the trial."

"Behind closed doors!" said Goodenough.

"Ahum!" said the sheikh, stroking his beard. It would not
have been compatible with either his religion or his racial
consciousness not to try to make the utmost of the situation.
"This would be a bad thing for all the Christian governments if
the tale leaked out. Religious places have been desecrated.
There would be inflammation of Moslem prejudices everywhere."

"It would be worse for you!" Grim retorted. The sheikh stared
hard at him, stroking his beard again,

"How so, Jimgrim? Have I had a hand in this?"

"This is your famous Bir-el-Arwah, where, as you tell your
faithful, the souls of the dead come to pray twice a week. This
is the gulf beneath the Rock of Abraham that you tell them
reaches to the middle of the world. Look at it! Shall we
publish flashlight photographs?"

The sheikh's eyes twinkled as he recognized the force of that
argument. He turned it over in his mind for a full minute before
he answered.

"You cannot be expected to understand spiritual things," he said
at last. "However," looking up, "this is not under the Rock.
This is another place."

Goodenough pulled a compass from his pocket, but Grim shook
his head.

"Go on," said Grim. "What of it?"

"It is better to close up this place and say nothing."

"Except this." Goodenough retorted: "you will say at the first
and every succeeding opportunity that you know it is not true
that Zionists tried to blow up the Dome of the Rock."

"How do I know they did not try?"

"Perhaps we'd better ask the Administrator to come and inspect
this place officially and put the exact facts on the record,"
Goodenough retorted.

"You understand, don't you?" said Grim.

"Everything we've done until now has been strictly unofficial.
There's a difference."

"And this effendi?" he asked, staring at me. "What of him?"

"He is commended to your special benevolence," Grim answered.
"The way to keep a man like him discreet is to make a friend of
him. Treat him as you do me, then we three shall be friends."

The sheikh nodded, and that proved to be the beginning of a
rather intimate acquaintance with him that stood me in good stead
more than once afterwards. The influence that a man in his
position can exert, if he cares to, is almost beyond the belief
of those who pin their faith to money and mere officialdom.

The prisoners were marched out. All except Scharnhoff and the
woman were c