is not my
apostle."

"Nor is he mine. But he has expressed a great truth, Jamilah. Now, can
you love me in the light of that truth?"

"You are always asking me that same question, Khalid. You do not
understand me. I do not believe in marriage. I tried it once; I will
not try it again. I am married to Buhaism. And you Khalid--remember my
words--you will yet be an apostle--the apostle--of Buhaism. And you
will find me with you, whether you be in Arabia, in America, or in
Egypt. I feel this--I know it--I am positive about it. Your star and
mine are one. We are born under the same star. We are now in the same
orbit, approaching the same nadir. We are ruled by our stars. I
believe this, and you don't. At least, you say you don't. But you do.
You don't know your own mind. The trend of the current of your life is
beyond your grasp, beyond your comprehension. I know. And you must
listen to me. You must follow my advice. If you can not come with me
now to the States, you will await me here. I am called on a pressing
business. And within three months, at the most, I shall return and
find you waiting for me right here, in this desert."

"I can not understand you."

"You will yet."

"But why not try to understand me? Can you not find in my ideas the
very essence of Buhaism? Can you not come up to my height and behold
there the star that you have taken for your guide? My Truth, Jamilah,
can you not see that? Love and Faith, free from all sectarianism and
all earthly authority,--what is Buhaism or Mohammedanism or
Christianity beside them? Moreover, I have a mission. And to love me
you must believe in _me_, not in the Buha. You laugh at my dream. But
one day it will be realised. A great Arab Empire in the border-land of
the Orient and Occident, in this very heart of the world, this Arabia,
this Egypt, this Field of the Cloth of Gold, so to speak, where the
Male and Female of the Spirit shall give birth to a unifying faith, a
unifying art, a unifying truth--"

"Vagaries, chimeras," interrupted Mrs. Gotfry. "Buhaism is established,
and it needs a great apostle. It needs you; it will have you. I will
have you. Your destiny is interwoven with mine. You can not flee it,
do what you may. We are ruled by our stars, Khalid. And if you do not
realise this now, you will realise it to-morrow. Here, give me your
hand."

"I can not."

"Very well, then. Good-bye--_au revoir_. In three months you will
change your mind. In three months I