others would do. All whom thou seest here, and all the troops must needs do homage to Nur ed-din, should he come. This land is his, and if he should depose thee, we must instantly obey. This, therefore, is my counsel : Write to him and say,6 News has reached me that thou dost intend to lead an expedition to this country. But what need is there for this ? Let my lord but send hither a courier on a dromedary, to lead me to thee by a turban around my neck. No one here will offer to resist/ " Wily Ayub ! When the meeting broke up — and he was careful to make another little speech for publication, in which he stressed the fact that they were all but the slaves and chattels of their master, Nur ed-din — he scolded Saladin for not having anticipated his declaration, and for permitting his ambition to be seen by the others, many of whom only waited thç opportunity to betray him. Then the warrior in him spoke up, letting his real feelings reveal themselves. "By Allah!" he declared, "if Nur ed-din attempted to take but ? r cane of ours, myself should fight him to the d ^ The counsel was followed and proved efficient. Nur ed-din pretended to believe the protestations of subordination and the Vizier was left in peace. The fact was that Nur ed-din found plenty to occupy him in his own dominion, and was not overanxious to leave this exposed to attack while he was away. Before the feeling between him and Saladin had come to this pass there had been one important time