was the man who would
warn Joanna. But a thump from the Vekeel's fist, that came down on
his shoulder unawares, reduced him to sitting still; and while he sat
rubbing the place with subdued sounds of pain, not daring to reproach
the all-powerful negro for his violence, the Kadi gave the tablets to
Horapollo and bid him read the letter.

But the terrible accusation cast at him by the hated Patrician maiden,
ascribing his removal to Rufinus house to a motive which, in truth, had
been far from his, had so enraged and agitated him that his old lungs,
at all times feeble, refused their office. This woman had done him a
fresh wrong, for he had gone to live with the widow from the kindest
impulse; only an accident had thrown this document in his way. And yet
it would not fail to be reported to Joanna in the course of the day
that he had gone to her house as a spy, and there would be an end to the
pleasant life of which he had dreamed--nay, even Philippus might perhaps
quarrel with him.

And all, all through this woman.

He could not utter a word but, as he sank back on the seat, a glance
so full of hatred, so dark with malignant fury, fell on Paula that she
shuddered, and told herself that this man was ready to die himself if
only he could drag her down too.

The interpreter now began to read Orion's letter and to translate it
for the Arabs; and while he blundered through it, declaring that not a
letter could be plainly made out, she recovered her self-control and,
before the interpreter had done his task, a gleam as of sunshine lighted
up her pure features. Some great, lofty, and rapturous thought must have
flashed through her brain, and it was evident that she had seized it and
was feeding on it.

Orion, sitting opposite to her, noticed this; still, he did not
understand what her beseeching gaze had to say to him, what it asked of
him as she pressed her hand on her breast, and looked into his eyes with
such urgent entreaty that it went to his very heart.

The interpreter ceased; but what he had read had had a great effect on
the judges. The Kadi's benevolent face expressed extreme apprehension,
and the contents of the letter were indeed such as to cause it. It ran
as follows:

"After waiting for you a long time in vain, I must at last make up my
mind to go; and how much I still had to say to you. A written farewell."

Here a few lines were effaced, and then came the--fatal and quite
legible conclusion:

"How far