Question

bike
(Author and publication details unknown)
The old man pressed his granddaughter's face against the chest.
Quiet', he whispered urgently, 'Don't move. If you do, we are lost."
The mob came rushing down the road, shouting slogans.
The Old man drew his arm protectively around the little girl's shoulders. "Don't cry," he
whispered, 'They will not find us here."
Suddenly someone kicked the door open. It banged against the cement wall
. Framed in the
open doorway
, against a red sky, stood two men. Behind them houses burned and the sky
was thick with smoke.
Can you see anyone?' asked the shorter of the two. "Not yet,' was the reply.
A torch flashed. Its beam pierced the semi-darkness of the shed. The old man shrank back
against the stacks of firewood, hoping that the empty drums in front would hide them from
the searching light. Eyes wide with terror, he watched the light sweep over the piles of
wood. Probing the piles of charcoal, drawing closer and closer, the powerful beam hit him
in the eyes. His eyes caught the face of the tall, dark man. For a moment, their eyes met
and held. He knew the man, he knew him very well. His neighbour's son, his friend. But
that didn't seem to matter. Not now, not any more. What mattered now was religion. To
share the same belief in the same God. The old man closed his eyes, and turned his face
away. Trapped! Caught! Too late to run. Too late to pray. Too late for anything. Time to
die.
'Do you see anything?' The shorter pushed past. 'Is anybody inside?'
The old man held his breath. With his eyes shut, his heart thumping wildly under his
sweat-stained shirt, he waited. After what seemed an eternity, the tall man's words reached
​

Answer 1

Answer:

What happens next? (╯︵╰,)

I am guessing the man spares the old man and his granddaughter.

Answer 2

at the beginning of the story what makes the old man feel that he and his granddaughter are safe