Tancred then gave the great Sheikh a rapid sketch of what had occurred to Eva, and expressed his fear that she might have been intercepted by the Turkish troops. Amalek decided that she must be at Aleppo, and, instantly summoning one of his principal men, he gave instructions for the departure of a trusty scout in that direction.
‘Ere the tenth day shall have elapsed,’ said the great Sheikh, ‘we shall have sure tidings. And now let me know, prince of England, by what strange cause you could have found yourself in the regions of those children of hell, the Ansarey, who, it is well known, worship Eblis in every obscene form.’
‘It is a long tale,’ said Tancred, ‘but I suppose it must be told; but now that you have relieved my mind by sending to Aleppo, I can hardly forget that I have ridden for more than three days, and with little pause. I am not, alas! a true Arab, though I love Arabia and Arabian thoughts; and, indeed, my dear friend, had we not met again, it is impossible to say what might have been my lot, for I now feel that I could not have much longer undergone the sleepless toil I have of late encountered. If Eva be safe, I am content, or would wish to feel so; but what is content, and what is life, and what is man? Indeed, great Sheikh, the longer I live and the more I think——’ and here the chibouque dropped gently from Tancred’s mouth, and he himself sunk upon the carpet.
CHAPTER LX.
The Road to Bethany
BESSO is better,’ said the Consul Pasqualigo to Barizy of the Tower, as he met him on a December morning in the Via Dolorosa.
‘Yes, but he is by no means well,’ quickly rejoined Barizy. ‘The physician of the English prince told me——’
‘He has not seen the physician of the English prince!’ screamed Pasqualigo, triumphantly.
‘I know that,’ said Barizy, rallying; ‘but the physician of the English prince says for flesh-wounds——’