-day, without losing sight of her; and had lost her at last,
as Dave and myself had lost our quarry, in the intricacies of the
Plaisance.

'Ye see,' Billy had said, ''twas this way. She'd stopped afore one of
them Arab places'--he meant Turkish--'where there wuz a pay show, an'
she must 'a' got her ticket ahead, fer she jest sort o' held out a
card or somethin' afore his eyes and went right in, an' I had ter wait
till two or three fellers got tickets 'fore 'twas my turn, an' when I
got in she wa'n't nowhere.' A look of boyish disgust emphasized the
emphasis here. 'But wherever she was, she stayed a good while,' Bill
went on, 'an' then, all at once, out she come ag'in, an' went into
another big place clos' by, an' I went in too that time. She went
round behind a big table, where they had piles o' jimcracks, an'
popped behind a curtain, an' jest as I was gittin' scared for fear she
wuz gone agi'n, out she come an' took the place of a tired-lookin'
woman that set on a high stool sellin' the jimcracks. She had took off
her hat an' things, an' she had on a little red jacket all spangled
up, an' a red cap, like the Turks all wear, with a big gold tassel on
it, an' she'd made herself blacker round the eyes, an' redder in the
cheeks, an' she looked jest sassy.'

At least it was something to have our theories in regard to the
lurking places of this trio verified. It was something to feel sure,
as we now did, that these people were quartered in the Plaisance; but
I felt very sure that they had more than one hiding-place, probably
each of them a separate one, as well as a general rendezvous.

I questioned the lad closely regarding the 'tired-lookin' woman,' whom
he described as 'tallish, an' slim, an' not much on looks,' but
dressed in Turkish fez, and Zouave jacket, and 'painted thick.'

He had watched her till evening came, and then the tallish woman had
returned and the brunette had stepped behind the curtain once more.

'I watched that doggoned curtain,' Bill declared, 'till 'twas time to
shut up shop, but she didn't come out, an' I couldn't git in.'

'Did anyone come out from behind that curtain while you waited, Bill?'
I asked him carelessly.

'Yes, there was; pretty soon after she went in a young Turk came out,
smallish, with a little dudey moustache. He had a pitcher in his hand,
an' he smacked the tired woman on the back, an' stuck the pitcher
under her nose an' went out.'

'Did he come back?'

'Come to think,