hair, withdrawn and
shrinking, watching him out of those dark, terrified eyes.

"You are beautiful as dreams," he told her, leaning towards her with
such abruptness that his sword struck clankingly against the table.
"Beyond even the words of my babbling cousin--eh, Allah reward
her!--but she did me a good turn with her talk of you!"

Fixedly he stared at her, out of those intent, inflamed eyes.

"I did not know that there was anything like you in the harems of
Cairo. You are like a vision of the old poets--but I suppose that
you do not know the ancient poetry. You little moderns are brought
up upon French and English and music and know little of the Arabic
and the Persian.... I daresay that you have never heard of the poet
Utayyah."

Still leaning towards her he began to intone the stanzas in a very
fair tenor voice, and if his movements were at all unsteady, his
speech was most precise and accurate.

"From her radiance the sun taketh increase when
She unveileth and shameth the moonlight bright."

He chuckled.... "Ah, I shall put the triple veil upon you, my little
moon.... How Is this one?

"'On Sun and Moon of Palace cast thy sight,
Enjoy her flower-like face, her fragrant light,
Thine eyes shall never see in hair so black
Beauty encase a brow so purely white.'"

He got up and drew his chair closer to her. "That is the song for
you, little white rose of beauty."

Back went her own chair, and she rose to her feet.

"I thank you for the compliment, monsieur. But now have I your
permission to retire? For it has been a long day and I am indeed
fatigued--"

To her vexation her voice was trembling, but she steadied it
proudly.

"I bid you good evening."

"Nonsense, my little white rose. This is not so fatiguing--a few
words more. But you are like the flower that flies before the
wind.... But your room, yes, to be sure. Shall I show you the way?"

"I can discover it, monsieur."

"Monsieur--fie on you, my little dove.... Hamdi, I tell you, your
lover Hamdi."

He laughed unsteadily, and put a hand on her arm. "You are running
away, I know that. And I have so much to tell you ... Oh, it was
tedious in that villa of your father's! 'Yes,' I thought to myself,
'that is a fine story, a funny story, but I have heard them all
before. And you are in no haste, you revelers--you have no little
bride waiting for you at home.'... That one glance at you--I tell you
it was the g