In our dry country--bones remain, long." "Hm! Yea, so it is! But, tell me, thou, is it true that in thy country the folk slay all _Nasara_ they lay hands on, by cutting with a sharp knife?
Cutting the stomach, so ?" He made an illustrative gesture.
"Since you do force me to speak, against my will, _M'alme_--you being of the _Nasara_ blood--I will declare the truth.

Yea, that is so." "A pleasant custom, surely! And why always in the stomach?
Why do they never stab or cut like other races ?" "There are no bones in the stomach, to dull the edges of the knives, _M'alme_." "Quite practical, that idea!" the Master exclaimed.

Then he fell silent again.

He pressed his questions no further, concerning the great Central Desert of the land.

To have done so, he knew, would have been entirely futile.