Tables and chairs, of course, there were none. A _dakkah_, or
platform, in horseshoe shape, at the far end, covered with rugs and
cushions, and with water-jars, large copper fire-pans, coffee-pots of
silver, and _shishahs_ (water-pipes) told where the feast was to be
offered.
From a side door, as a silken curtain was drawn back, some fifteen
slave-girls entered--whiter than their masters and in tight jackets
and loose, silk trousers. These girls brought copper basins of
rose-water for the Arabs' "lesser ablution" before a meal. Bara Miyan
smiled slightly as he gestured the Legionaries also to wash hands and
faces; but the Master, little relishing the idea of using this same
water after the Arabs, shook his head.
Not thus slyly could the Olema inflict humiliation on unbelievers. A
hard look crept into the Master's eyes. This covert insult, after the
exchange of salt, boded very ill.
In silence the Legionaries watched the Arabs dry their hands and
faces on towels given them by the slave-girls, who then noiselessly
withdrew. All the Arabs prostrated themselves and prayed. The Master
was the only one who noticed one significant fact: that now the
_kiblah_, or direction of prayer, was not to the north-west, where lay
Mecca, but--judging by the sun--was almost due west, toward the spot
where lay the Black Stone.
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