the hieroglyphs, she will be a delightful guide and a most
valuable assistant to me in my researches."

"What researches are you engaged upon now?" inquired Courtney.

"I am hunting down a man called Araxes," answered the Doctor. "He
lived, so far as I can make out, some four or five thousand years
ago, more or less; and I want to find out what he did and how he
died, and when I know how he died, then I mean to discover where
he is buried. If possible, I shall excavate him. I also want to
find the remains of Ziska-Charmazel, the lady impersonated by our
charming friend the Princess last night,--the dancer, who, it
appears from a recently-discovered fresco, occupied most of her
time in dancing before this same Araxes and making herself
generally agreeable to him."

"What an odd fancy!" exclaimed Denzil. "How can a man and woman
dead five thousand years ago be of any interest to you?"

"What interest has Rameses?" demanded the Doctor politely, "or any
of the Ptolemies? Araxes, like Rameses, may lead to fresh
discoveries in Egypt, for all we know. One name is as good as
another,--and each odoriferous mummy has its own mystery."

They all came just then to a pause in their walk, Gervase stopping
to light a fresh cigarette. The rays of the rising moon fell upon
him as he stood, a tall and stately figure, against a background
of palms, and shone on his dark features with a touch of grayish-
green luminance that gave him for the moment an almost spectral
appearance. Dr. Dean glanced at him with a smile.