times only half conscious. She had drifted into complete oblivion, when
she was awakened with a jerk that threw her back violently against the
Sheik, but she was too tired to more than barely understand that they
had stopped for something, and that there were palm trees near her. She
felt herself lifted down and a cloak wrapped round her, and then she
remembered nothing more. She awoke slowly, shaking off a persistent
drowsiness by degrees. She was still tired, but the desperate weariness
was gone, and she was conscious of a feeling of well-being and
security. The cool, night air blew in her face, dissipating her
sleepiness. She became aware that night had fallen, and that they were
still steadily galloping southward. In a few moments she was wide
awake, and found that she was lying across the saddle in front of the
Sheik, and that he was holding her in the crook of his arm. Her head
was resting just over his heart, and she could feel the regular beat
beneath her cheek. Wrapped warmly in the cloak and held securely by his
strong arm at first she was content to give way only to the sensation
of bodily rest. It was enough for the moment to lie with relaxed
muscles, to have to make no effort of any kind, to feel the soothing
rush of the wind against her face, and the swift, easy gallop of The
Hawk as he carried them on through the night. Them! With a start of
recollection she realised fully whose arm was round her, and whose
breast her head was resting on. Her heart beat with sudden violence.
What was the matter with her? Why did she not shrink from the pressure
of his arm and the contact of his warm, strong body? What had happened
to her? Quite suddenly she knew--knew that she loved him, that she had
loved him for a long time, even when she thought she hated him and when
she had fled from him. She knew now why his face had haunted her in the
little oasis at midday--that it was love calling to her subconsciously.
All the confusion of mind that had assailed her when they started on
the homeward journey, the conflicting thoughts and contrary emotions,