However he said before I came:
To him who brought you up relate
How you have broken honor's ties,
And say,- his prompt response I wait!'
'Distressed am I to bear your words;
And humbled low I am by fate.
For honor's sake I must revenge
The wrong done Batu and his mate.'
Then slowly on one upraised knee
He placed with care his loaded gun;
Ten aimed at Sapar-beg whom he
Had reared, and loved more than a son
'O Sapar-beg,' he gravely said,
'Unworthy even for death are you.
'Tis I who am unfit to live
For bringing up a man like you'
A sudden flash… a bursting shot…
A bullet pierce through temples gray…
And on the ground in wreaths of smoke
Haji-Iusub lifeless lay.
