“The Sheikh says there’ll be coffee.”
“Coffee out here, sir?”
“Yes, and these people know what good coffee is.”
“Yes, sir; it was very good at the hotel. ’Most as good as ours at home.”
“And he said that he sent two camel-loads of necessaries on before us yesterday.”
“He did, sir?” said Sam, whose voice sounded stronger.
“Yes, and look now: the tents are getting quite plain. They look peculiar, and there are camels about them, and there are green trees—palms, I think. There must be a water-hole there, I suppose.”
“Yes, I can see the trees, sir—toy-shop sort o’ trees.”
“Here’s a man coming to meet us on a camel too—a man all in white.”
There was a pause for a few minutes, during which period the camels stepped out more freely, as they blinked and looked from under their eyelids in a supercilious way, drooping their lips and sniffing as if they smelt water.