"Five minutes of four," said Mildred. "The wedding procession will soon pass. Aren’t we fortunate to have the balcony? Do you see, other people are daring to visit the house and taking our window-seat?"
"Your window-seat! That is pretty good," said Clover, turning toward the speaker with an arch smile. "We thought that was our window-seat, didn’t we, Jack?"
She saw the color flash over her sister’s face in the instant before the girl controlled herself. She wondered if Jack had seen the novel evidence of feeling before Mildred turned to him coolly.
"So you have been here before," she remarked. "Why didn’t you mention it?"
"Clover and I looked in a short time only, the evening we took supper in Germany," answered Van Tassel. "I did not examine the curious place at all then, so this is really my first view of it."
Clover turned away to conceal her amusement. Jack in his embarrassment had implied all she could have asked from the disciplinary standpoint.
But now the attention of the quartette was claimed by the wedding procession, which was seen coming down the street, the camels nearly hidden under their gaudy, bulky trappings, and the din of the tom-toms filling the air. When the music, dancing, and sword play were ended, Mildred spoke to her sister.
"What have you done with Mr. and Mrs. Page?"
"They went to the Chinese theatre, and we have promised to meet them in Old Vienna and take supper there."
"Our dear Jack will have to take supper with us now," declared Gorham cordially.
"I suppose," said Van Tassel, addressing Mildred, "that Old Vienna is an oft-repeated experience to you?"
"At least I shall not pretend that it is a novelty," she answered without looking at him, and Jack was silent. He even colored, but it was not with proper contrition. It was a flush of pleasure that overspread his countenance as his brown eyes sent a quick glance into Clover’s.
"How remarkable that you met Mildred," said Clover to Jack, after the four had wended their way out of Cairo and turned west.
"It was a lucky chance," replied Van Tassel.
"Where did you meet?" The fun in his face gave Clover her first suspicion.
"In the Ferris Wheel. Wasn’t it a coincidence that we should have chosen the same cab? And I’ll tell you in confidence, Clover, that I think Mildred was considerably impressed with his Wheelship."