haft of the hidden knife and it hurt him between two ribs, where a
poorly conditioned man is extra sensitive. However, he mumbled
something and crawled between the sheets.

Then Grim vowed that he couldn't sleep with a light so I blew out the
candle, and in about two minutes the steady seesaw snoring resumed. I
took the opportunity to empty half the contents of a whisky bottle into
the spittoon, and after lighting a pipe proceeded to clink a tumbler at
steady intervals as evidence of debauch well under way.

Except for the clink and bump of the tumbler, and once when I filled and
relit the pipe, all was quiet for half an hour, when Yussuf Dakmar piped
up suddenly and asked me whether I didn't intend to come to bed.

"I will not trouble you, effendi. I will keep over to my side. There is
plenty of room in the bed for the two of us."

As he spoke I heard a movement of the bedclothes as Grim pinched Jeremy
awake again. I answered before Jeremy could horn in.

"Hic! You 'spect me 'nto bed full o' snakes? Never sleep 'slong as
venomous reptiles waiting! Hic! You stay 'n bed an keep 'em 'way from
me!"

Well, Jeremy didn't want any better cue than that. He got up, lit the
candle and explained to me with great wealth of Arabic theosophy that
the snakes I saw were mere delusions because Allah never made them; and
I tried to look utterly drunk, staring at him with dropped jaw and
droopy eyelids, knocking an empty bottle over with my elbow by way of
calling attention to it.