What hurt Yetta most was that a cable had come from Teheran saying that Walter had started homeward. He would hear of the mess she had made. Mr. Karner, when he received the Socialist paper, with Yetta's article in it, vented some of his profane rage on his wife. The quarrel which resulted brought Mrs. Karner to life. CHAPTER XXII WALTER'S RETURN When the Archæological Expedition reached Constantinople, the married men were met by their wives. To the suburbanite who comes home after each day's work, the dinner is likely to seem as important as his spouse. The waiting wife has a deeper significance for the sailor and explorer. For three years these men had seen no white women, except in a Scotch Mission compound, four days' ride from their camp. The Marquise d'Hauteville was much younger than her husband. She was a daintily gowned Parisienne of the _Quartier St. Germain_. She was on the dock with her two boys, seven and four. The sight of her explained to Walter the nervous impatience which had kept the Chief pacing the deck restlessly ever since they had left Batoum. Dr. Bertholet, the querulous specialist in measuring skulls, suddenly began to smile when he caught sight of Madame--a fat _bourgeoise_ in black silk, who looked like _la patronne_ of a café. Beckmeyer, the German authority on the ancient religions of Persia, waved his handkerchief wildly to a flaxen-haired Gretchen. They had lost a son while he was away, and when the gang plank was down, they rushed into each other's arms and sobbed like children. The unmarried men stood on one foot and then on the other until the first transports had quieted and were then presented to the ladies. The Marquis gave them a rendezvous in Paris for the next week. It was understood that the married men were to have a few days with their families before the expedition should formally report its return. Delanoue, Vibert, and Walter rushed their baggage through the customs and had just time to catch the Orient Express. All three of them were in a hurry to reach Paris. The two Frenchmen were like bathers on a spring-board about to dive into the sea. They let their imaginations run riot, trying to devise a suitable orgy to recompense them for their three years of deprivation. Delanoue wished them both to be his guests. He proposed to lead them to his favorite restaurant and order everything on the bill of fare. Afterwards they would invade Montmartre. Unless Paris had seriously deteriorated, he felt sure he could make them realize how sad and colorless were the wildest dreams of the Arabian Nights. Vibert gleefully accepted the invitation. But Walter quietly refused. He also was in a hurry to reach Paris--he hoped to find a letter from Mabel. When the train reached the _Gare de l'Est_, in spite of their jibes at his Puritanism, he left them.