Ya Muslimin!" and roused the neighbours,
who fell upon Mansur, and beat him soundly, leaving him for dead. But
before he lost consciousness he heard the jeweller exhorting the
multitude not to spare him, for that he had stolen a lump of fine gold
from the Sultan's treasury.

"What you think of that?" said Elias, when he had made an end.

"A truly wonderful story," rejoined the Emir.

Their walk had ended on the sea-beach, where they now, all three, lay
stretched upon the sand. The Emir, with his straw hat tipped over his
eyes, threw a stone from time to time into the azure ripples, as dark
in contrast with their foam as ink on paper. There was a moment's
silence. Iskender whispered in his lord's ear:

"It is all a lie. He made it up last night."

"There may be some truth in it; you never know!" replied the Emir in
the same tone. He added aloud for Elias, who was staring fixedly out
on the sea, still entranced by the vision he had just related:

"If the place is guarded by nothing more terrible than your genis, I
should like to go there."

"Ha, ha!" laughed Elias. "That's all tommy-rot about the jinnis."
Nevertheless he glanced around in haste, and muttered an exorcist
formula beneath his breath. "The Bedouins they're more real to be
afraid of. But neffer say die; you square them easy with a few
dollars. Iskender, he know the way there, so all serene!"

"I told Elias all about it, sir, last night," said Iskender sheepishly,
in reply to a glance of surprise.

"Yes, sir, he tell me, and I'm goin' to helb you all I can. Trust
Elias, sir, he knows his way about!"

"Well," said the Emir after a little meditation, "I feel inclined for
the adventure, provided always that it doesn't cost too much."

"We soon see what that's a-going to cost."

In a trice Elias whipped out from his breast a greasy pocket-book,
stuffed with testimonials from travellers, which, by the violence of
their owner's haste to begin calculations, were scattered on the sand.
As there was no wind, Elias let them lie there for the present, and
holding the pocket-book close to his nose, fell to dotting down Arabic
numerals on the tablet allotted to memoranda.

Iskender glared at him. The wretch who yesterday had been crushed and
all-submissive, to-day aspired to take command of an expedition the
very idea of which was all Iskender's.

"This was gif me by one American gentleman," Elias remarked of the
pocket-book. "Well, come along