Page:Ben-Hur a tale of the Christ.djvu/265

Rh &quot;By that rule, good sheik, I will live a hundred years. I am a hungry wolf at thy door,&quot; Ben-Hur replied.

&quot;Well, thou shalt not be sent away like a wolf. I will give thee the best of the flocks.&quot;

Ilderim clapped his hands.

&quot;Seek the stranger in the guest-tent, and say I, Ilderim, send him a prayer that his peace may be as incessant as the flowing of waters.&quot;

The man in waiting bowed.

&quot;Say, also,&quot; Ilderim continued, &quot;that I have returned with another for breaking of bread; and, if Balthasar the wise careth to share the loaf, three may partake of it, and the portion of the birds be none the less.&quot;

The second servant went away.

&quot;Let us take our rest now.&quot;

Thereupon Ilderim settled himself upon the divan, as at this day merchants sit on their rugs in the bazaars of Damascus; and when fairly at rest, he stopped combing his beard, and said, gravely, &quot;That thou art my guest, and hast drunk my leben, and art about to taste my salt, ought not to forbid a question: Who art thou?&quot;

&quot;Sheik Ilderim,&quot; said Ben-Hur, calmly enduring his gaze, &quot;I pray thee not to think me trifling with thy just demand; but was there never a time in thy life when to answer such a question would have been a crime to thyself&quot;

&quot;By the splendor of Solomon, yes!&quot; Ilderim answered. &quot;Betrayal of self is at times as base as the betrayal of a tribe.&quot;

&quot;Thanks, thanks, good sheik!&quot; Ben-Hur exclaimed. &quot;Never answer became thee better. Now I know thou dost but seek assurance to justify the trust I have come to ask, and that such assurance is of more interest to thee than the affairs of my poor life.&quot;

The sheik in his turn bowed, and Ben-Hur hastened to pursue his advantage.

&quot;So it please thee then,&quot; he said, &quot;first, I am not a Roman, as the name given thee as mine implieth.&quot; Ilderim clasped the beard overflowing his breast, and gazed at the speaker with eyes faintly twinkling through the shade of the heavy, close-drawn brows.