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Show his knife from its sheath of goat-skin, slipped softly from his mule, and stealthily approached Sir Claude's, keeping his eye fixed warily on its rider. He did not act at once, but walked for two or three minutes noiselessly as a ghost at the tail of the mule, till he felt certain he could do his deed unobserved. Then he bent down, still keeping up with the beast, the hand with the knife in it hung for a second above the shambling, hairy legs, came nearer to them, close to them. "Achmed!" Sir Claude had turned. "Achmed! What the devil-?" "Stop, monsieur! There is a stone his hoof. Let me get it out." Sir Claude pulled up, startled. Instantly the Arab lifted one of the mule's hoofs from the road and with the knife pretended to extract a ' stone, holding one, snatched from the road, up a second later, then flinging it away. "I saw he was going lame, monsieur. C' est ca ! " Calmly he returned his knife to its sheath. "I didn't notice anything." Sir Claude was looking at him with keen suspicion. "Monsieur, I was behind. see." "I thought you were asleep." "The Arab does not sleep when he is protecting his master." Sir Claude grunted. "Now you get in front again." "As monsieur pleases." Achmed jumped again onto mule, and began to lead the way once more, letting the led mule run free with its load of gazelle and Barbary sheep. Foiled in his attempt to lame Sir .1 Claude's beast, and get away before UJ |
