“Wilt thou forgive me, Yúsufu?” she asked meekly, “for the wrong that I have done thee? I was vexed when thou didst show me the face of thy wife, and I saw that she was so fair to look upon, for I feared that thou wouldst love her only and not me. I will trouble thee no more, my husband, nor make strife in thy house, and the beautiful woman shall be as my sister, and I will even be subject to her, and serve her as her bond-maid if it please thee, so that thou shalt love me too. Wilt thou not forgive me, seeing that I am but a woman, and that my folly ariseth out of my love for thee?” She raised a piteous face to me, and her big eyes were swimming with tears as she made her humble appeal. As to me, I was too much overcome to be capable of any reply, and giving way to a natural, though insane, impulse, I took her head in my hands, and laid her cheek against mine. She uttered a sigh of profound content, and presently rose, and, spreading her mat near mine, curled herself up upon it and there lay, not sleeping, but watching me like some devoted terrier basking upon a rug, with one fond eye fixed upon its master. I was deeply affected, and very angry with myself, for by thus weakly yielding to my emotion, natural though it was, I had made the situation far worse than it was before, and the bitter disillusionment had to be begun all over again. And then how pitiful it was to see all this noble and faithful love running to waste in a world where it is so precious and so rare; when so many have to pass through life uncared for and alone. When I came out of the hut in the morning I found Aminé dressed in her old _túrkedi_, holding a review of our household goods, which were spread out on her mat. “I have been thinking,” she said, “that it seemeth a pity for us to be wearing our fine clothes on this rough journey through the forest, so I have put on my old _túrkedi_. Wilt thou, too, not wear thy old _riga_ and _wondo_, and let me put the fine ones in a bundle and carry them?” It seemed a reasonable suggestion, so taking the old clothing into the hut, I made the change. “It would be well,” said she, as she folded my embroidered _riga_, “to put in the bundle all that thou needest not for use on the road, so that thou shalt walk more easily.” To this I also agreed, and laid on the mat my watch, pistol, and cartridge box, my purse with the remaining money in it, the bag of gold dust that I had received from Musa, and a few other odds and ends. I kept out a bag of _kurdi_ for our immediate wants, and I wore my two knives--my original knife and the one I had obtained in the mine--stuck through the waist-band of my _wondo_. The locket I had already hastily stitched into its case, and this hung round my neck. As Aminé was putting the finishing touches to the bundle, I strolled towards the gate of the compound, and was just stepping out, when Ali strode up hurriedly and with an air of confusion for which I could not at the moment account.