"Thou shalt be the Governor-General of Anatolia."
Sulali bowed to the ground by way of acknowledgment of such graciousness.
"I thank thee, Halil! Make of me what thou wilt, but listen, first of all, to the message of the Padishah which he has entrusted to me, for I am in very great doubt whether it be thou or Sultan Achmed who is now Lord of all the Moslems. Tell me, therefore, what thou dost require of the Sultan, and if thy demands be lawful and of good report they shall be granted, provided that thou dost promise to disperse thy following."
Then Halil Patrona stood up before the Sulali, and with a severe and motionless countenance answered:
"Our demands are few and soon told. We demand the delivery to us of the four arch-traitors who have brought disaster upon the realm. They are the Kul Kiaja, the Kapudan Pasha, the Chief Mufti, and the Grand Vizier."
Sulali fell to shaking his head.
"You ask much, Halil!"
"I ask much, you say. To-morrow I shall ask still more. If you agree to my terms, to-morrow there shall be peace. But if you come again to me to-morrow, then there will be peace neither to-morrow nor any other morrow."
Sulali returned to the Sultan and his ministers who were still all assembled together.
Full of suspense they awaited the message of Halil.