The townsfolk had taken seat around him upon the ruins. All eyes were fixed on his face. At those pious words one said: “It is some holy one!” and the whisper ran apace. It startled Shems-ud-dìn, who had forgotten their existence, when the sheykh of the place stood forth and bowed before him, saying: “Instruct us, O master! We believe; but ignorantly, having but little knowledge of the Way. Teach us now, we entreat thee.” Then Shems-ud-dìn, looking round upon those eager faces, was moved to pity. “You can recite the Fat’ha and the belief?” he asked. Instantly the prayer went up as from one throat, and the shout followed: “God is greatest. There is no God but God; and Muhammed is the Apostle of God.” “You are not in total darkness,” said Shems-ud-dìn, with a smile; and he began to tell them of the dealings of God with men from the days of Adam and Nûh and Ibrahìm unto the time of Muhammed, and thence downward even to the present day. In this occupation, Milhem, coming forth from council with the chief of the colonists, found him at length. “Hail, O tamer of wild beasts!” he laughed. “It is as if they would swallow thee whole, their mouths are so wide open. It is too hot for thee to sit out longer. Come now into my tent—or return to the house of our friend, the Guardian of the Frontier. By Allah, I must thank thee for his friendship. It is a great debt I owe thee, for he could have done me endless mischief.” “By my gun, he is a devil, that brother of thine!” said Hassan, as they sauntered back through the town. “With one blink of his eyes he constructed a plan whereby we may obtain a stud of the best horses at the lowest price ever known. But that is a secret.” Shems-ud-dìn lacked curiosity. He was thinking how to improve the minds of those Muslims, so hungry for instruction. In the days which followed, he delivered many discourses in the little tumble-down mosque, and up on the open hillside. He came to love the place and its inhabitants, and could not sympathize with Milhem, whose lips dropped curses on the entire country. Summer broke at length, with thunder, lightning, and a tremendous downpour. Rain fell in sheets for the space of five days. When at last the sky cleared, there was a new cold taste in the air; a torrent thundered in the gorge beneath the town; green plants began to shoot among the rocks. In a little while the hill of ruins became starred all over with blossoms of the crocus and the cyclamen. Then Hassan was absent all day long, scouring the hills with his men, armed to the teeth. Each evening he spent in cleaning and polishing his beloved weapons. One night he came in with eyes of joy. “The Bedû, O beloved! I have seen the Bedû! Their tents blacken a dell not two hours distant. Their herds roam at large. They will come hither for the accustomed tribute. Ah, thy brother is a devil! To-morrow and, it may be, the next day also, I abide in the house with thee. Dost wonder why? Ah, that is a secret!”