MY QUEST OF THE ARAB HORSE 



the old man was weeping away his easily dried 

 tears to await another cold-hearted buyer. 



After that there was little to do and it was a 

 relief when we left the old creeping, scratch- 

 ing town, jammed full of restless people. 



We hadn't found anything that we could eat, 

 and were beginning to get restless ourselves. 

 We were to wait for Thompson at the junction 

 of the Aleppo road at Caru Khan (Inn) for 

 twenty-four hours. If he did not come within 

 that time we were to go on to Aleppo. Mr. 

 Sneddon had returned with the carriage and 

 the soldiers to Alexandretta and going on to 

 the Khan we waited. There was absolutely 

 nothing to do. We tried to sleep on a veranda 

 which was directly on the road. Our revolvers 

 were handy and we felt safe from human be- 

 ings, but that was all. After a few hours we 

 again sat up just for spite. 



Camels passed ; several hundred at a time, in 

 single file, as silently as if they were ghosts. 

 They were heavily laden with liquorice root, 

 and the only noise that came from them was 

 now and then the squeaking of a pack. At the 

 head of each long line of them were a dozen or 

 so small donkeys, like a school of minnows lead- 

 ing a great band of whales. At two in the 



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