The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-18
CONTINUED from Last Sundays News)
CHAPTER v
THE WINE MERCHANT.


Surely" said Wulf, this is some
FOOLS trick. Played off upon our I'M
Gle as an evil jest"
BY way of answer Sir Andrew babe
him lift the silk that hid the contents
of the Golfer asd see what lay there. He
did so, and next moment threw back
his head like man whom some sudden
light had blinded, as we'll he might,
for from it came such flare of gems
as Essex had rarely seen before. Red,
green, and blue they sparkled and
among them were the dull glow of
gold and the white sheen of pearls.
"Oh. how beautiful! how beautiful"
said Rosamund.
AYE" muttered Goodwin; eft fires
to maze a woman's mind till she
knows not right from wrong"
Wulf said nothing, but one by one
drew them from the chest-coronet,
veil, necklace of pearls, breast orna-
ments of rubies, girdle of sapphires
tewelled anklets, and with them san
dals and robes, and other garments of
northumberland purple silk More
over, among these, also sealed with
the seals of Salah-ed-din, his viziers
officers of state, and secretaries, was
that patent of which the letter spoke,
setting out the full titles of the Prin-
cess of Baalbec, the extent and boun-
amount of her annual revenue, which
seemed more money than they had
ever heard of.
II was wrong" said wulf. Even
the Sultan of the East could not afford
a jest so costly"
"Jest?" broke in Sir Andrew; at is
no lest, as I was sure from the first
line of the letter, that from end to end
breathes the very spirit of Saladin,
though he be Saracen, the greatest
man on all the earth, as I, who was a
friend Of his youth, know well. Aye,
and he is right In a sense I sinned
against him as his sister sinned, our
love compelling us. Jest? Nay, no
Jest, but because some vision of the
night, that he believes the voice of
God, has deeply stirred that great soul
of his; or perhaps some oracle of his
magfcians has led him on to this wild
adventure. Girl, do you know what
he has made of you? Why, there are
queens in Europe who would be glad to
own that rank and these estates in
the rich lands above Damascus. 1
Know the city and the castle of which
he speaks. 1t is a mighty place upon
the banks of Litani and Orontes, and
after its military governor for that rule
he would not give a Christian-you
will be first in it, beneath the seal of
Saladin--the surest title in all the
earth. Say, will you go and queen it
there?"
Rosamund looked at the heaped-up,
cleaning gems and the parchment that
made her royal, and her eyes flashed
and her breast heaved, as they had
done by the church of st. Peter on the
Essex Coast. Thrice she looked while
they watched her, then turned her
head as from the bait of some tempta-
ton and answered one word only
NAY"
well spoken" said her father, who
knew her blood and its longings. Eat
least, had the nay been yea you
must have gone alone. Give be ink
and parchment, Goodwin"
They were brought, and he wrote:
ITO the Sultan Saladin, from Andrew
DARCY and his daughter Rosamund.
1--WE have received your letter, and
we answer that where we are there we
will bide in that humble state which
God has given us. Nevertheless, we
thank you, since we believe you hon
est, and we wish you WE'LL except III
your wars against the Cross. AS for
your threats. we will do our best to
bring them to nothing. Knowing the
customs of the East, we do not send
back your gifts to you, since to do so
would be to offer insult to one of the
greatest men in all the world, but II
you choose to ask for them. they are
yours-not ours. OF your dream we
saw that it was but an empty vision Of
the night which wise man should
forget. Your servant and your niece"
Then he signed, and Rosamund sign
ed after him, and the writing was done
up. wrapped in silk, and sealed.
Now" said Sir Andrew, hide away
this gear. since were 1t known that We
had such treasures in the place, every
thief in England would be our visitor,
some of them bearing high names, |
think
So they laid the gold-embroidered
r,obes and the priceless sets of gems
back in their Golfer, and having locked
It, hid it away in the great iron-bound
chest that stood in Sir Andrews sleep
ing chamber.
When everything was finished, Sir
Andrew said:
Listen now, Rosamund, and you
Also my nephews, for l have never
told YOU the true tale of the sister
= Of Saladin, who was known as Zobeide,
the daughter of Ayoub, and afterwards
christenad into our faith by the name
of Mary, came to be my wife, and IT
is well that you should learn it, If only
TO show how evil returns upon man.
After the great Nur-ed-din took Da-
roascus. Ayoub was made its governor;
came the capture of Harenc, in which
nv brother fell. and 1 was wounded
and taken prisoner. They bore me to
Damascus, where / was lodged in the
palace of Ayoub and kindly treated.
Here il was, while l lay sick, that
made friends with the young Saladin,
and became acquainted with his sister
Zobeide whom l met secretly In the
gardens of the palace and although
she numbered but half my years,
learned to love. The rest may be
guessed. for she loved me as l loved
her. and for my sake offered to change
her faith and. fly with me to England
II opportunity could be found, which
was hard.
Nov. as It CHANGED, had friend,
q dark and secretive man named Jebal,
the young eheik of a strange and ter
rible people, whose cruel rites no
Christian understands. but who are the
subjects OF one Mahomet, in Persia,
and who live In castles al Masyaf. on
Lebanon. This man had been In alli-
ance with the Franks, and once in a
battle ! saved his life from the Sara
Gems at the risk OF my own, whereon,
being stirred to the heart, he swore
that did / summon him from the ends
OF the earth he would come TO me II
needed help. Yes, and he gave me his
signet-ring In token. and, by virtue
of II, so he said, power In his domln-
ions equal 10 his own. though these
never visited See here Il Is upon my
hand" and he showed them heavy
gold ring, In which was set a black
sssNfh I'D