M. Sylvain glanced about him.
“We shall succeed,” he murmured cheerfully. “Follow me.”
And they went into the mark of civilisation, and saw the counter, and a female creature behind the bar, and, through another door, a glimpse of the garden beyond.
“Follow me,” murmured M. Sylvain again, opening another door to the left into a dark passage. “Straight on. There is a room at the other end.”
They vanished.
In a few seconds M. Sylvain returned into the café.
IV.
Now, in the garden were Eve Fincastle and Kitty Sartorius, tying up some wraps preparatory to their departure for Biskra. They caught sight of Cecil Thorold and his companion entering the café, and they were surprised to find the millionaire in Sidi Okba after his refusal to accompany them.
Through the back door of the café they saw Cecil’s companion reappear out of the passage. They saw the creature behind the counter stoop and produce a revolver and then offer it to the Frenchman with a furtive movement. They saw that the Frenchman declined it, and drew another revolver from his own pocket and winked. And the character of the wink given by the Frenchman to the woman made them turn pale under the sudden, knife-like thrust of an awful suspicion.
The Frenchman looked up and perceived the girls in the garden, and one glance at Kitty’s beauty was not enough for him.