David's eye flashed. "A great device. They will be here by midnight, then, perhaps?" "At midnight, Saadat, by the blessing of God." "How wert thou wounded?" "I came upon two of the enemy. They were mounted. I fought them. Upon the horse of one I came here." "The other?" "God is merciful, Saadat. He is in the bosom of God." "How many men come by the river?" "But fifty, Saadat," was the answer, "but they have sworn by the stone in the Kaabah not to surrender." "And those who come with the effendi, with Ebn Ezra Bey, are they as those who will not surrender?" "Half of them are so. They were with thee, as was I, Saadat, when the great sickness fell upon us, and were healed by thee, and afterwards fought with thee." David nodded abstractedly, and motioned to Mahommed to take the man away; then he said to Lacey: "How long do you think we can hold out?" "We shall have more men, but also more rifles to fire, and more mouths to fill, if Ebn Ezra gets in, Saadat." David raised his head. "But with more rifles to fire away your ten thousand rounds"--he tapped the paper on the table--"and eat the eighty hundredweight of dourha, how long can we last?" "If they are to fight, and with full stomachs, and to stake everything on that one fight, then we can last two days. No more, I reckon." "I make it one day," answered David. "In three days we shall have no food, and unless help comes from Cairo, we must die or surrender. It is not well to starve on the chance of help coming, and then die fighting with weak arms and broken spirit. Therefore, we must fight to morrow, if Ebn Ezra gets in to-night. I think we shall fight well," he added. "You think so?" "You are a born fighter, Saadat." A shadow fell on David's face, and his lips tightened. "I was not born a fighter, Lacey. The day we met first no man had ever died by my hand or by my will." "There are three who must die at sunset--an hour from now-by thy will, Saadat." A startled look came into David's face. "Who?" he asked. "The Three Pashas, Saadat. They have been recaptured." "Recaptured!" rejoined David mechanically. "Achmet Pasha got them from under the very noses of the sheikhs before sunrise this morning." "Achmet--Achmet Pasha!" A light came into David's face again. "You will keep faith with Achmet, Saadat. He risked his life to get them. They betrayed you, and betrayed three hundred good men to death. If they do not die, those who fight for you will say that it doesn't matter whether men fight for you or betray you, they get the same stuff off the same plate. If we are going to fight to-morrow, it ought to be with a clean bill of health." "They served me well so long--ate at my table, fought with me. But--but traitors must die, even as Harrik died." A stern look came into his face. He looked round the great room slowly. "We have done our best," he said. "I need not have failed, if there had been no treachery. . . ." "If it hadn't been for Nahoum!"