St. Mark thereupon grew in honour among the Venetians, until he had assumed the position of Patron, and it was not long before the idea of bringing back his body, which reposed at Alexandria, began to take hold of the common mind. But, unfortunately, Alexandria was in the hands of the Mussulman, and the Emperor had forbidden any intercourse with the unbelievers, even for the purposes of commerce. Now the Emperor’s interdictions were not to be lightly disobeyed, life and fortune being the usual penalty; but the Emperor was far away and St. Mark could hardly refuse to have any one going on such an errand in his keeping. He was an Evangelist, too—a mighty man and one who stood very near to the throne; so, commending themselves to his protection, two Venetians, merchants and navigators—Burno da Malamoceo and Rustico da Torcello—fitted out a very fast boat with merchandise for the East, and set sail, leaving no address. When they reached Alexandria, they stayed on board until the evening, and one can imagine them sitting on the deck and watching the slow setting of the sun over the blue waters, their eyes straying hungrily to the city as it faded, shade by shade, into an amethystine obscurity. They were running more risks than that of the Emperor’s wrath that night, and they must have talked long ere they arrived at a plan of action for getting the body of the Saint on board. It would not be tamely surrendered, that was sure; in fact, as they knew, it would not be surrendered at all. They would have to take it, and, besides, transport it through the city afterwards. When at last the night gathered the world into its mantle, they left the ship and were rowed ashore, when, taking their courage in their hands, they hurried through the soft eastern dusk towards the Basilica where the body was kept. How they came to know their way to it, history does not say, and that tangled maze of buildings which was Alexandria must have been a business to thread, seeing that they spoke no language which the common people in the streets understood. However, they eventually arrived at the Basilica and opened communication with the men in charge of the Church. They seem to have gone straight to the point, for in a very short while they succeeded in bribing these latter (one can only speculate on what they must have been compelled to pay!) and in obtaining possession of the treasure. That done, they placed it in the bottom of a cart and filled the latter with as much salt-pork as the mules could draw, knowing well that no Mohammedan, however casual, would touch the unclean meat or even approach it, after which they retraced their way through the sleeping city and smuggled their prize on board.