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this most decisive moment of my life there came to me the words which the crooked-nosed man had taught me, and I croaked, “Bismittah—irrahman—irrahim.”  
    The cry sounded so convincing that the headsman was astonished, and lowered his blade. I saw nothing funny in this, but the wicked freebooters burst out laughing again while their captain came forward to me smiling, and addressed me in Arabic. I could only shake my head, but my dog was more intelligent, and hurried respectfully forward, wagged his tail, rose and stood unfalteringly on his hind legs, and looked from the captain to me and back again repeatedly. The haughty man bent down, lifted the dog into his arms and began to scratch him in friendly fashion behind the ears.
    His men still tittered, but gravely their captain silenced them with the words, “Allah a\bar.” Then turning to me he asked in passable Italian, “Are you a Moslem, that you call upon the name of Allah, the Compassionate?”  
    I asked, “What is a Moslem?”
    He answered, “A Moslem is one who submits to the will of God.”
    I said, “And should not I submit to the will of God?”
    He regarded me mildly. “If you will take the turban and be converted to the true faith Allah is indeed compassionate and I will not have you slain, though as a prisoner of war you will become my slave according to the Law of the Prophet, blessed be his name.”
    At this I could only repeat, “Blessed be his name,” so deep was the relief I felt when I knew I might still draw breath under the open sky, and eat my bread. But Brother Jehan gripped me by the back of the neck, and overwhelming me with frightful curses he struck me and cried, “Viper! Worse than viper if you forsake the Christian faith to save your miserable life. Renegade! Devil’s spawn! You will suffer hell fire for this. Your other sins are atoned for by the blood of Christ, but this is a sin against the Holy Ghost, without pardon, and neither in heaven nor earth shall you find grace.”  
    This, and more that was much worse, did that malevolent monk pour out over me, until Captain Torgut—for it was indeed Torgut- reis—had had enough. He nodded. The Negro raised his sword exultantly and at one stroke swept off Brother Jehan’s head so that it rolled upon the deck, its mouth yet wide with curses. I could not see in this a very pious death, though no doubt by virtue of his faith he won the glorious martyrs’ crown. Be this as it may, I felt profound relief at the sudden cessation of his shrieks, for his atrocious imprecations had set me quaking from head to foot.
    When once the merciless Negro had resumed his task, he worked off his fury on the humble pilgrims so rapidly that one head had hardly thudded on the deck before the next was flying to join- it. But Captain Torgut took no interest in this melancholy business, and turned his back, still holding my dog in his arms. I followed closely at his heels, but Andy, with a shake of his head, asked, “Have you truly resolved to follow the Prophet, Michael? Have you had time to give the matter serious thought?”
    But I would not allow Andy to be my preceptor, and I had had enough unpleasantness from Brother Jehan. So I replied coldly, “In my Father’s house are many mansions. Even the holy aposde Peter denied his Lord three times before the cock crew. Don’t set yourself up for a better man than he was, but humbly accept our common destiny and take the turban.”
    But Andy crossed himself devoutly and said, “Far be it from me to deny my good Christian faith and swear allegiance to the false prophet. Or at least not like you, with my eyes shut. Let me first see what we’re letting ourselves in for.”
    His obstinacy annoyed me, but I had no time to argue further, for Captain Torgut turned to me while his men were carrying off the plunder, and once more addressed me in Italian.
    “To guide even one unbeliever into the right path would be an act pleasing to God and meritorious to