A light broke over her face. "Ah, now I see," she said, and her face flushed deeply with anger and indignation. "And you--Donovan Pasha, you who are supposed to have influence with the Khedive, who are supposed to be an English influence over him, you can speak of this quietly, patiently, as a matter possible to your understanding. This barbarous, hideous black mail! This cruel, dreadful tyranny! You, an Englishman, remain in the service of the man who is guilty of such a crime!" Her breath came hard. "Well, it seems the wisest thing to do as yet. You have lived a long time in Egypt, you should know what Oriental rule is. Question: Is one bite of a cherry better than no bite of a cherry? Egypt is like a circus, but there are wild horses in the ring, and you can't ride them just as you like. If you keep them inside the barriers, that's something. Of course, Kingsley made a mistake in a way. He didn't start his desert-city and his slavery without the consent of the Khedive; he shouldn't have stopped it and gone out of business without the same consent. It cut down the Effendina's tribute." He spoke slowly, counting every word, watching the effect upon her. He had much to watch, and he would have seen more if he had known women better. "He has abandoned the mines--his city--and slavery?" she asked chokingly, confusedly. It seemed hard for her to speak. "Yes, yes, didn't you know? Didn't he tell you?" She shook her head. She was thinking back-remembering their last conversation, remembering how sharp and unfriendly she had been with him. He had even then freed his slaves, had given her slaves to free. "I wonder what made him do it?" added Dicky. "He had made a great fortune--poor devil, he needed it, for the estates were sweating under the load. I wonder what made him do it?" She looked at him bewilderedly for a moment, then, suddenly, some faint suspicion struck her. "You should know. You joined with him in deceiving me at Assiout." "But, no," he responded quickly, and with rare innocence, "the situation was difficult. You already knew him very well, and it was the force of circumstances--simply the force of circumstances. Bad luck--no more. He was innocent, mine was the guilt. I confess I was enjoying the thing, because--because, you see he had deceived me, actually deceived me, his best friend. I didn't know he knew you personally, till you two met on that veranda at Assiout, and--" "And you made it difficult for him to explain at once--I remember." "I'm afraid I did. I've got a nasty little temper at times, and I had a chance to get even. Then things got mixed, and Foulik Pasha upset the whole basket of plums. Besides, you see, I'm a jealous man, an envious man, and you never looked so well as you did that day, unless it's to-day." She was about to interrupt him, but he went on.