Soon as the bargain was bound, the stranger's attendants set about the
furnishment of the master's tent. Outside they painted it green. The
interior they divided into two equal compartments; one for reception,
the other for a _maglis_ or drawing-room; and besides giving the
latter divans and carpets, they draped the ceiling in the most tasteful
manner with the shawls which on the ship had served for awning.

At length, everything in the catalogue of preparation having been
attended to, it remained only to wait the day of general departure; and
for that, as became his greatness, the Prince kept his own quarters,
paying no attention to what went on around him. He appeared a man who
loved solitude, and was averse to thinking in public.




CHAPTER III

THE YELLOW AIR
[Footnote: The plague is known amongst Arabs as "the Yellow Air."]


One evening the reputed Indian sat by the door of his tent alone. The
red afterglow of the day hung in the western sky. Overhead the stars
were venturing timidly out. The camels were at rest, some chewing their
cuds, others asleep, their necks stretched full length upon the warm
earth. The watchmen in a group talked in low voices. Presently the cry
of a muezzin, calling to prayer, flew in long, quavering, swelling notes
through the hushed air. Others took up the call, clearer or fainter