Page:Marion Crawford - Khaled.djvu/195

 looked into his face, expecting to see that he had coals of fire for eyes and an appalling countenance. But when she saw that he was not changed and had the face of a man and the eyes of a man, she laughed.

'What is this idle tale of Afrits?' she exclaimed. 'Frighten children with it.'

'This is what I foresaw in you,' said Khaled. 'You cannot believe me. Of what use is it then to tell you my story?'

Zehowah answered nothing, for she was angry, supposing that Khaled was attempting to put her off with a foolish tale. She had heard, indeed, of Genii and Afrits and she was sure that they had existence, since they were expressly mentioned in the Koran, but she had never heard that any of them had taken the shape and manner of a man. She remembered also how Khaled had always fought with his hands in war, like other men and been wounded, and she was sure that if his story were true he would have summoned whole legions of his fellows through the air to destroy the enemy.

'You do not believe me,' he repeated somewhat bitterly. 'And if you do not believe me, how shall others do so?'

'You ask me to believe too much. If you ask for my faith, you must offer me truths and not fables. It is true that I am curious, which is foolish and womanly.