"
"There's one kind of trade that we might carry on,
though, easily enough," said Joe; "and that would be to
go down there quietly, and walk off with the best of the
goods, without troubling our heads about the merchants;
we'd get rich that way!"
"Ah!" said the doctor, "these natives are a little
scared at first; but they won't be long in coming back,
either through suspicion or through curiosity."
"Do you really think so, doctor?"
"Well, we'll see pretty soon. But it wouldn't be prudent
to go too near to them, for the balloon is not iron-clad,
and is, therefore, not proof against either an arrow
or a bullet."
"Then you expect to hold a parley with these blacks?"
"If we can do so safely, why should we not? There
must be some Arab merchants here at Kazeh, who are better
informed than the rest, and not so barbarous. I remember
that Burton and Speke had nothing but praises
to utter concerning the hospitality of these people; so we
might, at least, make the venture."
The balloon having, meanwhile, gradually approached
the ground, one of the anchors lodged in the top of a tree
near the market-place.
By this time the whole population had emerged from
their hiding-places stealthily, thrusting their heads out
first.
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