He made it appear that Lady Hester was the sole cause of
hostility betwixt his tribe and the impending enemy, and that his
sacred duty of protecting the Englishwoman whom he had admitted as
his guest was the only obstacle which prevented an amicable
arrangement of the dispute. The Sheik hinted that his tribe was
likely to sustain an almost overwhelming blow, but at the same time
declared, that no fear of the consequences, however terrible to him
and his whole people, should induce him to dream of abandoning his
illustrious guest. The heroine instantly took her part: it was
not for her to be a source of danger to her friends, but rather to
her enemies, so she resolved to turn away from the people, and
trust for help to none save only her haughty self. The Sheiks
affected to dissuade her from so rash a course, and fairly told her
that although they (having been freed from her presence) would be
able to make good terms for themselves, yet that there were no
means of allaying the hostility felt towards her, and that the
whole face of the desert would be swept by the horsemen of her
enemies so carefully, as to make her escape into other districts
almost impossible.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121