s upon the borders of the Belka, and hers far north
towards the Hauran. In those days there were no Turkish military posts
beyond the Jordan. The feuds and customs of the tribes were then the
only law; though now, they tell me, that that country is made safe for
travel.

'There was no means to bridge the gulf which custom fixed between the
lovers; and so my foster-brother, being mad with longing for the maid,
decided to abduct her and escape into the settled country. I, loving
him, applauded all his schemes. The princess Amineh--for she was the
daughter of a sovereign chief--was of a spirit equal to his own. She
rode out from her father's town by night upon the best mare of the
tribe with but one girl attendant. My lord and I were waiting by a
certain well. And then we rode, well knowing that both tribes would
hunt us, towards the wilayet, where there was law and Turkish power to
protect us. The princess Amineh lacked a man's endurance, and her
woman suffered greatly from fatigue. Their weakness had to be
considered, and there came a time when it was evident that they could
go no further without rest.

'We were then within a short day's journey of the nearest Government
post, attaining which we should have been in safety. We took refuge in
a ruined sheepcote. I was keeping the look-out while all the others
slept, when I noticed a small cloud of dust uprising in the distance.
I roused my lord, and told him: "The pursuers come." He looked upon
the princess and her maiden: they lay fast asleep, exhausted by
fatigue.

'"Let be," he said. "There is no hope for us in flight. Lie low.
Perhaps they will pass by without perceiving us."

'And so they might have done, God knows, had not our horses neighed,
winding the other horses.'

The old man wrung his hands, then hid his eyes with them.

'Never, never can I tell the details of what followed. We fought, and
the princess fought beside us, snatching a scimitar which I was
wearing from my side. Her boldness helped us somewhat to delay the
end, for our assailants were her father's people, and they feared to
hurt her. But the end came; it was from the first inevitable. I was
lying helpless on the ground, wounded, but fully conscious, when they
slew my lord. At once they hewed his body into fragments, each of
which was soon exalted on a spear. The princess, wounded in the face,
and pinioned, witnessed that. Her damsel lay inanimate, and at the
time I thought her dead. She was