“To the desert!” the dragoman repeated.
“Yes, I want to see gazelles hunted by eagles,” and the grave Arab looked into Owen’s blonde face, evidently thinking him a petulant child.
“But your Excellency—” He began to talk to Owen of the length of the journey—twenty days at least; they would require seven, eight, or ten camels; and Owen pointed to the camels of the bedouins from the Sahara. The dragoman felt sure that his Excellency had not examined the animals carefully; if his Excellency was as good a judge of camels as he was of horses, he would see that these poor beasts required rest; nor were they the kind suited to his Excellency. So did he talk, making it plain that he did not wish to travel so far, and when Owen admitted that he had not fixed a time to return to Tunis the dragoman
