"True," said the lawyer, gathering his cards, "and very likely there is no risk in harboring him and his wife." He shuffled the cards mechanically, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall.
"My friend," he said, at length, "whom do you consider the most powerful person in Biskra, the person to be first reckoned with?"
The commandant laughed. "As I am in command," he said, "I should be court-martialled if I denied my own superiority."
"And yet," said the lawyer, "you are only a poor second."
The commandant, who was sitting astride of his chair, his hands upon its back, demi-vaulted as if he were in the saddle of a polo pony.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
The lawyer kept shuffling the cards, but he paid no attention to them.
"Go to the window," he said, "and tell me what you see."
The commandant rose, and went to the window, his spurs jingling. He drew the curtain and looked out.
"What do you see?" asked the counsellor.