secretly to the little moon that lights up the Eastern night. He went
softly to fetch the coffee, while she stepped out on to the terrace.

At first she stood quite still, and stared at the bit of garden which
revealed itself in the darkness; at the dry earth, the untrimmed,
wild-looking rose-bushes, and the little mimosa-trees, vague almost as
pretty shadows. A thin, dark-brown dog, with pale yellow eyes, slunk in
from the night and stood near her, trembling and furtively watching
her. She had not seen it yet, for now she was gazing up at the sky,
which was peopled with myriads of stars, those piercingly bright stars
which look down from African skies. The brown dog trembled and blinked,
keeping his yellow eyes upon her, looked self-consciously down sideways,
then looked at her again.

From the hidden river there came a distant song of boatmen, one of those
vehement and yet sad songs of the Nile that the Nubian waterman loves.

"Sh--sh--sh!"

Mrs. Armine had caught sight of the dog. She hissed at him angrily, and
made a threatening gesture with her hands, which sent him slinking back
to the darkness.

"What is it, Ruby?" called out a strong voice from above.

She started.

"Oh, are you there, Nigel?"

"Yes. What's the matter?"