distinctly audible. Abdulla stopped and looked round slowly.

"Is he dead?" he asked.

"May you live!" answered the crowd in one shout, and then there succeeded
a breathless silence.

Abdulla made a few paces forward and found himself for the last time face
to face with his old enemy. Whatever he might have been once he was not
dangerous now, lying stiff and lifeless in the tender light of the early
day. The only white man on the east coast was dead, and his soul,
delivered from the trammels of his earthly folly, stood now in the
presence of Infinite Wisdom. On the upturned face there was that serene
look which follows the sudden relief from anguish and pain, and it
testified silently before the cloudless heaven that the man lying there
under the gaze of indifferent eyes had been permitted to forget before he
died.

Abdulla looked down sadly at this Infidel he had fought so long and had
bested so many times. Such was the reward of the Faithful! Yet in the
Arab's old heart there was a feeling of regret for that thing gone out of
his life. He was leaving fast behind him friendships, and enmities,
successes, and disappointments--all that makes up a life; and before him
was only the end. Prayer would fill up the remainder of the days
allotted to the True Believer! He took in his hand the beads that hung
at his waist.

"I found him here, like this, in the morning," said Ali, in a low and
awed voice.

Abdulla glanced coldly once more at the serene face.

"Let us go," he said, addressing Reshid.

And as they passed through the crowd that fell back before them, the
beads in Abdulla's hand clicked, while in a solemn whisper he breathed
out piously the name of Allah! The Merciful! The Compassionate!

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALMAYER'S FOLLY***

******* This file should be named 720.txt or 720.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/7/2/720

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electroni