Palace Hotel, and soon a great silence reigned throughout the
building. All Cairo slept,--save where at an open lattice window
the moon shone full on a face up-turned to her silver radiance,--
the white, watchful face, and dark, sleepless eyes of the Princess
Ziska.




CHAPTER VI.


Next day the ordinary course of things was resumed at the Gezireh
Palace Hotel, and the delights and flirtations of the fancy-ball
began to vanish into what Hans Breitmann calls "the ewigkeit". Men
were lazier than usual and came down later to breakfast, and girls
looked worn and haggard with over-much dancing, but otherwise
there was no sign to indicate that the festivity of the past
evening had left "tracks behind," or made a lasting impression of
importance on any human life. Lady Chetwynd Lyle, portly and pig-
faced, sat on the terrace working at an elaborate piece of cross-
stitch, talking scandal in the civilest tone imaginable, and
damning all her "dear friends" with that peculiar air of entire
politeness and good breeding which distinguishes certain ladies
when they are saying nasty things about one another. Her
daughters, Muriel and Dolly, sat dutifully near her, one reading
the Daily Dial, as befitted the offspring of the editor and
proprietor thereof, the other knitting. Lord Fulkeward lounged on
the balustrade close by, and his lovely mother, attired in quite a
charming and girlish costume of white foulard exquisitely cut and