The sea gypsy (1924)

46 The Sea Gypsy hut of thatch and mud. The big woman struck a match and lighted a candle. The room was only a very moderate-sized one. Two high board beds, on which lay gaudy covered mattresses, filled most of the space. An unpainted wood shelf held an English china tea set. The floor space of packed dirt which was left was no bigger than that which could be covered by a big double bed. " The lovely theatre of the dancers of the East," said Taylor. We climbed on the edge of a bed and called for a Somali dance. The women clapped their hands and shuffled awkwardly. There was hardly space there for the three to move. "Enough, Arab dance," we said. The women clapped their hands, and again shuffled — just as before. Came a pounding on the door, and shrill cries from without. One dancer quit and put her back against the door. The others paid no attention to the racket. " Indian dance," we cried in unison. Once more exactly the same clapping and shuffling. We paid our money and went out to face a score of other dancers, who had been banging the door hoping to get in to show their skill also. But we pulled away from their clutches, and made for the ship. These dancers and the fly-ridden cafe are Jibuti's only amusements. Absolutely nothing else. No wonder the whites seem indescribably listless. What a