SHE AND ALLAN

By H. Rider Haggard

First Published 1921. 

NOTE BY THE LATE MR. ALLAN QUATERMAIN

My friend, into whose hands I hope that all these manuscripts of minewill pass one day, of this one I have something to say to you. 

A long while ago I jotted down in it the history of the events thatit details with more or less completeness. This I did for my ownsatisfaction. You will have noted how memory fails us as we advancein years; we recollect, with an almost painful exactitude, what weexperienced and saw in our youth, but the happenings of our middlelife slip away from us or become blurred, like a stretch of low-lyinglandscape overflowed by grey and nebulous mist. Far off the sun stillseems to shine upon the plains and hills of adolescence and earlymanhood, as yet it shines about us in the fleeting hours of our age, that ground on which we stand to-day, but the valley between is filledwith fog. Yes, even its prominences, which symbolise the more startlingevents of that past, often are lost in this confusing fog. 

It was an appreciation of these truths which led me to set down thefollowing details (though of course much is omitted) of my briefintercourse with the strange and splendid creature whom I knew under thenames of _Ayesha_, or _Híya_, or _She-who-commands_; not indeed with anyview to their publication, but before I forgot them that, if I wished todo so, I might re-peruse them in the evening of old age to which I hopeto attain. 

Indeed, at the time the last thing I intended was that they should begiven to the world even after my own death, because they, or many ofthem, are so unusual that I feared lest they should cause smiles andin a way cast a slur upon my memory and truthfulness. Also, as you willread, as to this matter I made a promise and I have always tried tokeep my promises and to guard the secrets of others. For these reasons Iproposed, in case I neglected or forgot to destroy them myself, to leavea direction that this should be done by my executors. Further, I havebeen careful to make no allusion _whatever_ to them either in casualconversation or in anything else that I may have written, my desirebeing that this page of my life should be kept quite private, somethingknown only to myself. Therefore, too, I never so much as hinted of themto anyone, not even to yourself to whom I have told so much. 

Well, I recorded the main facts concerning this expedition and itsissues, simply and with as much exactness as I could, and laid themaside. I do not say that I never thought of them again, since amongstthem were some which, together with the problems they suggested, provedto be of an unforgettable nature. 

Also, whenever any of Ayesha's sayings or stories which are notpreserved in these pages came back to me, as has happened from time totime, I jotted them down and put them away with this manuscript. Thusamong these notes you will find a history of the city of Kôr as she toldit to me, which I have omitted here. Still, many of these remarkableevents did more or less fade from my mind, as the image does froman unfixed photograph, till only their outlines remained, faint ifdistinguishable. 

To tell the truth, I was rather ashamed of the whole story in whichI cut so poor a figure. On reflection it was obvious to me, althoughhonesty had compelled me to set out all that is essential exactly as itoccurred, adding nothing and taking nothing away, that I had been thevictim of very gross deceit. This strange woman, whom I had met in theruins of a place called Kôr, without any doubt had thrown a glamour overmy senses and at the moment almost caused me to believe much that isquite unbelievable. 

For instance, she had told me ridiculous stories as to interviewsbetween herself and certain heathen goddesses, though it is true that, almost with her next breath, these she qualified or contradicted. Also, she had suggested that her life had been prolonged far beyond our mortalspan, for hundreds and hundreds of years, indeed; which, as Euclid says, is absurd, and had pretended to supernatural powers, which is still moreabsurd. Moreover, by a clever use of some hypnotic or mesmeric power, she had feigned to transport me to some place beyond the earth and inthe Halls of Hades to show me what is veiled from the eyes of man, and not only me, but the savage warrior Umhlopekazi, commonly calledUmslopogaas of the Axe, who, with Hans, a Hottentot, was my companionupon that adventure. There were like things equally incredible, such asher appearance, when all seemed lost, in the battle with the troll-likeRezu. To omit these, the sum of it was that I had been shamefully duped, and if anyone finds himself in that position, as most people have at onetime or another in their lives, Wisdom suggests that he had better keepthe circumstances to himself. 

Well, so the matter stood, or rather lay in the recesses of my mind--andin the cupboard where I hide my papers--when one evening someone, as amatter of fact it was Captain Good, an individual of romantic tendencieswho is fond, sometimes I think too fond, of fiction, brought a book tothis house which he insisted over and over again really I must peruse. 

Ascertaining that it was a novel I declined, for to tell the truth I amnot fond of romance in any shape, being a person who has found the hardfacts of life of sufficient interest as they stand. 

Reading I admit I like, but in this matter, as in everything else, myrange is limited. I study the Bible, especially the Old Testament, bothbecause of its sacred lessons and of the majesty of the language of itsinspired translators; whereof that of Ayesha, which I render so poorlyfrom her flowing and melodious Arabic, reminded me. For poetry I turnto Shakespeare, and, at the other end of the scale, to the IngoldsbyLegends, many of which I know almost by heart, while for current affairsI content myself with the newspapers. 

For the rest I peruse anything to do with ancient Egypt that I happen tocome across, because this land and its history have a queer fascinationfor me, that perhaps has its roots in occurrences or dreams of whichthis is not the place to speak. Lastly now and again I read one of theLatin or Greek authors in a translation, since I regret to say that mylack of education does not enable me to do so in the original. But formodern fiction I have no taste, although from time to time I sample itin a railway train and occasionally am amused by such excursions intothe poetic and unreal. 

So it came about that the more Good bothered me to read this particularromance, the more I determined that I would do nothing of the sort. Being a persistent person, however, when he went away about ten o'clockat night, he deposited it by my side, under my nose indeed, so that itmight not be overlooked. Thus it came about that I could not help seeingsome Egyptian hieroglyphics in an oval on the cover, also the title, and underneath it your own name, my friend, all of which excitedmy curiosity, especially the title, which was brief and enigmatic, consisting indeed of one word, "_She_. "

I took up the work and on opening it the first thing my eye fell uponwas a picture of a veiled woman, the sight of which made my heart standstill, so painfully did it remind me of a certain veiled woman whom onceit had been my fortune to meet. Glancing from it to the printed page oneword seemed to leap at me. It was _Kôr_! Now of veiled women there areplenty in the world, but were there also two Kôrs?

Then I turned to the beginning and began to read. This happened inthe autumn when the sun does not rise till about six, but it was broaddaylight before I ceased from reading, or rather rushing through thatbook. 

Oh! what was I to make of it? For here in its pages (to say nothing ofold Billali, who, by the way lied, probably to order, when he told Mr. Holly that no white man had visited his country for many generations, and those gloomy, man-eating Amahagger scoundrels) once again Ifound myself face to face with _She-who-commands_, now rendered as_She-who-must-be-obeyed_, which means much the same thing--in her caseat least; yes, with Ayesha the lovely, the mystic, the changeful and theimperious. 

Moreover the history filled up many gaps in my own limited experiencesof that enigmatical being who was half divine (though, I think, ratherwicked or at any rate unmoral in her way) and yet all woman. It is truethat it showed her in lights very different from and higher than thosein which she had presented herself to me. Yet the substratum of hercharacter was the same, or rather of her characters, for of these sheseemed to have several in a single body, being, as she said of herselfto me, "not One but Many and not Here but Everywhere. "

Further, I found the story of Kallikrates, which I had set down as amere falsehood invented for my bewilderment, expanded and explained. Orrather not explained, since, perhaps that she might deceive, to meshe had spoken of this murdered Kallikrates without enthusiasm, as ahandsome person to whom, because of an indiscretion of her youth, shewas bound by destiny and whose return--somewhat to her sorrow--she mustwait. At least she did so at first, though in the end when she bared herheart at the moment of our farewell, she vowed she loved him only andwas "appointed" to him "by a divine decree. "

Also I found other things of which I knew nothing, such as the Fire ofLife with its fatal gift of indefinite existence, although I rememberthat like the giant Rezu whom Umslopogaas defeated, she did talk of a"Cup of Life" of which she had drunk, that might have been offered to mylips, had I been politic, bowed the knee and shown more faith in her andher supernatural pretensions. 

Lastly I saw the story of her end, and as I read it I wept, yes, Iconfess I wept, although I feel sure that she will return again. Now Iunderstood why she had quailed and even seemed to shrivel when, in mylast interview with her, stung beyond endurance by her witcheries andsarcasms, I had suggested that even for her with all her powers, Fatemight reserve one of its shrewdest blows. Some prescience had told herthat if the words seemed random, Truth spoke through my lips, although, and this was the worst of it, she did not know what weapon would dealthe stroke or when and where it was doomed to fall. 

I was amazed, I was overcome, but as I closed that book I made up mymind, first that I would continue to preserve absolute silence as toAyesha and my dealings with her, as, during my life, I was bound byoath to do, and secondly that I would _not_ cause my manuscript to bedestroyed. I did not feel that I had any right to do so in view of whatalready had been published to the world. There let it lie to appear oneday, or not to appear, as might be fated. Meanwhile my lips were sealed. I would give Good back his book without comment and--buy another copy!

One more word. It is clear that I did not touch more than the fringeof the real Ayesha. In a thousand ways she bewitched and deceived me sothat I never plumbed her nature's depths. Perhaps this was my own faultbecause from the first I shewed a lack of faith in her and she wished topay me back in her own fashion, or perhaps she had other private reasonsfor her secrecy. Certainly the character she discovered to me differedin many ways from that which she revealed to Mr. Holly and to LeoVincey, or Kallikrates, whom, it seems, once she slew in her jealousyand rage. 

She told me as much as she thought it fit that I should know, and nomore!

Allan Quatermain. 

The Grange, Yorkshire. 

SHE AND ALLAN

CHAPTER I

THE TALISMAN

I believe it was the old Egyptians, a very wise people, probably indeedmuch wiser than we know, for in the leisure of their ample centuriesthey had time to think out things, who declared that each individualpersonality is made up of six or seven different elements, although theBible only allows us three, namely, body, soul, and spirit. The bodythat the man or woman wore, if I understand their theory aright whichperhaps I, an ignorant person, do not, was but a kind of sack or fleshlycovering containing these different principles. Or mayhap it did notcontain them all, but was simply a house as it were, in which they livedfrom time to time and seldom all together, although one or more of themwas present continually, as though to keep the place warmed and aired. 

This is but a casual illustrative suggestion, for what right haveI, Allan Quatermain, out of my little reading and probably erroneousdeductions, to form any judgment as to the theories of the oldEgyptians? Still these, as I understand them, suffice to furnish me withthe text that man is not one, but many, in which connection it may beremembered that often in Scripture he is spoken of as being the home ofmany demons, seven, I think. Also, to come to another far-off example, the Zulus talk of their witch-doctors as being inhabited by "a multitudeof spirits. "

Anyhow of one thing I am quite sure, we are not always the same. Different personalities actuate us at different times. In one hourpassion of this sort or the other is our lord; in another we are reasonitself. In one hour we follow the basest appetites; in another we hatethem and the spirit arising through our mortal murk shines within orabove us like a star. In one hour our desire is to kill and spare not;in another we are filled with the holiest compassion even towards aninsect or a snake, and are ready to forgive like a god. Everythingrules us in turn, to such an extent indeed, that sometimes one begins towonder whether we really rule anything. 

Now the reason of all this homily is that I, Allan, the most practicaland unimaginative of persons, just a homely, half-educated hunter andtrader who chances to have seen a good deal of the particular littleworld in which his lot was cast, at one period of my life became thevictim of spiritual longings. 

I am a man who has suffered great bereavements in my time such as haveseared my soul, since, perhaps because of my rather primitive and simplenature, my affections are very strong. By day or night I can neverforget those whom I have loved and whom I believe to have loved me. 

For you know, in our vanity some of us are apt to hold that certainpeople with whom we have been intimate upon the earth, really didcare for us and, in our still greater vanity--or should it be calledmadness?--to imagine that they still care for us after they have leftthe earth and entered on some new state of society and surroundingswhich, if they exist, inferentially are much more congenial than anythey can have experienced here. At times, however, cold doubts strike usas to this matter, of which we long to know the truth. Also behind loomsa still blacker doubt, namely whether they live at all. 

For some years of my lonely existence these problems haunted me day byday, till at length I desired above everything on earth to lay themat rest in one way or another. Once, at Durban, I met a man who was aspiritualist to whom I confided a little of my perplexities. He laughedat me and said that they could be settled with the greatest ease. AllI had to do was to visit a certain local medium who for a fee of oneguinea would tell me everything I wanted to know. Although I rathergrudged the guinea, being more than usually hard up at the time, Icalled upon this person, but over the results of that visit, or ratherthe lack of them, I draw a veil. 

My queer and perhaps unwholesome longing, however, remained with me andwould not be abated. I consulted a clergyman of my acquaintance, a goodand spiritually-minded man, but he could only shrug his shoulders andrefer me to the Bible, saying, quite rightly I doubt not, that with whatit reveals I ought to be contented. Then I read certain mysticalbooks which were recommended to me. These were full of fine words, undiscoverable in a pocket dictionary, but really took me no forwarder, since in them I found nothing that I could not have invented myself, although while I was actually studying them, they seemed to convinceme. I even tackled Swedenborg, or rather samples of him, for he is verycopious, but without satisfactory results. [Ha!--JB]

Then I gave up the business. 

Some months later I was in Zululand and being near the Black Kloofwhere he dwelt, I paid a visit to my acquaintance of whom I havewritten elsewhere, the wonderful and ancient dwarf, Zikali, known as"The-Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born, " also more universallyamong the Zulus as "Opener-of-Roads. " When we had talked of many thingsconnected with the state of Zululand and its politics, I rose to leavefor my waggon, since I never cared for sleeping in the Black Kloof if itcould be avoided. 

"Is there nothing else that you want to ask me, Macumazahn?" askedthe old dwarf, tossing back his long hair and looking at--I had almostwritten through--me. 

I shook my head. 

"That is strange, Macumazahn, for I seem to see something written onyour mind--something to do with spirits. "

Then I remembered all the problems that had been troubling me, althoughin truth I had never thought of propounding them to Zikali. 

"Ah! it comes back, does it?" he exclaimed, reading my thought. "Outwith it, then, Macumazahn, while I am in a mood to answer, and beforeI grow tired, for you are an old friend of mine and will so remain tillthe end, many years hence, and if I can serve you, I will. "

I filled my pipe and sat down again upon the stool of carved red-woodwhich had been brought for me. 

"You are named 'Opener-of-Roads, ' are you not, Zikali?" I said. 

"Yes, the Zulus have always called me that, since before the days ofChaka. But what of names, which often enough mean nothing at all?"

"Only that _I_ want to open a road, Zikali, that which runs across theRiver of Death. "

"Oho!" he laughed, "it is very easy, " and snatching up a little assegaithat lay beside him, he proffered it to me, adding, "Be brave now andfall on that. Then before I have counted sixty the road will be wideopen, but whether you will see anything on it I cannot tell you. "

Again I shook my head and answered, "It is against our law. Also while I still live I desire to know whetherI shall meet certain others on that road after my time has come to crossthe River. Perhaps you who deal with spirits, can prove the matter tome, which no one else seems able to do. "

"Oho!" laughed Zikali again. "What do my ears hear? Am I, the poor Zulucheat, as you will remember once you called me, Macumazahn, askedto show that which is hidden from all the wisdom of the great WhitePeople?"

"The question is, " I answered with irritation, "not what you are askedto do, but what you can do. "

"That I do not know yet, Macumazahn. Whose spirits do you desire to see?If that of a woman called Mameena is one of them, I think that perhaps Iwhom she loved----"[*]

 [*] For the history of Mameena see the book called "Child of Storm. "--Editor. 

"She is _not_ one of them, Zikali. Moreover, if she loved you, you paidback her love with death. "

"Which perhaps was the kindest thing I could do, Macumazahn, for reasonsthat you may be able to guess, and others with which I will not troubleyou. But if not hers, whose? Let me look, let me look! Why, there seemsto be two of them, head-wives, I mean, and I thought that white men onlytook one wife. Also a multitude of others; their faces float up in thewater of your mind. An old man with grey hair, little children, perhapsthey were brothers and sisters, and some who may be friends. Also veryclear indeed that Mameena whom you do not wish to see. Well, Macumazahn, this is unfortunate, since she is the only one whom I can show you, or rather put you in the way of finding. Unless indeed there are otherKaffir women----"

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"I mean, Macumazahn, that only black feet travel on the road which I canopen; over those in which ran white blood I have no power. "

"Then it is finished, " I said, rising again and taking a step or twotowards the gate. 

"Come back and sit down, Macumazahn. I did not say so. Am I the onlyruler of magic in Africa, which I am told is a big country?"

I came back and sat down, for my curiosity, a great failing with me, wasexcited. 

"Thank you, Zikali, " I said, "but I will have no dealings with more ofyour witch-doctors. "

"No, no, because you are afraid of them; quite without reason, Macumazahn, seeing that they are all cheats except myself. I am the lastchild of wisdom, the rest are stuffed with lies, as Chaka found out whenhe killed every one of them whom he could catch. But perhaps there mightbe a white doctor who would have rule over white spirits. "

"If you mean missionaries----" I began hastily. 

"No, Macumazahn, I do not mean your praying men who are cast in onemould and measured with one rule, and say what they are taught to say, not thinking for themselves. "

"Some of them think, Zikali. "

"Yes, and then the others fall on them with big sticks. The real priestis he to whom the Spirit comes, not he who feeds upon its wrappings, andspeaks through a mask carved by his father's fathers. I am a priest likethat, which is why all my fellowship have hated me. "

"If so, you have paid back their hate, Zikali, but cease to cast roundthe lion, like a timid hound, and tell me what you mean. Of whom do youspeak?"

"That is the trouble, Macumazahn. I do not know. This lion, or ratherlioness, lies hid in the caves of a very distant mountain and I havenever seen her--in the flesh. "

"Then how can you talk of what you have never seen?"

"In the same way, Macumazahn, that your priests talk of what they havenever seen, because they, or a few of them, have knowledge of it. Iwill tell you a secret. All seers who live at the same time, if they aregreat, commune with each other because they are akin and their spiritsmeet in sleep or dreams. Therefore I know of a mistress of our craft, avery lioness among jackals, who for thousands of years has lain sleepingin the northern caves and, humble though I am, she knows of me. "

"Quite so, " I said, yawning, "but perhaps, Zikali, you will come to thepoint of the spear. What of her? How is she named, and if she existswill she help me?"

"I will answer your question backwards, Macumazahn. I think that shewill help you if you help her, in what way I do not know, becausealthough witch-doctors sometimes work without pay, as I am doing now, Macumazahn, witch-doctoresses never do. As for her name, the only onethat she has among our company is 'Queen, ' because she is the first ofall of them and the most beauteous among women. For the rest I can tellyou nothing, except that she has always been and I suppose, in thisshape or in that, will always be while the world lasts, because she hasfound the secret of life unending. "

"You mean that she is immortal, Zikali, " I answered with a smile. 

"I do not say that, Macumazahn, because my little mind cannot shape thethought of immortality. But when I was a babe, which is far ago, she hadlived so long that scarce would she knew the difference between thenand now, and already in her breast was all wisdom gathered. I know it, because although, as I have said, we have never seen each other, attimes we walk together in our sleep, for thus she shares her loneliness, and I think, though this may be but a dream, that last night she told meto send you on to her to seek an answer to certain questions which youwould put to me to-day. Also to me she seemed to desire that you shoulddo her a service; I know not what service. "

Now I grew angry and asked, "Why does it please you to fool me, Zikali, with such talk as this? Ifthere is any truth in it, show me where the woman called _Queen_ livesand how I am to come to her. "

The old wizard took up the little assegai which he had offered to me andwith its blade raked our ashes from the fire that always burnt in frontof him. While he did so, he talked to me, as I thought in a randomfashion, perhaps to distract my attention, of a certain white man whomhe said I should meet upon my journey and of his affairs, also of othermatters, none of which interested me much at the time. These asheshe patted down flat and then on them drew a map with the point of hisspear, making grooves for streams, certain marks for bush and forest, wavy lines for water and swamps and little heaps for hills. 

When he had finished it all he bade me come round the fire and study thepicture across which by an after-thought he drew a wandering furrow withthe edge of the assegai to represent a river, and gathered the ashes ina lump at the northern end to signify a large mountain. 

"Look at it well, Macumazahn, " he said, "and forget nothing, since ifyou make this journey and forget, you die. Nay, no need to copy it inthat book of yours, for see, I will stamp it on your mind. "

Then suddenly he gathered up the warm ashes in a double handful andthrew them into my face, muttering something as he did so and addingaloud, "There, now you will remember. "

"Certainly I shall, " I answered, coughing, "and I beg that you will notplay such a joke upon me again. "

As a matter of fact, whatever may have been the reason, I never forgotany detail of that extremely intricate map. 

"That big river must be the Zambesi, " I stuttered, "and even then themountain of your Queen, if it be her mountain, is far away, and how canI come there alone?"

"I don't know, Macumazahn, though perhaps you might do so in company. Atleast I believe that in the old days people used to travel to the place, since I have heard a great city stood there once which was the heart ofa mighty empire. "

Now I pricked up my ears, for though I believed nothing of Zikali'sstory of a wonderful Queen, I was always intensely interested in pastcivilisations and their relics. Also I knew that the old wizard'sknowledge was extensive and peculiar, however he came by it, and I didnot think that he would lie to me in this matter. Indeed to tell thetruth, then and there I made up my mind that if it were in any waypossible, I would attempt this journey. 

"How did people travel to the city, Zikali?"

"By sea, I suppose, Macumazahn, but I think that you will be wise not totry that road, since I believe that on the sea side the marshes are nowimpassable and you will be safer on your feet. "

"You want me to go on this adventure, Zikali. Why? I know you never doanything without motive. "

"Oho! Macumazahn, you are clever and see deeper into the trunk of a treethan most. Yes, I want you to go for three reasons. First, that youmay satisfy your soul on certain matters and I would help you to do so. Secondly, because I want to satisfy mine, and thirdly, because I knowthat you will come back safe to be a prop to me in things that willhappen in days unborn. Otherwise I would have told you nothing of thisstory, since it is necessary to me that you should remain living beneaththe sun. "

"Have done, Zikali. What is it that you desire?"

"Oh! a great deal that I shall get, but chiefly two things, so withthe rest I will not trouble you. First I desire to know to know whetherthese dreams of mine of a wonderful white witch-doctoress, or witch, andof my converse with her are indeed more than dreams. Next I would learnwhether certain plots of mine at which I have worked for years, willsucceed. "

"What plots, Zikali, and how can my taking a distant journey tell youanything about them?"

"You know them well enough, Macumazahn; they have to do with theoverthrow of a Royal House that has worked me bitter wrong. As to howyour journey can help me, why, thus. You shall promise to me to askof this Queen whether Zikali, Opener-of-Roads, shall triumph or beoverthrown in that on which he has set his heart. "

"As you seem to know this witch so well, why do you not ask heryourself, Zikali?"

"To ask is one thing, Macumazahn. To get an answer is another. I haveasked in the watches of the night, and the reply was, 'Come hither andperchance I will tell you. ' 'Queen, ' I said, 'how can I come save in thespirit, who am an ancient and a crippled dwarf scarcely able to standupon my feet?'

"'Then send a messenger, Wizard, and be sure that he is white, for ofblack savages I have seen more than enough. Let him bear a token alsothat he comes from you and tell me of it in your sleep. Moreover letthat token be something of power which will protect him on the journey. '

"Such is the answer that comes to me in my dreams, Macumazahn. "

"Well, what token will you give me, Zikali?"

He groped about in his robe and produced a piece of ivory of the sizeof a large chessman, that had a hole in it, through which ran a plaitedcord of the stiff hairs from an elephant's tail. On this article, whichwas of a rusty brown colour, he breathed, then having whispered to itfor a while, handed it to me. 

I took the talisman, for such I guessed it to be, idly enough, held itto the light to examine it, and started back so violently that almostI let it fall. I do not quite know why I started, but I think it wasbecause some influence seemed to leap from it to me. Zikali started alsoand cried out, "Have a care, Macumazahn. Am I young that I can bear bring dashed to theground?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, still staring at the thing which Iperceived to be a most wonderfully fashioned likeness of the old dwarfhimself as he appeared before me crouched upon the ground. There werethe deepset eyes, the great head, the toad-like shape, the long hair, all. 

"It is a clever carving, is it not, Macumazahn? I am skilled in thatart, you know, and therefore can judge of carving. "

"Yes, I know, " I answered, bethinking me of another statuette of hiswhich he had given to me on the morrow of the death of her from whom itwas modelled. "But what of the thing?"

"Macumazahn, it has come down to me through the ages. As you mayhave heard, all great doctors when they die pass on their wisdom andsomething of their knowledge to another doctor of spirits who is stillliving on the earth, that nothing may be lost, or as little as possible. Also I have learned that to such likenesses as these may be given thestrength of him or her from whom they were shaped. "

Now I bethought me of the old Egyptians and their _Ka_ statues of whichI had read, and that these statues, magically charmed and set in thetombs of the departed, were supposed to be inhabited everlastingly bythe Doubles of the dead endued with more power even than ever thesepossessed in life. But of this I said nothing to Zikali, thinking thatit would take too much explanation, though I wondered very much how hehad come by the same idea. 

"When that ivory is hung over your heart, Macumazahn, where you mustalways wear it, learn that with it goes the strength of Zikali; thethought that would have been his thought and the wisdom that is hiswisdom, will be your companions, as much as though he walked at yourside and could instruct you in every peril. Moreover north and south andeast and west this image is known to men who, when they see it, willbow down and obey, opening a road to him who wears the medicine of theOpener-of-Roads. "

"Indeed, " I said, smiling, "and what is this colour on the ivory?"

"I forget, Macumazahn, who have had it a great number of years, eversince it descended to me from a forefather of mine, who was fashioned inthe same mould as I am. It looks like blood, does it not? It is a pitythat Mameena is not still alive, since she whose memory was so excellentmight have been able to tell you, " and as he spoke, with a motion thatwas at once sure and swift, he threw the loop of elephant hair over myhead. 

Hastily I changed the subject, feeling that after his wont this oldwizard, the most terrible man whom ever I knew, who had been so muchconcerned with the tragic death of Mameena, was stabbing at me in somehidden fashion. 

"You tell me to go on this journey, " I said, "and not alone. Yet forcompanion you give me only an ugly piece of ivory shaped as no man everwas, " here I got one back at Zikali, "and from the look of it, steepedin blood, which ivory, if I had my way, I would throw into the campfire. Who, then, am I to take with me?"

"Don't do that, Macumazahn--I mean throw the ivory into the fire--sinceI have no wish to burn before my time, and if you do, you who have wornit might burn with me. At least certainly you would die with the magicthing and go to acquire knowledge more quickly than you desire. No, no, and do not try to take it off your neck, or rather try if you will. "

I did try, but something seemed to prevent me from accomplishing mypurpose of giving the carving back to Zikali as I wished to do. Firstmy pipe got in the way of my hand, then the elephant hairs caught in thecollar of my coat; then a pang of rheumatism to which I was accustomedfrom an old lion-bite, developed of a sudden in my arm, and lastly Igrew tired of bothering about the thing. 

Zikali, who had been watching my movements, burst out into one of histerrible laughs that seemed to fill the whole kloof and to re-echo fromits rocky walls. It died away and he went on, without further referenceto the talisman or image. 

"You asked whom you were to take with you, Macumazahn. Well, as to thisI must make inquiry of those who know. Man, my medicines!"

From the shadows in the hut behind darted out a tall figure carryinga great spear in one hand and in the other a catskin bag which with asalute he laid down at the feet of his master. This salute, by the way, was that of a Zulu word which means "Lord" or "Home" of Ghosts. 

Zikali groped in the bag and produced from it certain knuckle-bones. 

"A common method, " he muttered, "such as every vulgar wizard uses, butone that is quick and, as the matter concerned is small, will serve myturn. Let us see now, whom you shall take with you, Macumazahn. "

Then he breathed upon the bones, shook them up in his thin hands andwith a quick turn of the wrist, threw them into the air. After thishe studied them carefully, where they lay among the ashes which he hadraked out of the fire, those that he had used for the making of his map. 

"Do you know a man named Umslopogaas, Macumazahn, the chief of a tribethat is called The People of the Axe, whose titles of praise are Bulalioor the Slaughterer, and Woodpecker, the latter from the way he handleshis ancient axe? He is a savage fellow, but one of high blood andhigher courage, a great captain in his way, though he will never come toanything, save a glorious death--in your company, I think, Macumazahn. "(Here he studied the bones again for a while. ) "Yes, I am sure, in yourcompany, though not upon this journey. "

"I have heard of him, " I answered cautiously. "It is said in the landthat he is a son of Chaka, the great king of the Zulus. "

"Is it, Macumazahn? And is it said also that he was the slayer ofChaka's brother, Dingaan, also the lover of the fairest woman that theZulus have ever seen, who was called Nada the Lily? Unless indeed acertain Mameena, who, I seem to remember, was a friend of yours, mayhave been even more beautiful?"

"I know nothing of Nada the Lily, " I answered. 

"No, no, Mameena, 'the Waiting Wind, ' has blown over her fame, sowhy should you know of one who has been dead a long while? Why also, Macumazahn, do you always bring women into every business? I begin tobelieve that although you are so strict in a white man's fashion, youmust be too fond of them, a weakness which makes for ruin to any man. Well, now, I think that this wolf-man, this axe-man, this warrior, Umslopogaas should be a good fellow to you on your journey to visit thewhite witch, Queen--another woman by the way, Macumazahn, andtherefore one of whom you should be careful. Oh! yes, he will come withyou--because of a man called Lousta and a woman named Monazi, a wife ofhis who hates him and does--not hate Lousta. I am almost sure that hewill come with you, so do not stop to ask questions about him. "

"Is there anyone else?" I inquired. 

Zikali glanced at the bones again, poking them about in the ashes withhis toe, then replied with a yawn, "You seem to have a little yellow man in your service, a clever snakewho knows how to creep through grass, and when to strike and when to liehidden. I should take him too, if I were you. "

"You know well that I have such a man, Zikali, a Hottentot named Hans, clever in his way but drunken, very faithful too, since he loved myfather before me. He is cooking my supper in the waggon now. Are thereto be any others?"

"No, I think you three will be enough, with a guard of soldiers from thePeople of the Axe, for you will meet with fighting and a ghost or two. Umslopogaas has always one at his elbow named Nada, and perhaps you haveseveral. For instance, there was a certain Mameena whom I always seem tofeel about me when you are near, Macumazahn. 

"Why, the wind is rising again, which is odd on so still an evening. Listen to how it wails, yes, and stirs your hair, though mine hangsstraight enough. But why do I talk of ghosts, seeing that you travel toseek other ghosts, white ghosts, beyond my ken, who can only deal withthose who were black?

"Good-night, Macumazahn, good-night. When you return from visiting thewhite Queen, that Great One beneath those feet I, Zikali, who am alsogreat in my way, am but a grain of dust, come and tell me her answer tomy question. 

"Meanwhile, be careful always to wear that pretty little image which Ihave given you, as a young lover sometimes wears a lock of hair cut fromthe head of some fool-girl that he thinks is fond of him. It will bringyou safety and luck, Macumazahn, which, for the most part, is more thanthe lock of hair does to the lover. Oh! it is a strange world, full ofjest to those who can see the strings that work it. I am one of them, and perhaps, Macumazahn, you are another, or will be before all isdone--or begun. 

"Good-night, and good fortune to you on your journeyings, and, Macumazahn, although you are so fond of women, be careful not to fall inlove with that white Queen, because it would make others jealous; I meansome who you have lost sight of for a while, also I think that beingunder a curse of her own, she is not one whom you can put into yoursack. _Oho! Oho-ho!_ Slave, bring me my blanket, it grows cold, and mymedicine also, that which protects me from the ghosts, who are thickto-night. Macumazahn brings them, I think. _Oho-ho!_"

I turned to depart but when I had gone a little way Zikali called meback again and said, speaking very low, "When you meet this Umslopogaas, as you will meet him, he who is calledthe Woodpecker and the Slaughterer, say these words to him, "'A bat has been twittering round the hut of the Opener-of-Roads, andto his ears it squeaked the name of a certain Lousta and the name of awoman called Monazi. Also it twittered another greater name that may notbe uttered, that of an elephant who shakes the earth, and said that thiselephant sniffs the air with his trunk and grows angry, and sharpens histusks to dig a certain Woodpecker out of his hole in a tree that growsnear the Witch Mountain. Say, too, that the Opener-of-Roads thinks thatthis Woodpecker would be wise to fly north for a while in the company ofone who watches by night, lest harm should come to a bird that pecks atthe feet of the great and chatters of it in his nest. '"

Then Zikali waved his hand and I went, wondering into what plot I hadstumbled. 

CHAPTER II

THE MESSENGERS

I did not rest as I should that night who somehow was never able tosleep well in the neighbourhood of the Black Kloof. I suppose thatZikali's constant talk about ghosts, with his hints and innuendoesconcerning those who were dead, always affected my nerves till, in asubconscious way, I began to believe that such things existed and werehanging about me. Many people are open to the power of suggestion, and Iam afraid that I am one of them. 

However, the sun which has such strength to kill noxious things, puts anend to ghosts more quickly even than it does to other evil vapours andemanations, and when I woke up to find it shining brilliantly in a pureheaven, I laughed with much heartiness over the whole affair. 

Going to the spring near which we were outspanned, I took off myshirt to have a good wash, still chuckling at the memory of all thehocus-pocus of my old friend, the Opener-of-Roads. 

While engaged in this matutinal operation I struck my hand againstsomething and looking, observed that it was the hideous little ivoryimage of Zikali, which he had set about my neck. The sight of thething and the memory of his ridiculous talk about it, especially of itsassertion that it had come down to him through the ages, which it couldnot have done, seeing that it was a likeness of himself, irritated me somuch that I proceeded to take it off with the full intention of throwingit into the spring. 

As I was in the act of doing this, from a clump of reeds mixed withbushes, quite close to me, there came a sound of hissing, and suddenlyabove them appeared the head of a great black _immamba_, perhaps thedeadliest of all our African snakes, and the only one I know which willattack man without provocation. 

Leaving go of the image, I sprang back in a great hurry towards where mygun lay. Then the snake vanished and making sure that it had departed toits hole, which was probably at a distance, I returned to the pool, andonce more began to take off the talisman in order to consign it to thebottom of the pool. 

After all, I reflected, it was a hideous and probably a blood-stainedthing which I did not in the least wish to wear about my neck like alady's love-token. 

Just as it was coming over my head, suddenly from the other side ofthe bush that infernal snake popped up again, this time, it wasclear, really intent on business. It began to move towards me in thelightning-like way _immambas_ have, hissing and flicking its tongue. 

I was too quick for my friend, however, for snatching up the gun that Ihad lain down beside me, I let it have a charge of buckshot in theneck which nearly cut it in two, so that it fell down and expired withhideous convulsive writhings. 

Hearing the shot Hans came running from the waggon to see what was thematter. Hans, I should say, was that same Hottentot who had been thecompanion of most of my journeyings since my father's day. He was withme when as a young fellow I accompanied Retief to Dingaan's kraal, and like myself, escaped the massacre. [*] Also we shared many otheradventures, including the great one in the Land of the Ivory Child wherehe slew the huge elephant-god, Jana, and himself was slain. But of thisjourney we did not dream in those days. 

[*] See the book called "Marie. "--Editor. 

For the rest Hans was a most entirely unprincipled person, but as theBoers say, "as clever as a waggonload of monkeys. " Also he drank when hegot the chance. One good quality he had, however; no man was ever morefaithful, and perhaps it would be true to say that neither man nor womanever loved me, unworthy, quite so well. 

In appearance he rather resembled an antique and dilapidated baboon;his face was wrinkled like a dried nut and his quick little eyes werebloodshot. I never knew what his age was, any more than he did himself, but the years had left him tough as whipcord and absolutely untiring. Lastly he was perhaps the best hand at following a spoor that ever Iknew and up to a hundred and fifty yards or so, a very deadly shotwith a rifle especially when he used a little single-barrelled, muzzle-loading gun of mine made by Purdey which he named _Intombi_ orMaiden. Of that gun, however, I have written in "The Holy Flower" andelsewhere. 

"What is it, Baas?" he asked. "Here there are no lions, nor any game. "

"Look the other side of the bush, Hans. "

He slipped round it, making a wide circle with his usual caution, then, seeing the snake which was, by the way, I think, the biggest _immamba_I ever killed, suddenly froze, as it were, in a stiff attitude thatreminded me of a pointer when it scents game. Having made sure that itwas dead, he nodded and said, "Black _'mamba_, or so you would call it, though I know it for somethingelse. "

"What else, Hans?"

"One of the old witch-doctor Zikali's spirits which he sets at the mouthof this kloof to warn him of who comes or goes. I know it well, and sodo others. I saw it listening behind a stone when you were up the klooflast evening talking with the Opener-of-Roads. "

"Then Zikali will lack a spirit, " I answered, laughing, "which perhapshe will not miss amongst so many. It serves him right for setting thebrute on me. "

"Quite so, Baas. He will be angry. I wonder why he did it?" he addedsuspiciously, "seeing that he is such a friend of yours. "

"He didn't do it, Hans. These snakes are very fierce and give battle, that is all. "

Hans paid no attention to my remark, which probably he thought onlyworthy of a white man who does not understand, but rolled his yellow, bloodshot eyes about, as though in search of explanations. Presentlythey fell upon the ivory that hung about my neck, and he started. 

"Why do you wear that pretty likeness of the Great One yonder over yourheart, as I have known you do with things that belonged to women inpast days, Baas? Do you know that it is Zikali's Great Medicine, nothingless, as everyone does throughout the land? When Zikali sends an orderfar away, he always sends that image with it, for then he who receivesthe order knows that he must obey or die. Also the messenger knows thathe will come to no harm if he does not take it off, because, Baas, theimage is Zikali himself, and Zikali is the image. They are one and thesame. Also it is the image of his father's father's father--or so hesays. "

"That is an odd story, " I said. 

Then I told Hans as much as I thought advisable of how this horridlittle talisman came into my possession. 

Hans nodded without showing any surprise. 

"So we are going on a long journey, " he said. "Well, I thought it wastime that we did something more than wander about these tame countriesselling blankets to stinking old women and so forth, Baas. Moreover, Zikali does not wish that you should come to harm, doubtless because hedoes wish to make use of you afterwards--oh! it's safe to talk now whenthat spirit is away looking for another snake. What were you doing withthe Great Medicine, Baas, when the _'mamba_ attacked you?"

"Taking it off to throw it into the pool, Hans, as I do not like thething. I tried twice and each time the _immamba_ appeared. "

"Of course it appeared, Baas, and what is more, if you had taken thatMedicine off and thrown it away _you_ would have disappeared, since the_'mamba_ would have killed you. Zikali wanted to show you that, Baas, and that is why he set the snake at you. "

"You are a superstitious old fool, Hans. "

"Yes, Baas, but my father knew all about that Great Medicine before me, for he was a bit of a doctor, and so does every wizard and witch for athousand miles or more. I tell you, Baas, it is known by all though noone ever talks about it, no, not even the king himself. Baas, speakingto you, not with the voice of Hans the old drunkard, but with that ofthe Predikant, your reverend father, who made so good a Christian ofme and who tells me to do so from up in Heaven where the hot fires arewhich the wood feeds of itself, I beg you not to try to throw away theMedicine again, or if you wish to do so, to leave me behind on thisjourney. For you see, Baas, although I am now so good, almost like oneof those angels with the pretty goose's wings in the pictures, I feelthat I should like to grow a little better before I go to the Place ofFires to make report to your reverend father, the Predikant. "

Thinking of how horrified my dear father would be if he could hear allthis string of ridiculous nonsense and learn the result of his moral andreligious lessons on raw Hottentot material, I burst out laughing. ButHans went on as gravely as a judge, "Wear the Great Medicine, Baas, wear it; part with the liver inside youbefore you part with that, Baas. It may not be as pretty or smell assweet as a woman's hair in a little gold bottle, but it is much moreuseful. The sight of the woman's hair will only make you sick in yourstomach and cause you to remember a lot of things which you had muchbetter forget, but the Great Medicine, or rather Zikali who is in it, will keep the assegais and sickness out of you and turn back bad magicon to the heads of those who sent it, and always bring us plenty to eatand perhaps, if we are lucky, a little to drink too sometimes. "

"Go away, " I said, "I want to wash. "

"Yes, Baas, but with the Baas's leave I will sit on the other side ofthat bush with the gun--not to look at the Baas without his clothes, because white people are always so ugly that it makes me feel ill to seethem undressed, also because--the Baas will forgive me--but because theysmell. No, not for that, but just to see that no other snake comes. "

"Get out of the road, you dirty little scoundrel, and stop yourimpudence, " I said, lifting my foot suggestively. 

Thereon he scooted with a subdued grin round the other side of the bush, whence as I knew well he kept his eye fixed on me to be sure that I madeno further attempt to take off the Great Medicine. 

Now of this talisman I may as well say at once that I am no believerin it or its precious influences. Therefore, although it was usefulsometimes, notably twice when Umslopogaas was concerned, I do not knowwhether personally I should have done better or worse upon that journeyif I had thrown it into the pool. 

It is true, however, that until quite the end of this history whenit became needful to do so to save another, I never made any furtherattempt to remove it from my neck, not even when it rubbed a sore in myskin, because I did not wish to offend the prejudices of Hans. 

It is true, moreover, that this hideous ivory had a reputation whichstretched very far from the place where it was made and was regardedwith great reverence by all kinds of queer people, even by the Amahaggerthemselves, of whom presently, as they say in pedigrees, a fact of whichI found sundry proofs. Indeed, I saw a first example of it when a littlewhile later I met that great warrior, Umslopogaas, Chief of the Peopleof the Axe. 

For, after determining firmly, for reasons which I will set out, thatI would not visit this man, in the end I did so, although by then Ihad given up any idea of journeying across the Zambesi to look for amysterious and non-existent witch-woman, as Zikali had suggested that Ishould do. To begin with I knew that his talk was all rubbish and, even if it were not, that at the bottom of it was some desire of theOpener-of-Roads that I should make a path for him to travel towards anindefinite but doubtless evil object of his own. Further, by this timeI had worn through that mood of mine which had caused me to yearnfor correspondence with the departed and a certain knowledge of theirexistence. 

I wonder whether many people understand, as I do, how entirely distinctand how variable are these moods which sway us, or at any rate some ofus, at sundry periods of our lives. As I think I have already suggested, at one time we are all spiritual; at another all physical; at one timewe are sure that our lives here are as a dream and a shadow and that thereal existence lies elsewhere; at another that these brief days of oursare the only business with which we have to do and that of it we mustmake the best. At one time we think our loves much more immortal thanthe stars; at another that they are mere shadows cast by the baleful sunof desire upon the shallow and fleeting water we call Life which seemsto flow out of nowhere into nowhere. At one time we are full offaith, at another all such hopes are blotted out by a black wall ofNothingness, and so on _ad infinitum_. Only very stupid people, orhumbugs, are or pretend to be, always consistent and unchanging. 

To return, I determined not only that I would not travel north to seekthat which no living man will ever find, certainty as to the future, but also, to show my independence of Zikali, that I would not visitthis chief, Umslopogaas. So, having traded all my goods and made a fairprofit (on paper), I set myself to return to Natal, proposing to restawhile in my little house at Durban, and told Hans my mind. 

"Very good, Baas, " he said. "I, too, should like to go to Durban. Thereare lots of things there that we cannot get here, " and he fixed hisroving eye upon a square-faced gin bottle, which as it happened wasfilled with nothing stronger than water, because all the gin was drunk. "Yet, Baas, we shall not see the Berea for a long while. "

"Why do you say that?" I asked sharply. 

"Oh! Baas, I don't know, but you went to visit the Opener-of-Roads, did you not, and he told you to go north and lent you a certain GreatMedicine, did he not?"

Here Hands proceeded to light his corncob pipe with an ash from thefire, all the time keeping his beady eyes fixed upon that part of mewhere he knew the talisman was hung. 

"Quite true, Hans, but now I mean to show Zikali that I am not hismessenger, for south or north or east or west. So to-morrow morning wecross the river and trek for Natal. "

"Yes, Baas, but then why not cross it this evening? There is stilllight. "

"I have said that we will cross it to-morrow morning, " I answered withthat firmness which I have read always indicates a man of character, "and I do not change my word. "

"No, Baas, but sometimes other things change besides words. Will theBaas have that buck's leg for supper, or the stuff out of a tin with adint in it, which we bought at a store two years ago? The flies have gotat the buck's leg, but I cut out the bits with the maggots on it and atethem myself. "

Hans was right, things do change, especially the weather. That night, unexpectedly, for when I turned in the sky seemed quite serene, therecame a terrible rain long before it was due, which lasted off and on forthree whole days and continued intermittently for an indefinite period. Needless to say the river, which it would have been so easy to crosson this particular evening, by the morning was a raging torrent, and soremained for several weeks. 

In despair at length I trekked south to where a ford was reported, which, when reached, proved impracticable. 

I tried another, a dozen miles further on, which was very hard to cometo over boggy land. It looked all right and we were getting acrossfinely, when suddenly one of the wheels sank in an unsuspected hole andthere we stuck. Indeed, I believe the waggon, or bits of it, wouldhave remained in the neighbourhood of that ford to this day, had I notmanaged to borrow some extra oxen belonging to a Christian Kaffir, andwith their help to drag it back to the bank whence we had started. 

As it happened I was only just in time, since a new storm which hadburst further up the river, brought it down in flood again, a very heavyflood. 

In this country, England, where I write, there are bridges everywhereand no one seems to appreciate them. If they think of them at all itis to grumble about the cost of their upkeep. I wish they could haveexperienced what a lack of them means in a wild country during times ofexcessive rain, and the same remark applied to roads. You shouldthink more of your blessings, my friends, as the old woman said to hercomplaining daughter who had twins two years running, adding that theymight have been triplets. 

To return--after this I confessed myself beaten and gave up until suchtime as it should please Providence to turn off the water-tap. Trekkingout of sight of that infernal river which annoyed me with its constantgurgling, I camped on a comparatively dry spot that overlooked abeautiful stretch of rolling veld. Towards sunset the clouds liftedand I saw a mile or two away a most extraordinary mountain on the lowerslopes of which grew a dense forest. Its upper part, which was of barerock, looked exactly like the seated figure of a grotesque person withthe chin resting on the breast. There was the head, there were the arms, there were the knees. Indeed, the whole mass of it reminded me stronglyof the effigy of Zikali which was tied about my neck, or rather ofZikali himself. 

"What is that called?" I said to Hans, pointing to this strange hill, now blazing in the angry fire of the setting sun that had burst outbetween the storm clouds, which made it appear more ominous even thanbefore. 

"That is the Witch Mountain, Baas, where the Chief Umslopogaas and ablood brother of his who carried a great club used to hunt with thewolves. It is haunted and in a cave at the top of it lie the bones ofNada the Lily, the fair woman whose name is a song, she who was the loveof Umslopogaas. "[*]

 [*] For the story of Umslopogaas and Nada see the book called "Nada the Lily. "--Editor. 

"Rubbish, " I said, though I had heard something of all that story andremembered that Zikali had mentioned this Nada, comparing her beauty tothat of another whom once I knew. 

"Where then lives the Chief Umslopogaas?"

"They say that his town is yonder on the plain, Baas. It is called thePlace of the Axe and is strongly fortified with a river round most ofit, and his people are the People of the Axe. They are a fierce people, and all the country round here is uninhabited because Umslopogaas hascleaned out the tribes who used to live in it, first with his wolvesand afterwards in war. He is so strong a chief and so terrible in battlethat even Chaka himself was afraid of him, and they say that he broughtDingaan the King to his end because of a quarrel about this Nada. Cetywayo, the present king, too leaves him alone and to him he pays notribute. "

Whilst I was about to ask Hans from whom he had collected all thisinformation, suddenly I heard sounds, and looking up, saw three tall menclad in full herald's dress rushing towards us at great speed. 

"Here come some chips from the Axe, " said Hans, and promptly bolted intothe waggon. 

I did not bolt because there was no time to do so without loss ofdignity, but, although I wished I had my rifle with me, just sat stillupon my stool and with great deliberation lighted my pipe, taking notthe slightest notice of the three savage-looking fellows. 

These, who I noted carried axes instead of assegais, rushed straight atme with the axes raised in such a fashion that anyone unacquainted withthe habits of Zulu warriors of the old school, might have thought thatthey intended nothing short of murder. 

As I expected, however, within about six feet of me they halted suddenlyand stood there still as statues. For my part I went on lighting my pipeas though I did not see them and when at length I was obliged to lift myhead, surveyed them with an air of mild interest. 

Then I took a little book out of my pocket, it was my favourite copy ofthe Ingoldsby Legends--and began to read. 

The passage which caught my eye, if "axe" be substituted for "knife" wasnot inappropriate. It was from "The Nurse's Story, " and runs, "But, oh! what a thing 'tis to see and to know That the bare knife is raised in the hand of the foe, Without hope to repel or to ward off the blow!"

This proceeding of mine astonished them a good deal who felt that theyhad, so to speak, missed fire. At last the soldier in the middle said, "Are you blind, White Man?"

"No, Black Fellow, " I answered, "but I am short-sighted. Would you be sogood as to stand out of my light?" a remark which puzzled them so muchthat all three drew back a few paces. 

When I had read a little further I came to the following lines, "'Tis plain, As anatomists tell us, that never again, Shall life revisit the foully slain When once they've been cut through the jugular vein. "

In my circumstances at that moment this statement seemed altogether toosuggestive, so I shut up the book and remarked, "If you are wanderers who want food, as I judge by your being so thin, I am sorry that I have little meat, but my servants will give you whatthey can. "

"_Ow!_" said the spokesman, "he calls us wanderers! Either he must be avery great man or he is mad. "

"You are right. I _am_ a great man, " I answered, yawning, "and if youtrouble me too much you will see that I can be mad also. Now what do youwant?"

"We are messengers from the great Chief Umslopogaas, Captain of thePeople of the Axe, and we want tribute, " answered the man in a somewhatchanged tone. 

"Do you? Then you won't get it. I thought that only the King of Zululandhad a right to tribute, and your Captain's name is not Cetywayo, is it?"

"Our Captain is King here, " said the man still more uncertainly. 

"Is he indeed? Then away with you back to him and tell this King of whomI have never heard, though I have a message for a certain Umslopogaas, that Macumazahn, Watcher-by-Night, intends to visit him to-morrow, ifhe will send a guide at the first light to show the best path for thewaggon. "

"Hearken, " said the man to his companions, "this is Macumazahn himselfand no other. Well, we thought it, for who else would have dared----"

Then they saluted with their axes, calling me "Chief" and other finenames, and departed as they had come, at a run, calling out that mymessage should be delivered and that doubtless Umslopogaas would sendthe guide. 

So it came about that, quite contrary to my intention, after allcircumstances brought me to the Town of the Axe. Even to the last momentI had not meant to go there, but when the tribute was demanded I sawthat it was best to do so, and having once passed my word it couldnot be altered. Indeed, I felt sure that in this event there would betrouble and that my oxen would be stolen, or worse. 

So Fate having issued its decree, of which Hans's version was thatZikali, or his Great Medicine, had so arranged things, I shrugged myshoulders and waited. 

CHAPTER III

UMSLOPOGAAS OF THE AXE

Next morning at the dawn guides arrived from the Town of the Axe, bringing with them a yoke of spare oxen, which showed that its Chief wasreally anxious to see me. So, in due course we inspanned and started, the guides leading us by a rough but practicable road down the steephillside to the saucer-like plain beneath, where I saw many cattlegrazing. Travelling some miles across this plain, we came at last to ariver of no great breadth that encircled a considerable Kaffir townon three sides, the fourth being protected by a little line of koppieswhich were joined together with walls. Also the place was stronglyfortified with fences and in every other way known to the native mind. 

With the help of the spare oxen we crossed the river safely at the ford, although it was very full, and on the further side were received by aguard of men, tall, soldierlike fellows, all of them armed with axes asthe messengers had been. They led us up to the cattle enclosure in thecentre of the town, which although it could be used to protect beasts incase of emergency, also served the practical purpose of a public square. 

Here some ceremony was in progress, for soldiers stood round the kraalwhile heralds pranced and shouted. At the head of the place in frontof the chief's big hut was a little group of people, among whom a big, gaunt man sat upon a stool clad in a warrior's dress with a great andvery long axe hafted with wire-lashed rhinoceros horn, laid across hisknees. 

Our guides led me, with Hans sneaking after me like a dejected andlow-bred dog (for the waggon had stopped outside the gate), across thekraal to where the heralds shouted and the big man sat yawning. At onceI noted that he was a very remarkable person, broad and tall and spareof frame, with long, tough-looking arms and a fierce face which remindedme of that of the late King Dingaan. Also he had a great hole in hishead above the temple where the skull had been driven in by some blow, and keen, royal-looking eyes. 

He looked up and seeing me, cried out, "What! Has a white man come to fight me for the chieftainship of thePeople of the Axe? Well, he is a small one. "

"No, " I answered quietly, "but Macumazahn, Watcher-by-Night, has cometo visit you in answer to your request, O Umslopogaas; Macumazahn whosename was known in this land before yours was told of, O Umslopogaas. "

The Chief heard and rising from his seat, lifted the big axe in salute. 

"I greet you, O Macumazahn, " he said, "who although you are smallin stature, are very great indeed in fame. Have I not heard how youconquered Bangu, although Saduko slew him, and of how you gave up thesix hundred head of cattle to Tshoza and the men of the Amangwane whofought with you, the cattle that were your own? Have I not heard how youled the Tulwana against the Usutu and stamped flat three of Cetywayo'sregiments in the days of Panda, although, alas! because of an oath ofmine I lifted no steel in that battle, I who will have nothing to dowith those that spring from the blood of Senzangacona--perhaps becauseI smell too strongly of it, Macumazahn. Oh! yes, I have heard these andmany other things concerning you, though until now it has never beenmy fortune to look upon your face, O Watcher-by-Night, and therefore Igreet you well, Bold one, Cunning one, Upright one, Friend of us BlackPeople. "

"Thank you, " I answered, "but you said something about fighting. Ifthere is to be anything of the sort, let us get it over. If you want tofight, I am quite ready, " and I tapped the rifle which I carried. 

The grim Chief broke into a laugh and said, "Listen. By an ancient law any man on this day in each year may fight mefor this Chieftainship, as I fought and conquered him who held it beforeme, and take it from me with my life and the axe, though of late noneseems to like the business. But that law was made before there wereguns, or men like Macumazahn who, it is said, can hit a lizard on a wallat fifty paces. Therefore I tell you that if you wish to fight me with arifle, O Macumazahn, I give in and you may have the chieftainship, " andhe laughed again in his fierce fashion. 

"I think it is too hot for fighting either with guns or axes, andChieftainships are honey that is full of stinging bees, " I answered. 

Then I took my seat on a stool that had been brought for me and placedby the side of Umslopogaas, after which the ceremony went on. 

The heralds cried out the challenge to all and sundry to come and fightthe Holder of the Axe for the chieftainship of the Axe without theslightest result, since nobody seemed to desire to do anything of thesort. Then, after a pause, Umslopogaas rose, swinging his formidableweapon round his head and declared that by right of conquest he wasChief of the Tribe for the ensuing year, an announcement that everybodyaccepted without surprise. 

Again the heralds summoned all and sundry who had grievances, to comeforward and to state them and receive redress. 

After a little pause there appeared a very handsome woman with largeeyes, particularly brilliant eyes that rolled as though they were insearch of someone. She was finely dressed and I saw by the ornaments shewore that she held the rank of a chief's wife. 

"I, Monazi, have a complaint to make, " she said, "as it is the rightof the humblest to do on this day. In succession to Zinita whom Dingaanslew with her children, I am your _Inkosikaas_, your head-wife, OUmslopogaas. "

"That I know well enough, " said Umslopogaas, "what of it?"

"This, that you neglect me for other women, as you neglected Zinitafor Nada the Beautiful, Nada the witch. I am childless, as are all yourwives because of the curse that this Nada left behind her. I demand thatthis curse should be lifted from me. For your sake I abandoned Loustathe Chief, to whom I was betrothed, and this is the end of it, that I amneglected and childless. "

"Am I the Heavens Above that I can cause you to bear children, woman?"asked Umslopogaas angrily. "Would that you had clung to Lousta, myblood-brother and my friend, whom you lament, and left me alone. "

"That still may chance, if I am not better treated, " answered Monaziwith a flash of her eyes. "Will you dismiss yonder new wife of yours andgive me back my place, and will you lift the curse of Nada off me, orwill you not?"

"As to the first, " answered Umslopogaas, "learn, Monazi, that I will notdismiss my new wife, who at least is gentler-tongued and truer-heartedthan you are. As to the second, you ask that which it is not in my powerto give, since children are the gift of Heaven, and barrenness is itsbane. Moreover, you have done ill to bring into this matter the name ofone who is dead, who of all women was the sweetest and most innocent. Lastly, I warn you before the people to cease from your plottings ortraffic with Lousta, lest ill come of them to you, or him, even thoughhe be my blood-brother, or to both. "

"Plottings!" cried Monazi in a shrill and furious voice. "DoesUmslopogaas talk of plottings? Well, I have heard that Chaka the Lionleft a son, and that this son has set a trap for the feet of him whosits on Chaka's throne. Perchance that king has heard it also; perchancethe People of the Axe will soon have another Chief. "

"Is it thus?" said Umslopogaas quietly. "And if so, will he be namedLousta?"

Then his smouldering wrath broke out and in a kind of roaring voice hewent on, "What have I done that the wives of my bosom should be my betrayers, those who would give me to death? Zinita betrayed me to Dingaan andin reward was slain, and my children with her. Now would you, Monazi, betray me to Cetywayo--though in truth there is naught to betray? Well, if so, bethink you and let Lousta bethink him of what chanced to Zinita, and of what chances to those who stand before the axe of Umslopogaas. What have I done, I say, that women should thus strive to work me ill?"

"This, " answered Monazi with a mocking laugh, "that you have loved oneof them too well. If he would live in peace, he who has wives shouldfavour all alike. Least of anything should he moan continually over onewho is dead, a witch who has left a curse behind her and thus insultedand do wrong to the living. Also he would be wise to attend to thematters of his own tribe and household and to cease from ambitions thatmay bring him to the assegai, and them with him. "

"I have heard your counsel, Wife, so now begone!" said Umslopogaas, looking at her very strangely, and it seemed to me not without fear. 

"Have you wives, Macumazahn?" he asked of me in a low voice when she wasout of hearing. 

"Only among the spirits, " I answered. 

"Well for you then; moreover, it is a bond between us, for I too havebut one true wife and she also is among the spirits. But go rest awhile, and later we will talk. "

So I went, leaving the Chief to his business, thinking as I walked awayof a certain message with which I was charged for him and of how intothat message came names that I had just heard, namely that of a mancalled Lousta and of a woman called Monazi. Also I thought of the hintswhich in her jealous anger and disappointment at her lack of children, this woman had dropped about a plot against him who sat on the throne ofChaka, which of course must mean King Cetywayo himself. 

I came to the guest-hut, which proved to be a very good place and clean;also in it I found plenty of food made ready for me and for my servants. After eating I slept for a time as it is always my fashion to do when Ihave nothing else on hand, since who knows for how long he may be keptawake at night? Indeed, it was not until the sun had begun to sinkthat a messenger came, saying that the Chief desired to see me if I hadrested. So I went to his big hut which stood alone with a strong fenceset round it at a distance, so that none could come within hearing ofwhat was said, even at the door of the hut. I observed also that a manarmed with an axe kept guard at the gateway in this fence round which hewalked from time to time. 

The Chief Umslopogaas was seated on a stool by the door of his hut withhis rhinoceros-horn-handled axe which was fastened to his right wristby a thong, leaning against his thigh, and a wolfskin hanging from hisbroad shoulders. Very grim and fierce he looked thus, with the red lightof the sunset playing on him. He greeted me and pointed to another stoolon which I sat myself down. Apparently he had been watching my eyes, forhe said, "I see that like other creatures which move at night, such as leopardsand hyenas, you take note of all, O Watcher-by-Night, even of thesoldier who guards this place and of where the fence is set and of howits gate is fashioned. "

"Had I not done so I should have been dead long ago, O Chief. "

"Yes, and because it is not my nature to do so as I should, perchanceI shall soon be dead. It is not enough to be fierce and foremost in thebattle, Macumazahn. He who would sleep safe and of whom, when he dies, folk will say 'He has eaten' (i. E. , he has lived out his life), must domore than this. He must guard his tongue and even his thoughts! he mustlisten to the stirring of rats in the thatch and look for snakes inthe grass; he must trust few, and least of all those who sleep upon hisbosom. But those who have the Lion's blood in them or who are prone tocharge like a buffalo, often neglect these matters and therefore in theend they fall into a pit. "

"Yes, " I answered, "especially those who have the lion's blood in them, whether that lion be man or beast. "

This I said because of the rumours I had heard that this Slaughterer wasin truth the son of Chaka. Therefore not knowing whether or no he wereplaying on the word "lion, " which was Chaka's title, I wished to drawhim, especially as I saw in his face a great likeness to Chaka's brotherDingaan, whom, it was whispered, this same Umslopogaas had slain. As ithappened I failed, for after a pause he said, "Why do you come to visit me, Macumazahn, who have never done sobefore?"

"I do not come to visit you, Umslopogaas. That was not my intention. Youbrought me, or rather the flooded rivers and you together brought me, for I was on my way to Natal and could not cross the drifts. "

"Yet I think you have a message for me, White Man, for not long ago acertain wandering witch-doctor who came here told me to expect you andthat you had words to say to me. "

"Did he, Umslopogaas? Well, it is true that I have a message, though itis one that I did not mean to deliver. "

"Yet being here, perchance you will deliver it, Macumazahn, for thosewho have messages and will not speak them, sometimes come to trouble. "

"Yes, being here, I will deliver it, seeing that so it seems to befated. Tell me, do you chance to know a certain Small One who isgreat, a certain Old One whose brain is young, a doctor who is calledOpener-of-Roads?"

"I have heard of him, as have my forefathers for generations. "

"Indeed, and if it pleases you to tell me, Umslopogaas, what might bethe names of those forefathers of yours, who have heard of this doctorfor generations? They must have been short-lived men and as such Ishould like to know of them. "

"That you cannot, " replied Umslopogaas shortly, "since they are_hlonipa_ (i. E. Not to be spoken) in this land. "

"Indeed, " I said again. "I thought that rule applied only to the namesof kings, but of course I am but an ignorant white man who may well bemistaken on such matters of your Zulu customs. "

"Yes, O Macumazahn, you may be mistaken or--you may not. It mattersnothing. But what of this message of yours?"

"It came at the end of a long story, O Bulalio. But since you seek toknow, these were the words of it, so nearly as I can remember them. "

Then sentence by sentence I repeated to him all that Zikali had said tome when he called me back after bidding me farewell, which doubtless hedid because he wished to cut his message more deeply into the tablets ofmy mind. 

Umslopogaas listened to every syllable with a curious intentness, andthen asked me to repeat it all again, which I did. 

"Lousta! Monazi!" he said slowly. "Well, you heard those names to-day, did you not, White Man? And you heard certain things from the lipsof this Monazi who was angry, that give colour to that talk of theOpener-of-Roads. It seems to me, " he added, glancing about him andspeaking in a low voice, "that what I suspected is true and that withoutdoubt I am betrayed. "

"I do not understand, " I replied indifferently. "All this talk is darkto me, as is the message of the Opener-of-Roads, or rather its meaning. By whom and about what are you betrayed?"

"Let that snake sleep. Do not kick it with your foot. Suffice it you toknow that my head hangs upon this matter; that I am a rat in a forkedstick, and if the stick is pressed on by a heavy hand, then where is therat?"

"Where all rats go, I suppose, that is, unless they are wise rats thatbite the hand which holds the stick before it is pressed down. "

"What is the rest of this story of yours, Macumazahn, which was toldbefore the Opener-of-Roads gave you that message? Does it please you torepeat it to me that I may judge of it with my ears?"

"Certainly, " I answered, "on one condition, that what the ears hear, theheart shall keep to itself alone. "

Umslopogaas stooped and laid his hand upon the broad blade of the weaponbeside him, saying, "By the Axe I swear it. If I break the oath be the Axe my doom. "

Then I told him the tale, as I have set it down already, thinkingto myself that of it he would understand little, being but a wildwarrior-man. As it chanced, however, I was mistaken, for he seemed tounderstand a great deal, perchance because such primitive natures are incloser touch with high and secret things than we imagine; perchance forother reasons with which I became acquainted later. 

"It stands thus, " he said when I had finished, "or so I think. You, Macumazahn, seek certain women who are dead to learn whether they stilllive, or are really dead, but so far have failed to find them. Stillseeking, you asked the counsel of Zikali, Opener-of-Roads, he who amongother titles is also called 'Home of Spirits. ' He answered that he couldnot satisfy your heart because this tree was too tall for him to climb, but that far to the north there lives a certain white witch who haspowers greater than his, being able to fly to the top of any tree, andto this white witch he bade you go. Have I the story right thus far?"

I answered that he had. 

"Good! Then Zikali went on to choose you companions for your journey, but two, leaving out the guards or servants. I, Umhlopekazi, calledBulalio the Slaughterer, called the Woodpecker also, was one of these, and that little yellow monkey of a man whom I saw with you to-day, called Hansi, was the other. Then you made a mock of Zikali bydetermining not to visit me, Umhlopekazi, and not to go north to findthe great white Queen of whom he had told you, but to return to Natal. Is that so?"

I said it was. 

"Then the rain fell and the winds blew and the rivers rose in wrath sothat you could not return to Natal, and after all by chance, or by fate, or by the will of Zikali, the wizard of wizards, you drifted here to thekraal of me, Umhlopekazi, and told me this story. "

"Just so, " I answered. 

"Well, White Man, how am I to know that all this is not but a trap formy feet which already seem to feel cords between the toes of both ofthem? What token do you bring, O Watcher-by-Night? How am I to know thatthe Opener-of-Roads really sent me this message which has been deliveredso strangely by one who wished to travel on another path? The wanderingwitch-doctor told me that he who came would bear some sign. "

"I can't say, " I answered, "at least in words. But, " I added afterreflection, "as you ask for a token, perhaps I might be able to show yousomething that would bring proof to your heart, if there were any secretplace----"

Umslopogaas walked to the gateway of the fence and saw that the sentrywas at his post. Then he walked round the hut casting an eye upon itsroof, and muttered to me as he returned. 

"Once I was caught thus. There lived a certain wife of mine who set herear to the smoke-hole and so brought about the death of many, and amongthem of herself and of our children. Enter. All is safe. Yet if youtalk, speak low. "

So we went into the hut taking the stools with us, and seated ourselvesby the fire that burned there on to which Umslopogaas threw chips ofresinous wood. 

"Now, " he said. 

I opened my shirt and by the clear light of the flame showed him theimage of Zikali which hung about my neck. He stared at it, though touchit he would not. Then he stood up and lifting his great axe, he salutedthe image with the word "_Makosi!_" the salute that is given to greatwizards because they are supposed to be the home of many spirits. 

"It is the big Medicine, the Medicine itself, " he said, "that which hasbeen known in the land since the time of Senzangacona, the father of theZulu Royal House, and as it is said, before him. "

"How can that be?" I asked, "seeing that this image represents Zikali, Opener-of-Roads, as an old man, and Senzangacona died many years ago?"

"I do not know, " he answered, "but it is so. Listen. There was a certainMopo, or as some called him, Umbopo, who was Chaka's body-servant and myfoster-father, and he told me that twice this Medicine, " and he pointedto the image, "was sent to Chaka, and that each time the Lion obeyed themessage that came with it. A third time it was sent, but he did not obeythe message and then--where was Chaka?"

Here Umslopogaas passed his hand across his mouth, a significant gestureamongst the Zulus. 

"Mopo, " I said, "yes, I have heard the story of Mopo, also that Chaka'sbody became _his_ servant in the end, since Mopo killed him with thehelp of the princes Dingaan and Umhlangana. Also I have heard that thisMopo still lives, though not in Zululand. "

"Does he, Macumazahn?" said Umslopogaas, taking snuff from a spoon andlooking at me keenly over the spoon. "You seem to know a great deal, Macumazahn; too much as some might think. "

"Yes, " I answered, "perhaps I do know too much, or at any rate more thanI want to know. For instance, O fosterling of Mopo and son of--was thelady named Baleka?--I know a good deal about _you_. "

Umslopogaas stared at me and laying his hand upon the great axe, halfrose. Then he sat down again. 

"I think that this, " and I touched the image of Zikali upon my breast, "would turn even the blade of the axe named Groan-maker, " I said andpaused. As nothing happened, I went on, "For instance, again I think Iknow--or have I dreamed it?--that a certain chief, whose mother's nameI believe was Baleka--by the way, was she not one of Chaka's'sisters'?--has been plotting against that son of Panda who sits uponthe throne, and that his plots have been betrayed, so that he is in somedanger of his life. "

"Macumazahn, " said Umslopogaas hoarsely, "I tell you that did you notwear the Great Medicine on your breast, I would kill you where you sitand bury you beneath the floor of the hut, as one who knows--too much. "

"It would be a mistake, Umslopogaas, one of the many that you have made. But as I _do_ wear the Medicine, the question does not arise, does it?"

Again he made no answer and I went on, "And now, what about this journeyto the north? If indeed I must make it, would you wish to accompany me?"

Umslopogaas rose from the stool and crawled out of the hut, apparentlyto make some inspection. Presently he returned and remarked that thenight was clear although there were heavy storm clouds on the horizon, by which I understood him to convey in Zulu metaphor that it was safefor us to talk, but that danger threatened from afar. 

"Macumazahn, " he said, "we speak under the blanket of theOpener-of-Roads who sits upon your heart, and whose sign you bring tome, as he sent me word that you would, do we not?"

"I suppose so, " I answered. "At any rate we speak as man to man, andhitherto the honour of Macumazahn has not been doubted in Zululand. Soif you have anything to say, Chief Bulalio, say it at once, for I amtired and should like to eat and rest. "

"Good, Macumazahn. I have this to say. I who am the son of one who wasgreater than he, have plotted to seize the throne of Zululand from himwho sits upon that throne. It is true, for I grew weary of my idlenessas a petty chief. Moreover, I should have succeeded with the help ofZikali, who hates the House of Senzangacona, though me, who am of itsblood, he does not hate, because ever I have striven against that House. But it seems from his message and those words spoken by an angry woman, that I have been betrayed, and that to-night or to-morrow night, orby the next moon, the slayers will be upon me, smiting me before I cansmite, at which I cannot grumble. "

"By whom have you been betrayed, Umslopogaas?"

"By that wife of mine, as I think, Macumazahn. Also by Lousta, myblood-brother, over whom she has cast her net and made false to me, so that he hopes to win her whom he has always loved and with her theChieftainship of the Axe. Now what shall I do?--Tell me, you whose eyescan see in the dark. "

I thought a moment and answered, "I think that if I were you, I wouldleave this Lousta to sit in my place for a while as Chief of the Peopleof the Axe, and take a journey north, Umslopogaas. Then if trouble comesfrom the Great House where a king sits, it will come to Lousta who canshow that the People of the Axe are innocent and that you are far away. "

"That is cunning, Macumazahn. There speaks the Great Medicine. If I gonorth, who can say that I have plotted, and if I leave my betrayer in myplace, who can say that I was a traitor, who have set him where I usedto sit and left the land upon a private matter? And now tell me of thisjourney of yours. "

So I told him everything, although until that moment I had not made upmy mind to go upon this journey, I who had come here to his kraalby accident, or so it seemed, and by accident had delivered to him acertain message. 

"You wish to consult a white witch-doctoress, Macumazahn, who accordingto Zikali lives far to the north, as to the dead. Now I too, thoughperchance you will not think it of a black man, desire to learn of thedead; yes, of a certain wife of my youth who was sister and friend aswell as wife, whom too I loved better than all the world. Also I desireto learn of a brother of mine whose name I never speak, who ruled thewolves with me and who died at my side on yonder Witch-Mountain, havingmade him a mat of men to lie on in a great and glorious fight. For ofhim as of the woman I think all day and dream all night, and I wouldknow if they still live anywhere and I may look to see them again whenI have died as a warrior should and as I hope to do. Do you understand, Watcher-by-Night?"

I answered that I understood very well, as his case seemed to be like myown. 

"It may happen, " went on Umslopogaas, "that all this talk of the deadwho are supposed to live after they are dead, is but as the sound ofwind whispering in the reeds at night, that comes from nowhere and goesnowhere and means nothing. But at least ours will be a great journey inwhich we shall find adventure and fighting, since it is well known inthe land that wherever Macumazahn goes there is plenty of both. Also itseems well for reasons that have been spoken of between us, as Zikalisays, that I should leave the country of the Zulus for a while, whodesire to die a man's death at the last and not to be trapped like ajackal in a pit. Lastly I think that we shall agree well together thoughmy temper is rough at times, and that neither of us will desert theother in trouble, though of that little yellow dog of yours I am not sosure. "

"I answer for him, " I replied. "Hans is a true man, cunning also whenonce he is away from drink. "

Then we spoke of plans for our journey, and of when and where we shouldmeet to make it, talking till it was late, after which I went to sleepin the guest-hut. 

CHAPTER IV

THE LION AND THE AXE

Next day early I left the town of the People of the Axe, having bid aformal farewell to Umslopogaas, saying in a voice that all couldhear that as the rivers were still flooded, I proposed to trek to thenorthern parts of Zululand and trade there until the weather was better. Our private arrangement, however, was that on the night of the nextfull moon, which happened about four weeks later, we should meet at theeastern foot of a certain great, flat-topped mountain known to both ofus, which stands to the north of Zululand but well beyond its borders. 

So northward I trekked, slowly to spare my oxen, trading as I went. Thedetails do not matter, but as it happened I met with more luck upon thatjourney than had come my way for many a long year. Although I workedon credit since nearly all my goods were sold, as owing to my repute Icould always do in Zululand, I made some excellent bargains in cattle, and to top up with, bought a large lot of ivory so cheap that really Ithink it must have been stolen. 

All of this, cattle, and ivory together, I sent to Natal in charge of awhite friend of mine whom I could trust, where the stuff was soldvery well indeed, and the proceeds paid to my account, the "trade"equivalents being duly remitted to the native vendors. 

In fact, my good fortune was such that if I had been superstitious likeHans, I should have been inclined to attribute it to the influence ofZikali's "Great Medicine. " As it was I knew it to be one of the chancesof a trader's life and accepted it with a shrug as often as I had beenaccustomed to do in the alternative of losses. 

Only one untoward incident happened to me. Of a sudden a party ofthe King's soldiers under the command of a well-known _Induna_ orCouncillor, arrived and insisted upon searching my waggon, as I thoughtat first in connection with that cheap lot of ivory which had alreadydeparted to Natal. However, never a word did they say of ivory, norindeed was a single thing belonging to me taken by them. 

I was very indignant and expressed my feelings to the _Induna_ in nomeasured terms. He on his part was most apologetic, and explained thatwhat he did he was obliged to do "by the King's orders. " Also he let itslip that he was seeking for a certain "evil-doer" who, it was thought, might be with me without my knowing his real character, and as this"evil-doer, " whose name he would not mention, was a very fierce man, ithad been necessary to bring a strong guard with him. 

Now I bethought me of Umslopogaas, but merely looked blank and shruggedmy shoulders, saying that I was not in the habit of consorting withevil-doers. 

Still unsatisfied, the _Induna_ questioned me as to the places whereI had been during this journey of mine in the Zulu country. I told himwith the utmost frankness, mentioning among others--because I was surethat already he knew all my movements well--the town of the People ofthe Axe. 

Then he asked me if I had seen its Chief, a certain Umslopogaas orBulalio. I answered, Yes, that I had met him there for the first timeand thought him a very remarkable man. 

With this the _Induna_ agreed emphatically, saying that perhaps I didnot know _how_ remarkable. Next he asked me where he was now, to whichI replied that I had not the faintest idea, but I presumed in his kraalwhere I had left him. The _Induna_ explained that he was _not_ in hiskraal; that he had gone away leaving one Lousta and his own head wifeMonazi to administer the chieftainship for a while, because, as hestated, he wished to make a journey. 

I yawned as if weary of the subject of this chief, and indeed of thewhole business. Then the _Induna_ said that I must come to the King andrepeat to him all the words that I had spoken. I replied that I couldnot possibly do so as, having finished my trading, I had arranged to gonorth to shoot elephants. He answered that elephants lived a long whileand would not die while I was visiting the King. 

Then followed an argument which grew heated and ended in his declaringthat to the King I must come, even if he had to take me there by force. 

I sat silent, wondering what to say or do and leant forward to pick apiece of wood out of the fire wherewith to light my pipe. Now my shirtwas not buttoned and as it chanced this action caused the ivory image ofZikali that hung about my neck to appear between its edges. The _Induna_saw it and his eyes grew big with fear. 

"Hide that!" he whispered, "hide that, lest it should bewitch me. Indeed, already I feel as though I were being bewitched. It is the GreatMedicine itself. "

"That will certainly happen to you, " I said, yawning again, "if youinsist upon my taking a week's trek to visit the Black One, or interferewith me in any way now or afterwards, " and I lifted my hand towards thetalisman, looking him steadily in the face. 

"Perhaps after all, Macumazahn, it is not necessary for you to visit theKing, " he said in an uncertain voice. "I will go and make report to himthat you know nothing of this evil-doer. "

And he went in such a hurry that he never waited to say good-bye. Nextmorning before the dawn I went also and trekked steadily until I wasclear of Zululand. 

In due course and without accident, for the weather, which had beenso wet, had now turned beautifully fine and dry, we came to the great, flat-topped hill that I have mentioned, trekking thither over high, sparsely-timbered veld that offered few difficulties to the waggon. Thispeculiar hill, known to such natives as lived in those parts by a longword that means "Hut-with-a-flat-roof, " is surrounded by forest, forhere trees grow wonderfully well, perhaps because of the water thatflows from its slopes. Forcing our way through this forest, which wasfull of game, I reached its eastern foot and there camped, fivedays before that night of full moon on which I had arranged to meetUmslopogaas. 

That I should meet him I did not in the least believe, firstly becauseI thought it very probable that he would have changed his mind aboutcoming, and secondly for the excellent reason that I expected he hadgone to call upon the King against his will, as I had been asked to do. It was evident to me that he was up to his eyes in some serious plotagainst Cetywayo, in which he was the old dwarf Zikali's partner, orrather, tool; also that his plot had been betrayed, with the result thathe was "wanted" and would have little chance of passing safely throughZululand. So taking one thing with another I imagined that I had seenhis grim face and his peculiar, ancient-looking axe for the last time. 

To tell the truth I was glad. Although at first the idea had appealed tome a little, I did not want to make this wild-goose, or wild-witch chasethrough unknown lands to seek for a totally fabulous person who dweltfar across the Zambesi. I had, as it were, been forced into the thing, but if Umslopogaas did not appear, my obligations would be at an endand I should return to Natal at my leisure. First, however, I would doa little shooting since I found that a large herd of elephants hauntedthis forest. Indeed I was tempted to attack them at once, but did notdo so since, as Hans pointed out, if we were going north it would bedifficult to carry the ivory, especially if we had to leave the waggon, and I was too old a hunter to desire to kill the great beasts for thefun of the thing. 

So I just sat down and rested, letting the oxen feed throughout thehours of light on the rich grasses which grew upon the bottom-mostslopes of the big mountain where we were camped by a stream, not morethan a hundred yards above the timber line. 

At some time or other there had been a native village at this spot;probably the Zulus had cleaned it out in long past years, for Ifound human bones black with age lying in the long grass. Indeed, thecattle-kraal still remained and in such good condition that by pilingup a few stones here and there on the walls and closing the narrowentrances with thorn bushes, we could still use it to enclose our oxenat night. This I did for fear lest there should be lions about, though Ihad neither seen nor heard them. 

So the days went by pleasantly enough with lots to eat, since wheneverwe wanted meat I had only to go a few yards to shoot a fat buck at aspot whither they trekked to drink in the evening, till at last came thetime of full moon. Of this I was also glad, since, to tell the truth, Ihad begun to be bored. Rest is good, but for a man who has always led anactive life too much of it is very bad, for then he begins to think andthought in large doses is depressing. 

Of the fire-eating Umslopogaas there was no sign, so I made up my mindthat on the morrow I would start after those elephants and when I hadshot--or failed to shoot--some of them, return to Natal. I felt unableto remain idle any more; it never was my gift to do so, which is perhapswhy I employ my ample leisure here in England in jotting down suchreminiscences as these. 

Well, the full moon came up in silver glory and after I had taken a goodlook at her for luck, also at all the veld within sight, I turned in. Anhour or two later some noise from the direction of the cattle-kraal wokeme up. As it did not recur, I thought that I would go to sleep again. Then an uneasy thought came to me that I could not remember havinglooked to see whether the entrance was properly closed, as it wasmy habit to do. It was the same sort of troublesome doubt which ina civilised house makes a man get out of bed and go along the coldpassages to the sitting-room to see whether he has put out the lamp. It always proves that he _has_ put it out, but that does not prevent arepetition of the performance next time the perplexity arises. 

I reflected that perhaps the noise was caused by the oxen pushing theirway through the carelessly-closed entrance, and at any rate that I hadbetter go to see. So I slipped on my boots and a coat and went withoutwaking Hans or the boys, only taking with me a loaded, single-barrelledrifle which I used for shooting small buck, but no spare cartridges. 

Now in front of the gateway of the cattle-kraal, shading it, grew asingle big tree of the wild fig order. Passing under this tree I lookedand saw that the gateway was quite securely closed, as now I rememberedI had noted at sunset. Then I started to go back but had not steppedmore than two or three paces when, in the bright moonlight, I saw thehead of my smallest ox, a beast of the Zulu breed, suddenly appearover the top of the wall. About this there would have been nothingparticularly astonishing, had it not been for the fact that this headbelonged to a dead animal, as I could tell from the closed eyes and thehanging tongue. 

"What in the name of goodness----" I began to myself, when myreflections were cut short by the appearance of another head, that ofone of the biggest lions I ever saw, which had the ox by the throat, andwith the enormous strength that is given to these creatures, by gettingits back beneath the body, was deliberately hoisting it over the wall, to drag it away to devour at its leisure. 

There was the brute within twelve feet of me, and what is more, it sawme as I saw it, and stopped, still holding the ox by the throat. 

"What a chance for Allan Quatermain! Of course he shot it dead, " one canfancy anyone saying who knows me by repute, also that by the gift ofGod I am handy with a rifle. Well, indeed, it should have been, for evenwith the small-bore piece that I carried, a bullet ought to have piercedthrough the soft parts of its throat to the brain and to have killedthat lion as dead as Julius Cćsar. Theoretically the thing was easyenough; indeed, although I was startled for a moment, by the time thatI had the rifle to my shoulder I had little fear of the issue, unlessthere was a miss-fire, especially as the beast seemed so astonished thatit remained quite still. 

Then the unexpected happened as generally it does in life, particularlyin hunting, which, in my case, is a part of life. I fired, but bymisfortune the bullet struck the tip of the horn of that confounded ox, which tip either was or at that moment fell in front of the spot on thelion's throat whereat half-unconsciously I had aimed. Result: the ballwas turned and, departing at an angle, just cut the skin of the lion'sneck deeply enough to hurt it very much and to make it madder than allthe hatters in the world. 

Dropping the ox, with a most terrific roar it came over the wall atme--I remember that there seemed to be yards of it--I mean of thelion--in front of which appeared a cavernous mouth full of gleamingteeth. 

I skipped back with much agility, also a little to one side, becausethere was nothing else to do, reflecting in a kind of inconsequent way, that after all Zikali's Great Medicine was not worth a curse. The lionlanded on my side of the wall and reared itself upon its hind legsbefore getting to business, towering high above me but slightly to myleft. 

Then I saw a strange thing. A shadow thrown by the moon flitted pastme--all I noted of it was the distorted shape of a great, lifted axe, probably because the axe came first. The shadow fell and with it anothershadow, that of a lion's paw dropping to the ground. Next there was amost awful noise of roaring, and wheeling round I saw such a fray asnever I shall see again. A tall, grim, black man was fighting the greatlion, that now lacked one paw, but still stood upon its hind legs, striking at him with the other. 

The man, who was absolutely silent, dodged the blow and hit back withthe axe, catching the beast upon the breast with such weight that itcame to the ground in a lopsided fashion, since now it had only onefore-foot on which to light. 

The axe flashed up again and before the lion could recover itself, or doanything else, fell with a crash upon its skull, sinking deep into thehead. After this all was over, for the beast's brain was cut in two. 

"I am here at the appointed time, Macumazahn, " said Umslopogaas, for itwas he, as with difficulty he dragged his axe from the lion's severedskull, "to find you watching by night as it is reported that you alwaysdo. "

"No, " I retorted, for his tone irritated me, "you are late, Bulalio, themoon has been up some hours. "

"I said, O Macumazahn, that I would meet you on the _night_ of the fullmoon, not at the rising of the moon. "

"That is true, " I replied, mollified, "and at any rate you came at agood moment. "

"Yes, " he answered, "though as it happens in this clear light the thingwas easy to anyone who can handle an axe. Had it been darker the endmight have been different. But, Macumazahn, you are not so clever as Ithought, since otherwise you would not have come out against a lion witha toy like that, " and he pointed to the little rifle in my hand. 

"I did not know that there was a lion, Umslopogaas. "

"That is why you are not so clever as I thought, since of one sort oranother there is always a lion which wise men should be prepared tomeet, Macumazahn. "

"You are right again, " I replied. 

At that moment Hans arrived upon the scene, followed at a discreetdistance by the waggon boys, and took in the situation at a glance. 

"The Great Medicine of the Opener-of-Roads has worked well, " was all hesaid. 

"The great medicine of the Opener-of-Heads has worked better, " remarkedUmslopogaas with a little laugh and pointing to his red axe. "Never before since she came into my keeping has _Inkosikaas_ (i. E. 'Chieftainess, ' for so was this famous weapon named) sunk so low as todrink the blood of beasts. Still, the stroke was a good one so she neednot be ashamed. But, Yellow Man, how comes it that you who, I have beentold, are cunning, watch your master so ill?"

"I was asleep, " stuttered Hans indignantly. 

"Those who serve should never sleep, " replied Umslopogaas sternly. Thenhe turned and whistled, and behold! out of the long grass that grew at alittle distance, emerged twelve great men, all of them bearing axes andwearing cloaks of hyena skins, who saluted me by raising their axes. 

"Set a watch and skin me this beast by dawn. It will make us a mat, "said Umslopogaas, whereon again they saluted silently and melted away. 

"Who are these?" I asked. 

"A few picked warriors whom I brought with me, Macumazahn. There wereone or two more, but they got lost on the way. "

Then we went to the waggon and spoke no more that night. 

Next morning I told Umslopogaas of the visit I had received from the_Induna_ of the King who wished me to come to the royal kraal. He noddedand said, "As it chances certain thieves attacked me on my journey, which is whyone or two of my people remain behind who will never travel again. Wemade good play with those thieves; not one of them escaped, " headded grimly, "and their bodies we threw into a river where are manycrocodiles. But their spears I brought away and I think that they aresuch as the King's guard use. If so, his search for them will be long, since the fight took place where no man lives and we burned the shieldsand trappings. Oho! he will think that the ghosts have taken them. "

That morning we trekked on fast, fearing lest a regiment searching forthese "thieves" should strike and follow our spoor. Luckily the ox thatthe lion had killed was one of some spare cattle which I was drivingwith me, so its loss did not inconvenience us. As we went Umslopogaastold me that he had duly appointed Lousta and his wife Monazi to rulethe tribe during his absence, an office which they accepted doubtfully, Monazi acting as Chieftainess and Lousta as her head _Induna_ orCouncillor. 

I asked him whether he thought this wise under all the circumstances, seeing that it had occurred to me since I made the suggestion, that theymight be unwilling to surrender power on his return, also that otherdomestic complications might ensue. 

"It matters little, Macumazahn, " he said with a shrug of his greatshoulders, "for of this I am sure, that I have played my part with thePeople of the Axe and to stop among them would have meant my death, who am a man betrayed. What do I care who love none and now have nochildren? Still, it is true that I might have fled to Natal with thecattle and there have led a fat and easy life. But ease and plenty I donot desire who would live and fall as a warrior should. 

"Never again, mayhap, shall I see the Ghost-Mountain where the wolvesravened and the old Witch sits in stone waiting for the world to die, or sleep in the town of the People of the Axe. What do I want with wivesand oxen while I have _Inkosikaas_ the Groan-maker and she is true tome?" he added, shaking the ancient axe above his head so that the sungleamed upon the curved blade and the hollow gouge or point at the backbeyond the shaft socket. "Where the Axe goes, there go the strength andvirtue of the Axe, O Macumazahn. "

"It is a strange weapon, " I said. 

"Aye, a strange and an old, forged far away, says Zikali, by awarrior-wizard hundreds of years ago, a great fighter who was also thefirst of smiths and who sits in the Under-world waiting for it to returnto his hand when its work is finished beneath the sun. That will besoon, Macumazahn, since Zikali told me that I am the last Holder of theAxe. "

"Did you then see the Opener-of-Roads?" I asked. 

"Aye, I saw him. He it was who told me which way to go to escape fromZululand. Also he laughed when he heard how the flooded rivers broughtyou to my kraal, and sent you a message in which he said that the spiritof a snake had told him that you tried to throw the Great Medicine intoa pool, but were stopped by that snake, whilst it was still alive. This, he said, you must do no more, lest he should send another snake to stop_you_. "

"Did he?" I replied indignantly, for Zikali's power of seeing orlearning about things that happened at a distance puzzled and annoyedme. 

Only Hans grinned and said, "I told you so, Baas. "

On we travelled from day to day, meeting with such difficulties anddangers as are common on roadless veld in Africa, but no more, for thegrass was good and there was plenty of game, of which we shot what wewanted for meat. Indeed, here in the back regions of what is known asPortuguese South East Africa, every sort of wild animal was so numerousthat personally I wished we could turn our journey into a shootingexpedition. 

But of this Umslopogaas, whom hunting bored, would not hear. In fact, he was much more anxious than myself to carry out our original purpose. When I asked him why, he answered because of something Zikali had toldhim. What this was he would not say, except that in the country whitherwe wandered he would fight a great fight and win much honour. 

Now Umslopogaas was by nature a fighting man, one who took a positivejoy in battle, and like an old Norseman, seemed to think that thus onlycould a man decorously die. This amazed me, a peaceful person wholoves quiet and a home. Still, I gave way, partly to please him, partlybecause I hoped that we might discover something of interest, and stillmore because, having once undertaken an enterprise, my pride prompted meto see it through. 

Now while he was preparing to draw his map in the ashes, or afterwards, I forget which, Zikali had told me that when we drew near to the greatriver we should come to a place on the edge of bush-veld that ran downto the river, where a white man lived, adding, after casting his bonesand reading from them, that he thought this white man was a "trek-Boer. "This, I should explain, means a Dutchman who has travelled away fromwherever he lived and made a home for himself in the wilderness, as somewandering spirit and the desire to be free of authority often promptthese people to do. Also, after another inspection of his enchantedknuckle-bones, he had declared that something remarkable would happen tothis man or his family, while I was visiting him. Lastly in that map hedrew in the ashes, the details of which were impressed so indeliblyupon my memory, he had shown me where I should find the dwelling of thiswhite man, of whom and of whose habitation doubtless he knew throughthe many spies who seemed to be at the service of all witch-doctors, andmore especially of Zikali, the greatest among them. 

Travelling by the sun and the compress I had trekked steadily inthe exact direction which he indicated, to find that in this usefulparticular he was well named the "Opener-of-Roads, " since always beforeme I found a practicable path, although to the right or to the leftthere would have been none. Thus when we came to mountains, it was at aspot where we discovered a pass; when we came to swamps it was where aridge of high ground ran between, and so forth. Also such tribes as wemet upon our journey always proved of a friendly character, althoughperhaps the aspect of Umslopogaas and his fierce band whom, ratherirreverently, I named his twelve Apostles, had a share in inducing thispeaceful attitude. 

So smooth was our progress and so well marked by water at certainintervals, that at last I came to the conclusion that we must befollowing some ancient road which at a forgotten period of history, hadrun from south to north, or _vice versâ_. Or rather, to be honest, itwas the observant Hans who made this discovery from various indicationswhich had escaped my notice. I need not stop to detail them, but oneof these was that at certain places the water-holes on a high, ratherbarren land had been dug out, and in one or more instances, lined withstones after the fashion of an ancient well. Evidently we were followingan old trade route made, perhaps, in forgotten ages when Africa was morecivilised than it is now. 

Passing over certain high, misty lands during the third week of ourtrek, where frequently at this season of the year the sun never showeditself before ten o'clock and disappeared at three or four in theafternoon, and where twice we were held up for two whole days by densefog, we came across a queer nomadic people who seemed to live in movablegrass huts and to keep great herds of goats and long-tailed sheep. 

These folk ran away from us at first, but when they found that we didthem no harm, became friendly and brought us offerings of milk, also ofa kind of slug or caterpillar which they seemed to eat. Hans, who wasa great master of different native dialects, discovered a tongue, or amixture of tongues, in which he could make himself understood to some ofthem. 

They told him that in their day they had never seen a white man, although their fathers' fathers (an expression by which they meant theirremote ancestors) had known many of them. They added, however, that ifwe went on steadily towards the north for another seven days' journey, we should come to a place where a white man lived, one, they had heard, who had a long beard and killed animals with guns, as we did. 

Encouraged by this intelligence we pushed forward, now travelling downhill out of the mists into a more genial country. Indeed, the veldhere was beautiful, high, rolling plains like those of the East Africanplateau, covered with a deep and fertile chocolate-coloured soil, aswe could see where the rains had washed out dongas. The climate, too, seemed to be cool and very healthful. Altogether it was a pity to seesuch lands lying idle and tenanted only by countless herds of game, forthere were not any native inhabitants, or at least we met none. 

On we trekked, our road still sloping slightly down hill, till at lengthwe saw far away a vast sea of bush-veld which, as I guessed correctly, must fringe the great Zambesi River. Moreover we, or rather Hans, whoseeyes were those of a hawk, saw something else, namely buildings of amore or less civilised kind, which stood among trees by the side of astream several miles on this side of the great belt of bush. 

"Look, Baas, " said Hans, "those wanderers did not lie; there is thehouse of the white man. I wonder if he drinks anything stronger thanwater, " he added with a sigh and a kind of reminiscent contraction ofhis yellow throat. 

As it happened, he did. 

CHAPTER V

INEZ

We had sighted the house from far away shortly after sunrise and bymidday we were there. As we approached I saw that it stood almostimmediately beneath two great baobab trees, babyan trees we call them inSouth Africa, perhaps because monkeys eat their fruit. It was a thatchedhouse with whitewashed walls and a stoep or veranda round it, apparentlyof the ordinary Dutch type. Moreover, beyond it, at a little distancewere other houses or rather shanties with waggon sheds, etc. , andbeyond and mixed up with these a number of native huts. Further on wereconsiderable fields green with springing corn; also we saw herds ofcattle grazing on the slopes. Evidently our white man was rich. 

Umslopogaas surveyed the place with a soldier's eye and said to me, "This must be a peaceful country, Macumazahn, where no attack is feared, since of defences I see none. "

"Yes, " I answered, "why not, with a wilderness behind it and bush-veldand a great river in front?"

"Men can cross rivers and travel through bush-veld, " he answered, andwas silent. 

Up to this time we had seen no one, although it might have been presumedthat a waggon trekking towards the house was a sufficiently unusualsight to have attracted attention. 

"Where can they be?" I asked. 

"Asleep, Baas, I think, " said Hans, and as a matter of fact he wasright. The whole population of the place was indulging in a noondaysiesta. 

At last we came so near to the house that I halted the waggon anddescended from the driving-box in order to investigate. At this momentsomeone did appear, the sight of whom astonished me not a little, namely, a very striking-looking young woman. She was tall, handsome, with large dark eyes, good features, a rather pale complexion, and Ithink the saddest face that I ever saw. Evidently she had heard thenoise of the waggon and had come out to see what caused it, for shehad nothing on her head, which was covered with thick hair of a ravenblackness. Catching sight of the great Umslopogaas with his gleaming axeand of his savage-looking bodyguard, she uttered an exclamation and notunnaturally turned to fly. 

"It's all right, " I sang out, emerging from behind the oxen, and inEnglish, though before the words had left my lips I reflected that therewas not the slightest reason to suppose that she would understand them. Probably she was Dutch, or Portuguese, although by some instinct I hadaddressed her in English. 

To my surprise she answered me in the same tongue, spoken, it is true, with a peculiar accent which I could not place, as it was neither Scotchnor Irish. 

"Thank you, " she said. "I, sir, was frightened. Your friends look----"Here she stumbled for a word, then added, "terrocious. "

I laughed at this composite adjective and answered, "Well, so they are in a way, though they will not harm you or me. But, young lady, tell me, can we outspan here? Perhaps your husband----"

"I have no husband, I have only a father, sir, " and she sighed. 

"Well, then, could I speak to your father? My name is Allan Quatermainand I am making a journey of exploration, to find out about the countrybeyond, you know. "

"Yes, I will go to wake him. He is asleep. Everyone sleeps here atmidday--except me, " she said with another sigh. 

"Why do you not follow their example?" I asked jocosely, for this youngwoman puzzled me and I wanted to find out about her. 

"Because I sleep little, sir, who think too much. There will be plentyof time to sleep soon for all of us, will there not?"

I stared at her and inquired her name, because I did not know what elseto say. 

"My name is Inez Robertson, " she answered. "I will go to wake my father. Meanwhile please unyoke your oxen. They can feed with the others; theylook as though they wanted rest, poor things. " Then she turned and wentinto the house. 

"Inez Robertson, " I said to myself, "that's a queer combination. Englishfather and Portuguese mother, I suppose. But what can an Englishman bedoing in a place like this? If it had been a trek-Boer I should not havebeen surprised. " Then I began to give directions about out-spanning. 

We had just got the oxen out of the yokes, when a big, raw-boned, red-bearded, blue-eyed, roughly-clad man of about fifty years of ageappeared from the house, yawning. I threw my eye over him as he advancedwith a peculiar rolling gait, and formed certain conclusions. A drunkardwho has once been a gentleman, I reflected to myself, for there wassomething peculiarly dissolute in his appearance, also one who has hadto do with the sea, a diagnosis which proved very accurate. 

"How do you do, Mr. Allan Quatermain, which I think my daughter said isyour name, unless I dreamed it, for it is one that I seem to have heardbefore, " he exclaimed with a broad Scotch accent which I do not attemptto reproduce. "What in the name of blazes brings you here where no realwhite man has been for years? Well, I am glad enough to see you any way, for I am sick of half-breed Portuguese and niggers, and snuff-and-buttergirls, and gin and bad whisky. Leave your people to attend to those oxenand come in and have a drink. "

"Thank you, Mr. Robertson----"

"Captain Robertson, " he interrupted. "Man, don't look astonished. Youmightn't guess it, but I commanded a mail-steamer once and should liketo hear myself called rightly again before I die. "

"I beg your pardon--Captain Robertson, but myself, I don't drinkanything before sundown. However, if you have something to eat----?"

"Oh yes, Inez--she's my daughter--will find you a bite. Those men ofyours, " and he also looked doubtfully at Umslopogaas and his savagecompany, "will want food as well. I'll have a beast killed for them;they look as if they could eat it, horns and all. Where are my people?All asleep, I suppose, the lazy lubbers. Wait a bit, I'll wake them up. "

Going to the house he snatched a great sjambok cut from hippopotamushide, from where it hung on a nail in the wall, and ran towards thegroup of huts which I have mentioned, roaring out the name Thomaso, alsoa string of oaths such as seamen use, mixed with others of a Portuguesevariety. What happened there I could not see because boughs were inthe way, but presently I heard blows and screams, and caught sight ofpeople, all dark-skinned, flying from the huts. 

A little later a fat, half-breed man--I should say from his curling hairthat his mother was a negress and his father a Portuguese--appearedwith some other nondescript fellows and began to give directions in acompetent fashion about our oxen, also as to the killing of a calf. Hespoke in bastard Portuguese, which I could understand, and I heard himtalk of Umslopogaas to whom he pointed, as "that nigger, " after thefashion of such cross-bred people who choose to consider themselveswhite men. Also he made uncomplimentary remarks about Hans, who ofcourse understood every word he said. Evidently Thomaso's temper hadbeen ruffled by this sudden and violent disturbance of his nap. 

Just then our host appeared puffing with his exertions and declaringthat he had stirred up the swine with a vengeance, in proof of which hepointed to the sjambok that was reddened with blood. 

"Captain Robertson, " I said, "I wish to give you a hint to be passed onto Mr. Thomaso, if that is he. He spoke of the Zulu soldier there as anigger, etc. Well, he is a chief of a high rank and rather a terriblefellow if roused. Therefore I recommend Mr. Thomaso not to let himunderstand that he is insulting him. "

"Oh! that's the way of these 'snuff-and-butters' one of whosegrandmothers once met a white man, " replied the Captain, laughing, "butI'll tell him, " and he did in Portuguese. 

His retainer listened in silence, looking at Umslopogaas rather sulkily. Then we walked into the house. As we went the Captain said, "Seńor Thomaso--he calls himself Seńor--is my manager here and a cleverman, honest too in his way and attached to me, perhaps because Isaved his life once. But he has a nasty temper, as have all thesecross-breeds, so I hope he won't get wrong with that native who carriesa big axe. "

"I hope so too, for his own sake, " I replied emphatically. 

The Captain led the way into the sitting-room; there was but one in thehouse. It proved a queer kind of place with rude furniture seated withstrips of hide after the Boer fashion, and yet bearing a certain air ofrefinement which was doubtless due to Inez, who, with the assistanceof a stout native girl, was already engaged in setting the table. Thus there was a shelf with books, Shakespeare was one of these, Inoticed--over which hung an ivory crucifix, which suggested that Inezwas a Catholic. On the walls, too, were some good portraits, and on thewindow-ledge a jar full of flowers. Also the forks and spoons were ofsilver, as were the mugs, and engraved with a tremendous coat-of-armsand a Portuguese motto. 

Presently the food appeared, which was excellent and plentiful, and theCaptain, his daughter and I sat down and ate. I noted that he drank ginand water, an innocent-looking beverage but strong as he took it. It wasoffered to me, but like Miss Inez, I preferred coffee. 

During the meal and afterwards while we smoked upon the veranda, Itold them as much as I thought desirable of my plans. I said that I wasengaged upon a journey of exploration of the country beyond the Zambesi, and that having heard of this settlement, which, by the way, was calledStrathmuir, as I gathered after a place in far away Scotland wherethe Captain had been born and passed his childhood, I had come here toinquire as to how to cross the great river, and about other things. 

The Captain was interested, especially when I informed him that I wasthat same "Hunter Quatermain" of whom he had heard in past years, but hetold me that it would be impossible to take the waggon down into the lowbush-veld which we could see beneath us, as there all the oxen would dieof the bite of the tsetse fly. I answered that I was aware of this andproposed to try to make an arrangement to leave it in his charge till Ireturned. 

"That might be managed, Mr. Quatermain, " he answered. "But, man, willyou ever return? They say there are queer folk living on the other sideof the Zambesi, savage men who are cannibals, Amahagger I think theycall them. It was they who in past years cleaned out all this country, except a few river tribes who live in floating huts or on islands amongthe reeds, and that's why it is so empty. But this happened long ago, much before my time, and I don't suppose they will ever cross the riveragain. "

"If I might ask, what brought you here, Captain?" I said, for the pointwas one on which I felt curious. 

"That which brings most men to wild places, Mr. Quatermain--trouble. Ifyou want to know, I had a misfortune and piled up my ship. There weresome lives lost and, rightly or wrongly, I got the sack. Then I startedas a trader in a God-forsaken hole named Chinde, one of the Zambesimouths, you know, and did very well, as we Scotchmen have a way ofdoing. 

"There I married a Portuguese lady, a real lady of high blood, one ofthe old sort. When my girl, Inez, was about twelve years old I got intomore trouble, for my wife died and it pleased a certain relative of hersto say that it was because I had neglected her. This ended in a row andthe truth is that I killed him--in fair fight, mind you. Still, kill himI did though I scarcely knew that I had done it at the time, after whichthe place grew too hot to hold me. So I sold up and swore that I wouldhave no more to do with what they are pleased to call civilisation onthe East Coast. 

"During my trading I had heard that there was fine country up this way, and here I came and settled years ago, bringing my girl and Thomaso, whowas one of my managers, also a few other people with me. And here I havebeen ever since, doing very well as before, for I trade a lot of ivoryand other things and grow stuff and cattle, which I sell to the Rivernatives. Yes, I am a rich man now and could go to live on my means inScotland, or anywhere. "

"Why don't you?" I asked. 

"Oh! for many reasons. I have lost touch with all that and become halfwild and I like this life and the sunshine and being my own master. Also, if I did, things might be raked up against me, about that man'sdeath. Also, though I daresay it will make you think badly of me for it, Mr. Quatermain, I have ties down there, " and he waved is hand towardsthe village, if so it could be called, "which it wouldn't be easy forme to break. A man may be fond of his children, Mr. Quatermain, evenif their skins ain't so white as they ought to be. Lastly I havehabits--you see, I am speaking out to you as man to man--which might getme into trouble again if I went back to the world, " and he nodded hisfine, capable-looking head in the direction of the bottle on the table. 

"I see, " I said hastily, for this kind of confession bursting out ofthe man's lonely heart when what he had drunk took a hold of him, waspainful to hear. "But how about your daughter, Miss Inez?"

"Ah!" he said, with a quiver in his voice, "there you touch it. Sheought to go away. There is no one for her to marry here, where wehaven't seen a white man for years, and she's a lady right enough, likeher mother. But who is she to go to, being a Roman Catholic whom my owndour Presbyterian folk in Scotland, if any of them are left, would turntheir backs on? Moreover, she loves me in her own fashion, as I loveher, and she wouldn't leave me because she thinks it her duty tostay and knows that if she did, I should go to the devil altogether. Still--perhaps you might help me about her, Mr. Quatermain, that is ifyou live to come back from your journey, " he added doubtfully. 

I felt inclined to ask how I could possibly help in such a matter, butthought it wisest to say nothing. This, however, he did not notice, forhe went on, "Now I think I will have a nap, as I do my work in the early morning, and sometimes late at night when my brain seems to clear up again, foryou see I was a sailor for many years and accustomed to keeping watches. You'll look after yourself, won't you, and treat the place as your own?"Then he vanished into the house to lie down. 

When I had finished my pipe I went for a walk. First I visited thewaggon where I found Umslopogaas and his company engaged in cookingthe beast that had been given them, Zulu fashion; Hans with his usualcunning had already secured a meal, probably from the servants, or fromInez herself; at least he left them and followed me. First we went downto the huts, where we saw a number of good-looking young women of mixedblood, all decently dressed and engaged about their household duties. Also we saw four or five boys and girls, to say nothing of a babyin arms, fine young people, one or two of whom were more white thancoloured. 

"Those children are very like the Baas with the red beard, " remarkedHans reflectively. 

"Yes, " I said, and shivered, for now I understood the awfulness of thispoor man's case. He was the father of a number of half-breeds who tiedhim to this spot as anchors tie a ship. I went on rather hastily pastsome sheds to a long, low building which proved to be a store. Herethe quarter-blood called Thomaso, and some assistants were engaged intrading with natives from the Zambesi swamps, men of a kind that I hadnever seen, but in a way more civilised than many further south. Whatthey were selling or buying, I did not stop to see, but I noticed thatthe store was full of goods of one sort or another, including a greatdeal of ivory, which, as I supposed, had come down the river frominland. 

Then we walked on to the cultivated fields where we saw corn growingvery well, also tobacco and other crops. Beyond this were cattle kraalsand in the distance we perceived a great number of cattle and goatsfeeding on the slopes. 

"This red-bearded Baas must be very rich in all things, " remarked theobservant Hans when we had completed our investigations. 

"Yes, " I answered, "rich and yet poor. "

"How can a man be both rich and yet poor, Baas?" asked Hans. 

Just at that moment some of the half-breed children whom I havementioned, ran past us more naked than dressed and whooping like littlesavages. Hans contemplated them gravely, then said, "I think I understand now, Baas. A man may be rich in things he lovesand yet does not want, which makes him poor in other ways. "

"Yes, " I answered, "as you _are_, Hans, when you take too much todrink. "

Just then we met the stately Miss Inez returning from the store, carrying some articles in a basket, soap, I think, and tea in a packet, amongst them. I told Hans to take the basket and bear it to thehouse for her. He went off with it and, walking slowly, we fell intoconversation. 

"Your father must do very well here, " I said, nodding at the store withthe crowd of natives round it. 

"Yes, " she answered, "he makes much money which he puts in a bank at thecoast, for living costs us nothing and there is great profit in what hebuys and sells, also in the crops he grows and in the cattle. But, " sheadded pathetically, "what is the use of money in a place like this?"

"You can get things with it, " I answered vaguely. 

"That is what my father says, but what does he get? Strong stuff todrink; dresses for those women down there, and sometimes pearls, jewelsand other things for me which I do not want. I have a box full of themset in ugly gold, or loose which I cannot use, and if I put them on, whois there to see them? That clever half-breed, Thomaso--for he is cleverin his way, faithful too--or the women down there--no one else. "

"You do not seem to be happy, Miss Inez. "

"No. I cannot tell how unhappy others are, who have met none, butsometimes I think that I must be the most miserable woman in the world. "

"Oh! no, " I replied cheerfully, "plenty are worse off. "

"Then, Mr. Quatermain, it must be because they cannot feel. Did you everhave a father whom you loved?"

"Yes, Miss Inez. He is dead, but he was a very good man, a kind ofsaint. Ask my servant, the little Hottentot Hans; he will tell you abouthim. "

"Ah! a very good man. Well, as you may have guessed, mine is not, thoughthere is much good in him, for he has a kind heart, and a big brain. Butthe drink and those women down there, they ruin him, " and she wrung herhands. 

"Why don't you go away?" I blurted out. 

"Because it is my duty to stop. That is what my religion teaches me, although of it I know little except through books, who have seen nopriest for years except one who was a missionary, a Baptist, I think, who told me that my faith was false and would lead me to hell. Yes, notunderstanding how I lived, he said that, who did not know that hell ishere. No, I cannot go, who hopes always that still God and the Saintswill show me how to save my father, even though it be with my blood. Andnow I have said too much to you who are quite a stranger. Yet, I do notknow why, I feel that you will not betray me, and what is more, thatyou will help me if you can, since you are not one of those who drink, or----" and she waved her hand towards the huts. 

"I have my faults, Miss Inez, " I answered. 

"Yes, no doubt, else you would be a saint, not a man, and even thesaints had their faults, or so I seem to remember, and became saints byrepentance and conquering them. Still, I am sure that you will help meif you can. "

Then with a sudden flash of her dark eyes that said more than all herwords, she turned and left me. 

Here's a pretty kettle of fish, thought I to myself as I strolled backto the waggon to see how things were going on there, and how to get thelive fish out of the kettle before they boil or spoil is more than Iknow. I wonder why fate is always finding me such jobs to do. 

Even as I thought thus a voice in my heart seemed to echo that poorgirl's words--because it is your duty--and to add others to them--woebetide him who neglects his duty. I was appointed to try to hook a fewfish out of the vast kettle of human woe, and therefore I must go onhooking. Meanwhile this particular problem seemed beyond me. PerhapsFate would help, I reflected. As a matter of fact, in the end Fate did, if Fate is the right word to use in this connection. 

CHAPTER VI

THE SEA-COW HUNT

Now it had been my intention to push forward across the river at once, but here luck, or our old friend, Fate, was against me. To begin withseveral of Umslopogaas' men fell sick with a kind of stomach trouble, arising no doubt from something they had eaten. This, however, was nottheir view, or that of Umslopogaas himself. It happened that one ofthese men, Goroko by name, who practised as a witch-doctor in hislighter moments, naturally suspected that a spell had been cast uponthem, for such people see magic in everything. 

Therefore he organised a "smelling-out" at which Umslopogaas, who wasas superstitious as the rest, assisted. So did Hans, although he calledhimself a Christian, partly out of curiosity, for he was as curious asa magpie, and partly from fear lest some implication should be broughtagainst him in his absence. I saw the business going on from a littledistance, and, unseen myself, thought it well to keep an eye upon theproceedings in case anything untoward should occur. This I did with MissInez, who had never witnessed anything of the sort, as a companion. 

The circle, a small one, was formed in the usual fashion; Goroko riggedup in the best witch-doctor's costume that he could improvise, dulycame under the influence of his "Spirit" and skipped about, waving awildebeeste's tail, and so forth. 

Finally to my horror he broke out of the ring, and running to a groupof spectators from the village, switched Thomaso, who was standing amongthem with a lordly and contemptuous air, across the face with the gnu'stail, shouting out that he was the wizard who had poisoned the bowels ofthe sick men. Thereon Thomaso, who although he could be insolent, likemost crossbreeds was not remarkable for courage, seeing the stir thatthis announcement created amongst the fierce-faced Zulus and fearingdevelopments, promptly bolted, none attempting to follow him. 

After this, just as I thought that everything was over and that the timehad come for me to speak a few earnest words to Umslopogaas, pointingout that matters must go no further as regards Thomaso, whom I knew thathe and his people hated, Goroko went back to the circle and was seizedwith a new burst of inspiration. 

Throwing down his whisk, he lifted his arms above his head and stared atthe heavens. Then he began to shout out something in a loud voice whichI was too far off to catch. Whatever it may have been, evidently itfrightened his hearers, as I could see from the expressions on theirfaces. Even Umslopogaas was alarmed, for he let his axe fall for amoment, rose as though to speak, then sat down again and covered hiseyes with his hands. 

In a minute it was over; Goroko seemed to become normal, took some snuffand as I guessed, after the usual fashion of these doctors, began toask what he had been saying while the "Spirit" possessed him, which heeither had, or affected to have, forgotten. The circle, too, broke upand its members began to talk to each other in a subdued way, whileUmslopogaas remained seated on the ground, brooding, and Hans slippedaway in his snake-like fashion, doubtless in search of me. 

"What was it all about, Mr. Quatermain?" asked Inez. 

"Oh! a lot of nonsense, " I said. "I fancy that witch-doctor declaredthat your friend Thomaso put something into those men's food to makethem sick. "

"I daresay that he did; it would be just like him, Mr. Quatermain, as Iknow that he hates them, especially Umslopogaas, of whom I am very fond. He brought me some beautiful flowers this morning which he had foundsomewhere, and made a long speech which I could not understand. "

The idea of Umslopogaas, that man of blood and iron, bringing flowersto a young lady, was so absurd that I broke out laughing and even thesad-faced Inez smiled. Then she left me to see about something and Iwent to speak to Hans and asked him what had happened. 

"Something rather queer, I think, Baas, " he answered vacuously, "thoughI did not quite understand the last part. The doctor, Goroko, smelt outThomaso as the man who had made them sick, and though they will not killhim because we are guests here, those Zulus are very angry with Thomasoand I think will beat him if they get a chance. But that is only thesmall half of the stick, " and he paused. 

"What is the big half, then?" I asked with irritation. 

"Baas, the Spirit in Goroko----"

"The jackass in Goroko, you mean, " I interrupted. "How can you, who area Christian, talk such rubbish about spirits? I only wish that my fathercould hear you. "

"Oh! Baas, your reverend father, the Predikant, is now wise enoughto know all about Spirits and that there are some who come into blackwitch-doctors though they turn up their noses at white men and leavethem alone. However, whatever it is that makes Goroko speak, got holdof him so that his lips said, though he remembered nothing of itafterwards, that soon this place would be red with blood--that therewould be a great killing here, Baas. That is all. "

"Red with blood! Whose blood? What did the fool mean?"

"I don't know, Baas, but what you call the jackass in Goroko, declaredthat those who are 'with the Great Medicine'--meaning what you wear, Baas--will be quite safe. So I hope that it will not be our blood; alsothat you will get out of this place as soon as you can. "

Well, I scolded Hans because he believed in what this doctor said, forI could see that he did believe it, then went to question Umslopogaas, whom I found looking quite pleased, which annoyed me still more. 

"What is it that Goroko has been saying and why do you smile, Bulalio?"I asked. 

"Nothing much, Macumazahn, except that the man who looks like tallowthat has gone bad, put something in our food which made us sick, forwhich I would kill him were he not Red-beard's servant and that it wouldfrighten the lady his daughter. Also he said that soon there will befighting, which is why I smiled, who grow weary of peace. We came out tofight, did we not?"

"Certainly not, " I answered. "We came out to make a quiet journey instrange lands, which is what I mean to do. "

"Ah! well, Macumazahn, in strange lands one meets strange men with whomone does not always agree, and then _Inkosikaas_ begins to talk, " and hewhirled the great axe round his head, making the air whistle as it wasforced through the gouge at its back. 

I could get no more out of him, so having extracted a promise from himthat nothing should happen to Thomaso who, I pointed out, was probablyquite unjustly accused, I went away. 

Still, the whole incident left a disagreeable impression on my mind, and I began to wish that we were safe across the Zambesi without moretrouble. But we could not start at once because two of the Zulus werestill not well enough to travel and there were many preparations tobe made about the loads, and so forth, since the waggon must be leftbehind. Also, and this was another complication--Hans had a sore uponhis foot, resulting from the prick of a poisonous thorn, and it wasdesirable that this should be quite healed before we marched. 

So it came about that I was really glad when Captain Robertson suggestedthat we should go down to a certain swamp formed, I gathered, by somesmall tributary of the Zambesi to take part in a kind of hippopotamusbattue. It seemed that at this season of the year these great animalsalways frequented the place in numbers, also that by barring a neck ofdeep water through which they gained it, they, or a proportion of them, could be cut off and killed. 

This had been done once or twice in the past, though not of late, perhaps because Captain Robertson had lacked the energy to organise sucha hunt. Now he wished to do so again, taking advantage of my presence, both because of the value of the hides of the sea-cows which were cut upto be sent to the coast and sold as _sjamboks_ or whips, and because ofthe sport of the thing. Also I think he desired to show me that he wasnot altogether sunk in sloth and drink. 

I fell in with the idea readily enough, since in all my hunting life Ihad never seen anything of the sort, especially as I was told that theexpedition would not take more than a week and I reckoned that the sickmen and Hans would not be fit to travel sooner. So great preparationswere made. The riverside natives, whose share of the spoil was to be thecarcases of the slain sea-cows, were summoned by hundreds and sent offto their appointed stations to beat the swamps at a signal given by thefiring of a great pile of reeds. Also many other things were done uponwhich I need not enter. 

Then came the time for us to depart to the appointed spot over twentymiles away, most of which distance it seemed we could trek in thewaggon. Captain Robertson, who for the time had cut off his gin, wasas active about the affair as though he were once more in command of amail-steamer. Nothing escaped his attention; indeed, in the care whichhe gave to details he reminded me of the captain of a great ship thatis leaving port, and from it I learned how able a man he must once havebeen. 

"Does your daughter accompany us?" I asked on the night before westarted. 

"Oh! no, " he answered, "she would only be in the way. She will be quitesafe here, especially as Thomaso, who is no hunter, remains in chargeof the place with some of the older natives to look after the women andchildren. "

Later I saw Inez herself, who said that she would have liked to come, although she hated to see great beasts killed, but that her father wasagainst it because he thought she might catch fever. So she supposedthat she had better remain where she was. 

I agreed, though in my heart I was doubtful, and said that I would leaveHans, whose foot was not as yet quite well, and with whom she had madefriends as she had done with Umslopogaas, to look after her. Also therewould be with him the two great Zulus who were now recovering from theirattack of stomach sickness, so that she would have nothing to fear. Sheanswered with her slow smile that she feared nothing, still, she wouldhave liked to come with us. Then we parted, as it proved for a longtime. 

It was quite a ceremony. Umslopogaas, "in the name of the Axe" solemnlygave over Inez to the charge of his two followers, bidding them guardher with so much earnestness that I began to suspect he feared somethingwhich he did not choose to mention. My mind went back indeed to theprophecy of the witch-doctor Goroko, of which it was possible that hemight be thinking, but as while he spoke he kept his fierce eyes fixedupon the fat and pompous quarter-breed, Thomaso, I concluded that herewas the object of his doubts. 

It might have occurred to him that this Thomaso would take theopportunity of her father's absence to annoy Inez. If so I was sure thathe was mistaken for various reasons, of which I need only quote one, namely, that even if such an idea had ever entered his head, Thomaso wasfar too great a coward to translate it into action. Still, suspectingsomething, I also gave Hans instructions to keep a sharp eye on Inezand generally to watch the place, and if he saw anything suspicious, tocommunicate with us at once. 

"Yes, Baas, " said Hans, "I will look after 'Sad-Eyes'"--for so withtheir usual quickness of observation our Zulus had named Inez--"asthough she were my grandmother, though what there is to fear for her, Ido not know. But, Baas, I would much rather come and look after you, asyour reverend father, the Predikant, told me to do always, which is myduty, not girl-herding, Baas. Also my foot is now quite well and--I wantto shoot sea-cows, and----" Here he paused. 

"And what, Hans?"

"And Goroko said that there was going to be much fighting and if thereshould be fighting and you should come to harm because I was not thereto protect you, what would your reverend father think of me then?"

All of which meant two things: that Hans never liked being separatedfrom me if he could help it, and that he much preferred a shooting tripto stopping alone in this strange place with nothing to do except eatand sleep. So I concluded, though indeed I did not get quite to thebottom of the business. In reality Hans was putting up a most gallantstruggle against temptation. 

As I found out afterwards, Captain Robertson had been giving him strongdrink on the sly, moved thereto by sympathy with a fellow toper. Also hehad shown him where, if he wanted it, he could get more, and Hans alwayswanted gin very badly indeed. To leave it within his reach was likeleaving a handful of diamonds lying about in the room of a thief. Thishe knew, but was ashamed to tell me the truth, and thence came muchtrouble. 

"You will stop here, Hans, look after the young lady and nurse yourfoot, " I said sternly, whereon he collapsed with a sigh and asked forsome tobacco. 

Meanwhile Captain Robertson, who I think had been taking a stirrup cupto cheer him on the road, was making his farewells down in what wasknown as "the village, " for I saw him there kissing a collection ofhalf-breed children, and giving Thomaso instructions to look after themand their mothers. Returning at length, he called to Inez, who remainedupon the veranda, for she always seemed to shrink from her father afterhis visits to the village, to "keep a stiff upper lip" and not feellonely, and commanded the cavalcade to start. 

So off we went, about twenty of the village natives, a motley crew armedwith every kind of gun, marching ahead and singing songs. Then came thewaggon with Captain Robertson and myself seated on the driving-box, and lastly Umslopogaas and his Zulus, except the two who had been leftbehind. 

We trekked along a kind of native road over fine veld of the samecharacter as that on which Strathmuir stood, having the lower-lyingbush-veld which ran down to the Zambesi on our right. Before nightfallwe came to a ridge whereon this bush-veld turned south, fringing thattributary of the great river in the swamps of which we were to hunt forsea-cows. Here we camped and next morning, leaving the waggon in chargeof my _voorlooper_ and a couple of the Strathmuir natives, for thedriver was to act as my gun-bearer--we marched down into the sea ofbush-veld. It proved to be full of game, but at this we dared not firefor fearing of disturbing the hippopotami in the swamps beneath, whencein that event they might escape us back to the river. 

About midday we passed out of the bush-veld and reached the place wherethe drive was to be. Here, bordered by steep banks covered with bush, was swampy ground not more than two hundred yards wide, down the centreof which ran a narrow channel of rather deep water, draining a vastexpanse of morass above. It was up this channel that the sea-cowstravelled to the feeding ground where they loved to collect at thatseason of the year. 

There with the assistance of some of the riverside natives we made ourpreparations under the direction of Captain Robertson. The rest of thesemen, to the number of several hundreds, had made a wide détour to thehead of the swamps, miles away, whence they were to advance at a certainsignal. These preparations were simple. A quantity of thorn trees werecut down and by means of heavy stones fastened to their trunks, anchoredin the narrow channel of deep water. To their tops, which floated on theplacid surface, were tied a variety of rags which we had brought withus, such as old red flannel shirts, gay-coloured but worn-out blankets, and I know not what besides. Some of these fragments also were attachedto the anchored ropes under water. 

Also we selected places for the guns upon the steep banks that I havementioned, between which this channel ran. Foreseeing what would happen, I chose one for myself behind a particularly stout rock and what ismore, built a stone wall to the height of several feet on the landwardside of it, as I guessed that the natives posted near to me would provewild in their shooting. 

These labours occupied the rest of that day, and at night we retired tohigher ground to sleep. Before dawn on the following morning we returnedand took up our stations, some on one side of the channel and some onthe other which we had to reach in a canoe brought for the purpose bythe river natives. 

Then, before the sun rose, Captain Robertson fired a huge pile of driedreeds and bushes, which was to give the signal to the river nativesfar away to begin their beat. This done, we sat down and waited, aftermaking sure that every gun had plenty of ammunition ready. 

As the dawn broke, by climbing a tree near my _schanze_ or shelter, Isaw a good many miles away to the south a wide circle of little fires, and guessed that the natives were beginning to burn the dry reeds of theswamp. Presently these fires drew together into a thin wall of flame. Then I knew that it was time to return to the _schanze_ and prepare. Itwas full daylight, however, before anything happened. 

Watching the still channel of water, I saw ripples on it and bubblesof air rising. Suddenly there appeared the head of a greatbull-hippopotamus which, having caught sight of our rag barricade, either above or below water, had risen to the surface to see what itmight be. I put a bullet from an eight-bore rifle through its brain, whereon it sank, as I guessed, stone dead to the bottom of the channel, thus helping to increase the barricade by the bulk of its great body. Also it had another effect. I have observed that sea-cows cannot bearthe smell and taint of blood, which frightens them horribly, so thatthey will expose themselves to almost any risk, rather than get it intotheir nostrils. 

Now, in this still water where there was no perceptible current, theblood from the dead bull soon spread all about so that when the herd, following their leader, began to arrive they were much alarmed. Indeed, the first of them on winding or tasting it, turned and tried to getback up the channel where, however, they met others following, andthere ensued a tremendous confusion. They rose to the surface, blowing, snorting, bellowing and scrambling over each other in the water, whilecontinually more and more arrived behind them, till there was a perfectpandemonium in that narrow place. 

All our guns opened fire wildly upon the mass; it was like a battleand through the smoke I caught sight of the riverside natives who wereacting as beaters, advancing far away, fantastically dressed, screamingwith excitement and waving spears, or sometimes torches of flamingreeds. Most of these were scrambling along the banks, but some ofthe bolder spirits advanced over the lagoon in canoes, driving thehippopotami towards the mouth of the channel by which alone they couldescape into the great swamps below and so on to the river. In all myhunting experience I do not think I ever saw a more remarkable scene. Still, in a way, to me it was unpleasant, for I flatter myself that I ama sportsman and a battle of this sort is not sport as I understand theterm. 

At length it came to this; the channel for quite a long way wasliterally full of hippopotami--I should think there must have been ahundred of them or more of all sorts and sizes, from great bulls down tolittle calves. Some of these were killed, not many, for the shooting ofour gallant company was execrable and almost at hazard. Also for everysea-cow that died, of which number I think that Captain Robertson andmyself accounted for most--many were only wounded. 

Still, the unhappy beasts, crazed with noise and fire and blood, did notseem to dare to face our frail barricade, probably for the reason thatI have given. For a while they remained massed together in the water, orunder it, making a most horrible noise. Then of a sudden they seemed totake a resolution. A few of them broke back towards the burning reeds, the screaming beaters and the advancing canoes. One of these, indeed, a wounded bull, charged a canoe, crushed it in its huge jaws and killedthe rower, how exactly I do not know, for his body was never found. Themajority of them, however, took another counsel, for emerging from thewater on either side, they began to scramble towards us along the steepbanks, or even to climb up them with surprising agility. It was at thispoint in the proceedings that I congratulated myself earnestly uponthe solid character of the water-worn rock which I had selected as ashelter. 

Behind this rock together with my gun-bearer and Umslopogaas, who, ashe did not shoot, had elected to be my companion, I crouched and bangedaway at the unwieldy creatures as they advanced. But fire fast as Imight with two rifles, I could not stop the half of them--they weredrawing unpleasantly near. I glanced at Umslopogaas and even thenwas amused to see that probably for the first time in his life thatredoubtable warrior was in a genuine fright. 

"This is madness, Macumazahn, " he shouted above the din. "Are we to stophere and be stamped flat by a horde of water-pigs?"

"It seems so, " I answered, "unless you prefer to be stamped flatoutside--or eaten, " I added, pointing to a great crocodile that had alsoemerged from the channel and was coming along towards us with open jaws. 

"By the Axe!" shouted Umslopogaas again, "I--a warrior--will not diethus, trodden on like a slug by an ox. "

Now I have mentioned a tree which I climbed. In his extremityUmslopogaas rushed for that tree and went up it like a lamplighter, justas the crocodile wriggled past its trunk, snapping at his retreatinglegs. 

After this I took no more note of him, partly because of the advancingsea-cows, and more for the reason that one of the village natives postedabove me, firing wildly, put a large round bullet through the sleeveof my coat. Indeed, had it not been for the wall which I built thatprotected us, I am certain that both my bearer and I would have beenkilled, for afterwards I found it splashed over with lead from bulletswhich had struck the stones. 

Well, thanks to the strength of my rock and to the wall, or as Hans saidafterwards, to Zikali's Great Medicine, we escaped unhurt. The rush wentby me; indeed, I killed one sea-cow so close that the powder from therifle actually burned its hide. But it did go by, leaving us untouched. All, however, were not so fortunate, since of the village natives twowere trampled to death, while a third had his leg broken. 

Also, and this was really amusing--a bewildered bull charging at fullspeed, crashed into the trunk of Umslopogaas' tree, and as it was notvery thick, snapped it in two. Down came the top in which the dignifiedchief was ensconced like a bird in a nest, though at that moment therewas precious little dignity about him. However, except for scratches hewas not hurt, as the hippopotamus had other business in urgent need ofattention and did not stop to settle with him. 

"Such are the things which happen to a man who mixes himself up withmatters of which he knows nothing, " said Umslopogaas sententiously tome afterwards. But all the same he could never bear any allusion to thistree-climbing episode in his martial career, which, as it happened, hadtaken place in full view of his retainers, among whom it remained thegreatest of jokes. Indeed, he wanted to kill a man, the wag of theparty, who gave him a slang name which, being translated, means"_He-who-is-so-brave-that-he-dares-to-ride-a-water-horse-up-a-tree. _"

It was all over at last, for which I thanked Providence devoutly. A goodmany of the sea-cows were dead, I think twenty-one was out exact bag, but the majority of them had escaped in one way or another, many as Ifear, wounded. I imagine that at the last the bulk of the herd overcameits fears and swimming through our screen, passed away down the channel. At any rate they were gone, and having ascertained that there wasnothing to be done for the man who had been trampled on my side of thechannel, I crossed it in the canoe with the object of returning quietlyto our camp to rest. 

But as yet there was to be no quiet for me, for there I found CaptainRobertson, who I think had been refreshing himself out of a bottle andwas in a great state of excitement about a native who had been killednear him who was a favourite of his, and another whose leg was broken. He declared vehemently that the hippopotamus which had done this hadbeen wounded and rushed into some bushes a few hundred yards away, andthat he meant to take vengeance upon it. Indeed, he was just setting offto do so. 

Seeing his agitated state I thought it wisest to follow him. Whathappened need not be set out in detail. It is sufficient to say thathe found that hippopotamus and blazed both barrels at it in the bushes, hitting it, but not seriously. Out lumbered the creature with its mouthopen, wishing to escape. Robertson turned to fly as he was in its path, but from one cause or another, tripped and fell down. Certainly he wouldhave been crushed beneath its huge feet had I not stepped in front ofhim and sent two solid eight-bore bullets down that yawning throat, killing it dead within three feet of where Robertson was trying to rise, and I may add, of myself. 

This narrow escape sobered him, and I am bound to say that his gratitudewas profuse. 

"You are a brave man, " he said, "and had it not been for you by now Ishould be wherever bad people go. I'll not forget it, Mr. Quatermain, and if ever you want anything that John Robertson can give, why, it'syours. "

"Very well, " I answered, being seized by an inspiration, "I do wantsomething that you can give easily enough. "

"Give it a name and it's yours, half my place, if you like. "

"I want, " I went on as I slipped new cartridges into the rifle, "I wantyou to promise to give up drink for your daughter's sake. That's whatnearly did for you just now, you know. "

"Man, you ask a hard thing, " he said slowly. "But by God I'll try forher sake and for yours too. "

Then I went to help to set the leg of the injured man, which was all therest I got that morning. 

CHAPTER VII

THE OATH

We spent three more days at that place. First it was necessary to allowtime to elapse before the gases which generated in their great bodiescaused those of the sea-cows which had been killed in the water, tofloat. Then they must be skinned and their thick hides cut into stripsand pieces to be traded for _sjamboks_ or to make small native shieldsfor which some of the East Coast tribes will pay heavily. 

All this took a long while, during which I amused, or disgusted myselfin watching those river natives devouring the flesh of the beasts. The lean, what there was of it, they dried and smoked into a kind of"biltong, " but a great deal of the fat they ate at once. I had thecuriosity to weigh a lump which was given to one thin, hungry-lookingfellow. It scaled quite twenty pounds. Within four hours he had eaten itto the last ounce and lay there, a distended and torpid log. What wouldnot we white people give for such a digestion!

At last all was over and we started homewards, the man with a broken legbeing carried in a kind of litter. On the edge of the bush-veld we foundthe waggon quite safe, also one of Captain Robertson's that had followedus from Strathmuir in order to carry the expected load of hippopotamus'hides and ivory. I asked my _voorlooper_ if anything had happened duringour absence. He answered nothing, but on the previous evening afterdark, he had seen a glow in the direction of Strathmuir which lay onsomewhat lower ground about twenty miles away, as though numerous fireshad been lighted there. It struck him so much, he added, that heclimbed a tree to observe it better. He did not think, however, that anybuilding had been burned there, as the glow was not strong enough forthat. 

I suggested that it was caused by some grass fire or reed-burning, towhich he replied indifferently that he did not think so as the line ofthe glow was not sufficiently continuous. 

There the matter ended, though I confess that the story made me anxious, for what exact reason I could not say. Umslopogaas also, who hadlistened to it, for our talk was in Zulu, looked grave, but made noremark. But as since his tree-climbing experience he had been singularlysilent, of this I thought little. 

We had trekked at a time which we calculated would bring us toStrathmuir about an hour before sundown, allowing for a short halt halfway. As my oxen were got in more quickly than those of the other waggonafter this outspan, I was the first away, followed at a little distanceby Umslopogaas, who preferred to walk with his Zulus. The truth was thatI could not get that story about the glow of fires out of my mind andwas anxious to push on, which had caused me to hurry up the inspanning. 

Perhaps we had covered a couple of miles of the ten or twelve whichstill lay between us and Strathmuir, when far off on the crest of oneof the waves of the veld which much resembled those of the swelling seafrozen while in motion, I saw a small figure approaching us at a rapidtrot. Somehow that figure suggested Hans to my mind, so much so that Ifetched my glasses to examine it more closely. A short scrutiny throughthem convinced me that Hans it was, Hans and no other, advancing at agreat pace. 

Filled with uneasiness, I ordered the driver to flog up the oxen, with the result that in a little over five minutes we met. Halting thewaggon, I leapt from the waggon-box and calling to Umslopogaas who hadkept up with us at a slow, swinging trot, went to Hans, who, when he sawme, stood still at a little distance, swinging his apology for a hat inhis hand, as was his fashion when ashamed or perplexed. 

"What is the matter, Hans?" I asked when we were within speakingdistance. 

"Oh! Baas, everything, " he answered, and I noticed that he kept his eyesfixed upon the ground and that his lips twitched. 

"Speak, you fool, and in Zulu, " I said, for by now Umslopogaas hadjoined me. 

"Baas, " he answered in that tongue, "a terrible thing has come aboutat the farm of Red-Beard yonder. Yesterday afternoon at the time whenpeople are in the habit of sleeping there till the sun grows less hot, a body of great men with fierce faces who carried big spears--perhapsthere were fifty of them, Baas--crept up to the place through the longgrass and growing crops, and attacked it. "

"Did you see them come?" I asked. 

"No, Baas. I was watching at a little distance as you bade me do and thesun being hot, I shut my eyes to keep out the glare of it, so that I didnot see them until they had passed me and heard the noise. "

"You mean that you were asleep or drunk, Hans, but go on. "

"Baas, I do not know, " he answered shamefacedly, "but after that Iclimbed a tall tree with a kind of bush at the top of it" (I ascertainedafterwards that this was a sort of leafy-crowned palm), "and from it Isaw everything without being seen. "

"What did you see, Hans?" I asked him. 

"I saw the big men run up and make a kind of circle round the village. Then they shouted, and the people in the village came out to see whatwas the matter. Thomaso and some of the men caught sight of them firstand ran away fast into the hillside at the back where the trees grow, before the circle was complete. Then the women and the children came outand the big men killed them with their spears--all, all!"

"Good God!" I exclaimed. "And what happened at the house and to thelady?"

"Baas, some of the men had surrounded that also and when she heard thenoise the lady Sad-Eyes came out on to the stoep and with her camethe two Zulus of the Axe who had been left sick but were now quiterecovered. A number of the big men ran as though to take her, but thetwo Zulus made a great fight in front of the little steps to the stoep, having their backs protected by the stoep, and killed six of them beforethey themselves were killed. Also Sad-Eyes shot one with a pistol shecarried, and wounded another so that the spear fell out of his hand. 

"Then the rest fell on her and tied her up, setting her in a chair onthe stoep where two remained to watch her. They did her no hurt, Baas;indeed, they seemed to treat her as gently as they could. Also theywent into the house and there they caught that tall fat yellow girl whoalways smiles and is called Janee, she who waits upon the Lady Sad-Eyes, and brought her out to her. I think they told her, Baas, that she mustlook after her mistress and that if she tried to run away she would bekilled, for afterwards I saw Janee bring her food and other things. "

"And then, Hans?"

"Then, Baas, most of the great men rested a while, though some of themwent through the store gathering such things as they liked, blankets, knives and iron cooking-pots, but they set fire to nothing, nor did theytry to catch the cattle. Also they took dry wood from the pile and litbig fires, eight or nine of them, and when the sun set they began tofeast. "

"What did they feast on, Hans, if they took no cattle?" I asked with ashiver, for I was afraid of I knew not what. 

"Baas, " answered Hans, turning his head away and looking at the ground, "they feasted on the children whom they had killed, also on some of theyoung women. These tall soldiers are men-eaters, Baas. "

At this horrible intelligence I turned faint and felt as though I wasgoing to fall, but recovering myself, signed to him to go on with hisstory. 

"They feasted quite nicely, Baas, " he continued, "making no noise. Thensome of them slept while others watched, and that went on all night. Assoon as it was dark, but before the moon rose, I slid down the tree andcrept round to the back of the house without being seen or heard, asI can, Baas. I got into the house by the back door and crawled tothe window of the sitting-room. It was open and peeping through I sawSad-Eyes still tied to the seat on the stoep not more than a pace away, while the girl Janee crouched on the floor at her feet--I think she wasasleep or fainting. 

"I made a little noise, like a night-adder hissing, and kept on makingit, till at last Sad-Eyes turned her head. Then I spoke in a very lowwhisper, for fear lest I should wake the two guards who were dozing oneither side of her wrapped in their blankets, saying, 'It is I, Hans, come to help you. ' 'You cannot, ' she answered, also speaking very low. 'Get to your master and tell him and my father to follow. These men arecalled Amahagger and live far away across the river. They are going totake me to their home, as I understand, to rule them, because they wanta white woman to be a queen over them who have always been ruled by acertain white queen, against whom they have rebelled. I do not thinkthey mean to do me any harm, unless perhaps they want to marry meto their chief, but of this I am not sure from their talk which Iunderstand badly. Now go, before they catch you. '

"'I think you might get away, ' I whispered back. 'I will cut your bonds. When you are free, slip through the window and I will guide you. '

"'Very well, try it, ' she said. 

"So I drew my knife and stretched out my arm. But then, Baas, I showedmyself a fool--if the Great Medicine had still been there I might haveknown better. I forgot the starlight which shone upon the blade of theknife. That girl Janee came out of her sleep or swoon, lifted her headand saw the knife. She screamed once, then at a word from her mistresswas silent. But it was enough, for it woke up the guards who glaredabout them and threatened Janee with their great spears, also they wentto sleep no more, but began to talk together, though what they said Icould not hear, for I was hiding on the floor of the room. After this, knowing that I could do no good and might do harm and get myself killed, I crept out of the house as I had crept in, and crawled back to mytree. "

"Why did you not come to me?" I asked. 

"Because I still hoped I might be able to help Sad-Eyes, Baas. Also Iwanted to see what happened, and I knew that I could not bring you herein time to be any good. Yet it is true I thought of coming though I didnot know the road. "

"Perhaps you were right. "

"At the first dawn, " continued Hans, "the great men who are calledAmahagger rose and ate what was left over from the night before. Thenthey gathered themselves together and went to the house. Here they founda large chair, that seated with _rimpis_ in which the Baas Red-Beardsits, and lashed two poles to the chair. Beneath the chair they tiedthe garments and other things of the Lady Sad-Eyes which they madeJanee gather as Sad-Eyes directed her. This done, very gently they satSad-Eyes herself in the chair, bowing while they made her fast. Afterthis eight of them set the poles upon their shoulders, and they all wentaway at a trot, heading for the bush-veld, driving with them a herd ofgoats which they had stolen from the farm, and making Janee run by thechair. I saw everything, Baas, for they passed just beneath my tree. Then I came to seek you, following the outward spoor of the waggonswhich I could not have done well at night. That is all, Baas. "

"Hans, " I said, "you have been drinking and because of it the ladySad-Eyes is taken a prisoner by cannibals; for had you been awake andwatching, you might have seen them coming and saved her and the rest. Still, afterwards you did well, and for the rest you must answer toHeaven. "

"I must tell your reverend father, the Predikant, Baas, that the whitemaster, Red-Beard, gave me the liquor and it is rude not to do as agreat white master does, and drink it up. I am sure he will understand, Baas, " said Hans abjectly. 

I thought to myself that it was true and that the spear which Robertsoncast had fallen upon his own head, as the Zulus say, but I made noanswer, lacking time for argument. 

"Did you say, " asked Umslopogaas, speaking for the first time, "that myservants killed only six of these men-eaters?"

Hans nodded and answered, "Yes, six. I counted the bodies. "

"It was ill done, they should have killed six each, " said Umslopogaasmoodily. "Well, they have left the more for us to finish, " and hefingered the great axe. 

Just then Captain Robertson arrived in his waggon, calling out anxiouslyto know what was the matter, for some premonition of evil seemed to havestruck him. My heart sank at the sight of him, for how was I to tellsuch a story to the father of the murdered children and of the abductedgirl?

In the end I felt that I could not. Yes, I turned coward and saying thatI must fetch something out of the waggon, bolted into it, bidding Hansgo forward and repeat his tale. He obeyed unwillingly enough and lookingout between the curtains of the waggon tent I saw all that happened, though I could not hear the words that passed. 

Robertson had halted the oxen and jumping from the waggon-box strodeforward and met Hans, who began to speak with him, twitching his hat inhis hands. Gradually as the tale progressed, I saw the Captain's facefreeze into a mask of horror. Then he began to argue and deny, then toweep--oh! it was a terrible sight to see that great man weeping overthose whom he had lost, and in such a fashion. 

After this a kind of blind rage seized him and I thought he was goingto kill Hans, who was of the same opinion, for he ran away. Next hestaggered about, shaking his fists, cursing and shouting, till presentlyhe fell of a heap and lay face downwards, beating his head against theground and groaning. 

Now I went to him and sat up. 

"That's a pretty story, Quatermain, which this little yellow monkey hasbeen gibbering at me. Man, do you understand what he says? He says thatall those half-blood children of mine are dead, murdered by savages fromover the Zambesi, yes, and eaten, too, with their mothers. Do you takethe point? Eaten like lambs. Those fires your man saw last nightwere the fires on which they were cooked, my little _so-and-so_ and_so-and-so_, " and he mentioned half a dozen different names. "Yes, cooked, Quatermain. And that isn't all of it, they have taken Inez too. They didn't eat her, but they have dragged her off a captive for Godknows what reason. I couldn't understand. The whole ship's crew is gone, except the captain absent on leave and the first officer, Thomaso, whodeserted with some Lascar stokers, and left the women and children totheir fate. My God, I'm going mad. I'm going mad! If you have any mercyin you, give me something to drink. "

"All right, " I said, "I will. Sit here and wait a minute. "

Then I went to the waggon and poured out a stiff tot of spirits intowhich I put an amazing doze of bromide from a little medicine chest Ialways carry with me, and thirty drops of chlorodyne on the top of it. All this compound I mixed up with a little water and took it to him in atin cup so that he could not see the colour. 

He drank it at a gulp and throwing the pannikin aside, sat down on theveld, groaning while the company watched him at a respectful distance, for Hans had joined the others and his tale had spread like fire indrought-parched grass. 

In a few minutes the drugs began to take effect upon Robertson'stortured nerves, for he rose and said quietly, "What now?"

"Vengeance, or rather justice, " I answered. 

"Yes, " he exclaimed, "vengeance. I swear that I will be avenged, ordie--or both. "

Again I saw my opportunity and said, "You must swear more than that, Robertson. Only sober men can accomplish great things, for drinkdestroys the judgment. If you wish to be avenged for the dead and torescue the living, you must be sober, or I for one will not help you. "

"Will you help me if I do, to the end, good or ill, Quatermain?" headded. 

I nodded. 

"That's as much as another's oath, " he muttered. "Still, I will put mythought in words. I swear by God, by my mother--like these natives--andby my daughter born in honest marriage, that I will never touch anotherdrop of strong drink, until I have avenged those poor women and theirlittle children, and rescued Inez from their murderers. If I do you mayput a bullet through me. "

"That's all right, " I said in an offhand fashion, though inwardly Iglowed with pride at the success of my great idea, for at the time Ithought it great, and went on, "Now let us get to business. The first thing to do is to trek toStrathmuir and make preparations; the next to start upon the trail. Cometo sit on the waggon with me and tell me what guns and ammunition youhave got, for according to Hans those savages don't seem to have touchedanything, except a few blankets and a herd of goats. "

He did as I asked, telling me all he could remember. Then he said, "It is a strange thing, but now I recall that about two years ago agreat savage with a high nose, who talked a sort of Arabic which, likeInez, I understand, having lived on the coast, turned up one day andsaid he wanted to trade. I asked him what in, and he answered thathe would like to buy some children. I told him that I was not aslave-dealer. Then he looked at Inez, who was moving about, and saidthat he would like to buy her to be a wife for his Chief, and offeredsome fabulous sum in ivory and in gold, which he said should be paidbefore she was taken away. I snatched his big spear from his hand, brokeit over his head and gave him the best hiding with its shaft that he hadever heard of. Then I kicked him off the place. He limped away but whenhe was out of reach, turned and called out that one day he would comeagain with others and take her, meaning Inez, without leaving the pricein ivory and gold. I ran for my gun, but when I got back he had gone andI never thought of the matter again from that day to this. "

"Well, he kept his promise, " I said, but Robertson made no answer, forby this time that thundering dose of bromide and laudanum had takeneffect on him and he had fallen asleep, of which I was glad, for Ithought that this sleep would save his sanity, as I believe it did for awhile. 

We reached Strathmuir towards sunset, too late to think of attemptingthe pursuit that day. Indeed, during our trek, I had thought the matterout carefully and come to the conclusion that to try to do so would beuseless. We must rest and make preparations; also there was no hope ofour overtaking these brutes who already had a clear twelve hours' start, by a sudden spurt. They must be run down patiently by following theirspoor, if indeed they could be run down at all before they vanished intothe vast recesses of unknown Africa. The most we could do this night wasto get ready. 

Captain Robertson was still sleeping when we passed the village and ofthis I was heartily glad, since the remains of a cannibal feast are notpleasant to behold, especially when they are----! Indeed, of these Idetermined to be rid at once, so slipping off the waggon with Hans andsome of the farm boys, for none of the Zulus would defile themselves bytouching such human remnants--I made up two of the smouldering fires, the light of which the _voorlooper_ had seen upon the sky, and on tothem cast, or caused to be cast, those poor fragments. Also I told thefarm natives to dig a big grave and in it to place the other bodies andgenerally to remove the traces of murder. 

Then I went on to the house, and not too soon. Seeing the waggons arriveand having made sure that the Amahagger were gone, Thomaso and the othercowards emerged from their hiding-places and returned. Unfortunately forthe former the first person he met was Umslopogaas, who began to revilethe fat half-breed in no measured terms, calling him dog, coward, andother opprobrious names, such as deserter of women and children, and soforth--all of which someone translated. 

Thomaso, an insolent person, tried to swagger the matter out, sayingthat he had gone to get assistance. Infuriated at this lie, Umslopogaasleapt upon him with a roar and though he was a strong man, dealt withhim as a lion does with a buck. Lifting him from his feet, he hurled himto the ground, then as he strove to rise and run, caught him again andas it seemed to me, was about to break his back across his knee. Just atthis juncture I arrived. 

"Let the man go, " I shouted to him. "Is there not enough death herealready?"

"Yes, " answered Umslopogaas, "I think there is. Best that this jackalshould live to eat his own shame, " and he cast Thomaso to the ground, where he lay groaning. 

Robertson, who was still asleep in the waggon, woke up at the noise, anddescended from it, looking dazed. I got him to the house and in doing somade my way past, or rather between the bodies of the two Zulus and ofthe six men whom they had killed, also of him whom Inez had shot. ThoseZulus had made a splendid fight for they were covered with wounds, allof them in front, as I found upon examination. 

Having made Robertson lie down upon his bed, I took a good look at theslain Amahagger. They were magnificent men, all of them; tall, spareand shapely with very clear-cut features and rather frizzled hair. From these characteristics, as well as the lightness of their colour, I concluded that they were of a Semitic or Arab type, and that theadmixture of their blood with that of the Bantus was but slight, ifindeed there were any at all. Their spears, of which one had been cutthrough by a blow of a Zulu's axe, were long and broad, not unlike tothose used by the Masai, but of finer workmanship. 

By this time the sun was setting and thoroughly tired by all that I hadgone through, I went into the house to get something to eat, having toldHans to find food and prepare a meal. As I sat down Robertson joined meand I made him also eat. His first impulse was to go to the cupboard andfetch the spirit bottle; indeed, he rose to do so. 

"Hans is making coffee, " I said warningly. 

"Thank you, " he answered, "I forgot. Force of habit, you know. "

Here I may state that never from that moment did I see him touch anotherdrop of liquor, not even when I drank my modest tot in front of him. His triumph over temptation was splendid and complete, especially as theabsence of his accustomed potations made him ill for some time and ofcourse depressed his spirits, with painful results that were apparent indue course. 

In fact, the man became totally changed. He grew gloomy but resourceful, also full of patience. Only one idea obsessed him--to rescue hisdaughter and avenge the murder of his people; indeed, except his sins, he thought of and found interest in nothing else. Moreover, his ironconstitution cast off all the effects of his past debauchery and hegrew so strong that although I was pretty tough in those days, he couldout-tire me. 

To return; I engaged him in conversation and with his help made a listof what we should require on our vendetta journey, all of which servedto occupy his mind. Then I sent him to bed, saying that I would call himbefore dawn, having first put a little more bromide into his third cupof coffee. After this I turned in and notwithstanding the sight of thoseremains of the cannibal feast and the knowledge of the dead men who layoutside my window, I slept like a top. 

Indeed, it was the Captain who awakened me, not I the Captain, sayingthat daylight was on the break and we had better be stirring. So we wentdown to the Store, where I was thankful to find that everything had beentidied up in accordance with my directions. 

On our way Robertson asked me what had become of the remains, whereon Ipointed to the smouldering ashes of one of the great fires. He went toit and kneeling down, said a prayer in broad Scotch, doubtless one thathe had learned at his mother's knee. Then he took some of the ashes fromthe edge of the pyre--for such it was--and threw them into the glowingembers where, as he knew, lay all that was left of those who had sprungfrom him. Also he tossed others of them into the air, though what hemeant by this I did not understand and never asked. Probably it wassome rite indicative of expiation or of revenge, or both, which he hadlearned from the savages among whom he had lived so long. 

After this we went into the Store and with the help of some ofthe natives, or half-breeds, who had accompanied us on the sea-cowexpedition, selected all the goods we wanted, which we sent to thehouse. 

As we returned thither I saw Umslopogaas and his men engaged, with theusual Zulu ceremonies, in burying their two companions in a hole theyhad made in the hillside. I noted, however, that they did not intertheir war-axes or their throwing-spears with them as usual, probablybecause they thought that these might be needed. In place of them theyput with the dead little models roughly shaped of bits of wood, whichmodels they "killed" by first breaking them across. 

I lingered to watch the funeral and heard Goroko, the witch-doctor, makea little speech. 

"O Father and Chief of the Axe, " he said, addressing Umslopogaas, whostood silent leaning on his weapon and watching all, a portentous figurein the morning mist, "O Father, O Son of the Heavens" (this was anallusion to the royal blood of Umslopogaas of which the secret was wellknown, although it would never have been spoken aloud in Zululand), "OSlaughterer (Bulalio), O Woodpecker who picks at the hearts of men; OKing-Slayer; O Conqueror of the Halakazi; O Victor in a hundred fights;O Gatherer of the Lily-bloom that faded in the hand; O Wolf-man, Captainof the Wolves that ravened; O Slayer of Faku; O Great One whom itpleases to seem small, because he must follow his blood to the endappointed----"

This was the opening of the speech, the "_bonga_-ing" or giving ofTitles of Praise to the person addressed, of which I have quoted but asample, for there were many more of them that I have forgotten. Then thespeaker went on, "It was told to me, though of it I remember nothing, that when my Spiritwas in me a while ago I prophesied that this place would flow withblood, and lo! the blood has flowed, and with it that of these ourbrothers, " and he gave the names of the two dead Zulus, also those oftheir forefathers for several generations. 

"It seems, Father, that they died well, as you would have wished themto die, and as doubtless they desired to die themselves, leaving a talebehind them, though it is true that they might have died better, killingmore of the men-eaters, as it is certain they would have done, had theynot been sick inside. They are finished; they have gone beyond to awaitus in the Under-world among the ghosts. Their story is told and soon totheir children they will be but names whispered in honour after the sunhas set. Enough of them who have showed us how to die as our fathers didbefore them. "

Goroko paused a while, then added with a waving of his hands, "My Spirit comes to me again and I know that these our brothers shallnot pass unavenged. Chief of the Axe, great glory awaits the Axe, for itshall feed full. I have spoken. "

"Good words!" grunted Umslopogaas. Then he saluted the dead by raising_Inkosikaas_ and came to me to consult about our journey. 

CHAPTER VIII

PURSUIT

After all we did not get away much before noon, because first there wasa great deal to be done. To begin with the loads had to be arranged. These consisted largely of ammunition, everything else being cut down toan irreducible minimum. To carry them we took two donkeys there wereon the place, also half a dozen pack oxen, all of which animals weresupposed to be "salted"--that is, to have suffered and recovered fromevery kind of sickness, including the bite of the deadly tsetse fly. I suspected, it is true, that they would not be proof against furtherattacks, still, I hoped that they would last for some time, as indeedproved to be the case. 

In the event of the beasts failing us, we took also ten of the bestof those Strathmuir men who had accompanied us on the sea-cow trip, toserve as bearers when it became necessary. It cannot be said that thesesnuff-and-butter fellows--for most, if not all of them had some dash ofwhite blood in their veins--were exactly willing volunteers. Indeed, ifa choice had been left to them, they would, I think, have declined thisadventure. 

But there was no choice. Their master, Robertson, ordered them to comeand after a glance at the Zulus they concluded that the command was onewhich would be enforced and that if they stopped behind, it would notbe as living men. Also some of them had lost wives or children in theslaughter, which, if they were not very brave, filled them with a desirefor revenge. Lastly, they could all shoot after a fashion and had goodrifles; moreover if I may say so, I think that they put confidence in myleadership. So they made the best of a bad business and got themselvesready. 

Then arrangements must be made about the carrying on of the farm andstore during our absence. These, together with my waggon and oxen, wereput in the charge of Thomaso, since there was no one else who could betrusted at all--a very battered and crestfallen Thomaso, by the way. When he heard of it he was much relieved, since I think he feared lesthe also should be expected to take part in the hunt of the Amahaggerman-eaters. Also it may have occurred to him that in all probabilitynone of us would ever come back at all, in which case by a process ofnatural devolution, he might find himself the owner of the business andmuch valuable property. However, he swore by sundry saints--for Thomasowas nominally a Catholic--that he would look after everything as thoughit were his own, as no doubt he hoped it might become. 

"Hearken, fat pig, " said Umslopogaas, Hans obligingly translating sothat there might be no mistake, "if I come back, and come back I shallwho travel with the Great Medicine--and find even one of the cattle ofthe white lord, Macumazahn, Watcher-by-Night, missing, or one articlestolen from his waggon, or the fields of your master not cultivated orhis goods wasted, I swear by the Axe that I will hew you into pieceswith the axe; yes, if to do it I have to hunt you from where the sunrises to where it sets and down the length of the night between. Doyou understand, fat pig, deserter of women and children, who to saveyourself could run faster than a buck?"

Thomaso replied that he understood very clearly indeed, and that, Heavenhelping him, all should be kept safe and sound. Still, I was sure thatin his manly heart he was promising great gifts to the saints if theywould so arrange matters that Umslopogaas and his axe were never seen atStrathmuir again, and reflecting that after all the Amahagger had theiruses. However, as I did not trust him in the least, much against theirwill, I left my driver and _voorlooper_ to guard my belongings. 

At last we did get off, pursued by the fervent blessings of Thomaso andthe prayers of the others that we would avenge their murdered relatives. We were a curious and motley procession. First went Hans, because atfollowing a spoor he was, I believe, almost unequalled in Africa, andwith him, Umslopogaas, and three of his Zulus to guard against surprise. These were followed by Captain Robertson, who seemed to prefer to walkalone and whom I thought it best to leave undisturbed. Then I cameand after me straggled the Strathmuir boys with the pack animals, thecavalcade being closed by the remaining Zulus under the command ofGoroko. These walked last in case any of the mixed-bloods should attemptto desert, as we thought it quite probable that they would. 

Less than an hour's tramp brought us to the bush-veld where I fearedthat our troubles might begin, since if the Amahagger were cunning, they would take advantage of it to confuse or hide their spoor. As itchanced, however, they had done nothing of the sort and a child couldhave followed their march. Just before nightfall we came to their firsthalting-place where they had made a fire and eaten one of the herd offarm goats which they had driven away with them, although they left thecattle, I suppose, because goats are docile and travel well. 

Hans showed us everything that had happened; where the chair in whichInez was carried was set down, where she and Janee had been allowed towalk that she might stretch her stiff limbs, the dregs of some coffeethat evidently Janee had made in a saucepan, and so forth. 

He even told us the exact number of the Amahagger, which he saidtotalled forty-one, including the man whom Inez had wounded. His spoorhe distinguished from that of the others both by an occasional drop ofblood and because he walked lightly on his right foot, doubtless forthe reason that he wished to avoid jarring his wound, which was on thatside. 

At this spot we were obliged to stay till daybreak, since it wasimpossible to follow the spoor by night, a circumstance that gave thecannibals a great advantage over us. 

The next two days were repetitions of the first, but on the fourth wepassed out of the bush-veld into the swamp country that bordered thegreat river. Here our task was still easy since the Amahagger hadfollowed one of the paths made by the river-dwellers who had theirhabitations on mounds, though whether these were natural or artificial Iam not sure, and sometimes on floating islands. 

On our second day in the reeds we came upon a sad sight. To our leftstood one of these mound villages, if a village it could be called, since it consisted only of four or five huts inhabited perhaps by twentypeople. We went up to it to obtain information and stumbled across thebody of an old man lying in the pathway. A few yards further on wefound the ashes of a big fire and by it such remains as we had seen atStrathmuir. Here there had been another cannibal feast. The miserablehuts were empty, but as at Strathmuir, had not been burnt. 

We were going away when the acute ears of Hans caught the sound ofgroans. We searched about and in a clump of reeds near the foot of themound, found an old woman with a great spear wound just above herskinny thigh piercing deep into the vitals, but of a nature which isnot immediately mortal. One of Robertson's people who understood thelanguage of these swamp-dwellers well, spoke to her. She told him thatshe wanted water. It was brought and she drank copiously. Then in answerto his questions she began to talk. 

She said that the Amahagger had attacked the village and killed all whocould not escape. They had eaten a young woman and three children. Shehad been wounded by a spear and fled away into the place where we foundher, where none of them took the trouble to follow her as she "was notworth eating. "

By my direction the man asked her whether she knew anything of theseAmahagger. She replied that her grandfathers had, though she had heardnothing of them since she was a child, which must have been seventyyears before. They were a fierce people who lived far up north acrossthe Great River, the remnants of a race that had once "ruled the world. "

Her grandfathers used to say that they were not always cannibals, buthad become so long before because of a lack of food and now had acquiredthe taste. It was for this purpose that they still raided to getother people to eat, since their ruler would not allow them to eat oneanother. The flesh of cattle they did not care for, although they hadplenty of them, but sometimes they ate goats and pigs because they saidthey tasted like man. According to her grandfathers they were a veryevil people and full of magic. 

All of this the old woman told us quite briskly after she had drunk thewater, I think because her wound had mortified and she felt no pain. Herinformation, however, as is common with the aged, dealt entirely withthe far past; of the history of the Amahagger since the days of herforebears she knew nothing, nor had she seen anything of Inez. All shecould tell us was that some of them had attacked her village at dawn andthat when she ran out of the hut she was speared. 

While Robertson and I were wondering what we should do with the poor oldcreature whom it seemed cruel to leave here to perish, she cleared upthe question by suddenly expiring before our eyes. Uttering the name ofsomeone with whom, doubtless, she had been familiar in her youth, threeor four times over, she just sank down and seemed to go to sleep and onexamination we found that she was dead. So we left her and went on. 

Next day we came to the edge of the Great River, here a sheet of placidrunning water about a mile across, for at this time of the year it waslow. Perceiving quite a big village on our left, we went to it andmade enquiries, to find that it had not been attacked by the cannibals, probably because it was too powerful, but that three nights before someof their canoes had been stolen, in which no doubt these had crossed theriver. 

As the people of this village had traded with Robertson at Strathmuir, we had no difficulty in obtaining other canoes from them in which tocross the Zambesi in return for one of our oxen that I could see wasalready sickening from tsetse bite. These canoes were large enough totake the donkeys that were patient creatures and stood still, but thecattle we could not get into them for fear of an upset. So we killedthe two driven beasts that were left to us and took them with us asdead meat for food, while the three remaining pack oxen we tried to swimacross, dragging them after the canoes with hide _reims_ round theirhorns. As a result two were drowned, but one, a bold-hearted andenterprising animal, gained the other bank. 

Here again we struck a sea of reeds in which, after casting about, Hansonce more found the spoor of the Amahagger. That it was theirs beyonddoubt was proved by the circumstance that on a thorny kind of weed wefound a fragment of a cotton dress which, because of the pattern stampedon it, we all recognised as one that Inez had been wearing. At first Ithought that this had been torn off by the thorns, but on examinationwe became certain that it had been placed there purposely, probablyby Janee, to give us a clue. This conclusion was confirmed when atsubsequent periods of the hunt we found other fragments of the samegarment. 

Now it would be useless for me to set out the details of this prolongedand arduous chase which in all endured for something over three weeks. Again and again we lost the trail and were only able to recover it bylong and elaborate search, which occupied much time. Then, after weescaped from the reeds and swamps, we found ourselves upon stonyuplands where the spoor was almost impossible to follow, indeed, we onlyrediscovered it by stumbling across the dead body of that cannibal whomInez had wounded. Evidently he had perished from his hurt, which I couldsee had mortified. From the state of his remains we gathered that theraiders must be about two days' march ahead of us. 

Striking their spoor again on softer ground where the impress of theirfeet remained--at any rate to the cunning sight of Hans--we followedthem down across great valleys wherein trees grew sparsely, whichvalleys were separated from each other by ridges of high and barrenland. On these belts of rocky soil our difficulties were great, but heretwice we were put on the right track by more fragments torn from thedress of Inez. 

At length we lost the spoor altogether; not a sign of it was to befound. We had no idea which way to go. All about us appeared thesevalleys covered with scattered bush running this way and that, so thatwe could not tell which of them to follow or to cross. The thing seemedhopeless, for how could we expect to find a little body of men inthat immensity? Hans shook his head and even the fierce and steadfastRobertson was discouraged. 

"I fear my poor lassie is gone, " he said, and relapsed into brooding ashad become his wont. 

"Never say die! It's dogged as does it!" I replied cheerfully in thewords of Nelson, who also had learned what it meant to hunt an enemyover trackless wastes, although his were of water. 

I walked to the top of the rise where we were encamped, and sat downalone to think matters over. Our condition was somewhat parlous; allour beasts were now dead, even the second donkey, which was the last ofthem, having perished that morning, and been eaten, for food was scantysince of late we had met with little game. The Strathmuir men, who nowmust carry the loads, were almost worn out and doubtless would havedeserted, except for the fact that there was no place to which theycould go. Even the Zulus were discouraged, and said they had comeaway from home across the Great River to fight, not to run about inwildernesses and starve, though Umslopogaas made no complaint, beingbuoyed up by the promise of his soothsayer, Goroko, that battle wasahead of him in which he would win great glory. 

Hans, however, remained cheerful, for the reason, as he remarkedvacuously, that the Great Medicine was with us and that therefore, however bad things seemed to be, all in fact was well; an argument thatcarried no conviction to my soul. 

It was on a certain evening towards sunset that I went away thus alone. I looked about me, east and west and north. Everywhere appeared thesame bush-clad valleys and barren rises, miles upon miles of them. Ibethought me of the map that old Zikali had drawn in the ashes, andremembered that it showed these valleys and rises and that beyond themthere should be a great swamp, and beyond the swamp a mountain. So itseemed that we were on the right road to the home of his white Queen, if such a person existed, or at any rate we were passing over countrysimilar to that which he had pictured or imagined. 

But at this time I was not troubling my head about white queens. I wasthinking of poor Inez. That she was alive a few days before we knew fromthe fragments of her dress. But where was she now? The spoor was utterlylost on that stony ground, or if any traces of it remained a heavydeluge of rain had washed them away. Even Hans had confessed himselfbeaten. 

I stared about me helplessly, and as I did so a flying ray of lightfrom the setting sun reflected downwards from a storm-cloud, fell upon awhite patch on the crest of one of the distant land-waves. It struck methat probably limestone outcropped at this spot, as indeed proved to bethe case; also that such a patch of white would be a convenient guidefor any who were travelling across that sea of bush. Further, someinstinct within seemed to impel me to steer for it, although I had allbut made up my mind to go in a totally different direction many morepoints to the east. It was almost as though a voice were calling to meto take this path and no other. Doubtless this was an effect producedby weariness and mental overstrain. Still, there it was, very real andtangible, one that I did not attempt to combat. 

So next morning at the dawn I headed north by west, laying my course forthat white patch and for the first time breaking the straight line ofour advance. Captain Robertson, whose temper had not been betteredby prolonged and frightful anxiety, or I may add, by his unaccustomedabstinence, asked me rather roughly why I was altering the course. 

"Look here, Captain, " I answered, "if we were at sea and you didsomething of the sort, I should not put such a question to you, and ifby any chance I did, I should not expect you to answer. Well, by yourown wish I am in command here and I think that the same argument holds. "

"Yes, " he replied. "I suppose you have studied your chart, if thereis any of this God-forsaken country, and at any rate discipline isdiscipline. So steam ahead and don't mind me. "

The others accepted my decision without comment; most of them were somiserable that they did not care which way we went, also they were goodenough to repose confidence in my judgment. 

"Doubtless the Baas has reasons, " said Hans dubiously, "although thespoor, when last we saw it, headed towards the rising sun and as thecountry is all the same, I do not see why those man-eaters should havereturned. "

"Yes, " I said, "I have reasons, " although in fact I had none at all. 

Hans surveyed me with a watery eye as though waiting for me to explainthem, but I looked haughty and declined to oblige. 

"The Baas has reasons, " continued Hans, "for taking us on what I thinkto be the wrong side of that great ridge, there to hunt for the spoor ofthe men-eaters, and they are so deep down in his mind that he cannotdig them up for poor old Hans to look at. Well, the Baas wears the GreatMedicine and perhaps it is there that the reasons sit. Those Strathmuirfellows say that they can go no further and wish to die. Umslopogaashas just gone to them with his axe to tell them that he is ready to helpthem to their wish. Look, he has got there, for they are coming quickly, who after all prefer to live. "

Well, we started for my white patch of stones which no one else hadnoticed and of which I said nothing to anyone, and reached it by thefollowing evening, to find, as I expected, that it was a lime outcrop. 

By now we were in a poor way, for we had practically nothing left toeat, which did not tend to raise the spirits of the party. Also thatlime outcrop proved to be an uninteresting spot overlooking a widevalley which seemed to suggest that there were other valleys of asimilar sort beyond it, and nothing more. 

Captain Robertson sat stern-faced and despondent at a distance mutteringinto his beard, as had become a habit with him. Umslopogaas leaned uponhis axe and contemplated the heavens, also occasionally the Strathmuirmen who cowered beneath his eye. The Zulus squatted about sharing suchsnuff as remained to them in economic pinches. Goroko, the witch-doctor, engaged himself in consulting his "Spirit, " by means of bone-throwing, upon the humble subject of whether or no we should succeed in killingany game for food to-morrow, a point on which I gathered that his"Spirit" was quite uncertain. In short, the gloom was deep and universaland the sky looked as though it were going to rain. 

Hans became sarcastic. Sneaking up to me in his most aggravating way, like a dog that means to steal something and cover up the theft withsimulated affection, he pointed out one by one all the disadvantages ofour present position. He indicated _per contra_, that if _his_ advicehad been followed, his conviction was that even if we had not found theman-eaters and rescued the lady called Sad-Eyes, our state would havebeen quite different. He was sure, he added, that the valley which hehad suggested we should follow, was one full of game, inasmuch as he hadseen their spoor at its entrance. 

"Then why did you not say so?" I asked. 

Hans sucked at his empty corn-cob pipe, which was his way of indicatingthat he would like me to give him some tobacco, much as a dog groansheavily under the table when he wants a bit to eat, and answered that itwas not for him to point out things to one who knew everything, like thegreat Macumazahn, Watcher-by-Night, his honoured master. Still, the luckdid seem to have gone a bit wrong. The privations could have been put upwith (here he sucked very loudly at the empty pipe and looked at mine, which was alight), everything could have been put up with, if only therehad been a chance of coming even with those men-eaters and rescuing theLady Sad-Eyes, whose face haunted his sleep. As it was, however, hewas convinced that by following the course I had mapped out we had losttheir spoor finally and that probably they were now three days' marchaway in another direction. Still, the Baas had said that he had hisreasons, and that of course was enough for him, Hans, only if the Baaswould condescend to tell him, he would as a matter of curiosity like toknow what the reasons were. 

At that moment I confess that, much as I was attached to him, I shouldhave liked to murder Hans, who, I felt, believing that he had me "ontoast, " to use a vulgar phrase, was taking advantage of my position tomake a mock of me in his sly, Hottentot way. 

I tried to continue to look grand, but felt that the attitude didnot impress. Then I stared about me as though taking counsel with theHeavens, devoutly hoping that the Heavens would respond to my muteappeal. As a matter of fact they did. 

"There is my reason, Hans, " I said in my most icy voice, and I pointedto a faint line of smoke rising against the twilight sky on the furtherside of the intervening valley. 

"You will perceive, Hans, " I added, "that those Amahagger cannibals haveforgotten their caution and lit a fire yonder, which they have not donefor a long time. Perhaps you would like to know why this has happened. If so I will tell you. It is because for some days past I have purposelylost their spoor, which they knew we were following, and lit fires topuzzle them. Now, thinking that they have done with us, they have becomeincautious and shown us where they are. That is my reason, Hans. "

He heard and, although of course he did not believe that I had lost thespoor on purpose, stared at me till I thought his little eyes were goingto drop out of his head. But even in his admiration he contrived toconvey an insult as only a native can. 

"How wonderful is the Great Medicine of the Opener-of-Roads, that itshould have been able thus to instruct the Baas, " he said. "Withoutdoubt the Great Medicine is right and yonder those men-eaters areencamped, who might just as well as have been anywhere else within ahundred miles. "

"Drat the Great Medicine, " I replied, but beneath my breath, then addedaloud, "Be so good, Hans, as to go to Umslopogaas and to tell him thatMacumazahn, or the Great Medicine, proposes to march at once to attackthe camp of the Amahagger, and--here is some tobacco. "

"Yes, Baas, " answered Hans humbly, as he snatched the tobacco andwriggled away like a worm. 

Then I went to talk with Robertson. 

The end of it was that within an hour we were creeping across thatvalley towards the spot where I had seen the line of smoke risingagainst the twilight sky. 

Somewhere about midnight we reached the neighbourhood of this place. Hownear or how far we were from it, we could not tell since the moon wasinvisible, as of course the smoke was in the dark. Now the question was, what should we do?

Obviously there would be enormous advantages in a night attack, or atleast in locating the enemy, so that it might be carried out at dawnbefore he marched. Especially was this so, since we were scarcely in acondition even if we could come face to face with them, to fight thesesavages when they were prepared and in the light of day. Only we twowhite men, with Hans, Umslopogaas and his Zulus, could be relied uponin such a case, since the Strathmuir mixed-bloods had become entirelydemoralised and were not to be trusted at a pinch. Indeed, tired andhalf starving as we were, none of us was at his best. Therefore asurprise seemed our only chance. But first we must find those whom wewished to surprise. 

Ultimately, after a hurried consultation, it was agreed that Hans andI should go forward and see if we could locate the Amahagger. Robertsonwished to come too, but I pointed out that he must remain to look afterhis people, who, if he left them, might take the opportunity to meltaway in the darkness, especially as they knew that heavy fighting wasat hand. Also if anything happened to me it was desirable that one whiteman should remain to lead the party. Umslopogaas, too, volunteered, butknowing his character, I declined his help. To tell the truth, I wasalmost certain that if we came upon the men-eaters, he would charge thewhole lot of them and accomplish a fine but futile end after hackingdown a number of cannibal barbarians, whose extinction or escaperemained absolutely immaterial to our purpose, namely, the rescue ofInez. 

So it came about that Hans and I started alone, I not at all enjoyingthe job. I suppose that there lurks in my nature some of that primevalterror of the dark, which must continually have haunted our remoteforefathers of a hundred or a thousand generations gone and stilllingers in the blood of most of us. At any rate even if I am named theWatcher-by-Night, greatly do I prefer to fight or to face peril in thesunlight, though it is true that I would rather avoid both at any time. 

In fact, I wished heartily that the Amahagger were at the other sideof Africa, or in heaven, and that I, completely ignorant of the personcalled Inez Robertson, were seated smoking the pipe of peace on my ownstoep in Durban. I think that Hans guessed my state of mind, sincehe suggested that he should go alone, adding with his usual unveiledrudeness, that he was quite certain that he would do much better withoutme, since white men always made a noise. 

"Yes, " I replied, determined to give him a Roland for his Oliver, "Ihave no doubt you would--under the first bush you came across, where youwould sleep till dawn, and then return and say that you could not findthe Amahagger. "

Hans chuckled, quite appreciating the joke, and having thus mutuallyaffronted each other, we started on our quest. 

CHAPTER IX

THE SWAMP

Neither Hans nor I carried rifles that we knew would be in the way onour business, which was just to scout. Moreover, one is always temptedto shoot if a gun is at hand, and this I did not want to do at present. So, although I had my revolver in case of urgent necessity, my onlyother weapon was a Zulu axe, that formerly had belonged to one of thosetwo men who died defending Inez on the veranda at Strathmuir, while Hanshad nothing but his long knife. Thus armed, or unarmed, we crept forwardtowards that spot whence, as we conjectured, we had seen the line ofsmoke rising some hours before. 

For about a quarter of a mile we went on thus without seeing or hearinganything, and a difficult job it was in that gloom among the scatteredtrees with no light save such as the stars gave us. Indeed, I was aboutto suggest that we had better abandon the enterprise until daybreak whenHans nudged me, whispering, "Look to the right between those twin thorns. "

I obeyed and following the line of sight which he had indicated, perceived, at a distance of about two hundred yards a faint glow, sofaint indeed that I think only Hans would have noticed it. Really itmight have been nothing more than the phosphorescence rising from a heapof fungus, or even from a decaying animal. 

"The fire of which we saw the smoke that has burnt to ashes, " whisperedHans again. "I think that they have gone, but let us look. "

So we crawled forward very cautiously to avoid making the slightestnoise; so cautiously, indeed, that it must have taken us nearly half anhour to cover those two hundred yards. 

At length we were within about forty yards of that dying fire and, afraid to go further, came to a stand--or rather, a lie-still--behindsome bushes until we knew more. Hans lifted his head and sniffed withhis broad nostrils; then he whispered into my ear, but so low that Icould scarcely hear him. 

"Amahagger there all right, Baas, I smell them. "

This of course was possible, since what wind there was blew from thedirection of the fire, although I whose nose is fairly keen could smellnothing at all. So I determined to wait and watch a while, and indicatedmy decision to Hans, who, considering our purpose accomplished, showedsigns of wishing to retreat. 

Some minutes we lay thus, till of a sudden this happened. A branch ofresinous wood of which the stem had been eaten through by the flames, fell upon the ashes of the fire and burnt up with a brilliant light. Init we saw that the Amahagger were sleeping in a circle round the firewrapped in their blankets. 

Also we saw another thing, namely that nearer to us, not more than adozen yards away, indeed, was a kind of little tent, also made of furrugs or blankets, which doubtless sheltered Inez. Indeed, this wasevident from the fact that at the mouth of it, wrapped up in something, lay none other than her maid, Janee, for her face being towards us, wasrecognised by us both in the flare of the flaming branch. One more thingwe noted, namely, that two of the cannibals, evidently a guard, weresleeping between us and the little tent. Of course they ought to havebeen awake, but fatigue had overcome them and there they slumbered, seated on the ground, their heads hanging forward almost upon theirknees. 

An idea came to me. If we could kill those men without waking the othersin that gloom, it might be possible to rescue Inez at once. Rapidly Iweighed the _pros_ and _cons_ of such an attempt. Its advantages, ifsuccessful, were that the object of our pursuit would be carried throughwithout further trouble and that it was most doubtful whether we shouldever get such a chance again. If we returned to fetch the others andattacked in force, the probability was that those Amahagger, or one ofthem, would hear some sound made by the advance of a number of men, andfly into the darkness; or, rather than lose Inez, they might kill her. Or if they stood and fought, she might be slain in the scrimmage. Or, as after all we had only about a dozen effectives, for the Strathmuirbearers could not be relied upon, they might defeat and kill us whomthey outnumbered by two or three to one. 

These were the arguments for the attempt. Those for not making it wereequally obvious. To begin with it was one of extraordinary risk; the twoguards or someone else behind them might wake up--for such people, likedogs, mostly sleep with one eye open, especially when they knew thatthey are being pursued. Or if they did not we might bungle the businessso that they raised an outcry before they grew silent for ever, in whichcase both of us and perhaps Inez also would probably pay the penaltybefore we could get away. 

Such was the horned dilemma upon one point or other of which we ran therisk of being impaled. For a full minute or more I considered the matterwith an earnestness almost amounting to mental agony, and at last allbut came to the conclusion that the danger was too enormous. It would bebetter, notwithstanding the many disadvantages of that plan, to go backand fetch the others. 

But then it was that I made one of my many mistakes in life. Most ofus do more foolish things than wise ones and sometimes I think thatin spite of a certain reputation for caution and far-sightedness, I amexceptionally cursed in this respect. Indeed, when I look back upon mypast, I can scarcely see the scanty flowers of wisdom that decorateits path because of the fat, ugly trees of error by which it isovershadowed. 

On that occasion, forgetting past experiences where Hans was concerned, my natural tendency to blunder took the form of relying upon another'sjudgment instead of on my own. Although I had formed a certain view asto what should be done, the _pros_ and _cons_ seemed so evenly balancedthat I determined to consult the little Hottentot and accept hisverdict. This, after all, was but a form of gambling like pitch andtoss, since, although it is true Hans was a clever, or at any rate acunning man according to his lights, and experienced, it meant thatI was placing my own judgment in abeyance, which no one consideringa life-and-death enterprise should do, taking the chance of that ofanother, whatever it might be. However, not for the first time, I didso--to my grief. 

In the tiniest of whispers with my lips right against his smelly head, Isubmitted the problem to Hans, asking him what we should do, go on or goback. He considered a while, then answered in a voice which he contrivedto make like the drone of a night beetle. 

"Those men are fast asleep, I know it by their breathing. Also the Baashas the Great Medicine. Therefore I say go on, kill them and rescueSad-Eyes. "

Now I saw that the Fates to which I had appealed had decided against meand that I must accept their decree. With a sick and sinking heart--forI did not at all like the business--I wondered for a moment what hadled Hans to take this view, which was directly opposite to any I hadexpected from him. Of course his superstition about the Great Medicinehad something to do with it, but I felt convinced that this was not all. 

Even then I guessed that two arguments appealed to him, of whichthe first was that he desired, if possible, to put an end to thisintolerable and unceasing hunt which had worn us all out, no matterwhat that end might be. The second and more powerful, however, was, Ibelieved, and rightly, that the idea of this stealthy, midnight blowappealed irresistibly to the craft of his half-wild nature in which thestrains of the leopard and the snake seemed to mingle with that of thehuman being. For be it remembered that notwithstanding his veneer ofcivilisation, Hans was a savage whose forefathers for countless ages hadpreserved themselves alive by means of such attacks and stratagems. 

The die having been cast, in the same infinitesimal whispers we made ourarrangements, which were few and simple. They amounted to this--thatwe were to creep on to the men and each of us to kill that one who wasopposite to him, I with the axe and Hans with his knife, rememberingthat it must be done with a single stroke--that is, if they did notwake up and kill us--after which we were to get Inez out of her shelter, dressed or undressed, and make off with her into the darkness where wewere pretty sure of being able to baffle pursuit until we reached ourown camp. 

Provided that we could kill the two guards in the proper fashion--rathera large proviso, I admit--the thing was simple as shelling peas which, notwithstanding the proverb, in my experience is not simple at all, since generally the shells crack the wrong way and at least one of thepeas remained in the pod. So it happened in this case, for Janee, whomwe had both forgotten, remained in the pod. 

I am sure I don't know why we overlooked her; indeed, the error wasinexcusable, especially as Hans had already experienced her foolishnessand she was lying there before our eyes. I suppose that our minds wereso concentrated upon the guard-killing and the tragic and impressiveInez that there was no room in them for the stolid and matter-of-factJanee. At any rate she proved to be the pea that would not come out ofthe pod. 

Often in my life I have felt terrified, not being by nature one of thosewho rejoices in dangers and wild adventures for their own sake, whichonly the stupid do, but who has, on the contrary, been forced toundertake them by the pressure of circumstances, a kind of hydraulicforce that no one can resist, and who, having undertaken, has beencarried through them, triumphing over the shrinkings of his flesh bysome secret reserve of nerve power. Almost am I tempted to call itspirit-power, something that lives beyond and yet inspires our frail andfallible bodies. 

Well, rarely have I been more frightened than I was at this moment. Actually I hung back until I saw that Hans slithering through the grasslike a thick yellow snake with the great knife in his right hand, was quite a foot ahead of me. Then my pride came to the rescue and Ispurted, if one can spurt upon one's stomach, and drew level with him. After this we went at a pace so slow that any able-bodied snail wouldhave left us standing still. Inch by inch we crept forward, lyingmotionless a while after each convulsive movement, once for quite along time, since the left-hand cannibal seemed about to wake up, for heopened his mouth and yawned. If so, he changed his mind and rolling froma sitting posture on to his side, went to sleep much more soundly thanbefore. 

A minute or so later the right-hand ruffian, my man, also stirred, sosharply that I thought he had heard something. Apparently, however, hewas only haunted by dreams resulting from an evil life, or perhapsby the prescience of its end, for after waving his arm and mutteringsomething in a frightened voice, he too, wearied out, poor devil, sankback into sleep. 

At last we were on them, but paused because we could not see exactlywhere to strike and knew, each of us, that our first blow must be thelast and fatal. A cloud had come up and dimmed what light there was, andwe must wait for it to pass. It was a long wait, or so it seemed. 

At length that cloud did pass and in faint outline I saw the classicalhead of my Amahagger bowed in deep sleep. With a heart beating as itdoes only in the fierce extremities of love or war, I hissed like asnake, which was our agreed signal. Then rising to my knees, I liftedthe Zulu axe and struck with all my strength. 

The blow was straight and true; Umslopogaas himself could not havedealt a better. The victim in front of me uttered no sound and madeno movement; only sank gently on to his side, and there lay as dead asthough he had never been born. 

It appeared that Hans had done equally well, since the other man kickedout his long legs, which struck me on the knees. Then he also becamestrangely still. In short, both of them were stone dead and would tellno stories this side of Judgment Day. 

Recovering my axe, which had been wrenched from my hand, I crept forwardand opened the curtain-like rugs or blankets, I do not know which theywere, that covered Inez. I heard her stir at once. The movement hadwakened her, since captives sleep lightly. 

"Make no noise, Inez, " I whispered. "It is I, Allan Quatermain, come torescue you. Slip out and follow me; do you understand?"

"Yes, quite, " she whispered back and began to rise. 

At this moment a blood-curdling yell seemed to fill earth and heaven, ayell at the memory of which even now I feel faint, although I am writingyears after its echoes died away. 

I may as well say at once that it came from Janee who, awaking suddenly, had perceived against the background of the sky, Hans standing over her, looking like a yellow devil with a long knife in his hand, which shethought was about to be used to murder her. 

So, lacking self-restraint, she screamed in the most lusty fashion, forher lungs were excellent, and--the game was up. 

Instantly every man sleeping round the fire leapt to his feet and rushedin the direction of the echoes of Janee's yell. It was impossible to getInez free of her tent arrangement or to do anything, except whisper toher, "Feign sleep and know nothing. We will follow you. Your father is withus. "

Then I bolted back into the bushes, which Hans had reached already. 

A minute or two later when we were clear of the hubbub and nearing ourown camp, Hans remarked to me sententiously, "The Great Medicine worked well, Baas, but not quite well enough, forwhat medicine can avail against a woman's folly?"

"It was our own folly we should blame, " I answered. "We ought to haveknown that fool-girl would shriek, and taken precautions. "

"Yes, Baas, we ought to have killed her too, for nothing else would havekept her quiet, " replied Hans in cheerful assent. "Now we shall have topay for our mistake, for the hunt must go on. "

At this moment we stumbled across Robertson and Umslopogaas who, withthe others, and every living thing within a mile or two had also heardJanee's yell, and briefly told our story. When he learned how near wehad been to rescuing his daughter, Robertson groaned, but Umslopogaasonly said, "Well, there are two less of the men-eaters left to deal with. Still, for once your wisdom failed you, Macumazahn. When you had found the campyou should have returned, so that we might all attack it together. Hadwe done so, before the dawn there would not have been one of them left. "

"Yes, " I answered, "I think that my wisdom did fail me, if I have any tofail. But come; perhaps we may catch them yet. "

So we advanced, Hans and I showing the road. But when we reached theplace it was too late, for all that remained of the Amahagger, or ofInez and Janee, were the two dead men whom we had killed, and in thatdarkness pursuit was impossible. So we went back to our own camp to restand await the dawn before taking up the trail, only to find ourselvesconfronted with a new trouble. All the Strathmuir half-breeds whom wehad left behind as useless, had taken advantage of our absence and thatof the Zulus, to desert. They had just bolted back upon our tracks andvanished into the sea of bush. What became of them I do not know, as wenever saw them again, but my belief is that these cowardly fellows allperished, for certainly not one of them reached Strathmuir. 

Fortunately for us, however, they departed in such a hurry that theyleft all their loads behind them, and even some of the guns theycarried. Evidently Janee's yell was the last straw which broke the backof such nerve as remained to them. Doubtless they believed it to be thesignal of attack by hordes of cannibals. 

As there was nothing to said or done, since any pursuit of these curswas out of the question, we made the best of things as they were. Itproved a simple business. From the loads we selected such articles aswere essential, ammunition for the most part, to carry ourselves--andthe rest we abandoned, hiding it under a pile of stones in case weshould ever come that way again. 

The guns they had thrown aside we distributed among the Zulus who hadnone, though the thought that they possessed them, so far as I wasconcerned, added another terror to life. The prospect of going intobattle with those wild axemen letting off bullets in every direction wasnot pleasant, but fortunately when that crisis came, they cast them awayand reverted to the weapons to which they were accustomed. 

Now all this sounds much like a tale of disaster, or at any rate offailure. It is, however, wonderful by what strange ways good resultsare brought about, so much so that at times I think that these seemingaccidents must be arranged by an Intelligence superior to our own, tofulfil through us purposes of which we know nothing, and frequently, be it admitted, of a nature sufficiently obscure. Of course this is afatalistic doctrine, but then, as I have said before, within certainlimits I am a fatalist. 

To take the present case, for instance, the whole Inez episode at firstsight might appear to be an excrescence on my narrative, of which theobject is to describe how I met a certain very wonderful woman and whatI heard and experienced in her company. Yet it is not really so, sincehad it not been for the Inez adventure, it is quite clear that I shouldnever have reached the home of this woman, if woman she were, or haveseen her at all. Before long this became very obvious to me, as shall betold. 

From the night upon which Hans and I failed to rescue Inez we hadno more difficulty in following the trail of the cannibals, whothenceforward were never more than a few hours ahead of us and had notime to be careful or to attempt to hide their spoor. Yet so fast didthey travel that do what we would, burdened and wearied as we were, itproved impossible to overtake them. 

For the first three days the track ran on through scattered, rollingbush-veld of the character that I have described, but tendingcontinually down hill. When we broke camp on the morning of the fourthday, eating a hasty meal at dawn (for now game had become astonishinglyplentiful, so that we did not lack food) the rising sun showed beneathus an endless sea of billowy mist stretching in every direction far asthe sight could carry. 

To the north, however, it did come to an end, for there, as I judgedfifty or sixty miles away, rose the grim outline of what looked like ahuge fortress, which I knew must be one of those extraordinary mountainformations, probably owing their origin to volcanic action, that are tobe met with here and there in the vast expanses of Central and EasternAfrica. Being so distant it was impossible to estimate its size, whichI guessed must be enormous, but in looking at it I bethought me of thatgreat mountain in which Zikali said the marvellous white Queen lived, and wondered whether it could be the same, as from my memory of his mapupon the ashes, it well might be, that is, if such a place existedat all. If so the map had shown it as surrounded by swamps and--well, surely that mist hid the face of a mighty swamp?

It did indeed, since before nightfall, following the spoor of thoseAmahagger, we had plunged into a morass so vast that in all myexperience I have never seen or heard of its like. It was a veritableocean of papyrus and other reeds, some of them a dozen or more feethigh, so that it was impossible to see a yard in any direction. 

Here it was that the Amahagger ahead of us proved our salvation, sincewithout them to guide us we must soon have perished. For through thatgigantic swamp there ran a road, as I think an ancient road, since inone or two places I saw stone work which must have been laid by man. Yetit was not a road which it would have been possible to follow withouta guide, seeing that it also was overgrown with reeds. Indeed, the onlydifference between it and the surrounding swamp was that on the roadthe soil was comparatively firm, that is to say, one seldom sank intoit above the knee, whereas on either side of it quagmires were oftenapparently bottomless, and what is more, partook of the nature ofquicksand. 

This we found out soon after we entered the swamp, since Robertson, pushing forward with the fierce eagerness which seemed to consume him, neglected to keep his eye upon the spoor and stepped off the edge on toland that appeared to be exactly similar to its surface. Instantly hebegan to sink in greasy and tenacious mud. Umslopogaas and I were onlytwenty yards behind, yet by the time we reached him in answer to hisshouts, already he was engulfed up to his middle and going down sorapidly that in another minute he would have vanished altogether. Well, we got him out but not with ease, for that mud clung to him like thetentacles of an octopus. After this we were more careful. 

Nor did this road run straight; on the contrary, it curved about andsometimes turned at right angles, doubtless to avoid a piece of swampover which it had proved impossible for the ancients to construct acauseway, or to follow some out-crop of harder soil beneath. 

The difficulties of that horrible place are beyond description, andindeed can scarcely be imagined. First there was that of a kind of grasswhich grew among the roots of the reeds and had edges like to those ofknives. As Robertson and I wore gaiters we did not suffer so much fromit, but the poor Zulus with their bare legs were terribly cut about andin some cases lame. 

Then there were the mosquitoes which lived here by the million and allseemed anxious for a bite; also snakes of a peculiarly deadly kind werenumerous. A Zulu was bitten by one of them of so poisonous a nature thathe died within three minutes, for the venom seemed to go straight to hisheart. We threw his body into the swamp, where it vanished at once. 

Lastly there was the all-pervading stench and the intolerable heat ofthe place, since no breath of air could penetrate that forest ofreeds, while a minor trouble was that of the multitude of leecheswhich fastened on to our bodies. By looking one could see the creaturessitting on the under side of leaves with their heads stretched outwaiting to attack anything that went by. As wayfarers there could nothave been numerous, I wondered what they had lived on for the last fewthousand years. By the way, I found that paraffin, of which we had asmall supply for our hand-lamps, rubbed over all exposed surfaces, wasto some extent a protection against these blood-sucking worms and thegnats, although it did make one go about smelling like a dirty oil tin. 

During the day, except for the occasional rush of some great iguanaor other reptile, and the sound of the wings of the flocks of wildfowlpassing over us from time to time, the march was deathly silent. But atnight it was different, for then the bull-frogs boomed incessantly, asdid the bitterns, while great swamp owls and other night-flying birdsuttered their weird cries. Also there were mysterious sucking noisescaused, no doubt, by the sinking of areas of swamp, with those ofbursting bubbles of foul, up-rushing gas. 

Strange lights, too, played about, will-o'-the-wisps or St. Elmo fires, as I believe they are called, that frightened the Zulus very much, sincethey believed them to be spirits of the dead. Perhaps this superstitionhad something to do with their native legend that mankind was "torn outof the reeds. " If so, they may have imagined that the ghosts of men wentback to the reeds, of which there were enough here to accommodate thoseof the entire Zulu nation. Any way they were much scared; even the boldwitch-doctor, Goroko, was scared and went through incantations with thelittle bag of medicines he carried to secure protection for himself andhis companions. Indeed, I think even the iron Umslopogaas himself wasnot as comfortable as he might have been, although he did inform me thathe had come out to fight and did not care whether it were with man, orwizard, or spirit. 

In short, of all the journeys that I have made, with the exception ofthe passage of the desert on our way to King Solomon's Mines, I thinkthat through this enormous swamp was the most miserable. Heartily did Icurse myself for ever having undertaken such a quest in a wild attemptto allay that sickness, or rather to quench that thirst of the soulwhich, I imagine, at times assails most of those who have hearts andthink or dream. 

For this was at the bottom of the business: this it was which haddelivered me into the hands of Zikali, Opener-of-Roads, who, as now Iam sure, was merely making use of me for his private occult purposes. Hedesired to consult the distant Oracle, if such a person existed, as togreat schemes of his own, and therefore, to attain his end, made useof my secret longings which I had been so foolish as to reveal to him, quite careless of what happened to me in the process. [A bit narrow anduncharitable, this view. It seems to me that Zikali is taking a big riskin giving him the Great Medicine. --JB]

Well, I was in for the business and must follow it to the finishwhatever that might be. After all it was very interesting and ifthere were anything in what Zikali said (if there were not I could notconceive what object he had in sending me on such a wild-goose chasethrough this home of geese and ducks), it might become more interestingstill. For being pretty well fever-proof I did not think I should diein that morass, as of course nine white men out of ten would have done, and, beyond it lay the huge mountain which day by day grew larger andclearer. 

Nor did Hans, who, with a childlike trust, pinned his faith to the GreatMedicine. This, he remarked, was the worst veld through which he hadever travelled, but as the Great Medicine would never consent to beburied in that stinking mud, he had no doubt that we should come safelythrough it some time. I replied that this wonderful medicine of his hadnot saved one of our companions who had now made a grave in the samemud. 

"No, Baas, " he said, "but those Zulus have nothing to do with theMedicine which was given to you, and to me who accompanied you when wesaw the Opener-of-Roads. Therefore perhaps they will all die, exceptUmslopogaas, whom you were told to take with you. If so, what doesit matter, since there are plenty of Zulus, although there be but oneMacumazahn or one Hans? Also the Baas may remember that he began byoffending a snake and therefore it is quite natural that this snake'sbrother should have bitten the Zulu. "

"If you are right, he should have bitten me, Hans. "

"Yes, Baas, and so no doubt he would have done had you not beenprotected by the Great Medicine, and me too had not my grandfather beena snake-charmer, to say nothing of the smell of the Medicine being on meas well. The snakes know those that they should bite, Baas. "

"So do the mosquitoes, " I answered, grabbing a handful of them. "TheGreat Medicine has no effect upon them. "

"Oh! yes, Baas, it has, since though it pleases them to bite, the bitesdo us no harm, or at least not much, and all are made happy. Still, I wish we could get out of these reeds of which I never want to seeanother, and Baas, please keep your rifle ready for I think I hear acrocodile stirring there. "

"No need, Hans, " I remarked sarcastically. "Go and tell him that I havethe Great Medicine. "

"Yes, Baas, I will; also that if he is very hungry, there are some Zuluscamped a few yards further down the road, " and he went solemnly to thereeds a little way off and began to talk to them. 

"You infernal donkey!" I murmured, and drew my blanket over my head ina vain attempt to keep out the mosquitoes and smoking furiously with thesame object, tried to get to sleep. 

At last the swamp bottom began to slope upwards a little, with theresult that as the land dried through natural drainage, the reeds grewthinner by degrees, until finally they ceased and we found ourselves onfirmer ground; indeed, upon the lowest slopes of the great mountain thatI have mentioned, that now towered above us, forbidden and majestic. 

I had made a little map in my pocket-book of the various twists andturns of the road through that vast Slough of Despond, marking them fromhour to hour as we followed its devious wanderings. On studying thisat the end of that part of our journey I realised afresh how utterlyimpossible it would have been for us to thread that misty maze where afew false steps would always have meant death by suffocation, had it notbeen for the spoor of those Amahagger travelling immediately ahead of uswho were acquainted with its secrets. Had they been friendly guides theycould not have done us a better turn. 

What I wondered was why they had not tried to ambush us in the reeds, since our fires must have shown them that we were close upon theirheels. That they did try to burn us out was clear from certain evidencesthat I found, but fortunately at this season of the year in the absenceof a strong wind the rank reeds were too green to catch fire. For therest I was soon to learn the reason of their neglect to attack us inthat dense cover. 

They were waiting for a better opportunity!

CHAPTER X

THE ATTACK

We won out of the reeds at last, for which I fervently thanked God, since to have crossed that endless marsh unguided, with the loss of onlyone man, seemed little less than miraculous. We emerged from them latein the afternoon and being wearied out, stopped for a while to rest andeat of the flesh of a buck that I had been fortunate enough to shootupon their fringe. Then we pushed forward up the slope, proposing tocamp for the night on the crest of it a mile or so away where I thoughtwe should escape from the deadly mist in which we had been enveloped forso long, and obtain a clear view of the country ahead. 

Following the bank of a stream which here ran down into the marsh, wecame at length to this crest just as the sun was sinking. Below us laya deep valley, a fold, as it were, in the skin of the mountain, wellbut not densely bushed. The woods of this valley climbed up the mountainflank for some distance above it and then gave way to grassy slopes thatended in steep sides of rock, which were crowned by a black and frowningprecipice of unknown height. 

There was, I remember, something very impressive about this toweringnatural wall, which seemed to shut off whatever lay beyond the gaze ofman, as though it veiled an ancient mystery. Indeed, the aspect of itthrilled me, I knew not why. I observed, however, that at one point inthe mighty cliff there seemed to be a narrow cleft down which, no doubt, lava had flowed in a remote age, and it occurred to me that up thiscleft ran a roadway, probably a continuation of that by which we hadthreaded the swamp. The fact that through my glasses I could see herdsof cattle grazing on the slopes of the mountain went to confirm thisview, since cattle imply owners and herdsmen, and search as I would, Icould find no native villages on the slopes. The inference seemed to bethat those owners dwelt beyond or within the mountain. 

All of these things I saw and pointed out to Robertson in the light ofthe setting sun. 

Meanwhile Umslopogaas had been engaged in selecting the spot where wewere to camp for the night. Some soldierlike instinct, or perchance someprescience of danger, caused him to choose a place particularly suitableto defence. It was on a steep-sided mound that more or less resembled agigantic ant-heap. Upon one side this mound was protected by the streamwhich because of a pool was here rather deep, while at the back of itstood a collection of those curious and piled-up water-worn rocks thatare often to be found in Africa. These rocks, lying one upon anotherlike the stones of a Cyclopean wall, curved round the western side ofthe mound, so that practically it was only open for a narrow space, say thirty or forty feet, upon that face of it which looked on to themountain. 

"Umslopogaas expects battle, " remarked Hans to me with a grin, "otherwise with all this nice plain round us he would not have chosen tocamp in a place which a few men could hold against many. Yes, Baas, hethinks that those cannibals are going to attack us. "

"Stranger things have happened, " I answered indifferently, and havingseen to the rifles, went to lie down, observing as I did so that thetired Zulus seemed already to be asleep. Only Umslopogaas did not sleep. On the contrary, he stood leaning on his axe staring at the dim outlinesof the opposing precipice. 

"A strange mountain, Macumazahn, " he said, "compared to it that of theWitch, beneath which my kraal lies, is but a little baby. I wonder whatwe shall find within it. I have always loved mountains, Macumazahn, eversince a dead brother of mine and I lived with the wolves in the Witch'slap, for on them I have had the best of my fighting. "

"Perhaps it is not done with yet, " I answered wearily. 

"I hope not, Macumazahn, since some is due for us, after all these daysof mud and stench. Sleep a while now, Macumazahn, for that head of yourswhich you use so much, must need rest. Fear not, I and the little yellowman who do not think as much as you do, will keep watch and wake you ifthere is need, as mayhap there will be before the dawn. Here none cancome at us except in front, and the place is narrow. "

So I lay down and slept as soundly as ever I had done in my life, for aspace of four or five hours I suppose. Then, by some instinct perhaps, Iawoke suddenly, feeling much refreshed in that sweet mountain air, a newman indeed, and in the moonlight saw Umslopogaas striding towards me. 

"Arise, Macumazahn, " he said, "I hear men stirring below us. "

At this moment Hans slipped past him, whispering, "The cannibals are coming, Baas, a good number of them. I think theymean to attack before dawn. "

Then he passed behind me to warn the Zulus. As he went by, I said tohim, "If so, Hans, now is the time for your Great Medicine to show what itcan do. "

"The Great Medicine will look after you and me all right, Baas, " hereplied, pausing and speaking in Dutch, which Umslopogaas did notunderstand, "but I expect there will be fewer of those Zulus to cook forbefore the sun grows hot. Their spirits will be turned into snakes andgo back into the reeds from which they say they were 'torn out, '" headded over his shoulder. 

I should explain that Hans acted as cook to our party and it was agrievance with him that the Zulus ate so much of the meat which he wascalled upon to prepare. Indeed, there is never much sympathy betweenHottentots and Zulus. 

"What is the little yellow man saying about us?" asked Umslopogaassuspiciously. 

"He is saying that if it comes to battle, you and your men will make agreat fight, " I replied diplomatically. 

"Yes, we will do that, Macumazahn, but I thought he said that we shouldbe killed and that this pleased him. "

"Oh dear no!" I answered hastily. "How could he be pleased if thathappened, since then he would be left defenceless, if he were not killedtoo. Now, Umslopogaas, let us make a plan for this fight. "

So, together with Robertson, rapidly we discussed the thing. As aresult, with the help of the Zulus, we dragged together some loosestones and the tops of three small thorn trees which we had cutdown, and with them made a low breastwork, sufficient to give us someprotection if we lay down to shoot. It was the work of a few minutessince we had prepared the material when we camped in case an emergencyshould arise. 

Behind this breastwork we gathered and waited, Robertson and I beingcareful to get a little to the rear of the Zulus, who it will beremembered had the rifles which the Strathmuir bastards had left behindthem when they bolted, in addition to their axes and throwing assegais. The question was how these cannibals would fight. I knew that they werearmed with long spears and knives but I did not know if they used thosespears for thrusting or for throwing. In the former case it would bedifficult to get at them with the axes because they must have the longerreach. Fortunately as it turned out, they did both. 

At length all was ready and there came that long and trying wait, themost disagreeable part of a fight in which one grows nervous and beginsto reflect earnestly upon one's sins. Clearly the Amahagger, if theyreally intended business, did not mean to attack till just before dawn, after the common native fashion, thinking to rush us in the low andpuzzling light. What perplexed me was that they should wish to attackus at all after having let so many opportunities of doing so go by. Apparently these men were now in sight of their own home, where no doubtthey had many friends, and by pushing on could reach its shelter beforeus, especially as they knew the roads and we did not. 

They had come out for a secret purpose that seemed to have to do withthe abduction of a certain young white woman for reasons connectedwith their tribal statecraft or ritual, which is the kind of thing thathappens not infrequently among obscure and ancient African tribes. Well, they had abducted their young woman and were in sight of safety andsuccess in their objects, whatever these might be. For what possiblereason, then, could they desire to risk a fight with the outragedfriends and relatives of that young woman?

It was true that they outnumbered us and therefore had a good chanceof victory, but on the other hand, they must know that it would be verydearly won, and if it were not won, that we should retake their captive, so that all their trouble would have been for nothing. Further they mustbe as exhausted and travel-worn as we were ourselves and in no conditionto face a desperate battle. 

The problem was beyond me and I gave it up with the reflection thateither this threatened attack was a mere feint to delay us, or thatbehind it was something mysterious, such as a determination to preventus at all hazards from discovering the secrets of that mountainstronghold. 

When I put the riddle to Hans, who was lying next to me, he was readywith another solution. 

"They are men-eaters, Baas, " he said, "and being hungry, wish to eat usbefore they get to their own land where doubtless they are not allowedto eat each other. "

"Do you think so, " I answered, "when we are so thin?" and I surveyedHans' scraggy form in the moonlight. 

"Oh! yes, Baas, we should be quite good boiled--like old hens, Baas. Also it is the nature of cannibals to prefer thin man to fat beef. Thedevil that is in them gives them that taste, Baas, just as he makes melike gin, or you turn your head to look at pretty women, as those Zulussay you always did in their country, especially at a certain witch whowas named Mameena and whom you kissed before everybody----"

Here I turned my head to look at Hans, proposing to smite him withwords, or physically, since to have this Mameena myth, of which I havedetailed the origin in the book called _Child of Storm_, re-arise outof his hideous little mouth was too much. But before I could get out asyllable he held up his finger and whispered, "Hush! the dawn breaks and they come. I hear them. "

I listened intently but could distinguish nothing. Only straining myeyes, presently I thought that about a hundred yards down the slopebeneath us in the dim light I caught sight of ghostlike figures flittingfrom tree to tree; also that these figures were drawing nearer. 

"Look out!" I said to Robertson on my right, "I believe they arecoming. "

"Man, " he answered sternly, "I hope so, for whom else have I wanted tomeet all these days?"

Now the figures vanished into a little fold of the ground. A minute orso later they re-appeared upon its hither side where such light as therewas from the fading stars and the gathering dawn fell full upon them, for here were no trees. I looked and a thrill of horror went through me, for with one glance I recognised that these were _not the men whom wehad been following_. To begin with, there were many more of them, quitea hundred, I should think, also they had painted shields, wore feathersin their hair, and generally so far as I could judge, seemed to be fatand fresh. 

"We have been led into an ambush, " I said first in Zulu to Umslopogaasimmediately in front, and then in English to Robertson. 

"If so, man, we must just do the best we can, " answered the latter, "butGod help my poor daughter, for those other devils will have taken heraway, leaving their brethren to make an end of us. "

"It is so, Macumazahn, " broke in Umslopogaas. "Well, whatever the end ofit, we shall have a better fight. Now do you give the word and we willobey. "

The savages, for so I call them, although I admit that cannibals or not, they looked more like high-class Arabs than savages, came on in perfectsilence, hoping, I suppose, to catch us asleep. When they were aboutfifty yards away, running in a treble line with spears advanced, Icalled out "Fire!" in Zulu, and set the example by loosing off bothbarrels of my express rifle at men whom I had picked out as leaders, with results that must have been more satisfactory to me than to the twoAmahagger whose troubles in this world came to an end. 

There followed a tremendous fusillade, the Zulus banging off their gunswildly, but even at that distance managing for the most part to shootover the enemy's heads. Captain Robertson and Hans, however, did betterand the general result was that the Amahagger, who appeared to beunaccustomed to firearms, retreated in a hurry to a fold of the groundwhence they had emerged. Before the last of them got there I loadedagain, so that two more stopped behind. Altogether we had put nine orten of them out of action. 

Now I hoped that they would give the business up. But this was not so, for being brave fellows, after a pause of perhaps five minutes, oncemore they charged in a body, hoping to overwhelm us. Again we greetedthem with bullets and knocked out several, whereon the rest threwa volley of their long spears at us. I was glad to see them do thisalthough one of the Zulus got his death from it, while two more werewounded. I myself had a very narrow escape, for a spear passed betweenmy neck and shoulder. Each of them carried but one of these weaponsand I knew that if they used them up in throwing, only their big kniveswould remain to them with which to attack us. 

After this discharge of spears which was kept up for some time, theyrushed at us and there followed a great fight. The Zulus, throwing downtheir guns, rose to their feet and holding their little fighting shieldswhich had been carried in their mats, in the left hand, wielded theiraxes with the right. Umslopogaas, who stood in the centre of them, however, had no shield and swung his great axe with both arms. This wasthe first time that I had seen him fight and the spectacle was in a waymagnificent. Again and again the axe crashed down and every time itfell it left one dead beneath the stroke, till at length those Amahaggershrank back out of his reach. 

Meanwhile Robertson, Hans and I, standing on some stones at the back, kept up a continual fire upon them, shooting over the heads of theZulus, who were playing their part like men. Yes, they shrank back, leaving many dead behind them. Then a captain tried to gather them foranother rush, and once more they moved forward. I killed that captainwith a revolver shot, for my rifle had become too hot to hold, and atthe sight of his fall, they broke and ran back into the little hollowwhere our bullets could not reach them. 

So far we had held our own, but at a price, for three of the Zulus werenow dead and three more wounded, one of them severely, the other two butenough to cripple them. In fact, now there were left of them but threeuntouched men, and Umslopogaas, so that in all for fighting purposeswe were but seven. What availed it that we had killed a great number ofthese Amahagger, when we were but seven? How could seven men withstandsuch another onslaught?

There in the pale light of the dawn we looked at each other dismayed. 

"Now, " said Umslopogaas, leaning on his red axe, "there remains but onething to do, make a good end, though I would that it were in a greatercause. At least we must either fight or fly, " and he looked down at thewounded. 

"Think not of us, Father, " murmured one of them, the man who had amortal hurt. "If it is best, kill us and begone that you may live tobear the Axe in years to come. "

"Well spoken!" said Umslopogaas, and again stood still a while, thenadded, "The word is with you, Macumazahn, who are our captain. "

I set out the situation to Robertson and Hans as briefly as I could, showing that there was a chance of life if we ran, but so far as I couldsee, none if we stayed. 

"Go if you like, Quatermain, " answered the Captain, "but I shall stopand die here, for since my girl is gone I think I'm better dead. "

I motioned to Hans to speak. 

"Baas, " he answered, "the Great Medicine is here with us upon the earthand your reverend father, the Predikant, is with us in the sky, so Ithink we had better stop here and do what we can, especially as I do notwant to see those reeds any more at present. "

"So do I, " I said briefly, giving no reasons. 

So we made ready for the next attack which we knew would be the last, strengthening our little wall and dragging the dead Amahagger up againstit as an added protection. As we were thus engaged the sun rose and inits first beams, some miles away on the opposing slopes of the mountainlooking tiny against the black background of the precipice, we sawa party of men creeping forward. Lifting my glasses I studied it andperceived that in its midst was a litter. 

"There goes your daughter, " I said, and handed the glasses to Robertson. 

"Oh! my God, " he answered, "those villains have outwitted us after all. "

Another minute and the litter, or rather the chair with its escort, had vanished into the shadow of the great cliffs, probably up some passwhich we could not see. 

Next moment our thoughts were otherwise engaged, since from varioussymptoms we gathered that the attack was about to be renewed. Spearsupon which shone the light of the rising sun, appeared above the edge ofthe ground-fold that I have mentioned, which to the east increased to adeep, bush-clad ravine. Also there were voices as of leaders encouragingtheir men to a desperate effort. 

"They are coming, " I said to Robertson. 

"Yes, " he answered, "they are coming and we are going. It's a queerend to the thing we call life, isn't it, Quatermain, and hang it all!I wonder what's beyond? Not much for me, I expect, but whatever it iscould scarcely be worse than what I've gone through here below in oneway and another. "

"There's hope for all of us, " I replied as cheerfully as I could, forthe man's deep depression disturbed me. 

"Mayhap, Quatermain, for who knows the infinite mercy of whatever madeus as we are? My old mother used to preach of it and I remember herwords now. But in my case I expect it will stop at hope, or sleep, andif it wasn't for Inez, I'd not mind so much, for I tell you I've hadenough of the world and life. Look, there's one of them. Take that, youblack devil!" and lifting his rifle he aimed and fired at an Amahaggerwho appeared upon the edge of the fold of ground. What is more he hithim, for I saw the man double up and fall backwards. 

Then the game began afresh, for the cannibals (I suppose they werecannibals like their brethren) crept out of shelter, advancing on theirstomachs or their hands and knees, so as to offer a smaller mark, anddragging between them a long and slender tree-trunk with which clearlythey intended to batter down our wall. 

Of course I blazed away at them, pretty carefully too, for I wasdetermined that what I believed to be the last exercise of the gift ofshooting that has been given to me, should prove a record. ThereforeI selected my men and even where I would hit them, and as subsequentexamination showed, I made no mistakes in the seven or eight shots thatI fired. But all the while, like poor Captain Robertson, I was thinkingof other things; namely, where I was bound for presently and if I shouldmeet certain folk there and what was the meaning of this show calledLife, which unless it leads somewhere, according to my judgment has noneat all. Until these questions were solved, however, my duty was to killas many of those ruffians as I could, and this I did with finish anddespatch. 

Robertson and Hans were firing also, with more or less success, butthere were too many to be stopped by our three rifles. Still they cameon till at length their fierce faces were within a few yards of ourlittle parapet and Umslopogaas had lifted his great axe to give themgreeting. They paused a moment before making their final rush, and sodid we to slip in fresh cartridges. 

"Die well, Hans, " I said, "and if you get there first, wait for me onthe other side. "

"Yes, Baas, I always meant to do that, though not yet. We are not goingto die this time, Baas. Those who have the Great Medicine don't die; itis the others who die, like that fellow, " and he pointed to an Amahaggerwho went reeling round and round with a bullet from his Winchesterthrough the middle, for he had fired in the midst of his remarks. 

"Curse--I mean bless--the Great Medicine, " I said as I lifted my rifleto my shoulder. 

At that moment all those Amahagger--there were about sixty of themleft--became seized with a certain perturbation. They stood still, theystared towards the fold of ground out of which they had emerged; theycalled to each other words which I did not catch, and then--they turnedto run. 

Umslopogaas saw, and with a leader's instinct, acted. Springing over theparapet, followed by his remaining Zulus of the Axe, he leapt upon themwith a roar. Down they went before _Inkosikaas_, like corn before asickle. The thing was marvellous to see, it was like the charge of aleopard, so swift was the rush and so lightning-like were the strokes orrather the pecks of that flashing axe, for now he was tapping at theirheads or spines with the gouge-like point upon its back. Nor were thesethe only victims, for those brave followers of his also did their part. In a minute all who remained upon their feet of the Amahagger were infull flight, vanishing this way and that among the trees. Hans fireda parting shot after the last of them, then sat down upon a stone andfinding his corn-cob pipe, proceeded to fill it. 

"The Great Medicine, Baas, " he began sententiously, "or perhapsyour reverend father, the Predikant----" Here he paused and pointeddoubtfully with the bowl of the pipe towards the fold in the ground, adding, "Here it is, but I think it must be your reverend father, notthe Great Medicine, yes, the Predikant himself, returned from Heaven, the Place of Fires!"

Looking vaguely in the direction indicated, for I could not conceivewhat he meant and thought that the excitement must have made him mad, Iperceived a venerable old man with a long white beard and clothed in aflowing garment, also white, who reminded me of Father Christmas at achild's party, walking towards us and radiating benignancy. Also behindhim I perceived a whole forest of spear points emerging from the gully. He seemed to take it for granted that we should not shoot at him, for hecame on quite unconcerned, carefully picking his way among the corpses. When he was near enough he stopped and said in a kind of Arabic which Icould understand, "I greet you, Strangers, in the name of her I serve. I see that I amjust in time, but this does not surprise me, since she said that itwould be so. You seem to have done very well with these dogs, " andhe prodded a dead Amahagger with his sandalled foot. "Yes, very wellindeed. You must be great warriors. "

Then he paused and we stared at each other. 

CHAPTER XI

THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN WALL

"These do not seem to be friends of yours, " I said, pointing to thefallen. "And yet, " I added, nodding towards the spearmen who were nowemerging from the gully, "they are very like your friends. "

"Puppies from the same litter are often alike, yet when they grow upsometimes they fight each other, " replied Father Christmas blandly. "At least these come to save and not to kill you. Look! they kill theothers!" and he pointed to them making an end of some of the woundedmen. "But who are these?" and he glanced with evident astonishment, first at the fearsome-looking Umslopogaas and then at the grotesqueHans. "Nay, answer not, you must be weary and need rest. Afterwards wecan talk. "

"Well, as a matter of fact we have not yet breakfasted, " I replied. "Also I have business to attend to here, " and I glanced at our wounded. 

The old fellow nodded and went to speak to the captains of his force, doubtless as to the pursuit of the enemy, for presently I saw a companyspring forward on their tracks. Then, assisted by Hans and the remainingZulus, of whom one was Goroko, I turned to attend to our own people. The task proved lighter than I expected, since the badly injured manwas dead or dying and the hurts of the two others were in their legsand comparatively slight, such as Goroko could doctor in his own nativefashion. 

After this, taking Hans to guard my back, I went down to the stream andwashed myself. Then I returned and ate, wondering the while that I coulddo so with appetite after the terrible dangers which we had passed. Still, we had passed them, and Robertson, Umslopogaas with three of hismen, I and Hans were quite unharmed, a fact for which I returned thanksin silence but sincerely enough to Providence. 

Hans also returned thanks in his own fashion, after he had filledhimself, not before, and lit his corn-cob pipe. But Robertson made noremark; indeed, when he had satisfied his natural cravings, he rose andwalking a few paces forward, stood staring at the cleft in the mountaincliff into which he had seen the litter vanish that bore his daughter tosome fate unknown. 

Even the great fight that we had fought and the victory we had wonagainst overpowering odds did not appear to impress him. He only glaredat the mountain into the heart of which Inez had been raped away, andshook his fist. Since she was gone all else went for nothing, so much sothat he did not offer to assist with the wounded Zulus or show curiosityabout the strange old man by whom we had been rescued. 

"The Great Medicine, Baas, " said Hans in a bewildered way, "is even morepowerful than I thought. Not only has it brought us safely through thefighting and without a scratch, for those Zulus there do not matter andthere will be less cooking for me to do now that they are gone; it hasalso brought down your reverend father the Predikant from the Place ofFires in Heaven, somewhat changed from what I remember him, it istrue, but still without doubt the same. When I make my report to himpresently, if he can understand my talk, I shall----"

"Stop your infernal nonsense, you son of a donkey, " I broke in, for atthis moment old Father Christmas, smiling more benignly than before, re-appeared from the kloof into which he had vanished and advancedtowards us bowing with much politeness. 

Having seated himself upon the little wall that we had built up, he contemplated us, stroking his beautiful white beard, then said, addressing me, "Of a certainty you should be proud who with a few have defeated somany. Still, had I not been ordered to come at speed, I think that bynow you would have been as those are, " and he looked towards the deadZulus who were laid out at a distance like men asleep, while theircompanions sought for a place to bury them. 

"Ordered by whom?" I asked. 

"There is only one who can order, " he answered with mild astonishment. "'She-who-commands, She-who-is-everlasting'!"

It occurred to me that this must be some Arabic idiom for the EternalFeminine, but I only looked vague and said, "It would appear that there are some whom this exalted everlasting Shecannot command; those who attacked us; also those who have fled awayyonder, " and I waved my hand towards the mountain. 

"No command is absolute; in every country there are rebels, even, as Ihave heard, in Heaven above us. But, Wanderer, what is your name?"

"Watcher-by-Night, " I answered. 

"Ah! a good name for one who must have watched well by night, and by daytoo, to reach this country living where She-who-commands says that noman of your colour has set foot for many generations. Indeed, I thinkshe told me once that two thousand years had gone by since she spoke toa white man in the City of Kôr. "

"Did she indeed?" I exclaimed, stifling a cough. 

"You do not believe me, " he went on, smiling. "Well, She-who-commandscan explain matters for herself better than I who was not alive twothousand years ago, so far as I remember. But what must I call him withthe Axe?"

"Warrior is his name. "

"Again a good name, as to judge by the wounds on them, certain of thoserebels I think are now telling each other in Hell. And this man, ifindeed he be a man----" he added, looking doubtfully at Hans. 

"Light-in-Darkness is his name. "

"I see, doubtless because his colour is that of the winter sun in thickfog, or a bad egg broken into milk. And the other white man who muttersand whose brow is like a storm?"

"He is called Avenger; you will learn why later on, " I answeredimpatiently, for I grew tired of this catechism, adding, "And what areyou called and, if you are pleased to tell it to us, upon what errand doyou visit us in so fortunate an hour?"

"I am named Billali, " he answered, "the servant and messenger ofShe-who-commands, and I was sent to save you and to bring you safely toher. "

"How can this be, Billali, seeing that none knew of our coming?"

"Yet She-who-commands knew, " he said with his benignant smile. "Indeed, I think that she learned of it some moons ago through a message that wassent to her and so arranged all things that you should be guided safelyto her secret home; since otherwise how would you have passed a greatpathless swamp with the loss, I think she said, of but one man whom asnake bit?"

Now I stared at the old fellow, for how could he know of the death ofthis man, but thought it useless to pursue the conversation further. 

"When you are rested and ready, " he went on, "we will start. Meanwhile Ileave you that I may prepare litters to carry those wounded men, andyou also, Watcher-by-Night, if you wish. " Then with a dignified bow, for everything about this old fellow was stately, he turned and vanishedinto the kloof. 

The next hour or so was occupied in the burial of the dead Zulus, aceremony in which I took no part beyond standing up and raising my hatas they were borne away, for as I have said somewhere, it is best toleave natives alone on these occasions. Indeed, I lay down, reflectingthat strangely enough there seemed to be something in old Zikali's taleof a wonderful white Queen who lived in a mountain fastness, since therewas the mountain as he had drawn it on the ashes, and the servants ofthat Queen who, apparently, had knowledge of our coming, appeared in thenick of time to rescue us from one of the tightest fixes in which ever Ifound myself. 

Moreover, the antique and courteous individual called Billali, spoke ofher as "She-who-is-everlasting. " What the deuce could he mean by that, I wondered? Probably that she was very old and therefore disagreeable tolook on, which I confessed to myself would be a disappointment. 

And how did she know that we were coming? I could not guess and when Iasked Robertson, he merely shrugged his shoulders and intimated that hetook no interest in the matter. The truth is that nothing moved the man, whose whole soul was wrapped in one desire, namely to rescue, or avenge, the daughter against whom he knew he had so sorely sinned. 

In fact, this loose-living but reformed seaman was becoming amonomaniac, and what is more, one of the religious type. He had a Biblewith him that had been given to him by his mother when he was a boy, andin this he read constantly; also he was always on his knees and at nightI could hear him groaning and praying aloud. Doubtless now that thechains of drink had fallen off him, the instincts and the blood ofthe dour old Covenanters from whom he was descended, were assertingthemselves. In a way this was a good thing though for some time pastI had feared lest it should end in his going mad, and certainly as acompanion he was more cheerful in his unregenerate days. 

Abandoning speculation as useless and taking my chance of being murderedwhere I lay, for after all Billali's followers were singularly likethe men with whom we had been fighting and for aught I knew might beanimated by identical objects--I just went to sleep, as I can do atany time, to wake up an hour or so later feeling wonderfully refreshed. Hans, who when I closed my eyes was already asleep slumbering at my feetcurled up like a dog on a spot where the sun struck hotly, roused me bysaying:

"Awake, Baas, they are here!"

I sprang up, snatching at my rifle, for I thought that he meant thatwe were being attacked again, to see Billali advancing at the head ofa train of four litters made of bamboo with grass mats for curtainsand coverings, each of which was carried by stalwart Amahagger, as Isupposed that they must be. Two of these, the finest, Billali indicatedwere for Robertson and myself, and the two others for the wounded. Umslopogaas and the remaining Zulus evidently were expected to walk, aswas Hans. 

"How did you make these so quickly, " I asked, surveying their elegantand indeed artistic workmanship. 

"We did not make them, Watcher-by-Night, we brought them with us foldedup. She-who-commands looked in her glass and said that four would beneeded, besides my own which is yonder, two for white lords and two forwounded black men, which you see is the number required. "

"Yes, " I answered vaguely, marvelling what kind of a glass it was thatgave the lady this information. 

Before I could inquire upon the point Billali added, "You will be glad to learn that my men caught some of those rebels whodared to attack you, eight or ten of them who had been hurt by yourmissiles or axe-cuts, and put them to death in the proper fashion--yes, quite the proper fashion, " and he smiled a little. "The rest had gonetoo far where it would have been dangerous to follow them among therocks. Enter now, my lord Watcher-by-Night, for the road is steep and wemust travel fast if we would reach the place where She-who-commands iscamped in the ancient holy city, before the moon sinks behind the cliffsto-night. "

So having explained matters to Robertson and Umslopogaas, who announcedthat nothing would induce _him_ to be carried like an old woman, ora corpse upon a shield, and seen that the hurt Zulus were comfortablyaccommodated, Robertson and I got into our litters, which proved to bedelightfully easy and restful. 

Then when our gear was collected by the hook-nosed bearers to whom wewere obliged to trust, though we kept with us our rifles and a certainamount of ammunition, we started. First went a number of Billali'sspearmen, then came the litters with the wounded alongside of whichUmslopogaas and his three uninjured Zulus talked or trotted, thenanother litter containing Billali, then my own by which ran Hans, and Robertson's, and lastly the rest of the Amahagger and the reliefbearers. 

"I see now, Baas, " said Hans, thrusting his head between my curtains, "that yonder Whitebeard cannot be your reverend father, the Predikant, after all. "

"Why not?" I asked, though the fact was fairly obvious. 

"Because, Baas, if he were, he would not have left Hans, of whom healways thought so well, to run in the sun like a dog, while he andothers travel in carriages like great white ladies. "

"You had better save your breath instead of talking nonsense, Hans, " Isaid, "since I believe that you have a long way to go. "

In fact, it proved to be a very long way indeed, especially as after webegan to breast the mountain, we must travel slowly. We started aboutten o'clock in the morning, for the fight which after all did not takelong--had, it will be remembered, begun shortly after dawn, and it wasthree in the afternoon before we reached the base of the towering cliffwhich I have mentioned. 

Here, at the foot of a remarkable, isolated column of rock, on which Iwas destined to see a strange sight in the after days, we halted and ateof the remaining food which we had brought with us, while the Amahaggerconsumed their own, that seemed to consist largely of curdled milk, suchas the Zulus call _maas_, and lumps of a kind of bread. 

I noted that they were a very curious people who fed in silence and onwhose handsome, solemn faces one never saw a smile. Somehow it gave methe creeps to look at them. Robertson was affected in the same way, forin one of the rare intervals of his abstraction he remarked that theywere "no canny. " Then he added, "Ask yon old wizard who might be one of the Bible prophets come tolife--what those man-eating devils have done with my daughter. "

I did so, and Billali answered, "Say that they have taken her away to make a queen of her, since havingrebelled against their own queen, they must have another who is white. Say too that She-who-commands will wage war on them and perhaps win herback, unless they kill her first. "

"Ah!" Robertson repeated when I had translated, "unless they kill herfirst--or worse. " Then he relapsed into his usual silence. 

Presently we started on again, heading straight for what looked like asheer wall of black rock a thousand feet or more in height, up a path sosteep that Robertson and I got out and walked, or rather scrambled, inorder to ease the bearers. Billali, I noticed, remained in his litter. The convenience of the bearers did not trouble him; he only ordered anextra gang to the poles. I could not imagine how we were to negotiatethis precipice. Nor could Umslopogaas, who looked at it and said, "If we are to climb that, Macumazahn, I think that the only one who willlive to get to the top will be that little yellow monkey of yours, " andhe pointed with his axe at Hans. 

"If I do, " replied that worthy, much nettled, for he hated to be calleda "yellow monkey" by the Zulus, "be sure that I will roll down stonesupon any black butcher whom I see sprawling upon the cliff below. "

Umslopogaas smiled grimly, for he had a sense of humour and couldappreciate a repartee even when it hit him hard. Then we stopped talkingfor the climb took all our breath. 

At length we came to the cliff face where, to all appearance, ourjourney must end. Suddenly, however, out of the blind black wall infront of us started the apparition of a tall man armed with a greatspear and wearing a white robe, who challenged us hoarsely. 

Suddenly he stood before us, as a ghost might do, though whence he camewe could not see. Presently the mystery was explained. Here in the cliffface there was a cleft, though one invisible even from a few paces away, since its outer edge projected over the inner wall of rock. Moreover, this opening was not above four feet in width, a mere split in the hugemountain mass caused by some titanic convulsion in past ages. For it wasa definite split since, once entered, far, far above could be traceda faint line of light coming from the sky, although the gloom of thepassage was such that torches, which were stored at hand, must be usedby those who threaded it. One man could have held the place against ahundred--until he was killed. Still, it was guarded, not only at themouth where the warrior had appeared, but further along at every turn inthe jagged chasm, and these were many. 

Into this grim place we went. The Zulus did not like it at all, forthey are a light-loving people and I noted that even Umslopogaasseemed scared and hung back a little. Nor did Hans, who with his usualsuspicion, feared some trap; nor, for the matter of that, did I, thoughI thought it well to appear much interested. Only Robertson seemed quiteindifferent and trudged along stolidly after a man carrying a torch. 

Old Billali put his head out of the litter and shouted back to meto fear nothing, since there were no pitfalls in the path, his voiceechoing strangely between those narrow walls of measureless height. 

For half an hour or more we pursued this dreary, winding path round thecorners of which the draught tore in gusts so fierce that more than oncethe litters with the wounded men and those who bore them were nearlyblown over. It was safe enough, however, since on either side of us, smooth and without break, rose the sheer walls of rock over which laythe tiny ribbon of blue sky. At length the cleft widened somewhat andthe light grew stronger, making the torches unnecessary. 

Then of a sudden we came to its end and found ourselves upon a littleplateau in the mountainside. Behind us for a thousand feet or so rosethe sheer rock wall as it did upon the outer face, while in front andbeneath, far beneath, was a beautiful plain circular in shape and ofgreat extent, which plain was everywhere surrounded, so far as I couldsee, by the same wall of rock. In short, notwithstanding its enormoussize, without doubt it was neither more nor less than the crater of avast extinct volcano. Lastly, not far from the centre of this plain waswhat appeared to be a city, since through my glasses I could see greatwalls built of stone, and what I thought were houses, all of them of acharacter more substantial than any that I had discovered in the wildsof Africa. 

I went to Billali's litter and asked him who lived in the city. 

"No one, " he answered, "it has been dead for thousands of years, butShe-who-commands is camped there at present with an army, and thither wego at once. Forward, bearers. "

So, Robertson and I having re-entered our litters, we started on downhill at a rapid pace, for the road, though steep, was safe and kept ingood order. All the rest of that afternoon we travelled and by sunsetreached the edge of the plain, where we halted a while to rest and eat, till the light of the growing moon grew strong enough to enable us toproceed. Umslopogaas came up and spoke to me. 

"Here is a fortress indeed, Macumazahn, " he said, "since none can climbthat fence of rock in which the holes seem to be few and small. "

"Yes, " I answered, "but it is one out of which those who are in, wouldfind it difficult to get out. We are buffaloes in a pit, Umslopogaas. "

"That is so, " he answered, "I have thought it already. But if any wouldmeddle with us we still have our horns and can toss for a while. "

Then he went back to his men. 

The sunset in that great solemn place was a wonderful thing to see. First of all the measureless crater was filled with light like a bowlwith fire. Then as the great orb sank behind the western cliff, half ofthe plain became quite dark while shadows seemed to rush forward overthe eastern part of its surface, till that too was swallowed up in gloomand for a little while there remained only a glow reflected from thecliff face and from the sky above, while on the crest of the parapet ofrock played strange and glorious fires. Presently these too vanished andthe world was dark. 

Then the half moon broke from behind a bank of clouds and by its silver, uncertain light we struggled forward across the flat plain, ratherslowly now, for even the iron muscles of those bearers grew tired. Icould not see much of it, but I gathered that we were passing throughcrops, very fine crops to judge by their height, as doubtless they wouldbe upon this lava soil; also once or twice we splashed through streams. 

At length, being tired and lulled by the swaying of the litter and bythe sound of a weird, low chant that the bearers had set up now thatthey neared home and were afraid of no attack, I sank into a doze. WhenI awoke again it was to find that the litter had halted and to hear thevoice of Billali say, "Descend, White Lords, and come with your companions, the black Warriorand the yellow man who is named Light-in-Darkness. She-who-commandsdesires to see you at once before you eat and sleep, and must not bekept waiting. Fear not for the others, they will be cared for till youreturn. "

CHAPTER XII

THE WHITE WITCH

I descended from the litter and told the others what the old fellow hadsaid. Robertson did not want to come, and indeed refused to do so untilI suggested to him that such conduct might prejudice a powerful personagainst us. Umslopogaas was indifferent, putting, as he remarked, nofaith in a ruler who was a woman. 

Only Hans, although he was so tired, acquiesced with some eagerness, the fact being that his brain was more alert and that he had all thecuriosity of the monkey tribe which he so much resembled in appearance, and wanted to see this queen whom Zikali revered. 

In the end we started, conducted by Billali and by men who carriedtorches whereof the light showed me that we were passing between houses, or at any rate walls that had been those of houses, and along whatseemed to be a paved street. 

Walking under what I took to be a great arch or portico, we came intoa court that was full of towering pillars but unroofed, for I could seethe stars above. At its end we entered a building of which the doorwaywas hung with mats, to find that it was lighted with lamps and thatall down its length on either side guards with long spears stood atintervals. 

"Oh, Baas, " said Hans hesitatingly, "this is the mouth of a trap, " whileUmslopogaas glared about him suspiciously, fingering the handle of hisgreat axe. 

"Be silent, " I answered. "All this mountain is a trap, therefore anotherdoes not matter, and we have our pistols. "

Walking forward between the double line of guards who stood immovable asstatues, we came to some curtains hung at the end of a long, narrow hallwhich, although I know little of such things, were, I noted, made ofrich stuff embroidered in colours and with golden threads. Before thesecurtains Billali motioned us to halt. 

After a whispered colloquy with someone beyond carried on through thejoin of the curtains, he vanished between them, leaving us alone forfive minutes or more. At length they opened and a tall and elegant womanwith an Arab cast of countenance and clad in white robes, appeared andbeckoned to us to enter. She did not speak or answer when I spoke toher, which was not wonderful as afterwards I discovered that she was amute. We went in, I wondering very much what we were going to see. 

On the further side of the curtains was a room of no great sizeillumined with lamps of which the light fell upon sculptured walls. Itlooked to me as though it might once have been the inmost court or asanctuary of some temple, for at its head was a dais upon which onceperhaps had stood the shrine or statue of a god. On this dais there wasnow a couch and on the couch--a goddess!

There she sat, straight and still, clothed in shining white and veiled, but with her draperies so arranged that they emphasised rather thanconcealed the wonderful elegance of her tall form. From beneath theveil, which was such as a bride wears, appeared two plaits of glossy, raven hair of great length, to the end of each of which was suspended asingle large pearl. On either side of her stood a tall woman like to herwho had led us through the curtains, and on his knees in front, but tothe right, knelt Billali. 

About this seated personage there was an air of singular majesty, suchas might pervade a queen as fancy paints her, though she had a noblerfigure than any queen I ever saw depicted. Mystery seemed to flow fromher; it clothed her like the veil she wore, which of course heightenedthe effect. Beauty flowed from her also; although it was shrouded I knewthat it was there, no veil or coverings could obscure it--at least, tomy imagination. Moreover she breathed out power also; one felt it in theair as one feels a thunderstorm before it breaks, and it seemed to methat this power was not quite human, that it drew its strength from afarand dwelt a stranger to the earth. 

To tell the truth, although my curiosity, always strong, was enormouslyexcited and though now I felt glad that I had attempted this journeywith all its perils, I was horribly afraid, so much afraid that I shouldhave liked to turn and run away. From the beginning I knew myself tobe in the presence of an unearthly being clothed in soft and perfectwoman's flesh, something alien, too, and different from our human race. 

What a picture it all made! There she sat, quiet and stately as aperfect marble statue; only her breast, rising and falling beneath thewhite robe, showed that she was alive and breathed as others do. Anotherthing showed it also--her eyes. At first I could not see them throughthe veil, but presently either because I grew accustomed to the light, or because they brightened as those of certain animals have power to dowhen they watch intently, it ceased to be a covering to them. DistinctlyI saw them now, large and dark and splendid with a tinge of deep bluein the iris; alluring and yet awful in their majestic aloofness whichseemed to look through and beyond, to embrace all without seeking andwithout effort. Those eyes were like windows through which light flowsfrom within, a light of the spirit. 

I glanced round to see the effect of this vision upon my companions. Itwas most peculiar. Hans had sunk to his knees; his hands were joined inthe attitude of prayer and his ugly little face reminded me of that of abig fish out of water and dying from excess of air. Robertson, startledout of his abstraction, stared at the royal-looking woman on the couchwith his mouth open. 

"Man, " he whispered, "I've got them back although I have touched nothingfor weeks, only this time they are lovely. For yon's no human lady, Ifeel it in my bones. "

Umslopogaas stood great and grim, his hands resting on the handle of histall axe; and he stared also, the blood pulsing against the skin thatcovered the hole in his head. 

"Watcher-by-Night, " he said to me in his deep voice, but also speakingin a whisper, "this chieftainess is not one woman, but all women. Beneath those robes of hers I seem to see the beauty of one who has'gone Beyond, ' of the Lily who is lost to me. Do you not feel it thus, Macumazahn?"

Now that he mentioned it, certainly I did; indeed, I had felt itall along although amid the rush of sensations this one had scarcelydisentangled itself in my mind. I looked at the draped shape andsaw--well, never mind whom I saw; it was not one only but several insequence; also a woman who at that time I did not know although I cameto know her afterwards, too well, perhaps, or at any rate quiteenough to puzzle me. The odd thing was that in this hallucination thepersonalities of these individuals seemed to overlap and merge, till atlast I began to wonder whether they were not parts of the same entityor being, manifesting itself in sundry shapes, yet springing from onecentre, as different coloured rays flow from the same crystal, while thebeams from their source of light shift and change. But the fancy is toometaphysical for my poor powers to express as clearly as I would. Alsono doubt it was but a hallucination that had its origin, perhaps, in themischievous brain of her who sat before us. 

At length she spoke and her voice sounded like silver bells heard overwater in a great calm. It was low and sweet, oh! so sweet that at itsfirst notes for a moment my senses seemed to swoon and my pulse to stop. It was to me that she addressed herself. 

"My servant here, " and ever so slightly she turned her head towards thekneeling Billali, "tells me that you who are named Watcher-in-the-Night, understand the tongue in which I speak to you. Is it so?"

"I understand Arabic of a kind well enough, having learned it on theEast Coast and from Arabs in past years, but not such Arabic as you use, O----" and I paused. 

"Call me _Hiya_, " she broke in, "which is my title here, meaning, as youknow, She, or Woman. Or if that does not please you, call me Ayesha. It would rejoice me after so long to hear the name I bore spoken by thelips of one of my colour and of gentle blood. "

I blushed at the compliment so artfully conveyed, and repeated stupidlyenough, "--Not such Arabic as you use, O--Ayesha. "

"I thought that you would like the sound of the word better than thatof _Hiya_, though afterwards I will teach you to pronounce it as youshould, O--have you any other name save Watcher-by-Night, which seemsalso to be a title?"

"Yes, " I answered. "Allan. "

"--O--Allan. Tell me of these, " she went on quickly, indicating mycompanions with a sweep of her slender hand, "for they do not speakArabic, I think. Or stay, I will tell you of them and you shall say ifI do so rightly. This one, " and she nodded towards Robertson, "is a manbemused. There comes from him a colour which I see if you cannot, andthat colour betokens a desire for revenge, though I think that in histime he has desired other things also, as I remember men always did fromthe beginning, to their ruin. Human nature does not change, Allan, andwine and women are ancient snares. Enough of him for this time. Thelittle yellow one there is afraid of me, as are all of you. That iswoman's greatest power, although she is so weak and gentle, men arestill afraid of her just because they are so foolish that they cannotunderstand her. To them after a million years she still remains theUnknown and to us all the Unknown is also the awful. Do you remember theproverb of the Romans that says it well and briefly?"

I nodded, for it was one of the Latin tags that my father had taught me. 

"Good. Well, he is a little wild man, is he not, nearer to the apes fromwhose race our bodies come? But do you know that, Allan?"

I nodded again, and said, "There are disputes upon the point, Ayesha. "

"Yes, they had begun in my day and we will discuss them later. Still, Isay--nearer to the ape than you or I, and therefore of interest, as thegerm of things is always. Yet he has qualities, I think; cunning, andfidelity and love which in its round is all in all. Do you understand, Allan, that love is all in all?"

I answered warily that it depended upon what she meant by love, to whichshe replied that she would explain afterwards when we had leisure totalk, adding, "What this little yellow monkey understands by it at least has servedyou well, or so I believe. You shall tell me the tale of it some day. Now of the last, this Black One. Here I think is a man indeed, a warriorof warriors such as there used to be in the early world, if a savage. Well, believe me, Allan, savages are often the best. Moreover, all arestill savage at heart, even you and I. For what is termed culture isbut coat upon coat of paint laid on to hide our native colour, and oftenthere is poison in the paint. That axe of his has drunk deep, I think, though always in fair fight, and I say that it shall drink deeper yet. Have I read these men aright, Allan?"

"Not so ill, " I answered. 

"I thought it, " she said with a musical laugh, "although at this place Irust and grow dull like an unused sword. Now you would rest. Go--all ofyou. To-morrow you and I will talk alone. Fear nothing for your safety;you are watched by my slaves and I watch my slaves. Until to-morrow, then, farewell. Go now, eat and sleep, as alas we all must do who lingeron this ball of earth and cling to a life we should do well to lose. Billali, lead them hence, " and she waved her hand to signify that theaudience was ended. 

At this sign Hans, who apparently was still much afraid, rose from hisknees and literally bolted through the curtains. Robertson followed him. Umslopogaas stood a moment, drew himself up and lifting the great axe, cried _Bayéte_, after which he too turned and went. 

"What does that word mean, Allan?" she asked. 

I explained that it was the salutation which the Zulu people only giveto kings. 

"Did I not say that savages are often the best?" she exclaimed in agratified voice. "The white man, your companion, gave me no salute, butthe Black One knows when he stands before a woman who is royal. "

"He too is of royal blood in his own land, " I said. 

"If so, we are akin, Allan. "

Then I bowed deeply to her in my best manner and rising from her couchfor the first time she stood up, looking very tall and commanding, andbowed back. 

After this I went to find the others on the further side of thecurtains, except Hans, who had run down the long narrow hall and throughthe mats at its end. We followed, marching with dignity behind Billaliand between the double line of guards, who raised their spears as wepassed them, and on the further side of the mats discovered Hans, stilllooking terrified. 

"Baas, " he said to me as we threaded our way through the court ofcolumns, "in my life I have seen all kinds of dreadful things and facedthem, but never have I been so much afraid as I am of that white witch. Baas, I think that she is the devil of whom your reverend father, thePredikant, used to talk so much, or perhaps his wife. "

"If so, Hans, " I answered, "the devil is not so black as he is painted. But I advise you to be careful of what you say as she may have longears. "

"It doesn't matter at all what one says, Baas, because she readsthoughts before they pass the lips. I felt her doing it there in thatroom. And do you be careful, Baas, or she will eat up your spirit andmake you fall in love with her, who, I expect, is very ugly indeed, since otherwise she would not wear a veil. Whoever saw a pretty womantie up her head in a sack, Baas?"

"Perhaps she does this because she is so beautiful, Hans, that she fearsthe hearts of men who look upon her would melt. "

"Oh, no, Baas, all women want to melt men's hearts; the more the better. They seem to have other things in their minds, but really they think ofnothing else until they are too old and ugly, and it takes them a longwhile to be sure of that. "

So Hans went on talking his shrewd nonsense till, following so far asI could see, the same road as that by which we had come, we reached ourquarters, where we found food prepared for us, broiled goat's fleshwith corncakes and milk, I think it was; also beds for us two white mencovered with skin rugs and blankets woven of wool. 

These quarters, I should explain, consisted of rooms in a house builtof stone of which the walls had once been painted. The roof of the housewas gone now, for we could see the stars shining above us, but as theair was very soft in this sheltered plain, this was an advantage ratherthan otherwise. The largest room was reserved for Robertson and myself, while another at the back was given to Umslopogaas and his Zulus, and athird to the two wounded men. 

Billali showed us these arrangements by the light of lamps andapologised that they were not better because, as he explained, the placewas a ruin and there had been no time to build us a house. He added thatwe might sleep without fear as we were guarded and none would dare toharm the guests of She-who-commands, on whom he was sure we, or at anyrate I and the black Warrior, had produced an excellent impression. Thenhe bowed himself out, saying that he would return in the morning, andleft us to our own devices. 

Robertson and I sat down on stools that had been set for us, and ate, but he seemed so overcome by his experiences, or by his sombre thoughts, that I could not draw him into conversation. All he remarked was thatwe had fallen into queer company and that those who supped with Satanneeded a long spoon. Having delivered himself of this sentiment hethrew himself upon the bed, prayed aloud for a while as had become hisfashion, to be "protected from warlocks and witches, " amongst otherthings, and went to sleep. 

Before I turned in I visited Umslopogaas's room to see that all was wellwith him and his people, and found him standing in the doorway staringat the star-spangled sky. 

"Greeting, Macumazahn, " he said, "you who are white and wise and I amblack and a fighter have seen many strange things beneath the sun, butnever such a one as we have looked upon to-night. Who and what is thatchieftainess, Macumazahn?"

"I do not know, " I said, "but it is worth while to have lived to seeher, even though she be veiled. "

"Nor do I, Macumazahn. Nay, I do know, for my heart tells me that sheis the greatest of all witches and that you will do well to guard yourspirit lest she should steal it away. If she were not a witch, should Ihave seemed to behold the shape of Nada the Lily who was the wife of myyouth, beneath those white robes of hers, and though the tongue in whichshe spoke was strange to me, to hear the murmur of Nada's voice betweenher lips, of Nada who has gone further from me than those stars. Itis good that you wear the Great Medicine of Zikali upon your breast, Macumazahn, for perhaps it will shield you from harm at those hands thatare shaped of ivory. "

"Zikali is another of the tribe, " I answered, laughing, "although lessbeautiful to see. Also I am not afraid of any of them, and from thisone, if she be more than some white woman whom it pleases to veilherself, I shall hope to gather wisdom. "

"Yes, Macumazahn, such wisdom as Spirits and the dead have to give. "

"Mayhap, Umslopogaas, but we came here to seek Spirits and the dead, didwe not?"

"Aye, " answered Umslopogaas, "these and war, and I think that we shallfind enough of all three. Only I hope that war will come the first, lestthe Spirits and the dead should bewitch me and take away my skill andcourage. "

Then we parted, and too tired even to wonder any more, I threw myselfdown on my bed and slept. 

I was awakened when the sun was already high, by the sound of Robertson, who was on his knees, praying aloud as usual, a habit of his which Iconfess got on my nerves. Prayer, in my opinion, is a private matterbetween man and his Creator, that is, except in church; further, I didnot in the least wish to hear all about Robertson's sins, which seemedto have been many and peculiar. It is bad enough to have to bear theburden of one's own transgressions without learning of those of otherpeople, that is, unless one is a priest and must do so professionally. So I jumped up to escape and make arrangements for a wash, only tobutt into old Billali, who was standing in the doorway contemplatingRobertson with much interest and stroking his white beard. 

He greeted me with his courteous bow and said, "Tell your companion, O Watcher, that it is not necessary for him to goupon his knees to She-who-commands--and must be obeyed, " he added withemphasis, "when he is not in her presence, and that even then he woulddo well to keep silent, since so much talking in a strange tongue mighttrouble her. "

I burst out laughing and answered, "He does not go upon his knees and pray to She-who-commands, but to theGreat One who is in the sky. "

"Indeed, Watcher. Well, here we only know a Great One who is upon theearth, though it is true that perhaps she visits the skies sometimes. "

"Is it so, Billali?" I answered incredulously. "And now, I would ask youto take me to some place where I can bathe. "

"It is ready, " he replied. "Come. "

So I called to Hans, who was hanging about with a rifle on his arm, tofollow with a cloth and soap, of which fortunately we had a couple ofpieces left, and we started along what had once been a paved roadwayrunning between stone houses, whereof the time-eaten ruins stillremained on either side. 

"Who and what is this Queen of yours, Billali?" I asked as we went. "Surely she is not of the Amahagger blood. "

"Ask it of herself, O Watcher, for I cannot tell you. All I know isthat I can trace my own family for ten generations and that my tenthforefather told his son on his deathbed, for the saying has come downthrough his descendants--that when he was young She-who-commands hadruled the land for more scores of years than he could count months oflife. "

I stopped and stared at him, since the lie was so amazing that it seemedto deprive me of the power of motion. Noting my very obvious disbeliefhe continued blandly, "If you doubt, ask. And now here is where you may bathe. "

Then he led me through an arched doorway and down a wrecked passage towhat very obviously once had been a splendid bath-house such as some Ihave seen pictures of that were built by the Romans. Its size was thatof a large room; it was constructed of a kind of marble with a slopingbottom that varied from three to seven feet in depth, and water stillran in and out of it through large glazed pipes. Moreover round it wasa footway about five feet across, from which opened chambers, unroofednow, that the bathers used as dressing-rooms, while between thesechambers stood the remains of statues. One at the end indeed, where analcove had protected it from sun and weather, was still quite perfect, except for the outstretched arms which were gone (the right hand Inoticed lying at the bottom of the bath). It was that of a nude youngwoman in the attitude of diving, a very beautiful bit of work, Ithought, though of course I am no judge of sculpture. Even the smilemingled with trepidation upon the girl's face was most naturallyportrayed. 

This statue showed two things, that the bath was used by females andthat the people who built it were highly civilised, also that theybelonged to an advanced if somewhat Eastern race, since the girl's nosewas, if anything, Semitic in character, and her lips, though prettilyshaped, were full. For the rest, the basin was so clean that I presumeit must have been made ready for me or other recent bathers, and atits bottom I discovered gratings and broken pipes of earthenware whichsuggested that in the old days the water could be warmed by means of afurnace. 

This relic of a long-past civilisation excited Hans even more than itdid myself, since having never seen anything of the sort, he thought itso strange that, as he informed me, he imagined that it must have beenbuilt by witchcraft. In it I had a most delightful and much-needed bath. Even Hans was persuaded to follow my example--a thing I had rarely knownhim to do before--and seated in its shallowest part, splashed some waterover his yellow, wrinkled anatomy. Then we returned to our house, whereI found an excellent breakfast had been provided which was brought tous by tall, silent, handsome women who surveyed us out of the corners oftheir eyes, but said nothing. 

Shortly after I had finished my meal, Billali, who had disappeared, cameback again and said that She-who-commands desired my presence as shewould speak with me; also that I must come alone. So, after attending tothe wounded, who both seemed to be getting on well, I went, followed byHans armed with his rifle, though I only carried my revolver. Robertsonwished to accompany me, as he did not seem to care about being leftalone with the Zulus in that strange place, but this Billali would notallow. Indeed, when he persisted, two great men stepped forward andcrossed their spears before him in a somewhat threatening fashion. Thenat my entreaty, for I feared lest trouble should arise, he gave in andreturned to the house. 

Following our path of the night before, we walked up a ruined streetwhich I could see was only one of scores in what had once been a verygreat city, until we came to the archway that I have mentioned, a largeone now overgrown with plants that from their yellow, sweet-scentedbloom I judged to be a species of wallflower, also with a kind ofhouseleek or saxifrage. 

Here Hans was stopped by guards, Billali explaining to me that he mustawait my return, an order which he obeyed unwillingly enough. Then Iwent on down the narrow passage, lined as before by guards who stoodsilent as statues, and came to the curtains at the end. Before these ata motion from Billali, who did not seem to dare to speak in this place, I stood still and waited. 

CHAPTER XIII

ALLAN HEARS A STRANGE TALE

For some minutes I remained before those curtains until, had it not beenfor something electric in the air which got into my bones, a kind offorce that, perhaps in my fancy only, seemed to pervade the place, I should certainly have grown bored. Indeed I was about to ask mycompanion why he did not announce our arrival instead of standing therelike a stuck pig with his eyes shut as though in prayer or meditation, when the curtains parted and from between them appeared one ofthose tall waiting women whom we had seen on the previous night. Shecontemplated us gravely for a few moments, then moved her hand twice, once forward, towards Billali as a signal to him to retire, which he didwith great rapidity, and next in a beckoning fashion towards myself toinvite me to follow her. 

I obeyed, passing between the thick curtains which she fastened in someway behind me, and found myself in the same roofed and sculptured roomthat I have already described. Only now there were no lamps, such lightas penetrated it coming from an opening above that I could not see, andfalling upon the dais at its head, also on her who sat upon the dais. 

Yes, there she was in her white robes and veil, the point and centre ofa little lake of light, a wondrous and in a sense a spiritual vision, for in truth there was something about her which was not of the world, something that drew and yet frightened me. Still as a statue she sat, like one to whom time is of no account and who has grown weary ofmotion, and on either side of her yet more still, like caryatidessupporting a shrine, stood two of the stately women who were herattendants. 

For the rest a sweet and subtle odour pervaded the chamber which tookhold of my senses as _hasheesh_ might do, which I was sure proceededfrom her, or from her garments, for I could see no perfumes burning. Shespoke no word, yet I knew she was inviting me to come nearer and movedforward till I reached a curious carved chair that was placed justbeneath the dais, and there halted, not liking to sit down withoutpermission. 

For a long while she contemplated me, for as before I could feel hereyes searching me from head to foot and as it were looking through me asthough she would discover my very soul. Then at length she moved, wavingthose two ivory arms of hers outwards with a kind of swimming stroke, whereon the women to right and left of her turned and glided away, Iknow not whither. 

"Sit, Allan, " she said, "and let us talk, for I think we have much tosay to each other. Have you slept well? And eaten?--though I fear thatthe food is but rough. Also was the bath made ready for you?"

"Yes, Ayesha, " I answered to all three questions, adding, for I knew notwhat to say, "It seems to be a very ancient bath. "

"When I last saw it, " she replied, "it was well enough with statuesstanding round it worked by a sculptor who had seen beauty in hisdreams. But in two thousand years--or is it more?--the tooth of Timebites deep, and doubtless like all else in this dead place it is now aruin. "

I coughed to cover up the exclamation of disbelief that rose to my lipsand remarked blandly that two thousand years was certainly a long time. 

"When you say one thing, Allan, and mean another, your Arabic is evenmore vile than usual and does not serve to cloak your thought. "

"It may be so, Ayesha, for I only know that tongue as I do many other ofthe dialects of Africa by learning it from common men. My own speechis English, in which, if you are acquainted with it, I should prefer totalk. "

"I know not English, which doubtless is some language that has arisensince I left the world. Perhaps later you shall teach it to me. I tellyou, you anger me whom it is not well to anger, because you believenothing that passes my lips and yet do not dare to say so. "

"How can I believe one, Ayesha, who if I understand aright, speaks ofhaving seen a certain bath two thousand years ago, whereas one hundredyears are the full days of man? Forgive me therefore if I cannot believewhat I know to be untrue. "

Now I thought that she would be very angry and was sorry that I hadspoken. But as it happened she was not. 

"You must have courage to give me the lie so boldly--and I likecourage, " she said, "who have been cringed to for so long. Indeed, Iknow that you are brave, who have heard how you bore yourself in thefight yesterday, and much else about you. I think that we shall befriends, but--seek no more. "

"What else should I seek, Ayesha?" I asked innocently. 

"Now you are lying again, " she said, "who know well that no man who isa man sees a woman who is beautiful and pleases him, without wonderingwhether, should he desire it, she could come to love him, that is, ifshe be young. "

"Which at least is not possible if she has lived two thousand years. Then naturally she would prefer to wear a veil, " I said boldly, seekingto avoid the argument into which I saw she wished to drag me. 

"Ah!" she answered, "the little yellow man who is namedLight-in-Darkness put that thought into your heart, I think. Oh, do nottrouble as to how I know it, who have many spies here, as he guessedwell enough. So a woman who has lived two thousand years must be hideousand wrinkled, must she? The stamp of youth and loveliness must long havefled from her; of that you, the wise man, are sure. Very well. Now youtempt me to do what I had determined I would not do and you shall pluckthe fruit of that tree of curiosity which grows so fast within you. Look, Allan, and say whether I am old and hideous, even though I havelived two thousand years upon the earth and mayhap many more. "

Then she lifted her hands and did something to her veil, so that fora moment--only one moment--her face was revealed, after which the veilfell into its place. 

I looked, I saw, and if that chair had lacked a back I believe that Ishould have fallen out of it to the ground. As for what I saw--well, it cannot be described, at any rate by me, except perhaps as a flash ofglory. 

Every man has dreamed of perfect beauty, basing his ideas of it perhapson that of some woman he has met who chanced to take his fancy, witha few accessories from splendid pictures or Greek statues thrown in, _plus_ a garnishment of the imagination. At any rate I have, and herewas that perfect beauty multiplied by ten, such beauty, that at thesight of it the senses reeled. And yet I repeat that it is not to bedescribed. 

I do not know what the nose or the lips were like; in fact, all that Ican remember with distinctness is the splendour of the eyes, of whichI had caught some hint through her veil on the previous night. Oh, theywere wondrous, those eyes, but I cannot tell their colour save that thegroundwork of them was black. Moreover they seemed to be more than eyesas we understand them. They were indeed windows of the soul, out ofwhich looked thought and majesty and infinite wisdom, mixed with all theallurements and the mystery that we are accustomed to see or to imaginein woman. 

Here let me say something at once. If this marvellous creature expectedthat the revelation of her splendour was going to make me her slave; tocause me to fall in love with her, as it is called, well, she must havebeen disappointed, for it had no such effect. It frightened and in asense humbled me, that is all, for I felt myself to be in the presenceof something that was not human, something alien to me as a man, which Icould fear and even adore as humanity would adore that which is Divine, but with which I had no desire to mix. Moreover, was it divine, or wasit something very different? I did not know, I only knew that it was notfor me; as soon should I have thought of asking for a star to set withinmy lantern. 

I think that she felt this, felt that her stroke had missed, as theFrench say, that is if she meant to strike at all at this moment. Of this I am not certain, for it was in a changed voice, one with asuspicion of chill in it that she said with a little laugh, "Do you admit now, Allan, that a woman may be old and still remain fairand unwrinkled?"

"I admit, " I answered, although I was trembling so much that I couldhardly speak with steadiness, "that a woman may be splendid and lovelybeyond anything that the mind of man can conceive, whatever her age, ofwhich I know nothing. I would add this, Ayesha, that I thank you verymuch for having revealed to me the glory that is hid beneath your veil. "

"Why?" she asked, and I thought that I detected curiosity in herquestion. 

"For this reason, Ayesha. Now there is no fear of my troubling you insuch a fashion as you seemed to dread a little while ago. As soon woulda man desire to court the moon sailing in her silver loveliness throughheaven. "

"The moon! It is strange that you should compare me to the moon, " shesaid musingly. "Do you know that the moon was a great goddess in OldEgypt and that her name was Isis and--well, once I had to do with Isis?Perhaps you were there and knew it, since more lives than one are givento most of us. I must search and learn. For the rest, all have notthought as you do, Allan. Many, on the contrary, love and seek to winthe Divine. "

"So do I at a distance, Ayesha, but to come too near to it I do notaspire. If I did perhaps I might be consumed. "

"You have wisdom, " she replied, not without a note of admiration in hervoice. "The moths are few that fear the flame, but those are the mothswhich live. Also I think that you have scorched your wings before andlearned that fire hurts. Indeed, now I remember that I have heard ofthree such fires of love through which you have flown, Allan, though allof them are dead ashes now, or shine elsewhere. Two burned in your youthwhen a certain lady died to save you, a great woman that, is it not so?And the third, ah! she was fire indeed, though of a copper hue. What washer name? I cannot remember, but I think it had something to do with thewind, yes, with the wind when it wails. "

I stared at her. Was this Mameena myth to be dug up again in a secretplace in the heart of Africa? And how the deuce did she know anythingabout Mameena? Could she have been questioning Hans or Umslopogaas? No, it was not possible, for she had never seen them out of my presence. 

"Perhaps, " she went on in a mocking voice, "perhaps once again youdisbelieve, Allan, whose cynic mind is so hard to open to new truths. Well, shall I show you the faces of these three? I can, " and she wavedher hand towards some object that stood on a tripod to the right of herin the shadow--it looked like a crystal basin. "But what would it servewhen you who know them so well, believed that I drew their pictures outof your own soul? Also perchance but one face would appear and that onestrange to you. [Lady Ragnall perhaps?--JB]

"Have you heard, Allan, that among the wise some hold that not all ofus is visible at once here on earth within the same house of flesh; thatthe whole self in its home above, separates itself into sundry parts, each of which walks the earth in different form, a segment of life'scircle that can never be dissolved and must unite again at last?"

I shook my head blankly, for I had never heard anything of the sort. 

"You have still much to learn, Allan, although doubtless there are somewho think you wise, " she went on in the same mocking voice. "Well, Ihold that this doctrine is built upon a rock of truth; also, " she addedafter studying me for a minute, "that in your case these three womendo not complete that circle. I think there is a fourth who as yet isstrange to you in this life, though you have known her well enough inothers. "

I groaned, imagining that she alluded to herself, which was foolish ofme, for at once she read my mind and went on with a rather acid littlelaugh, "No, no, not the humble slave who sits before you, whom, as you havetold me, it would please you to reject as unworthy were she brought toyou in offering, as in the old days was done at the courts of the greatkings of the East. O fool, fool! who hold yourself so strong and do notknow that if I chose, before yon shadow had moved a finger's breadth, Icould bring you to my feet, praying that you might be suffered to kissmy robe, yes, just the border of my robe. "

"Then I beg of you not to choose, Ayesha, since I think that when thereis work to be done by both of us, we shall find more comfort sideby side than if I were on the ground seeking to kiss a garment thatdoubtless then it would delight you to snatch away. "

At these words her whole attitude seemed to change. I could see herlovely shape brace itself up, as it were, beneath her robes and feltin some way that her mind had also changed; that it had rid itself ofmockery and woman's pique and like a shifting searchlight, was directedupon some new objective. 

"Work to be done, " she repeated after me in a new voice. "Yes, I thankyou who bring it to my mind, since the hours pass and that work presses. Also I think there is a bargain to be made between us who are both ofthe blood that keeps bargains, even if they be not written on a rolland signed and sealed. Why do you come to me and what do you seek ofme, Allan, Watcher-in-the-Night? Say it and truthfully, for though Imay laugh at lies and pass them by when they have to do with the eternalsword-play which Nature decrees between man and woman, until these breakapart or, casting down the swords, seek arms in which they agree toowell, when they have to do with policy and high purpose and ambition'sends, why then I avenge them upon the liar. "

Now I hesitated, as what I had to tell her seemed so foolish, indeed soinsane, while she waited patiently as though to give me time to shape mythoughts. Speaking at last because I must, I said, "I come to ask you, Ayesha, to show me the dead, if the dead still liveelsewhere. "

"And who told you, Allan, that I could show you the dead, if they arenot truly dead? There is but one, I think, and if you are his messenger, show me his token. Without it we do not speak together of thisbusiness. "

"What token?" I asked innocently, though I guessed her meaning wellenough. 

She searched me with her great eyes, for I felt, and indeed saw them onme through the veil, then answered, "I think--nay, let me be sure, " and half rising from the couch, she benther heard over the tripod that I have described, and stared into whatseemed to be a crystal bowl. "If I read aright, " she said, straighteningherself presently, "it is a hideous thing enough, the carving of anabortion of a man such as no woman would care to look on lest her babeshould bear its stamp. It is a charmed thing also that has virtues forhim who wears it, especially for you, Allan, since something tells methat it is dyed with the blood of one who loved you. If you have it, letit be revealed, since without it I do not talk with you of these deadyou seek. "

Now I drew Zikali's talisman from its hiding-place and held it towardsher. 

"Give it to me, " she said. 

I was about to obey when something seemed to warn me not to do so. 

"Nay, " I answered, "he who lent me this carving for a while, charged methat except in emergency and to save others, I must wear it night andday till I returned it to his hand, saying that if I parted from itfortune would desert me. I believe none of this talk and tried to be ridof it, whereon death drew near to me from a snake, such a snake as I seeyou wear about you, which doubtless also has poison in its fangs, if ofanother sort, Ayesha. "

"Draw near, " she said, "and let me look. Man, be not afraid. "

So I rose from my chair and knelt before her, hoping secretly thatno one would see me in that ridiculous position, which the mostunsuspicious might misinterpret. I admit, however, that it proved tohave compensations, since even through the veil I saw her marvellouseyes better than I had done before, and something of the pure outline ofher classic face; also the fragrance of her hair was wonderful. 

She took the talisman in her hand and examined it closely. 

"I have heard of this charm and it is true that the thing has power, "she said, "for I can feel it running through my veins, also that it isa shield of defence to him who wears it. Yes, and now I understand whatperplexed me somewhat, namely, how it came about that when you vexed meinto unveiling--but let that matter be. The wisdom was not your own, butanother's, that is all. Yes, the wisdom of one whose years have bornehim beyond the shafts that fly from woman's eyes, the ruinous shaftswhich bring men down to doom and nothingness. Tell me, Allan, is thisthe likeness of him who gave it to you?"

"Yes, Ayesha, the very picture, as I think, carved by himself, though hesaid that it is ancient, and others tell that it has been known in theland for centuries. "

"So perchance has he, " she answered drily, "since some of our companylive long. Now tell me this wizard's names. Nay, wait awhile for I wouldprove that indeed you are his messenger with whom I may talk about thedead, and other things, Allan. You can read Arabic, can you not?"

"A little, " I answered. 

Then from a stool at her side she took paper, or rather papyrus and areed pen, and on her knee wrote something on the sheet which she gave tome folded up. 

"Now tell me the names, " she said, "and then let us see if they tallywith what I have written, for if so you are a true man, not a merewanderer or a spy. "

"The principal names of this doctor are Zikali, the Opener-of-Roads, the'_Thing-that-should-never-have-been-born_, '" I answered. 

"Read the writing, Allan, " she said. 

I unfolded the sheet and read Arabic words which meant, "Weapons, Cleaver-of-Rocks, One-at-whom-dogs-bark-and-children-wail. "

"The last two are near enough, " she said, "but the first is wrong. "

"Nay, Ayesha, since in this man's tongue the word 'Zikali' means'Weapons'"; intelligence at which she clapped her hands as a merry girlmight do. "The man, " I went on, "is without doubt a great doctor, onewho sees and knows things that others do not, but I do not understandwhy this token carved in his likeness should have power, as you say ithas. "

"Because with it goes his spirit, Allan. Have you never heard of theEgyptians, a very wise people who, as I remember, declared that man hasa _Ka_ or Double, a second self, that can either dwell in his statue orbe sent afar?"

I answered that I had heard this. 

"Well the _Ka_ of this Zikali goes with that hideous image of him, whichis perhaps why you have come safe through many dangers and why also Iseemed to dream so much of him last night. Tell me now, what does Zikaliwant of me whose power he knows very well?"

"An oracle, the answer to a riddle, Ayesha. "

"Then set it out another time. So you decide to see the dead, and thisold dwarf, who is a home of wisdom, desires an oracle from one who isgreater than he. Good. And what are you, or both of you, prepared to payfor these boons? Know, Allan, that I am a merchant who sells my favoursdear. Tell me then, will you pay?"

"I think that it depends upon the price, " I answered cautiously. "Setout the price, Ayesha. "

"Be not afraid, O cunning dealer, " she mocked. "I do not ask your soulor even that love of yours which you guard so jealously, since thesethings I could take without the asking. Nay, I ask only what a brave andhonest man may give without shame: your help in war, and perhaps, " sheadded with a softer tone, "your friendship. I think, Allan, that I likeyou well, perhaps because you remind me of another whom I knew longago. "

I bowed at the compliment, feeling proud and pleased at the prospect ofa friendship with this wonderful and splendid creature, although I wasaware that it had many dangers. Then I sat still and waited. She alsowaited, brooding. 

"Listen, " she said after a while, "I will tell you a story and when youhave heard it you shall answer, even if you do not believe it, but notbefore. Does it please you to listen to something of the tale of my lifewhich I am moved to tell you, that you may know with whom you have todeal?"

Again I bowed, thinking to myself that I knew nothing that would pleaseme more, who was eaten up with a devouring curiosity about this woman. 

Now she rose from her couch and descending off the dais, began to walkup and down the chamber. I say, to walk, but her movements were morelike the gliding of an eagle through the air or the motion of a swanupon still water, so smooth were they and gracious. As she walked shespoke in a low and thrilling voice. 

"Listen, " she said again, "and even if my story seems marvellous to you, interrupt, and above all, mock me not, lest I should grow angry, whichmight be ill for you. I am not as other women are, O Allan, who havingconquered the secrets of Nature, " here I felt an intense desire to askwhat secrets, but remembered and held my tongue, "to my sorrow havepreserved my youth and beauty through many ages. Moreover in the past, perhaps in payment for my sins, I have lived other lives of which somememory remains with me. 

"By my last birth I am an Arab lady of royal blood, a descendant of theKings of the East. There I dwelt in the wilderness and ruled a people, and at night I gathered wisdom from the stars and the spirits of theearth and air. At length I wearied of it all and my people too weariedof me and besought me to depart, for, Allan, I would have naught to dowith men, yet men went mad because of my beauty and slew each other outof jealousy. Moreover other peoples made war upon my people, hoping totake me captive that I might be a wife to their kings. So I left them, and being furnished with great wealth in hoarded gold and jewels, together with a certain holy man, my master, I wandered through theworld, studying the nations and their worships. At Jerusalem I tarriedand learned of Jehovah who is, or was, its God. 

"At Paphos in the Isle of Chitim I dwelt a while till the folk ofthat city thought that I was Aphrodite returned to earth and sought toworship me. For this reason and because I made a mock of Aphrodite, I, who, as I have said, would have naught to do with men, she through herpriests cursed me, saying that her yoke should lie more heavily upon myneck from age to age than on that of any woman who had breathed beneaththe sun. 

"It was a wondrous scene, " she added reflectively, "that of the cursing, since for every word I gave back two. Moreover I told the hoary villainof a high-priest to make report to his goddess that long after she wasdead in the world, I would live on, for the spirit of prophecy was on mein that hour. Yet the curse fell in its season, since in her day, doubtit or not, Aphrodite had strength, as indeed under other names she hasand will have while the world endures, and for aught I know, beyond it. Do they worship her now in any land, Allan?"

"No, only her statues because of their beauty, though Love is alwaysworshipped. "

"Yes, who can testify to that better than you yourself, Allan, if hewho is called Zikali tells me the truth concerning you in the dreams hesends? As for the statues, I saw some of them as they left the master'shand in Greece, and when I told him that he might have found a bettermodel, once I was that model. If this marble still endures, it must bethe most famous of them all, though perchance Aphrodite has shattered itin her jealous rage. You shall tell me of these statues afterwards;mine had a mark on the left shoulder like to a mole, but the stone wasimperfect, not my flesh, as I can prove if you should wish. "

Thinking it better not to enter on a discussion as to Ayesha's shoulder, I remained silent and she went on. 

"I dwelt in Egypt also, and there, to be rid of men who wearied me withtheir sighs and importunities, also to acquire more wisdom of which shewas the mistress, I entered the service of the goddess Isis, Queenof Heaven, vowing to remain virgin for ever. Soon I became herhigh-priestess and in her most sacred shrines upon the Nile, I communedwith the goddess and shared her power, since from me her daughter, shewithheld none of her secrets. So it came about that though Pharaohs heldthe sceptre, it was I who ruled Egypt and brought it and Sidon to theirfall, it matters not how or why, as it was fated that I must do. Yes, kings would come to seek counsel from me where I sat throned, dressed inthe garb of Isis and breathing out her power. Yet, my task accomplished, of it all I grew weary, as men will surely do of the heavens that theypreach, should they chance to find them. "

I wondered what this "task" might be, but only asked, "Why?"

"Because in their pictured heaven all things lie to their hands and man, being man, cannot be happy without struggle, and woman, being woman, without victory over others. What is cheaply bought, or given, has novalue, Allan; to be enjoyed, it must first be won. But I bade you not tobreak my thought. "

I asked pardon and she went on, "Then it was that the shadow of the curse of Aphrodite fell upon me, yes, and of the curse of Isis also, so that these twin maledictions havemade me what I am, a lost soul dwelling in the wilderness waiting thefulfilment of a fate whereof I know not the end. For though I have allwisdom, all knowledge of the Past and much power together with the giftof life and beauty, the future is as dark to me as night without itsmoon and stars. 

"Hearken, this chanced to me. Though it be to my shame I tell it youthat all may be clear. At a temple of Isis on the Nile where I ruled, there was a certain priest, a Greek by birth, vowed like myself to theservice of the goddess and therefore to wed none but her, the goddessherself--that is, in the spirit. He was named Kallikrates, a man ofcourage and of beauty, such an one as those Greeks carved in the statuesof their god Apollo. Never, I think, was a man more beautiful in faceand form, though in soul he was not great, as often happens to men whohave all else, and well-nigh always happens to women, save myself andperhaps one or two others that history tells of, doubtless magnifyingtheir fabled charms. 

"The Pharaoh of that day, the last of the native blood, him whom thePersians drove to doom, had a daughter, the Princess of Egypt, Amenartasby name, a fair woman in her fashion, though somewhat swarthy. In heryouth this Amenartas became enamoured of Kallikrates and he of her, whenhe was a captain of the Grecian Mercenaries at Pharaoh's Court. Indeed, she brought blood upon his hands because of her, wherefore he fled toIsis for forgiveness and for peace. Thither in after time she followedhim and again urged her love. 

"Learning of the thing and knowing it for sacrilege, I summoned thispriest and warned him of his danger and of the doom which awaited himshould he continue in that path. He grew affrighted. He flung himselfupon the ground before me with groans and supplications, and kissingmy feet, vowed most falsely to me that his dealings with the royalAmenartas were but a veil and that it was I whom he worshipped. Hisunhallowed words filled me with horror and sternly I bade him begone anddo penance for his crime, saying that I would pray the goddess on behalfof him. 

"He went, leaving me alone lost in thought in the darkening shrine. Thensleep fell on me and in my sleep I dreamed a dream, or saw a vision. For suddenly there stood before me a woman beauteous as myself clad innothing save a golden girdle and a veil of gossamer. 

"'O Ayesha, ' she said in a honeyed voice, 'priestess of Isis of theEgyptians, sworn to the barren worship of Isis and fed on the ashes ofher unprofitable wisdom, know that I am Aphrodite of the Greeks whommany times thou hast mocked and defied, and Queen of the breathingworld, as Isis is Queen of the world that is dead. Now because thoudidst despise me and pour contempt upon my name, I smite thee withmy strength and lay a curse upon thee. It is that thou shalt love anddesire this man who but now hath kissed thy feet, ever longing till theworld's end to kiss his lips in payment, although thou art as far abovehim as the moon thou servest is above the Nile. Think not that thoushalt escape my doom, for know that however strong the spirit, here uponthe earth the flesh is stronger still and of all flesh I am the queen. '

"Then she laughed softly and smiting me across the eyes with a lock ofher scented hair, was gone. 

"Allan, I awoke from my sleep and a great trouble fell upon me, for Iwho had never loved before now was rent with a rage of love and for thisman who till that moment had been naught to me but as some beauteousimage of gold and ivory. I longed for him, my heart was racked withjealousy because of the Egyptian who favoured him, an eating flamepossessed my breast. I grew mad. There in the shrine of Isis the divineI cast myself upon my knees and cried to Aphrodite to return and give mehim I sought, for whose sake I would renounce all else, even if I mustpour my wisdom into a beauteous, empty cup. Yes, thus I prayed and layupon the ground and wept until, outworn, once more sleep fell upon me. 

"Now in the darkness of the holy place once more there came a dream orvision, since before me in her glory stood the goddess Isis crownedwith the crescent of the young moon and holding in her hand the jewelled_sistrum_ that is her symbol, from which came music like to the melodyof distant bells. She gazed at me and in her great eyes were scorn andanger. 

"'O Ayesha, Daughter of Wisdom, ' she said in a solemn voice, 'whom I, Isis, had come to look upon rather as a child than a servant, since innone other of my priestesses was such greatness to be found, and whomin a day to be I had purposed to raise to the very steps of my heavenlythrone, thou hast broken thine oath and, forsaking me, hast worshippedfalse Aphrodite of the Greeks who is mine enemy. Yea, in the eternal warbetween the spirit and the flesh, thou hast chosen the part of flesh. Therefore I hate thee and add my doom to that which Aphrodite laid uponthee, which, hadst thou prayed to me and not to her, I would have liftedfrom thy heart. 

"'Hearken! The Grecian whom thou hast chosen, by Aphrodite's will, thoushalt love as the Pathian said. More, thy love shall bring his bloodupon thy hands, nor mayest thou follow him to the grave. For I will showthee the Source of Life and thou shalt drink of it to make thyself morefair even than thou art and thus outpace thy rival, and when thy loveris dead, in a desolate place thou shalt wait in grief and solitude tillhe is born again and find thee there. 

"'Yet shall this be but the beginning of thy sorrows, since through alltime thou shalt pursue thy fate till at length thou canst draw up thisman to the height on which thine own soul stands by the ropes of loveand loss and suffering. Moreover through it all thou shalt despisethyself, which is man's and woman's hardest lot, thou who having therare feast of spirit spread out before thee, hast chosen to fill thyselffrom the troughs of flesh. '

"Then, Allan, in my dream I made a proud answer to the goddess, saying, 'Hear me, mighty mistress of many Forms who dost appear in all thatlives! An evil fate has fallen upon me, but was it I who chose thatfate? Can the leaf contend against the driving gale? Can the fallingstone turn upwards to the sky, or when Nature draws it, can the tidecease to flow? A goddess whom I have offended, that goddess whosestrength causes the whole world to be, has laid her curse upon me andbecause I have bent before the storm, as bend I must, or break, anothergoddess whom I serve, thou thyself, Mother Isis, hast added to thecurse. Where then is Justice, O Lady of the Moon?'

"'Not here, Woman, ' she answered. 'Yet far away Justice lives and shallbe won at last and mayhap because thou art so proud and high-stomached, it is laid upon thee to seek her blinded eyes through many an age. Yetat last I think thou shalt set thy sins against her weights and findthe balance even. Therefore cease from questioning the high decreesof destiny which thou canst not understand and be content to suffer, remembering that all joy grows from the root of pain. Moreover, knowthis for thy comfort, that the wisdom which thou hast shall grow andgather on thee and with it thy beauty and thy power; also that at thelast thou shalt look upon my face again, in token whereof I leave tothee my symbol, the _sistrum_ that I bear, and with it this command. Follow that false priest of mine wherever he may go and avenge me uponhim, and if thou lose him there, wait while the generations pass till hereturn again. Such and no other is thy destiny. '

"Allan, the vision faded and when I awoke the lights of dawn played uponthe image of the goddess in the sanctuary. They played, moreover, upon the holy jewelled thing that in my dream her hand had held, the_sistrum_ of her worship, shaped like the loop of life, the magic symbolthat she had vowed to me, wherewith goes her power, which henceforth wasmine. 

"I took it and followed after the priest Kallikrates, to whomthenceforward I was bound by passion's ties that are stronger than allthe goddesses in this wide universe. "

Here I, Allan, could contain myself no longer and asked, "What for?"then, fearing her wrath, wished that I had been silent. 

But she was not angry, perhaps because this tale of her interviewswith goddesses, doubtless fabled, had made her humble, for she answeredquietly, "By Aphrodite, or by Isis, or both of them I did not know. All I knewwas that I _must_ seek him, then and evermore, as seek I do to-day andshall perchance through ćons yet unborn. So I followed, as I was taughtand commanded, the _sistrum_ being my guide, how it matters not, andgiving me the means, and so at last I came to this ancient land whereofthe ruin in which you sit was once known as Kôr. "

CHAPTER XIV

ALLAN MISSES OPPORTUNITY

All the while that she was talking thus the Lady or the Queen or theWitch-woman, Ayesha, had been walking up and down the place from thecurtains to the foot of the dais, sweeping me with her scented robes asshe passed to and fro, and as she walked she waved her arms as an oratormight do to emphasise the more moving passages of her tale. Now at theend of it, or what I took to be the end, she stepped on to the dais andsank upon the couch as if exhausted, though I think her spirit was wearyrather than her body. 

Here she sat awhile, brooding, her chin resting on her hand, thensuddenly looked up and fixing her glance upon me--for I could see theflash of it through her thin veil--said, "What think you of this story, Allan? Do you believe it and have youever heard its like?"

"_Never_, " I answered with emphasis, "and of course I believe everyword. Only there are one or two questions that with your leave I wouldwish to ask, Ayesha. "

"By which you mean, Allan, that you believe nothing, being by naturewithout faith and doubtful of all that you cannot see and touch andhandle. Well, perhaps you are wise, since what I have told you is notall the truth. For example, it comes back to me now that it was not inthe temple on the Nile, or indeed upon the Earth, that I saw the visionof Aphrodite and of Isis, but elsewhere; also that it was here in Kôrthat I was first consumed by passion for Kallikrates whom hitherto I hadscorned. In two thousand years one forgets much, Allan. Out with yourquestions and I will answer them, unless they be too long. "

"Ayesha, " I said humbly, reflecting to myself that my questions would, at any rate, be shorter than her varying tale, "even I who am notlearned have heard of these goddesses of whom you speak, of the GrecianAphrodite who rose from the sea upon the shores of Cyprus and dwelt atPaphos and elsewhere----"

"Yes, doubtless like most men you have heard of her and perchance alsohave been struck across the eyes with her hair, like your betters beforeyou, " she interrupted with sarcasm. 

"----Also, " I went on, avoiding argument, "I have heard of Isis of theEgyptians, Lady of the Moon, Mother of Mysteries, Spouse of Osiris whosechild was Horus the Avenger. "

"Aye, and I think will hear more of her before you have done, Allan, fornow something comes back to me concerning you and her and another. Iam not the only one who has broken the oaths of Isis and received hercurse, Allan, as _you_ may find out in the days to come. But what ofthese heavenly queens?"

"Only this, Ayesha; I have been taught that they were but phantasmsfabled by men with many another false divinity, and could have swornthat this was true. And yet you talk of them as real and living, whichperplexes me. "

"Being dull of understanding doubtless it perplexes you, Allan. Yet ifyou had imagination you might understand that these goddesses are greatPrinciples of Nature; Isis, of throned Wisdom and strait virtue, andAphrodite, of Love, as it is known to men and women who, being human, have it laid upon them that they must hand on the torch of Life in theirlittle hour. Also you would know that such Principles can seem to takeshape and form and at certain ages of the world appear to their servantsvisible in majesty, though perchance to-day others with changed nameswield their sceptres and work their will. Now you are answered on thismatter. So to the next. "

Privately I did not feel as though I were answered at all and I was surethat I know nothing of the kind she indicated, but thinking it best toleave the subject, I went on, "If I understood rightly, Ayesha, the events which you have been pleasedfirst to describe to me, and then to qualify or contradict, took placewhen the Pharaohs reigned. Now no Pharaoh has sat upon the throne ofEgypt for near two thousand years, for the last was a Grecian woman whomthe Romans conquered and drove to death. And yet, Ayesha, you speak asthough you have lived all through that gulf of time, and in this theremust be error, because it is impossible. Therefore I suppose you to meanthat this history has come down to you in writing, or perhaps in dreams. I believe that even in such far-off times there were writers of romance, and we all know of what stuff dreams are made. At least this thoughtcomes to me, " I added hurriedly, fearing lest I had said too much, "andone so wise as you are, I repeat, knows well that a woman who says shehas lived two thousand years must be mad or--suffer from delusions, because I repeat, it is impossible. "

At these quite innocent remarks she sprang to her feet in a rage thatmight truly be called royal in every sense. 

"Impossible! Romance! Dreams! Delusions! Mad!" she cried in a ringingvoice. "Oh! of a truth you weary me, and I have a mind to send youwhither you will learn what is impossible and what is not. Indeed, Iwould do it, and now, only I need your services, and if I did therewould be none left for me to talk with, since your companion ismoonstruck and the others are but savages of whom I have seen enough. 

"Hearken, fool! _Nothing_ is impossible. Why do you seek, you who talkof the impossible, to girdle the great world in the span of your twohands and to weigh the secrets of the Universe in the balance of yourpetty mind and, of that which you cannot understand, to say that it isnot? Life you admit because you see it all about you. But that it shouldendure for two thousand years, which after all is but a second's beat inthe story of the earth, that to you is 'impossible, ' although in truththe buried seed or the sealed-up toad can live as long. Doubtless, also, you have some faith which promises you this same boon to all eternity, after the little change called Death. 

"Nay, Allan, it is possible enough, like to many other things of whichyou do not dream to-day that will be common to the eyes of those whofollow after you. Mayhap you think it impossible that I should speakwith and learn of you from yonder old black wizard who dwells in thecountry whence you came. And yet whenever I will I do so in the nightbecause he is in tune with me, and what I do shall be done by all men inthe years unborn. Yes, they shall talk together across the wide spacesof the earth, and the lover shall hear her lover's voice although greatseas roll between them. Nor perchance will it stop at this; perchance infuture time men shall hold converse with the denizens of the stars, andeven with the dead who have passed into silence and the darkness. Do youhear and understand me?"

"Yes, yes, " I answered feebly. 

"You lie, as you are too prone to do. You hear but you do not understandnor believe, and oh! you vex me sorely. Now I had it in my mind totell you the secret of this long life of mine; long, mark you, but notendless, for doubtless I must die and change and return again, likeothers, and even to show you how it may be won. But you are not worthyin your faithlessness. "

"No, no, I am not worthy, " I answered, who at that moment did not feelthe least desire to live two thousand years, perhaps with this woman asa neighbour, rating me from generation to generation. Yet it is true, that now when I am older and a certain event cannot be postponed muchlonger, I do often regret that I neglected to take this unique chance, if in truth there was one, of prolonging an existence which after allhas its consolations--especially when one has made one's pile. Certainlyit is a case, a flagrant case, of neglected opportunities, and my onlyconsolation for having lost them is that this was due to the uprightnessof my nature which made it so hard for me to acquiesce in alternativestatements that I had every cause to disbelieve and thus to give offenceto a very powerful and petulant if attractive lady. 

"So that is done with, " she went on with a little stamp of indignation, "as soon you will be also, who, had you not crossed and doubted me, might have lived on for untold time and become one of the masters of theworld, as I am. "

Here she paused, choked, I think, with her almost childish anger, andbecause I could not help it, I said, "Such place and power, if they be yours, Ayesha, do not seem to bringyou much reward. If I were a master of the world I do not think that Ishould choose to dwell unchangingly among savages who eat men and ina pile of ruins. But perhaps the curses of Aphrodite and of Isis arestronger masters still?" and I paused inquiringly. 

This bold argument--for now I see that it was bold--seemed to astonishand even bewilder my wonderful companion. 

"You have more wisdom than I thought, " she said reflectively, "who havecome to understand that no one is really lord of anything, since abovethere is always a more powerful lord who withers all his pomp and prideto nothingness, even as the great kings learned in olden days, and I, who am higher than they are, am learning now. Hearken. Troubles beset mewherein I would have your help and that of your companions, for which Iwill pay each of you the fee that he desires. The brooding white man whois with you shall free his daughter and unharmed; though that _he_ willbe unharmed I do not promise. The black savage captain shall fight hisfill and gain the glory that he seeks, also something that he seeksstill more. The little yellow man asks nothing save to be with hismaster like a dog and to satisfy at once his stomach and his apishcuriosity. You, Allan, shall see those dead over whom you brood atnight, though the other guerdon that you might have won is now passedfrom your reach because you mock me in your heart. "

"What must we do to gain these things?" I asked. "How can we humblecreatures help one who is all powerful and who has gathered in herbreast the infinite knowledge of two thousand years?"

"You must make war under my banner and rid me of my foes. As for thereason, listen to the end of my tale and you shall learn. "

I reflected that it was a marvellous thing that this queen who claimedsupernatural powers should need our help in a war, but thinking it wiserto keep my meditations to myself, said nothing. As a matter of fact Imight just as well have spoken, since as usual she read my thoughts. 

"You are thinking that it is strange, Allan, that I, the Mighty andUndying, should seek your aid in some petty tribal battle, and so itwould be were my foes but common savages. But they are more; they aremen protected by the ancient god of this immemorial city of Kôr, a greatgod in his day whose spirit still haunts these ruins and whose strengthstill protects the worshippers who cling to him and practise his unholyrites of human sacrifice. "

"How was this god named?" I asked. 

"_Rezu_ was his name, and from him came the Egyptian Re or Ra, since inthe beginning Kôr was the mother of Egypt and the conquering people ofKôr took their god with them when they burst into the valley of theNile and subdued its peoples long before the first Pharaoh, Menes, woreEgypt's crown. "

"Ra was the sun, was he not?" I asked. 

"Aye, and Rezu also was a sun-god whom from his throne in the fires ofthe Lord of Day, gave life to men, or slew them if he willed with histhunderbolts of drought and pestilence and storm. He was no gentle kingof heaven, but one who demanded blood-sacrifice from his worshippers, yes, even that of maids and children. So it came about that the peopleof Kôr, who saw their virgins slain and eaten by the priests of Rezu, and their infants burned to ashes in the fires that his rays lit, turnedthemselves to the worship of the gentle moon, the goddess whom theynamed _Lulala_, while some of them chose Truth for their queen, sinceTruth, they said, was greater and more to be desired than the fierceSun-King or even the sweet Moon-Lady, Truth, who sat above them boththroned in the furthest stars of Heaven. Then the demon, Rezu, grewwroth and sent a pestilence upon Kôr and its subject lands and slewtheir people, save those who clung to him in the great apostasy, andwith them some others who served Lulala and Truth the Divine, thatescaped I know not how. "

"Did you see this great pestilence?" I asked, much interested. 

"Nay, it befell generations before I came to Kôr. One Junis, a priest, wrote a record of it in the caves yonder where I have my home and whereis the burying-place of the countless thousands that it slew. In myday Kôr, of which, should you desire to hear it, I will tell you thehistory, was a ruin as it is now, though scattered in the lands amidstthe tumbled stones which once built up her subject cities, a peoplenamed the Amahagger dwelt in Households, or Tribes and there sacrificedmen by fire and devoured them, following the rites of the demon Rezu. For these were the descendants of those who escaped the pestilence. Alsothere were certain others, children of the worshippers of Lulala whosekingdom is the moon, and of Truth the Queen, who clung to the gentleworship of their forefathers and were ever at war with the followers ofRezu. "

"What brought _you_ to Kôr, Ayesha?" I asked irrelevantly. 

"Have I not said that I was led hither by the command and the symbol ofgreat Isis whom I serve? Also, " she added after a pause, "that I mightfind a certain pair, one of whom had broken his oaths to her, temptedthereto by the other. "

"And did you find them, Ayesha?" I asked. 

"Aye, I found them, or rather they found me, and in my presencethe goddess executed her decree upon her false priest and drove histemptress back to the world. "

"That must have been dreadful for you, Ayesha, since I understood thatyou also--liked this priest. "

She sprang from her couch and in a low, hissing voice which resembledthe sound made by an angry snake and turned my blood cold to hear, exclaimed, "Man, do you dare to mock me? Nay, you are but a blundering, curiousfool, and it is well for you that this is so, since otherwise likeKallikrates, never should you leave Kôr living. Cease from seeking thatwhich you may not learn. Suffice it for you to know that the doom ofIsis fell upon the lost Kallikrates, her priest forsworn, and that on mealso fell her doom, who must dwell here, dead yet living, till he returnagain and the play begins afresh. 

"Stranger, " she went on in a softer voice, "perchance your faith, whate'er it be, parades a hell to terrify its worshippers and givestrength to the arms of its prophesying priests, who swear they holdthe keys of doom or of the eternal joys. I see you sign assent" (I hadnodded at her extremely accurate guess) "and therefore can understandthat in such a hell as this, here upon the earth I have dwelt for sometwo thousand years, expiating the crime of Powers above me whereof Iam but the hand and instrument, since those Powers which decreed that Ishould love, decree also that I must avenge that love. "

She sank down upon the couch as though exhausted by emotion, of whichI could only guess the reasons, hiding her face in her hands. Presentlyshe let them fall again and continued, "Of these woes ask me no more. They sleep till the hour of theirresurrection, which I think draws nigh; indeed, I thought that youperchance----But let that be. 'Twas near the mark; nearer, Allan, thanyou know, not in it! Therefore leave them to their sleep as I would ifI might--ah! if I might, whose companions they are throughout the wearyages. Alas! that through the secret which was revealed to me I remainundying on the earth who in death might perhaps have found a rest, and being human although half divine, must still busy myself with theaffairs of earth. 

"Look you, Wanderer, after that which was fated had happened and Iremained in my agony of solitude and sorrow, after, too, I had drunkof the cup of enduring life and like the Prometheus of old fable, foundmyself bound to this changeless rock, whereon day by day the vulturesof remorse tear out my living heart which in the watches of the night isever doomed to grow again within my woman's breast, I was plunged intopetty troubles of the flesh, aye and welcomed them because their irk attimes gave me forgetfulness. When the savage dwellers in this land cameto know that a mighty one had arisen among them who was the servant ofthe Lady of the Moon, those of them who still worshipped their goddessLulala, gathered themselves about me, while those of them who worshippedRezu sought to overthrow me. 

"'Here, ' they said, 'is the goddess Lulala come to earth. In the nameof Rezu let us slay her and make an end, ' for these fools thought that Icould be killed. Allan, I conquered them, but their captain, who alsois named Rezu and whom they held and hold to be an emanation of the godhimself walking the earth, I could not conquer. "

"Why not?" I asked. 

"For this reason, Allan. In some past age his god showed him the samesecret that was shown to me. He too had drunk of the Cup of Life andlives on unharmed by Time, so that being in strength my equal, no spearof mine can reach his heart clad in the armour of his evil god. "

"Then what spear can?" I inquired helplessly, who was bewildered. 

"None at all, Allan, yet an _axe_ may, as you shall hear, or so Ithink. For many generations there has been peace of a sort between theworshippers of Lulala who dwell with me in the Plain of Kôr, or ratherof myself, since to these people _I_ am Lulala, and the worshippers ofRezu, who dwell in the strongholds beyond the mountain crest. But oflate years their chief Rezu, having devastated the lands about, hasgrown restless and threatened to attack on Kôr, which is not strongenough to stand against him. Moreover he has sought for a white queen torule under him, purposing to set her up to mock my majesty. "

"Is that why those cannibals carried away the daughter of my companion, the Sea-Captain who is named Avenger?" I asked. 

"It is, Allan, since presently he will give it out that I am dead orfled, if he has not done so already, and that this new queen has arisenin my place. Thereby he hopes to draw away many who cling to me ere headvances upon Kôr, carrying with him this girl veiled as I am, so thatnone may know the difference between us, since not a man of them hasever looked upon my face, Allan. Therefore this Rezu must die, if die hecan; otherwise, although it is impossible that he should harm me, he mayslay or draw away my people and leave me with none to rule in thisplace where by the decree of Fate I must dwell on until he whom I seekreturns. You are thinking in your heart that such savages would belittle loss and this is so, but still they serve as slaves to me in myloneliness. Moreover I have sworn to protect them from the demon Rezuand they have trusted in me and therefore my honour is at stake, fornever shall it be said that those who trusted in She-who-commands, wereoverthrown because they put faith in one who was powerless. "

"What do you mean about an axe, Ayesha?" I asked. "Why can an axe alonekill Rezu?"

"The thing is a mystery, O Allan, of which I may not tell you all, sinceto do so I must reveal secrets which I have determined you shall notlearn. Suffice it to you to know that when this Rezu drank of the Cupof Life he took with him his axe. Now this axe was an ancient weaponrumoured to have been fashioned by the gods and, as it chanced, that axedrew to itself more and stronger life than did Rezu, how, it does notmatter, if indeed the tale be more than a fable. At least this I know istrue, for he who guarded the Gate of Life, a certain Noot, a master ofmysteries, and mine also in my day of youth, who being a philosopher andvery wise, chose never to pass that portal which was open to him, saidit to me himself ere he went the way of flesh. He told this Rezualso that now he had naught to fear save his own axe and therefore hecounselled him to guard it well, since if it was lifted against him inanother's hands it would bring him down to death, which nothingelse could do. Like to the heel of Achilles whereof the great Homersings--have you read Homer, Allan?"

"In a translation, " I answered. 

"Good, then you will remember the story. Like to the heel of Achilles, I say, that axe would be the only gate by which death could enter hisinvulnerable flesh, or rather it alone could make the gate. "

"How did Noot know that?" I asked. 

"I cannot say, " she answered with irritation. "Perchance he did not knowit. Perchance it is all an idle tale, but at least it is true that Rezubelieved and believes it, and what a man believes is true for him andwill certainly befall. If it were otherwise, what is the use of faithwhich in a thousand forms supports our race and holds it from thehorrors of the Pit? Only those who believe nothing inherit what theybelieve--nothing, Allan. "

"It may be so, " I replied prosaically, "but what happened about theaxe?"

"In the end it was lost, or as some say stolen by a woman whom Rezu haddeserted, and therefore he walks the world in fear from day to day. Nay, ask no more empty questions" (I had opened my mouth to speak) "but hearthe end of the tale. In my trouble concerning Rezu I remembered thiswild legend of the axe and since, when lost in a forest every path thatmay lead to safety should be explored, I sent my wisdom forth to makeinquiry concerning it, as I who am great, have the power to do, ofcertain who are in tune with me throughout this wide land of Africa. Amongst others, I inquired of that old wizard whom you named Zikali, Opener of Roads, and he gave me an answer that there lived in his land acertain warrior who ruled a tribe called the People of the Axe by rightof the Axe, of which axe none, not even he, knew the beginning or thelegend. On the chance, though it was a small one, I bade the wizardsend that warrior here with his axe. Last night he stood before me and Ilooked upon him and the axe, which at least is ancient and has a story. Whether it be the same that Rezu bore I do not know who never saw it, yet perchance he who bears it now is prepared to hold it aloft in battleeven against Rezu, though he be terrible to see, and then we shalllearn. "

"Oh! yes, " I answered, "he is quite prepared, for that is his nature. Also among this man's people, the holder of the Axe is thought to beunconquerable. "

"Yet some must have been conquered who held it, " she replied musingly. "Well, you shall tell me that tale later. Now we have talked long andyou are weary and astonished. Go, eat and rest yourself. To-night whenthe moon rises I will come to where you are, not before, for I have muchthat must be done, and show you those with whom you must fight againstRezu, and make a plan of battle. "

"But I do not want to fight, " I answered, "who have fought enough andcame here to seek wisdom, not bloodshed. "

"First the sacrifice, then the reward, " she answered, "that is if anyare left to be rewarded. Farewell. "

CHAPTER XV

ROBERTSON IS LOST

So I went and was conducted by Billali, the old chamberlain, for suchseemed to be his office, who had been waiting patiently without all thiswhile, back to our rest-house. On my way I picked up Hans, whom I foundsitting outside the arch, and found that as usual that worthy had beenkeeping his eyes and ears open. 

"Baas, " he said, "did the White Witch tell you that there is a big_impi_ encamped over yonder outside the houses, in what looks like agreat dry ditch, and on the edge of the plain beyond?"

"No, Hans, but she said that this evening she would show us those inwhose company we must fight. "

"Well, Baas, they are there, some thousands of them, for I crept throughthe broken walls like a snake and saw them. And, Baas, I do not thinkthey are men, I think that they are evil spirits who walk at nightonly. "

"Why, Hans?"

"Because when the sun is high, Baas, as it is now, they are allsleeping. Yes, there they lie abed, fast asleep, as other people do atnight, with only a few sentries out on guard, and these are yawning andrubbing their eyes. "

"I have heard that there are folk like that in the middle of Africawhere the sun is very hot, Hans, " I answered, "which perhaps is whyShe-who-commands is going to take us to see them at night. Also thesepeople, it seems, are worshippers of the moon. "

"No, Baas, they are worshippers of the devil and that White Witch is hiswife. "

"You had better keep your thoughts to yourself, Hans, for whatever sheis I think that she can read thoughts from far away, as you guessed lastnight. Therefore I would not have any if I were you. "

"No, Baas, or if I must think, henceforth, it shall be only of gin whichin this place is also far away, " he replied, grinning. 

Then we came to the rest-house where I found that Robertson had alreadyeaten his midday meal and like the Amahagger gone to sleep, whileapparently Umslopogaas had done the same; at least I saw nothing of him. Of this I was glad, since that wondrous Ayesha seemed to draw vitalityout of me and after my long talk with her I felt very tired. So I tooate and then went to lie down under an old wall in the shade at a littledistance, and to reflect upon the marvellous things that I had heard. 

Here be it said at once that I believed nothing of them, or at leastvery little indeed. All the involved tale of Ayesha's long life Idismissed at once as incredible. Clearly she was some beautiful womanwho was more or less mad and suffered from megalomania; probably anArab, who had wandered to this place for reasons of her own, and becomethe chieftainess of a savage tribe whose traditions she had absorbed andreproduced as personal experiences, again for reasons of her own. 

For the rest, she was now threatened by another tribe and knowing thatwe had guns and could fight from what happened on the yesterday, wishednaturally enough for our assistance in the coming battle. As for themarvellous chief Rezu, or rather for his supernatural attributes and allthe cock-and-bull story about an axe--well, it was humbug like the rest, and if she believed in it she must be more foolish than I took herto be--even if she were unhinged on certain points. For the rest, herinformation about myself and Umslopogaas doubtless had reached her fromZikali in some obscure fashion, as she herself acknowledged. 

But heavens! how beautiful she was! That flash of loveliness when out ofpique or coquetry she lifted her veil, blinded like the lightning. Butthank goodness, also like the lightning it frightened; instinctively onefelt that it was very dangerous, even to death, and with it I for onewished no closer acquaintance. Fire may be lovely and attractive, alsocomforting at a proper distance, but he who sits on the top of it iscremated, as many a moth has found. 

So I argued, knowing well enough all the while that if this particularhuman--or inhuman--fire desired to make an holocaust of me, it could doso easily enough, and that in reality I owed my safety so far to a lackof that desire on its part. The glorious Ayesha saw nothing to attracther in an insignificant and withered hunter, or at any rate in hisexterior, though with his mind she might find some small affinity. Moreover to make a fool of him just for the fun of it would notserve her purpose, since she needed his assistance in a business thatnecessitated clear wits and unprejudiced judgment. 

Lastly she had declared herself to be absorbed in some tiresomecomplication with another man, of which it was rather difficult tofollow the details. It is true that she described him as a handsome butsomewhat empty-headed person whom she had last seen two thousand yearsago, but probably this only meant that she thought poorly of him becausehe had preferred some other woman to herself, while the two thousandyears were added to the tale to give it atmosphere. 

The worst of scandals becomes romantic and even respectable in twothousand years; witness that of Cleopatra with Cćsar, Mark Antony andother gentlemen. The most virtuous read of Cleopatra with sympathy, evenin boarding-schools, and it is felt that were she by some miracle to beblotted out of the book of history, the loss would be enormous. The sameapplied to Helen, Phryne, and other bad lots. In fact now that one comesto think of it, most of the attractive personages in history, male orfemale, especially the latter, were bad lots. When we find someone towhose name is added "the good" we skip. No doubt Ayesha, being veryclever, appreciated this regrettable truth, and therefore moved hermurky entanglements of the past decade or so back for a couple ofthousand years, as many of us would like to do. 

There remained the very curious circumstance of her apparentcorrespondence with old Zikali who lived far away. This, however, afterall was not inexplicable. In the course of a great deal of experience Ihave observed that all the witch-doctor family, to which doubtless shebelonged, have strange means of communication. 

In most instances these are no doubt physical, carried on by help ofmessengers, or messages passed from one to the other. But sometimes itis reasonable to assume what is known as telepathy, as their link ofintercourse. Between two such highly developed experts as Ayesha andZikali, it might for the sake of argument safely be supposed that itwas thus they learned each other's mind and co-operated in each other'sprojects, though perhaps this end was effected by commoner methods. 

Whatever its interpretations, the issue of the business seemed to bethat I was to be let in for more fighting. Well, in any case this couldnot be avoided, since Robertson's daughter, Inez, had to be saved at allcosts, if it could possibly be done, even if we lost our lives in theattempt. Therefore fight we must, so there was nothing more to be said. Also without doubt this adventure was particularly interesting and Icould only hope that good luck, or Zikali's Great Medicine, or ratherProvidence, would see me through it safely. 

For the rest the fact that our help was necessary to her in thiswar-like venture showed me clearly enough that all this wonderfulwoman's pretensions to supernatural powers were the sheerest nonsense. Had they been otherwise she would not have needed our help in her tribalfights, notwithstanding the rubbish she talked about the chief, Rezu, who according to her account of him, must resemble one of the fabulous"trolls, " half-human and half-ghostly evil creatures, of whom I haveread in the Norse Sagas, who could only be slain by some particular heroarmed with a particular weapon. 

Reflecting thus I went to sleep and did not wake until the sun wassetting. Finding that Hans was also sleeping at my feet just like afaithful dog, I woke him up and we went back together to the rest-house, which we reached as the darkness fell with extraordinary swiftness, asit does in those latitudes, especially in a place surrounded by cliffs. 

Not finding Robertson in the house, I concluded that he was somewhereoutside, possibly making a reconnaissance on his own account, and toldHans to get supper ready for both of us. While he was doing so, by aidof the Amahagger lamps, Umslopogaas suddenly appeared in the circle oflight, and looking about him, said, "Where is Red-Beard, Macumazahn?"

I answered that I did not know and waited, for I felt sure that he hadsomething to say. 

"I think that you had better keep Red-Beard close to you, Macumazahn, "he went on. "This afternoon, when you had returned from visiting thewhite doctoress and having eaten, had gone to sleep under the wallyonder, I saw Red-Beard come out of the house carrying a gun and a bagof cartridges. His eyes rolled wildly and he turned first this way andthen that, sniffing at the air, like a buck that scents danger. Then hebegan to talk aloud in his own tongue and as I saw that he was speakingwith his Spirit, as those do who are mad, I went away and left him. "

"Why?" I asked. 

"Because, as you know, Macumazahn, it is a law among us Zulus never todisturb one who is mad and engaged in talking with his Spirit. Moreover, had I done so, probably he would have shot me, nor should I havecomplained who would have thrust myself in where I had no right to be. "

"Then why did you not come to call me, Umslopogaas?"

"Because then he might have shot you, for, as I have seen for some timehe is inspired of heaven and knows not what he does upon the earth, thinking only of the Lady Sad-Eyes who has been stolen away from him, asis but natural. So I left him walking up and down, and when I returnedlater to look, saw that he was gone, as I thought into this walled hut. Now when Hansi tells me that he is not here, I have come to speak to youabout him. "

"No, certainly he is not here, " I said, and I went to look at the bedwhere Robertson slept to see if it had been used that evening. 

Then for the first time I saw lying on it a piece of paper torn from apocketbook and addressed to myself. I seized and read it. It ran thus:

"The merciful Lord has sent me a vision of Inez and shown me where sheis over the cliff-edge away to the west, also the road to her. Inmy sleep I heard her talking to me. She told me that she is in greatdanger--that they are going to marry her to some brute--and called tome to come at once and save her; yes, and to come alone without sayinganything to anyone. So I am going at once. Don't be frightened ortrouble about me. All will be well, all will be quite well. I will tellyou the rest when we meet. "

Horrorstruck I translated this insane screed to Umslopogaas and Hans. The former nodded gravely. 

"Did I not tell you that he was talking with his Spirit, Macumazahn?" (Ihad rendered "the merciful Lord" as the Good Spirit. ) "Well, he has goneand doubtless his Spirit will take care of him. It is finished. "

"At any rate we cannot, Baas, " broke in Hans, who I think feared that Imight send him out to look for Robertson. "I can follow most spoors, butnot on such a night as this when one could cut the blackness into lumpsand build a wall of it. "

"Yes, " I answered, "he has gone and nothing can be done at present, "though to myself I reflected that probably he had not gone far and wouldbe found when the moon rose, or at any rate on the following morning. 

Still I was most uneasy about the man who, as I had noted for a longwhile, was losing his balance more and more. The shock of the barbarousand dreadful slaughter of his half-breed children and of the abductionof Inez by these grim, man-eating savages began the business, and Ithink that it was increased and accentuated by his sudden conversion tocomplete temperance after years of heavy drinking. 

When I persuaded him to this course I was very proud of myself, thinkingthat I had done a clever thing, but now I was not so sure. Perhaps itwould have been better if he had continued to drink something, atany rate for a while, but the trouble is that in such cases there isgenerally no half-way house. A man, or still more a woman, given to thisfrailty either turns aggressively sober or remains very drunken. Atany rate, even if I had made a mess of it, I had acted for the best andcould not blame myself. 

For the rest it was clear that in his new phase the religiousassociations of his youth had re-asserted themselves with remarkablevigour, for I gathered that he had been brought up almost as aCalvinist, and in the rush of their return, had overset his equilibrium. As I have said, he prayed night and day without any of those reserveswhich most people prefer in their religious exercises, and when hetalked of matters outside our quest, his conversation generally revolvedround the devil, or hell and its torments, which, to say the truth, didnot make him a cheerful companion. Indeed in this respect I liked himmuch better in his old, unregenerate days, being, I fear, myself asomewhat worldly soul. 

Well, the sum of it was that the poor fellow had gone mad and given usthe slip, and as Hans said, to search for him at once in that darknesswas impossible. Indeed, even if it had been lighter, I do not think thatit would have been safe among these Amahagger nightbirds whom I did nottrust. Certainly I could not have asked Hans to undertake the task, andif I had, I do not think he would have gone since he was afraid of theAmahagger. Therefore there was nothing to be done except wait and hopefor the best. 

So I waited till at last the moon came and with it Ayesha, as she hadpromised. Clad in a rich, dark cloak she arrived in some pomp, heraldedby Billali, followed by women, also cloaked, and surrounded by a guardof tall spearmen. I was seated outside the house, smoking, when suddenlyshe arrived from the shadows and stood before me. 

I rose respectfully and bowed, while Umslopogaas, Goroko and the otherZulus who were with me, gave her the royal salute, and Hans cringed likea dog that is afraid of being kicked. 

After a swift glance at them, as I guessed by the motion of her veiledhead, she seemed to fix her gaze upon my pipe that evidently excitedher curiosity, and asked me what it was. I explained as well as I could, expatiating on the charms of smoking. 

"So men have learned another useless vice since I left the world, andone that is filthy also, " she said, sniffing at the smoke and waving herhand before her face, whereon I dropped the pipe into my pocket, where, being alight, it burnt a hole in my best remaining coat. 

I remember the remark because it showed me what a clever actress she waswho, to keep up her character of antiquity, pretended to be astonishedat a habit with which she must have been well acquainted, although Ibelieve that it was unknown in the ancient world. 

"You are troubled, " she went on, swiftly changing the subject, "I readit in your face. One of your company is missing. Who is it? Ah! I see, the white man you name Avenger. Where is he gone?"

"That is what I wish to ask you, Ayesha, " I said. 

"How can I tell you, Allan, who in this place lack any glass into whichto look for things that pass afar. Still, let me try, " and pressing herhands to her forehead, she remained silent for perhaps a minute, thenspoke slowly. 

"I think that he has gone over the mountain lip towards the worshippersof Rezu. I think that he is mad; sorrow and something else which I donot understand have turned his brain; something that has to do with theHeavens. I think also that we shall recover him living, if only for alittle while, though of this I cannot be sure since it is not given tome to read the future, but only the past, and sometimes the things thathappen in the present though they be far away. "

"Will you send to search for him, O Ayesha?" I asked anxiously. 

"Nay, it is useless, for he is already distant. Moreover those who wentmight be taken by the outposts of Rezu, as perchance has happened toyour companion wandering in his madness. Do you know what he went toseek?"

"More or less, " I answered and translated to her the letter thatRobertson had left for me. 

"It may be as the man writes, " she commented, "since the mad often seewell in their dreams, though these are not sent by a god as he imagines. The mind in its secret places knows all things, O Allan, although itseems to know little or nothing, and when the breath of vision or thefury of a soul distraught blows away the veils or burns through thegates of distance, then for a while it sees and learns, since, whateverfools may think, often madness is true wisdom. Now follow me with thelittle yellow man and the Warrior of the Axe. Stay, let me look uponthat axe. "

I interpreted her wish to Umslopogaas who held it out to her but refusedto loose it from his wrist to which it was attached by the leathernthong. 

"Does the Black One think that I shall cut him down with his own weapon, I who am so weak and gentle?" she asked, laughing. 

"Nay, Ayesha, but it is his law not to part with this Drinker of Lives, which he names 'Chieftainess and Groan-maker, ' and clings to closer byday and night than a man does to his wife. "

"There he is wise, Allan, since a savage captain may get more wives butnever such another axe. The thing is ancient, " she added musingly afterexamining its every detail, "and who knows? It may be that whereof thelegend tells which is fated to bring Rezu to the dust. Now ask thisfierce-eyed Slayer whether, armed with his axe he can find courage toface the most terrible of all men and the strongest, one who is a wizardalso, of whom it is prophesied that only by such an axe as this can hebe made to bite the dust. "

I obeyed. Umslopogaas laughed grimly and answered, "Say to the White Witch that there is no man living upon the earth whomI would not face in war, I who have never been conquered in fair fight, though once a chance blow brought me to the doors of death, " and hetouched the great hole in his forehead. "Say to her also that I have nofear of defeat, I from whom doom is, as I think, still far away, thoughthe Opener-of-Roads has told me that among a strange people I shall diein war at last, as I desire to do, who from my boyhood have lived inwar. "

"He speaks well, " she answered with a note of admiration in her voice. "By Isis, were he but white I would set him to rule these Amahaggerunder me. Tell him, Allan, that if he lays Rezu low he shall have agreat reward. "

"And tell the White Witch, Macumazahn, " Umslopogaas replied when I hadtranslated, "that I seek no reward, save glory only, and with it thesight of one who is lost to me but with whom my heart still dwells, ifindeed this Witch has strength to break the wall of blackness that isbuilt between me and her who is 'gone down. '"

"Strange, " reflected Ayesha when she understood, "that this grimDestroyer should yet be bound by the silken bonds of love and yearn forone whom the grave has taken. Learn from it, Allan, that all humanityis cast in the same mould, since my longings and your longings are hisalso, though the three of us be far apart as are the sun and the moonand the earth, and as different in every other quality. Yet it is truethat sun and moon and earth are born of the same black womb of chaos. Therefore in the beginning they were identical, as doubtless they willbe in the end when, their journeyings done, they rush together to lightspace with a flame at which the mocking gods that made them may warmtheir hands. Well, so it is with men, Allan, whose soul-stuff is drawnfrom the gulf of Spirit by Nature's hand, and, cast upon the cold air ofthis death-driven world, freezes into a million shapes each different tothe other and yet, be sure, the same. Now talk no more, but follow me. Slave" (this was addressed to Billali), "bid the guards lead on to thecamp of the servants of Lulala. "

So we went through the silent ruins. Ayesha walked, or rather glided apace or two ahead, then came Umslopogaas and I side by side, while atour heels followed Hans, very close at our heels since he did not wishto be out of reach of the virtue of the Great Medicine and incidentallyof the protection of axe and rifle. 

Thus we marched surrounded by the solemn guard for something betweena quarter and half a mile, till at length we climbed the debris of amighty wall that once had encompassed the city, and by the moonlight sawbeneath us a vast hollow which clearly at some unknown time had been thebed of an enormous moat and filled with water. 

Now, however, it was dry and all about its surface were dotted numerouscamp-fires round which men were moving, also some women who appeared tobe engaged in cooking food. At a little distance too, upon thefurther edge of the moat-like depression were a number of white-robedindividuals gathered in a circle about a large stone upon whichsomething was stretched that resembled the carcase of a sheep or goat, and round these a great number of spectators. 

"The priests of Lulala who make sacrifice to the moon, as they do nightby night, save when she is dead, " said Ayesha, turning back towardsme as though in answer to the query which I had conceived but leftunuttered. 

What struck me about the whole scene was its extraordinary animation andbriskness. All the folk round the fires and outside of them moved aboutquickly and with the same kind of liveliness which might animate a campof more natural people at the rising of the sun. It was as though theyhad just got up full of vigour to commence their daily, or rather theirnightly round, which in truth was the case, since as Hans discovered, by habitude these Amahagger preferred to sleep during the day unlesssomething prevented them, and to carry on the activities of life atnight. It only remains to add that there seemed to be a great numberof them, for their fires following the round of the dry moat, stretchedfurther than I could see. 

Scrambling down the crumpled wall by a zig-zag pathway, we came upon theoutposts of the army beneath us who challenged, then seeing with whomthey had to do, fell flat upon their faces, leaving their great spears, which had iron spikes on their shafts like to those of the Masai, sticking in the ground beside them. 

We passed on between some of the fires and I noted how solemn andgloomy, although handsome, were the countenances of the folk by whomthese were surrounded. Indeed, they looked like denizens of a differentworld to ours, one alien to the kindly race of men. There was nothingsocial about these Amahagger, who seemed to be a people labouring undersome ancient ancestral curse of which they could never shake offthe memory. Even the women rarely smiled; their clear-cut, statelycountenances remained stern and set, except when they glowered at usincuriously. Only when Ayesha passed they prostrated themselves like therest. 

We went on through them and across the moat, climbing its further slopeand here suddenly came upon a host of men gathered in a hollow square, apparently in order to receive us. They stood in ranks of five or sixdeep and their spear-points glimmering in the moonlight looked likelong bands of level steel. As we entered the open side of the square allthese spears were lifted. Thrice they were lifted and at each upliftingthere rose a deep-throated cry of _Hiya_, which is the Arabic for She, and I suppose was a salutation to Ayesha. 

She swept on taking no heed, till we came to the centre of the squarewhere a number of men were gathered who prostrated themselves in theusual fashion. Motioning to them to rise she said, "Captains, this very night within two hours we march against Rezu andthe sun-worshippers, since otherwise as my arts tell me, they marchagainst us. She-who-commands is immortal, as your fathers have knownfrom generation to generation, and cannot be destroyed; but you, herservants, can be destroyed, and Rezu, who also has drunk of the Cup ofLife, out-numbers you by three to one and prepares a queen to set up inmy place over his own people and such of you as remain. As though, "she added with a contemptuous laugh, "any woman of a day could take myplace. "

She paused and the spokesman of the captains said, "We hear, O Hiya, and we understand. What wouldst thou have us do, O Lulala-come-to-earth? The armies of Rezu are great and from thebeginning he has hated thee and us, also his magic is as thy magic andhis length of days as thy length of days. How then can we who are few, three thousand men at the most, match ourselves against Rezu, Son ofthe Sun? Would it not be better that we should accept the terms of Rezu, which are light, and acknowledge him as our king?"

As she heard these words I saw the tall shape of Ayesha quiver beneathher robes, as I think, not with fear but with rage, because the meaningof them was clear enough, namely that rather than risk a battle withRezu, these people were contemplating surrender and her own deposition, if indeed she could be deposed. Still she answered in a quiet voice, "It seems that I have dealt too gently with you and with your fathers, Children of Lulala, whose shadow I am here upon the earth, so thatbecause you only see the scabbard, you have forgotten the sword withinand that it can shine forth and smite. Well, why should I be wrathbecause the brutish will follow the law of brutes, though it be truethat I am minded to slay you where you stand? Hearken! Were I lessmerciful I would leave you to the clutching hands of Rezu, who woulddrag you one by one to the stone of sacrifice and there offer up yourhearts to his god of fire and devour your bodies with his heat. But Ibethink me of your wives and children and of your forefathers whom Iknew in the dead days, and therefore, if I may, I still would save youfrom yourselves and your heads from the glowing pot. 

"Take counsel together now and say--Will you fight against Rezu, or willyou yield? If that is your desire, speak it, and by to-morrow's sun Iwill begone, taking these with me, " and she pointed to us, "whom I havesummoned to help us in the war. Aye, I will begone, and when you arestretched upon the stone of sacrifice, and your women and children arethe slaves of the men of Rezu, then shall you cry, "'Oh, where is Hiya whom our fathers knew? Oh, will she not return andsave us from this hell?'

"Yes, so shall you cry but there shall come no answer, since then shewill have departed to her own habitations in the moon and thence appearno more. Now consult together and answer swiftly, since I weary of youand your ways. "

The captains drew apart and began to talk in low voices, while Ayeshastood still, apparently quite unconcerned, and I considered thesituation. 

It was obvious to me that these people were almost in rebellion againsttheir strange ruler, whose power over them was of a purely moral nature, one that emanated from her personality alone. What I wondered was, beingwhat she seemed to be, why she thought it worth while to exercise it atall. Then I remembered her statement that here and nowhere else she mustabide for some secret reason, until a certain mystical gentleman witha Greek name came to fetch her away from this appointed _rendezvous_. Therefore I supposed she had no choice, or rather, suffering as she didfrom hallucinations, believed herself to have no choice and was obligedto put up with a crowd of disagreeable savages in quarters which weresadly out of repair. 

Presently the spokesman returned, saluted with his spear, and asked, "If we go up to fight against Rezu, who will lead us in the battle, OHiya?"

"My wisdom shall be your guide, " she answered, "this white man shall beyour General and there stands the warrior who shall meet Rezu face toface and bring him to the dust, " and she pointed to Umslopogaas leaningupon his axe and watching them with a contemptuous smile. 

This reply did not seem to please the man for he withdrew to consultagain with his companions. After a debate which I suppose was animatedfor the Amahagger, men of few words who did not indulge in oratory, allof them advanced on us and the spokesman said, "The choice of a General does not please us, Hiya. We know that thewhite man is brave because of the fight he made against the men of Rezuover the mountain yonder; also that he and his followers have weaponsthat deal death from afar. But there is a prophecy among us of whichnone know the beginning, that he who commands in the last great battlebetween Lulala and Rezu must produce before the eyes of the People ofLulala a certain holy thing, a charm of power, without which defeat willbe the portion of Lulala. Of this holy thing, this spirit-haunted shapeof power, we know the likeness and the fashion, for these have come downamong our priests, though who told it to them we cannot tell, but of itI will say this only, that it speaks both of the spirit and the body, ofman and yet of more than man. "

"And if this wondrous charm, this talisman of might, cannot be shown bythe white lord here, what then?" asked Ayesha coldly. 

"Then, Hiya, this is the word of the People of Lulala, that we will notserve under him in the battle, and this also is their word that we willnot go up against Rezu. That thou art mighty we know well, Hiya, also that thou canst slay if thou wilt, but we know also that Rezu ismightier and that against him thou hast no power. Therefore kill us ifthou dost so desire, until thy heart is satisfied with death. For itis better that we should perish thus than upon the altar of sacrificewearing the red-hot crowns of Rezu. "

"So say we all, " exclaimed the rest of the company when he had finished. 

"The thought comes to me to begin to satisfy my heart with thy cowardblood and that of thy companions, " said Ayesha contemptuously. Then shepaused and turning to me, added, "O Watcher-by-Night, what counsel? Isthere aught that will convince these chicken-hearted ones over whom Ihave spread my feathers for so long?"

I shook my head blankly, whereat they murmured together and made asthough they would go. 

Then it was that Hans, who understood something of Arabic as he did ofmost African tongues, pulled my sleeve and whispered in my ear. 

"The Great Medicine, Baas! Show them Zikali's Great Medicine. "

Here was an idea. The description of the article required, a"spirit-haunted shape of power" that spoke "both of the spirit and thebody of man and yet of more than man, " was so vague that it might meananything or nothing. And yet----

I turned to Ayesha and prayed her to ask them if what they wanted shouldbe produced, whether they would follow me bravely and fight Rezu to thedeath. She did so and with one voice they replied, "Aye, bravely and to the death, him and the Bearer of the Axe of whomalso our legend tells. "

Then with deliberation I opened my shirt and holding out the image ofZikali as far as the chain of elephant hair would allow, I asked, "Is this the holy thing, the charm of power, of which your legend tells, O People of the Amahagger and worshippers of Lulala?"

The spokesman glanced at it, then snatching a brand from a watch-firethat burnt near by held it over the carving and stared, and staredagain; and as he did, so did the others bending over him. 

"Dog! would you singe my beard?" I cried in affected rage, and seizingthe brand from his hand I smote him with it over the head. 

But he took no heed of the affront which I had offered to him merelyto assert my authority. Still for a few moments he stared although thesparks from the wood were frizzling in his greasy hair, then of a suddenwent down on his face before me, as did all the others and cried out, "It is the Holy Thing! It is the spirit-haunted Shape of Power itself, and we the Worshippers of Lulala will follow thee to the death, O whitelord, Watcher-by-Night. Yes, where thou goest and he goes who bears theAxe, thither will we follow till not one of us is left upon his feet. "

"Then that's settled, " I said, yawning, since it is never wise to showconcern about anything before savages. Indeed personally I had no wishto be the leader of this very peculiar tribe in an adventure of which Iknew nothing, and therefore had hoped that they would leave that honourto someone else. Then I turned and told Umslopogaas what had passed, atale at which he only shrugged his great shoulders, handling his axe asthough he were minded to try its edge upon some of these "Dark-lovers, "as he named the Amahagger people because of their nocturnal habits. 

Meanwhile Ayesha gave certain orders. Then she came to me and said, "These men march at once, three thousand strong, and by dawn will campon the northern mountain crest. At sunrise litters will come to bear youand those with you if they will, to join them, which you should do bymidday. In the afternoon marshall them as you think wise, for the battlewill take place in the small hours of the following morning, since thePeople of Lulala only fight at night. I have said. "

"Do you not come with us?" I asked, dismayed. 

"Nay, not in a war against Rezu, why it matters not. Yet my Spirit willgo with you, for I shall watch all that passes, how it matters notand perchance you may see it there--I know not. On the third day fromto-morrow we shall meet again in the flesh or beyond it, but as I thinkin the flesh, and you can claim the reward which you journeyed here toseek. A place shall be prepared for the white lady whom Rezu would haveset up as a rival queen to me. Farewell, and farewell also to yonderBearer of the Axe that shall drink the blood of Rezu, also to the littleyellow man who is rightly named Light-in-Darkness, as you shall learnere all is done. "

Then before I could speak she turned and glided away, swiftly surroundedby her guards, leaving me astonished and very uncomfortable. 

CHAPTER XVI

ALLAN'S VISION

The old chamberlain, Billali, conducted us back to our camp. As we wenthe discoursed to me of these Amahagger, of whom it seemed he was himselfa developed specimen, one who threw back, perhaps tens of generations, to some superior ancestor who lived before they became debased. Insubstance he told me that they were a wild and lawless lot who livedamongst ruins or in caves, or some of them in swamp dwellings, insmall separate communities, each governed by its petty headman who wasgenerally a priest of their goddess Lulala. 

Originally they and the people of Rezu were the same, in times when theyworshipped the sun and the moon jointly, but "thousands of years" ago, as he expressed it, they had separated, the Rezuites having gone todwell to the north of the Great Mountain, whence they continuallythreatened the Lulalaites whom, had it not been for She-who-commands, they would have destroyed long before. The Rezuites, it seemed, werehabitual cannibals, whereas the Lulalaite branch of the Amahagger onlypractised cannibalism occasionally when by a lucky chance they got holdof strangers. "Such as yourself, Watcher-by-Night, and your companions, "he added with meaning. If their crime were discovered, however, Hiya, She-who-commands, punished it by death. 

I asked if she exercised an active rule over these people. He answeredthat she did not, as she lacked sufficient interest in them; only whenshe was angry with individuals she would destroy some of them by "herarts, " as she had power to do if she chose. Most of them indeed hadnever seen her and only knew of her existence by rumour. To them she wasa spirit or a goddess who inhabited the ancient tombs that lay to thesouth of the old city whither she had come because of the threatened warwith Rezu, whom alone she feared, he did not know why. He told me again, moreover, that she was the greatest magician who had ever been, andthat it was certain she did not die, since their forefathers knew hergenerations ago. Still she seemed to be under some curse, like theAmahagger themselves, who were the descendants of those who had onceinhabited Kôr and the country round it, as far as the sea-coast andfor hundreds of miles inland, having been a mighty people in their daybefore a great plague destroyed them. 

For the rest he thought that she was a very unhappy woman who "livedwith her own soul mourning the dead" and consorting with none upon theearth. 

I asked him why she stayed here, whereat he shook his head and replied, he supposed because of the "curse, " since he could conceive of no otherreason. He informed me also that her moods varied very much. Sometimesshe was fierce and active and at others by comparison mild andlow-spirited. Just now she was passing through one of the latter stages, perhaps because of the Rezu trouble, for she did not wish her people tobe destroyed by this terrible person; or perhaps for some other reasonwith which he was not acquainted. 

When she chose, she knew all things, except the distant future. Thusshe knew that we were coming, also the details of our march and thatwe should be attacked by the Rezuites who were going out to meettheir returning company that had been sent afar to find a white queen. Therefore she had ordered him to go with soldiers to our assistance. Iasked why she went veiled, and he replied, because of her beauty whichdrove even savage men mad, so that in old days she had been obliged tokill a number of them. 

That was all he seemed to know about her, except that she was kind tothose who served her well, like himself, and protected them from evil ofevery sort. 

Then I asked him about Rezu. He answered that he was a dreadful person, undying, it was said, like She-who-commands, though he had never seenthe man himself and never wanted to do so. His followers being cannibalsand having literally eaten up all those that they could reach, were nowdesirous of conquering the people of Lulala that they might eat themalso at their leisure. Each other they did not eat, because dog does noteat dog, and therefore they were beginning to grow hungry, although theyhad plenty of grain and cattle of which they used the milk and hides. 

As for the coming battle, he knew nothing about it or what would happen, save that She-who-commands said that it would go well for the Lulalaitesunder my direction. She was so sure that it would go well, that she didnot think it worth while to accompany the army, for she hated noise andbloodshed. 

It occurred to me that perhaps she was afraid that she too would betaken captive and eaten, but I kept my reflection to myself. 

Just then we arrived at our camp-house, where Billali bade me farewell, saying that he wished to rest as he must be back at dawn with litters, when he hoped to find us ready to start. Then he departed. Umslopogaasand Hans also went away to sleep, leaving me alone who, having taken myrepose in the afternoon, did not feel drowsy at the moment. So lovelywas the night indeed that I made up my mind to take a little walk duringthe midnight hours, after the manner of the Amahagger themselves, forhaving now been recognised as Generalissimo of their forces, I hadlittle fear of being attacked, especially as I carried a pistol in mypocket. So off I set strolling slowly down what seemed to have beena main street of the ancient city, which in its general appearanceresembled excavated Pompeii, only on an infinitely larger scale. 

As I went I meditated on the strange circumstances in which I foundmyself. Really they tempted me to believe that I was suffering fromdelusions and perhaps all the while in fact lay stretched upon a bedin the delirium of fever. That marvellous woman, for instance--evenrejecting her tale of miraculously extended life, which I did--what wasI to make of her? I did not know, except that wondrous as she was, it remained clear that she claimed a great deal more power than shepossessed. This was evident from her tone in the interview with thecaptains, and from the fact that she had shuffled off the command of hertribe on to my shoulders. If she were so mighty, why did she not commandit herself and bring her celestial, or infernal, powers to bear upon theenemy? Again, I could not say, but one fact emerged, namely that shewas as interesting as she was beautiful, and uncommonly clever into thebargain. 

But what a task was this that she had laid upon me, to lead into battle, with a foe of unascertained strength, a mob of savages probably quiteundisciplined, of whose fighting qualities I knew nothing and whom I hadno opportunity of organising. The affair seemed madness and I could onlyhope that luck or destiny would take me through somehow. 

To tell the truth, I believed it would, for I had grown almost assuperstitious about Zikali and his Great Medicine as was Hans himself. Certainly the effect of it upon those captains was very odd, or wouldhave been had not the explanation come to me in a flash. On the firstnight of our meeting, as I have described, I showed this talisman toAyesha, as a kind of letter of credentials, and now I could see thatit was she who had arranged all the scene with the captains, or theirtribal magician, in order to get her way about my appointment to thecommand. 

Everything about her conduct bore this out, even her feigning ignoranceof the existence of the charm and the leaving of it to Hans tosuggest its production, which perhaps she did by influencing his mindsubconsciously. No doubt more or less it fitted in with one of thosenebulous traditions which are so common amongst ancient savage races, and therefore once shown to her confederate, or confederates, would beaccepted by the common people as a holy sign, after which the rest waseasy. 

Such an obvious explanation involved the death of any illusions I mightstill cherish about this Arab lady, Ayesha, and it is true that I partedwith them with regret, as we all do when we think we have discoveredsomething wonderful in the female line. But there it was, and to botherany more about her, her history and aims, seemed useless. 

So dismissing her and all present anxieties from my mind, I began tolook about me and to wonder at the marvellous scene which unfoldeditself before me in the moonlight. That I might see it better, althoughI was rather afraid of snakes which might hide among the stones, byan easy ascent I climbed a mount of ruins and up the broad slope of atumbled massive wall, which from its thickness I judged must have beenthat of some fort or temple. On the crest of this wall, some seventy oreighty feet above the level of the streets, I sat down and looked aboutme. 

Everywhere around me stretched the ruins of the great city, now asfallen and as deserted as Babylon herself. The majestic lonelinessof the place was something awful. Even the vision of companies andbattalions of men crossing the plain towards the north with themoonlight glistening on their spear-points, did little to lessen thissense of loneliness. I knew that these were the regiments which I wasdestined to command, travelling to the camp where I must meet them. Butin such silence did they move that no sound came from them even in thedeathly stillness of the perfect night, so that almost I was tempted tobelieve them to be the shadow-ghosts of some army of old Kôr. 

They vanished, and musing thus I think I must have dozed. At any rate itseemed to me that of a sudden the city was as it had been in the daysof its glory. I saw it brilliant with a hundred colours; everywhere wascolour, on the painted walls and roofs, the flowering trees that linedthe streets and the bright dresses of the men and women who by thousandscrowded them and the marts and squares. Even the chariots that moved toand fro were coloured as were the countless banners which floated frompalace walls and temple tops. 

The enormous place teemed with every activity of life; brides beingborne to marriage and dead men to burial; squadrons marching, cladin glittering armour; merchants chaffering; white-robed priests andpriestesses passing in procession (who or what did they worship? Iwondered); children breaking out of school; grave philosophers debatingin the shadow of a cool arcade; a royal person making a progresspreceded by runners and surrounded by slaves, and lastly the multitudesof citizens going about the daily business of life. 

Even details were visible, such as those of officers of the law chasingan escaped prisoner who had a broken rope tied to his arm, and acollision between two chariots in a narrow street, about the wrecks ofwhich an idle mob gathered as it does to-day if two vehicles collide, while the owners argued, gesticulating angrily, and the police andgrooms tried to lift a fallen horse on to its feet. Only no sound of theargument or of anything else reached me. I saw, and that was all. Thesilence remained intense, as well it might do, since those chariots musthave come to grief thousands upon thousands of years ago. 

A cloud seemed to pass before my eyes, a thin, gauzy cloud which somehowreminded me of the veil that Ayesha wore. Indeed at the moment, althoughI could not see her, I would have sworn that she was present at my side, and what is more, that she was mocking me who had set her down as soimpotent a trickstress, which doubtless was part of the dream. 

At any rate I returned to my normal state, and there about me were themiles of desolate streets and the thousands of broken walls, and theblack blots of roofless houses and the wide, untenanted plain bounded bythe battlemented line of encircling mountain crests, and above all, thegreat moon shining softly in a tender sky. 

I looked and thrilled, though oppressed by the drear and desolate beautyof the scene around me, descended the wall and the ruined slope and mademy way homewards, afraid even of my own shadow. For I seemed to be theonly living thing among the dead habitations of immemorial Kôr. 

Reaching our camp I found Hans awake and watching for me. 

"I was just coming to look for you, Baas, " he said. "Indeed I shouldhave done so before, only I knew that you had gone to pay a visit tothat tall white 'Missis' who ties up her head in a blanket, and thoughtthat neither of you would like to be disturbed. "

"Then you thought wrong, " I answered, "and what is more, if you had madethat visit I think it might have been one from which you would neverhave come back. "

"Oh yes, Baas, " sniggered Hans. "The tall white lady would not haveminded. It is you who are so particular, after the fashion of men whomHeaven made very shy. "

Without deigning to reply to the gibes of Hans I went to lie down, wondering what kind of a bed poor Robertson occupied that night, andsoon fell asleep, as fortunately for myself I have the power to do, whatever my circumstances at the moment. Men who can sleep are those whodo the work of the world and succeed, though personally I have had moreof the work than of the success. 

I was awakened at the first grey dawn by Hans, who informed me thatBillali was waiting outside with litters, also that Goroko had alreadymade his incantations and doctored Umslopogaas and his two men for warafter the Zulu fashion when battle was expected. He added that theseZulus had refused to be left behind to guard and nurse their woundedcompanions, and said that rather than do so, they would kill them. 

Somehow, he informed me, in what way he could not guess, this had cometo the ears of the White Lady who "hid her face from men because it wasso ugly, " and she had sent women to attend to the sick ones, withword that they should be well cared for. All of this proved to be trueenough, but I need not enter into the details. 

In the end off we went, I in my litter following Billali's, with anexpress and a repeating rifle and plenty of ammunition for both, andHans, also well armed, in that which had been sent for Umslopogaas, whopreferred to walk with Goroko and the two other Zulus. 

For a little while Hans enjoyed the sensation of being carried bysomebody else, and lay upon the cushions smoking with a seraphic smileand addressing sarcastic remarks to the bearers, who fortunately did notunderstand them. Soon, however, he wearied of these novel delights andas he was still determined not to walk until he was obliged, climbed onto the roof of the litter, astride of which he sat as though it werea horse, looking for all the world like a toy monkey on a horizontalstick. 

Our road ran across the level, fertile plain but a small portion ofwhich was cultivated, though I could see that at some time or other, when its population was greater, every inch of it had been under crop. Now it was largely covered by trees, many of them fruit-bearing, between which meandered streams of water which once, I think, had beenirrigation channels. 

About ten o'clock we reached the foot of the encircling cliffs and beganthe climb of the escarpment, which was steep, tortuous and difficult. By noon we reached its crest and here found all our little army encampedand, except for the sentries, sleeping, as seemed to be the invariablecustom of these people in the daytime. 

I caused the chief captains to be awakened and with them made a circuitof the camp, reckoning the numbers of the men which came to about 3, 250and learning what I could concerning them and their way of fighting. Then, accompanied by Umslopogaas and Hans with the Zulus as a guard, also by three of the head-captains of the Amahagger, I walked forward tostudy the lie of the land. 

Coming to the further edge of the escarpment, I found that at this placetwo broad-based ridges, shaped like those that spring from the boles ofcertain tropical forest trees, ran from its crest to the plain beneathat a gentle slope. Moreover I saw that on this plain between the endsof the ridges an army was encamped which, by the aid of my glasses, Iexamined and estimated to number at least ten thousand men. 

This army, the Amahagger captains informed me, was that of Rezu, who, they said, intended to commence his attack at dawn on the followingmorning, since the People of Rezu, being sun-worshippers, would neverfight until their god appeared above the horizon. Having studied allthere was to see I asked the captains to set out their plan of battle, if they had a plan. 

The chief of them answered that it was to advance halfway down theright-hand ridge to a spot where there was a narrow flat piece ofground, and there await attack, since at this place their smallernumbers would not so much matter, whereas these made it impossible forthem to assail the enemy. 

"But suppose that Rezu should choose to come up to the other ridge andget behind you. What would happen then?" I inquired. 

He replied that he did not know, his ideas of strategy being, it wasclear, of a primitive order. 

"Do your people fight best at night or in the day?" I went on. 

He said undoubtedly at night, indeed in all their history there was norecord of their having done so in the daytime. 

"And yet you propose to let Rezu join battle with you when the sun ishigh, or in other words to court defeat, " I remarked. 

Then I went aside and discussed things for a while with Umslopogaas andHans, after which I returned and gave my orders, declining all argument. Briefly these were that in the dusk before the rising of the moon, ourAmahagger must advance down the right-hand ridge in complete silence, and hide themselves among the scrub which I saw grew thickly near itsroot. A small party, however, under the leadership of Goroko, whom Iknew to be a brave and clever captain, was to pass halfway down theleft-hand ridge and there light fires over a wide area, so as to makethe enemy think that our whole force had encamped there. Then at theproper moment which I had not yet decided upon, we would attack the armyof Rezu. 

The Amahagger captains did not seem pleased with this plan which I thinkwas too bold for their fancy, and began to murmur together. Seeing thatI must assert my authority at once, I walked up to them and said totheir chief man, "Hearken, my friend. By your own wish, not mine, I have been appointedyour general and I expect to be obeyed without question. From the momentthat the advance begins you will keep close to me and to the Black One, and if so much as one of your men hesitates or turns back, you willdie, " and I nodded towards the axe of Umslopogaas. "Moreover, afterwardsShe-who-commands will see that others of you die, should you escape inthe fight. "

Still they hesitated. Thereon without another word, I produced Zikali'sGreat Medicine and held it before their eyes, with the result that thesight of this ugly thing did what even the threat of death could not do. They went flat on the ground, every one of them, and swore by Lulalaand by She-who-commands, her priestess, that they would do all I said, however mad it seemed to them. 

"Good, " I answered. "Now go back and make ready, and for the rest, bythis time to-morrow we shall know who is or is not mad. "

From that moment till the end I had no more trouble with theseAmahagger. 

I will get on quickly with the story of this fight whereof thepreliminary details do not matter. At the proper time Goroko went offwith two hundred and fifty men and one of the two Zulus to light thefires and, at an agreed signal, namely the firing of two shots in rapidsuccession by myself, to begin shouting and generally make as much noiseas they could. 

We also went off with the remaining three thousand, and before the moonrose, crept as quietly as ghosts down the right-hand ridge. Being sucha silent folk who were accustomed to move at night and could see inthe dark almost as well as cats, the Amahagger executed this manoeuvresplendidly, wrapping their spear-blades in bands of dry grass lest lightshould glint on them and betray our movements. So in due course we cameto the patch of bush where the ridge widened out about five hundredyards from the plain beneath, and there lay down in four companies orregiments, each of them about seven hundred and fifty strong. 

Now the moon had risen, but because of the mist which covered thesurface of the plain, we could see nothing of the camp of Rezu which weknew must be within a thousand yards of us, unless indeed it had beenmoved, as the silence seemed to suggest. 

This circumstance gave me much anxiety, since I feared lest abandoningtheir reputed habits, these Rezuites were also contemplating a nightattack. Umslopogaas, too, was disturbed on the subject, though becauseof Goroko and his men whose fires began to twinkle on the opposing ridgesomething over a mile away, they could not pass up there without ourknowledge. 

Still, for aught I knew there might be other ways of scaling thismountain. I did not trust the Amahagger, who declared that none existed, since their local knowledge was slight as they never visited thesenorthern slopes because of their fear of Rezu. Supposing that the enemygained the crest and suddenly assaulted us in the rear! The thought ofit made me feel cold down the back. 

While I was wondering how I could find out the truth, Hans, who wassquatted behind a bush, suddenly rose and gave the rifle he was carryingto the remaining Zulu. 

"Baas, " he said, "I am going to look and find out what those people aredoing, if they are still there, and then you will know how and when toattack them. Don't be afraid for me, Baas, it will be easy in that mistand you know I can move like a snake. Also if I should not come back, itdoes not matter and it will tell you that they _are_ there. "

I hesitated who did not wish to expose the brave little Hottentot tosuch risks. But when he understood, Umslopogaas said, "Let the man go. It is his gift and duty to spy, as it is mine to smitewith the axe, and yours to lead, Macumazahn. Let him go, I say. "

I nodded my head, and having kissed my hand in his silly fashion intoken of much that he did not wish to say, Hans slipped out of sight, saying that he hoped to be back within an hour. Except for his greatknife, he went unarmed, who feared that if he took a pistol he might betempted to fire it and make a noise. 

CHAPTER XVII

THE MIDNIGHT BATTLE

That hour went by very slowly. Again and again I consulted my watch bythe light of the moon, which was now rising high in the heavens, andthought that it would never come to an end. Listen as I would, there wasnothing to be heard, and as the mist still prevailed the only thingI could see except the heavens, was the twinkling of the fires lit byGoroko and his party. 

At length it was done and there was no sign of Hans. Another half hourpassed and still no sign of Hans. 

"I think that Light-in-Darkness is dead or taken prisoner, " saidUmslopogaas. 

I answered that I feared so, but that I would give him another fifteenminutes and then, if he did not appear, I proposed to order an advance, hoping to find the enemy where we had last seen them from the top of themountain. 

The fifteen minutes went by also, and as I could see that the Amahaggercaptains who sat at a little distance were getting very nervous, Ipicked up my double-barrelled rifle and turned round so that I facedup hill with a view of firing it as had been agreed with Goroko, but insuch a fashion that the flashes perhaps would not be seen from the plainbelow. For this purpose I moved a few yards to the left to get behindthe trunk of a tree that grew there, and was already lifting the rifleto my shoulder, when a yellow hand clasped the barrel and a husky voicesaid, "Don't fire yet, Baas, as I want to tell you my story first. "

I looked down and there was the ugly face of Hans wearing a grin thatmight have frightened the man in the moon. 

"Well, " I said with cold indifference, assumed I admit to hide myexcessive joy at his safe return, "tell on, and be quick about it. Isuppose you lost your way and never found them. "

"Yes, Baas, I lost my way for the fog was very thick down there. But inthe end I found them all right, by my nose, Baas, for those man-eatingpeople smell strong and I got the wind of one of their sentries. It waseasy to pass him in the mist, Baas, so easy that I was tempted to cuthis throat as I went, but I didn't for fear lest he should make a noise. No, I walked on right into the middle of them, which was easy too, forthey were all asleep, wrapped up in blankets. They hadn't any firesperhaps because they didn't want them to be seen, or perhaps because itis so hot down in that low land, I don't know which. 

"So I crept on taking note of all I saw, till at last I came to a littlehill of which the top rose above the level of the mist, so that I couldsee on it a long hut built of green boughs with the leaves still freshupon them. Now I thought that I would crawl up to the hut since it cameinto my mind that Rezu himself must be sleeping there and that I mightkill him. But while I stood hesitating I heard a noise like to that madeby an old woman whose husband had thrown a blanket over her head to keepher quiet, or to that of a bee in a bottle, a sort of droning noise thatreminded me of something. 

"I thought a while and remembered that when Red Beard was on his kneespraying to Heaven, as is his habit when he has nothing else to do, Baas, he makes a noise just like that. I crept towards the sound and presentlythere I found Red Beard himself tied upon a stone and looking as mad asa buffalo bull stuck in a swamp, for he shook his head and rolled hiseyes about, just as though he had had two bottles of bad gin, Baas, andall the while he kept saying prayers. Now I thought that I would cut himloose, and bent over him to do so, when by ill-luck he saw my face andbegan to shout, saying, "'Go away, you yellow devil. I know you have come to take me to hell, but you are too soon, and if my hands were loose I would twist your headoff your shoulders. '

"He said this in English, Baas, which as you know I can understand quitewell, after which I was sure that I had better leave him alone. WhilstI was thinking, there came out of the hut above two old men dressed innight-shirts, such as you white people wear, with yellow things upontheir heads that had a metal picture of the sun in front of them. "

"Medicine-men, " I suggested. 

"Yes, Baas, or Predikants of some sort, for they were rather likeyour reverend father when he dressed himself up and went into a box topreach. Seeing them I slipped back a little way to where the mist began, lay down and listened. They looked at Red Beard, for his shouts at mehad brought them out, but he took no notice of them, only went on makinga noise like a beetle in a tin can. 

"'It is nothing, ' said one of the Predikants to the other in the sametongue that these Amahagger use. 'But when is he to be sacrificed? Soon, I hope, for I cannot sleep because of the noise he makes. '

"'When the edge of the sun appears, not before, ' answered the otherPredikant. 'Then the new queen will be brought out of the hut and thiswhite man will be sacrificed to her. '

"'I think it is a pity to wait so long, ' said the first Predikant, 'fornever shall we sleep in peace until the red-hot pot is on his head. '

"'First the victory, then the feast, ' answered the second Predikant, 'though he will not be so good to eat as that fat young woman who waswith the new queen. '

"Then, Baas, they both smacked their lips and one of them went backtowards the hut. But the other did not go back. No, he sat down on theground and glowered at Baas Red-Beard upon the stone. More, he struckhim on the face to make him quiet. 

"Now, Baas, when I saw this and remembered that they had said that theyhad eaten Janee whom I liked although she was such a fool, the spirit inme grew so very angry and I thought that I would give this old _skellum_(i. E. Rascal) of a Predikant a taste of sacrifice himself, after which Ipurposed to creep to the hut and see if I could get speech with the LadySad-Eyes, if she was there. 

"So I wriggled up behind the Predikant as he sat glowering overRed-Beard, and stuck my knife into his back where I thought it wouldkill him at once. But it didn't, Baas, for he fell on to his face andbegan to make a noise like a wounded hyena before I could finish him. Then I heard a sound of shouts, and to save my life was obliged to runaway into the mist, without loosing Red-Beard or seeing Lady Sad-Eyes. I ran very hard, Baas, making a wide circle to the left, and so at lastgot back here. That's all, Baas. "

"And quite enough, too, " I answered, "though if they did not see you, the death of the Medicine-man may frighten them. Poor Janee! Well, Ihope to come even with those devils before they are three hours older. "

Then I called up Umslopogaas and the Amahagger captains and told themthe substance of the story, also that Hans had located the army, or partof it. 

The end of it was that we made up our minds to attack at once; indeedI insisted on this, as I was determined if I could to save thatunfortunate man, Robertson, who, from Hans' account, evidently was nowquite mad and raving. So I fired the two shots as had been arrangedand presently heard the sound of distant shoutings on the slope ofthe opposing ridge. A few minutes later we started, Umslopogaas and Ileading the vanguard and the Amahagger captains following with the threeremaining companies. 

Now the reader, presuming the existence of such a person, will thinkthat everything is sure to go right; that this cunning old fellow, AllanQuatermain, is going to surprise and wipe the floor with those Rezuites, who were already beguiled by the trick he had instructed Goroko to play. That after this he will rescue Robertson who doubtless shortly recovershis mind, also Inez with the greatest ease, in fact that everything willhappen as it ought to do if this were a romance instead of a mere recordof remarkable facts. But being the latter, as it happened, matters didnot work out quite in this convenient way. 

To begin with, when those Amahagger told me that the Rezuites neverfought in the dark or before the sun was well up, either they lied orthey were much mistaken, for at any rate on this occasion they did theexact contrary. All the while that we thought we were stalking them, they were stalking us. The Goroko manoeuvre had not deceived them in theleast, since from their spies they knew its exact significance. 

Here, I may add that those spies were in our own ranks, traitors, inshort, who were really in the pay of Rezu and possibly belonged to hisabominable faith, some of whom slipped away from time to time to theenemy to report our progress and plans, so far as they knew them. 

Further, what Hans had stumbled on was a mere rear guard left around theplace of sacrifice and the hut where Inez was confined. The real army henever found at all. That was divided into two bodies and hidden in bushto the right and left of the ridge which we were descending just at thespot where it joined the plain beneath, and into the jaws of these twoarmies we marched gaily. 

Now that hypothetical reader will say, "Why didn't that silly old fool, Allan, think of all these things? Why didn't he remember that he wascommanding a pack of savages with whom he had no real acquaintance, among whom there were sure to be traitors, especially as they were ofthe same blood as the Rezuites, and take precautions?"

Ah! my dear reader, I will only answer that I wish you had handled thejob yourself, and enjoyed the opportunity of seeing what _you_ could doin the circumstances. Do you suppose I didn't think of all these points?Of course I did. But have you ever heard of the difficulty of makingsilk purses out of sows' ears, or of turning a lot of gloomy anddisagreeable barbarians whom you had never even drilled, intotrustworthy and efficient soldiers ready to fight three times their ownnumber and beat them?

Also I beg to observe that I did get through somehow, as you shalllearn, which is more than you might have done, Mr. Wisdom, though Iadmit, not without help from another quarter. It is all very well foryou to sit in your armchair and be sapient and turn up your learnednose, like the gentlemen who criticise plays and poems, an easy jobcompared to the writing of them. From all of which, however, youwill understand that I am, to tell the truth, rather ashamed of whatfollowed, since _qui s'excuse, s'accuse_. 

As we slunk down that hill in the moonlight, a queer-looking crowd, Iadmit also that I felt very uncomfortable. To begin with I did not likethat remark of the Medicine-man which Hans reported, to the effect thatthe feast must come after the victory, especially as he had said justbefore that Robertson was to be sacrificed as the sun rose, which wouldseem to suggest that the "victory" was planned to take place before thatevent. 

While I was ruminating upon this subject, I looked round for Hans tocross-examine him as to the priest's exact words, only to find that hehad slunk off somewhere. A few minutes later he reappeared running backtowards us swiftly and, I noticed, taking shelter behind tree trunks androcks as he came. 

"Baas, " he gasped, for he was out of breath, "be careful, those Rezu menare on either side ahead. I went forward and ran into them. They threwmany spears at me. Look!" and he showed a slight cut on his arm fromwhich blood was flowing. 

Instantly I understood that we were ambushed and began to think veryhard indeed. As it chanced we were passing across a large flat spaceupon the ridge, say seven or eight acres in extent, where the bush grewlightly, though owing to the soil being better, the trees were tall. 

On the steep slope below this little plain it seemed to be denser andthere it was, according to Hans, that the ambush was set. I halted myregiment and sent back messengers to the others that they were to haltalso as they came up, on the pretext of giving them a rest before theywere marshalled and we advanced to the battle. 

Then I told Umslopogaas what Hans said and asked him to send out hisZulu soldier whom he could trust, to see if he could obtain confirmationof the report. This he did at once. Also I asked him what he thoughtshould be done, supposing that it was true. 

"Form the Amahagger into a ring or a square and await attack, " heanswered. 

I nodded, for that was my own opinion, but replied, "If they were Zulus, the plan would be good. But how do we know thatthese men will stand?"

"We know nothing, Macumazahn, and therefore can only try. If they run itmust be up-hill. "

Then I called the captains and told them what was toward, which seemedto alarm them very much. Indeed one or two of them wanted to retreat atonce, but I said I would shoot the first man who tried to do so. Inthe end they agreed to my plan and said that they would post their bestsoldiers above, at the top of the square, with the orders to stop anyattempt at a flight up the mountain. 

After this we formed up the square as best we could, arranging it ina rather rough, four-fold line. While we were doing this we heard someshouts below and presently the Zulu returned, who reported that allwas as Hans had said and that Rezu's men were moving round us, havingdiscovered, as he thought, that we had halted and escaped their ambush. 

Still the attack did not develop at once, for the reason that the Rezuarmy was crawling up the steep flanks of the spur on either side of thelevel piece of ground, with a view of encircling us altogether, so asto make a clean sweep of our force. As a matter of fact, considered fromour point of view, this was a most fortunate move, since thereby theystopped any attempt at a retreat on the part of our Amahagger, whosebolt-hole was now blocked. 

When we had done all we could, we sat down, or at least I did, andwaited. The night, I remember, was strangely still, only from the slopeson either side of our plateau came a kind of rustling sound whichin fact was caused by the feet of Rezu's people, as they marched tosurround us. 

It ceased at last and the silence grew complete, so much so that I couldhear the teeth of some of our tall Amahagger chattering with fear, asound that gave me little confidence and caused Umslopogaas to remarkthat the hearts of these big men had never grown; they remained "asthose of babies. " I told the captains to pass the word down the ranksthat those who stood might live, but those who fled would certainly die. Therefore if they wished to see their homes again they had better standand fight like men. Otherwise most of them would be killed and the resteaten by Rezu. This was done, and I observed that the message seemed toproduce a steadying effect upon our ranks. 

Suddenly all around us, from below, from above and on either side therebroke a most awful roar which seemed to shape itself into the word, _Rezu_, and next minute also from above, below and either side, some tenthousand men poured forth upon our square. 

In the moonlight they looked very terrible with their flowing whiterobes and great gleaming spears. Hans and I fired some shots, thoughfor all the effect they produced, we might as well have pelted a breakerwith pebbles. Then, as I thought that I should be more useful alive thandead, I retreated within the square, Umslopogaas, his Zulu, and Hanscoming with me. 

On the whole our Amahagger stood the attack better than I expected. Theybeat back the first rush with considerable loss to the enemy, also thesecond after a longer struggle. Then there was a pause during which were-formed our ranks, dragging the wounded men into the square. 

Scarcely had we done this when with another mighty shout of "Rezu!" theenemy attacked again--that was about an hour after the battle had begun. But now they had changed their tactics, for instead of trying to rushall sides of the square at once, they concentrated their efforts on thewestern front, that which faced towards the plain below. 

On they came, and among them in the forefront of the battle, now andagain I caught sight of a gigantic man, a huge creature who seemed to meto be seven feet high and big in proportion. I could not see him clearlybecause of the uncertain moonlight, but I noted his fierce aspect, alsothat he had an enormous beard, black streaked with grey, that floweddown to his middle, and that his hair hung in masses upon his shoulders. 

"Rezu himself!" I shouted to Umslopogaas. 

"Aye, Macumazahn, Rezu himself without doubt, and I rejoice to see himfor he will be a worthy foe to fight. Look! he carries an axe as I do. Now I must save my strength for when we come face to face I shall needit all. "

I thought that I would spare Umslopogaas this exertion and watched myopportunity to put a bullet through this giant. But I could never getone. Once when I had covered him an Amahagger rushed in front of my gunso that I could not shoot, and when a second chance came a little cloudfloated over the face of the moon and made him invisible. After that Ihad other things to which to attend, since, as I expected would happen, the western face of our square gave, and yelling like devils, the enemybegan to pour in through the gap. 

A cold thrill went through me for I saw that the game was up. To re-formthese undisciplined Amahagger was impossible; nothing was to be expectedexcept panic, rout and slaughter. I cursed my folly for ever having hadanything to do with the business, while Hans screamed to me in a thinvoice that the only chance was for us three and the Zulu to bolt andhide in the bush. 

I did not answer him because, apart from any nasty pride, the thing wasimpossible, for how could we get through those struggling masses of menwhich surrounded us on every side? No, my clock had struck, so I went onmaking a kind of mental sandwich of prayers and curses; prayers formy soul and forgiveness for my sins, and curses on the Amahagger andeverything to do with them, especially Zikali and the woman calledAyesha, who, between them, had led me into this affair. 

"Perhaps the Great Medicine of Zikali, " piped Hans again as he fired arifle at the advancing foe. 

"Hang the Great Medicine, " I shouted back, "and Ayesha with it. Nowonder she declined to take a hand in this business. "

As I spoke the words I saw old Billali, who not being a man of war waskeeping as close to us as he could, go flat onto his venerable face, andreflected that he must have got a thrown spear through him. Casting ahurried glance at him to see if he were done for or only wounded, outof the corner of my eye I caught sight of something diaphanous whichgleamed in the moonlight and reminded me of I knew not what at themoment. 

I looked round quickly to see what it might be and lo! there, almost atmy side was the veiled Ayesha herself, holding in her hand a little rodmade of black wood inlaid with ivory not unlike a field marshal's baton, or a sceptre. 

I never saw her come and to this day I do not know how she did so; shewas just there and what is more she must have put luminous paint orsomething else on her robes, for they gleamed with a sort of faint, phosphorescent fire, which in the moonlight made her conspicuous allover the field of battle. Nor did she speak a single word, she onlywaved the rod, pointed with it towards the fierce hordes who weredrawing near to us, killing as they came, and began to move forward witha gliding motion. 

Now from every side there went up a roar of "_She-who-commands!She-who-commands!_" while the people of Rezu in front shouted "_Lulala!Lulala!_ Fly, Lulala is upon us with the witchcrafts of the moon!"

She moved forward and by some strange impulse, for no order was given, we all began to move after her. Yes, the ranks that a minute before werebeginning to give way to wild panic, became filled with a marvellouscourage and moved after her. 

The men of Rezu also, and I suppose with them Rezu himself, for I saw nomore of him at that time, began to move uncommonly fast over the edgeof the plateau towards the plain beneath. In fact they broke into flightand leaping over dead and dying, we rushed after them, always followingthe gleaming robe of Ayesha, who must have been an extremely agileperson, since without any apparent exertion she held her place a fewsteps ahead of us. 

There was another curious circumstance about this affair, namely, thatterrified though they were, those Rezuites, after the first break, soonseemed to find it impossible to depart with speed. They kept turninground to look behind them at that following vision, as though they wereso many of Lot's wives. Moreover, the same fate overtook many of themwhich fell upon that scriptural lady, since they appeared to becomepetrified and stood there quite still, like rabbits fascinated by asnake, until our people came up and killed them. 

This slaying went on all down the last steep slope of the ridge, onwhich I suppose at least two-thirds of the army of Rezu must haveperished, since our Amahagger showed themselves very handy men when itcame to exterminating foes who were too terror-struck to fight, and, exhilarated by the occupation, gained courage every moment. 

CHAPTER XVIII

THE SLAYING OF REZU

At last we were on the plain, the bemused remnant of Rezu's army stilldoubling before us like a mob of game pursued by wild dogs. Here wehalted to re-form our ranks; it seemed to me, although still she spokeno word, that some order reached me from the gleaming Ayesha thatI should do this. The business took twenty minutes or so, and then, numbering about two thousand five hundred strong, for the rest hadfallen in the fight of the square, we advanced again. 

Now there came that dusk which often precedes the rising of the sun, andthrough it I could see that the battle was not yet over, since gatheredin front of us was still a force about equal to our own. Ayesha pointedtowards it with her wand and we leapt forward to the attack. Here themen of Rezu stood awaiting us, for they seemed to overcome their terrorwith the approach of day. 

The battle was fierce, a very strange battle in that dim, uncertainlight, which scarcely showed us friend from foe. Indeed I am not surethat we should have won it, since Ayesha was no longer visible to giveour Amahagger confidence, and as the courage of the Rezuites increased, so theirs seemed to lessen with the passing of the night. 

Fortunately, however, just as the issue hung doubtful, there was ashout to our left and looking, I made out the tall shape of Goroko, thewitch-doctor, with the other Zulu, followed by his two hundred and fiftymen, and leaping on to the flank of the line of Rezu. 

That settled the business. The enemy crumpled up and melted, and justthen the first lights of dawn appeared in the sky. I looked about me forAyesha, but she had gone, where to I knew not, though at the moment Ifeared that she must have been killed in the męlée. 

Then I gave up looking and thinking, since now or never was the timefor action. Signalling and shouting to those hatchet-faced Amahagger toadvance, accompanied by Umslopogaas with Goroko who had joined us, andHans, I sprang forward to give them an example, which, to be just tothem, they took. 

"This is the mound on which Red-Beard should be, " cried Hans as we faceda little slope. 

I ran up it and through the gloom which precedes the actual dawn, saw agroup of men gathered round something, as people collect about a streetaccident. 

"Red-Beard on the stone. They are killing him, " screeched Hans again. 

It was so; at least several white-robed priests were bending over aprostrate figure with knives in their hands, while behind stood the hugefellow whom I took to be Rezu, staring towards the east as though hewere waiting for the rim of the sun to appear before he gave some order. At that very moment it did appear, just a thin edge of bright light onthe horizon, and he turned, shouting the order. 

Too late! For we were on them. Umslopogaas cut down one of the priestswith his axe, and the men about me dealt with the others, while Hanswith a couple of sweeps of his long knife, severed the cords with whichRobertson was tied. 

The poor man who in the growing light I could see was raving mad, sprangup, calling out something in Scotch about "the deil. " Seizing a greatspear which had fallen from the hand of one of the priests, he rushedfuriously at the giant who had given the order, and with a yell droveit at his heart. I saw the spear snap, from which I concluded that thisman, whom rightly I took to be Rezu, wore some kind of armour. 

Next instant the axe he held, a great weapon, flashed aloft and downwent Robertson before its awful stroke, stone dead, for as we found outafterwards, he was cloven almost in two. At the sight of the death ofmy poor friend rage took hold of me. In my hand was a double-barrelledrifle, an Express loaded with hollow-pointed bullets. I covered thegiant and let drive, first with one barrel and then with the other, andwhat is more, distinctly I heard both bullets strike upon him. 

Yet he did not fall. He rocked a little, that is all, then turned andmarched off towards a hut, that whereof Hans had told me, which stoodabout fifty yards away. 

"Leave him to me, " shouted Umslopogaas. "Steel cuts where bullets cannotpierce, " and with a bound like to that of a buck, the great Zulu leaptaway after him. 

I think that Rezu meant to enter the hut for some purpose of his own, but Umslopogaas was too hard upon his tracks. At any rate he ran past itand down the other slope of the little hill on to the plain behind wherethe remnants of his army were trying to re-form. There in front of themthe giant turned and stood at bay. 

Umslopogaas halted also, waiting for us to come up, since, cunning oldwarrior as he was, he feared lest should he begin the fight before thathappened, the horde of them would fall on him. Thirty seconds laterwe arrived and found him standing still with bent body, small shieldadvanced and the great axe raised as though in the act of striking, awondrous picture outlined as it was against the swiftly rising-sun. 

Some ten paces away stood the giant leaning on the axe he bore, whichwas not unlike to that with which woodmen fell big trees. He was an evilman to see and at this, my first full sight of him, I likened him inmy mind to Goliath whom David overthrew. Huge he was and hairy, withdeep-set, piercing eyes and a great hooked nose. His face seemed thinand ancient also, when with a motion of the great head, he tossed hislong locks back from about it, but his limbs were those of a Herculesand his movements full of a youthful vigour. Moreover his aspect as awhole was that of a devil rather than of a man; indeed the sight of itsickened me. 

"Let me shoot him, " I cried to Umslopogaas, for I had reloaded the rifleas I ran. 

"Nay, Watcher-by-Night, " answered the Zulu without moving his head, "rifle has had its chance and failed. Now let us see what axe can do. IfI cannot kill this man, I will be borne hence feet first who shall havemade a long journey for nothing. "

Then the giant began to talk in a low, rumbling voice that reverberatedfrom the slope of the little hill behind us. 

"Who are you?" he asked, speaking in the same tongue that the Amahaggeruse, "who dare to come face to face with Rezu? Black hound, do you notknow that I cannot be slain who have lived a year for every week of yourlife's days, and set my foot upon the necks of men by thousands. Haveyou not seen the spear shatter and the iron balls melt upon my breastlike rain-drops, and would you try to bring me down with that toy youcarry? My army is defeated--I know it. But what matters that when I canget me more? Because the sacrifice was not completed and the white queenwas not wed, therefore my army was defeated by the magic of Lulala, theWhite Witch who dwells in the tombs. But _I_ am not defeated who cannotbe slain until I show my back, and then only by a certain axe which longago has rusted into dust. "

Now of this long speech Umslopogaas understood nothing, so I answeredfor him, briefly enough, but to the point, for there flashed into mymind all Ayesha's tale about an axe. 

"A certain axe!" I cried. "Aye, a certain axe! Well, look at that whichis held by the Black One, the captain who is named Slaughterer, theancient axe whose title is Chieftainess, because if so she wills, shetakes the lives of all. Look at it well, Rezu, Giant and Wizard, andsay whether it is not that which your forefather lost, that which isdestined to bring you to your doom?"

Thus I spoke, very loudly that all might hear, slowly also, pausingbetween each word because I wished to give time for the light tostrengthen, seeing as I did that the rays of the rising sun struck uponthe face of the giant, whereas the eyes of Umslopogaas were less dazzledby it. 

Rezu heard, and stared at the axe which Umslopogaas held aloft, causingit to quiver slightly by an imperceptible motion of his arm. As hestared I saw his hideous face change, and that on it for the first timegathered a look of something resembling fear. Also his followers behindhim who were also studying the axe, began to murmur together. 

For here I should say that as though by common consent the battle hadbeen stayed; we no longer attacked and the enemy no longer ran. They, or whose who were left of them, stood still as though they felt that thereal and ultimate issue of the fight depended upon the forthcoming duelbetween these two champions, though of that issue they had littledoubt since, as I learned afterwards, they believed their king to beinvulnerable. 

For quite a while Rezu went on staring. Then he said aloud as if he werethinking to himself. 

"It is like, very like. The horn haft is the same; the pointed gouge isthe same; the blade shaped like the young moon is the same. Almost couldI think that before me shook the ancient holy axe. Nay, the gods havetaken that back long ago and this is but a trick of the witch, Lulala ofthe Caves. "

Thus he spoke, but still for a moment hesitated. 

"Umslopogaas, " I said in the deep silence that followed, "hear me. "

"I hear you, " he answered without turning his head or moving his arms. "What counsel, Watcher-by-Night?"

"This, Slaughterer. Strike not at that man's face and breast, for thereI think he is protected by witchcraft or by armour. Get behind him andstrike at his back. Do you understand?"

"Nay, Macumazahn, I understand not. Yet I will do your bidding becauseyou are wiser than I and utter no empty words. Now be still. "

Then Umslopogaas threw the axe into the air and caught it as it fell, and as he did so began to chant his own praises Zulu fashion. 

"Oho!" he said, "I am the child of the Lion, the Black-maned Lion, whoseclaws never loosened of their prey. I am the Wolf-king, he who huntedwith the wolves upon the Witch-mountain with my brother, Bearer ofthe Club named Watcher-of-the-Fords, I am he who slew him called theUnconquered, Chief of the People of the Axe, he who bore the ancient Axebefore me; I am he who smote the Halakazi tribe in their caves and wonme Nada the Lily to wife. I am he who took to the King Dingaan a giftthat he loved little, and afterward with Mopo, my foster-sire, hurledthis Dingaan down to death. I am the Royal One, named Bulalio theSlaughterer, named Woodpecker, named Umhlopekazi the Captain, beforewhom never yet man has stood in fair and open fight. Now, thou WizardRezu, now thou Giant, now thou Ghost-man, come on against me and beforethe sun has risen by a hand's breadth, all those who watch shall seewhich of us is better at the game of war. Come on, then! Come on, forI say that my blood boils over and my feet grow cold. Come on, thougrinning dog, thou monster grown fat with eating the flesh of men, thouhook-beaked vulture, thou old, grey-whiskered wolf!"

Thus he changed in his fierce, boastful way, while his two remainingZulus clapped their hands and sentence by sentence echoed his words, andGoroko, the witch-doctor, muttered incantations behind him. 

While he sang thus Umslopogaas began to stir. First only his head andshoulders moved gently, swaying from side to side like a reed shaken inthe wind or a snake about to strike. Then slowly he put out first onefoot and next the other and drew them back again, as a dancer might do, tempting Rezu to attack. 

But the giant would not, his shield held before him, he stood still andwaited to see what this black warrior would do. 

The snake struck. Umslopogaas darted in and let drive with the longaxe. Rezu raised his shield above his head and caught the blow. From theclank it made I knew that this shield which seemed to be of hide, waslined with iron. Rezu smote back, but before the blow could fall theZulu was out of his reach. This taught me how great was the giant'sstrength, for though the stroke was heavy, like the steel-hatted axe hebore, still when he saw that it had missed he checked the weapon in midair, which only a mighty man could have done. 

Umslopogaas saw these things also and changed his tactics. His axe wassix or eight inches longer in the haft than that of Rezu, and thereforehe could reach where Rezu could not, for the giant was short-armed. He twisted it round in his hand so that the moon-shaped blade wasuppermost, and keeping it almost at full length, began to peck with thegouge-shaped point on the back at the head and arms of Rezu, that as Iknew was a favourite trick of his in fight from which he won his nameof "Woodpecker. " Rezu defended his head with his shield as best he couldagainst the sharp points of steel which flashed all about him. 

Twice it seemed to me that the Zulu's pecks went home upon the giant'sbreast, but if so they did no harm. Either Rezu's thick beard, or armourbeneath it stopped them from penetrating his body. Still he roaredout as though with pain, or fury, or both, and growing mad, charged atUmslopogaas and smote with all his strength. 

The Zulu caught the blow upon his shield, through which it shore asthough the tough hide were paper. Stay the stroke it could not, yet itturned its direction, so that the falling axe slid past Umslopogaas'sshoulder, doing him no hurt. Next instant, before Rezu could strikeagain, the Zulu threw the severed shield into his face and seizing theaxe with both hands, leapt in and struck. It was a mighty blow, for Isaw the rhinoceros-horn handle of the famous axe bend like a drawn bow, and it went home with a dull thud full upon Rezu's breast. He shook, butno more. Evidently the razor edge of _Inkosikaas_ had failed to pierce. There was a sound as though a hollow tree had been smitten and somestrands of the long beard, shorn off, fell to the ground, but that wasall. 

"_Tagati!_ (bewitched), " cried the watching Zulus. "That stroke shouldhave cut him in two!" while I thought to myself that this man knew howto make good armour. 

Rezu laughed aloud, a bellowing kind of laugh, while Umslopogaas sprangback astonished. 

"Is it thus!" he cried in Zulu. "Well, all wizards have some door bywhich their Spirit enters and departs. I must find the door, I must findthe door!"

So he spoke and with springing movements tried to get past Rezu, firstto the right and then to the left, all the while keeping out of reach. But Rezu ever turned and faced him, as he did so retreating step bystep down the slope of the little hill and striking whenever he found achance, but without avail, for always Umslopogaas was beyond his reach. Also the sunlight which now grew strong, dazzled him, or so I thought. Moreover he seemed to tire somewhat--or so I thought also. 

At any rate he determined to make an end of the play, for with a swiftmotion, as Umslopogaas had done, he threw away his shield and graspingthe iron handle of his axe with both hands, charged the Zulu like abull. Umslopogaas leapt back out of reach. Then suddenly he turned andran up the rise. Yes, Bulalio the Slaughterer ran!

A roar of mockery went up from the sun-worshippers behind, while ourAmahagger laughed and Goroko and the two Zulus stared astonished andashamed. Only I read his mind aright and wondered what guile he hadconceived. 

He ran, and Rezu ran after him, but never could he catch theswiftest-footed man in Zululand. To and fro he followed him, forUmslopogaas was taking a zig-zag path towards the crest of the slope, till at length Rezu stopped breathless. But Umslopogaas still rananother twenty yards or so until he reached the top of the slope andthere halted and wheeled round. 

For ten seconds or more he stood drawing his breath in great gasps, and, looking at his face, I saw that it had become as the face of a wolf. His lips were drawn up into a terrible grin, showing the white teethbetween; his cheeks seemed to have fallen in and his eyes glared, whilethe skin over the hole in his forehead beat up and down. 

There he stood, gathering himself together for some mighty effort. 

"Run on!" shouted the spectators. "Run back to Kôr, black dog!"

Umslopogaas knew that they were mocking him, but he took no heed, onlybent down and rubbed his sweating hand in the grit of the dry earth. Then he straightened himself and charged down on Rezu. 

I, Allan Quatermain, have seen many things in battle, but never beforeor since did I see aught like to this charge. It was swift as that ofa lioness, so swift that the Zulu's feet scarcely seemed to touch theground. On he sped like a thrown spear, till, when within about a dozenfeet of Rezu who stood staring at him, he bent his frame almost doubleand leapt into the air. 

Oh! what a leap was that. Surely he must have learnt it from the lion, or the spring-buck. High he rose and now I saw his purpose; it was toclear the tall shape of Rezu. Aye, and he cleared him with half a footto spare, and as he passed above, smote downwards with the axe so thatthe blow fell upon the back of Rezu's head. Moreover it went home thistime, for I saw the red blood stream and Rezu fell forward on his face. Umslopogaas landed far beyond him, ran a little way because he must, then wheeled round and charged again. 

Rezu was rising, but before he gained his feet, the axe _Inkosikaas_thundered down where the neck joins the shoulder and sank in. Still, sogreat was his strength that Rezu found his feet and smote out wildly. But now his movements were slow and again Umslopogaas got behind him, smiting at his back. Once, twice, thrice, he smote, and at the thirdblow it seemed as though the massive spine were severed, for his weaponfell from Rezu's hand and slowly he sank down to the ground, and laythere, a huddled heap. 

Believing that all was over I ran to where he lay with Umslopogaasstanding over him, as it seemed to me, utterly exhausted, for hesupported himself by the axe and tottered upon his feet. But Rezu wasnot yet dead. He opened his cavernous eyes and glared at the Zulu with alook of hellish hate. 

"_Thou_ hast not conquered me, Black One, " he gasped. "It is thine axewhich gave thee victory; the ancient, holy axe that once was mine untilthe woman stole it, yes, that and the craft of the Witch of the Caveswho told thee to smite where the Spirit of Life which I feared to enterwholly, had not kissed my flesh, and there only left me mortal. Wolf ofa black man, may we meet elsewhere and fight this fray again. Ah! wouldthat I could get these hands about thy throat and take thee with me downinto the Darkness. But Lulala wins if only for a while, since her fate, I think, shall be worse than mine. Ah! I see the magic beauty that sheboasts turn to shameful----"

Here of a sudden life left him and throwing his great arms wide, a lastbreath passed bubbling from his lips. 

As I stooped to examine the man's huge and hairy carcase that to melooked only half human, with a thunder of feet our Amahagger rushed downupon us and thrusting me aside, fell upon the body of their ancient foelike hounds upon a helpless fox, and with hands and spears and knivesliterally tore and hacked it limb from limb, till no semblance ofhumanity remained. 

It was impossible to stop them; indeed I was too outworn with laboursand emotions to make any such attempt. This I regret the more sinceI lost the opportunity of making an examination of the body of thistroll-like man, and of ascertaining what kind of armour it was he worebeneath that great beard of his, which was strong enough to stop mybullets, and even the razor edge of the axe _Inkosikaas_ driven with allthe might of the arms of the Zulu, Bulalio. For when I looked againat the sickening sight the giant was but scattered fragments and thearmour, whatever it might have been, was gone, rent to little pieces andcarried off, doubtless, by the Amahagger, perhaps to be divided betweenthem to serve as charms. 

So of Rezu I know only that he was the hugest, most terrible-lookingman I have ever seen, one too who carried his vast strength very latein life, since from the aspect of his countenance I imagine that he musthave been nigh upon seventy years of age, though his supposed unnaturalantiquity of course was nothing but a fable put about by the natives fortheir own purposes. 

Presently Umslopogaas seemed to recover from the kind of faint intowhich he had fallen and opening his eyes, looked about him. The firstperson they fell on was old Billali who stood stroking his white beardand contemplating the scene with an air which was at once philosophicand satisfied. This seemed to anger Umslopogaas, for he cried, "I think it was you, ancient bag of words and sweeper of paths for thefeet of the great, who made a mock of me but now, when you thoughtthat I fled before the horns of yonder man-eating bull--" and he noddedtowards the fragments of what once had been Rezu. "Find now his axeand though I am weak and weary, I will wash away the insult with yourblood. "

"What does this glorious black hero say, Watcher-by-Night?" askedBillali in his most courteous tones. 

I told him word by word, whereon Billali lifted his hands in horror, turned and fled. Nor did I see him again until we arrived at Kôr. 

At the sight of the fall of their giant chief Rezu whom they believedto be invulnerable, his followers, who were watching the fray, set upa great wailing, a most mournful and uncanny noise to hear. Then, as Ithink did the hosts of the Philistines when David brought down Goliathby his admirable shot with a stone, they set out for their homeswherever these may have been, at an absolutely record pace and in thecompletest disarray. 

Our Amahagger followed them for a while, but soon were left standingstill. So they contented themselves with killing any wounded they couldfind and returned. I did not accompany them; indeed the battle beingwon, metaphorically I washed my hands of them, and in my thoughtsconsigned them to a certain locality as a people of whom it mightwell be said that manners they had none and their customs were simplybeastly. Also, although fierce and cruel, these night-bats were notgood fighting men and in short never did I wish to have to do with suchanother company. 

Moreover, a very different matter pressed. The object of this businessso far as I was concerned, had been to rescue poor Inez, since hadit not been for her sake, never would I have consented to lead thoseAmahagger against their fellow blackguards, the Rezuites. 

But where was Inez? If Hans had understood the medicine-man aright, she was, or had been, in the hut, where it was my earnest hope that shestill remained, since otherwise the hunt must be continued. This atany rate was easy to discover. Calling Hans, who was amusing himselfby taking long shots at the flying enemy, so that they might not forgethim, as he said, and the Zulus, I walked up the slope to the hut, orrather booth of boughs, for it was quite twenty feet long by twelve orfifteen broad. 

At its eastern end was a doorway or opening closed with a heavy curtain. Here I paused full of tremors, and listened, for to tell the truth Idreaded to draw that curtain, fearing what I might see within. Gatheringup my courage at length I tore it aside and, a revolver in my hand, looked in. At first after the strong light without, for the sun was nowwell up, I could see nothing, since those green boughs and palm leaveswere very closely woven. As my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, however, I perceived a glittering object seated on a kind of throneat the end of the booth, while in a double row in front knelt sixwhite-robed women who seemed to wear chains about their necks andcarried large knives slung round their middles. On the floor betweenthese women and the throne lay a dead man, a priest of some sort asI gathered from his garb, who still held a huge spear in his hand. Sosilent were the figure on the throne and those that knelt before it, that at first I thought that all of them must be dead. 

"Lady Sad-Eyes, " whispered Hans, "and her bride-women. Doubtless thatold Predikant came to kill her when he saw that the battle was lost, butthe bride-women killed him with their knives. "

Here I may state that Hans' suppositions proved to be quite correct, which shows how quick and deductive was his mind. The figure on thethrone was Inez; the priest in his disappointed rage _had_ come to killher, and the bride-women had killed _him_ with their knives before hecould do so. 

I bade the Zulus tear down the curtain and pull away some of the endboughs, so as to let in more light. Then we advanced up the place, holding our pistols and spears in readiness. The kneeling women turnedtheir heads to look at us and I saw that they were all young andhandsome in their fashion, although fierce-faced. Also I saw their handsgo to the knives they wore. I called to them to let these be and comeout, and that if they did so they had nothing to fear. But if theyunderstood, they did not heed my words. 

On the contrary while Hans and I covered them with our pistols, fearinglest they should stab the person on the throne whom we took to be Inez, at some word from one of them, they bowed simultaneously towards her, then at another word, suddenly they drew the knives and plunged them totheir own hearts!

It was a dreadful sight and one of which I never saw the like. Nor tothis day do I know why the deed was done, unless perhaps the women weresworn to the service of the new queen and feared that if they failed toprotect her, they would be doomed to some awful end. At any rate we gotthem out dead or dying, for their blows had been strong and true, andnot one of them lived for more than a few minutes. 

Then I advanced to the figure on the throne, or rather foot-stooledchair of black wood inlaid with ivory, which sat so silent andmotionless that I was certain it was that of a dead woman, especiallywhen I perceived that she was fastened to the chair with leather straps, which were sewn over with gold wire. Also she was veiled and, with oneexception, made up, if I may use the term, exactly to resemble the ladyAyesha, even down to the two long plaits of black hair, each finishedwith some kind of pearl and to the sandalled feet. 

The exception was that about her hung a great necklace of gold ornamentsfrom which were suspended pendants also of gold representing the rayeddisc of the sun in rude but bold and striking workmanship. 

I went to her and having cut the straps, since I could not stop to untietheir knots, lifted the veil. 

Beneath it was Inez sure enough, and Inez living, for her breast roseand fell as she breathed, but Inez senseless. Her eyes were wide open, yet she was quite senseless. Probably she had been drugged, or perhapssome of the sights of horror which she saw, had taken away her mind. Iconfess that I was glad that this was so, who otherwise must have toldher the dreadful story of her father's end. 

We bore her out and away from that horrible place, apparently quiteunhurt, and laid her under the shadow of a tree till a litter could beprocured. I could do no more who knew not how to treat her state, andhad no spirits with me to pour down her throat. 

This was the end of our long pursuit, and thus we rescued Inez, whom theZulus called the Lady Sad-Eyes. 

CHAPTER XIX

THE SPELL

Of our return to Kôr I need say nothing, except that in due course wereached that interesting ruin. The journey was chiefly remarkable forone thing, that on this occasion, I imagine for the first and last timein his life, Umslopogaas consented to be carried in a litter, at leastfor part of the way. He was, as I have said, unwounded, for the axeof his mighty foe had never once so much as touched his skin. What hesuffered from was shock, a kind of collapse, since, although few wouldhave thought it, this great and utterly fearless warrior was at bottom anervous, highly-strung man. 

It is only the nervous that climb the highest points of anything, andthis is true of fights as of all others. That fearful fray with Rezu hadbeen a great strain on the Zulu. As he put it himself, "the wizard hadsucked the strength" out of him, especially when he found that owingto his armour he could not harm him in front, and owing to his cunningcould not get at him behind. Then it was that he conceived the desperateexpedient of leaping over his head and smiting backwards as he leapt, a trick, he told me, that he had once played years before when he wasyoung, in order to break a shield ring and reach one who stood in itscentre. 

In this great leap over Rezu's head Umslopogaas knew that he mustsucceed, or be slain, which in turn would mean my death and that of theothers. For this reason he faced the shame of seeming to fly in order togain the higher ground, whence alone he could gather the speed necessaryto such a terrific spring. 

Well, he made it and thereby conquered, and this was the end, but as hesaid, it had left him, "weak as a snake when it crawls out of its holeinto the sun after the long winter sleep. "

Of one thing, Umslopogaas added, he was thankful, namely that Rezuhad never succeeded in getting his arms round him, since he was quitecertain that if he had he would have broken him "as a baboon breaks amealie-stalk. " No strength, not even his, could have resisted the ironmight of that huge, gorilla-like man. 

I agreed with him who had noted Rezu's vast chest and swelling muscles, also the weight of the blows that he struck with the steel-haftedaxe (which, by the way, when I sought for it, was missing, stolen, Isuppose, by one of the Amahagger). 

Whence did that strength come, I wondered, in one who from his faceappeared to be old? Was there perchance, after all, some truth in thelegend of Samson and did it dwell in that gigantic beard and those longlocks of his? It was impossible to say and probably the man was but aHerculean freak, for that he was as strong as Hercules all the storiesthat I heard afterwards of his feats, left little room for doubt. 

About one thing only was I certain in connection with him, namely, thatthe tales of his supernatural abilities were the merest humbug. He wassimply one of the representatives of the family of "strong men, " of whomexamples are still to be seen doing marvellous feats all over the earth. 

For the rest, he was dead and broken up by those Amahagger blood-houndsbefore I could examine him, or his body-armour either, and there wasan end of him and his story. But when I looked at the corpse of poorRobertson, which I did as we buried it where he fell, and saw thatthough so large and thick-set, it was cleft almost in two by a singleblow of Rezu's axe, I came to understand what the might of this savagemust have been. 

I say savage, but I am not sure that this is a right description ofRezu. Evidently he had a religion of a sort, also imagination, as wasshown by the theft of the white woman to be his queen; by his veilingof her to resemble Ayesha whom he dreaded; by the intended propitiatorysacrifice; by the guard of women sworn to her service who slew thepriest that tried to kill her, and afterwards committed suicide whenthey had failed in their office, and by other things. All this indicatedsomething more than savagery, perhaps survivals from a forgottencivilisation, or perhaps native ability on the part of an individualruler. I do not know and it matters nothing. 

Rezu is dead and the world is well rid of him, and those who want tolearn more of his people can go to study such as remain of them in theirown habitat, which for my part I never wish to visit any more. 

During our journey to Kôr poor Inez never stirred. Whenever I went tolook at her in the litter, I found her lying there with her eyes openand a fixed stare upon her face which frightened me very much, since Ibegan to fear lest she should die. However I could do nothing to helpher, except urge the bearers to top speed. So swiftly did we travel downthe hill and across the plain that we reached Kôr just as the sun wassetting. As we crossed the moat I perceived old Billali coming to meetus. This he did with many bows, keeping an anxious eye upon the litterwhich he had learned contained Umslopogaas. Indeed his attitude and thatof the Amahagger towards the two of us, and even Hans, thenceforwardbecame almost abject, since after our victory over Rezu and his deathbeneath the axe, they looked upon us as half divine and treated usaccordingly. 

"O mighty General, " he said, "She-who-commands bids me conduct the ladywho is sick to the place that has been made ready for her, which is nearyour own so that you may watch over her if you will. "

I wondered how Ayesha knew that Inez was sick, but being too tiredto ask questions, merely bade him lead on. This he did, taking us toanother ruined house next to our own quarters which had been swept, cleaned and furnished after a fashion, and moreover cleverly roofed inwith mats, so that it was really quite comfortable. Here we found twomiddle-aged women of a very superior type, who, Billali informed me, were by trade nurses of the sick. Having seen her laid upon her bed, Icommitted Inez to their charge, since the case was not one that I daredto try to doctor myself, not knowing what drug of the few I possessedshould be administered to her. Moreover Billali comforted me with theinformation that soon She-who-commands would visit her and "make herwell again, " as she could do. 

I answered that I hoped so and went to our quarters where I found anexcellent meal ready cooked and with it a stone flagon, of the contentsof which Billali said we were all three to drink by the command ofAyesha, who declared that it would take away our weariness. 

I tried the stuff, which was pale yellow in colour like sherry and, foraught I knew, might be poison, to find it most comforting, though itdid not seem to be very strong to the taste. Certainly, too, its effectswere wonderful, since presently all my great weariness fell from melike a discarded cloak, and I found myself with a splendid appetite andfeeling better and stronger than I had done for years. In short thatdrink was a "cocktail" of the best, one of which I only wish I possessedthe recipe, though Ayesha told me afterwards that it was distilled fromquite harmless herbs and not in any sense a spirit. 

Having discovered this, I gave some of it to Hans, also to Umslopogaas, who was with the wounded Zulus, who, we found, were progressing welltowards complete recovery, and lastly to Goroko who also was wornout. On all of these the effect of that magical brew proved mostsatisfactory. 

Then, having washed, I ate a splendid dinner, though in this respectHans, who was seated on the ground nearby, far outpassed my finestefforts. 

"Baas, " he said, "things have gone very well with us when they mighthave gone very ill. The Baas Red-Beard is dead, which is a good thing, since a madman would have been difficult to look after, and a brain fullof moonshine is a bad companion for any one. Oh! without doubt he isbetter dead, though your reverend father the Predikant will have a hardjob looking after him there in the Place of Fires. "

"Perhaps, " I said with a sigh, "since it is better to be dead thanto live a lunatic. But what I fear is that the lady his daughter willfollow him. "

"Oh, no! Baas, " replied Hans cheerfully, "though I daresay that shewill always be a little mad also, because you see it is in her blood anddoubtless she has looked on dreadful things. But the Great Medicine willsee to it that she does not die after we have taken so much troubleand gone into such big dangers to save her. That Great Medicine is verywonderful, Baas. First of all it makes you General over those Amahaggerwho without you would never have fought, as the Witch who ties up herhead in a cloth knew well enough. Then it brings us safe through thebattle and gives strength to Umslopogaas to kill the old man-eatinggiant. "

"Why did it not give _me_ strength to kill him, Hans? I let him have twoExpress bullets on his chest, which hurt him no more than a tap upon thehorns with a dancing stick would hurt a bull-buffalo. "

"Oh! Baas, perhaps you missed him, who because you hit things sometimes, think that you do so always. "

Having waited to see if I would rise to this piece of insolence, whichof course I did not, he went on by way of letting me down easily, "Orperhaps he wore very good armour under his beard, for I saw some ofthose Amahagger who pulled his hair off and cut him to pieces, go awaywith what looked like little bits of brass. Also the Great Medicinemeant that he should be killed by Umslopogaas and not by you, sinceotherwise Umslopogaas would have been sad for the rest of his life, whereas now he will walk about the world as proud as a cock with twotails and crow all night as well as all day. Then, Baas, when Rezu brokethe square and the Amahagger began to run, without doubt it was theGreat Medicine which changed their hearts and made them brave again, sothat they charged at the right moment when they saw it going forward onyour breast, and instead of being eaten up, ate up the cannibals. "

"Indeed! I thought that the Lady who dwells yonder had something to dowith that business. Did you see her, Hans?"

"Oh, yes! I saw her, Baas, and I think that without doubt she lifted thecloth from over her head and when the people of Rezu saw how ugly wasthe face beneath, it did frighten them a little. But doubtless the GreatMedicine put that thought into her also, for, Baas, what could a sillywoman do in such a case? Did you ever know of a woman who was of any usein a battle, or for anything else except to nurse babies, and this onedoes not even do that, no doubt because being so hideous under thatsheet, no man can be found to marry her. "

Now I looked up by chance and in the light of the lamps saw Ayeshastanding in the room, which she had entered through the open doorway, within six feet of Hans' back indeed. 

"Be sure Baas, " he went on, "that this bundle of rags is nothing but acommon old cheat who frightens people by pretending to be a spook, as, if she dared to say that it was she who made those stinking Amahaggercharge, and not the Great Medicine of the Opener-of-Roads, I would tellher to her face. "

Now I was too paralysed to speak, and while I was reflecting that it wasfortunate Ayesha did not understand Dutch, she moved a little so thatone of the lamps behind her caused her shadow to fall on to the backof the squatting Hans and over it on to the floor beyond. He saw it andstared at the distorted shape of the hooded head, then slowly screwedhis neck round and looked upwards behind him. 

For a moment he went on staring as though he were frozen, then utteringa wild yell, he scrambled to his feet, bolted out of the house andvanished into the night. 

"It seems, Allan, " said Ayesha slowly, "that yonder yellow ape of yoursis very bold at throwing sticks when the leopardess is not beneath thetree. But when she comes it is otherwise with him. Oh! make no excuse, for I know well that he was speaking ill things of me, because beingcurious, as apes are, he burns to learn what is behind my veil, andbeing simple, believes that no woman would hide her face unless itsfashion were not pleasing to the nice taste of men. "

Then, to my relief, she laughed a little, softly, which showed me thatshe had a sense of humour, and went on, "Well, let him be, for he is agood ape and courageous in his fashion, as he showed when he went out tospy upon the host of Rezu, and stabbed the murderer-priest by the stoneof sacrifice. "

"How can you know the words of Hans, Ayesha, " I asked, "seeing that hespoke in a tongue which you have never learned?"

"Perchance I read faces, Allan. "

"Or backs, " I suggested, remembering that his was turned to her. 

"Or backs, or voices, or hearts. It matters little which, since read Ido. But have done with such childish talk and lead me to this maiden whohas been snatched from the claws of Rezu and a fate that is worse thandeath. Do you understand, Allan, that ere the demon Rezu took her towife, the plan was to sacrifice her own father to her and then eat himas the woman with her was eaten, and before her eyes? Now the father isdead, which is well, as I think the little yellow man said to you--nay, start not, I read it from his back [Ha!--JB]--since had he lived whosebrain was rotted, he would have raved till his death's day. Better, therefore, that he should die like a man fighting against a foeunconquerable by all save one. But she still lives. "

"Aye, but mindless, Ayesha. "

"Which, in great trouble such as she has passed, is a blessed state, OAllan. Bethink you, have there not been days, aye and months, in yourown life when you would have rejoiced to sleep in mindlessness? Andshould we not, perchance, be happier, all of us, if like the beasts wecould not remember, foreknow and understand? Oh! men talk of Heaven, butbelieve me, the real Heaven is one of dreamless sleep, since lifeand wakefulness, however high their scale and on whatever star, meanstruggle, which being so oft mistaken, must breed sorrow--or remorsethat spoils all. Come now. "

So I preceded her to the next ruined house where we found Inez lying onthe bed still clothed in her barbaric trappings, although the veil hadbeen drawn off her face. There she lay, wide-eyed and still, while thewomen watched her. Ayesha looked at her a while, then said to me, "So they tricked her out to be Ayesha's mock and image, and in timeaccepted by those barbarians as my very self, and even set the sealsof royalty on her, " and she pointed to the gold discs stamped with thelikeness of the sun. "Well, she is a fair maiden, white and gently bred, the first such that I have seen for many an age. Nor did she wish thistrickery. Moreover she has taken no hurt; her soul has sunk deep into asea of horror and that is all, whence doubtless it can be drawn again. Yet I think it best that for a while she should remember naught, lesther brain break, as did her father's, and therefore no net of mine shalldrag her back to memory. Let that return gently in future days, and thenof it not too much, for so shall all this terror become to her a void inwhich sad shapes move like shadows, and as shadows are soon forgotand gone, no more to be held than dreams by the awakening sense. Standaside, Allan, and you women, leave us for a while. "

I obeyed, and the women bowed and went. Then Ayesha drew up her veil, and knelt down by the bed of Inez, but in such a fashion that I couldnot see her face although I admit that I tried to do so. I could see, however, that she set her lips against those of Inez and as I gatheredby her motions, seemed to breathe into her lips. Also she lifted herhands and placing one of them upon the heart of Inez, for a minute ormore swayed the other from side to side above her eyes, pausing at timesto touch her upon the forehead with her finger-tips. 

Presently Inez stirred and sat up, whereon Ayesha took a vessel of milkwhich stood upon the floor and held it to her lips. Inez drank to thelast drop, then sank on to the bed again. For a while longer Ayeshacontinued the motions of her hands, then let fall her veil and rose. 

"Look, I have laid a spell upon her, " she said, beckoning to me to drawnear. 

I did so and perceived that now the eyes of Inez were shut and that sheseemed to be plunged in a deep and natural sleep. 

"So she will remain for this night and that day which follows, " saidAyesha, "and when she wakes it will be, I think, to believe herself oncemore a happy child. Not until she sees her home again will she findher womanhood, and then all this story will be forgotten by her. Ofher father you must tell her that he died when you went out to hunt theriver-beasts together, and if she seeks for certain others, that theyhave gone away. But I think that she will ask little more when shelearns that he is dead, since I have laid that command upon her soul. "

"Hypnotic suggestion, " thought I to myself, "and I only hope to heaventhat it will work. "

Ayesha seemed to guess what was passing through my mind, for she noddedand said, "Have no fear, Allan, for I am what the black axe-bearer and the littleyellow man called a 'witch' which means, as you who are instructed know, one who has knowledge of medicine and other things and who holds a keyto some of the mysteries that lie hid in Nature. "

"For instance, " I suggested, "of how to transport yourself into a battleat the right moment, and out of it again--also at the right moment. "

"Yes, Allan, since watching from afar, I saw that those Amahagger curswere about to flee and that I was needed there to hearten them and toput fear into the army of Rezu. So I came. "

"But how did you come, Ayesha?"

She laughed as she answered, "Perhaps I did not come at all. Perhaps you only thought I came; since Iseemed to be there the rest matters nothing. "

As I still looked unconvinced she went on, "Oh! foolish man, seek not to learn of that which is too high for you. Yet listen. You in your ignorance suppose that the soul dwells withinthe body, do you not?"

I answered that I had always been under this impression. 

"Yet, Allan, it is otherwise, for the body dwells within the soul. "

"Like the pearl in an oyster, " I suggested. 

"Aye, in a sense, since the pearl which to you is beautiful, is to theoyster a sickness and a poison, and so is the body to the soul whosetemple it troubles and defiles. Yet round it is the white and holy soulthat ever seeks to bring the vile body to its own purity and colour, yetoft-times fails. Learn, Allan, that flesh and spirit are the deadliestfoes joined together by a high decree that they may forget their hateand perfect each other, or failing, be separate to all eternity, thespirit going to its own place and the flesh to its corruption. "

"A strange theory, " I said. 

"Aye, Allan, and one which is so new to you that never will youunderstand it. Yet it is true and I set it out for this reason. The soulof man, being at liberty and not cooped within his narrow breast, is intouch with that soul of the Universe, which men know as God Whom theycall by many names. Therefore it has all knowledge and perhaps allpower, and at times the body within it, if it be a wise body, can drawfrom this well of knowledge and abounding power. So at least can I. Andnow you will understand why I am so good a doctoress and how I came toappear in the battle, as you said, at the right time, and to leave itwhen my work was done. "

"Oh! yes, " I answered, "I quite understand. I thank you much for puttingit so plainly. "

She laughed a little, appreciating my jest, looked at the sleeping Inez, and said, "The fair body of this lady dwells in a large soul, I think, though oneof a somewhat sombre hue, for souls have their colours, Allan, and stainthat which is within them. She will never be a happy woman. "

"The black people named her Sad-Eyes, " I said. 

"Is it so? Well, I name her Sad-Heart, though for such often there isjoy at last. Meanwhile she will forget; yes, she will forget the worstand how narrow was the edge between her and the arms of Rezu. "

"Just the width of the blade of the axe, _Inkosikaas_, " I answered. "But tell me, Ayesha, why could not that axe cut and why did my bulletsflatten or turn aside when these smote the breast of Rezu?"

"Because his front-armour was good, Allan, I suppose, " she repliedindifferently, "and on his back he wore none. "

"Then why did you fill my ears with such a different tale about thathorrible giant having drunk of a Cup of Life, and all the rest?" I askedwith irritation. 

"I have forgotten, Allan. Perhaps because the curious, such as you are, like to hear tales even stranger than their own, which in the days to bemay become their own. Therefore you will be wise to believe only what Ido, and of what I tell you, nothing. "

"I don't, " I exclaimed exasperated. 

She laughed again and replied, "What need to say to me that which I know already? Yet perhaps in thefuture it may be different, since often by the alchemy of the mind thefables of our youth are changed into the facts of our age, and we cometo believe in anything, as your little yellow man believes in somesavage named Zikali, and those Amahagger believe in the talisman roundyour neck, and I who am the maddest of you all, believe in Love andWisdom, and the black warrior, Umslopogaas, believes in the virtue ofthat great axe of his, rather than in those of his own courage and ofthe strength that wields it. Fools, every one of us, though perchanceI am the greatest fool among them. Now take me to the warrior, Umslopogaas, whom I would thank, as I thank you, Allan, and the littleyellow man, although he jeers at me with his sharp tongue, not knowingthat if I were angered, with a breath I could cause him to cease to be. "

"Then why did you not choose Rezu to cease to be, and his army also, Ayesha?"

"It seems that I have done these things through the axe of Umslopogaasand by the help of your generalship, Allan. Why then, waste my ownstrength when yours lay to my hand?"

"Because you had no power over Rezu, Ayesha, or so you told me. "

"Have I not said that my words are snowflakes, meant to melt and leaveno trace, hiding my thoughts as this veil hides my beauty? Yet as thebeauty is beneath the veil, perchance there is truth beneath the words, though not that truth you think. So you are well answered, and for therest, I wonder whether Rezu thought I had no power over him when yonderon the mountain spur he saw me float down upon his companies like aspirit of the night. Well, perchance some day I shall learn this andmany other things. "

I made no answer, since what was the use of arguing with a woman whotold me frankly that all she said was false. So, although I longed toask her why these Amahagger had such reverence for the talisman thatHans called the Great Medicine, since now I guessed that her firstexplanations concerning it were quite untrue, I held my tongue. 

Yet as we went out of the house, by some coincidence she alluded to thisvery matter. 

"I wish to tell you, Allan, " she said, "why it was those Amahagger wouldnot accept you as a General till their eyes had seen that which you wearupon your breast. Their tale of a legend of this very thing seemed thatof savages or of their cunning priests, not to be believed by a wise mansuch as you are, like some others that you have heard in Kôr. Yet it hasin it a grain of truth, for as it chanced a little while ago, about ahundred years ago, I think, the old wizard whose picture is cut uponthe wood, came to visit her who held my place before me as ruler of thistribe--she was very like me and as I believe, my mother, Allan--becauseof her repute for wisdom. 

"At that time I have heard there was a question of war between theworshippers of Lulala and the grandfather of Rezu. But this Zikali toldthe People of Lulala that they must not fight the People of Rezu untilin a day to come a white man should visit Kôr and bring with him a pieceof wood on which was cut the image of a dwarf like to that of Zikalihimself. Then and not before they must fight and conquer the People ofRezu. Now this story came down among them and you who may have thoughtthe first tale magical, will understand it in its simplicity: is it notso, you wise Allan?"

"Oh! yes, " I answered, "except that I do not see how Zikali can havecome here a hundred years ago, since men do not live as long, althoughhe pretends to have done so. "

"No, Allan, nor do I, but perhaps it was his father, or his grandfatherwho came, since being observant, you will have noted that if the parentis mis-formed, so often are the descendants; also that the pretence ofwizardry at times comes down with the blood. "

Again I made no answer for I saw that Ayesha was fooling me, and beforeshe could exhaust that amusement we reached the place where Umslopogaasand his men were gathered round a camp fire. He sat silent, but Gorokowith much animation was telling the story of the fight in picturesqueand colourful language, or that part of it which he had seen, for thebenefit of the two wounded men who took no share in it and who, lying ontheir blankets with heads thrust forward, were listening with eagernessto the entrancing tale. Suddenly they caught sight of Ayesha, and thoseof the party who could stand sprang to their feet, while one and allthey gave her the royal salute of _Bayéte_. 

She waited till the sound had died away. Then she said, "I come to thank you and your men, O Wielder of the Axe, who have shownyourself very great in battle, and to say to you that my Spirit tellsme that every one of you, yes, even those who are still sick, will comesafe to your own land again and live out your years with honour. "

Again they saluted at this pleasing intelligence, when I had translatedit to them, for of course they knew no Arabic. Then she went on, "I am told, Umslopogaas, Son of the Lion, as a certain king was named inyour land, that the fight you made against Rezu was a very great fight, and that such a leap as yours above his head when you smote him with theaxe on the hinder parts where he wore no armour, and brought him to hisdeath, has not been seen before, nor will be again. "

I rendered the words, and Umslopogaas, preferring truth to modesty, replied emphatically that this was the case. 

"Because of that fight and that leap, " Ayesha went on, "as for otherdeeds that you have done and will do, my Spirit tells me that your namewill live in story for many generations. Yet of what use is fame to thedead? Therefore I make you an offer. Bide here with me and you shallrule these Amahagger, and with them the remnant of the People of Rezu. Your cattle shall be countless and your wives the fairest in the land, and your children many, for I will lift a certain curse from off youso that no more shall you be childless. Do you accept, O Holder of theAxe?"

When he understood, Umslopogaas, after pondering a moment, asked if Imeant to stay in this land and marry the white chieftainess who spokesuch wise words and could appear and disappear in the battle at herwill, and like a mountain-top hid her head in a cloud, which was his wayof alluding to her veil. 

I answered at once and with decision that I intended to do nothing ofthe sort and immediately regretted my words, since, although I spokein Zulu, I suppose she read their meaning from my face. At any rate sheunderstood the drift of them. 

"Tell him, Allan, " she said with a kind of icy politeness, "that youwill not stop here and marry me, because if ever I chose a husband hewould not be a little man at the doors of whose heart so many women'shands have knocked--yes, even those that are black--and not, I think, invain. One, moreover, who holds himself so clever that he believes hehas nothing left to learn, and in every flower of truth that is shown tohim, however fair, smells only poison, and beneath, nurturing it, seesonly the gross root of falsehood planted in corruption. Tell him thesethings, Allan, if it pleases you. "

"It does not please me, " I answered in a rage at her insults. 

"Nor is it needful, Allan, since if I caught the meaning of thatbarbarous tongue you use aright, you have told him already. Well, letthe jest pass, O man who least of all things desires to be Ayesha'shusband, and whom Ayesha least of all things desires as her spouse, andask the Axe-bearer nothing since I perceive that without you he willnot stay at Kôr. Nor indeed is it fated that he should do so, for nowmy Spirit tells me what it hid from me when I spoke a moment gone, thatthis warrior shall die in a great fight far away and that between thenand now much sorrow waits him who save that of one, knows not how to winthe love of women. Let him say moreover what reward he desires since ifI can give it to him, it shall be his. "

Again I translated. Umslopogaas received her prophecies in stoicalsilence, and as I thought with indifference, and only said in reply, "The glory that I have won is my reward and the only boon I seek at thisqueen's hands is that if she can she should give me sight of a woman forwhom my heart is hungry, and with it knowledge that this woman lives inthat land whither I travel like all men. "

When she heard these words Ayesha said, "True, I had forgotten. Your heart also is hungry, I think, Allan, forthe vision of sundry faces that you see no more. Well, I will do mybest, but since only faith fulfils itself, how can I who must strive topierce the gates of darkness for one so unbelieving, know that they willopen at my word? Come to me, both of you, at the sunset to-morrow. "

Then as though to change the subject, she talked to me for a long whileabout Kôr, of which she told me a most interesting history, true orfalse, that I omit here. 

At length, as though suddenly she had grown tired, waving her hand toshow that the conversation was ended, Ayesha went to the wounded men andtouched them each in turn. 

"Now they will recover swiftly, " she said, and leaving the place wasgone into the darkness. 

CHAPTER XX

THE GATE OF DEATH

Before turning in I examined these wounded men for myself. The truth isthat I was anxious to learn their exact condition in order that I mightmake an estimate as to when it would be possible for us to leave thisvalley or crater bottom of Kôr, of which I was heartily tired. Who coulddesire to stay in a place where he had not only been involved in a dealof hard, doubtful, and very dangerous fighting from which all personalinterest was absent, but where also he was meshed in a perfect spider'sweb of bewilderment, and exposed to continual insult into the bargain?

For that is what it came to; this Ayesha took every opportunity to jeerat and affront me. And why? Just because I had conceived doubts, whichsomehow she discovered, of the amazing tales with which it had amusedher to stuff me, as a farmer's wife does a turkey poult with mealpellets. How could she expect me, a man, after all, of some experience, to believe such lies, which, not half an hour before, in the coolestpossible fashion she had herself admitted to be lies and nothing else, told for the mere pleasure of romancing?

The immortal Rezu, for instance, who had drunk of the Cup of Life orsome such rubbish, now turned out to be nothing but a brawny savagedescended from generations of chiefs also called Rezu. Moreover theimmemorial Ayesha, who also had drunk of Cups of Life, and accordingto her first story, had lived in this place for thousands of years, hadcome here with a mother, who filled the same mystic rôle before her forthe benefit of an extremely gloomy and disagreeable tribe of Semiticsavages. Yet she was cross with me because I had not swallowed her crudeand indigestible mixture of fable and philosophy without a moment'squestion. 

At least I supposed that this was the reason, though another possibleexplanation did come into my mind. I had refused to be duly overcomeby her charms, not because I was unimpressed, for who could be, havinglooked upon that blinding beauty even for a moment? but rather because, after sundry experiences, I had at last attained to some power ofjudgment and learned what it is best to leave alone. Perhaps this hadannoyed her, especially as no white man seemed to have come her way fora long while and the fabulous Kallikrates had not put in his promisedappearance. 

Also it was unfortunate that in one way or another--how did she do it, Iwondered--she had interpreted Umslopogaas' question to me about marryingher, and my compromising reply. Not that for one moment, as I saw veryclearly, did she wish to marry me. But that fact, intuition suggested tomy mind, did not the least prevent her from being angry because I sharedher views upon this important subject. 

Oh! the whole thing was a bore and the sooner I saw the last of thatveiled lady and the interesting but wearisome ruins in which shedwelt, the better I should be pleased, although apparently I must trekhomewards with a poor young woman who was out of her mind, leavingthe bones of her unfortunate father behind me. I admitted to myself, however, that there were consolations in the fact that Providencehad thus decreed, for Robertson since he gave up drink had not been acheerful companion, and two mad people would really have been more thanI could manage. 

To return, for these reasons I examined the two wounded Zulus withconsiderable anxiety, only to discover another instance of the chicanerywhich it amused this Ayesha to play off upon me. For what did I find?That they were practically well. Their hurts, which had never beenserious, had healed wonderfully in that pure air, as those of savageshave a way of doing, and they told me themselves that they felt quitestrong again. Yet with colossal impudence Ayesha had managed to suggestto my mind that she was going to work some remarkable cure upon them, who were already cured. 

Well, it was of a piece with the rest of her conduct and there wasnothing to do except go to bed, which I did with much gratitude thatmy resting place that night was not of another sort. The last thing Iremember was wondering how on earth Ayesha appeared and disappearedin the course of that battle, a problem as to which I could find nosolution, though, as in the case of the others, I was sure that onewould occur to me in course of time. 

I slept like a top, so soundly indeed that I think there was some kindof soporific in the pick-me-up which looked like sherry, especially asthe others who had drunk of it also passed an excellent night. 

About ten o'clock on the following morning I awoke feeling particularlywell and quite as though I had been enjoying a week at the seasideinstead of my recent adventures, which included an abominable battle andsome agonising moments during which I thought that my number was up uponthe board of Destiny. 

I spent the most of that day lounging about, eating, talking over thedetails of the battle with Umslopogaas and the Zulus and smoking morethan usual. (I forgot to say that these Amahagger grew some capitaltobacco of which I had obtained a supply, although like most Africans, they only used it in the shape of snuff. ) The truth was that after allmy marvellings and acute anxieties, also mental and physical exertions, I felt like the housemaid who caused to be cut upon her tombstone thatshe had gone to a better land where her ambition was to do nothing "forever and ever. " I just wanted to be completely idle and vacuous-mindedfor at least a month, but as I knew that all I could expect in thatline was a single bank holiday, like a City clerk on the spree, of it Idetermined to make the most. 

The result was that before the evening I felt very bored indeed. I hadgone to look at Inez, who was still fast asleep, as Ayesha said would bethe case, but whose features seemed to have plumped up considerably. Thereason of this I gathered from her Amahagger nurses, was that atcertain intervals she had awakened sufficiently to swallow considerablequantities of milk, or rather cream, which I hoped would not make herill. I had chatted with the wounded Zulus, who were now walking about, more bored even than I was myself, and heaping maledictions on theirancestral spirits because they had not been well enough to take part inthe battle against Rezu. 

I even took a little stroll to look for Hans, who had vanished in hismysterious fashion, but the afternoon was so hot and oppressive withcoming thunder, that soon I came back again and fell into a variety ofreflections that I need not detail. 

While I was thus engaged and meditating, not without uneasiness, uponthe ordeal that lay before me after sunset, for I felt sure that itwould be an ordeal, Hans appeared and said that the Amahagger _impi_or army was gathered on that spot where I had been elected to the proudposition of their General. He added that he believed--how he got thisinformation I do not know--that the White Lady was going to hold areview of them and give them the rewards that they had earned in thebattle. 

Hearing this, Umslopogaas and the other Zulus said that they would liketo see this review if I would accompany them. Although I did not want togo nor indeed desired ever to look at another Amahagger, I consented tosave the trouble of argument, on condition that we should do so from adistance. 

So, including the wounded men, we strolled off and presently came to thecrumbled wall of the old city, beyond which lay the great moat now dry, that once had encircled it with water. 

Here on the top of this wall we sat down where we could see withoutbeing seen, and observed the Amahagger companies, considerably reducedduring the battle, being marshalled by their captains beneath us andabout a couple of hundred yards away. Also we observed several groupsof men under guard. These we took to be prisoners captured in the fightwith Rezu, who, as Hans remarked with a smack of his lips, were probablyawaiting sacrifice. 

I said I hoped not and yawned, for really the afternoon was intenselyhot and the weather most peculiar. The sun had vanished behind clouds, and vapours filled the still air, so dense that at times it grew almostdark; also when these cleared for brief intervals, the landscape in thegrey, unholy light looked distorted and unnatural, as it does during aneclipse of the sun. 

Goroko, the witch-doctor, stared round him, sniffed the air and thenremarked ocularly that it was "wizard's weather" and that there weremany spirits about. Upon my word I felt inclined to agree with him, formy feelings were very uncomfortable, but I only replied that if so, Ishould be obliged if he, as a professional, would be good enough to keepthem off me. Of course I knew that electrical charges were about, whichaccounted for my sensations, and wished that I had never left the camp. 

It was during one of these periods of dense gloom that Ayesha must havearrived upon the review ground. At least, when it lifted, there shewas in her white garments, surrounded by women and guards, engagedapparently in making an oration, for although I could not hear a word, Icould see by the motions of her arms that she was speaking. 

Had she been the central figure in some stage scene, no limelights couldhave set her off to better advantage, than did those of the heavensabove her. Suddenly, through the blanket of cloud, flowing from a holein it that looked like an eye, came a blood-red ray which fell full uponher, so that she alone was fiercely visible whilst all around was gloomin which shapes moved dimly. Certainly she looked strange and eventerrifying in that red ray which stained her robe till I who had butjust come out of battle with its "confused noise, " began to think of"the garments rolled in blood" of which I often read in my favourite OldTestament. For crimson was she from head to foot; a tall shape of terrorand of wrath. 

The eye in heaven shut and the ray went out. Then came one of the spacesof grey light and in it I saw men being brought up, apparently from thegroups of prisoners, under guard, and, to the number of a dozen or more, stood in a line before Ayesha. 

Then I saw nothing more for a long while, because blackness seemed toflow in from every quarter of the heavens and to block out the scenebeneath. At least after a pause of perhaps five minutes, during whichthe stillness was intense, the storm broke. 

It was a very curious storm; in all my experience of African tempests Icannot recall one which it resembled. It began with the usual cold andwailing wind. This died away, and suddenly the whole arch of heaven wasalive with little lightnings that seemed to strike horizontally, notdownwards to the earth, weaving a web of fire upon the surface of thesky. 

By the illumination of these lightnings which, but for the swiftness oftheir flashing and greater intensity, somewhat resembled a dense showerof shooting stars, I perceived that Ayesha was addressing the men thathad been brought before her, who stood dejectedly in a long line withtheir heads bent, quite unattended, since their guards had fallen back. 

"If I were going to receive a reward of cattle or wives, I should lookhappier than those moon-worshippers, Baas, " remarked Hans reflectively. 

"Perhaps it would depend, " I answered, "upon what the cattle and wiveswere like. If the cattle had red-water and would bring disease into yourherd, or wild bulls that would gore you, and the wives were skinny oldwidows with evil tongues, then I think you would look as do those men, Hans. "

I don't quite know what made me speak thus, but I believe it was somesense of pending death or disaster, suggested, probably, by the ominouscharacter of the setting provided by Nature to the curious drama ofwhich we were witnesses. 

"I never thought of that, Baas, " commented Hans, "but it is true thatall gifts are not good, especially witches' gifts. "

As he spoke the little net-like lightnings died away, leaving behindthem a gross darkness through which, far above us, the wind wailedagain. 

Then suddenly all the heaven was turned into one blaze of light, and byit I saw Ayesha standing tall and rigid with her hand pointed towardsthe line of men in front of her. The blaze went out, to be followed byblackness, and to return almost instantly in a yet fiercer blaze whichseemed to fall earthwards in a torrent of fire that concentrated itselfin a kind of flame-spout upon the spot where Ayesha stood. 

Through that flame or rather in the heart of it, I saw Ayesha and thefile of men in front of her, as the great King saw the prophets in themidst of the furnace that had been heated sevenfold. Only these men didnot walk about in the fire; no, they fell backwards, while Ayesha aloneremained upon her feet with outstretched hand. 

Next came more blackness and crash upon crash of such thunder that theearth shook as it reverberated from the mountain cliffs. Never in mylife did I hear such fearful thunder. It frightened the Zulus so much, that they fell upon their faces, except Goroko and Umslopogaas, whosepride kept them upon their feet, the former because he had a reputationto preserve as a "Heaven-herd, " or Master of tempests. 

I confess that I should have liked to follow their example, and liedown, being dreadfully afraid lest the lightning should strike me. Butthere--I did not. 

At last the thunder died away and in the most mysterious fashion thatviolent tempest came to a sudden end, as does a storm upon the stage. Norain fell, which in itself was surprising enough and most unusual, but in place of it a garment of the completest calm descended uponthe earth. By degrees, too, the darkness passed and the westering sunreappeared. Its rays fell upon the place where the Amahagger companieshad stood, but now not one of them was to be seen. 

They were all gone and Ayesha with them. So completely had they vanishedaway that I should have thought that we suffered from illusions, wereit not for the line of dead men which lay there looking very small andlonesome on the veld; mere dots indeed at that distance. 

We stared at each other and at them, and then Goroko said that he wouldlike to inspect the bodies to learn whether lightning killed at Kôr asit did elsewhere, also whether it had smitten them altogether or leaptfrom man to man. This, as a professional "Heaven-herd, " he declared hecould tell from the marks upon these unfortunates. 

As I was curious also and wanted to make a few observations, Iconsented. So with the exception of the wounded men, who I thoughtshould avoid the exertion, we scrambled down the débris of the tumbledwall and across the open space beyond, reaching the scene of the tragedywithout meeting or seeing anyone. 

There lay the dead, eleven of them, in an exact line as they had stood. They were all upon their backs with widely-opened eyes and an expressionof great fear frozen upon their faces. Some of these I recognised, asdid Umslopogaas and Hans. They were soldiers or captains who had marchedunder me to attack Rezu, although until this moment I had not seen anyof them after we began to descend the ridge where the battle took place. 

"Baas, " said Hans, "I believe that these were the traitors who slippedaway and told Rezu of our plans so that he attacked us on the ridge, instead of our attacking him on the plain as we had arranged so nicely. At least they were none of them in the battle and afterwards I heard theAmahagger talking of some of them. "

I remarked that if so the lightning had discriminated very well in thisinstance. 

Meanwhile Goroko was examining the bodies one by one, and presentlycalled out, "These doomed ones died not by lightning but by witchcraft. There is nota burn upon one of them, nor are their garments scorched. "

I went to look and found that it was perfectly true; to all outwardappearance the eleven were quite unmarked and unharmed. Except for theirfrightened air, they might have died a natural death in their sleep. 

"Does lightning always scorch?" I asked Goroko. 

"Always, Macumazahn, " he answered, "that is, if he who has been struckis killed, as these are, and not only stunned. Moreover, most of yonderdead wear knives which should have melted or shattered with the sheathsburnt off them. Yet those knives are as though they had just left thesmith's hammer and the whet-stone, " and he drew some of them to show me. 

Again it was quite true and here I may remark that my experience talliedwith that of Goroko, since I have never seen anyone killed by lightningon whom or on whose clothing there was not some trace of its passage. 

"_Ow!_" said Umslopogaas, "this is witchcraft, not Heaven-wrath. Theplace is enchanted. Let us get away lest we be smitten also who have notearned doom like those traitors. "

"No need to fear, " said Hans, "since with us is the Great Medicine ofZikali which can tie up the lightning as an old woman does a bundle ofsticks. "

Still I observed that for all his confidence, Hans himself was thefirst to depart and with considerable speed. So we went back to our campwithout more conversation, since the Zulus were scared and I confessthat myself I could not understand the matter, though no doubt itadmitted of some quite simple explanation. 

However that might be, this Kôr was a queer place with its legends, itssullen Amahagger and its mysterious queen, to whom at times, in spite ofmy inner conviction to the contrary, I was still inclined to attributepowers beyond those that are common even among very beautiful and ablewomen. 

This reflection reminded me that she had promised us a furtherexhibition of those powers and within an hour or two. Remembering thisI began to regret that I had ever asked for any such manifestations, forwho knew what these might or might not involve?

So much did I regret it that I determined, unless Ayesha sent for us, asshe had said she would do, I would conveniently forget the appointment. Luckily Umslopogaas seemed to be of the same way of thinking; at anyrate he went off to eat his evening meal without alluding to it at all. So I made up my mind that I would not bring the matter to his notice andhaving ascertained that Inez was still asleep, I followed his exampleand dined myself, though without any particular appetite. 

As I finished the sun was setting in a perfectly clear sky, so as therewas no sign of any messenger, I thought that I would go to bed early, leaving orders that I was not to be disturbed. But on this point my luckwas lacking, for just as I had taken off my coat, Hans arrived and saidthat old Billali was without and had come to take me somewhere. 

Well, there was nothing to do but to put it on again. Before I hadfinished this operation Billali himself arrived with undignifiedand unusual haste. I asked him what was the matter, and he answeredinconsequently that the Black One, the slayer of Rezu, was at the door"with his axe. "

"That generally accompanies him, " I replied. Then, remembering the causeof Billali's alarm, I explained to him that he must not take too muchnotice of a few hasty words spoken by an essentially gentle-naturedperson whose nerve had given way beneath provocation and bodily effort. The old fellow bowed in assent and stroked his beard, but I noticed thatwhile Umslopogaas was near, he clung to me like a shadow. Perhaps hethought that nervous attacks might be recurrent, like those of fever. 

Outside the house I found Umslopogaas leaning on his axe and looking atthe sky in which the last red rays of evening lingered. 

"The sun has set, Macumazahn, " he said, "and it is time to visit thiswhite queen as she bade us, and to learn whether she can indeed lead us'down below' where the dead are said to dwell. "

So he had not forgotten, which was disconcerting. To cover up my owndoubts I asked him with affected confidence and cheerfulness whether hewas not afraid to risk this journey "down below, " that is, to the Realmof Death. 

"Why should I fear to tread a road that awaits the feet of all of usand at the gate of which we knock day by day, especially if we chanceto live by war, as do you and I, Macumazahn?" he inquired with a quietdignity, which made me feel ashamed. 

"Why indeed?" I answered, adding to myself, "though I should much preferany other highway. "

After this we started without more words, I keeping up my spirits byreflecting that the whole business was nonsense and that there could benothing to dread. 

All too soon we passed the ruined archway and were admitted intoAyesha's presence in the usual fashion. As Billali, who remained outsideof them, drew the curtains behind us, I observed, to my astonishment, that Hans had sneaked in after me, and squatted down quite close tothem, apparently in the hope of being overlooked. 

It seemed, as I gathered later, that somehow or other he had guessed, orbecome aware of the object of our visit, and that his burning curiosityhad overcome his terror of the "White Witch. " Or possibly he hoped todiscover whether or not she were so ugly as he supposed her veil-hiddenface to be. At any rate there he was, and if Ayesha noticed him, as Ithink she did, for I saw by the motion of her head, that she was lookingin his direction, she made no remark. 

For a while she sat still in her chair contemplating us both. Then shesaid, "How comes it that you are late? Those that seek their lost loves shouldrun with eager feet, but yours have tarried. "

I muttered some excuse to which she did not trouble to listen, for shewent on, "I think, Allan, that your sandals, which should be winged like to thoseof the Roman Mercury, are weighted with the grey lead of fear. Well, itis not strange, since you have come to travel through the Gates of Deaththat are feared by all, even by Ayesha's self, for who knows what he mayfind beyond them? Ask the Axe-Bearer if he also is afraid. "

I obeyed, rendering all that she had said into the Zulu idiom as best Icould. 

"Say to the Queen, " answered Umslopogaas, when he understood, "that Ifear nothing, except women's tongues. I am ready to pass the Gates ofDeath and, if need be, to come back no more. With the white peopleI know it is otherwise because of some dark teachings to which theylisten, that tell of terrors to be, such as we who are black do notdread. Still, we believe that there are ghosts and that the spirits ofour fathers live on and as it chances I would learn whether this is so, who above all things desire to met a certain ghost, for which reason Ijourneyed to this far land. 

"Say these things to the white Queen, Macumazahn, and tell her that ifshe should send me to a place whence there is no return, I who do notlove the world, shall not blame her overmuch, though it is true that Ishould have chosen to die in war. Now I have spoken. "

When I had passed on all this speech to Ayesha, her comment on it was, "This black Captain has a spirit as brave as his body, but how is itwith your spirit, Allan? Are you also prepared to risk so much? Learnthat I can promise you nothing, save that when I loose the bonds of yourmortality and send out your soul to wander in the depths of Death, asI believe that I can do, though even of this I am not certain--youmust pass through a gate of terrors that may be closed behind you by astronger arm than mine. Moreover, what you will find beyond it I do notknow, since be sure of this, each of us has his own heaven or his ownhell, or both, that soon or late he is doomed to travel. Now will you goforward, or go back? Make choice while there is still time. "

At all this ominous talk I felt my heart shrivel like a fire-witheredleaf, if I may use that figure, and my blood assume the temperatureand consistency of ice-cream. Earnestly did I curse myself for havingallowed my curiosity about matters which we are not meant to understandto bring me to the edge of such a choice. Swiftly I determined totemporise, which I did by asking Ayesha whether she would accompany meupon this eerie expedition. 

She laughed a little as she answered, "Bethink you, Allan. Am I, whose face you have seen, a meet companionfor a man who desires to visit the loves that once were his? What wouldthey say or think, if they should see you hand in hand with such a one?"

"I don't know and don't care, " I replied desperately, "but this is thekind of journey on which one requires a guide who knows the road. CannotUmslopogaas go first and come back to tell me how it has fared withhim?"

"If the brave and instructed white lord, panoplied in the world's lastFaith, is not ashamed to throw the savage in his ignorance out like afeather to test the winds of hell and watch the while to learn whetherthese blow him back unscorched, or waft him into fires whence there isno return, perchance it might so be ordered, Allan. Ask him yourself, Allan, if he is willing to run this errand for your sake. Or perhaps thelittle yellow man----" and she paused. 

At this point Hans, who having a smattering of Arabic understoodsomething of our talk, could contain himself no longer. 

"No, Baas, " he broke in from his corner by the curtain, "not _me_. Idon't care for hunting spooks, Baas, which leave no spoor that you canfollow and are always behind when you think they are in front. Alsothere are too many of them waiting for me down there and how can I standup to them until I am a spook myself and know their ways of fighting?Also if you should die when your spirit is away, I want to be left thatI may bury you nicely. "

"Be silent, " I said in my sternest manner. Then, unable to bear more ofAyesha's mockery, for I felt that as usual she was mocking me, I addedwith all the dignity that I could command, "I am ready to make this journey through the gate of Death, Ayesha, ifindeed you can show me the road. For one purpose and no other I came toKôr, namely to learn, if so I might, whether those who have died uponthe world, live on elsewhere. Now, what must I do?"

CHAPTER XXI

THE LESSON

"Yes, " answered Ayesha, laughing very softly, "for that purpose alone, O truth-seeking Allan, whose curiosity is so fierce that the wide worldcannot hold it, did you come to Kôr and not to seek wealth or new lands, or to fight more savages. No, not even to look upon a certain Ayesha, of whom the old wizard told you, though I think you have always loved totry to lift the veil that hides women's hearts, if not their faces. Yetit was I who brought you to Kôr for my own purposes, not your desire, nor Zikali's map and talisman, since had not the white lady who liessick been stolen by Rezu, never would you have pursued the journey norfound the way hither. "

"How could you have had anything to do with that business?" I askedtestily, for my nerves were on edge and I said the first thing that cameinto my mind. 

"That, Allan, is a question over which you will wonder for a long whileeither beneath or beyond the sun, as you will wonder concerning muchthat has to do with me, which your little mind, shut in its iron box ofignorance and pride, cannot understand to-day. 

"For example, you have been wondering, I am sure, how the lightningkilled those eleven men whose bodies you went to look on an hour or twoago, and left the rest untouched. Well, I will tell you at once that itwas not lightning that killed them, although the strength within mewas manifest to you in storm, but rather what that witch-doctor of yourfollowing called wizardry. Because they were traitors who betrayed yourarmy to Rezu, I killed them with my wrath and by the wand of my power. Oh! you do not believe, yet perhaps ere long you will, since thus tofulfil your prayer I must also kill you--almost. That is the trouble, Allan. To kill you outright would be easy, but to kill you just enoughto set your spirit free and yet leave one crevice of mortal life throughwhich it can creep back again, that is most difficult; a thing that onlyI can do and even of myself I am not sure. "

"Pray do not try the experiment----" I began thoroughly alarmed, but shecut me short. 

"Disturb me no more, Allan, with the tremors and changes of youruncertain mind, lest you should work more evil than you think, andmaking mine uncertain also, spoil my skill. Nay, do not try to fly, foralready the net has thrown itself about you and you cannot stir, whoare bound like a little gilded wasp in the spider's web, or like birdsbeneath the eyes of basilisks. "

This was true, for I found that, strive as I would, I could not move alimb or even an eyelid. I was frozen to that spot and there was nothingfor it except to curse my folly and say my prayers. 

All this while she went on talking, but of what she said I have notthe faintest idea, because my remaining wits were absorbed in thesemuch-needed implorations. 

Presently, of a sudden, I appeared to see Ayesha seated in a temple, for there were columns about her, and behind her was an altar on whicha fire burned. All round her, too, were hooded snakes like to that whichshe wore about her middle, fashioned in gold. To these snakes she sangand they danced to her singing; yes, with flickering tongues they dancedupon their tails! What the scene signified I cannot conceive, unless itmeant that this mistress of magic was consulting her familiars. 

Then that vision vanished and Ayesha's voice began to seem very far awayand dreamy, also her wondrous beauty became visible to me through herveil, as though I had acquired a new sense that overcame the limitationsof mortal sight. Even in this extremity I reflected it was well that thelast thing I looked on should be something so glorious. No, not quitethe last thing, for out of the corners of my eyes I saw that Umslopogaasfrom a sitting position had sunk on to his back and lay, apparentlydead, with his axe still gripped tightly and held above his head, asthough his arm had been turned to ice. 

After this terrible things began to happen to me and I became aware thatI was dying. A great wind seemed to catch me up and blow me to and fro, as a leaf is blown in the eddies of a winter gale. Enormous rushes ofdarkness flowed over me, to be succeeded by vivid bursts of brightnessthat dazzled like lightning. I fell off precipices and at the foot ofthem was caught by some fearful strength and tossed to the very skies. 

From those skies I was hurled down again into a kind of whirlpool ofinky night, round which I spun perpetually, as it seemed for hours andhours. But worst of all was the awful loneliness from which I suffered. It seemed to me as though there were no other living thing in all theUniverse and never had been and never would be any other living thing. Ifelt as though _I_ were the Universe rushing solitary through space forages upon ages in a frantic search for fellowship, and finding none. 

Then something seemed to grip my throat and I knew that I had died--forthe world floated away from beneath me. 

Now fear and every mortal sensation left me, to be replaced by a new andspiritual terror. I, or rather my disembodied consciousness, seemed tocome up for judgment, and the horror of it was that I appeared to be myown judge. There, a very embodiment of cold justice, my Spirit, grown luminous, sat upon a throne and to it, with dread and mercilessparticularity I set out all my misdeeds. It was as if some part of meremained mortal, for I could see my two eyes, my mouth and my hands, butnothing else--and strange enough they looked. From the eyes came tears, from the mouth flowed words and the hands were joined, as though inprayer to that throned and adamantine Spirit which was ME. 

It was as though this Spirit were asking how my body had servedits purposes and advanced its mighty ends, and in reply--oh! what amiserable tale I had to tell. Fault upon fault, weakness upon weakness, sin upon sin; never before did I understand how black was my record. Itried to relieve the picture with some incidents of attempted good, butthat Spirit would not hearken. It seemed to say that it had gathered upthe good and knew it all. It was of the evil that it would learn, notof the good that had bettered it, but of the evil by which it had beenharmed. 

Hearing this there rose up in my consciousness some memory of whatAyesha had said; namely, that the body lived within the temple of thespirit which is oft defied, and not the spirit in the body. 

The story was told and I hearkened for the judgment, my own judgment onmyself, which I knew would be accepted without question and registeredfor good or ill. But none came, since ere the balance sank this way orthat, ere it could be uttered, I was swept afar. 

Through Infinity I was swept, and as I fled faster than the light, themeaning of what I had seen came home to me. I knew, or seemed to knowfor the first time, that at the last _man must answer to himself_, or perhaps to a divine principle within himself, that out of his ownfree-will, through long ćons and by a million steps, he climbs or sinksto the heights or depths dormant in his nature; that from what he was, springs what he is, and what he is, engenders what he shall be for everand aye. 

Now I envisaged Immortality and splendid and awful was its face. Itclasped me to its breast and in the vast circle of its arms I wasup-borne, I who knew myself to be without beginning and without end, and yet of the past and of the future knew nothing, save that these werefull of mysteries. 

As I went I encountered others, or overtook them, making the samejourney. Robertson swept past me, and spoke, but in a tongue I couldnot understand. I noted that the madness had left his eyes and that hisfine-cut features were calm and spiritual. The other wanderers I did notknow. 

I came to a region of blinding light; the thought rose in me that Imust have reached the sun, or a sun, though I felt no heat. I stood in alovely, shining valley about which burned mountains of fire. There werehuge trees in that valley, but they glowed like gold and their flowersand fruit were as though they had been fashioned of many-colouredflames. 

The place was glorious beyond compare, but very strange to me and notto be described. I sat me down upon a boulder which burned like a ruby, whether with heat or colour I do not know, by the edge of a stream thatflowed with what looked like fire and made a lovely music. I stoopeddown and drank of this water of flames and the scent and the taste of itwere as those of the costliest wine. 

There, beneath the spreading limbs of a fire-tree I sat, and examinedthe strange flowers that grew around, coloured like rich jewels andperfumed above imagining. There were birds also which might have beenfeathered with sapphires, rubies and amethysts, and their song was sosweet that I could have wept to hear it. The scene was wonderfuland filled me with exaltation, for I thought of the land where it ispromised that there shall be no more night. 

People began to appear; men, women, and even children, though whencethey came I could not see. They did not fly and they did not walk; theyseemed to drift towards me, as unguided boats drift upon the tide. One and all they were very beautiful, but their beauty was not humanalthough their shapes and faces resembled those of men and women madeglorious. None were old, and except the children, none seemed veryyoung; it was as though they had grown backwards or forwards to middlelife and rested there at their very best. 

Now came the marvel; all these uncounted people were known to me, thoughso far as my knowledge went I had never set eyes on most of them before. Yet I was aware that in some forgotten life or epoch I had been intimatewith every one of them; also that it was the fact of my presence andthe call of my sub-conscious mind which drew them to this spot. Yetthat presence and that call were not visible or audible to them, who, I suppose, flowed down some stream of sympathy, why or whither they didnot know. Had I been as they were perchance they would have seen me, as it was they saw nothing and I could not speak and tell them of mypresence. 

Some of this multitude, however, I knew well enough even when they haddeparted years and years ago. But about these I noted this, that everyone of them was a man or a woman or a child for whom I had felt love orsympathy or friendship. Not one was a person whom I had disliked or whomI had no wish to see again. If they spoke at all I could not hear--orread--their speech, yet to a certain extent I could hear their thoughts. 

Many of these were beyond the power of my appreciation on subjects whichI had no knowledge, or that were too high for me, but some were of quitesimple things such as concern us upon the earth, such as of friendship, or learning, or journeys made or to be made, or art, or literature, orthe wonders of Nature, or of the fruits of the earth, as they knew themin this region. 

This I noted too, that each separate thought seemed to be hallowed andenclosed in an atmosphere of prayer or heavenly aspiration, as a seed isenclosed in the heart of a flower, or a fruit in its odorous rind, andthat this prayer or aspiration presently appeared to bear the thoughtaway, whither I knew not. Moreover, all these thoughts, even of thehumblest things, were beauteous and spiritual, nothing cruel or impureor even coarse was to be found among them: they radiated charity, purityand goodness. 

Among them I perceived were none that had to do with our earth; this andits affairs seemed to be left far behind these thinkers, a truth thatchilled my soul was alien to their company. Worse still, so far as Icould discover, although I knew that all these bright ones had been nearto me at some hour in the measurements of time and space, not one oftheir musings dwelt upon me or on aught with which I had to do. 

Between me and them there was a great gulf fixed and a high wall built. 

Oh, look! One came shining like a star, and from far away came anotherwith dove-like eyes and beautiful exceedingly, and with this last amaiden, whose eyes were as hers who my own heart told me was her mother. 

Well, I knew them both; they were those whom I had come to seek, thewomen who had been mind upon the earth, and at the sight of them myspirit thrilled. Surely they would discover me. Surely at least theywould speak of me and feel my presence. 

But, although they stayed within a pace or two of where I rested, alas!it was not so. They seemed to kiss and to exchange swift thoughts aboutmany things, high things of which I will not write, and common things;yes, even of the shining robes they wore, but never a one of _me!_ Istrove to rise and go to them, but could not; I strove to speak andcould not; I strove to throw out my thought to them and could not; itfell back upon my head like a stone hurled heavenward. 

They were remote from me, utterly apart. I wept tears of bitterness thatI should be so near and yet so far; a dull and jealous rage burned inmy heart, and this they did seem to feel, or so I fancied; at any rate, apparently by mutual consent, they moved further from me as thoughsomething pained them. Yes, my love could not reach their perfectednatures, but my anger hurt them. 

As I sat chewing this root of bitterness, a man appeared, a very nobleman, in whom I recognised my father grown younger and happier-looking, but still my father, with whom came others, men and women whom I knewto be my brothers and sisters who had died in youth far away inOxfordshire. Joy leapt up in me, for I thought--these will surely knowme and give me welcome, since, though here sex has lost its power, bloodmust still call to blood. 

But it was not so. They spoke, or interchanged their thoughts, but notone of me. I read something that passed from my father to them. It wasa speculation as to what had brought them all together there, and readalso the answer hazarded, that perhaps it might be to give welcome tosome unknown who was drawing near from below and would feel lonely andunfriended. Thereon my father replied that he did not see or feel thiswanderer, and thought that it could not be so, since it was his missionto greet such on their coming. 

Then in an instant all were gone and that lovely, glowing plain wasempty, save for myself seated on the ruby-like stone, weeping tears ofblood and shame and loss within my soul. 

So I sat a long while, till presently I was aware of a new presence, apresence dusky and splendid and arrayed in rich barbaric robes. Straightshe came towards me, like a thrown spear, and I knew her for acertain royal and savage woman who on earth was named Mameena, or"Wind-that-wailed. " Moreover she divined me, though see me she couldnot. 

"Art there, Watcher-in-the-Night, watching in the light?" she said orthought, I know not which, but the words came to me in the Zulu tongue. 

"Aye, " she went on, "I know that thou art there; from ten thousandleagues away I felt thy presence and broke from my own place to welcomethee, though I must pay for it with burning chains and bondage. How didthose welcome thee whom thou camest out to seek? Did they clasp thee intheir arms and press their kisses on thy brow? Or did they shrink awayfrom thee because the smell of earth was on thy hands and lips?"

I seemed to answer that they did not appear to know that I was there. 

"Aye, they did not know because their love is not enough, because theyhave grown too fine for love. But I, the sinner, I knew well, and heream I ready to suffer all for thee and to give thee place within thisstormy heart of mine. Forget them, then, and come to rule with me whostill am queen in my own house that thou shalt share. There we will liveroyally and when our hour comes, at least we shall have had our day. "

Now before I could reply, some power seemed to seize this splendidcreature and whirl her thence so that she departed, flashing these wordsfrom her mind to mine, "For a little while farewell, but remember always that Mameena, theWailing Wind, being still as a sinful woman in a woman's love and ofthe earth, earthy, found thee, whom all the rest forgot. OWatcher-in-the-Night, watch in the night for me, for there thou shaltfind me, the Child of Storm, again, and yet again. "

She was gone and once more I sat in utter solitude upon that ruby stone, staring at the jewelled flowers and the glorious flaming trees and thelambent waters of the brook. What was the meaning of it all, I wondered, and why was I deserted by everyone save a single savage woman, and whyhad she a power to find me which was denied to all the rest? Well, she had given me an answer, because she was "as a sinful woman witha woman's love and of the earth, earthy, " while with the rest it wasotherwise. Oh! this was clear, that in the heavens man has no friendamong the heavenly, save perhaps the greatest Friend of all Whounderstands both flesh and spirit. 

Thus I mused in this burning world which was still so beautiful, thisalien world into which I had thrust myself unwanted and unsought. And while I mused this happened. The fiery waters of the stream weredisturbed by something and looking up I saw the cause. 

A dog had plunged into them and was swimming towards me. At a glanceI knew that dog on which my eyes had not fallen for decades. It was amongrel, half spaniel and half bull-terrier, which for years had beenthe dear friend of my youth and died at last on the horns of a woundedwildebeeste that attacked me when I had fallen from my horse uponthe veld. Boldly it tackled the maddened buck, thus giving me time toscramble to my rifle and shoot it, but not before the poor hound hadyielded its life for mine, since presently it died disembowelled, butlicking my hand and forgetful of its agonies. This dog, Smut by name, itwas that swam or seemed to swim the brook of fire. It scrambled to thehither shore, it nosed the earth and ran to the ruby stone and staredabout it whining and sniffing. 

At last it seemed to see or feel me, for it stood upon its hind legsand licked my face, yelping with mad joy, as I could see though Iheard nothing. Now I wept in earnest and bent down to hug and kiss thefaithful beast, but this I could not do, since like myself it was onlyshadow. 

Then suddenly all dissolved in a cataract of many-coloured flames and Ifell down into an infinite gulf of blackness. 

Surely Ayesha was talking to me! What did she say? What did she say? Icould not catch her words, but I caught her laughter and knew that afterher fashion she was making a mock of me. My eyelids were dragged downas though with heavy sleep; it was difficult to lift them. At last theywere open and I saw Ayesha seated on her couch before me and--this Inoted at once--with her lovely face unveiled. I looked about me, seekingUmslopogaas and Hans. But they were gone as I guessed they must be, since otherwise Ayesha would not have been unveiled. We were quitealone. She was addressing me and in a new fashion, since now shehad abandoned the formal "you" and was using the more impressive andintimate "thou, " much as is the manner of the French. 

"Thou hast made thy journey, Allan, " she said, "and what thou hastseen there thou shalt tell me presently. Yet from thy mien I gatherthis--that thou art glad to look upon flesh and blood again and, afterthe company of spirits, to find that of mortal woman. Come then and sitbeside me and tell thy tale. "

"Where are the others?" I asked as I rose slowly to obey, for my headswam and my feet seemed feeble. 

"Gone, Allan, who as I think have had enough of ghosts, which is perhapsthy case also. Come, drink this and be a man once more. Drink it to mewhose skill and power have brought thee safe from lands that human feetwere never meant to tread, " and taking a strange-shaped cup from a stoolthat stood beside her, she offered it to me. 

I drank to the last drop, neither knowing nor caring whether it werewine or poison, since my heart seemed desperate at its failure and myspirit crushed beneath the weight of its great betrayal. I suppose itwas the former, for the contents of that cup ran through my veins likefire and gave me back my courage and the joy of life. 

I stepped to the dais and sat me down upon the couch, leaning againstits rounded end so that I was almost face to face with Ayesha who hadturned towards me, and thence could study her unveiled loveliness. For awhile she said nothing, only eyed me up and down and smiled and smiled, as though she were waiting for that wine to do its work with me. 

"Now that thou art a man again, Allan, tell me what thou didst see whenthou wast more--or less--than man. "

So I told her all, for some power within her seemed to draw the truthout of me. Nor did the tale appear to cause her much surprise. 

"There is truth in thy dream, " she said when I had finished; "a lessonalso. "

"Then it was all a dream?" I interrupted. 

"Is not everything a dream, even life itself, Allan? If so, what canthis be that thou hast seen, but a dream within a dream, and itselfcontaining other dreams, as in the old days the ball fashioned by theeastern workers of ivory would oft be found to contain another ball, andthis yet another and another and another, till at the inmost might befound a bead of gold, or perchance a jewel, which was the prize of himwho could draw out ball from ball and leave them all unbroken. Thatsearch was difficult and rarely was the jewel come by, if at all, sothat some said there was none, save in the maker's mind. Yes, I haveseen a man go crazed with seeking and die with the mystery unsolved. Howmuch harder, then, is it to come at the diamond of Truth which lies atthe core of all our nest of dreams and without which to rest upon theycould not be fashioned to seem realities?"

"But was it really a dream, and if so, what were the truth and thelesson?" I asked, determined not to allow her to bemuse or escape mewith her metaphysical talk and illustrations. 

"The first question has been answered, Allan, as well as I can answer, who am not the architect of this great globe of dreams, and as yetcannot clearly see the ineffable gem within, whose prisoned raysilluminate their substance, though so dimly that only those with theinsight of a god can catch their glamour in the night of thought, sinceto most they are dark as glow-flies in the glare of noon. "

"Then what are the truth and the lesson?" I persisted, perceiving thatit was hopeless to extract from her an opinion as to the real nature ofmy experiences and that I must content myself with her deductions fromthem. 

"Thou tellest me, Allan, that in thy dream or vision thou didst seem toappear before thyself seated on a throne and in that self to find thyjudge. That is the Truth whereof I spoke, though how it found its waythrough the black and ignorant shell of one whose wit is so small, is more than I can guess, since I believed that it was revealed to mealone. "

(Now I, Allan, thought to myself that I began to see the origin of allthese fantasies and that for once Ayesha had made a slip. If she had atheory and I developed that same theory in a hypnotic condition, it wasnot difficult to guess its fount. However, I kept my mouth shut, andluckily for once she did not seem to read my mind, perhaps because shewas too much occupied in spinning her smooth web of entangling words. )

"All men worship their own god, " she went on, "and yet seem not to knowthat this god dwells within them and that of him they are a part. Therehe dwells and there they mould him to their own fashion, as the pottermoulds his clay, though whatever the shape he seems to take beneaththeir fingers, still he remains the god infinite and unalterable. Stillhe is the Seeker and the Sought, the Prayer and its Fulfilment, the Loveand the Hate, the Virtue and the Vice, since all these qualities thealchemy of his spirit turns into an ultimate and eternal Good. For thegod is in all things and all things are in the god, whom men clothe withsuch diverse garments and whose countenance they hide beneath so manymasks. 

"In the tree flows the sap, yet what knows the great tree it nurtures ofthe sap? In the world's womb burns the fire that gives life, yet what ofthe fire knows the glorious earth it conceived and will destroy; in theheavens the great globes swing through space and rest not, yet what knowthey of the Strength that sent them spinning and in a time to come willstay their mighty motions, or turn them to another course? Therefore ofeverything this all-present god is judge, or rather, not one but manyjudges, since of each living creature he makes its own magistrate todeal out justice according to that creature's law which in the beginningthe god established for it and decreed. Thus in the breast of everyonethere is a rule and by that rule, at work through a countless chain oflives, in the end he shall be lifted up to Heaven, or bound about andcast down to Hell and death. "

"You mean a conscience, " I suggested rather feebly, for her thoughts andimages overpowered me. 

"Aye, a conscience, if thou wilt, and canst only understand that term, though it fits my theme but ill. This is my meaning, that consciences, as thou namest them, are many. I have one; thou, Allan, hast another;that black Axe-bearer has a third; the little yellow man a fourth, andso on through the tale of living things. For even a dog such as thousawest has a conscience and--like thyself or I--must in the end be itsown judge, because of the spark that comes to it from above, the samespark which in me burns as a great fire, and in thee as a smoulderingember of green wood. "

"When _you_ sit in judgment on yourself in a day to come, Ayesha, "I could not help interpolating, "I trust that you will remember thathumility did not shine among your virtues. "

She smiled in her vivid way--only twice or thrice did I see her smilethus and then it was like a flash of summer lightning illumining aclouded sky, since for the most part her face was grave and even sombre. 

"Well answered, " she said. "Goad the patient ox enough and even it willgrow fierce and paw the ground. 

"Humility! What have I to do with it, O Allan? Let humility be the partof the humble-souled and lowly, but for those who reign as I do, andthey are few indeed, let there be pride and the glory they have earned. Now I have told thee of the Truth thou sawest in thy vision and wouldstthou hear the Lesson?"

"Yes, " I answered, "since I may as well be done with it at once, anddoubtless it will be good for me. "

"The Lesson, Allan, is one which thou preachest--humility. Vain manand foolish as thou art, thou didst desire to travel the Underworld insearch of certain ones who once were all in all to thee--nay, not all inall since of them there were two or more--but at least much. Thus thouwouldst do because, as thou saidest, thou didst seek to know whetherthey still lived on beyond the gates of Blackness. Yes, thou saidestthis, but what thou didst hope to learn in truth was whether they livedon in _thee_ and for _thee_ only. For thou, thou in thy vanity, didstpicture these departed souls as doing naught in that Heaven they hadwon, save think of thee still burrowing on the earth, and, at timeslightening thy labours with kisses from other lips than theirs. "

"Never!" I exclaimed indignantly. "Never! it is not true. "

"Then I pray pardon, Allan, who only judged of thee by others that wereas men are made, and being such, not to be blamed if perchance from timeto time, they turned to look on women, who alas! were as they are made. So at least it was when I knew the world, but mayhap since then itsrichest wine has turned to water, whereby I hope it has been bettered. At the least this was thy thought, that those women who had been thinefor an hour, through all eternity could dream of naught else save thyperfections, and hope for naught else than to see thee at their sidesthrough that eternity, or such part of thee as thou couldst spare toeach of them. For thou didst forget that where they have gone theremay be others even more peerless than thou art and more fit to hold awoman's love, which as we know on earth was ever changeful, and perhapsmay so remain where it is certain that new lights must shine and newdesires beckon. Dost understand me, Allan?"

"I think so, " I answered with a groan. "I understand you to mean thatworldly impressions soon wear out and that people who have departed toother spheres may there form new ties and forget the old. "

"Yes, Allan, as do those who remain upon this earth, whence these othershave departed. Do men and women still re-marry in the world, Allan, asin my day they were wont to do?"

"Of course--it is allowed. "

"As many other things, or perchance this same thing, may be allowedelsewhere, for when there are so many habitations from which to choose, why should we always dwell in one of them, however strait the house orpoor the prospect?"

Now understanding that I was symbolised by the "strait house" and the"poor prospect" I should have grown angry, had not a certain sense ofhumour come to my rescue, who remembered that after all Ayesha's satirewas profoundly true. Why, beyond the earth, should anyone desireto remain unalterably tied to and inextricably wrapped up in such apersonality as my own, especially if others of superior texture aboundedabout them? Now that I came to think of it, the thing was absurd andnot to be the least expected in the midst of a thousand new and vividinterests. I had met with one more disillusionment, that was all. 

"Dost understand, Allan, " went on Ayesha, who evidently was determinedthat I should drink this cup to the last drop, "that these dwellers inthe sun, or the far planet where thou hast been according to thy tale, saw thee not and knew naught of thee? It may chance therefore that atthis time thou wast not in their minds which at others dream of theecontinually. Or it may chance that they never dream of thee at all, having quite forgotten thee, as the weaned cub forgets its mother. "

"At least there was one who seemed to remember, " I exclaimed, for herpoisoned mocking stung the words out of me, "one woman and--a dog. "

"Aye, the savage, who being Nature's child, a sinner that departed henceby her own act" (how Ayesha knew this I cannot say, I never told her), "has not yet put on perfection and therefore still remembers him whosekiss was last upon her lips. But surely, Allan, it is not thy desireto pass from the gentle, ordered claspings of those white souls for thetumultuous arms of such a one as this. Still, let that be, for who knowswhat men will or will not do in jealousy and disappointed love? And thedog, it remembered also and even sought thee out, since dogs are morefaithful and single-hearted than is mankind. There at least thou hastthy lesson, namely to grow more humble and never to think again thatthou holdest all a woman's soul for aye, because once she was kind tothee for a little while on earth. "

"Yes, " I answered, jumping up in a rage, "as you say, I have my lesson, and more of it than I want. So by your leave, I will now bid youfarewell, hoping that when it comes to be _your_ turn to learn thislesson, or a worse, Ayesha, as I am sure it will one day, for somethingtells me so, you may enjoy it more than I have done. "

CHAPTER XXII

AYESHA'S FAREWELL

Thus I spoke whose nerves were on edge after all that I had seen or, aseven then I suspected, seemed to see. For how could I believe that thesevisions of mine had any higher origin than Ayesha's rather maliciousimagination? Already I had formed my theory. 

It was that she must be a hypnotist of power, who, after she had put aspell upon her subject, could project into his mind such fancies as shechose together with a selection of her own theories. Only two pointsremained obscure. The first was--how did she get the necessaryinformation about the private affairs of a humble individual likemyself, for these were not known even to Zikali with whom she seemedto be in some kind of correspondence, or to Hans, at any rate in suchcompleteness?

I could but presume that in some mysterious way she drew them from, orrather excited them in my own mind and memory, so that I seemed to seethose with whom once I had been intimate, with modifications and insurroundings that her intelligence had carefully prepared. It would notbe difficult for a mind like hers familiar, as I gathered it was, withthe ancient lore of the Greeks and the Egyptians, to create a kind ofHades and, by way of difference, to change it from one of shadow to oneof intense illumination, and into it to plunge the consciousness of himupon whom she had laid her charm of sleep. I had seen nothing and heardnothing that she might not thus have moulded, always given that she hadaccess to the needful clay of facts which I alone could furnish. 

Granting this hypothesis, the second point was--what might be the objectof her elaborate and most bitter jest? Well, I thought that I couldguess. First, she wished to show her power, or rather to make mebelieve that she had power of a very unusual sort. Secondly, she owedUmslopogaas and myself a debt for our services in the war with Rezuwhich we had been told would be repaid in this way. Thirdly, I hadoffended her in some fashion and she took her opportunity of settlingthe score. Also there was a fourth possibility--that really sheconsidered herself a moral instructress and desired, as she said, toteach me a lesson by showing how futile were human hopes and vanities inrespect to the departed and their affections. 

Now I do not pretend that all this analysis of Ayesha's motives occurredto me at the moment of my interview with her; indeed, I only completedit later after much careful thought, when I found it sound and good. Atthat time, although I had inklings, I was too bewildered to form a justjudgment. 

Further, I was too angry and it was from this bow of my anger thatI loosed a shaft at a venture as to some lesson which awaited _her_. Perhaps certain words spoken by the dying Rezu had shaped that shaft. Orperhaps some shadow of her advancing fate fell upon me. 

The success of the shot, however, was remarkable. Evidently it piercedthe joints of her harness, and indeed went home to Ayesha's heart. Sheturned pale; all the peach-bloom hues faded from her lovely face, hergreat eyes seemed to lessen and grow dull and her cheeks to fall in. Indeed, for a moment she looked old, very old, quite an aged woman. Moreover she wept, for I saw two big tears drop upon her white raimentand I was horrified. 

"What has happened to you?" I said, or rather gasped. 

"Naught, " she answered, "save that thou hast hurt me sore. Dost thou notknow, Allan, that it is cruel to prophesy ill to any, since such wordsfeathered from Fate's own wing and barbed with venom, fester in thebreast and mayhap bring about their own accomplishment. Most cruel ofall is it when with them are repaid friendship and gentleness. "

I reflected to myself--yes, friendship of the order that is calledcandid, and gentleness such as is hid in a cat's velvet paw, butcontented myself with asking how it was that she who said she was sopowerful, came to fear anything at all. 

"Because as I have told thee, Allan, there is no armour that can turnthe spear of Destiny which, when I heard those words of thine, it seemedto me, I know not why, was directed by thy hand. Look now on Rezu whothought himself unconquerable and yet was slain by the black Axe-bearerand whose bones to-night stay the famine of the jackals. Moreover I amaccursed who sought to steal its servant from Heaven to be my love, andhow know I when and where vengeance will fall at last? Indeed, it hasfallen already on me, who through the long ages amid savages must mournwidowed and alone, but not all of it--oh! I think, not all. "

Then she began to weep in good earnest, and watching her, for thefirst time I understood that this glorious creature who seemed to be sopowerful, was after all one of the most miserable of women and as much aprey to loneliness, every sort of passion and apprehensive fear, as canbe any common mortal. If, as she said, she had found the secret of life, which of course I did not believe, at least it was obvious that she hadlost that of happiness. 

She sobbed softly and wept and while she did so the loveliness, whichhad left her for a little while, returned to her like light to a greyand darkened sky. Oh, how beautiful she seemed with the abundant locksin disorder over her tear-stained face, how beautiful beyond imagining!My heart melted as I studied her; I could think of nothing else excepther surpassing charm and glory. 

"I pray you, do not weep, " I said; "it hurts me and indeed I am sorry ifI said anything to give you pain. "

But she only shook that glorious hair further about her face and behindits veil wept on. 

"You know, Ayesha, " I continued, "you have said many hard things to me, making me the target of your bitter wit, therefore it is not strangethat at last I answered you. "

"And hast thou not deserved them, Allan?" she murmured in soft andbroken tones from behind that veil of scented locks. 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Because from the beginning thou didst defy me, showing in thine everyaccent that thou heldest me a liar and one of no account in body or inspirit, one not worthy of thy kind look, or of those gentle words whichonce were my portion among men. Oh! thou hast dealt hardly with me andtherefore perchance--I know not--I paid thee back with such poor weaponsas a woman holds, though all the while I liked thee well. "

Then again she fell to sobbing, swaying herself gently to and fro in hersweet sorrow. 

It was too much. Not knowing what else to do to comfort her, I pattedher ivory hand which lay upon the couch beside me, and as this appearedto have no effect, I kissed it, which she did not seem to resent. Thensuddenly I remembered and let it fall. 

She tossed back her hair from her face and fixing her big eyes on me, said gently enough, looking down at her hand, "What ails thee, Allan?"

"Oh, nothing, " I answered; "only I remembered the story you told meabout some man called Kallikrates. "

She frowned. 

"And what of Kallikrates, Allan? Is it not enough that for my sins, withtears, empty longings and repentance, I must wait for him through allthe weary centuries? Must I also wear the chains of this Kallikrates, towhom I owe many a debt, when he is far away? Say, didst thou see him inthat Heaven of thine, Allan, for there perchance he dwells?"

I shook my head and tried to think the thing out while all the timethose wonderful eyes of hers seemed to draw the soul from me. It seemedto me that she bent forward and held up her face to me. Then I lost myreason and also bent forward. Yes, she made me mad, and, save her, Iforgot all. 

Swiftly she placed her hand upon my heart, saying, "Stay! What meanest thou? Dost love me, Allan?"

"I think so--that is--yes, " I answered. 

She sank back upon the couch away from me and began to laugh verysoftly. 

"What words are these, " she said, "that they pass thy lips so easily andso unmeant, perchance from long practice? Oh! Allan, I am astonished. Art thou the same man who some few days ago told me, and this unasked, that as soon wouldst thou think of courting the moon as of courting me?Art thou he who not a minute gone swore proudly that never had his heartand his lips wandered from certain angels whither they should not? Andnow, and now----?"

I coloured to my eyes and rose, muttering, "Let me be gone!"

"Nay, Allan, why? I see no mark here, " and she held up her hand, scanning it carefully. "Thou art too much what thou wert before, exceptperhaps in thy soul, which is invisible, " she added with a touch ofmalice. "Nor am I angry with thee; indeed, hadst thou not tried to charmaway my woe, I should have thought but poorly of thee as a man. Therelet it rest and be forgotten--or remembered as thou wilt. Still, inanswer to thy words concerning my Kallikrates, what of those adored onesthat, according to thy tale, but now thou didst find again in a place oflight? Because they seemed faithless, shouldst thou be faithless also?Shame on thee, thou fickle Allan!"

She paused, waiting for me to speak. 

Well, I could not. I had nothing to say who was utterly disgraced andoverwhelmed. 

"Thou thinkest, Allan, " she went on, "that I have cast my net aboutthee, and this is true. Learn wisdom from it, Allan, and never againdefy a woman--that is, if she be fair, for then she is stronger thanthou art, since Nature for its own purpose made her so. Whatever I havedone by tears, that ancient artifice of my sex, as in other ways, is forthy instruction, Allan, that thou mayest benefit thereby. "

Again I sprang up, uttering an English exclamation which I trust Ayeshadid not understand, and again she motioned to me to be seated, saying, "Nay, leave me not yet since, even if the light fancy of a man thatcomes and goes like the evening wind and for a breath made me dearto thee, has passed away, there remains certain work which we must dotogether. Although, thinking of thyself alone, thou hast forgotten it, having been paid thine own fee, one is yet due to that old wizard in afar land who sent thee to visit Kôr and me, as indeed he has reminded meand within an hour. "

This amazing statement aroused me from my personal and painfulpre-occupation and caused me to stare at her blankly. 

"Again thou disbelievest me, " she said, with a little stamp. "Do so oncemore, Allan, and I swear I'll bring thee to grovel on the ground andkiss my foot and babble nonsense to a woman sworn to another man, suchas never for all thy days thou shalt think of without a blush of shame. "

"Oh! no, " I broke in hurriedly, "I assure you that you are mistaken. Ibelieve every word you have said, or say or will say; I do in truth. "

"Now thou liest. Well, what is one more falsehood among so many? Let itpass. "

"What, indeed?" I echoed in eager affirmation, "and as for Zikali'smessage----" and I paused. 

"It was to recall to my mind that he desired to learn whether a certaingreat enterprise of his will succeed, the details of which he says thoucanst tell me. Repeat them to me. "

So, glad enough to get away from more dangerous topics, I narratedto her as briefly and clearly as I could, the history of the oldwitch-doctor's feud with the Royal House of Zululand. She listened, taking in every word, and said, "So now he yearns to know whether he will conquer or be conquered; andthat is why he sent, or thinks that he sent thee on this journey, notfor thy sake, Allan, but for his own. I cannot tell thee, for what haveI do to with the finish of this petty business, which to him seems solarge? Still, as I owe him a debt for luring the Axe-Bearer here to ridme of mine enemy, and thee to lighten my solitude for an hour by theburnishing of thy mind, I will try. Set that bowl before me, Allan, "and she pointed to a marble tripod on which stood a basin half full ofwater, "and come, sit close by me and look into it, telling me what thouseest. "

I obeyed her instructions and presently found myself with my head overthe basin, staring into the water in the exact attitude of a person whois about to be shampooed. 

"This seems rather foolish, " I said abjectly, for at that moment Iresembled the Queen of Sheba in one particular, if in no other, namely, that there was no more spirit in me. "What am I supposed to do? I seenothing at all. "

"Look again, " she said, and as she spoke the water grew clouded. Then onit appeared a picture. I saw the interior of a Kaffir hut dimly lightedby a single candle set in the neck of a bottle. To the left of the doorof the hut was a bedstead and on it lay stretched a wasted and dyingman, in whom, to my astonishment, I recognised Cetywayo, King of theZulus. At the foot of the bed stood another man--myself grown older bymany years, and leaning over the bed, apparently whispering into thedying man's ear, was a grotesque and malevolent figure which I knew tobe that of Zikali, Opener-of-Roads, whose glowing eyes were fixed uponthe terrified and tortured face of Cetywayo. All was as it happenedafterwards, as I have written down in the book called "Finished. "

I described what I saw to Ayesha, and while I was doing so the picturevanished away, so that nothing remained save the clear water in themarble bowl. The story did not seem to interest her; indeed, she leanedback and yawned a little. 

"Thy vision is good, Allan, " she said indifferently, "and wide also, since thou canst see what passes in the sun or distant stars, andpictures of things to be in the water, to say nothing of other picturesin a woman's eyes, all within an hour. Well, this savage businessconcerns me not and of it I want to know no more. Yet it would appearthat here the old wizard who is thy friend, has the answer that hedesires. For there in the picture the king he hates lies dying while hehisses in his ear and thou dost watch the end. What more can he seek?Tell him it when ye meet, and tell him also it is my will that in futurehe should trouble me less, since I love not to be wakened from my sleepto listen to his half-instructed talk and savage vapourings. Indeed, he presumes too much. And now enough of him and his dark plots. Ye haveyour desires, all of you, and are paid in full. "

"Over-paid, perhaps, " I said with a sigh. 

"Ah, Allan, I think that Lesson thou hast learned pleases thee butlittle. Well, be comforted for the thing is common. Hast never heardthat there is but one morsel more bitter to the taste than desiredenied, namely, desire fulfilled? Believe me that there can be nohappiness for man until he attains a land where all desire is dead. "

"That is what the Buddha preaches, Ayesha. "

"Aye, I remember the doctrines of that wise man well, who without doubthad found a key to the gate of Truth, one key only, for, mark thou, Allan, there are many. Yet, man being man must know desires, sincewithout them, robbed of ambitions, strivings, hopes, fears, aye and oflife itself, the race must die, which is not the will of the Lord ofLife who needs a nursery for his servant's souls, wherein his swords ofGood and Ill shall shape them to his pattern. So it comes about, Allan, that what we think the worst is oft the best for us, and with thatknowledge, if we are wise, let us assuage our bitterness and wipe awayour tears. "

"I have often thought that, " I said. 

"I doubt it not, Allan, since though it has pleased me to make a jestof thee, I know that thou hast thy share of wisdom, such little share asthou canst gather in thy few short years. I know, too, that thy heart isgood and aspires high, and Friend--well, I find in thee a friend indeed, as I think not for the first time, nor certainly for the last. Mark, Allan, what I say, not a lover, but a _friend_, which is higher far. For when passion dies with the passing of the flesh, if there be nofriendship what will remain save certain memories that, mayhap, are wellforgot? Aye, how would those lovers meet elsewhere who were never morethan lovers? With weariness, I hold, as they stared into each other'sempty soul, or even with disgust. 

"Therefore the wise will seek to turn those with whom Fate mates theminto friends, since otherwise soon they will be lost for aye. More, ifthey are wiser still, having made them friends, they will suffer themto find lovers where they will. Good maxims, are they not? Yet hard tofollow, or so, perchance, thou thinkest them--as I do. "

She grew silent and brooded a while, resting her chin upon her hand andstaring down the hall. Thus the aspect of her face was different fromany that I had seen it wear. No longer had it the allure of Aphrodite orthe majesty of Hera; rather might it have been that of Athene herself. So wise it seemed, so calm, so full of experience and of foresight, thatalmost it frightened me. 

What was this woman's true story, I wondered, what her real self, andwhat the sum of her gathered knowledge? Perhaps it was accident, orperhaps, again, she guessed my mind. At any rate her next words seemedin some sense an answer to these speculations. Lifting her eyes shecontemplated me a while, then said, "My friend, we part to meet no more in thy life's day. Often thou wiltwonder concerning me, as to what in truth I am, and mayhap in the endthy judgment will be to write me down some false and beauteous wandererwho, rejected of the world or driven from it by her crimes, madechoice to rule among savages, playing the part of Oracle to that littleaudience and telling strange tales to such few travellers as come herway. Perhaps, indeed, I do play this part among many others, and if so, thou wilt not judge me wrongly. 

"Allan, in the old days, mariners who had sailed the northern seas, toldme that therein amidst mist and storm float mountains of ice, shed fromdizzy cliffs which are hid in darkness where no sun shines. They toldme also that whereas above the ocean's breast appears but a blue anddazzling point, sunk beneath it is oft a whole frozen isle, invisible toman. 

"Such am I, Allan. Of my being thou seest but one little peak glitteringin light or crowned with storm, as heaven's moods sweep over it. But inthe depths beneath are hid its white and broad foundations, hollowed bythe seas of time to caverns and to palaces which my spirit doth inhabit. So picture me, therefore, as wise and fair, but with a soul unknown, andpray that in time to come thou mayest see it in its splendour. 

"Hadst thou been other than thou art, I might have shown thee secrets, making clear to thee the parable of much that I have told thee inmetaphor and varying fable, aye, and given thee great gifts of powerand enduring days of which thou knowest nothing. But of those who visitshrines, O Allan, two things are required, worship and faith, sincewithout these the oracles are dumb and the healing waters will not flow. 

"Now I, Ayesha, am a shrine; yet to me thou broughtest no worship untilI won it by a woman's trick, and in me thou hast no faith. Therefore forthee the oracle will not speak and the waters of deliverance will notflow. Yet I blame thee not, who art as thou wast made and the hard worldhas shaped thee. 

"And so we part: Think not I am far from thee because thou seest me notin the days to come, since like that Isis whose majesty alone I stillexercise on earth, I, whom men name Ayesha, am in all things. I tellthee that I am not One but Many and, being many, am both Here andEverywhere. When thou standest beneath the sky at night and lookest onthe stars, remember that in them mine eyes behold thee; when the softwinds of evening blow, that my breath is on thy brow and when thethunder rolls, that there am I riding on the lightnings and rushing withthe gale. "

"Do you mean that you are the goddess Isis?" I asked, bewildered. "Because if so why did you tell me that you were but her priestess?"

"Have it as thou wilt, Allan. All sounds do not reach thine ears; allsights are not open to thy eyes and therefore thou art both half deafand blind. Perchance now that her shrines are dust and her worship isforgot, some spark of the spirit of that immortal Lady whose chariot wasthe moon, lingers on the earth in this woman's shape of mine, though heressence dwells afar, and perchance her other name is Nature, my motherand thine, O Allan. At the least hath not the World a soul--and of thatsoul am I not mayhap a part, aye, and thou also? For the rest are notthe priest and the Divine he bows to, oft the same?"

It was on my lips to answer, Yes, if the priest is a knave or aself-deceiver, but I did not. 

"Farewell, Allan, and let Ayesha's benison go with thee. Safe shaltthou reach thy home, for all is prepared to take thee hence, and thycompanions with thee. Safe shalt thou live for many a year, till thytime comes, and then, perchance, thou wilt find those whom thou hastlost more kind than they seemed to be to-night. "

She paused awhile, then added, "Hearken unto my last word! As I have said, much that I have told theemay bear a double meaning, as is the way of parables, to be interpretedas thou wilt. Yet one thing is true. I love a certain man, in the olddays named Kallikrates, to whom alone I am appointed by a divine decree, and I await him here. Oh, shouldest thou find him in the world without, tell him that Ayesha awaits him and grows weary in the waiting. Nay, thou wilt never find him, since even if he be born again, by what tokenwould he be known to thee? Therefore I charge thee, keep my secretswell, lest Ayesha's curse should fall on thee. While thou livest tellnaught of me to the world thou knowest. Dost thou swear to keep mysecrets, Allan?"

"I swear, Ayesha. "

"I thank thee, Allan, " she answered, and grew silent for a while. 

At length Ayesha rose and drawing herself up to the full of her height, stood there majestic. Next she beckoned to me to come near, for I toohad risen and left the dais. 

I obeyed, and bending down she held her hands over me as though inblessing, then pointed towards the curtains which at this moment weredrawn asunder, by whom I do not know. 

I went and when I reached them, turned to look my last on her. 

There she stood as I had left her, but now her eyes were fixed upon theground and her face once more was brooding absently as though no sucha man as I had ever been. It came into my mind that already she hadforgotten me, the plaything of an hour, who had served her turn and beencast aside. 

CHAPTER XXIII

WHAT UMSLOPOGAAS SAW

Like one who drams I passed down the outer hall where stood the silentguards as statues might, and out through the archway. Here I paused fora moment, partly to calm my mind in the familiar surroundings of thenight, and partly because I thought that I heard someone approaching methrough the gloom, and in such a place where I might have many enemies, it was well to be prepared. 

As it chanced, however, my imaginary assailant was only Hans, whoemerged from some place where he had been hiding; a very disturbed andfrightened Hans. 

"Oh, Baas, " he said in a low and shaky whisper, "I am glad to see youagain, and standing on your feet, not being carried with them stickingstraight in front of you as I expected. "

"Why?" I asked. 

"Oh, Baas, because of the things that happened in that place where thetall _vrouw_ with her head tied up as though she had tooth-ache, sitslike a spider in a web. "

"Well, what happened, Hans?" I asked as we walked forward. 

"This, Baas. The Doctoress talked and talked at you and Umslopogaas, andas she talked, your faces began to look as though you had drunk halfa flask too much of the best gin, such as I wish I had some of hereto-night, at once wise and foolish, and full and empty, Baas. Then youboth rolled over and lay there quite dead, and whilst I was wonderingwhat I should do and how I should get out your bodies to bury them, theDoctoress came down off her platform and bent, first over you and nextover Umslopogaas, whispering into the ears of both of you. Then she tookoff a snake that looked as though it were made of gold with green eyes, which she wears about her middle beneath the long dish-cloth, Baas, andheld it to your lips and next to those of Umslopogaas. "

"Well, and what then, Hans?"

"After that all sorts of things came about, Baas, and I felt as thoughthe whole house were travelling through the air, Baas, twice as fast asa bullet does from a rifle. Suddenly, too, the room became filled withfire so hot that it scorched me, and so bright that it made my eyeswater, although they can look at the sun without winking. And, Baas, the fire was full of spooks which walked around; yes, I saw some of themstanding on your head and stomach, Baas, also on that of Umslopogaas, whilst others went and talked to the white Doctoress as quietly asthough they had met her in the market-place and wanted to sell hereggs or butter. Then, Baas, suddenly I saw your reverend father, thePredikant, who looked as though he were red-hot, as doubtless he is inthe Place of Fires. I thought he came up to me, Baas, and said, 'Get outof this, Hans. This is no place for a good Hottentot like you, Hans, forhere only the very best Christians can bear the heat for long. '

"That finished me, Baas. I just answered that I handed you, the BaasAllan his son, over to his care, hoping that he would see that you didnot burn in that oven, whatever happened to Umslopogaas. Then I shut myeyes and mouth and held my nose, and wriggled beneath those curtains asa snake does, Baas, and ran down the hall and across the kraal-yardand through the archway out into the night, where I have been sittingcooling myself ever since, waiting for you to be carried away, Baas. And now you have come alive and with not even your hair burnt off, whichshows how wonderful must be the Great Medicine of Zikali, Baas, sincenothing else could have saved you in that fire, no, not even yourreverend father, the Predikant. "

"Hans, " I said when he had finished, "you are a very wonderful fellow, for you can get drunk on nothing at all. Please remember, Hans, thatyou have been drunk to-night, yes, very drunk indeed, and never dare torepeat anything that you thought you saw while you were drunk. "

"Yes, Baas, I understand that I was drunk and already have forgotteneverything. But, Baas, there is still a bottle full of brandy and if Icould have just one more tot I should forget _so_ much better!"

By now we had reached our camp and here I found Umslopogaas sitting inthe doorway and staring at the sky. 

"Good-evening to you, Umslopogaas, " I said in my most unconcernedmanner, and waited. 

"Good-evening, Watcher-by-Night, who I thought was lost in the night, since in the end the night is stronger than any of its watchers. "

At this cryptic remark I looked bewildered but said nothing. At lengthUmslopogaas, whose nature, for a Zulu, was impulsive and lacking in theordinary native patience, asked, "Did you make a journey this evening, Macumazahn, and if so, what didyou see?"

"Did you have a dream this evening, Umslopogaas?" I inquired by way ofanswer, "and if so, what was it about? I thought that I saw you shutyour eyes in the House of the White One yonder, doubtless because youwere weary of talk which you did not understand. "

"Aye, Macumazahn, as you suppose I grew weary of that talk which flowedfrom the lips of the White Witch like the music that comes from a littlestream babbling over stones when the sun is hot, and being weary, I fellasleep and dreamed. What I dreamed does not much matter. It is enoughto say that I felt as though I were thrown through the air like a stonecast from his sling by a boy who is set upon a stage to scare the birdsout of a mealie garden. Further than any stone I went, aye, furtherthan a shooting star, till I reached a wonderful place. It does not muchmatter what it was like either, and indeed I am already beginning toforget, but there I met everyone I have ever known. I met the Lion ofthe Zulus, the Black One, the Earth-Shaker, he who had a 'sister' namedBaleka, which sister, " here he dropped his voice and looked about himsuspiciously, "bore a child, which child was fostered by one Mopo, that Mopo who afterwards slew the Black one with the Princes. Now, Macumazahn, I had a score to settle with this Black One, aye, eventhough our blood be much of the same colour, I had a score to settlewith him, because of the slaying of this sister of his, Baleka, togetherwith the Langeni tribe. [*] So I walked up to him and took him by thehead-ring and spat in his face and bade him find a spear and shield, andmeet me as man to man. Yes, I did this. "

 [*] For the history of Baleka, the mother of Umslopogaas, and Mopo, see the book called "Nada the Lily. "--Editor. 

"And what happened then, Umslopogaas?" I said, when he paused in hisnarrative. 

"Macumazahn, nothing happened at all. My hand seemed to go through hishead-ring and the skull beneath, and to shut upon itself while he wenton talking to someone else, a captain whom I recognised, yes, one Faku, whom in the days of Dingaan, the Black One's brother, I myself slew uponthe Ghost-Mountain. 

"Yes, Macumazahn, and Faku was telling him the tale of how I killed himand of the fight that I and my blood-brother and the wolves made, thereon the knees of the old witch who sits aloft on the Ghost Mountainwaiting for the world to die, for I could understand their talk, thoughmine went by them like the wind. 

"Macumazahn, they passed away and there came others, Dingaan among them, aye, Dingaan who also knows something of the Witch-Mountain, seeing thatthere Mopo and I hurled him to his death. With him also I would have hadwords, but it was the same story, only presently he caught sight of theBlack One, yes, of Chaka whom he slew, stabbing him with the littlered assegai, and turned and fled, because in that land I think he stillfears Chaka, Macumazahn, or so the dream told. 

"I went on and met others, men I had fought in my day, most of them, among them was Jikiza, he who ruled the People of the Axe before me whomI slew with his own axe. I lifted the axe and made me ready to fightagain, but not one of them took any note of me. There they walked about, or sat drinking beer or taking snuff, but never a sup of the beer or apinch of the snuff did they offer me, no, not even those among them whomI chanced not to have killed. So I left them and walked on, seeking forMopo, my foster-father, and a certain man, my blood-brother, by whoseside I hunted with the wolves, yes, for them, and for another. "

"Well, and did you find them?" I asked. 

"Mopo I found not, which makes me think, Macumazahn, that, as once youhinted to me, he whom I thought long dead, perchance still lingers onthe earth. But the others I did find . . . " and he ceased, brooding. 

Now I knew enough of Umslopogaas's history to be aware that he had lovedthis man and woman of whom he spoke more than any others on the earth. The "blood-brother, " whose name he would not utter, by which he did notmean that he was his brother in blood but one with whom he had madea pact of eternal friendship by the interchange of blood or some suchceremony, according to report, had dwelt with him on the Witch-Mountainwhere legend told, though this I could scarcely believe, that they hadhunted with a pack of hyenas. There, it said also, they fought a greatfight with a band send out by Dingaan the king under the command of thatFaku whom Umslopogaas had mentioned, in which fight the "Blood-Brother, "wielder of a famous club known as Watcher-of-the-Fords, got his deathafter doing mighty deeds. There also, as I had heard, Nada the Lily, whose beauty was still famous in the land, died under circumstancesstrange as they were sad. 

Naturally, remembering my own experiences, or rather what seemed to bemy experiences, for already I had made up my mind that they were buta dream, I was most anxious to learn whether these two who had been sodear to this fierce Zulu, had recognised him. 

"Well, and what did they say to you, Umslopogaas?" I asked. 

"Macumazahn, they said nothing at all. Hearken! There stood this pair, or sometimes they moved to and fro; my brother, an even greater manthan he used to be, with the wolfskin girt about him and the club, Watcher-of-the-Fords, which he alone could wield, upon his shoulder, andNada, grown lovelier even than she was of old, so lovely, Macumazahn, that my heart rose into my throat when I saw her and stopped my breath. Yes, Macumazahn, there they stood, or walked about arm in arm as loversmight, and looked into each other's eyes and talked of how they hadknown each other on the earth, for I could understand their words orthoughts, and how it was good to be at rest together where they were. "

"You see, they were old friends, Umslopogaas, " I said. 

"Yes, Macumazahn, very old friends as I thought. So much so that theyhad never had a word to say of me who also was the old friend of bothof them. Aye, my brother, whose name I am sworn not to speak, thewoman-hater who vowed he loved nothing save me and the wolves, couldsmile into the face of Nada the Lily, Nada the bride of my youth, yetnever a word of me, while she could smile back and tell him how great awarrior he had been and never a word of me whose deeds she was wont topraise, who saved her in the Halakazi caves and from Dingaan; no, nevera word of me although I stood there staring at them. "

"I suppose that they did not see you, Umslopogaas. "

"That is so, Macumazahn; I am sure that they did not see me, for if theyhad they would not have been so much at ease. But I saw them and as theywould not take heed when I shouted, I ran up calling to my brother todefend himself with his club. Then, as he still took no note, I liftedthe axe _Inkosikaas_, making it circle in the light, and smote with allmy strength. "

"And what happened, Umslopogaas?"

"Only this, Macumazahn, that the axe went straight through my brotherfrom the crown of his head to the groin, cutting him in two, and he justwent on talking! Indeed, he did more, for stooping down he gathered awhite lily-bloom which grew there and gave it to Nada, who smelt atit, smiled and thanked him, and then thrust it into her girdle, stillthanking him all the while. Yes, she did this for I saw it with my eyes, Macumazahn. "

Here the Zulu's voice broke and I think that he wept, for in the faintlight I saw him draw his long hand across his eyes, whereon I took theopportunity to turn my back and light a pipe. 

"Macumazahn, " he went on presently, "it seems that madness took holdof me for a long while, for I shouted and raved at them, thinking thatwords and rage might hurt where good steel could not, and as I didso they faded away and disappeared, still smiling and talking, Nadasmelling at the lily which, having a long stalk, rose up above herbreast. After this I rushed away and suddenly met that savage king, Rezu, whom I slew a few days gone. At him I went with the axe, wonderingwhether he would put up a better fight this second time. "

"And did he, Umslopogaas?"

"Nay, but I think he felt me for he turned and fled and when I tried tofollow I could not see him. So I ran on and presently who should I findbut Baleka, Baleka, Chaka's 'sister' who--repeat it not, Macumazahn--wasmy mother; and, Macumazahn, _she_ saw me. Yes, though I was but littlewhen last she looked on me who now am great and grim, she saw and knewme, for she floated up to me and smiled at me and seemed to press herlips upon my forehead, though I could feel no kiss, and to draw thesoreness out of my heart. Then she, too, was gone and of a sudden I felldown through space, having, I suppose, stepped into some deep hole, orperchance a well. 

"The next thing I knew was that I awoke in the house of the White Witchand saw you sleeping at my side and the Witch leaning back upon her bedand smiling at me through the thin blanket with which she covers herselfup, for I could see the laughter in her eyes. 

"Now I grew mad with her because of the things that I had seen in thePlace of Dreams, and it came into my heart that it would be well to killher that the world might be rid of her and her evil magic which can showlies to men. So, being distraught, I sprang up and lifted the axe andstepped towards her, whereon she rose and stood before me, laughing outloud. Then she said something in the tongue I cannot understand, andpointed with her finger, and lo! next moment it was as if giants hadseized me and were whirling me away, till presently I found myselfbreathless but unharmed beyond the arch and--what does it all mean, Macumazahn?"

"Very little, as I think, Umslopogaas, except that this queen has powersto which those of Zikali are as nothing, and can cause visions to floatbefore the eyes of men. For know that such things as you saw, I saw, andin them those whom I have loved also seemed to take no thought of mebut only to be concerned with each other. Moreover when I awoke and toldthis to the queen who is called She-who-commands, she laughed at me asshe did at you, and said that it was a good lesson for my pride who inthat pride had believed that the dead only thought of the living. ButI think that the lesson came from her who wished to humble us, Umslopogaas, and that it was her mind that shaped these visions which wesaw. "

"I think so too, Macumazahn, but how she knew of all the matters of yourlife and mine, I do not know, unless perchance Zikali told them to her, speaking in the night-watches as wizards can. "

"Nay, Umslopogaas, I believe that by her magic she drew our stories outof our own hearts and then set them forth to us afresh, putting her owncolour on them. Also it may be that she drew something from Hans, andfrom Goroko and the other Zulus with you, and thus paid us the fee thatshe had promised for our service, but in lung-sick oxen and barren cows, not in good cattle, Umslopogaas. "

He nodded and said, "Though at the time I seemed to go mad and though I know that women arefalse and men must follow where they lead them, never will I believethat my brother, the woman-hater, and Nada are lovers in the land belowand have there forgotten me, the comrade of one of them and the husbandof the other. Moreover I hold, Macumazahn, that you and I have met witha just reward for our folly. 

"We have sought to look through the bottom of the grave at things whichthe Great-Great in Heaven above did not mean that men should see, andnow that we have seen we are unhappier than we were, since such dreamsburn themselves upon the heart as a red-hot iron burns the hide of anox, so that the hair will never grow again where it has been and thehide is marred. 

"To you, Watcher-by-Night, I say, 'Content yourself with your watchingand whatever it may bring to you in fame and wealth. ' And to myself Isay, 'Holder of the Axe, content yourself with the axe and what it maybring to you in fair fight and glory'; and to both of us I say, 'Letthe Dead sleep unawakened until we go to join them, which surely will besoon enough. '"

"Good words, Umslopogaas, but they should have been spoken ere ever weset out on this journey. "

"Not so, Macumazahn, since that journey we were fated to make to saveone who lies yonder, the Lady Sad-Eyes, and, as they tell me, iswell again. Also Zikali willed it, and who can resist the will of theOpener-of-Roads? So it is made and we have seen many strange thingsand won some glory and come to know how deep is the pool of our ownfoolishness, who thought that we could search out the secrets of Death, and there have only found those of a witch's mind and venom, reflectedas in water. And now having discovered all these things I wish to begone from this haunted land. When do we march, Macumazahn?"

"To-morrow morning, I believe, if the Lady Sad-Eyes and the others arewell enough, as She-who-commands says they will be. "

"Good. Then I would sleep who am more weary than I was after I hadkilled Rezu in the battle on the mountain. "

"Yes, " I answered, "since it is harder to fight ghosts than men, anddreams, if they be bad, are more dreadful than deeds. Good-night, Umslopogaas. "

He went, and I too went to see how it fared with Inez. I found that shewas fast asleep but in a quite different sleep to that into which Ayeshaseemed to have plunged her. Now it was absolutely natural and lookingat her lying there upon the bed, I thought how young and healthy washer appearance. The women in charge of her also told me that she hadawakened at the hour appointed by She-who-commands, as it seemed, quite well and very hungry, although she appeared to be puzzled byher surroundings. After she had eaten, they added that she had "sunga song, " which was probably a hymn, and prayed upon her knees, "makingsigns upon her breast" and then gone quietly to bed. 

My anxiety relieved as regards Inez, I returned to my own quarters. Notfeeling inclined for slumber, however, instead of turning in I sat atthe doorway contemplating the beauty of the night while I watched thecountless fireflies that seemed to dust the air with sparks of burninggold; also the great owls and other fowl that haunt the dark. These hadcome out in numbers from their hiding-places among the ruins and sailedto and fro like white-winged spirits, now seen and now lost in thegloom. 

While I sat thus many reflections came to me as to the extraordinarynature of my experiences during the past few days. Had any man everknown the like, I wondered? What could they mean and what could thismarvellous woman Ayesha be? Was she perhaps a personification of Natureitself, as indeed to some extent all women are? Was she human at all, or was she some spirit symbolising a departed people, faith andcivilisation, and haunting the ruins where once she reigned as queen?No, the idea was ridiculous, since such beings do not exist, though itwas impossible to doubt that she possessed powers beyond those of commonhumanity, as she possessed beauty and fascination greater than are givento any other woman. 

Of one thing I was certain, however, that the Shades I had seemedto visit had their being in the circle of her own imagination andintelligence. There Umslopogaas was right; we had seen no dead, we hadonly seen pictures and images that she drew and fashioned. 

Why did she do this, I wondered. Perhaps to pretend to powers which shedid not possess, perhaps out of sheer elfish mischief, or perhaps, asshe asserted, just to teach us a lesson and to humble us in our ownsight. Well, if so she had succeeded, for never did I feel so crushedand humiliated as at that moment. 

I had seemed to descend, or ascend, into Hades, and there had only seenthings that gave me little joy and did but serve to reopen old wounds. Then, on awaking, I had been bewitched; yes, fresh from those visionsof the most dear dead, I had been bewitched by the overpowering magic ofthis woman's loveliness and charm, and made a fool of myself, only to bebrought back to my senses by her triumphant mockery. Oh, I was humbledindeed, and yet the odd thing is that I could not feel angry with her, and what is more that, perhaps from vanity, I believed in her professionof friendship towards myself. 

Well, the upshot of it was that, like Umslopogaas, more than anythingelse in the world did I desire to depart from this haunted Kôr and tobury all its recollections in such activities as fortune might bring tome. And yet, and yet it was well to have seen it and to have plucked theflower of such marvellous experience, nor, as I knew even then, could Iever inter the memory of Ayesha the wise, the perfect in all loveliness, and the half-divine in power. 

When I awoke the next morning the sun was well up and after I had takena swim in the old bath and dressed myself, I went to see how itfared with Inez. I found her sitting at the door of her house lookingextremely well and with a radiant face. She was engaged in making achain of some small and beautiful blue flowers of the iris tribe, ofwhich quantities grew about, that she threaded together upon stalks ofdry grass. 

This chain, which was just finished, she threw over her head so thatit hung down upon her white robe, for now she was dressed like an Arabwoman though without the veil. I watched her unseen for a little whilethen came forward and spoke to her. She started at the sight of me androse as though to run away; then, apparently reassured by my appearance, selected a particularly fine flower and offered it to me. 

I saw at once that she did not know me in the least and thought that shehad never seen me before, in short, that her mind had gone, exactly asAyesha had said that it would do. By way of making conversation I askedher if she felt well. She replied, Oh, yes, she had never felt better, then added, "Daddy has gone on a long journey and will not be back for weeks andweeks. "

An idea came to me and I answered, "Yes, Inez, but I am a friend of his and he has sent me to take you toa place where I hope that we shall find him. Only it is far away, so youalso must make a long journey. "

She clapped her hands and answered, "Oh, that will be nice, I do so love travelling, especially to findDaddy, who I expect will have my proper clothes with him, not thesewhich, although they are very comfortable and pretty, seem different towhat I used to wear. You look very nice too and I am sure that we shallbe great friends, which I am glad of, for I have been rather lonelysince my mother went to live with the saints in Heaven, because, yousee, Daddy is so busy and so often away, that I do not see much of him. "

Upon my word I could have wept when I heard her prattle on thus. It isso terribly unnatural, almost dreadful indeed, to listen to a full grownwoman who talks in the accents and expresses the thoughts of a child. However, under all the circumstances I recognised that her calamity wasmerciful, and remembering that Ayesha had prophesied the recovery of hermind as well as its loss and how great seemed to be her powers in thesedirections, I took such comfort as I could. 

Leaving her I went to see the two Zulus who had been wounded and foundto my joy that they were now quite well and fit to travel, for here, too, Ayesha's prophecy had proved good. The other men also werecompletely rested and anxious to be gone like Umslopogaas and myself. 

While I was eating my breakfast Hans announced the venerable Billali, who with a sweeping bow informed me that he had come to inquire when weshould be ready to start, as he had received orders to see to all thenecessary arrangements. I replied--within an hour, and he departed in ahurry. 

But little after the appointed time he reappeared with a number oflitters and their bearers, also with a bodyguard of twenty-five pickedmen, all of whom we recognised as brave fellows who had fought well inthe battle. These men and the bearers old Billali harangued, tellingthem that they were to guide, carry and escort us to the other side ofthe great swamp, or further if we needed it, and that it was the word ofShe-who-commands that if so much as the smallest harm came to any oneof us, even by accident, they should die every man of them "by thehot-pot, " whatever that might be, for I was not sure of the significanceof this horror. [*] Then he asked them if they understood. They repliedwith fervour that they understood perfectly and would lead and guard usas though we were their own mothers. 

[*] For this see the book called "She. "--Editor. 

As a matter of fact they did, and I think would have done soindependently of Ayesha's command, since they looked upon Umslopogaasand myself almost as gods and thought that we could destroy them all ifwe wished, as we had destroyed Rezu and his host. 

I asked Billali if he were not coming with us, to which he replied, No, as She-who-commands had returned to her own place and he must followher at once. I asked him again where her own place might be, to whichhe answered vaguely that it was everywhere and he stared first at theheavens and then at the earth as though she inhabited most of them, adding that generally it was "in the Caves, " though what he meant bythat I did not know. Then he said that he was very glad to have met usand that the sight of Umslopogaas killing Rezu was a spectacle thathe would remember with pleasure all his life. Also he asked me for apresent. I gave him a spare pencil that I possessed in a little Germansilver case, with which he was delighted. Thus I parted with oldBillali, of whom I shall always think with a certain affection. 

I noticed even then that he kept very clear indeed of Umslopogaas, thinking, I suppose, that he might take a last opportunity to fulfil histhreats and introduce him to his terrible Axe. 

CHAPTER XXIV

UMSLOPOGAAS WEARS THE GREAT MEDICINE

A little while later we started, some of us in litters, including thewounded Zulus, who I insisted should be carried for a day or two, andsome on foot. Inez I caused to be borne immediately in front of myselfso that I could keep an eye upon her. Moreover I put her in the especialcharge of Hans, to whom fortunately she took a great fancy at once, perhaps because she remembered subconsciously that she knew him and thathe had been kind to her, although when they met after her long sleep, asin my own case, she did not recognise him in the least. 

Soon, however, they were again the fastest of friends, so much so thatwithin a day or two the little Hottentot practically filled the place ofa maid to her, attending to her every want and looking after herexactly as a nurse does after a child, with the result that it was quitetouching to see how she came to depend upon him, "her monkey, " as shecalled him, and how fond he grew of her. 

Once, indeed, there was trouble, since hearing a noise, I came up tofind Hans bristling with fury and threatening to shoot one of the Zulus, who stupidly, or perhaps rudely, had knocked against the litter of Inezand nearly turned it over. For the rest, the Lady Sad-Eyes, as theycalled her, had for the time became the Lady Glad-Eyes, since she wasmerry as the day was long, laughing and singing and playing just as ahealthy happy child should do. 

Only once did I see her wretched and weep. It was when a kitten whichshe had insisted on bringing with her, sprang out of the litter andvanished into some bush where it could not be found. Even when shewas soon consoled and dried her tears, when Hans explained to her in amixture of bad English and worse Portuguese, that it had only run awaybecause it wished to get back to its mother which it loved, and that itwas cruel to separate it from its mother. 

We made good progress and by the evening of the first day were over thecrest of the cliff or volcano lip that encircles the great plain of Kôr, and descending rapidly to a sheltered spot on the outer slope where ourcamp was to be set for the night. 

Not very far from this place, as I think I have mentioned, stood, and Isuppose still stands, a very curious pinnacle of rock, which, doubtlessbeing of some harder sort, had remained when, hundreds of thousands ormillions of years before, the surrounding lava had been washed or hadcorroded away. This rock pillar was perhaps fifty feet high and assmooth as though it had been worked by man; indeed, I remembered havingremarked to Hans, or Umslopogaas--I forget which--when we passed it onour inward journey, that there was a column which no monkey could climb. 

As we went by it for the second time, the sun had already disappearedbehind the western cliff, but a fierce ray from its sinking orb, struckupon a storm-cloud that hung over us, and thence was reflected in aglow of angry light of which the focus or centre seemed to fall upon thesummit of this strange and obelisk-like pinnacle of rock. 

At the moment I was out of my litter and walking with Umslopogaas atthe end of the line, to make sure that no one straggled in the oncomingdarkness. When we had passed the column by some forty or fifty yards, something caused Umslopogaas to turn and look back. He uttered anexclamation which made me follow his example, with the result that I sawa very wonderful thing. For there on the point of the pillar, like St. Simeon Stylites on his famous column, glowing in the sunset rays asthough she were on fire, stood Ayesha herself!

It was a strange and in a way a glorious sight, for poised thus betweenearth and heaven, she looked like some glowing angel rather thana woman, standing as she seemed to do upon the darkness; since theshadows, save for the faintest outline, had swallowed up the column thatsupported her. Moreover, in the intense, rich light that was focussedon her, we could see every detail of her form and face, for she wasunveiled, and even her large and tender eyes which gazed upwards emptily(at this moment they seemed very tender), yes, and the little gold studsthat glittered on her sandals and the shine of the snake girdle she woreabout her waist. 

We stared and stared till I said inconsequently, "Learn, Umslopogaas, what a liar is that old Billali, who told me thatShe-who-commands had departed from Kôr to her own place. "

"Perhaps this rock edge is her own place, if she be there at all, Macumazahn. "

"If she be there, " I answered angrily, for my nerves were at oncethrilled and torn. "Speak not empty words, Umslopogaas, for where elsecan she be when we see her with our eyes?"

"Who am I that I should know the ways of witches who, like the winds, are able to go and come as they will? Can a woman run up a wall of rocklike a lizard, Macumazahn?"

"Doubtless----" and I began some explanation which I have forgotten, when a passing cloud, or I know not what, cut off the light so that boththe pinnacle and she who stood on it became invisible. A minute laterit returned for a little while, and there was the point of theneedle-shaped rock, but it was empty, as, save for the birds that restedon it, it had been since the beginning of the world. 

Then Umslopogaas and I shook our heads and pursued our way in silence. 

This was the last that I saw of the glorious Ayesha, if indeed I did seeher and not her ghost. Yet it is true that for all the first part of thejourney, till we were through the great swamp in fact, from time totime I was conscious, or imagined that I was conscious of her presence. Moreover, once others saw her, or someone who might have been her. Ithappened thus. 

We were in the centre of the great swamp and the trained guides who wereleading came to a place where the path forked and were uncertainwhich road to take. Finally they fixed on the right-hand path and werepreparing to follow it together with those who bore the litter of Inez, by the side of which Hans was walking as usual. 

At this moment, as Hans told me, the guides went down upon their facesand he saw standing in front of them a white-veiled form who pointed tothe left-hand path, and then seemed to be lost in the mist. Without aword the guides rose and followed this left-hand path. Hans stopped thelitter till I came up when he told me what had happened, while Inez alsobegan to chatter in her childish fashion about a "White Lady. "

I had the curiosity to walk a little way along the right-hand path whichthey were about to take. Only a few yards further on I found myselfsinking in a floating quagmire, from which I extricated myself with muchdifficulty but just in time for as I discovered afterwards by probingwith a pole, the water beneath the matted reeds was deep. That nightI questioned the guides upon the subject, but without result, for theypretended to have seen nothing and not to understand what I meant. Ofneither of these incidents have I any explanation to offer, exceptthat once contracted, it is as difficult to be rid of the habit ofhallucinations as of any other. 

It is not necessary that I should give all the details of our longhomeward journey. So I will only say that having dismissed our bearersand escorts when we reached higher ground beyond the horrible swamp, keeping one litter for Inez in which the Zulus carried her when shewas tired, we accomplished it in complete safety and having crossed theZambesi, at last one evening reached the house called Strathmuir. 

Here we found the waggon and oxen quite safe and were welcomedrapturously by my Zulu driver and the _voorlooper_, who had made uptheir minds that we were dead and were thinking of trekking homewards. Here also Thomaso greeted us, though I think that, like the Zulus, hewas astonished at our safe return and indeed not over-pleased to see us. I told him that Captain Robertson had been killed in a fight in whichwe had rescued his daughter from the cannibals who had carried her off(information which I cautioned him to keep to himself) but nothing elsethat I could help. 

Also I warned the Zulus through Umslopogaas and Goroko, that no mentionwas to be made of our adventures, either then or afterwards, since ifthis were done the curse of the White Queen would fall on them and bringthem to disaster and death. I added that the name of this queen andeverything that was connected with her, or her doings, must be locked upin their own hearts. It must be like the name of dead kings, not tobe spoken. Nor indeed did they ever speak it or tell the story of oursearch, because they were too much afraid both of Ayesha whom theybelieved to be the greatest of all witches, and of the axe of theircaptain, Umslopogaas. 

Inez went to bed that night without seeming to recognise her old home, to all appearance just a mindless child as she had been ever since sheawoke from her trance at Kôr. Next morning, however, Hans came to tellme that she was changed and that she wished to speak with me. I went, wondering, to find her in the sitting-room, dressed in European clotheswhich she had taken from where she kept them, and once more a reasoningwoman. 

"Mr. Quatermain, " she said, "I suppose that I must have been ill, forthe last thing I remember is going to sleep on the night after youstarted for the hippopotamus hunt. Where is my father? Did any harm cometo him while he was hunting?"

"Alas!" I answered, lying boldly, for I feared lest the truthshould take away her mind again, "it did. He was trampled upon by ahippopotamus bull, which charged him, and killed, and we were obliged tobury him where he died. "

She bowed her head for a while and muttered some prayer for his soul, then looked at me keenly and said, "I do not think you are telling me everything, Mr. Quatermain, butsomething seems to say that this is because it is not well that I shouldlearn everything. "

"No, " I answered, "you have been ill and out of your mind for quite along while; something gave you a shock. I think that you learned of yourfather's death, which you have now forgotten, and were overcome with thenews. Please trust to me and believe that if I keep anything back fromyou, it is because I think it best to do so for the present. "

"I trust and I believe, " she answered. "Now please leave me, but tell mefirst where are those women and their children?"

"After your father died they went away, " I replied, lying once more. 

She looked at me again but made no comment. 

Then I left her. 

How much Inez ever learned of the true story of her adventures I do notknow to this hour, though my opinion is that it was but little. Tobegin with, everyone, including Thomaso, was threatened with the direstconsequences if he said a word to her on the subject; moreover in herway she was a wise woman, one who knew when it was best not to askquestions. She was aware that she had suffered from a fit of aberrationor madness and that during this time her father had died and certainpeculiar things had happened. There she was content to leave thebusiness and she never again spoke to me upon the subject. Of this I wasvery glad, as how on earth could I have explained to her about Ayesha'sprophecies as to her lapse into childishness and subsequent return to anormal state when she reached her home seeing that I did not understandthem myself?

Once indeed she did inquire what had become of Janee to which I answeredthat she had died during her sickness. It was another lie, at any rateby implication, but I hold that there are occasions when it is righteousto lie. At least these particular falsehoods have never troubled myconscience. 

Here I may as well finish the story of Inez, that is, as far as I can. As I have shown she was always a woman of melancholy and religioustemperament, qualities that seemed to grow upon her after her return tohealth. Certainly the religion did, for continually she was engaged inprayer, a development with which heredity may have had something to do, since after he became a reformed character and grew unsettled in hismind, her father followed the same road. 

On our return to civilisation, as it chanced, one of the first personswith whom she came in contact was a very earnest and excellent oldpriest of her own faith. The end of this intimacy was much what mighthave been expected. Very soon Inez determined to renounce the world, which I think never had any great attractions for her, and entered asisterhood of an extremely strict Order in Natal, where, added to hermany merits, her considerable possessions made her very welcome indeed. 

Once in after years I saw her again when she expected before long tobecome the Mother-Superior of her convent. I found her very cheerful andshe told me that her happiness was complete. Even then she did not askme the true story of what had happened to her during that period whenher mind was a blank. She said that she knew something had happened butthat as she no longer felt any curiosity about earthly things, she didnot wish to know the details. Again I rejoiced, for how could I tellthe true tale and expect to be believed, even by the most confiding andsimple-minded nun?

To return to more immediate events. When we had been at Strathmuir fora day or two and I thought that her mind was clear enough to judge ofaffairs, I told Inez that I must journey on to Natal, and asked her whatshe wished to do. Without a moment's hesitation she replied that shedesired to come with me, as now that her father was dead nothing wouldinduce her to continue to live at Strathmuir without friends, or indeedthe consolations of religion. 

Then she showed me a secret hiding-place cunningly devised in a sort ofcellar under the sitting-room floor, where her father was accustomed tokeep the spirits of which he consumed so great a quantity. In this holebeneath some bricks, we discovered a large sum in gold stored away, which Robertson had always told his daughter she would find there, inthe event of anything happening to him. With the money were his willand securities, also certain mementos of his youth and some love-letterstogether with a prayer-book that his mother had given him. 

These valuables, of which no one knew the existence except herself, weremoved and then made our preparations for departure. They were simple;such articles of value as we could carry were packed into the waggon andthe best of the cattle we drove with us. The place with the store andthe rest of the stock were handed over to Thomaso on a half-profitagreement under arrangement that he should remit the share of Inez twicea year to a bank on the coast, where her father had an account. Whetheror not he ever did this I am unable to say, but as no one wished to stopat Strathmuir, I could conceive no better plan because purchasers ofproperty in that district did not exist. 

As we trekked away one fine morning I asked Inez whether she was sorryto leave the place. 

"No, " she replied with energy, "my life there has been a hell and Inever wish to see it again. "

Now it was after this, on the northern borders of Zululand, thatZikali's Great Medicine, as Hans called it, really played its chiefpart, for without it I think that we should have been killed, every oneof us. I do not propose to set out the business in detail; it is toolong and intricate. Suffice it to say, therefore, that it had to do withthe plots of Umslopogaas against Cetywayo, which had been betrayed byhis wife Monazi and her lover Lousta, both of whom I have mentionedearlier in this record. The result was that a watch for him was kept onall the frontiers, because it was guessed that sooner or later he wouldreturn to Zululand; also it had become known that he was travelling inmy company. 

So it came about that when my approach was reported by spies, a companywas gathered under the command of a man connected with the Royal House, and by it we were surrounded. Before attacking, however, this captainsent men to me with the message that with me the King had no quarrel, although I was travelling in doubtful company, and that if I woulddeliver over to him Umslopogaas, Chief of the People of the Axe, and hisfollowers, I might go whither I wished unharmed, taking my goods withme. Otherwise we should be attacked at once and killed every one ofus, since it was not desired that any witnesses should be left of whathappened to Umslopogaas. Having delivered this ultimatum and declinedany argument as to its terms, the messengers retired, saying that theywould return for my answer within half an hour. 

When they were out of hearing Umslopogaas, who had listened to theirwords in grim silence, turned and spoke in such fashion as might havebeen expected of him. 

"Macumazahn, " he said, "now I come to the end of an unlucky journey, though mayhap it is not so evil as it seems, since I who went out toseek the dead but to be filled by yonder White Witch with the meat ofmocking shadows, am about to find the dead in the only way in which theycan be found, namely by becoming of their number. "

"It seems that this is the case with all of us, Umslopogaas. "

"Not so, Macumazahn. That child of the King will give you safe-conduct. It is I and mine whose blood he seeks, as he has the right to do, sinceit is true that I would have raised rebellion against the King, I whowearied of my petty lot and knew that by blood his place was mine. Inthis quarrel you have no share, though you, whose heart is as white asyour skin, are not minded to desert me. Moreover, even if you wishedto fight, there is one in the waggon yonder whose life is not yours togive. The Lady Sad-Eyes is as a child in your arms and her you must bearto safety. "

Now this argument was so unanswerable that I did not know what to say. So I only asked what he meant to do, as escape was impossible, seeingthat we were surrounded on every side. 

"Make a glorious end, Macumazahn, " he said with a smile. "I will go outwith those who cling to me, that is with all who remain of my men, sincemy fate must be theirs, and stand back to back on yonder mound and therewait till these dogs of the King come up against us. Watch a while, Macumazahn, and see how Umslopogaas, Bearer of the Axe, and the warriorsof the Axe can fight and die. "

Now I was silent for I knew not what to say. There we all stood silent, while minute by minute I watched the shadow creeping forward towards amark that the head messenger had made with his spear upon the ground, for he had said that when it touched that mark he would return for hisanswer. 

In this rather dreadful silence I heard a dry little cough, which I knewcame from the throat of Hans, and to be his method of indicating that hehad a remark to make. 

"What is it?" I asked with irritation, for it was annoying to see himseated there on the ground fanning himself with the remains of a hat andstaring vacantly at the sky. 

"Nothing, Baas, or rather, only this, Baas: Those hyenas of Zulus areeven more afraid of the Great Medicine than were the cannibals up north, since the maker of it is nearer to them, Baas. You remember, Baas, theyknelt to it, as it were, when we were going out of Zululand. "

"Well, what of it, now that we are going into Zululand?" I inquiredsharply. "Do you want me to show it to them?"

"No, Baas. What is the use, seeing that they are ready to let youpass, also the Lady Sad-Eyes, and me and the cattle with the driver and_voorlooper_, which is better still, and all the other goods. So whathave you to gain by showing them the medicine? But perchance if it wereon the neck of Umslopogaas and _he_ showed it to them and brought it totheir minds that those who touch him who is in the shadow of Zikali'sGreat Medicine, or aught that is his, die within three moons in thisway or in that--well, Baas, who knows?" and again he coughed drily andstared up at the sky. 

I translated what Hans had said in Dutch to Umslopogaas, who remarkedindifferently, "This little yellow man is well named Light-in-Darkness; at least theplan can be tried--if it fails there is always time to die. "

So thinking that this was an occasion on which I might properly do so, for the first time I took off the talisman which I had worn for so long, and Umslopogaas put it over his head and hid it beneath his blanket. 

A little while later the messengers returned and this time the captainhimself came with them, as he said to greet me, for I knew him slightlyand once we had dealt together about some cattle. After a friendly chathe turned to the matter of Umslopogaas, explaining the case at somelength. I said that I quite understood his position but that it was a_very_ awkward thing to interfere with a man who was the actual wearerof the Great Medicine of Zikali itself. When the captain heard this hiseyes almost started out of his head. 

"The Great Medicine of the Opener-of-Roads!" he exclaimed. "Oh, nowI understand why this Chief of the People of the Axe isunconquerable--such a wizard that no one is able to kill him. "

"Yes, " I replied, "and you remember, do you not, that he who offends theGreat Medicine, or offers violence to him who wears it, dies horriblywithin three moons, he and his household and all those with him?"

"I have heard it, " he said with a sickly smile. 

"And now you are about to learn whether the tale is true, " I addedcheerfully. 

Then he asked to see Umslopogaas alone. 

I did not overhear their conversation, but the end of it was thatUmslopogaas came and said in a loud voice so that no one could miss asingle word, that as resistance was useless and he did not wish me, his friend, to be involved in any trouble, together with his men he hadagreed to accompany this King's captain to the royal kraal where he hadbeen guaranteed a fair trial as to certain false charges which had beenbrought against him. He added that the King's captain had sworn uponthe Great Medicine of the Opener-of-Roads to give him safe conduct andattempt no mischief against him which, as was well known throughoutthe land, was an oath that could not be broken by anyone who wished tocontinue to look upon the sun. 

I asked the captain if these things were so, also speaking in a loudvoice. He replied, Yes, since his orders were to take Umslopogaas aliveif he might. He was only to kill him if he would not come. 

Afterwards, while pretending to give him certain articles out of thewaggon, I had a few private words with Umslopogaas, who told me that thearrangement was that he should be allowed to escape at night with hispeople. 

"Be sure of this, Macumazahn, " he said, "that if I do not escape, neither will that captain, since I walk at his side and keep my axe, and at the first sign of treachery the axe will enter the house of thatthick head of his and make friends with the brain inside. 

"Macumazahn, " he added, "we have made a strange journey together andseen such things as I did not think the world had to show. Also I havefought and killed Rezu in a mad battle of ghosts and men which alonewas worth all the trouble of the journey. Now it has come to an end aseverything must, and we part, but as I believe, not for always. I donot think that I shall die on this journey with the captain, though I dothink that others will die at the end of it, " he added grimly, a sayingwhich at the time I did not understand. 

"It comes into my heart, Macumazahn, that in yonder land of witches andwizards, the spirit of prophecy got caught in my moocha and crept intomy bowels. Now that spirit tells me that we shall meet again in theafter-years and stand together in a great fray which will be our last, as I believe that the White Witch said. Or perhaps the spirit lives inZikali's Medicine which has gone down my throat and comes out of it inwords. I cannot say, but I pray that it is a true spirit, since althoughyou are white and I am black and you are small and I am big, and you aregentle and cunning, whereas I am fierce and as open as the blade of myown axe, yet I love you as well, Macumazahn, as though we were bornof the same mother and had been brought up in the same kraal. Now thatcaptain waits and grows doubtful of our talk, so farewell. I will returnthe Great Medicine to Zikali, if I live, and if I die he must send oneof the ghosts that serve him, to fetch it from among my bones. 

"Farewell to you also, Yellow Man, " he went on to Hans, who hadappeared, hovering about like a dog that is doubtful of its welcome;"well are you named Light-in-Darkness, and glad am I to have met you, who have learned from you how a snake moves and strikes, and how ajackal thinks and avoids the snare. Yes, farewell, for the spirit withinme does not tell me that you and I shall meet again. "

Then he lifted the great axe, and gave me a formal salute, naming me"Chief and Father, Great Chief and Father, from of old" (_Baba! Koos yumcool! Koos y pagate!_), thereby acknowledging my superiority over him, a thing that he had never done before, and as he did, so did Gorokoand the other Zulus, adding to their salute many titles of praise. Inanother minute he had gone with the King's captain, to whose side Inoted he clung lovingly, his long, thin fingers playing about the hornhandle of the axe that was named _Inkosikaas_ and Groan-maker. 

"I am glad we have seen the last of him and his axe, Baas, " remarkedHans, spitting reflectively. "It is very well to sleep in the same hutwith a tame lion sometimes, but after you have done so for many moons, you begin to wonder when you will wake up at night to find him pullingthe blankets off you and combing your hair with his claws. Yes, I amvery glad that this half-tame lion is gone, since sometimes I havethought that I should be obliged to poison it that we might sleep inpeace. You know he called me a snake, Baas, and poison is a snake'sonly spear. Shall I tell the boys to inspan the oxen, Baas? I thinkthe further we get from that King's captain and his men, the morecomfortably shall we travel, especially now when we no longer have theGreat Medicine to protect us. "

"You suggested giving it to him, Hans, " I said. 

"Yes, Baas, I had rather that Umslopogaas went away with the GreatMedicine, than that you kept the Great Medicine and he stopped with ushere. Never travel with a traitor, Baas, at any rate in the land of theking whom he wishes to kill. Kings are very selfish people, Baas, and donot like being killed, especially by someone who wants to sit upon theirstool and to take the royal salute. No one gives the royal salute to adead king, Baas, however great he was before he died, and no one thinksthe worse of a king who was a traitor before he became a king. "

CHAPTER XXV

ALLAN DELIVERS THE MESSAGE

Once more I sat in the Black Kloof face to face with old Zikali. 

"So you have got back safely, Macumazahn, " he said. "Well, I told youyou would, did I not? As for what happened to you upon the journey, letit be, for now that I am old long stories tire me and I daresay thatthere is nothing wonderful about this one. Where is the charm I lentyou? Give it back now that it has served its turn. "

"I have not got it, Zikali. I passed it on to Umslopogaas of the Axe tosave his life from the King's men. "

"Oh! yes, so you did. I had forgotten. Here it is, " and opening his robeof fur, he showed me the hideous little talisman hanging about hisneck, then added, "Would you like a copy of it, Macumazahn, to keep as amemory? If so, I will carve one for you. "

"No, " I answered, "I should not. Has Umslopogaas been here?"

"Yes, he has been and gone again, which is one of the reasons why I donot wish to hear your tale a second time. "

"Where to? The Town of the People of the Axe?"

"No, Macumazahn, he came thence, or so I understood, but thither he willreturn no more. "

"Why not, Zikali?"

"Because after his fashion he made trouble there and left some deadbehind him; one Lousta, I believe, whom he had appointed to sit on hisstool as chief while he was away, and a woman called Monazi, who was hiswife, or Lousta's wife, or the wife of both of them, I forget which. Itis said that having heard stories of her--and the ears of jealousy arelong, Macumazahn--he cut off this woman's head with a sweep of the axeand made Lousta fight him till he fell, which the fool did almost beforehe had lifted his shield. It served him right who should have made surethat Umslopogaas was dead before he wrapped himself in his blanket andtook the woman to cook his porridge. "

"Where has the Axe-bearer gone?" I asked without surprise, for this newsdid not astonish me. 

"I neither know nor care, Macumazahn. To become a wanderer, I suppose. He will tell you the tale when you meet again in the after-days, as Iunderstand he thinks that you will do. [*] Hearken! I have done with thislion's whelp, who is Chaka over again, but without Chaka's wit. Yes, heis just a fighting man with a long reach, a sure eye and the trick ofhandling an axe, and such are of little use to me who know too many ofthem. Thrice have I tried to make him till my garden, but each timehe has broken the hoe, although the wage I promised him was a royal_kaross_ and nothing less. So enough of Umslopogaas, the Woodpecker. Almost I wish that you had not lent him the charm, for then the King'smen would have made an end of him, who knows too much and like somesilly boaster, may shout out the truth when his axe is aloft and he isfull of the beer of battle. For in battle he will live and in battle hewill die, Macumazahn, as perhaps you may see one day. "

 [*] For the tale of this meeting see the book called "Allan Quatermain. "--Editor. 

"The fate of your friends does not trouble you over much, Opener-of-Roads, " I said with sarcasm. 

"Not at all, Macumazahn, because I have none. The only friends of theold are those whom they can turn to their own ends, and if these failthem they find others. "

"I understand, Zikali, and know now what to expect from you. "

He laughed in his strange way and answered, "Aye, and it is good that you must expect, good in the future as in thepast, for _you_, Macumazahn, who are brave in your own fashion, withoutbeing a fool like Umslopogaas, and, although you know it not, like somemaster-smith, forge my assegais out of the red ore I give you, temperingthem in the blood of men, and yet keep your mind innocent and your handsclean. Friends like you are useful to such as I, Macumazahn, and must bewell paid in those wares that please them. "

The old wizard brooded for a space, while I reflected upon his amazingcynicism, which interested me in a way, for the extreme of unmorality isas fascinating to study as the extreme of virtue and often more so. Thenjerking up his great head, he asked suddenly, "What message had the White Queen for me?"

"She said that you troubled her too much at night in dreams, Zikali. "

"Aye, but if I cease to do so, ever she desires to know the reason why, for I hear her asking me in the voices of the wind, or in the twitteringof bats. After all, she is a woman, Macumazahn, and it must be dullsitting alone from year to year with naught to stay her appetite savethe ashes of the past and dreams of the future, so dull that I wonder, having once meshed you in her web, how she found the heart to let yougo before she had sucked out your life and spirit. I suppose that havingmade a mock of you and drained you dry, she was content to throw youaside like an empty gourd. Perchance, had she kept you at her side, you would have been a stone in her path in days to come. Perchance, Macumazahn, she waits for other travellers and would welcome them, orone of them alone, saying nothing of a certain Watcher-by-Night who hasserved her turn and vanished into the night. 

"But what other message had the White Queen for the poor old savagewitch-doctor whose talk wearies her so much in her haunted sleep?"

Then I told him of the picture that Ayesha had shown me in the water;the picture of a king dying in a hut and of two who watched his end. 

Zikali listened intently to every word, then broke into a peal of hisunholy laughter. 

"_Oho-ho!_" he laughed, "so all goes well, though the road be long, since whatever this White One may have shown you in the fire of theheavens above, she could show you nothing but truth in the water ofthe earth below, for that is the law of our company of seers. You haveworked well for me, Macumazahn, and you have had your fee, the fee ofthe vision of the dead which you desired above all mortal things. "

"Aye, " I answered indignantly, "a fee of bitter fruits whereof the juiceburns and twists the mouth and the stones still stick fast within thegizzard. I tell you, Zikali, that she stuffed my heart with lies. "

"I daresay, Macumazahn, I daresay, but they were very pretty lies, werethey not? And after all I am sure that there was wisdom in them, as youwill discover when you have thought them over for a score of years. 

"Lies, lies, all is lies! But beyond the lie stands Truth, as the WhiteWitch stands behind her veil. You drew the veil, Macumazahn, and sawthat beneath which brought you to your knees. Why, it is a parable. Wander on through the Valley of Lies till at last it takes a turn, and, glittering in the sunshine, glittering like gold, you perceive theMountain of everlasting Truth, sought of all men but found by few. 

"Lies, lies, all is lies! Yet beyond I tell you, beauteous andeternal stands the Truth, Macumazahn. _Oho-ho! Oho-ho!_ Fare you well, Watcher-by-Night, fare you well, Seeker after Truth. After the Nightcomes Dawn and after Death comes what--Macumazahn? Well, you will learnone day, for always the veil is lifted, at last, as the White Witchshewed you yonder, Macumazahn. "