“Are they here present, those rioters?”
“Allah knows! In so great a crowd there may be some of them. But my eyes see some who are very certainly innocent. That man there, who leans upon his neighbor, is one of the victims, having both his legs injured in the battle. I know well, for he is a customer of mine and refreshed himself at my stall afterwards. And the Sheykh Shems-ud-dìn, he is very innocent; and the negro Mâs, his servant——”
“Liar! Dolt! Madman! He is the chief offender, that Sheykh Shems-ud-dìn! Get thee gone, O perjured wretch! May Allah destroy thee!” The Christian turned from denouncing the recreant to murmur suavely in the Câdi’s ear, “It is my error. This witness ought to have been examined privately. He dares not to speak truth in the hearing of the prisoners for fear of vengeance, since they all know him.”
“What? Is it finished already? Have you no other witness?” Again that strange sound was heard in the throat of the judge.
“No, O Excellency; but the charge is clear, the case proven beforehand. Wilt thou not give judgment?”
Yûsuf Effendi feigned not to hear the suggestion. Since it was God’s will that he, the Câdi of El Cûds, should be chained to an ape, the shackles should not gall him only. The monkey, too, must feel them on the raw. There were yet some hours till sunset.
“It behooves first to hear the defense,” he said languidly; and then sat in silence for some minutes.
Peace had fallen on the court. The prisoners and their guards, tired of standing, all sat now upon the floor.
At length the Câdi, still intent on his beads, murmured sleepily: