to reach
her father; but she wronged Ben Raana. He had spoken no more than the
truth (though he spoke to hurt) in saying he would rather die than
betray a trust. At that time he still kept his calmness, because the
plot arranged by the two girls had not succeeded. His daughter was still
safe under his own roof, and it was not an unexpected blow to him that
she should have wished to escape from Tahar. He knew in his heart that
Ourieda was more to blame than Sanda, and seeing shame on the young,
pale face of the Roumia he had no fear of anything George DeLisle's
daughter might report to her father. Her letter went by the courier, as
all her other letters had gone. Mabrouka's advice to keep it back, or
at least to steam the envelope open and see what was inside, was scorned
by Ben Raana; and to Sanda's astonishment she was actually sent for to
visit Ourieda.

This was in the afternoon of the day whose dawn had seen the girls'
defeat. Ourieda was in bed, and Taous sat by the open door with an
embroidery frame. But Taous understood neither French nor English. In
exchange for the lessons Ourieda gave Sanda in Arabic, Sanda had given
lessons in English; therefore, lest Aunt Mabrouka might be listening,
and lest she might have picked up more French than she cared to confess,
the two girls chose the language of which Ourieda had learned to
understand more than she could speak.

"How thankful I am to see you, dearest!" cried Sanda. "Didn't you think,
after what your aunt said, that I should be sent away this morning?
Would you have dreamed, even if I stayed, that we should be allowed to
meet and talk like this?"

Ourieda answered, slowly and brokenly, that she had not believed Sanda
would be permitted to go. Aunt Mabrouka had not stopped to reflect when
she had made that threat, or else she had hoped to part them, and to
make Ourieda believe Sanda had gone. "You see," the girl explained in
her halting English, "they--my father and my aunt--shall have too much
of the fear to let you go till after all is finished."

"Finished?"

"When the marrying has been over thou canst go. Then it too late. My
father shall be sure, thee and me, we know where M---- is, that our plan
was for him. I say no, but he not believe. That is for why they keep
thee here, so thou not tell M---- things about me. But my father, he
shall not be mean and little in his mind like my aunt. He not listen to
the words she speak when she say not let us meet tog