d stood still.

Yerkes was the first upstairs. He went like an arrow from a bow, and I
after him. The screams had stopped before we reached the stairhead,
but there was no doubting which her room was; the door was partly
open, permitting a view of armchairs and feminine garments in some
disorder. We heard a man talking loud quick Arabic, and a
woman--pleading, I thought. Yerkes rapped on the door.

"Come in!" said a voice, and I followed Yerkes in.

We were met by her Syrian maid, a creature with gazelle eyes and timid
manner, who came through the doorway leading to an inner room.

"What's the trouble?" demanded Yerkes, and the woman signed to us to go
on in. Yerkes led the way again impulsively as any knight-errant
rescuing beleaguered dames, but I looked back and saw that the Syrian
woman had locked the outer door. Before I could tell Will that, he was
in the next room, so I followed, and, like him, stood rather bewildered.

Lady Saffren Waldon sat facing us, rather triumphant, in no apparent
trouble, not alone. There were four very well-dressed Arabs standing
to one side. She sat in a basket chair by a door that pretty obviously
led into her bedroom; and kept one foot on a pillow, although I
suspected there was not much the matter with it.

"We heard screams. Thought you were being murdered!" said Yerkes, out
of breath.

"Oh, indeed, no! Nothing of the kind! I fell and twisted my
ankle--very painful, but not serious. Since you are here, sit down,
won't you?"

"No, thanks," said he, turning to go.

"The maid locked the door on us!" said I, and before the words were out
of my mouth three of the Arabs slipped into the outer room. There was
no hint or display of weapons of any kind, but they were big men, and
the folds of their garments were sufficiently voluminous to have hidden
a dozen guns apiece.

"She'll open it!" said Will, with inflection that a fool could
understand.

"One minute, please!" said Lady Saffren Waldon. (It was no poor
imitation of Queen Elizabeth ordering courtiers about.)

"We didn't come to talk," said Will. "Heard screams. Made a mistake.
Sorry. We're off!"

"No mistake!" she said; and the sweetness Monty prophesied began to
show itself. The change in her voice was too swift and pronounced to
be convincing. "I did scream. I was, in pain. It was kind of you to
come. Since you are here I would like you to talk to this gentleman."

She glanced at the Arab, an abl