“‘Have no fear,’ she said; ‘I am Masouda, who, amongst many other things, have learned how to play a part. Listen; there is no time to lose. I have been ordered to leave the camp; even now my uncle the Arab waits without, with two swift horses. You, Princess, will leave in my place. Look, you wear my robes and my face—almost; and are of my height, and the man who guides you will know no difference. I have seen to that, for although a soldier of Salah-ed-din, he is of my tribe. I will go with you to the door, and there bid you farewell before the eunuchs and the guards with weeping, and who will guess that Masouda is the princess of Baalbec and that the princess of Baalbec is Masouda?’ “‘And whither shall I go?’ I asked. “‘My uncle, Son of the Sand, will give you over to the embassy which rides to Jerusalem, or failing that, will take you to the city, or failing that, will hide you in the mountains among his own people. See, here is a letter that he must read; I place it in your breast.’ “‘And what of you, Masouda?’ I asked again. “‘Of me? Oh! it is all planned, a plan that cannot fail,’ she answered. ‘Fear not; I escape to-night—I have no time to tell you how—and will join you in a day or two. Also, I think that you will find Sir Godwin, who will bring you home to England.’ “‘But Wulf? What of Wulf?’ I asked again. ‘He is doomed to die, and I will not leave him.’ “‘The living and the dead can keep no company,’ she answered. ‘Moreover, I have seen him, and all this is done by his most urgent order. If you love him, he bids that you will obey.’” “I never saw Masouda! I never spoke such words! I knew nothing of this plot!” exclaimed Wulf, and the brethren looked at each other with white faces. “Speak on,” said Godwin; “afterwards we can debate.” “Moreover,” continued Rosamund, bowing her head, “Masouda added these words, ‘I think that Sir Wulf will escape his doom. If you would see him again, obey his word, for unless you obey you can never hope to look upon him living. Go, now, before we are both discovered, which would mean your death and mine, who, if you go, am safe.’” “How knew she that I should escape?” asked Wulf. “She did not know it. She only said she knew to force Rosamund away,” answered Godwin in the same strained voice. “And then?” “And then—oh! having Wulf’s express commands, then I went, like one in a dream. I remember little of it. At the door we kissed and parted weeping, and while the guard bowed before her, she blessed me beneath her breath. A soldier stepped forward and said, ‘Follow me, daughter of Sinan,’ and I followed him, none taking any note, for at that hour, although perhaps you did not see it in your prisons, a strange shadow passed across the sun, of which all folk were afraid, thinking that it portended evil, either to Saladin or Ascalon.* * The eclipse, which overshadowed Palestine and caused much terror at Jerusalem on 4th September, 1187, the day of the surrender of Ascalon.—Author