informed the Moor
that this Christian soldier had killed his son, and still the father
would not give up the fugitive, but assisted him to escape, because of
his promise.

"A great lord is the sea," says the Kuran; "a great lord is the storm
and the pestilence; but a greater lord still is a man's given word,
from which there is no escape."

The Mussulman keeps his word, but beware of a play upon words, for
therein lies death. If he has sworn by the sun, avoid the moon, and if
he has promised to love thee as a brother, discover first whether he
hath not slain his brother.

When Sulaiman adopted Ibrahim as a son, he swore that so long as he
lived no harm should befall Ibrahim. Later on, when Ibrahim fell into
disgrace, the wise Ulemas discovered a text in the Kuran according to
which he who sleeps is not alive, and they slew Ibrahim while Sulaiman
slept.

Kurshid had given his word and a written assurance that Ali should not
die at the hand of the executioner; the document he had given to
Ali's wife, his word he had given in the presence of his whole army;
and he had escorted Ali Pasha with all due honor to the island kiosk,
permitting him to retain his weapons and the jewelled sword with which
he had won so many victories, with which he had so many times turned
the tide of the battle; nay, more, they had selected fifty of Ali's
own warriors, the bravest and the most faithful, to serve him as a
guard of honor.

Nevertheless, a courier despatched in hot haste to Stambul announced
there, from Kurshid Pasha, that the treasures of Ali Tepelenti of
Janina were in his hands, and that a Tartar horseman would follow in
three days with the head of the old pasha. And yet at this very moment
Tepelenti's head stood firmly on his shoulders, and who would dare to
say that that head was promised away while his good sword was by his
side, and good comrades in arms were around him, and the sworn
assurance of the seraskier rested upon him?

Eminah never quitted him for a moment. She was always with him. She
sat beside him, with her head on his breast, or at his feet, and in
her hand she carried the amnesty of the seraskier, so that if any one
should approach Ali with dangerous designs she might hold it before
his eyes like a magic buckler, and ward off the axe of the executioner
from his head.

But there was nothing to guard against; the executioner did not
approach Ali. He received, indeed, a great many visitors, but these
were