They entered at once not a hall but a room. So all Eastern houses are ordered. A lamp was burning, the walls were hung with maps of France and of North Africa, a few shelves held a few books and many tin cases labelled "Forage," "Hospital," "Police." Behind a desk sat a little man, dressed in black, who was dealing cards to himself in a game of solitaire. He rose and bowed when the commandant entered, and then he went on with his game.
"Stand there," said the commandant, pointing to a corner, "and put your hands over your head."
Ali obeyed.
"Search him," said the commandant.
The _spahi_ began at Ali"s hair and ended with his sandals.
"He has nothing," he reported.
"Now give me the letter," said the commandant.
Ali twisted himself, fumbled at his waist, and drew out a knife. He placed it on the desk, smiling.
"Do not blame the corporal for overlooking this," he said; "I am so thin from the journey that he took it for one of my ribs."
"I will trust you," said the commandant, and he took the letter.
The little man in black kept dealing solitaire.
The commandant read the letter to himself and laughed, and then he read it aloud:
"_To Monsieur the COUNT D"APREMONT, Commandant at Biskra.
"MONSIEUR: Since last I saw you strange things have happened. I have turned Christian, and I have married. I wonder at which of these statements you will laugh most.
"May I bring my wife to your house? She will be the only Christian woman in Biskra. Say "yes" or "no" to the bearer. I am halted a mile outside of the town, awaiting your answer.
"Mirza, the mother of the Almees, has a certain claim upon my wife; how valid I do not know. I need counsel, but first of all I need shelter.
May I come?_
"ABDULLAH."
"Of course he may come," said the commandant; "what is to prevent?"
"The law, perhaps," said the little man in black, shuffling the cards.
The commandant turned quickly. "Why the law, Monsieur the Chancellor?"
he asked.
"Because," answered the little man, still shuffling the cards, "he says that Mirza has a certain claim upon his wife, how valid he does not know; and he needs counsel and he needs shelter. When a man writes like this, he also needs a lawyer;" and he commenced a new deal.
The commandant stood a moment, thinking. Then he raised his head with a jerk, and said to Ali: "Tell your master that I say "yes.""
Ali made salaam and glided from the room.
"He has left his knife," said the lawyer.
The commandant turned to the _spahi_. "Corporal," he said, "go to the citadel and bring back twelve men. Place six of them at the entrance of the square, and six of them before my house. When Abdullah"s caravan has entered the square, have the further six close in behind. You may take your time. It will be an hour before you are needed."
The _spahi_ saluted, and went out.
The commandant turned to the little man in black.
"Why in the world," he asked, "did you object to my harboring Abdullah?
He is my friend and yours. He is the best man that crosses the desert.
He has eaten our salt many times. If all here were like him, you and I might go home to France, with our medals and our pensions."
"True," said the lawyer, gathering his cards, "and very likely there is no risk in harboring him and his wife." He shuffled the cards mechanically, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall.
"My friend," he said, at length, "whom do you consider the most powerful person in Biskra, the person to be first reckoned with?"
The commandant laughed. "As I am in command," he said, "I should be court-martialled if I denied my own superiority."
"And yet," said the lawyer, "you are only a poor second."
The commandant, who was sitting astride of his chair, his hands upon its back, demi-vaulted as if he were in the saddle of a polo pony.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
The lawyer kept shuffling the cards, but he paid no attention to them.
"Go to the window," he said, "and tell me what you see."
The commandant rose, and went to the window, his spurs jingling. He drew the curtain and looked out.
"What do you see?" asked the counsellor.
"I see the square," answered the commandant, "with five hundred kettle-lights, and three thousand Mussulmans gorging themselves, making up lost time."
"Look over at the left corner," said the lawyer.
"I see the mosque," said the commandant, "with its lamps burning."
"There you have it," cried the lawyer. "This religion that you and I are sent to conquer keeps its lamps burning constantly, while the religion that comes to conquer lights its candles only for the ma.s.s.
Mankind loves light and warmth. What do you see now?"
"I see Mirza," replied the commandant; "she is walking up the centre line of the fires. Now she stops. She meets a man, draws him hurriedly aside, and is speaking close to his ear."
"Has he a green turban?" asked the lawyer. "Has he been to Mecca?"
"Yes," answered the commandant.
"There you see the most powerful person in Biskra," said the counsellor.
"Who?" asked the commandant. "The man in the green turban?"