She was utterly and fatally alone, and a terrible sense
of her remoteness from all human fellowship smote her now at Arthur's
cruelty. She hesitated an instant, supporting herself by the arms of
the big carved chair in which she had been sitting; then, with an
impulsive gesture, she threw her arms above her head, wringing her
hands together.
"Oh, my God!" she cried, "what shall I do?"
Fenton turned quickly toward her.
"Oh, _mon Dieu!_" was his inward comment; "what a divine pose! What a
glorious figure! But ah, how tiresome she is!" Then, aloud, he said:
"Come, come, don't be foolish, Ninitta! You know as well as I do that
there is no danger, if you are only careful."
And putting aside his palette again, he soothed her with soft words
until she was calm enough to be sent home.
When she was gone, he shrugged his shoulders, and spread out his hands
with a deprecatory gesture.
"After all," he soliloquized aloud, "it is difficult for civilization
to get on without the sultan's sack and bowstring."
XXV
AFTER SUCH A PAGAN CUT.
Henry VIII.; i.--3.
The announcement by the Secretary of the St. Filipe Club that a vote of
censure had been passed upon Fenton had not only caused a tempest of
excitement, but had brought about the unexpected result of eliciting
testimony to prove that the charge against him was without foundation.
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