He saluted, and she bowed again; then, with a glance to make sure that Joanna followed, she started back at little more than a walking pace--a dejected wraith of a girl on a dejected-looking pony, too overcome by the upsetting of her rebellious scheme to care or even think whether Joanna dropped out of sight or not.

Ali Partab watched her down the street with a face that betrayed no emotion and no suspicion of what his thoughts might be.

When she was out of sight he went back under the arch to attend to his three horses; and the moment that he did so a fat but very furtive Hindoo took his place--glanced down the street once in the direction that Rosemary had taken--and then darted up-street as fast as his shaking paunch would let him.

He had been gone at the least ten minutes, when Joanna, also furtive, also in a hurry, dodged here and there among the commencing surge of traffic and approached the arch again.
It would be useless to try to read her mind, or to translate the glitter of her beady eyes into thoughts intelligible to any but an Oriental.
It was quite clear, though, that she wished not to be noticed, that she feared the occupants of the caravansary, and that she had returned for word with Ali Partab.

He, least of all, would have doubted her intention of demanding the two gold mohurs, for it was she who had brought the word that Miss McClean wanted him.