Still Iskender only answered: "Allah is bountiful!" In truth the tidings of the Emîr's relapse concerned him not at all. He murmured in his soul, "May Allah heal him!" as he would have prayed on hearing of a stranger's illness, but with no sense of guilt or responsibility. To have opened his heart to Asad would have been to risk destroying this blissful state of indifference. He feared to revive his emotions of the day before; so confined himself to pious exclamations.
Asad's inquisitiveness, however, was of a hardy kind. Again and yet again did he return to the charge, pleading, remonstrating, even threatening; holding out every inducement he could think of; even offering the fine penknife with three blades and an ivory handle, which had been given to him only yesterday by the Sitt Jane. He held this treasure up before his patient's eyes, opening the blades one by one to display the glory of it. But Iskender still sat on composedly, smiling into distance, like a graven image. Finding he could elicit nothing, Asad grew angry.
"Thou art still at thy childish toys, I see," he sneered as he at last withdrew. "Much they will profit thee! Ma sh' Allah! I can see how thou wilt envy me hereafter when I am a grand khawâjah, and thou art dirt in the road!" Having attained a safe distance, he let fly his farewell shaft: "Cursed be thy religion, O dog son of a dog!"
Iskender then glanced round in the hope that some others of the Orthodox communion might have heard the insult, in which case it would have fared extremely ill with the son of Costantîn. His heart leapt with joy at the sight of Elias close at hand armed with his fine silver-mounted riding-whip. But instead of pursuing Asad, who had taken to his heels, and of whipping the life out of him, Elias contented himself with throwing a stone and celebrating in a loud voice the immodesty of Asad's mother and the revolting manner of his conception and birth. That done, he came and sat beside Iskender.
"I have killed a man for cursing our holy religion before now," he remarked, smiling; and proceeded to give an outline of the murder. But this was not the object of his coming. He had obtained command of a party of American travellers, men bound for Wady Mûsa, and, remembering that the valley of the gold lay somewhere in the same direction, had come to ask Iskender to join the expedition in the quality of cook. These khawâjât knew nothing of the country, Elias could conduct them by what road he chose; might even keep them encamped in one spot for days, if necessary, while he and his dearest friend explored the neighbourhood.