“You have come from the far north?”
Idris touched the floor with his forehead.
“It is so, oh Madhi! We belong to the Dangali tribe, and therefore we have left our homes in Fayoum in order to come and kneel down before your blessed feet.”
“I saw you in the desert. It is a terrible road, but I sent an angel, who watched over you and protected you from death at the hands of unbelievers. You did not see him, but he was there watching over you.”
“We thank thee, saviour.”
“And so you have brought the children for Smain, to enable him to exchange them for his own offspring, whom the Turks are detaining together with Fatima in Port Said.”
“You only will we serve!”
“He who serves me works out his own salvation, and thereby you open the way to Paradise for yourselves. Fatima is my relative. But let me tell you that when I conquer the whole of Egypt, then my relatives and their successors will obtain their freedom.”
“Then, oh blessed one, do what you wish with the children!”
The Mahdi half closed his eyelids, opened them again, smiled good-naturedly, and beckoned to Stasch.