secretly to and fro; none of us had moved, none of us had fallen
asleep, not so much from wonder at his tale as from the thought that
we ourselves in two days' time should see that wondrous city. Then we
wrapped our blankets around us and lay down with our feet towards the
embers of our fire and instantly were asleep, and in our dreams we
multiplied the fame of the City of Marvel.

The sun arose and flamed upon our faces, and all the desert glinted
with its light. Then we stood up and prepared the morning meal, and,
when we had eaten, the traveller departed. And we commended his soul
to the god of the land whereto he went, of the land of his home to the
northward, and he commended our souls to the god of the people of
the land wherefrom we had come. Then a traveller overtook us going on
foot; he wore a brown cloak that was all in rags and he seemed to have
been walking all night, and he walked hurriedly but appeared weary, so
we offered him food and drink, of which he partook thankfully. When
we asked him where he was going, he answered 'Babbulkund.' Then we
offered him a camel upon which to ride, for we said, 'We also go to
Babbulkund.' But he answered strangely: 'Nay, pass on before me, for
it is a sore thing never to have seen Babbulkund, having lived while
yet she stood. Pass on before me and behold her, and then flee away at
once, returning northward.'

Then, though we understood him not, we left him, for he was insistent,
and passed on our journey southwards through the desert, and we came
before the middle of the day to an oasis of palm trees standing by a
well and there we gave water to the haughty camels and replenished our
water-bottles and soothed our eyes with the sight of green things and
tarried for many hours in the shade. Some of the men slept, but of
those that remained awake each man sang softly the songs of his own