"You
are fortunate in knowing her. I do not know such a girl; I only know
that they are all deceitful and traitorous."
"Then you assuredly do not know this one! She is as pure as an
angel, and her name is Masa."
"Masa!" he exclaims, in loud and joyous tones. Then his countenance
darkens, and, raising his clinched fists threateningly, he cries:
"Masa! you deceive yourself. Of all deceitful women she is the
worst. Do not say that I deceive myself with regard to her; I saw,
with my own eyes, that which gives me death; that which will forever
gnaw at my heart. Away from me, and announce to her who sent you
that no woman shall ever deceive Mohammed again."
He turns to descend from the rock, but the woman holds him fast,
regarding him with an anxious, entreating look.
"Do you wish to kill my darling, the beloved child of my mistress?
Listen, Mohammed! On her death-bed the mother confided to me her
only child. Grasping her cold hand, I swore by Allah that I would
hold her as my own, that I would watch over and guard her from all
evil. This morning I found my darling in an agony of grief. She did
not go out with the joyous crowd, but remained at home in her own
little room. I saw her wringing her hands, and heard her entreating
Allah to take her life. I entered her room and said to her: 'O Masa,
you know that your Djumeila is true to you. Confide in her.
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