"The Arabs say that when the Father of Lies came on earth to distribute his goods he had nine bagfuls. He spread one bag of lies in Europe, and then started for Asia and Africa. He landed in Egypt one evening, intending to scatter a bagful over that country and Syria, and then go on the next day to Asia; but while he slept the Arabs stole all his remaining stock, and distributed it among themselves. This accounts for the great difficulty they have in telling the truth."
"This propensity among them," continued the Doctor, "is practically universal, as an Arab who can tell the straightforward truth is very difficult to find. If you ask a question of an Arab, and he has no interest in deceiving you, he may possibly give you the correct answer if he happens to know it, though he is by no means sure to do so; if he does not know the answer, he will give you the first that his imagination suggests, and he would be very much surprised if you told him he had done wrong."
As soon as dinner was over the travellers arranged their baggage, each of them packing what clothing and other things he wanted in a valise or bag, and leaving the trunks to be kept till their return, or sent up the coast to Beyroot, according to the instructions they would send from Jerusalem to the keeper of the hotel. Each of them carried a suit of clothing in addition to the one he was wearing—an overcoat, a mackintosh, or light rubber coat, for rainy weather, and a limited supply of under-garments, socks, handkerchiefs, and other necessities of every-day life. The dragoman said that almost anything they would want could be bought in Jerusalem, and there was no use in carrying things along simply on the ground that they might possibly be needed. Frank and Fred remembered the previous injunctions of the Doctor about travelling in "light marching order," and reduced their baggage to a very low condition.
All was ready before three o'clock, and they were off for their first ride in the Holy Land.
THE CITY GATE OF JAFFA.
There was a little restiveness among the horses at starting, and it threatened, at one time, very serious results to the riders of the animals. Evidently they had not been very actively employed for the past few days. The Doctor said their freshness would wear away before they had gone far into the country, and the principal thing to do was to keep them from injuring any of the party or doing harm to themselves. At the suggestion of Ali, Frank and Fred put their horses to a gallop for a couple of miles, and the exercise had a visible effect in reducing the liveliness of the steeds.
The boys were well satisfied with their horses, which were full of spirit, and very easy under the saddle. Frank said he intended to see if he could not get up a friendship with his horse, but the Doctor told him it would be of little use to do so, as the horses of Palestine are changed around so often among tourists that they do not have an opportunity for becoming intimately acquainted with any of their riders. The youth soon after abandoned the attempt when his horse tried to bite him, and contented himself with treating the animal kindly, and holding him well in check whenever there was any manifestation of temper.