into the house, until they had us all fully supplied with bedding.
For one reared amid the seclusion of a harem she really was wonderful. Her presence of mind, her fearlessness, and her resourcefulness astonished me, engrossed though I was.
After we had had something to eat, and put the children to bed, Chakendé, the young Turk and I went and sat down at a little distance, and talked over the events of the day. None of us had any desire for sleep, although it was late. The earth was still groaning occasionally, and it was unpleasant to lie down, since one could hear hideous rumblings and tremblings which gave one a curious feeling of sea-sickness.
"What a day!" Chakendé exclaimed, after a long silence. There was a certain exhilaration both in the voice and in the manner of the girl. She seemed detached from the awfulness of it all, in spite of the bloody wrappings on her arm.
The Turk hardly took his eyes from her and there was no mistaking his condition. He had met the woman he was to remember till he died, whether he ever saw her again or not.
Chakendé did not look in his direction. She sat erect, her head held proudly above her lovely throat. She was even prettier than she had been in the daytime.
Presently the young man spoke, addressing himself to her:
