Grantham lolling there upon the leopard skin, his hat, cane and
gloves upon the carpet beside him; and a few moments later Hassan
the silent glided into the extravagant apartment bearing
refreshments. Placing his tray upon a little coffee-table beside
Major Grantham, he departed.

There was a faint smell of perfume in the room, a heavy
voluptuous smell in which the odour of sandal-wood mingled with
the pungency of myrrh. It was very silent, so that when Grantham
mixed a drink the pleasant chink of glass upon glass rang out
sharply.




II

ZAHARA



Zahara had overheard the latter part of the conversation from her
own apartment. Once she had even crept across to the carven
screen in order that she might peep through into the big, softly
lighted room. She had interrupted her toilet to do so, and
having satisfied herself that Grantham was one of the speakers
(although she had really known this already), she had returned
and stared at herself critically in the mirror.

Zahara, whose father had been a Frenchman, possessed skin of a