The Queen looked hard at Tony. Then she exchanged an astonished glance with Ghail.
“Have you looked out the door?” she asked softly.
Tony looked, and grew uncomfortable. “Do they have autograph hunters here, too?”
Ghail said firmly, “I do not know whether you are as stupid as you pretend, but certainly you had better go out and speak to those djinns! They are impressed enough now!”
“Impressed?”
Ghail said exasperatedly, “Get up! Go out! Let them bow down to you! Then, if you wish, you can go to see the king!” But as he stood up with a bewildered expression, she said softly, “You are very wonderful!”
“What?” He looked incredulous, and then turned swiftly to the Queen. “Oh, yes! Ghail tells me, Majesty, that she is your personal slave and can’t be sold or given without your consent. I’d—er—like to have a business conversation with you sooner or later.”
Ghail stamped her foot. “Get—out!”
Tony looked incredulous again. He went reluctantly out of the door.
A bull elephant charged toward him from fifty feet away. Tony took one look and reached for his cigarette case. Then the elephant changed smoothly into some thousands of billiard balls in red, green, blue, black and pink, which swept onward in a clacking tide of bewildering intricate motions upon and against each other. The balls shrank as they rolled. Then, suddenly, they jerked to a halt and into the rotund, turbaned, swaggering form of Abdul in one instant.