Koran; there were the frantic few clinging to
the great folds of the kiswah, as though its contact procured for them
eternal salvation; there were the crowds gulping down copious draughts
of the brackish water of Zem-Zem, or pouring it upon their heads.

There, too, within a stone's throw of the temple, were the busy stalls
of the venders, whence issued cries of:

"Cucumbers! Cucumbers O!"

"Grapes! Grapes!--luscious and juicy with the crystal dews of Tayf!
Grapes, O faithful!"

"Who will buy cloth of Damascus, rich and fit for a king? Come, buy thy
lady a veil! Buy a veil to screen her charms blooming as the rosy light
of morn, to screen her hair black as midnight shades on the hills of
Nejd, and her eyes sparkling like diamonds of Oman!"

"O water! Precious water from Zem-Zem! Water to wash away thy sin, and
help thee into Paradise! O believer, buy water of Zem-Zem!"

And there, beneath the twinkling lights of the portico, sat a group of
Abyssinian girls, waiting to be sold as slaves.

As the youth looked upon it all with no little curiosity he observed the
crowd give way before a man clothed wholly in white, who proceeded
directly to the Caaba and, pausing beneath the door, gave utterance to a
loud prayer, while the people about fell prostrate on the ground. Then,
in a loud voice, he commanded that the stair be brought. Attendants
hastened to roll the bulky structure into its place, and the priest, or
guardian of the temple, ascended, and received from his attendants
several buckets of water which he carried into the edifice.

Presently, small streams began to trickle from the doorway, and the
guardian's white vestments again appeared, as he proceeded to sweep the
water out, dashing it far over the steps. The people rushed beneath it,
crowding over one another in their anxiety holding their upturned faces
towards it and counting themselves blessed if a drop of it fell upon
them. It was the ceremony of washing the Caaba.

[Illustration: "Be not discouraged, my son," was Yusuf's reply.--See
page 87.]

The youth beside the pillar, though he wore Moslem garb, looked on in
contempt; and, barely waiting for the conclusion of the ceremony, walked
proudly from the enclosure, merely pausing to examine somewhat
critically the Black Stone, which, deserted for the moment, was visible
in the red light of a torch above. Then, passing through the nearest
gate, he walked, rather feebly, towards the house of Amzi.

Yusu