"Ah, you were on first, and I was a bit behind the professor, sir, and I saw it all." "What did you see?" "Saw him go up to first one and then the other, knocking them down with a big blow of his fist; and the poor things crouched with their faces in the sand and never said a word." "The savage!" "That's right," said Sam viciously. "I was talking to Mr Abraham about it afterwards, and he said he saw it too, and that they were slaves, like hundreds upon hundreds more, who had been taken in some village the wretches had looted, and that he hadn't a doubt that their husbands had been cut down and killed in one of the raids. What's a raid, sir?" "A plundering expedition, Sam," said Frank wearily, "such as that the Emir was upon when we were captured." "Oh, I see, sir. Big sort o' savage kind o' murder and burglary, wholesale, retail, and for exportation, as you may say. When they want anything they go out and take it?" "Exactly." "Hah! That's what old Mr Abraham meant when he said that these Soudan tribes didn't care about settling down and doing any gardening or farming, because they could go and help themselves whenever they wanted. He said they were black locusts who came out of the south." "He was quite right, Sam," replied Frank, "and you have seen the effect of their visits; every place is devastated, and the poorer, industrious people get perfectly disheartened." "I see, sir. Feel it's no use to get together a bit of a farm and some pigs, because as soon as the corn's ripe and the pigs are fat these locusts come and eat the lot." "You are right as far as the corn is concerned, Sam," said Frank, smiling; "but I don't think you have seen many pigs since you have been out here." "Well, now you come to mention it, sir, I haven't. I was thinking about it when I saw some of those bits of farm places outside where the slaves were at work, and it made me think of an uncle of mine who was in that line of business away in the country--he's a rich farmer now out in Noo Zealand. I used to go for a holiday to see him sometimes down in Surrey, and he would say that there was nothing like having a good sow and a lot of young pigs coming on, different sizes, in your styes, for they ate up all the refuse and got fat, and you'd always something to fall back on for your rent, besides having a nice bit of bacon in the rack for home use. He said he never saw a small farm get on without pigs. Some one ought to show 'em how to do it out here. But I don't know what would be the use of fattening up your pigs for the Mahdi chaps to come and drive them away." "There is no fear of either, Sam," said Frank, smiling. "These Mohammedan people look upon the pig as an unclean beast." "Well, that's true enough, sir; but it is his nature to. He's nasty in his habits, but he's nice." "I mean unclean--not fit to eat--a Mohammedan would be considered defiled by even touching a pig."