“O Lord! I die! I perish! O fresh air! O sun!” gasped out the sufferer. “O Allah! Was I born a fish to be thus thrown upon the sea⁠—a snake, to be imprisoned in this box?”

“Be brave! The voyage is now almost ended. In two days or three, at most, we are released. Tell me thy pains! What ails thee?”

The prostrate beauty opened great blue eyes of injured innocence and asked: “Who art thou?”

“I am the wife of Yûsuf Bey, thy husband’s friend.”

“The Englishwoman!” She sat up and clung to Barakah. “How canst thou bear it, thou, an honoured wife! Will not thy parents take account for the indignity? Oh, end my life, I pray thee; it is unendurable!”