ated so high upon his camel
as to render useless any chastisement with the _courbaash_, which whip
applied deftly to certain less tough portions of the camel's body will
usually bring the brute to reason, if he who wields the whip cares to
risk the accumulation of revenge which the punishment will infallibly
store up in the camel's brain. A veritable storm of anger raged in the
man as he looked down upon the girl lying peacefully in his arms in a
sleep which even the camel's uncouth procedure could not disturb.

Once more groaning bitterly his camel and Howesha grounded, which
latter word describes best, in condensed form, the camel's method of
lying down.

Out of one corner of her half-shut, insolent eye, the beautiful
Taffadaln watched proceedings, and just as her master, holding Jill
gently in his arms, was slipping from the saddle, with a positively
fiendish squeal of triumph, and one gigantic effort which beat any
record, for swiftness established in any camel's family history, she
rose suddenly, and rushing forward once more to the end of her lead,
caused the black camel to fall sideways and the dismounting man to
stumble, and in order to save her, to place Jill with distinct vigour
upon the sand.

Not one syllable did he utter, not one line appeared on the perfectly
calm face, as he raised the girl and carried her further from the
camels, where she lay as still as though the angel Azrael[2] had
separated her soul from her body.

Walking to Taffadaln he stood for some minutes absolutely motionless in
contemplation, whilst the object of his thoughts, blissfully ignorant
of what was in store, and because it suited her mood of the moment,
came meekly to ground on the word of command.

[1]In Islamism there are four angels particularly favoured by Allah,
who is God. Israfil is the name of one whose office will be to sound
the trumpet at the Resurrection.

[2]Azrael--Angel of Death.

CHAPTER XVIII

I am sure that those who read the following and know the East will say
that I exaggerate, that under no circumstances or stress of emotion
would an Arab so treat a camel, especially the most perfect of her
species.

But against this wish to hurt must be weighed the love that consumed
the man, a love mighty and sudden, and for the advent of which, and the
enjoyment thereof, he had trained himself from his youth, abstaining
from aught which might cause his perfect body to deteriorate, and all
that which b