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 to get off this morning. I wanted him to be in Tunis ahead of us so's to see there's no mistake about our having the rooms engaged for us. You'll be tired when you get there, and I want him to have everything fixed for you so't you can lie right down and take a nap soon as you get there."

"So thoughtful!" she said with sarcasm. "Send the courier ahead the one time when we need him to protect us, and leave us alone among these wild"

"Wild?" Tinker interrupted, and he laughed ruefully. "Mamma, if they were just one millionth as wild as you been lately"

Olivia foresaw how unfortunate the effect of this sally was to be, and impulsively she clapped her hand over her father's mouth. She was too late: Mrs. Tinker again was seized with a loud and convulsive sobbing.

"Oh, lawsy! Oh, my landy me!" Tinker groaned. "And we're goin' to be late gettin' into Tunis besides! We're certainly in for one day of it!"

They were indeed; and poor Mrs. Tinker's condition remained emotional throughout the long afternoon of swift travel through a strange landscape. They passed among hills of golden brown sand, and