Everything glittered at Asiut. The sun glittered on the water; palm trees in gardens glittered as the wind waved their big green fans; the white or pink facades of large, square houses glittered, those fine houses along the Nile, in one of which Rechid Bey was known to live. But brighter than all glittered the silver scarfs which Arabs begged us to buy. Hanging over arms raised to show them off, the shining folds glittered like cascades of running water in moonlight. "Very cheap! very beautiful!" cried the merchants. "Ladies, see here! Your gen'lemen, they buy for you!"
In spite of "Antoun's" dignified refusals, putting the men off till our return, they ran after us, waving scarfs and shawls and robes, white as scintillating hoarfrost, pink as palest roses, purple as sunset clouds, green and golden as Nile water, or sequined black as a night of stars. Their vendors feared that if we did not buy of them, others might beguile us, and saw danger ahead in a distant group of rivals crowding round some tourists from another boat. This group we had to pass, and as we did so, who should break out from the glittering ring but Bedr.
He came toward us, humble and cringing, giving the beautiful Arab salute. "Dear gen'lemen and ladies!" he exclaimed. "I am very happy to see you again. Won't you shake hands, to forgive, because I meaned no harm, and did no wrong thing but obey the sweet ladies' wish when they would go to that House of the Crocodile. I too much punished when I been sent away."
"That's past now, and forgotten," said Monny, shrinking slightly from the outstretched hand. "Perhaps it wasn't your fault, that trouble we got into, but we didn't need you afterward, anyhow, and probably the people you are with now are nicer to you than we were."
"Oh, no peoples could be nicer, though they are very nice, my two gen'lemens you seed with me in the desert. They travel with me yet. We go everywhere by trains, because it takes not so much time as the boats. And Miss Guest, that nice good young lady, is she well?"
"Yes, she is very well," replied Miss Gilder, beginning to be restless, her beauty-loving eyes avoiding Bedr's face, as had been her habit when the man was in our employ. She did not like to hurt his feelings (Monny can't bear to hurt the feelings of any one below herself in wealth or station, though apparently she doesn't consider that one is bound to be kind-hearted with the rich); but I could see that she wanted to escape. Never had she liked Bedr. He had been Rachel's man from the first. "Miss Guest has gone to see the tombs," Monny explained.
"You not go there, and to the bazaars? I take my gen'lemen in a few minutes."
"We shall go by and by; just now we've other things to do," said the girl evasively, rather too evasively, perhaps. But in the hope of killing two birds with one stone (luring the man to betray his secret if he had one, and then shunting him), I broke in.
"How have you been getting on," I inquired, looking into the squint eyes, "since that night I saw you at Medinet-el-Fayoum?"
But the eyes opened wide, with a stare of innocence.