ion of triumph, and knelt with his
knee upon the chest of the fallen man, his bloody and distorted
visage bent over him in evil triumph. He was feeling in his belt
for his dagger; and the young man closed his eyes and tried to
mutter a prayer, for he knew that his hour had come at last.

He had sold his life dear, but sold it was, and the next moment he
felt certain would be his last; when all in a moment there was
another of those loud reports of the gun. The man kneeling upon his
chest fell suddenly backwards; and the youth, starting to his feet,
was confronted by the spectacle of the maiden he had rescued, white
and trembling, and almost overcome by her own deed, holding in her
hand the still smoking gun, whilst her eyes, dilated with horror,
were fixed upon the helpless creature in the dust.

"Is he dead?" she asked in a hollow voice.

"I cannot tell," answered the youth hastily. "It were better not to
linger longer here. Their own band will come and look to them if
they return not by sundown. Let us to horse and away before any of
the gang come. Sultan will carry the pair of us well, and you will
tell us which course to steer; for the night will be upon us ere
long, and I am a stranger to these dark forests."

Whilst thus speaking, the traveller was throwing keen glances round
him, and saw that the men, though wounded, were not all
dead--though one certainly was, and the other, whom Sultan had
attacked, was scarce likely to look again upon the light of day.
The leader of the band had fallen again to the earth, and was
enveloped in the folds of the heavy cloak, from which he appeared
to be feebly struggling to disentangle himself. The girl followed
the direction of the youth's glance, and explained the matter in a
few short words.

"He was loading the gun when I freed myself. I knew that he was
going to shoot you. I am very strong, and I saw that he was
bleeding and wounded. I sprang upon him and threw him down, and
tied the cloak about him, as he had bidden his men bind it about
me, By that time you were unhorsed, and I saw that the robber was
about to kill you. The gun was loaded, and I took it and shot him.
I never killed a man before. I hope it is not wicked; but he would
have killed you else. And you had risked your life a dozen times to
save me."

"It was well and bravely done for me and for yourself," answered
the stranger, as he mounted the docile Sultan and assisted the girl
to spring up behind him