"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."