"
"Does one think at such a moment? Did he think? There was no time. It was
the work of an instant. Ah, Fate was not kind, Excellency! If it had
been, I should have been permitted to kill Foorgat Bey with my own
hands."
"I should have found it hard to exact the penalty from you, madame."
The words were uttered in so neutral a way that they were enigmatical,
and she could not take offence or be sure of his meaning.
"Think, Excellency. Have you ever known one so selfless, so good, so
true? For humanity's sake, would you not keep alive such a man? If there
were a feud as old as Adam between your race and his, would you not
before this life of sacrifice lay down the sword and the bitter
challenge? He gave you his hand in faith and trust, because your God was
his God, your prophet and lord his prophet and lord. Such faith should
melt your heart. Can you not see that he tried to make compensation for
Foorgat's death, by giving you your life and setting you where you are
now, with power to save or kill him?"
"You call him great; yet I am here in safety, and he is--where he is.
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