"O effendi, shall the camel-driver laugh when the camels are lost in the khamsin and the water-bottle is empty ?" "Certainly not, O son of the spreading palm; but this is not a desert, nor a gaudy caravan.

This is a feast of all angels.

This is the day when Nahoum the Nefarious is to be buckled up like a belt, and ridden in a ring.

Where is the Saadat ?" "He is gone, effendi! Like a mist on the face of the running water, so was his face; like eyes that did not see, so was his look.

'Peace be to thee, Mahommed, thou art faithful as Zaida,' he said, and he mounted and rode into the desert.