“These men are possessed with blind devils. Is it to be supposed that Abd-ur-Rahman will show them kindness when they defame him in the markets? And can he now let them take the rifles? I will give you my neighbor’s hoard privately, as between ourselves; but blab the matter beforehand, and I avert my face, I draw my robe away, I have no knowledge of you. As for what the old braggart says about Abd-ur-Rahman’s father, it is a lie. Abd-ur-Rahman is an orphan, both of father and mother. I have the assurance of it from his own mouth.” That merchant, with the other tavern haunters, was aware how often men who hear sedition and rebuke not its prophet, are themselves made guilty of it in the eve of Power. And Hassan, in the midst of his adherents, looked ill to rebuke. The coffee sellers, therefore, joined with their customers in extolling the wisdom of his plan to depart. They praised his intelligence, and that of his honorable companions. The city was no place for them. It was a malicious place, a backbiting and slanderous place, the home of all injustice. No wonder their Excellencies preferred the open land; and so on. Hassan, the dupe of these plaudits, was returning in great satisfaction from his morning round, when he saw from a distance a man beckoning to him beside the doorway of the khan. Drawing near, he recognized the Bimbashi Muhammed. “Ma sh’ Allah!” he exclaimed in his soul; for he had thought never again to behold that particular rascal. “Deign to step apart with me,” said the soldier, with lowly reverence; and, when Hassan had complied, he touched his uniform piteously, calling attention to a change in it. “See, I have been degraded. I have suffered much for thy sake. Thou wilt not give up the undertaking, surely—thou, a great one—for the fee is like owing to me for all I have endured. I come to tell thee that vigilance is relaxed, that all is now favorable to our business—but to learn from the lord of the khan that your honors depart in the morning. Go not far away, O my dear! Return by night to the city. I will warn the guards at the city gate; I myself will admit thee to the tower. I cannot bring you the things because of a sacred oath which was wrung from me. But I can open the door of the armory. Fear not, O my master. There is no danger, Allah witness. At the fourth hour of the night. And the fee—we agreed upon that. Forget not the fee, O my eyes, for I have suffered much.” Once more he touched his mutilated uniform in the manner of a beggar showing sores. Hassan pulled his white mustache, and eyed the man grimly askance. “It is not good to deceive Hassan Agha.” The poor soldier flung up his hands. “Allah witness,” he cried, in tones of real horror. “O my great lord, trust Muhammed. I am a poor honest man whose one aim is to serve thee and obtain the reward.” “Agreed then,” said Hassan, well content. “To-morrow, at the fourth hour of the night, be ready. With my peace, go.”