Is it a bargain?"
"It is a bargain, white lord, although blame me not if things go
wrong, since the gods know all, and they are devils who delight in
human woe and mock at bargains and torment those who would injure
them. Yet, come what will, I swear to keep faith with you thus, by the
oath that may not be broken," and drawing a knife from his girdle, he
thrust out the tip of his tongue and pricked it. From the puncture a
drop of blood fell to the floor.
"If I break my oath," he said, "may my flesh grow cold as that blood
grows cold, and may it rot as that blood rots! Aye, and may my spirit
waste and be lost in the world of ghosts as that blood wastes into the
air and is lost in the dust of the world!"
It was a horrible scene and one that impressed me very much,
especially as even then there fell upon me a conviction that this
unfortunate man was doomed, that a fate which he could not escape was
upon him.
We said nothing, and in another moment he had thrown his white
wrappings over his face and slipped through the door.
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