Niger

At last the concourse took to motion again, and
Mungo was conveyed through the winding lanes of
tents to that of the Emir of Ludamar. He was an
old man, white-bearded, sullen, venerable and ras¬
cally—a truly Moorish ruler. As Mungo arrived the
Emir was sitting on a black leather cushion engaged
in barbering his upper lip. In front of him knelt a
female attendant with a looking-glass. Ali glanced
at the stranger sullenly, and only paused from the
clipping to enquire of the escort whether Mungo
could speak Arabic. c Being answered in the nega¬
tive, he appeared much surprised, and continued
silent.5
The women, whom Mungo even in this pass refers
to as c the ladies ’, were less reticent. They searched
his pockets, shrieked with laughter over his general
appearance, counted his fingers and toes to make
sure that he really was human, forced him to un¬
button and display his whiteness and probably more
convincing marks still of his humanity, though
Mungo is silent on that point. His torment was
ended only with the announcement of evening
prayer by a marabout.
Thereat the Moors began to drift away, but with
no great zeal. The Christian was too good sport to
abandon in a hurry. Ali was seized with a subtle
idea. He commanded some boys to bring a wild
pig, and, on the animal being tied to the tent-
strings, gestured benevolently towards Mungo. Here
was his supper. Let the Christian kill and eat the
hog.
126