"Neither have I, then, anything to do with this trespass. You have my leave to depart at once, Jimgrim!"
"After the ruin—"
"There will be no ruin, Jimgrim! I will fill the place with men."
"Better empty it of men! The more there are in it, the bigger the death-roll! Shall I say afterwards that I begged leave to set a watch, and you refused?"
"You—you, Jimgrim—you talk to me of ruin and a death-roll? You are no every-day alarmist."
"Did you ever catch me in a lie?"
"No, Jimgrim. You are too clever by far for that! If you were to concoct a lie it would take ten angels to unravel it! But— you speak of ruin and a death-roll, eh?" He stroked his beard for about a minute.
"You have heard, perhaps, that Moslems are sharpening their swords for a reckoning with the Jews? There may be some truth in it. But there shall be no gathering in this place for any such purpose, for I will see to that. You need set no watch in here on that account."
"The time always comes," Grim answered, "when you must trust a man or mistrust him. You've known me eleven years. What are you going to do?"
"In the name of God, what shall I answer! Taib,* Jimgrim, I will trust you. What is it you wish?" [*All right.]