e looked into the dark eyes which were reading every
passing emotion on the mobile face, and putting out her hands made one
step towards the camel, whilst the soul of the desert laughed with her
scarlet mouth.

CHAPTER XIII

A sharp word of command and the pack-camel rose, moved a few paces on
its noiseless feet, swaying from side to side as though to readjust its
load, whisked its miserable tail, and stretching out its long neck
began to nibble the leaves of a flowering shrub.

Jill followed the beast, stroked its silky coat, and prodded one of the
water skins filled to bursting.

"Will that be enough to last us all the way? And what happens when we
want to rest? And do we do all the cooking and washing-up ourselves,
just like a picnic? What fun!" Which shows that Jill had no idea of
what unlimited money can do to mitigate the discomfort of desert
travelling by providing every possible comfort, even luxury.

"My servants have gone ahead with a caravan containing all that I think
will be necessary for your comfort. The journey takes many nights of
travelling when the cool wind has tempered the scorching sands. At
sunrise we shall find our tents pitched, and you shall rest from then,
an hour after dawn, until just before sunset, for it is unwise to be
asleep at sunset in the desert. When we halt your bath will be ready,
your meals as you desire, your bed as soft and spotless as your own."

"Really!" said Jill, who had imagined herself camping out under the
stars with scorpions and spiders as bedfellows. "But if the men have
to go on ahead of us, we shall have to get up early so as to let them
pack and give them a start."

The Arab gravely shook his head, with never a glimmer of a smile rear
the mouth or eyes.

"Ah! no! you need not worry, a caravan of many persons has preceded us."

"Many _people_!" ejaculated Jill. "What a lot of servants for two!"

"Let me explain! In Egypt, Arabia, or Persia, when we speak of sheep
or horses we say so many 'head,' but not so of the camel. The camel is
the most cherished possession of the Arab.

"There are three events which bring joy to us, and which are occasions
of greatest festival, namely, the birth of a son, the birth of a
she-camel, and the birth of a mare. The she-camel provides her master
with food for both himself and his horses; for in an area, or season,
where there is little water but an abundance of juicy grass in which
the camel finds both