or Amina, she will be left alone.
Go, Selim, tell her kindly. It will pain her." And Amer turned shortly
away, as if he had sudden and important business in another direction.

Selim, on the other hand, bounded lightly away, arrived at the great
carved door of the mansion, ran up the broad stairs, and made his way to
the harem, or the women's apartments, where Amina reigned queen and
mistress.

Few boys of Selim's age could have approached their mother with the
earnestly-respectful manner with which Selim approached Amina. I doubt
even if the Queen of England's children ever observed such courteous
respect towards their august parent as Selim observed now, and as most
well-bred Arab boys do observe always toward their parents.

Selim left his slippers outside, and lifting the latch quietly, walked
in with bare feet, and, approaching his mother, kissed her right hand,
and then her forehead, and at her invitation seated himself by her side,
and suddenly remembering the all-important secret he had to communicate,
looked up to his mother, with his handsome features all aglow.

"Mother, canst thou tell me what I have come to say to thee?"

Amina looked for an instant fondly on her son, and then answered with a
smile--

"No, my son. Hast thou anything very important to tell me?"

"Very important, mother," and he pursed his lips as if he would retain
it for a long time before imparting it, and as if it were worth some
trouble of guessing.

"I wish thou wouldst not task my skill of divination too much. Thy face
tells me thou art happy with it, but it does not assure me that I shall
be equally happy. I divine only on the Kuran, and though thy face is
innocent and without guile, yet it is more difficult to read than the
Kuran. Tell it me, Selim, I pray thee."

"Then, my mother, I am going with my father to Africa!"

"To Africa, child! To Africa! Where is that? Thou dost not mean the
mainland, surely?"

"Yes, I mean far away into the interior of the mainland," replied Selim,
still looking at his mother smilingly.

"To the interior of Africa!" cried the poor woman in dismay, her face
assuming the hue of sickness. "Why, what can thy father want in
Africa?--he was never there before. What can he want there now?"

"He is going to Africa with Khamis bin Abdullah, Sheikhs Mohammed,
Thani, Mussoud, Sultan, Amran, Hamdan, and many others, to a far country
called Rua, to buy ivory and slaves, and come back rich."