e entertained the possibility of her refusing to submit to my
will; but I could see by the tears in her eyes that this very touching
submission and resignation on her part was simply due to her devoted
self-control, and that she suffered cruelly by it.

"Come, why do you keep on crying?" I continued, drawing her into my
arms. "Do you doubt my love, dear?"

"Oh, no!" she replied quickly. "How could I mistrust you?"

"Well, then, away with those tears!"

"Yes," she said, giving me a kiss, "you are right, dear: I am very
silly! What can you expect of me? I am still half a barbarian, and am
rather bewildered with all I have learnt from you. There are still some
things in my nature which I can't understand. Why it is that I feel more
jealous of Anna Campbell than I was of Hadidje, of Nazli, or of Zouhra,
I can't tell you; but I am afraid--she is a Christian, and perhaps you
will love her better than me. I feel that the laws and customs of your
country will recover their hold over you and will separate us. That
odious law which you once told me of, which would enfranchise me, so you
said, and make me my own mistress if I desired to leave you, often comes
back to my mind like a bad dream. It seems to me that this imaginary
liberty, which I don't want at any price, would become a reality if you
get married."

I reassured her on this point. There is a much more persuasive eloquence
in the heart than in the vain deductions of logic. During this
extraordinary scene, in which my poor Kondje-Gul's mind was alarmed by
the conflict going on between her own beliefs and what she knew of our
society, I was quite sincere in my illusions concerning the moral
compromise which, I fancied, was imposed upon me as an absolute duty.
Singular as it may all appear to you, I had already been subjected too
long to the influence of the harem not to have become gradually
permeated by the Oriental ideas. The tie which bound me to Kondje-Gul
had acquired a kind of sacred and legitimate character in my eyes.

However this may have been, her revelation disclosed an impending
danger. It was clear to me that the news of the marriage arranged
between Anna Campbell and myself could only have reached Madame Murrah
through Kiusko. His relationship with my aunt had made him a member of
our family, and he had been acquainted with our projects. I could easily
understand that his jealous instincts had penetrated one side of the
secret between Kondje and mysel