udy Arabic; but although her brother
could speak it extremely well, she knew that he had no time to teach
her. It amazed her how much he had had to learn and had learned during
his years in Egypt. It was after twelve o'clock when the trio parted
for the night.

When Meg was alone in her room, a certain reaction set in; she felt
tired and just a little depressed. She wanted to do so much and she
knew so little. Beyond the name Rameses she had not recognized the
name of one of the kings her brother had mentioned during their
conversation that evening--indeed, she had failed to grasp the meaning
of almost everything he had said, and yet she knew that he was talking
down to her level, or thought he was.

Bewildered with the sense of Egypt, she fell asleep and dreamed of the
valley and her wonderful ride.

CHAPTER IV

Margaret had lived in the valley for a little over three weeks,
immortal weeks of intense interest and new impressions. She had fitted
herself into the atmosphere with a charm and adaptability which left
Michael and Freddy wondering how they had ever got on without her. A
woman in the hut made all the difference; a feeling of "homeness" now
pervaded the camp. Margaret had found so much to do in the way of
adding obvious touches of comfort and convenience to the hut and to the
tents that she had found little or no time to start upon her studies of
Egyptology.

The moonlight nights she had spent either in the company of her brother
or Michael, wandering about the valley, or sitting alone outside their
primitive home, absorbing the spirit of the desert. She had not felt
ready for book-learning.

One evening, after dinner, Michael and she had ridden down the valley
and back again, repeating her first journey, so that she might enjoy it
by moonlight.

The three weeks had done a great deal to help her to distinguish some
of the periods and terms in connection with her brother's work. The
word Coptic, for instance, had now its proper significance in her mind,
and the terms dynasty and century were no longer jumbled hopelessly
together. She also realized that Egypt had been governed by kings and
queens with strong individualities of their own; they were not all
spoken of by Egyptologists as "Pharaohs," a word which hitherto had
suggested to Margaret the title given to the hosts of nameless and half
legendary monarchs who ruled over a semi-Biblical kingdom.

Thus far and no further had she gon