We descended, and I saw
that a number of small apartments surrounded the courtyard in the
manner of a _caravanserai._ Then, suddenly, I saw something else, and
I knew why we had been treated with such consideration on the journey;
I knew into what hand I had fallen--I knew that I was in the house of
a _slave-dealer!_"
"Good heavens!" muttered Stuart--"this is almost incredible."
"I knew you would doubt what I had to tell you," declared Miska
plaintively; "but I solemnly swear what I tell you is the truth. Yes,
I was in the house of a slave-dealer, and on the very next day,
because I was proficient in languages, in music and in dancing, and
also because--according to their Eastern ideas--I was pretty, the
dealer, Mohammed Abd-el-Bali ... offered me for sale."
She stopped, lowering her eyes and flushing hotly, then continued
with hesitancy.
"In a small room which I can never forget I was offered the only
indignity which I had been called upon to suffer since my abduction.
I was _exhibited_ to prospective purchasers."
"As she spoke the words, Miska's eyes flashed passionately and her
hand, which lay on the table, trembled. Stuart silently reached
across and rested his own upon it.
"There were all kinds of girls," Miska continued, "black and brown and
white, in the adjoining rooms, and some of them were singing and some
dancing, whilst others wept. Four different visitors inspected me
critically, two of them being agents for royal _harems_ and the other
two--how shall I say it?--wealthy connoisseurs.
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