"I think not. Come with me until I obtain an alabeeyah. Then, to your
search, and report to me early to-morrow."
They soon found an alabeeyah, one of the small open carriages made
popular in Egypt by the French, and Mrs. Haxton was driven towards the
fort. The Arab began his quest for Giuseppe Alfieri, but found him not,
for the most convincing reason that Alfieri was then seated in the
Governor's library, smoking the Governor's cigarettes, and drinking the
Governor's best Capri.
His Excellency had just returned from the hotel. He, too, had deferred
to the morning a tactful explanation that pressure of business had
prevented the despatch of Mr. Fenshawe's cablegrams that night. But
tact was not his most obvious gift. Though he hoped to mollify the
irate yacht-owner with soft words, he did not spare Alfieri now.
"The madness of it!" he cried. "You say it was a mistake. That is the
plea of a stupid child. The affair would have been just as awkward if
you had carried off the Signora Haxton. She is a British subject.
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