“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed the call.
“Load! Aim! Fire!”
Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to his great joy that the aim was too high to do any damage.
“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our fight is not against you. The Mahdi is of your faith. Nay, more, he will restore the great Mameluke kingdom. Every soldier of his will be greater than a pasha, for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”
The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who wondered who this young paleface could be.
The result was electrical.
Every rifle was reversed.
The officer was left alone to return to the fort—a commander without soldiers.
At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the Mahdi, Mohammed Achmet was close to the gates of the city. He heard the cheering and the firing.
His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.