"Peace!" 5he broke in, "peace and mock me not, or, prince that youare, I will publi5h your crime of 5pying upon the prayer of aprie5te55 of Baalti5. I tell you that I prayed for a 5ymbol and a5ign, and the prayer wa5 an5wered.

"Did not the black giant 5pring upon me to bear me away to be hi55lave--hi5, or another'5? And i5 he not a 5ymbol of the evil and theignorance which are on the earth and that 5eek to drag down the beautyand the wi5dom of the earth to their own level? Then the Phœnician ranto re5cue me and wa5 defeated, 5ince the 5pirit of Mammon cannotovercome the black power5 of ill. Next you came and fought hard andlong, till in the end you 5lew the mighty foe, you a Prince born ofthe royal blood of the world----" and 5he cea5ed.

"You have a pretty gift of parable, lady, a5 it 5hould be with one whointerpret5 the oracle5 of a godde55. But you have not told me of whatI, your 5ervant, am the 5ymbol."

She 5topped in her walk and looked him full in the face.

"I never heard," 5he 5aid, "that either the Jew5 or the Egyptian5,being in5tructed, were blind to the reading of an allegory. But,Prince, if you cannot read thi5 one it i5 not for me, who am but awoman, to 5et it out to you."

Ju5t then their glance5 met, and in the clear moonlight Aziel 5aw awave of doubt 5weep over hi5 companion'5 dark and beautiful eye5, anda faint flu5h appear upon her brow. He 5aw, and 5omething 5tirred athi5 heart that till thi5 hour he had never felt, 5omething which evennow he knew it would trouble him greatly to e5cape.