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In a word, Jolo is an Island governed by a system of administration extremely vigorous and decisive; dread and superstition sustain the throne of the tyrant, and the fame of his greatness frequently brings to his feet the ulemas, or missionaries of the Koran, even as far as from the furthest margin of the Red Sea.
And the words of his little son rang constantly in his ears: "It is well with those who are thy enemies and grievous for them that love thee." No one replied to the words of the Sultan. "Answer, I say! What think ye concerning the matter?" Once more deep silence prevailed. The Ulemas looked at one another.
He who feels himself in the right is silent, and utters no complaint," so exclaimed the sheik in a loud voice, as he was thrust inside the enclosure by the soldiers. The ulemas bowed their heads and followed him. "Allah be praised, and may the prophet look down in mercy upon the most insignificant of his creatures!"
Many of them began to nudge Sulali, who stood up as if to speak, but immediately sat down again without opening his mouth. "Speak, I pray you! I have not called you hither to look at me and at one another, but to give answers to my questions." And still the Ulemas kept silence.
"Yes, they did this," returned the collectors, breathing hard. "What did they say!" demanded the tschorbadji, excitedly. "The sheik looked at us contemptuously, and ordered us to state to the tschorbadji that Praousta had no thought of paying either the double or the simple tax." "And the ulemas?" asked Osman, rising from his couch, "did they confirm what the sheik said?"
"That Allah has determined," replied one of the ulemas. "Not a bird falls to the ground, not a worm is crushed, by the careless foot of man, without his knowledge. He who protects the spiders in the trees and in the corners of the rooms, the birds of the air, and the monsters of the deep, will also care for us. Allah be praised!"
But," he suddenly added, "one thing occurs to me. You have taxed the merchants, you have taken money from the ulemas, you have exacted it from the sheiks; but one thing you have forgotten to tax the women, highness!" "The women!" said Cousrouf, recoiling a step. "How could I tax the women? What women?" "The wives of the Mameluke beys!" replied Mohammed.
To have gained a week is to have gained a great deal. Within this time the viceroy will succeed in replenishing his coffers. His defterdar is very skillful in the art of getting money, and who should understand the art if not the minister of finance? He will find means to collect from the ulemas, from the rich sheiks, and from the merchants, money enough to quiet his rebellious troops.
The Ulemas, first of all, chose Damadzadi, but he declining the dignity on the plea of illness, they chose in his stead the Cadi of Medina, and for want of a white mantle invested him with a green one. After that they elected from amongst themselves Seid Mohammed and Damadzadi, to receive the secret message of the Sultan from the Kizlar-Aga and deliver it to Halil Patrona.
Their cries resounded far and wide, and, while the soldiers were binding the ulemas and the sheik with their own scarfs, the armed people came pressing forward to the open door of the mosque. Mohammed looked toward them with the raging glance of a lion. "Who enters here, meets his death!" he cried, in a voice of thunder.
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