The Greek, speaking in this manner, perhaps deceived his own conscience, but Stas' silence deceived him also for in the end he mistook it for fear. He determined therefore to give the boy courage.
"These are the houses of the Mahdi," he said. "He prefers to live in the wooden sheds of Omdurmân rather than in Khartûm, though there he could occupy Gordon's palace. Well then, bravely! Don't lose your head! To the question reply firmly. They prize courage here. Also do not imagine that the Mahdi will at once roar at you like a lion! No! He always smiles, even when contemplating nothing good."
And saying this he began to shout at the crowd standing in front of the house to make way for the prophet's "guests."
XVIII
When they entered the room, the Mahdi lay on a soft cot, surrounded by his wives, two of whom fanned him with great ostrich feathers and the other two lightly scratched the soles of his feet. Besides his wives, there were present only the caliph Abdullahi and the sheref caliph, as the third, Ali Uled Helu, was despatching at that time troops to the north, particularly to Beber and Abu Hâmed, which already had been captured by the dervishes. At sight of the arrivals the prophet dismissed his wives and sat up on the cot. Idris, Gebhr, and the two Bedouins fell on their faces and afterwards knelt with hands crossed on their breasts. The Greek beckoned to Stas to do the same, but the boy, pretending not to see the gesture, only bowed and remained standing erect. His face was pale, but his eyes shone strongly and from his whole posture and head, haughtily upraised, from his tightly compressed lips it could easily be seen that something had taken an ascendancy over him, that uncertainty and fear had passed away, that he had adopted an inflexible resolution from which he would not recede for anything. The Greek evidently understood this, as great uneasiness was reflected on his features. The Mahdi observed both children with a fleeting glance, brightened his fat face with his customary smile, after which he first addressed Idris and Gebhr:
"You came from the distant north," he said.
Idris struck the ground with his forehead.
"Yes, oh Mahdi! We belong to the tribe of Dongola; therefore we abandoned our homes in Fayûm in order to kneel at your blessed feet."
"I beheld you in the desert. That was a terrible journey but I sent an angel to guard and shield you from death at the hands of the infidels. You did not see this, but he watched over you."
"Thanks to thee, Redeemer."