The Sheik

"Trouble with one of the horses. Will you come? It may interest you."

They went out together, leaving her alone, and she slipped away to the

inner room. In half-an-hour they came back, and for a few minutes

longer stayed chatting, then the Vicomte yawned and held out his watch

with a laugh. The Sheik went with him to his tent and sat down on the

side of his guest's camp-bed. Saint Hubert dismissed the waiting Henri

with a nod and started to undress silently. The flow of talk and ready

laugh seemed to have deserted him, and he frowned as he wrenched his

things off with nervous irritability.

The Sheik watched him for a while, and then took the cigarette out of

his mouth with a faint smile. "Eh, bien! Raoul, say it," he said

quietly.

Saint Hubert swung round. "You might have spared her," he cried.

"What?"

"What? Good God, man! Me!"

The Sheik flicked the ash from his cigarette with a gesture of

indifference. "Your courier was delayed, he only came this morning. It

was too late then to make other arrangements."

Saint Hubert took a hasty turn up and down the tent and stopped in

front of the Sheik with his hands thrust deep in his pockets and his

shoulders hunched up about his ears. "It is abominable," he burst out.

"You go too far, Ahmed."

The Sheik laughed cynically. "What do you expect of a savage? When an

Arab sees a woman that he wants he takes her. I only follow the customs

of my people."

Saint Hubert clicked his tongue impatiently. "Your people!--which

people?" he asked in a low voice.

The Sheik sprang to his feet with flashing eyes, his hand dropping

heavily on Saint Hubert's shoulder.

"Stop, Raoul! Not even from you----!" he cried passionately, and then

broke off abruptly, and the anger died out of his face. He sat down

again quietly, with a little amused laugh. "Why this sudden access of

morality, mon ami? You know me and the life I lead. You have

seen women in my camp before now."

Saint Hubert dismissed the remark with a contemptuous wave of the hand.

"There is to comparison. You know it as well as I," he said succinctly.

He moved over slowly to the camp table, where his toilet things had

been laid out, and began removing the links from the cuffs of his

shirt. "She is English, surely that is reason enough," he flung over

his shoulder.