villages he had just burnt, whose wives and children he had just driven
into the mountains. And they were going to die in his dungeons.

It was seven o'clock by this time, and rumour had it that the Sultan's
train was moving down the valley. From the roofs of the houses a vast
human ant-hill could be seen swarming across the plain in the distance.
Then came some rapid transformations of the scene below. First the
streets were deserted by every decent blue jellab and clean white turban
within range of sight. These presently reappeared on the roofs of the
principal thoroughfare, where groups of women, closely covered in their
haiks, had already begun to congregate with their dark attendants. Next,
a body of the townsmen who possessed firearms mounted guard on the
walls to protect the town from the lawlessness of the big army that was
coming. Then into the Feddan, the square marketplace, came pouring from
their own little quarter within its separate walls a throng of Jewish
people, in their black gabardines and skull-caps, men and women and
children, carrying banners that bore loyal inscriptions, twanging at
tambourines and crying in wild discords, "God bless our Lord!" "God give
victory to our Lord the Sultan!"

The poor Jews got small thanks for such loyalty to the last of the
Caliphs of the Prophet. Every ragged Moor in the streets greeted them
with exclamations of menace and abhorrence. Even the blind beggar
crouching at the gate lifted up his voice and cursed them.

"Get out, you Jew! God burn your father! Dogs, take off your
slippers--Abd er-Rahman is coming!"

Thus they were scolded and abused on every side, kicked, cuffed,
jostled, and wedged together well-nigh to suffocation. Their banners