“Of course,” says Wycherley, chuckling; “because you are concerned about Dorothy’s fortunes. Now the Turk holds out his hand. She takes it. See his bold eyes, they are glued upon her face. The gauzy veil tantalizes Aroun Scutari. I’ve a notion he has come here to-night to settle some doubt, some uncertainty, that has preyed upon him for a long time, and he’ll do it in his own impulsive autocratic way. There! What did I say, Aleck?”
There is a sudden movement on the part of the pasha, a feminine shriek, and Aroun Scutari stands there with the gauzy veil in his hand, stands there glaring upon the beautiful face his rude action has unveiled. Immediately the lights are extinguished, and all is darkness. Confusion follows.
“Come, let us get out of this!” cries vagabond Claude, and Aleck Craig allows himself to be led into the street of Cairo.
He is silent and has suffered a terrible shock, for when that veil was torn away his astounded gaze fell upon a face that has haunted his dreams these six months, and he could swear he looked upon the features of Dorothy!
CHAPTER VII.
CRAIG BUILDS A THEORY.
The idea seems too preposterous to be entertained for a moment, and yet he must give some credence to what his eyes have seen. Besides, the strange presence of Dorothy in the Midway is as yet unexplained, though she has, particularly, promised to enlighten him on the following evening, if he will call.
Craig is sorely puzzled. Many things flash into his mind and confuse him. Perhaps, after all, he might have been mistaken. Why has not Wycherley made some comment upon the matter? So the Bachelor of the Midway, as the actor has, in a spirit of humor, dubbed his athletic companion, when learning how the Canadian has persistently haunted the region of world’s fakes and curiosities, turns now to that party.
“That was something not down on the bills, I’m thinking, Claude,” he remarks.
“I’m puzzling my head over the cause of it all. The pasha was in deadly earnest. Don’t imagine that it was a set-up game to clear the room. What did he expect to see?”