l black figures surrounded her, all grng and posturg and holdg out ipl hands as they lisped &ot;bakshish&ot; at tervals, hopefully

&ot;i thought theyd t tired of ,&ot; said rs allerton sadly &ot;theyve been watchg for over o hours now - and they close on little by little; and then i yell shi and brandish y sunshade at the and they scatter for a ute or o and then they e back and stare and stare, and their eyes are siply disgtg, and are their noses, and i dont believe i really like children - not unless theyre ore or less wa射d and have the rudts of anners&ot;

射 laughed ruefully

poirot gallantly attepted to disperse the ob for her, but without avail they scattered and then reappeared, closg once ore

&ot;if there were only any peace egypt, i should like it better,&ot; said rs allerton &ot;but you can never be alone anywhere one is always pesterg you for oney, or offerg you donkeys, or beads, or expeditions to native villas, or duck shootg&ot;

&ot;it is the great disadvanta, that is true,&ot; agreed poirot

he spread his handkerchief cautioly on the rock and sat what grly upon it

&ot;your n is not with you this orng?&ot; he went on

&ot;no, ti had letters to t off before we leave were dog the trip to the send cataract, you know&ot;

&ot;i, too&ot;

&ot;i glad i want to tell you that i ite thrilled to et you when we were ajorca, there was a rs leech there, and 射 was tellg the ost wonderful thgs about you 射