"Well?" she said. "Well?"
The man looked at her as if her voice had startled him.
"The gentleman has not come in, ma'am."
"When is he coming in?"
"I don't know, ma'am."
"Is he in Cairo?"
"I don't know, ma'am."
"What do you know? What's the good of you? What are you here for? Go back at once, and find out whether the gentleman is in Cairo or not."
The messenger went out rather hurriedly.
Mrs. Armine was shaking. She had felt inclined to attack the man, to beat him for his stupidity, as slaves are often beaten by their masters when they do wrong. When she was alone, she uttered two or three incoherent exclamations. Her body was burning with a sort of cruel, dry heat. She felt parched all over. An hour passed, and at length she again heard a tap. The messenger came in, and very sulkily said: