"What is the matter with him?" ejaculates John, in about the same tone.
"It is too bad."
"Mustapha, speak out."
"He will come after a while."
"Yes, yes."
"And he will find no Bab Azoun, no band of illustrious robbers to do battle with."
John's mind instantly hits upon flight as the cause for all this.
"Why do you speak so?"
"This wonderful soldier, he do it all; by the mighty power of his arm he will overcome the hosts of Bab Azoun. Great is Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet; but I have never seen such a thing before in all my life."
Then the exquisite, dry humor of the thing strikes John, and with such force that he comes very near bursting with laughter.