Nefret had decided to dine in her cabin. We ate on the upper deck, as was our custom when the weather was fine, as was the case today. The sky was blue, and the air was so clear we could see the sweep of the enclosing cliffs, bleached to pale yellow by the sunshine.

Upon our arrival, I had sent one of our fellows to fetch Selim. When he appeared, Emerson greeted him with pleasure.

“Good of you to come, Selim. Sit down and join us.”

Selim nodded his thanks and said, “Father of Curses, I have already questioned the local villagers about the hairy person. His name is Theodor Dullard and he has been preaching to the fellahin about Issa.”

“Jesus!” Emerson exclaimed.

“Emerson!” I exclaimed.

“Merely translating, my dear. As you seem to have forgotten, ‘Issa’ is the Arabic word for Jesus, who is regarded as a great prophet by Moslems. Dullard ought to be warned, Selim. Moslems do not tolerate proselytizers.”

“He is preaching to the Christians,” Selim said.

The Coptic Church has existed in Egypt since the first century. Initially tolerated by the Moslem conquerors, occasionally persecuted, it has flourished in certain areas of Egypt. There was a predominantly Coptic village in the region. We had had very little to do with the residents thereof, since our workmen were all related in some degree to Abdullah, and all were devout Moslems. “Preaching to the Christians,” as Selim put it, was acceptable since nobody—except perhaps the Copts—cared what they thought.

“So Mr. Dullard really is a missionary,” I said.

“They keep popping up, don’t they?” Emerson pushed his plate away and reached for his pipe. “One would suppose they would have realized they have made little headway and give up.”

“When one takes one’s orders from God, one does not give up,” I said. “Emerson, I believe we owe Mr. Dullard an apology. I shall invite him to join us for tea. If you concur, that is.”

“Apology be damned!” snapped Emerson. “I refuse to apologize to that fellow. But by all means ask him to tea. Selim, do you know where he is staying?”

“With the Copts at Deir el-Mowass,” Selim said promptly. “I will send Daoud with a letter if you like.”

I went to my desk and penned a brief but friendly note. “Tell Daoud to wait for a reply,” I said.

I take some of the responsibility for what was to happen. Due to fatigue, I failed to have observed a familiar gleam in Emerson’s eyes.

Three

As soon as I received a return note from Mr. Dullard accepting our invitation, I requested an expansive tea, with a selection of cakes and tinned strawberry jam to accompany the scones. I have observed that missionaries have excellent appetites when there is an ample supply of food available. No doubt they are kept on short rations by their congregations as examples of Christian fortitude.