“It must be,” she reflected, “that our dear David, in spite of my bribes1, has sold our secret to my father. For tonight, at least, I have lulled2 his suspicions. And he will soon be at the gate to admit Kasam; so I fear nothing. But the little David must not be able to annoy me again.”
With this came a thought whereat she laughed. Rising from her couch the girl went to a tiny cabinet and cautiously unlocked it. She busied herself there for several minutes, at times laughing softly to herself, but with no trace of merriment in the notes. Finally she clapped her hands to summon a maid.
“Bring here one of the slaves,” she commanded.
The girl withdrew, but presently returned alone.
“There are no slaves in the house, my mistress,” she reported.
“Indeed! My father must have taken them with him,” Maie replied. Then, after consideration, she added: “You will do as well, Halima; nay3, perhaps better. Do you know David the Jew?”
“Yes, my mistress.”
“Then get your cloak and seek David out, wherever he may be. And, when you have found him, give to him this casket, Halima, with the greetings of the daughter of the vizier; and tell him it is a token of my faith in him.”
She brought from the cabinet a small box, exquisitely4 enamelled and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
“Keep it safely concealed5 in your cloak, Halima. It does not lock, but opens by pressing this spring—so!” The lid flew back, disclosing a quantity of gold and gems6 and a silken purse; and after permitting the girl to glance within she closed the cover, snapping it into place. “Now that you have seen the contents, my child, you will not care to open it again. Keep it well fastened until it is in David’s hands.”
The girl promised to obey, and taking the box started at once to perform her mission. It seemed to her a queer hour—the dead of night—to carry a present to a Jew; but the whims8 of Maie were past accounting9 for, and the duty of a slave was to obey without question.
Left to herself, Maie glanced at the hour-glass and hastily caught up the mantle10 which she had discarded the better to display her charms to her father. She wound the robe carelessly about her shoulders, pressed a panel in the wall, and gained egress11 by a narrow stairway to the gardens.
“It is very dark,” she murmured, feeling her way along a path; “but so much the better. My Allison will not need a light to know that it is I!”
Onward12 she crept, turning the angles of the hedges with unerring instinct, until she paused beneath a group of stately siszandras where the shadows were even deeper than elsewhere. But her eyes, growing accustomed to the darkness, soon made out the dim outlines of a stone bench, and she stooped and passed her hands along its length until she discovered that it was vacant.
“He is late,” she whispered; “or perhaps I am a moment early. He will come soon.”
Languidly she reclined upon the bench, her face turned toward the carved pillars that marked the Gate of the Griffins, standing13 but a few paces away like silhouettes14 against the murky15 sky.
After a few minutes’ lapse16 a key clicked in a lock; a stealthy foot-fall reached her ears, and the next moment a man knelt beside her.
“Ah, sweet one!” he whispered, clasping his arms around her yielding form and covering her face with kisses; “again for a few moments I may enjoy paradise with you by my side! I have been very impatient, my Maie, for this hour.”
“Yet you are late, Allison.” She spoke17 his name tenderly, and her broken English rendered the sibilant very charming in his ears.
“I may be a trifle late, little one, for I met several groups of men stealthily creeping through the darkness. I cannot understand why every warrior18 in the town seems abroad at this hour of the night.”
She sat up suddenly, clinging to him.
“Which way did they go?”
Somehow the words sent a chill to her heart, for she remembered her father’s mission to the west gate. Could their carefully guarded conspiracy20 have been betrayed? She listened eagerly, but all about them the town lay still as death. It was not yet midnight.
Her lover’s caresses21 recalled her to the present. Allison had drawn22 her closer beside him on the bench, and throwing back her mantle was pressing her passionately23 to his heart. Unresistingly she nestled in his arms, the dainty oriental perfumes that radiated from her body filling his nostrils24 with their ravishing odors and the soft contact of her cheek against his thrilling him with a joy akin7 to madness.
Words were barren messengers of love now; only the throbbing25 of his heart and her gentle sighs betrayed to the caressing26 breeze the fact that the bench was occupied.
Suddenly she shuddered27, clutching at his hand so fiercely that her nails were imbedded in his flesh. A low moan escaped her lips, and then her grasp relaxed and she fell back limp and inert28.
Filled with a nameless horror, Allison looked up. The sky had lightened, somewhat, permitting him to discern before them the form of a huge black, who held within his hand a dripping sword. Even as Allison gazed the weapon leaped back and came straight for his heart in a quick thrust. He shrank from the point, springing sideways, but could not wholly escape. A biting pain pierced his side. But now he was upon his feet, one hand pressing the wound and the other holding his revolver.
A shot rang out, followed by a scream. The black swayed and fell, but others rushed with naked cimeters to take his place. Allison leaned against the bench and fired again—and again—and again, a fierce joy filling his breast at the outcries of his victims, even while the blood surged through his brain and he felt the numbness29 of death creeping over him.
The shots from the revolver were answered by loud cries from the other end of the garden—that nearest the house. Torches flashed, sending gleams of light dancing over the flowers and grasses toward the silent group beside the stone bench. Then came Dirrag, bounding over the sward with a band of chosen warriors30 in his wake.
At the ghastly tableau31 which the lights disclosed they paused, looking on one another with horror in their eyes. And now the deep tones of the gong from the west gate smote32 upon the air, rousing with its brazen33 warning all the sleeping city. The far-away outlines of the wall sprang into flame, while the hoarse34 cry of a multitude rolled grimly out upon the midnight zephyrs35.
“I think, my captain, the American still lives,” he said.
For a moment Dirrag did not reply. He was gazing sadly upon the lovely face of Maie, whereon still lingered the traces of a happy smile. But the dark eyes, inscrutable as ever, were wide and staring, and the warrior leaned over and gently covered the dainty form with the folds of her mantle.
Then he stood up and coughed, for the night air had gotten into his throat.
“Come along, you dogs!” he growled37. “Let us report to the Khan. The conspirator38 he sent us to arrest has escaped him.”
“And the American?” asked a man.
“Oh, the American?” Dirrag hesitated, wondering how his master would desire him to act. “Well, bring the infidel dog along with you,” he said.
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1
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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2
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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3
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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10
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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11
egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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14
silhouettes
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| 轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影 | |
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15
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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16
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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17
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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18
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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19
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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20
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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21
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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22
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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23
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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24
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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27
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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28
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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30
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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31
tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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32
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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33
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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34
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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35
zephyrs
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| n.和风，微风( zephyr的名词复数 ) | |
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36
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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37
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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38
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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