"So he has," replied the mirza, "and you remember how he sent up an army to capture him, and how the sheikh escaped only by making himself so small that no one could see him. But what can the agha do? This Kurdish fox, when he ran away from the agha's cannon, went down to the city of Kerbella, and there he made so many prayers at the grave of the holy martyr Husain that the chief mullah of Kerbella gave him a letter which explained how holy a man he had become, and how wrong it would be for anyone to injure him. He came back with this letter, and what can one do? All the mullahs and people would be angry if the governor did not respect it. The ruler of the province has telegraphed that the sheikh is pardoned for what he did, and now the agha is giving him a great dinner, and I must be off to write an order making him the governor of six villages, including the one he robbed. And a gold star is being sent to him by the Shah, and a title, 'The Sword of the Kingdom.' Our agha hopes that this will keep him from giving more trouble. Gold stars to pin on one's breast are cheaper than fighting. The ammunition the soldiers wasted on that empty house cost the price of fifty stars and twenty dinners." CHAPTER XIX FAREWELL TO KARIM AS the time for Karim's wedding approached, the man who studied the skies was asked by Abdullah to find out what day would be the best for the wedding. "The stars show me," he said, "that it must not occur upon the first day or upon the middle day of the month, or for three days after the full moon. These days will be sure to bring bad luck." The mullah then went to the house of Shahbaz. Kadija stood behind a curtain, so that he could not see her--for that was the custom. He read some verses from the Koran, and then made a prayer. After this he asked, "Kadija, daughter of Shahbaz, are you willing to marry Karim, the son of Abdullah?" "Yes," she whispered from behind the curtain. "Very well," said the mullah, "since you yourself say that you are willing, no one can now object." And he thrust a paper, stating this, under the curtain. The wedding celebration lasted three days, and was held in Abdullah's house. There was plenty to eat, and plenty of music, made by a fife and drum for the boys and young men to dance by in the yard; the girls and women danced inside the house. Everybody in the village came to congratulate Abdullah, and to take dinner. From all the villages near by the beggars swarmed outside in the dust of the street; they, too, were given something to eat.