She heard no more—­still, she knew enough and could supply the rest.  The object of her ambush was gained:  she knew now with perfect certainty who was “the other.”  And how they had spoken of her!  Not as a deserted bride, whose rights had been trodden in the dust, but as a child who is dismissed from the room as soon as it begins to be in the way.  But she thought she could see through that couple and knew why they had spoken of her thus.  Paula, of course, must prevent any new tie from being formed between herself and Orion; and as for Orion, common prudence required that he should mention her—­her, whom he had but lately loaded with tenderness—­as a mere child, to protect himself against the jealousy of that austere “other” one.  That he had loved her, at any rate that evening under the trees, she obstinately maintained in her own mind; to that conviction she must cling desperately, or lose her last foothold.  Her whole being was a prey to a frightful turmoil of feeling.  Her hands shook; her mouth was parched as by the midday heat; she knew that there were withered leaves between her feet and the sandals she wore, that twigs had got caught in her hair; but she could not care and when the pair were screened from her by the denser shrubs she flew back to her raised seat-from which she could again discover them.  At this moment she would have given all she held best and dearest, to be the thing it vexed her so much to be called:  a water-wagtail, or some other bird.

It must be very near noon if not already past; she dusted her sandals and tidied her curly hair, picking out the dry leaves and not noticing that at the same time a rose fell out on the ground.  Only her hands were busy; her eyes were elsewhere, and suddenly they brightened again, for the couple on which she kept them fixed were coming back, straight towards the hedge, and she would soon be able again to hear what they were saying.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Orion and Paula had had much to talk about, since the young man had arrived.  The discussion over the safe keeping of the girl’s money had been tedious.  Finally, her counsellors had decided to entrust half of it to Gamaliel the jeweller and his brother, who carried on a large business in Constantinople.  He happened to be in Memphis, and they had both declared themselves willing each to take half of the sum in question and use it at interest.  They would be equally responsible for its security, so that each should make good the whole of the property in their hands in case of the other stopping payment.  Nilus undertook to procure legal sanction and the necessary sixteen witnesses to this transaction.

The other half of her fortune was, by the advice of Philippus, to be placed in the hands of a brother of Haschim’s, the Arab merchant, who had a large business as money changer in Fostat, the new town on the further shore, in which the merchant himself was a partner.  This investment had the advantage of being perfectly safe, at any rate so long as the Arabs ruled the land.