"
Sakr-el-Bahr sprang forward, and laid a hand upon the Basha's arm.
"Stay, my lord!" he entreated almost fiercely. "Consider that this
pannier is my own. That its contents are my property; that none has a
right to...."
"Wouldst babble of rights to me, who am thy lord?" blazed the Basha, now
in a towering passion. "Open me that pannier, I say."
They were quick to his bidding. The ropes were slashed away, and the
front of the pannier fell open on its palmetto hinges. There was a
half-repressed chorus of amazement from the men. Sakr-el-Bahr stood
frozen in horror of what must follow.
"What is it? What have you found?" demanded Asad.
In silence the men swung the bale about, and disclosed to the eyes of
those upon the poop-deck the face and form of Rosamund Godolphin. Then
Sakr-el-Bahr, rousing himself from his trance of horror, reckless of all
but her, flung down the gangway to assist her from the pannier, and
thrusting aside those who stood about her, took his stand at her side.
CHAPTER XVII
THE DUPE
For a little while Asad stood at gaze, speechless in his incredulity.
Then to revive the anger that for a moment had been whelmed in
astonishment came the reflection that he had been duped by Sakr-el-Bahr,
duped by the man he trusted most. He had snarled at Fenzileh and scorned
Marzak when they had jointly warned him against his lieutenant; if at
times he had been in danger of heeding them, yet sooner or later he had
concluded that they but spoke to vent their malice.
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