“Thou didst not know the strength of the currents, the eddies and the whirlpools, the hidden rocks--and the shore is far off, Saadat.” “It is not so far but that, if I could get breath to gather strength, I should reach the land in time. Money--ah, but enough for this expedition! That over, order, quiet yonder, my own chosen men as governors, and I could”--he pointed towards the southern horizon--“I could plant my foot in Cairo, and from the centre control the great machinery--with Kaid’s help; and God’s help. A sixth of a million, and Kaid’s hand behind me, and the boat would lunge free of the sand-banks and churn on, and churn on.... Friend,” he added, with the winning insistence that few found it possible to resist, “if all be well, and we go thither, wilt thou become the governor-general yonder? With thee to rule justly where there is most need of justice, the end would be sure--if it be the will of God.” Ebn Ezra Bey sat for a moment looking into the worn, eager face, indistinct in the moonlight, then answered slowly: “I am seventy, and the years smite hard as they pass, and there or here, it little matters when I go, as I must go; and whether it be to bend the lance, or bear the flag before thee, or rule a Mudirieh, what does it matter! I will go with thee,” he added hastily; “but it is better thou shouldst not go. Within the last three days I have news from the South. All that thou hast done there is in danger now. The word for revolt has passed from tribe to tribe. A tongue hath spoken, and a hand hath signalled”--his voice lowered--“and I think I know the tongue and the hand!” He paused; then, as David did not speak, continued: “Thou who art wise in most things, dost decline to seek for thy foe in him who eateth from the same dish with thee. Only when it is too late thou wilt defend thyself and all who keep faith with thee.” David’s face clouded. “Nahoum, thou dost mean Nahoum? But thou dost not understand, and there is no proof.” “As a camel knows the coming storm while yet the sky is clear, by that which the eye does not see, so do I feel Nahoum. The evils thou hast suffered, Saadat, are from his hand, if from any hand in Egypt--”