“The Princess perceived that one of thy men was being carried in a litter, and she desired to know what had happened, and whether he was badly hurt. But who are these?” There was a wild alarm in her voice, as she caught sight of the travel-stained Norfolk suits of Mr Hicks and Mansfield, whose uniform of _abba_ and _kaffiyeh_ had rendered them until this moment indistinguishable from the Arabs, and she staggered back against the door-post. “O lady, these men are the servants of the Prince of the Jews, whom we have brought hither from Es Sham to see what is the will of the Princess concerning him. He professes much goodwill towards our tribe, desiring to enter into a treaty with the great lady, and we have perceived that he is a lucky person.” “Where is he? Let me see him.” The bearers of the litter had deposited their burden upon the ground, and she bent forward to look at it. A convulsive shiver ran through her frame, and she sprang back as though she had seen a snake. “_That_ man?” she ejaculated, and Mr Hicks and Mansfield both observed that her grey eyes, the only feature visible between the folds of her veil, were dilated by anger or horror until the black alone was visible. “O son of misfortune, why hast thou brought him here? He is the Princess’s deadliest enemy, the man that has most injured her in all the world.” “It may be that he desires to make atonement, O lady,” suggested the sheikh deprecatingly. “To make atonement--he? Nay, rather to do more mischief,” and she bestowed a dainty but vicious kick upon Cyril’s unconscious form. “Take him and his companions to the vaults, O sheikh, and keep them there safely until they shall return to their own country.” “Pardon me, madam; if you would allow me a few words with you----” Mr Hicks came forward politely, and spoke in his best Arabic, but he was in difficulties with his _kaffiyeh_, which he had naturally tried to take off on addressing a lady. The heavy gold-worked handkerchief had become mixed up with the twisted cord which held it to the head, and the consciousness that he was appearing at a disadvantage embarrassed Mr Hicks seriously. “I will not listen. Take them away. Let no more be seen of them!” cried the lady, escaping into the fortress and shutting the door behind her. “What a fiend!” ejaculated Mansfield, with blazing eyes, as the rattle of bolts and bars showed that there was no hope of changing her mind. “Excitable female, any way,” said Mr Hicks, his equanimity restored. “Well, sheikh, I guess you had better march us off to these vaults of yours. See what a pity it is that the Prince of the Jews wasn’t on hand to blarney the lady!” The sheikh assented gloomily, and giving an order to his followers, they retraced their steps and descended the path. “Of course you saw that our fair friend was a European?” remarked Mr Hicks to Mansfield, as they followed the litter. “What, that woman--that--that creature?”