ch.
He was sitting in a small court-yard of Nahoum Pasha's palace, waiting
for its owner to appear. Meanwhile he exercised a hilarious patience.
The years had changed him little since he had been sent on that
expedition against the southern tribes which followed hard on David's
appointment to office. As David had expected, few of the traitorous
officers returned. Diaz had ignominiously died of the bite of a
tarantula before a blow had been struck, but Higli had gratefully
received a slight wound in the first encounter, which enabled him
to beat a safe retreat to Cairo. He alone of the chief of the old
conspirators was left. Achmet was still at the Place of Lepers, and the
old nest of traitors was scattered for ever.

Only Nahoum and Higli were left, and between these two there had never
been partnership or understanding. Nahoum was not the man to trust to
confederates, and Higli Pasha was too contemptible a coadjutor. Nahoum
had faith in no one save Mizraim the Chief Eunuch, but Mizraim alone was
better than a thousand; and he was secret--and terrible. Yet Higli had a
conviction that Nahoum's alliance with David was a sham, and that David
would pay the price of misplaced confidence one day. More than once when
David's plans had had a set-back, Higli had contrived a meeting with
Nahoum, to judge for himself the true position.

For his visit to-day he had invented a reason--a matter of finance; but
his real reason was concealed behind the malevolent merriment by which
he was now seized. So absorbed was he that he did not heed the approach
of another visitor down an angle of the court-yard. He was roused by a
voice.

"Well, what's tickling you so, pasha?"

The voice was drawling, and quite gentle; but at the sound of it,
Higli's laugh stopped short, and the muscles of his face contracted.
If there was one man of whom he had a wholesome fear--why, he could not
tell--it was this round-faced, abrupt, imperturbable American, Claridge
Pasha's right-hand man. Legends of resourcefulness and bravery had
gathered round his name. "Who's been stroking your chin with a feather,
pasha?" he continued, his eye piercing the other like a gimlet.

"It was an amusing tale I heard at Assiout, effendi," was Higli's
abashed and surly reply.

"Oh, at Assiout!" rejoined Lacey. "Yes, they tell funny stories at
Assiout. And when were you at Assiout, pasha?"

"Two days ago, effendi."

"And so you thought you'd tell the funny little story t