There were various other slaves at work; and an Arab, who appeared to be the head of the gardeners, at once appointed to Cuthbert the work assigned to him.

A guard of Arabs with bow and spear watched the doings of the slaves.
With one glance round, Cuthbert was assured that escape from this garden, at least, was not to be thought of, and that for the present, patience alone was possible.

Dismissing all ideas of that kind from his mind, he set to work with a steady attention to his task.

He was very fond of flowers, and soon he became so absorbed in his work as almost to forget that he was a slave.

It was not laborious--digging, planting, pruning and training the flowers, and giving them copious draughts of water from a large fountain in the centre of the garden.
The slaves were not permitted to exchange a word with each other.