"They found the shade of the narrow streets very agreeable."
"The professor said the thermometer was only 63° here; but I should say it was 90° now, Mr. Belgrave," said Miss Blanche while they were waiting for the vehicle.
"He spoke of the average temperature for the whole of Algeria, and there are snow and ice on some of the mountains. The professor only meant to say that it was not so hot as it might be," replied Louis, as the omnibus came for them. "To-day the south-west wind brings the hot air of the desert to Algiers."
It was but a short ride to the custom-house, and the party embarked in the Maud. The tourists were glad enough to get on board the Guardian-Mother again, for it was comparatively cool under the awning on deck. The passengers all said they had seen enough of Algiers; for none of them were artists, antiquarians, or archæologists, and it would have been a bore for them to stay there a week, though the student of art or history would have found enough to occupy his time for a much longer period.
A lighter was alongside the ship, filling up her bunkers with coal, and another supplied those of the Maud in the afternoon. At lunch the commander consulted the party in regard to their wishes. Something was said about putting in at Tunis by the professor; but the captain shook his head.
"It is more than thirty miles off our course, and then at the head of a shallow lake nine miles farther," said he.
"But it is within three miles of the ruins of ancient Carthage," interposed the professor.