o death by the lifting of a
finger, of a race who looks upon women as a useful plaything, at the
most as a potential mother of sons, _I_ crave to serve you from your
lying down in the heat of the day to your rising up, when the sunset
breeze shall blow the soft curls about your flower-face. Do you think
I would allow a servant, some low-born son of a bazaar-dweller, to
throw his shadow upon the ground over which your lovely feet must
tread, or to touch a vessel which your white fingers might hold, to
breathe the air which maybe has just passed from your sweet mouth, on
this night when you make your journey into Egypt, _real_ Egypt; for to
us, Cairo and other such places are but tourist centres which we give
to the foreigner readily, traversing many miles of sand and rock and
hills ourselves, before we can lie down upon the soft breast of our own
motherland.

"Come, woman! The moon tarries not, neither does the sun, and we have
many miles to go."

* * * * * *

With the exception of a twopenny ride at the Zoo, few Europeans ever
mount or ride a camel, thereby missing an art or a pastime or sport,
which to the novice, until he has been thoroughly and literally broken
in, is the most back, heart, and nerve-wearing means of locomotion he
could possibly choose in all the wide world.

Jill stood ankle-deep in flowers looking down at her mount, the prize
of the desert.

"I do not know how you will fare, woman of the West. I dare not put
palanquin on Taffadaln for fear that she might bolt from terror and
take you far into the desert, there to die. But arrived at our
destination she shall be broken in at once, however, for in all my
stables there is no other camel with her sliding step, not one who
would not make you feel as though your spine had snapped after one
hour's journey upon its back. We Arabs can sit a camel in more than
one way, but the easiest for you, and Allah knows it will be hard
enough after a time, is, if your skirt permits, to sit astride and put
both your feet round the pummel in front. That, anyway, will prevent
you from being twisted as you are with the shocking ladies' saddle you
use in England."

"Oh, but I ride astride," volunteered Jill, as she raised her skirts,
settled herself, and taking the gold-studded rein, held firmly to the
front and back peak of the saddle as instructed, and awaited the word
of command.

A camel rises from its front or hind legs just as t