"Wonderful idea!" said I.
"It is, indeed," said Memnon; "that is, from your point of view. From ours, it does not seem so strange. We are used to marvels here, sir," he continued. "Would you care for anything more, sir?"
"No, Memnon," said I. "I have fared sumptuously—my—ah—my appetite is somewhat taken away by all these tremendous things."
"I will have an appetite up for you, if you wish," he replied, simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"No, thank you," said I. "I think I'll wait until I am acclimated. I never eat heavily for the first twenty-four hours when I am in a strange place."
And with this I went to the door, feeling, I must confess, a trifle ill. The steak and coffee were all right, but there was a suggestion of pain in my right side. I could not make up my mind if it were the six hundred melons or whether a nugget from the omelet had got caught in my vermiform appendix.
At any rate, I didn't wish to eat again just then.
At the door the sedan-chair and the two little blackamoors were awaiting me.
"We have orders to take you to the Zoo, sah," said Sambo.