But he must bear his enemy's scornful words and smiles in
silence.
"I gave my word that you should suffer no bodily injury, and I will
keep it. But you shall see how Cousrouf Pacha punishes where no oath
binds him, and how he avenges himself on those who dare to defy him
and his authority. Yes, you shall see, and shall carry with you
throughout life the remembrance of what you have seen. Thus Cousrouf
avenges himself on you. Now look and hear. Incline your head a
little, and look down at that cot on which the white figure lies.
Oh, why is the sun so cruel as to begin to shed its light around
them, and illumine this figure, that the poor bound man may see it
distinctly!
It is she, it is Masa! So near and yet so far, so widely, eternally
separated from him. No longer can they grasp hands or exchange vows
of undying love. A grave lies between, a fearful, impassable
barrier. That they both know. For they know the law--the law of the
land that permits the master to punish the slave he has purchased.
Yes, to punish her according to the law if he finds her unfaithful.
She is tied up in a sack and cast into the sea, that no mound may
designate the spot where a poor traitoress has found her place of
burial; that she may disappear from the world untalked of and
unnoticed.
Cousrouf stands haughtily erect beside the cot on which the figure
lies.
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