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Show ..... ----=,... iti,:_.:- _ \{'· .,-;::=~ Lady Wyve~1e had be:~--~cc_usto-~ed ~...,_ ~ ,_;.~ to admiration, even to worshtp-such 1"5--_; - ~~~-~_~__,~ worship as modern smart men have: ;:-~ .- ·¥~~at their command to give to a pretty I _ ~ .:?"""·'woman. But this strange, whining ~-··~~"serenade from an African was a new experience. The boldness of the dark face turned upward to her in the · moonlight, and the babyish sound of the voice that issued from its lips, formed a combination that stirred her neurotic temperament ever impatient in the search after novelty. Almost ere she realized what she was doing, she had smiled at the Spahi. He stopped singing and smiled up at her. Then he spoke, as if to speak with her were the most natural thing in the world. "Has madame ever seen the desert under the moon?" Lady Wyverne started and half drew back. This really was carrying things very far. •• "Madame is coming down?" said the Spahi, misinterpreting the movement with a delightful, boyish insolence. Before she knew that she was speaking, Lady Wyverne had said, in French: " Certainly not.'' "It is a pity. Five minutes and madame could see the desert in the moonlight. There is nothing to fear." He put his hand down for an instant, then lifted it, and Lady Wyverne saw the moonlight glittering on \ the polished steel of a revolver. The sparkle fascinated her eyes more than the sparkle of the stars. " I'm not afraid," she said. _'C':'_ This time she spoke deliberately. ·~~- The imp, caprice, by which she was always governed, whispered to her: "'- "This is a new bit of fun! Don't -,.~ be such a fool as to avoid it." ~~---. 2S |