human
It is not often that the Roumi speaketh our tongue.
gpt
No, I replied, smiling.
human
But I have lived for many moons among thy clansmen, and have wandered far and wide in this thy Land of the Sun.
gpt
Hast thou travelled in the Great Desert?
human
Yes, I answered.
gpt
With the caravans I have been over the Areg and the Sahara, and, laughing, I added,
human
I have managed to escape from the clutches of Hadj Absalam--
gpt
Cursed be his name! May Allah never show him mercy!
human
I heard a rumour at Constantine the other day, remarked my interrogator,
gpt
That is quite correct, I replied.
human
I was with them, and because of my Faith my life was spared so that I might be tortured. But I escaped, and returned hence.
gpt
Praise be unto the Prophet who hast preserved thee! he said devoutly.
human
Indeed, Absalam's people are a terror to all. Our brother Ali Ben Hafiz--may Allah show him mercy--was very well known here.
gpt
Yes. Very well known,
human
He often played _damma_ here, continued the old Arab,
gpt
Then, raising himself and pointing to the end of the low-roofed cafe, where on the walls hung grotesquely-executed texts from the Koran and gaudily-coloured pictures of the city of Mecca, he added,
human
See there! once while he was smoking in this _kahoua_, a Roumi who chanced to come in drew that portrait. Dost thou recognise him?