human
Remember only one thing, my brothers in arms! exclaimed the Master.
gpt
But that is most vital!
human
And what may it be?
gpt
I do not know whether old Sheik Abd el Rahman is with this party or not, but if either of you find him, kill him not! Deliver him to me!
human
Listen, Master!
gpt
Well, what now, Rrisa?
human
Shall we, after all, kill these sleeping swine-brothers?
gpt
Eh, what? Thy heart then, hath turned to water? Thou canst not kill? They attacked us--this is justice!
human
And if they live, they will surely wipe us out! put in the Frenchman, staring in the gloom.
gpt
What meaneth this old woman's babble, son of the Prophet?
human
It is not that my heart hath turned to water, nor have the fountains of mine eyes been opened to pity, answered Rrisa.
gpt
But some things are worse than death, to all of Arab blood. To be despoiled of arms or of horses, without a fight, makes an Arab as the worm of the earth. Then he becometh an outcast, indeed! 'If you would rule, disarm', he quoted the old proverb, and added another:
human
What is thy plain meaning in all this?
gpt
Listen, _M'almé_. If you would be the Sheik of Sheiks, carry away all these weapons, and let these swine awaken without them. They would drag their way back to the oases and the black tents, with a story the like of which hath never been told in the Empty Abodes. The Sahara would do homage, Master, even as if the Prophet had returned!
human
Still, the folk are Arabs there, too. They would hear of this, and bow to you, my _M'almé_!
gpt
Perhaps. Perhaps not. I can take no chances, Rrisa. The land, here and to the eastward, might all arise against us. The tribes might come against us like the _rakham_, the carrion-vultures. No, we must kill and kill, so that no man remaineth here--none save old Abd el Rahman, if Allah deliver him into our hands!
human
That is your firm command, Master?
gpt
My firm command!
human
To hear the Master is to obey. But first, grant me time for my _isha_, my evening prayer!
gpt
It is granted. And, Rrisa, _there_ is the _kiblah_, the direction of Mecca!