"By the beard of the Prophet, young man, do you not know?" asked the official.
"I do not."
"Not know whose purse you hold, and in whose grounds you stand!" reiterated the soldier.
"Not I."
"Allah akbar! it is the palace of the defender of the faith, Sultan Mahomet!"
"The Sultan!" exclaimed the lone wanderer, struck dumb with amazement.
"The Brother of the Sun," repeated the official, with a profound salaam as he repeated the name, while at the same time he noted the astonishment of the stranger.
"The Sultan," repeated the new comer, musing to himself, "rides he forth alone?"
"At times, yes, when it suits him. No harm can come to him—he is sacred, and need not fear."
"Perhaps not," answered the other, as he recalled the scene on the borders of the forest.