He had
travelled with many Englishmen and had always found them to be men of
honour--men who kept their word. And in this case there were witnesses to
the bargain, who would be ready, if necessary, to go into the French
tribunals and testify to what they had heard....
"I see. Well, come to-morrow morning, but go away now, quick! before I
break your head. Take your damned tirlils to your damned funduk, and be
off!--clear out!--_comprenni?_"
And he looked so very angry that the Arab, a prudent fellow, walked
backwards out of the room, more surprised and grieved than ever.
Thanks to the disinterested and strenuous exertions of a Jewish
international lawyer, the affair was settled out of court after
all--fifteen hundred francs, plus expenses of transport.
_Chapter V_
_SIDI ARMED ZARROUNG_
Sidi Ahmed Zarroung--that is the name of the miniature oasis visible from
the Meda Hill, at the foot of those barren slopes. It is a pleasant
afternoon's walk from Gafsa.
The intervening plain is encrusted with stones--stones great and small.
Here and there are holes in the ground, where the natives have unearthed
some desert shrub for the sake of its roots which, burnt as fuel, exhale a
pungent odour of ammonia that almost suffocates you.
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