But the
messengers did not meet him. He did not come by the expected route.
He had taken another--a secret messenger having come to him with
this warning:
"Hasten forward, Taher--you are to be kept at a distance from the
capitol! It is intended to withhold their pay from your soldiers!"
He did not know from whom this messenger came, but he believed him.
Resolved not to remain where a message from the viceroy could reach
him, Taher Pacha took another road, and, before another messenger
could reach him, Taher entered Cairo with his army. The uproar in
the streets, the shouting of the soldiers as they greeted their
friends, announced to the viceroy what had taken place. And in great
wrath he learned from the defterdar, who came running to the viceroy
in despair, that his fears were only too well founded.
Yes, it was as he expected. The soldiers had not gone to their
barracks; Taher had not come to seek repose in his house, but to
demand his and his soldiers' pay. "We are in rags, and starving; we
need shoes and clothes. Give us our pay, that we may satisfy our
hunger and clothe ourselves!"
"But how am I to pay them?" said the defterdar, addressing the
viceroy in anxious tones. "Our coffers are empty, and all resources
exhausted. I know not what to do or where to turn."
The viceroy sat gazing at him gloomily. Suddenly a thought seemed to
occur to him; his countenance brightened.
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