You were resolved to defy the waves--"
"Yes, father, and I did learn to make the waves obey me, and I
became the best boatman in Praousta. I also learned to dive, and no
diver could surpass me. To prove what I say, I have brought you this
keepsake. I brought it up from the depths of the sea; it was tied up
in a bag. I dragged it to the shore and opened it. And what do you
suppose it contained, father? Only think, a skeleton! As these were
the first things I had taken out of the deep as a diver I have
brought you something out of the bag as a keepsake. Here it is, I--
lay it at your feet."
"From the depths of the sea? " repeated the viceroy, with pallid
cheeks. "Tell me, Ibrahim, were you diving off the shore of
Praousta?"
"Yes, father. You know the shore is steep, and the sea deep, close
in to the beach. There I dived and found the bag, with which I swam
to the shore. The bag contained bones, and also that which I have
brought you."
"A bag that contained a skeleton?" repeated Mohammed, with quivering
lips. "And what is it you have brought me?"
"A tress of hair--a tress of long, black hair. It must have been a
woman that was cast into the sea in the bag."
Mohammed does not take the package from his son's hand, and Ibrahim
lays it at his feet and looks at him with astonishment. He is
completely changed; his cheeks are pallid and his eyes dim.
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