"Yes," answered the Doctor. "I do not know that this particular camp indulges in robbery, but the chances are that it does. The Bedouins of Syria and Palestine have their own notions about the rules of life, and with the most of them robbery is not incompatible with honesty." The boys laughed at this idea, and then the Doctor explained his meaning. [Illustration: MODERN BEDOUINS OF MOUNT SINAI.] "You are aware," said he, "that among the Indians of our Western plains it is perfectly legitimate and honorable to steal horses; we might come nearer home and say that many respectable men in New York and other cities do not think they have done anything wrong when they persuade their friends to buy the stocks or other property that they wish to sell. The rules of honesty vary in different parts of the world, and the standard of one country or people will not always answer for another. "Plundering travellers or tribes weaker than his own has been the practice of the Bedouin from time immemorial. He considers it perfectly legitimate, and points with pride to the property he has stolen, provided he is in no danger of being seized for the theft. "He is always ready to be bought off, provided he can make more in that way than by stealing. Sometimes the government lays a heavy hand on him, and compels him to abandon his practices; but as these people can always flee to the deserts, where regular troops cannot follow, it is very difficult to conquer them. Some of the tribes have never been subdued, but live in perfect independence far away from the cities and towns. "The Bedouin has the single virtue of hospitality, and a stranger who has been received in his tent is entirely safe so long as he remains there. The Bedouin will protect him and his property, and instances of violation of the rules of hospitality are very rare. But it sometimes happens that he will find out what road his guest intends to travel, and then send his friends forward, or even go himself, to rob and perhaps murder the man who was the night before sleeping safely in his tent. There is a superstition among many of the Arab tribes that if they eat salt with a stranger they are forbidden to harm him afterward; from this comes the remark you often hear about two persons having eaten salt together, and therefore they must be friends. "The Arabs in this part of Palestine," Doctor Bronson continued, "were formerly very bold robbers, and committed many outrages. They have been severely chastised on several occasions, but their evil practices have never been quite broken up. They claim to own the country, and therefore insist on their right to levy toll or tribute from everybody passing through it. This would not be so bad if the amount of toll was uniform, but their practice has been to take everything the traveller possesses, even to his clothing and sometimes his life.