[CHAPTER XVI.]
A MYSTERY.
THE next morning Evelyn was much better. The fever had passed away, but she felt tired and exhausted, so she decided to keep quietly in her room until lunch time, as she was very anxious to join us in an expedition which Mr. Stanley had planned for that evening. We were to visit an old tomb, which had just been discovered on the road to Bethlehem, and in which Mr. Stanley's German friend, Mr. Schwarz, took a great interest. Mr. Schwarz would not be able to guide us there himself, as he was going away from Jerusalem for some weeks on business; but he very kindly promised that his daughter would show us the way to the tomb, as Mr. Stanley had never been there before.
Evelyn was most anxious to go with us, so we arranged to start when the day began to grow cooler, for Mr. Schwarz said that, as it was not a long ride, we could easily be back before sunset.
I was up very early that morning, and leaving Evelyn in bed, I went downstairs to write an account of our visit to Solomon's Quarry in a letter to my sister Maggie. Her aunts took great interest in hearing of all the places I was visiting, although they still predicted that I should not come back alive.
I was busy with my letter, sitting at a little table in the window of our sitting-room, waiting till Sir William should come downstairs for breakfast, when the door opened and Mr. Stanley came in.
"Oh, how lovely!" I exclaimed, as soon as I turned round.