“No, no,” he replied, with the air of a man who despairs of extracting the truth, “it was not that; tell me what it was. Remember, you have placed yourself in an awkward position. If I like, being a priest and holding a judicial position, I can cause you to be examined, and if the truth is what I suspect, it will be very awkward for you. It is useless to tell me you are this or that, for you have lied badly either then or now. It occurred to me in Constantinople that you were not a European, and I first thought you were a Kurd, for none but such know the names of places and tribes as you did; but you spoke Persian as a Persian, and not like a Kurd--like I do, for instance. I suspected then that you had some ulterior motive, and now, can you not see how suspicious your presence looks? As to your letters, they are or are not genuine. One thing remains, you are a native of Persia, that I feel sure; and now, if you would make a friend of me, tell me what you did to be expelled from Persia. Abandon all lies, my son, and cleave to the truth.” I could do nothing but humour his delusion, so I described how I had been mixed up with political troubles in Teheran during the days of Muhammad Ali Shah, and my subsequent flight to London. Whether he believed this or not I do not know, but he pretended to accept it. “And so you fled to escape the imprisonment or death that was the fate of some of your countrymen about that time,” he said with a smile. “Yes,” I said, and could not resist the temptation to add, “like yourself from Sina not so long ago.” “Dogs,” he cried, “the Persians, with their crafty tongues; you are one of the accursed breed, for you have the tongue. How I wish all those Persians would slay one another in their squabbles.” “Well,” I replied, “such being your opinion of us, it is useless to make any statement, and I volunteer none; if you ask me questions you must accept what I say, or refrain from asking them. Your right to cross-examination I deny, not being a Turkish subject nor a co-religionist, for like all my countrymen I am Shi’a, and there the affair ends. I came to call upon you, and find myself suspected, and my country insulted!” [Sidenote: UNDER SUSPICION]