“Why?”
“I sent him to warn you not to come into Fez to-night.”
“Why?”
“You are my friend. There is danger.”
“But outside the city,” cried Paul, “from the tribes—after we have marched.”
“Here in Fez too,” Si El Hadj Arrifa insisted in a voice which now frankly shook with terror. “For you and all of your creed that dwell in this city.”
Paul was already on his feet, his face and his eyes set in a stare of horror. Si El Hadj Arrifa quite misunderstood the French officer’s manner. He said soothingly:
“You shall stay in my house till it is all over.”
“All over?” Paul repeated. He took his hand from the bulky letter in his tunic. If the dreadful news were true, his plans must change. His heart sank as he caught a glimpse of how they must change.
“I must know more, my friend,” he said, and he sat quietly down again upon the cushions.