ne
and the starving camels grow sleek and fat upon his Excellency's
bounty."

"Ah," said the professor slowly and dubiously, as Frank listened with
his heart beating fast, while he held his quivering nether lip pressed
tightly by his teeth; "you think that would be possible, Sheikh?"

"Possible, your Excellency?" said the man, in an earnest whisper; "why
not? Am I a man to boast and say `I will do this,' and then show that I
have a heart of water, and do it not?"

"No," said the professor slowly; "Sheikh Ibrahim has always been a man
in whom my soul could trust, in the shadow of whose tent I have always
lain down and slept in peace, for I have felt that his young men were
ready with their spears to protect me, and that their father looked upon
me as his sacred charge."

"Hah!" said the Sheikh, with calm, grave dignity. "They are the words
of truth. His Excellency trusts me as he has always done. Will he
come, then, into the desert once again? If he says yes, Ibrahim will go
away to-night with gladsome heart to the village close by, and there
will be joy in the hearts of his two young men, who are waiting
sorrowfully there."

"You know the desert well, Ibrahim," said the professor slowly.

"It is my home, Excellency. My eyes opened upon it first, and when the
time comes they will look upon it for the last time, and I shall sleep
beneath its sands."

"Yes, as a patriarchal Sheikh should," said the professor. "But you and
your young men are quite free from engagements?"

"Ready to be thy servants, to do thy bidding, for no one wants us now;
go where you will choose, and work and dig, and find as they have found
before."

"It is good," said the professor gravely. "Of course I shall pay you
well."

"His Excellency always did pay us well," said the Arab, bending low.

"And my two friends will add to the payment."

The Arab smiled.

"You will keep our departure quite private, Ibrahim--no one is to know."

The man shook his head.

"And I should want you to lead us wherever I chose to go."

"You always did, Excellency."

"But suppose I wanted you to go where some of your people--I mean men of
your race--would consider it dangerous?"

"There are Arabs of some tribes, Excellency, who are of low breed--men
who are not of the pure blood, who would say the way was dangerous: the
men of my tribe, the Dhur, do not know that word. If they said they
would take the English learned one, they would take him.