Any other wrath, however awful, could be nothing but
the shadow of his state of mind; and since he knew the more vindictive
portions of the Koran all by heart, and was quoting as he came, there
was little need of words to illustrate further his attitude.
He seemed to be a person of authority. An Arab town or village is
a democracy in which each free man has his say; not even a sheik
can overrule the vote of a majority, and this man was no sheik.
But rage and self-assertion will generally exercise a certain weight
in tribal councils, and the crowd in this case was too doubtful of
the facts to have any settled notions of its own.
"To the jail with them!" the new arrival almost shrieked, and about
a dozen in the crowd took up the cry--
"To jail with them!"
"Infidels! Worshipers of dogs! Wine-drinkers! Eaters of pig flesh!
Dogs and the sons of dogs--what mothers gave them birth? Are your
hands, True-believers, fit bonds for them? To the jail! To the jail
that Abdul Hamid caused his men to build for such as these!"
He stooped and looked deliberately to make sure that Crothers could
not break away, then came closer and spat on him, saving half his
spittle with impartial forethought for the struggling Byng, who looked
up in time to see what was in store for him.
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