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 handkerchief and its contents—and the handkerchief would mean telling about the crossings in the boat, and I did not wish to contemplate what would follow that disclosure.

With a great deal of heart-aching I had to dispose of the sweets. I gave them to some urchins in the street, and my ache in a measure was relieved by the joy they manifested.

Although this was the only winter I travelled with Ali Baba, I never forgot him. Indeed the bond between us was too great lightly to forget; and when I came to town I always managed to save a half hour for him. I would go directly to the quay, and if he were not there I would wait for him till he came back from the other side. If he were there, he always rose quickly, unfastened his little caïque, and off we were; only to stop in mid-stream, his oars poised in the air, his kind eyes twinkling, his mouth half-opened with a smile, listening to the things I had to say of books and of travels.