contradictory--at any rate to-day; for when Orion pointed out some move
to her she rarely took his advice, but with set lips, pushed the piece
according to her own, rarely wiser, judgment. It was quite plain that
she was refractory under the guidance of this--especially of this
counsellor.

The bystanders could not fail to see the girl's repellent manner and
Orion's eager attempts to propitiate her; and for this reason Neforis was
glad when, just as her husband had finished the third game, and had
pushed the men together on the board with the back of his hand, his
chamberlain reminded him that the Arab was without, awaiting his pleasure
with growing impatience. The Mukaukas answered only by a sign, drew his
long caftan of the finest wool closer around him, and pointed to the
doors and the open roof. The rest of the party had long felt the chill
of the damp night air that blew through the room from the river, but
knowing that the father suffered more from heat than from anything, they
had all willingly endured the draught. Now, however, Orion called the
slaves, and before the strangers were admitted the doors were closed and
the roof covered.

Paula rose; the governor lay motionless and kept his eyes apparently
closed; he must, however, have seen what was going forward through an
imperceptible slit, for he turned first to Paula and then to the other
women saying: "Is it not strange?--Most old folks, like children, seek
the sun, and love to sit, as the others play, in its heat. While I--
something that happened to me years ago--you know;--and it seemed to
freeze my blood. Now it never gets warm, and I feel the contrast between
the coolness in here and the heat outside most acutely, almost as a pain.
The older we grow the more ready we are to abandon to the young the
things we ourselves used most to enjoy. The only thing which we old