n."

"A woman here," said the commandant, "is a slave."

"A _good_ woman, I grant you," said the lawyer, "but a _bad_ woman, if
she chance to be beautiful, is an empress. Do you know how many men it
takes to officer a mosque of the first class, such a one as we have
here? Twelve," and he dropped the cards and began to count his fingers.
"Two _mueddins_ the chaps that call to prayer; two _tolbas_ who read
the litanies; two _hezzabin_, who read the Koran; a _mufti_ who
interprets the law; a _khetib_ who recites the prayer for the chief of
the government each Friday, and who is very unpopular; an _iman_ who
reads the five daily prayers; a _chaouch_ who is a secretary to the
last of the list, the _oukil_ who collects the funds and pays them out.
The _oukil_ is the man who governs the mosque. He is the man in the
green turban whom you saw talking with Mirza. They are partners. He
attends to the world, she to the flesh, and both to the devil. It is a
strong partnership. It is what, in America, they call a 'trust.' The
_oukil_ sends his clients to Mirza, and she sends hers to the _oukil_.
Look out of the window again. There are three thousand religionists who
have passed through the hands of the _oukil_ and Mirza, and she, making
the most money, has the last word. Do you ask, now, why she is the most
powerful person in Biskra?"

"It seems," said the commandant, "that it is because she is a woman,
and is bad."

"And beautiful," added the lawyer.

"Do you think her beautiful?" asked the commandant.

The lawyer thought a moment. "Did you ever see a hunting-leopard?" he
asked.

"No," said the commandant.

"I used to see them," said the lawyer, "when I was in Sumatra, looking
after the affairs of some Frenchmen who were buying pearls from the
oyster-beds of Arippo. They were horribly beautiful. Mirza reminds me
of them, especially when she seizes her prey. Most beasts of prey are
satisfied when they have killed all that they can devour; but the
hunting-leopard kills because she loves to kill. So does Mirza. She
destroys because she loves to destroy. A hunting-leopard and Mirza are
the only two absolutely cruel creatures I have ever seen. Of course,"
he added, "I eliminate the English, who deem the day misspent unless
they have killed something, and who give infinite pains and tenderness
to the raising of pheasants, that they may slaughter a record number
of them at a _battue_. Aside from a hunting-leopard and a hunting-