“In the anguish occasioned by these cruel suspicions, it is not of your kandjiar that you must take counsel—but of your friend.”

“My lord—”

“To this interview, which will prove the innocence or the treachery of your beloved, you will do well to go.”

“Oh, yes!” said the half-caste, in a hollow voice, and with a bitter smile: “I shall be there.”

“But you must not go alone.”

“What do you mean, my lord?” cried the half-caste. “Who will accompany me?”

“I will.”

“You, my lord?”

“Yes—perhaps, to save you from a crime—for I know how blind and unjust is the earliest outburst of rage.”

“But that transport gives us revenge!” cried the half-caste, with a cruel smile.