CHAPTER XIV
WHEREIN A BISHARIN CAMEL BECOMES USEFUL
To the Arab every white man is a Frank. The European invader was given
that name during the First Crusade, and the Paynim does not change
appreciably with the centuries. But he has learnt to differentiate
between certain varieties of Frank, and Abdur Kad'r murmured
maledictions on the Italian species as he watched the mirage slowly
fading into nothingness. Though no one had told him the ultimate
objective of the caravan, he felt that the presence of Italian soldiers
at the nearest stopping-place put a bar to further progress. The mere
fact that the _kafila_ came from French territory was unanswerable.
There were difficulties enough already, difficulties which must be
discussed that evening, but this obstacle was wholly unforeseen.
Under his bent brows the gaunt sheikh had noted Mr. Fenshawe's manner
when he turned excitedly to demand an explanation from von Kerber. The
Effendi's change of tone told its own tale. Abdur Kad'r, true believer
and desert-born, remarked to a brother Arab that Allah was Allah and
Mahomet was undoubtedly the Prophet, but that of all the misbegotten
produce of swine now cumbering the earth the Italians ranked easily
first--or words to that effect.
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