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A goat's-skin, nearly filled with the milk of camels, asses, sheep, and goats, all mixed together, was suspended to the ridge-pole of a tent, and swung to and fro by a child until the butter was produced. The milk was then poured off, and the butter clawed out of the skin by the black dirty fingers of one of the women.
"Good!" quoth I. And whipping off one of my stockings I unravelled therefrom sufficient of the worsted. "But what shall you do for stockings?" says she, while this was a-doing. "I will make me leggings of goat's-skin."
She had believed him doomed to a life of slavery, if not to death; and this belief had influenced her in her late actions. A goat's-skin of water, some barley meal, for making sangleh, and a few other necessary articles, were placed on a camel, which was delivered over to Golah.
Unfortunately, in lifting up my garment, I exposed to the view of the old hag the cursed goat's-skin bag, which hung at my girdle, and contained, not only her money, but the remainder of my own. "Mashallah how wonderful is God!" screamed the old beldame, flying at me like a tigress, and clutching the bag from my girdle.
A man was eating beside him; a woman, half dressed, and with face uncovered, was suckling a child while she worked a loom which was fastened to the tent's two upright poles. Some fowls were nestling for the night under the tent wing, and a young girl was by turns churning milk by tossing it in a goat's-skin and baking cakes on a fire of dried thistles crackling in a hole over three stones.
The girl answered in a voice sweeter than a nightingale's, that she had but thanks to offer in return, and prayers to the Most High. "Yes," said the old woman, raising her voice, "a scoundrel of a howling dervish robbed me at Scutari of all I had for my subsistence, and of my daughter's portion, seven hundred sequins, in a goat's-skin bag!" and then she began to curse.
In one portion of the camel's stomach was about a gallon and a half of water, thick and dirty with the vegetation it had last consumed; but all was carefully poured into a goat's-skin, and preserved for future use. The intestines were also saved, and hung out in the sun to get cured by drying, to be afterwards eaten by the slaves.
"Mustapha," said the pacha, "send for the cadi, the Frank physician, the old woman, the girl, and the goat's-skin bag; we must examine into this affair." The officers were despatched; and in less than an hour, during which the pacha and his vizier smoked in silence, the cadi with the others made their appearance. "May your highness's shadow never be less!" said the cadi, as he entered.
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