FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  
h with more surprise than at the sight of the man who stood that morning in their place. It was Mohammed of Mequinez. He had come to ask for the release of the followers of Absalam from their prison at Shawan. In defiance of courtesy his slippers were on his feet. He was clad in a piece of untanned camel-skin, which reached to his knees and was belted about his waist. His head, which was bare to the sun and drooped by nature like a flower, was held proudly up, and his wild eyes were flashing. He was not supplicating for the deliverance of the people, but demanding it, and taxing Ben Aboo as a tyrant to his throat. "Give me them up, Ben Aboo," he was saying as Israel came to the threshold, "or, if they die in their prison, one thing I promise you." "And pray what is that?" said Ben Aboo. "That there will be a bloody inquiry after their murderer." Ben Aboo's brows were knitted, but he only glanced at Katrina, and made pretence to laugh, and then said, "And pray, my lord, who shall the murderer be?" Then Mohammed of Mequinez stretched out his hand and answered, "Yourself." At that word there-was silence for a moment, while Ben Aboo shifted in his seat, and Katrina quivered beside him. Ben Aboo glanced up at Mohammed. He was Kaid, he was Basha, he was master of all men within a circuit of thirty miles, but he was afraid of this man whom the people called a prophet. And partly out of this fear, and partly because he had more regard to Mohammed's courageous behaviour in thus bearding him in his Kasbah and by the walls of his dungeons than to the anger his hot word had caused him, Ben Aboo would have promised him at that moment that the prisoners at Shawan should be released. But suddenly Katrina remembered that she also had cause of indignation against this man, for it had been rumoured of late that Mohammed had openly denounced her marriage. "Wait, Sidi," she said. "Is not this the fellow that has gone up and down your bashalic, crying out on our marriage that it was against the law of Mohammed?" At that Ben Aboo saw clearly that there was no escape for him, so he made pretence to laugh again, and said, "Allah! so it is! Mohammed the Third, eh? Son of Mequinez, God will repay you! Thanks! Thanks! You could never think how long I've waited that I might look face to face upon the prophet that has denounced a Kaid." He uttered these big words between bursts of derisive laughter, but Mohammed struck th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Mohammed
 

Katrina

 

Mequinez

 

Thanks

 

glanced

 
people
 
murderer
 

pretence

 
partly
 

marriage


prophet

 

denounced

 
moment
 

Shawan

 
prison
 

released

 
remembered
 
prisoners
 

suddenly

 

caused


regard

 

courageous

 

called

 

thirty

 

afraid

 

behaviour

 

dungeons

 

bearding

 

Kasbah

 

promised


waited

 
derisive
 

laughter

 

struck

 

bursts

 
uttered
 

fellow

 
circuit
 

rumoured

 
openly

bashalic
 

escape

 
crying
 
indignation
 

silence

 

proudly

 
flower
 

drooped

 
nature
 

flashing