"Then the learned Hakim will see the boy?" "Yes, at once. Where is he?" "No, no, not at once," said the Sheikh. "Poor Hassan has waited three years; he can wait another hour till the Hakim has eaten and rested. Then his Excellency will be refreshed, his eyes will see more clearly, and may be then he will be able to make an old man's heart rejoice. If it is not to be--well, His will be done." "Yes," said the doctor gravely, as he laid his hand upon the Sheikh's arm. "And there are other sufferers here, Excellency, who would pray to you for help, for we are not free from the ills which afflict mankind. A mother would ask you if her little one will live. There is a little girl whose sight is nearly gone, and one of my young men whose broken leg does not grow together again. Shall we be asking too much of the Hakim if we say, look at these sufferers and give them words of comfort if you can give them nothing more, not even hope?" "I am a learned Hakim, you say, Sheikh, and I have come out here to use my knowledge without fee or reward. Heaven helping me, I hope to do much good, and I place myself in your hands. You will lead us where you think best, and you will bring the people whom I ought to see. That is enough." "Yes, Excellency, and as soon as your friends are ready the breakfast waits." CHAPTER TEN. AN OPERATION. The meal prepared by the Sheikh's people astounded the little party-- there were crisp cutlets, freshly made cakes, bowls of a porridge made with fresh milk and some kind of finely ground grain, and fruit in abundance, while all pronounced the freshly roasted coffee to be delicious. So appetising did it prove in the pleasant, subdued shadow of the tent, that the weariness of the past night was forgotten by more than one, for before the meal was at an end Sam made his appearance, washed and refreshed, to help attend to his master's wants, and say in answer to Frank's inquiries that he couldn't have believed he could feel so much better in so short a time. Frank smiled to himself, but he did not allude to the will. It was soon evident, though, that the man had his words upon his conscience, for he kept on giving Frank peculiar, meaning looks, one and all of which were ignored, the only words that passed being later in the afternoon, when Sam suddenly edged up close to his confidant and said-- "It's wonderful what a good rest does for a man, Mr Frank, sir, isn't it?" "Wonderful, Sam," was the reply. "I feel very little the worse for my night's ride." "That's just about like I am, sir, and--" "I can't stop Sam," said Frank, interrupting him; "your master wants me again." Frank hurried back to the doctor's side to resume his position of assistant, for he had been pretty busy making his first essays at the task which was to be his for many months to come.