Though a hundred eyes were fixed on the two--though some of those eyes
watched them with a keenness inspired by the belief that this reunion
had in it a romantic element quite apart from the drama of the hour--
their meeting apparently partook only of that friendly character
warranted by the unusual circumstances. And, in the general excitement,
none who looked at Royson paid heed to the hardships he had undergone.
He had hardly closed his eyes during two nights and three days, for the
rest obtained while he and Abdur Kad'r awaited the outcome of Hussain's
embassy was calculated rather to add to his physical exhaustion than
relieve it. He had covered eighty miles of desert on scanty fare, and
had fought a short but terrific fight against a dozen adversaries. Yet,
his cool demeanor and unwearied carriage conveyer! no hint of fatigue--
to all outward seeming he might have been entering the encampment after
an ordinary march, when a basin of water and a change of clothing were
the chief essentials of existence.
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