No such luck. He hasn't seen her; however, he's given
me a piece of information which makes it just about as sure she _is_
there, as if he had. You shall have it from him. But first let me ask
you one question. Did you get any news of her?"
"No. I heard nothing."
"Does that mean you saw----"
"No. I'll tell you later. But anyhow, I went into the Zaouia, almost
certain she was there, and that she'd seen me coming. That was a good
start, because of course I'd had very little to go on. There was only a
vague hope. I asked for the marabout, and they made me send a
visiting-card--quaint in the desert. Then they kept me moving about a
while, and insisted on showing me the mosque. At last they took me to a
hideous reception room, with a lot of good and vile things in it, mixed
up together. The marabout came in, wearing the black mask we'd heard
about--a fellow with a splendid bearing, and fine eyes that looked at me
very hard over the mask. They were never off my face. We complimented
each other in French. Then I said I was looking for a Miss Ray, an
American girl who had disappeared from Algiers, and had been traced to
the Zaouia, where I had reason to believe she was staying with a
relative from her own country, a lady married to some member of his
staff. I couldn't give him the best reason I had for being sure she
_was_ there, as you'll see when I tell you what it was. But he said
gravely that no European lady was married to any one in the Zaouia; that
no American or any other foreign person, male or female, was there.
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