"And if you could give them proof, or if this Sir Giles would let them have it, do you think they would restore it to us?"
"Will you at least try, sir?" Ali asked.
"Why, no," the Ambassador answered. "No, I do not think I will even try. It is but the word of Hajji Ibrahim here. Had he not known of the treachery of his kinsmen and come to England by the same boat as Giles Tumulty we should have known very little of what had happened, and that vaguely. But as it is, we were warned of what you call the sacrilege, and now you have talked to him, and you are convinced. But what shall I say to the Foreign Minister? No; I do not think I will try."
"You do not believe it," the Hajji said. "You do not believe that this is the Crown of Suleiman or that Allah put a mystery into it when His Permission bestowed it on the King?"
The Ambassador considered. "I have known you a long while," he said thoughtfully, "and I will tell you what I believe. I know that your family, which has always been known for a very holy house, has held for centuries certain relics, and has preserved them in great secrecy and remoteness. I know that among them tradition has said that there is the Crown of the King, and that, but a few weeks since, one of the keepers was bribed to part with this Crown-if such it be-to an Englishman. I believe that many curious powers exist in such things, Lasting for a longer or shorter time. And-because I believe Ali-I believe that it has seemed to him that a man has been here and there in a moment. But how, or whether indeed, this has been I do not know, and I do not desire to argue upon it with the English ministers." He shook his head. "I risked too much even when I permitted you semi-officially to try and buy it back from Sir Giles."
"But he would not sell it," the Prince cried.
"A very natural feeling," the Ambassador said, and added rather incautiously, "if I had it myself I don't suppose I should sell it."
"Then," the Prince insisted, "if your Excellency will do nothing, it is for me to act. There is a sin upon my house till I recover the Crown."
"And what will you do, my friend?" the Ambassador asked.
"I shall cause all my relatives and my acquaintances in Persia to know of it, and I will take such an oath that they will certainly believe," the Prince answered. "I will send the news of it through all the palaces and bazaars. I will cause this sacrilege to be known in every mosque, and the cry against the English shall go from Adrianople to Hong Kong. I will see if I can do a little in all the places of Islam."
"You will make the English Government curious, I believe," the Ambassador said, "and you may kill a few soldiers. But I do not think you will recover the Crown. Also you will do these things against my will."
Hajji Ibrahim said suddenly, "By the Permission it was taken; by the Permission it will return. When the Unity deigned to bestow the Stone upon the King it was not that he might go swiftly from place to place. I think it shall return to the Keepers only when one shall use it for the journey that is without space, and I do not think that shall be you, my nephew, nor any of us. Let spies be set upon the infidels and let us know what they do. But do not let us wake the bazaars. I do not think that will help you at all."
"And the English Government?" the Ambassador asked.
"A soft word in the ear of a friend," the Hajji said. "Be very friendly with them-and that your Excellency may well do, for you are almost as one of them. But speak only of a relic and not of the virtues of the relic; seek peace and ensue it, as their scriptures say. The English will not have war for the sake of Giles Tumulty, unless their pride is touched." He rose to his feet. "The Peace be upon you," he said and went to the door.
Chapter Two
THE PUPIL OF ORGANIC LAW
"You ought to know by now," Lord Arglay said into the telephone, " that I can't possibly put any money into your companies.... Caesar's wife....
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