Other preliminaries of the pilgrimage there were to arrange, and after the manner of their kind the Sheikhs talked long and leisurely, agreeing finally that Ishmael should go first into Cairo in the disguise of a Bedouin Sheikh to make sure of the success of their mission, and that Omar (Gordon) should follow him in command of the body of the people.
At length there was silence for a moment, and then Ishmael said—
"Is there anything else, my brothers?"
And at that Gordon, who had not spoken before, turned to him and answered, in the style as well as the language of the Arabs—
"Listen, I beg of you, to my words, and forgive me if what I say is not pleasing to you or yours."
"Speak, Omar Benani, speak," said Ishmael, laying his right hand, with an affectionate gesture, on Gordon's left.
There was a moment of silence, in which Gordon could distinctly hear the sound of Helena's breathing. Then lie said—
"Reverse your order, O my brother, and let me go first into Cairo."
A tingling electrical current seemed to pass through the air of the room, and again Gordon heard the sound of Helena's laboured breathing, but no one spoke except Ishmael, who said in a soft voice—
"But why, Omar, why?"