"Listen. These children of sin seek to take my mare in the hope of settling their affairs with the Sultan, my gray mare, I say, which has always brought good fortune to my tent, to my children, and the camels: my gray mare, that was foaled on the day that thy youngest brother was born! Speak! Wilt thou let them do this dishonour to my hoary beard? The joy and happiness of the family are in thy hands. _Mordjana_ (such was the name of the mare) has eaten her barley. If thou art of a truth my son, go and sup, take thy arms, and then at earliest nightfall flee far away into the desert with the treasure dear to us all." "Without answering a word I kissed my father's hand, took my evening repast, and quitted Berouaguïa,[27] happy in being able to prove my filial affection, and laughing in my sleeve at the disappointment which awaited our sheikhs on their awaking. I pushed forward for a long time, fearing to be pursued, but Mordjana continued to pull at her bridle and I had more trouble to quiet her than to urge her on. When two-thirds of the night had passed, and a desire to sleep was growing upon me, I dismounted and seizing the reins twisted them round my wrist. I placed my gun under my head and at last fell asleep, softly couched on one of those dwarf palms so common in our country. An hour afterwards I roused myself. All the leaves of the dwarf palm had been stripped off by Mordjana. We started afresh. The peep of day found us at Souagui. My mare had thrice broken out into a sweat, and thrice dried herself. I touched her with the heel. She watered at Sidi-Bou-Zid in the Ouad-Ettouyl, and that evening I offered up the evening prayer at Leghrouât, after giving her a handful of straw to induce her to wait patiently for the enormous bag of barley that was coming to her. These are not journeys fit for your horses," said Si-ben-Zyan in conclusion, "—for the horses of you Christians, who go from Algiers to Blidah, thirteen leagues, as far as from my nose to my ear, and then fancy you have done a good day's work." This Arab, for his part, had done eighty leagues in twenty-four hours: his mare had eaten nothing but the leaves of the dwarf palm on which he had lain down and had only once been watered, about the middle of the journey; and yet he swore to me by the head of the Prophet that he could have slept on the following night at Gardaya, forty five leagues farther on, had his life been in any danger. Si-ben-Zyan belongs to a family of marabouts of the Oulad-Salahh, a section of the great tribe of the Arbâa. He comes frequently to Algiers and will tell this story to whoever will listen to him, confirming his narrative, if required, by authentic testimony.