They were all
nods that answered him, and he saw fit to keep his own opinion
to himself.
"Thou seest? These others are all with thee. Have it thine own way,
Hassan Ah. Unlock thou the riddle and on thy head be the answer!
Thou hast our leave to go."
So Hassan Ah set out undaunted for the jail, with a terrier in tow
behind him and a huge smile on his broad-beamed face. And behind
him a murmur rose that:
"It was well. He brought the warship in, instead of leaving it
outside or--as any wise man would have done--wrecking it on the
outer reef, where it could have been plundered at discretion. Let
him send the sailors back again and bear the consequences!"
And within a minute of the pilot's arrival at the window of the jail
(through which he peered for two minutes before speaking) the whole
of Adra's council, followed by the city's children in a noisy horde,
proceeded in a cluster after him and took up position, each as he
saw fit, at different vantage points.
Then Hassan Ah shook a loose bar of the window until it rattled, and
so called attention to himself.
Pages:
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324