“I have spoken to the Mahdi about you,” he said in Arabic, “and the prophet wishes to see you.”
“Thanks to Allah and to you, sir!” cried Idris. “Shall we find Smain again by the Mahdi’s side?”
“Smain is in Fashoda,” answered the Greek. Then he said to Stasch in English:
“Perhaps the prophet will take you under his protection, for I have done my best to get him to do so. I told him that the fame of his mercy would spread abroad throughout all the white nations. Terrible things are happening all around us, and unless you are under his protection you will surely succumb to hunger, privation, and sickness from the treatment you will receive at the hands of these madmen. But he must be kept interested in you.”
“What shall I do, sir?” asked Stasch.
“When you first come into his presence, fa
