the uncle was very fond of his little niece, whom he only knew from photographs, and he inquired about her in all his letters. The two fathers were also much amused at the invitation which Stasch had received from Captain Glen to go to Mombasa. The boy took this invitation quite seriously, and made up his mind some day to visit his new friend on the other side of the equator. Mr. Tarkowski was obliged to explain to him that the English officials never stay long on duty in the same place—owing to the treacherous climate of Africa—and before he, Stasch, would be grown up the captain would be at his tenth post, or perhaps no longer in this world.
After dinner the whole party went outside the tents, where the servants put up canvas chairs, and prepared siphons of soda-water and brandy for the two gentlemen. It was now night and unusually warm, and the full moon made it as brilliant as day. The white walls of the ugly buildings looked green in contrast to the tents, the stars twinkled in the firmament, and the air was filled with the perfume of roses, acacias, and heliotrope. The town was now asleep. In the silence of the night all that could be heard was an occasional loud cry from the cranes, herons, and flamingoes, the sound of which came in with the breeze from the Nile toward Karoon Lake. Suddenly the bark of a dog was heard, which surprised Stasch and Nell, for it seemed to come from the tent they had not yet visited, in which were kept saddles, tools, and various things necessary in traveling.
“What a large dog that must be,” said Stasch.
Mr. Tarkowski began to laugh. Mr. Rawlison also laughed; then knocking the ashes off his cigar, he said:
“Well, it was no use to lock him up.”
Then he turned to the children.
“To-morrow, as you know, will be Christmas, and this dog was to be a surprise for Nell from Mr. Tarkowski, but as the surprise has begun to bark I am obliged to tell you about it to-day.”
When Nell heard this she quickly climbed on Mr. Tarkowski’s knee and put her arms around his neck; then she jumped on her father’s knee.
“Papa, dear, how happy I am, how happy!”
The embraces and kisses seemed endless; at last Nell stood on her feet, and looking into Mr. Tarkowski’s eyes, said:
“Mr. Tarkowski—”
“Well, Nell, what is it?”
“Now that I’ve found out he is here, I ought to see him to-day!”
“I knew,” cried Mr. Rawlison, pretending to be very much excited over the matter, “that this little fly would not be content with only hearing about it.”
Mr. Tarkowski turned to Chadigi’s son and said:
“Chamis, bring the dog here.”
The Sudanese at once disappeared behind the kitchen-tent and soon stepped forth leading an enormous animal in leash.
Nell drew back.
“Oh,” she cried out, seizing her father’s hand.
But Stasch, on the contrary, went into ecstasies.
“That is a lion, not a dog.”
“His name is Saba (lion),” answered Mr. Tarkowski. “He belongs to the breed of mastiffs, the largest dogs in the world. This one is only two years old, but is already enormous. Don’t be afraid, Nell. He is as gentle as a lamb. Chamis, let him loose!”
Chamis let go the leash and the dog, feeling himself free, began to wag his tail, to rub himself up against Mr. Tarkowski, with whom he had already made friends, and to bark for joy.
By the light of the moon the children admired his large round head with its hanging lips, his strong paws, his great size, which with the golden yellow of his whole body gave him the appearance of a lion. In all their lives they had never seen anything like him.
“With such a dog one could safely wander through Africa,” cried Stasch.
“Ask him if he can catch a rhinoceros for us,” said Mr. Tarkowski.
It is true Saba could not answer this question, but he wagged his tail still harder and rubbed himself up against them so confidingly that Nell suddenly lost all fear and began to stroke his head.
“Saba, dear, good Saba!”
Mr. Rawlison bent down over him, raised his head toward the little girl’s face, and said:
“Saba, look at this little lady. She is your mistress. You must obey and protect her—do you understand?”
“Wurgh!” Saba was heard to say in a deep bass, as if he really understood what was wanted of him.
And he did understand even better than one would imagine, for he took advantage of his head being nearly on a level with the girl’s face to lick her little nose and cheeks with his broad tongue as a sign of allegiance.
That made every one laugh. Nell had to go into the tent to wash her face. When she returned after a quarter of an hour she saw that Saba had laid his paws on Stasch’s shoulders, and that Stasch bent under the weight. The dog was a head taller than he.
Meanwhile bedtime had arrived, but the little girl begged to be allowed to talk for another half-hour to get better acquainted with her new friend. And they became friends so soon that it was not long before Mr. Tarkowski placed her on his back, as ladies ride. She was afraid of falling off, so he held her, and told Stasch to lead the dog by the collar. After she had ridden a short distance Stasch tried to mount this peculiar saddle-horse, but the latter quickly sat on his hind legs and Stasch unexpectedly found himself on the sand.
The children were just about going to bed when from afar off, on the moon-lit public square, two white figures appeared, running toward the tent.
Saba, who until now had been so gentle, began to bark in a deep and menacing manner, so that Mr. Rawlison ordered Chamis to hold him by the collar again. Meanwhile the two men, dressed in white burnooses, stopped before the tent.
“Who is there?” asked Mr. Tarkowski.
“Camel-drivers,” said one of the newcomers.
“Ah, you are Idris and Gebhr? What do you wish?”
“We have come to ask whether you will need us to-morrow?”
“No. To-morrow and the day after are great holidays, during which it is not customary for us to make excursions. Come three days from now, early in the morning.”
“We thank you, effendi.”
“And have you good camels?” asked Mr. Rawlison.
“Bismillah!” answered Idris. “Real saddle-horses with fat humps and gentle as lambs. Otherwise Cook would not have engaged us.”
“Do they not jolt considerably?”
“Sir, you can lay a handful of beans on the backs of any of them, and not one will fall off, no matter how fast they gallop.”
“If he’s exaggerating he at least does it in true Arab style,”
