"Why hate me the more? He ought to thank me that I have saved him from murdering the poor old man."
"Ah, you don't understand the Eastern mind. That would be a strong reason for Abdu's hatred of you, you baulked him in his villainies—it is enough."
After a little more conversation Naoum left the room to prepare for the coming of the rebel Pasha. He paused before he went, however, to give some parting advice.
"When Arabi speaks, answer boldly. Say what your good sense prompts, but do not let him think you fear him. Arabi admires a bold man. Though clever, he is weak, and can easily be influenced by boldness. If he thinks you fear him, it will make your escape all the harder to accomplish, for he is in the power of his subordinates and will do as they bid him."
This was indeed news to Helmar; he had believed that Arabi, the man who could have brought about this terrible rebellion, must be a man of indomitable character, and here he was told that such was not the case. He was truly living and learning. Now he began to understand how Mark had attained a position of so much power in such a short time; now he could understand how that worthy had been able to promise him a speedy execution by the Pasha's orders—evidently he relied upon his influence, the influence of a bold, unscrupulous villain over a weaker man.
The time passed slowly after Naoum had left him, and George's patience was sorely tried as he waited for the great rebel. At last he heard a commotion in the hall, the clatter of arms and babel of voices telling him that at last Arabi Pasha had arrived. With beating heart and ever-increasing excitement, he waited for the summons that seemed so long in coming, but at length, after what seemed an endless period, a servant entered and signified that his presence was required.
Hastily smoothing out his worn and tattered clothes, George, with a slight touch of vanity, peered into a mirror and then followed his guide from the room. He hoped that the interview was to be a private one, with perhaps only Naoum present. He felt under those circumstances that he would then have less hesitation in speaking his mind. He feared nothing, convinced as he was that anything he could say could not possibly make his position worse. Naoum would not fail him, and he would rely on his power for protection.
His guide led him upstairs to a curtained doorway, guarded by two sentries, in front of whom he paused. At a sign from the former, one of the men disappeared behind the curtain, and the next moment Naoum appeared in the doorway. Waving the guide back he signed to George to enter, and a moment later Helmar stood in front of the great man.
Arabi was seated on a big lounging chair, dressed in the uniform of the Egyptian army. His face was turned away as the prisoner entered, so that George was unable to realize all that Naoum had told him; but no time was given him to speculate, for Naoum broke the silence at once. With an easiness that astonished Helmar, he addressed the Pasha as though talking to his equal. There was no cringing in his manner, and at times George thought he even detected a slight tone of command in his voice.
"This is the prisoner of whom I spoke," he said in Arabic; "he is not a British subject, but comes from Germany."