I swear I saw a horse and man surmount a housetop in the village and then leap down upon the other side.

At last, with yells and reckless gunshots and a whirl of dust, the crowd of horsemen came full tilt on the meydan.

Their leader--in appearance a mad angel--was my friend, Abdul Hamid.

Suddenly he drew his rein, flinging the steed right back upon his haunches.

In so doing, looking up at me with a triumphant smile, he somehow missed his balance and pitched clear over his horse's head, just at the very moment when a carriage and pair containing the beaming Consul-General and his lady, with a glorious Cawwas upon the box, arrived upon the scene.