constantly thrown back as you were.
Feverish attacks are so exhausting."

An indefinite murmur was the only response. Katrine noted a sudden
stiffening of the lines of the figure: he ceased to swing to and fro,
and sat grave, almost stern, avoiding her glance.

"Miss Beverley," he said suddenly. "May I ask you a favour? I am
grateful for your sympathy, but the subject is painful.--I had rather
avoid it. For the moment I am well, as you see--will you humour me by
forgetting anything else? It's a holiday time, you know. A few days
stolen out of the year in which to laze, and be happy, and--drift!
Can't we leave it at that?"

"Of course. Of course. I'm sorry!" cried Katrine eagerly. Her eyes
were soft with tenderness and remorse, for this man's malady was of no
ordinary type. She knew him to have been threatened by a fate a hundred
times worse than death, and reproached herself for having touched so
sore a wound. She nodded a glad agreement.

"Yes! we will. We will just take up our friendship from _now_, and be
like children living in the hour. _I've_ had a bad time, too, and for
the first time for years I'm free from responsibility. It's a heady
feeling, and I feel capable of being as frivolous as you please.
Forward be our watchword!"

"Right oh!" he called cheerily, and stretching himself stumbled to his
feet. "Then let's go for a walk! One gets cramped sitting cooped in
here, and there are," he lowered his voice, "so many ears! That looks
like a Bedouin camp over there! You are missing all the sights... Come
and look..."

Katrine followed eagerly to the prow of the vessel, and beheld a small
ferry-boat crossing the canal, laden with a load of vague moving shapes,
which on closer investigation proved to be donkeys. On the shore a
number of camels were already lying, their fore-legs tied together. As
the vessel approached a donkey was pushed from the boat into the water,
it went down head first, and emerged a limp and sorry object, which was
nevertheless unwilling to go ashore, and struggled feebly to rejoin its
companions in the boat. Next moment there was consternation on board
the ferry, for the wash of the great steamboat made it rock until men
and donkeys had much ado to retain their places. One turbaned figure
curled up suddenly at the bottom of the boat with a donkey seated on its
lap; the onlookers caught the roll of dark round eyes as the ship sped
past. Even in that undignified a