month. Nothing can be done.
The people at the palace do not get up until one o'clock or later, so as
to make the time while they fast seem shorter."

"Very sensible of them. I wonder why they get up at all, until their
ridiculous gun fires, and they can smoke."

"Whether you like it or not, you must go to Santa Sophia to-night, and
see the service," said Paul, firmly. "You need not stay long, unless you
like."

"If you take me there, I will stay rather than have the trouble of
coming away," answered the other. "Bah!" he exclaimed suddenly, "there
is that caique again!"

Paul followed the direction of his brother's glance, and saw a graceful
caique pulling slowly upstream towards them. Four sturdy Turks in
snow-white cotton tugged at the long oars, and in the deep body of the
boat, upon low cushions, sat two ladies, side by side. Behind them, upon
the stern, was perched a hideous and beardless African, gorgeously
arrayed in a dark tunic heavily laced with gold, a richly chased and
adorned scimiter at his side, and a red fez jauntily set on one side of
his misshapen head. But Alexander's attention was arrested by the
ladies, or rather by one of them, as the caique passed within oar's
length of the quay.

"She must be hideous," said Paul, contemptuously. "I never saw such a
yashmak. It is as thick as a towel. You cannot see her face at all."

"Look at her hand," said Alexander. "I tell you she is not hideous."

The figures of the two ladies were completely hidden in the wide black
silk garments they wore, the eternal ferigee which makes all women
alike. Upon their heads they wore caps, such as in the jargon of fashion
are called toques, and their faces were enveloped in yashmaks, white
veils which cross the forehead above the eyes and are brought back just
below them, so as to cover the rest of the face. But there was this
difference; that whereas the veil worn by one of the ladies was of the
thinnest gauze, showing every feature of her dark, coarse face through
its transparent texture, the veil of the other was perfectly opaque, and
disguised her like a mask. Paul Patoff justly remarked that this was
very unusual. He had observed the same peculiarity at least twenty
times; for in the course of three weeks, since Alexander arrived, the
brothers had seen this same lady almost every day, till they had grown
to expect her, and had exhausted all speculation in regard to her
personality. Paul maintained that she was ugl