"Even unloaded?"
"Yes, for it may be bewitched."
Stas shrugged his shoulders.
"Idris, if Gebhr said that, I would not be surprised, but I thought that you had more sense. From an unloaded rifle even your Mahdi could not fire—"
"Silence!" interrupted Idris sternly. "The Mahdi is able to fire even from his finger."
"Then you also can fire in that way."
The Sudânese looked keenly into the boy's eyes.
"Why do you want me to give you the rifle?"
"I want to teach you how to fire from it."
"Why should that concern you?"