s head, cried shrilly:
"Kaid, Kaid, hearken!"

Rough hands caught him away, but Kaid commanded them to desist; and the
man called a blessing on him; and cried aloud:

"Listen, O Kaid, son of the stars and the light of day. God hath exalted
thee. Thou art the Egyptian of all the Egyptians. In thy hand is power.
But thou art mortal even as I. Behold, O Kaid, in the hour that I was
born thou wast born, I in the dust without thy Palace wall, thou amid
the splendid things. But thy star is my star. Behold, as God ordains,
the Tree of Life was shaken on the night when all men pray and cry aloud
to God--even the Night of the Falling Leaves. And I watched the falling
leaves; and I saw my leaf, and it was withered, but only a little
withered, and so I live yet a little. But I looked for thy leaf, thou
who wert born in that moment when I waked to the world. I looked long,
but I found no leaf, neither green nor withered. But I looked again upon
my leaf, and then I saw that thy name now was also upon my leaf, and
that it was neither green nor withered; but was a leaf that drooped as
when an evil wind has passed and drunk its life. Listen, O Kaid! Upon
the tomb of Mahomet I will set my lips, and it may be that the leaf of
my life will come fresh and green again. But thou--wilt thou not
come also to the lord Mahomet's tomb? Or"--he paused and raised his
voice--"or wilt thou stay and lay thy lips upon the cross of the
infidel? Wilt thou--"

He could say no more, for Kaid's face now darkened with anger. He made
a gesture, and, in an instant, the man was gagged and bound, while a
sullen silence fell upon the crowd. Kaid suddenly became aware of this
change of feeling, and looked round him. Presently his old prudence
and subtlety came back, his face cleared a little, and he called aloud,
"Unloose the man, and let him come to me." An instant after, the man was
on his knees, silent before him.

"What is thy name?" Kaid asked.

"Kaid Ibrahim, Effendina," was the reply.

"Thou hast misinterpreted thy dream, Kaid Ibrahim," answered the
Effendina. "The drooping leaf was token of the danger in which thy life
should be, and my name upon thy leaf was token that I should save thee
from death. Behold, I save thee. Inshallah, go in peace! There is no God
but God, and the Cross is the sign of a false prophet. Thou art mad. God
give thee a new mind. Go."

The man was presently lost in the sweltering, half-frenzied crowd; but
he had done his wo