ruined the local amusement enterprises. The story-tellers

and snake-charmers saw their audiences melt away whenever we appeared. Crowds forsook the old favorites, and flocked to witness the feats performed by the mysterious strangers who did not take up a collection. But, seriously, our simple magic did make a profound impression. The Arab does not look for trickery. That which he cannot understand he regards as a miracle. The man who performs the miracle must be a holy man. Hence we are "holy men" and worthy of respect. It was a result of this reputation for sanctity that we were almost forced by the people to set out next morning for the neighboring oasis of Temaçin, the abode of the most famous holy man, or Marabout, of South Algeria.

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A STORY-TELLER AND HIS AUDITORS

I cannot say that the animals chartered for the journey were of pure Arab blood. I know only that my charger struck no happy medium between a slow painful walk and a furious maddening gallop—far more painful, as I realized