"Between and beyond."
"And the Place of Rest, is that forest also?"
"The sun shines there all day," said the chief; "and a man can see his shadow lengthen. The little ones play on the white sand, the women and the girls work in the gardens on the open slopes of the hills, and the men——"
"Well, what about the men?"
"They lie in the sand like lizards, and talk like parrots."
It was the chief's wife who spoke scornfully, using the language they had mastered.
"Wow!" chimed in the chief, "they are timid people, the men; but the time is at hand when those who will not fight will be set to do women's work in the gardens."
The woman nodded her head grimly. "The time is at hand when the reapers will work, not in the cornfields, but about the fires where the men sit. Hassan is to be feared; but he can only enter if he is helped from within."
"I listen, O wise one," said the son, sternly. "Even if I weed them all out so that there are none left but Muata and these three white strangers, your counsel shall be followed."
"It is well," said the mother, nodding her head.