United States or Côte d'Ivoire ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"She did not speak for some moments, and I saw her start, as if she had forgotten that I was there, and then, in her eyes that were raised to mine, I saw that that moment had sufficed for her to be overcome by sleep, by irresistible, sudden, almost overwhelming sleep, like everything that lays hold of the mobile senses of women, and she answered, carelessly, suppressing a yawn: "'Allouma.
"He remained motionless, and evidently did not wish to speak, and then he had one of those explosions of Arab rage, which make us stop in streets in front of two demoniacs, whose oriental silence and gravity suddenly give place to the most violent gesticulations, and the most ferocious vociferations, and I gathered, amidst his shouts, that Allouma had run away with my shepherd, and when I had partially succeeded in calming him, I managed to extract the facts from him one by one.
He opened the window, through which a flood of light streamed in, and fell onto Allouma who was still asleep; then he picked up my trousers, coat and waistcoat from the floor in order to brush them. He did not look at the woman who was lying by my side, did not seem to know or remark that she was there, and preserved his ordinary gravity, demeanor and looks.
"Well, one morning, Mohammed came into my room with a strange look on his face, that uneasy look of the Arabs, which resembles the furtive look of a cat, face to face with a dog, and when I noticed his expression, I said: "'What is the matter, now? "'Allouma has gone away. "I began to laugh, and said: 'Where has she gone to? "'Gone away altogether, mo'ssieuia!
"I could not help smiling at her funny manner and her unhappiness, and I sent her to go to sleep at home, but, an hour later, just as I was thinking about going to bed, there came two little taps at my door, which were so slight, however, that I scarcely heard them; but when I said: 'Come in, Allouma appeared carrying a large tray covered with Arab dainties; fried balls of rice, covered with sugar, and a variety of other strange, Nomad pastry.
"'Coffee and bread and butter. "'Yes. "Mohammed remained standing close to our bed, with my clothes under his arm, waiting for my orders. "'Bring breakfast for Allouma and me, I said to him. "He went out, without his face betraying the slightest astonishment or anger, and as soon as he had left the room, I said to the girl: "'Will you live in my house? "'I should like to, very much.
"He also seemed delighted at having Allouma in the house, but I never once saw anything suspicious between them, and so I accepted the situation as it was, and let time, accident, and life act for themselves. "Often, after I had inspected my farm, my vineyards, and my clearings, I used to take long walks.
"'Allouma is going to live here. You must spread a carpet on the floor of the room at the end of the passage, and get Abd-El-Kader-El-Hadara's wife to come and wait on her. "'Yes, mo'ssieuia. "That was all.
But Allouma carried her delicacy of conscience further than this. She placed her tray between us on the divan, and taking a small, sugared ball between her long, slender fingers, she put it into my mouth, and whispered: 'Eat it, it is very good. "I munched the light cake, which was really excellent, and asked her: 'Did you make that? "'Yes. "'For me? "'Yes, for you.
"Then he added the Arab word r'ezale, which means gazelle, as if he meant to say that she could run quickly, and that she was far away. "Three weeks passed, and I had given up all hopes of seeing my Arab mistress again, when one morning Mohammed came into my room, with every sign of joy in his face, and said to me: "'Mo'ssieuia, Allouma has come back.
Word Of The Day