Page:Marion Crawford - Khaled.djvu/240

 'Hush!' said the voice of one moving in the darkness. 'Be patient. It is not yet time.'

Then, for a space, a deep silence fell on the speakers and they crouched in their places watching the high black walls of the palace and marking the motion of the stars by the highest point of the tower. Before long whispered words were heard again.

'It would have been more just if Abdullah had opened the gate to us as soon as he had slain Khaled, for then we could have seen what he took. But now, who shall tell us what share of the riches he is hiding away in the more secret vaults?'

'This is true,' answered others. 'And besides, what need have we of Abdullah to help us into the palace? Surely we could have broken down the gates and slain the guards and Khaled himself without Abdullah's help. Yet we, for our part, would not shed the blood of a man who has always dealt very generously with us, nor do we believe the story of the camels laden secretly in Haïl. However, what is ordained will take place, and we shall undoubtedly receive plentiful gold merely for sitting here to watch the stars through the night.'

'The story of the camels is not true,' said a certain man, speaking alone. 'For I was of the drivers sent with them, and being hungry, we opened one of the bales on the way. By Allah! There was nothing