“Ah, my Amîn! thou knowest not how dearly I love thee,” she interrupted, raising her lips slowly until they met mine.
“I can gauge thy feelings by mine own,” I answered. “Thou must leave this life of outlawry; but ere thou canst escape from thy people, I am compelled to gain certain knowledge. This will I strive once again to accomplish; but in the meantime I desire not to gaze down the uninviting vista of thy past, or tear the veil from unpleasant facts that thou wouldst hide from me. I am confident in the knowledge that thou art neither a wife nor an inmate of thy Sheikh’s harem, and that, though morally guilty of the massacres that have sent a thrill through two continents, yet thy position hath, in some way unexplained, been thrust upon thee. I consider this in considerable measure palliates thy crimes, and — ”
“I vow I have acted always against my will — always! It was horrible!” she interrupted.
“Yes, I know,” I said, tenderly stroking her long silky hair. “Thou hast my love, sympathy, and forgiveness. Some day, when we are wedded, peradventure thou wilt tell me how thou earnest to rule this piratical band.”
“It was to save mine honour,” she declared, with fervour.
“Then I will demand no further explanation,” I said. “It sufficeth that we are confident in each other’s love.”
“Yes, we are, we are!” she cried, with a wild outburst of passionate affection, kissing me again and again. “I have spoken the truth as clearly as circumstances will allow, nevertheless, thou hast faith in me. Thou art still my Amîn, generous and true. For thee will I live in the hope of eventual freedom, and should misfortune overtake us, by thy side will I die!”
“Let us anticipate success,” I said.
“Yes,” she answered, smiling, as she dashed away her tears.
“If thou gainest the Great Secret, thou wilt obtain strange knowledge, which will prove to thee amazing, and reveal an unheard-of marvel. Therefore strive on. Though thou mayest see me sometimes, seek not to hold converse with me. Remember always while thou art with us that we are watched closely by those only too eager for a pretext for killing thee. Indeed, if thou wort discovered here, thine head would quickly be smitten off and mounted upon thy tent-pole, so likewise any attempt to speak with me would inevitably cause a dozen knives to pierce thine heart. Henceforth we are strangers until I restore to thee the Crescent, and thy mission is safely accomplished.”
“I will preserve silence, and seek thee not.”
“Make me one other promise,” she exclaimed in grave earnestness. “Whatsoever thou mayest witness during our advance upon Agadez, never wilt thou think ill of me. Remember always that I am forced to act as I do in order to preserve mine own honour.”
“I promise,” I replied, sealing the compact with a lingering, ecstatic kiss.
Next second her slave entered excitedly, with the news that prayers were over, and that the people were flocking back to their tents.
“Thou must, alas! leave me, my Amîn,” Zoraida cried, on hearing the negress’s unwelcome announcement. “Would that we could spend some hours longer together! but we must not run too great a risk. May Allah, the Merciful Protector of the weak, watch over and guide thee, and may thy footsteps fall in paths of peace. Slama. Allah iselemeck!”
Our leave-taking was tender and affectionate, for I saw how fervid and passionate was her love, nevertheless she compelled me, firmly yet kindly, to tear myself from her, and a few minutes later I was seated in dreamy thoughtfulness outside the little tent which my enemies had given me.
A few brief days, I reflected, and my fate would be decided. Would the mystery of the Crescent of Glorious Wonders, with its undreamed-of marvels that she had promised, ever be revealed?
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