from previous--

hamid  joined  a  group  of  seven whites  because  he  was  alone  and  there  were  two  young  women in the  group,  he  asked  in his  most  polite  tone  the  old  man  who  seemed  to  be  the   caretaker  of  the  girls  if  he  could  join the  party, the  old  man  was  sharp, shrewd, quick  wit  and  funny, he  welcomed  him , so  did  the  girls  smilingly  but  the  other  four  remained  serious  as  ever