"Him berry good man," said a third, putting up his filthy hand, and
touching Mr. Ingram's face.
"And young lady berry good, too; she give backsheish to poor Arab."
"Yes," said a fourth, preparing to take a similar liberty with Miss
Damer.
This was too much for Mr. Ingram. He had already used very positive
language in his endeavour to assure his tormentors that they would not
get a piastre from him. But this only changed their soft persuasions
into threats. Upon hearing which, and upon seeing what the man
attempted to do in his endeavour to get money from Miss Damer, he
raised his stick, and struck first one and then the other as violently
as he could upon their heads.
Any ordinary civilised men would have been stunned by such blows, for
they fell on the bare foreheads of the Arabs; but the objects of the
American's wrath merely skulked away; and the others, convinced by the
only arguments which they understood, followed in pursuit of victims
who might be less pugnacious.
It is hard for a man to be at once tender and pugnacious--to be
sentimental, while he is putting forth his physical strength with all
the violence in his power.
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