“Stop!” he thunders, and claps his hands in an excited way.

John, remembering his former experience, draws himself up in readiness for defense, nor is he surprised to see several slaves enter the room at the bidding of their master.

“This is the height of infamy, you who bear that hated name dare invade the home of Ben Taleb!  I read your secret; you are not sick.”

“No, no; I—­”

“You come with another motive; you seek one who has long been lost, one who has suffered for years, unjustly, because of a Craig.  May Allah’s curses blight your footsteps.”

“You mistake—­”

“May Mohammed, his prophet, make your life a blank.  May your days end in torment, and your nights be sleepless.”

“When you are done, most illustrious taleb, allow me to speak.  Even a dog should not be condemned unheard.”

“Father, he is right; you are just, you are good; you condemn no man unheard.  Let him speak; good may even come out of Chicago,” says the lovely houri at the side of the Moor, and John thanks her with his eyes, mentally concluding that, after all, Moorish females, if nonentities on the street, have certain rights under their own roofs.

At this the great doctor frowns, but cannot withstand the angelic, appealing glance which his daughter bestows upon him.

“Perhaps it is so.  What have you to say, you who bear that hated name?  Since through the kindness of my child you are given the opportunity to speak, embrace it.”

The situation is a peculiar one, and John feels that he must make the most of it.

“Illustrious Moor, listen then while I relate the reason for my presence, why for months I have searched country after country for one who ever seemed to be just beyond my reach, like a will-o’-the-wisp dancing over the swampy ground.

“The person I seek is known as Sister Magdalen.  It is with no unworthy motive I would find her, Ben Taleb, for she is my mother.”

At this the sheik and his daughter exchange significant glances.  Perhaps something of incredulity may be discovered in their expression.  Evidently they have heard but little of the story before, and only know that the troubles of the woman they revere came through a Craig.

John, having become stirred up, proceeds to tell them more of the past, and, while not caring to show emotion in the eyes of strangers, explains his feelings in the matter with a dignity that does him full justice.

While not thoroughly convinced, for he suspects there may be some artifice in this visit, the venerable Moor is inclined to look more favorably upon John.

“Perhaps you may not be so bad as I believed, but do not hope to receive news from me,” is his slowly spoken remark.

John’s heart sinks, he fears that after all his long search he is now to be frustrated by the stubborn will of an old man.

He even becomes eloquent in his appeal, and, while he fails to bring Ben Taleb to terms, he charms the sheik’s daughter, whose lovely eyes glisten as she hears.