Chase could convince them, no doubt, that he was not guilty of double dealing, but it would be next to impossible to extinguish the blaze of jealousy that was consuming the reason of the head men of Japat, skilfully fed by the tortured Von Blitz and blown upon ceaselessly by the breath of scandal.
Five hundred dark, sinister men were gathered in knots about the square.
They talked in subdued tones and looked from fiery eyes that belied their outward calm.
Hollingsworth Chase, attended by Selim, came down from his mountain retreat.

He heard the sibilant hiss of the scorned Persians as he passed among them on the outskirts of the crowd; he observed the threatening attitude of the men who waited and watched; he saw the white, ugly face of Von Blitz quivering with triumph; he felt the breath of disaster upon his cheek.

And yet he walked among them without fear, his head erect, his eyes defiant.

He knew that a crisis had come, but he smiled as he walked up to meet it, with a confidence that was sublime.
The market-place was a large open tract in the extreme west end of the town, some distance removed from the business street and the pier.

On two sides were the tents of the fruit peddlers and the vegetable hucksters, negroes who came in from the country with their produce.