w as a fire grows that feeds upon rezin. If I
offend thee, thou alone art to blame. Thou wert too beautiful that
night. I have been mad since then. And now thou must give me thy word
that thou wilt marry me according to the law of Islam. Afterwards, when
we can find a priest of thine own religion, we will stand before him."

"Let my hand go, Si Maieddine, if thou wishest me to talk further with
thee," Victoria said.

He smiled at her and obeyed; for he knew that she could not escape from
him, therefore he would humour her a little. In a few more moments he
meant to have her in his arms again.

His smile gave the girl no hope. She thought of Zorah and the court of
the oranges.

"What wilt thou do if I say I will not be thy wife?" she asked, in a
quiet voice; but there was a fluttering in her throat.

A spark lit in his eyes. The moon was rising now, as the sun set, and
the two lights, silver and rose, touched his face, giving it an unreal
look, as if he were a statue of bronze which had "come alive," Victoria
thought, just as she had "come alive" in her statue-dance. He had never
been so handsome, but his dark splendour was dreadful to her, for he did
not seem like a human man whose heart could be moved to mercy.

For an instant he gave her no answer, but his eyes did not leave hers.
"Since thou askest me that question, I would make thee change thy 'no'
into 'yes.' But do not force me to be harsh with thee, oh core of my
heart, oh soul of my soul! I tell thee fate has spoken. The sand has
spoken--sand gathered from among these dunes. It is for that reason in
part that I brought thee here."

"The sand-divining!" Victoria exclaimed. "Lella M'Barka told thee----"

"She told me not to wait. And her counsel was the counsel of my own
heart. Look, oh Rose, where the moon glitters on the sand--the sand that
twined thy life with mine. See how the crystals shape themselves like
little hands of Fatma; and they point from thee to me, from me to thee.
The desert has brought us together. The desert gives us to one another.
The desert will never let us part."

Victoria's eyes followed his pointing gesture. The sand-crystals
sparkled in the sunset and moonrise, like myriads of earthbound
fireflies. Their bright facets seemed to twinkle at her with cold, fairy
eyes, waiting to see what she would do, and she did not know. She did
not know at all what she would do.

XXXII

"Dost thou wish me to hate thee, Si Maieddine?