Seated across his black camel the Arab drew the girl's head against his shoulder, holding her gently but firmly in his left arm.
A word, and the camel pitching and tossing finally acquired an upright position. Things went well for a score or so of yards, the three animals proceeding at a stately demure pace, until verily the devil entered into Taffadaln.
Suddenly she rushed sideways, then with front legs wide apart came to a dead stop, jerking the black camel violently.
"Thou awkward descendant of clumsy parents, what aileth thee?" exclaimed her master, as Jill's head bumped violently against his shoulder. "Take heed to my words. Enjoy this thy last ride through the glory of the desert, for verily at the end shalt thou, between the periods of bearing young, be put to the lowest tasks apportioned to the lowest of thy species."
Whereupon Taffadaln turned solemnly towards the speaker, and lifting her upper lip laughed, and with no more ado faced towards the palm trees, which to desert-trained eyes showed faintly some miles away, took two steps forward, humped herself together, collapsed on the ground, and stretching out her neck, half-closed her eyes.
Imagine the helplessness of her master, seated so high upon his camel as to render useless any chastisement with the courbaash, which whip applied deftly to certain less tough portions of the camel's body will usually bring the brute to reason, if he who wields the whip cares to risk the accumulation of revenge which the punishment will infallibly store up in the camel's brain. A veritable storm of anger raged in the man as he looked down upon the girl lying peacefully in his arms in a sleep which even the camel's uncouth procedure could not disturb.
Once more groaning bitterly his camel and Howesha grounded, which latter word describes best, in condensed form, the camel's method of lying down.
Out of one corner of her half-shut, insolent eye, the beautiful Taffadaln watched proceedings, and just as her master, holding Jill gently in his arms, was slipping from the saddle, with a positively fiendish squeal of triumph, and one gigantic effort which beat any record, for swiftness established in any camel's family history, she rose suddenly, and rushing forward once more to the end of her lead, caused the black camel to fall sideways and the dismounting man to stumble, and in order to save her, to place Jill with distinct vigour upon the sand.
Not one syllable did he utter, not one line appeared on the perfectly calm face, as he raised the girl and carried her further from the camels, where she lay as still as though the angel Azrael[2] had separated her soul from her body.
Walking to Taffadaln he stood for some minutes absolutely motionless in contemplation, whilst the object of his thoughts, blissfully ignorant of what was in store, and because it suited her mood of the moment, came meekly to ground on the word of command.