his old back, but in which he was never
required to remain: Orion now signed to him to stand up:

The Arab's mild features wore a look of extreme gravity, and deep
vexation could be read in his kindly eyes. As the young man entered he
bowed slightly; they had already met that morning. The Mukaukas, who was
lying deathly pale with colorless lips, scarcely opened his eyes at his
son's greeting. It might have been thought that a bier was waiting in
the next room and that the mourners had assembled here.

The piece of work was only half unrolled, but Orion at once saw the spot
whence its crowning glory was now missing--the large emerald which, as
he alone could know, was on its way to Constantinople. His theft had
been discovered. How fearful, how fatal might the issue be!

"Courage, courage!" he said to himself. "Only preserve your presence
of mind. What profit is life with loss of honor? Keep your eyes open;
everything depends on that, Orion!"

He succeeded in hastily collecting his thoughts, and exclaimed in a
voice which lacked little of its usual eager cheerfulness:

"How dismal you all look! It is indeed a terrible disaster that the dog
should have handled the poor girl so roughly, and that our people should
have behaved so outrageously; but, as I told you this morning, worthy
Merchant, the guilty parties shall pay for it with their lives. My
father, I am sure, will agree that you should deal with them according
to your pleasure, and our leech Philippus, in spite of his youth, is
a perfect Hippocrates I can assure you! He will patch up the fine
fellow--your head-man I mean, and as to any question of compensation, my
father--well, you know he is no haggler."

"I beg you not to add insult to the injury that I have suffered under
your roof," interrupted Haschim. "No amount of money can buy off my
wrath over the spilt blood of a friend--and Rustem was my friend--a free
and valiant youth. As to the punishment of the guilty: on that I insist.
Blood cries for blood. That is our creed; and though yours, to be sure,
enjoins the contrary, so far as I know you act by the same rule as we.
All honor to your physician; but it goes to my heart, and raises my
gall to see such things take place in the house of the man to whom
the Khaliff has confided the weal or woe of Egyptian Christians. Your
boasted tolerance has led to the death of an honest though humble man
in a time of perfect peace--or at least maimed him for life. As to