mate the precise amount of Christian brotherhood between
an Orthodox Greek, a Welsh Wesleyan, an Ethiopian priest, a Scotch
Presbyterian, and an Anglican bishop (since the Kikuyu heresy). Even
within the narrow limits of one sect there is nothing like the
fellowship one finds in secular societies. Which is the stronger appeal,
"Anglican communicant" or "Freemason"? Is a cross or the quadrant and
compasses the more potent charm?

Arabs credit us Christians with a much stronger bond of sympathy between
co-religionists than is actually the case. It is true that those who
come into any sort of contact with us realise that there is a distinct
difference in form of worship and sentiment between Catholics (whom they
call _Christyan_) and Protestants (or _Nasara_), but I shall not readily
forget the extraordinary conduct of a Hejazi who boarded us off Jeddah
with some of the effects belonging to the murdered Germans mentioned in
the previous chapter. He must have had the firm conviction that we
Christians would avenge the killing of other Christians by Moslems, for
he merely told me that he had in his possession certain property of the
_Allemani_, and I told him that he would be suitably rewarded on
producing it; I found out later that he had boasted to our ship's
interpreter (a Mussulman) that he was one of the slayers, and it
occurred to me that if that were the case he might be able to give me
further information, or perhaps produce papers of theirs which might
appear valueless to him but would be of interest to us. I interviewed
him on deck and suggested this, reminding him of what he had told the
interpreter, but laying no stress on the deed he had confessed, for it
was outside our jurisdiction and no concern of mine.

"Papers?" he said. "By all means, I will go and fetch them," and
breaking from my light hold of his sleeve he flickered over the rail and
dropped into the sea some thirty feet below. Two armed marines stepped
to the rail with a clatter of breech-bolts and looked inquiringly at me.
Meanwhile my bold murderer was calling on his God, for he wore a full
bandoleer, which was weighing him down. Out darted a fishing-canoe from
under our quarter and made for him, but its occupants took the hint I
conveyed through a megaphone and confined their efforts to saving him
for the duty-cutter to pick up.

He was brought before me dripping wet, with the fear of death in his
eyes. I thought this was due to the foolish risk