o his hotel. He did not know what to
do; the absence of the Iretons from Cairo had shattered his last hope.
Surely it was ordained? He was to realize that he was reaping the
punishment he deserved for his weakness and folly. It was obvious to
his tired nerves and hypercritical senses that Margaret had purposely
returned to England without leaving any indication of her destination.
He would go to Cook's post-office the next morning; that was his last
forlorn hope. If there was no letter awaiting him there, he would take
his dismissal as final. It had been he himself who had insisted that
Margaret should consider herself free.

He knew Freddy's English address, but dared he write to him? He had
ignored all his letters and had gone back to England without making any
effort to communicate with him. This was certainly his dismissal. And
if Margaret had gone also without leaving one word of comfort for him,
he must draw the same conclusion from her silence.

Tired out with walking through the narrow streets, he stood on the
steps of a small mosque, whose doors were closed. He must think over
what he ought to do. As his eyes rested on the Eastern scene before
him, a sudden vision of his old friend at el-Azhar came to him. The
university-mosque would not be closed, its gate would open and receive
him into the Perfection of Peace.

For a few moments the desire to throw himself into the arms of Islam
overwhelmed him; it was the way of peace, the way of forgetfulness, the
way of self-surrender.

He remembered Abdul's teachings, and how he had often said, "A sort of
death comes over the first life, and this state is signified by the
word Islam, for Islam brings about death of the passions of the flesh
and gives new life to us. This is the true regeneration, and the word
of God must be revealed to the person who reaches this stage. This
stage is termed 'the meeting of God.'"

Michael imagined that he would find that stage if he went to his old
friend at el-Azhar, if he went humbly and asked him to lead him into
the way of peace, if he went that very night and confessed to him his
own failure to reach the stage which is enjoyed by all devout Moslems.
The burning fire which is Islam, the fire which consumes all low
desires and gives to men that love for God which knows no bounds, would
that be his state, if he surrendered himself intellectually and
spiritually to the laws and the teachings of the Koran?

There was