"Very well," I asserted complacently.
He became visibly embarrassed. Finally he blurted out:
"Just write out for me the 'Chani of Gravia.' Write it twice—no, three times, for I shall always want to read it two or three times."
I not only wrote it twice for him, but taught him to spell it out—or rather to memorize it; for his scholarship was very rudimentary, while his memory was excellent. I spent most of the time in this occupation.
During the course of the day we were told, quite unsensationally, that in the evening we might continue our journey.
At nightfall we parted from the brigands with cordial expressions of friendship on both sides. They shook hands with us, and many of them assured us they had enjoyed our stay very much, and were sorry to see us go. Only the leader was sulky in his manner. "I thought you two were worth thousands of pounds," he repeated grudgingly.
"The 'Chani of Gravia' was worth all the trouble we took," my pupil hastened to say, as if he feared we might be hurt by the lack of cordiality in his chief.
We were again blindfolded, and two of the men led us out of the cave and back to the place where they had captured us.
