of their substance which the faiths of both required that they should
pay. But now his work went further. A little group of old Jews, all held
in honour among their people--Abraham Ohana, nicknamed Pigman, son of
a former rabbi; Judah ben Lolo, an elder of his synagogue; and Reuben
Maliki, keeper of the poor-box--were seized and cast into the Kasbah for
gross and base usury.

At this the Jewish quarter was thrown into wild hubbub. The hand that
was on their people was a daring and terrible one. None doubted whose
hand it was--it was the hand of young Israel the Jew.

When the three old usurers had bought themselves out of the Kasbah, they
put their heads together and said, "Let us drive this fellow out of the
Mellah, and so shall he be driven out of the town." Then the owner of
the house which Israel rented for his lodging evicted him by a poor
excuse, and all other Jewish owners refused him as tenant. But the
conspiracy failed. By command of the Governor, or by his influence,
Israel was lodged by the Nadir, the administrator of mosque property,
in one of the houses belonging to the mosque on the Moorish side of the
Mellah walls.

Seeing this, the usurers laid their heads together again and said, "Let
us see that no man of our nation serve him, and so shall his life be a
burden." Then the two Jews who had been his servants deserted him, and
when he asked for Moors he was told that the faithful might not obey the
unbeliever; and when he would have sent for negroes out of the Soudan he
was warned that a Jew might not hold a slave. But the conspiracy failed
again. Two black female slaves from Soos, named Fatimah and Habeebah,
were bought in the name of the Governor and assigned to Israel's
service.