ree olive
trees and put the house instead of them.'

At that his smile gave place to grave concern.

He said: 'That may not be.'

'Why not?' I asked.

'Because we have no right to touch these trees.'

'But the Sheykh Ali told me that this terrace was his property.'

'That is so, as to the land. The trees are different.'

'To whom, then, do these trees belong?'

'To different people.'

'How can I know which trees are ours, which theirs?'

'Your Honour need not trouble. They are able to distinguish.'

'But they must walk upon our land to reach their trees!'

'Without a doubt.'

'But it is unheard of!'

'Perhaps; but it has been the way since Noah's flood.'

'If your Honour condescends to read the Bible he will notice that, in
the bargain which our lord Abraham made for the cave of Machpelah, the
trees upon the land are mentioned separately,' put in Suleyman, who
had a well-stored mind.

I took no notice, but continued my alarmed inquiries.

'How many people own these trees?'

'Twenty or thirty.'

'And they trample on our land?'

'The case is so.'

'Who is their chief?'

'I know not; but the largest share, they say, is vested in Muhammad
abu Hasan. His share of all the trees is twelve kirats, as much as all
the others put together. They say so. Only Allah knows the truth!'

'I should like to speak to this Muhammad abu Hasan.'

'Upon my head; I go to fetch him,' answered Casim, touching his brow
in token of obedience.

When he was gone, Suleyman observed significantly:

'Have naught to do with all these fathers of kirats. When once the
word "kirat" is mentioned, flee the place, for you may be assured that
it is the abode of all bedevilment. When once a man is father of but
one or two kirats, he has the power of forty thousand for unreasoning
annoyance.'

'And what, in mercy's name, is a kirat?' I questioned.

'A kirat,' replied Rashid, as usual eager to explain, 'is that term
into which all things visible and invisible are resolved and
subdivided secretly, or may be subdivided at a person's pleasure. A
kirat is that which has no real existence unless a group of men agree
together saying: "It is here or there." A kirat----'

Suleyman cut short his explanation, saying simply: 'A kirat is the
twenty-fourth part of anything. If my soul is sick, I ask the doctor:
"How many kirats of hope?" and according to his answer "four" or
"twenty" I feel gladness or despair. To own but one kirat, in th