She could see the love in Ralph Trenchard’s eyes as he looked across at Helen, who stood smiling, dishevelled, with her golden hair in a cloud around her over-thin, death-white face; and she knew that in his love for Helen, the love she herself craved for and had failed to inspire, he would fight to the death to save her from harm.
Death!
Even as the word flashed into her mind, the youth whom Al-Asad had whirled like a club and shaken like a sack of durra for mimicking his mistress sprang forward.
In the Arab’s supreme callousness towards his brother’s feelings he used the Nubian’s limp body as the first step as he ran up the steps of the dais and knelt at Zarah’s feet.
“Her death, mistress!” he shouted, his eyes blazing at the thought of the white girl’s insult towards his womenfolk. “Behold, she mocks thee and the women who tend and serve her. She mocks them this wise.”
He sprang back, landing, with the Arab’s supreme callousness towards his brother’s feelings, full upon the Nubian’s back, so that, the last ounce of breath being expelled forcibly from his lungs, he lay limper than ever. Followed a mimicry of Helen’s supposed mimicry of Namlah the busy and the surly negress, until the men shouted with laughter and yelled with appreciation, whilst Zarah looked down without a smile and Helen looked on in amazement.
She understood at last, and tried in her indignation to free herself, and failing, shouted her denial of the untruth.
“It is a lie! It is a lie! I could not, would not——”
As the youth spat in her direction, and the men, their pride once more ablaze at the thought of the insult offered their own women, cursed and yelled, Ralph Trenchard, with an effort beyond all telling, broke from his captors and sprang straight at the youth who had spat.
“You swine! You filthy swine!” he cried, and with a fist like a flail caught the spitter full on the point, smashing his jaw, whereupon the men yelled “Wah! Wah!” and at a sign from their mistress, shouting with joy, flung themselves upon Ralph Trenchard and held him fast.