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Updated: May 16, 2025
Then they are all white, and I expected them to be black." "White men call the devil and crocodiles black; black men call them white," replied Hassib, who was a wag. "You now see which is right." "Good again; that is one for me!" laughed Harry. "But I should really like to get one if I could." "And the English think the crocodile such a pretty ornament!" said Hassib. "It is a strange taste."
The river soon grew broader and calmer, and in half an hour they came to the place where they were to remain, and cast anchor. Harry went ashore with his rifle, in hopes of a shot at the amphibious creatures, and his fishing tackle to keep him in patience while he was waiting for it. Hassib accompanied him to point out the place he had mentioned where the monsters were wont to lie.
Hassib was quite confident of the correctness of his information, and how could it be disproved, or, for that matter, why should it be? The sun was now very low on the horizon, and would soon take its sand- bath. Hassib laid his hand on Forsyth's arm and ducked behind a mound on the edge of the bank. Harry did the same. "One, two, five, seven," counted Hassib.
On returning to Cairo he expected to go back to England, and that made him none the less glad to be spinning along so quickly. "I wish we could go like this all the way, Hassib," he said to the Nubian sitting by him; "we should soon get home then, eh?" "We shall go faster than this when we come to the cataract," said Hassib, with a grin; for there was a joke here.
Hassib had a smattering of both those languages, and after a little practice they got on glibly enough. But I am sure you will pardon my translating the palaver between this supercargo and the reis or captain of the boat. The reis was the proper companion for Harry, being a respectable fellow, and wearing some clothes.
Going back to where the boat lay they found another lying near her, which had been dragged up the last bit of the cataract and brought up so far since their arrival, while the crew had gone ashore and lit a fire, round which they were gathered. Forsyth and Hassib went up to them for news, but there was not much.
Harry on the way up had not shown any liking for the cataracts. In fact, had preferred, under pretence of shooting doves, to walk round while the operation of towing the vessel up took place. He and Hassib conversed in a queer lingo, for Harry was trying his hardest to learn Arabic, but had to eke it out at present with a good many English and French words.
"A big lizard," replied Hassib, "so your learned white men say; `alligator lizard' I heard one call it. But it is really a thing that comes out of an addled crocodile's egg." Harry looked up quickly, but the reis was perfectly grave. And on such occasions he always pretended to believe, whether he did or no.
There is an island near where we stop to-night where there are always many crocodiles." "And do you think that I shall get one?" Hassib thought a bit over this, and then replied gravely "If it is the will of Allah that you should get a crocodile, you will get a crocodile. If it is not the will of Allah that you should get a crocodile, you will not get a crocodile." There was no gainsaying this.
So when a sudden red flush burst on the eastern horizon, and spread and deepened till it seemed as if a large city was on fire, and Hassib, recognising this as the dawn, began kicking his lazy sailors into wakefulness, the down-stream boat was the only one which made preparations for a start.
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