the pot, and poured the contents
into a dozen of the cups. The sheik still looked a little suspicious,
and ordered him to drink one first, which he did with deep satisfaction.
The others then followed his example, and evidently approved very highly
of the compound, and another pot of water was at once placed on the
fire. Edgar was then requested to show what were the virtues of the
white powder, and of the little tins. He said that both these were good
for people who were ill. The Arabs, however, were not satisfied without
making the experiment.

The arrow-root was not approved of, and the chief would have ordered the
tins to be all opened and the contents thrown away, but on Edgar
continuing to insist that they were good for illness, he told his wife
to put them away in the tent. The Liebig was warmly approved of. Edgar
explained that it was good for sickness, and good for a journey. The
Arabs, seeing how small a quantity was required for making a tin of
broth, at once recognized this, and the sheik ordered his wife to take
great care of them, and said they were to be used only on a journey. The
medicine-chest, with its bottles of various sizes, was also the subject
of great curiosity, and one of the women, going into a tent, brought out
a girl seven or eight years old, and requested Edgar to say which was
the medicines that were suitable for her case.

Edgar felt the child's pulse, and found that she was in a high state of
fever. Quinine was, he knew, a good thing for fever, but whether it
ought to be administered to a patient in that stage he did not know. He
told the sheik that he was not a Hakim, but that if he wished he would
give the child the medicine that he thought was best suited to it, but
he could not say for certain whether it would do it good. The sheik,
who, like all the rest, was deeply interested in the contents of the
chest, said he must do his best. He accordingly gave the child a dose of
quinine, and told the mother to give her a cup of the arrow-root, and
that in two hours she must take another dose of the quinine.

The last subject of investigation was the tea. There was a small sliding
trap at the top of the tin, and when Edgar poured out half a cup of the
contents, these were examined with great curiosity. The men took a few
grains in their fingers, smelt them, and then tasted them. The result
was unsatisfactory, and they were content to watch Edgar's proceedings
before they went further. When