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Show ;::;;;,. To Benchafilal at ~::• mome~;:;;l;:...._._. .___ _ ~':.-·1 seemed as 1f events rose to a chmax l'S:-c · ~ .;;:; almost dramatically arranged by fate . . 1 · ,.,.. ..... ~~-c::?~-:The three VlSlOns-of the d1amonds, • ..- '"' of his companion's searching eyes, .... --..;;:~~--and of the moon-washed desert to which he belonged-gave themselves to his gaze almost as one. They were blended together, fused into a whole. And that whole- he must have it. It must be his, now. He could wait for it no longer. The jewels, the woman, and the desert- they must belong to him, now. His dark hand shot out again and closed on Lady Wyverne's hand. He did not speak, but the grasp of his hand frightened her It told her unmistakably that she was in danger. It was arbitrary. It was the hand of a robber as well as of a lover, a hand that could tear to pieces as easily, and perhaps almost as happily, as it could caress. And his •• s eyes now, as they met hers, answered the question hers had asked them, answered it with a fierce frankness that left no room for doubt. The barbarian forced his way up into the light, splitting through the thin crust of civilized culture that hac\ covered him, as an iron bar splits through a pane of glass. The desert came upon Lady Wyverne and the desert man came upon her, showing himself exactly as he was. When his hand seized her hand she \ instinctively recoiled. Instantly his other hand shot out, and seized, not her other hand, but the diamond chain at her neck. The whole man was nakedly re-~. vealed in those two quickly following actions. As the Spahi's thin fingers closed .. .::.= upon the diamonds Lady Wyverne ·.~knew the depth of her folly, and ,,. |