manners, customs, and folk-lore of the -Bedouin tribes of the Egyptian desert, he had entered upon his task in -the manner of one dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge; and he found in -the life he was called upon to lead the opportunity for the practice of -those precepts of the philosophers which, in spite of his impulsive -nature, had ever appealed to him in principle during the course of his -wide reading. - -Almost unwittingly he had cultivated the infinite joys of a mind free -from care, free from the desires of the flesh; and, with no apparent, -or, at any rate, no great effort, he had established in himself a -condition of undisturbed equanimity, by virtue of which he could smile -benevolently at the frantic efforts of his fellow men and women to make -life amusing. To him his existence in the desert was a continuous -pleasure, for the great secret of human life had been revealed to -him--that a mind at peace in itself is happiness. - -But here in Cairo circumstances were different; and as he walked from -the Residency through the moonlit streets to the Orient Hotel his -thoughts were by no means tranquil. He did not feel any very noticeable -fatigue after his long ride; for a series of recent expeditions through -the desert had hardened him to such a point that the hundred and fifty -miles which he had covered in the last three days had in no way strained -his always astonishing physical resources. His senses were alert and -active, and, indeed, were near to a riotous invasion of the placid -palace of his mind, where his soul was wont to sit enthroned above the -clamour of his mighty body. - -He took the road which led him past the Semiramis Hotel, and through its -brilliantly illuminated windows he could see the richly dressed throng -of visitors, and could hear the strains of the orchestra which was -playing selections from a popular musical comedy. He turned his head -away, and gazed across the Nile which lay on his other hand; but here -too the lights of the gay city glittered and were reflected in the -water, while from a dahabiyah moored against the opposite bank there -came the sound of tambourines and the rhythmic beating of the feet of -native dancers. - -In the main streets of the city the light of the lamps seemed strangely -bright to his unaccustomed eyes; and the great square in front of the -Orient Hotel presented an animated scene. Crowds of people were here -streaming out of the Opera House, and carriages and automobiles were -moving in all directions. The trees of the Esbekieh gardens were -illuminated by the neighbouring arc lamps, and rich clusters of exotic -flowers hung down towards the dazzling globes. The cafes on the other -side of the square were crowded, and hundreds of small tables, standing -in the open, were occupied by the native and continental inhabitants of -the city. The murmur of many voices and the continuous rattle of dice -upon the marble table-tops could be heard above the many sounds of the -traffic; and somewhere a Neapolitan orchestra was playing a lilting -tune. - -The terrace and facade of the hotel were illuminated by numerous rows of -small electric globes, and as Daniel ascended the steps to the -brilliantly lighted main entrance he was met by a throng of men and -women in evening dress pouring out on to the terrace. Evidently the -weekly ball was in progress, and the couples were emerging into the cool -night air to rest for a few brief moments from their exertions. - -For some time he wandered about the hotel, furtively watching the -dancers; but in his rough clothes he did not feel quite at his ease, and -he was conscious that many pairs of eyes looked at him from time to time -with wonder, while those of the hall-porter and the waiters, so he -thought, expressed frank disapproval, if not disgust. He had no wish, -however, to retire to his room; for the music of the orchestra would -undoubtedly prevent sleep for yet some time to come. Moreover, he felt -excited and disturbed by the brilliant scenes around him; and the -seclusion of his desert home seemed very far away. - -At length he found a seat upon a sofa at the end of a passage near the -American Bar, where, except during the intervals between the dances, he -was more or less alone; and here he settled himself down to enjoy the -cigar which he had pocketed at the Residency. He wanted to be quiet; his -mind was disturbed by his sudden incursion into the world, and he was -aware of a number of emotions which he had not experienced for many -months. - -Suddenly the swinging doors of the Bar were burst open and a red-headed -young man, muffled in an overcoat, sprang through and darted down the -passage. He was clutching at a lady's gold bag; and for a moment Daniel -supposed him to be a thief. An instant later, however, he was followed -by a girl, wearing an evening cloak and a large black hat, who called -after him in broken English, telling him to behave himself. At this the -man paused, tossed the bag to her, and, with a wave of his hand, -disappeared round the corner. - -The bag fell at Daniel's feet. He therefore stooped down, and, picking -it up, returned it to her. - -"A silly boy--that one," she smiled. "He like always the rag." - -"I nearly shot him for a thief," said Daniel, placing his hand -significantly upon his hip-pocket, where he still carried the revolver -which had accompanied him on his journey. - -The girl fixed her large dark eyes upon him in amazement. "Mais non!" -she exclaimed. "He has the red hair: he like joking and running about." - -She sat herself down beside him, and made a pretence to touch his -hip-pocket. - -"Why you carry a pistol?" she asked. - -Daniel looked at her with mild amusement. Her profession was evident, -but it did not shock him. - -"Because I'm a wild man," he answered, with a smile. - -"You not live in Cairo?" she queried. - -"No fear!" he replied. - -There was silence for some moments, while Daniel, smoking his cigar, -endeavoured to ignore her existence. Once or twice she looked -expectantly at him: it was evident that she could not quite classify -him. Then she rose to her feet, and, with a little friendly nod to him, -walked towards the swinging doors. - -Daniel suddenly felt lonely, felt that he would like to have somebody to -talk to, felt that he could keep any situation within bounds, felt that -he did not much mind whether he could do so or not. He took the cigar -out of his mouth, forming an instant resolution: "Hi!" he called out. - -She turned round. "Why you call me 'Hi'?" she asked. "I'm Lizette." - -"I beg your pardon," he answered, gravely. "Will you have supper with -me, Lizette?" - -"Have you got enough money?" she asked. - -"Plenty," he laughed. "Shall we have supper here?" - -She shook her head, "Oh, no," she replied frankly. "The Manager not like -me, because I'm not good girl. Everybody know Lizette--very bad, very -wicked girl. Everybody are shocked for Lizette." - -"I'm not shocked," said Daniel. "I like your face. You look truthful." - -He got up, and followed her into the bar, and, crossing it, made for the -street-entrance. - -"You give me supper at Berto's?" she said, putting her hand lightly upon -his arm, and looking up at him, as they stood upon the pavement outside. - -"Anywhere you like," he answered; and thus it came about that a few -minutes later he found himself seated before her at a small table in a -quiet restaurant. She was decidedly attractive. Her grey eyes were -tender and sympathetic; the expression of her mouth was kindly; and her -dark hair, which was drawn down over her ears, was soft and alluring. -She was wearing a low-necked black-velvet dress, and her slender throat -and shoulders by contrast seemed to be very white. - -Her broken English, however, was her chiefest charm; and Daniel listened -with pleasure as she talked away, candidly answering his somewhat direct -questions in regard to her early life and adventures. She hailed -originally, she told him, from Marseilles; but when her widowed mother -had died she had found herself at the age of seventeen, alone and -penniless. She had got into bad company, and at length had been advised -by a well-meaning young British guardsman, on his way to Egypt, to ply -her trade in Cairo. Here she had become a great favourite with his -particular battalion, and in fact, was so monopolized by them that when -she was seen in the company of a civilian her action was said to be "by -kind permission of the Colonel and officers" of the regiment in -question. - -"Good Lord, what a life!" said Daniel. - -"But what else can a girl do," she asked, "after the little first -mistake, eh? I get plenty good food; I not work eight hours, ten hours, -every day to get thirty francs the week; I not live in the little top -one room and cry: no, I have the beautiful _appartements au premier -etage_, and I laugh always--plenty friends, plenty dresses, plenty sun." - -At a table at the other side of the room, Daniel had noticed, while she -was talking, a heavy-jowled, red-faced young officer who was seated -alone, and whose sullen eyes appeared to be fixed upon him. The girl's -back was turned to this man; but presently she observed that her -companion was not paying attention to her remarks, and, wondering what -had attracted his attention, she looked behind her. Immediately she -uttered a little angry exclamation, and made an impatient shrug with her -shoulders. - -"That is a beast," she said. - -"He's drunk, I think," Daniel remarked. "Is he a friend of yours?" - -She made a gesture of denial. "He hate me because I not let him come -home with me ever." - -"Why not?" he asked. - -"Because he very cruel pig-man. He beat his dog. I see him beat his -dog." - -They rose presently to leave the restaurant, and as they did so the -objectionable officer floundered unsteadily to his feet, and placed -himself across the doorway. As in the case of most men of gigantic -physical strength, Daniel's nature was gentle, and wanting in all -bellicose tendencies; and, moreover, he had already once that evening -used his muscles in a manner which did not conform to his principles. He -therefore made an attempt to take no notice of the obstruction; but -finding the way entirely barred, he was obliged to request the man to -stand aside. The officer, however, stood his ground stolidly. - -Daniel raised his voice very slightly. "Will you kindly get out of the -way," he said. - -For answer the man shot out his hand, and made an ineffectual grab at -the girl's arm. She darted aside, and by a quick manoeuvre slipped out -through the glass doorway, standing thereafter in the entrance passage, -watching the two men with an expression of anger in her alert eyes. - -It was now Daniel's turn to bar the way, whereat his opponent thrust his -red face forward and uttered a string of oaths, his fists clenched. - -"I don't stand any nonsense from a damned civilian," he roared. "Let me -pass, or I'll put my fist through your face." - -Suddenly Daniel's self-control for the second time deserted him. He -blushed with shame for his countryman; he burnt with indignation at the -arrogance of this product of a militaristic age; he felt like an -exasperated schoolmaster dealing with a bully. With a quick movement he -gripped the man's raised arm, and seizing with his other hand the collar -of his tunic, shook him so that his head was bumped violently against -the wall behind him. - -"I don't believe in violence," he said, shaking him till the teeth -rattled in his head, "or I'd really hurt you. I don't believe in it." - -In his tremendous grip the wretched man was, in spite of his bulk, as -entirely powerless as the sentry at the Residency had been. His eyes -grew round and frightened: he had never before come up against strength -such as Daniel possessed. - -"Let me go," he gasped. - -"Shut your mouth, or you'll bite your tongue," said Daniel, a grim smile -upon his face, as he administered another shattering shake. Then with a -contemptuous movement he flung him backwards, so that he fell to the -floor at the feet of an amazed waiter who had hurried across the room. - -Daniel turned upon his heel, and, taking the girl's arm, conducted her -out of the building. She appeared to be too enthralled by the -discomfiture of her enemy to utter a word. - -An empty taxi-cab was passing, and this he hailed. - -"Where d'you want to go to?" he asked. - -She gave him her address. "You are coming home with me?" she asked. -"Please do." Her expression was eloquent. - -"I'll drive you as far as your door," he replied. - -"But...?" There was a question in her eyes. - -He sat himself down beside her, and she put her arm in his, looking up -into his face with admiration. - -"I never see a one so strong," she whispered, with a kind of awe. "I -think you very great man, very to be loved." - -Daniel laughed ironically, "Oh, yes, of course you're filled with -admiration because you've seen me handle a poor drunken fellow-creature -roughly. My girl, that is not the thing for which you should admire a -man. I'm ashamed of myself." - -"Ashamed?" she exclaimed, incredulously. - -"Yes," he answered, shortly. "D'you think I'm proud that I can master -any man in a fair fight? What I want to be able to do is to master -_myself_!" - -There was silence between them, but he was aware that she did not take -her eyes from him. At length he turned and looked at her and, seeing the -admiration in her face, laughed aloud. - -"Why you laugh?" she asked. - -"I'm laughing at you women," he answered. "How you love a little show of -muscle! Good God, we might be living in the year one!" - -"I not understand," she said. - -"No, I don't suppose you do," he answered. "But here we are: is this -where you live?" - -They had stopped before some large buildings in the vicinity of the main -station. She nodded her head. - -"Please don't go away," she said. - -"No," he answered. "I've had enough of the world, the flesh, and the -devil for one day. I guess we'll meet again some time or other. Good -night, my girl; and thank you for your company." - -She held her hand in his. "Thank you," she said, "for fighting that -pig-man, Barthampton." - -"Barthampton? Lord Barthampton?" he repeated. "Was that the man?" - -She nodded. "Why?" she asked, as he uttered a low whistle. - -"Gee!" he laughed. "He's my own cousin." - - - - -CHAPTER IV--A JACKAL IN A VILLAGE - - -Tired after the dance, Lady Muriel stayed upstairs next day until the -luncheon hour. The long windows of her room led out on to a balcony -which, being on the west side of the house, remained in the shade for -most of the morning; and here in a comfortable basket chair, she lay -back idly glancing at the week-old magazines and illustrated papers -which the mail had just brought from England. While the sun was not yet -high in the heavens the shadow cast by the house was broad enough to -mitigate to the eyes the glare of the Egyptian day; and every now and -then she laid down her literature to gaze at the brilliant scene before -her. - -The grounds of the Residency, with the rare flowering trees and imported -varieties of palm, the masses of variegated flowers and the fresh-sown -lawns of vivid grass, looked like well-kept Botanical Gardens, and -appealed more to her cultivated tastes than to the original emotions of -her nature. It was all very elegant and civilized and pleasing, and -seemed correspondent to the charming new garment--all silk and lace and -ribbons--which she was wearing, and to the fashionable literature which -she was reading. She, the balcony, the garden, and the deep blue sky -might have been a picture on the cover of a society journal. - -But when she raised her eyes, and looked over the Nile, which flowed -past the white terrace at the bottom of the lawn, and allowed her gaze -to rest upon the long line of the distant desert on the opposite bank, -the aspect of things, outward and inward, was altered; and momentarily -she felt the play of disused or wholly novel sensations lightly touching -upon her heart. - -So far she was delighted with her experience of Egypt. She enjoyed the -heat; she was charmed by the somewhat luxurious life at the Residency; -and the deference paid to her as the Great Man's daughter amused and -pleased her. At the dance the previous night she had met half a dozen -very possible young officers; and the secretaries whom she saw every day -were pleasant enough, little Rupert Helsingham being quite amusing. That -afternoon she was going to ride with him, which would be jolly.... - -There was, however, one small and almost insignificant source of unease -in her mind, one little blot upon the enjoyment of the last two or three -days. A ruffianly fellow had treated her in a manner bordering on -rudeness, and in his presence she had felt stupid. He had shown at first -complete indifference to her, and later he had spoken with a sort of -easy familiarity which suggested a long experience in dealing with her -sex, but no ability to discriminate between the bondwoman and the free. -And she had behaved as a bondwoman. - -The recollection caused her now to tap her foot angrily upon the tiled -floor, and to draw the delicate line of her eyebrows into a puckered -frown. The thought which lay at the root of her discomfort was this: she -had pretended that their previous meeting had been at the house of the -Duchess of Strathness simply because she had been lashed into a desire -to assert her own standing in response to his lack of respect. The -Duchess was her most exalted relative: she was a Royal Princess who had -married the Duke, and the Duke was cousin to her mother. She knew quite -well that she had not met Mr. Lane there: she had uttered the words -before her nicer instincts had had time to prevail. - -She had said it in self-defence--to make an impression; and his reply, -whether he had meant it as a snub or not, had stung her. "I'm so bad at -names: what's she like?" Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta Maria, -Duchess of Strathness! Of course it was a snub; and she had deserved it. -He couldn't have made a more shattering reply: he couldn't have said -more plainly to her "Now, no airs with me, please!--to me you are just -you." - -The recollection of the incident was unpleasant; it made her feel small. -She had behaved no better than the servants and shopkeepers who delight -to speak in familiar terms of duchesses and dukes. However!... she did -not suppose that she would see the man again: he belonged to the desert, -not to Cairo; and with this consolation, she dismissed the matter from -her mind. - -When at last she descended the stairs at the sound of the gong, she came -upon General Smith-Evered, who had called to see Lord Blair upon some -matter of business, and was just stumping across the hall on his way -out. He was a very martial little man. He greeted her with jocularity -tempered by deference; he kissed her hand in what he believed to be a -very charming old-world manner; he told her what a radiant vision she -made as she walked down the great staircase in her pretty summer dress; -he described himself as a bluff old soldier fairly bowled over by her -youthful grace; and he slapped his leggings with his cane and gloves and -kissed his fingers to England, home and beauty. - -Muriel knew the type well--in real life, on the stage, and in the comic -papers; nevertheless, she felt pleased with the rotund compliments, and -there was a pleasurable sense of well-being in her mind as she entered -the drawing-room. Here the sun-blinds shaded the long French windows, -and the light in the room was so subdued that she did not observe at -once that she was not alone. She had paused to rearrange a vase of -flowers which stood upon a small table, when a movement behind her -caused her to turn; and she found herself face to face with Daniel Lane, -who had just risen from the sofa. - -"Good morning!" he said, gravely looking at her with his deep-set blue -eyes. - -Her heart sank: she felt like a schoolgirl in the presence of a master -who had lately punished her. "Oh, good morning," she answered, but she -did not offer him her hand. - -She turned again to the flowers. "Are you waiting to see my father?" she -asked, as she aimlessly withdrew a rose from the bunch and inserted it -again at another angle. - -"I've come to lunch," he said. "I'm early, I suppose. My watch is -busted." - -Deeper sank her heart. "No, you're not early," she replied, "the gong's -gone." - -"Good!" he exclaimed; "then you haven't got a party. I was shy about my -clothes." - -He was wearing the same clothes in which she had seen him the night -before, except that he appeared to have a clean collar and shirt, his -hair was carefully combed back, and he had evidently visited a barber. - -"Do sit down," she said. - -"Thanks," he answered, and remained where he was, his hands deep in the -pockets of his jacket, and his eyes fixed upon her. - -There was an awkward pause, awkward, that is to say, to Muriel, who -could not for the life of her think what to talk about. - -"Will you smoke a cigarette?" she asked, handing him the box as a -preliminary to an escape from the room. - -He took it from her unthinkingly, and, without opening it, put it down -upon a table. - -"I've remembered where it was we met," he remarked suddenly, as she -moved towards the door. - -"Really?" There was a note of assumed indifference in her voice; and, as -she turned and came back to him, she made a desperate attempt to emulate -the cucumber. She felt that there was a challenge in his words, in face -of which she could not honourably run away. - -"Yes," he said. "It was at Eastbourne, at your school. I came down to -see your head mistress, who was a friend of mine; and they let you come -into the drawing-room to tea." - -A wave of recollection passed over her mind. "Of course," she exclaimed, -"that was it." - -They had let her, they had _allowed_ her, to come into the drawing-room -to have the honour of making his acquaintance! She paused: the scene of -their meeting developed in her mind. A girl had rushed into the -schoolroom where she was reading, and had told her that she and one or -two others were to go into the drawing-room to make themselves polite to -this man, who was described as a great scholar and explorer. She had -gone in shyly, and had shaken hands with him, and he had stared at her -and, later, had turned his back on her; and, after he had gone, the -headmistress had commended her manners as having been quiet, ladylike, -and respectful. Respectful! - -He was smiling at her when she looked up at him once more. "You were -wrong about it being at your cousin's," he said. - -Muriel felt as though she had been smacked. "Oh, I only suggested that," -she replied, witheringly, "to help you out. I didn't really suppose that -you knew her." - -"I know very few people," he answered, unmoved. "I can't afford the -time. Life is such a 'brief candle' that a man has to choose one of its -two pleasures--sociability or study: he can't enjoy both." - -She looked at him curiously. He must have a tough hide, she thought, to -be unruffled by a remark so biting as that she had made. For a moment -she stared straight at him, her hand resting on her hip. Then she caught -sight of herself in the great mirror against the wall, and her hand -slipped hastily from its resting-place: her attitude had been that of a -common Spanish dancing-girl. Her eyes fell before his. - -"I'll go and find the others," she said, and turned from him. - -As she did so Lord Blair hurried into the room. He was wearing a -hot-weather suit of some sort of drab-coloured silk, straight from the -laundry, where, one might have supposed, the trousers had been -accidentally shrunk. His stiff and spacious collar, and his expansive -tie, folded in the four-in-hand manner and fastened with a large gold -pin, detracted from the sense of coolness suggested by his suit; but a -rose in his buttonhole gave a comfortable touch of nature to an -otherwise artificial figure. - -"Ah, good morning, Muriel dear," he exclaimed, giving her cheek a -friendly but quite unaffectionate kiss. "You've had a lazy morning, eh? -Feel the heat, no doubt. Yes? No? Ah, that's good, that's capital! Good -morning Mr. Lane, or Daniel, I should say, since you permit it. I hope -Muriel has been amusing you." - -"She has," said Daniel, and Muriel blushed. - -Rupert Helsingham entered the room; and, when he had made his -salutations, Muriel turned to him with relief, strolling with him across -to the windows through which the warm scented air of the garden drifted, -bringing with it the drone of the flies and the incessant rustle of the -palms. - -"Please see that I don't sit next to that horrible man at lunch," she -whispered. - -"There's no choice," he answered. "The four of us are alone today." - -"Shall we go in?" said Lord Blair, nodding vigorously to Muriel; and the -three men followed her into the dining-room. - -The meal proved to be less of an ordeal than she had expected. Their -visitor talked at first almost exclusively to his host, who showed him, -and discussed, the draft of his reply to the Minister of War; and Muriel -made herself quite entrancing to Rupert Helsingham. Under ordinary -circumstances she was, in spite of occasional lapses into bored silence, -a quick and witty talker; one who speedily established a sympathetic -connection with the person with whom she was conversing; and her -laughter was frequent and infectious. It was only this Daniel Lane who -had such a disturbing effect upon her equanimity; but here, at the -opposite side of a large table, she seemed to be out of range of his -influence, and she rejoiced in her unimpaired power to captivate the -little Diplomatic secretary. - -"I am going to call you Rupert at once," she said to him; and, breaking -in on the opposite conversation, "Father," she demanded, "d'you mind if -I call this man by his Christian name? Everybody seems to." - -Lord Blair laughed, holding out his hands in a gesture which indicated -that he took no responsibility, and turned to Daniel. "Do you think I -ought to let her?" he asked. - -To Muriel his remark could hardly have been more unfortunate, and a -momentary frown gathered upon her face. - -"I think it's a good idea," replied Daniel, looking quietly at her. -"Then if you quarrel you can revert to 'Mr. Helsingham' with telling -effect." - -Muriel made a slight movement, not far removed from a toss of her head, -and, without giving any reply, continued her conversation to Rupert. - -The meal was nearly finished when she became aware that her friend was -not paying full attention to her remarks, but was listening to Daniel -Lane, whose tongue a glass of wine had loosened, and who was speaking in -a low vibrating voice, describing some phases of his life in the desert. -At this she, too, began to listen, at first with some irritation, but -soon with genuine interest. She had supposed him to be more or less -monosyllabic, and she was astonished at his command of languages. - -As she fixed her eyes upon him he glanced at her for a moment, and there -was a pause in his words. For the first time he was conscious of a look -of friendship in her face; and his heart responded to the expression. -The pause was hardly noticeable, but to him it was as though something -of importance had happened; and when he turned again to continue to -address himself to his host, there was a warm impulse behind his words. -Muriel thereafter made no further remark to Rupert; but leaning her -elbow upon the table, and fingering some grapes, gave her undivided -attention to the speaker. - -"It's always a matter of surprise to me," he was saying, "that people -don't come out more often into the desert. You all sit here in this -garden of Egypt, this little strip of fertile land on the banks of the -Nile, and you look up at the great wall of the hills to east and west; -but you don't ever seem to think of climbing over and running away into -the wonderful country beyond." - -Was it, he asked, that they were afraid of the roads that led -nowhere-in-particular, and the tracks that wandered like meandering -dreams? Why, those were the best kind of roads, because they merely took -your feet wherever your heart suggested--to shady places where you could -sprawl on the cool sand; or up to rocks where the sun beat on you and -the invigorating wind blew on your face; or down to wells of good water -where you could drink your fill and take your rest in the shade of the -tamarisks; or along echoing valleys where there was always an -interesting turning just ahead; or into the flat plains where the mirage -receded before you. - -"You soon grow desert-wise," he said: "you can't get lost; and at last -the tracks will always bring you to some Abraham's tent, and he'll lift -up his eyes and see you, and come running to you to bid you welcome. And -there's bread for you, and honey, and curds, and camel's milk, and maybe -venison; and tobacco; and quiet, courteous talk far into the night, -under the stars; and perhaps a boy's full-throated song.... I can't -think how you can live your crabbed life here in Cairo, when there's all -that vast liberty so near at hand." - -Muriel sipped her coffee, and listened, with a kind of excitement. His -voice had some quality in it which seemed to arouse a response deep in -the unfrequented places of her mind. It was as though she saw with her -own eyes the scenes which he was describing. With him she ascended the -bridlepath over the wall of the hills, and ran laughing down into the -valleys beyond, the wind in her face and the sun at her back; with him -she went sliding down the golden drifts of sand, or sprang from rock to -rock along the course of forgotten torrents; and with him she sat at the -camp fire and listened to the far-off cry of the little jackals. - -He told of warm moonlight nights spent in the open, when the drowsy eye -looks up at the Milky Way, and the mind drifts into sleep, rocked, as it -were, in a cradle slung between the planets. He spoke of the first sweet -vision of the opalescent dawn, when sleep ends in quiet wakefulness, -without a middle period of stupor; and of the rising sun over the low -horizon, when every pebble casts a liquid blue shadow and the shallowest -footprints in the sand look like little pools of water. - -He told of blazing days; of long journeys across hills and plains; of -the drumming of the pads of the camels upon the hard tracks; of deep, -shadowed gorges, and precipices touched only at the summit by the glare -of the sun; of the endless waves of the sand drifts, their sharp ridges -seen against the sky, like gold against blue enamel; of flaming sunsets, -and mysterious dusks, when, by creeping over the top of a hillock, one -might look down at ghostly gazelle drinking from a pool, and might -listen to the sucking in of the water. - -And more especially he spoke of the freedom of the desert. "Ah, there's -liberty for you!" he exclaimed, and his eyes seemed to be alight with -his enthusiasm. "That's the life for a man! There are no clocks out -there, no miserable appointments to keep, no laying of foolish -foundation stones, or inspecting of sweating troops, no diplomatic -speeches, no wordy documents signifying nothing. Out there the men that -you meet speak the truth openly, and do all that they have to do without -cunning, and without fuss or frills. If you are wandering and hungry -they give you shelter and feed you; if they like you they treat you as a -brother; and when they wish to kill you they tell you so, and give you -four-and-twenty hours in which to quit. They are free men, and to them -all men have the status of the free; all partake, so to speak, of the -liberty of the desert." - -He stopped rather abruptly: it was as though suddenly he had become -conscious that he had engaged the attention of the company, and was -abashed. - -"You make me quite restless," said Lord Blair, as they rose from the -table. "Some day you will find me, even conservative me, setting out -into that happy playground beyond the horizon. Aha! I grow lyrical, -too!" - -"I've stayed too long," said Daniel. "I must say good-bye at once. I -have a lot of shopping to do, and I told my men to meet me with the -camels at five o'clock at Mena House." - -"What!--are you going back at once?" exclaimed Rupert Helsingham, -adjusting his eyeglass. - -"Yes, I've had enough of Cairo," he laughed. "I feel like a fish out of -water here, or rather, I feel like a jackal that has ventured into a -village and must make tracks over the wall and away. I've stolen a -square meal and I'm off again." - -He stood at the door smiling at them. He seemed now to radiate -imperturbable and rather disconcerting happiness: it was as though he -regarded life as a quiet, good-natured comedy, and the friends before -him as participators in the fun. His talking about the desert had, as it -were, softened his uncouthness, and had made him of a sudden -surprisingly intelligible. - -"I'm immensely obliged to you for coming," said Lord Blair, warmly -clasping his hand. "In fact I can't tell you how highly I value your -advice and friendship." - -Muriel held out her hand. She saw this man in a new light, and her -hostility was temporarily checked. His words had aroused in her a number -of perplexing sensations: it was like tasting a new fruit, in part -sweet, in part bitter. - -"I've enjoyed listening to you," she said, frankly. - -"I've enjoyed talking to you," he replied, his voice sinking, but his -eyes fixed powerfully upon her. - -There was something dominating in his manner which again caused her to -be perverse. "I thought you were talking to my father," she answered -casually. - -"No," he said, "I was speaking to _you_." - - - - -CHAPTER V--FAMILY AFFAIRS - - -Daniel Lane left the Residency with curiously mixed feelings; and as he -made his way through the sun-scorched streets, he found some difficulty -in bringing his thoughts to bear upon the afternoon's business. He felt -that he had talked too much: it was almost as though he had faithlessly -given away secrets that were sacred. Lord Blair and young Helsingham -were hardly possessed of ears in which to repeat the confidences of the -desert; and as for Lady Muriel, he was not in a position to say whether -she had received his words with real understanding or not. - -He had enjoyed his luncheon, and he was obliged to confess to himself -that dainty dishes and a handsome table were by no means to be despised. -On the other hand, he had been conscious of an artificiality, a sort of -pose in much that was said or done at the Residency. His long absences -from his countrymen had made him rather critical, and seemed now to -reveal what might otherwise have passed undetected. - -On the previous evening Muriel Blair had appeared to him--in her -diamonds and frills and high-heeled shoes--to constitute as artificial a -picture as could well be imagined; and he was disconcerted by the fact -that nevertheless she had looked delightful. And today he had overheard -fragments of her conversation with Rupert Helsingham, and had been -alternately charmed and distressed by the manner in which they exhibited -to one another their familiarity with all that was thought to represent -modern culture and refinement of taste. It had seemed to be such empty -wit; and yet the effect was often, as though by accident, quite close to -the truth. - -"Epstein is plain-spoken by implication"; ... "dear Augustus John! He's -a striking instance of the power of matter over mind"; ... "I always -enjoy the Russian dancers: they are so stupid"; ... "the trouble with -English Art is that it is so Scotch"; ... and so forth. - -It was the wit of a certain section of London society, and it troubled -him because it was restless and superficial; and he did not want to find -an attractive girl, such as Muriel Blair, to be a kind of dragon-fly of -a summer's day. He would like to take her right out of her environment; -and yet--oh, he could not be bothered with her! - -With an effort he collected his thoughts, and, standing still at the -street corner, studied his notebook and his watch. The first thing to be -done was to go to find his cousin, to whom he had already sent a note -saying that he would call upon him in the early afternoon, a time of day -when at this season of the year most reasonable people remained within -doors. He had long dreaded the visit to this unknown relative; and now -after the tussle of the previous night, he felt keenly the awkwardness -of the situation. However, the painful family duty could not be shirked, -and the sooner it was over the better. - -He turned off to his left, and walked quickly over to the barracks, -which were not far distant; and at the gates he enquired his way to the -officers' quarters. - -"Who d'you want to see, mate?" said a young corporal who sat in the -shadow of the archway, picking his teeth. - -Daniel told him. - -"Oh, 'im!" chuckled the soldier. "Are you the man from Kodak's? I 'eard -him a-cursin' and a-swearin' this morning when 'e smashed 'is camera. -Just 'ere, it was. 'E'll give you 'Ell!--'e says the strap broke. It's -always somebody else's fault with 'is Lordship." - -Daniel smiled. "A bit impatient like, is he?" he asked. He saw no point -in explaining his identity. - -"Impatient!" laughed the corporal. "Twice already 'e's sent for the -whole shop. You'll catch it, mate, I warn yer!" - -Daniel followed the direction indicated to him, and crossing the flaming -compound, soon reached the entrance of his cousin's rooms. Here a -soldier-servant took in his name, and, quickly returning, ushered him -through the inner doorway. - -Lord Barthampton had risen from his chair, and was standing in what -appeared to be interested expectation of the meeting with his unknown -relation. His tunic was unfastened, and his collarless shirt was open at -the neck, revealing a pink, hairy chest. His heavy red face was damp -with perspiration, and it was evident that he was feeling the effects of -a large luncheon. He had a big lighted cigar in his hand, and on a table -beside him there were glasses, a decanter, and a syphon. The _Sporting -Times_ and _Referee_ lay on the floor at his feet. - -As Daniel appeared in the doorway his manner suddenly changed, and his -bloodshot blue eyes opened wide under frowning eyebrows. He slowly -replaced the cigar in his mouth and thrust his hands into his pockets. - -"What d'you want?" he muttered. - -"Well, Cousin Charles ..." said Daniel. He held out his hand, but Lord -Barthampton made no responding movement. - -"So _you_ are Daniel, are you!" he ejaculated. "I might have guessed it. -I'd heard that you were a sort of prize-fighting vagabond. What d'you -want to see me for?" - -"First of all," the visitor replied, "to say I'm sorry about last night. -I didn't know till afterwards who you were." - -His cousin grunted like a pig. "You took an unfair advantage of me," he -said. "You could see I was a bit tight. In England we don't think it's -sporting to knock a man down when he's full of whiskey; but you -Americans don't seem to know...." - -Daniel smiled. "I'm English too, you know." - -"Yes, in a way I suppose you are," he grumbled, dropping into an -arm-chair. "We're both Lanes; but your mother was a Yankee, and you've -spent half your life over there. You had no right to hit me." - -"I didn't hit you," said Daniel, with a broad smile. "I only shook you; -and I'll do it again if you don't offer me a chair." - -Charles Barthampton stared at him, and, taking the cigar out of his -mouth, blew a cloud of smoke from between his lips. "There's a chair -behind you," he replied, rudely. "You can sit in it if it doesn't make -you stay too long." - -Daniel fetched the chair, and, placing it immediately in front of his -cousin, sat himself down. "This is a bad start, cousin," he said. "I've -told you I'm sorry; but you know quite well it was your own fault." - -"I tell you I was tight," he answered petulantly. "And besides, what -right had you to be with Lizette? She belongs to the regiment." - -"She was good enough to have supper with me," Daniel answered, and there -was an unmistakable menace in his voice. "Please leave her out of the -question." - -Lord Barthampton laughed. "I suppose you feel a bit struck on her this -morning." - -Daniel suddenly rose to his feet; and his cousin, startled by the look -in his face, sprang from his chair, and placed his hand on the bell on -the wall behind him. - -"Sit down, _Cousin_ Daniel," he sneered, "or I'll ring the bell and have -you thrown out by the guard." - -Daniel shrugged his shoulders, and resumed his seat. "There's nothing to -be timid about," he replied, "if you're careful what you say. I tell you -again I apologize for my part in last night's affair: I'm always ashamed -of myself when I'm rough with anybody. I've come here to talk about -family business, so you'd better sit down too." - -He pulled out his pipe, and began to fill it, while Charles Barthampton, -with an awkward air of unconcern, sat heavily down once more. - -"Family business, is it?" he growled. "I suppose you're going to claim -some money or something. Well, your name was mentioned in my father's -will, if you want to know, but he didn't leave you anything." - -"He sent me a copy of the will last year, just before he died," Daniel -answered, unmoved. - -His cousin glanced quickly at him. "Did he really?" he remarked. "That -was odd, as he left you nothing; but he was a bit strange always. I -don't see what it had got to do with you, though. Your father, his -brother, died years ago, didn't he? And your mother hardly knew him." - -Daniel lit his pipe. "You forget," he said, "that your father and I had -a couple of months shooting together on the Peace River, three or four -years ago, while you were in India. We became good friends, and I saw -him in England afterwards." - -Lord Barthampton nodded, and was silent. He puffed viciously at his -cigar; then, as though deciding that there might be some call for -diplomacy, he pointed to the table. "Have a drink?" he said. - -"No, thanks," his visitor answered. - -"Well, what the Hell _do_ you want?" He was becoming exasperated. - -Daniel looked gravely at him. "I want you to turn over a new leaf," he -said. "Now that you've inherited the property, and now that you're head -of the family, you've got a lot of responsibilities." - -"That's my own business, not yours," muttered his cousin, again grunting -loudly. - -"No, it's my affair, too," Daniel answered. "You're not married; you -have no son. As things stand at present I'm the next of kin. I'm your -heir." - -The other uttered a short laugh. "Oh, I see," he scoffed. "You're -banking on my drinking myself to death, or something, before I can -become a proud father, eh? You wanted to have a look at me: and I -suppose you're disappointed to find I'm in the pink. You'd rather fancy -yourself as Daniel Lane, Earl of Barthampton." He made a gesture of -contempt. "A pretty sight you'd make in the House of Lords! I wonder -they even let you into the barracks!" - -Daniel laughed with genuine amusement. "They thought I'd come to mend -your camera." - -Lord Barthampton suddenly leapt to his feet. "God!" he exclaimed. "Where -the Hell is that man?" He rang the bell furiously. "Why the blasted Hell -don't they come when I send for them?" - -"Are you in a hurry to have it mended?" asked Daniel mildly. - -"Of course I am!" snapped his cousin. - -"Then why didn't you take it round to the shop, yourself, instead of -going into tantrums like a baby?" - -His Lordship stood stock still, and stared at Daniel, like an infuriated -bull. "I wish to God I knew why you were sitting here in my room!" he -roared. "Why don't you go?" - -There was a knock at the door. - -"Come in!" he snorted. - -The knock was repeated. - -"Come in, confound you!" he shouted, and thereat a soldier entered. "Are -you deaf? Send somebody over to the camera place at once, and tell them -that if they don't attend to my orders I'll break every damned thing in -the shop. D'you hear?" - -"In other words," said Daniel, turning to the soldier, "say Lord -Barthampton presents his compliments, and would be very grateful if they -would hustle a bit." - -His cousin turned on him as the soldier, prompted by natural tact, -speedily left the room. "Will you kindly mind your own business!" he -snapped. - -"How Lord Barthampton behaves _is_ my business," Daniel answered -sternly. "Now, sit down there," he added peremptorily, "and listen to -me." - -The infuriated man stood where he was, breathing hard and biting at his -cigar. - -"Sit down, I said!" Daniel repeated; and now there was a ring of command -in his voice at which the other started. He evidently had not forgotten -last night. - -"Oh, very well," he replied, and flung himself into his chair. - -Daniel leant forward and drew a long, type-written letter from his -pocket. "This," he said, "is a copy of your father's last letter to me." - -"If he promised you any money," the other interjected, "you won't get -it." - -Daniel took no notice. "I won't trouble you with the first pages of the -letter," he remarked. "They just tell an old man's disappointment in his -son, and his fears that you will not only ruin yourself, but also sully -the name and squander the estate. 'Now, Daniel,' he writes, 'I am going -to put the matter entirely into your hands, and to rely on your honour -to carry out my wishes. In spite of my son's shortcomings I love him for -his mother's sake, and it is my earnest desire that he should be a -worthy representative of our line. If, however, you find that he is -hopelessly going to the bad, I herewith place the documentary evidence -in your hands by means of which you can turn him out in favour of -yourself.'" - -"What's he mean?" exclaimed his cousin, half rising from his chair. -"It's forgery--it's a trick or something!" His voice was unsteady. - -Daniel, pipe in mouth, continued quietly to read: "'I regret to say -that, as these papers will show, my son was born out of wedlock. You are -aware, no doubt, that I met my wife in South Africa, when I had a farm -there, some years before I even expected to come into the title; but, -except you and I, no living person knows that Charles was born six -months before our marriage. I now leave the secret entirely in your -discretion, knowing that you will only reveal it if you feel that I -should wish you to do so.'" - -"It's a lie!" shouted Lord Barthampton. "It's blackmail!" - -"No," said Daniel. "There's no getting over it. The documents are all in -order. You're only Lord Barthampton on sufferance." - -His cousin sank back in his chair. His cigar had gone out, and he flung -it on the ground. Then he leant forward and rested his head in his -hands, scratching his red ear with one finger. In this attitude he -appeared fat, unpleasant, and altogether devoid of dignity. - -At length he looked up, sullenly, with a sort of cunning in his face. -"How much do you want for those papers?" he asked. - -Daniel sucked at his pipe for a few moments. "I want rather a stiff -price," he declared at length. - -"What?" said his cousin, in a dull voice. - -Daniel fixed his eyes upon him. "Your reformation," he said. - -"Oh, go to Hell!" was the reply, and Daniel rather liked him for it. He -felt uncomfortable in a mentorial role. - -"Look here," he said, "let's understand what your father meant." - -Charles Barthampton got up and mixed himself a whiskey-and-soda. "If -that letter's genuine," he muttered, "there's no understanding him." - -"Oh, yes, it's simple enough," replied Daniel. "You are his son, whether -you're legitimate or not; and he didn't want to have your name, or his, -or especially your mother's, dragged through the mud by letting out his -secret. So he wished you to inherit. But at the same time, he had a very -Spartan sense of duty; and, as he was good enough to trust me, he -thought I would act as a bit of a brake on you, if you knew that I could -have you fired out if you didn't behave yourself." - -"A dirty trick!" the other grunted, pacing up and down the room, his -fists clenched, and much of the colour gone from his face. He swung -round on his heel, and stared at Daniel with fierce, bloodshot eyes. -"Oh, it'll be easy enough for you to find a pretext for outing me. I can -see already I'm done for. You've only got to say the word, but, by God! -if you do turn me out"--he shook his fist in his cousin's face--"I'll -send a bullet through you." - -Daniel put his hand to his hip-pocket, from which the butt of his -revolver protruded. "I'm not a bad shot myself," he replied. - -"Oh, really!" Barthampton ejaculated, with an explosive splutter, and, -darting to the table, he pulled open a drawer and dived his hand into -it. - -Instantly Daniel whipped out his revolver and covered him. "Stand back -from that table!" he called out, and there was something very terrible -in his voice. - -His cousin's hand fell to his side, and he took a pace back. Still -covering him, and not taking his eyes from him, Daniel leaned over the -table and felt for the revolver which lay there. Having found it, he -slipped it into the pocket of his jacket. - -"Now don't behave like a damned fool," he said. "Understand me: I am not -going to turn you out. I haven't the slightest wish to do so. I don't -want the beastly estates, and I much prefer to be plain Daniel Lane. By -law I'm Lord Barthampton, not you; but by something that's above law, I -mean fair-play, you are your father's son and the heir he wanted. And -nothing short of your utter damn-foolery will ever make me turn you out. -D'you understand? But, mind you," and his voice resumed its gravity, -"you've got to turn over a new leaf. You've got to give up your drink -and your pig ways, and your gambling, and your tantrums, and your women. -You've got to be a considerate landlord to your tenants, and a good -citizen, and a credit to your country, and your regiment, and your -family. And you've got to live within your income, and give generously -to the poor. D'you hear me?--give generously to the poor. We shan't see -much of each other, but from time to time I'll look you up, and I shall -be surprised if I don't find a great improvement in you." - -Lord Barthampton stood in front of him, staring at him as at a ghost. He -was visibly trembling, and his face had lost its colour. Very nearly he -had been a murderer. He appeared to be on the verge of collapse. - -"D'you mean what you say?" he whispered. "How can I trust you?" His -mouth was so dry that his tongue clicked as he spoke. - -"Your father trusted me," Daniel replied, and held out his hand. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -Very slowly his cousin responded, and a cold, trembling, clammy hand was -placed in his own. - -"Very well, then, good-bye, Cousin Charles. I'm off to the desert now. I -don't know when we'll meet again." - -He took his cousin's revolver from his pocket and, putting it back in -the place where he had found it, closed the drawer. "May I take one of -your cigars?" he asked. His pipe had gone out. - -"Y-yes, of course," the wretched man replied, still standing like one in -a dream. - -Daniel took the cigar, lit it, and, turning round, walked out of the -room. - -In the blazing sunlight outside he paused and stared across the dazzling -open space, which, towards the west, led down to the Nile. A scorching -wind beat in his face, and blew the dust of his footsteps towards the -building which he had left. "Phew!" he whispered. "Thus goes ten -thousand pounds a year and a peerage!" - -He gazed across the river to the shimmering line of the desert which -could be seen in the distance between the palms, and held out his hands -towards it. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--TOWARDS THE SUNSET - - -During the warm weather an afternoon siesta is habitual to the residents -in Egypt, and Muriel at once lent her support to the custom with -undisguised approval. This was but her third day in Cairo, yet, as soon -as Daniel Lane had taken his departure, she went up to her room as -though to the manner born, and slipped off her dress. - -The bed looked cool and inviting, and a mass of white roses upon a table -beside her pillow spread a gentle fragrance through the room; but this -she thoughtlessly dissipated by lighting a Turkish cigarette. She did -not particularly want to smoke, but she felt that the little gold-tipped -cigarette was in keeping with her state of dainty semi-undress, with her -somewhat exotic surroundings, and with the French novel which she had -selected as an inducement to sleep. - -Anybody peeping at her through the keyhole as she lay upon the rose-bud -coverlet, bare arms and silk-stockinged legs asprawl, would have been -hard put to it to decide whether here rested the girlish chastity of -English tradition or the naughtiness of French fiction; for nowadays, -when the one has had the hardihood at last to claim its share of the -habiliments of the other, appearances are astonishingly deceptive. -Actually, however, Muriel was but an innocent production of that form of -upbringing which, while encouraging independence of action, accustoms -the minds to the standards of the seraglio. - -She had moved freely in the segment of London society which patronizes -Covent Garden, hobnobs with the stage, and becomes ecstatic over the -latest painter, sculptor, poet, or dancer. She had been shown all the -little vices and failings of the world in their most attractive guise; -and for her special edification the ancient virtues had been rendered -even more seemingly ridiculous than the virtuous themselves had made -them. Obediently she had laid her thoughtless tribute at the altar of -the alluring goddess of today; and she had been shown the correct -posture of obeisance that was to be made to the World, the Flesh, and -the Devil. - -She had been taught, if she had not actually mastered, all the short -cuts to that appearance of culture which is so highly appraised; and, in -matters of taste and form, she had been shown how to be bizarre without -being crude, audacious without being vulgar. She knew just what to say -about men of letters, and what books to leave lying about the room; and -in regard to politics, the church, and sport, she had been shown how to -lump the three together under the one heading of "Tradition." - -It was now three years since this part of her education had begun; and -yet she had passed through the school with a surprisingly unsullied -mind. Like most pupils of her age, she was, of course, in complete -outward subjection to Mistress Fashion; but a spirit of mutiny still -plotted in the dark chambers of her heart. - -She had not yet altogether stupefied herself into that chronic semblance -of light-heartedness which passes for happiness; and there were moments -when in inward revolt she sent her entire circle of friends to blazes. -At such times she was vaguely aware that, in some subtle manner, she was -in bondage; but so carefully had she been trained to wear her golden -chains with grace that the fleeting consciousness of their presence -induced little more than an extra yawn or two, and a more luxurious -enjoyment of any opportunity to kick up her heels. - -As she lay now upon the bed, she was not conscious of any lack of -freedom in her life, and yet she was profoundly happy to be out here in -Egypt, where the day's routine was not so hide-bound as it was in -England. - -The drone of the flies and the plaintive cry of the circling kites, the -incessant cawing of the crows in the garden, and the occasional song of -the boatmen on the Nile, soon lulled her to sleep; and it was four -o'clock before she arose to dress herself for her ride with Rupert -Helsingham. When she descended the stairs half an hour later, she was -wearing a new riding-habit of white linen and a wide-brimmed felt hat in -which she was conscious of appearing at her best. - -Rupert, too, who awaited her at the tea-table in the drawing-room, was -aware of his own becoming costume; and the spurs upon his highly -polished boots clicked more frequently than was necessary. He was -certainly good-looking, if somewhat undersized. - -"I've told them to meet us with the horses on the other side of the -water," he said. "We'll go across in the launch, which will save a long -round by the bridge." - -After a hasty cup of tea, therefore, they walked through the garden to -the landing-steps, and were soon speeding over the river in the glare of -the afternoon sun, the cloudless heavens above them and the -swift-flowing waters of the ancient Nile shining beneath. - -They landed amidst the cool shade of the palms on the opposite bank, -near a road along which many native carriages and English dogcarts were -passing to and fro, this being the fashionable hour for taking the air; -and many curious eyes were turned upon the immaculate couple as they -mounted their horses, for the white launch with its little Union Jack at -the stern, and the scarlet livery of the native attendants, revealed -their identity, and Lady Muriel's charms had already become a topic of -general conversation. - -"Which way would you like to go?" asked Rupert. "By the native roads -across the fields, or straight along the main road out to Mena House?" - -Muriel looked quickly at him. "Mena House?" she said. "Isn't that on the -edge of the desert, where Mr. Lane said he was starting from?" - -Her companion nodded. "Yes," he answered. "We would probably run into -him. Shall we go the other way?" - -Muriel drew rein for a moment. She would like to take her first view -over that garden wall of which Daniel Lane had spoken, and it might be -interesting to watch him ride away towards the setting sun. She might -even have an opportunity of firing a parting shot at him--something -about his rumoured harim of Bedouin women to whom he seemed so anxious -to return. She would like to hurt him. - -"No, let's go to Mena House," she answered at length, and she gave as -her reason her anxiety to see the Pyramids which stand on the edge of -the desert, dominating the well-known Mena House Hotel. - -Rupert looked at his watch. "It's nearly five," he remarked, without any -particular reason. He was not thinking of the hour of Daniel Lane's -departure. - -But Muriel was thinking of it, and, for answer, she urged her horse -forward. - -"I enjoy a good long gallop, don't you?" she said, as they turned into -the avenue of acacias which runs in a fine straight line out to the -desert, flanked by a riding-track of soft earth. - -"It's a bit hot for anything strenuous, isn't it?" he suggested. He -wanted to ride quietly and talk to her as they went. - -For some distance they trotted in silence, but at length Muriel -shortened her rein. "Come in!" she laughed, and therewith she gave her -restless Arab a touch with her heel, and instantly was off and away in a -cloud of dust, as though she and her horse had been discharged in one -piece from some monstrous gun. - -Rupert swore peevishly, and followed in her wake, presently overtaking -her and galloping by her side. The tree-trunks on either hand seemed to -whirl past them, and the foliage, which met overhead, formed a sort of -tunnel pierced at one side by stabbing shafts of dazzling sunlight. The -effect was blinding, and soon Rupert, an excellent horseman, began to -feel as though he were the maddened villain of some flickering film of -the Wild West, whose career had soon to end in a frightful tumble. - -"Isn't it lovely?" shouted Muriel, ecstatically. Her blood seemed to be -boiling in her veins; she glowed like a fiery immortal being, full of -tremendous excitement and enthusiasm. This was life!--this was youth! -She dragged her hat over her eyes, regardless of her own appearance, -regardless of the hat's. She felt entirely crazy, and presumably her -horse felt the same, for not for a moment did he slacken his thundering -speed. The warm wind whistled in her ears; occasional roadside villas -appeared to whirl past almost as soon as they were sighted; an -automobile, full of gesticulating Egyptians, raced them and had -difficulty in beating them; the electric tram from the Pyramids to Cairo -appeared to leap past them with wildly clanging bell; she caught sudden -glimpses of peasant carts and an occasional smart carriage, astonished -brown faces and smiling white ones. Her hair began to come down. - -At last her horse had had enough, and his gallop decreased to a trot, -his trot to a walk. Her companion turned a laughing red face to her. He -had caught the infection of her spirits, and, like her, was conscious of -a burning sense of youth and strength. The perspiration was streaming -down his cheeks. - -"Phew!" he exclaimed, and recklessly mopped his forehead with a coloured -silk handkerchief intended only for a breast-pocket ornament. "D'you -often get taken like that?" - -Muriel laughed excitedly, and, twisting the reins around her arm, pulled -off her hat, thereby letting loose a tumbling mass of brown hair, which -fell about her shoulders. Then, handing the hat to Rupert to hold, she -raised her hands and coiled up the hair on to her head again, fastening -it with the few remaining hairpins. - -Rupert uttered an ordinary, vulgar whistle. He, too, had been galloped -into naturalness. "By Jove!" he cried. "You have got glorious hair!" - -Muriel settled her hat upon her head once more, and picked up her reins. - -"I'll let it down properly for you some day," she said. At that moment -she would have stood on her head, had anybody dared her to do so. A law -should be passed prohibiting women from galloping. - -"I'll kiss you if you do," replied Rupert. The law should, perhaps, -include young men as well. - -He was startled at his audacity; but Muriel was not in a mental -condition to do otherwise than laugh. - -Thus they arrived, like two flushed children, at the end of the road, -the hotel on their right, the mighty Pyramids rising up like hand-made -mountains on their left, backed by the descending sun. In front of them -stretched the desert--a ridge of white and yellow shelving rocks, and -great shadowed slopes of sand mounting to the clear sky. Southwards, at -the foot of the hills, stood a native village, the clustered white -houses and dignified groups of palms reflected in the still waters of -the inundation which, at this time of the year, cover the surrounding -fields. - -Outside the hotel several Bedouin dragomans sauntered about or sat -smoking and chatting; and a few camels and donkeys, saddled in readiness -for hire, stood tethered near by. - -Muriel hardly glanced at the Pyramids: they had been visible to her -through the trees during most of the ride, and they were just as she had -pictured them. But the Bedouin in their flowing silks, the betasselled -camels, and the background of the desert made a picture which delighted -her eyes. - -"What's the time?" she asked. "I wonder if he has gone." - -It was some seconds before Rupert took her meaning: he had forgotten -about Daniel Lane. He looked at his watch: it was half-past five. - -"I'll ask some of these fellows if they've seen him," he said, perhaps a -little put out. A shadow had fallen upon the gay opening scene of his -romance. - -He rode forward, and soon elicited the information that "the Englishman -who came in from the desert" had but a few minutes ago gone up the hill -to the rocky plateau above, where his camels were awaiting him. - -"We've missed him," he said, returning to her. "He's just gone." - -"Well, let's ride after him," she answered, and without further remark -she trotted up the short, winding road which led on to the higher -ground. Rupert followed her, musing upon the inscrutable ways of women. - -The road lay in the shadow of the hillside, but as they reached the -summit they came into the full glare of the setting sun which was now -nearing the distant horizon. On their left the Pyramids towered up into -the blazing sky, but before them the rock-strewn plateau lay open and -vast, and over it the wind blew warm and mysterious. - -Muriel arched her hand above her eyes and looked about her. - -"There he is!" she cried at length, directing her companion to a little -group in a sandy hollow about a hundred yards distant, and therewith -they both trotted forward. - -Daniel Lane was about to mount his camel as they approached. Muriel -waved her hand to him, whereat he pulled off his well-worn hat and -laughed aloud. - -"That's odd!" he said. "I had a sort of feeling you'd come." - -Muriel stared at him, and her responding smile died upon her lips. - -"We rode in this direction quite at random," said she, coldly. "I don't -yet know one way from another." - -"Well, you've found your way to the desert quickly enough," he replied. -"You know there are some people who seem to be drawn towards it at -once." - -Muriel glanced about her. "I think it looks a horrid place," she said, -which was entirely untruthful. "I don't feel at all drawn to it." - -She turned to Rupert Helsingham. He was slowly riding round the four -camels which crouched, grunting, on the sand, in charge of two lean and -wild-looking men of the desert, whose appearance was strikingly -different from that of the Bedouin of the Pyramids, grown prosperous in -their profession as guides and dragomans to the sightseers. Three of the -camels were saddled, the seat in each case being covered by a rough -sheepskin, and having on either side a coarsely embroidered bag -containing food, while a rifle and two water-bottles were slung across -the back. The fourth camel, which was to be led by one of the riders, -was lightly laden with stores and various purchases made in Cairo, and -two small water-skins depended at its sides. - -"I travel light, you see," said Daniel, as Rupert returned to them. - -"Yes, you couldn't otherwise have come in at the pace you did," he -answered. "Are you going back at the same rate?" - -Daniel laughed. "Oh, no," he said. "I shall travel in easy stages, -taking five or six days probably--as long as the food lasts, in fact. We -can pick up water at the wells, and if we shoot anything we can take it -still slower." - -Muriel looked curiously at him. "Then why were you in such a hurry to be -off?" she asked. - -"One night in a Cairo hotel is enough for me," he answered. "I'm -starting now so as to get ten or fifteen miles away by bedtime, where I -can sleep peacefully on the clean sand, away from mosquitoes and bad -smells and noise. And then we can just saunter. So long as we plan to -reach a water-hole every two days, there's nothing to hurry us." - -He turned towards the sunset and breathed in the pure air with evident -satisfaction. "It's splendid to think there's all that empty space in -front of one!" he exclaimed. "In a few minutes now I shall be swallowed -up in it! Gee! I'll think of you tonight, my girl, in your stuffy -bedroom; and you can envy me lying under God's heaven, talking with my -two good friends here about cities and slavery and civilization and -things, till we yawn ourselves to sleep." - -Muriel's interest in him began to revive. "It sounds wonderful," she -said, doubtfully. - -The sun had sunk behind the low line of the horizon when at length -Daniel bid good-bye and mounted his camel. Rupert, who was impatient to -be back, had already turned his horse's head and was slowly moving away -as the four camels, snarling and complaining in their wonted manner, -rose upon their long legs, lifting their riders high above the ground; -but Muriel remained for a moment or two, curbing her restless horse, -while Daniel looked down at her from his lofty seat. - -"I've enjoyed meeting you," he said. "I'm afraid you think I'm very rude -and rough. I don't mean to be, only--" - -"Only what?" she asked, as he paused. - -"Yes?" She was all attention now. - -"Only when I meet a girl like you--" - -"Oh, I don't know," he said, and there came a look of great earnestness -into his eyes. "There's so much you've got to unlearn, my dear." - -He struck his camel lightly with his stick, and trotted away. Then, -turning in his saddle, he put his hand to his mouth and called out to -her: "Why don't you break loose?" - -Muriel made a gesture indicating that she did not understand, but his -head was again averted, and he did not look round. She watched him, as, -followed by the men, he slid silently away into the barren vastness of -the desert. He seemed to be riding straight into the glory of the -sunset. - -Then she wheeled her horse around, and cantered after her companion. Far -off in front of her now the city was spread out amongst its trees and -luxuriant fields. From the high ground she looked down on distant roofs -of palaces and mansions, domes and cupolas, minarets and towers, and the -lights began to twinkle in the windows along the embankment of the Nile. -It looked like an enticing magic City of Happiness; and she glanced over -her shoulder with a sudden wave of terror at the darkening immensity of -the desert behind. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--THE DESERT AND THE CITY - - -Daniel's mind was not at ease as he rode through the gathering darkness. -His thoughts had been shaken out of their habitual tranquillity by his -few hours in the city, and he had the feeling that he had turned his -back upon a picture which he would have liked a little longer to -contemplate, that he had shut a book in which he would have preferred to -read yet another chapter. But when the moon rose and cast its early -mystery upon the empty wilderness around him, a greater calm fell upon -him, and he began to appreciate once more that sense of detachment from -the restless doings of the world which is the particular gift of the -desert. - -For two hours or more he rode in silence, and ever as he passed deeper -into the great void before him his musing mind contemplated with -increasing serenity the events of the last night and day. Out here in -this everlasting calm he could smile at the little agitations which had -beset him in Cairo, and could observe their triviality. Here the -strident call of flesh and blood was hushed, and the equable balance of -mind and body was able to be resumed. No wonder, he thought to himself -that the monks of old had hidden themselves in the wilderness: they had -discovered a blessed equanimity, and a consequent happiness not to be -found in the busy thoroughfares of the city. - -At length he called a halt in a rugged valley, through which a stream -had flowed in bygone ages. Its bed of fine shingle and sand made a soft -and pliable resting-place; and here he ate his evening meal, lying back -upon his sheepskin thereafter, smoking his pipe and talking to his -friends, until sleep came to him. - -On the following day they rode no more than five-and-twenty miles, -taking a course somewhat more roundabout than that of their outward -journey, and it was mid-afternoon when they reached the water-hole at -which the night was to be spent. Riding round a bend in a precipitous -valley, Daniel, who was some distance ahead of his retainers, suddenly -found himself looking down upon the rocky hollow in which lay the little -pool of water, so blue in its setting of mellow sun-bathed rocks that it -seemed even deeper in tone than the sky it reflected. Here grew the -greenest reeds and rushes, and, mirrored in the water, there was a -delicate tamarisk whose soft foliage swayed in the breeze as though -setting the time to the nodding dance of the reeds. - -Sitting beside the pool a little girl was tending a few goats whose -bleating came merrily to his ears on the wind. She had not heard the -soft pads of his approaching camel, and he was almost upon her before -she looked up. With a cry of surprise she fled down the valley, and -suddenly, from amidst the shadows of the boulders, a grey-bearded son of -the desert stepped forth into the sunlight, an ancient broadsword in his -hands, and a ragged cloak of many colours thrown over his shoulders. - -Daniel dismounted from his camel, and exchanged greetings with the -patriarch, while the little girl hid herself behind the man's thin brown -legs, and the goats leaped upon the rocks to stare at the stranger from -a safe distance. - -"Never fear, little one," said the old man as he patted the child's -head. "This is only an Englishman. There are many such: they harm not." - -The old goatherd, and two of his grandsons, who presently made their -appearance, proved to be related to families in the Oasis of El Hamran -where Daniel resided; and the talk during the evening meal was all of -mutual acquaintances, of the movements of various groups of Bedouin, of -camping-grounds and water-holes. - -A woman and the little girl, her daughter, sat amidst the rocks in the -background as they talked, and Daniel observed that the child was -nursing a primitive doll made of three sticks and a piece of rag, and -that at length she fell asleep with this poor proxy held close in her -brown arms. Later in the evening, therefore, in the light of the moon, -he fashioned a very much more convincing article out of sticks, string, -and a handkerchief; and with his fountain-pen he outlined an audacious -face, which, with a few combings from his sheepskin in the place of -hair, gave an appearance of striking and awful reality to the figure. - -The goatherds encouraged his efforts with excited laughter, and when, at -last, the doll was finished, he walked over to the sleeping girl and -placed it in her arms. - -On the third day they made good going, passing across a range of low -hills, and descending into a wide plain where they disturbed a herd of -gazelle, which went galloping off at their approach and were lost in the -haze of the distance. - -So they journeyed in easy stages; and day by day Daniel more fully -resumed that jovial, contented mind which is the basis of happiness. The -benign influence of sun and breeze and open space was upon him once -more, and his heart was filled as it were with laughter. Riding ever -westward, he seemed to be following the course of the sun; and each -evening, as it passed down behind the horizon ahead, it marked -tomorrow's track, as though bidding him come deeper, ever deeper, into -the merry freedom of the desert. He whistled a tune to himself as he -rode through echoing valleys; he sang at the top of his voice as, far -ahead of his men, he passed over the hills, and viewed the great vistas -before him; and as he drew near to the oasis which was his destination, -and observed once again the presence of birds and the tracks of jackals, -he urged his camel forward with many an endearing and persuasive word. - -Now he met with goatherds and camelherds who were his friends, and -merrily he called his greetings to them; now he knew the lie of the -country, and noted the places where, from time to time, he had camped or -rested in the shade at noon when he had been out hunting gazelle, or -tracking the jackals to their lairs, by way of exercise. Now the west -wind brought the faint scent of the cultivated land to his sensitive -nostrils, and his camel lifted its head to snuff at the breeze. - -At last, in a golden sunset, amidst the chattering of innumerable -sparrows, he descended from the barren hills into the dense palm groves -of the Oasis of El Hamran, from whose shadows the white-robed figures of -the Bedouin emerged to greet him. - -An all-pervading peace enfolded him, and his short visit to civilized -life seemed like a dream that was fading from his memory. The city -beside the Nile had become a thing of unreality, and he had awakened, as -it were, to the happy sunshine of life's placid day, and was eager to be -once more at his work. - -Yet, in far-away Cairo, there were five minds at least which retained a -vivid recollection of his brief incursion into the city. There was Lord -Barthampton, who, for forty-eight hours after Daniel's departure, had -lain in a drunken stupor which, for form's sake, was termed a touch of -the sun; and who, thereafter, had forsworn all intoxicating liquor, and -had resumed his place at the mess in the sullen silence of one who has -returned unwillingly to the fold. - -There was Lizette, who had wept a little, and for a little while had -bemoaned her lot, and who, later, had gone, as was her wont, to the -Franciscan Church, and had said her beads and had prayed that one day -she might meet again the mighty man who had sent the pig Barthampton so -beautifully sprawling upon the floor. - -There was Lord Blair, who had received an effusive reply from the -gratified Minister of War, and, thereat, had schemed and plotted to -bring the wise Daniel within closer reach of the Residency. There was -Rupert Helsingham, who, ever since the ride to Mena House, had been -filled with matrimonial dreams and fears of rivalry, and had racked his -brains to decide upon a course of action which should give him -opportunities of displaying those brutal tendencies of manhood which -seemed to be so successful with the opposite sex. - -And lastly, there was Muriel, who had aroused Rupert's jealousy by -talking from time to time about Daniel, with a sort of defiance in her -voice which could almost be mistaken for awe. - -It was inevitable that she and Charles Barthampton should meet: it was -only strange that they had not met before in London. On the same evening -upon which Daniel had arrived at his home in El Hamran, his cousin was a -guest at dinner at the Residency, where he found himself seated next to -Muriel. The latter had been taken into dinner by one of the Egyptian -princes, an elegant personage who had lived most of his life in Vienna, -Paris, and Monte Carlo, and whose contempt for the English was only -equalled by his scorn of the Egyptians. He was an authority on modern -French art; and when Muriel, in a frenzy of tact, had rushed the -conversation again and again into that province, and had exhausted all -that she knew by rote upon the subject, she was glad of an opportunity -to turn in the opposite direction and address herself to Barthampton. - -He, on his part, had taken in the daughter of the French Consul-General, -who was much more interested in Rupert Helsingham upon her other hand; -and, being thus left alone to play with his toast and sip his wine, he -had turned to Muriel with relief. - -"I can't talk to this French girl," he whispered. "She doesn't -understand English, and my French isn't exactly ladylike." - -"Well, do you know anything about French art?" she asked, hopefully. -"I'm sitting next to a connoisseur, and I've run dry." - -"French art?" he laughed. "Rather! I've got a collection of -postcards--I've framed some of them; and I take _La Vie Parisienne_ -regularly." - -Muriel sighed. "No, I'm afraid that won't help," she said. - -"Well, try him on English art," he suggested. "Good stuff, you -know--Landseer and Leighton and Alma-Tadema." - -"No," said Muriel gravely, "he's very modern." - -"Oh, modern, is he? Then what about Kirchner? Or Cecil Aldin?--but I -don't suppose he knows a fox from a hound." He leaned forward and stared -at the Prince. "Queer little devil, isn't he, what? Doesn't look much -like a nigger." - -"Why should he?" Muriel asked. "The Royal house is Albanian--pure -Turkish." - -"Oh, I lump them all together," he answered, with a gesture of his red -hand. "Quaint country, Egypt, isn't it? What d'you think of it?" - -"So far, I like it immensely," she replied. "But I shouldn't think it -was an interesting place for a soldier. What do your men think of it?" - -"I don't know: I've never asked 'em," he replied. "Not much, I shouldn't -think. There are not enough housemaids to go round, and the beer's -atrocious. I can't think why we're not kept in London; after all, we're -the Guards. They ought to leave the dirty work to the ordinary regiments -of the line. I don't see why we should be made to sweat out here. It's -these Radicals: they never can mind their own business." - -"Father and I are Radicals, you know," she smiled. "And our forebears -were Whigs before us." - -"Beg pardon," he said, with a grunt. "I'd forgotten my history lessons. -We Lanes were always Tories." - -Muriel glanced at him quickly. "Oh, I'd quite forgotten," she said, with -interest. "Of course, you're a Lane. I wonder if you're any relation to -a certain Daniel Lane?" - -Lord Barthampton's face fell. "How d'you come to know Daniel Lane?" he -asked, as he busied himself with his food. - -"I met him the other day," she answered. "He's a friend of my father's. -Oh, yes, I remember now: he said he had a relation out here in the -Guards." - -"Yes," he replied, with his mouth full. "He's a cousin; but I hardly -know him. He's spent much of his life in the States." - -"Tell me about him," she said. She was all interest. - -"I don't know anything to tell you," he answered, casually. "He's a -crank--lives with the niggers in the desert or something. Looks like a -tramp." - -"He's very clever, isn't he? My father thinks the world of him." - -Lord Barthampton noisily threw down his knife and fork. "There's not -much love lost between him and me," he said, and relapsed into silence; -while Muriel, seeing that she had touched upon a sore subject, took the -opportunity to resume her conversation with her partner. - -Late that evening, after the guests had departed, Muriel, prompted by a -sense of duty, found herself in the library, bidding a motherly -good-night to her father, who was smoking a final cigar, and was -standing before the empty fireplace, his hands under his coattails in -unconscious retention of the habits of other days. - -"By the way," she said, "did you know that Lord Barthampton was Daniel -Lane's cousin?" - -"You don't say so!" he exclaimed. "Well, well! I had no idea." - -He opened a bookcase, and lifting out _Burke's Peerage_, turned over its -pages with evident interest. After a few moment's study, he uttered a -little ejaculation. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he remarked. "Daniel is not only his cousin, but his -heir presumptive." He stroked his chin, and carried the bulky volume -nearer to the light. "Hm! Well, well--to be sure!" he muttered. - -He laid the book down, and clasping his hands behind his back, walked to -and fro across the room, while Muriel turned to glance at the family -record. - -As she looked up once more, her father paused, his head on one side, his -fingers stroking his jaw. "Now, if that lout were to die ..." he mused. - -"D'you mean Mr. Lane?" asked Muriel innocently. - -"No, no! Tut, tut!" exclaimed her father, pinching the lobe of her ear, -and then, as though afraid of giving offence, patting her cheek instead. -"Daniel Lane is not a lout! I was referring to his cousin. If Daniel -were to inherit--" - -"If he were to inherit," Muriel put in, as he paused, "there'd be a -panic in the House of Lords--peers hiding under benches, Lord Chancellor -flung into gallery, Archbishop popped into waste-paper basket--" - -Lord Blair raised his delicate hand in protest: his thoughts were more -serious. "You know," he said, "that man is wasting himself in the -desert. I wish I could persuade him to accept some official position in -Cairo. I should like to push him into prominence--oblige him, force him, -to take an active part in the government of this country." - -An expression almost of sadness came into his face. "I sometimes feel," -he went on, "that we diplomatists, products of the Foreign Office, are -totally unfitted to rule a mediaeval country such as this. Look at me, -Muriel; am I the romantic figure to impress the native mind? Egypt does -not want diplomacy; she wants physical strength combined with -philosophy--she wants a man who is a mighty hunter before the Lord, a -giant, a hero out of a legend." - -"Oh, father dear," Muriel replied, "everybody says you are the ideal -ruler." She felt sorry for him: he seemed such an insignificant little -figure, so fussy, so well-meaning, and just now so modest. - -"No," he continued, "I don't understand the native mind; I must confess, -I don't understand it. And I sometimes think that I am not serving the -best interests of England. I want my country to be respected, Muriel; I -have such vast ambition for England. I want our manhood to be seen to -the best advantage, so that the natives may say: 'Since we are to be -ruled, let us be glad that we are ruled by _men_.'" - -Muriel put her hands upon his shoulders. For the first time she really -liked him. "I think you're splendid, father," she said. - -"Now, if Daniel Lane took his position in society," he mused, "if, for -instance, he were Lord Barthampton, there would be no difficulty. I -could push him forward, and in a few years he would be old enough to -succeed me here at the Residency. A little more care about his -appearance, perhaps--" - -"And a little less rudeness," said Muriel. - -"No, he is not rude," Lord Blair corrected her. "He is only -unceremonious." - -There was a tap at the door, and Rupert entered. He was the only one of -the Secretaries who lived on the premises. - -"I'm just off to bed," he said. "Is there anything you want me to do, -sir?" - -Lord Blair looked at him, as though waking from a dream. "Let me see, -yes, there was something I was going to ask you to do. What was it, now? -Dear, dear! How bad my memory is! Ah, yes, I have it! A letter: I want -you to acknowledge it formally, the first thing in the morning. It's on -my study table. No, you could not find it in all that litter. I must -really have a grand tidying-up, I must indeed. One moment: I'll get it -for you." - -He hurried from the room, in short, nervous steps, and, as he -disappeared, Rupert turned to Muriel. "By Jove!" he exclaimed. "You do -look beautiful tonight. I could hardly take my eyes off you all the -evening." - -Muriel smiled happily. "I'm glad you think so. I thought I looked a -sight; and Prince What's-his-name was evidently bored with me." - -"On the contrary," he answered, "he told me he thought you were -charming, and such a connoisseur." - -"Of what," she asked brightly. - -"Of the art of the Stone Age, he said. I don't know what he meant." - -Muriel flushed. "The little beast!" she cried, angrily. "He was trying -to be rude." - -"Rude, was he?" said Rupert, viciously. He assumed a fighting attitude, -and, when Muriel had frankly explained the insinuation of the remark, he -set his teeth and made a determined attempt to appear grim. - -"He'll get one in the jaw, if he doesn't look out," he muttered. - -Lord Blair re-entered the room, carrying the letter (for some unknown -reason) extended in his thumb and first finger as though it smelt. He -paused on seeing Rupert's simulation of pugilism, and looked at him -critically, as it were measuring the young man's capacities in that -arena. Then he shook his head sadly, and handed him the letter. - -When Rupert had left them, Lord Blair turned to his daughter. -"Undersized," he murmured, "sadly undersized." - -"Oh, not so very," said Muriel, divining his thoughts. "And, any way, -he's a good-looking boy, and his manners are charming. I'm growing very -fond of Rupert." - -Lord Blair glanced at her quickly. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--THE ACCOMPLICE - - -Undoubtedly the ancients were quite right in regarding youth as a kind -of fever, an intermittent sickness lasting from puberty to middle age. -In Egypt this particular illness is rampant: everybody who is not old -feels youthful, and the actually youthful have hours of violent -delirium. - -As the weather, in the last days of October, became cooler and more -stimulating, Lady Muriel began to experience a series of startling -sensations. She felt excited, and her mind turned itself to a heated -study of the romantic possibilities of existence at the Residency. She -had always been told that a young woman's life was divided into two -distinct ages, the first being a period filled with romantic episodes -and terminated by marriage, and the second being a period crowded with -very serious love affairs and only curtailed by age or the divorce -court. - -So far she could safely say that she had only been in love three times. -Once at Eastbourne, during her school-days, she had fallen into a divine -frenzy over a curate, who had been a rugger blue at Oxford, and who, in -a certain brief and desperate sofa-episode, had apparently mistaken her -for the football with which he was touching down a try, but who, a -moment later, had recovered his feet and had staggered out into the -night calling upon God for mercy upon a married man. She had nursed her -bruises and had sorrowed for him for many days, ardently desiring to -poison his wife and all her babies, but his sudden appointment to a -far-away living had closed the story. - -A year later she fell in love with a Russian singer who, at the time, -was being heavily lionized in London; but, as luck would have it, she -met three of his mistresses in one day, and the fright sobered her. - -The third episode had been much more prosaic. The man was merely a young -Member of Parliament who made his overtures in the most approved style, -and might have succeeded in capturing her, had it not been discovered on -the day the engagement was to be announced that he had borrowed money on -the strength of the coming alliance. In this case she had not grieved -for long: indeed, when she happened to see him a week later she had -already sufficiently recovered to observe that his eyes were set too -close together, his teeth were like a rabbit's, his hands too hairy, his -head not hairy enough, and his legs bandy. - -That was a year ago, and since then she had been entirely heart-whole. -Now, however, the starry Egyptian nights, the sun-bathed days, the -multitude of officers, officials, and diplomats whose acquaintance she -was making, and the general court paid to her, both as a charming woman -and as the Great Man's daughter, were beginning to stimulate her senses. - -One morning, at the beginning of November, as she sat up in her bed, -playing with her toes, the thought came strongly to her that her season -in Egypt ought to be graced by some exceptional romance. Here was the -setting for the play; here was the heroine; but where was the hero? It -was true that Rupert Helsingham, of whom she had grown quite fond, was -becoming daily more bold; but he had ever an eye on her father, on whom -depended his budding career. In her exposed position whatever romance -came to her would have to be conducted on very correct lines; and would -probably be expected to end in marriage; but she did not want to be -married. Indeed, the thought appalled her. She vastly preferred the idea -of a great sorrow, a heartbreaking parting under the stars, a life-long -devotion to a sad, sweet memory. But that a man should walk nightly into -her bedroom in his striped pyjamas was a horrible thought. - -Pensively she gazed at her toes, upon which a shaft of the morning -sunlight was striking. They were pretty toes. A man's feet usually had -corns on them. No, she had little wish for a bare-footed romance: the -hero she pictured would make love in his boots, and tragedy should -descend before the hour came to take them off. - -Everything pointed to a clandestine affair--something in a garden, with -the scent of roses in it; or in a boat floating down the Nile, very -placid and mysterious; or far away in the desert.... - -In the desert! The thought brought back to her mind the parting words of -Daniel Lane. "Why don't you break loose?" Several times she had wondered -what he had meant: whether he were suggesting a breaking away from the -routine of her life, or whether he were advising her to run amuck in a -moral sense. The latter, it seemed to her, was the more probable, -judging by his reputation; but this was not a form of entertainment that -appealed to her. She did not mind playing with fire, but she had no wish -at all to be burnt. Her education had trained her to think lightly of -the chastity of others, but so far it had not injured her own natural -continence. - -Getting out of bed she stood for a few moments in the middle of the -room, staring through the open window at the distant line of the desert. -Yes, the desert would be a wonderful setting for a romance; and yet even -there she would not seem to be quite alone, quite unobserved. In her -mind the whole of those vast spaces belonged, somehow, to Daniel Lane. -She would feel his disturbing influence there: his head would rise from -behind a rock, and his quiet eyes would stare mockingly at her and her -lover, whoever he might be. He might even stroll forward, pick up the -wretched Romeo, with a yawn throw him over the cliffs, seat himself by -her side instead, and light his pipe. And if she protested he might -whistle up half a dozen cut-throat Bedouin and peg her to the ground for -the jackals to sniff at till he was ready to put her in his harim. - -She laughed nervously to herself as she went to her bath; and her -thoughts turned again to the possibilities of the garden and the Nile, -and once more the difficulties of her position were manifest. Female -accomplices are required in romance: she had none. There was her maid, -Ada, a large Scotchwoman, who would play the part about as nimbly as a -hobbled cow. Lady Smith-Evered was not to be trusted with secrets, even -if she were able to be flattered into acquiescence. There was no other -woman in Cairo with whom she was at all well acquainted as yet, and none -that gave promise of the paradoxical but necessary combination of -self-effacement and presence of mind. - -What she required was the friendship of a young married woman without -stain and without scruple. Then there would be some hope that the season -would not be entirely barren of romance, and, when she returned to -England in the spring, she would not be in the painful necessity of -having to invent confidences for the ears of her girl friends. - -There is, however, an ancient and once very popular Egyptian god who -seems to have survived to the present day, if one may judge by the -strange events which take place in the land of the Pharaohs. By the -Greeks he was called Pan-Who-is-Within-Hearing; and he must certainly -have been sitting in the bathroom. For no sooner had Muriel dressed and -come downstairs than the accomplice walked straight into the house. - -Muriel had just entered the drawing-room by one door when a footman -threw open the opposite door and announced "Mr. and Mrs. Benifett -Bindane." - -A moment later a plump, square-shouldered young woman hurried into the -room and flung herself into Muriel's arms. "Muriel--you darling!" she -cried, and "Kate--my dear!" cried Muriel, as they kissed one another -affectionately. - -Mrs. Bindane beckoned to the middle-aged man who had followed her into -the room. "This person is my husband," she said. "I think you saw him -when he was courting me." - -He came forward and gave Muriel a limp hand. He was very tall, and -appeared to be invertebrate; he had watery blue eyes, thin yellow hair, -a long, white, clean-shaven face, and a wet mouth which was seldom, if -ever, shut. - -"Benifett, my dear," said his capable, handsome wife, "say something -polite to the lady." - -"How-de-do," he murmured, staring at her awkwardly. - -"Yes, I think we did meet once, didn't we?" said Muriel. - -Mrs. Bindane intervened. "Yes, don't you remember? At the pictures, when -we were keeping company. We got wed at our chapel ten days ago--such a -to-do as you never saw! And afterwards a real beano at the Fried Fish -Shop: beer by the barrel, and port too! And Pa gave me away, in his -evening dress, red handkerchief and all!" - -Such was her peculiar and characteristic way of referring to the fact -that she had introduced Muriel to her fiance one night at Covent Garden, -and that she had been married to him at St. Margaret's, Westminster, -where she had been given away by her father, Lord Voycey, a reception -being later held at her paternal home in Berkeley Square. - -"I didn't know you were coming out here," said Muriel. "It's splendid." - -"We only decided on Egypt at the last minute," explained Mr. Bindane. -"Kate was so anxious to go up the Nile." - -"It's a blinkin' fine river, I'm told," remarked his wife, at which he -smiled reprovingly. - -Her friend's language was notorious, though actually she seldom -approached an oath except in mimicry. She was a woman of -five-and-twenty, and for seven years she had delighted London with her -pretended vulgarity. Her husband, on the other hand, was more or less -unknown to the metropolis, though, as the inheritor from his father of -an enormous fortune, his name had lately been heard in Mayfair, while in -the City it was well known. People said he was a fool; and everybody -supposed that the eccentric Kate had married him for his money. As a -matter of fact, she had married him for love. - -"Where are you staying?" Muriel asked. - -"We've got a little paddle-wheeled steamer on the river," he replied. -"We arrived last night." - -"And of course we came round to see you at once," said Kate. "Benifett's -rather a snob, you know: loves lords and ladies. So do I. How's your -pa?" - -"Oh, just the same as always," Muriel answered. "I don't seem to see -much of him." - -"People say he's rather a success at running this 'ere country," the -other remarked. "Personally, I detest the man: I think he's neglected -you shamefully all your life." - -"Oh, father's all right," said Muriel. "I'm very fond of him." - -"Rot!" muttered her friend. - -For some time they exchanged their news, and Muriel gave some account of -the quiet life she had spent since her arrival. - -"Any decent men?" Mrs. Bindane asked. "What about little Rupert -Helsingham?" - -"Oh, d'you know him?" - -"Lord! yes. He stayed with us once when he and I were kiddies. I saw him -when he was on leave last summer: he's grown into a handsome little -fellow." - -She asked if he were on the premises, and whether she might see him. In -reply, Muriel rang the bell, and sent a message to the office where -Rupert usually spent his mornings in interviewing native dignitaries. - -"Here's a friend of yours," she said to him as he came into the room, -and there ensued a rapid exchange of merry greetings. - -"This is what I've married," remarked Mrs. Bindane, taking her husband's -hand in hers and delivering it into Rupert's friendly grasp. - -"How-de-do," said Mr. Bindane, looking down from his great height at the -dapper little man before him. - -"Glad to meet you, sir," said Rupert, looking up at the limp figure, -which gave the appearance of being about to fall to pieces at any -moment. - -"His father's a lord, dear," whispered Mrs. Bindane to her husband, in a -hoarse aside. - -"You're just as impossible as ever, Kate," laughed Rupert. - -"It's my common blood," said she. "One of my ancestors married his cook: -she was the woman who cooked that surfeit of lampreys King John died -of." - -"Is Lord Blair in?" Mr. Bindane asked, very suddenly. - -Mrs. Bindane turned sharply and stared at him. "Now _what_ has Lord -Blair to do with you, Benifett?" she asked in surprise. "I didn't know -you knew him." - -Her husband flapped a loose hand. "I've met his Lordship," he said. - -"_His Lordship_," mimicked the impossible Kate, giving a nod of -simulated awe. "Rupert, my lad, go and tell the boss he's wanted in the -shop." - -"I'd like to see him," murmured Mr. Bindane, quite unmoved. - -"Well, I never!" said his wife. - -"I'll go and see if he's busy," Rupert volunteered. - -"Thanks," droned Mr. Bindane, his mouth dropping more widely open than -usual. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -"Well, you have got some nerve!" exclaimed his wife. - -Rupert went out of the room, and sought the Great Man in his study. - -"What is it, what is it?" Lord Blair muttered with some irritation, -looking up from a mass of disordered papers. - -"Oh, sorry, sir," said Rupert. "I didn't know you were busy. There's -somebody here who wants to see you." - -"I can't see anybody--no, nobody," Lord Blair expostulated. "What's he -want? Who is he?" - -"A Mr. Bindane. He's in the drawing-room with Lady Muriel." - -Lord Blair sat up briskly. "Benifett Bindane?" he asked, sharply. - -Rupert nodded, and thereat the Great Man jumped to his feet. - -"Where is he?" he exclaimed. "Show him in at once. Dear me, dear me! How -fortunate! I had no idea he was in Egypt. No, I'll come into the -drawing-room." - -He hurried past Rupert, and hastened across the corridor. - -"How d'you do, my dear sir, how d'you do," he exclaimed, as he tripped -into the room and wrung his visitor's feeble hand. - -"My wife," said Mr. Bindane, bowing towards his startled spouse. - -Lord Blair took her hand in both his own. "An old friend!" he cried. -"Capital, capital! We were reading about your marriage the other day. -Splendid!" And he beamed from one to the other. Then, turning again to -Mr. Bindane, "You've come to see for yourself, eh?" he exclaimed. "Very -wise, very wise indeed." - -"It's a pleasure trip," the other replied; "our honeymoon, you know." - -"Of course, yes," muttered Lord Blair. "Business and pleasure!" - -"Business?" muttered Mrs. Bindane. "It's the first I've heard of it. -What a dark horse you are, Benifett." And she abused him roundly in that -absurd mimicry of the dialect of the slums which was habitual with her. - -Muriel looked vacant. Her thoughts were racing ahead. Here was the -desired accomplice, married to a rich fool who was evidently on the best -of terms with her father. They had a private steamer on the Nile. Could -anything be better, more secluded, more romantic? All she had to do was -to find her Romeo. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--ON THE NILE - - -Muriel was not slow to spy out the possibilities of her friend's -steamer. Her father, she soon discovered, was glad enough that she -should make herself agreeable to the Bindanes; for, as he explained to -her at some length, Mr. Bindane was at that time engaged in raising an -enormous sum of money for agricultural investment in the western oases -of Egypt, and it was of great importance that the luxurious -river-steamer and the Residency should be on intimate terms. - -For years Lord Blair and his predecessors had endeavoured in vain to -interest the financial world in the mineral products and rich soil of -the chain of oases which spreads across the desert between Egypt and -Tripoli. But nobody, least of all the Government, would yet trust their -money in an outlying territory so recently explored and opened up. Then -Benifett Bindane had wandered into the Foreign Office, when Lord Blair -was on leave in England, and had remarked laconically that he would -raise the necessary millions. - -At first he had hardly been taken seriously, for he looked such a fool. -Later it was thought that because he looked such a fool it might be -worth while to help him to part with his money; and finally it was -discovered that he was not such a fool as he looked. The money he -proposed to find was to be mostly other people's, those other people -being likely to be persuaded by the fact that the money would appear to -be mostly his own. He had promised to send somebody out to Egypt to -investigate, and now, quietly and without any apparent pretext other -than that of his honeymoon, he had come himself. - -Three or four days after the Bindanes' arrival a thirty hours' excursion -up the river was planned, the party consisting of the bridal couple, -Lady Muriel, Lady Smith-Evered, Rupert Helsingham, and Professor Hyley, -the Egyptologist. The Pyramid of Meidum, some fifty miles upstream from -Cairo, was the objective; and it was proposed to start at noon, to moor -for the night near the village of Meidum, to ride over to the ruins on -the following morning, and to make the return journey to Cairo during -the afternoon and evening. - -Muriel boarded the steamer when the time came with keen interest hidden -under a casual exterior. For her it was to be a sort of trial run: she -was going to study the romantic possibilities of the Nile. If the trip -provided opportunities for Rupert Helsingham to make love to her, in -which direction his recent actions had begun to point, she would try to -arrange further excursions, perhaps with him, perhaps in other company. - -The professor was a neat and natty little man, with prominent teeth and -wistful eyes, a eunuch's voice and pretty manners; and an hour had not -passed before it was apparent that the General's lady had taken him to -her bosom. He examined an antique scarab ring upon her finger, and told -her to what dynasty it was to be dated; he showed her a somewhat similar -ring upon his own finger, and said it was not so good nor so old a -specimen as hers; he remarked what a fine old English soldier the -General was, and he sighed to think how few were left of that breed; he -poked delicate and kindly fun at the younger hostesses of Cairo, and -compared their social efforts with those of the elder generation, so -admirably represented by the lady to whom he was speaking. Lady -Smith-Evered thought him a dear little man, a designation the first two -words of which were certainly applicable. - -"They just love each other, don't they!" Rupert whispered to Muriel. - -"Yes," she replied. "I think that disposes of my chaperone." - -She made the remark with evident satisfaction, and Rupert glanced -quickly at her. His heart was beating fast. - -"You seem glad," he said. - -Muriel shrugged her shoulders. - -The afternoon was hot, and as the party lounged on deck the glare of the -sunlight upon the mirror of the water was dazzling. Mr. Bindane put on a -pair of blue spectacles, and presently gave vent to a series of -hay-feverish sneezes. - -"Good God!" exclaimed his wife. "Look at what I've married!" She seized -his unresisting arm. - -"Come, Benifett, let's go and lie down in the cabin." - -"A good idea," said Lady Smith-Evered, thankfully following her hostess -below. "I shall go to my cabin too." - -"I think forty winks for me, also," the Professor presently remarked, -feeling himself to be _de trop_. - -"Are you going to have a siesta?" asked Rupert, looking at Muriel with -fervour in his eyes. - -"Not unless I fall off to sleep in this comfy chair," she answered. "In -that case, you must promise to wake me if my mouth drops open. Pull up -your chair close to mine, and tell me the story of your life." - -Rupert stood up, and, taking off his coat, rolled back his -shirt-sleeves, revealing a pair of well-made blue-veined arms. The -leather belt which held up his white flannel trousers was pulled in -tightly, and Muriel did not fail to admire the slimness of his waist as -he settled himself in the long deck-chair at her side. - -They were screened from the sun by an Arabic awning of many colours, and -their eyes looked out across the oily surface of the water to the -luxuriant river bank which seemed to pass before them like an unfolding -picture, now revealing the open fields, now a village basking in the -sunlight, now groups of palms and cedars in the deep shadows of which -the peasants rested with their flocks, and now a native villa with -mysterious latticed shutters and silent walled gardens. Every hundred -yards or so there was a _sakieh_, by which the water was raised from the -river into the irrigation channels; and as each came into sight the -creaking of the great wooden cogwheel, and the song of the half-naked -boy who drove his patient ox round and round, drifted to their ears, -drowsily and with plaintive monotony. - -Neither Muriel nor Rupert talked much, but their sleepy proximity -engendered a quiet sympathy between them more potent than any words. Her -hands lay idly in her lap; and presently, with a lazy movement, he -extended his arm and let it fall across hers, so that his hand rested -upon her hand. She turned slightly and smiled at him, but she did not -move. Their two heads, each upon its cushion, drooped closer together. -Muriel's eyes closed, and, with a sense of gentle happiness pervading -her mind, she fell asleep. - -When she woke up, a quarter of an hour later, she knew that Rupert had -just kissed her: she still felt the touch of his lips. She did not -resent it; it was not unexpected. But somehow she felt that she was no -longer carrying out an experiment. The handsome young man beside her, -after these few weeks of probation, had managed, somehow, to step into -the sanctuary of her heart, and had seated himself audaciously upon the -throne which had stood vacant these many months. - -She sat up in her chair and passed her hands across her eyes. Then she -turned, and, with a smile upon her lips, looked steadily at her -companion. - -"You kissed me," she said. She spoke in a tone almost of awe. - -"Yes," he answered, and his voice failed him. He turned his eyes to the -bank of the river and clenched his teeth. He felt very uncomfortable. - -"Why?" she asked. Her face was very close to his, and his hand was about -her wrist. - -"Because I love you, Muriel," he whispered; and the hoarseness of his -voice would have seemed comical to her had she been in a normal -condition. - -Suddenly he put his arm about her shoulder and pulled her down to him, -so that her head lay upon his breast and her hair touched his face. She -did not resist; the drowsy warmth of the afternoon, the Oriental beauty -of their surroundings, and the still unevaporated magic of that great -enchanter, Sleep, held her powerless. - -Again and again he kissed her--kissed her mouth and her eyes, her -forehead and her cheeks, her throat and her hair; and with each touch of -his lips the fires of her womanhood leaped up within her, so that in -these few moments the whole course of her life, so it seemed to her, was -changed, and new directions, new vistas, were revealed in intense -illumination. - -At last, dazed and flushed, she released herself from his hold and stood -before him, her fingers clasping and unclasping themselves, her eyes -wild and yet tender in their wildness. - -"Rupert!" she gasped. "O Rupert!" - -Suddenly she turned and ran to the companionway, and the next moment had -disappeared. - -Rupert sprang from his chair, and banged his fist into the palm of his -other hand. "Gad!" he cried aloud, and there was exultation in his -voice. He walked the length of the deck, with his hands in his pockets; -then he sat down, and immediately got up again. His knees seemed to be -trembling under him. He wondered whether that was a symptom of love, and -decided that it was not. No he was not in love; he was just excited. And -no wonder! Muriel was one of the great heiresses of England, and one of -the most charming girls on the market, so to speak; and he had -practically got her! Well, perhaps he was in love: her kisses were -wonderful; the feeling of closeness to her was exquisite! How delighted -his father would be! "Lady Muriel Helsingham," and, in time to come, -"Lady Helsingham of Singleton!" And all that money! - -He lit a cigarette, puffed frenziedly at it, and threw it into the -river. Then he, too, went below. - -Muriel's cabin was opposite his own, and at the door he paused and -listened. He thought he heard her sigh, and his heart heat faster. She -was madly in love with him! Why hadn't he acted sooner? His -school-friend had been perfectly right: a man has only got to take his -courage in both hands and attack a woman forcibly, and she succumbs. - -He went into his cabin and shut the door briskly. He sat down on the -edge of the narrow bed, and stared critically at himself in the mirror -opposite. He was quite good-looking. He wondered how Lord Blair would -take it. After all, it was not a bad match for his daughter: he was the -son and heir of a Peer of the Realm, and his father had a very nice -little estate. - -In the cabin opposite, Muriel, likewise, sat upon the edge of her bed. -She had been crying, and there were still tears in her eyes. Surely, she -thought, this must be love that had come to her, though sudden and -unexpected had been its advent. She was profoundly stirred, and -wonderingly she recalled every moment of the experience through which -she had just passed. It had been so sweet; his eyes had looked into hers -so tenderly; his lips had aroused something so mighty within her. Of -course she would marry him if he asked her; but she was so selfish, so -stupid, and he was so clever. Everybody loved him: perhaps he would -quickly grow tired of her.... - -At tea-time she could not look at him. She talked at random to the -others, and as they all sat afterwards on deck watching the sun go down, -she still kept aloof from him. Later, in dressing for dinner, she -exacted particular care from her maid; and she was thankful that she had -brought her most becoming dress with her. - -"My dear, you look a dream!" exclaimed Kate Bindane as she came into the -dining-room. "A dam' sight too beautiful for my liking! I'll have to -keep my old man out of your way, or you'll make him feel all of a -twitter. As it is, I see him eyeing you all the time. He's a dark horse, -is Benifett: you never know what he's up to." - -And certainly during dinner his watery eyes were fixed upon her from -time to time with disconcerting directness. A glass or two of champagne -helped her to overcome a feeling of shyness in relation to Rupert, and -soon she became conscious of a growing excitement. She wondered what -would happen before the evening was over, and alternately she longed for -the meal to come to an end, and was dismayed to find it advancing so -quickly. She talked feverishly, and, indeed, Lady Smith-Evered once felt -it her duty to make signs to the butler to refrain from filling the -girl's glass. Muriel, however, observed the signal, and laughed aloud. - -"Am I talking too fast or something?" she asked, holding up her empty -glass to the hesitating butler. - -"No, it's only that wine is not very good for one in this climate," -whispered Lady Smith-Evered, her expression hinting at strange things. - -"It can't hurt her," said Mr. Bindane, yet he drank only water himself. - -As they went up on deck for their coffee, Muriel felt her face burning -and her heart thumping; and when Rupert stood at her side and -surreptitiously touched her hand she experienced so wondrous a thrill of -emotion that she forgot what she was saying at the moment to Professor -Hyley, and their conversation--something about ancient Egyptian -gods--completely broke down. - -Owing to some engine-trouble earlier in the day the steamer had not -nearly reached its destination; and now, for the sake of the passengers' -comfort, it was travelling quietly and at a much reduced pace. The night -was warm, windless, and intensely dark, for the waning moon had not yet -risen; but the stars were brilliant, and the Milky Way stretched across -the heavens like a band of ghostly silver. - -As soon as the coffee cups were removed Mr. Bindane proposed the -inevitable game of bridge, and therewith their host and hostess, Lady -Smith-Evered, and the Professor descended to the saloon, Muriel and -Rupert remaining on deck--by the tacit and tactful arrangement of Kate -Bindane, who seemed to anticipate their inclinations. - -"There's a nice little cosy corner at the stern," she whispered to -Rupert, and gave him a friendly dig in the ribs. Fortunately Muriel was -out of earshot. - -To the stern, therefore, he led his companion when at length they were -left alone, and here on a comfortable sofa they seated themselves. Nor -did he allow many moments to pass before he attempted to resume the -intimacy of the afternoon. Muriel, however, was self-conscious, and as -he kissed her she gently thrust him away from her. - -"Don't," she muttered. "Please don't, Rupert, dear." - -There was a tone of anguish in her voice, for at the dawn of love a -woman feels terror such as no man can understand. Instinctively, and -without definite reasoning, she dreads the consequences of her actions; -and whereas a man's new love is glorious with the exultation of careless -conquest, a woman's is tender with the vision of uncomprehended pain to -be. At the lightest touch of a new lover's lips she catches sight of her -whole destiny; and where a man rejoices, a woman quakes. - -Rupert was abashed, and, releasing her from his grasp, stared before him -into the darkness, while Muriel waited for him to make her quake again: -it was a wonderful sensation. - -"Why shouldn't I kiss you, Muriel?" he asked. "You love me, you know you -do." He turned to her, and his face came close to hers. "You do love me, -don't you?" - -For answer she ran her fingers through his hair and looked long at him. -In the dim light he could see that she was searching his face as though -endeavouring to find in it the assurance her womanhood required. He -hoped that her hands were not untidying him beyond quick repair: he very -much disliked having his hair ruffled. - -Again he put his arms about her, and now she did not resist. Her eyes -closed, and as in a dream she gave herself up to the emotion of the -moment. In some miraculous manner it seemed to her Rupert had developed, -and his arms that now enfolded her were suddenly endowed with celestial -strength. It was as though by loving her he had identified himself with -a force far greater than his own; and even the broken words which he -uttered seemed to have a more profound meaning. She forgot that she had -read such words in many a short story, many a novel; they sounded -beautiful to her; they came to her ears with all the enchantment of -things never before spoken in the whole history of the world. - -"O Rupert," she murmured, "do I mean all that to you?" - -"You mean heaven and hell to me, Muriel," he said, dramatically. - -For a considerable time--though time to her stood still--they sat -together in the darkness, closely held in one another's arms, his cheek -and his lips pressed against her bare shoulder and neck; and as the -moments passed the intoxication of love began to bewilder him as it had -already overwhelmed her. Her skin was so warm, so soft, so alluring, and -the surge of her breath was so entrancing! - -Suddenly they became conscious of the sound of much shouting amongst the -native crew, and at the same time the drone of the paddle-wheels ceased. -Rupert raised his head, and his hands began instinctively to tidy his -hair and to arrange his disordered tie. - -"We must have arrived," he said. "The others will be coming up on deck: -we'd better move." - -He stood up, and Muriel sank back into the corner of the sofa, her arm -across her eyes. For some moments she seemed to be unable to bring her -mind down from the heights of her dream; and Rupert watched her with -anxiety, hoping that she would speedily master herself. - -"Come," he said. "Let's walk along the deck." - -Very slowly she rose to her feet, and, with a sigh, put her arm in his. - -The steamer had evidently reached its destination, and the captain's -bell incessantly rang his orders to the engine-room, while the hurried -tread of bare feet could be heard on the bridge above them as they came -into the soft light amidships. On one side the bank of the river could -be discerned in the darkness, still some thirty or forty feet distant; -on the other the open water stretched, reflecting the innumerable stars. -To this latter side Rupert led her, and, leaning his back against the -railing above the now silent paddle-wheel, he held his hand out to her -as she stood before him. - -"Muriel," he whispered, when fervently he had kissed her fingers, "will -you be my wife?" - -She drew in her breath sharply, and her hands clasped themselves against -her breast. She had been waiting for these words, but now when she heard -them they frightened her. Somehow in the light of the electric lamps her -dream in the darkness had faded, and there was a sense of cooler reality -in her mind, a kind of reaction. Why should she say 'Yes' at once? Ought -she not to try him yet a little while before she gave herself to him? -She remembered that until today she had not known that she loved him: -perhaps it was all an illusion, created by the Nile. - -He saw the look in her face, and as he leaned back heavily against the -railing his heart sank within him. Was she only playing with him? Did -she only feel for him what he felt for her? - -"Well?" he asked, and his hands were clenched upon the iron rail. - -She did not answer. She stood staring at him with fixed eyes, and as she -did so a sensation of annoyance passed across his mind. - -"Ah!" he muttered. "You don't love me. You're only amusing yourself with -me." - -"Rupert!" she exclaimed. - -Seeing that his tactics were correct, he allowed his anger to develop. -He made a dramatic gesture and flung himself back against the railing. -At the same moment the paddle-wheel beneath him began suddenly to -revolve, as the captain manoeuvred the ship towards the shore. There was -a slight lurch; Rupert uttered an exclamation; he seemed to sway away -from her; and, heels over head, he fell into the churning water. - -Muriel sprang forward. In the half-light she saw the soles of his shoes -disappear as the black water swallowed him; then a dripping, writhing -form was lifted on a blade of the paddle and tossed into the air. She -saw his horrified eyes and his spread fingers. She heard him shriek.... - -"Help!" she screamed, and, screaming, she rushed across the deck. "Help! -Help!" - - - - -CHAPTER X--"FOR TOMORROW WE DIE" - - -Amidst the wildest clamour the rowing-boat was launched, and two -red-jerseyed native sailors took the oars, while a third, shouting and -gesticulating, stood at the tiller holding up a hurricane-lamp. Just as -they pushed off, Professor Hyley, carrying another lantern, tumbled into -the stern; and, in the unreasoning excitement of the moment, called out -"Mr. Helsingham, Mr. Helsingham! Hi, hi! Mr. Helsingham!" in a piping -voice which sounded through the darkness like that of a lost soul. - -The pandemonium upon the steamer was appalling. The jabbering native -sailors ran aimlessly to and fro, flinging ropes and buoys into the -river from the vessel's stern; while the Egyptian captain, completely -losing his head, rang and bawled orders down to the engine-room, as a -result of which the paddle-wheels churned up the water, now this way, -now that. Lady Smith-Evered and Mr. Bindane leant over the rail, -shouting instructions to Professor Hyley as the boat dropped into the -distance. - -Muriel and Kate Bindane stood together in agonized silence. There was -nothing to be done; for there was not a second rowing-boat, nor were -there any available lamps or buoys. Their eyes were fixed upon the two -points of light drifting astern, and on the illuminated figures of the -searchers. And now the misshapen moon, in its last quarter, crept out -from behind the horizon, as though curious to know what all the pother -was about, but too disdainful to throw any light upon the scene. - -At length there were renewed shouts from the boat, and much splashing of -the oars; and presently it was apparent that the men were lifting -something out of the ink-black water. A few minutes of horrible suspense -ensued as the searchers returned; and at last, in a dazed condition, -Muriel watched them raise the limp, dripping form out of the boat and -lay it on the deck. - -Mr. Bindane's servant, Dixon, knew something about the method of -resuscitation to be employed in such cases; and, with the aid of Muriel -and Professor Hyley, the sodden clothes were removed from the upper part -of the prostrate figure, and the bare white arms were worked to and fro. -Brandy in a teaspoon was forced between the blue lips by Kate Bindane, -who sent her helpless and apparently callous husband off with the -weeping Lady Smith-Evered to fetch blankets and the one hot-water bottle -which chanced to be available. - -Their efforts, however, were all in vain. With the tears flowing from -her eyes, Muriel rose from the puddle of water in which she had been -kneeling, and stood clinging to Kate's arm. - -"He's dead," she sobbed. "He's been dead all the time;" and a shudder -almost of repulsion shook her. - -She dried her tears and tried hard to pull herself together: she felt -that this undefined feeling of disgust was unworthy of any woman, and -was altogether despicable in one who had been so lately clasped in -Rupert's arms. She wanted to run away, and that primitive instinct which -produces in the mind the nameless horror of a dead body was strong upon -her. Yet, bracing herself, she resisted the sensation of nausea, and -stood staring down at the prostrate figure before her, vividly -illuminated in the glare of the electric light. - -His mouth, from which the water oozed, was slightly open, and a pale, -swollen tongue protruded somewhat from between his lips. His eyes were -closed, and wet strands of dark hair were plastered over his forehead. -His bare neck and shoulders looked thin and poor; and damp wisps of hair -covered his chest. The soaked, black trousers clung to his legs; and his -ill-shapen toes, from which the socks and shoes had been removed, were -ghastly in their greenish whiteness as they rested upon the hot-water -bottle. - -Suddenly she swayed, and the lights seemed to grow dim. She heard Kate -Bindane call out sharply for the brandy, and she was dimly conscious -that she was being led away by her maid, Ada. Her perceptions, however, -were not clear again until she aroused herself to find that she was -lying upon her bed in her cabin, and that Mr. Bindane was standing at -the door, staring down at her with his mouth open. - -She sat up quickly. "Did I faint?" she said, as the horror of -remembrance came upon her once more. - -"No," he answered. "You were only a bit giddy. You must try to sleep: -we're all going to try to. We shall be back in Cairo before sunrise." - -"Where is he?" she asked, pressing her fingers to her pale face. - -"On the sofa at the end of the deck," he said. - -She sprang to her feet. "No, no!" she cried. "Not there--please not -there!" - -She buried her face in her hands; and Benifett Bindane, disliking -hysteria, hurried away to the saloon, where he played Patience by -himself until the small hours; while his wife, Kate, wedging herself -into Muriel's narrow bed, comforted her friend until dozing sleep fell -upon them. - -The next two or three days were like a nightmare. An impenetrable gloom -seemed to rest upon the Residency; and, although the body lay in the -mortuary of a neighbouring hospital, it was as though the presence of -death were actually in the house. - -The funeral came almost as a relief; and when the imposing ceremony was -at an end, she felt as though the weight were beginning to be lifted -from her heart. For the first time since the tragedy she was able to -speak of it with calmness. - -"You know, father dear," she said, "Rupert and I came to mean a very -great deal to one another in these few weeks that we've been together." - -He glanced at her timidly, and patted her hand. - -"Yes," he answered, "I have eyes, Muriel." - -She turned and looked at him with a little smile of confidence. "We were -going to be married," she said. - -He started violently. "What!" he exclaimed. "Well, well, we must see -about that." - -"It's no good seeing about it, father," she corrected him, feeling an -hysterical desire to laugh; "he's dead." - -"The poor boy, the poor boy!" he murmured. "Such a capital fellow." - -"It was just after he had proposed to me that he fell overboard," she -told him. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he sighed. "And you had accepted him? I suppose the -shock.... How very, very sad!--He just fell backwards." - -Awkwardly, but with great tenderness, he put his arm about her. "You -must forget all about it," he whispered. "You must have a good time." - -"It was so ghastly," she said. "You see, when he asked me to be his -wife, I didn't say 'yes.'" - -"Of course not, of course not," he murmured. "Very proper, I'm sure." - -"But he thought I was only playing with him," she faltered. "He was so -angry, so hurt. And then the paddle-wheel started with a jerk, and he -overbalanced." - -"Ah, my dear," he answered, "the course of true love never runs -smoothly. An ancient saw, but a very true one! But you are young: you -will soon get over it. You must throw yourself into your duties as -hostess at the Residency; and, in the first place, I want you to help me -in a little scheme I have in mind." - -Muriel guessed what was coming, and her feelings were peculiarly -diversified. - -"I want to persuade Daniel Lane to accept some official position," he -said. "Of course I can't offer him the mere Oriental Secretaryship which -poor dear Rupert has left vacant; but I think its scope and importance -could be greatly extended, amplified, and he might be tempted." - -"I doubt it," Muriel replied. She did not know quite what to say. - -"I shall write to him at once," Lord Blair went on, nodding archly at -her. "I shall say how whole-heartedly you second my proposal." - -Muriel stiffened. "O, no, _please_," she answered, quickly, and the -colour mounted to her face. "Please leave me out of it; Mr. Lane and I -have nothing in common. I hardly know him, and much of what I do know I -dislike." - -Her father's face fell. There is no telling how far his scheming mind -had advanced into the future, nor what plans he was forming for the -well-being of his only child. It may only be stated with certainty that -he had a very great admiration for Daniel, and that he was not blind to -the fact that the object of this admiration was heir-presumptive to a -man who, by common report, was drinking himself to death. - -To Muriel, however, the prospect of having the masterful Mr. Lane -actually on the premises was disturbing in the extreme, and, during the -ensuing days, added not a little to her mental distress. - -She greatly missed Rupert's entertaining company; and although, as the -days passed, she realized that his death was not as shattering a blow to -her as she had thought, the remembrance of their brief romance often -brought the tears to her eyes. Yet even as she wiped them away she was -conscious that her sorrows were aroused rather by the tragedy itself -than by her own heart's desolation. It is true that her emotions had -been deeply stirred by his passion; but gradually the fires, lighted for -so brief a moment, died down, and she was obliged to admit that her -heart was not broken. - -But if the romantic effect of the sad affair was proved in these few -days to be less severe than she had at first supposed, there was another -aspect of the matter which had a very profound bearing upon her mental -attitude. The sudden termination of Rupert's career had set her thinking -about life in a way that she had never thought before. If death were -always so near at hand, if so simple an accident so quickly put out the -little lamp of existence, ought one not to concentrate all the forces of -the human constitution upon the enjoyment of each passing hour? - -She stood off from herself as an artist stands back from his picture, -and she saw that she was but a shadow amongst shadows, a speck of vapour -passing across time's fixed stare, having no substance of which one -could say, "this at least will remain." Today she was here; tomorrow she -would be dissolved and gone. - -To Kate Bindane she confessed all that had occurred on that fatal night. -"I don't want to be romantic," she told her. "I don't want to make more -of the thing than there was really in it. But his death means more to me -than it does to any of you others. I can't forget the sight of the soles -of his shoes disappearing into that black water. It's as though I'd seen -Death himself swallow him up. I had always thought of Death as a sort of -unknown country where one goes to; but in this case I saw it come for -him and swallow him. I saw it as an ink-black monster; it snapped him -up, and spit out the limp shell of him, but kept the essence of him in -its stomach. And it's waiting to snap up you and me. It's close at hand, -always close at hand...." - -She shuddered as she spoke; and her friend, putting her strong arm -around her, found difficulty in soothing her. - -"Well, perhaps," she replied, "it was an act of Providence to save you -from a mistaken marriage." - -"O, but he loved me," said Muriel, "and I should have come to love him -entirely. He was so sweet, so good-natured." - -"Perhaps there's something better in store for you, old girl." - -Muriel shook her head. "No," she answered, "there's nothing much but -Death for any of us. It all comes to that in the end: it all leads just -to Death." - -"Well, then, let's eat, drink, and be merry," said her friend. - -"Yes," Muriel replied, with conviction. "That's what I'm going to do. -Omar Khayyam was right: I've been reading him again." - -"He was a wise old bird," Kate Bindane commented. "Wasn't he the fellow -who said something about a bottle of claret and a hunk of -bread-and-butter in the desert? I've always thought it a fine conception -of bliss." - -Muriel clasped her hands together, and looked up with youthful fervour. -"Yes," she replied, "and he said 'Ah, make the most of what we yet may -spend, Before we too into the dust descend,' and 'Ah, fill the -cup:--what boots it to repeat how time is slipping underneath our -feet.'" - -"Yes," said Kate, "I always remember that line by thinking of boots and -slippers and feet." - -Muriel was speaking with too much earnestness to give heed to her -friend's lack of poetic reverence. "Life's so short," she went on, "that -I'm going to make the most of it. I'm going to have my fling, Kate. I'm -going to be merry." - -"Right-o!" said Kate. "I'm with you, old bean." - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THE OASIS IN THE DESERT - - -Upon a day towards the end of November, Daniel Lane was seated upon the -clean sand of the outer courtyard of the little mosque which stood at -the southern end of the Oasis of El Hamran. It was the hour of noon, and -the shadow cast by the small, squat minaret behind him extended no -further than his white canvas shoes, as he leaned his back against the -unbaked bricks, and stared before him across the glaring enclosure to -the palm-groves outside the open gateway. - -In spite of the heat of the sun, the blue shadow in which he rested -still afforded a pleasant coolness; and clad in a somewhat frayed tennis -shirt, open at the neck, and a pair of well-worn grey flannel trousers, -held up by a stout leather belt, his figure gave the appearance of such -comfort and ease that his lazy reluctance to rise and go home to his -midday meal was understandable. - -Five Bedouin Arabs who had been laughing and talking with him, were now -standing a few yards distant at the whitewashed door of the mosque, and -were engaged in removing their red shoes before entering the sacred -building; while, at the same time, they were conversing together in -undertones, as though discussing some matter of importance. - -Daniel sprawled to his feet, and, pulling his hat over his eyes, walked -towards the whitewashed gateway which gleamed with dazzling brilliance -against the deep blue of the sky and the green of the palms; but as he -moved away his Bedouin friends hastened to him across the hot sand, and -one of the number, the white-bearded Sheikh Ali, the headman of the -Oasis, laid a hand upon his arm. - -"My friend," he faltered, speaking in the liquid-sounding Arabic of the -western desert, "there is something I would say to you." He seemed to -hesitate. - -"He is wise who listens to the wise," Daniel replied, taking hold of the -Sheikh's hand, in the native manner of friends. - -The old man smiled. "The Prophet has written: 'Seek wisdom even if it -were only to be found in China'," he said. - -Daniel looked into the kindly and, indeed, saintly face with perplexity. -He was wondering what was to come; and, raising his arms, he clasped his -two hands at the back of his neck, an attitude he was wont to assume -when he was puzzled. - -The four others, who had been hovering shyly at a little distance, came -forward; and the Sheikh, as though emboldened by their support, bared -his heart without much further preamble. He pointed out, as Daniel well -knew, that there was a feud of many years standing in the Oasis, between -the family of the speaker and that of a former Sheikh who had been -dispossessed of his office. The quarrel had become almost traditional; -and though, up till now, no very serious incident had occurred, there -was a growing danger that a brawl might take place in which somebody -might be shot, and that thus the feud might become an endless vendetta -with its reciprocal crimes of violence. - -Stripped of its pious and flowery decorations, the proposition put -forward by the Sheikh was of the simplest character. He proposed that -the Englishman should act as judge and mediator between the two -families, and should hold a court at which the whole trouble should be -ventilated; and so insistent was he that Daniel was obliged to -acquiesce. - -"Praise be to God!" exclaimed the old man, when at length he had -received the definite answer he desired; and with many pious -ejaculations of gratitude he and his friends turned to enter the mosque, -while Daniel passed out through the gateway into the rustling palm-grove -beyond. - -His way led him for four or five hundred yards through the shade of the -thickly growing trees--a dusty shade, pierced by innumerable little -shafts of sunlight; but presently he came out once more under the -dazzling sky, and, bearing off to the left, mounted a rugged path which -ascended the sloping side of a sandy hill, till, reaching the summit, it -passed over level ground towards his house which stood upon a spur of -rock overlooking the Oasis. - -Two years ago, when he had come to reside at El Hamran to make, for the -Institute which had commissioned him, a study of the manners and customs -of the Bedouin, he had here found the abandoned ruins of an ancient -Coptic monastery, dating from the days when Christianity was still the -religion of the Egyptians; and he had established himself in their -shelter, and later had rebuilt some of the rooms, so that now his place -of abode had come to be a much-loved desert home, where month after -month was passed in quiet study, and the days slipped by in placid -contentment. - -From the windows of his rooms he could look down over the whole extent -of the dreamy little Oasis, with its sun-baked palm-groves, some three -miles in length and half a mile in breadth, its houses and tents, its -dozen wells, its few acres of tilled ground, and its miniature mosque. -All these lay in a kind of basin, surrounded by the cliffs and low hills -of the vast desert; and from his vantage-point he could look over the -swaying green sea of the massed palm-tops to the barren plateau around -about, and on a clear day he could just discern, far away to the east, -the first of the ranges of the hills which rose between his isolated -home and the far-off valley of the Nile. - -At the ruined gateway of his dwelling he was met by his three yellow -dogs who had been with him since they were puppies, and were fairly -well-mannered considering their low pariah breed; and while he was -playing with them, his servant, Hussein, came out to tell him that his -luncheon was served. Therewith he crossed the courtyard of the old -monastery, with its shattered row of cells to right and left, and its -still lofty walls of unbaked bricks, and entered the large refectory -which he had caused to be roofed over with palm-beams and dried -cornstalks spread in a loose thatch, and which now served as a kind of -entrance hall to his apartments. Upon its plastered walls some of the -ancient frescoes were still visible; and here and there a Coptic -inscription in dim red paint recorded the names of pious sentiments of -long forgotten monks; while over the ruined doorway there was an -indistinct figure of St. Michael, the patron saint of the place, whose -pale eyes and smudged lips seemed to look down on him with faded and -vacant mirth. - -A rebuilt doorway in the right-hand wall led into his whitewashed living -room, at the northeast end of which two large casements framed the -splendid view over the Oasis and the desert. - -In a corner of the room, on a small table, a simple but not uninviting -meal was spread upon a spotless tablecloth. Fresh poultry and eggs were -always plentiful in the Oasis; and on the store-room shelves there was a -large and varied supply of preserved foods, and even delicacies, which -had been brought over some months ago in a train of camels from Cairo. - -Daniel sat down to his meal with good appetite; and as he munched his -food in silence his gaze travelled round the airy room and brought back -to his heart a glow of pleasant contentment. After all, what could the -outside world give him in exchange for the peace and comfort of his -desert home? Here he had the intellectual companionship of his books and -his work, the simple friendship of courteous, good-hearted men, who had -come to regard him as a kind of teacher, and the devotion of three -well-meaning, if somewhat degenerate, yellow dogs. Here the brilliant -sun, and the splendid north wind, which blew continuously from the -distant Mediterranean across the great intervening spaces of clean -desert, brought vigour and health to his body and a kind of laughing -enthusiasm to his brain. Here he could amuse himself by long rambling -walks in the freedom of the empty desert, or, with his gun, could make -exciting expeditions in search of gazelle. Here, on the flat roof at the -top of one of the ancient towers of the monastery, he slept each night -under the blazing stars, lying in his comfortable camp-bed, breathing -the purest air in all the world, and gazing up into the vault of the -heavens, till the calm sleep of a child descended upon him. And here -from golden sunrise to golden sunset the days slipped by, each brought -to perfection by that greatest of all human blessings, an untroubled -mind. - -He rose from the table, and, lighting his pipe, sank luxuriously into a -deck-chair, a book of the poems of Hafiz in his hand, a cup of Turkish -coffee by his side, his feet resting crossed upon a wooden stool, and -the cry of the hawks and the drone of the bees making music in his ears. - -The barking of the dogs outside, followed by a knock at the door, -aroused him; and his servant entered the room. "Sir," he said, "a -soldier of the Frontier Patrol has ridden in from El Homra, bringing a -letter for your Excellency." - -Daniel threw down his book, and, making a broad gesture with his hands, -looked up at the smiling Hussein with a frowning pretence of anger. - -"Curses upon his father!" he thundered. "Will his confounded masters -never leave me in peace? Bring him in to me." - -A few moments later a smart, khaki-clad negro was shown into the room, -who saluted in military fashion, and produced a sealed envelope from the -breast pocket of his tunic. - -Daniel saw at a glance that the letter was from Lord Blair, as he had -expected. He opened it with misgiving, and read it through without any -apparent change of expression, though it was noticeable that the pipe in -his mouth was allowed to go out. Then he slowly folded the sheets, and, -thrusting them into his pocket, rose from his chair. - -"I cannot give you my answer until tomorrow morning," he said to the -messenger. "Go now and look after your camel, while Hussein prepares -food for you; and in the morning you may carry back my reply." - -As soon as he was alone once more, he pulled the letter from his pocket, -and spreading it out upon the window-sill, stood bending over it, with -wrinkled brows and brooding eyes, his elbows resting upon the sill and -his head in his hands. - - MY DEAR DANIEL, - - You will be surprised to hear from me again so soon, and you - will, I dare say, think me something of a nuisance. I am sorry - to say that a sad calamity has befallen us. Poor young Rupert - Helsingham was accidentally drowned in the Nile not many days - after you returned to the desert; and we have all been very much - cut up, especially my daughter, Muriel, in whose presence the - tragedy occurred. You will recollect that Helsingham held the - position here of Oriental Secretary; and it now falls to me to - fill the vacancy. I have therefore decided greatly to extend the - functions of the post and to offer it to you; and I shall esteem - myself fortunate if you decide to accept it. As I am very - anxious to increase by every means the respect in which the - holder of the position should be held by the native population, - I would propose to recommend you to His Majesty's Government for - early elevation to Knighthood, an honour which your scholarly - attainments and your services to the Residency fully deserve. I - trust, my dear Daniel, that you will give me the reply that I - desire; and I am sure you will know what a personal pleasure it - will be both to me and to my daughter to have you at the - Residency. - - Yours very sincerely, - - BLAIR. - -After reading through the letter two or three times, he stood for some -minutes staring before him with unseeing eyes. His first impulse had -been to reject the invitation on the instant, for he detested -officialdom and all its ways; and the thought of connecting himself with -the social life of the Residency was horrifying. But now, against his -inclinations, he obliged himself to consider the proposition with an -open mind. - -To some extent it might be said that his work in the Oasis was finished: -his notebooks contained an enormous mass of information. Yet he was loth -to consider that his task was accomplished. El Hamran and its -inhabitants, and especially the saintly and benevolent Sheikh Ali, had -become very dear to him; and the detachment from the world made an -appeal to his nature which was very strong. His occasional journeys to -Cairo were always disturbing to the peace of his mind; and how then -could he expect to be happy in close daily contact with all that -produced unrest? - -There was this girl Muriel Blair, who, against his reason, had made some -sort of impression upon him which was hard to eradicate. He had tried -his best, even to the point of rudeness, to ignore her; and yet he had -found himself interested in her welfare, and, on his return journey to -the Oasis, he had given more thought to her than he supposed she -deserved. And now he had to confess that Lord Blair's reference to her -in his letter had aroused the response it was intended to arouse. - -During the whole afternoon he turned the matter over in his mind, and at -sunset he went out for a rambling walk into the desert behind his house; -nor did he return until his mind was made up. - -As he entered his gateway in the gathering darkness, he was met by the -Sheikh, who had come to discuss further the subject which he had opened -that morning. - -Daniel led him into his lamp-lit sitting-room, and bade him be seated; -but when the old man began to discuss the merits of his case and those -of his enemy, his host held up his hand. - -"I would first ask your advice upon my own affairs," he said. "My heart -is sad tonight, my father." - -"Let me share your sorrow," the Sheikh replied, with simple sincerity. - -"My father," said Daniel, "you have told me that long years ago you -resided for some years in Cairo and other great cities." - -The Sheikh nodded his head. "It is so," he replied. - -"Were you happy there?" - -"My son, I was young." - -"I mean," said Daniel, "do you believe that happiness is to be found in -cities?" - -The old man raised his hand and moved it from side to side. "No," he -answered, "not happiness--only pleasure. Why do you ask?" - -"Because I received a letter today...." - -"I saw the messenger," said the Sheikh. - -"I have been offered a position of some importance in Cairo. My friends -want me to leave El Hamran, and to live in Egypt." - -Sheikh Ali uttered an exclamation of distress. "What is your reply?" he -asked. - -"Advise me, my father," Daniel answered. - -The Sheikh leant forward and silently examined his red leather shoes. -For some moments no word was spoken. At length he looked up, and his -hand stroked his white beard. "What use is it for me to advise you?" he -said. "Your decision is already made. You will leave us; but it is not -the glory of office which attracts you, nor yet the call of your duty -which bids you depart." - -"What then is it?" Daniel asked. - -"My friend," he answered, after a pause, "no son of Adam, having -strength and vitality such as yours, and enjoying the springtime of -life, can remain a _dervish_, an ascetic. It is true that you care -little for the world, that you do not desire fine clothes, nor wealth, -nor possessions. Yet you are man, and man looks for his mate. You go to -choose for yourself a wife." - -Daniel smiled. "You are mistaken," he answered. "I shall not marry for -some years to come." - -The Sheikh shook his head. "No man knows the secrets of his own heart," -he replied, "yet his friend may read them like a book written in a fair -hand. I say again, you go to choose for yourself a wife." - -The ready denial was checked upon Daniel's lips. For a moment he paused, -and it seemed to him that a sidelight had been flashed upon the workings -of his brain: then he dismissed the thought as being something very -nearly fantastic. - -"No," he said, "I am going because I believe it to be my duty. My -country needs me." - -The Sheikh made a gesture which seemed to indicate the uselessness of -argument. "It is not good for a man to live alone," he answered, with a -sigh. "Some day, perhaps, you will return to us, bringing with you your -wife." - -Daniel smiled again, but there was sadness in his face. "El Hamran is my -wife," he said. "When I go, my heart will remain here." - -"When will your Excellency leave?" the Sheikh asked, becoming suddenly a -man of action. - -"In a few days" the other answered; "as soon as this matter of feud is -set to rights." And therewith he turned the conversation into that -channel. - -In the night as he lay upon his bed upon the tower-top, gazing up into -the immensity of the heavens, he repeated to himself, almost with -derision, the words of the Sheikh: "You go to choose for yourself a -wife." It was absurd, and yet somehow the thought made a way for itself -amongst the crowded places of his mind. To choose for himself a wife...! - -"Good Lord!" he muttered; "what a horrible idea!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE HELPMATE - - -Daniel was drying himself after his bath early next morning when Hussein -came to tell him that the soldier of the Frontier Patrol craved -permission to ask whether the reply was ready, as he was anxious to -start back as early as possible, so as not to delay the messenger who -wished to leave for Cairo at noon. - -He therefore fastened a towel around his waist, and, striding into the -adjoining room, scribbled his answer on a half-sheet of paper. - -"Excuse scrawl," he wrote, "but am having my bath, and the messenger, -whom I've kept all night, can't wait any longer. All right, I'll turn up -within a week or so and take on the job you so flatteringly offer. No -knighthood, please. D. L." - -He thrust the sheet into an envelope, and with a broad smile addressed -it: "The Rt. Hon. The Earl Blair of Hartlestone, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., etc.; -His Britannic Majesty's High Commissioner and Minister Plenipotentiary." -He felt that, since he was now to be a respectable member of society, he -ought to accustom himself at once to the world's accepted ways, even -though they seemed to him to belong to the realm of comic opera. -High-sounding titles always made him laugh. He could not explain it: it -was just a clear sense of actuality, a looking at things as they are and -not as ceremony presents them. - -Now that his mind was made up, and Lord Blair's invitation accepted, he -felt no longer troubled; and, his reply having been dispatched, he set -about packing his belongings and rounding off his affairs with the -greatest equanimity. - -To his great regret, however, he failed to bring the matter of the feud -to a successful conclusion. The chief members of the family opposed to -Sheikh Ali would not be reconciled; and all that Daniel's eloquence and -persuasion could accomplish was an agreement to maintain the _status -quo_ during the Sheikh's lifetime. But as the old man was already -bending under the weight of years, and as his hopes were concentrated -upon the succession of his son, Ibrahim, this compromise was not very -satisfactory. - -Daniel's departure was the cause of much regret in the Oasis, for he had -come to be regarded by the inhabitants as a loyal and helpful friend, -one who was full of wisdom and benevolence, and who could doctor both -their souls and their bodies. But in the case of Sheikh Ali the parting -was the occasion of deep sorrow; and the old man endeavoured on these -last days to pour into his ears all the good advice he could command. - -"This is my parting gift," said Daniel to him, when at length the hour -of setting out had arrived. "I give you my promise that when you go to -rest with your fathers, I will support with all my might the candidature -of your son, Ibrahim, for the office of Sheikh." - -The old man spread his arms wide. "God be praised!" he cried. "Now _am_ -I at peace, my dear." - -A crowd of natives followed his caravan for some distance, the men -firing their guns in the air and shouting words of encouragement and -blessing to him; and when at last the desert hills had swallowed him, he -felt that he had set behind him a phase of his life the happiness of -which he could never hope to enjoy again. - -The journey was accomplished at a moderate speed, and on the fifth -morning, soon after sunrise, they sighted the Pyramids in the distance -ahead of them, backed by the green belt of the Nile valley. The early -sun now struck full in their eyes; and Daniel, turning down the brim of -his hat, did not often look far in advance of his camel's nose until he -was within some two miles of the Pyramids. - -As he jogged along at the head of his caravan, his three yellow dogs -trotting after him, his thoughts began to be coloured by a gentle -excitement; and, for the first time, the future seemed to him to hold a -variety of interesting possibilities. - -After all, he said to himself, a man should rise above his surroundings; -and indeed his philosophy would be proved a mere pretence if his -happiness were dependent upon circumstances. Why should he dread the -restlessness of Cairene life? If there were to be unease it would arise -from within, not from without; and the citadel of his soul, of his -individuality, would hardly be a fortress worth holding if the clamour -of the world outside should be able to arouse an answering and -traitorous disturbance within. Even in Cairo he would remain master of -himself: one can be free anywhere. - -"One can be free anywhere" ... Why, those were the words used by Muriel -Blair when he had first met her; and he had laughed at them. Well, -certainly she had not appeared to be very free as she sat there in the -moonlight, with the diamonds sparkling around her throat. She did not -know what freedom was: she was a product of the social conventions. He -wondered whether she had taken his advice and had endeavoured to break -loose from them. - -He was aroused from his reverie by the sound of horses' hoofs, and, -looking up, he saw a man and two women approaching him at a fast trot. -Behind them were the Pyramids, and in the far distance the minarets and -domes of the great city rose into the splendour of the sunlight from -above the opalescent mist of the morning, backed by the shadows of the -eastern hills. The air now in the first days of December was cool and -sharp; and there was a sparkle in the sunshine which only this time of -day enjoys. - -The picture was exquisite, and for a moment his eyes rested upon it -entranced. Then he turned his attention to the three figures coming -towards him, and, with sudden excitement, he recognized the foremost of -the three as Lady Muriel. - -She reined in her horse and waved her hand. "I guessed it was you," she -cried. - -Without waiting for his camel to kneel, Daniel slid from the high saddle -and dropped to the ground. - -"Why, what are you doing out here at this time of day?" he asked her, -as, leading his camel behind him, he hastened to her side and grasped -her hand. "I'm mighty glad to see you." - -She turned to her companions, Mr. and Mrs. Benifett Bindane, and -introduced them to Daniel. She had been spending the night at Mena House -Hotel, she explained, where the Bindanes were staying, and the fresh -morning air having aroused her before sunrise, she had had an early -breakfast and had come out for a canter over the desert. - -"I spotted you a long way off," she said. "I knew you by your hat, if it -is a hat." Somehow she did not feel so shy of him as at their meeting at -the Residency. - -"I guess I'm going to shock you all in Cairo with that hat," he laughed. -"It's an old friend, and old friends are best." - -"Am I an old friend?" she asked. - -"Pretty old," he answered. "I've known you for four years, you must -remember." - -She told him that her father was not expecting his arrival for some -days, and that she feared no room had yet been prepared for him. - -"But I'm not going to stay in the house," he answered quickly. "You -didn't think I'd come and live in the town, did you?" - -Muriel felt somewhat relieved. Even if the feelings of ease in his -society which at the moment she was experiencing were to last, she had -no particular wish to have him always about the house, nor present at -every meal. - -"Well, where are you going to live?" she asked. - -He glanced around him. They were standing upon a level area of hard -sand, in the shadow of a spur of rock which formed the head of a low -ridge. The broken surface of the desert was spread out to their gaze to -north, east and west; but the rocks shut off the view towards the south. -The caravan had strayed considerably from the beaten track; and the sand -hereabouts was smooth and unmarked, except by their own footprints and -by those of the desert larks which were now singing high overhead. - -"Where am I going to live?" he repeated, suddenly coming to a decision, -in his impulsive way. "Why right here where we stand. It shall be my -home: just where I shook hands with you." - -Muriel glanced at him, wondering whether his words contained any deep -significance; but, by his smiling face, she judged that they did not. - -He looked about him with interest. "It couldn't be bettered," he -exclaimed. "It's a good mile-and-a-half back from the Pyramids, and well -out of the way of people. I'll ride in to Mena House on my camel every -morning, and take the tram into Cairo from there." - -Mr. Bindane stared at him open-mouthed. - -"Rather far away, isn't it?" he commented. "A bit lonely at nights." - -Daniel laughed. "I suppose there's something wrong with me," he -answered. "I'm always happiest alone." - -Kate Bindane picked up her reins. "I think that's the bird, Benifett, my -love," she remarked, "in fact the screeching peacock." - -Her husband looked blankly at her. - -"'The bird'," Kate explained; "a theatrical term indicating peremptory -dismissal." - -By this time the train of camels was within fifty yards of them; and -Daniel called out to his men to halt. His servant Hussein came forward, -and took charge of his camel. - -"I'll pitch my camp at once," he said to Muriel. "Then I can go and -announce myself to your father this afternoon." - -Acting on an impulse, a desire to establish friendly relations at the -outset, Muriel dismounted from her horse. "Do let me stay and help you," -she suggested. - -"Sure," said Daniel. He called to one of his men to hold her horse. - -Muriel turned and explained the situation to her friend Kate. - -"The man's practically going to live with us," she whispered: "I'd -better make friends." - -"Oh, rot!" said Kate. "He's a picturesque lunatic, and you're a bit mad -yourself, and it's a lovely day, and you've got nothing to do, and you -know you look a dream in that riding kit." She turned to her husband. -"Come along, Benifett; her ladyship's going to spend the day with the -gent from the Wild West." - -Muriel laughed. "I'll ride back to the hotel soon," she said. - -"No hurry, old sport," replied Kate; and, after a few polite remarks to -Daniel, she and her pliant husband trotted away. - -Muriel at once began to survey the surroundings. She clambered up the -sand drift to the top of the spur of rock, and there, in the fresh -morning breeze, she stood with her hand shading her eyes, gazing over -the undulating spaces of the desert. She felt like a child beginning a -holiday at the seaside and investigating the possibilities of the sands. - -The brisk morning air, the brilliant sunshine, the blue sky in which a -few little puffs of white cloud were floating, the golden desert with -its patches of strongly contrasted shadow, the distant green of the Nile -valley, the far-away minarets of the city, the singing of the larks, the -excited barkings of the three dogs, and the shouts of the camel-men: -these sights and sounds seemed to be full of vivid life. - -The shadow of her recent sorrow was quite removed from her mind; and -though her furious attempts at gaiety of late had been sadly -unsuccessful, this morning she felt that the world still contained -wonderful possibilities of adventure, and it must be admitted that her -fidelity to the memory of Rupert Helsingham was already indeterminate. - -She turned and watched Daniel as he helped in the work of unloading the -camels. He had taken off his coat, and his shirt sleeves were rolled -back from his mighty arms. He was wearing a shabby old pair of riding -breeches and gaiters; and the butt of his heavy revolver protruded from -his hip pocket. His wide-brimmed hat was pulled over his bronzed face, -and his pipe was in his mouth. He appeared to be lifting enormous loads -with incredible ease; and just now he had set all his Bedouin laughing -by walking off unceremoniously with a huge bundle of tenting, in the -ropes of which one of the natives had become entangled, thereby dragging -the astonished man across the sand as a puppy might be dragged at the -end of a string. - -Presently he came towards her, beckoning to her; and she slid down the -sandy slope to meet him. - -"Look here," he said, "this'll be a long job. I wish you'd let me send -your horse away: I'll be wanting the man who's holding him soon." - -Muriel felt abashed, and something of her old hostility returned to her. - -"I'd better go," she said. "I'm in your way." - -"No," he answered quickly "I don't want you to go. I like you to be -here--very much indeed." - -His obvious sincerity appeased her. He fetched a notebook and pencil -from the pocket of his coat, and handed them to her. - -"I'll send your horse back to the hotel," he said. "Please write a note -to your friends." - -"What d'you want me to say?" she asked, taking the writing materials -from him, her eyes curiously wide open, and having in them that -characteristic expression of assumed and mischievous innocence. - -"Say this," he replied, and, with mock obedience, she wrote at his -dictation: "Mr. Lane insists on my working. Please 'phone to my father -that he has arrived, and that I will bring him to the Residency for tea. -I'll look in at the hotel in the early afternoon." - -"Anything else?" she asked with a laugh. "Won't you send a few -directions to my maid to pack my things, and order a car to take us into -Cairo?" - -"Yes," he replied, without a smile. "You'd better add that." - -As she was writing he turned to the man who was holding her horse, and -gave him his instructions; then, having handed him the note, he sent him -galloping off. - -"Now what?" asked Muriel. Unaccountably, her heart was beating fast. - -"Now take your coat off, and come and help," he said. - -For a moment she hesitated, and a sensation very much like fear took -hold of her; but, recollecting that he was nothing more than her -father's new diplomatic Secretary, she gave herself up to the enticement -of the free and sparkling desert. - -"Come on then," she answered; "let's get at it." And pulling off her -long white linen coat, she tossed it aside, with her gloves and crop, -and rolled up the sleeves of her silk shirt. - -Daniel looked gravely at her as she stood before him in her well-cut -white breeches and brown top-boots; and for the first time Muriel could -see admiration in his eyes. She was feeling reckless, and her boyish -costume did not disconcert her: she was quite aware that her figure had -nothing of that ungainliness about the hips and knees which so often -makes the hunting-field a place of mirth. - -He wisely offered no comment upon her appearance, much as he liked the -graceful freedom and vigour which it suggested; and together they -hastened over to the camels, Muriel pretending, as they went, to spit on -her hands. - -For a couple of hours they worked with the Bedouin: erecting the tents -at the foot of the spur of rock; laying down the grass mats over the -level floors of sand; unpacking the kitchen utensils, the enamel jugs -and basins, the plates and dishes; setting up the camp bed and -collapsible tables and chairs; arranging the books in the portable -bookcase; and folding up the towels and blankets in the useful -camel-boxes, or lockers, of which there was a good supply. - -Muriel threw herself into the work with energy; and indeed she thought -it one of the best games she had ever played. She hastened to and fro, -laden with pots and pans; she crawled about on her hands and knees, -banging away at doubtful pegs, or scooping up the sand around the -skirting of the tents; she sorted out and arranged the tins and bottles -of food and drink; and she helped to heap up stones and sand to make a -sort of kennel for the dogs. - -Her labours gave her little time for conversation, and indeed a great -part of Daniel's remarks had the nature of somewhat peremptory orders -and instructions. When she dropped a glass bottle of jam, and smashed -it, he scolded her not altogether in jest; and she was quite relieved to -find that he did not make her lick it up, but, on the contrary, took -care that she did not cut her fingers. And when she tripped over one of -the tent-ropes and fell flat on her face he actually tempered his -reproofs with kindly enquiries after her general health, and dusted her -down with the greatest care. Every now and then, however, they had short -opportunities of exchanging their news; and she then gave him a few of -the less compromising details of the recent tragedy, at which he showed -genuine and undisguised distress. But she had no inclination to cast a -shadow on the morning's strenuous enjoyment; and she did not linger on -that sad subject. - -"This is just like a game of Indians or something," she said, as she sat -herself upon a packing case to rest. - -"Yes," he answered, looking down at her with amusement. "That's the -funny thing: life is generally lived on such rigid lines that when one -comes down to actuality it seems like pretence." - -He opened a tin of biscuits and a bottle of aerated water, and fetched a -couple of tin mugs from the kitchen-tent; and, thus refreshed, they -continued their work until midday. - -By this time the camp was spick and span; and the three tents which -served as dining-room, bedroom, and study, looked alluringly -comfortable. They were decorated inside in the usual Arab manner, with -bold designs and inscriptions cut out in bright coloured cotton-cloth -stitched to the canvas; and the camp-chairs of green sail-cloth, the -grass matting, and the plain wooden lockers, gave an appearance of clean -and cool comfort which rejoiced Daniel's heart. The kitchen, and the -smaller tent which was to shelter his servant at night, both stood -somewhat apart, tucked away behind a projecting arm of the rock. - -"What are you going to do with your camels and men?" Muriel asked, as -she stood in the sunlight, regarding her handiwork with satisfaction. - -"One of the camels belongs to me," he replied, "and its duties will be -to take me to and from Mena House every day, and to fetch water from the -well. My servant Hussein is going to remain with me; and his -brother--the lean fellow with the squint--will look after the camel. All -the rest of the bunch will be off back to the desert tomorrow morning, -the lucky devils." - -Muriel looked at him questioningly. "Why 'lucky'?" she asked. "Are you -sick of your fellow countrymen already?" - -He corrected himself quickly. "No," he said; "I spoke without thought. -As a matter of fact, I'm mighty glad to be here, thanks to you." - -"O, have I made any difference?" she queried, with an air of innocence. - -He put his hands into his pockets, and, sucking at his pipe, regarded -her thoughtfully. "Yes," he said at length, "I think you've made all the -difference." And then, as though afraid that his words might be thought -to bear a romantic interpretation, he added: "You've made the place look -fine." - -Hussein now served an excellent little luncheon consisting of particular -delicacies from the store-cupboard, washed down with refreshing -lime-juice and soda; and Muriel did full justice to the meal. When she -had devoured everything within sight, like a hungry schoolgirl, she -yawned loudly; and Daniel, without further question, arranged some -blankets on the floor at the side of the tent, and covered them with the -sheepskin from his saddle. - -She stared at him anxiously. "What's that for?" she asked. - -"For you to sleep on," he said. "I'm going out to see about the men, and -you'd better take the opportunity for a siesta. You look half asleep -already." - -"I think I'd better not," she replied. "We ought to be going soon." - -"Do what I tell you," he commanded, pointing to the sheepskin; and, -being indeed sleepy, she obeyed without further argument. - -"Comfy?" he asked, as she lay down. - -"Gorgeous," she answered drowsily, and shut her eyes. When she opened -them again a few moments later he had already left the tent; and, with a -sigh of supreme happiness, she settled herself down to her repose. - -Half an hour later Daniel looked into the tent and found her fast -asleep. She was lying upon her back with her legs crossed, and one arm -behind her head; and frankly he admitted to himself that she made a most -delightful picture. - -He went away again, and busied himself for half an hour in changing his -clothes and having something of a wash. He routed out quite a -respectable suit of grey flannels, and a white stock for his neck; and -thus arrayed, he returned to the sleeper. - -She lay now upon her side, her cheek resting on her two hands, her knees -drawn up; and he confessed to himself that she looked adorable. He did -not take his eyes from her for a full minute. - -He went out for a walk, and surveyed with satisfaction the position -which he had chosen for his camp; and it was half past three when he -returned once more to Muriel. - -This time she was lying on her back, with one knee raised, one arm -across her breast, and the other flung out upon the floor. He sat -himself down in the entrance of the tent, and lit his pipe. He did not -look at her; for suddenly some door in his heart had opened, revealing a -vista of thought which was new to him. The girl upon the sheepskin was -no longer merely a charming picture: she was a woman sleeping in his -tent after her labours in the camp. She was his companion, his mate, -tired out with helping him. She was Eve, and he was Adam: and lo!--the -desert was become the Garden of Paradise. - -He got up from his chair with a start, and uttered an exclamation of -dismay. His thoughts were riotous, mutinous, foolish: he had no business -to think of her like that. He knew nothing about her--nothing, except -that she did not belong truly to his system of life. Her little show of -vigorous, outdoor activity was a pretence on her part, a mere -experiment, a new experience filling an idle day. She was not a child of -the open desert: she was a daughter of that busy, dressed up, painted -old harlot, the World. Presently she would go back to her stuffy rooms -and trim gardens, her dinner-parties and balls, her diamonds and frocks -and frills, her conventions and mockeries of life. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -When he turned to her again she had opened her eyes, and was looking at -him in dazed wonderment. She sat up with a start, and the colour flushed -into her face. Then she threw her head back and laughed happily. - -"It's nothing to laugh about," he said, gloomily. "It's nearly -tea-time." - -She jumped to her feet, and began arranging her hair, which was falling -down. "Why didn't you wake me, man?" she asked. - -"I was too busy," he replied. - -He spoke roughly, and she thought he was angry with her. "I slept like a -log," she said. "I'm so sorry." - -"It's no good being sorry," he exclaimed. "The mischief's done." - -"What d'you mean?" she asked, perplexed. - -He did not answer. "I'll go and get the camels," he said. "Ever ridden a -camel?" - -She shook her head. - -"Well, that'll wake you up all right," he laughed, and therewith left -the tent. - -She thought him very ungracious, after all the work she had done for -him. "I suppose he wanted me to clean his boots," she muttered. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE NEW LIFE - - -Perched on the make-shift saddle of a baggage-camel at an apparently -break-neck height above the ground, Muriel still had the feeling that -she was playing an elaborate game as she jogged along beside Daniel's -taller and more magnificent beast, with its gaily coloured tassels and -trappings, and its rich white sheepskin upon which its rider was seated. -Behind them rode a black-bearded son of the desert, with a white -_bernous_ over his head, silver-mounted pistols stuck into his sash, and -a rifle slung over his shoulders. Daniel was holding her guiding-rope, -and her two hands were therefore free, as she bounced up and down, to -cling on to the sides of the saddle--a circumstance for which she was -grateful, although it caused her to feel like a captive being led into -slavery. - -At the gate of the hotel her companion's camel knelt at a word from him, -and he dismounted; but in her own case her less accustomed mount was not -so easily induced to go down on its knees, and startled by its antics, -she recklessly slid from the saddle and hung for a moment at its side, -her legs kicking about in the air. A moment later she tumbled into -Daniel's arms, and presently found herself deposited, like a piece of -baggage, upon the doorstep, in front of Mrs. Bindane, who happened to be -standing in the entrance bullying the hall porter. - -"Hullo," said Kate, casually, "the washing's come home." - -Muriel felt herself all over carefully, as though to make sure that her -anatomy was still reasonably complete, and then, linking her arm in that -of her friend, described to her the day's strenuous events; while -Daniel, feeling that his presence was not required during these -confidences, went over to his attendant to give him his instructions. - -"My dear," said Muriel enthusiastically, "we've made a lovely camp out -there. It's like a story out of the _Arabian Nights_." - -Kate Bindane looked at her suspiciously. "Well, you be careful of those -stories," she said. "They generally need a lot of expurgation before -they're fit for family reading. Isn't this the man you told me kept a -harim in the desert?" - -"So they say," she answered. "Anyway he's evidently given it up." - -"He'll soon collect another," her friend replied. "I expect that's the -Grand Chief Eunuch he's talking to now." - -"Did you get my note?" asked Muriel, anxious to change the subject. - -"Yes," she smiled, "and your esteemed orders received the prompt -attention of our Mr. Bindane, who 'phoned your papa, and ordered the -car, and made himself quite useful." - -After the tragic death of Rupert Helsingham, four weeks ago, Kate -Bindane had taken a gloomy aversion to their steamer, and had persuaded -her husband to get rid of it, and to come out to this hotel on the edge -of the desert. Muriel had, on more than one occasion, spent the night -here with them in their comfortable suite of rooms; and now as she said -"good-bye," she made arrangements for future meetings and visits, while -Daniel, in a spasm of hospitality, suggested that they should make use -of his camp as an occasional halting-place. - -"During the day, while I'm at work in Cairo," he said, "you can make use -of my tents. I'll tell my servant to look after you." - -Kate Bindane laughed. "O, come now," she answered, "that's driving your -birds right over my gun. It makes shooting too easy." - -Daniel was perplexed. "What d'you mean?" he asked, as he seated himself -beside Muriel in the car. - -"Well," said Mrs. Bindane, "you've got the reputation of being a bit -short with your fellow men; but to say you'll be glad to entertain us -provided that you yourself are not there is the limit." - -Muriel turned to Daniel. "She's only joking," she assured him; "that's -her way." - -Kate uttered an exclamation. "Oh, you little swine!" she said to Muriel. -"You're on _his_ side now!" - -"No, I'm not," Muriel protested, hastily, and the colour came into her -face. - -Daniel looked from one to the other. "I don't know what you're talking -about," he said. "I'm all at sea." - -The car moved away, and Muriel sat back in her corner luxuriously. She -was very tired, and her feet ached. She was happy to find that she no -longer felt awkward in this man's presence, and that her feminine -intuition had not deserted her, for she seemed to have learned the trick -of managing him. It was only necessary to make herself useful to him, to -roll her sleeves up and show a little muscle, and his antagonism -evaporated. He was prehistoric--that was all; and yet she could not -associate the idea of brutality with him. No, she had not quite -classified him; but at any rate she realized that she had probably been -wrong in regarding him as being contemptuous of her sex. He was only -contemptuous of uselessness. - -She glanced at him as he sat in silence by her side, and she noticed -that his expression had become grave, and even sad. - -"What's the matter?" she asked. "You look unhappy." - -He aroused himself, and smiled; but his eyes were troubled. - -"Yes, I feel a bit blue," he said. "I suppose it's the thought of my new -job." - -"I'm rather surprised," she commented, "that you have taken it on. Why -did you?" - -He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I thought it was my duty," he said. -"You see I happen to speak Arabic as fluently as I speak English, and -I've made a study of the native mind. I understand these fellows and -they understand me; and Egypt just now is craving for understanding." - -"You've got a lot to live up to," she told him. "My father thinks you -are going to be the saving of the country. I'm always hearing your -praises sung." - -He looked gravely at her. "You call to my mind," he said, "the prayer of -Abu-Bakr, the first Khalif. When he heard that people were praising him, -he used to say something like this: 'O God, Thou knowest me better than -I know myself, and I know myself better than other people know me. Make -me, I pray Thee, better than they suppose, and forgive me what they know -not.'" - -Therewith he relapsed into silence once more; and Muriel, feeling that -there was a sort of momentousness in this hour of his entrance into the -political arena, held her peace. There was in her mind a sense of pride -at the part she was playing in a great event. She felt that she was, as -it were, a sharer in a diplomatic secret; it was almost as though she, -too, were serving a great cause. Suddenly the things which made up her -social life seemed to become insignificant, and her existence took on a -larger aspect. - -As they drove up to the door of the Residency, she turned to him as -though he were an old friend. "I'm awfully glad my father is going to -have you with him," she said. "I feel a sort of personal interest in it -all." - -Daniel's reply was interrupted by Lord Blair's appearance on the steps. -He had heard the car drive up to the door, and had hastened out to greet -the newcomer. - -"Welcome, my dear Daniel," he exclaimed, holding out his arms as though -he were going to embrace his friend. "This is splendid, capital!" - -The two men shook hands, and as they did so, Lord Blair winced as though -his fingers had been crunched in a man-trap. For some minutes thereafter -he held his right hand loosely in his left, bending the joints carefully -to and fro, under the pretence of fiddling with his rings. Even after -they had entered the drawing-room and Muriel was dispensing the tea, he -was still clenching and unclenching his fist, and bending and -straightening his first finger as though surreptitiously beckoning to -somebody. - -Muriel told her father of her morning's work, and described with -enthusiasm the camp in the desert. - -"I'm very sorry," he answered, turning to Daniel, "very sorry indeed, -that you are not going to live here in the house, but I bow to your -wishes. You must consider yourself entirely free; and indeed I know we -shall lose you if you are not your own master." - -"Oh no," Daniel replied, "I'm quite prepared to follow a routine. I'll -work here all the morning, talking to your native callers, and I'll do -the correspondence at the camp in the evenings." - -"That will be admirable," said Lord Blair; and presently, when tea was -over, he led Daniel away to his study. - -"And now," he said, when they were seated, "let us discuss the question -of your salary...." - -Daniel interrupted him. "Oh, don't bother about that. I'll take whatever -the position carries--I don't suppose it's much, as it's a Foreign -Office job. I've got a small income of my own, you know; and my tastes -are simple. Get me as much as you reasonably can, of course; but don't -worry about it." - -Presently Lord Blair spoke of the question of Knighthood, and attempted -to persuade him to reconsider his decision; but Daniel was obdurate, and -very reluctantly his chief abandoned the project. - -"Let me follow my own instincts," said Daniel. "From the native point of -view your adviser on Oriental matters does not need that sort of thing." - -"Don't you think he does?" asked Lord Blair, rather doubtfully. - -"Certainly not. If you'll let me, I shall turn out all the fine English -office furniture from my official room: the desk, and the red leather -chairs, and the pictures. They're all right for a governor, but not for -the--what shall I say?--the court philosopher, as I intend to be. I want -plain bare walls, bare floors with just a rug or two, and a few chairs. -No books, or papers, or maps, or calendars, or clocks." - -"As you wish, my dear Daniel: I rely on you," said Lord Blair. - -"You see," he continued, "what English pro-consuls in the East so often -lack is the go-between, the man who tries to get at the native soul, so -to speak. You, as governor, must represent the might and the justice of -England; but I must be the voice saying 'Don't be afraid: we shall not -outrage your religion or your philosophies or your traditions.' Now I -can't be that if I'm sitting at an American desk, with an eyeglass in my -eye, and a stenographer tapping away beside me, and a large office clock -ticking on the wall. I should be so unconvincing. Do you see what I -mean?" - -"Quite, quite," Lord Blair answered. "I dare say you are right." - -His face, however, belied anything of conviction that he attempted to -put into the words. He did not want Daniel to orientalize himself to any -marked extent: he wished him to take his place in the English and -Continental society of the Residency. He had great ambitions for him, -and the idea of training him ultimately to occupy his own exalted -position was developing rapidly in his mind. He dreaded anything in the -nature of eccentricity: he had the characteristic British dislike of the -crank. Yet he could not imagine Daniel as ever becoming unbalanced, for -a kind of equilibrium and stability were apparent in all his actions. - -On the other hand, the idea of the new Oriental Secretary adopting the -role of philosopher appealed to him; he saw the force of it; for his -experiences in the East had made him realize that if a white man is to -gain the confidence of a brown race he must be, in both senses of the -words, capable of a brown study. - -When Daniel returned to the drawing-room to say "good-bye" to Muriel and -to thank her, it was already dark outside, and the room was brilliantly -illuminated by a number of somewhat inadequately shaded electric globes. -There were five or six people in the room; and he paused for a moment in -the doorway, wondering whether he would give offence by beating an -immediate retreat. He was paying very careful regard to his behaviour, -however; and when Muriel called out to him, he was obliged to enter. - -"I'm going now," he said to her, approaching the sofa where she was -seated. "I just wanted to say 'thank you.'" He looked neither to right -nor left. - -Lady Muriel turned to a very smartly dressed woman who was seated beside -her on the sofa, and introduced Daniel. His hands were, at the moment, -clasped behind his back, and he bowed to her with great gravity. She -held out her hand, but, seeing that he had considered the more formal -bow sufficient to the occasion, withdrew it again. He thought that -perhaps he had been stiff, and at once held out his tanned and muscular -paw, but finding that it was too late, thrust it into his coat pocket, -at the moment when, for the second time, she offered her fingers. He -snatched his hand out of his pocket, but simultaneously she withdrew -hers again. - -Muriel laughed nervously, but Daniel faced the situation frankly. - -"I'm sure I don't know whether I'm supposed to shake hands or not," he -said. "What do people do in society?" - -"Which ever you like," the lady murmured, with a titter of laughter. - -"That's no good," he answered, "unless you do what the other fellow's -going to do. Anyway," he added, bending forward and very deliberately -taking hold of her irresolute hand, "how d'you do?" - -He glanced about him, and observed that the others were watching him -with mild amusement. Near him was Sir Frank Lestrange, the First -Secretary, whom he had met before--a fair-haired, clean-shaven man of -some forty years of age, whose rigid formality seemed incapable of -disturbance. Daniel shook him warmly by the hand, but for all the -impression he made he might have been greeting a tailor's dummy. - -Near the window he saw Lady Smith-Evered, talking to a pale young -Guardsman, who appeared to be in immediate need of a tonic. He went over -to her, and made his salutations with cordiality, for a year ago he had -made her acquaintance at the Residency, and he had a vague recollection -that she had taken offence at something or other he had said. He held -out his hand, but once more his pocket became its sudden place of refuge -as she bowed with all the stiffness that her undulating figure -permitted, and, with no more than a glance in his direction, turned to -continue her conversation with the Guardsman. - -In another part of the room an elderly man with sleek, grey hair was -talking to a heavy matron whose respectable cloth dress looked as though -it had been made for her by a builder of club-room furniture. Daniel -thought he recognized the man, and took a few steps towards him, but, -deciding that he was mistaken, turned on his heel and, narrowly avoiding -a collision with a small table, returned to Muriel. - -The curious thing was that though these situations were embarrassing, he -did not appear awkward. Muriel observed this remarkable fact, and -wondered at it. He was certainly out of place in a drawing-room, she -thought, but he was not therefore out of countenance; and his -_sang-froid_ seemed to deserve a more friendly treatment than it was -receiving. She therefore got up as he approached her, and in a very -audible voice asked him if he would let her help him to arrange his -official quarters on the morrow. - -He thanked her, and then, lowering his voice, asked her if she could -explain Lady Smith-Evered's very marked hostility. - -"Why, don't you know?" Muriel whispered. "She told me all about it: she -said you had run down the Army once when you were talking to her last -year." - -"Nonsense," said Daniel, "I'm sure I never did." - -Muriel nodded. "Yes, you did. She said you spoke of the officers of her -pet regiment as men who looked as though they'd been through the ranks." - -"But I meant that as a compliment," he answered. "I meant they looked as -though they weren't afraid of hard work. Had she any other complaints?" - -"No, I think that was her only grievance." - -Before she could stop him, he turned and walked straight across the room -to Lady Smith-Evered, and came to a halt immediately in front of her. - -"I was just asking Lady Muriel how I had offended you," he said, with -disconcerting directness; "and she tells me it was because you thought I -had disparaged some of our soldier friends." - -The General's lady flushed. He saw the red glow creep up from her neck -to her face, under the thick powder, and her eyes gleamed menacingly; -but she only inclined her head. - -"I want to apologize," he went on. "I'm most awfully sorry: my remarks -were stupid, and I think I must have been trying to say something -bright. Will you please forgive me?" - -The flush deepened. "I'm glad you apologize," she said, and she glanced -at the Guardsman beside her, as though to bid him take notice of what -she supposed to be the discomfiture of the offender. - -"I'm very glad that you accept my apology," he said, and with a bow he -left her. - -"What on earth did you say?" asked Muriel, when he had returned to her. - -"I apologized," he answered, quietly. - -"Ate humble pie?" she queried, with a touch of disdain. - -"I had hurt her feelings: I'm always sorry to annoy anybody," he -replied. - -"Well," she remarked, "I think you've rather annoyed _me_ now, by -climbing down like that." She did not feel that humility suited him, and -she was conscious of a sense of disappointment. - -"My good girl," he whispered, "you've got a lot to learn from the -philosophers. You must let me put you through a course of reading." - -Her disappointment flamed into anger at his words, and she responded -coldly to his adieux. When he had left the room she sat down once more -upon the sofa, and in the few moments of silence which followed, she -experienced a variety of sensations. She felt as though he were the -schoolmaster again who had scolded her; she felt abashed and did not -know why; she felt angry with him, and, after their happy hours -together, her displeasure fell like a destructive hand upon the day's -edifice; she felt that they belonged to different worlds, and that it -was hopeless to attempt to understand him; she felt that she was right -and he was wrong, and yet there was a doubt at the back of her mind as -to whether the opposite might not somehow be the case. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE COURT PHILOSOPHER - - -In the West an interest in Philosophy is considered to be an indication -of eccentricity; and the thought brings before the imagination some -long-haired and ancient professor, detached from the active world, -wandering around a college quadrangle, his hands folded, and his face -upturned to the sky as though averted from the stains of spilt food upon -his breast. In the East, however, the Philosopher is held in high -honour; and his vocation calls to mind a thousand tranquil figures each -of whom has been the power behind an Oriental throne. - -Daniel Lane was a philosopher by inclination and by education, and his -great common sense was the definite consequence of careful reasoning. - -He believed that Right was an unconquerable force which needed no -display of manners or sounding of trumpets to signal its movement; and -so long as he did not offend against the laws formulated by his -philosophy, he did not look for difficulties or defeat. - -Nor was he a man who could be terrorized by any threats; and though Lord -Blair had warned him that assassination was a likely end to a political -career in Cairo, he was not in the slightest degree troubled by the -thought. Very reluctantly he consented to profit by the activities of -the Secret Service; and he determined to dispense with their aid as soon -as he had made himself acquainted with the ramifications of native -intrigue. - -He began his work at the Residency, therefore, without trepidation; and -on the first morning of his official employment he inaugurated a -procedure which before nightfall was the talk of many in the native -quarter. - -In a secluded corner of the garden, at the end of a short terrace at the -edge of the Nile, there was a luxuriant group of palms, in the shade of -which stood a marble bench of Arabic design, built in a half-circle upon -a base of Damascus tiles. A mass of shrubs and prolific rose bushes shut -it off from the main grounds; while from passing boats it was screened -by a low parapet covered by a wild tangle of flowering creepers. This -sheltered and peaceful alcove was promptly appropriated by Daniel, and -in this setting he made his appearance in the political life of Cairo. - -His first visitor was a wealthy, silk-robed land-owner from Upper Egypt, -who desired to lay certain complaints before the British authorities, in -regard to the hostile actions of a native inspector of Irrigation. The -man had been shown into the waiting-room in the Residency, where he had -been filled with anxiety by the ticking of the typewriters in the -adjoining room, the constant ringing of telephone bells, and the hurried -passage to and fro of clerks and liveried servants. He had wondered -whether he knew sufficient English to make himself understood without -the aid of an interpreter, and whether, if the interpreter's services -were required, he would have to give him very handsome _backshish_ to -render his tongue persuasive. - -Therefore, when he was led presently across the lawn to the sunny -terrace beside the Nile, where he came upon a mild and quiet figure who -stood smoking his pipe, and idly tossing pebbles into the placid waters, -and who now greeted him in the benevolent language of the Koran, his -agitation left him upon the moment, and with it went the need of -cunning. He stated his case frankly, as he strolled to and fro with -Daniel in the sunlight, and he blessed God and his Prophet that the -interview which he had dreaded so long in anticipation should prove so -undisturbing in actuality. - -Daniel next found himself seated upon the marble bench with a -caravan-master who had failed through the ordinary channels to obtain -redress for the illegal seizure of certain goods at the Tripolitan -frontier; and this personage's amazement at the Englishman's knowledge -of the desert routes was profound. - -Later, a deputation of sheikhs from Dongola was received in the shade of -the rustling palms: grave, anxious men who had come to speak of the -disaffection of certain neighbouring tribes, and to express their own -loyalty, which was somewhat in doubt. - -At the close of the interview, while he was warning them against revolt, -Daniel happened to notice a bundle of stout wooden faggots lying near by -in readiness for use as supports for some young trees which had recently -been planted. He went across to them, and selecting one of them, carried -it back to his seat upon the bench; and presently, turning to the -sheikhs, he asked if any man amongst them could break such a faggot -across his knees. - -The youngest member of the deputation, a magnificent specimen of negroid -humanity, took the faggot in his brown hands, and strained his muscles -in the attempt to break it, but without success. His colleagues, older -men, made no trial of their lesser strength, but were satisfied to -declare the task to be impossible. - -Daniel rose and took it from them, and a moment later flung it to the -ground in two halves. "That faggot," he said, quietly resuming his seat, -"may be likened to the land of Dongola, which is to be the strong -support of the fruit-bearing tree of the Sudan. But if it fail in its -useful duty, it may thus be broken asunder by hands more powerful than -yours, and be cast into the flames." - -To the native mind a demonstration of this kind was more potent than any -words, and the deputation of sheikhs left the alcove, carrying with them -a tale which would be told to their children's children. - -As they retreated across the lawn towards the entrance, Daniel suddenly -caught sight of Muriel, whose face peered out from amongst the rose -bushes, as though she were looking to see if he were alone. - -"Hullo!" he called out; "what are you doing here?" - -"Spying on you," she answered, coming out into the open, her arms full -of roses which she had been picking. - -"That's very wrong of you," he said. - -"Well, you've taken possession of my particular corner," she laughed, -"and I always get my roses from here." - -"I'm sorry," he replied as they seated themselves upon the marble bench. -"I though you slacked about upstairs until midday." - -She looked at him squarely. "You've got a wrong idea about me -altogether," she declared. "It's true I don't spend my mornings in -smashing up Government property.... By the way, why did you break that -wooden stake across your knee?" - -He laughed quietly. "It was a parable: it represented a certain province -of the Soudan, and its possible fate at England's hands." - -She thought it out. "I wonder what would have happened," she mused, "if -you'd found that you couldn't break it. I suppose in that case you would -have said it represented England." - -"No," he answered, "I should have been in a bad fix, and it would have -served me right for showing off. But I don't often attempt what I don't -think I can do. It's a bad thing to fumble about with anything that's -beyond one, like a dog with an uncrackable bone." - -"Somebody ought to have invented a proverb," she said, "like 'Don't -worry what you can't bite.' But, you know, you're fumbling about with me -very badly." - -"Would you rather I bit clean through you right away?" he asked. -"Supposing I said I thought I had smashed you open already...?" - -"I'd pity your strange delusion," she answered, and they both laughed, -though Muriel did not feel hilarious. - -"Well, supposing I just said I thought I _could_ do so, and was going to -try?" - -"I'd reply: 'Any thing, so long as you don't worry me.'" - -Again they laughed, and this time Muriel did so with more sincerity, for -she felt that she had answered him well. - -He took a rose from the bunch in her hands, and smelt it thoughtfully. -"Yes, I'm going to try," he said at length. "I'm going to understand -you, and then make you understand yourself. I'm going to show you -yourself." - -"You're a busy man," she answered, at once estranged; "you'd better not -take on any new job." - -"It's worth while, I think," he replied. - -There was something in his voice which changed the tone of their -conversation, and arrested the development of her hostile feelings. The -flippancy of their words died away, and a new seriousness, a salient -eventfulness, took its place. Suddenly Muriel was filled with longing to -be understood, to be laid bare mentally both to him and to herself. She -felt solitary and her heart cried out for the enlightenment of -friendship; yet she did not dare to make an intimate of this man, whose -treatment of her sex did not seem to be conspicuously delicate. -Nevertheless the inadequacy, the inutility of her method of life was -very forcibly presented to her, and she seemed to be beating at the bars -of her cage. There was something so flat and unprofitable in all that -she had done, and the desire was urgent in her to realize herself and -expand. - -"O, I want to be taught," she exclaimed, "I want to be taught...." She -checked herself, and was silent. - -He looked at her in surprise, for she uttered the words with intensity, -and it was clear that she meant them; but it was not clear that they -were prompted by more than a passing emotion, for presently she began to -talk about the lighter things of her life, and she spoke of the various -events in prospect which would keep her from brooding. The greater part -of each day for the next week or so was already filled; and Muriel spoke -of these coming events as though they were dispensations granted to her -by a benevolent Fortune for her heart's comfort. - -"I've come to the conclusion," she said, "that the only way to be happy -is to be surrounded by amusing people, so that there is no opportunity -for thinking about oneself." - -He shook his head. "No, you're wrong. Your happiness must come from -within, from the contentment and fullness of your own mind. The Buddha -once said 'Let us dwell free from yearning, among men who are anxious'; -and there is an anonymous Oriental poem which says something about the -lost paradise being hidden, really, in the human breast. My good girl," -he exclaimed, warming to his subject, "don't you realize that what you -can get from this restless world of 'society' you live in is only -pleasure, not happiness, and even at that it doesn't last. You are like -a punctured wheel: so long as people are pumping you up, you seem to be -all right, but when they leave you alone you go flat, because your inner -tube isn't sound. You ought to be alone in the desert for a bit: it -would do you all the good in the world." - -Muriel looked at him questioningly. "Were you alone in the desert?" she -asked. There had come into her mind a vision of that harim of which she -had heard tell. - -"Well, I wasn't exactly alone ...," he replied; for he had many friends -among the natives. - -His answer gave fresh colour to her thoughts, and a sense of annoyance -crept over her. - -"It seems to me," she remarked, "that I ought to remind you of the -Biblical saying, 'Physician, heal thyself.'" - -She got up, and, with a little nod to him, strolled back to the -rose-bushes. He watched her as she added fresh blooms to the bunch she -was carrying; and he noticed how the sunlight caught her hair and made -it beautiful. He would have liked to have gone after her and taken her -in his arms. - -Presently he returned to the house, and, finding that there were no more -native visitors, went to talk over serious matters of policy with the -regular Secretaries. - -He remained to luncheon at the Residency, and at the table Lord Blair -enquired eagerly as to whether he had found his first morning's work -interesting, and appeared to be relieved to hear that such was the case. - -Muriel joined in the conversation. "I was eavesdropping behind the -bushes," she said, "and I can say with confidence that Mr. Lane enjoyed -it all thoroughly, especially the part where he smashed up the -gardener's work of weeks." Therewith she related the incident of the -wooden stake, but in her narrative the faggot became an immense -tree-trunk. - -Lord Blair rubbed his hands. "That's the sort of thing!" he exclaimed. -"Dear me, dear me!--what strength you have, Daniel!" - -"Yes," said Muriel, "his mere presence would make the dullest party -piquant. One has only to recollect that if he were suddenly to get out -of control, every person in the vicinity would run the risk of being -banged into a boneless emulsion...." - -She broke off with a laugh, and Daniel smiled affably. Somehow, in spite -of his Herculean proportions, he was not a man one would associate with -violence. - -After luncheon, Daniel spent some time in talking to Lord Blair in -regard to native affairs; and it was already half past three when he -left the Great Man's study, and walked across the hall to the main -entrance. Here he encountered Lady Muriel, who was just going off upon -her visit to the bazaars. She was about to step into a very new and -luxurious automobile, which Mrs. de Courcy Cavilland, wife of the -Colonel of the Dragoons, had recently purchased to the honour of the -regiment and to the dismay of her husband. This lady, a small fluffy -woman, with innocent blue eyes and sharp little teeth, was making -gushing remarks to Muriel as Daniel appeared at the head of the steps; -and three young Dragoon officers were standing behind her, like nice -little dogs awaiting their turn to go through their tricks. Actually -they were excellent fellows, but in the presence of their colonel's -wife, they bore little resemblance to the fire-eating cavalrymen of -tradition; and Daniel, as he looked down upon them from the top of the -steps, wondered which was the more disastrous influence in a -regiment--that of the colonel's wife upon the younger officers, or that -of the younger officers upon the colonel's wife. - -He felt a sort of gloomy interest in the group before him; and, as his -presence seemed to be unnoticed, he leaned against the jamb of the door, -hat in hand, watching the scene through a recurrent haze of -tobacco-smoke. - -"I suggest," Mrs. Cavilland was saying to Muriel whose back was turned -to him, "that we drive up the Mousky, and go first to the scent bazaar. -Willie Purdett, here, wants to buy some scent for his mother--Lady Mary, -you know. And then I must go to the brass bazaar: I promised dear Lady -Agatha Lawer I'd get her one of those tea-tray things. She so hates -going to the bazaars herself: she says they're so smelly. Personally, I -simply love the East...." - -Muriel took her seat in the car, and as she did so she caught sight of -Daniel. - -"Hullo!" she exclaimed, "I thought you'd gone." - -He took his pipe out of his mouth, and told her he was just going. - -Muriel introduced him to Mrs. Cavilland, who stared at him with disdain, -casting a withering glance upon the disreputable hat he was holding in -one hand, and upon the pipe in the other. She then turned away as though -the sight were unbearable. - -"Mr. Lane is a cousin of your friend Charles Barthampton," Muriel told -her; and thereat her manner changed with surprising suddenness, for the -British peerage was as meat and drink to her. - -"Why, of course," she answered, "I can see the likeness now;" and she -glanced with surprise at the mischievous smile--almost a wink--which -Muriel directed at him. "You're new to Cairo?" she added. "You must come -and see me: I'm always at home on Tuesdays." - -"Yes," said Muriel, "that will be very nice for him: he loves -tea-parties, don't you, Daniel dear?" - -Daniel looked at her curiously. His Christian name sounded strange from -her lips, and he wondered why she had used it now for the first time. -Her expression suggested that there was a private joke between them, and -the intimacy pleased him. - -"Yes, Muriel dear," he replied, gravely, and Muriel gasped; "but you -needn't blurt out my secret." He turned to Mrs. Cavilland as though to -explain. "I'm rather addicted to tea-drinking and quiet gossip," he -said. - -Mrs. Cavilland thought him somewhat forward, but she excused it in one -who was so well-connected. "We tear each other to pieces on Tuesdays," -she laughed. - -He did not reply. He was still wondering why his name, Daniel, should -have sounded so pleasant to his ears, and why the expression of silent -understanding on Muriel's face should have stirred him so subtly. It was -as though their friendship had taken a leap forward. - -He stepped to the side of the car, and put his hand on Muriel's arm. -"Don't get too tired," he said, "or you won't enjoy your dance tonight." - -"Are you coming?" Mrs. Cavilland asked him. - -"No," he answered, "I have a previous engagement with a lady in the -desert." - -"Who?" asked Muriel, quickly. She was taken off her guard. - -"A very dear friend," he replied. "Her name is Sleep." - - - - -CHAPTER XV--A BALL AT THE GENERAL'S - - -Lady Smith-Evered's dance was a social event of much importance, and -those members of the English community who were not invited had perforce -to regard themselves as outside the ranks of the elect: a fact which led -that night to much moodiness on the part of ambitious young women who -wandered about their creditable little flats and houses, hating their -mediocre husbands. On the other hand, those to whom invitations had come -somewhat unexpectedly, vied with one another in their efforts to -indicate that their presence at the General's house was to be regarded -as a matter of course; and herein, perhaps, lay the explanation of those -curious demonstrations of nonchalance which were so frequently to be -observed--the careless attitudes, the friendly words to the servants -behind the supper buffet, the assumed knowledge of the plan of the house -and garden, and the casual remarks to host and hostess. - -Muriel, of course, was the outstanding figure of the ball: not so much -because of her looks, for there were many well-favoured young women in -the ballroom, nor because of her charming frock, for the beginning of -the winter season in Cairo is notable for a general display of recent -purchases; but rather because she was her father's daughter, and, as his -heiress, one of the most frequent victims of the familiarities of the -London Press. - -She paid little attention, however, to the many pairs of eyes which -scrutinized her; for she had come here to enjoy herself, and her dancing -program was full. - -As an opening to the ball, she danced with the General; but her efforts -to avoid having her toes trodden upon caused her to indulge in such -antics that she speedily manoeuvred him to a convenient sofa, where he -puffed and blew until the military band had ceased and again renewed its -conscientious din. - -There are few noises so dispiriting as a British military band's -rendering of American ragtime; but, as has already been stated, Muriel -was determined to enjoy herself, and, save for an occasional desire to -sandbag the conductor, she was entirely untroubled by ill-humoured -thoughts as her elegant partners swung her around the room, or led her -out to rest in the illuminated garden, where a hundred gaily coloured -Chinese lanterns dispelled the mystic sorrow of the moonlight. - -After some two or three hours of dancing, however, she began to grow -weary; and when something went wrong temporarily with the suspender -which held up one of her stockings, she was glad enough to come to rest -in the supper-room. Here she seated herself next to her hostess, who was -just forming a big party at a little table, and who was jovially -endeavouring to pretend that there was much fun to be derived from -jamming oneself into the smallest possible space and eating with one -hand. - -Lady Smith-Evered, having swallowed during the evening quite a lot of -champagne, was in a talkative and even confidential mood. On several -occasions she nudged Muriel, and whispered loudly to her from behind her -fan, calling her attention to the General, who, at a neighbouring table, -was flirting resolutely with Kate Bindane. - -"He's such a Lothario," she whispered: "I'm quite thankful he's growing -old; though, mind you, he doesn't often show signs of age yet." She -laughed hoarsely, and turned her eyes upwards with a nod to express -admiration for his virility. - -Muriel, as she looked at her, conceived a violent horror of old age; and -inwardly she prayed that in her own case she would know when to abandon -the thoughts which only Youth can make beautiful. - -"Women used to be mad about him," Lady Smith-Evered went on presently, -still speaking in husky asides, "but I don't think he was unfaithful to -me, except, perhaps, when he was in India." She munched her -lobster-salad in silence for a few moments. "One can't blame him for -that, poor dear," she mused at length. "Men will be men--especially in -that climate...!" - -Muriel turned away in shame, and at once caught the eye of Lord -Barthampton, who was one of the party. He was staring at her from the -opposite side of the table. - -"Lady Muriel," he said, raising his glass to her, "Your very good -health. Cheerio!" - -Muriel thanked him, and busied herself in prodding at the food upon her -plate which was a full arm's length away from her. - -"Do let me feed you," said the good-looking youth who was sitting beside -her, and who had managed to ram himself closer to the table. - -He picked up her plate, and, screwing himself round on his chair, -presented a morsel on the end of the fork to her lips. The intimate -operation delighted him, and as he repeated it, Muriel observed the -excitement in his face. It is a most dangerous thing to feed a woman: it -arouses the dormant instincts of the Pliocene Age. - -Lady Smith-Evered patted her hand archly. "You mustn't let him do that," -she whispered. "That's the way doves begin. And look at Charles -Barthampton: he's madly jealous." - -"Jealous?--Why?" asked Muriel, glancing at Lord Barthampton, who was -scowling at her across the table. - -"My dear, haven't you eyes? Can't you see that he is making a dead set -at you?" - -"Oh, nonsense," said Muriel, a little crossly. "I've only met him once -or twice, and this evening I've had half a dance with him." - -Lady Smith-Evered smiled knowingly. "He's a very eligible young man," -she purred. - -"He drinks," Muriel remarked, shortly. - -"Oh, but he has turned over a new leaf," her hostess replied. "Didn't -you notice he drank your health in soda-water just now? He's a very good -sort. What a difference there is between him and that extraordinary -cousin of his!" - -"There is, indeed," Muriel answered, with feeling. - -The youth beside her had abandoned his attempts to feed her, and was -excitedly filling his own mouth with good things, women and food being -associated ideas in his pristine young mind. - -"Did you notice how he apologized to me?" Lady Smith-Evered remarked. - -"Who?" asked Muriel. Her thoughts were wandering. - -"Mr. Lane," she answered. "It was a great triumph." - -"Who for? You, or Mr. Lane?" Muriel's heart beat as she asked the -question, for it was meant to be a blow in defence of the man she was -beginning to regard as her good friend. - -Lady Smith-Evered was too befogged to divine her meaning. "It was a -triumph for me," she declared. "People generally find it better to be in -my good books." She made a menacing gesture to the company at large; and -three or four young officers, not quite catching her words, but judging -by her expression that she was demanding their approbation, nodded their -heads wisely. "But of course he's not quite right in his head," she went -on. "He has lived alone in the desert too much. Why, my dear, do you -know what I saw him doing yesterday in the street?" - -"What?" asked Muriel, at once alert. - -"It was just outside the Residency," she said. "I was talking to him, -when a donkey, left alone in a native vegetable cart, got its leg over -the shaft and started kicking. Well!... He lifted the creature clean off -the ground, got its leg back between the shafts, and then took hold of -its ear and whispered into it: 'Oh, you absurd ridiculous ass!' It -sounded quite uncanny." - -Lord Barthampton got up ponderously from his seat and came round the -table to Muriel. "The music's started again," he said. "It's our dance, -isn't it? Are you ready?" - -Muriel rose, somewhat relieved to take her departure from the -supper-table. As she did so her hostess again nudged her heavily. - -"Just look at the General!" she whispered. - -Kate Bindane turned round, and, catching Muriel's eye, burst out -laughing; while the General, finding his wife's gaze fixed upon him, put -his hand playfully over his face. - -"What's the joke?" Muriel asked. - -"Sir Henry is telling risky stories," replied Kate. - -"It's all right, my dear," said the General, waving his hand to his -wife. "It's only the one about the little boy and the Sunday school -teacher." - -Lady Smith-Evered laughed huskily. "I'm glad it's no worse," she -declared. "Henry, you must behave yourself." - -"She's egging me on," he replied, slapping his thigh. - -"Now then, now then!" exclaimed Kate, "none o' your sauce." - -Muriel put her hand on Lord Barthampton's arm, and turned away. She was -feeling an indefinable sense of disgust; and she was glad to merge once -more into the revolving mass of dancers, and to allow the brazen music -to beat the thoughts out of her brain. Her partner did not speak. He was -turning over in his mind the possibilities of future happiness, and the -effort absorbed his attention, so that his dancing, never of a high -standard, became atrocious. - -The only solution of his perplexing problem was for him to marry a rich -wife: then, if Daniel were to reveal the secret of his birth, he would -not suffer a knock-out blow. He would lose his title and the fortune -which went with it, but he would have refeathered his nest, and all -would be well. And the partner with whom he was now dancing was an -heiress, and a jolly fine girl into the bargain. - -He was making praiseworthy efforts to check the downward course of his -career, and ever since his interview with his cousin, he had been on the -water-waggon; but, even though his reform were complete, was Daniel to -be trusted not to dispossess him? He doubted it: the temptation would be -too great. What a dirty trick his father had played him! But he wasn't -so easily floored: he would obtain another fortune by marriage, and then -he could tell Cousin Daniel to go to hell. - -"You're looking very glum," said Muriel, as they wandered out, -presently, into the garden. - -Lord Barthampton braced himself. "Yes, I _am_ a bit down in the mouth, -little woman," he murmured. "You know, even we soldier fellows get the -hump sometimes--sort of lonely." - -Muriel glanced at him apprehensively. She saw at once that the moonlight -and the lanterns had had an instant effect upon him, and she presumed -that he would now become sentimental. Self-pity is the token of a fool, -and her feminine intuition told her that, since he was worse than a -fool, he would probably picture himself as a stern, silent Englishman of -heroic mould bravely battling against a deep and poetic loneliness. - -She sighed sweetly, for there was always something of the rogue in her. -"Yes, I understand," she whispered, and she pressed her fingers -sympathetically upon his arm. - -His line of attack seemed to be justified, and he developed it with -ardour. "Sometimes a chap comes to the end of his tether," he went on, -but paused again and squared his shoulders. "However, one's got to keep -a stiff upper lip, eh? We're out here, far from home, just to do our -duty, so we mustn't grouse. We have to keep the old flag flying." - -"The dear old flag," said Muriel fervently, feeling rather a beast thus -to play up to him, but excusing herself on the grounds of curiosity as -to what he would say next. - -"Sometimes it's hard, though," he confessed, "and I'm afraid I've been -reduced more than once to the whisky bottle and baccarat and bad -company. Ah! I know that sounds weak," he exclaimed, as she uttered a -little squeak of distress, "but you don't know the temptations of a -lonely man, with nothing to do, cursed with wealth...." - -"O, but I can guess," she replied, intoning her words as though she were -speaking Shakespearian lines. "Sunday afternoons, leaning over the -parapet, with nothing to do but spit in the river--why shouldn't you -join in a game of chance, instead of going to church? I can quite -understand it." - -He looked at her in astonishment, wondering if she were pulling his leg; -but in the moonlight he saw only a sympathetic girl, gazing into the -distance with an expression of saintly purity. - -"It's worse than that," he sighed. "A man has temptations that you -couldn't understand, little woman. What he wants is the pure friendship -of a girl." - -"An English girl," she murmured, with fervour. - -He bent forward and looked into her eyes. "Lady Muriel," he said, "will -you be a friend to me? Will you be my little English rose?" - -"Lord Barthampton ..." she began, wondering how she could terminate a -jest of which she was already tiring. - -He checked her. "Please call me 'Charles,'" he begged. - -The music began again in the ballroom, and Muriel rose with alacrity. -"Come," she said, dramatically. "Let us go back to the gay and frivolous -world." - -"Right-o!" he exclaimed, brightly, inadvertently changing his tone now -that the desired impression seemed to have been made. - -As they entered the house they encountered Lord Blair, who had looked in -at the dance for the purpose of demonstrating the perfect agreement -between the diplomatic and the military services, for it so happened -that his own policy and that of the General disagreed on every occasion -and on every essential point. He was standing in the hall, having just -made a parade of the ballroom with his hostess, and the latter was now -talking to him, calling him "George" for the benefit of the guests who -happened to be within earshot. - -As the girl and her partner approached, Lady Smith-Evered whispered that -Lord Barthampton seemed very attracted to Muriel; and she repeated her -assertion that he was a very eligible young man. - -At this, however, a frown gathered upon Lord Blair's forehead, and he -made a deprecating gesture with his thin hand. He had other plans for -his daughter which, if not yet mature, were already in train; and, it -must be confessed, he wished Barthampton an early and comfortable -demise. - -Muriel presently wandered off with her chaperone, Lady Smith-Evered; and -Lord Blair thereupon suggested that her late partner should come with -him into the smoking-room for a quiet cigar. The heavy-jowled young man -was inwardly astonished at the mark of consideration, and the thought -entered his slow-working mind that Lady Muriel's father was taking an -anticipatory interest in him. - -The smoking-room not being open to the ordinary guests, the two men -found themselves alone in it; and Lord Blair at once took up his stand, -as was his wont, upon the hearthrug, and made his customary pretence of -warming a certain part of his anatomy before the empty grate. Lord -Barthampton, meanwhile, seated himself upon the arm of a neighbouring -chair, and lit the cigar which had been proffered to him. - -"I'm afraid I shall never persuade your cousin Daniel to come to these -sort of functions," the elder man remarked, after a few casual -references had been made to the evening's entertainment. - -"No, he's a queer fellow," the other responded, shortly. - -"I have the greatest admiration for him," Lord Blair declared. "Tell me, -is he not your heir presumptive?" His words indicated only a polite -interest. - -"Yes," said Barthampton, puffing heavily at his cigar, and shifting his -legs. "But, of course, I shall marry soon--when I find the right -girl...." - -"Of course, of course," Lord Blair replied. "Very right, very proper. -But ..." he paused, "there is no hurry, is there?" - -"I'd like to have a son and heir," the other responded. "You see there's -a good deal of property involved. Luckily, I need not marry for money: -I've got plenty." He was anxious to announce his eligibility. - -"Well," said Lord Blair, speaking out of the blacker depths of his -scheming mind, "take my advice, my dear fellow, and don't marry yet -awhile. 'Marry in haste and repent at leisure,' you know--a very true -adage. You have a long life before you ... plenty of time, plenty, to -make your choice with care." - -"Yes, I'm pretty healthy," he answered; and Lord Blair looked at him -critically, hoping that he was mistaken. - -"Does the climate agree with you out here?" he asked, hopefully. - -"Well, I can't say I exactly enjoyed the summer," Lord Barthampton -laughed. "A heavy fellow like me feels the heat." - -Lord Blair's spirits rose. "A little tightness, perhaps, at the back of -the head, eh?" His thoughts were running on the possibilities of -apoplexy. - -"No," he answered, "but I'm always in such a devil of a sweat." - -"Yes, yes, very natural, I'm sure," Lord Blair murmured. "And a little -short of breath sometimes, I dare say?" - -The younger man stared at him warily. He was wondering whether the -questions were those of a prospective father-in-law; and he decided that -it was his policy to show as clean a bill of health as possible. - -"Oh, I'm as sound as a bell," he laughed. - -Lord Blair's face fell. If apoplexy were unlikely to carry him off, -perhaps there was some hope of kidney-trouble: there were ominous -pouches under the young man's eyes. - -"Some people," he said, "find that they suffer out here from pains in -the small of the back--stabbing pains, you know, with a sensation of -burning...." - -"Do they, now?" the other replied, quite interested. "No, I can't say I -ever felt 'em." - -Again Lord Blair's hopes were dashed to the ground. He knew, however, -that Barthampton was a heavy drinker, and he introduced the subject with -manifest interest, and with a disregard of principle which sorely -troubled him. - -"Doctors sometimes advise abstemiousness out here," he said, "but -personally I think a little stimulant is a good thing." - -Lord Barthampton warmed to him. "So do I," he replied heartily. "Still, -for the present I'm absolutely on the water-waggon." - -"Dear, dear!" muttered Lord Blair, fidgetting openly. "Dear me!--dear -me! That's a little drastic, isn't it?--a little unnecessary?" - -"I don't suppose I'll keep it up for long," was the reply. - -"No, why should you?" Lord Blair commented, and the younger man thought -him very broad-minded. - -The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the General, in -search of a quiet corner for a smoke, and Lord Blair, much dispirited, -presently made his way back to the ballroom, and thence home to bed. His -daughter, however, remained till past three o'clock in the morning, and -at last was one of the little group of enthusiasts which kept up the -revels to the accompaniment of amateur efforts on the piano, after the -weary band had dispersed. - -She traversed the short distance back to the Residency under the -protection of Lord Barthampton; who had managed by sheer obstinacy to -obtain this office for himself; and as she said "good-night," to him -upon the doorstep, he held her hand in his somewhat longer than was -necessary. - -"I shall always remember tonight," he said, "as the first time I have -really got to know you." - -"Will you?" she replied, feebly, not finding any appropriate comment. - -"Yes," he answered. "Good-night, little woman. Think kindly of your -lonely friend." He came closer to her. "If ever you hear anything -against me from Cousin Daniel, take it with a pinch of salt." - -"Oh, I always rely on my own judgment," she answered; and with that she -passed into the house. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--AT CHRISTMASTIDE - - -During the ensuing two or three weeks Daniel was absorbed in the -organization of his work, and it was not until the festivities of -Christmas interrupted his routine, that he was able to look about him -and take his bearings. He had found the work extremely interesting, and -already he could see some indications that his point of view was being -adopted in the general policy of the Residency, while in specific cases -Lord Blair accepted his advice with very little hesitation. - -In this atmosphere of confidence Daniel thrived and his labours -prospered. He was amused by his new insight into the Egyptian mind; and -he enjoyed his frequent rambles through those quarters of the city which -are unknown to the European visitor. Already he had native friends in -all parts of Cairo--from scavengers to Pashas; and in many of the -bazaars he was now greeted as a guest by the hospitable merchants. He -did not find any great difficulty in avoiding the more tedious of the -social functions at the Residency: and the early mornings and the -evenings were spent in tranquillity at his camp or in the surrounding -desert. - -Sometimes, returning from his duties soon after luncheon, he would fill -his pockets with biscuits and his water-bottle with cold tea, and, -mounting his camel, would ride for two hours or more into the desert, -until as the last light of day faded from the sky he would reach some -sheltered drift of sand or bed of shingle amongst the rocks; and here he -would refresh himself and take his rest, mental and physical, in the -vast solitude, until the blackness of the night enveloped him. Then, -under the glistening heavens, he would ride slowly home again, guiding -himself by the stars, and dreaming his way through the witchery of the -darkness, until the distant lights of his camp, with the promise of -supper and bed, brought him down from the dim regions of everlasting -quiescence to the pleasant things of the body, so that he would press -forward in a final rush through the night, the sharp air of the Egyptian -winter beating in his face, the planets swinging above him, and the -obscure jackal-track slipping like a trail of vapour beneath the soft -pads of his camel. - -He slept by night upon the top of the spur of rock above his tents; and -here on his camp bed, under the warm blankets, he would lie absorbed in -the splendour of the stars until sleep carried him outside the range of -astronomy. As the first shafts of the morning sun struck upon him from -above the eastern horizon, he would cast the blankets from him, and, -full of the joy of vigorous life, would clamber down to his camp, there -to bathe and dress himself in the keen air of the morning, and to devour -his breakfast in the brilliant sunshine at the door of his tent. - -Here in his beloved desert any anxieties which the day might bring were -wholly banished from his brain; and each morning he took up his duties -with a mind purged and washed clean of the dust of yesterday, enlivened -by healthy sleep and vigorous exercise, and, above all, renewed in its -unity with the everlasting Wisdom. It was as though his mighty hands -were clasped in the mightier hands of that Spirit which dwells in the -world's open spaces; and, if he strayed during his work into tangled -paths of disquietude, he stepped back, as it were, with the descending -sun into the grasp of the unfailing Friend. - -In one particular there was especial need of this refreshment and -renewal; for his thoughts were often disturbed in regard to his -friendship with Lady Muriel. He was sufficiently frank with himself to -realize that as the days passed he was growing more interested in her, -and at the same time he was well aware that any such interest was likely -to lead to discordance and unrest; for her method of life so greatly -differed from his own. - -Muriel was having what she called "a good time"; and the argument "eat, -drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die," was ever ready upon her lips. -There was a sort of defiance in her attitude to Daniel, and sometimes as -she set out upon some new chase of amusement she seemed to be daring him -to stop her. - -On a certain evening in Christmas-week this challenge had been -particularly evident. He had stayed on at the Residency until past seven -o'clock, for there had been an attempted assassination of one of the -native ministers, and Daniel had at once set himself to get to the -bottom of the trouble; and when at last he was crossing the hall on his -way out, he had come upon Muriel descending the staircase, dressed for a -dinner-party and dance which was being given at Mena House that evening. -Her luxurious automobile was standing at the door, and she had, of -course, offered to give him a lift. - -Sitting by her side under the electric light in the car, he had been -more than ever conscious of the dissimilarity of their views of life. It -was not that he disapproved of her enjoyments, but rather that he -regretted the absence of all attempt on her part to get below the -surface of things. She was satisfied by her pursuit of the pleasures of -what is called Society; and the trouble was that she had caused him to -be dissatisfied with his own more profound search after happiness. - -In his rough clothes he had seemed to be so far removed from this -exquisite dainty girl beside him, around whose white throat the pearls -glistened, and from whose gold-tasseled cloak of blue velvet there came -the faint scent of the lotus; and the disturbing fact had been -this--that he had been intoxicated by the fragrance of her, and the -touch of her arm against his. He had wanted to command her to abandon -her friends and to follow him into the desert; and suddenly he had been -aware that the expression in her eyes was one of disdain for the -hardihood that he loved. - -As they had driven up to the gates of the hotel he had called her -attention to his camel which awaited him at the roadside, in charge of a -silent native, who now raised his hand to his dazzled eyes as the -headlights of the car fell upon him. - -"Now confess," she had said, "that you would rather be coming with me -into the comfort of the hotel than bumping off on that great beast into -the cold bleak desert." - -"I confess I would rather be with you tonight than alone," he answered, -"but not in the hotel. I don't like noise and clatter and stuffiness." - -She had looked at him with a smile as the door of the car was opened by -a liveried servant. "I wonder," she mused, "why you play at being a -hermit. You are not a hermit at heart." She made a gesture with her arms -which was full of enticement. "Don't you ever hear the world calling -you?" she asked. - -"Yes," he answered, gravely, "I hear it calling now; and I am shutting -my ears, because I know that it has nothing worth having to offer me." - -"If you happen to be here at midnight," she said, "I dare say I shall be -wanting a breath of air." - -The words had thrilled in his ears, and as she disappeared into the -lighted hall of the hotel he had stood for a moment irresolute. If he -were to ride down from the desert at midnight, she would stroll with him -for a few moments amongst the palms, and who could say what advancement -in their relationship would take place? But in so doing would he not be -but offering her material for new amusement? - -He had ridden, then, in silence to his camp; and at his usual hour he -had gone to his bed beneath the stars; and though he was awake at -midnight he had not stirred from beneath his blankets. - -That was three days ago; and now Christmas was passed, with its -church-service which he had attended together with the whole diplomatic -staff, and its heavy luncheon thereafter, at which he had been one of -twenty guests. Already, today, he had resumed the routine of his work; -but the short interruption had given him time to look about him, and his -bearings troubled him with their threat of dangers ahead. - -Muriel, on her part, had felt herself snubbed that night when he failed -to take advantage of the midnight hour. She had slipped out on to the -veranda of the hotel and had waited for him, thereby missing a dance and -inconveniencing at least one partner. She had suggested the meeting -experimentally, to see what might be his attitude towards her; for she -could not decide whether he were fond of her or merely interested in her -as a case of needing reformation. And when he failed to turn up at the -trysting-hour, her foot tapped angrily upon the tiles of the veranda; -and at length she had gone indoors again with her head in the air but -her heart in the depths. - -She was undoubtedly attracted to him, but she was also very decidedly -afraid of him. Sometimes it was as though he were suggesting to her that -she should abandon the luxuries and the little frivolities which she so -much enjoyed, and should trail after him into the desert, the Lord knows -where, and cook his food for him, and dress in a sheepskin, and sleep on -the hard sand with a rock for a pillow. - -One of the most serious aspects of the matter was that her father was -very obviously attempting to throw her and Daniel Lane together. At -first she had supposed that Lord Blair desired her to come under his -influence for its philosophical value; but during the last few days -certain things that had been said led her to the amazing conclusion that -her father regarded him in the light of a possible son-in-law. - -She utterly failed to picture this man in the role of husband: she could -imagine him as a companion or even as a lover, but as a husband never! -Husbands were people in top-hats, black coats, and stripey trousers, -with whom one went to St. Margaret's, Westminster, and then to -somebody's villa on the Riviera, "kindly lent," etc.; they had a lot of -old family servants who sniffed at you and said that such-and-such -wasn't his lordship's custom; they wanted sons and heirs, and, if you -failed to provide them, they cynically made you try again; they -developed money troubles sooner or later, and cut down your expenses at -the moment when you wanted to rebuild the ballroom; as the years passed -they became coldly courteous or hotly ill-tempered; and finally you were -either divorced or else laid by their crumbling side in the family -vault, in the sure and certain hope--thank God--that there were no -marriages in heaven. - -But Daniel Lane was not of this autocratic class; nor could she picture -him living in England. If he succeeded to the Barthampton earldom he -would make an appalling mess of it; if he had to wear London clothes he -would look a sight; and if he shared the conjugal bed, it would probably -be on the roof or in the shrubbery, with gnats and things biting your -nose or an icy wind blowing around your legs. - -She noticed her father's strategic dispositions one morning just after -Christmas, when Charles Barthampton called to take her to a military -review. She went into the study to tell him of her proposed absence; but -Lord Blair put his foot down, saying to her that if she attended this -particular function she ought to do so in the company of a civilian, so -as to avoid inter-regimental jealousies: a palpable excuse which did not -bear scrutiny. He suggested that Daniel Lane should go with her; and -before Lord Barthampton could escape, his cousin was sent for, and -Muriel went off into the garden in annoyance, leaving the three men -together in the hall. Lord Blair thereupon tripped back to his study, -bidding Daniel offer his cousin refreshment in the library. - -Lord Barthampton, however, was scowling with anger, and would have taken -his departure immediately. But Daniel took him by the arm in a grip -which, though friendly, was one of iron, and, forcing him into a chair, -handed him a cigar. - -"Have a whisky-and-soda?" he then suggested. - -"No," his cousin grunted. "I'm a teetotaller, damn you." - -Daniel chuckled. "Good for you," he laughed. "Have some barley water?" - -At this Lord Barthampton scrambled to his feet, but Daniel gently pushed -him back into the chair. - -"I want to have a talk with you," he said. "I want to tell you how glad -I am to see that you are pulling yourself together. You look a different -man already." - -His cousin glared at him warily from under his heavy brows. "Yes," he -replied, "I'm not going to give you any excuse for turning me out. When -you do so, you'll have to do it against my father's wishes and -intentions; and I hope he'll come back from the grave and haunt you." - -He spoke with dramatic gloom, and Daniel could not help being sorry for -him. - -"Oh, don't worry yourself," he assured him. "As long as you behave -yourself decently, you're quite safe." - -"I doubt it," the other muttered, despondently. - -"I heard the other day," said Daniel, "from one of your brother officers -that you'd sworn off cards too." - -Charles Barthampton puffed viciously at his cigar. "I suppose you'll rob -me of all my fun before I'm through with you. Hadn't you better ask me -whether I've joined the Y.M.C.A., and regularly say my prayers?" - -"No, I'll leave that to you," Daniel answered with a smile. "But there's -one thing I should like to ask you: have you taken any steps yet to give -anything to the poor?" - -His cousin shook his head. - -"Well, hurry up and do so," said Daniel. - -Once more Lord Barthampton rose from his chair, and this time to his -relief, he was not pushed back again. "I'm late for the show," he -grumbled, "and anyway it's no fun staying here, being put through my -paces. You've got all the cards, and the game's in your hands. It makes -me sick." - -"Yes, I'm sorry," Daniel replied, and he spoke with sincerity. "But -don't worry yourself. You're going on fine." - -With that he let him go. - -Upon the following day, Lord Blair again acted in a manner which showed -the movement of his thoughts. Muriel was going out to lunch at Mena -House, and Daniel suggested that she and the Bindanes should ride over -to his camp to tea. Lord Blair appeared to be delighted at the proposal, -and gave it such hearty support that Muriel was constrained to accept -the invitation. - -Thus it came about, that soon after four o'clock Daniel was helping his -three visitors to dismount from the hired camels which had jolted them -over the desert to his tents; and no sooner had the attendant camel-men -taken charge of the animals, than he found himself smilingly following -in his friends' wake as Muriel began enthusiastically to conduct them -around the camp, as though she were its proprietress. - -She pointed out the various lockers and revealed their contents with -pride; she showed how this table folded up, or how that chair could be -converted into a bed; she called attention to the portable book-shelf, -and held up for inspection some of the volumes which she had arranged; -she introduced the three yellow dogs, and explained the merits of the -kennel she had built for them. - -In her interest and pride in the work of her hands there was a complete -absence of self-consciousness; and the situation engendered so warm a -sense of intimacy that she found herself calling Daniel by his Christian -name, as though this had long been her habit. - -When tea had been drunk and the sun was setting, Kate Bindane took her -husband by the arm and suggested a stroll. At this, however, Muriel's -mind returned to the conventions, and she intimated her desire to -accompany them. But Kate, profiting by Daniel's momentary absence with -Benifett Bindane, argued the point with her. - -"You stay with Mr. Lane, old girl," she said. "He wants to be with you, -I'm sure; and any way I want to be alone with Benifett. Damn it, we're -on our honeymoon!" - -There was a touch of wistfulness in her friend's jocular words; and -Muriel had seen enough of their married life to be understanding. Kate -Bindane had a romantic heart under her uncompromising exterior; and her -cold-blooded husband, to whom she was obviously devoted, must have -played the lover about as ardently as a jellyfish. But out here in the -solitude, the glory of the setting sun might infuse a little warmth into -his veins, and might lift his thoughts above those schemes of commercial -enterprise which seemed to constitute his sole interest in Egypt. - -The two couples therefore separated for a while; and Muriel strolled -with Daniel to a cluster of rocks, amidst which they presently seated -themselves upon the slope of a sand-drift, facing towards the south and -west. Before them, framed between the great boulders of sun-browned -limestone, the desert stretched out to the purple hills in the distance; -and above the hills the glory of the cloud-flecked western sky was -spread like a vision of the Isles of the Blessed. - -The evening was warm and windless, and no sound came to their ears -except the occasional twitter of an early bat, and the far-off wail of a -circling kestrel. It was as though some magical leap through time had -been accomplished, whereby they two had alighted upon the earth in an -age before the advent of man and beast, or after the last trump had left -the planet again desolate. Yet there was no sense of death in these -rock-strewn spaces, but rather a pulse of sleeping nature which held the -reiterated promise of life. The sand upon which they lay was warm and -golden, and the rocks about them were not cold nor dead to the touch. - -Muriel lay upon the slope, her hands behind her head; and Daniel, -sitting beside her, and looking down at her with his calm blue eyes, had -the sunset as his aureola, so that he put her in mind of some figure by -Bonozzo Gozzoli painted against gold. His massive head and shoulders -seemed to tower above her like those of a rugged presence rising out of -the rocks and sand of the wilderness; and she noticed for the first time -that his face was reminiscent of Watts' "Samson," a picture which had -always delighted her. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -Neither she nor he found any need of words, and for some time there was -almost complete silence between them, so that one might have supposed -the spell of the desert to have bewitched them. His hands idly played -with the sand; and, as the grains ran between his fingers, she seemed to -feel the memories of all her days slipping from her, until only this one -little moment of the present remained. - -"Well?" she asked at last, and there was the question of all the ages in -her eyes. - -"No man can escape his destiny," he replied; but the words did not seem -to be detached: rather they were the conclusion of a mute analysis to -which they had both contributed. - -Again there fell a silence between them, a silence, however, so filled -with unspoken words that in it their relationship grew immeasurably more -close. The glory of the sunset began to fade, and the veil of the -twilight descended gently about them; but in their hearts it was dawn, -and the sunrise was very near. - -At length he arose and stretched his arms to their full extent. Muriel -gazed up at him, wondering how he would choose to seal the compact -which, so it seemed, had been made between them in this period of their -silence. Suddenly she was conscious that her heart was beating fast, and -its throbbing brought her back from her dream. - -She sat up, and looked at him for a moment with fear in her eyes; for it -was as though she had spoken words in the depths of her being which her -tongue would have been too reticent to utter. - -Daniel clasped his hands behind the back of his head, and stood watching -her, a whimsical smile on his face. His expression was one of -perplexity, almost of amusement at the incomprehensibility of Fate. - -"Come," he said, "we had better be going, Muriel, my dear." - -He took her hand in his and raised her to her feet. - -"Yes, Daniel, we had better be going," she replied. - -She linked her arm in his; and thus they walked slowly back to the -tents, he looking down at her, and she looking up at him, and around -them the vast spaces of the desert already dim with the coming of night. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--DESTINY - - -Upon the following morning, before eleven o'clock, Muriel installed -herself in a hammock slung from the lower branches of a shady sycamore, -some yards distant from the rose-bushes and shrubs which screened her -favourite alcove, now appropriated by Daniel. She had brought with her -from the house a handful of fashion-papers and illustrated journals, but -these she did not read as, with one foot touching the ground, she swung -herself gently to and fro. She looked up through the tracery of the -foliage to the brilliant blue of the sky, and her mind was too occupied -with her thoughts to give its attention to the latest manner in which -the women of Paris, London, and New York were adorning their nakedness. - -Little shafts of sunlight, like fiery rods, pierced through the cool -blue shadow wherein she lay; and beyond the protection of the heavy -foliage the lawn of newly-sown grass gleamed in the radiance of the -morning. The faithful northwest wind, which almost daily blows over the -desert from the Mediterranean, was gently rustling the greenery -overhead, and rattling the hard leaves of the palms; and she could hear -the cry of the circling kites above her, though she could only see these -scavengers of the air when they swooped and tumbled down, as though in -play, to snatch at any edible fragments floating upon the surface of the -Nile. - -All around her she was aware of the joy of existence, flashing out like -laughter and vibrating like song. The water sprinkled upon the lawn by -the garden hose seemed to be making merry in the sunshine; a black and -grey cow lurching across the grass seemed to be overcome with hilarity; -the palm-leaves swaying in the breeze might have been shaking with -mirth; and the babbling of the river as it swirled past the terrace was -like an endless lyric of well-being. - -Muriel was too happily content to indulge in any profound self-analysis; -but vaguely she was conscious that her life had entered upon a new -phase, and shamelessly she asked herself whether the guiding hand were -love. She had realized for some time that Rupert Helsingham had made a -spurious impression upon her heart, and during the recent weeks of -amusement she had come to wonder how it was that he had aroused any -emotion in her, except that caused by his tragic death. - -Now, however, she was aglow with buoyant happiness, and she had a -persistent feeling that all was well with her. Yesterday, on her return -from Daniel's camp, she had spoken to Kate Bindane of this sense of -well-being, and her friend's reply had set her laughing. - -"My dear," Kate had said, "I'm sure I don't want to mess up your bright -picture of things; but in my opinion, look at it as you will, the joy of -life is always some sort of an itch and the scratching of it." - -But today Muriel felt that the definition was false. Her happiness was -intangible, and all that she could say with certainty was that it was -the result of her little time of silence yesterday in the desert. - -It had been so quiet and gentle, so entirely opposite to the prehistoric -rough-and-tumble which might have been expected. Her thoughts went back -to the incident of the curate at Eastbourne, who had banged her about on -the sofa, and would have rolled her on the floor, had not the ten -commandments suddenly affrighted him. She thought, too, of Rupert and -his impassioned kisses: he had left red marks on her shoulder. - -But Daniel had been so silent, so tender, and withal so genuine. He had -seemed to be part of the vast sky and desert around him, enfolding her, -and harming her not. Yet with a twist of his hand he could have killed -her. - -In the distance she heard the murmur of his voice as he talked to his -native visitors in the alcove; and she had a curious feeling that his -proximity was protective. She was no longer afraid, or even shy of him. - -Presently, across the lawn, she saw him dismissing three silk-robed -Egyptians; and, when they had taken their departure, he waved his hand -to her before returning once more behind the screen of roses and trees. -The signal was like the caress of an old friend, and by it her happiness -was enhanced. - -A few minutes later she watched another caller being piloted by a native -servant across the lawn to the alcove. He was a young _effendi_ wearing -European clothes and the usual red _tarboush_ or fez--an unhealthy -little man, who paused once to cough and to spit unpleasantly. - -Lazily she watched the servant return to the house, and she hoped that -Daniel was finding his new visitor interesting. - -She closed her eyes, and sleep was stealing upon her when suddenly she -was startled into full consciousness by the sharp crack of a -pistol-shot. She sprang out of the hammock and stood for a moment -staring about her, her heart beating. - -The sound had come from the direction of the alcove, but now all was -silent once more. Evidently nobody in the house had heard the shot; and -she might have thought it to have been an illusion of sleep, had it not -been for the manifest excitement of the birds which had risen from the -branches of the trees around. - -Almost without definite thought she hastened across the lawn, and -paused, listening, near the rose bushes. A whimpering sound of moaning -came to her ears; and at this she ran forward impulsively, and, a moment -later, came to a sudden halt upon the secluded terrace. - -Before her, upon the flagstones, crouched the figure of the young -Egyptian. He was holding his right wrist in his left hand, and was -staring up, with open mouth, at Daniel who stood over him, fingering a -revolver which now he slipped quietly into his pocket as he caught sight -of her. - -"Go away, Muriel!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?" - -The Egyptian struggled to his feet, but Daniel caught him by the arm and -half dragged him to the marble bench. - -"What's happened?" she cried. "I heard a shot." - -"Did anybody else hear it?" he asked, so sharply that his voice startled -her. - -"I don't think so," she answered. - -"Good," he said. "This young man's revolver went off by mistake: that's -all. Please go away." - -"O Daniel!" she cried, realizing the truth. "He tried to kill you!" - -"Hush!" he whispered, impatiently. "Here, help me to tie up his wrist: -I've broken it, I think." - -The Egyptian rocked himself to and fro, making no resistance as Daniel -took hold of his injured arm, talking to him the while in Arabic, as -though bidding him have no fear. With the would-be assassin's -handkerchief he bound up the injured wrist, while Muriel gave all the -assistance of which her trembling fingers were capable; and then, with -his own large handkerchief he improvised a sling, never ceasing -meanwhile to soothe the man with soft words of sympathetic -consideration, as though he had been a doctor called in to attend the -victim of an accident. - -When the bandaging had been accomplished, he turned to Muriel. "Now -please go away, Muriel dear," he said, "and thanks very much for your -help. Remember, not a word about this to anybody at all." - -He smiled at her reassuringly, and obliged her to take her departure, -again cautioning her to keep the incident secret. She walked across the -lawn to the house, dazed and anxious; and thus she went up to her room, -where, looking into the mirror, she was surprised to observe the -paleness of her face. - -Meanwhile Daniel sat upon the bench beside the Egyptian, smoking his -pipe, and waiting for him to recover his composure. The incident had -been so foolish, and the attempt upon his life so bungled, that he felt -nothing but pity for the wretched man who, he presumed, had believed -himself to be performing a patriotic act. - -The Secret Service Agents had fully warned him of possible danger, and -he had spotted this youth as a suspicious character as soon as he had -entered the alcove. The man had been trembling visibly, and when his -unsteady hand had fumbled in his pocket, Daniel had gripped his wrist on -the instant that the revolver came into sight. The bullet had struck the -balustrade and had gone singing into the river, while the weapon had -fallen with a clatter upon the pavement. - -Daniel had experienced no alarm, and now he felt no anger. He was -determined, however, to get to the root of the plot; and it seemed to -him far wiser to take action here and now, than to await a judicial -enquiry. - -As soon, therefore, as his assailant had ceased his moaning and his -monotonous rocking to and fro, Daniel took him by his left arm, and led -him across the lawn and round to the front gates of the Residency. Here -he hailed one of the little open carriages from the stand at the other -side of the square, and, helping the Egyptian into it, told the coachman -to drive to the nearest hospital. - -In the consulting room he explained to the doctor that the man was a -friend of his who had injured his wrist by a fall; and soon the mischief -was rectified and the arm put into splints. - -Daniel then announced his intention of seeing him back to his house; but -at this the man aroused himself from the silent stupor into which he had -fallen, and vehemently protested. - -"You cannot come with me," he declared. "By God, I shall give no -address." - -Daniel had been told by his agents an address at which a certain group -of malcontents were known to meet; and, chancing the man's connection -with this fraternity, he now named the house to the driver. The -_effendi_ immediately sank back into the corner of the carriage with a -look of terror upon his face which indicated clearly enough that the -surmise had been correct. - -"Do not fear," said Daniel to him, "I mean you no harm. If God is -willing I shall meet some of your friends, and we shall be able to talk -over this matter." - -Once during the journey, when their carriage had come to a momentary -standstill, in the crowded Mousky, Daniel observed a certain tension in -his companion's attitude which indicated that he was contemplating -flight; and he was prepared, therefore, when the man made a sudden leap -forward. - -"Ass!" he exclaimed, pulling him down on to the seat. The meaning of the -expression in Arabic is much the same as it is in English. - -For the rest of the way Daniel kept an eye upon the injured man; but the -sharp twinge of pain consequent upon his attempted flight had led him -once more to prefer a condition of fatalistic apathy, and he made no -second effort to escape. - -A turning off the Mousky brought them into a winding native street, -where a few low-class Greeks were the only European pedestrians to be -observed in the crowd of Orientals; and at last the driver steered his -carriage into a quiet alley, and pulled up before the arched doorway of -a whitewashed house, the upper storeys of which projected outwards until -they abutted those of the buildings on the opposite side. - -Daniel assisted the Egyptian to alight, and, as they passed through the -archway into the stone-flagged hall beyond, where the light was dim, -warned him against treachery. - -"I still have your loaded revolver in my pocket," he reminded him. "I -have come to speak to your friends, and if they are here you must lead -me to them." - -For a moment the man hesitated, but Daniel accelerated matters by -clapping his hands loudly, which is the Egyptian method of summoning a -servant; and thereupon a door was opened at the head of the crazy flight -of wooden stairs, and an untidy figure of a man in a blue-cotton shirt -appeared before them. - -"Are the others here?" asked Daniel, seeing that his companion was -recognized. - -"Upstairs," the man answered, shortly, pointing to the gallery above -him, and therewith returned whence he came, his slouching attitude -displaying all the indifference of which the untrained Egyptian servant -is so eminently capable. - -"Lead the way," said Daniel to his companion, who, recognizing the -_Kismet al Allah_, the destiny of God, obeyed without protest, mounting -the stairs in silence. - -As they neared the shut door which had been indicated to them, the -Egyptian was overcome with a fit of coughing, the rasping sound of which -echoed through the house; and, as though the sound had been recognized, -the door before them was immediately opened, and the pock-marked face -and red _tarboush_ of another young native _effendi_ appeared. - -"What's this?" he exclaimed in astonishment, pointing to his friend's -injured arm. Then, seeing the Englishman, he checked himself warily. - -Daniel took a step forward. "I have brought him back to you," he said, -affably. "He is hurt." - -A moment later they were inside the room, and Daniel was fingering the -trigger of the revolver in his pocket, as he glanced from one to another -of the five men confronting him. They had risen to their feet, and were -standing in attitudes of manifest nervousness. They had evidently been -disturbed at their midday meal, for it was now a little past noon: three -or four dishes of food stood upon the floor, and the mouths of at least -two of the men were full. The smell of garlic and stale tobacco smoke -pervaded the room; and a shaft of sunlight striking through the window -revealed a mass of flies hovering and buzzing around a plate of -something which appeared to be cold minced meat. - -"Peace be unto you!" said Daniel, using the Islamic salutation; and the -men muttered the customary response, as though by force of habit. - -Daniel stood with his back to the door which he had closed behind. "I -ask your forgiveness for my intrusion," he said, still speaking in -Arabic, "but I thought the matter urgent. This morning this gentleman -came to the Residency, where I have the honour of being employed, and -fired the revolver at me which I am now holding in my pocket. But it -pleased God to spare my life, and I immediately came to ask you why you -wished my death. You know the words of the Prophet: 'Man is a building -erected by God, and he who destroys the building of God shall himself be -destroyed.'" - -The injured man had collapsed upon a stiff bench which stood against the -wall, and was now rocking himself to and fro once more, the tears of -pain and exasperation streaming down his face. - -"He is in great pain," said Daniel, "for I am sorry to say I have broken -his wrist. I took him to the hospital, and the bones are set; but he -will require much care. I think you would do well to give him something -to eat." - -One of the Egyptians, less concerned with his own interests than the -others, fetched a cup of water, and held it to the sufferer's lips; but -his companions still stood like startled sheep, eyeing their muscular -visitor with undisguised dismay. They were all young men--students, -perhaps, or clerks in minor employ; and it was evident that they were -entirely nonplussed, for they answered not a word. - -"My object in coming here," Daniel continued, "is simply to learn from -you the cause of your anger. You must be feeling something very deeply -to resort to assassination; but why should you desire to murder _me_? I -am the only person who can help you." - -He assured them of his desire to understand their point of view, and -gradually he was able to break down their anxious reserve, so that -presently they spoke to him with a certain amount of freedom, and they -heard, probably for the first time, the English attitude expounded in -terms of idealism. They were fanatical young men whose patriotism was -nothing more than dislike of the foreigner, which, indeed, is a large -part of all patriotism; and though Daniel made little attempt to argue -with them he was able very soon to establish more or less sympathetic -relations with his would-be murderers, and perhaps to convince them that -bloodshed is foolish. - -The situation had a piquancy which amused him vastly; and when, -presently, he unloaded the revolver and handed it back to the melancholy -figure upon the divan, he could not refrain from laughter, in which, to -his surprise, the others joined. - -"Cheer up, O son of complaint!" he said. "You ought to be praising God -that you are not about to be hanged." Then, turning to the others, he -told them how glad he was that they found cause for mirth in the -situation. "Are we not all like the pieces upon a chessboard?" he asked. -"But do we realize that God is playing both sides of the game? Remember -the words of the Koran: 'They plotted, and God plotted; and God is the -best of plotters.' Now let us laugh and give thanks that no blood has -been spilt, for it is precious stuff; and finally let us agree to forget -the incident. So far as I am concerned it is _khalas khalas_--absolutely -closed; and on your part, if you have further cause for hostility, come -to the Residency and ask for me, but do not bring your revolvers with -you or I shall give you no coffee." - -He arrived back at the Residency somewhat late for luncheon, and his -high spirits were such that Muriel stared at him in amazement. When the -meal was finished she took him aside, as the others left the room, and -asked where he had been. - -"I took my murderer home," he explained, "and made friends with his -fellow-assassins, and we all had a good laugh together. It seemed to be -the best way of settling the matter." - -"O Daniel," she whispered, "you're either a hero or else you're crazy." - -"No," he answered, "I'm just a philosopher--that is to say, one who sees -the comic side of life." - -"There's not much comedy about the attempted murder of one's best -friend," she answered. - -His face became serious and his eyes sought hers. "Am I your best -friend?" he asked. - -She turned from him and stared out of the window. They were alone in the -room, and he put his hand upon her shoulder, as she nodded her head in -silence. - -Suddenly he observed that her eyes were full of tears, and at this his -heart seemed for a moment to stop beating. - -"Muriel," he whispered, but his voice failed him. - -She looked round at him, and smiled; and that which was destined to -happen happened all in a moment. His arms enfolded her, and, bending -down, he kissed her with the passion of revelation--fervently, -exultantly, joyously. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--MAN AND WOMAN - - -On the following morning Daniel received a message from Lord Blair -asking him to come into the study, and he presumed that the question of -his relationship to Muriel was to be discussed, for in his present state -of upheaval he could hardly imagine that there was anything else in the -world to talk about. He was deeply troubled in his mind, for he felt -that this fever of love which had kept him awake half the night, and -which hourly was growing more intense, was a menace to his happiness and -to hers. A thousand times he had told himself that their two lives were -incompatible, and yet their unity was now to him the vital object of his -existence. Nothing else seemed to matter. - -Lord Blair received him with a whimsical smile, and waved him to a chair -as though formally introducing him to it. "Sit down, my dear Daniel," he -said. "I want to know if you can throw any light upon this extraordinary -letter which was delivered here this morning, by hand." - -He held up a large pink envelope inscribed in green ink, and handed it -across the table; and, while Daniel examined it, he sat watching him -benevolently, the tips of his thin fingers pressed together. - -The document was written in English, and the wandering handwriting was -not unlike that of a child. The address upon the envelope was arresting -in its simplicity. "His Excel. The Lord's Deputy," it read. - -"Frank Lestrange opened it," said Lord Blair; "for he presumed that the -'Lord' referred to was myself and not the Almighty, and that the -'Deputy' indicated a secretary. But the letter itself was an enigma to -him, and the enclosure a mystery." - -He held up a carefully folded pocket-handkerchief which the envelope had -contained, and Daniel glanced at it with sudden recognition. - -The document was as follows: - - Dear sir we are sorry one assassnated you yesterday because you - came to us and we see you for the brave gentilman and the - Egyptian rispect the Chivalry herewith please find and oblige - - Your Wishwellers. - -"Well?" asked Lord Blair. - -Daniel burst out laughing. "Oh, what children they are!" he exclaimed. -"I think that if we all packed up and went home, and sent out half a -dozen schoolmasters in our place, the Egyptian question would be -solved." - -"Why?--what is the meaning of the letter?" asked his lordship. - -"I'd much rather not tell you," Daniel replied. - -"But I must insist," said Lord Blair. "I must indeed insist." - -Daniel felt awkward: the story was so silly. "It was nothing much," he -explained. "A wretched boy came here yesterday to kill me, and in taking -his revolver away from him I unfortunately broke his wrist. So I made a -sling with my handkerchief and took him to the doctor. He was in great -pain, poor chap." He paused and reread the letter. - -"Go on with the story," said Lord Blair. "'This is very serious, very -serious indeed." - -"Oh, no, it's not," replied Daniel. "I guessed where he came from and -took him home, and had a talk to the whole gang of them. They were all -very young and very ardent. But there's nothing more to hear from them -now. Poor lads!--I think they were mighty glad the bullet went wide." - -"D'you mean to say you bearded them in their den?" - -"Yes; luckily I found them assembled at their dinner." - -Lord Blair sat back in his chair and toyed with a paper-knife, while -Daniel gave him a few more details of the occurrence. There was a -curious expression on his face as he listened, and his dark eyes seemed -to be shining very brightly. When the brief tale was finished, he rose -to his feet, and made a flitting expedition to the window; drummed on -the pane; and then, coming round in front of his friend, put his hands -upon his broad shoulders. - -"My dear fellow ..." he said, and hesitated. Then: "Dear me, dear me, -Daniel." Suddenly he drew himself up, and, thrusting forward a stiff -arm, grasped the other's hand and wrung it shyly but fiercely. - -Daniel looked at him in surprise, for he appeared to be battling with -some powerful emotion; and, feeling that the situation no longer -required his presence, he rose to go. - -Lord Blair stopped him. "Wait," he said; "there is another matter about -which I want to speak to you." - -Daniel guessed what was coming, and waited with impatience for Lord -Blair to open the subject. It seemed to him that his relationship to -Muriel was the only thing worth discussing. But the Great Man's thoughts -were still occupied with the tale which Daniel had unfolded, and for -some time he continued to ask questions and to make ejaculatory -comments. - -At length, however, an awkward silence and some signs of nervousness -indicated that the all-important subject was about to be introduced; but -Lord Blair, as was his wont, circled round the outskirts of the matter -for some time, speaking of his advancing years and of a father's duty to -his only child. - -Daniel was impatient to get to grips. "I take it," he said, interrupting -him, "that you want to ask me what my intentions are in regard to Lady -Muriel." - -Lord Blair smiled nervously. "Or shall we say," he suggested, "that I -want to know what Muriel's intentions are in regard to you. I have -noticed the growing intimacy between you, and you will perhaps have -observed that I have not discouraged it. But today, it is my duty to -tell you, I saw you ... er ... ahem ... I saw you kiss one another good -morning." - -Lord Blair, having thus delivered himself, sat back in his chair, his -eyes fixed upon the younger man. - -"Yes, that's so," the latter replied; "and I wish to Heaven you'd tell -me what is to be done about it. I am afraid I have got to tell you that -I love Muriel." He leant forward and knitted his brows. "I'm sunk," he -groaned, running his hand through his hair. "It's no good fighting -against it any longer." - -Lord Blair drummed his fingers on the table. "Dear me, dear me!" he -muttered. "And what does Muriel say about it?" - -"I haven't asked her," Daniel replied. "I suppose she believes she cares -for me, too; but that's just the trouble: I've been wondering all night -whether she knows her own mind. You see we are so totally unsuited to -one another." - -"What makes you say that?" Lord Blair asked, obviously pained. - -Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm a serious-minded sort of -fellow, and Muriel seems to enjoy all this Society business which I -detest." - -"She is young," was the reply. - -"And then I'm a comparatively penniless nobody, and I've heard her -described as one of the most eligible young women in England." - -"Tut, tut," Lord Blair ejaculated. "It is true that she will inherit -whatever I am able to leave; but an alliance between the Lanes and the -Blairs does not seem to me to be open to criticism. After all, our -respective names have figured side by side in many pages of English -history." - -Daniel did not wish to pursue this aspect of the matter. He wanted -Muriel, but he wished her to be sure of her love before he bound her to -him by a formal engagement: this summed up his attitude in a single -sentence. He therefore discussed the question along these lines; but it -was apparent that he was labouring under great mental and emotional -stress. He begged Lord Blair not to influence his daughter in one -direction or the other, but to leave the solution of the problem in the -hands of Providence. - -"I just want her to feel," he explained, "that I am an intimate chum of -hers; and then if the thing carries us both off our feet, why we'll come -to you and say we want to get married. If not--well, I'm not going to -bind her unless it's clear she is as head over ears in love with me as I -am now with her." - -"You may lose her," said Lord Blair, shaking his head wisely. - -"If that is going to be at any time likely," Daniel answered, "I would -rather it happened now than after we are married." - -When the interview was at an end Lord Blair sat for some time in deep -thought. He was somewhat disappointed that Daniel was not more -impetuous, and he saw no reason why Muriel should be treated with such -careful consideration, lest she should make a mistake and suffer for it -later. He regarded his daughter as decidedly flighty, and, since she was -his heiress, he wanted to see her married as soon as possible to the man -of his choice, a man of strong will who would keep her well in hand: but -that, to his surprise, was just what the mighty Daniel seemed -disinclined to do. - -Lord Blair did not believe in a man pandering to the whims of the woman -he loved: his own experience had been too devastating for that. He would -have liked to have heard Daniel say to him: "Your daughter wants -mastering: I will take her in hand, and turn her into a dutiful wife and -a God-fearing mother of your Blair-Lane grandsons." But instead of this -he had said in effect: "Since I shall always want her, if she wants me -she can have me when she wants;" and this seemed a poor policy, -bordering on self-abnegation. - -Muriel's own attitude was interesting. During this and the day following -she waited breathlessly for a proposal of marriage, and when none was -forthcoming, she decided that she would give him one week and then lose -her temper. But the week went by, and nothing happened, except that -their intimacy grew and their eyes sought one another more frequently. - -His work kept him very busy, but daily he found some moment in which he -could be alone with her; and at these times he put his arms about her -and looked into her face with such tenderness in his eyes that she could -have cried. He seemed to be searching her heart, to be trying to assure -himself of her love; and when he kissed her he appeared to restrain the -passion which she knew was consuming him. - -Once he came so near to a definite offer of marriage that she held her -breath. Yet what he said was but this: "Life is short, and there is no -time for a mistake. Think, Muriel, think!--You and I will soon have to -make a decision which cannot be altered. Think of all those things in my -method of life which you don't like or don't understand. Because the -choice is close at hand." - -And in her bedroom, in the darkness of the night, she had thought; but -her thoughts had travelled in circles, leading her nowhere. Perhaps, she -said to herself, he wished to hint that there were ugly aspects of his -life which she ought to take into consideration: perhaps he was -referring to those Bedouin women who were said to have been his -mistresses in the desert; or perhaps his frequent visits to the bazaars -and to native houses were not entirely dictated by the needs of his -work. She knew that women of the poorer classes often came to see him at -the Residency; and the stories which had come to her ears of his -goodness to widows and destitute paupers might have their origin in less -worthy circumstances than was supposed. It looked as though his -conscience were smiting him. - -He had said to her: "The woman who loves me must give up much." Was he -suggesting, she wondered, that she should defy the conventions and fly -with him into the desert? Perhaps he had no thought of marriage: he only -wanted her to ride beside him over the limitless wilderness, and to -sleep with him under the stars. His words might be interpreted as -meaning that since one day they would grow tired of one another and he -would leave her to fish for herself, she ought to consider carefully -whether the adventure were worth while. But, no: that could hardly be -his meaning, though his refraining from a definite proposal of marriage -was suspicious. - -Another matter greatly puzzled her. He did not seem to be jealous of her -familiarity with other men; and though during the last few days she had -rather enjoyed the novel experience of asking his permission, more or -less, when she was going out on what she termed a "joy-ride," she had -observed that he assumed no authority over her. He appeared to be quite -indifferent to her exits from, and interested only by her entries on to, -the stage of life. - -Daniel, as a matter of fact, was determined to eradicate all those -fierce feelings of jealousy which shamefully he was aware she had -aroused in him. The green-eyed monster was a prehistoric beast, -unfitting the fair pastures of a philosopher's mind; and he would have -none of it. He believed passionately in freedom; and he was resolved to -regard love not as a prison but as a sphere of unbounded liberty--for -man and woman alike. - -He was wroth with himself when he wished to break the heads of the young -men who hovered around her. He had not believed himself capable of such -disturbances; and his control was exerted to so much purpose that Muriel -mistook it for indifference. - -Fortunately he was usually back in the solitude of his camp by -mid-afternoon, and he did not have to watch Muriel setting out for her -almost nightly dinners, dances, or opera-parties; and when, next day, -she used to relate her adventures, he would oblige himself to show -amusement and interest, though only black unrest could have been found -in his heart. He was impatient for the time when she should grow weary -of her amusements, and thus show that her heart was full of sweeter -interest, but he had no wish to force her to leave all, as it were, and -come to him. - -Muriel, on her part, was increasingly annoyed at his apparent -indifference; and matters reached a crisis one afternoon at the end of -the first week in January. An expedition to the ancient necropolis of -Sakkara had been arranged, the party consisting of Muriel, Daniel, Mr. -and Mrs. Bindane, and John Dregge, one of the younger Secretaries at the -Residency. The Tombs of Sakkara stand at the edge of the desert, some -ten miles south of Mena House; and the excursion was made on horseback, -servants having been sent on ahead to prepare tea at the little -rest-house in the necropolis. - -During the outward journey Benifett Bindane rode close to Daniel, -cross-questioning him in regard to the possibilities of agricultural -development in the Oases. He had decided to make a journey at the end of -February through the great chain of these oases; and Lord Blair, who, as -has been said, was keenly interested in the project, had already begun -to make arrangements for the expedition. Daniel was surprised to find -that Mr. Bindane had fully grasped all the essentials of the scheme, -and, in spite of his lethargic appearance, seemed to be making himself -master of the facts. - -The subject was very interesting to both men, and Kate Bindane, who rode -with them, put in some shrewd observations; but meanwhile Lady Muriel -was left to ride ahead with John Dregge, and their two horses could be -seen moving close abreast, while Muriel's laughter frequently floated -back to them with the suggestion that she was enjoying herself -thoroughly. - -This, however, was not the fact. She did not like her companion, who was -a very proper young man with a sallow face, side whiskers in the Byronic -style, a button of a mouth, and small, watchful eyes. - -She was growing decidedly cross--"turning nasty" as they say; and though -she laughed loudly so that Daniel should hear, she made two or three -remarks to Mr. Dregge which were neither kind nor clever. The three -o'clock sun was extremely hot, the glare was intense, and her horse--a -borrowed one--had an objectionable habit of ambling when she wished him -to trot and of walking when she attempted to correct the amble. - -When at last their destination was reached, and all five of them were -together again, she would not so much as look in Daniel's direction. Tea -was served at a tressel-table on the veranda of the rest-house, an -island of cool shadow in the golden sea of sand; but Muriel enjoyed -neither the meal nor the view. Nor did she give any great attention to -the beauties of the sculptured tombs and mausoleum which they -subsequently visited; and she felt only impatience when Daniel spoke -with enthusiasm of the grace of the ancient figures. - -"We haven't advanced much in these thousands of years, have we?" he said -to her. - -"No," she answered, "and judging by the progress made in the last ten -days, it'll be many thousands of years more before anything happens." - -Daniel glanced quickly at her, with an inward chuckle, but she turned -from him with her head in the air. - -The return journey was begun some time after the sun had set, and -complete darkness descended upon them while they were still two or three -miles from the hotel. Daniel now rode beside Muriel; and the others -having pushed ahead, they presently found themselves completely alone, -moving through the indigo of the night like two phantom riders wandering -over the uninhabited plains of the moon. - -The air was cold, and sharp; and the stars gleamed overhead, so -numberless, so vivid, that the tremendous sky was densely spangled and -jewelled, in brilliance unknown to the western eye. It is only in clear, -dry air such as this that one actually sees the heavens as a vault, an -inverted bowl of deep royal blue, with the Milky Way arched across like -a vaporous white rainbow, and the greater stars and planets standing out -in bold patterns amidst the glittering atoms powdered over the whole -amazing area. - -The pathway was obscure, and Daniel had to guide himself by the great -Pyramids which were silhouetted on the horizon against the stars; but -riding became altogether dangerous while yet there was over a mile to -go, and he proposed that they should dismount and lead their stumbling -horses. - -Muriel followed his lead without protest; and Daniel, taking hold of her -arm with one hand, and leading the horses with the other, piloted her -slowly over the rough ground. He was very tenderly solicitous, anxiously -enquiring whether she were cold or tired; and she, stirred by the marvel -of the night, very largely forgot her anger. This trudging through the -intense darkness was having an extraordinary effect upon her mind: she -began to feel that her safety, indeed her very existence, depended upon -the giant of the desert who held her arm so firmly. - -"I'm glad you're with me," she said to him. "I should be frightened with -anybody else." - -"Frightened?" he asked. "But don't you feel, as I do, that the desert at -night is protective? Down there in the inhabited lands there are robbers -and murderers of body or mind; but up here I'm in my own kingdom: I go -wherever I like, do whatever I like, and there's nobody to disturb me -and nobody I disturb except a shy little jackal or two." - -Presently Muriel paused. "Wait a minute," she said. "My boot has got -some sand in it." - -She sat down upon the ground and pulled it off; while Daniel, being in -no hurry to return to the world, tethered the horses by rolling a small -boulder on to the trailing ends of the reins. This done, he came to her, -and, sitting beside her, helped her to put on the boot once more. - -She was tired physically, and tired also of being angry. The astonishing -solitude caused her heart, as it were, to go to him for companionship. -Here in this tremendous silence, in this enveloping obscurity, she -seemed to belong to him, to be his property. - -He put his arms about her. "Why have you been so unfriendly to me -today?" he asked, reproachfully. - -She leaned her head back, and her hand went up around his neck. "Because -I love you, Daniel," she whispered. - -She drew him down to her. At that moment she had no morals: she had -shaken the conventions from her like so many pieces of useless armour. -Her education had ever taught her to put small value upon such methods -of protection; and now, with a mental shrug, they fell wholly from her. -She wished only to be his, body and soul: here couched in the lap of -this great Mother Earth, and in the presence of the starry host of -heaven. - -For a moment Daniel held her tightly within his arms; and the tempest of -his passion carried him forward to the brink of heedless disaster. But -mentally, as well as physically, he was a mighty man; and now his -philosophic training in control did not fail him. - -Roughly he threw her arms from him, and, rising to his feet, gripped her -wrist. "Get up," he commanded her. "For God's sake get up!" - -He dragged her up to him, and his fingers must have left bruises upon -her arm. - -"O Daniel," she murmured, and in her abandonment there was almost -laughter in her words, and almost tears. "I'm yours--yours to do what -you like with. You can put me in your harim if you want to." - -He turned from her, and fetched the horses. "Fool, fool!" said his body -to his mind. "Again, misunderstanding the meaning of life, you have -robbed me." "Be silent, rebel," said his mind to his body. "Give me time -to see if her passion be love." "Is there any difference?" sneered his -body; and his mind replied, "Had I not thought so, you should have had -your way." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--THE SEEDS OF SORROW - - -During the ensuing fortnight circumstances were not favourable to the -development of their romance. Daniel was closely occupied with the -settling of certain political difficulties which had cropped up; and -Muriel, on her part, found herself much occupied with the social -functions of the Residency which, in the month of January, are always -very exacting. - -But if there were few opportunities for the tender intimacy of love, -there was now the compensation of a very sweet understanding between -them. There was no need, so it seemed, for a formal betrothal: the -engagement was mutually assumed, and, though no binding words had been -spoken, Lord Blair did not have to ask again what were their intentions. - -Muriel was, of course, a little disturbed at Daniel's refusal to allow a -definite announcement to be made, or even an irrevocable word to be -spoken between them; but actually his attitude was quite understandable. -He was keenly aware that his method of life was somewhat peculiar, and -he was modest enough to regard himself as a thoroughly undesirable -husband. - -Muriel had told him all about the Rupert Helsingham affair, and, with -some degree of correctness, he had attributed it to the enchantment of -the Nile. He had realized, too, that in his own case his most intimate -moments with her had occurred under exceptionally romantic -circumstances; and though he was too deeply in love thus to explain away -her emotions, he could not blind himself to the possibility that their -origin was less profound than their intensity suggested. - -He was determined not to bind her yet awhile; for, he argued to himself, -if the miracle had happened, if really she had found in him her eternal -partner, time would prove the fact to them; but if she had been building -her love on the deceptive foundations of romantic passion, nothing but -ultimate misery would come of the immediate exchange of mutual vows. - -Being a philosopher, he did not judge love's day by the tempest of its -passion: indeed, he mistrusted such storms as a frequent cause of -disastrous miscalculation. But Muriel, being woman pure and simple--if -ever there could be a woman of her upbringing either pure or simple--did -not analyse her feelings nor mistrust them. She knew only that Daniel -hung like a thunderstorm over the meadows of her heart, and she waited -in breathless, headaching silence for his lightnings and his torrents to -descend upon her. - -There was one aspect of the matter, however, which troubled him. Muriel, -he recognized, belonged to a section of English society which was very -lax in its morals; and he knew quite well that, in the darkness of the -desert on the memorable night of their return from Sakkara, she had been -entirely carried away by her love. The fact did not disturb him in -itself, for he was a believer in instinct, and his judgment was not -influenced by the conventions. If she really loved him, and if they had -mutually taken one another for a life-partnership, no marriage ceremony -would make the compact in his eyes more binding, and her desire at once -to identify her life irrevocably with that of the chosen one would be -comprehended and condoned by him. - -But there was the fear at the back of his mind lest she had entered upon -the adventure lightly. He knew too much about the ways of Mayfair: -perhaps, indeed, his abhorrence of all that that name stood for was -exaggerated. Her upbringing, therefore, caused him anxiety: not, be it -understood, because of her possible willingness to break the traditional -law, but because she might be willing to break it lightly. He hated -himself for doubting her; but she was a child of Society, a daughter of -the Old Harlot, and no member of her particular branch of that family -was above suspicion. - -One day, yearning for an hour alone with her, he asked her to come out -to his camp on the following evening. She was to dine with the Bindanes -at Mena House, and he suggested that he should call for her after -dinner, when the young moon would be low in the heavens, and that they -should ride out to his tents and talk for a little while. - -Muriel fell in with the scheme readily enough; but there was something -in her manner and in the expression of her face which indicated that she -took the step with deliberation, fully conscious of all that it might -involve. And, in actual fact, she did not care what happened. She only -wanted to belong to him, to feel that she was in his power and he in -hers. - -But on the next morning she awoke with a bad cold in her head, and she -was obliged to take to her bed. One cannot be really romantic with one's -nose running, and any of love's most wonderful situations may be ruined -by a sneeze. - -A few days later, when she was more or less recovered, Daniel told her -how disappointed he had been that the arrangement had fallen through. - -"I expect it was my guardian angel," she whispered, with a laugh. "I had -made up my mind to come; and I suppose the angel read my thoughts, and -said 'You'd better not,' and sprinkled a handful of germs over me." - -Daniel was startled. "Why, you don't think that I...?" He paused. Men -are seldom so plain-spoken as women, and seldom face facts so -deliberately. - -On the following afternoon he was obliged to go to the railway station -to pay his farewell respects to a native dignitary on his departure for -England upon a commercial mission; and, while walking back through the -Levantine shopping quarter, he came upon Lizette who, as he now -recollected, lived in this part of the city. - -He had not seen her since that night, three and a half months ago, when -he had taken her out to supper at Berto's; and he was distressed to -observe the change that had taken place in her. She was looking thin and -haggard, and her eyes were like the melancholy eyes of a sick dog. - -She glanced at him as she approached and a quick smile of pleasure came -into her face; but the etiquette which is always observed in the best -circles on such occasions prevented her from showing recognition of a -client in a public place. (Money-lenders and dentists follow much the -same code.) - -Daniel, however, knew nothing about such rules of polite conduct. If -Lizette were good enough to talk to in a restaurant she ought to be good -enough to salute in the street. He therefore pulled off his hat as she -passed, and, pausing, bid her good day. - -"I believe you've forgotten me," he declared. - -"Forgotten?--no!" she exclaimed. "I not ever forget that pig Barthampton -jete par terre." - -"I'm sorry that's what you remember me by," he answered, seriously. - -"I remember many things," she said. "But now you are so great, so -important: one say you are like the Wazir of Egypt. I astonish me that -you speak here in the street. Lizette belong to the night, and to the -American Bar." - -She spoke with bitterness, and Daniel was sorry for her. She looked ill; -and the afternoon sun seemed to disintegrate the bloom of the powder -upon her face. - -"You're not looking very well," he commented. "Is there anything the -matter?" - -She shrugged her shoulders. "The matter is here," she answered, tapping -her heart. - -"In love?" he asked. - -"No, not love," she replied, with sudden intensity. "Hate, hate!" - -He shook his head. "That's bad. Whom do you hate?" - -"Men," she said. - -There was tragedy in her face; and Daniel, in his simple wisdom, guessed -that what she needed was the friendship of a man who had no ulterior -motive. He looked along the street, and, seeing that there was a large -French cafe on the opposite side, asked her whether she would care to go -in there and have coffee with him. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -She hesitated for a moment; but when he had explained that he had no -more than half an hour to spare, and that he could not employ the time -better than by talking to her, she crossed the street with him and -entered the cafe. - -"Now tell me what your trouble is," he said, when they were sipping -their coffee at a table in the almost deserted saloon. - -"O, it is nothing," she replied. "I suppose I am ill. I have--how do you -say?--the 'ump, eh? If I had the courage I should suicide myself; but -the priest he tell me that the little devils in hell are men, and the -angels in heaven are men: so you see I cannot escape from men." - -"Oh, men are not so bad," he told her. "You, of course, see them under -rather startling circumstances; and, if I may say so, you can't always -judge of what a man is by looking at a subaltern in the Guards." - -She laughed. "But they tell me they are the elite of England." - -"Yes, poor lads," he answered; "but it's not their fault that they think -so: it's due to other men being so bashful." - -Almost as he spoke a young officer walked past the cafe, under the -awnings, with an expression on his face which suggested that he detected -a very unpleasant smell in the world. He glanced into the saloon, and, -seeing Lizette, looked quickly in the other direction. - -"That is one of them," she said. "He come to me every Sunday after -Church." - -Daniel turned his eyes to her, and there was pity and horror in them. -"Ah, my girl, no wonder you hate us," he declared. "If I were you, I'd -try not to speak to a man for, say, six months." - -"But how to live?" she asked. "I must get the money to live." - -She moved her head from side to side in despair; and Daniel, searching -his brains for a solution of the problem, stared out into the sun-bathed -street, his brows puckered, his fingers combing back his unruly hair. - -"Gee!" he muttered. "You're in a fix! Hav'n't you got any relations in -Marseilles?" - -She nodded, but without animation. "There is my brother -Georges-Antoine...." - -"Does he know how you earn your living?" he asked. - -"No," she replied. "He think I make the hat." - -"How much money have you saved?" he enquired. - -She shook her head. "None." - -"Well, look here," he said. "I'll pay your fare back to France, if -you'll go." - -She stared at him incredulously. "Why you say that?" she asked. - -"Because I hate to see a girl like you behaving like a filthy beast," he -answered sternly. "Oh, why were you such a fool as to start this life?" - -"It begin," she sighed, "it begin so sweet. I was very young; and the -man he love me so much. He was the real amant-passione--what you do not -know in England. He used to kiss me until my head went round and round; -and I was like a mad one when he came into the room. Never in my life -again or before was I so drunken by a man...." - -Daniel watched her as she told the story of her youthful love, and he -saw her eyes grow drowsy and full of memories. - -"You must have been very happy," he said at length. - -"Yes, I was happy," she answered, "but I paid for the happiness with -tears and weeping and bitterness." - -"Why?--did he desert you?" - -Her voice, which had grown so tender and so near to a whisper, became -light and clear in tone once more. "No," she said, with an almost -flippant gesture of the hand, "he died. He had the--how do you say?--the -gall-stones." - -Daniel finished his coffee, pensively. The tale, and especially its -ending, had a sound of stark and terrible truth about it. - -"Then what happened?" he asked. - -"Oh, then I was a good girl for half a year, perhaps; but presently when -another man made the love to me, I say to myself: 'If once, then why not -twice?' He was a soldier, big, very strong like you." She looked at him -closely. "Yes, he were very like you; and I thought in my heart, 'I love -him because he is so brave, and I am like a little bird in his hands.'" -She laughed. "Oh, I knew he was a man a bonne fortunes. He had many -girls; but in love all women are like the Orientals, is it not?--and I -was content to have my day, like the new one in the harim of the -Egyptian pasha here...." - -Daniel suddenly clenched the fingers of his hand which rested upon the -table. Muriel's words came into his mind: "You can put me in your harim -if you want to." They rang in his ears again, and his heart seemed to -stand still in fear. - -The murmur of Lizette's voice continued, and he listened in terror now -as she told of her second love. - -"Then one night," she was saying, "we walked together on the road by the -sea, the Chemin de la Corniche, you know; and the beautiful stars were -in the sky, and there were little lights across the water on the islands -of Ratonneau and Pomegne. And I was so tired, and I sat down on the -rocks by the sea, and we were all alone...." - -Daniel stopped her with a sudden movement of his hand. "I know, I know," -he said. "Don't tell me!" - -"O, I soon forgot my love," she laughed, thinking that the intensity -with which he spoke denoted his concern for her sorrows. "A few months, -a few weeks, perhaps, and it was finish. Then some one else, and some -one else, and some one else...." - -He rose from the table, sick at heart. "I must be going," he said. "If -you will accept my offer, write to me at the Residency, and I'll send -you the money for you to go to your brother." - -She looked at his troubled face with a question in her eyes. "I think -you not like me," she sighed. "I think you have the disgust." - -He shook his head. "No," he answered, "I think you were not much -different from other women at first." - -"And afterwards?" - -"I suppose one's feelings soon get blunted," he replied; "and you had -need of money." - -She assumed an expression, an attitude, not far removed from dignity. -"Thank you for being--how you say? _fair_ to me," she said. - -He paid his bill, and walked out of the cafe into the blaze of the -afternoon sun; but between him and its brilliance the shadow of doubt -had descended. "I am not the first of Muriel's lovers," he groaned in -his heart. "How do I know that I am the last?" - -He walked through the city, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, by reason -of the clamour in his mind; but as he came down to the river, he raised -his eyes and stared out into the west, where the sun was descending -towards the far-off hills of the wilderness. - -He stood stock still, and his lips moved. "Oh, peace of mind!" he was -whispering. "Will you never come down to me here in the valley? Must I -go up into the desert to find you once more?" - - - - -CHAPTER XX--PRIVATE INTERESTS - - -When Benifett Bindane found himself writing "February 1st" upon his -letters, he suddenly became the victim of a violent fit of energy. Time -was passing, and not much progress had been made with his great scheme -for the floating of the Egyptian Oases Development Company. By nature he -was indolent, and he had thoroughly enjoyed his three months basking in -the Egyptian sun. It was always a great pleasure to him to sit in the -warmest corner of a veranda, to glance at the _Financial News_, and then -to stare in front of him with an empty countenance and a mind full of -wonderful commercial schemes. - -He had the habit of thinking in millions; and his brain, in many ways so -deficient, was capable of visualizing an extraordinarily prolonged -repetition of the figure "o" at the end of any sum in pounds sterling. - -He had quickly made himself master of all the available information in -regard to the territory in question, but there were a great many points -on which he desired enlightenment before he made his projected grand -tour through the Oases at the end of this month. He wished to go there -fully primed, so that he should not fail to take note of all those -matters on which personal observation might prove to be of value; but -now the calendar had awakened him to the fact of the days' rapid -passage, and he was obliged to make a serious effort to put some -stiffening into the loose fabric of his bones and brain. - -In the secret council-chamber of his mind he had decided that Daniel -Lane was the one man really essential to the project, and it was his -main object now to enlist his services. He wondered what was the lowest -high salary that would tempt him; and he thought out many very fantastic -schemes for getting him away from the Residency. Lady Muriel was the -real obstacle; for Kate had kept him informed as to the progress of her -friend's love affair, and he realized that as matters now stood there -would be the utmost difficulty in persuading Daniel to abandon his -present post. Steps, however, in the desired direction ought to be -taken; and at any rate there would be no harm in ascertaining the -possibilities of the matter. - -He therefore telephoned to Lord Blair asking for an immediate interview; -and as the clock struck noon he was being ushered into the Great Man's -presence. - -Lord Blair received him in a very businesslike manner. A large map of -the Oases was spread upon the writing-table, entirely covering the -chronic litter of papers heaped thereon, and, indeed, covering the -greater part of his lordship himself as he sat in his desk-chair; while -upon a side-table there were numerous chorographic memoranda, and a -variety of type-written reports made upon the subject the last few -years. - -Lord Blair opened the proceedings by describing to his visitor the -arrangements which had already been made for the forthcoming tour. - -"The camels and camping-equipment are bespoken," he said; "perhaps you -would like to see the list of articles to be supplied." - -He lifted the map, and dived his head under it in search of the -document, while Benifett Bindane stared vacantly at the folds of the -large sheet which rose and fell, like pantomime waves, as Lord Blair -moved about under it. - -At length the long type-written inventory was found, and for some -minutes Mr. Bindane stared at it with dull, watery eyes. He might have -been thought to have gone off into a trance; and Lord Blair had begun to -fidget when at last the list was handed back. - -"Please add 'one tea-tray' and 'one toasting-fork,'" said Mr. Bindane. -"That's all that is omitted, I think." - -Lord Blair was profoundly impressed; but his rising enthusiasm was -somewhat damped when presently his visitor broached the subject which -was uppermost in his mind. - -"There are certain points about which I wish to be informed," said Mr. -Bindane, "before I go out to the Oases." He drew a piece of paper from -his pocketbook. "Here they are. Do you think it would be possible for -Mr. Lane to give me his help?" - -"Mr. Lane?" queried Lord Blair. "Why?" - -"Because I think Mr. Lane's advice is essential to the scheme," replied -Mr. Bindane. - -Lord Blair spread out his hands. "Oh, but I don't think he can be spared -just now," he protested. - -"I thought I understood you to tell me," said the other, "that the -political situation was extremely quiet just at present. I was hoping -you might let Mr. Lane turn his attention now to the Oases." - -"My dear sir," Lord Blair replied, leaning back in his chair, "the quiet -times that we are having, that we are enjoying, are very largely due to -Daniel Lane. His influence with the natives is extraordinary, quite -phenomenal." - -"Yes, I know," Mr. Bindane replied, his face devoid of expression. "That -is why I want him for the scheme." - -Lord Blair leaned forward. "I don't quite follow. Do I understand you to -mean that you want him to be associated definitely with the enterprise?" - -Benifett Bindane's mouth fell open more loosely than usual, and for a -second or two he stared vacantly before him. "Yes," he answered, at -length. "I want him to be our General Manager." - -Lord Blair started. "Tut, tut!" he ejaculated, "By the time the company -is floated I expect Daniel Lane will have made himself altogether -indispensable to his Majesty's Government here at the Residency." - -There was an uncomfortable silence. "I was counting on his support," -said Mr. Bindane, presently. "Without it I don't know whether I would be -inclined to find the necessary capital." - -Lord Blair instantly accepted the challenge. "Then the project will have -to be shelved," he replied, sharply: and when he spoke sharply there was -no doubt about his being the "Great Man." - -Benifett Bindane, however, appeared to be entirely unmoved. "I don't -think Mr. Lane is as happy now as he was when he lived in the desert," -he mused. - -Lord Blair rose to his feet. "Please regard his services as unavailable, -quite unavailable, for this project," he said deliberately, "except in -an occasional advisory capacity." - -Mr. Bindane had also risen, and now the two stood facing one another. -Outwardly the trim, eager little man and the tall, lifeless figure -before him might have appeared to the eye to be friendly enough; but a -reader of hearts would have detected in them two opposing forces arrayed -for battle, the one having in mind the extension of the prestige of -England, the other the increase of his private fortune. - -Meanwhile, in the library, another of life's little plays was being -enacted. - -Lord Barthampton had come to the Residency to invite Lady Muriel to a -picnic on the following day, and she had just disappointed him by saying -that she was already engaged. He had arrived with such a flourish, -spanking up to the door in his high dogcart, his little "tiger" leaping -to the cob's head as he pulled up, and the morning sunshine sparkling on -the harness and the varnished woodwork; and now, after waiting a very -long time in the rather severe library, Lady Muriel had come in and had -told him that every moment of her time was booked up apparently for -weeks to come. - -"I never seem to get the chance to say half a dozen words to you," he -grunted, feeling thoroughly put out. "You women are all so mad about -having a good time that you can't spare a moment for us lonely fellows." - -Muriel was quite concerned at his depression, and asked him whether he -would have a glass of port or a whiskey-and-soda. - -"No, I will not," he said, with a gloomy laugh. "I'm on the water-waggon -for your sake, and you don't even say you're glad." - -"O, but I am," she answered. "I'm awfully glad. I think you've shown -true British grit. You're one of the old Bulldog Breed, and, when once -you've set your jaw, nothing can get the better of you." - -Somehow she could not help pulling this man's leg; and she spoke to him -in this strain the more readily in that he evidently appreciated the -language of what she called the Submerged Male. - -"God knows it's been a struggle," he said: and, turning away from her, -he stared out of the window. - -"How did you get into all those bad habits?" she asked, looking at him -with interest. - -"Oh, India, I suppose," he replied, with a shrug. "When one's east of -Suez, and the memsahibs have all gone home...." - -She stopped him with a gesture. There were limits to the game of -leg-pulling; and if he were going to become Anglo-Indian in his phrases, -the jest would be intolerable. - -"I'm so sorry I can't come to your picnic," she said, checking the drift -of the conversation. "I'd come if I possibly could, but I've got to -attend a meeting." - -"A meeting?" he asked, in astonishment. "That sounds a funny thing for -you to be doing." - -"I'm honorary President of a fund for helping poor European children in -Egypt," she explained. "It's a very worthy object, I believe." - -He seized his opportunity. "Yes, we've all got to help the unfortunate, -hav'n't we?" he said. "I do all too little myself--just a yearly -donation." - -Muriel was impressed, and questioned him. - -"Yes," he told her, "I always try to give between L500 and L1,000 a year -to the poor." - -"I call that very fine of you," she declared, warming to him -immediately. - -"Oh, it's nothing," he answered. "I'm blessed with abundance, you know; -and I like to practise what I preach. I'm not like _some_ fellows I -could mention--full of high principles in public, and full of sins in -secret." - -"Who are you thinking of, specially?" she asked, noticing the marked -inflection in his words. - -He hesitated. "Well, Cousin Daniel, for example." - -"Oh, Daniel's all right," she replied. - -"I don't know so much about that," he laughed. "There are some things -you couldn't understand, little woman. But ... well, there are some -pretty tough female devils in the Cairo underworld; and Master Daniel -has been seen more than once in low cafes and places with a girl who's -known as the 'worst woman in Egypt'--the famous Lizette: but I don't -suppose you've heard of her." - -The words were like a knife in Muriel's heart. So people were right, -then, about Daniel's disreputable character. - -"Oh, that's all past," she replied, hardly knowing what she said. - -"No, it isn't," he answered. "Only the day before yesterday one of my -brother-officers saw him with her. And I saw him myself dining with her -not so long ago--in fact I tried to separate them. I admit it was only -for the honour of our family that I interfered. He was drunk, I think, -and wanted to fight me." - -Muriel stared at him with round, frightened eyes; but Lord Barthampton -had shot his arrow, and now desired only to make his escape. - -"I must be going," he said, nervously. "I oughtn't to have told you -that: it slipped out." - -He could see plainly enough that she was grievously wounded; and his -conscience certainly smote him, though it smote with a gentle forgiving -hand. - -She turned away from him with tears in her eyes; and he, feeling -decidedly awkward, bade her "good-bye," and hastened out of the room. - -In the hall he came upon Benifett Bindane, who was also making towards -the front door. The two malefactors greeted one another; and Mr. Bindane -being, as Kate had said, "very fond of lords," attached himself to the -younger man with evident pleasure. - -"That's a smart turn-out," he remarked, as they came out of the house -into the glare of the sunshine. - -"Give you a lift?" asked Lord Barthampton. "Anywhere you like." - -"Thanks," the other replied. "I'm going to the Turf Club." - -"Right-o!" said his friend. "In you get. Hold her head, damn you, you -little black monkey!" he shouted to the diminutive groom. "Now -then!--_imshee riglak!_"--which he believed to be Arabic. - -They drove off at a rattling pace, presently scattering the native -traffic in the open square outside the Kars-el-Nil barracks, and nearly -unseating a venerable sheikh from his slow-moving donkey. - -"Why don't you get out of the way!" shouted Lord Barthampton, turning a -red face to the mild brown wrinkles of the clinging rider. "Lord! these -niggers make me impatient." - -"Yes," said his companion, who always disliked a show of temper, "I -notice that it's only the English resident officials who have learned to -be patient with them." - -Arrived at the Turf Club, Lord Barthampton accepted Mr. Bindane's -invitation to refresh himself with dry ginger-ale; for, during the -drive, a good idea (with him something of a rarity) had come into his -head. He had suddenly recollected that Kate Bindane was Lady Muriel's -bosom friend; and it had occurred to him that if he could obtain the -sympathy of the husband, the wife might plead his cause. It would be -better not to say very much: he would adopt the manner which, he felt -sure, was natural to him, namely that of the stern, silent Englishman. - -He therefore lowered his brows as he entered the club, and looked with -frowning melancholy upon the groups of laughing and chattering young men -about him. - -"God, what a noise!" he muttered as he sank into a seat. - -Mr. Bindane stared vacantly around, and waving a flapper-like hand to a -passing waiter, ordered the ginger-ale as though he were totally -indifferent as to whether he ever got it or not. - -"I'm feeling a bit blue today," said Lord Barthampton, leaning back -gloomily in his chair. - -"What's the matter?" asked his friend. - -"I'm in love," was the short reply. - -Mr. Bindane was mildly interested. "Who with?" he asked. - -"Lady Muriel," the other replied, between his clenched teeth. He was -anxious to convey an impression of sorrow sternly controlled. - -"A very charming young lady," said Mr. Bindane, "and my wife's best -friend." - -"Yes, that's why I'm telling you," replied Lord Barthampton, looking -knowingly at him. "I've been wondering if you could get her to put in a -word for me." - -"I'll see," said Benifett Bindane. - -"Thanks awfully," answered his companion. - -That was all. There was no more said upon the subject; but Charles -Barthampton felt that the brief and pointed conversation had been very -British and straightforward. There had been no mincing of matters; what -he had said had been short and soldierly, as man to man. - -When he was once more alone, Mr. Bindane lay for awhile loosely in the -deep red-leather chair. His open mouth, his vacant eyes, the perpetual -pallor of his face, and his crumpled attitude of collapse, might have -led an observer to suppose that he had passed quietly away. He was, -however, merely absorbed in a series of interesting thoughts. He was -thinking that a possible engagement between Lady Muriel and Lord -Barthampton would probably have the effect of sending Daniel Lane back -to the desert in despair. He was thinking what a great deal of tact -would be needed in buying up the land of the Oases from the natives, as -he intended ultimately to do. He was thinking how very tactful Daniel -Lane was said to be; and how wasted, commercially, he seemed to be at -the Residency. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--THE CLASH - - -During the next three days Muriel flung herself into her social -engagements with desperation. She wanted to prevent herself from -thinking about Daniel, for her attitude towards him baffled her and put -her out of conceit with herself. She was violently jealous of this -Lizette, whoever she might be; but, somehow her jealousy did not -estrange her from her lover. All the more passionately she wanted Daniel -to belong to her: she wanted to step into his life, to drive all else -out, and to take possession of him. It is true that she meant to hurt -him, to punish him; but, even while being angry with him, she knew that -she would ultimately forgive him. - -Had her training been other than that of the typical young woman of the -world, she would probably have regarded her relationship to him as at an -end; but she had been brought up to the idea that men have to be -indulged in their little peccadillos and excused for their excesses, and -now, somewhat to her own annoyance, she found herself exonerating him. -She was hurt, she was offended, she was jealous, she was disgusted; but -she was not completely estranged. She declared to herself with her lips -that she could never feel the same to him again; but her heart, by its -very sorrows, gave the lie to her passionate mutterings. - -She did not have many opportunities of speaking to him during these -three days, and she shunned the beginning of what she knew was going to -be a serious quarrel. But on the fourth day circumstances threw them -together: and then the trouble began. - -They had both accepted an invitation to luncheon with Colonel and Mrs. -Cavilland; and, Muriel's presence being the social feature of the -occasion, she did not feel that she ought to disappoint her hostess. Nor -could she avoid driving to the house in Daniel's company; and it was -only the shortness of the distance that prevented some sort of an -outburst. - -As it was, she was distant and preoccupied, and Daniel looked at her -every now and then, wondering what could be the matter. - -Lady Smith-Evered was one of the guests; and the question as to whether -the Colonel should take her or Lady Muriel as his partner must have been -the subject of much discussion. It had evidently been decided, however, -that the daughter of Lord Blair took precedence of the wife of Sir Henry -Smith-Evered; and Colonel Cavilland therefore led the former into the -dining-room, and to Daniel fell the duty of giving his arm to the -latter. - -Lady Smith-Evered plainly showed her indignation at this outrage by a -mere colonel of Dragoons upon the martial dignity of the -Commander-in-Chief; and for much of the meal she hardly spoke a word. -Daniel was thus left to look about him; and he observed how gaily Muriel -laughed and joked with her partner, and with Captain Purdett upon her -other hand. - -Snatches of her conversation came to his ears; and he was conscious, as -ever, that the things she said in public had no relation to those meant -for his private hearing. When she was alone with him she spoke with -frankness and sincerity; but to other people she seemed to be striving -after an effect, and just now, somehow, he would have liked to have -shaken her, even though she made him laugh. - -The colonel was talking about the recent discovery at Alexandria of a -Greek papyrus, extracts from which had appeared in translation in the -Egyptian Gazette. - -"It's a treatise on love," Colonel Cavilland was saying. "The Greeks -were specialists on that subject." - -"Oh, I thought they were general practitioners," Muriel replied, and was -rewarded with a burst of laughter. - -He spoke of the passages quoted as being very charming, direct, and -simple; and Muriel remarked that she had always thought of the Greeks as -wicked old men who sat on cold marble and made hot epigrams. - -"But in this case," he laughed, "the author seems to have been a poor -shepherd." - -"Then no wonder his views were peculiar," said she. "'Poverty makes us -acquainted with strange bedfellows,' they say." - -The colonel glanced at her apprehensively, but Muriel's face seemed to -show perfect innocence. "Oh, well, for that matter," she added, -musingly, "I suppose wealth does, too." - -Her host's breath appeared to be taken away by her audacity. He was not -used to the style of chatter current in what are called "smart" circles. -He caught Daniel's eye, and, seeing that he had been listening, winked -at him; but Daniel turned quickly away, and made another abortive -attempt to engage Lady Smith-Evered in conversation. - -Mrs. Cavilland observed his difficulties, and helped him to enter the -gaieties at her end of the table; but here, again, he felt himself to be -out of harmony with the laughter, and he began to think himself a very -surly fellow. - -Mrs. Cavilland was amusing her neighbours by making fun of the wives of -the minor officials in Cairo; and she was clever enough to rend them so -gently that her feline claws were hardly to be observed, her victims -seeming, as it were, to fall to pieces of their own accord. - -"What a cat I am!" she laughed. "Mr. Lane, I can see your disapproving -eye on me." - -Lady Smith-Evered leant forward. "Mr. Lane disapproves of everything -English," she said. "He prefers natives." - -"Oh, it's not as bad as that," Daniel replied, with a smile. "I've got -the greatest admiration for my countrymen in the rough...." - -He checked himself. He felt that he was being a boor. He wanted to add: -"but I detest the ways of this politely infamous thing called Society." - -It was Muriel, strangely enough, who came to his rescue. "Oh, don't take -any notice of him," she said, speaking across the table. "That's only -his fun." - -If she spoke with bitterness she concealed the fact; and Mrs. Cavilland, -knowing that he had lived much of his life in America, presumed that his -form of drollery must be of that kind to which English people are -notoriously obtuse. She did not wish to be thought slow in the uptake, -and she therefore laughed merrily, declaring that he was "a perfect -scream," which so tickled Daniel that he, too, smiled. - -There was to be a garden party at the Residency that afternoon, which, -owing to the anticipated presence of a number of native dignitaries, he -would be obliged to attend. As soon as luncheon was finished, therefore, -he whispered to Muriel, suggesting that they should leave early, and -thus have a little time together before the afternoon's function. - -"I _must_ have an hour alone with you, Muriel," he said. "I'm feeling -all on edge." - -Muriel shook her head. "Can't be done," she answered casually. "I've -promised Willie Purdett I'd go for a spin with him in his new car." - -"Well, tell him you've changed your mind," he said, deliberately. "I -want you." - -"I'm afraid you're too late, my dear," replied Muriel, and turned away -from him. - -Later, at the garden party he watched her as she moved about the lawn; -and he seemed to be unusually sensitive to the number of young men who -hovered around her. His philosophy had wholly deserted him, and his mind -was disturbed and miserable. - -Once he joined a group in which she was the principal figure; and again -he was distressed by the tone of her remarks. It was almost as though -she were trying to offend his ear. - -Somebody had said "The good die young," but Daniel had not heard the -earlier part of the conversation; and Muriel replied, "Yes, dullness is -the most deadly thing on earth, and the most contagious." - -He did not wait to hear more: he turned his back on her and walked away, -his heart heavy within him. He was utterly out of tune with her. - -That evening she was to dine with the Bindanes at Mena House and to -spend the night with them, so as to be ready for an early start next -morning upon an all-day excursion into the desert. It was to be a large -and elegant picnic; and Daniel had been glad to be able to make his work -an excuse for not joining the party. - -Soon after dark, therefore, he found himself driving out to the Pyramids -with Muriel and her maid; and on reaching the hotel he asked her to come -into the garden for the half-hour before the first gong would ring. - -"Oh, it's so dark out there," she replied. "I want to have a talk to -you, too. Couldn't we find a corner in the lounge?" - -"No," he said, "it's stuffy inside." - -He took her arm, and led her towards the dense group of trees which -surrounded the tennis court. She did not resist. This state of veiled -hostility was intolerable, and she welcomed the thought of a pitched -battle with him. - -The night was moonless; and the hot south wind which had been blowing -during the day had dropped, leaving the upper air so filled with a hazy -dust that the stars were dim. The darkness, when they had passed out of -the range of the hotel lights, was intense; and it was with difficulty -that they found their way to a bench upon the lawn, under the blackness -of the overhanging foliage. - -Here they seated themselves in silence; and, though they were close to -one another, each could feel, rather than see, the presence of the -other. The distant clanging of the tram-car bells, and an occasional -grumble of an automobile, reminded them that civilization was not far -removed; but here in the obscurity all was hushed, and there was a sense -of detachment from the busy ways of mankind which was accentuated by the -ominous hooting of an owl and by the gentle rustle of the trees, as the -leaves were stirred by the dying wind. - -"Well?" said Muriel. - -"Well?" he replied. "Let's have it out." - -"Oh, then you know there's something wrong." - -"I know you have been trying to hurt me for the past two or three days," -he answered. - -He put his hand upon hers as it rested on her knee, and drew her towards -him; but she resisted the movement, and he noticed that her fingers, -which pushed his own away, were cold. - -"Tell me," he said. "What has been the matter? You have made me very -unhappy." - -"There's nothing to tell," she answered. "Only ..." - -"Only what?" - -"I don't think you know what love is," she murmured, and her voice was -so low that her words were almost lost in the darkness. - -"But that is just what I was going to say to you," he replied. - -She uttered a little laugh. "It seems that we shall always interpret -things differently," she said. - -She turned to him, and in the obscurity his face seemed strange to her. -She could not construct the features, nor supply the well-known lines -now lost in the shadow. She saw only the great forehead, faintly white, -and the upper part of his cheeks; but his eyes were hidden in two deep -cavities of blackness, and all expression was extinguished. - -"There will always be these misunderstandings," he told her, "so long as -you are tied to this sort of social life." - -"I prefer it to the underworld," she answered, and her heart beat, for -she was launching her attack. - -"What d'you mean by the 'underworld'?" he asked. - -"The world that Lizette belongs to," she replied. - -She had said it!--she had hurled her lightning, and now she waited for -the roll of the thunder. But there was no cracking of the heavens: only -silence; and, as she waited, she could feel the beating of her pulse in -her throat. - -At last he spoke, and his voice was quiet and clear. - -"Please tell me exactly what Cousin Charles has said about Lizette." - -She turned quickly on him. "Why should you think it was Charles -Barthampton who told me?" - -"Because I was with Lizette the day I first met him," he answered. - -"Then you don't deny it?" - -"Deny it?" he repeated, with scorn in his voice. "Why on earth should I -deny it?" - -She shrugged her shoulders. "A man generally denies that sort of thing -to the girl he wants to marry," she said. - -"That only shows how little you understand me," he replied, and there -was despair in his words. - -"O, I understand you well enough," she answered, bitterly. "You are just -like all men. But what I can't understand is how you could be going -about with that woman at the same time that you were making love to me." - -Again he was silent. It seemed that he had to turn her words over in his -mind before their significance was clear. - -"You mean," he said at length, "that if I had told you Lizette was an -old flame of mine now set aside, you would have condoned it?" - -"Women have to forgive a great deal in the men they love," she answered. - -"You mean," he went on, ruthlessly, "that you think me capable of coming -to you with that woman's kisses on my lips?" - -It was she, now, who was silent for a while. "I've got to think you -capable of it," she said at last. "You were with her only a few days -ago." - -"Yes," he answered. "I was with her, as you say, a few days ago. Well?" - -She moved restlessly in her seat. "That's not the way to ask my -forgiveness," she said. - -Suddenly his shadowy bulk seemed to loom up above her. He gripped her -wrist with his left hand, and drew her towards him; while the fingers of -his right hand laid themselves upon her throat. His face came close to -hers. - -"How dare you!" he whispered. "How dare you think of me like that? D'you -mean to say that if all this were true, if I were living with that -woman, you would be prepared to forgive me?" - -She did not speak. "Answer me!" he cried, and his arms crushed her to -him. - -"I don't know," she gasped. "I only know I love you, Daniel." - -He loosed his hold upon her. "Oh, you're tainted," he exclaimed. -"Intrigues, jealousies, deceptions, quarrels, reconciliations--they're -all part of your scheme of life. I suppose you revel in them, just as -you revel in the latest divorce case at your gossiping tea-parties, and -the latest dresses from Paris, and the latest dancing craze, and the -latest thing in erotic pictures or sensuous music...." - -Muriel put her hands over her ears. "I won't listen!" she cried. "You -don't know what you're saying." - -He stood in front of her, his hands driven into the pockets of his coat. -His massive head and shoulders shut out the misty stars, and as she -looked up at him he appeared to her as a black and vaporous elemental -risen from the ancient soil of Egypt. - -It was evident that he was trying to control his anger; and when he -spoke again his voice was quiet and restrained. - -"I'm afraid I must seem to you very rude," he said, "but when one is -speaking out of the pit of despair the words one utters are black words. -These last few days I've been seeing you with critical eyes: watching -you, listening to you. And the result is ..." - -"What?" she asked, as he paused. - -"I realize more and more how I dislike all this fooling with the surface -of things--surface emotions, surface wit, surface honesty. I can't get -down to the real You: the veneer is so thick. All that I have seen and -heard belongs to the superficial. I'm beginning to think there's nothing -real or solid under it all. The things you say are clever empty things; -the things you do...." - -She rose to her feet and faced him--a shadow confronting a shadow. - -"We seem to be getting further away all the time from the original point -of contention," she said, her voice rising. "I suppose that is what is -called 'confusing the issue.' It is rather clever. But please try to -remember that I am accusing you of deceit and disgusting duplicity. I am -accusing you of being with a woman whom even your obnoxious cousin -couldn't stand seeing you with, so that he had to try to separate you." - -"Oh, he said that, did he?" Daniel's tone was apathetic. - -"Do you deny it?" she asked, quickly. - -"No," he answered. "If you believe the story, it has served its -purpose." - -"How can I not believe it?" she cried. "You don't deny it." - -"Why should I deny it?" he demanded. "It is not a compromise with you I -am looking for: I am looking for your trust." - -"Trust!" she scoffed. "You come to me and whisper to me of your -wonderful desert, and the wonderful times we shall have there together; -you tell me that I am your mate, your sweetheart; your chosen one: and -all the time you are carrying on a liaison with a wretched woman in a -back street." - -"Yes," he answered, "and, believing that, you decide to have it out with -me and then make it up. Oh, you sicken me! If I were to tell you the -whole thing were nonsense, you wouldn't believe me. You might even be -disappointed. The tale would have been found to have no point: it -wouldn't be up to the standard of the stuff you read in your French -novels." - -Muriel sat down upon the bench once more, and her hands fell listlessly -to her sides. "I don't think there's any use in talking," she murmured. - -"No, none," he answered. "I shall never get to the real you until you -cut loose from all this. We belong at present to different worlds. I'm -all at sea when I try to look at things from your point of view." - -"Very well, then," she said. "Please take me back to the hotel. I shall -be late for dinner." - -There was a complete silence between them as they made their way through -the trees and along the gravel path towards the strongly-illuminated -veranda. Through open doors the lounge could be seen, and here groups of -visitors were gathering in readiness for dinner. The chatter of voices -and little gusts of laughter came to their ears as they approached; and -an elegant young man at the piano was lazily fingering the notes of -Georges Huee's haunting _J'ai pleure en reve_. - -Daniel paused at the steps of the veranda, but Muriel walked on, and, -without turning her head, passed into the house. He stood for a moment, -after she had gone, staring into the brightly lit room with dazed -uncomprehending eyes: then he turned towards the desert, and presently -was engulfed in the night. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--THE CALL OF THE DESERT - - -As soon as Daniel arrived at the Residency next morning he sent a -message to Lord Blair, asking that he might see him. He had hardly slept -at all during the night, and his haggard face showed the ravages of his -emotion. - -Lying on his bed upon the rocks above his camp, he had striven to -examine the entire situation with an impartial mind; and he would not -admit that his philosophy had failed him. His reason strove to assert -itself, and to quell the tumult of his tortured heart; and again and -again he reminded himself that there was no such thing as sorrow of the -soul. It was only his body that was miserable; and could he but manage -to identify himself with the spiritual aspect of his entity, the pain of -the material world would be forgotten in the serenity of his spirit. -This was a first principle of his philosophy; and yet it seemed now to -be utterly beyond his attainment. - -"I could not believe in a merciful God," he thought to himself, "unless -I believed that He had placed within the reach of every man the means to -overcome sorrow. Therefore the means must be at hand, if only I can take -hold of them." - -And again: "My reason, my soul, is unconquerable. It stands above my -miserable body. If only I can look at this disaster with the calm eyes -of the spirit, I shall get the victory over the wretched torment of my -heart." - -In itself the actual quarrel with Muriel had presented no insuperable -obstacle to their relationship. Had the trouble been an isolated -incident, it would not have been difficult for them to have kissed and -made friends; but Daniel realized that the differences between them had -been growing for some time, and for many days now it had seemed clear to -him that Muriel was too chained in the prison of her class ever to -understand the freedom of the desert. He despaired of her; yet he loved -her so deeply that their estrangement was, beyond all words, terrible to -him. - -While he waited in his room for Lord Blair's reply, he paced to and fro; -and in his weary brain the battle which had raged all night came ever -nearer to a definite issue. - -"I must get away from it all," he kept saying to himself. "I must go -back to the desert, for only there shall I find peace." - -At length a servant came to him, saying that Lord Blair would receive -him; and thereat he betook himself to the Great Man's study, his -impulsive mind made up on the instant and eager to meet his destiny. - -"Why, what is the matter, Daniel?" Lord Blair asked, as he entered the -room. "You looked troubled." - -"I am more than troubled," said Daniel. "I'm in despair. It's about -Muriel: I'm afraid we've had a definite quarrel." - -Lord Blair wiggled in his chair, apparently with annoyance, though -possibly with nothing more than an itch. - -"Ah--a lovers' tiff ...," he commented; but Daniel stopped him with a -gesture. - -"No, it's a total estrangement," he said, fiercely. "It's been growing -gradually, and now there's nothing to be done. I've come to give you my -resignation. I'm going back to El Hamran." - -Lord Blair suddenly sat back in his chair, his eyes fixed on his friend, -the tips of his fingers touching the edge of the table as though some -movement had been arrested. "My dear Daniel," he said at last, and he -spoke sharply, "control yourself! This is an absurd situation." - -"Oh yes, I know," Daniel replied, "you think I'm just a fool in love, -who's going off in a huff. No, that's not it. I want to go because I've -lost my happiness since I've been in Cairo: I'm utterly out of tune with -the people I meet. Why, yesterday at the Cavillands' I could feel myself -being a boor and a bore. I couldn't laugh.... Yes, that's it; since I've -been amongst all these witty people I've forgotten how to laugh. Good -God!--I hav'n't smiled for weeks. Out there in the desert, when my mind -was at peace, I was always full of laughter; I was always chuckling to -myself, just from sheer light-heartedness or whatever you like to call -it. But here my heart's in my boots, and I'm blue all day long. I can't -even whistle." - -"I think--indeed, I am sure--you are taking things too seriously," said -Lord Blair. - -"You're right," Daniel answered, quickly, interrupting him. "The gay -life makes me painfully serious; this fashionable stuff fills me with -gloom. It's all this blasted chase after amusement, this immense -preoccupation with the surface of things, that gives me the hump. You -see, to my way of thinking, light-heartedness only comes from a tranquil -sort of mind. It's something deep inside oneself; one doesn't get it -from outside--though, on the other hand, outside things do certainly -obscure one's inner vision. Real happiness--not just pleasure--seems to -be absolutely essential to life and to all human relations. It's the key -to diplomacy. You've got to see the fun of things, you've got to bubble -inside with happiness before you can really govern or be governed. -You've got to be the exact opposite of sinister, and nearly the opposite -of solemn, before you can get any punch into your dealings with your -fellow men, don't you think? And how, in God's name, can one be happy -unless there is the right mental atmosphere of truth, and sincerity, and -trust, and benevolence, and broad understanding?" - -He spoke with intensity, and the movement of his hands added expression -to his words. - -"But do you realize," said Lord Blair, "what an immense, what an -unqualified success your work here has been? And now you would throw it -all up just because a chit of a girl has annoyed you." - -"No, you don't understand," Daniel replied. "I might have been able to -ignore all this miserable Society business; but when Muriel and I grew -fond of one another I was drawn into it. And then, gradually, I began to -see that that was her world. At first I hoped she would be the buffer -between me and that world, and a non-conductor, so to speak, but I find -that she transmits the shocks to me direct." - -He told Lord Blair something of the more tangible trouble between them, -but he would not reveal all the bitter yearning of his heart. He might -have said "I love her, I want her to be wholly mine, I want her to come -over to my way of thinking so that I can show her where real happiness -is to be found." He might have said "I am distracted by her, and I want -to go away to forget her dear eyes, and the touch of her lips, and the -intoxication of her personality." But on these matters he was silent. - -As he talked his mind was filled with a passionate desire for the peace -of the desert. He was like a monk, longing for the refuge of his quiet -monastery walls; and he seemed to hear in his heart the gentle voice of -the wilderness calling to him to come back into the sweet smiling -solitude, away from the sorrows of the superficial world. - -"I must go back to El Hamran," he said. "I beg you not to stop me." - -Lord Blair looked at him with pity. He was in the presence of an emotion -which he could not altogether understand, but the reality of which was -very apparent. "There must be no question," he said, "of your -resignation. Go away for a time, if you wish, but you mustn't play the -deserter." - -An idea had suddenly come into his head, and he turned to Daniel with -relief in his anxious eyes. "Now listen to me," he said. "Go back to El -Hamran: I can send you there on business." - -He hunted about amongst his papers, and presently produced the -memorandum which Benifett Bindane had handed to him. "Here are some -matters upon which Mr. Bindane desires information before he starts his -tour of the Oases in three or four weeks' time. You can send your -answers in to him on his arrival at El Homra; and after that you can -wait at El Hamran in case he comes there. After that I won't hurry you -to return: I can give you leave of absence. And then, when your mind is -more settled you can come back here. The winter season will be over, and -what you call 'Society' will have left the country for the summer." - -Daniel fell in with the suggestion gladly. "You are very patient with -me," he said. "I don't deserve it: I feel I'm being very cranky." - -"I don't want to lose you," the elder man replied, and his sincerity was -apparent. But he was much startled when Daniel asked if he might leave -at once. - -"Today?" he exclaimed, in surprise. - -"Yes, now," said Daniel, emphatically. "There are practically no -outstanding matters. I can put Lestrange wise about everything in ten -minutes." - -Lord Blair looked at him, curiously. "Muriel won't be back from Mena -House until this evening," he said. "Don't you want to see her before -you go?" - -"No," he replied, quickly and decisively, rising to go, "I have nothing -to say to her." - -Lord Blair sighed as they walked to the door. "Daniel," he said, "all -this is a great blow to me." - -Thus it came about that an hour after Daniel had arrived at the -Residency he was on his way back to the desert, his teeth set, and his -brain occupied, by force of will, with his plans. He did not dare to -look into the future: he was going, as a sick man goes to an operation, -to find by a path of pain the health of mind that he had lost. Perhaps -he would return to the Residency; perhaps he would not; but for the -present it was of paramount importance that he should master his -complaint, and regain the power to see clearly, the power to work -happily, the power to laugh. - -By mid-afternoon his camp was struck, and he was ready to depart. A -camel-owner in the village of Kafr-el-Haram, near the Pyramids, had -supplied the necessary camels and men at a moment's notice, hastened by -the enthusiasm of Hussein and his brother, both overjoyed at the good -fortune which was to take them so suddenly back to their home. Some of -the tents and the unnecessary articles of furniture had been stored in -the village at the house of a native friend; and the remainder were -packed upon the camels. - -As the afternoon shadows were lengthening the start was made. The -camels, grumbling and complaining, lurched to their feet; the three -dogs, barking with excitement, ran in circles around the company; and -Daniel, swinging into his saddle, took his place at the head of the -caravan. In single file, and at a slow trot, they moved away westwards, -their long shadows stretching out behind them; and soon they had -disappeared into the waste of sand and rocks, golden in the light of the -descending sun. - -An hour later the picnic party, coming back from a point to the south, -rode towards the Pyramids. Muriel had been very silent all day; but -Kate, who was in her confidence, had helped her to conceal her -depression, and now was riding by her side, a little removed from the -others. The desert had had a soothing influence upon the raw wound which -the quarrel of the previous day had inflicted; and Muriel was already -somewhat happier in her mind. - -"Don't you worry, old girl," said Kate. "Men have got to be managed, and -you'll soon put things ship-shape in the morning." - -"But the morning is so far off," Muriel replied, pathetically. - -She did not altogether understand what the trouble was about. Daniel had -attacked her so suddenly, just when she had been wholly engaged in -attacking him. So far as she could make out, he had been angry with her -because she had made a fuss about his relationship with Lizette. "I -suppose," she thought to herself, "he thinks a woman oughtn't to -question a man's movements, or know anything about what he is doing when -he is not with her. It doesn't seem fair somehow...." - -She did not in the least realize that Daniel's hostility had been -aroused by her belief that there was anything between him and Lizette, -and by her readiness, in spite of that belief, to overlook his supposed -deception as soon as she had vented her feelings by a brief show of -temper. She felt that he had been harsh, and rather brazen about the -whole thing; and yet, so greatly did she yearn for his love, she was -prepared to forgive even his brutality. - -She turned to her companion. "I don't think I can wait till the -morning," she said. "I'm going to ride over to his camp now, and say I'm -sorry. It's only a mile out of the way, and I'll be home almost as soon -as you." - -Kate was sympathetic. "Go on, then," she replied. "I'll hint to the -others that you've got a stomach-ache or something, and have ridden on. -And let me see more colour in that old mug of yours when you get back." - -She leant forward in her saddle, and struck her companion's horse with -her cane, so that he went off at a gallop across the sand. - -Bearing off to the left, Muriel soon described the head of rock which -overlooked the camp; but approaching it thus from the south she knew -that the tents would not come into view until she had rounded this -ridge. - -She had no idea what she was going to say. She thought only that she -would go into his tent, where she would probably find him writing at his -table; and she would put her arms about him, and tell him that she could -not live under his displeasure. - -At last she reached the rocks; and, as she rode round them, she drew up -her reins and prepared to dismount. Then, with horrible suddenness, the -truth was, as it were flung at her. Where she had thought to see the -tents, there was only a patch of broken-up sand, a few bits of paper and -straw, and innumerable footprints. - -She uttered a little cry of dismay, and, with wide, frightened eyes, -gazed about her. The footprints of the camels passed in a thin line out -to the west, and she could see them winding away into the silent desert. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--THE NATURE OF WOMEN - - -Kate Bindane had just gone up to her room and was standing there alone, -examining herself disapprovingly in the long mirror, when Muriel -staggered in, her face white, her knees giving way. - -"Kate!" she cried. "He's gone!" - -She threw herself down on the floor in front of a low arm-chair, and -spreading her arms across its seat, buried her face in them. - -Her friend stood perfectly still for a few moments, staring down at her -in amazement. She had never before seen Muriel give way to uncontrolled -grief in this manner; and she was frightened by the terrible rasping of -her muffled sobs, and by the convulsive heaving of her shoulders. She -did not know what to do, and her hands hesitated uncertainly between the -whiskey-bottle standing on a shelf and the smelling-salts upon the -dressing-table near to it. - -At last, discarding the stimulants, she knelt down by her friend's side, -and put her strong arm around her. The tears had come into her own eyes, -and as she patted Muriel's shoulder, she fumbled for her handkerchief -with her disengaged hand. - -"Hush, hush, my darling!" she whispered. "Tell me what has happened." - -"He's gone," Muriel sobbed. "The camp's gone. I saw the track of his -camels leading away into the desert." - -She could say no more, and for a considerable time continued her -passionate weeping. - -At length she raised her head. "There are only some bits of paper and -things left," she moaned; and therewith she returned to her bitter -tears. - -Kate rose to her feet. "I am going to 'phone your father," she said, -"and ask him what has happened." - -She gave Muriel an encouraging pat, and hastened into the adjoining -sitting-room, where a telephone was affixed to the wall. A few minutes -later she was speaking to Lord Blair, asking him the reason of Daniel's -departure. - -"We've just seen the deserted site of his camp," she said, "and poor -Muriel is in floods of tears." - -"Dear, dear!" came the reply. "Poor girl! Tell her Daniel has only gone -away for a short time. I have had to send him to the Oases on business, -that's all." - -"Rather sudden, wasn't it?" queried Kate. - -Lord Blair coughed. "Daniel is always very prompt to act, when action -has to be taken," he said. - -"Didn't he leave any note or message for Muriel?" - -"No, none," was the reply. "He went away in a great hurry. Am I to -expect Muriel back to dinner?" - -"With her eyes bunged up?" exclaimed Kate, impatiently. "Of course not. -I'll send her back to you in the morning. Hav'n't you anything to say to -comfort her?" - -There was a pause. "Yes," he replied at length, "tell her I've just seen -Ada going upstairs with two bandboxes. She says they are new -night-dresses from Maison Duprez." - -Kate uttered a contemptuous grunt. "That's the last thing to tell her!" -she exclaimed. "Good-night." - -She slammed down the receiver, and, going back to her bedroom, repeated -to Muriel her father's explanation of Daniel's departure. This brought -some comfort into the girl's forlorn heart; and a second outburst of -tears, which occurred an hour or so later, was due more to a kind of -self-pity, perhaps, than to despair. - -"It's so unkind of him," she cried, "to go off without even saying -good-bye, or leaving a note." - -"But from what I gather," Kate replied, "he doesn't think you really -care much about him." - -"Ah, I do, I do," Muriel wailed, wringing her hands. - -"Well, you know," Kate commented, somewhat brutally, "seeing how you've -been carrying on this last month, I shouldn't have said myself that you -were really stuck on him." - -"You don't understand," Muriel moaned. "I wanted to be properly engaged -to him, but he wouldn't hear of it--I told you at the time. I don't -believe he ever wanted to marry me at all," she exclaimed, passionately. -"I believe he only wanted me to run away with him." - -Suddenly she looked up, with a curious light in her face. "I wonder...." -She paused. She recalled the words he had said when he first knew her: -"Why don't you break loose?" And then last night he had said: "I shall -never get to the real you until you cut loose from all this." Could it -be that the manner of his going away was meant to be a sort of silent -gesture, a beckoning to her to follow? - -She was so absorbed in her thoughts that her tears dried upon her face; -and presently Kate was able to induce her to make somewhat more than a -pretence of tasting the little dinner which had been sent up to them. - -Later in the evening, when Benifett Bindane had come upstairs, and when -Muriel had gone to her own room, Kate told her husband that she would -sleep that night with her friend. - -"As you wish, my dear," he answered pleasantly. "You must help her to -get over this business. She'll soon live it down, I expect." - -Kate looked annoyed. "You needn't be so damned cheerful about it," she -said. "I sometimes think you haven't got a heart at all." - -He sat down loosely, and stared at her for some moments, as though about -to make a profound remark. - -"Spit it out," said Kate encouragingly. - -"I was just thinking," he droned, "that I shall probably get Lane as our -General Manager after all." - -She turned upon him. "Oh, you cold-blooded brute! It's always business -first with you. I suppose you're hoping he'll never want to come back to -Cairo." - -"Well," he mused, "he evidently feels that life in the Oases suits him -better." - -"Ugh!" his wife ejaculated. "I suppose you think he'll be content to be -a sort of pasha out there, with his harim of Bedouin women; raking in a -fat salary from your precious Company, and fleecing the natives to fill -your pockets. It's a pretty picture!" - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -"Well, it isn't a prettier picture," he answered, "to think of a fine -man like that messing about Cairo, wasting his time at dinner parties -and dances on a wretched Foreign Office pittance." - -Kate did not continue the discussion, and it was not long before she -went to her friend's room, where, entering quietly, she found Muriel -standing in her nightdress at the western window, her bare arms resting -on the high sill, and her gaze fixed upon the obscurity of the desert -which lay black and desolate under the stars. The window was open, and -the drifting night-wind stirred the mass of her dark hair which fell -about her shoulders. - -She turned quickly as she heard the footstep, and Kate was dismayed at -the pallor of her face. - -"I can't make him out," Muriel said. "I can't make him out. Right out -there somewhere, in that blackness, he is smoking his pipe and stroking -his dogs and yawning himself to sleep. And yet he must know that I'm -here, calling to him and crying to him." - -She stretched out her arms, her fists clenched. "O God!" she muttered, -"Let me understand him, let me see what's in his mind." - -Kate drew the curtain across the window, as though she would shut out -the dark menace of the desert, and drew her friend towards the bed. - -"It'll all come out in the wash, old girl," she choked. "You're not the -only woman who finds her man incomprehensible sometimes." - -She looked at Muriel and Muriel at her; and suddenly, like two children, -they put their heads each upon the other's shoulder, and sobbed as -though their hearts would break. - -When Muriel returned next morning to the Residency, she went up to her -own sitting-room at once; and presently she sent a message down to her -father, who was at work in his study, asking him to come to her as soon -as he had a few minutes to spare: nor was it long before he came -tripping into the room. - -It was evident that he felt the situation to be somewhat awkward; for -his remarks began on a piping note of jocularity, and so rapidly -descended the scale to one of profound melancholy that Muriel was -reminded of a gramophone running down. - -"Father," she said presently, "I want you to tell me exactly what Daniel -said about me before he left. I suppose he told you that we had had a -quarrel." - -Lord Blair seemed puzzled, and he raised his hands in a gesture -indicating his lack of grasp of the essential points in Daniel's recent -tirade. - -"Yes, he told me about the little tiff; but I really don't know whether -I apprehend his meaning exactly. He was very much upset, very -overwrought. It seems, if I have understood him aright, that he finds -fault with you because you are rather--what shall I say?--rather given -to the superficialities of our civilization. He would prefer you _in -puris naturalibus_"--he corrected himself--"that is to say -metaphorically speaking. He said that 'the fashionable world,' as he -called it, filled him with gloom, gave him the ... ah ... hump, I think -he said; and he was disappointed to find that you associated yourself so -fully with the frivolities of society, and were so foreign to the -liberties, the sincerities, of more primitive conditions. I don't know -whether I am making myself clear." - -"Perfectly," said Muriel. "I suppose he would have preferred to see me -turning head over heels in the desert _in puris_ ... -what-you-said-_ibus_." - -"I take it," Lord Blair explained, "that he was referring to your -mental, not your physical attitude." - -"Oh, quite so," replied Muriel; and she burst out laughing, but her -laughter was very close to tears. - -Lord Blair patted her cheek. "Ah, Muriel," he said, his manner again -becoming serious, "you mustn't lose Daniel. I would rather that he were -your husband than any man living." - -"But I don't think he wants to be my husband, or anybody's husband," she -replied. - -"He is deeply in love with you," her father told her. - -"That's another matter," said she; and Lord Blair glanced at her in -perplexity. - -He was not altogether sorry that events had taken their present course; -for it seemed to him that this temporary disunion would have a salutary -effect on his daughter's character. He could see clearly the faults of -which Daniel complained; and he could not help thinking that this -forceful show of disgust on her lover's part would be instrumental in -arousing her to the more serious things of life. It would be a lesson to -her which would serve to fit her to be the wife of a man of genuine -sincerity. - -Moreover, in the case of Daniel, his sudden return to El Hamran, with -his heart left behind him here at the Residency, would probably dispel, -once and for all, that haunting dream of his desert paradise which -otherwise would always cause him to be restless in Cairo. This time, if -he were made of flesh and blood, he would find the desert intolerable, -and in a few weeks he would probably be lured back to civilization by -the call of his manhood. - -That Daniel should marry Muriel, and take up his permanent position at -the Residency, was his most ardent hope; and as the present events had -occurred he had fitted them each into place in his growing plan of -action. - -In brief, his scheme was as follows. At the end of the month he himself -would have to go up to the Sudan on his annual tour of inspection; and -about the same time the Bindanes would be going to the Oases. He had -expected to take his daughter with him to the Sudan, but, instead, he -would send her with the Bindanes, and thus she would be in a position to -effect a reconciliation with Daniel on his own ground, so to speak. -Hardy Muriel on camel-back in the desert would be more likely to win him -than dainty Muriel in the ballroom; and Lord Blair, priding himself on -his strategy, had almost come to believe that his sending Daniel off to -El Hamran had been a definite move in his game, made with the object of -bringing about this romantic meeting in the desert. - -He rubbed his hands together now as he prepared to tell Muriel of his -plan, so far as she ought to know it. - -"Now, my dear," he said to her, "you must not fret. I have a little -scheme in my mind, of which I think you will approve. I am going to try -to arrange for you to go out to the Oases with our friends; and thus you -will be able to see Daniel for a day or two, and, if so you wish, you -will be able to make it up with him." - -He stood back from her, and beamed upon her, his hands raised as though -he were beating time to a visionary orchestra. But as he saw the -expression in her eyes his face fell, and his hands sank to his side. He -looked at her in dismay, and the thought came into his mind that she was -undoubtedly a Blair; for, like all the Blairs in a temper, she resembled -a beautiful monkey. Her eyebrows were knitted, her eyes were round and -wide open, her lips were pursed, and her jaw was set. He had never -realized before how very attractive she was. - -"Do you suppose," she said, slowly and distinctly, "that I shall again -put myself in a position to be snubbed? Do you think I would lower -myself to go out to him in the desert and ask his forgiveness? No! If he -wants me he can come back and ask _my_ forgiveness." - -He watched her anxiously as she turned haughtily away. Then he shrugged -his shoulders. "You both seem determined to lose one another," he -remarked; and presently, like a man who has no time to waste, he stepped -back to the door and opened it. - -"I never want to see him again," said Muriel over her shoulder. - -Lord Blair did not answer, but, shutting the door with a snap, left her -to her bitter reflections. - -Five minutes later a message was brought up from Lady Smith-Evered, who -had called to consult her in regard to a proposed picnic; and Muriel -therefore went downstairs to the drawing-room. There she found her -imposing visitor seated upon the sofa behind a great bunch of pink -peonies which stood in a vase upon a low table. She had evidently been -walking in the hot sun, and her face, in spite of its powder, was itself -extraordinarily suggestive of a pink peony in full bloom, so that, -appearing as it seemed to do from amongst these showy flowers, it was -like a burlesque of caricature of the works of nature. - -"Good morning, my dear: forgive my getting up," she said to Muriel. -"Your sofa is lower than I expected." - -Muriel sat down beside her. "I think Daniel Lane must have broken the -springs," she answered. "He always used to fling himself into that -corner when he had a fit of laziness." - -Lady Smith-Evered glanced at her. "Why d'you say he 'used to'? Doesn't -he do it now?" - -"He's gone," said Muriel. "Didn't you know?" - -"Gone?" - -Muriel told her how Lord Blair had sent him off on a mission to the -Oases. Her voice betrayed no trace of feeling as she explained away his -sudden departure. - -"Well, my dear," said Lady Smith-Evered, "I know you and he quite like -each other, but I must say I can't understand it. I'm relieved to hear -he has gone. I don't trust him in regard to women." - -Muriel uttered a short laugh. "One might say the same of any man," she -replied. - -Lady Smith-Evered looked at her curiously. "I wonder what's the real -reason of his being sent off so suddenly," she remarked, a crafty -expression coming into her face. "His going on a mission is probably -only eyewash." - -Muriel shrank before her prying eyes, and a feeling of anger was -awakened in her; but she only shrugged her shoulders. - -"I wonder if your father has been wise enough just to dismiss him in -this way," Lady Smith-Evered mused. "I'll find out: yes, I'll get to the -bottom of it." - -The expression of inquisitive, self-complacent cunning in the woman's -face, and her actual blindness to the real facts of the matter, combined -to arouse in Muriel an uncontrollable hostility. - -"Oh, you needn't bother to find out," she said. "You wouldn't understand -the real reason." - -"Ah, then there _is_ a secret: I thought as much," she replied, with a -knowing smile. "There's always a secret about the movements of such men -as Mr. Lane." - -"Yes," answered Muriel, suddenly seeing red, as the saying is; "absolute -frankness and absolute honesty must always seem fishy to those who can't -conceive what such things mean. If you want to know, Daniel Lane has -gone away because he was fed up with the rotten life we lead here in -Cairo. The sham of it all sickened him. He has gone away to escape from -the pretences and the hatefulness and the pettiness of people like you -and me. He's gone to get some fresh air: he was being suffocated here." - -Lady Smith-Evered stared at her in blank astonishment, and the pinkness -of her face turned to a deeper red. "Oh, that's what he has told you, is -it?" she scoffed. "He must think you very gullible." - -Muriel rose from the sofa, and faced her visitor with blazing eyes. "I -said you wouldn't be able to understand," she exclaimed. "There's no -mystery about it: he was just frankly disgusted, and off he went. But -he'll come back one day, when the hot weather begins and we've all gone -home. Then he and Father will be able to get on with their work, with -England's work, without being distracted by fussy little interruptions -from women like you and me...." - -Lady Smith-Evered managed to raise herself with some dignity from the -sofa. "I wanted to speak to you about plans," she said, stiffly; "but -that can wait now till another day. I don't know what is the matter with -you, but I know we shall quarrel if I remain. I don't care to be spoken -to as you are speaking to me." - -Her large bosom was heaving threateningly, and Muriel was abashed. - -"I'm sorry," she answered, the light of battle dying in her eyes. - -Lady Smith-Evered took her departure without many more words, and -thereon Muriel went directly up to her room again, her heart aching -within her. Here at the open window she stood staring out across the -lawn to the translucent Nile. A native boat, with huge bellying sails, -was making its way slowly up stream; and she could hear the wailing song -of the blue-gowned youth at the rudder. Away in the distance the -Pyramids marked the edge of the placid desert, now bathed in sunlight; -and above, the cloudless sky stretched in tranquil splendour. - -She was ashamed of herself, ashamed of her inconsistency. Her mind was -confused, but in its confusion she was conscious of one clear thought, -namely that Daniel would have rebuked her for her show of temper. "Look -away over there at the quiet desert," he would have said. "Do you see -how it is smiling at you for your angry thought and for that flush in -your face? You won't get at the root of things by raising your little -voice in protest." - -"O Daniel, Daniel," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears, "you -oughtn't to have left me here alone. You oughtn't, you oughtn't." - -And some time later, still staring out of the window, she said: "Did you -go away because you wanted me to follow you? Must I humiliate myself and -come to you? O Daniel, my darling, how I hate you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE GREAT ADVENTURE - - -As the days passed, and the Bindanes' departure for the Oases drew near, -Muriel's rather feeble resolution not to accompany them steadily -weakened. Lord Blair had done his best to alter her decision, and the -Great Man could be a clever strategist: his daughter, indeed, would have -had little chance of opposing his wishes successfully in this matter -even had she battled against him with a whole heart, but in the -vacillating condition to which love had brought her she had no chance at -all. - -"Don't be a dam' fool," Kate Bindane said to her one morning at the -Residency. "What's the good of moping about outside the ropes like a -heavyweight with a stomach-ache? You know you're fed up with everybody -here: Gor' blimy!--why don't you swallow your maidenly pride, and put on -the gloves, and have three rounds with Fate? It's better to be counted -out than never to have boxed at all. Tennyson." - -Thus it came about that at the end of February, when Lord Blair took the -train southwards upon his journey to the Sudan, Lady Muriel set out -westwards as a member of the Bindanes' elaborate caravan. The start was -made one morning from Mena House, and so great was the general confusion -and hullabaloo that Muriel's thoughts did not begin to clarify -themselves until a ride of two hours had brought them to the rocky -valley wherein they halted to eat their luncheon. - -Here, seating herself upon the rocks at the foot of the cliff, she -shaded her eyes with her hand, and surveyed the animated scene with -amused interest. There was Kate, in a white coat and skirt, and a -sun-helmet, stumping over the sand to cure the "pins-and-needles" from -which she was suffering; her husband, in a grey flannel suit and a -green-veiled helmet, was still seated upon his camel as though he had -forgotten to dismount; his man, Dixon, rather fat and red, and wearing -his new gaiters apparently back to front, was hastening to his master's -assistance; and the two imposing native dragomans, in silks all aflutter -in the wind, were shouting unnecessary orders to the Egyptian cook and -_sofragi_ to hasten the luncheon. - -A few yards down the valley a khaki-clad Egyptian police-officer, -wearing his red _tarboush_, or fez, at a rakish angle, was giving -instructions to his four negro troopers; a fat native gentleman from the -Ministry of Agriculture was mopping his forehead as he stood beside his -grumbling camel, and the Egyptian secretary to the party, a dapper youth -with mud-coloured complexion and coal-black eyes, had just thrown -himself down in the shade and had removed the _tarboush_ from his -close-cropped head, in conscious defiance of local etiquette. - -The baggage camels, carrying the camp equipment, the stores, and the -tanks of water, were lurching at a walking pace along the valley, led by -blue-robed camel-men, under the orders of the caravan-master, a -grey-bearded Arab who rode sleepily at the head of the line. These were -not to halt at the midday hour, but, pushing ahead, they would be -overtaken later in the day by the swifter riding-camels; and Muriel -watched them now as they slowly jogged along the little-used track -between the yellow cliffs, the brilliant sun striking down upon them -from a deep blue sky in which compact little bundles of snow-white cloud -went scudding past. - -There was a boisterous breeze blowing, and the tingling glow of the sun -and wind upon her cheeks, as she sat perched high upon the rocks, seemed -to match the exhilaration of her heart. The morning's ride had shaken -her brain free from the heavy gloom of the last three weeks; and already -the shining open spaces of the desert had produced their effect upon -her, so that she felt as though her mind had had a cold bath. - -It was good to be up and doing; it was good to be setting out upon this -adventure, the ambiguousness of which seemed every moment to be growing -less disconcerting; it was good to be in this great playground where the -rules of her life's schoolroom were mainly in abeyance. Up here in these -splendid spaces it would not matter if she pulled her skirt off, or let -her hair down, or turned a cartwheel, or stood on her head. Already she -was whistling loudly, and throwing fragments of stone into the valley -before her, in the manner of a child upon the seashore; and all her -love-sick sorrows of yesterday seemed to have vanished in the exaltation -of youth and youth's well-being. - -She watched the servants, in the distance at the other side of the -valley, spreading the picnic luncheon on a white tablecloth laid upon a -shaded patch of sand; and when at length the meal appeared to be ready, -she took a flying leap down from the rock where she had been sitting, -and landed sprawling upon the sand-drift below. The sensation pleased -her, and, clambering up the rocks once more, she repeated the jump, this -time arriving with a considerable thud upon her back, and sliding down -the drift with her legs in the air. - -She hopped across the valley, rubbing herself, and was presently joined -by the Bindanes. - -"I feel about twelve years old," she told them; and indeed at the moment -she did not look much more than that age. "The desert is having an -extraordinary effect on me." - -"But we're only ten or twelve miles into it so far," said the practical -Kate. "You wait another week...." - -"If I go on at this rate," Muriel laughed, "I'll be in arms by the time -we reach the Oases." - -"I wonder whose," muttered Kate, with a smile; but her friend's face at -once became serious. It was a jarring note, and it nearly ruined the -joviality of the picnic. - -The afternoon ride carried them another fifteen miles; and towards -sunset they came to a halt in the midst of a wide flat plain of sand, -across which a winding ribbon of stunted tamarisks and sparse vegetation -marked the bed of a primeval river now reduced to a mere subterranean -infiltration. In the far distance on all sides the low hills hemmed them -in, like a rugged wall encircling a sacred and enchanted area. - -The tents were pitched amongst the low-growing bushes in the dry, -shingly bed of the stream; and the hobbled camels were turned loose to -crop such twigs and grasses as they found edible. Muriel, meanwhile, -wandered away into the open desert; and presently, like warm sand, and -resting her chin on her hands, watched the sun go down behind the purple -hills. - -For some time the excitements of the day, and the physical exhilaration -produced by her long ride in the sun and wind, held her from thought. -But at length the dreamlike silence of the wilderness, the amazing sense -of isolation from the outside world, began to release her mind from the -captivity of the flesh, so that becoming one with the immensity of -nature, her spirit drifted out into the sunset with the freedom of light -or air. - -The little deeds of all her yesterdays appeared suddenly insignificant -to her, and she began to feel that life, and the happiness of life, was -something far greater than she had supposed. She wondered why she had -been troubled with regard to Daniel: he was just an expression of -nature, as she was: and here, in the solitude he so dearly loved, she -seemed to understand for the first time his scorn of the intricacies of -modern civilization. Here all was so simple, so devoid of complexities, -that she laughed aloud. It was only her wits, the mere fringe of her -mind, which had veiled her spirit from his spirit; but now she had -shaken herself loose from these ornamentations of life, and stood as it -were, revealed like a lost fragment dropped at last into place in the -great design. - -She rose to her feet at length, with a sense of light-heartedness such -as she had never before known; and, returning to the camp in the -gathering dusk, she looked with amused pity at Benifett Bindane who sat -in a deck-chair reading the _Financial News_ by the light of a -glass-protected candle. - -"Just look at him!" said Kate, who, herself, had been admiring the -sunset. "Isn't it pitiful?" - -Mr. Bindane laid the paper down, and stared at his wife with -uncomprehending eyes. - -"The market is showing a good deal of weakness in Home Rails," he said -to his wife; "but your South Africans are all buoyant enough, so you -needn't worry." - -"Worry!" exclaimed Kate, contemptuously, and turned from him to the -fading light in the west. - -"I'm glad I bought those Nitrates," he went on, addressing the back of -her neck; "they're improving, so far as one can tell from the closing -quotations given here." - -He held the newspaper out, but she struck at it viciously with her hand. - -"Oh, for God's sake shut up!" she cried. "It's money, money, money all -the time with you." - -"I was speaking," he said, very slowly, and as though he had been hurt, -"of stock I had bought for you, my dear." - -Kate turned to him, and her friend observed that her face softened, as -though at the thought that in his own way he was showing his affection -for her. But the picture was, nevertheless, pathetic; and the -recollection passed through Muriel's mind, in sudden illumination, that -Daniel was entirely free from financial interests. So long as he earned -a reasonable living he never seemed to trouble himself about money. - -Next morning they were in the saddle by eight o'clock, while yet the sun -was low in the heavens and the air cold and sharp. Crossing the wide -plain in which they had camped, they passed into the echoing valleys -amongst the hills; and for the next three days they made their way -through rugged and broken country, now mounting some eminence whence -they surveyed a wide prospect in which range behind range of rugged -peaks was revealed to them, now losing themselves in the intricate -valleys, where they rode in the blue shadow of the cliffs, and where the -sound of their voices and their laughter was flung back at them from the -walls of rock. - -Each night they camped beside some water-hole or well, known by name to -their guides, but which to them seemed to be a deserted and unvisited -place, frequented only by the unseen gazelle whose footprints were -marked upon the sand. It was cold here in the high ground, and they were -glad of all the blankets which they had brought; but in the mornings the -sun soon warmed them, and by noon they were glad to take their rest in -the shade. - -It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of their journey that, -descending from the higher level, they came into sight of the little -Oasis of El Homra, set like an emerald in the golden bowl of the desert. -Muriel was riding beside Kate Bindane when, emerging from the maze of -the hills, they first looked down into this wide basin in the centre of -which the Oasis was situated; and both she and her friend uttered a cry -of delight. - -In the case of Muriel the ejaculation was a response to the grandeur of -the scene; but in that of her friend the exclamation was one of devout -thankfulness that the outward journey was nearing its end. Being heavily -built and somewhat stout Kate had suffered very much more severely from -the long-protracted jolting than she had been willing to admit; and -there were many very sore places upon her body which caused the thought -of much further exercise of this kind to be intolerable. - -"You won't catch me coming out here again," she declared, "until the -Company has built its light railway. Five days of blinkin' -torture!--that's what it's been. And to think that five hours by train -would have done it...!" - -Muriel looked at her in dismay. "I'd much rather not think we were so -near Cairo as that," she answered. "The whole pleasure of the thing is -that we're so cut off from civilization." - -Kate groaned. "Well, I'm glad to say I've brought a bit of civilization -with me in the shape of a pot of ointment and a roll of lint." - -Her further remarks, however, were checked by her efforts to pull in her -camel; for the west wind had brought to its nostrils the scent of -vegetation, and its pace had suddenly increased. - -Muriel turned in her saddle as her own beast hurried forward, and waved -her hand excitedly to Mr. Bindane, who was holding on to his pommels -with both hands, his head wobbling, and his body swaying. - -As they neared their destination the police officer overtook her, and -directed her towards the south end of the Oasis, where, a little removed -from the palm-groves, some whitewashed buildings were clustered -together. He explained that these formed the headquarters of the -Frontier Patrol, near which their camp would be pitched; and soon he had -galloped ahead, followed by one of his troopers, to herald their -arrival. - -The sun was setting when at last the party dismounted within the walled -compound of the outpost; and it was dark before the baggage caravan came -creaking and grunting into the circle of light cast by the lanterns of -the police. Kate and her husband had at once gone into the bare-walled -room which had been placed at their disposal; but Muriel, who was -experiencing an extraordinary sense of activity, went out with the -dragoman to supervise the erection of the tents in the open desert some -little distance from the buildings. - -For some time she lent a hand to the work, but at length she sat herself -down upon a derelict packing-case, and watched the figures moving to and -fro, now lit up by the flickering light of the lanterns, now passing -again into the darkness. - -The evening was warm, for the month of March had begun; and there was -not that sharp tingle in the air which had been experienced up in the -high ground they had lately traversed. On her one hand there were the -dark palm-groves, their branches silhouetted against the brilliant -stars: she could hear the rustling of the leaves, and there came to her -ears, also, the sound of a flute, the notes rising and falling in -plaintive inconsequence like babbling water in a forest at night. On her -other hand the open desert lay obscure and mysterious, the darkness made -more intense by contrast with the flicker of the lanterns and the light -issuing from the open doorways of the adjacent buildings. - -It was so strange to feel that she was separated from El Hamran, and -from the man she loved, by no more than thirty miles--an easy day's ride -to the southwest; and her heart was restless as she realized that Mr. -Bindane proposed to make an extended tour of the northern Oases before -getting into touch with Daniel. It seemed to her that she could not -tolerate another day of absence from him; and a wild thought entered her -mind that she would give her friends the slip next morning and ride -alone to El Hamran. It was, indeed, the thought of such an escapade -which sent her presently hurrying back to the light of the outpost, as -though in flight from the mad suggestions of the starlit spaces about -her. - -The evening meal was served in the room where Mr. and Mrs. Bindane had -settled themselves; and it was still early when they went to their -tents. Muriel was already yawning loudly, as she helped Kate to doctor -herself; and no sooner was she alone than she crawled into bed, and, in -spite of the barking of the dogs, the lowing of the cattle, and the -braying of a donkey; fell instantly asleep. - -On the following morning Benifett Bindane displayed unwonted briskness, -and, after an early breakfast, set out with the native officials to make -a tour of inspection of the Oasis. His plan was to continue his journey -next day to the large Oasis of El Arabah, to the northwest, where he -would spend the night. Then, returning to El Homra, where they were at -present, he would ride northwards on a tour which would occupy twelve or -thirteen days; and that being accomplished, he would, if necessary, -visit El Hamran where Daniel was staying, though he had now received the -latter's very full reply to the questions on which he had desired -information. - -When he got back to the camp, however, after his first day's work, he -found that his wife and Lady Muriel had made certain plans of their own, -consequent upon Kate's abrasions. They had decided to remain where they -were while Mr. Bindane paid his short visit to El Arabah; and it was -hoped that on his return his wife would be sufficiently recovered to go -north with him on his longer trip. - -He received the news with apparent indifference, merely remarking that -he would take with him on this short trip only one servant and one tent, -leaving the remainder of the camp where it was, under the care of the -two dragomans. The Bedouin of the Oases were a peaceful, law-abiding -people; and the two ladies would be as safe here, he well knew, as they -would be in an English village at home. - -That night, after Muriel had gone to her bed, Kate Bindane took her -husband into her confidence. - -"I don't know what's going on in Muriel's head," she told him, "but it -seems to me that she's about the most love-sick creature I've ever -struck. She won't even look in any other direction except the southwest, -because that's where her Daniel is." - -A slight expression of interest came into her husband's blank face. He -was sitting in his striped pyjamas on the side of his bed, scratching -himself dreamily; but now he paused and his arms fell loosely upon his -pointed knees. "I thought," he said, "she had got over all that. She has -been jolly enough all the way here." - -"Yes," answered Kate, "but now that she's within a day's ride of her -young man, she seems to have come over all funny-like. I can't make her -out." She waited a moment. "Wouldn't it be possible for us to go to El -Hamran before we make the northern trip?" she asked, poking the wick of -the candle, absently, with the stump of a match. - -Her husband shook his head. "No," he replied. "The plans are all fixed. -And, you see, I don't suppose Mr. Lane will give me more than a couple -of days of his time just now; and I'd rather have it at the end of my -tour, when I know what I'm talking about, than now when I hav'n't yet -seen the lie of the land. I want to be able to come to him with a -definite offer." - -He relapsed into silence for some time, resuming his leisurely -scratching; but at length he surprised his wife by asking a further -question as to Muriel's state of mind. - -"Why, Benifett," she said, smiling upon him, "you seem quite interested. -You know, I believe you're rather a sport, after all." - -He looked at her with his mouth open. "Oh, it's a recognized maxim of -the commercial world," he answered: "'Make yourself a party to the love -affairs of your business friends.'" - -"But Muriel isn't a business friend," said Kate. - -"No," he replied, "but her father is." And with that enigmatical remark, -he blew out the candle. - -At sunrise next day he was up and about; and an hour later he had -assembled his party for the start upon their journey. Kate and Muriel -watched them as they filed out of the compound in front of the police -buildings, in the brilliant light of the morning. - -"Tomorrow evening, probably," called Mr. Bindane, waving his hand to -them; and, "No hurry," replied Kate, casually: "we'll be quite all -right." - -With that he moved away, riding with the fat Egyptian from the Ministry -of Agriculture. Behind him followed the police-officer and the native -secretary, and after them went their servants and baggage camels. - -As the cavalcade passed out of sight behind the palm-trees, Kate turned -to her friend. "Now for a quiet time with the ointment pot," she -laughed; but her words were checked as she observed the surprising -expression on Muriel's face. "Why, what's the matter?" she exclaimed. - -Muriel caught hold of her arm. "Kate," she said, "I'm going to shock -you. I'm going to Daniel." - -Mrs. Bindane stood perfectly still, her hands upon her hips in the -manner of a fishwife. "What the Hell d'you mean?" she asked. - -Muriel confronted her, the monkey expression suddenly developing upon -her face--her jaw set, her eyes wide open. "I'm going to leave you, -Kate," she said. "I made up my mind in the night. I can't bear it -another moment: I'm going to start at once." - -"Don't be a damned fool," her friend ejaculated, angrily. - -Muriel shrugged her shoulders. "I shall take my dragoman with me," she -went on. "He knows all the roads hereabouts. I shall be quite safe. I'm -going to Daniel for a fortnight: I've thought it all out, and I know now -that's what he's been wanting me to do. You'll find me at El Hamran when -you come there--if you do come, and, if not, I'll join you here." - -"But, my good idiot," cried her friend, "there'll be the most awful -scandal! What d'you think Benifett will say?" - -"I'll leave that for you to find out," she answered. "I don't see Master -Benifett changing his plans for anybody. You can say I was ill, and -therefore went off to Daniel so that I shouldn't spoil your trip or -delay you. Father need never know, and I'm sure Benifett won't give me -away. Not that a scandal isn't just what he wants. Doesn't he want to -oblige Daniel to remain here in the Oases?--Oh, but I know what I'm -doing. Daniel never wanted to marry me: he wanted me to run away with -him." - -"Yes, but where are you going to run to?" - -"To seed," Muriel replied, with a little laugh. "I can't help it. He's -won: I can't stay away from him. I'm going to have this fortnight with -him, if I hang for it!" - -"Oh, you're mad!" exclaimed Kate, and, clutching hold of Muriel's arm, -she led her into her tent. - -Here they argued the matter to and fro; but it was apparent from the -first that the thing was irrevocably sealed, and that all the details of -the plan had been thought out so as to prevent the adventure becoming -public. - -"Very possibly there'll be no scandal at all," said Muriel; "the natives -can be bribed not to tell. I shall come back with you to Cairo when you -return there, and who is going to give me away?" - -"But what is a fortnight?" asked Kate, in despair. "Good God!--what is a -fortnight, when it means even the _possible_ ruin of your whole life?" - -"I can't look so far ahead," Muriel replied. "I only know I want him -now. And I'm going to him, Kate; I'm going to the man I love, the man -who loves me!" - -She ran out of the tent, calling to her dragoman, Mustafa, who appeared -at once from the domestic quarters. He received the news without -perturbation. - -"Yes, my leddy," he said. "I varry pleased. My wife's brother him live -at El Hamran. Thirty mile'--it is nudding: five, six hours riding; and -the road him varry good, varry straight." - -She told him to get two camels ready at once, to fill the water-bottles, -collect a few eatables, and--to hold his tongue. "I have to take some -important papers over to Mr. Lane," she said, and he smiled at the lie. - -Her large dressing-case was already packed; but, returning to her tent, -she opened it to put into it her little revolver, which, for the fun of -the thing, she had purchased in Cairo. This done, she went back to Kate, -who received her in cold silence. - -"Oh, Kate," she cried, "don't be beastly to me. I'm only going to do the -sort of thing that's been done by most of the girls we know. It's human -nature, Kate. When you love a man and feel you absolutely can't live -without him, you've got to surrender to him and do what he wants; and I -know now that this is what he's been asking me to do all along." She put -her arms about her neck, and kissed her. - -Kate looked at her sorrowfully, and her face softened. "Muriel, you -blinkin' idiot," she said, "I don't know what'll come of this, but -whatever happens, old bean, I'm with you." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--BREAKING LOOSE - - -The road, or rather camel-track, from El Homra to El Hamran passes -across a wide plain of comparatively flat sand, which looks like the bed -of a vast lake from which the waters have been drained off. It is a huge -hollow separated by high ground from the smaller basin in which the -former oasis is situated. Ranges of hills form the boundaries of this -area, those to the east being high and many-peaked, the others low and -undulating; and from one side of the plain to the other must be -something like twenty miles. There are three wells between the two -oases, the second being practically in the centre of the plain, and -marking the half-way point of the journey. - -Muriel and her dragoman reached this well at about one o'clock, when the -sun was almost directly overhead and the glare intense. It was a deep -pool not more than a dozen feet from side to side; but in the clear -water the blue of the sky was so vividly reflected that Muriel, as she -stood staring down into it, had the impression that the earth was flat -and that she was looking through a hole into further spaces of empty air -beneath. - -A few yards distant there were some tamarisks, providing a little patch -of shade, almost as blue as the sky and water; and a stone's throw away -there was a hillock of sand upon which grew a few low and dusty bushes. -With these exceptions there was no vegetation to be seen, and the sand -stretched out in all directions, barren and dazzling, until the surface -was lost in vaporous mirage, so that the far-off hills looked like -islands floating above the haze. - -She called her dragoman to her. "Mustafa," she said, "I'm going to -bathe. You must go and sit behind that hillock over there, and you -mustn't move till I tell you you may." - -Servants in the East are ever accustomed to be told to take themselves -off in this fashion, when their native mistresses desire to amuse -themselves; and he now received his orders from the daughter of the -foreign ruler of Egypt without surprise. He quickly filled the -water-bottles from the pool, and, telling her that he would prepare the -luncheon on the other side of the hillock, walked off across the sand. - -As soon as she was alone, Muriel divested herself of her clothes in the -shelter of the tamarisks, and plunged into the cool water. Never in her -life had she felt so boisterously, recklessly happy; never before had -she realized how cramped her existence had been. Here in these empty -spaces of the world she was like a child with all the delights of the -open garden to herself; and presently she would slip into the next -garden and greet there her playmate. - -As she splashed in the water she learned for the first time the -wonderful sensation of bathing without the weight of a costume about her -limbs; and her thoughts flashed back with disdain to those elegant days -at fashionable seaside resorts where she had almost feared to let the -waves wet her dainty bathing-dress, and where she had been aware of -opera glasses levelled upon her as she walked sedately into the sea. - -From side to side of the little pool she swam, tossing the water into -the air in showers of sparkling drops; and, presently, when, clambering -back on to the sand, she stood with arms stretched out to the sunlight, -she felt that at last she knew the meaning of life. - -The hot sun dried her body, without much need of the aid of her -handkerchief; and when she was dressed she hastened with a wonderful -appetite to her luncheon. Mustafa, being a well-trained dragoman, did -not trouble her with his presence; and she was thus able to make very -frank inroads into the tongue and sweet-pickles, the biscuits and the -jam, which he had provided. And after the meal she lay back in the -shade, against the slope of the sand, and slept for half an hour in -profound content. - -She awoke with the conviction that at last all was well with her. It -seemed to her that what Daniel had all along desired was that she should -renounce "the World," as he called it, and come to him; and now, in -these last few days, she had realized that this was no renunciation at -all. He had been perfectly right: a life in the open was the only life -for Youth; and here, not in the cities, real happiness was to be found. - -All he had asked of her was to break loose from her conventional -existence, and to come to him; and now she knew how incomprehensible her -reluctance must have seemed to him. He had been holding out to her the -free joys of her youth: he had been saying to her, "Come and be my -playmate and my dear companion," and when she had refused, he had gone -off by himself, bidding her follow him if at last she should shake -herself free of her imaginary bonds. How stupid to him, how vulgar, must -have been her wish for a correct betrothal!--no wonder he had given up -in dismay. - -Such thoughts occupied her brain during the afternoon as she trotted -exultantly, and with wild and reckless freedom from all restraint, -towards El Hamran; but very different were the thoughts in the mind of -Daniel Lane, as, all unaware of her proximity, he sat peacefully in his -room, putting the finishing touches to his interrupted study of the -customs of the Bedouin of the Oases. - -In a manner it might be said that he was content. He had fought a -terrible battle with himself during these five-and-twenty days since he -had left Cairo, and his mighty spirit had won the victory over his -mutinous body. Like a monk abandoning the pleasures of the world, he had -crushed within him the one passionate episode of his continent life. - -Throughout his strenuous manhood he had put away from him the call of -the flesh: he had mastered his body, and had subordinated all other -interests to those of his work. In a sense he had lived the life of an -ascetic, save that he had not actually mortified his body. He had -governed and controlled his physical instincts, but he had found no need -to break them with rods. In perfect health, in perfect physical fitness, -he had passed his days, filled with that deep, laughing happiness which -comes from a quiet mind. His gigantic muscles were ever ruled by his -mighty reason; and serene, smiling tranquillity had been his reward. - -It was only since Muriel had come into his life that he had known any -disturbance; for she was practically the first woman with whom he had -ever been on intimate terms. And when she had failed him he had beaten -out the very thought of her from his riotous heart, and had fled to the -placid sanctuary of the desert, there to recover his equanimity. - -To him she had seemed to be tainted by her contact with that section of -society whose artificiality he so heartily disliked. These people paid -outward court to the conventions of life, but in secret they treated in -the lightest manner the very bases upon which these conventions were -founded. Being satisfied with the surface of things, they lived their -lives in turmoil and called it pleasure; nor had they any idea of that -deeper happiness which comes from contact with fundamental truth and -simplicity. - -And Muriel had been as blind as the blindest of them. She only played -with life--skimmed over the surface, snatching at such pleasures as lay -to hand. - -If she had turned her back on her dances and her parties, and had come -to him and had said, "Take me into the desert for ever," he would have -believed in her love, and nothing could have held them apart; but, -whether correctly or incorrectly he knew not, he had had the impression -that she had wished to fill but an idle hour with the sweets of love, -just as, so it seemed to him, all fair women of Mayfair were wont to do. - -Therefore he had come back to the clear and open spaces of the desert; -and here, in the ruined monastery which for so long had been his home, -he had sought and found once more his peace of mind. In a few weeks' -time he would return to Cairo; but in future he would arrange to receive -his Egyptian visitors away from the Residency, at some house in the -native quarter where he could work without distraction. - -As he sat writing in his shirt-sleeves at his table near the window and -the sun was descending towards the horizon, his attention was attracted -by the barking of his dogs, and he wondered whether some native from the -village had come to see him. He was concerned just now in regard to the -growing quarrel between the two main families of the Oasis, and visits -were frequently paid to him by persons connected with the great feud. - -The barking, however, presently ceased abruptly, and therewith he went -on with his work. The room was large, and the loud chattering of the -sparrows in the palms outside the window prevented him from hearing the -opening of the door behind him. He was not aware that his servant, -Hussein, had entered, agog with excitement; nor did he see Muriel, who, -followed him, as she waved him out of the room, and shut the door behind -her. - -It was only when she was close to him that he heard the footstep and -looked around. - -He sprang to his feet. "Muriel!" he exclaimed, as he stared at her in -astonishment. - -She did not speak. She ran to him, and, throwing her hands around his -neck, was lifted from the ground in his arms. For a few moments she did -nothing but kiss him--she rained kisses on his mouth and his bewildered -face in a very frenzy of love, so that he gasped. Then her hands, -slipping from behind his neck, passed over his forehead and his cheeks, -and through his hair, patting him and stroking him; while her hat fell -off, unnoticed, and her feet dangled above the ground, vainly seeking -for foothold in the vicinity of his shins. - -At last, having been lowered to the ground, she stood before him, her -hands held in his, her face flushed, her hair falling down. - -"Oh, my darling," she cried, "I couldn't live without you any longer. -I've broken loose: I've run away and come to you." - -And, as his arms went about her once more, nigh crushing the breath out -of her, she shut her eyes and received his answering kisses in -passionate glorious silence. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI--THE STOLEN HOUR - - -She had come to him! Impelled by her love she had come to him! That was -the jubilant thought in Daniel's rejoicing heart. At last she had turned -her back upon the amusements and pleasures of the old life, finding them -altogether unsatisfying now, and she had come to him! She loved him, and -she had given up all to come to him! No longer was romance to be -sandwiched in between race-meetings and dances, between "At Homes" and -opera-parties: she had renounced the whole thing, and had come to him! - -"How did you manage it?" he said, looking at her with admiration in his -eyes. - -"Oh, it was quite simple," she laughed. "There was nothing extraordinary -in my joining the Bindanes on their trip; and then ..." - -She told him how she had waited until Mr. Bindane was out of the way, -and had then made a bolt for it. - -"But what is the next step?" he asked. "What about the future?" - -"Oh, man," she cried, "don't talk about the future--that can wait till -you have time to think." - -The words may have had no particular significance, but to Daniel they -seemed to be the most wonderful he had ever heard. They meant to him -that she trusted him, that she placed her future in his hands, that she -gave herself unreservedly to him. She left it to him to think out what -he was going to do with her.... - -He looked at her with deep gratitude in his face; for she had, as it -were, crowned him as lord of their destinies and enthroned him upon the -very pinnacle of eventuality. - -He could not take his eyes from her as she stood at the window, the -reflected light of the sunset in her face, her well-proportioned figure -seeming to be more vigorous, more athletic, than he had known it before. -Her smile, always brilliant, was now intoxicating to him; and her eyes -were filled with such tenderness that he could find no adequate response -to their appeal. It was as though his kisses and his words of love were -all insufficient to this great hour; and, with inward, joyous laughter, -he found himself baffled in his search for means of expression. - -He lifted her up in his arms, and kissed her throat and her shoulders -and her knees. He lowered her to her feet again, and, with his arm about -her, walked half-way across the room and back. He buried his face in her -hair; held her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers one by one; he -sat her in a deck-chair, and, kneeling before her, laid his head for a -moment upon her lap. - -She was his, she belonged to him!--the thought went coursing through his -brain in headlong career, breaking down his reserve, overthrowing the -walls of the citadel of his being. - -At last, forcing himself down from the heights to the practicalities, he -went to the door and shouted for tea; but Hussein, who, like most loyal -Egyptian servants, regarded himself, with due deference, as _ibn el -bet_, "son of the house," or "one of the family" as we should say, had -thrown himself whole-heartedly into his master's excitement, and had -already prepared the tea and had opened the choicest tin of biscuits in -the store-cupboard. - -Muriel was hungry after her long ride; but she had so much to say, and -the interruptions induced by their love were so frequent, that the meal -occupied a great deal of time. She told him of the journey from Egypt, -and of the wonders of the desert which had been revealed to her; she -spoke of the bath that day in the pool at the roadside; she described -her sensations of increasing happiness and well-being as day by day the -old routine of her life had slipped further from her; and she talked -with enthusiasm of the beauties of El Hamran as she had approached it -just now from the high ground. - -"I spotted this old ruin of yours from miles away," she said, "and we -skirted along the high ground on this side of the Oasis until we came -without a single wrong turning to your door." - -She went to the window, and, standing there with her arm linked in his, -gazed in silence over the shimmering sea of the tree-tops. Upon the near -side the shadow of the cliffs was spread, and the foliage seemed here to -be tinged with cobalt and purple; but on the far side the mellow light -of the vanishing sun still bathed the green of the leaves with a -tincture of gold and copper. - -The chirping of thousands of sparrows, as they gathered themselves in -the branches to roost, filled the air with clamorous sound; and at the -foot of the cliff, just below the window, a string of camels went by, -the foremost being ridden by a small boy, dressed in a single garment of -blue cotton, who was exultantly carolling a native song in a -full-throated voice which, with its chucks and gurgles, seemed to be an -imitation of the nightingale. - -"What is he singing about?" Muriel asked. "He's nearly bursting with -it." - -"It is a part of the story of Leila and her lover Majnun," Daniel -explained, after listening for a few moments; "the part where the Sultan -sees Leila, and tells Majnun that he doesn't think she is anything to -write home about; and Majnun says: 'O King, if you could only see her -from the window of Majnun's eyes, the miracle of her beauty would be -made known to you.'" - -The boy's voice passed into the distance; and Muriel stood gazing in -front of her in silence, while the golden light faded from the palms as -the sun went down. - -At length she turned to Daniel, asking him to show her over his house; -and, arm in arm, therefore, they went out of the airy, whitewashed -living-room, coming presently to the old monks' refectory, with its -roofing of dried cornstalks, and so to the servants' quarters and the -kitchen, and thence to the ruined tower at the top of which Daniel was -wont to sleep. They ascended this tower together, and from its summit -Muriel could see the whole extent of the building; and, in a rapid -passage of thought, she realized with inward satisfaction that the story -of his harim was a fabrication. - -The view from here was magnificent. In the west, above the rugged line -of the dark hills, the sunset was revealed to her in sudden, -overpowering splendour. To the east the Oasis lay in cool shadow; and -here and there a thin wisp of smoke rose into the air. Beyond lay the -silent desert, and the far-off ranges of pink and mauve hills; and above -them the sky was turquoise, fading into grey-blue. The wind had dropped, -and now the chattering of the sparrows was ceasing, so that there seemed -to be an increasing hush upon all things. - -The foliage of the palms screened from sight any movement of human life -in the Oasis; and Muriel had the feeling that she and Daniel stood quite -alone in this vast setting, like two little sparks of vibrant energy -dropped down from the hand of Fate in an empty, motionless world. - -She looked up at him as he stood before her, his rough grey shirt thrown -open at the neck, his sleeves rolled back from his bronzed arms, and his -white trousers held up by an old sash of faded red and yellow silk -knotted about his waist. He looked down at her, dressed in her silk -sweater, and the same white serge skirt with the little stripe of grey -in it which she had been wearing that afternoon at Sakkara. And as their -eyes met they both laughed, like two playmates of childhood who had -quarrelled, and whose quarrel was now forgotten. - -Presently he led her down the stairs again and across the outer kitchen -yard. Here her dragoman, Mustafa, was waiting to take his orders; and he -now asked permission to ride over to the house of his brother-in-law, -which was situated at the far end of the Oasis, and there to spend the -night; and this Muriel at once gave him. - -"Where are the camels?" she asked; and in reply he pointed to a shed -built against the outer wall of the monastery near the entrance. Here, -also, were the three yellow dogs, who, knowing her well, came now to her -with the fawning attitudes and uncertainly wagging tails of the real -pariah breed. - -Hussein was lighting the lamps in the living-room when they returned; -and he paused to ask whether the evening meal should be served at the -usual hour. Daniel referred him to Muriel. "Any time you like," she -answered, smiling happily at Daniel, as though even the arranging of -such trivial details were a matter of delight. "I want a bath first, if -I can have one." - -At this Daniel suddenly laughed. "Gee!" he exclaimed, "I'd forgotten to -fix up a bedroom for you." He scratched his head. "Now where on earth am -I to put you?" - -There was a small whitewashed chamber--originally a monk's cell--opening -off the refectory. This, Daniel used as his dressing-room, and in it -stood his large tin foot-bath. He now told his servant, therefore, to -set up the spare camp-bed in that room, to prepare the bath, and to -remove his own belongings to the chamber at the base of the tower below -the stairs. - -"You won't be nervous alone there, will you?" he asked her, and she -shook her head. "If you feel lonely or frightened, you've only got to -slip round to my tower and shout to me, or come up the stairs and wake -me up." - -To Muriel there seemed to be a wonderful intimacy in his words, and she -pictured herself creeping up the dark staircase in the night, and -standing by her lover's bedside under the stars, whispering to him that -she could not sleep. - -Hussein was not long in carrying out his instructions, and soon he came -back to announce that the bath was ready. Therewith, Daniel took Muriel -to this room, which looked exceedingly clean and comfortable in the -lamplight. Towels and jugs of hot and cold water stood upon the -grass-matted floor beside the bath-tub; the camp-bed had been made up in -one corner; and Muriel's dressing-case stood upon a chair near a table -above which a looking-glass was hung. In place of a door a grass mat was -suspended across the entrance; and the unglazed window, looking -westwards on to the open desert, was fitted with rough wooden shutters -now standing open to the warm night. - -Daniel was loathe to leave her even for this little while, and he stood -with his arm about her while she unfastened her dressing-case. He helped -her to lay out her brushes and toilet utensils; and there was a peculiar -and very tender sense of intimate companionship as she handed him her -slippers to place beside the bed and her nightdress to lay upon the -pillow. He made no attempt to go when she began to take the hairpins -from her hair; and, when it fell about her shoulders, he took her in his -arms once more, calling her by so many loving names that her brain -seemed to be singing with them, and she could feel her riotous heart -beating as it were in her throat. - -At last he left her, and went to his own improvised dressing-room, to -put on more presentable clothes; but when he was ready, and she had not -yet made her reappearance, he went back to her doorway and spoke to her -through the screen of the grass-matting. - -She told him he might enter, and he found her sitting before the mirror -fastening up her hair. She was dressed now in a kind of kimono; and he -seized her bare white arms, which were raised above her head, kissing -them fervently. - -When at length her toilet was finished, he led her back to the -living-room, where soon the evening meal was served at a small table -upon which two candles burned at either side of a bowl of wild flowers -hastily picked in the fields, where, at this time of the year, they grow -in great abundance; and never in all their lives had either of them felt -so completely happy. Through the open window the stars glinted in the -wonderful sky, like amazing jewels sprinkled upon velvet; and the dimly -lit room, with its series of shadowy domes, seemed to be a magical -banquet-hall, its walls of alabaster and its flooring of marble. It was -somewhat bare of furniture, for many things had been left behind at the -Pyramids; but its very bareness enhanced its Oriental effect and added -to its enchantment. - -Hussein had prepared a very excellent meal, not sparing the -store-cupboard; and he had opened a particularly large fiasco of Italian -red-wine to grace the occasion. He had donned a clean white garment, -held in at the waist by a crimson sash; and as he noiselessly entered or -left the room he seemed to Muriel to have taken to himself the nature of -a geni out of a tale of the _Arabian Nights_. - -When at last the meal was finished, and cleared away, and she and Daniel -were seated in the deck chairs at the open window to drink their coffee, -Muriel felt that the whole world of actuality had slid from her, leaving -her enthroned with her lover in a palace of glorious dream; and when, -out of the darkness of the palm-groves below, there came to their ears -the distant and wandering sound of a flute, played by some unseen -goatherd passing homewards with his flock, the magic of the desert was -almost overpowering in the measure of its enchantment. She was -bewildered and intoxicated by it; and in Daniel's eyes she found, too, a -light of love such as she had never seen there before. - -The hours passed unnoticed, for time had ceased to be; and it was -already late when at last Daniel arose, and stood looking down at her -with a smile upon his face. "Well," he said, with a sigh, "I didn't -think anything would induce me to return to Cairo so soon; but now.... -When shall we start?" - -Muriel looked at him in surprise. "O Daniel," she whispered, "there's no -hurry, is there? The Bindanes won't be going back for a fortnight." - -Her low voice set his heart beating for a moment, but he did not take -the real significance of her words. - -"Well," he said. "I suppose it will be all right for you to be here for -a day or two; and then we can ride straight to Cairo and be married by -special licence or whatever they call it." He lifted her fingers to his -lips. "Oh, darling, in less than a week you'll be my wife!" - -Muriel stared at him, wide-eyed. It was as though she had suddenly -awakened from a dream. "Oh, but the family will be horrified," she said. -"Everybody will expect a proper wedding in London: after we get home--in -May or June. You'll have to make that concession to the world, my -darling." - -Daniel laughed. "Yes, but what about our compromising situation, here?" -he asked. "Don't you see, my sweet, what I mean? Your bolting from the -Bindanes is to me a sort of sacred and wonderful thing that you have -done, because you've put your fate irrevocably in my hands. To my way of -thinking we are already married, because you have openly abandoned -everything and come to me; but I'm not going to give anybody the chance -to question our acts. We belong to each other, and the quicker the -position is regularized, so to speak, the better." - -"But who is to find out?" she said. "If I stay with you till the -Bindanes come, nobody will hear of it in Cairo." - -He looked quickly at her, his brows drawn together. "What d'you mean?" -he asked, as though he could not follow the workings of her mind. - -She laughed. "I mean, I've arranged it all," she answered. "Kate is to -say I was ill, and that I came to you so as not to be a nuisance to -them. She can prevent her husband ever giving me away, and I should -think you could manage the others, or at any rate keep them from talking -until we're married." - -He did not answer, but his eyes were fixed upon her. She got up from -their chair, and put her hands about his neck. "This is to be our -wonderful fortnight, darling," she whispered. "It is to be our secret." - -He lifted her arms from his shoulders, holding her wrists. "I don't -understand," he said, and his voice was hard. - -She looked at him with wonder. She could not comprehend what was -troubling him. "Darling, what's the matter?" she asked, in dismay. "What -I mean is that I've done what you always wanted me to do: I've broken -loose; only I've chosen my opportunity, and arranged it so that people -won't talk." - -Still he did not take his eyes from her; but he removed his hand from -her wrist. "You mean," he said very slowly, "that you will return with -the Bindanes, and finish up the Cairo season?" - -"Well," she answered, "I've got all sorts of more or less official -engagements, you know." - -"This is to be just a stolen fortnight?" he asked, and she was -frightened by the stern tones of his voice. - -She nodded, and again her arms sought his shoulders. But he stepped back -quickly from her, and his hand passed across has forehead. - -"You are going to cover up your tracks with a pack of lies," he said, -his breath sounding like that of one in pain. "And then you are going -back to your dances and your parties, pretending nothing has happened." - -"Oh, you don't understand," she cried. "I've given myself to you, body -and soul." - -"Yes," he scoffed, his voice rising. "You've given yourself to me for a -fortnight. A sneaking fortnight that you think nobody will ever hear -about. A fortnight sandwiched in between the middle and the end of the -Cairo season, to fill up the blank time while your father is away." - -"But I never want to go back," she answered, her voice trembling. - -"If that is true," he said, "why have you arranged everything for your -return? You've given yourself to me, you say! Yes, for a stolen -fortnight, as you call it yourself: it is to be just an underhand little -intrigue. Good God!--and I believed you had given up everything for your -love's sake; and now I find you've given up nothing. You've taken all -the necessary steps to prevent your action being decisive, to make your -return to society perfectly easy. And I thought you had burnt your -boats!" - -She faced him angrily. "Oh, you're incomprehensible," she exclaimed. -"You let me see in every possible way that you want me to give myself to -you and to follow you into the desert; you let me understand that this -is what you expect of a woman; you knew that I had heard about your -affairs with the Bedouin women here; you didn't seem to mind my having -heard about Lizette: and then, when I accept your point of view and come -to you, you tell me I've done wrong." - -"What on earth are you saying?" he cried. "What do you mean about -Bedouin women? I have never had any relations whatsoever with native -women in my life--never. And as for Lizette, I didn't tell at the time, -because I wanted you to trust me of your own accord; but I will tell you -now. I've only spoken to her twice in my life. Once we had supper -together, and once we had coffee together in a restaurant. That is the -beginning and the end of my relationship with her. Do you mean to say -that thinking me a sort of libertine, you have come out to live with me -here as my mistress for a fortnight? Is that what you mean?" - -She did not reply. She sat down on a cane chair near the table, and -twisted her handkerchief to and fro with her fingers. The expression on -her pale face revealed the black despair of her heart. - -"Answer me!" he said, sharply. - -"I have no answer," she replied. "I thought you wanted me, I thought you -loved me." - -He turned from her, sick at heart. It seemed now to him that his worst -fears were realized: he could almost have called her "Harlot." In no -wise had she abandoned the world and run to him, defying the conventions -because she desired to be his mate. She had merely planned a secret -love-affair: she had just slipped out of the ballroom, so to speak, to -enjoy an amorous interlude, and she would be back amongst the dancers -once more before anybody had missed her. This sort of clandestine, -cunningly arranged affair was an insult to the whole idea of union: it -was an intrigue out of a French novel. - -He looked at her once more as she sat at the table, and, in his -revulsion of feeling, he thought her kimono gaudy. The expression on her -face was angry, almost sullen. - -"I think you must be mad," she said. "In Cairo you wouldn't be publicly -engaged to me, and you made me understand quite clearly that it wasn't -our actual marriage you were thinking about: you wanted me to run away -with you. You always jibbed at the thought of marriage, and were silent -about it; but you talked freely enough about our life together. You made -it quite clear that you regarded morals with contempt; and now, you -suddenly have scruples, and pretend that you are shocked at my having -taken steps to prevent a scandal which would hurt my father's -reputation." - -"If you were afraid of a scandal," he answered, quickly, "why did you -come at all? When you arrived this afternoon I thought you had left that -question to me, and were ready to get married at once, which was the -only way to avoid hurting your father--unless I had sent you back this -very night to Kate Bindane. No, you weren't afraid of a scandal: you -arranged it all too cleverly for there to be much risk." - -"I was prepared to marry you," she said, "if you really wanted -marriage." - -"And if I didn't," he replied, "you were prepared to live with me for a -fortnight. Oh, you make me ashamed!" - -"I wanted to save you from these other women," she protested. - -"I tell you there never were any other women," he answered. "I'm not a -man out of one of your horrible novels." - -"I don't know what you are driving at," she exclaimed. "Anyway I won't -be played fast and loose with like this. I shall go back to my friends -tomorrow, and I hope I shall never see you again." - -Suddenly her voice broke, and throwing her arms out across the table, -she laid her head upon them, and cried bitterly. - -Daniel did not move. His heart was hardened against her, and he told -himself that her tears were but one of the wiles of her sex. - -"No," he said at length, coming suddenly to a decision, "you shall not -go back tomorrow. You have come here for a fortnight, and have made -arrangements for your visit to be secret. You say there is no fear of a -scandal such as would hurt your father. Very well then, you shall stay -here a fortnight whether you want to or not. I propose that we get to -know each other: we've had enough misunderstandings. You have -misunderstood everything I have ever said to you: it has all been warped -and twisted by your miserable society attitude of mind." - -"I shall never understand you," she answered, raising her head, and -drying her eyes with the back of her hand. "This is quite final. You've -insulted me and humiliated me. I might have known that that was what -you'd do." - -"Very well," he said, "I think you had better go to your room now. -Remember, you are going to stay here for the full fortnight." - -"I shall do no such thing," she declared, facing him defiantly. - -He gripped hold of her wrist. "Do you want me to have to lock you up?" -he asked; and she quailed before the authority of his voice. - -He went across to the door and opened it. Outside, upon the floor, a -hurricane lamp was burning; and this he picked up. - -"Here's a lamp," he said, "and here are matches. Now go to bed." - -She took them from him in silence, and slowly walked out of the room. - -He watched her as she passed across the refectory, the light from her -lantern casting her swaying shadow in huge size upon the ruinous walls. -Then he shut the door, and sitting down at the table, buried his face in -his hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII--THE FLIGHT - - -For a long time Daniel lay awake upon his bed at the top of the tower, -while his thoughts passed through a number of recurrent phases. More -than once he felt that he had made a mountain out of a molehill; but -this attitude of mind was dismissed by the recollection that, whether -Muriel truly loved him or not, she had come to him "on the sly," and, by -planning this surreptitious interlude (for she had meant it to be no -more than that) she had invested their relationship with that very -atmosphere of intrigue which he so strongly resented. - -He saw in her action the influence of that small section of London -society which he abhorred, wherein the women appeared to him to be -secret courtesans who would neither abide by the traditional law nor -openly flout it; and he was determined either to eradicate that -influence or to lose Muriel. He was not entirely clear in his mind as to -what he was going to do with her in the Oasis for this fortnight; but of -this he was sure, that she needed a lesson, and that he was going to -take her in hand, remorselessly, whatever might be the consequences. - -The moon, in the last quarter, rose above the far-off hills while yet he -was wearily thinking, and realizing thus that daybreak was not more than -two hours distant, he obliged himself by force of will, to compose his -mind for sleep. In this he was successful and presently he fell into a -deep slumber from which it would have been difficult to wake him. - -Meanwhile, Muriel had also watched the dim light of the rising moon as -it slowly spread over the desert. She had slept for two or three -hours--a miserable sleep of exhaustion; but when she was awakened by the -hooting of an owl outside the window, she lit her lamp and made no -further attempt at repose. - -Her one idea was to get away from Daniel and to go back to Kate Bindane, -who would still be alone at El Homra until the end of the coming day. -She did not want to wait until daybreak, for if Daniel were awake he -would perhaps try to stop her; and now the slight illumination given by -the moon encouraged her to make her immediate escape. She could hardly -miss the road: all she had to do was to mount her camel and ride -straight ahead. - -Hastily she put on her clothes, and soon she had crept out into the -refectory, carrying her heavy dressing-case in her hand. She had slipped -her revolver into one of the pockets of her skirt, and in the other she -had placed a packet of chocolate unused on the previous day, while her -water-bottle was slung across her shoulder. - -Her heart was beating, and she was frightened at the prospect of the -long journey alone, but there was no practicable way of getting into -touch with her dragoman, and she was obliged, therefore, to steel -herself for the adventure. - -By a stroke of good luck she found the three dogs wandering about the -refectory, and they were thus not startled into barking: they followed -her with wagging tails as she made her way to the camel-shed outside. -There were no doors to open, nor bolts or bars to unfasten; and she -could hear the servants snoring at the other end of the building. - -Creeping into the shed, lantern in hand, she found her camel and -Daniel's kneeling side by side upon the sand, dreamily chewing the cud, -and, having learned the tricks of the stable during her journey from -Cairo, she quickly slipped a rope around the bent knee-joint of the -foreleg of her own beast, thus preventing it from rising. - -The saddle was heavy, and was furnished with a number of confusing -straps; but, after a somewhat prolonged struggle, she managed at length -to adjust it, and to tie her dressing-case on to the back pommel. Then, -removing the tether, she held the nose-rope in one hand, and prodded the -unwilling beast with her toe until it floundered to its legs, snarling -and complaining as is the habit of the breed. - -Leading it out into the open she buckled the girth in a fashion, but for -some minutes she failed to make the creature kneel so as to allow her to -climb into the saddle. She tugged at the nose-rope, and tapped its legs -with her crop, but presently she was obliged to desist, owing to her -fear that its whining grumbles would be heard. - -She was in despair and was very near to tears, when suddenly she -recollected that the native makes a certain noise in the roof of his -mouth, like the rolling of a German _ch_, when he wishes his camel to -kneel; and no sooner had she imitated this sound than the creature went -down on its knees with the utmost docility. She clambered into the -saddle with a sigh of relief, and a moment later was trotting silently -northwards while the dogs stared at her in mild surprise as they stood -in the light of the lantern which she had left burning at the doorway of -the shed. - -The soft pads made little sound as she passed under the outer walls of -the monastery, and, looking up at the tower, she saw no signs of -movement, for Daniel was fast asleep. Nor was there any indication of -human life in the Oasis below her as she trotted along the cliff-tops, -but the sporadic barking of the village dogs much alarmed her. - -The day was now breaking in the east, while the moon also gave a certain -amount of light; and she therefore found the track with ease, and in -less than half an hour had left the Oasis behind and was heading out -into the open desert across the high ground. - -The excitement of her escape had prevented her from thinking of her -actual sorrow, and now she was too nervous, too overawed by her -surroundings, to be conscious of more than a general horror. A six -hours' ride across an absolutely uninhabited and lifeless stretch of -country, with nothing but a packet of chocolate for sustenance, was -likely to be a physical ordeal; and already she knew that the nervous -strain was going to be very great. - -As has been said, there were three wells upon the route, and the nearest -of these, some six miles from the Oasis, she reached within the hour. -The sun being now well above the horizon, she did not halt; for she -realized that Daniel, on his tower top, would already have been awakened -by its rays, and would perhaps be even now in pursuit. - -This, in fact, was the case. When he had descended from the tower he had -quickly discovered her flight, and had sent Hussein scuttling into the -stable, while he himself put on a shirt and a pair of trousers and -slipped his bare feet into the old canvas shoes which lay to hand. - -Snatching his water-bottle and a tin of biscuits from the living-room, -and pocketing his pipe and pouch, he ran through the refectory like a -charging bull, sprang on to his camel, and was off and away before his -servant had recovered from his first astonishment. - -"_Walla kilma!_" he shouted to the staring Hussein, which means "Not a -word!" And the loyal native thereupon went back to the kitchen, -muttering to himself "His Excellency has gone hunting," as though to -convince himself of the veracity of the statement, which, after all, was -not very far removed from the truth. - -As Daniel raced along in the sparkling sunshine he could detect here and -there the marks of Muriel's camel upon the tracks before him, and he -knew that, at the pace at which he was travelling, he would have the -chance of overtaking her before she had accomplished half the journey -back to El Homra; for he had not been long asleep, and her departure -could not have taken place earlier without attracting his attention. He -therefore settled down to a protracted and pounding chase, and in the -brisk morning air his steed did not fail to show its mettle. - -He was travelling at twice Muriel's pace, and he caught sight of her, -and she of him, as he descended from the high ground into the wide plain -which lay between the two oases. She was over a mile ahead of him, a -mere speck, like a little fly crawling across a vast brazen dish, and a -considerable time passed before he had come close enough to observe her -movements. - -He saw her now urging her camel forward, beating it with her crop. Her -hat had been discarded, and her hair had fallen down and was being -tossed out behind her by the north wind like a fluttering banner. - -She turned to glance at him, and he saw her flushed face, as again she -belaboured her tired beast. He was about to call out to her when -suddenly her camel stumbled. The loosely buckled girth gave way, and the -saddle slipped over to one side. For a moment she clutched on to it, -while her camel went round in a circle as though about to overbalance -and fall on top of her. Then she slid to the ground, fell on her hands -and knees, picked herself up, and set off running like a maniac, while -the startled camel went staggering off to one side. - -Daniel did not slacken his pace, and in a few moments he was close upon -her heels. - -"Stop!" he called, coming to a halt. "It's no good running like that!" - -For answer she suddenly swung round and faced him, panting and -distracted. Her hand dived into her pocket, and issued again holding her -revolver. He saw the sunlight flash upon it as she pointed it at him. - -His camel was well trained, and he did not wait to tether it. Vaulting -from the saddle he walked rapidly towards her, regardless of the menace -of the weapon which covered him. - -"Don't dare to come any nearer," she gasped, "or I'll shoot you, you -brute!" - -He stretched out his arms. "Very well, shoot!" he said. "Good God! D'you -think I value my life now?" - -He saw her fingers press the trigger. There was a flash, a sharp report, -and the bullet went singing past his ear, not close enough, perhaps, to -suggest that she had taken aim at him, but not so distant that he could -ignore it. He ran at her, therefore, and grasped her wrist, so that the -revolver fell to the ground. Instantly she flung herself upon her knees -and grabbed at it with her left hand, but he dragged her back by her -arm, pulling her to her feet. - -"You beast!" she exclaimed. "Leave me alone!" and she struck at him with -her free hand. Her eyes were flashing, and her hair was tossed about her -shoulders. - -He put his arm about her, holding her as in a vice, and, stooping, he -picked up and pocketed her revolver. - -"Now sit down there," he said, lowering her on to the sand, "and get -your breath." - -She saw that there was no use in resisting, and she sat, therefore, -glaring up at him as he stood before her. - -He turned his head and glanced at the camels, and as he did so she -stretched out her foot and kicked his shins. - -"Ough!" he exclaimed. "Don't do that--it hurts!" - -"Oh, I wish we were near Cairo," she cried. "I'd turn the servants on to -you and have you whipped. Go and fetch my camel!" - -"Yes," he answered, "I'm just going to. And don't you start running away -again, or I'll not be so gentle with you when I catch you." - -He hastened across the desert, and, without any difficulty, caught -Muriel's wandering and tired animal, and readjusted the saddle. Soon he -had tethered it beside his own; and coming back to her, he sat himself -down a yard or two away from her, and lit his pipe. - -"Say when you're ready to start back," he said, stretching himself out -and resting his head upon his elbow. - -"I'm not coming back with you," she replied. "I'm going back to El -Homra." - -"No, you're not," he told her. "You're going to stay with me for this -fortnight you've so carefully planned." - -She scrambled to her feet, her fists clenched. "If you try to force me -to come with you," she burst out, "I shall ... I shall _bite_ you." - -He also stood up. "Now look here," he said. "Understand me: you're going -back with me, whether you like it or not. And if you struggle I shall -tie you up. Now, come along quietly." - -He caught hold of her wrist, and led her towards the camels. - -"Take your hand off my arm!" she gasped. "You've got me in your power -now, but you just wait till my father hears of this. He'll have you -hounded out of Egypt." - -He did not reply, but releasing her, left her to climb into the saddle. - -"Go and get my crop," she said. "I dropped it somewhere here." - -"Very well," he replied, "but, remember, if you ride off while my back -is turned, I'll come after you and tie your hands behind your back." - -Muriel wriggled furiously in her seat, but she knew that it was useless -to attempt to escape. Presently Daniel found her crop and brought it -back to her. Then he mounted his camel, and the two of them rode off -southwards side by side. - -"We shall come across your hat soon," he said. "Be on the lookout for -it. You'll get sunstroke without it, in spite of all that mass of hair." - -She uttered something like a growl as she jogged along beside him over -the blazing sand. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII--THE SURPRISING FORTNIGHT - - -It was mid-morning when they reached the house, and Daniel advised -Muriel to go at once to her room, whither Hussein presently brought -refreshments and cans of water for the bath. - -"Send Mustafa to me," she said to him, but, understanding no English, -and grasping only the name of the dragoman, he pointed towards the -Oasis, indicating by signs that the man had not yet returned. - -At this she went to the door of her room and called out sharply "Mr. -Lane!" - -Daniel, who at the moment had just ducked his head in a pail of water, -came into the refectory drying his hair with a towel. - -"What's the matter?" he asked. "Anything I can do for you?" - -"Where's my dragoman?" she asked, suspiciously. - -"_I_ don't know," he replied. "I haven't touched him." - -Hussein volunteered the information that Mustafa had not yet returned, -and Daniel translated the statement into English. - -"Well, when he comes," she said, "please send him to me at once." - -"No," he replied, very decisively, "I'm going to send him straight off -to El Homra before he hears of our little trouble this morning. I can -trust Hussein to say nothing in the village, but Mustafa I don't know -very well." - -She turned angrily to him. "You do like bullying women, don't you!" she -sneered. - -He looked at her with steady, serene eyes, "You won't need a dragoman -for a fortnight," he remarked. "He may as well make himself useful to -the Bindanes." - -With that he went back to his ablutions, and when, half an hour later, -Mustafa made his appearance, Daniel immediately sent him off on his long -journey, telling him to convey his compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Bindane -and to say that her Ladyship was in the best of health, and would come -back to them on the thirteenth day from now. - -This done, he called Hussein to him and spoke to him somewhat after this -manner: "Her Excellency," he said, "desires to go back to her friends, -but I believe I shall be carrying out the wishes of her father by -obliging her to remain here. You will therefore take her camel and mine -into the village, so that she cannot get at them; and you will notify me -at once if she leaves the house. Otherwise you are to treat her with the -deference due to her high rank; and I think it will be best to make no -mention of what I have told you to your friends." - -Hussein bowed, and at once went off to find a suitable stable for the -camels. - -When luncheon was announced a couple of hours later Muriel came into the -living-room, carrying herself with dignity. - -"Am I obliged to eat my meals with you?" she asked. - -"It will be more convenient," he replied. - -"I shall probably be sick," she muttered. - -"You'll get used to it," he answered; and therewith they sat down at the -table. - -The meal was eaten in a distressing silence, broken only by Daniel's -polite profferring of salt, pepper, and the like, and by his pressing -but vain invitations to her to eat a little more of this or that dish. -When at length they rose from the table, he advised her to go to her -room to rest. "You must be very tired," he said, "after getting up so -early, and all that excitement." - -"I'll lie down," she replied, "but I don't suppose I shall sleep. The -very fact of being anywhere near you disgusts me too much to allow me to -go to sleep." - -"You must try to master that feeling," he said, with perfect -seriousness. "It hurts nobody but yourself. I can quite understand your -being angry; but I think Al Ghazzali, the Muslim philosopher, put the -matter in a nutshell when he said: 'God loves those who swallow down -their anger, and not those who have no anger at all.' It only makes you -yourself miserable to be in a temper; but try to say to yourself that -you won't let me be of such importance in your life as to have the power -to upset you. You ought to say: 'Nothing that this fellow does can shake -my equanimity: he has absolutely no power over my inner self.' If you -can really say that to yourself you'll sleep all right. There'll be some -tea going at half-past four." - -She stared at him freezingly and went out of the room, while Daniel -quietly settled down to his writing, refusing to allow himself any -further thoughts in regard to her. - -At tea-time he told her that he wanted her to come down into the Oasis -with him. "It will take your thoughts off yourself," he said. - -"Thank you," she replied. "I prefer to stay here in my prison. I wish -you'd realize that your society is obnoxious to me. I hate the sight of -you." - -"I quite understand that," he said, "but, all the same, I want you to -come, please." - -"If I refuse," she retorted, "I suppose you'll drag me down by the -hair?" - -"No." he replied, "not by your hair: only by your hand." - -She was too tired to put up any resistance, and soon they left the house -together, descending by the rough path down the cliffs to the lower -level, where the shadow lay deep. - -Presently they entered the forest of palms, wherein, here and there -stood a mud-brick hut or cluster of huts, upon the flat roofs of which -the goats and chickens ran about, and sometimes a dog looked down at -them and barked. - -The shadow of the cliffs extended for some distance, like a blue veil, -but further ahead the sun still struck down upon the Oasis, and the -mellow light, seen between the tree-trunks and foliage, was made so rich -by contrast with the cool tones of the shadowed foreground that Muriel -was constrained to remark on its beauty. Pigeons fluttered to and fro -amongst the trees, those close at hand being white as snow, but those in -the sunlit distance appearing to flash before the eyes like gilded birds -of a fairy tale. - -Soon they passed out of the shadow, and now the sunlight was sprinkled -upon them from between the rustling palm-branches overhead, and the dust -of their footsteps was like a haze of powdered gold. Before them, in a -clearing, a number of rough buildings, some of them whitewashed, -encircled an open space of sun-baked ground wherein a number of natives -sauntered to and fro. Here there were a few stalls, sheltered by tenting -or tattered fragments of brown camel-cloth: grain being on sale at one -of them; at another, basket-work; at another, pottery. - -The loiterers and salesmen greeted Daniel with polite salaams, and to -some of them he spoke a few words; but they were too well-mannered, or -perhaps too indifferent, to show any particular interest in Muriel, and -even when she paused to pat the shaven head of a little naked urchin, -and to give him a piastre, there were few curious eyes upon her. The -villagers seemed to be dawdling through a peaceful dream, unruffled by -the ardours and eagerness to which the Westerner is accustomed; and -Muriel had the feeling that she had come into a lull in the breeze of -life, as when a sailing boat is becalmed and the sails flap idly. Even -the tempest in her heart was quietened, and the warmth of the evening -caused her to feel a languor that was temporarily almost serene. - -Daniel led her across the open ground to a lane between the ramshackle -buildings on the far side. Here, at a crazy-looking door, he paused. - -"I want you just to shake hands with an old man," he said. "He acted as -guide years ago to one of your father's predecessors." - -"There's no need to say who I am, is there?" she asked, a little -anxiously. - -He smiled. "Your dragoman will have spread the news already." - -"I told him not to," she answered. - -Daniel made a gesture of impatience. "We must try to correct that," he -said. "Secrecy is very unpleasant, though it is sometimes necessary. -You'll find it always best to be frank when you can." - -In response to his knocking the door was opened by a small, smirking -boy, and they entered a little yard, wherein a clean cow, several -emaciated hens, and a couple of goats wandered about in front of a -two-roomed house, the rear wall of which appeared to be about to -collapse. Here a dim-eyed old man sat upon a native bedstead of split -palm-branches, engaged in hunting for fleas in his cloak, and, as his -gnarled old fingers plucked at the folds, his grey-bearded mouth was -pursed and pushed forward in the manner of a monkey. - -He rose, creaking, to his feet as he caught sight of his visitors, and, -tottering forward, grasped Daniel's extended hand, who then introduced -him to Muriel. - -Daniel spoke to him in Arabic, and presently, turning to his companion, -asked her to say something to the old man. - -"What shall I say?" Muriel enquired. - -"He is very old," Daniel replied. "Wish that God's face may shine upon -him. Say you hope the evening of his life may be full of peace and -blessedness." - -"Yes, tell him that," she answered. - -"Anything else?" he asked. - -"Oh, make up something for me," she replied. - -"No," he answered, severely. "Please take your thoughts from yourself, -and concentrate them on this old fellow. Think what is the best thing -you can wish him. Think hard." - -Muriel glanced at him in surprise, while her host turned his fading eyes -to Daniel, asking what she was saying. - -"She is trying to think what is the most blessed wish she can make for -you," he replied, speaking in Arabic; and the old man beamed upon her. - -Muriel made an effort, and, taking his horny hand in hers, told him that -she hoped he would keep his health and that his affairs would prosper. -With an eye on his cloak, she wanted to add that she hoped he would have -good hunting, but she restrained herself. - -Daniel translated the words into the native tongue, and, after a brief -conversation, they took their departure. - -As they walked down the lane Muriel asked him, freezingly, why he had so -particularly wished her to make herself polite to the old man. - -"I had no reason," he answered, "except that I wanted you to think of -him and not of yourself." - -"Why?" she asked with increasing ill-humor. "Am I usually selfish?" - -"You have been trained to think first of yourself," he answered, with -disconcerting candour, "though by nature you are not really selfish at -all. During this fortnight I want you to think mostly of other people." - -She had no time to reply before Daniel stopped at another and larger -door, which he pushed open without a preliminary knock. Here, in a shed, -two camels and a donkey stood feeding from a trough. - -"This," he told her, "is my hospital for sick animals. Both these camels -have saddle-sores, as you see, and the old moke foaled the other day, -but the youngster died. She is very depressed about it." - -Muriel was interested, and patted the donkey affectionately, while -Daniel, stepping on to an inverted box, examined the camels' sores. - -"Just hand me that bottle over there," he said. "It's my patent mixture -of carbolic and lamp-oil. It keeps the flies off, and heals up the sores -mighty quick." - -Muriel haughtily gave him the bottle, and watched him as he poured a few -drops on to the wounds. Her attention was presently attracted by a board -nailed to the wall, upon which an inscription was written in large, -flowing Arabic characters. - -"What does that say?" she asked, forgetting for the moment that she was -not really desirous of holding any communication with him. - -"It is a quotation from the Koran," he told her. "I wrote it and stuck -it up for a lesson to these people. It reads 'The _Prophet_ has written: -There is no _beast_ on earth, nor bird that flieth, but the same is a -people like unto you, and unto God shall they return.'" - -"I like that," she said. - -He fetched a broom from the corner of the shed and held it out to her. -"Would you mind just sweeping the ground a bit while I clean up the -troughs?" he asked. "The native attendant is off duty today." - -He busied himself with his work, and Muriel, making a grimace, did as -she was bid. It was less awkward than standing still, and the cause was -good though the job unpleasant. - -They walked home in silence through the gathering dusk. Daniel offered -her his hand to help her up the steep path which ascended the cliff to -his house, but she frigidly refused it; and when, presently, she -stumbled and nearly fell, she scrambled to her feet once more in -surprisingly quick time, as though to avoid his proffered aid. - -Later she sat down to the evening meal without uttering a word, and the -silence was extremely oppressive. - -"Look here," Daniel broke out at last, "I don't know what you feel about -it, but for my own part I rather object to this silence." - -"I have nothing to say to you," she replied. - -"That doesn't matter," he said. "I will do the talking. I shall choose a -subject and talk about it: you can listen if you want to." - -Therewith he gave her an account of the Bedouin tribes of this part of -the desert, how they had come to settle there, how he had recovered a -part of their history from the old tales and ballads which he had -recorded; and he told her something of their curious laws and customs. - -Muriel's face did not betray any interest whatsoever, but Daniel -persevered courageously until the meal was finished. - -"You can stay in this room and read a book if you like," he said to her, -as they rose from the table. - -Muriel looked at him coldly. "Thank you," she replied, with an emphasis -which she hoped was withering, "I prefer to go to my room. Good-night!" -And with that she took her departure. - -The day had seemed intolerably long to her, and her smouldering anger -had flamed up within her at frequent intervals. She realized that Daniel -was playing the schoolmaster to her, and she was determined not to -knuckle under to him. If he had decided to keep her a prisoner here for -the full fortnight, she would do her best to make him thoroughly -uncomfortable. His cool, impersonal attitude annoyed her; she was amazed -that a man who but yesterday was branding her with his burning kisses -could be today so entirely detached from emotion, and she flushed at the -insult of it. - -Her only consolation lay in the thought that he was injuring himself by -his behaviour. She would now never be even so much as a sister to -him--not even so much as a friend. When she had escaped from this -horrible place she would go to England, and soon, no doubt, she would -marry a nice, ordinary man, with sleek hair and a tooth-brush moustache -and long, thin legs; and as she came out of the church after the -marriage ceremony she would catch sight of Daniel in the crowd and would -smile contemptuously at him.... - -She was very tired, and many minutes had not passed before she abandoned -the pretence of reading the anthology of English verse which Daniel had -placed in her room on the previous evening, nor was it long before she -fell into a deep and dreamless sleep which held her as it were entombed -until Hussein caused her resurrection by bringing in the bath-water in -the morning. - -The cool breeze and the sparkling air brought a certain feeling of -well-being into her heart; but the meeting with Daniel at the breakfast -table was a wretched business, and was made all the more distasteful by -his evident good health and the morning freshness of his mind. - -"I hope you are feeling fit," he said to her. "We have a busy morning -before us." - -That he was not speaking in jest was proved by the event. Soon after -breakfast he took her down to the house of Sheikh Ali, and introduced -her to the old man and his son Ibrahim. Thereafter the four of them -walked over to the open ground outside the mosque, where a large number -of men and camels were gathered, while on the outskirts of the area many -women and children stood in the shade of the palms. Daniel explained to -her that a large number of the chief men of the El Hamran were setting -out upon the long journey to the far-off Oasis of El Khargeh, where -there was to be a great gathering of the tribes. Sheikh Ali himself was -too old and too feeble to go with the caravan, and his eldest son, -Ibrahim, was remaining with him; but his younger sons and most of his -male relatives and adherents were going. - -She watched the animated scene with interest, and the hubbub came to her -ears with the wonder of novelty--the women uttering their strange, -whinnying cries in token of their grief at parting with their husbands; -the white-bearded old Sheikh embracing his sons, like a Biblical picture -come to life; the diversely robed figures steering their camels in -circles and firing their rifles in the air; the barking of innumerable -dogs skulking amongst the palms; and over all the brilliant sunshine and -the deep blue of the sky. - -She and Daniel shook hands with a very large number of men, and, as she -walked homewards after the caravan had departed, she had a confused -memory of smiling bearded faces, dark eyes, and many-coloured robes -fluttering in the wind. - -After sundown he took her down to the village, armed with pots of -ointment, to help him to doctor the eyes of two little grandchildren of -the Sheikh, who were suffering from ophthalmia, and whose sight his -daily ministrations were saving. And in the evening he continued his -writing, leaving her to read a book until, with many yawns, she betook -herself to her room. - -This day was typical of all the others in that surprising fortnight. -Quietly and impersonally he led her through her duties, obliging her to -make herself useful in a score of different ways. Now he set her to the -task of classifying his photographs and notes; now he sent her down to -the animals' hospital to doctor the camels' sores; now he asked her to -massage the sprained ankle of a small girl who had been brought to the -house for treatment; now he made her grace with her presence a village -wedding festival; and now he dispatched her with milk and eggs to the -hovel of a blind old woman who lived on her neighbours' charity. - -In the afternoons he would take her for painfully long tramps over the -desert, for the good of her health as he told her; and when the silence -became oppressive he would talk to her, whether she listened or no, -about the nature of the birds they saw or whose footprints were marked -upon the sand, about the geological formation of the country, about the -jackals and their habits, and so forth. During their meals together he -attempted, cold-bloodedly, to enlighten her on many subjects, and -sometimes he would talk philosophy to her, endeavouring to give her a -new standpoint on certain age-old themes, but "You do like preaching, -don't you?" was the kind of response he received. - -Sitting opposite to him at the table, it seemed to him that she carried -herself with great dignity; and he had to admit that, under the -circumstances, she was a great deal more self-possessed and high-mettled -than he had expected her to be. She stood up to him, so to speak, and -there were times at which he had the feeling, though he did not show it, -that he was behaving like a boor. - -On one occasion in particular he was conscious of having been put to -rights by her. He had been talking about the sincerity of Islam, and had -said how wise the Prophet was to refuse to organize a priesthood, -preferring to leave the faith in the hands of the laity. - -"It is so different from the empty ceremonials of our own religion," he -said. "It seems to me that the Church's idea of the imitation of Christ -is generally a burlesque in bad taste." - -"In every walk of life," she replied, "there are men who make an outward -hash of their inner ideals. You, for example, have great ideas as to -what women should be; but in actual fact you make a terrible mess of -your dealings with them." - -"I wonder," he mused. It was as though he had been chastised. - -She did not continue the argument. That was, to Daniel, the baffling -thing about her: she was growing so quiet now that she was in his power. -She performed the tasks he set her almost in silence, and he could never -tell whether she were learning her lesson or whether she were treating -him with contempt as a man who lacked sympathetic understanding. - -In her silence he seemed to find the quiet suggestion that she knew -already all he wished to teach her; and there were moments when he felt -that he had estranged himself needlessly from her. At such times he was -obliged to remind himself that she had deliberately treated his love as -a romantic adventure, and such treatment had had to be dealt with -drastically. It was better that it should die outright than live to -bring misery to them both; and with this thought he steeled his heart. - -Thus the days passed by--days of brilliant sunshine and warm, mysterious -nights, of active toil and healthy sleep; days meant for love and -companionship, but turned down, one after the other, in cold antagonism -and frigid reticence. Sometimes in the evening, after she had gone to -her room, he would sit with his head buried in his hands, calling -himself a fool and loathing his role of schoolmaster; and more than once -there was a black hour of despair when, had she come to him, she would -have been astonished to see his huge arms spread out across the table -and his head sunk upon his mighty breast. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX--IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH - - -By the middle of March Muriel's enforced residence at El Hamran was -drawing to a close. Already she had been with Daniel for eleven or -twelve days, and he had kept her so busy that the time had passed -rapidly. These days had been like a fantastic dream to her, and she -could hardly believe in the reality of her actions. The whole situation -was absurd; and yet, notwithstanding her artificial outward stiffness -and her actual inward rebellion, she was conscious that her experience -had not been unprofitable. - -In spite of Daniel's hectoring and churlish manners--for so she thought -them--she felt that she had seen something of life as it is lived under -primitive conditions which otherwise she would never have known. She had -even experienced, latterly, a pleasant sense of calm while she had been -carrying out her duties: it was almost as though being under orders were -a satisfactory condition--now and then. And as to her physical health, -she was obliged to admit that she had never before felt so thoroughly -fit. - -Her attitude to her monitor was one of unbending hostility, but now no -longer of furious anger. She was not afraid of him, but very decidedly -she did not feel the contempt for him which she endeavoured to show. She -regarded him as a man of difficult and contrary character, but she now -realized that she had greatly misjudged his outlook upon life. She had -thought that in regard to women he was a prurient savage: she now knew -that he was a high-principled and rather fastidious celibate. - -Undoubtedly he had taught her the lesson of her life, but she was -certainly not going to grasp his hand and thank him kindly on that -account. He had built up a barrier between them which would remain a -fixture for all time, and, though her heart often ached, she was far too -estranged from him to think of any future intimacy whatsoever between -them. - -Only in one respect, in these days of their life together, did she feel -drawn towards him. He had an indefinably benevolent and humorous -attitude towards life, of which she was daily more conscious. It was -something which could not be described, but on more than one occasion it -nearly served to break down the wall of ice within in which she had -enclosed herself. Sometimes it would be merely that he stopped in his -walk to make an absurd remark to a passing cow or to a wandering goat; -sometimes it would be the way in which he played with his dogs; or -sometimes it was his manner to the native children which would cause her -to unbend towards him. It was as though he had a private joke with every -living creature. It was too quiet to be termed joviality: it was in no -wise rollicking. It was a subtle droll and whimsical good-nature; it -seemed almost as if, conscious of his own great strength, he were saying -"Bless your little heart!" to all things weaker than he. - -One morning, just as they were finishing a silent breakfast, Hussein -entered the room, and delivered himself of a few rapid words in the -Arabic tongue, which so much upset Daniel that he rose to his feet and -paced up and down the floor in great perturbation. - -"Anything wrong?" asked Muriel, temporarily unfreezing. - -"Yes; very bad news," he replied. "Old Sheikh Ali is very ill. It sounds -like pneumonia. I must go down to him at once." - -He snatched up his hat, and, without taking any further notice of -Muriel, hurried out of the room. Sheikh Ali was a man whom he loved and -respected, and the possible death of his friend was so great a sorrow to -him that his mind was filled full of darkness, like a room in which the -blinds have suddenly been pulled down. And the condition in which he -found the old man confirmed his worst fears; and presently, in deep -anxiety, he hastened back to the house to procure the necessaries for -his proper nursing. - -"Will you come with me," he said to Muriel, "and help me to look after -him?" - -She hesitated. "I am not much good as a nurse," she demurred, "but I'll -do what I can." - -"Thank you," he replied, and the words were uttered with genuine -gratitude. - -Daniel knew something of the rudiments of medical science, and he was -aware that there was very little to be done in a case of pneumonia -except to keep the patient warm and to maintain his strength. When he -returned, therefore, to the Sheikh's house with Muriel, he was carrying -with him a small oil stove with which to warm the sick-room at night, -and a pillow in its clean white cover was thrust under his arm, while -Muriel held a basket containing a number of articles from the -store-cupboard and medicine-chest. - -The house, a whitewashed building of two storeys, stood amongst the -palms, not more than three or four hundred yards distant from the -monastery. As they approached it they heard the sound of wailing in the -women's quarters, and at this Daniel uttered an exclamation of disgust. - -"Oh, these women!" he muttered. "We mustn't let them do that. Wait a -minute." - -He went to the side door and knocked upon it. An old negress, a servant -of the house, opened the door, her eyes red with weeping, and her -withered breast bare. - -"The Sheikh is dying, the Sheikh is dying!" she wailed, as Daniel -questioned her. - -He put his hand on her shoulder. "Go and tell them," he said, "that if I -hear another sound of weeping I shall send somebody to beat you all with -a stick. Do you not know the saying of the Prophet: 'Trust in God, but -tether the camel'? If God has decreed that your camel shall run away it -will certainly run away, but nevertheless you must do your part in -preventing it. If the Sheikh is going to die he will die; but until he -is dead you must do all you can to tether him to life. Let me hear no -more sounds of mourning until the breath has left his body. In my -country we say 'While there is life there is hope.' Go now and -hope--hope in silence." - -He pushed her back into the house and returned to Muriel. - - -[Illustration: _A SCENE FROM THE PHOTOPLAY--BURNING SANDS_] - - -They found the Sheikh lying upon a couch in the whitewashed upper room, -into which the sun struck through the open casements. He was propped up -upon the hard square pillows taken from an ordinary native divan, and -his laboured breathing sounded ominously in their ears. His son Ibrahim, -a grave, black-bearded man of middle age, stood by his side, drumming -the fist of one hand into the palm of the other in his great distress. - -"See," said Daniel, speaking to the patient in Arabic, "I have brought -her Excellency to nurse you. Let me put this soft pillow under your -head; and, look, here is a stove to keep off the chill of night. In two -or three days, my father, we shall bring you back to health." - -The old man shook his head. "No, my dear," he whispered, "I am going to -my God. God has said, 'I am a hidden treasure. I have made man that he -might find Me!' I go now to find Him." - -Daniel knelt down by his side, and, taking the thin hand in his, -remained silent for some moments, his eyes shut, his brows knitted. -Muriel watched him in surprise. It was evident that he was praying; and -she had never before seen anybody pray, though in church she had known -people go through the correct postures and outward formalities of -prayer. - -Presently he rose to his feet, and at once became businesslike and -practical. He took the patient's temperature; dexterously pinned the -native shawl about him; arranged the pillows under his head; opened a -bottle of meat-extract and administered a little of its contents; and, -sending for milk and eggs, made Muriel go out on the rickety landing to -beat up the eggs into the milk. - -When she returned with the beverage she found that he and Ibrahim had -fastened grass matting across the windows to check the glare of the sun, -and now were standing in the subdued light talking in quiet cheerful -tones to the sick man. - -Presently Daniel turned to her. "I think the best thing you can do," he -said, "is to sit beside him and fan away the flies when you see them -bothering him." - -He handed her a fly-whisk, and placed a small stool beside the couch; -and here she sat herself, while her patient closed his eyes and drowsed -in some degree of comfort. - -They went back to the house for luncheon, and during the meal Daniel -told her of the troubles which might ensue in the Oasis if the Sheikh -were to die. He spoke of the feud between the sick man's family and that -of their rivals; and he explained how Sheikh Ali desired to be succeeded -in his office as headman by his son Ibrahim, and that there was a danger -of the other party taking advantage of the absence of so many of the -Sheikh's adherents, who had gone to El Khargeh. - -"If Sheikh Ali dies," he pointed out, "the other faction may carry out a -_coup_, and establish their candidate in power while all these men are -away. That would be a disaster; for the man they wish to set up is a -crook, if ever there was one. He would be just the sort of fellow to -play into Benifett Bindane's hands and sell himself to the Company." - -"But," said Muriel in surprise, "aren't you in favour of this Company?" - -"No," he answered. "I have come to the conclusion that it is not in the -best interests of the natives. They are happier as they are, for their -products are sufficient to their needs, and are pretty evenly -distributed. I don't trust these Stock Exchange fellows: they'll exploit -the Oasis to fill their own pockets. That's what I'm going to tell your -father when I get back to Cairo." - -"Poor Mr. Bindane!" Muriel smiled. "He has set his heart on this -business." - -In the afternoon they returned to the sick-room, where she made herself -very useful, and showed a remarkable aptitude for nursing; and the sun -was setting before they came back to the house once more. Muriel was -very tired by now, and as soon as the evening meal was over Daniel -advised her to go to bed. - -"What about yourself?" she asked. - -"Oh, I'll go back to him for a bit," he answered, but he would not -accept her proffered help. - -She therefore went early to her room and soon fell asleep, nor did she -awake again until Hussein aroused her at sunrise with his clattering -preparations for her bath. - -She found herself alone at breakfast, and it was explained to her by -signs that Daniel was with Sheikh Ali. Presently, therefore, she went -down to the sick man's house, a little ashamed of herself for not having -risen earlier. - -As she entered the upper room she caught sight of Daniel's face, and its -expression of weary sorrow checked her. He was seated beside the couch, -his hand on the patient's pulse, his eyes fixed upon the old man, who -lay panting for breath, the beads of perspiration upon his wrinkled -forehead. - -"Is there anything I can do?" she whispered. - -He raised his head and gazed at her: she had never seen him look so -haggard before. "No," he answered, "he is beyond human aid. It's only a -question of minutes now." - -"I ought to have come to help you sooner," she said. "How long have you -been here?" - -"All night," he replied. "I couldn't leave my _friend_, could I?" There -was something in the inflection of his voice which very much touched -her. - -The Sheikh turned his head slightly, and Daniel bent forward to catch -the laboured words. - -"Ibrahim," he whispered. - -Muriel understood, and, at a nod from Daniel, went out of the room to -find the dying man's son, whom she had seen at the doorway of the house, -on her arrival, kneeling upon the praying-carpet, his hands extended -towards the East. He had just risen to his feet as she came now to him, -and she made signs to him to go upstairs. - -When she entered the sick room once more she saw the younger man -kneeling beside his father's couch. Daniel was holding the feeble old -hand, so that it rested upon Ibrahim's turbaned head. She heard and -seemed almost to understand the whispered words of the old man's -blessing, and presently, to her surprise, she observed the tears start -from Daniel's eyes, and their quick brushing away, with the back of his -hand. She had not thought him capable of tears. - -Then suddenly she saw the dying man raise himself; she saw Daniel and -Ibrahim leaning forward to support him. She heard the rattling of his -breath, and she recognized the words that he uttered as those of the -Moslem formula which Daniel had more than once repeated to her: "I -testify that there is no God but God...." They came rolling now from his -lips with passionate energy: it was as though the sum of his whole life -were being expressed in these guttural, rhyming sounds. But the -declaration remained unfinished. The voice ceased upon the name of -Allah, the mouth dropped open, and the patriarchal head fell back. - -Muriel had only once before stood at a deathbed; and later, as she -walked back to the monastery, she compared the scene of her mother's -death with that from which she had just come. - -In the one case there had been the big four-poster bed, with its -hangings of embroidered velvet; the sombre room, lit by a shaded bedside -lamp and by the flickering of the fire in the wide Tudor grate; the -tapestried walls with their designs of dim huntsmen pursuing phantom -deer through the time-worn twilight of forgotten forests; the faded -Jacobean painting upon the ceiling, representing the fat back-view of a -reclining Venus and the fat front-view of naked Cupid. There had been -the pompous family doctor and the frigid specialist in their black frock -coats, and in the bed, between the embroidered sheets, her mother had -lain inert, her dyed hair, tidy to the end, framing her carefully -powdered face. - -"Come here, my dear," she had whispered to Muriel. "Tell me, do you -believe in a God?" - -"Yes, I think I do," she had replied. - -"Well, I don't," was her mother's reply; and those were almost her last -words. - -And, in contrast, there was this patriarchal scene in the bare, -whitewashed room, the sun beating upon the grass matting, the palms -rustling outside, and the flies droning: the old, saintly face of the -dying man, his withered hand laid upon the head of his beloved son, and -the fervent affirmation of his faith in God upon his lips. - -Muriel was in a very subdued and reflective mood when she returned, and -as she stood at the window of the living-room, listening to the wailing -of the mourners in the distance, she wondered how best she could show -her sympathy with Daniel in his loss, without in other respects -unbending to him. He relieved her of the difficulty, however, when he -came in; for he showed no outward signs of his grief, and seemed in no -wise to be asking for her condolence. He spoke of the beauty of the -Sheikh's life, and of the serenity of his death; and when Muriel made -some remark in regard to the sadness of the event he quietly corrected -her. - -"Death," he said, "is not a calamity when a man has reached old age. It -is like the ripeness of corn, as Marcus Aurelius says, when the soul -drops out of the husk almost of its own accord. It is a natural action, -just as birth is. It is only we who are left behind who are -unhappy--because we have lost a friend; and as for that, why, I am not -going to let my loss make me wretched." - -"That sounds extremely selfish," she remarked, coldly. - -"No," he answered, "sorrow is selfish, not happiness. There's never any -use in pulling a long face." - - - - -CHAPTER XXX--THE REVOLT - - -The funeral took place next morning, as is the native custom, and it was -during the great gathering of the Sheikh's friends that the adherents of -the opposing faction made their feared _coup_. The event, and its -serious consequences for Muriel and Daniel, was upon them so quickly -that there was no time for preparation or retreat. - -Muriel had not gone to the funeral, and she was sitting quietly writing -in the living-room when Daniel flung open the door. - -"Quick!" he said. "Get ready to start at once. Leave your dressing-case: -you just want your water-bottle and a tin or two of food from the -cupboard. We've got to ride like the wind. I'm just going to get the -camels." - -She stared at him in amazement as he hastened away, and thought how -extremely inconsiderate he was; but the realization that her -extraordinary fortnight with him was now at an end led her to obey his -instructions with alacrity. She was soon ready, but for some time she -waited impatiently for his reappearance. - -At last he came in, this time slowly and with careful serenity. - -"I'm afraid the journey's off," he said. - -Muriel was angry, and she tapped her foot sharply on the floor. "Oh, -you're impossible!" she exclaimed. "I'm all ready to start, and now you -say you're not going." - -He looked at her gravely and steadily for a moment, and then very calmly -he told her what had occurred. While Ibrahim and those of his adherents -who had not gone to El Khargeh were attending the funeral, the rival -faction had seized every camel and donkey in the Oasis, for of the -former more than half the number owned by the inhabitants had gone with -the caravan. They had disarmed the village _ghaffirs_, or guards, they -had proclaimed their own chief as Sheikh of the Oasis, and they had -picketed every track leading out into the desert and to the lands -beyond. - -Daniel had found his and Muriel's camel gone from the stable, and he had -encountered a group of "enemy" leaders who had informed him that he -would not be permitted to communicate with the outside world for several -days. - -"Their idea," he explained, lighting his pipe, "is to get their man -firmly established in power before the police hear of it, and then it -will be a _fait accompli_. It is to be a peaceful revolution, without -bloodshed if possible; but I don't suppose they will hesitate to shoot -anybody who tries to get away. So, you see, we're caught." - -Muriel received the news calmly. According to the time-table the -Bindanes would return to El Homra tomorrow or the next day, and then, if -she had not made her reappearance, they would probably send her dragoman -and a trooper or two to fetch her. But Daniel pointed out that three -days might elapse before these men arrived, and two weeks before the -authorities in Egypt could give instructions. Moreover, their coming -might lead to an awkward situation for himself and her. - -"You see, they know that I will support Ibrahim's claim," he said, -puffing quietly at his pipe, "for I promised his father I would do so; -and if an unfortunate accident could account for you and me, it would be -all the better for them. Supposing, for example, you and I were found to -have gone out hunting, and to have lost our way, and to have fallen over -a cliff or something of that kind, there would be nobody much to uphold -Ibrahim against a rival already established in office." - -Daniel did not take his eyes from hers as he put this aspect of the -matter before her. It was as though he were testing her nerve; or -perhaps it was that he thought candour best in regard to a contingency -the possibility of which would doubtless occur to her. - -"It seems to me," she said presently, "that human nature is much the -same all the world over. You were rather intolerant of the intrigues of -Cairo; but rivalries and disputes evidently go on in the desert too. I'm -very disappointed." - -"So am I," he replied, with disarming candour. "The only thing to be -said for it is that it has been done pretty openly and boldly." - -"What do you intend to do?" she asked. She was remarkably calm. - -"I'm going to slip away after dark," he replied, with a smile, "and walk -to El Homra." - -"It's thirty miles," she said. "And supposing you get shot or -caught...?" - -"You can come too, if you like," he replied. He might have added that -this actually was his intention. - -She remained silent for some moments, her face a little flushed, her -fingers drumming on the table. In spite of her self-control he could see -that she realized the danger. "Yes," she said at length, "I'll come -too." - -He smiled broadly. She caught sight of his strong white teeth, in which -the stem of his pipe was gripped. - -"I don't see anything to smile about," she remarked. - -He did not answer. In his mind there was an astonishing sense of -exultation. He had had no idea that she would show such quiet pluck: he -had hardly dared to think, as he put the graver possibilities of their -situation before her, that she would receive the news without a tremor. -But now, suddenly, his heart was crying out within him: "This is my -mate; this is the woman who will dare all with me"; and he laughed to -think of their present absurd relationship. He did not realize how deep -was their estrangement. - -After the midday meal he sent her to her room to rest, and, pocketing -his revolver, went down into the village. Here all was quiet, but he -observed that small groups of the revolters were moving to and fro, some -of them carrying their antiquated firearms. Ibrahim, he was told, was -more or less a prisoner in his own house, and he thought it politic to -make no attempt to visit him. - -"Time will show," he said to an adherent of the usurper, "whether your -master is worthy to be Sheikh"; and that was as far as he would commit -himself. - -At tea-time he returned to the monastery, and now he gave full -instructions to Hussein. The latter was to go to bed as usual that -night, and was to take no part in the events of the darkness. He was to -call his master an hour after sunrise, and if it chanced that he failed -to find him, he was to take what steps he chose to report the -disappearance and exonerate himself from blame. - -It was not until after nightfall that any outward signs of their -dangerous situation were to be observed. Daniel found then that three -armed natives were loitering outside the ruined walls, and, in answer to -his enquiries as to their business, they told him amiably that they were -there to prevent him leaving the Oasis. - -"But how can I leave it without a camel?" he asked. "In the morning you -must tell your master that the two camels must be brought back to me. -They must be here before midday." His voice was peremptory, and the -natives salaamed respectfully. - -It was at about an hour before midnight that, from the top of his tower, -he took a final survey of his surroundings. There was a young moon in -the heavens, and by its pale light he observed the figure of one of the -guards reclining on the sand, his back against the wall, directly -beneath the window of Muriel's room. The other two, as he had previously -noticed, were seated in a more or less comatose state at the entrance of -the monastery, at which point they no doubt presumed that reason -required them to remain. - -He descended stealthily from the tower, and, feeling his way through the -dark refectory, found Muriel seated, ready, upon her bed. In silence she -rose to her feet, and thereupon Daniel gathered up the bedclothes in his -arms and crept with them to the window. She did not know what he was -about to do, but presently she saw him crouching upon the sill, his -figure silhouetted against the sky. - -Suddenly, with a flutter of the blankets, he disappeared, and from -outside she heard a series of muffled sounds. Darting to the window, she -saw him struggling with what appeared to be a furiously animated bundle -of bedclothes from which two kicking brown legs protruded; and, a moment -later, this bundle was lifted from the ground. - -"Quick!" he whispered, looking up at her, and thereupon she crawled -through the window and jumped on to the soft sand outside. - -Daniel, clasping his burden, with the head pressed against his breast, -told her to pick up the man's rifle and to put it through the window on -to her bed. When she had done so he at once set off at a run towards the -open desert, and Muriel followed him, her heart wildly beating. A -distance of not more than fifty yards separated them from some clusters -of rock which would shelter them from sight, and soon they were -scrambling over the rough ground in temporary immunity from detection. - -Here Daniel paused to rearrange his struggling captive, who was in grave -danger of suffocation, and, having warned him that a single sound would -mean instant death, he lifted him across his shoulder, with the blankets -more loosely thrown over his head, and again broke into a jog-trot. - -When about a quarter of a mile had been covered they descended into a -shallow ravine, with which Daniel was well acquainted; and here, being -screened from the Oasis, he set down his burden, cautiously removing the -bedclothes from the perspiring and anxious face. The man's eyes were -wide with fear as he found himself looking into the muzzle of a -revolver; but his captor smilingly reassured him, promising him that no -harm would come to him if he but walked ahead in complete silence. - -"I am afraid," he said in Arabic, "that you are about to have a somewhat -lengthy walk." - -"Where are we going?" the man asked. - -"To El Homra," Daniel replied casually. - -"_Ya salaam!_" exclaimed the man, in an awed whisper. In our language -the expression may be rendered "Oh, lor'!" - -The ravine led them to the northwest, and they must have covered nearly -two miles before Daniel deemed it safe to bear off more to the north, -over the higher ground. The going was easy, for the surface of the rocks -was smooth, and the light of the moon sufficient to prevent stumbling; -and an hour's walking brought them to a point at which they could -without risk move to the east, so as to pick up the track leading to El -Homra. This they found at length without any difficulty, and they now -judged themselves to be beyond the pickets, being already two or three -miles distant from the near end of the Oasis. - -The first danger was now past, and Daniel therefore began to discuss -with Muriel their chances of success. - -"We must have come six or seven miles," he said. "I suppose you are -pretty tired?" - -"No," she answered, "I can keep up for some time yet. You've taken me -for some pretty long walks during the last fortnight: it was good -training." - -"Well, say when you're done," he said, "and I'll carry you." - -"Thanks," she replied stiffly, "I'm not a child." - -They walked on in silence, three ghostly figures stalking through the -dim light of a dream. - -"I suppose," said Daniel presently, "that they'll not miss us until well -after sunrise, if then; so I think our chances are fairly rosy. It all -depends on your feet, my girl." - -With the extra mileage due to their detour, the distance to the half-way -pool would be about eighteen miles or so; and it was obvious to Daniel -that Muriel would not be able to stand more than twelve or fourteen. He -therefore glanced anxiously at her every now and then as they pushed -forward across the great open plain which lay between the two oases; and -at length he noticed that she was limping. - -It was nearly four o'clock in the morning, and they were still some four -or five miles distant from the pool, when Daniel suddenly took hold of -her arm. - -"Now I'm going to carry you," he said. - -She did not protest. For some time she had been hobbling forward in a -kind of nightmare, her feet sore and burning, her knees feeble, and her -brain fevered. The moon had now set, but the stars gave sufficient light -for them to see the straight track beneath them. She hardly realized -what he was doing as he lifted her from the ground, putting one of his -great arms about her shoulders and the other under her knees. In a -confused manner she was aware of a feeling of annoyance at her weakness; -but presently, nevertheless, her head dropped upon his shoulder. She did -not sleep, but she was certainly not awake. - -When at last she recovered full consciousness she found to her infinite -surprise that the day was breaking, and that Daniel was in the act of -depositing her upon the sand at the edge of the half-way pool. - -"Good heavens!" she exclaimed. "How far have you carried me, man?" - -"About five miles," he said, rubbing his stiff arms. "Now for a bit of a -rest." - -She was wide awake again, and to her great relief she found that her -feet were no longer burning. Their wretched captive, however, was -entirely exhausted, and was stretched upon his stomach, drinking -greedily from the pool. - -Daniel himself did not show any marked signs of fatigue. A walk of -eighteen miles was nothing to him, and the burden of Muriel's weight was -not intolerable to a man of his colossal strength. - -When half an hour later, they resumed their journey the sun was rising -above the distant hills. They walked off alone, for Daniel had extracted -an inviolable promise from their captive to rest where he was until noon -before setting out on his return journey; and he had given the man a few -biscuits and a slice or two of meat to keep him going. Both Muriel and -Daniel had bathed their feet in the pool, and having eaten a square meal -they fared forth once more with some degree of vigour. - -As the sun increased in power, however, this sense of freshness -vanished, and but five miles had been covered when Daniel was obliged -once more to take his companion in his arms, in spite of her valiant -protests. This time he set her upon his shoulder, clasping her about the -legs, and every mile or two he varied the position. - -From the pool to the hills which divided the plain from El Homra was, -roughly, ten miles, and when at last they mounted, at about ten o'clock, -on to the high ground, Daniel was already feeling the strain. For the -next couple of miles Muriel limped along by his side; and now their -practical immunity from capture permitted them to take an occasional -rest in the shade of the rocks. - -The last three miles of the journey were very exhausting to them both, -for it was now noon, and the sun was intensely hot. Their water-bottles -were nearly empty and their provisions were all gone; but the sight of -the Oasis in the distance served to keep up their courage. - -Muriel, much against her inclinations, had now to be carried almost -continuously, but Daniel would not listen to her repeated requests that -he would leave her while he went on to fetch help. He still feared a -possible pursuit, for even so near to their goal they were travelling -through uninhabited and utterly isolated country. He set his teeth, -therefore, and carried her forward, now on this shoulder, now on that, -now upon his back, and now, as originally, in his arms. He was aching -from head to toe, and his feet felt like burning coals of fire, while -the perspiration issued from every pore. - -"Gee!" he said, as he set her down a mile from their destination, "this -has been some walk!" - -He took her in his arms again, and set out upon the last lap. The -buildings of the police headquarters were now clearly visible against -the palms, and near them stood the tents which told them that the -Bindanes had returned from the north. - -Muriel looked up at his haggard face. "I'm ashamed of myself for being -so feeble," she said. "It is very humiliating for me to have to be -carried by _you_, of all people." - -For answer he suddenly bent her head down and kissed her. - -Muriel uttered an exclamation. "Put me down!" she cried. "How dare you!" - -Again he kissed her, holding her up in his arms as her legs kicked at -his hip. She freed her hand and pressed it into his face. - -"If you do that," he laughed, "I'll drop you." - -"How dare you!" she repeated. "Oh, you brute!" - -He threw his head back, and looked up at the sun from under the brim of -his battered old hat. "It's been an extraordinary fortnight," he panted, -as though he were addressing the heavens. - -Muriel did not answer, but she was breathing hard as he looked down into -her face once more, and her eyes were wide with anger. - -"I've learned a lot about you," he said, "during these days; and I guess -you're worth winning, after all." - -"In that case," she replied furiously, "I guess you'll be sorry that -you've lost me." - -"Have I lost you, Muriel?" he asked. - -"You have," she replied, shortly and decisively. "What else did you -expect, after the way you have insulted and bullied me? You've lost me -for ever." - -The intensity with which she spoke silenced him; and thus they came -stumbling into the camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI--PAYING THE PRICE - - -"Kate!--where are you?" Muriel called, as she stood in the blazing sun -in the midst of the silent camp. - -Daniel had deposited her here, and was now hastening, in a last spurt of -energy, towards the police headquarters, intent on gathering a force to -return with him to El Hamran. - -"Good Lord!--it's Muriel," came a voice from one of the tents, and Kate -Bindane ran out into the sunlight, shading her eyes with her hand. - -She slapped Muriel lustily on the back, and led her to an empty tent, -where she put her arms about her and kissed her. "My word!--you're -looking tired!" she laughed. "Have you had a wonderful time?" - -"Lovely," said Muriel, sitting down upon the camp bed. - -"Where are your camels?--where's Daniel?" Kate asked, somewhat -bewildered. - -"Oh, we walked back," Muriel answered, with a casual gesture. "I'm -feeling quite tired." She began to laugh hysterically. - -"D'you mean to say he made you walk?" her friend asked, incredulously. - -"There wasn't much choice," she replied. "Oh, for heaven's sake, get me -something to drink, something long--miles long, and cold. I'll tell you -all about it presently." - -Kate hurried away to find refreshments, and as she crossed the hot sand -once more, carrying an assortment of bottles, she encountered Daniel -coming back with the local police officer. He pulled off his hat and -shook hands with her, rapidly. - -"How d'you do," he said. "Have you got a spare tent where I can have an -hour's sleep?" - -Kate stared at him. "You seem very pleased to see me," she laughed. -"You're bubbling over with news, aren't you?" - -"So sorry," he replied. "Muriel will tell you: there's been a bit of -trouble at El Hamran. I'm going back there with the police presently. -Can I doss down in here?" He pointed to the tent behind him; and, hardly -waiting for her reply, walked into it, telling the officer to arouse him -in an hour's time. - -Kate shrugged her shoulders, and went back to Muriel, whom she found -pulling off her boots and stockings. - -"Muriel, what's happened?" she asked. "Daniel says he's going back to El -Hamran with the police in an hour's time." - -Muriel looked up, her face flushed. "Oh, the man's mad!" she declared. -"He's fagged out. He carried me half the way." - -Rapidly she told her friend of the trouble in the Oasis and of their -escape, while Kate, uttering ejaculations of awe, plied her with -refreshment and helped her to pull off some of her clothes. Muriel was -far too exhausted to give a very intelligible account of their -adventures; and while yet Kate was fussing around, dabbing her feet with -eau de cologne, and rubbing her legs, she suddenly fell off to sleep. - -Benifett Bindane listened, later, to his wife's version of the story -with marked interest. - -"Well," he said, at length, "that settles our plans for us. We'll start -back for Cairo tomorrow." He looked at his wife curiously. "I wonder -what Lord Blair will say to it all," he mused. - -"He must never know that Muriel wasn't with us," said Kate. - -"That's impossible," he replied. "I shall have to tell him the truth." - -"Benifett!" exclaimed his wife, staring at him in horror. "You're not -going to give her away, are you?" - -His mouth hung open for some moments. "I've been thinking it over," he -said, at length, "and it seems to me that Lord Blair will have to be -told. If it leaked out, and we were found to have lied to him, there'd -be no hope of doing business with him in the future." - -"Business!" Kate snorted. "Oh, man alive, is business the only thing in -life?" She turned away in disgust. - -"No," he answered, "it's not the only thing, but it happens to be my -hobby, Kate, as you knew quite well when you married me. And I may as -well say now, that I am very hurt at the way you sneer at what is meat -and drink to me. I hope you'll think that over." - -He looked very nearly pathetic as he spoke; and his wife was -sufficiently touched by his dejection to turn an angry scene into one of -affectionate conciliation. - -"P'r'aps you're right," she said; and presently they went out together -to see what was happening to Daniel. - -They found him just emerging from the tent where he had slept. It was -evident that he was still thoroughly tired; but a group of troopers and -their camels outside the police buildings indicated that, nevertheless, -an immediate start was to be made. - -He was munching biscuits as he shook hands with Mr. Bindane. "I'm sorry -I can't stay," he said. "I've got to set this business to rights at -once. But I dare say we'll meet in Cairo before you leave for England. -Good-bye!" He held out his hand, but Kate checked him. - -"I'll go and see if Muriel is awake," she said. - -"No, never mind," Daniel answered, with his mouth full. "I won't disturb -her. Please tell her I'm coming to Cairo within a month from now." - -He waved his hand to them, and hurried away; and presently they saw him -mount his camel and ride away southwards, followed by half a dozen -troopers, their rifles slung across their shoulders. - -"Well, I'm blowed!" muttered Kate. - -"It seems to me it's business first with him, too," remarked Mr. -Bindane, looking vacantly before him. - -"Oh, rot!" replied his wife. "From what Muriel says it appears that he -had promised the old Sheikh that his son should hold office after him; -and he's going to keep his word." - -That night Muriel confessed the whole truth to her friend, only exacting -the promise that she would not tell of her humiliation to Benifett. She -related the events without emotion, her voice steady and the expression -of her face calm. It was as though she were telling the story of some -other woman in whom she felt no personal interest. It was as though -Daniel had now passed entirely out of her life. - -"I'm going to marry the first man who proposes to me," she said, setting -her jaw. - -"Well, you'll have to look sharp about it," Kate replied. "He's coming -to carry you off by the hair in a month's time, and don't you forget -it." - -Muriel put out her hand quickly, and touched her friend's arm. "No, you -don't understand him," she said. "He's not a bit that sort of man...." - -She checked herself, feeling that she had no desire to be inveigled into -discussing his character. - -Next morning, soon after breakfast, the start was made on the return -journey to the Nile. Muriel, after a long sleep, was quite recovered -from her fatigue; but she did not feel happy, and the wide vistas of the -desert did not make the same appeal to her as on the outward journey. -She felt herself to be very much older, very much more subdued; and -there was, as it were, a veil between her eyes and the beauty of the -wilderness. - -Moreover, she was very self-conscious. It seemed to her that she had -lost caste; and, now that all the alarums and excursions were over, she -was not a little dismayed at the affront she had put upon the -conventions. Benifett Bindane's attitude to her was non-committal, but -in his evasion of the subject of her adventures he displayed an -awkwardness which she found almost insulting. - -And then the natives.... She felt as though many pairs of eyes were upon -her, and more than once it seemed to her that she was not being treated -with the same deference as formerly. - -Once, when her camel had lagged behind the others, she found herself -riding beside the Egyptian secretary of the expedition, a young man who -evidently regarded his personal appearance with favour; and it seemed to -her that he turned his dark eyes upon her with a boldness which she had -not previously observed. - -But the most galling experience was provided by her dragoman, Mustafa, -who took the opportunity to speak to her on the day of their departure, -when she was sitting alone, waiting for the picnic luncheon to be -served. - -"I hope my leddy was varry happy at El Hamran," he said, grinning at her -boldly. - -"Thank you, yes," she answered, fiddling with her shoe. - -"Mistair Lane he varry nice gentleman," he went on; and then, leaning -forward, he lowered his voice. "Mustafa know the beesness: he say -nudding; he keep varry quiet, my leddy. No talk 'bout El Hamran...." - -"What d'you mean?" she exclaimed angrily, but he only smiled at her, and -salaamed. - -It was disgusting, and she felt a cold shiver creep down her spine, as -she hastened across to the others. - -As she jogged along, day after day, towards Cairo her thoughts were -given more and more to the subject of her coming return to her father. -What was she going to say to him? It had all seemed so easy before: she -had thought that there would be no difficulty in concocting a plausible -story. But now the idea of inventing a pack of lies revolted her; and as -they drew ever nearer to the Nile there grew steadily in her mind a -determination to tell him the truth. - -Daniel, it seemed to her, had deliberately left her to extricate -herself; and at the thought her heart was filled with renewed anger -against him. Yet had she not told him that her plans were all laid to -prevent gossip, to prevent her father's name being injured? He probably -supposed that there would be no scandal; and, after all, why should -there be? A little talk in the native quarter, perhaps, that would be -all. But these lies she would have to tell her father! They hung over -her like a menacing storm. - -Yet if she told the truth, what then? Daniel's reputation would suffer -as much as hers: she wondered whether he had realized this fact, when he -had obliged her to stay with him for the full fortnight. - -Yes, she would tell the truth. It would be a ghastly ordeal, that hour -when she would have to face her father; but it would be better than -lies, and shufflings, and the crooked ways of which she had seen so much -amongst the women she had known in her life. - -Suddenly the realization came to her that her character was not such as -theirs, that it took no delight in intrigue; and upon that disclosure -there followed a new understanding of Daniel's attitude to her when she -had told him of her arrangements for their secret fortnight. - -"Good heavens!" she exclaimed, almost speaking aloud in the surprise of -her sudden shame. "What a sneaking little liar I must have seemed to -him!" - -At last one day, in the blaze of noon, they descended from the desert -and dismounted from their camels at the gates of Mena House Hotel. Now, -towards the end of March, the days were growing hot, and Muriel -appreciated to the full the cool halls and shaded rooms of the hotel, -and at luncheon the ice which tinkled in her glass seemed to be a very -gift of the gods. - -Amongst her letters, addressed to the care of Mr. Bindane, she found one -from her father, written from the White Nile; and her heart leaped with -sudden relief when she read in it that he had decided to extend his tour -through the Sudan, and would not be back in Cairo for another three -weeks. He suggested to her that she should invite the Bindanes to stay -at the Residency, so that Kate could be with her, thereby relieving Lady -Smith-Evered of the responsibility of upholding the conventions by her -otherwise unnecessary presence; or else that she should remain at Mena -House with them until his return. - -She therefore put the two alternatives to her friends, and, though Kate -was all for remaining where they were, her husband could not resist the -aristocratic enticement of the Residency. Next day, therefore, they made -their adieux to the desert and drove into Cairo. Muriel's relief at not -having yet to face her father had raised her spirits; and for the first -time for many days she appeared once more to be vivacious and conscious -of the enjoyments of life. - -All went well for a week or more. Muriel entertained her guests at the -Residency with painstaking care; and every day had its list of -engagements. Indeed she was glad of the task, for, now that her life had -resumed its unadventurous course, she could not keep her mind from -thinking over the events of the last few months, although her -recollections brought her nothing but searchings of heart. - -Towards Daniel she maintained an attitude of estrangement. Though her -eyes had been opened to her own shortcomings, and she was no longer so -sure of herself as to be able to censure him without qualification, yet -she wanted to assert herself, and to show him that she was mistress of -her own destiny; and, like a spectator of her own life, she almost hoped -that she would find herself belonging to some other man by the time that -Daniel returned, so that she would be able to say, "There now!--you've -lost me, you see." - -The bombshell fell unexpectedly. One morning Lady Smith-Evered came over -to the Residency soon after breakfast, and asked Muriel if she might see -her alone. She had been dining with them only the night before, and -Muriel did not, therefore, anticipate any serious trouble. - -They went into the library together, and no sooner was the door shut -than the elder woman sat herself down in the desk chair, and cleared her -throat as though she were about to make a speech. - -"Now Muriel," she began, "I want you to tell me the truth, please. I -have acted more or less as your chaperone throughout the winter, and I'm -sure you can trust me to do what is right. I want you to give me a -direct answer to a direct question: did you or did you not spend a -fortnight alone with Mr. Lane in the Oases?" - -For a moment Muriel's head was in a whirl, and she felt the colour -mounting to her cheeks, as she hesitated to face the sudden crisis. -Then, fortifying herself to meet the situation with candour, she looked -at her questioner straight in the face. - -"Tell me, first," she replied, "the story you have heard." - -Lady Smith-Evered shrugged her shoulders. "I see no reason why I should -not. My maid told me late last night that she had heard it from our -native cook, who had heard it in the bazaars. The story was simply that -you left the Bindanes and went to stay with that man. I thought the best -thing I could do, and the General agreed, was to come and ask you -straight." - -"Thank you," Muriel replied. "Yes, it's perfectly true." - -Lady Smith-Evered threw up her fat hands. "My dear girl!--what on earth -made you do such a foolhardy thing? You might have known the natives -would talk. Of course I guessed you were in love with him, otherwise you -would never have been so rude to me as you were that day when I asked -you why he had left the Residency so suddenly. But I never dreamed that -things had gone so far. Supposing you have a baby...?" - -An expression of amazed indignation came into Muriel's eyes, and for a -few moments she was absolutely dumb. It was as though she had had a lump -of mud flung straight at her face; and at first she experienced only -burning resentment and blinding anger. Then, suddenly, she saw things as -they were: the thought had never come to her until now in all its -crudeness, its stark nakedness. - -"How can you suggest such a thing?" she answered at last, lamely, her -indignation strengthening her voice but not her wits. - -"You must have been mad," said Lady Smith-Evered. "And at your age, too! -It was more than naughtiness: it was downright folly. And as for the -man, he deserves to be thrashed." - -"But you don't understand," Muriel gasped. "There was no intimacy of any -kind." - -Her visitor moved impatiently on her chair. "Oh, don't tell me such -fibs," she exclaimed. "My dear Muriel, I am a woman of the world. I only -want to help you." - -Her words only served to accentuate the girl's alarm. - -"But it's true," she cried. "I swear to you there was nothing of that -kind between us." - -Lady Smith-Evered stared at her. "You can't expect me or anybody else to -believe that. Why, the man is a notorious bad character in regard to -women." - -"No, he's not," she answered. "He may be a brute in other ways, but all -this rot about his Bedouin harim is just the silly talk of Cairo. I'm -not going to beg you to believe me. I'm just telling you the truth; and -if you don't think it's the truth you can go to ..." - -She checked herself suddenly. - -"But what are we to do?" said the elder woman, spreading out her hands. -"I'm not a prude; but the whole thing is shocking in a country like -this. How are we to prevent it ever coming to your father's ears?" - -"I'm going to tell him as soon as he comes back," Muriel replied. - -"Oh, you're incorrigible," exclaimed Lady Smith-Evered, angrily. "You -hav'n't got the sense even to know when to hold your tongue." She rose -to her feet and paced up and down the room. "What's to be done? Will you -please tell me what's to be done?" - -"Nothing much," Muriel answered. She was becoming calmer now. She saw -herself in a new light, and her humiliation was extreme. Lady -Smith-Evered belonged to that world which Daniel had tried to teach her -to despise; and in this woman's eyes she appeared merely as a foolish, -naughty girl, whose rash actions had to be covered up by some sort of -lie. She would have infinitely preferred it if she had been instantly -ostracized and cut. - -"Of course," Lady Smith-Evered went on, "I shall tell my maid that the -whole thing is nonsense; and it's just possible that the story will go -no further. But you ought to be ashamed of yourself for taking such -risks. And I have no words to express what I feel about Mr. Lane." - -"Oh, please leave him out of it," Muriel exclaimed. "He never asked me -to come, or knew I was coming." - -Lady Smith-Evered sniffed. "He knows his own power over women," she -said. - -Muriel turned upon her fiercely. "I tell you he is in no way to blame." - -Her visitor bowed. "I respect you for trying to defend him," she -answered. "We women always defend the men we love." - -"But I don't love him," she cried. "I hate the sight of him." - -Lady Smith-Evered spread out her hands again, evidently baffled. "That -makes it all the worse," she said. "Romance is whitewash for the -sepulchres of passion: it makes these things presentable; but if you say -the affair was not prompted by love, then I absolutely fail to -understand you. It sounds unnatural, indecent." - -She moved towards the door. "I'll do my best to hush it up," she -concluded; "but the sooner you get married to some nice easy-going -Englishman the better. These sort of things are more _comme il faut_ -after marriage, my dear." - -And with that she left the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII--THINKING THINGS OVER - - -Benifett Bindane was seated on the front verandah of the Residency one -afternoon, when Lord Barthampton drove up to the door in his high -dogcart. He rose from his chair, and going to the steps, shook hands -with the younger man somewhat less limply than was his wont. - -"Is Lady Muriel in?" asked the visitor. - -Mr. Bindane shook his head. "I'm afraid not; but I think she'll be home -to tea. Come in and have a drink." - -He led him into the library, and rang the bell. "What will you have?" he -asked. "A whiskey and soda?" - -"Thanks," Lord Barthampton replied. "I've given up the temperance stunt. -I think one needs something with a punch in it now that the weather's -getting hot." - -A servant entered the room, and Mr. Bindane, playing the host with -relish, ordered the refreshments. - -Charles Barthampton had seen Muriel more than once since her return from -the desert, and now he had come with the determination to make her a -proposal of marriage. He was nervous, therefore, and soon he was helping -himself liberally from the decanter and with marked moderation from the -syphon. While doing so he thought he observed the older man's eye upon -him, and felt that candour would not here come amiss. - -"I'm fortifying myself," he laughed, holding up his glass. "Fact is, I'm -going to pop the question this afternoon." - -Mr. Bindane nodded slowly, with seeming abstraction, and his lordship -decided that a little drama ought to be added to his words. - -"Yes," he said, bracing his shoulders bravely, "this suspense is too -much for me; so I'm going to rattle the dice with Fate, and win all or -lose all at a single throw. What d'you think of my chances?" - -"Not much," replied Mr. Bindane, gloomily. "Lady Muriel is a difficult -sort of girl. Still, she may be suffering from a reaction: you may catch -her on the rebound." - -The words slipped from him without intention; but as soon as they were -spoken he realized that he would either have to explain them or cover -them up as best he could. - -"How d'you mean?" came the inevitable question, and Mr. Bindane's brains -were immediately set rapidly to work. He knew that Lord Barthampton was -running after the girl's fortune: such a chase seemed a very natural -thing to his business mind; and he did not suppose that the suitor would -be deterred by hearing that the lady's hand had already been given -temporarily to another. - -"Well," he replied, "you know, of course, that she was by way of being -in love with your cousin a short time ago." - -His visitor scowled. "No, I didn't know that," he muttered. "Confound -the fellow!--he's always getting in my way. I wish he'd stay in the -desert, and not come back." - -"Yes, so do I," Mr. Bindane remarked. "I want him to live out there, and -manage this Company I'm trying to launch. Frankly, that is why I wish -you success. At present it is Lady Muriel who attracts him to Cairo; and -if by any chance she should marry him, my plans would be spoilt." - -"Oh, I see," said the other, a look of cunning coming into his red face. -"So we both want the same thing." - -"Yes," replied Mr. Bindane. The conspiracy interested him, the more so -because he felt that he was acting in the best interests of Daniel, for -whom he had conceived an unbounded admiration. He thought that he was -wasted at the Residency: there was no money in his present work, -whereas, if he entered the proposed Company's employment, he might rise -to great wealth. Nor would he ever be happy in Cairo, certainly not if -he were tied to Lady Muriel: she was not the right wife for him. She was -too flighty, and this escapade of hers in the desert stamped her as a -woman of loose morals, who would bring only sorrow to a man of Daniel -Lane's temperament. - -Lord Barthampton leaned forward. "Did she see much of him in the Oases?" -he asked. - -Mr. Bindane hesitated. He did not like to give the secret away; yet he -felt that if this burly and rather unscrupulous young man were in -possession of the facts, he might terrorize Lady Muriel into marrying -him. Then Cairo would cease to have any attraction for Daniel Lane. "She -saw a great deal of him," he replied at length. - -"Why, was he with your party?" - -Mr. Bindane's lips moved flabbily, but he did not speak. - -"I thought you told me the other day that he wasn't with you," Lord -Barthampton added. - -"Yes, that's so," the other answered. "He wasn't." - -His visitor got up suddenly from his chair. "Do you mean that _she_ was -with _him_?" he asked, incredulously. - -"That is a secret," Mr. Bindane replied, a little scared, but at the -same time calming himself with the assurance that he was acting for the -best. - -Lord Barthampton paced the floor, chewing his lips, his heavy brows -knitted. "I see," he said, at length. "And you think that it will help -me if I hold this piece of information over her head." - -Mr. Bindane's blank expression indicated that nothing of the kind had -entered his head--in fact, that nothing of any kind had ever entered it. -"You could have heard it from the natives," he said. "They all know she -was at El Hamran while we went north. If I hadn't let it slip out like -this, no doubt you would have heard it from somebody else in time." - -"No doubt," the other answered, and he drained his glass once more. - -Benifett Bindane also rose from his chair. He was alarmed, and the -qualms of conscience were upon him. "Of course it was just an escapade," -he murmured. "I don't suppose there was anything wrong in it." - -"Well, I won't use the information, unless I've got to," said Lord -Barthampton. - -As they issued from the library, they heard the sound of an automobile -driving up to the door. "That's probably her," Mr. Bindane remarked. -"You'd better go and wait in the drawing-room, and I'll make myself -scarce." - -He patted the young man on the shoulders and hurried up the stairs to -his room, while Charles Barthampton, nervously tidying himself, went -into the drawing-room, where a footman was arranging the tea-table. - -He had not long to wait. In a few minutes Muriel entered, and, seeing -him, held out her hand. - -"Hullo!" she said. "You here again?" - -"I don't seem to be able to keep away from you for long," he sighed. -"Can I see you alone?" - -Muriel glanced at him quickly. There was an expression of ludicrous -agony upon his face, and she knew full well what he had come to say to -her. "Let's have tea, first," she answered. "It will fortify us." - -He stared anxiously at her, but all further preliminary remarks were -checked by the entrance of Kate Bindane; and soon two or three callers -were ushered in. - -It was a long time before he managed successfully to outstay the other -visitors; but at length he found himself alone with Muriel. The removal -of the tea-tray caused another interruption; and he refrained with -difficulty from cursing aloud when the footman again entered to switch -on the lights. - -At last, however, the moment for his declaration arrived, and Muriel -settled herself down upon the cushions of the sofa to hear him, as -though she were preparing to listen to a recital upon the grand piano. -"Now tell me," she said, "what it is that you want to say to me." - -He was standing in front of her, the fingers of his hand scratching his -ear. He cleared his throat. "Well, it's like this," he began. "Ever -since I've known you I've felt that there was something lacking in my -life...." - -"I was wondering how you'd begin," she said, interrupting him. - -He flushed, and hastened on with his prepared speech. "Even soldiers, -you know, long for the comforts of home. I suppose every Englishman -likes to think of his own fireside...." - -"Not in this weather, surely," she put in, again interrupting him. - -He hurried on. "... With the woman he loves, seated before him, after -the day's toil is over." - -"Are you proposing to me?" she asked, wishing mercifully to cut him -short. - -"Well, yes, I am," he answered, with a deep sigh. "Ah, don't be cruel to -me. You know that I love you. I'm quite well off: I can give you a -fairly comfortable time of it." - -"Yes, but they say you have led a very wild life," she told him. "You -said yourself that you drank." - -"I've sown my wild oats, little woman," he sighed. - -"But drink is such a dreadful thing," she murmured. "I wonder your -conscience hasn't pricked you. Or are you one of those people who have -no conscience, only a religion?" - -Without waiting to reply he returned to the speech which he had -memorized, and drew a picture of his English home: the snow on the -ground at Noel, the bells of the little church ringing, the Yule log, -and his tenants singing carols to them as they dined in the great hall. -It reminded Muriel of a Christmas-card--something with sparkling stuff -powdered over it, and "Hark, the herald angels sing" printed in the -corner. - -Lord Barthampton, however, was very much touched by his own eloquence; -and, coming close to her, he held out his hands. "Will you?" he said, -brokenly. - -"I must have time to think," she answered. "This is so sudden." Then, -with deep seriousness, she added: "Yes, I want to think it over." - -"Well, I'm going off to the Fayoum tomorrow to shoot," he told her. "May -I come for my answer in three days from now?" - -"Very well," she replied. - -He seized her hand in his, and pressed it fervently to his lips. Then, -as though overcome with emotion, he whispered, "God bless you, little -woman," and, turning, walked slowly out of the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII--THE RETURN - - -Daniel's work at El Hamran was soon accomplished. When he returned there -with the police, he was not empowered to use the aid of the law further -than to restore order, to release the camels which had been seized, and -to liberate Ibrahim from his illegal semi-captivity. The officer in -command of the troopers, however, was aware that the messengers who had -been dispatched at top speed to Cairo would bring back instructions to -him to act in accordance with the Englishman's dispositions; and thus -Ibrahim had been recognized already as Sheikh by the time that the -official confirmation of his appointment arrived, and when the men who -had made the journey to El Khargeh returned home, the abortive revolt -was a thing of the past. - -Daniel, however, was unable to reconcile the two parties, and the feud -thereafter continued its tedious course, though now in a more -underground manner. He was disappointed in the failure of his attempts -at conciliation, and was disgusted at the bickerings and the petty -insults exchanged between the one faction and the other. The -tranquillity of the desert had been rudely disturbed. - -It was, thus, with a feeling of relief that he packed up his belongings -once more, and turned his face towards Cairo. It was now the middle of -April, and he crossed the desert in a blaze of burning sunshine, but his -mind was so much occupied with his thoughts that he took little notice -of his surroundings. The shimmer of heat rising from the sand, the haze -of the distances, and the red dusk of the warm evenings, seemed but to -carry his sad heart into the region of speculation; and, at nights, the -stars and the crescent of the new moon lifted him into a sphere in which -his brain worked with terrible clarity. - -He saw his life spread out before his inward consciousness like a tale -written in a fair hand upon an open scroll, wherein his mistakes and his -shortcomings were inscribed in bolder letters, very apparent to the eye. -It seemed to him that his attitude towards Muriel, towards humanity, had -been illiberal, too one-sided. There had been need of so much greater -tolerance: he had been too inclined to be impulsive, to jump to a -conclusion. - -In teaching Muriel the lesson that the love between a man and a woman -should be a thing of frankness and permanence, not snatched at in -secret, nor lightly conceived, he had learned as much as he had taught. -He had found in her all manner of qualities to which he had paid -insufficient regard--dignity, control, bravery in face of danger, and -courage to act according to the dictates of her heart. - -He saw now that while she had walked the pathways of that world which he -had despised, he had taken refuge, like a coward, in the desert; yet -she, in spite of the pitfalls and the sloughs which he had shunned, was -not at heart contaminated. She had honestly believed that he had wished -her to come to him in the desert, and she had obeyed him. A less -impulsive man would have treated her mistake gently, and with more -understanding, as being something for which her lax education and not -her brave heart was to blame. - -In an agony of mind he asked himself whether he had really lost her. He -would go to her; he would make her look right into his mind, so that she -should see how greatly he had need of her. But would she have pity on -him? - -Would she have pity on him?... Suddenly an essential aspect of the -relationship of man and woman flashed before him. Man, mighty man, was -but a lonely, blundering wanderer, a weak thing, a dweller in the -desert, seeking where to lay his head. With all his strength, with all -his masterful handling of events, man was yet a vagabond in the world, -until he had found his mate; and woman, in spite of the greater sway of -her thoughtless instincts, held for him the keys, as it were, of his -heart's home. From the summit of her weakness she could look down upon -his strength, and could smile at his struggle to surmount the obstacles -which he had placed in his own path. In the loneliness of his soul she -could look down and pity him, and take him to her breast, and heal his -wounds. - -Over and over again he asked himself whether she would turn from him -when he came to her now, or whether she would forgive and be forgiven. -He was feeling mentally and physically tired, yet he found no respite -from his dark thoughts as he jogged along; and when at last he came into -sight of Cairo and the Pyramids he was nigh exhausted by his anxiety to -know what was to be his fate. - -He reached his old camping-ground at about three o'clock in the -afternoon, and in a short time one of the tents had been erected, -wherein he was able to have a wash and a change of clothes. He then left -his retainers to pitch the other tents and to arrange the camp, and, -mounting his camel once more, rode to Mena House, where he boarded the -electric tram for Cairo. - -Weary though he was, he was desperately impatient to find Muriel and to -get this matter settled at once. Nothing else was of the slightest -importance. - -At the terminus of the tramway he jumped into a carriage, calling to the -coachman to drive "like the wind" to the Residency; and, arrived there, -he handed to the _bowab_ at the gate a generous sum, telling him to keep -the driver waiting for a good half-hour before paying him off, so that -the sweating horses should have a rest after their exertions. - -In the hall he asked a footman whether Lord Blair were in, and was -surprised to hear that he had not yet returned from the Sudan. Lady -Muriel, he was told, was in the garden with Lord Barthampton: the man -thought that they were in the alcove beside the river. Mr. and Mrs. -Bindane were out driving, and the Secretaries had all gone home. - -Daniel hastened through the house, and out by the door at the back. His -legs were aching, but he went down the stone steps of the terrace two at -a time, and hurried across the lawn, his heart full of foreboding. He -could not understand why Muriel should be entertaining his cousin. - -At the rose bushes which screened the alcove, however, he paused; for -the thought came to him with renewed terror that he might be an -unwelcome visitor. - -But, even as he came to a halt, he heard his cousin's voice, and for a -moment he could not help playing the eavesdropper. - -"Yes," he was saying, "you'll have to marry me, or I shall tell all I -know, and then there'll be a fine old scandal. Come on, now, give me a -kiss." - -Daniel did not wait to hear more, but ran round the bushes on to the -terrace beyond. At a glance he took in the situation. Lord Barthampton, -his back turned to him, was endeavouring to take Muriel in his arms; and -from behind the screen of his burly form, the girl's figure was partly -visible, struggling to escape. - -Daniel leaped forward and grasped him by the scruff of the neck, -flinging him aside so that he staggered across the terrace. He saw -Muriel's wide frightened eyes; and hardly realizing what he was doing, -he put his arm about her. - -She, too, forgot her relationship to him: she only knew that he had -intervened between her and a half-drunken bully; and she clung to him, -clung desperately, her hands clutching at his coat. - -"What's the meaning of this?" Daniel exclaimed, angrily staring at his -cousin, who seemed to be about to spring upon him. - -"What the Hell do you want here?" Lord Barthampton roared, his face -scarlet. - -Muriel pointed her finger at the furious man. "You'd better go," she -said. "Go and tell everybody whatever you like--I don't care." She -turned to her protector. "There's a lot of gossip about my having stayed -at El Hamran." - -Daniel stared from one to the other. "Well, and what is your answer to -it?" he asked her, and, waiting for her reply, he seemed to hold his -breath. - -"I hav'n't denied it," she said, looking at him full in the face. - -He uttered an exclamation, a sort of suppressed shout of joy. "Good for -you!" he cried; and, forgetting all else, he snatched off his battered -hat and flung it up into the air. Catching it again, he turned to his -cousin. "I take it," he said, "that you are trying to blackmail Lady -Muriel. Is that it?" - -"I have asked her to be my wife," he answered, his fists clenched, "and -it's no damned business of yours." - -"Well," said Daniel, "you've got your answer now, so you'd better go." - -Lord Barthampton was trembling with passion; he was beside himself. -"Yes, I'll go," he shouted, "and you'll very soon find, dear Cousin -Daniel, that you and Lady Muriel will be cut by all Cairo, and Lord -Blair will have to leave the country. I know enough to ruin the lot of -you." - -Daniel looked at him steadily. "Don't forget that I know something about -you, too," he replied; "and if you do what you say you're going to do, I -shall not consider you worthy to hold your present position any longer. -And you've been drinking again, too: you're half drunk now." - -"Very well then, dispossess me, you swine!" his cousin blurted out, -coming close to him and shaking his fist so menacingly that Muriel took -fresh hold upon Daniel's coat. "Take the title and the money, and be -damned to you! I'd rather be a penniless bastard than the smug pillar of -society you're trying to make of me. Good God!--I've stood enough from -you, you pious hypocrite." - -Daniel laughed aloud. "Don't be a fool," he said. "I've told you that so -long as you behave yourself you're quite safe. It surely isn't so -difficult as all that to be a gentleman." - -With a snort, Lord Barthampton lurched round, and, without another word, -took his departure. - -Muriel stepped back. "I don't know what I'm clinging on to you like that -for," she said, with a smile. "What on earth does he mean about your -taking his title and his money?" - -"Oh, I'll explain later," he answered, rather listlessly. "It's only -that by law I ought to have inherited when his father died, not he. It's -a great joke, because, you see, he thinks I'll dispossess him if he -misbehaves himself; but, of course, really he'd have to go altogether to -the dogs before I'd do such a thing. I don't want the bother of being a -peer, and I would be hopeless with a lot of money." - -Muriel looked up at him with wonder in her face. Quietly and naturally -she linked her arm in his, "I've been wanting so much to be beastly to -you, Daniel," she said, and her voice was husky; "but it's no good, my -dear. When a man like Charles Barthampton curses you and tells you to -take his money, and you simply laugh and say you don't want it, what -chance have _I_ got of upsetting this disgusting unworldliness of yours? -I should only hurt myself, not you." - -"No, you're wrong there," he answered. "You will hurt me more than I can -bear, _more than I can bear_, Muriel, if you keep up this quarrel any -longer. I don't feel that I can stand it." - -There was a weariness in his voice which startled her, and, looking at -him, she saw an expression in his eyes which made an instant and -overwhelming appeal to her. - -"Somehow," he said, speaking hardly above a whisper, "I feel that all -these misunderstandings are so superficial. D'you know, I believe that -if you were to remain implacable I should simply collapse. I've never -felt such a thing before in my whole life." - -It was the first time she had ever heard him speak in this way, and all -her woman's heart responded. "Oh, my dear," she answered, putting her -arm about his neck, "it's no good pretending that we don't belong to one -another, is it?" - -He looked at her with joy in his face, and led her towards the marble -seat under the palms. "We've got a great deal to tell each other," he -said. - -They had, indeed, so much to tell that the sun went down behind the -Pyramids while yet they were talking, and the dusk gathered about them. - -At length they arose and walked back to the house; but now they were -laughing like two children, and as they crossed the lawn their arms were -still linked together. - -Kate Bindane, having returned from her drive, was standing at the -drawing-room window as they approached the house. - -"Great Scott!" she exclaimed, turning to her husband. "Come here, -Benifett: just look at that!" - -He arose from his chair, laying aside the _Financial News_ which he had -been reading; but he gave no more than a single glance through the open -window. Then he returned to his newspaper, and looked at it with -listless eyes and open mouth. - -Two days later a telegram was received saying that Lord Blair would -arrive from the south by special train on the following morning at ten -A.M. - -Soon after breakfast next day, therefore, Daniel presented himself at -the Residency to take Muriel to the station. He was dressed in a suit of -grey flannels; and as he crossed the hall, he was carrying his now -famous old felt hat in one hand and his pipe in the other. - -Here, to his dismay, he came upon Sir Frank Lestrange and John Dregge, -both dressed as though they were about to attend a London wedding, and -carrying their gloves and silk hats in their hands. - -"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "What on earth are you rigged out like that -for?" - -"We're going to the station," replied Lestrange, somewhat stiffly. -"Aren't you coming too?" - -"Sure," said Daniel. - -"I'm afraid you'll be rather out of the picture," remarked the -punctilious Mr. Dregge, and he uttered a short laugh. "Two of the -Princes, and most of the Ministers and Advisers will be there, not to -mention the General in full war-paint." - -"Gee!" muttered Daniel. "In this hot weather, too! I guess I'll look the -only sane person on the platform." - -John Dregge glanced at his companion, and he at him, as Daniel, waving -his hat to them, went towards the dining-room to find Muriel; but they -were too startled even to exchange glances when, at the door of that -room, the Great Man's daughter made her appearance, and stood on tiptoe, -holding up her face to be kissed by Daniel. - -The scene at the railway-station, half an hour later, was very -disconcerting to a man so recently come from the wilds; but Daniel -either managed somehow to conceal his embarrassment or felt none at all. -Upon the platform the inevitable piece of red carpet was spread, and -under the draped British and Egyptian flags several frock-coated -celebrities were standing, the Europeans wearing silk hats, the -Egyptians the more becoming red _tarboushes_. A guard of honour of -British and native troops was drawn up near the iron palings; and at -intervals down the whole length of the platform stood brown-skinned -policemen, their hands looking curiously farcical in white cotton -gloves. - -Muriel's cool pink dress, her shady hat, and her parasol, gave by -contrast a remarkable appearance of discomfort and heat to the assembled -males; and Daniel appeared to be the only man present who could turn his -head or swing his limbs with ease. Strange to say, his unceremonious -clothes were inappropriate only in European eyes. The native mind -regarded them as perfectly suitable to one who was already recognized as -a kind of court philosopher: a Mohammedan holding a similar office would -probably have been garbed in the coarse robe of a _derwish_. It was thus -noteworthy that while the Westerners regarded him askance, the Orientals -greeted him with particular respect, so that even John Dregge presently -began to walk beside him and to converse with him--in marked contrast to -his earlier attitude of distant disdain. - -At length the white, dusty train panted into the station; and the -black-faced engine-driver, by means of a desperate struggle with the -breaks, managed to manoeuvre the entrance of the saloon to a reasonable -proximity to the red carpet. - -"Now for the little surprise for Father," said Muriel, and suddenly she -linked her arm in Daniel's, allowing her hand to rest upon his own. - -Lord Blair, hat in hand, stepped on to the platform, and, at a sharp -word of command, the guard of honour presented arms. - -He did not seem to see the crowd of waiting dignitaries: he stared at -Muriel and Daniel, a wide smile revealing the two even rows of his false -teeth. - -"Dear me, dear me!" he exclaimed, kissing his daughter's cheek. "My dear -Muriel! How are you, Daniel? This is capital, capital! You two, arm in -arm...." - -"Yes, Father," Muriel laughed, "we're going to be married, ... please." - -"Aha!" chuckled Lord Blair. "I knew it, I knew it! A little bird told -me. Well, well!--I'm delighted. A Lane and a Blair: capital, splendid!" - -Frank Lestrange stepped forward anxiously glancing at the native -Princes. "Their Highnesses, sir, ..." he whispered. - -"Ah, yes, to be sure," said Lord Blair, turning to them, and holding out -his hand. "I beg you to excuse me for speaking first to my daughter and -my future son-in-law." - -THE END - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - -Spelling and punctuation inaccuracies were silently corrected. - -Archaic and variable spelling is preserved. - -The author's punctuation style is preserved. - -Hyphenation has been made consistent. - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURNING SANDS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34978 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. 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