at the
first sign of trouble.

"He assumes that I'm a gay Lochinvar who'd like nothing better
than to carry off the lady. He wants her carried off and ravished
as a spite for Ali Higg.

"Well, I didn't exactly fall for that; said I couldn't very well
approach Ali Higg afterward, and he admitted that relations in
that case might be kind o' strained. So he proposed next that I
should meet up with Ali Higg and poison him. He offered to
supply the poison--stuff that he said would make him die slowly
in agony."

"What's his quarrel with Ali Higg?"

"Seems the old boy had a daughter who was the apple of his
eye--or so he said. She was on her way down to Egypt; and I
suspect she did not travel by train because she's been bought by
some beast of a pasha. They didn't want inquiries by passport
people, or any interfering bunk like that.

"Anyhow, Ali Higg is quite a ladies' man, and he happened to be
crossing the map with part of his gang of thieves somewhere down
Beersheba way. He agreed with the pasha on the point of taste and
carried off the girl. So old wool-merchant Rafiki had to refund
the purchase-price--not that he admitted that to me, of course.

"I suspect that's where the rub comes. If he hadn't been selling
the girl illegally he'd surely have complained to you about the
rape in the first instance. As it was he couldn't think of
anything except revenge.

"I asked him if he'd take the girl back, and he said no, what
should he do with her? What he wants is money, or else the
lingering death of Ali Higg; and seeing it's about as easy to get
money out of that gentleman as cream cheese out of the moon,
he's willing to part with a hundred pounds for either of two
things--the rape of Ayisha or the death of Ali Higg. On those
terms he vows he'd die contented."

"If he finds out that Ayisha goes with you tonight he'll try to
corrupt old Ali Baba or one of his sons," said de Crespigny.

"Yes, and he probably will find it out. But corrupting Ali Baba
would take time and a lot of money; and none of his sons dares do
a thing without the old man's approval. I feel fairly sure of
the gang. Point is, do you know of any other gang that the
wool-merchant could hire right now to attack us somewhere
on the road?"

"There's none in Hebron that would dare. Plenty outside in
the villages."

"The lady Ayisha has probably told that she's going tonight,"
said Grim. "Old Woolly-wits might not find it out until too late,
but I