“No; is dat so?”

“Of course it is. They just set around⁠—except, maybe, when there’s a war; then they go to the war. But other times they just lazy around; or go hawking⁠—just hawking and sp⁠—Sh!⁠—d’ you hear a noise?”

We skipped out and looked; but it warn’t nothing but the flutter of a steamboat’s wheel away down, coming around the point; so we come back.

“Yes,” says I, “and other times, when things is dull, they fuss with the parlyment; and if everybody don’t go just so he whacks their heads off. But mostly they hang round the harem.”

“Roun’ de which?”

“Harem.”

“What’s de harem?”