noon
But we had a privy councilor of England of our party , and favors were shown us that never fall to the lot of ordinary travelers . Opposite the Sultan 's palace is the Sultan 's private wharf , so royal and private that it is a prison offense to trespass on it without written permission . Because of his official call at the Residency , and of his card left on the Sultan , wires had been pulled , and a pompous individual whose black face sweated greasily , and whose palm itched for unearned increment , called on Monty very shortly after breakfast with intimation that the wharf had been placed at our disposal , since His Highness the Sultan desired to do us honor . So when the B. I. steamer dropped anchor in the great roadstead shortly after noon we were taken to the wharf by one of the Sultan 's household -- a very civil-spoken Arab gentleman -- and three English officers met us there who made a fuss over Monty and were at pains to be agreeable to the rest of us . While we stood chatting and waiting for the boat that should row us and belongings the mile-and-a-half or so to the steamer , I saw something that made me start . Fred gazed presently in the same direction . `` Johnson is number one ! ''