OF SAID ABDALLAH 



neck hung the beads of a wild tribe, and from 

 the desert saddle long flowing tassels swayed 

 in the morning breeze. It must have taken 

 Said half an hour to have draped her. Stick- 

 ing in the dirt at her side, towering over her 

 head ten feet or more, was the war spear from 

 the Anezeh. Kneeling on his prayer rug in 

 front of her forefeet was Said, facing, as I first 

 thought, the strip of timber across the road. 

 But as I watched the picture I saw that he 

 was praying toward the light spot on the hori- 

 zon — toward Mecca. I watched for fully five 

 minutes. The boy touched his lips and fore- 

 head with an upward stroke of the hand, and 

 dropping both hands beside him, looked intent- 

 ly for a moment at the approaching dawn. 



Rising up slowly, he picked up his little 

 prayer rug, lifted his spear from the damp 

 earth, while the beautiful prancing mare came 

 to his side. Her tail was swinging proudly 

 from side to side. 



As they approached me I saw that Said's 

 eyes were, if anything, more swollen than they 

 had been the evening before. To cheer him 

 up, I spoke to him first. 



"Said, I thought when I saw you in the pas- 



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