“Oh, not so very, I guess. A million folks must have thought it and said it since Adam. Who said it to you, Mr. Bangs?”
“A—ah—person in Abyssinia. He had stolen my—ah—shirt and I warned him that he should be punished on the following day. He laughed and I asked him what there was to laugh at. Then he made the remark about to-morrow's being afar off and that today the sun shone, or words to that effect. It seems strange that you should say it. Quite a coincidence, Miss Phipps, don't you think so?”
“Why—why, I suppose you might call it that. But WHAT did you say this man had stolen?”
“My—ah—shirt. I had another, of course; in fact I was wearing it, but the one he took was the only whole one remaining in my kit. I was quite provoked.”
“I should think you might have been. What sort of creature was he, for goodness sakes?”
“Oh, he was an Arab camel driver. A very good man, too.”
“Yes, he must have been. Did you get your shirt back?”
“No—ah—no. The fact is, he had put it on and—as he was rather—well, soiled, so to speak, I let him keep it. And he really was a very good man, I mean a good camel driver.”
Miss Martha regarded her guest thoughtfully.
“Where did you say this was, Mr. Bangs?”