and I did some mental
profanity that'll be forgiven me, I know, and then I gave it up and
went outside to reconnoitre the old barrack.

'On one side its windows overlooked a lane open straight from the
street, and there was a small door in the rear corner, while in the
other a door that must have opened behind the scenes inside gave upon
a sort of court-like quarters where a lot of fellows where lounging,
and a few cooking, at an open fire. I made this discovery through a
crack in the high fence in the rear, and I prowled about until I
assured myself that my gentlemen were not there.

'I suppose I had hung about that rear inclosure some twenty minutes,
or perhaps more, when I suddenly bethought me of the other Turkish
booth and the big bazaar, and I came around to take a final look at
the front and then move on. When I reached the front, one of the
dancing-girls was posturing before the entrance, and a new voice was
calling the crowd to "come and see and admire the only original," etc;
and, sir, there upon the upper step, exhorting the public,
was--Delbras himself.'

'The clever rascal!' I exclaimed.

'You may well say so. Well, sir, it did not take me long to do my
thinking. It was almost noon, a quarter to twelve in fact, and I said
to myself, "This fellow is playing Turk, and he has turned showman. He
has just relieved the other fellow, and will be likely to be here all
the afternoon." I couldn't have stayed there if I would without being
spotted, for the moment I got myself a little nearer to him he spied
me, and began a pantomime of roping me in hand over fist with an
imaginary cable. He would have known my face if I had tried to keep
near enough to be safe in case of a sudden move, so I took the chance
of keeping my appointment with you, getting up a different mug, and
hurrying back.'

'And you expect to find him there?'

'I hope to find him there. It would never have done to have stayed. He
would have spotted me at once. The fellow is a long remove from a
fool. Carl, what do you think of this deal? What, in your opinion, is
their little game?'

'Precisely the same that you and I would play in their places. What
could a man ask better if he wants to dodge arrest, or evade
surveillance, than such a chance as Midway affords him? All he needs
is a "pull" with some of these Orientals, and they are here for the
most part for the "backsheesh." Besides, you remember, Delbras is said
to have crossed at the time