Still, I bear no grudge against your servant, Quick, who is himself but a white-skinned Fung, for he acted according to his nature, and I forgive him; only in the future let him beware! And now--for a greater matter.
The Child of Kings is beautiful, she is young and high spirited; a new face from another land may perchance touch her fancy.

But," he added meaningly, "let the owner of that face remember who she is and what he is; let him remember that for any outside the circle of the ancient blood to lift his eyes to the daughter of Solomon is to earn death, death slow and cruel for himself and all who aid and abet him.

Let him remember, lastly, that this high-born lady to whom he, an unknown and vagrant Gentile, dares to talk as equal to equal, has from childhood been my affianced, who will shortly be my wife, although it may please her to seem to flout me after the fashion of maidens, and that we Abati are jealous of the honour of our women.

Do you understand ?" "Yes, Prince," I answered, for by now my temper was roused.

"But I would have you understand something also--that we are men of a high race whose arm stretches over half the world, and that we differ from the little tribe of the Abati, whose fame is not known to us, in this--that we are jealous of our own honour, and do not need to hire strangers to fight the foes we fear to face.