Ishmael reflected for a moment and then said—
"No, it is not necessary, and we shall do without it. What says the Lord of the Christians? 'Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool.'"
The lady drew a long breath of relief and went on with her foreign newspapers.
CHAPTER IV
Hardly had "the Princess" gone for the day when the Arab woman, Zenoba, with all her dusky face contracted into lines of jealousy, came to Ishmael to warn him.
"Forgive me, O Master," she said, "if the thing I say displeases you."
"What is it, O Zenoba?" asked Ishmael.
"Is it well to trust the secrets of God and of His people to two tongues and four eyes?"
Ishmael's face darkened visibly, but he held himself in check and answered with dignity—
"Zenoba, ask pardon of God for a suspicious mind. The least of all noble traits is to keep a secret, the greatest is to forget that you have confided it."