342 THE DISPUTE 



scene broken into, by several of the slaves of my 

 friends, go out to bring the camels in for the night. 



Occasionally might be now seen messengers 

 passing and repassing between the debating circles; 

 and after the camels had been secured, Zaido, with 

 a large skinful of milk and a corresponding wooden 

 bowl, was a welcome visitor to our position. I 

 saw directly that matters were going on favourably, 

 by the saucy bearing and swagger of our black 

 Ganymede, who, had he been serving at some 

 feast of the gods, could not have talked more freely 

 of the impotent assaults of the Titans, than he 

 did of the " dust-eating Wahama," as he now called 

 them. We all took long deep draughts of the 

 sweet new milk, and twice round the bowl was 

 passed, no question of creed here interfering with 

 the fair distribution of its contents, and we all 

 laughed when Adam Burrah placed the dripping 

 bowl upon the frizzled wig of Zaido, whilst a 

 shower of small stones, tossed up by the rest of the 

 amused Hy Soumaulee, deterred him from removing 

 his wooden helmet, as he hastily retreated to the 

 camp. 



Matters, however, were yet far from being 

 amicably arranged, and on one occasion Zaido, 

 in a very different mood than when he visited us 

 before, began to lament the little chance of our 

 ever getting out of the clutches of the Wahama 

 thieves, a pretty good proof that the war party, 

 in the councils of the latter, was influencing more 



