Page:Henry rideout--The siamese cat.djvu/233

 one of fifty fat, black Indian cigars. It seemed the mischief of an ape or a madman.

He reported to a sleepy Arab, received his vain protestations, and was soon in bed. Sleep, however, came reluctantly. Long thoughts of the morrow filled his mind, of how he should meet Laura, of what they should tell each other; then these grew confused, and gave way to a weary half sleep.

It must have been towards morning that he found himself awake and wondering. The room was flooded with light. He rolled over, and through blur of sleep and haze of mosquito-curtain saw, sitting at the table in the middle of the room, a stranger in grey flannels. The trembling brilliancy of the drop-light swung just above the close-cropped head. They eyed each other in silence for a moment. "The stranger from Alexandria," was Owen's first rational thought; for his visitor was tall,