eik demanded of Edgar.

"I am my lord's slave," Edgar said; "but this fellow is a slave also. He
called me a Kaffir dog and spat upon me. I knocked him down; and if any
other slave does the same I will punish him also."

As the woman whose child had been ill had a short time before reported
that the fever had left her, and that having drunk two basins of the
arrow-root she was much better, the sheik had been greatly pleased with
the idea that he had made a far more valuable capture than he had
anticipated; he therefore received Edgar's explanation in his broken
Arabic favourably.

"The white slave has done right," he said. "Who are you that you are to
insult him? He came to work on my business, and you would have
interfered with and hindered him. Hamish has been rightly punished,
though truly the white man must have hit hard, for his nose is flattened
to his face. Mashallah it must have been a wonderful blow. The white men
are Kaffirs, but they have marvellous powers. Now go to work again and
let me hear of no more quarrels."

"The white man is my slave," Amina said, stepping forward and addressing
the negroes, "and if anyone insults him I will have him flogged until he
cannot stand. He is a Hakim, and his medicines have saved the life of
Hamid's child. He is worth a hundred of you." And bestowing a vigorous
and unexpected box on the ears to the negro standing next to her she
turned and walked back to her tent, accompanied by her husband, while
the rest of the villagers remained for some time staring at the negro,
and commenting upon the wonderful effect of the white man's blow.

CHAPTER XV.

BAD NEWS.

No sooner was work over in the afternoon of the day after that on which
Rupert had heard of his brother's loss than Skinner came across with
Easton to see him.

"My dear Skinner, surely you are not fit to be walking about," he said
as he saw them approaching.

"Oh! it won't do me any harm, Clinton; my arm is all in splints, and, as
you see, bandaged tightly to my side. The doctor seemed to say that I
had better not move, but I promised to take care of myself. I should
have come, old man, if I had been ten times as bad. Easton has just been
telling me of this horrible business, so of course I came over to see
you. I think from what he says you take too dark a view of it. There is
no doubt in my mind that he is a prisoner, and that is bad enough; but
these Arabs don't slaughter their prisoners in cold bl