you start?"

"Immediately after the noon prayer," answered Abdullah, "and I wait for
no one."

"Good," said the old man, "we shall be there; _slama_."

"_Slama_," said Abdullah, and they parted.

Abdullah went back to his camels. He found Ali asleep between the black
racer and the dun leader. He kicked him gently, as though he were a
dog, and Ali sat up smiling and pleased to be kicked, when he saw his
master.

"We take two women with us," said Abdullah.

"Allah help us," said Ali.

"He has already," said Abdullah; "I have sixteen ounces in my girdle."

"It seems, then," said Ali, grinning, "that not only Allah has helped
you, but you have helped yourself."

"Peace," said Abdullah, "you know nothing of commerce."

"I know, however," said Ali, "that the Englishwoman whom we carried two
years ago, and who made us stop two days at the wells of Okba, because
her dog was ailing, gave me a bad piece of silver that I could not
spend in Biskra. 'T was she of the prominent teeth and the big feet. I
used to see her feet when she mounted her camel, and I used to see her
teeth when I saw nothing else."

"Peace," said Abdullah. "Allah who made us made also the English."

"Perhaps," said Ali, "but one cannot help wondering why He did it."

"If we carry these two women," said Abdullah, "we must leave the cargo
of two beasts behind. Leave four bales of hides; I took them
conditioned upon no better freight offering; and put the women on the
two lame camels. In this way we profit most, since we sacrifice least
merchandise. The porters will be here at sunrise to help you load. See
that they are careful. You remember what happened last time, when our
cargoes kept shifting. All seems well to-night, except you have loaded
that red camel yonder too high on the right side. How can a camel rest
if, when he kneels, his load does not touch the ground? He must support
the weight himself."

"I intended to alter that in the morning," said Ali.

"The morning may never dawn," said Abdullah, "and meanwhile you rob the
beast of one night's rest. Attend to it at once. The speed of a caravan
is the speed of its slowest camel."

"Who should know that better than I?" exclaimed Ali. "Have I not
crossed the desert nine times with you? Oh, master, bear with me, I am
growing old."

"What is your age?" asked Abdullah.

"One-and-thirty," replied Ali.

"My friend," said Abdullah, "you are good for another voyage; and know
this, when you f