er, took no notice of my words, but ran hard for the village,
howling lustily.

'The wicked boy! The wicked children!' the evangelist kept moaning, in
hesitating and half-contrite tones. 'It is a bity that you let him go.
He will perhabs make trouble for us in the fillage. But you are so
brafe. I think the English are the brafest kind of beeble.'

I also thought it possible there might be trouble; but I decided to go
on, not wishing to show fear before that craven. He cried aloud in awe
and wonder when I told him that little boys threw stones in Christian
England.

'But only upon unbelievers!' he exclaimed imploringly, as one who
would preserve his last illusion.

I replied to the effect that members of the Church of England would,
no doubt, have stoned a Baptist or a Roman Catholic with pleasure, if
such heretics with us had dressed in a peculiar way; but that, in my
opinion, it was only natural instinct in a boy to throw a stone at any
living thing which seemed unusual.

The shock this information gave him--or his private terrors--kept him
silent through the village; where the people, men and women, watched
us pass with what appeared to be unfriendly faces. I was ill at ease,
expecting some attack at every step.

As luck would have it, at the far end of the place, when I could see
the open country, and was giving thanks for our escape, a great big
stone was thrown by a small boy quite close to me. It struck me on the
arm, and hurt enough to make me really angry.

'For God's sake, sir!' implored my terrified companion, 'Ride on! Do
nothing! There are men obserfing.'

I heard him taking to his heels. But I had caught the culprit, and was
beating him. His yells went forth with terrible insistence:

'O my father, O my mother, help. Ya Muslimin!'

And, in a trice, I was surrounded by a group of surly-looking
fellahin, one of whom told me curtly to release the boy. I did so
instantly, prepared for trouble. But no sooner had I left off beating
than that man began. The boy's appeals for help went forth anew; but
this time he addressed them to his mother only, for his father held
him.

I begged the man to stop, and in the end he did so.

All those ferocious-looking fellahin returned my smile at this
conclusion, and wished me a good evening as I rode away.

I never saw that bright evangelist again. No doubt he ran till he had
reached some place inhabited by altogether righteous Christian people.
But the way he