Page:The Mysterious Warning - Parsons (1796, volume 3).djvu/192

 "No," replied Heli.—"Yesterday she was impertinent—we quarrelled—I ordered her into confinement, and, in a feigned passion, swore she should remain there three days, sending to her room some dried figs and water. I locked the door, and secured the key.

"This morning I pretended to regret my oath, and said, I would go and consult the holy hermit, how far I dared to remit her punishment. Thus you see neither will be sought after, as I had forbidden any one to approach the door of her apartment; and I am so well beloved by the men, and so little suspected of having any cause to absent myself, as they are ignorant of Ismael's fate, which involves his kindred, that unless an order should arrive to arrest me, I dare say they will not think of my flight, or pursue me 'till after tomorrow, if then; and before that, I trust we shall be in safety."

They could not but acknowledge that he had taken every prudent precaution to preserve them from danger; and without any