r be fil-kharij, a stranger in this
world. He would be fil-dakhil, at home.

The lesson was over. The boys stood with Saadi and bowed their heads in
prayer. After the prayers they bowed again to their teacher and, alone
or in pairs, pattered out of the courtyard of the Gray Mosque.

When they were all gone, Daoud stood alone facing Saadi.

"What does Daoud have to say to me?"

In a rush of love for his master, Daoud threw himself to his knees and
struck his forehead on Saadi's red carpet, bumping his head hard enough
to be slightly stunned.

"What is it, Daoud?" Saadi's voice was a comforting rumble.

Daoud sat back and looked up. The figure of the Sufi towered over him.
But Saadi bent his head, and looking into the dark face, Daoud felt as
if someone huge and powerful had taken him into his arms.

"Master, I want to embrace Islam."

* * * * *

Daoud was mentally repeating the salat for the third time when he heard
footsteps and the click of hooves coming up the road. He shut his eyes
to resist the distraction.

A voice interrupted the fourth repetition. "Peace be unto you, Signore.
Can you tell me if there is room at the sign of the Capo di Bue for my
son and me and our donkey?"

Daoud was annoyed at having to stop his prayers, but he had to reply or
call unwanted attention to himself. He opened his eyes and saw in the
shadows before him a short man with a full white beard holding the reins
of a donkey that breathed heavily and shifted its feet nervously on the
great black paving stones of the Appian Way. A second figure, obscure in
the darkness, sat on the donkey. The two seemed heavily dressed for
summer. The bearded man wore a round black hat with a narrow brim, of a
type Daoud had never seen before.

"It is not overly full," he said impatiently.

But the man with the black hat still stood before him. "Are you sure
that we will be welcome, Signore?"

"You can pay for a place in the common bed, can you not?" said Daoud,
eager to finish the prayer.

"Oh, we do not require a bed, Signore," said the old man. "We will sleep
in the stable, or sit up"--he chuckled--"or even sleep standing up, as
our donkey does. It is just that we cannot go farther tonight. Rome has
more robbers than a dog has fleas."

Why in the name of God was the man so hesitant? Daoud, seeing no need to
continue the conversation, remained silent.

The old man sighed. "Peace be to you, Signore," he sai