midday
The eight or ten black tents were gathered round one , a little higher , a little less ragged than the others -- the tent of the Kebir , or headman ; but it was humble enough . There would have been room and to spare for a dozen such under the _ tente sultane _ of the Agha , at his douar south of El Aghouat . As Maïeddine rode up , a buzz of excitement rose in the hive . Some one ran to tell the Kebir that a great Sidi was arriving , and the headman came out from his tent , where he had been meditating or dozing after the chanting of the midday prayer -- the prayer of noon . He was a thin , elderly man , with an eagle eye to awe his women-folk , and an old burnous of sheep 's wool , which was of a deep cream colour because it had not been washed for many years . Yet he smelt good , with a smell that was like the desert , and there was no foul odour in the miniature douar , as in European dwellings of the very poor . There is never a smell of uncleanliness about Arabs , even those people who must perform most of the ablutions prescribed by their religion with sand instead of water .