hem a chance of witnessing a little of, to him, the finest sport
in the world.

"Look, lady!" he cried.

He tossed the pigeon high into the air, allowed her a little distance,
then threw the hawk.

"No! Oh, no! don't!" cried Damaris, as the hawk rose, "stooped" and
missed the pigeon by a hair's-breadth as it "put in", which means that
it flew straight into a small niche of a minaret for cover.

"Ah!" cried Damaris, and "_Bi-sma-llah_!" ejaculated Abdul, as he threw
the lure of a dead plover and called his hawk with the luring Eastern
call. "Coo-coo," he called; "coo-coo," to which the hawk responded as
a well-trained _shahin_ should.

Hugh Carden Ali stood with his hand on the stallion's mane, looking up
at the sky, in which shone a great star.

"The hawk of Egypt failed," he said to himself. "Flown at a white
bird, it failed. The House of Allah, who is God, gave sanctuary to the
little white bird. Praise be to Allah who is God."

He looked down at the girl, who was kneeling, consoling the dog, who,
reft 'tween pride and pain, showed a lamentable countenance. Suddenly
she looked up and rose, and stood silently.

"Come," he said simply, while he longed to pick her up and ride with
her to his home in the Oasis. "I will take you to your hotel."

"My car is waiting for me in the Sikket el-Gedideh," she replied.

* * * * *

Later, a vision of loveliness, she walked down the dining-room behind
the Duchess of Longacres, whilst continuous lamentations were wafted
through the spring-doors from the spot where sat a dog with
sticking-plaster across his nose and middle girt with a cummerbund of
pink boracic lint.

Beside the girl's place lay a huge bunch of crimson roses tied with
golden tassels; there was no card, name nor message.

She asked no question, neither did her godmother.

To what purpose should they? The one _knew_; the other firmly believed
in allowing the young to work out the salvation of their own souls;
which did not, however, mean that she would not keep a sharp look-out
in the future over the troubled sea of Life.

"I knew something would happen," thought the wise old lady, as she
passed a biscuit up to the parrot on her shoulder.

"_Kathir Khairak_," it said delightedly.

It merely means "thank you," but had taken weeks of teaching and
repeating to master.

CHAPTER III

"Lor! but women's rum cattle to deal with, the
first man found that to his cos