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After a moment he looked at her. "Domini," he whispered. "Here won't you won't you let me touch your hand again here?" "Come, Boris," she answered. "It is late." They rode down into Ain-la-Hammam. The tents had all been pitched near together on the south of the bordj, and separated by it from the tiny oasis.
"Source des tourterelles," repeated Domini. "Is it beautiful, Batouch? It sounds as if it ought to be beautiful." She scarcely knew why, but she had a longing that Ain-la-Hammam might be tender, calm, a place to soothe the spirit, a place in which Androvsky might be influenced to listen to what she had to tell him without revolt, without despair.
Some of the camp attendants had joined the squatting men without. A noise of busy voices reached the tents. "To-night, Madame," Batouch said proudly, "I am going to tell stories from the Thousand and One Nights. I am going to tell the story of the young Prince of the Indies, and the story of Ganem, the Slave of Love. It is not often that in Ain-la-Hammam a poet " "No, indeed. Go to them, Batouch.
To-night there will be a moon." "Paradise!" exclaimed Androvsky. He sprang upon his horse and pulled up the reins. Domini said no more. They had started late. It was night when they reached Ain-la-Hammam. As they drew near Domini looked before her eagerly through the pale gloom that hung over the sand. She saw no village, only a very small grove of palms and near it the outline of a bordj.
Opposite to them was a Cafe Maure of the humblest kind, a hovel of baked earth and brushwood, with earthen divans and a coffee niche. Before this was squatting a group of five dirty desert men, the sole inhabitants of Ain-la-Hammam. Just before dinner Domini gave an order to Batouch, and, while they were dining, Androvsky noticed that their people were busy unpegging the two sleeping-tents.
The camp started an hour before they did. Only Batouch remained behind to show them the way to Ain-la-Hammam, where they would pass the following night. When Batouch brought the horses he said: "Does Madame know the meaning of Ain-la-Hammam?" "No," said Domini. "What is it?" "Source des tourterelles," replied Batouch. "I was there once with an English traveller."
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