blushed, and tried to turn the conversation.

"What do they do with themselves all day long?" she asked.

"I'll tell you that quickly enough, mademoiselle. M. le Commandant has
to see that the Cadi gets what he can out of the Sheiks, and the Sheiks
get what they can out of the tribes, and that the tribes hold their
tongue. That is what the Commandant has to do, young lady, and he does
it pretty well. M. le Capitaine has an easier time of it, except when
there is an insurrection, and then he makes a raid against the Arabs,
and after keeping his men out of their way very cleverly, sticks up the
French flag somewhere in the Desert and comes home. M. le Lieutenant
does odd jobs for the Commandant and the Capitaine, and plays the flute;
but we have got M. le General down here for a few days, and he is
setting everybody to work. I dare say the end of it will be an
expedition into the Desert. You may look, monsieur. I'm not talking at
random, I assure you; generals love war as umbrella-makers love bad
weather; and it is easier to make people fight than it is to make it
rain."

"I think French officers must be a wicked set; I hope none of them will
come near us," Mary said. "The poor Arabs! how my heart bleeds for
them."

"Tiens! mademoiselle, there is no reason for your heart to bleed. Big
flies live on little ones all the world over; and if the French eat up
the Arabs, the Arabs eat up each other. The officers are very nice,
harmless gentlemen, I assure you; and as to the Commandant, though he
thinks fighting the best fun in the world, he wouldn't hurt a fly. To
see him pet his little gazelle would make you cry. She's the only lady
in the place, and I believe, if she died, it would break his heart. But
people must have something to be fond of. My old Napoleon, yonder, has
taken a fancy to a cat, and when the cat dies, Napoleon will be as lost
as his namesake the Emperor was at St. Helena. Listen a moment; that's
the Lieutenant practising on his flute: he has a little lodging next
door."

The Lieutenant played very prettily, and Mary seemed to like his playing
much better than Dominique's stories. As her room adjoined the
Lieutenant's, she seemed likely to have the full benefit of his musical
capacities; but I do not think she lay awake to be serenaded that night.
We were fairly intoxicated with the sweet air of the Desert we had been
breathing all day, and went to bed at eight o'clock, too tired and happy
to dream.

N