Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/140

130 "If you don't tire yourself too much," that gentleman put in.

"Very well, then," I said. "In that case I'm your man. There are plenty of boats alongside, so we'll have no difficulty on that score. Won't you come, too, Mr. Baxter?"

"I think not, thank you," he answered. "Port Said is not a place of which I am very fond, and as we shall not have much time here, I am anxious to utilise our stay in writing His Grace a letter detailing our progress so far."

"In that case I think we had better be going," I said, turning to his lordship.

"We made our way on deck, and, after a little chaffering, secured a boat, in which we were pulled ashore. Having arrived there, we were immediately beset by the usual crowd of beggars and donkey boys, but withstanding their importunities, we turned into the Rue de Commerce and made our way inland. To my companion the crowded streets, the diversity of nationalities and costume, and the strange variety of shops and wares, were matters of absorbing interest. This will be the better understood when it is remembered that, poor though Port Said is in orientalism, it was nevertheless the first Eastern port he had encountered. We had both a few purchases to make, and this business satisfactorily accomplished, we hired a guide and started off to see the sights.

Passing out of the Rue de Commerce, our attention was attracted to a lame young beggar who, leaning on his crutches, blocked our way while he recited his dismal catalogue of woes. Our guide bade him be off, and indeed I was not sorry to be rid of him, but I could see, by glancing at his face, that my companion had taken his