"We summon you to lead us, Kagig!"

Words came to him again.

"You summon me to lead? I will! From now I lead! By the God who
gave my fathers bread among the mountains, I will, moreover, be obeyed!
Either my word is law--"

"Kagig, it is law!"

"Or back you shall go to where the Turks are wearing white, and the
gutters bubble red, and the beams are black against the sky! You
shall obey me in future on the instant that I speak, or run back
to the Turks for mercy from my hand! I have listened to enough talk!"

"Spoken like a man!" said Monty, and stood up.

We all stood up; even Rustum Khan, who did not pretend to like him,
saluted the old warrior who could announce his purpose so magnificently.
Maga Jhaere stood up, and sought Will's eyes from across the room.
Fred, almost too sleepy to know what he was doing (for the tail end
of the fever is a yearning for early bed) undid the catch of his
beloved instrument, and made the rafters ring. In a minute we four
were singing "For he's a jolly good fellow," and Kagig stood up,
looking like Robinson Crusoe in his goat-skins, to acknowledge the
compliment.

The noise awoke Peter Measel, and when we had finished making fools
of ourselves I walked over to discover what he was saying. He was