fellow was here sick from
his shot hand, apparently. "I hope gangreen sets in," he said
between his teeth.

"You are pleased with me, sir?" the Imp was demanding. "You are glad
of so much clever boy? And you give me that money now to give that
girl? I make her most honest promise--and you see, sir, I am very
honest boy, I tell you all I know and I ask nothing of price yet. I
know that you are honest American man."

At that Billy came out of his brown study and praised the tattered
little Imp with hearty earnestness. He saw no reason to doubt the
boy's story. If he had been trying to invent something in order to
make capital out of him he would hardly have invented that story of
Arlee's departure, for that put an immediate end to further
remunerative investigations in the palace. Of course Billy might be
mistaken, and the boy might be mistaken, but one had to leave
something to probabilities. He was very generous with the boy, and
the droll little brown face was lined with grins. Most naively he
besought that the American would not reveal the extent of his
donations to Mohammed, the one-eyed man, as the boys had promised
their employer a just one-half.

It was the first laugh Billy had enjoyed in a long time. His spirits
were vastly lightened by the news that Arlee was out of the palace
where the Captain was staying. Fritzi had optimistically informed
him that the Turk's courtship could be made most lengthy, but that
had been a sadly slender hope and the picture of Arlee playing such
a fearful game was simply horrible to him. So his relief at her
departure was intense, although it complicated more and more the
hope of speedy rescue.

For where was she now? In Cairo? In some of the outlying villages?
He felt swamped by the number of things were to be found out
immediately. He must find where that big gray motor went so early on
Sunday--surely there were people who had remarked it if they could
only be found and induced to talk! And he must find where the
Captain had other homes or palaces where he would be likely to hide
a girl. And he must find out where the Captain was every instant of
the day and night.

That was the most important thing of all. For the Captain unless
delayed by extreme illness, or held back by a caution which Billy
judged was foreign to his nature, would not wait long before he
joined Arlee. He had evidently stayed behind for some review of his
troops and also to be _au courant_ of whatever st