"Do not blame the corporal for overlooking this," he said; "I am so thin from the journey that he took it for one of my ribs."
"I will trust you," said the commandant, and he took the letter.
The little man in black kept dealing solitaire.
The commandant read the letter to himself and laughed, and then he read it aloud:
"_To Monsieur the COUNT D'APREMONT, Commandant at Biskra.
"MONSIEUR: Since last I saw you strange things have happened. I have turned Christian, and I have married. I wonder at which of these statements you will laugh most.
"May I bring my wife to your house? She will be the only Christian woman in Biskra. Say 'yes' or 'no' to the bearer. I am halted a mile outside of the town, awaiting your answer.
"Mirza, the mother of the Almees, has a certain claim upon my wife; how valid I do not know. I need counsel, but first of all I need shelter. May I come?_
"ABDULLAH."
"Of course he may come," said the commandant; "what is to prevent?"