At first my ideas on the subject were altogether pleasant. I by no
means wished to monopolise the delights of all those cushions, nor
would it be to me a cause of sorrow that there should be some one to
share with me the conversational powers of that interpreter. Should
another guest be found, he might also be an Englishman, and I might
thus form an acquaintance which would be desirable. Thinking of
these things, I walked the quay for some minutes in a happy state of
mind; but by degrees I became impatient, and by degrees also
disturbed in my spirit. I observed that one of the Arab boatmen
walked round from the vessel to the front of the hotel, and that on
his return he looked at me--as I thought, not with courteous eyes.
Then also I saw, or rather heard, some one in the verandah of the
hotel above me, and was conscious that I was being viewed from
thence. I walked and walked, and nobody came to me, and I perceived
by my watch that it was seven o'clock. The noise, too, had come
nearer and nearer, and I was now aware that wheels had been drawn up
before the front door of the hotel, and that many voices were
speaking there. It might be that Mahmoud should wait for some other
friend, but why did he not send some one to inform me? And then, as
I made a sudden turn at the end of the quay, I caught sight of the
retreating legs of the Austrian interpreter, and I became aware that
he had been sent down, and had gone away, afraid to speak to me.
"What can I do?" said I to myself, "I can but keep my ground." I
owned that I feared to go round to the front of the hotel. So I
still walked slowly up and down the length of the quay, and began to
whistle to show that I was not uneasy. The Arab sailors looked at
me uncomfortably, and from time to time some one peered at me round
the corner. It was now fully half-past seven, and the sun was
becoming hot in the heavens. Why did we not hasten to place