midday
He was an unbeliever and a despised Christian , yet it had been through his act of charity that one of Allah 's children had been nursed back to life and enabled to give his last years to the study of the Koran . He had been allowed to visit the old man from time to time . To-day , as he walked through the noisy streets and smelt the obnoxious smells coming from an infinite variety of Oriental foods and customs , he longed to be back in the quiet valley , to feel the golden sand once more under his feet , to see Margaret 's eyes smile their welcome . If he had caught the midday train , he would have been far away from Cairo by now . Yet something had led him to the heart of Islam , to that strange and unworldly seat of ancient learning . The very meaning of the word Islam suggests the atmosphere of the place -- resignation , self-surrender . When at last he arrived at the gates and was admitted into the splendour of the spacious court , his heart was lifted up .