Page:Neith Boyce--The bond.djvu/110

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108
THE BOND

"Your own, and made according to directions," she said.

He tasted it, smiled, shook his head, and put it down.

"It tastes like the ordinary bean of commerce," he said. "You won't taste real coffee till you come to Arabia."

"I shall come next year," Alice assured him. "It will be the most amusing thing I ever did. Four days on a camel, straight into the desert—and an old fort to live in, with a powder-magazine under the drawing-room——!"

"We don't call it a drawing-room," said Crayven gravely. "And you won't be able to bring many boxes, you know."

"I shall come with one saddlebag, and then I shall dress like a native woman while I'm there," said Alice with interest.

"Voici que devant lui s'arreta une femme enveloppée de son ample voile en étoffe de Moussoul, en soie parsemée de paillettes d'or et doublées de brocart. Elle souleva un peu son petit voile de visage, et, d'en dessous, alors, apparurent des yeux noirs avec de longs cils et quelles paupières!" murmured Teresa.

"Ah, what's that?" asked Crayven, looking at her intently.

"The Thousand and One Nights."

"Ah, yes, I remember Burton. But those are town Arabs, you know—a very different thing