they, they must
assuredly be fatigued!"

And without hesitation the girl proffered her shoe to be unlaced,
whilst without lifting her skirt, with a quick movement she undid the
suspender which held her last pair of real silk stockings to the
infinitesimal girdle she wore instead of the usual figure-distorting
corset, peeled off the silken hose and put the prettiest foot in the
world in flesh, painting, or marble, into another basin of brass laid
upon the ground, and also filled with water.

"Allah!" whispered the man, as he dried each little foot, "so small, so
slender, rivalling the arch of Ctesisphon, dimpled as the sky at dawn,
never in the most perfect Circassian have I seen feet so wonderful,
glory be to Allah, whose prophet is Mohammed."

And then the Arab, filling another basin, moved to the far corner of
the rug, where facing towards the East he made ablutions of his mouth
and hands and feet, and raising his hands to heaven, gave praise to his
God for the wonder of the day, and bowed himself in obeisance.

"I was returning thanks to Allah for you, O! Moon Flower," he said
simply, and led her to the cloth of finest damask upon which the repast
was spread, praising Allah anew as he poured the contents of the wine
jars upon the sands when Jill announced that she only drank water.

Rested and cheered, the girl chatted merrily all through the al fresco
meal, in her turn inwardly giving thanks for the Arab's perfect manners
and knowledge of table methods, for in her heart she, particular to the
point of becoming finicky about the usually so unpleasant process of
eating, had looked forward with absolute horror to the moment when the
man's fingers should close upon some succulent portion of a mess of
pottage or chicken, and convey it to his mouth with charitable
distribution of rice grains upon the beard.

Reassured, her laughter rang out sweetly when the absence of methylated
spirit for the "Cona Machine" was discovered.

"And I would really rather have yours," said she, "for am I not to
become an Eastern------" and suddenly stopped, for looking up she found
the man gazing at her with eyes ablaze with love.

And once more a great silence fell between them, as they both sat
staring wide-eyed over the desert, and up into the starry heavens.

Few, very few of those who live in the West have had the privilege of
sitting alone under the stars in the desert.

This does not mean riding out on a tourist track with d