He also strengthened his limbs by fencing with his
old uncle, who had formerly been a soldier, or by throwing himself
into the sea, to struggle with the waves and allow himself to be
buffeted about by them for hours. The boy prepared himself to become
a man, and he did so with his whole soul, and with the whole
strength of his will.
He often wandered in solitude among the rocks on the heights, or
lingered on the beach below; and when he would return to his mother,
on such occasions, she could see reflected in his countenance the
great thoughts that agitated her boy's soul. He seemed to her to
grow visibly taller each day; that the boy was transforming himself
into a man with wonderful rapidity. She knew that this boy would
become a hero; she had seen it in the expression of his eyes while
relating her dream, and she comprehended the longing which filled
his soul, for her soul was strong and aspiring like his, and
Mohammed had inherited his ambition and strong will from his mother
Khadra.
"He thinks as I should think were I a man," said Khadra to herself,
as she sat on the threshold of her door regarding her son. "Neither
should I be contented with our present miserable existence if I were
a man. I, too, should desire to go out and struggle with the world.
Alas! but I am only a poor widow, living a miserable, solitary life,
awaiting the day when death shall call me, and unite me in Paradise
with Ibrahim Aga, my master.
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