ce, an'--"

"Silence!" hissed the Mahdi between his teeth.

"Silence!" echoed the interpreter.

"All right, you nigger! Tell the baboon to go on. I won't run foul of
him again; he ain't worth it."

This was said with free-and-easy contempt.

"Do you not know," resumed the Mahdi, turning again to Miles with a
fierce expression, "that I have power to take your life?"

"You have no power at all beyond what God gives to you," said Miles
quietly.

Even the angry Mahdi was impressed with the obvious truth of this
statement, but his anger was not much allayed by it.

"Know you not," he continued, "that I have the power to torture you to
death?"

Our hero did not at once reply. He felt that a grand crisis in his life
had arrived, that he stood there before an assemblage of "unbelievers,"
and that, to some extent, the credit of his countrymen for courage,
fidelity, and Christianity was placed in his hands.

"Mahdi," he said, impressively, as he drew himself up, "you have indeed
the power to torture and kill me, but you have _not_ the power to open
my lips, or cause me to bring dishonour on my country!"

"Brayvo, Johnny! Pitch into him!" cried the delighted Molloy.

"Fool!" exclaimed the Mahdi, whose ire was rekindled as much by the
seaman's uncomprehended comment as by our hero's fearless look and tone,
"you cannot bring dishonour on a country which is already dishonoured.
What dishonour can exceed that of being leagued with the oppressor
against the oppressed? Go! You shall be taught to sympathise with the
oppressed by suffering oppression!"

He waved his hand, and, quickly leaving the court, walked towards his
horse, where the fine-looking negro runner stood and held his stirrup,
while he prepared to mount. Instead of mounting, however, he stood for
a few seconds looking thoughtfully at the ground. Then he spoke a few
words to the runner, who bowed his head slightly as his master mounted
and rode away.

Grasping a small lance and flag, which seemed to be the emblems of his
office, he ran off at full speed in front of the horse to clear the way
for his master.

At the entrance to the building an official of some sort took hold of
Miles's arm and led him away. He glanced back and observed that two
armed men followed. At the same time he saw Molloy's head towering
above the surrounding crowd, as he and his comrades were led away in
another direction. That was the last he saw of some at least, of his