whispered to him earnestly. Kaid's savage frown cleared away, and his
rage calmed down; but an inflexible look came into his face, a look which
petrified the ruined Achmet as he salaamed before him.

"Know thy punishment, son of a dog with a dog's heart, and prepare for a
daily death," said Kaid. "This woman thou didst so foully wrong, even
when thou didst wrong her, she was a leper."

A low cry broke from Achmet, for now when death came he must go unclean
to the after-world, forbidden Allah's presence. Broken and abject he
listened.

"She knew not, till thou wert gone," continued Kaid. She is innocent
before the law. But thou--beast of the slime--hear thy sentence. There
is in the far desert a place where lepers live. There, once a year, one
caravan comes, and, at the outskirts of the place unclean, leaves food
and needful things for another year, and returns again to Egypt after
many days. From that place there is no escape--the desert is as the sea,
and upon that sea there is no ghiassa to sail to a farther shore. It is
the leper land. Thither thou shalt go to wait upon this woman thou hast
savagely wronged, and upon her kind, till thou diest. It shall be so."

"Mercy! Mercy!" Achmet cried, horror-stricken, and turned to David.
"Thou art merciful. Speak for me, Saadat."

"When didst thou have mercy?" asked David. "Thy crimes are against
humanity."

Kaid made a motion, and, with dragging feet, Achmet passed from the
haunts of familiar faces.