96 The RICHESTMAN INBABYLON
Dabasir pushed him to a far corner of the room
where they seated themselves upon small rugs.
When Kauskor, the proprietor, appeared smiling,
Dabasir addressed him with his usual freedom, "Fat
lizard of the desert, bring to me a leg of the goat,
very br own with much juice, and br ead and all of
the vegetables for I am hungry and want much food.
Do not forget my friend here. Bring to him a jug of
water. Have it cooled, for the day is hot."
Tarkad's heart sank. Must he sit here and drink
water while he watched this man devour an entire
goat leg? He said nothing. He thought of nothing he
could say.
Dabasir, however, knew no such thing as silence.
Smiling and waving his hand good-naturedly to the
other custom ers, all of whom knew him, he con-
tinued.
"I didhear from a traveller just returned from Urfa
of a certain r ich m an who has a piece of stone cut
so thin that one can look through it. He put it in the
window of his house to keep out the rains. It is yel-
low, so this traveller does relate, and he was permit-
t e d t o l o o k t h r o u g h i t a n d al l t h e o u t si d e w o r l d
looked strange and not like-it really is. What say you
to that, Tarkad? Thinkest all the world could look to
a man a different colour from what it is?"
"I dare say," responded the youth, much more in-
terested in the fat leg of goat placed before Dabasir.
"Well, I know it to be true for I myself have seen
the world all of a different colour from what it really
is and the tale I am about to tell relates how I came
to see it in its right colour once more."
"Dabasir will tell a tale," whispered a neighbouring
diner to his neighbour, and dragged his rug close.
Other diners br ought their f ood and cr owded in a