The body lay on its breast with the arms stretched out; the head a
little turned, so that the right cheek lay on the sand. And when the
Arab bent over it, it did not look, he thought, quite dead. Well, if he
were not, a man with such a good gun as that ought to be when a better
man wants it. But still, it has been shrewdly observed that there is a
deal that is human about human nature. The Arab might not improbably be
in the same position some day, and would he not then require aid
himself? And then the Koran enjoined true believers to succour the
distressed who fell fainting in the desert; and this was an educated
man, who read his Koran; and a religious man, according to his lights,
who obeyed its precepts when he happened to remember them, and
temptation to the contrary was not too strong. If he had known that the
property before him belonged to a pig who did not believe the Prophet,
it might have been different; but he could not tell that, and he turned
Harry Forsyth over to give him a drink of water.

As he did so he saw the ring on his finger, and his humane intention
vacillated. He had a fancy for a ring like that. Never mind; he would
compromise matters, he thought--take the ring, rifle, and cartridges
first, and give him a drink afterwards. But when he took the hand for
the purpose of drawing the ring off it, and saw the stone close, he
started back with the exclamation, "Allah is great!" and let the hand
drop.

"He bears the signet!" he said to his followers; "and he lives. We must
not leave him. We must take him on to El Obeid."

"The Fakir's Oasis is close at hand," said another; "let us bear him
there. The holy man will know best what to do with him, and the shorter
the journey the better for his life."

"You speak the words of wisdom, Meouf," said the leader; "let us lift
him on to your camel; it has the easiest pace."

A cynic might imagine that Meouf knew this, and that his claims to being
a good Samaritan were affected by the fact that he would have the
trouble of carrying the helpless man, and his wish to do so for as short
a distance as possible. But we won't be cynics, and we'll give him all
the credit for his forethought which we can.

The Fakir's Oasis was less than an hour's ride off for a good camel.
Harry, when some water was poured down his throat, showed decided signs
of life, though not regaining consciousness. He was lifted on the
camel, and carried forward, his property