s not.

"'The better for you,' he answered, with the same furious anger in his
swarthy face. 'First shall the idolaters fall, and then the Jews, in
that they have not known those very prophets whom they had themselves
foretold. Then last will come the turn of the Christians, who follow
indeed a true Prophet, greater than Moses or Abraham, but who have
sinned in that they have confounded a creature with the Creator. To each
in turn--idolater, Jew, and Christian--the day of reckoning will come.'

"The ragamuffins behind him all shook their spears as he spoke. There
was no doubt about their earnestness, but when I looked at their
tattered dresses and simple arms, I could not help smiling to think of
their ambitious threats, and to picture what their fate would be upon
the day of battle before the battle-axes of our Imperial Guards, or the
spears of the heavy cavalry of the Armenian Themes. However, I need not
say that I was discreet enough to keep my thoughts to myself, as I had
no desire to be the first martyr in this fresh attack upon our blessed
faith.

"It was now evening, and it was decided that the two caravans should
camp together--an arrangement which was the more welcome as we were by
no means sure that we had seen the last of the marauders. I had invited
the leader of the Arabs to have supper with me, and after a long
exercise of prayer with his followers, he came to join me, but my
attempt at hospitality was thrown away, for he would not touch the
excellent wine which I had unpacked for him, nor would he eat any of my
dainties, contenting himself with stale bread, dried dates, and water.
After this meal we sat alone by the smouldering fire, the magnificent
arch of the heavens above us of that deep, rich blue with those
gleaming, clear-cut stars which can only be seen in that dry desert air.
Our camp lay before us, and no sound reached our ears save the dull
murmur of the voices of our companions and the occasional shrill cry of
a jackal among the sandhills around us. Face to face I sat with this
strange man, the glow of the fire beating upon his eager and imperious
features and reflecting from his passionate eyes. It was the strangest
vigil, and one which will never pass from my recollection. I have spoken
with many wise and famous men upon my travels, but never with one who
left the impression of this one.

"And yet much of his talk was unintelligible to me, though, as you are
aware, I speak Arabian like an