“He! he! he!” again laughed Zenas. “Oh, you rascal! Oh, you sly dog! But it must have been pleasant. What did you do with your harem when you got tired and decided to leave the Egyptian service and the country?”
“Why, I sold it, of course.”
“Sold it? Sold your wives, colonel?”
“Certainly, suh. That was the proper course to pursue, professah. There were plenty of others who were ready to buy, in case you had a bargain to offah, and—as I was anxious to sell—a new recruit in the army obtained my harem fo’ a mere song. Of course, I regretted to part with my beautiful wives, and especially with Fatima, my favorite; but I could not take them with me, on account of the laws of the United States, and so, suh, I kissed Fatima good-by and turned the whole lot ovah to my successor.”
“Er—er—ahem! Colonel, does the custom of selling harems still continue in this country, can you say?”
“Why, certainly, suh, to a certain extent, suh. Are yo’ thinking of making a purchase, suh?”
“Well, I—er—ahem!—I don’t know, exactly. You see, I—I’m likely to investigate. I wouldn’t mind looking a few harems over. If I found a bargain—er—ahem!—I might—— Well, you understand, colonel.”
“The old reprobate!” exclaimed Dick, in a whisper. “So this is what he’s up to! This is why he wants to take an excursion trip up the Nile! I think I’ll have to find a way to teach him a lesson.”
“Yes, suh,” said the voice of the professor’s companion; “I think I understand, suh. But it is possible, professah, that you do not understand yo’self, suh. When yo’ were a boy, did yo’ evah trade jackknives or anything of that sort, ‘unsight, unseen,’ suh?”
“Why, yes, I——”