ngs now, more and more things every
minute.

And still she told herself that she was absurd, that Jack would be
the first to ridicule her alarm. He was probably enjoying himself,
staying on with his friends, forgetting all about herself.... Still
his room at the hotel had not been slept in for two nights now nor
had he called at the hotel and he certainly didn't have an extensive
supply of clothes and linen upon him beneath the mantle.

Particularly she remembered that he had exhibited some funny black
tennis shoes which he had thought would go appropriately with a
woman's robes. Absurd, to think of him as spending two days in
tennis shoes, and absurd to say that he would go to the shops and
buy more when he had plenty of footgear in his hotel room.

Unless he wore McLean's.

She had always regarded the unknown McLean as a most unnecessary
absorbent of Jack Ryder's time and attention and now that view was
deeply reinforced.

By noon she decided to do something. She would telephone that
Andrew McLean and see if Jack had been there. The Agricultural Bank,
that was the place. An obliging hotel clerk--clerks were always
obliging to Miss Jeffries--gave her the number and she slipped into
the booth feeling a ridiculous amount of excitement and suspense.

She had never telephoned in Cairo--only been telephoned to--and she
was not prepared for the fact that the telephone company was French.
At the phone girl's "_Numero?--Quel numero, s'il vous plait?_" Jinny
hastily choked back the English response and clutched violently at
French numerals.

"_Huit cent--no, quatre vingt--un moment!_" she demanded desperately
and hanging up the receiver, sat down to write out her number in
French correctly.

And then she got the Bank, and, still clinging to her French, she
requested to speak to Monsieur McLean and was informed that it was
Monsieur McLean himself.

"_Je suis_--oh, how absurd! Of course you speak English," she
exclaimed. "This French telephone upset me.... I wanted to speak to
Mr. Ryder if he is there--or else leave a message for him, if you
know when he will come in."

"Ryder?" There was a faint intonation of surprise in the voice.
"I've no idea really when he'll be in," said McLean, "but you may
leave the message if you like."

"Hasn't he--haven't you seen him for some time?" stammered Jinny,
feeling that McLean must be taking her for a pursuing adventuress.

"Well--not for some time."

Her heart sank.

"No