Each chair had a dictaphone attachment connected with the arm, and by applying this in the proper manner to their ears the occupants were enabled to hear a description of each section of the great ditch as it was reached.
Taken in all, it was a novel experience, and one they enjoyed very much; though in the end it required the strength of the other three scouts to drag poor Tubby out of his chair, which happened not to have been capacious enough for the standard requirements of the fat boy.
“Honestly,” said Tubby, in explanation of his sticking so tight, “I believe some skunk went and put a piece of shoemakers’ wax in that chair; and I feel that I’m lucky to have saved the seat of my new khaki trousers. If it had been the old ones there’s no telling what might have happened.”
“H’m! a poor excuse is better than none, they say,” muttered Andy; “but seems like instead of calling these chairs comfortable they might have added that they were the ‘Fat Man’s Misery.’ But forget it, Tubby; you’re safe and sound again, breeches and all. Come on and see what there is in this Bedouin Camp. The camels look like it ought to be a heap interesting.”
The others were not as much taken with the show as Andy. To him it was all real, and breathed the atmosphere of the desert and the traders’ caravan; but Rob saw how much was tinsel and make-believe, and really suspected that some of the so-called Arabs talked among themselves in pretty fair English.
It happened that shortly after they had issued from this concession, and Hiram was commencing to show signs of uneasiness, as though wanting to be off, something came to pass that for the time being made them forget their plans.
“Hey! what’s all that running about over there?” suddenly exclaimed Andy. “Mebbe there’s goin’ to be an Oriental elopement or a wedding? Let’s hurry over and get in line to see!”
“More’n like a dog-fight,” grumbled Hiram; “for I’ve noticed that in some of these squalid villages of foreigners they have some ugly yellow curs hanging around, which I should think the Fair people wouldn’t stand for.”
All the same, Hiram ran as fast as his mates to see what was going on. They made a discovery before they were more than half way to the spot. Indeed, the loud outcries borne to their ears, as well as the smoke that came from a building where the signs indicated that a celebrated Egyptian fortune-teller could be consulted, made this very manifest.
“Whee! it’s a fire!” gurgled Tubby, who was puffing very hard in his effort not to be left in the lurch by his more agile companions.