Briefly and bitterly this bit of history was reviewed by the old Arab. Then he became more animated. He said the loyal Egyptians had been planning a new movement against the British, with great secrecy, for a long time, and that the natives and a large part of the army were ready to rise in revolt whenever the signal was given. The butchery of the gallant “Chinese” Gordon at Khartoum--a stain on England’s fame which never can be blotted out--had checked the British advance in the Soudan and to some extent paralyzed the officials who, from the safe haven of the War Office in London, were drawing up plans of conquest, and the conspirators believed the time had come for what they were confident would prove a successful and final blow for freedom. But, to make this ardently desired result more certain, they needed the inspiring leadership of Arabi Pasha, in whose talent for conflict they still had great faith, which doubtless was intensified by his enforced absence. Furthermore, Regal explained, the superstitious natives would hail his unexpected return from exile as a sign that they could not be defeated and would fight more desperately and determinedly than before. Through spies it had been learned that Arabi was confined at a point near the coast, only a short distance from Colombo, the capital of Ceylon. He was allowed considerable freedom, within certain prescribed limits, and was in the custody of only a small guard. His escape was regarded as impossible and the idea that an attempt might be made to rescue him seemingly had not entered the minds of those responsible for his safe-keeping. Yet that was precisely what I was asked to accomplish. After Regal had stated the conditions of Arabi’s captivity he dramatically declared, with flashing eyes: “The fires which the British foolishly thought they had stamped out, were not, and could never be, extinguished. They have been smouldering ever since and are now ready to burst into a flame that will consume everything before it. We need only the presence of the great Arabi. You can bring him to us. With a ship, whose true mission is concealed by methods of which we know you to be a master, you can sail to a point close to his place of confinement. As soon as it is dark and quiet forty or fifty of our brave men, who will accompany you, will be landed. They will steal upon his guards and silence them and return with the General to your ship. There will be none left to give the alarm and by the time it is discovered that he has been snatched away from their cursed hands you will be far out of sight, and with your knowledge of the ways of those who sail the sea it should not be difficult for you to avoid capture. You will land Arabi at some point to be decided on, from which he can make his way to Cairo. With his coming our banners will be unfurled and Egypt will be restored to the Egyptians. It is a mission in the cause of freedom and humanity. Are you willing to undertake it?”