“The Bond of Blood! What is that?” I asked eagerly.
“Ah, no!” she responded, with a touch of sorrow in her voice. “I am unable to give thee explanation. When thou hast gained the Secret, then wilt thou learn the truth, and penetrate the veil of Great Mystery. Until that day have patience, and seek not that which must remain hidden.”
“But I—I have lost the Crescent,” I blurted forth despondently.
“It is in my possession,” she replied, with a smile, rising from her divan, kneeling beside me, and placing her arms about my neck. “When last night I recognised thee on thine arrival in our camp, I foresaw thy deadly peril. Labakan, who had been ordered to kill thee, was also aware of thy presence; therefore I had thy travelling companion, Halima, brought before me, and from her ascertained that on thy journey thine eyes had been constantly upon one of thy saddle-bags. I therefore felt confident that the Crescent thou hadst lost had been recovered. Later, I caused search to be made among thy belongings, and it being found there, it was abstracted and brought hither.”
“Hadst thou a reason for this?” I asked, puzzled.
“Yes. I knew that if the Crescent of Glorious Wonders were found in the possession of thyself, an Infidel, no argument of mine would save thee from death.”
“But thou hast again rescued me, Zoraida,” I murmured in ecstasy. “Again my life hath been in thine hands.”
“I love thee,” she responded, briefly and simply.
“And thou art risking everything for my sake—even thy position as Queen of the Ennitra!”
“Art thou not doing the same for me?” she asked. “As lovers it is our duty to assist each other, and to stand together in the hour of danger.”