“Which is the wickedest, Michawi?” he said in English, for the boy’s benefit, and then translated into Arabic.
Michawi smiled, showing his strong white teeth, and said, in his broken English:
“The camel with a hurt on his neck, he is a bad one. He fights.”
He pointed to one of the camels which had a small wound on the side of his neck.
Perry would not have backed down for the world, but he had not bargained for this.
“All right, I’m game,” he answered.
His uncle laughed.
“Never mind, Perry,” he said, “that happens to be Mr. Wyr’s own beast. We’ll give you something easier for a beginning. This is yours here.”
“Do I get on him now?”
“I only hope you won’t be more anxious to get off than you are to get on,” was the answer. “Yes, you can mount now, if you’re ready.”