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 Ayesha; the return of She. 
 
 167 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013476167 
 
AYESHA 
 
 The Return of She 
 
WORKS BY H. RIDER HAGGARD. 
 
 POLITICAL HISTORY. 
 
 Cetewayo and His White Neighbours. 
 
 Works on AGRICULTURE and COUNTRY LIFE. 
 
 Rural England. | A Farmer's Year. 
 
 A Gardener's Year. 
 
 BOOK OF TRAVEL. 
 A Winter Pilgrimage. 
 
 NOVELS. 
 Dawm. 
 
 The Witch's Head. 
 
 Jess 
 
 Colonel Quaritch, V.C. 
 
 Beatrice. 
 
 Joan Haste. 
 Doctor Therne. 
 Stella Fregelius. 
 
 ROMANCES. 
 
 King Solomon's Mines. 
 
 She 
 
 Allan Qoatermain. 
 
 Maiwa*s Revenge. 
 
 Mr. Meeson's Will. 
 
 Allan's Wife. 
 
 Cleopatra. 
 
 Eric Brighteyes. 
 
 Nada the Lily. 
 
 Montezuma's Daughter. 
 
 The People of the Mist. 
 
 Heart of the World. 
 
 Swallow. 
 
 Black Heart and White 
 
 Heart. 
 Lysbeth. 
 Pearl Maiden. 
 The Brethren 
 (In collaboration with Andrew Lang), 
 The World's Desire. 
 
" At one point she paused and I looked downwards." {Pag-e 27.) 
 'iy^'t'^i \Fronthpiece. 
 
AYESHA 
 
 The Return of She 
 
 By 
 
 H. RIDER HAGGARD 
 
 AUTHOR OF " SHE " ETC 
 
 " Here ends this history so far as it concerns science 
 and the outside world. What its end will be as regards 
 Leo and myself is more than I can guess. But we feel 
 that it is not reached. • • . Often I sit alone at night, 
 staring with the eyes of my mind into the blackness of 
 imborn time, and wondering in what shape and form the 
 great drama will be finally developed, and where the 
 scene of its next act will be laid. And when, ultimately, 
 that final development occurs, as I have no doubt it must 
 and will occur, in obedience to a fate that never swerves 
 and a purpose which cannot be altered, what will be the 
 part played therein by that beautiful Egyptian Amenar- 
 tas, the Princess of the royal house of the Pharaohs, for 
 the love of whom the priest Kallikrates broke his vows 
 to Isis, and, pursued by the vengeance of the outraged 
 goddess, fled down the coast of Lybia to meet his doom 
 at Kor ? "She, Silver Library Edition, p. 277. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 WARD LOCK & CO. LIMITED 
 1905 
 
IK- 
 
 A5 
 
 -5'd?5 5/J. 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 My Dear Lang, 
 
 The appointed years — alas ! how many of them — are 
 gone by, leaving Ayesha lovely and loving and ourselves 
 alive. As it was promised in the Caves of K6r She has 
 returned again. 
 
 To you therefore who accepted the first, I offer this 
 further history of one of the various incarnations of that 
 Immortal. 
 
 My hope is that after you have read her record, notwith- 
 standing her subtleties and sins and the shortcomings of her 
 chronicler (no easy office ! ) you may continue to wear your 
 chain of "loyalty to our lady Ayesha." Such, I confess, 
 is still the fate of your old friend 
 
 DiTCHiNGHAM, H. RIDER HAGGARD. 
 
 1905. 
 
AUTHOR'S NOTE 
 
 Not with a view of conciliating those readers who on 
 principle object to sequels, but as a matter of fact, the 
 Author wishes to say that he does not so regard this book. 
 
 Rather does he venture to ask that it should be con- 
 sidered as the conclusion of an imaginative tragedy (if he 
 may so call it) whereof one half has been already pub- 
 lished. 
 
 This conclusion it was always his desire to write should 
 he be destined to live through those many years which, in 
 obedience to his original design, must be allowed to lapse 
 between the events of the first and second parts of the 
 romance. 
 
 In response to many inquiries he may add that the 
 name Ayesha — which since the days of the prophet Ma- 
 homet, who had a wife so called, and perhaps before them, 
 has been common in the East— should be pronounced 
 Assha. 
 
Contents 
 
 Introduction 
 
 I Thb Double Sign 
 
 II Thb Lamasery 
 
 III The Beacon Light 
 
 IV The Avalanche 
 V The Glacier • 
 
 VI In the Gate 
 
 VII The First Ordeal 
 
 VIII The Death-Hounds 
 
 IX The Court of Kaloon 
 
 X In the Shaman's Chamber 
 
 XI The Hunt and the Kill 
 
 XII The Messenger 
 
 XIII Beneath the Shadowing Wings 
 
 XIV The Court of Death . 
 
 XV Thb Second Ordeal . . 
 » 
 
 FACE 
 II 
 
 21 
 32 
 52 
 64 
 76 
 
 87 
 102 
 
 "S 
 
 130 
 
 143 
 
 156 
 
 174 
 
 196 
 216 
 232 
 
10 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 
 CHAPTKR 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XVI 
 
 The Change .... 
 
 . 254 
 
 XVII 
 
 Thb Betrothal 
 
 . 264 
 
 XVIII 
 
 The Third Ordeal 
 
 . 274 
 
 XIX 
 
 Leo and the Leopard . 
 
 . 289 
 
 XX 
 
 Ayesha's Alchemy 
 
 • 305 
 
 XXI 
 
 The Prophecy of Atene 
 
 . 326 
 
 XXII 
 
 The Loosing of the Powers . 
 
 ■ 342 
 
 XXIII 
 
 The Yielding of Ayesha 
 
 • 358 
 
 XXIV 
 
 The Passing of Ayesha 
 
 • 371 
 
Introduction 
 
 VERILY and indeed it is the unexpected that 
 happens ! Probably if there was one person 
 upon the earth from whom the Editor of this, and 
 of a certain previous history, did not expect to hear 
 again, that person was Ludwig Horace Holly. 
 This, too, for a good reason ; he believed him to 
 have taken his departure from the earth. 
 
 When Mr. Holly last wrote, many, many years ago, 
 it was to transmit the manuscript of She, and to 
 annotmce that he and his ward, Leo Vincey, the 
 beloved of the divine Ayesha, were about to travel 
 to Central Asia in the hope, I suppose, that there 
 she would fulfil her promise and appear to them 
 again. 
 
 Often I have wondered, idly enough, what 
 happened to them there ; whether they were dead, 
 or perhaps droning their lives away as monks in 
 some Thibetan Lamasery, or studs^ng magic and 
 practising asceticism under the tuition of the 
 Eastern Masters, trusting that thus they would 
 build a bridge by which they might pass to the 
 side of their adored Immortal. 
 
 Now at length, when I had not thought of them 
 for months, without a single warning sign, out of 
 the blue as it were, comes the answer to these 
 wonderings ! 
 
 To think — only to think — that I, the Editor 
 aforesaid, from its appearance suspecting some- 
 thing quite familiar and without interest, pushed 
 aside tiiat dingy, unregistered, brown-paper parcel 
 
12 A7ESHA 
 
 directed in an unknown hand, and for two whole 
 days let it lie forgotten. Indeed there it might be 
 l5dng now, had not another person been moved to 
 curiosity, and opening it, found within a bundle of 
 manuscript badly burned upon the back, and with 
 this two letters addressed to myself. 
 
 Although so great a time had passed since I saw it, 
 and it was shaky now because of the author's age or 
 sickness, I knew the writing at once — nobody ever 
 made an " H " with that peculiar twirl under it 
 except Mr. HoUy. I tore open the sealed envelope, 
 and sure enough the first thing my eye fell upon 
 was the signature, L. H. Holly. It is long since I 
 read anything so eagerly as I did that letter. Here 
 it is: — 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I have ascertained that you 
 stiU live, and strange to say I still live also — for a 
 little while. 
 
 "As soon as I came into touch with civilization 
 again I found a copy of your book She, or rather of 
 my book, and read it— first of all in a Hindostani 
 translation. My host — he was a minister of some 
 religious body, a man of worthy but prosaic 
 mind — expressed surprise that a 'wild romance' 
 should absorb me so much. I answered that those 
 who have wide experience of the hard facts of life 
 often find interest in romance. Had he known 
 what were the hard facts to which I alluded, I 
 wonder what that excellent person would have 
 said ? 
 
 " I see that you carried out your part of the busi- 
 ness well and faithfully. Every instruction has 
 been obeyed, nothing has been added or taken away. 
 Therefore, to you, to whom some twenty years ago 
 I entrusted the beginning of the history, I wish to 
 entrust its end also. You were the first to learn 
 of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, who from century to 
 
INTRODUCTION 13 
 
 century sat alone, clothed with unchanging loveli- 
 ness in the sepulchres of. K6r, waiting till her lost 
 love was bom again, and Destiny brought him 
 back to her. 
 
 "It is right, therefore, that you should be the 
 first to learn also of Ayesha, Hesea and Spirit of the 
 Mountain, the priestess of that Oracle which since 
 the time of Alexander the Great has reigned 
 between the flaming pillars in the Sanctuary, the 
 last holder of the sceptre of Hes or Isis upon the 
 earth. It is right also that to you first among men 
 I should reveal the mystic consummation of the 
 wondrous tragedy which began at Kor, or perchance 
 far earlier in Eg5^t and elsewhere. 
 
 " I am very ill ; I have struggled back to this 
 old house of mine to die, and my end is at hand. 
 I have asked the doctor here, after all is over, to 
 send you the Record, that is unless I change my 
 mind and bum it first. You wiU also receive, if 
 you receive anything at all, a case containing 
 several rough sketches which may be of use to you, 
 and a sistrum, the instrument that has been always 
 used in the worship of the Nature goddesses of the 
 old Egyptians, Isis and Hathor, which you will see 
 is as beautiful as it is ancient. I give it to you for 
 two reasons ; as a token of my gratitude and regard, 
 and as the only piece of evidence that is left to me 
 of the literal truth of what I have written in the 
 accompansdng manuscript, where you will find it 
 often mentioned. Perhaps also you wiU value it as 
 a souvenir of, I suppose, the strangest and loveliest 
 being who ever was, or rather, is. It was her sceptre, 
 the rod of her power, with which I saw her salute 
 the Shadows in the Sanctuary, and her gift to me. 
 
 " It has virtues also ; some part of Ayesha's 
 might yet haunts the symbol to which even spirits 
 bowed, but if you should discover them, beware 
 how they are used. 
 
14 AYES HA 
 
 " I have neither the strength nor the will to write 
 more. The Record must speak for itself. Do, 
 with it what you like, and believe it or not as you 
 like. I care nothing who know that it is true. 
 
 " Who and what was Ayesha, nay, what is Aye- 
 sha ? An incarnate essence, a materialized spirit of 
 Nature the unforeseeing, the lovely, the cruel and 
 the immortal ; ensouled alone, redeemable only by 
 Humanity and its piteous sacrifice ? Say you ! I 
 have done with speculations who depart to solve 
 these mysteries. 
 
 " I wish you happiness and good fortune. Fare- 
 well to you and to all. 
 
 "L. Horace Holly." 
 
 I laid the epistle down, and, filled with sensations 
 that it is useless to attempt to analyse or describe, 
 opened the second envelope, of which I also print , 
 the contents, omitting only certain irrelevant por- 
 tions, and the name of the writer as, it will be 
 noted, he requests me to do. 
 
 This epistle, that was dated from a remote place 
 upon the shores of Cumberland, ran as follows : — 
 
 "Dear Sir, — ^As the doctor who attended Mr. 
 Holly in his last illness I am obliged, in obedience 
 to a promise that I made to him, to become an 
 intermediary in a somewhat strange business, 
 although in truth it is one of which I know very 
 little, however much it may have interested me. 
 Still I do so only on the strict understanding that 
 no mention is to be made of my name in connexion 
 with the matter, or of the locality in which I 
 practise. 
 
 " About ten days ago I was called in to see Mr. 
 Holly at an old house upon the CUff that for many 
 years remained untenanted except by the care- 
 takers, which house was his property, and had 
 
INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 been in his family for generations. The house- 
 keeper who summoned me told me that her master 
 had but just returned from abroad, somewhere in 
 Asia, she said, and that he was very iU with his 
 heart — dying, she believed ; both of which supposi- 
 tions proved to be accurate. 
 
 " I found the patient sitting up in bed (to ease his 
 heart), and a strange-looking old man he was. 
 He had dark eyes, small but full of fire and intelli- 
 gence, a magnificent and snowy-white beard that 
 covered a chest of extraordinary breadth, and hair 
 also white, which encroached upon his forehead 
 and face so much that it met the whiskers upon his 
 cheeks. His arms were remarkable for their length 
 and strength, though one of them seemed to have 
 been much torn by some animal. He told me that a 
 dog had done this, but if so it must have been a dog 
 of unusual power. He was a very ugly man, and yet, 
 forgive the bull, beautiful. I cannot describe what 
 I mean better than by saying that his face was not 
 like the face of any ordinary mortal whom I have 
 met in my limited experience. Were I an artist 
 who wished to portray a wise and benevolent but 
 rather grotesque spirit, I should take that counten- 
 ance as a model. 
 
 " Mr. HoUy was somewhat vexed at my being 
 called in, which had been done without his know- 
 ledge. Soon we became friendly enough, however, 
 and he expressed gratitude for the relief that I was 
 able to give him, though I could not hope to do 
 more. At different times he talked a good deal of 
 the various countries in which he had travelled, 
 apparently for very many years, upon some strange 
 quest that he never clearly defined to me. Twice 
 also he became Ught-headed, and spoke, for the 
 most part in languages that I identified as Greek 
 and Arabic ; occasionally in English also, when he ap- 
 peared to be addressing himself to a being who was 
 
i6 AYESHA 
 
 the object of his veneration, I might almost say of his 
 worship. What he said then, however, I prefer not 
 to repeat, for I heard it in my professional capacity. 
 
 " One day he pointed to a rough box made of 
 some foreign wood (the same that I have now duly 
 despatched to you by train), and, giving me your 
 name and address, said that without fail it was to 
 be forwarded to you after his death. Also he 
 asked me to do up a manuscript, which, like the box, 
 was to be sent to you. 
 
 " He saw me looking at the last sheets, which 
 had been burned away, and said (I repeat his exact 
 words) — 
 
 " ' Yes, yes, that can't be helped now, it must go 
 as it is. You see I made up my mind to destroy it 
 after all, and it was already on the fire when the 
 command came — the clear, unmistakable command 
 — and I snatched it off again.' 
 
 " What Mr. Holly meant by this ' command ' 
 I do not know, for he would speak no more of the 
 matter. 
 
 " I pass on to the last scene. One night about 
 eleven o'clock, knowing that my patient's end 
 was near, I went up to see him, proposing to 
 inject some slrychnine to keep the heart going a 
 little longer. Before I reached the house I met the 
 caretaker coming to seek me in a great fright, and 
 asked her if her master was dead. She answered 
 ' No ; but he was gone — ^had got out of bed and, just 
 as he was, barefooted, left the house, and was 
 last seen by her grandson among the very Scotch 
 firs where we were talking. The lad, who was terri- 
 fied out of his wits, for he thought that he beheld a 
 ghost, had told her so. 
 
 "The moonlight was very brilliant that night, 
 especially as fresh snow had fallen, which reflected 
 its rays. I was on foot, and began to search among 
 the firs, till presently just outside of them I found 
 
INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 the track of naked feet in the snow. Of course I 
 followed, calling to the housekeeper to go and wake 
 her husband, for no one else lives near by. The 
 spoor proved very easy to trace across the clean 
 sheet of snow. It ran up the slope of a hill behind 
 the house. 
 
 " Now, on the crest of this hill is an ancient 
 monument of upright monoliths set there by some 
 primeval people, known locally aS the Devil's Ring 
 — a sort of miniature Stonehenge in fact. I had 
 seen it several times, and happened to have been 
 present not long ago at a meeting of an archaeological 
 society when its origin and purpose were discussed. 
 I remember that one learned but somewhat eccen- 
 tric gentleman read a short paper upon a rude, 
 hooded bust and head that are cut within the 
 chamber of a tall, flat-topped cromlech, or dolmen, 
 which stands alone in the centre of the ring. 
 
 " He said that it was a representation of the 
 Egyptian goddess, Isis, and that this place had once 
 been sacred to some form of her worship, or at any 
 rate to that of a Nature goddess with like attributes, 
 a suggestion which the other learned gentlemen 
 treated aS absurd. They declared that Isis had 
 never travelled into Britain, though for my part I 
 do not see why the Phoenicians, or even the Romans, 
 who adopted her cult, more or less, should not 
 have brought it here. But I know nothing of such 
 matters and will not discuss them. 
 
 " I remembered also that Mr. HoUy was acquainted 
 with this place, for he had mentioned it to me on 
 the previous day, asking if the stones were still 
 uninjured as they used to be whfen he was young. 
 He added also, and the remark struck me, that 
 yonder was where he would wish to die. When I 
 answered that I feared he would never take so long 
 a walk again, I noted that he smiled a little. 
 
 " Well, this conversation gave me a clue, and 
 
 B 
 
i8 AYESHA 
 
 without troubling more about the footprints I 
 went on as fast as I could to the Ring, half a mile 
 or so away. Presently I reached it, and there — yes, 
 there — standing by the cromlech, bareheaded, and 
 clothed in his night-things only, stood Mr. Holly in 
 the snow, the strangest figure, I thmk, that ever 
 I beheld. 
 
 "Indeed never shall I forget that wild scene. The 
 circle of rough, single stones pointing upwards to 
 the star-strewn sky, intensely lonely and intensely 
 solemn : the tall trUithon towering above them in 
 the centre, its shadow, thrown by the bright moon 
 behind it, lying long and black upon the dazzling 
 sheet of snow, and, standing clear of this shadow 
 so that I could distinguish his every motion, and 
 even the rapt look upon his dpng face, the white- 
 draped figure of Mr. Holly. He appeared to be 
 uttering some invocation — in Arabic, I think — for 
 long before I reached him I could catch the tones 
 of his full, sonorous voice, and see his waving, out- 
 stretched arms. In his right hand he held the 
 looped sceptre which, by his express wish I send to 
 you with the drawings. I could see the flash of 
 the jewels strung upon the wires, and in the great 
 stillness, hear the tinkling of its golden bells. 
 
 " Presently, too, I seemed to become aware of 
 another presence, and now you will understand 
 why I desire and must ask that my identity should ' 
 be suppressed. Naturally enough I do not wish to 
 be mixed up with a superstitious tale which is, on 
 the face of it, impossible and absurd. Yet under 
 all the circumstances I think it right to tell you that 
 I saw, or thoiight I saw, something gather in the 
 shadow of the central dolmen, or emerge from its 
 rude chamber — I know not which for certain— some- 
 thing bright and glorious which gradually took the 
 form of a woman upon whose forehead burned a 
 star-like fire. 
 
INTRODUCTION tg 
 
 " At any rate the vision or reflection, or whatever 
 it was, startled me so much that I came to a 
 halt trader the lee of one of the monoliths, and found 
 myself unable even to call to the distraught man 
 whom I pursued. 
 
 " Whilst I stood thus it became clear to me that 
 Mr. Holly also saw something. At least he turned 
 towards the Radiance in the shadow, uttered one 
 cry; a wild, glad cry, and stepped forward; then 
 seemed to fall through it on to his face. 
 
 " When I reached the spot the light had vanished, 
 and all I found was Mr. Holly, his arms still out- 
 stretched, and the sceptre gripped tightly in his 
 hand, l3ang quite dead in the shadow of the 
 trilithon." 
 
 The rest of the doctor's letter need not be quoted 
 as it deals only with certain very improbable ex- 
 planations of the origin of this Figure of light, the 
 details of the removal of Holly's body, and of how 
 he managed to satisfy the coroner that no inquest 
 was necessary. 
 
 The box of which he speaks arrived safely. Of 
 the drawings in it I need say nothing, and of the 
 sistrutn or sceptre only a few words. It was fash- 
 ioned of crystal to the weU-known shape of the 
 Crux-ansata, or the emblem of life of the Egyptians ; 
 the rod, the cross and the loop combined in one. 
 From side to side of this loop ran golden wires, and 
 on these were strung gems of three colours, glittering 
 diamonds, sea-blue sapphires, and blood-red rubies, 
 while to the fourth wire, that at the top, hung four 
 little golden bells. 
 
 When I took hold of it first my arm shook slightly 
 with excitement, and those bells began to sound ; a 
 sweet, faint music like to that of chimes heard far 
 away at night in the silence of iae sea. I thought 
 too, but perhaps this was fancy, that a thrill passed 
 
20 AYESHA 
 
 from the hallowed and beautiful thing into my 
 body. 
 
 On the mystery itself, as it is recorded in the 
 manuscript, I make no comment. Of it and its 
 inner significations every reader must form his or 
 her own judgment. One thing alone is clear to me — 
 on the hypothesis that Mr. Holly tells the truth as 
 to what he and Leo Vincey saw and experienced, 
 which I at least believe — that though sundry inter- 
 pretations of this mystery were advanced by 
 Ayesha and others, none of them are quite satis- 
 factory. 
 
 Indeed, like Mr. Holly, I incHne to the theory 
 that She, if I may stiU call her by that name 
 although it is seldom given to her in these pages, put 
 forward some of them, such as the vague Isis-mjrth, 
 and the wondrous picture-story of the Mountain- 
 fire, as mere veils to hide the truth which it was 
 her purpose to reveal at last in that song she 
 never sang. 
 
 The Editor. 
 
AYESHA : 
 
 The Return of 
 
 SHE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DOUBLE SIGN 
 
 HARD on twenty years have gone by since 
 that night of Leo's Vision — the most awful 
 years, perhaps, which were ever endured by men — 
 twenty years of search and hardship ending in soul- 
 shaking wonder and amazement. 
 
 My death is very near to me, and of this I am 
 glad, for I desire to pursue the quest in other realms, 
 as it has been promised to me that I shall do. 
 I desire to learn the beginning and the end of the 
 spiritual drama of which it has been my strange lot 
 to read some pages upon earth. 
 
 I, Ludwig Horace HoUy, have been very iU ; 
 they carried me, more dead than alive, down 
 those mountains whose lowest slopes I can see 
 from my window, for I write this on the northern 
 frontiers of India. Indeed any other man had 
 long since perished, but Destiny kept my breath in 
 me, perhaps that a record might remain. I must 
 bide here a month or two till I am strong enough 
 to travel homewards, for I have a fancy to die in 
 the place where I was bom. So while I have 
 
22 AYES HA 
 
 strength I will put the story down, or at least 
 those parts of it that are most essential, for much 
 can, or at any rate must be omitted. I shrink 
 from attempting too long a book, though my notes 
 and memory would furnish me with sufficient 
 material for volumes = 
 
 I wUl begin with the Vision. 
 
 After Leo Vincey and I came back from Africa in 
 1885, desiring solitude, which indeed we needed 
 sordy to recover from the fearful shock we had 
 experienced, and to give us time and opportunity 
 to think, we went to an old house upon the shores 
 of Cumberland that has belonged to my family 
 for many generations. This house, unless some- 
 body has taken it beUeving me to be dead, is still my 
 property and thither I travel to die. 
 
 Those whose eyes read the words I write, if any 
 should ever read them, may ask — What shock ? 
 
 Well, I am Horace Holly, and my companion, 
 my beloved friend, my son in the spirit whom I 
 reared from infancy was — ^nay, is — Leo Vincey. 
 
 We are those men who, following an ancient clue, 
 travelled to the Caves of Kor in Central Africa, 
 and there discovered her whom we sought, the 
 immortal She-who-must-be-obeyed. In Leo she 
 found her love, that re-bom KaUikrates, the Grecian 
 priest of Isis whom some two thousand years 
 before she had slain in her jealous rage,thus executing 
 on him the judgment of the angry goddess. In her also 
 I found the divinity whom I was doomed to wor- 
 ship from afar, not with the flesh, for that is all lost 
 and gone from me, butj what is sorer still, because 
 its burden is undying, with the will and soul which 
 animate a man throughout the countless eeons 
 of his being. The flesh dies, or at least it changes, 
 and its passions pass, but that other passion of the 
 spirit — that longing for oneness — is undying as itself. 
 
THE DOUBLE SIGN 23 
 
 What crime have I committed that this sore 
 punishment should be laid upon me ? Yet, in 
 truth, is it a punishment ? May it not prove 
 to be but that black and terrible Gate which leads 
 to the joyous palace of Rewards ? She swore that 
 I should ever be her friend and his and dwell with 
 them eternally, and I believe her. 
 
 For how many winters did we wander among the 
 icy hiUs and deserts ! Stilly at length; the Messenger 
 came and led us to the Mountain, and on the Moun- 
 tain we found the Shrine, and in the Shrine the 
 Spirit. May not these things be an allegory pre- 
 pared for our instruction ? I will take comfort. I 
 wiU hope that it is so. Nay, I am sure that it is so. 
 
 It will be remembered that in Kor we found 
 the immortal woman. There before the flashing 
 rays and vapours of the Pillar of Life she declared 
 her mystic love, and then in our very sight was 
 swept to a doom so horrible that even now, after 
 all which has been and gone, I shiver at its recollec- 
 tion. Yet what were Ayesha's last words ? "Forget 
 me not . . . have pity on my shame. I die not. 
 I shall come again and shall once more he beautiful. 
 I swear it — it is true." 
 
 Well, I cannot set out that history afresh. More- 
 over it is written ; the man whom I trusted in the 
 matter did not fail me, and the book he made of it 
 seems to be known throughout the world, for I 
 have found it here in English, yes, and read it first 
 translated into Hindostani. To it then I refer the 
 curious. 
 
 In that house upon the desolate sea-shore of 
 Cumberland, we dwelt a year, mourning the lost, 
 seeking an avenue by which it might be found again 
 and discovering none. Here our strength came back 
 to us, and Leo's hair,- that had been whitened in the 
 horror of the Caves, grew again from grey to golden. 
 
24 AYESHA 
 
 His beauty returned to him also, so that his face 
 was as it had been, only purified and saddened. 
 
 Well I remember that night — and the hour of 
 illumination. We were heart-broken, we were 
 in despair. We sought signs and could find none. 
 The dead remained dead to us and no answer came 
 to aU our crying. 
 
 It was a suJlen August evening, and after we had 
 dined we walked upon the shore, listening to the 
 slow surge of the waves and watching the hghtning 
 flicker from the bosom of a distant cloud. In 
 silence we walked, till at last Leo groaned — it was 
 more of a sob than a groan — and dasped my arm. 
 
 " I can bear it no longer, Horace," he said — for 
 so he called me now — " I am in torment. The de- 
 sire to see Ayesha once more saps my brain. Without 
 hope I shall go quite mad. And I am strong, I may 
 live another fifty years." 
 
 " What then can you do ? " I asked. 
 
 " I can take a short road to knowledge — or to 
 peace," he answered solemnly. " I can die, and 
 die I wiU — yes, to-night." 
 
 I turned upon him angrily, for his words filled 
 me with fear. 
 
 " Leo, you are a coward ! " I said. " Cannot 
 you bear your part of pain as — others do ? " 
 
 " You mean as you do, Horace," he answered 
 with a dreary laugh, " for on you also the curse 
 lies — with less cause. Well, you are stronger than 
 I am, and more tough ; perhaps because you have 
 lived longer. No, I cannot bear it. I will die." 
 
 " It is a crime," I said, " the greatest insult 
 you can offer to the Power that niade you, to cast 
 back its gift of life as a thing outworn, contempt- 
 ible and despised. A crime, I say, which will bring 
 with it worse punishment than any you can dream ; 
 perhaps even the punishment of everlasting separa- 
 tion." 
 
THE DOUBLE SIGN 25 
 
 " Does a man stretched in some torture - den 
 commit a crime if he snatches a knife and kills 
 himself, Horace ? Perhaps ; but surely that sin 
 should find forgiveness — if torn flesh and quivering 
 nerves may plead for mercy. I am such a man, and 
 I will use that knife and take my chance. She 
 is dead, and in death at least I shall be nearer 
 her." 
 
 ' ' Why so, Leo ? For aught you know Ayesha may 
 be hving." 
 
 " No ; for then she would have given me some sign. 
 My mind is made up, so talk no more, or, if talk we 
 must, let it be of other things." 
 
 Then I pleaded with him, though with little hope, 
 for I saw that what I had feared for long was come 
 to pass. Leo was mad : shock and sorrow had 
 destroyed his reason. Were it not so, he, in his 
 own way a very religious man, one who held, as 
 I knew, strict opinions on such matters, would 
 never have purposed to commit the wickedness of 
 suicide. 
 
 " Leo," I said, " are you so heartless that you 
 would leave me here alone ? Do you pay me thus 
 for aU my love and care, and wish to drive me to 
 my death ? Do so if you will, and my blood be on 
 your head." 
 
 " Your blood ! Why your blood, Horace ? " 
 
 " Because that road is broad and two can travel 
 it. We have lived long years together and to- 
 gether endured much ; I am sure that we shall 
 not be long parted." 
 
 Then the tables were turned and he grew afraid 
 for me. But I only answered, " If you die I tell 
 you that I shall die also. It will certainly kill 
 me." 
 
 So Leo gave way. " Well," he exclaimed sud- 
 denly, " I promise you it shall not be to-night. 
 Let us give Life another chance." 
 
26 AYESHA 
 
 " Good," I answered ; but I went to my bed full 
 of fear. For I was certain that this desire of death, 
 having once taken hold of him, would grow and 
 grow, until at length it became too strong, and 
 then — then I should wither and die who could not 
 live on alone. In ray despair I threw out my soul 
 towards that of her who was departed. 
 
 "Ayesha!" I cried, "if you have any power, 
 if in any way it is permitted, show that you still 
 live, and save your lover from this sin and me from a 
 broken heart. Have pity on his sorrow and breathe 
 hope into his spirit, for without hope Leo cannot 
 UvCf and without him I shall not hve," 
 
 Then,- worn out, I slept. 
 
 I was aroused by the voice of Leo speaking to 
 me in low, excited tones through the darkness. 
 
 " Horace," he said, " Horace, my friend, my 
 father, listen ! " 
 
 In an instant I was wide awake, every nerve 
 and fibre of me, for the tones of his voice told me 
 that something had happened which bore upon our 
 destinies. 
 
 " Lef me hght a candle first," I said. 
 
 " Never mind the candle, Horace ; I would rather 
 speak in the dark. I went to sleep, and I dreamed 
 the most \nvid dream that ever came to me. I 
 seemed to stand under the vault of heaven, it was 
 black, black, not a star shone in it, and a great 
 loneliness possessed me. Then suddenly high up 
 in the vault, miles and miles away, I saw a little 
 light and thought that a planet had appeared to 
 keep me company. The hght began to descend 
 slowly, like a floating flake of fire. Down it sank, 
 and down and down, till it was but just above me, 
 and I perceived that it was shaped like a tongue or 
 fan of flame. At the height of my head from the 
 ground it stopped and stood steady, and by its 
 
THE DOUBLE SIGN 27 
 
 ghostly radiance I saw that beneath was the shape 
 of a woman and that the flame burned upon her 
 forehead. The radiance gathered strength and now 
 I saw the woman. 
 
 " Horace, it was Ayesha herself, her eyes, her 
 lovely face, her cloudy hair, and she looked at 
 me sadly, reproachfully, I thought, as one might 
 who says, ' Why did you doubt ? ' 
 
 " I tried to speak to her but my lips were dumb. 
 I tried to advance and to embrace her, my arms 
 would not move. There was a barrier between 
 us. She lifted her hand and beckoned as though 
 bidding me to follow her. 
 
 " Then she glided away, and, Horace, my spirit 
 seemed to loose itself from the body and to be given 
 the power to foUow. We passed swiftly eastward^ 
 over lands and seas, and — I knew the road. At 
 one point she paused and I looked downwards. 
 Beneath, shining in the moonhght, appeared the 
 ruined palaces of Kor, and there not far away was 
 the gulf we trod together. 
 
 " Onward above the marshes, and now we stood 
 upon the Ethiopian's Head, and gathered round, 
 watching us earnestly, were the faces of the Arabs, 
 our companions who drowned in the sea beneath. 
 Job was among them also, and he smiled at me 
 sadly and shook his head, as though he wished to 
 accompany us and could not. 
 
 " Across the sea again, across the sandy deserts, 
 across more sea, and the shores of India lay beneath 
 us. Then northward, ever northward, above the 
 plains, tiU we reached a place of mountains capped 
 with eternal snow. We passed them and stayed for 
 an instant above a building set upon the brow of a 
 plateau. It was a monastery, for old monks 
 droned prayers upon its terrace. I shall know it 
 again, for it is built in the shape of a half-moon 
 and in front of it sits the gigantic, ruined statue of 
 
28 AYESHA 
 
 a god who gazes everlastingly across the desert. I 
 knew, how I cannot say, that now we were far 
 past the furthest borders of Thibet and that in 
 front of us lay untrodden lands. More mountains 
 stretched beyond that desert, a sea of snowy peaks, 
 hundreds and hundreds of them. 
 
 " Near to the monastery, jutting out into the 
 plain like some rocky headland, rose a solitary 
 hill, higher than all behind. We stood upon its 
 snowy crest and waited, till presently, above the 
 mountains and the desert at our feet shot a. sudden 
 beam of light, that beat upon us like some signal 
 flashed across the sea. On we went, floating down 
 the beam — on over the desert and the moun- 
 tains, across a great flat land beyond, in which were 
 many villages and a city on a mound, till we lit 
 upon a towering peak. Then I saw that this peak 
 was loop-shaped like the s5Tiibol of Life of the 
 Egyptians — the crux-ansata — and supported by a 
 lava stem hundreds of feet in height. Also I saw 
 that the fire which shone through it rose from the 
 crater of a volcano beyond. Upon the very crest 
 of this loop we rested a while, till the Shadow of 
 Ayesha pointed downward with its hand, smiled 
 and vanished. Then I awoke. 
 
 " Horace, I tell you that the sign has come to 
 us." 
 
 His voice died away in the darkness, but I sat 
 still, brooding over what I had heard. Leo groped 
 his way to me and, seizing my arm; shook 
 it. 
 
 " Are you asleep ? " he asked -angrily. " Speak,- 
 man, speak ! " 
 
 " No," I answered, " never was I more awake. 
 Give me time." 
 
 Then I rose, and going to the open window, 
 drew up the blind and stood there staring at the 
 
THE DOUBLE SIGN 29 
 
 sky, which grew pearl-hued with the first faint 
 tinge of dawn. Leo came also and leant upon 
 the window-sill, and I could feel that his body was 
 trembling as though with cold. Clearly he was 
 much moved. 
 
 " You talk of a sign," I said to him, " but in your 
 sign I see nothing but a wild dream." 
 
 " It was no dream," he broke in fiercely; "it was 
 a vision." 
 
 " A vision then if you will, but there are visions 
 true and false, and how can we know that this is 
 true ? Listen, Leo. What is there in all that wonder- 
 ful tale which could not have been fashioned in your 
 own brain, distraught as it is almost to madness with 
 your sorrow and your longings ? You dreamed 
 that you were alone in the vast universe. Well, 
 is not every living creature thus alone ? You 
 dreamed that the shadowy shape of Ayesha came 
 to you. Has it ever left your side ? You dreamed 
 that she led you over sea and land, past places 
 haunted by your memory, above the m5^terious 
 mountains of the Unknown to an undiscovered 
 peak. Does she not thus lead you through life to 
 that peak which lies beyond the Gates of Death ? 
 You dreamed " 
 
 " Oh ! no more of it," he exclaimed. " What I 
 saw, I saw, and that I shall follow. Think as you will, 
 Horace, and do what you will. To-morrow I start 
 for India, with you if you choose to come ; if not, 
 without you." 
 
 " You speak roughly, Leo," I said. " You forget 
 that / have had no sign, and that the nightmare of a 
 man so near to insanity that but a few hours ago he 
 was determined upon suicide, will be a poor staff to 
 lean on when we are perishing in the snows of Cen- 
 tral Asia. A mixed vision, this of yours, Leo, with 
 its mountain peak shaped like a crux-ansata and the 
 rest. Do you suggest that Ayesha is re-incarnated 
 
30 A7ESHA 
 
 in Central Asia — as a female Grand Lama or some- 
 thing of that sort ? " 
 
 " I never thought of it, but why not ? " asked 
 Leo quietly. " Do you remember a certain scene 
 in the Caves of Kor yonder, when the living 
 looked upon the dead, and dead and hving were the 
 same ? And do you remember what Ayesha swore, 
 that she would come again — yes, to this world ; and 
 how could that be except by re-birth, or, what is the 
 same thing, by the transmigration of the spirit ? " 
 
 I did not answer this argument. I was struggling 
 with myself. 
 
 " No sign has come to me," I said, " and yet I 
 have had a part in the play, humble enough, I 
 admit, and I believe that I have stiU a part." 
 
 " No," he said, " no sign has come to you. I 
 wish that it had. Oh ! how I wish you could be 
 convinced as I am, Horace ! " 
 
 Then we were silent for a long while, silent, with 
 our eyes fixed upon the sky. 
 
 It was a stormy dawn. Clouds in fantastic masses 
 hung upon the ocean. One of them was like a 
 great mountain, and we watched it idly. It changed 
 its shape, the crest of it grew hollow like a crater. 
 From this crater sprang a projecting cloud, a rough 
 pillar with a knob or lump resting on its top. 
 Suddenly the rays of the risen sun struck upon this 
 mountain and the column and they turned white 
 hke snow. Then as though melted by those fiery 
 arrows, the centre of the excrescence above the 
 pillar thinned out and vanished, leaving an enor- 
 mous loop of inky cloud. 
 
 " Look," said Leo, in a low, frightened voice, " that 
 is the shape of the mountain which I saw in my 
 vision. Tliere upon it is the black loop, and there 
 through it shines the fire. It would seem that the 
 sign is for both of us, Horace," 
 
THE DOUBLE SIGN 31 
 
 I looked and looked again till presently the vast 
 loop vanished into the blue of heaven. Then I 
 turned and said — 
 
 " I will come with you to Central Asia, Leo." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE LAMASERY 
 
 SIXTEEN years had passed since that night 
 vigil in the old Cumberland house, and, be- 
 hold ! we two, Leo and I, were still travelling, still 
 searching for that mountain peak shaped hke the 
 Symbol of Life which never, never could be found. 
 
 Our adventures would fill volumes, but of what 
 use is it to record them ? Many of a similar nature 
 are already written of in books ; those that we 
 endured were more prolonged, that is aU. Five years 
 we spent in Thibet, for the most part as guests of 
 various monasteries, where we studied the law and 
 traditions of the Lamas. Here we were once 
 sentenced to death in punishment for having visited 
 a forbidden city, but escaped through the kindness 
 of a Chinese official. 
 
 Leaving Thibet, we wandered east and west and 
 north, thousands and thousands of miles, sojourning 
 amongst many tribes in Chinese territory and else- 
 where, learning many tongues, enduring much hard- 
 ship. Thus we would hear a legend of a place, say 
 nine hundred miles away, and spend two years in 
 reaching it, to find when we came there, nothing. 
 
 And so the time went on. Yet never once did 
 we think of giving up the quest and returning, 
 since, before we started, we had sworn an oath that 
 we would achieve or die. Indeed we ought to have 
 
THU LAMASERY 33 
 
 died a score of times, yet always were preserved, 
 most mysteriously preserved. 
 
 Now we were in country where, so far as I could 
 learn, no European had ever set a foot. In a part 
 of the vast land called Turkestan there is a great 
 lake named Balhkash, of which we visited the shores. 
 Two hundred miles or so to the westward is a 
 range of mighty mountains marked on the maps as 
 Arkarty-Tau, on which we spent a year, and five 
 hundred or so to the eastward are other mountains 
 called Cherga, whither we journeyed at last, having 
 explored the triple ranges of the Tau, 
 
 Here it was that at last our true adventures began. 
 On one of the spurs of these awful Cherga mountains 
 — it is unmarked on any map — we well-nigh perished 
 of starvation. The winter was coming on and we 
 could find no game. The last traveller we had met, 
 hundreds of miles south, told us that on that range 
 was a monastery inhabited by Lamas of surpassing 
 holiness. He said that they dwelt in this wild land, 
 over which no power claimed dominion and where 
 ijio tribes lived, to acquire " merit," with no other 
 company than that of their own pious contempla- 
 tions. We did not believe in its existence, stiU we 
 were searching for that monastery, driven onward 
 by the blind fatalism which was our only guide 
 through all these endless wanderings. As we were 
 starving and could find no " argals," that is fuel with 
 which to make a fire, we walked aU night by the 
 light of the moon, driving between us a single yak — 
 for now we had no attendant, the last having died 
 a year before. 
 
 He was a noble beast, that yak, and had the best 
 constitution of any animal I ever knew, though now, 
 like his masters, he was near his end. Not that he 
 was over-laden, for a few rifle cartridges, about a 
 hundred and fifty, the remnant of a store which we 
 had fortunately been able to buy from a caravan 
 
34 AYESHA ^ 
 
 two years before, some money in gold and silver, a 
 little tea and a bundle of skin rugs and sheepskin 
 garments were his burden. On, on we trudged 
 across a plateau of snow, having the great mountains 
 on our right, till at length the yak gave a sigh and 
 stopped. So we stopped also, because we must, and 
 wrapping ourselves in the skin rugs, sat down in the 
 snow to wait for daylight. 
 
 " We shall have to kill him and eat his flesh raw," 
 I said, patting the poor yak that lay patiently at 
 our side. 
 
 " Perhaps we may find game in the morning," 
 answered Leo, still hopeful. 
 
 " And perhaps we may not, in which case we must 
 die." 
 
 " Very good," he replied, " then let us die. It is 
 the last resource of failure. We shall have done 
 our best." 
 
 " Certainly, Leo, we shall have done our best, if 
 sixteen years of tramping over mountains and 
 through eternal snows in pursuit of a dream of the 
 night can be called best." 
 
 " You know what I believe," he answered stub- 
 bornly, and, there was silence between us, for here 
 arguments did not avail. Also even then I could not 
 think that all our toils and sufferings would be in 
 vain. 
 
 The dawn came, and by its light we looked at one 
 another anxiously, each of us desiring to see what 
 strength was left to his companion. Wild creatures 
 we should have seemed to the eyes of any civilized 
 person. Leo was now over forty years of age, and 
 certainly his maturity had fulfilled the promise of 
 his youth, for a more magnificent man I never knew. 
 Very tall, although he seemed spare to the eye, his 
 girth matched his height, and those many years of 
 desert life had turned his muscles to steel. His 
 hair had grown long, like my own, for it was a protec- 
 
" ' See there ! ' he said, pointing to something dim and enormous." 
 AycsIiaJi {Page 35. 
 
THE LAMASERY 35 
 
 tion from sun and cold, and hung upon his neck, 
 a curling, golden mane, as his great beard hung upon 
 his breast, spreading outwards almost to the massive 
 shoulders. The face, too — what could be seen of 
 it — was beautiful though burnt brown with weather ; 
 refined and full of thought, sombre almost, and in 
 it, clear as crystal, steady as stars, shone his large 
 grey eyes. 
 
 And I — I was what I have always been — ugly 
 and hirsute, iron-grey now also, but in spite of my 
 sixty odd years, still wonderfully strong, for my 
 strength seemed to increase with time, and my 
 health was perfect. In fact, during all this period 
 of rough travels, although now and again we had 
 met with accidents which laid us up for awhile, 
 neither of us had known a day of sickness. Hard- 
 ship seem_ed to have turned our constitutions to 
 iron and made them impervious to every human 
 ailment. Or was this because we alone amongst 
 living men had once inhaled the breath of the 
 Essence of Life ? 
 
 Our fears relieved — for notwithstanding our food- 
 less night, as yet neither of us showed any signs of 
 exhaustion — ^we turned to contemplate the landscape. 
 At our feet beyond a little belt of fertile soil, began 
 a great desert of the sort with which we were familiar 
 — sandy, salt-encrusted, treeless, waterless, and here 
 and there streaked with the first snows of winter. 
 Beyond it, eighty or a hundred miles away — in 
 that lucent atmosphere it was impossible to say how 
 far exactly — rose more mountains, a veritable sea 
 of them, of which the white peaks soared upwards 
 by scores. 
 
 As the golden rays of the rising sun touched 
 their snows to splendour, I saw Leo's eyes become 
 troubled. Swiftly he turned and looked along the 
 edge of the desert. 
 
 " See there ! " he said, pointing to something 
 
36 AYESHA 
 
 dim and enormous. Presently the light reached 
 it also. It was a mighty mountain not more than 
 ten miles away, that stood out by itself among the 
 sands. Then he turned once more, and with his 
 back to the desert stared at the slope of the hills, 
 along the base of which we had been travelling. As 
 yet they were in gloom, for the sun was behind them, 
 but presently light began to flow over their crests 
 like a flood. Down it crept, lower, and yet lower, 
 till it reached a little plateau not three hundred 
 yards above us. There, on the edge of the plateaUj 
 looking out solemnly across the waste, sat a great 
 ruined idol, a colossal Buddha, while to the rear of 
 the idol, built of yellow stone, appeared the low 
 crescent-shaped mass of a monastery. 
 
 " At last ! " cried Leo, " oh. Heaven ! at last !" 
 and, flinging himself down, he buried his face in the 
 snow as though to hide it there, lest I should read 
 something written on it which he did not desire that 
 even I should see. 
 
 I let him lie a space, understanding what was 
 passing in his heart, and indeed in mine also. Then 
 going to the yak that, poor brute, had no share in 
 these joyous emotions but only lowed and looked 
 round with hungry eyes, I piled the sheepskin 
 rugs on to its back. This done, I laid my hand on 
 Leo's shoulder, saying, in the most matter-of-fact 
 voice I could command — 
 
 " Come. If that place is not deserted, we may 
 find food and shelter there, and it is beginning to 
 storm again." 
 
 He rose without a word, brushed the snow from 
 his beard and garments and came to help me to lift 
 the yak to its feet, for the worn-out beast was too 
 stiff and weak to rise of itself. Glancing at him 
 covertly, I saw on Leo's face a very strange and 
 happy look ; a great peace appeared to possess him. 
 
 We plunged upwards through the snow slope. 
 

 i 
 
 " ' Who is it ? Who is it ? ' he exclaimed, blinking at me through a 
 pair of horn spectacles." 
 
 A_yes^a.] [^a£e 37. 
 
THE LAMASERY 37 
 
 dragging the yak with us, to the terrace whereon the 
 monastery was built. Nobody seemed to be about 
 there, nor could I discern any footprints. Was the 
 place but a ruin ? We had found many such ; 
 indeed this ancient land is fuU of buildings that had 
 once served as the homes of men, learned and pious 
 enough after their own fashion, who lived and 
 died hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago, 
 long before our Western civilization came info 
 being. 
 
 My heart, also my stomach, which was starving, 
 sank at the thought, but while I gazed doubtfully, 
 a little coU. of blue smoke sprang from a chimney, 
 and never, I think, did I see a more ']oyi\i\. sight. 
 In the centre of the edifice was a large building, 
 evidently the temple, but nearer to us I saw a small 
 door, almost above which the smoke appeared. To 
 this door I went and knocked, calling aloud— 
 
 " Open ! open, holy Lamas. Strangers seek 
 your charity." After awhile there was a sound of 
 shuffling feet and the door creaked upon its hinges, 
 revealing an old, old man, clad in tattered, yeUow 
 garments. 
 
 " Who is it ? Who is it ?" he exclaimed, bUnking. 
 at me through a pair of horn spectacles. " Who 
 comes to disturb our soHtude, the solitude of the 
 holy Lamas of the Mountains ? " 
 
 " Travellers, Sacred One, who have had enough 
 of sohtude," I answered in his own dialect, with 
 which I was well acquainted. "Travellers who are 
 starving and who ask your charity, which," I added, 
 " by the Rule you cannot refuse." 
 
 He stared at us through his horn spectacles, and, 
 able to make nothing of our faces, let his glance fall 
 to our garments which were as ragged as his own, 
 and of much the same pattern. Indeed, they were 
 those of Thibetan monks, including a kind of quilted 
 petticoat and an outer vestment not unlike an 
 
38 A7ESHA 
 
 Eastern bumous. We had adopted them because 
 we had no others. Also they protected us from 
 the rigours of the chmate and from remark, had 
 there been any to remark upon them. 
 
 " Are you Lamas ? " he asked doubtfully, " and 
 if so, of what monastery ? " 
 
 " Lamas sure enough," I answered, " who belong 
 to a monastery called the World, where, alas ! one 
 grows himgry." 
 
 The reply seemed to please him, for he chuckled 
 a Uttle, then shook his head, saying — 
 
 "It is against our custom to admit strangers 
 unless they be of our own faith, which I am sure 
 you are not." 
 
 " And much more is it against your Rule, holy 
 Khubilghan," for so these abbots are entitled, "to 
 suffer strangers to starve " ; and I quoted a well- 
 known passage from the sajdngs of Buddha which 
 fitted the point precisely. 
 
 " I perceive that you are instructed in the Books," 
 he exclaimed with wonder on his yellow, wrinkled 
 face, " and to such we cannot refuse shelter. Come 
 in, brethren of the monastery called the World. 
 But stay, there is the yak, who also has claims upon 
 our charity," and, turning, he struck upon a gong 
 or bell which hung within the door. 
 
 At the sound another man appeared, more wrinkled 
 and to all appearance older than the first, who 
 stared at us open-mouthed. 
 
 "Brother," said the abbot, "shut that great mouth 
 of yours lest an evil spirit should fly down it ; take this 
 poor yak and give it fodder with the other cattle." 
 
 So we unstrapped our belongings from the back 
 of the beast, and the old fellow whose grandiloquent 
 title was " Master of the Herds," led it away. 
 
 When it had gone, not too willingly^ — for our faith- 
 ful friend dishked parting from us and distrusted this 
 new guide — the abbot, who was named Kou-en, led us 
 
THE LAMASERY 39 
 
 into the living room or rather the kitchen of the 
 monastery, for it served both purposes. Here we 
 found the rest of the monks, about twelve in all, 
 gathered round the fire of which we had seen the 
 smoke, and engaged, one of them in preparing the 
 morning meal, and the rest in warming themselves. 
 
 They were aU old men ; the youngest could 
 not have been less than sixty-five. To these we 
 were solemnly introduced as " Brethren of the 
 Monastery called the World, where folk grow 
 himgry," for the abbot Kou-en could not make up 
 his mind to part from this little joke. 
 
 They stared at us, they rubbed their thin hands, 
 they bowed and wished us well and evidently were 
 delighted at our arrival. This was not strange, 
 however, seeing that ours were the first new faces 
 which they had seen for four long years. 
 
 Nor did they stop at words, for while they made 
 water hot for us to wash in, two of them went to 
 prepare a room and others drew off our rough hide 
 boots and thick outer garments and brought us 
 slippers for our feet. Then they led us to the guest 
 chamber, which they informed us was a " propitious 
 place," for once it had been slept in by a noted saint. 
 Here a fire was Ut, and, wonder of wonders ! 
 clean garments, including linen, all of them ancient 
 and faded, but of good quality, were brought for us 
 to put on. 
 
 So we washed — yes, actually washed all over — 
 and having arrayed ourselves in the robes, which 
 were somewhat small for Leo, struck the bell that 
 hung in the room and were conducted by a monk 
 who answered it back to the kitchen, where the 
 meal was now served. It consisted of a kind of 
 porridge, to which was added new milk brought in 
 by the " Master of the Herds," dried fish from a 
 lake, and buttered tea, the last two luxuries pro- 
 dticed in our special honour. Never had food tasted 
 
40 AYESHA 
 
 more delicious to us, and, I may add, never did we 
 eat more. Indeed, at last I was obliged to request 
 Leo to stop, for I saw the monks staring at him and 
 heard the old abbot chuckling to himself. 
 
 " Oho ! The Monastery called the World, where 
 folk grow hungry," to which another monk, who 
 was called the " Master of the Provisions," rephed 
 uneasily, that if we went on like this, their store 
 of food would scarcely last the winter. So we 
 finished at length, feeling, as some book of maxims 
 which I can remember in my youth said all polite 
 people should do — that we could eat more, and much 
 impressed our hosts by chanting a long Buddhist 
 grace. 
 
 " Their feet are in the Path ! Their feet are in 
 the Path ! " they said, astonished. 
 
 " Yes," rephed Leo, " they have been in it for 
 sixteen years of our present incarnation. But we 
 are only beginners, for you, holy Ones, know how 
 star-high, how ocean-wide and how desert-long is 
 that path. Indeed it is to be instructed as to the 
 right way of walking therein that we have been 
 miraculously directed by a dream to seek you out, 
 as the most pious, the most saintly and the most 
 learned of all the Lamas in these parts." 
 
 " Yes, certainly we are that," answered the abbot 
 Kou-en, "seeing that there is no other monastery 
 within five months' journey," and again he chuckled, 
 " though, alas ! " he added with a pathetic little 
 sigh, " our numbers grow few." 
 
 After this we asked leave to retire to our chamber 
 in order to rest, and there, upon very good imita- 
 tions of beds, we slept solidly for four and twenty 
 hours, rising at last perfectly refreshed and well. 
 
 Such was our introduction to the Monastery of the 
 Mountains — for it had no other name — where we were 
 destined to spend the next six months of our hves. 
 
THE LAMASERY 41 
 
 Within a few days — for they were not long in giving 
 us their complete confidence — those good-hearted 
 and simple old monks told us aU their history. 
 
 It seemed that of old time there was a Lamasery 
 here, in which dwelt several hundred brethren. This, 
 indeed, was obviously true, for the place was enor- 
 mous, although for the most part ruined, and, as 
 the weather-worn statue of Buddha showed, very 
 ancient. The story ran, according to the old abbot, 
 that two centuries or so before, the monks had been 
 killed out by some fierce tribe who hved beyond the 
 desert and across the distant mountains, which 
 tribe were heretics and worshippers of fire. Only a 
 few of them escaped to bring the sad news to other 
 communities, and for five generations no attempt 
 w£LS made to re-occupy the place. 
 
 At length it was revealed to him, our friend 
 Kou-en, when a young man, that he was a re- 
 incarnation of one of the old monks of this mon- 
 astery, who also was named Kou-en, and that it 
 was his duty during his present life to return 
 thither, as by so doing he would win much merit 
 and receive many wonderful revelations. So he 
 gathered a band of zealots and, with the blessing 
 and consent of his superiors, they started out, and 
 after many hardships and losses found and took 
 possession of the place, repairing it sufficiently for 
 their needs. 
 
 This happened about fifty years before, and here 
 they had dwelt ever since, only communicating occa- 
 sionally with the outside world. At first their 
 numbers were recruited from time to time by new 
 brethren, but at length these ceased to come, with 
 the result that the community was dying out. 
 
 " And what then ? " I asked. 
 
 " And then," the abbot answered, " nothing. 
 We have acquired much merit ; we have been blest 
 with many revelations, and, after the repose we have 
 
42 AYESHA 
 
 earned in Devachan, our lots in future existences will 
 be easier. What more can we ask or desire, removed 
 as we are from all the temptations of the world ? " 
 For the rest, in the intervals of their endless 
 prayers, and still more endless contemplations, 
 they were husbandmen, cultivating the soil, which 
 was fertile at the foot of the mountain, and tending 
 their herd of yaks. Thus they wore away their 
 blameless lives until at last they died of old age, and, 
 as they believed — and who shall say that they were 
 wrong — the eternal round repeated itself elsewhere. 
 
 Immediately after, indeed on the very day 
 of our arrival at the monastery the winter 
 began in earnest with bitter cold and snow- 
 storms so heavy and frequent that all the 
 desert was covered deep. Very soon it became 
 obvious to us that here we must stay until the 
 spring, since to attempt to move in any direction 
 would be to perish. With some misgivings we 
 explained this to the abbot Kou-en, offering to 
 remove to one of the empty rooms in the ruined 
 part of the building, supporting ourselves with fish 
 that we could catch by cutting a hole in the ice of 
 the lake above the monastery, and if we were able 
 to find any, on game, which we might trap or shoot 
 in the scrub-like forest of stunted pines and junipers 
 that grew around its border. But he would listen 
 to no such thing. We had been sent to be their 
 guests, he said, and their guests we should remain 
 for so long as might be convenient to us. Would we 
 lay upon them the burden of the sin of inhospitality ? 
 Besides, he remarked with his chuckle — 
 
 " We who dwell alone like to hear about that 
 other great monastery called the World, where the 
 monks are not so favoured as we who are set in this 
 blessed situation, and where folk even go hungry 
 in body, and," he added, " in soul." 
 
THE LAMASERY 43 
 
 Indeed, as we soon found out, the dear old man's 
 object was to keep our feet in the Path until we 
 reached the goal of Truth, or, in other words, became 
 excellent Lamas like himself and his flock. 
 
 So we walked in the Path, as we had done in many 
 another Lamasery, and assisted at the long prayers 
 in the ruined temple and studied the Kandjur, or 
 " Translation of the Words " of Buddha, which is their 
 bible and a very long one, and generally showed 
 that our " minds were open." Also we expounded 
 to them the doctrines of our own faith, and greatly 
 delighted were they to find so many points of simi- 
 larity between it and theirs. Indeed, I am not 
 certain but that if we could have stopped there long 
 enough, say ten years, we might have persuaded 
 some of them to accept a new revelation of which 
 we were the prophets. Further, in spare hours we 
 told them many tales of " the Monastery called the 
 World," and it was really deUghtful, and in a 
 sense piteous, to see the joy with which they listened 
 to these stories of wondrous countries and new races 
 of men; they who knew only of Russia and China 
 and some semi-savage tribes, inhabitants of the 
 mountains and the deserts. 
 
 " It is right for us to learn all this," they declared, 
 " for, who knows, perhaps in future incarnations we 
 may become inhabitants of these places." 
 
 But though the time passed thus in comfort and 
 indeed, compared to many of our experiences, in 
 luxury, oh ! our hearts were hungry, for in them 
 burned the consuming fire of our quest. We felt 
 that we were on the threshold — yes, we knew it, we 
 knew it, and yet our wretched physical limitations 
 made it impossible for us to advance by a single step. 
 On the desert beneath fell the snow, moreover great 
 winds arose suddenly that drove those snows like 
 dust, piling them in heaps as high as trees, beneath 
 which any unfortunate traveller would be buried. 
 
44 AYESHA 
 
 Here we must wait, there was nothing else to be 
 done. 
 
 One alleviation we found, and only one. In a 
 ruined room of the monastery was a library of many 
 volumes, placed there, doubtless, by the monks 
 who were massacred in times bygone. These had 
 been more or less cared for and re-arranged by their 
 successors, who gave us liberty to examine them as 
 often as we pleased. Truly it was a strange collec- 
 tion, and I should imagine of priceless value, for 
 among them were to be found Buddhistic, Sivaistic 
 and Shamanistic writings that we had never before 
 seen or heard of, together with the lives of a multi- 
 tude of Bodhisatvas, or distinguished saints, written 
 in various tongues, some of which we did not under- 
 stand. 
 
 What proved more interesting to us, however, 
 was a diary in many tomes that for generations had 
 been kept by the Khubilghans or abbots of the old 
 Lamasery, in which every event of importance was 
 recorded in great detail. Turning over the pages of 
 one of the last volumes of this diary, written appa- 
 rently about two hundred and fifty years earlier, 
 and shortly before the destruction of the monastery, 
 we came upon an entry of which the following — for 
 I can only quote from memory — is the substance — 
 
 " In the summer of this year, after a very great 
 sandstorm, a brother (the name was given, but I 
 forget it) found in the desert a man of the people 
 who dwell beyond the Far Mountains, of whom 
 rumours have reached this Lamasery from time to 
 time. He was living, but beside him were the 
 bodies of two of his companions who had been over- 
 whelmed by sand and thirst. He was very fierce 
 looking. He refused to say how he came into the 
 desert, telling us only that he had followed the road 
 known to the ancients before communication be- 
 tween his people and the outer world ceased. We 
 
THE LAMASERY 45 
 
 gathered, however, that his brethren with whom 
 he fled had committed some crime for which they 
 had been condemned to die, and that he had ac- 
 companied them in their flight. He told us 
 that there was a fine country beyond the mountains, 
 fertile, but plagued with droughts and earthquakes, 
 which latter, indeed, we often feel here. 
 
 " The people of that country were, he said, war- 
 like and very numerous but followed agriculture. 
 They had always lived there, though ruled by 
 Khans who were descendants of the Greek king 
 called Alexander, who conquered much country to 
 the south-west of us. This may be true, as our 
 records tell us that about two thousand years ago 
 an army sent by that invader penetrated to these 
 parts, though of his being with them nothing is 
 said. 
 
 " The stranger-man told us also that his people 
 worship a priestess called Hes or the Hesea, who is said 
 to reign from generation to generation. She lives in a 
 great mountain, apart, and is feared and adored by 
 all, but is not the queen of the country, in the govern- 
 ment of which she seldom interferes. To her, how- 
 ever, sacrifices are offered, and he who incurs her 
 vengeance dies, so that even the chiefs of that 
 land are afraid of her. Still their subjects often 
 fight, for they hate each other. 
 
 " We answered that he lied when he said that 
 this woman was immortal — for that was what we 
 supposed he meant — since nothing is immortal ; also 
 we laughed at his tale of her power. This made the 
 man very angry. Indeed he declared that our Buddha 
 was not so strong as this priestess, and that she 
 would show it by being avenged upon us. 
 
 "After this we gave him food and turned him 
 out of the Lamasery, and he went, saying that when 
 he returned we should learn who spoke the truth. 
 We do not know what became of him, and he refused 
 
46 AYESHA 
 
 to reveal to us the road to his country, which Has 
 beyond the desert and the Far Mountains. We 
 think that perhaps he was an evil spirit sent to 
 frighten us, in which he did not succeed." 
 
 Such is a precis of this strange entry, the dis- 
 covery of which, vague as it was, thrilled us with 
 hope and excitement. Nothing more appeared 
 about the man or his country, but within a little 
 over a year from that date the diary of the abbot 
 came to a sudden end without any indication that 
 unusual events had occurred or were expected. 
 
 Indeed, the last item written in the parchment 
 book mentioned the preparation of certain new lands 
 to be used for the sowing of grain in future seasons, 
 which suggested that the brethren neither feared 
 nor expected disturbance. We wondered whetlier 
 the man from beyond the mountains was as good 
 as his word and had brought down the vengeance 
 of that priestesscalled the Hesea upon the community 
 which sheltered him. Also we wondered — ah ! how 
 we wondered — who and what this Hesea might be. 
 
 On the day following this discovery we prayed 
 the abbot, Koii-en, to accompany us to the library, . 
 and having read him the passage, asked if he knew 
 anything of the matter. He swayed his wise old 
 head, which always reminded me of that of a tortoise, 
 and answered — 
 
 " A httle. Very little, and that mostly about the 
 army of the Greek king who is mentioned in the 
 writing." 
 
 We inquired what he could possibly know of this 
 matter, whereon Kou-en replied calmly — 
 
 " In those days when the faith of the Holy One 
 was still young, I dwelt as a humble brother in this 
 very monastery, which was one of the first built, and 
 I saw the army pass, that is all. That," he added 
 meditatively, " was in my fiftieth incarnation of this 
 
THE LAMASERY 47 
 
 present Round — no, I am thinking of another army — 
 in my seventy-third." ^ 
 
 Here Leo began a great laugh, but I managed to 
 kick him beneath the table and he turned it into a 
 sneeze. This was fortunate, as such ribald merri- 
 ment would have hurt the old man's feelings terribly. 
 After all, also, as Leo himself had once said, surely 
 we were not the people to mock at the theory of 
 re-incarnation, which, by the way, is the first article 
 of faith among nearly one quarter of the human 
 race, and this not the most foolish quarter. 
 
 " How can that be — I ask for instruction, learned 
 One — seeing that memory perishes with death ? " 
 
 "Ah!" he answered, "Brother HoUy, it may 
 seem to do so, but oftentimes it comes back again, 
 especially to those who are far advanced upon the 
 Path. For instance, until you read this passage I 
 had forgotten all about that army, but now I see it 
 passing, passing, and myself with other monks 
 standing by the statue of the big Buddha in front 
 yonder, and watching it go by. It was not a very 
 large army, for most of the soldiers had died, or been 
 killed, and it was being pursued by the wild people 
 who lived south of us in those days, so that it was 
 in a great hurry to put the desert between it and 
 them. Ths general of the army was a swarthy man 
 — I wish that I could remember his name, but I 
 cannot. 
 
 " Well," he went on, " that general came up to the 
 Lamasery and demanded a sleeping place for his wife 
 and children, also provisions and medicines, and 
 guides across the desert. The abbot of that day 
 told him it was against our law to admit a woman 
 under our roof, to which he answered that if we did 
 
 1 As students of their lives and literature will be aware, 
 it is common for Buddhist priests to state positively that 
 they remember events which occurred during their previous 
 incarnations. — Ed. 
 
48 AYES HA 
 
 not, we shovild have no roof left, for he would burn 
 the place and kill every one of us with the sword. 
 Now, as you know, to be killed by violence means 
 that we must pass sundry incarnations in the forms 
 of animals, a horrible thing, so we chose the lesser 
 evil and gave way, and afterwards obtained absolu- 
 tion for our sins from the Great Lama. Myself I 
 did not see this queen, but I saw the priestess of 
 their worship — alas ! alas ! " and Kou-en beat his 
 breast. 
 
 " Why, alas ? " I asked, as unconcernedly as I 
 coiild, for this story interested me strangely. 
 
 " Why ? Oh ! because I may have forgotten 
 the army, but I have never forgotten that priestess, 
 and she has been a great hindrance to me through 
 many ages, delaying me upon my journey to 
 the Other Side, to the Shore of Salvation. I, as a. 
 humble Lama, was engaged in preparing her apart- 
 ment when she entered and threw aside her veil ; 
 yes, and perceiving a young man, spoke to me, 
 asking many questions, and even if I was not glad 
 to look again upon a woman." 
 
 " What — ^what was she like ? " said Leo, 
 anxiously. 
 
 " What was she like ? Oh ! she was aU loveli- 
 ness in one shape ; she was like the dawn upon the 
 snows ; she was like the evening star above the 
 mountains ; she was like the first flower of the 
 spring. Brother, ask me not what she was like, 
 nay, I will say no more. Oh ! my sin, my sin. I am 
 slipping backward and you draw my black shame 
 out into the light of day. Nay, I will confess it 
 that you may know how vile a thing I am — I whom 
 perhaps you have thought holy — ^like yourselves. 
 That woman, if woman she were, lit a fire in my 
 heart which will not burn out, oh ! and more, more," 
 and Kou-en rocked himself to and fro upon his stool 
 while tears of contrition trickled from beneath his 
 
THE LAMASERY 49 
 
 horn spectacles, "she made me worship her I For 
 first she asked me of my faith and listened eagerly 
 as I expounded it, hoping that the light would come 
 into her heart ;*then, after I had finished she said — 
 
 " ' So your Pathis Renunciation and your Nirvana a 
 most excellent Nothingness which some would think 
 it scarce worth while to strive so hard to reach. Now 
 I will show you a more joyous way and a goddess 
 more worthy of your worship.' 
 
 " ' What way, and what goddess ? ' I asked of 
 her. 
 
 " ' The way of Love and Life,' she answered, ' that 
 makes all the world to be, that made you, O seeker 
 of Nirvana, and the goddess called Nature.' 
 
 " Again I asked where is that goddess, and behold ! 
 she drew herself up, looking most royal, and touching 
 her ivory breast, she said, ' I am She. Now kneel 
 you down and do me homage,' 
 
 " My brethren, I knelt, yes, I kissed her foot, and 
 then I fled away shamed and broken-hearted, and 
 as I went she laughed, and cried : ' Remember me 
 when you reach Devachan, O servant of the Buddha- 
 saint, for though I change, I do not die, and even 
 there I shall be with you who once have given me 
 worship.' 
 
 " And it is so, my brethren, it is so ; for though I 
 obtained absolution for my sin and have suffered 
 much for it through this, my next incarnation yet 
 I cannot be rid of her, and for me the Utter Peace 
 is far, far away," and Kou-en placed his withered 
 hands before his face and sobbed outright. 
 
 A ridiculous sight, truly, to see a holy Khublighan 
 well on the wrong side of eighty, weeping like a child 
 over a dream of a beautiful woman which he ima- 
 gined he had once dreamt in his last life more than 
 two thousand years ago. So the reader will say. 
 But I, Holly, for reasons of my own, felt deep sym- 
 pathy with that poor old man, and Leo was also 
 
 D 
 
50 AYESHA 
 
 S3niipathetic. We patted him on the back ; we 
 assured him that he was the victim of some evil 
 hallucination which could never be brought up 
 against him in this or any future existence, since, 
 if sin there were, it must have been forgiven long 
 ago, and so forth. When his calm was somewhat 
 restored we tried also to extract further information 
 from him, but with poor results, so far as the 
 priestess was concerned. 
 
 He said that he did not know to what religion she 
 belonged, and did not care, but thought that it must 
 be an evil one. She went away the next morning 
 with the army, and he never saw or heard of her any 
 more, though it came into his mind that he was 
 obliged to be locked in his cell for eight days to 
 prevent himself from following her. Yes, he had 
 heard one thing, for the abbot of that day had told 
 the brethren. This priestess was the real general 
 of the army, not the king or the queen, the latter of 
 whom hated her. It was by her wiU that they 
 pushed on northwards across the desert to some 
 country beyond the mountains, where she desired 
 to establish herself and her worship. 
 
 We asked if there really was any country beyond 
 the mountains, and Kou-en answered wearily that he 
 believed so. Either in this or in a previous life he 
 had heard that people lived there who worshipped 
 fire. Certainly also it was true that about thirty 
 years ago a brother who had climbed the great peak 
 yonder to spend some days in solitary meditation, 
 returned and reported that he had seen a marvellous 
 thing, namely, a shaft of fire burning in the heavens 
 beyond those same mountains, though whether 
 this were a vision, or what, he could not say. He 
 recalled, however, that about that time they had 
 felt a great earthquake. 
 
 Then the memory of that fancied transgression 
 again began to afflict Kou-en's innocent old heart. 
 
THE LAMASERY 51 
 
 and he crept away lamenting and was seen no more 
 for a week. Nor would he ever speak again to us 
 of this matter. 
 
 But we spoke of it much with hope and wonder, 
 and made up our minds that we would at once 
 ascend this mountain. 
 
CHAPTER m 
 
 THE BEACON LIGHT 
 
 A WEEK later came our opportunity of making 
 this ascent of the mountain, for now in mid- 
 winter it ceased storming, and hard frost set in, which 
 made it possible to walk upon the surface of the snow. 
 Learning from the monks that at this season ovis 
 poli and other kinds of big-horned sheep and game de- 
 scended from thehiUs to take refuge in certain valleys, 
 where they scraped away the snow to find food, 
 we announced that we were going out to hunt. 
 The excuse we gave was that we were suffering 
 from confinement and needed exercise, having by 
 the teaching of our religion no scruples about killing 
 game. 
 
 Our hosts replied that the adventure was danger- 
 ous, as the weather might change at any moment. 
 They told us, however, that on the slopes of this 
 very mountain which we desired to climb, there was 
 a large natural cave where, if need be, we could take 
 shelter, and to this cave one of them, somewhat 
 younger and more active than the rest, offered to 
 guide us. So, having manufactured a rough tent 
 from skins, and laden our old yak, now in the best 
 of condition, with food and garments, on one still 
 morning we started as soon as it was light. Under 
 the guidance of the monk, who, notwithstanding 
 his years walked very well, we reached the northern 
 slope of the peak before mid-day. Here, as he 
 had said, we found a great cave of which the opening 
 was protected by an over-hanging ledge of rock. 
 Evidently this cave was the favourite place of 
 
 6« 
 
" We dragged the animals down the snow slopes to the cave." 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 53 
 
 shelter for game at certain seasons of the year, 
 since in it were heaped vast accumulations of their 
 droppings, which removed any fear of a lack of fuel. 
 
 The rest of that short day we spent in setting up 
 our tent in the cave, in front of which we lit a large 
 fire, and in a survey of the slopes of the moun- 
 tain, for we told the monk that we were searching for 
 the tracks of wild sheep. Indeed, as it happened, 
 on our way back to the cave we came across a 
 small herd of ewes feeding upon the mosses in a 
 sheltered spot where in summer a streamlet ran. 
 Of these we were so fortunate as to kill two, for 
 no sportsman had ever come here, and they were 
 tame enough, poor things. As meat would keep for 
 ever in that temperature, we had now sufficient food 
 to last us for a fortnight, and dragging the animals 
 down the snow slopes to the cave, we skinned them 
 by the d5dng light. 
 
 That evening we supped upon fresh mutton, 
 a great luxury, which the monk enjoyed as 
 much as we did, since, whatever might be his 
 views as to taking life, he liked mutton. Then we 
 turned into the tent and huddled ourselves together 
 for warmth, as the temperature must have been 
 some degrees below zero. The old monk rested 
 well enough, but neither Leo nor I slept over much, 
 for wonder as to what we might see from the top of 
 that mountain banished sleep. 
 
 Next momijig at the dawn, the weather being 
 stiU favourable, our companion returned to the 
 monastery, whither we said we would follow him 
 in a day or two. 
 
 Now at last we were alone, and without wasting an 
 instant began our ascent of the peak. It was many 
 thousand feet high and in certain places steep enough, 
 but the deep, frozen snow made climbing easy, so 
 that by midday we reached the top. Hence the 
 view was magnificent. Beneath us stretched the 
 
54 AYES HA 
 
 desert, and beyond it a broad belt of fantastically 
 shaped, snow-clad mountains,liund]:eds and hundreds 
 of them ; in front, to the right, to the left, as far as 
 the eye could reach. 
 
 " They are just as I saw them in my dream so 
 many years ago," muttered Leo ; " the same, the 
 very same." 
 
 " And where was the fiery light ? " I asked. 
 
 " Yonder, I think ; " and he pointed north by east. 
 
 " WeU, it is not there now," I answered, " and 
 this place is cold." 
 
 So, since it was dangerous to linger, lest the dark- 
 ness should overtake us on our return journey, we 
 descended the peak again, reaching the cave about 
 sunset. The next four days we spent in the same 
 way. Every morning we crawled up those weari- 
 some banks of snow, and every afternoon we slid 
 and tobogganed down them again, tiU I grew 
 heartily tired of the exercise. 
 
 On the fourth night, instead of coming to sleep in 
 the tent Leo sat himself down at the entrance to the 
 cave. I asked him why he did this, but he answered 
 impatiently, because he wished it, so I left him alone. 
 I could see, indeed, that he was in a strange and 
 irritable mood, for the failure of our search op- 
 pressed him. Moreover, we knew, both of us, that 
 it could not be much prolonged, since the weather 
 might break at any moment, when ascents of the 
 mountain would become impossible. 
 
 In the middle of the night I was awakened by 
 Leo shaking me and saying — 
 
 " Come here, Horace, I have something to show 
 you." 
 
 Reluctantly enough I crept from between the 
 rugs and out of the tent. To dress there was no 
 need, for we slept in aU our garments. He led me 
 to the mouth of the cave and pointed northward. 
 I looked. The night was very dark ; but far, far 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 55 
 
 away appeared a faint patch of light upon the sky, 
 sueh as might be caused by the refiection of a distant 
 fire. 
 
 " What do you make of it ? " he asked anxiously. 
 
 " Nothing in particular," I answered, " it may 
 be anything. . The moon — no, there is none, dawn 
 — no, it is too northerly, and it does not break ior 
 three hours. Something burning, a house, or a 
 funeral pyre, but how can there be such things here ? 
 I give it up." 
 
 " I think it is a reflection, and that if we were on 
 the peak we should see the light which throws it," 
 said Leo slowly. 
 
 " Yes, but we are not, and cannot get there in 
 the dark." 
 
 " Then, Horace, we must spend a night there." 
 
 " It wiU be our last in this incarnation," I answered 
 with a laugh, " that is if it comes on to snow." 
 
 " We must risk it, or I will risk it. Look, the 
 light has faded ; " and there at least he was right, 
 for undoubtedly it had. The night was as black 
 as pitch. 
 
 " Let's talk it over to-morrow," I said, and went 
 back to the tent, for I was sleepy and incredulous, 
 but Leo sat on by the mouth of the cave. 
 
 At dawn I awoke and found breakfast already 
 cooked. 
 
 " I must start early," Leo explained. 
 
 " Are you mad ? " I asked. " How can we camp 
 on that place ? " 
 
 " I don't know, but I am going. I must go, 
 Horace." 
 
 " Which means that we both must go. But how 
 about the yak ? " 
 
 " Where we can climb, it can follow," he answered. 
 
 So we strapped the tent and other baggage, 
 including a good supply of cooked meat, upon the 
 beast's back, and started. The tramp was long since 
 
56 AYESHA 
 
 we were obliged to make some detours to avoid slopes 
 of frozen snow in which, on our previous ascents, we 
 had cut footholds with an axe, for up these the 
 laden animal could not clamber. Reaching the 
 summit at length, we dug a hole, and there pitched 
 the tent, piling the excavated snow about its sides. 
 By this time it began to grow dark, and having 
 descended into the tent, yak and all, we ate our 
 food and waited. 
 
 Oh ! what cold was that. The frost was fearful, 
 and at this height a wind blew whose icy breath 
 passed through all our wrappings, and seemed to 
 burn our flesk beneath as though with hot irons. 
 It was fortunate that we had brought the yak, for 
 without the warmth from its shaggy body I believe 
 that we should have perished, even in our tent. 
 For some hours we watched, as indeed we must, 
 since to sleep might mean to die, yet saw nothing 
 save the lonely stars, and heard nothing in that 
 awful silence, for here even the wind made no noise 
 as it slid across the snows. Accustomed as I was 
 to such exposure, my faculties began to grow numb 
 and my eyes to shut, when suddenly Leo said— 
 
 " Look, below the red star ! " 
 
 I looked, and there high in the sky was the same 
 curious glow which we had seen upon the previous 
 night. There was more than this indeed, for 
 beneath it, Eilmost on a line with us and just above 
 the crests of the intervening peaks, appeared a 
 faint sheet of fire and revealed against it something 
 black. Whilst we watched, the fire widened, 
 spread upwards and grew in power and intensity. 
 Now against its flaming background the black object 
 became clearly visible, and lo ! it was the top of 
 a soaring pillar surmounted by a loop. Yes, we 
 could see its every outline. It was the crux ansata, 
 the Symbol of Life itself. 
 
 The symbol vanished, the fire sank. Again it 
 
' It was the Crux Ansata, the Symbol of Life itself.' 
 
 Ayesha.'] 
 
 [Pa^e 56- 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 57 
 
 blazed up more fiercely than before and the loop 
 appeared afresh, then once more disappeared. A 
 third time the fire shone, and with such intensity, 
 that no lightning could surpass its brilliance. All 
 around the heavens were lit up, and through the black 
 needle-shaped eye of the symbol, as from the flare of a 
 beacon, or the search-light of a ship, one fierce ray 
 shot across the sea of mountain tops and the spaces 
 of the desert, straight as an arrow to the lofty peak 
 on which we lay. Yes, it lit upon the snow, staining 
 it red, and upon the wild, white faces of us who 
 wat(5hed, though to the right and left of us spread 
 thick darkness. My compass lay before me on the 
 snow, and I could even see its needle ; and beyond 
 us the shape of a white fox that had crept near, 
 scenting food. Then it was gone as swiftly as it 
 came. Gone too were the sjnnbol and the veil of 
 flame behind it, only the glow lingered a little on 
 the distant sky. 
 
 For awhile there was silence between us, then 
 Leo said — 
 
 " Do you remember, Horace, when we lay upon 
 the Rocking Stone where her cloak fell upon me — " 
 as he said the words the breath caught in his throat 
 — " how the ray of light was sent to us in farewell, 
 and to show us a path of escape from the Place of 
 Death ? Now I think that it has been sent again 
 in greeting to point out the path to the Place of 
 Life where Ayesha dwells, whom we have lost awhile." 
 
 " It may be so," I answered shortly, for the matter 
 was beyond speech or argument, beyond wonder 
 even. But I knew then, as I know now, that we were 
 players in some mighty, predestined drama; that 
 our parts were written and we must speak them, 
 as our path was prepared and we must tread it 
 to the end unknown. Fear and doubt were left be- 
 hind, hope was sunk in certainty ; the fore-shadowing 
 visions of the night had found an actual fulfilment 
 
58 AYESHA 
 
 and the pitiful seed of the promise of her who died, 
 growing unseen through all the cruel, empty years, 
 had, come to harvest. 
 
 No, we feared no. more, not even when with the 
 dawn rose the roaring wind, through which we 
 struggled down the mountain slopes, as it would 
 seem in peril of our lives at every step ; not even as 
 hour by hour we fought our way onwards through 
 the whirling snow-storm, that made us deaf and 
 blind. For we knew that those lives were charmed. 
 We could not see or hear, yet we were led. Chnging 
 to the yak, we struggled downward and homewards, 
 till at length out of the turmoil and the gloom its 
 instinct brought us unharmed to the door of the 
 monastery, where the old abbot embraced us in his 
 joy, and the monks put up prayers of thanks. For 
 they were sure that we must be dead. Through such 
 a storm, they said, no man had ever lived before. 
 
 It was still mid-winter, and oh ! the awful weari- 
 ness of those months of waiting. In our hands was 
 the key, yonder amongst those mountains lay the 
 door, but not yet might we set that key within its 
 lock. For between us and these stretched the great 
 desert, where the snow rolled like billows, and until 
 that snow melted we dared not attempt its passage. 
 So we sat in the monastery, and schooled our hearts 
 to patience. 
 
 Still even to these frozen wilds of Central Asia spring 
 comes at last. One evening the air felt warm, and 
 that night there were only a few degrees of frost. 
 The next the clouds banked up, and in the morning 
 not snow was falling from them, but rain, and we 
 found the old monks preparing their instruments 
 of husbandry, as they said that the season of sowing 
 was at hand. For three days it rained, while the 
 snows melted before our eyes. On the fourth 
 torrents of water were rushing down the mountain 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 59 
 
 and the desert was once more brown and bare, though 
 not for long, for within another week it was carpeted 
 with flowers. Then we knew that the time had come 
 to start. 
 
 " But whither go you ? Whither go you ? " 
 asked the old abbot in dismay. " Are you not 
 happy here ? Do you not make great strides along 
 the Path, as may be known by your pious conver- 
 sation ? Is not everything that we have your own ? 
 Oh ! why would you leave us ? " 
 
 " We are wanderers," we answered, " and when 
 we see mountains in front of us we must cross 
 them." 
 
 Kou-en looked at us shrewdly, then asked — 
 
 " What do you seek beyond the mountains ? 
 And, my brethren, what merit is gathered by hiding 
 the truth from an eld man, for such concealments 
 are separated from falsehoods but by the length 
 of a single barleycorn. , TeU me, that at least my 
 prayers may accompany you." 
 
 " Holy abbot," I said, " awhile ago yonder in 
 the library you made a certain confession to us." 
 
 " Oh ! remind me not of it," he said, holding up 
 his hands. " Why do you wish to torment me ? " 
 
 " Far be the thought from us, most kind friend 
 and virtuous man." I answered. " But, as it chances, 
 your story is very much our own, and we think that 
 we have experience of this same priestess." 
 
 " Speak on," he said, much interested. 
 
 So I told him the outlines of our tale ; for an 
 hour or more I told it while he sat opposite to us 
 swaying his head like a tortoise and sajdng nothing. 
 At length it was done. 
 
 " Now," I added, " let the lamp of yoiu: wisdom 
 shine upon our darkness. Do you not find this 
 story wondrous, or do you perchance think that we 
 are liars ? " 
 
 " Brethren of the great monastery called the 
 
6o AYESHA 
 
 World," Kou-en answered with his customary 
 chuckle, " why should I think you hars who, from 
 the moment my eyes fell upon you, knew you to be 
 true men ? Moreover, why should I hold this tale 
 so very wondrous ? You have but stumbled upon 
 the fringe of a truth with which we have been 
 acquainted for many, many ages. 
 
 " Because in a vision she showed you this mon- 
 astery, and led you to a spot beyond the 
 mountains where she vanished, you hope that this 
 woman whom you saw die is re-incarnated yon- 
 der. Why not ? In this there is nothing im- 
 possible to those who are instructed in the truth, 
 though the lengthening of her last- life was 
 strange and contrary to experience. Doubtless you 
 will find her there as you expect, and doubtless 
 her khama, or identity, is the same as that which 
 in some earlier life of hers once brought me to sin. 
 
 "Only be not mistaken, she is no immortal; nothing 
 is immortal. She is but a being held back by her 
 own pride, her own greatness if you will, upon the 
 path towards Nirvana. That pride will be humbled, 
 as already it has been humbled ; that brow of majesty 
 shall be sprinkled with the dust of change and death, 
 that sinful spirit must be purified by sorrows and by 
 separations. Brother Leo, if you win her, it will 
 be but to lose, and then the ladder must be re- 
 climbed. Brother HoUy, for you as for me loss is 
 our only gain, since thereby we are spared much 
 woe. Oh ! bide here and pray with me. Why 
 dash yourselves against a rock ? Why labour to 
 pour water into a broken jar whence it must sink 
 into the sands of profitless experience, and there 
 be wasted, whilst you remain athirst ? " 
 
 " Water makes the sand fertile," I answered. 
 " Where water falls life comes, and sorrow is the 
 seed of joy." 
 
 " Love is the law of life," broke in Leo ; " with- 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 6i 
 
 out love there is no life. I seek love that I may 
 live. I believe that all these things are ordained 
 to an end which we do not know. Fate draws me 
 on — I fulfil my fate " 
 
 "And do but delay your freedom. Yet I will 
 not argue with you, brother, who must follow your 
 own road. See now, what has this woman, this 
 priestess of a false faith if she be so still, brought 
 you in the past ? Once in another life, or so I 
 understand your story, you were sworn to a certain 
 nature-goddess, who was named Isis, were you not, 
 and to her alone ? Then a woman tempted you, 
 and you fled with her afar. And there what foimd 
 you ? The betrayed and avenging goddess who slew 
 you, or if not the goddess, one who had drunk of 
 her wisdom and was the minister of her vengeance. 
 Having that wisdom this minister — woman or evil 
 spirit — refused to die because she had learned to 
 love you, but waited knowing that in your next life 
 she would find you again, as indeed she would have 
 done more swiftly in Devachan had she died with- 
 out living on alone in so much misery. And 
 she found you, and she died, or seemed to die, 
 and now she is re-born, as she must be, and 
 doubtless you will meet once more, and again 
 there must come misery. Oh ! my friends, go not 
 across the mountains ; bide here with me and lament 
 your sins." 
 
 " Nay," answered Leo, " we are sworn to a tryst, 
 and we do not break our word." 
 
 " Then, brethren, go keep your tryst, and when 
 you have reaped its harvest think upon my sayings, 
 for I am sure that the wine you crush from the 
 vintage of your desire will run red like blood, and 
 that in its drinking you shall find neither forgetful- 
 ness nor peace. Made blind by a passion of which 
 well I know the sting and power, you seek to add a 
 fair-faced evil to your lives, thinking that from this 
 
63 A7ESHA 
 
 unity there shall be bom all knowledge and great joy. 
 
 " Rather should you desire to live alone in holiness 
 until at length your separate lives are merged and 
 lost in the Good Unspeakable, the eternal bhss 
 that lies in the last Nothingness. Ah ! you do not 
 believe me now ; you shake your heads and smile ; 
 yet a day will dawn, it may be after many incarna- 
 tions, when you shall bow them in the dust and weep, 
 sapng to me, ' Brother Kou-en, yours were the 
 words of wisdom, ours the deeds of foolishness ; ' " 
 and with a deep sigh the old man turned and left us. 
 
 " A cheerful faith, truly," said Leo, looking after 
 him, " to dwell through seons in monotonous 
 misery in order that consciousness may be swallowed 
 up at last in some void and formless abstraction 
 called the ' Utter Peace.' I would rather take 
 my share of a bad world and keep my hope of 
 a better. Also I do not think that he knows any- 
 thing of Ayesha and her destiny." 
 
 " So would I," I answered, " though perhaps he is 
 right after all. Who can tell ? Moreover, what is 
 the use of reasoning ? Leo, we have no choice ; we 
 follow our fate. To what that fate may lead us we 
 shall learn in due season." 
 
 Then we went to rest, for it was late, though I 
 found little sleep that night. The warnings of the 
 ancient abbot, good and learned man as he was, full 
 also of ripe experience and of the foresighted wis- 
 dom that is given to such as he, oppressed me deeply. 
 He promised us sorrow and bloodshed beyond the 
 mountains, ending in death and re-births full of 
 misery. Well, it might be so, but no approaching 
 sufferings could stay our feet. And eyen if they 
 could, they should not, since to «see her face again 
 I was ready to brave them all. And if this was my 
 case what must be that of Leo ! " 
 
 A strange theory that of Kou-en's, that Ayesha 
 was the goddess in old Egypt to whom Kallikrates 
 
THE BEACON LIGHT 63 
 
 was priest, or at the least her representative. That 
 the royal Amenartas, with whom he fled, seduced 
 him from the goddess to whom he was sworn. 
 That this goddess incarnate in Ayesha — or using 
 the woman Ayesha and her passions as her in- 
 struments — was avenged upon them both at Kor, 
 and that there in an after age the bolt she shot 
 fell back upon her own head. 
 
 Well, I had often thought as much myself. Only I 
 was sure that She herself could be no actual divinity, 
 though she might be a manifestation of one, a 
 priestess, a messenger, charged to work its will, to 
 avenge or to reward, and yet herself a human soul, 
 with hopes and passions to be satisfied, and a 
 destiny to fulfil. In truth, writing now, when elII 
 is past and done with, I find much to confirm me in, 
 and little to turn me from that theory, since life and 
 powers of a quality which are more than human do 
 not alone suffice to make a soul divine. On the 
 other hand, however, it must be borne in mind that 
 on one occasion at any rate, Ayesha did undoubtedly 
 suggest that in the beginning she was " a daughter 
 of Heaven," and that there were others, notably the 
 old Shaman Simbri, who seemed to take it for 
 granted that her origin was supernatural. But of 
 all these things I hope to speak in their season. 
 
 Meanwhile what lay beyond the jnountains ? 
 Should we find her there who held the sceptre and 
 upon earth wielded the power of the outraged Isis, 
 and with her, that other woman who wrought the 
 wrong ? And if so, would the dread, inhuman 
 struggle reach its climax around the person of the 
 sinfid priest ? In a few months, a few days even, 
 we might begin to know. 
 
 Thrilled by this thought at length I fell asleep. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE AVALANCHE 
 
 ON the morning of the second day from that 
 night the sunrise found us already on our 
 path across the desert. There, nearly a mile behind 
 us, we could see the ruined statue of Buddha seated 
 in front of the ancient monastery, and in that clear 
 atmosphere could even distinguish the bent form 
 of our friend, the old abbot, Kou-en, leaning against 
 it until we were quite lost to sight. All the monks 
 had wept when we parted from them, and Kou-en 
 even more bitterly than the rest, for he had learned 
 to love us. 
 
 " I am grieved," he said, " much grieved, which 
 indeed I should not be, for such emotion partakes 
 of sin. Yet I find comfort, for I know well that 
 although I must soon leave this present life, yet we 
 shall meet again in many future incarnations, and 
 after you have put away these follies, together tread 
 the path to perfect peace. Now take with you my 
 blessings and my prayers and begone, forgetting 
 not that should you live to return " — and he shook 
 his head doubtfully — " here you will be ever wel- 
 come." 
 
 So we embraced him and went sorrowfully. 
 
 It will be remembered that when the mysterious 
 
 light fell upon us on the peak I had my compass with 
 
 me and was able roughly to take its bearings. For 
 
 lack of any better guide we now followed these bear- 
 ed 
 
THE AVALANCHE 65 
 
 ings, travelling almost due north-east, for in that 
 direction had shone the fire. All day in the most 
 beautiful weather we marched across the flower- 
 strewn desert, seeing nothing except bunches of 
 game and one or two herds of wild asses which had 
 come down from the mountains to feed upon the new 
 grass. As evening approached we shot an antelope 
 and made our camp — for we had brought the yak 
 and a tent with us — among some tamarisk scrub, 
 of which the dry stems furnished us with fuel. Nor 
 did we lack for water, since by scraping in the sand 
 soaked with melted snow, we found plenty of fair 
 quality. So that night we supped in luxury upon tea 
 and antelope meat, which indeed we were glad to 
 have, as it spared our little store of dried provisions. 
 
 The next morning we ascertained our position as 
 well as we could, and estimated that we had crossed 
 about a quarter of the desert, a guess which proved 
 very accurate, for on the evening of the fourth day 
 of our journey we reached the bottom slopes of the 
 opposing mountains, without having experienced 
 either accident or fatigue. As Leo said, things were 
 " going like clockwork," but I reminded him that a 
 good start often meant a bad finish. Nor was I 
 wrong, for now came our hardships. To begin with, 
 the mountains proved to be exceeding high ; it 
 took us two days to climb their lower slopes. Also 
 the heat of the sun had softened the snow, which 
 made walking through it laborious, whilst, accus- 
 tomed though we were to such conditions through 
 long years of travelling, its continual glitter affected 
 our eyes. 
 
 The morning of the seventh day found us in the 
 mouth of a defile which wound away into the heart 
 of the mountains. As it seemed the only possible 
 path, we followed it, and were much cheered to dis- 
 cover that here must once have run a road. Not 
 that we could see any road, indeed, for everything 
 
66 AYESHA 
 
 was buried in snow. But that one lay beneath our 
 feet we were certain, since, although we marched along 
 the edge of precipices, our path, however steep, was 
 always flat ; moreover, the rock upon one side of it 
 had often been scarped by the hand of man. Of 
 this there could be no doubt, for as the snow did 
 not cling here, we saw the tool marks upon its bare 
 surface. 
 
 Also we came to several places where galleries 
 had been built out from the mountain side, by 
 means of beams let into it, as is stiU a common 
 practice in Thibet. These beams of course had 
 long since rotted away, leaving a gulf between us 
 and the continuation of the path. When we met 
 with such gaps we were forced to go back and make 
 a d6tour round or over some mountain ; but Eilthough 
 much delayed thereby, as it happened, we always 
 managed to regain the road, if not without dif&culty 
 and danger. 
 
 What tried us more — for here our skill and ex- 
 perience as mountaineers could not help us — was 
 the cold at night, obliged as we were to camp in the 
 severe frost at a great altitude, and to endure through 
 the long hours of darkness penetrating and icy winds, 
 which soughed ceaselessly down the pass. 
 
 At length on the tenth day we reached the end of 
 the defile, and as night was falling, camped there in 
 the most bitter cold. Those were miserable hours, 
 for now we had no fuel with which to boil water, and 
 must satisfy our thirst by eating frozen snow, while 
 our eyes smarted so sorely that we could not sleep, 
 and notwithstanding aU our wraps and the warmth 
 that we gathered from the yak in the little tent, 
 the cold caused our teeth to chatter like castanets. 
 
 The dawn came, and, after it, the sunrise. We 
 crept from the tent, and leaving it standing awhile, 
 dragged our stiffened limbs a hundred yards or so 
 to a spot where the defile took a turn, in order that 
 
THE AVALANCHE - 67 
 
 we might thaw in the rays of the sun, which at that 
 hour could not reach us where we had camped. 
 
 Leo was round it first, and I heard him utter an 
 exclamation. In a few seconds I reached his side, 
 and lo ! before us lay our Promised Land. 
 
 Far beneath us, ten thousand feet at least — for 
 it must be remembered that we viewed it from the 
 top of a mountain — it stretched away and away till 
 its distances met the horizon. In character it was 
 quite flat, an alluvial plain that probably, in some 
 primeval age, had been the bottom of one of the vast 
 lakes of which a number exist in Central Asia, most 
 of them now in process of desiccation. One object 
 only relieved this dreary flatness, a single, snow- 
 clad, and gigantic mountain, of which even at that 
 distance — for it was very far from us — we could 
 clearly see the outline. Indeed we could see more, for 
 from its rounded crest rose a great plume of smoke, 
 showing that it was an active volcano, and on the 
 hither lip of the crater an enormous pillar of rock, 
 whereof the top was formed to the shape of a loop. 
 
 Yes, there it stood before us, that symbol of our 
 vision which we had sought these many years, and 
 at the sight of it our hearts beat fast and our breath 
 came quickly. We noted at once that although 
 we had not seen it during our passage of the motm- 
 tains, since the peaks ahead and the rocky sides of 
 the defile hid it from view, so great was its height 
 that it overtopped the tallest of them. This made 
 it clear to us how it came to be possible that the 
 ray of light passing through the loop could fall upon 
 the highest snows of that towering pinnacle which 
 we had climbed upon the further side of the desert. 
 
 Also now we were certain of the carse of that ray, 
 for the smoke behind the loop explained this mystery. 
 Doubtless, at times when the volcano was awake, 
 that smoke must be replaced by flame, emitting light 
 of fearful intensity, and this light it was that 
 
68 AYESHA 
 
 reached us, concentrated and directed by the 
 loop. 
 
 For the rest we thought that about thirty miles 
 away we could make out a white-roofed town set 
 upon a mound, situated among trees upon the banks 
 of a wide river, which flowed across the plain. Also 
 it was evident that this country had a large popu- 
 lation who cultivated the soil, for by the aid of a 
 pair of field glasses, one of our few remaining and 
 most cherished possessions, we could see the green of 
 springing crops pierced by irrigation canals and the 
 lines of trees that marked the limits of the fields. 
 
 Yes, there before us stretched the Promised Land, 
 and there rose the mystic Mount, so that all we 
 had to do was to march down the snow slopes and 
 enter it where we would. 
 
 Thus we thought in our folly, little guessing what 
 lay before us, what terrors and weary suffering we 
 must endure before we stood at length beneath the 
 shadow of the Symbol of Life. 
 
 Our fatigues forgotten, we returned to the tent, 
 hastily swallowed some of our dried food, which we 
 washed down with lumps of snow that gave us tooth- 
 ache and chiUed us inside, but which thirst com- 
 pelled us to eat, dragged the poor yak to its feet, 
 loaded it up, and started. 
 
 All this wlaile, so great was our haste and so occu- 
 pied were each of us with our own thoughts that, if 
 my memory serves me, we scarcely interchanged a 
 word. Down the snow slopes we marched swiftly 
 and without hesitation, for here the road was marked 
 for us by means of pillars of rock set opposite to one 
 another at intervals. These pillars we observed with 
 satisfaction, for they told us that we were still upon 
 a highway which led to the Promised Land. 
 
 Yet, as we could not help noting, it was one which 
 seemed to have gone out of use, since with the excep- 
 tion of a few wild-sheep tracks and the spoor of some 
 
THE AVALANCHE 69 
 
 bears and mountain foxes, not a single sign of beast 
 or man could we discover. This, however, was to 
 be explained, we reflected, by the fact that doubtless 
 the road was only used in the summer season. 
 Or perhaps the inhabitants of the country were now 
 stay-at-home people who never travelled it at all. 
 
 Those slopes were longer than we thought ; 
 indeed, when darkness closed in we had not reached 
 the foot of them. So we were obliged to spend 
 another night in the snow, pitching our tent in the 
 shelter of an over-hanging rock. As we had descended 
 many thousand feet, the temperature proved, fortu- 
 nately, a little milder ; indeed, I do not think that 
 there were more than eighteen or twenty degrees of 
 frost that night. Also here and there the heat of the 
 sun had melted the snow in secluded places, so that we 
 were able to find water to drink, while the yak could 
 fill its poor old stomach with dead-looking mountain 
 mosses, which it seemed to think better than nothing. 
 
 Again, the still dawn came, throwing its red gar- 
 ment over the lonesome, endless mountains, and we 
 dragged ourselves to our numbed feet, ate some of 
 our remaining food, and started onwards. Now we 
 could no longer see the country beneath, for it and 
 even the towering volcano were hidden from us by 
 an intervening ridge that seemed to be pierced by a 
 single narrow gulley, towards which we headed. 
 Indeed, as the pOars showed us, thither ran the 
 buried road. By mid-day it appeared quite close 
 to us, and we tramped on in feverish haste. As it 
 chanced, however, there was no need to hurry, for 
 an hour later we learned the truth. 
 
 Between us and the mouth of the gulley rose, or 
 rather sank, a sheer precipice that was apparently 
 three or four hundred feet in depth, and at its 
 foot we could hear the sound of water. 
 
 Right to the edge of this precipice ran the path, 
 for one of the stone pillars stood upon its extreme 
 
70 AYESHA 
 
 brink, and yet how could a road descend such a 
 place as that ? We stored aghast ; then a possible 
 solution occurred to us. 
 
 " Don't you see," said Leo, with a hollow laugh, 
 " the gulf has opened since this track was used : 
 volcanic action probably." 
 
 " Perhaps, or perhaps there was a wooden bridge 
 or stairway which has rotted. It does not matter. 
 We must find another path, that is all," I answered 
 as cheerfully as I could. 
 
 " Yes, and soon," he said, " if we do not wish to 
 stop here for ever." 
 
 So we turned to the right and marched along the 
 edge of the precipice tiU, a mile or so away, we came 
 to a small glacier, of which the surface was sprinkled 
 with large stones frozen into its substance. This 
 glacier hung down the face of the clifi like a 
 petrified waterfall, but whether or no it reached the 
 foot we could not discover. At any rate, to think 
 of attempting its descent seemed out of the ques- 
 tion. From this point onwards we could see that the 
 precipice increased in depth and far as the eye could 
 reach was absolutely sheer. 
 
 So we went back again and searched to the 
 left of our road. Here the mountains receded, 
 so that above us rose a mighty, dazzling slope 
 of snow and below us lay that same pitiless, im- 
 climbable gulf. As the light began to fade we per- 
 ceived, half a mile or more in front a bare-topped 
 hillock of rock, which stood on the verge of the preci- 
 pice, and hurried to it, thinking that from its crest 
 we might be able to discover a way of descent. 
 
 When at length we had struggled to the top, it 
 was about a hundred and fifty feet high ; what we 
 did discover was that, here also, as beyond the 
 glacier, the gulf was infinitely deeper than at the 
 spot where the road ended, so deep indeed that we 
 could not see its bottom, although from it came the 
 
THE AVALANCHE 71 
 
 soxmd of roaring water. Moreover, it was quite 
 half a mile in width. 
 
 Whilst we stared round us the sinking sun 
 vanished behind a mountain and, the sky being 
 heavy, the light went out like that of a candle. 
 Now the ascent of this hillock had proved so steep, 
 especially at one place, where we were obliged 
 to climb a sort of rock ladder, that we scarcely 
 cared to attempt to stniggle down it again in that 
 gloom. Therefore, remembering that there was 
 little to choose between the top of this knoll and the 
 snow plain at its foot in the matter of temperature 
 or other conveniences, and being quite exhausted, 
 we determined to spend the night upon it, thereby, 
 as we were to learn, saving our lives. 
 
 Unloading the yak, we pitched our tent under the 
 lee of the topmost knob of rock and ate a couple 
 of handfuls of dried fish and corn-cake. This was 
 ttie last of the food that we had brought with us 
 from the Lamasery, and we reflected with dismay that 
 unless we could shoot something, our commissariat 
 was now represented by the carcase of om: old friend 
 the yak. Then we wrapped ourselves up in our 
 thick rugs and fur garments and forgot our miseries 
 in sleep. 
 
 It cannot have been long before daylight when 
 we were awakened by a sudden and terrific sound 
 like the boom of a great cannon, followed by thou- 
 sands of other sounds, which might be compared to 
 the fusillade of musketry. 
 
 " Great Heaven ! What is that ? " I said. 
 
 We crawled from the tent, but as yet could see 
 nothing, whilst the yak began to low in a terrified 
 manner. But if we could not see we could hear and 
 feel. The booming and cracking had ceased, and 
 was followed by a soft, grinding noise, the most 
 sickening sound, I think, to which I ever listened. 
 This was accompanied by a strange., steady, un- 
 
72 AYES HA 
 
 natural wind, which seemed to press upon us as water 
 presses. Then the dawn broke and we saw. 
 
 The mountain-side was moving down upon us in a 
 vast avalanche of snow. 
 
 Oh ! what a sight was that. On from the crest of the 
 precipitous slopes above, two miles and more away, 
 it came, a living thing, rolling, sliding, gliding ; piling 
 itself in long, leaping waves, hollowing itself into 
 cavernous valleys, like a tempest-driven sea, whilst 
 above its surface hung a powdery cloud of frozen spray. 
 
 As we watched, clinging to each other terrified, 
 the first of these waves struck our hill, causing 
 the mighty mass of solid rock to quiver like a yacht 
 beneath the impact of an ocean roller, or an aspen 
 in a sudden rush of wind. It struck and slowly 
 separated, then with a majestic motion flowed like 
 water over the edge of the precipice on either side, 
 and fell with a thudding sound into the unmeasured 
 depths beneath. And this was but a little thing, a 
 mere forerunner, for after it, with a slow, serpentine 
 movement, rolled the body of the avalanche. 
 
 It came in combers, it came in level floods. It piled 
 itself against our hill, yes, to within fifty feet of the 
 head of it, till we thought that even that rooted rock 
 must be torn from its foundations and hurled like 
 a pebble to the deeps beneath. And the turmoil of 
 it all ! The screaming of the blast caused by the 
 compression of the air, the dull, continuous thudding 
 of the fall of millions of tons of snow as they rushed 
 through space and ended their journey in the gulf. 
 
 Nor was this the worst of it, for as the deep snows 
 above thinned, great boulders that had been buried 
 beneath them, perhaps for centuries, were loosened 
 from their resting-places and began to thunder 
 down the hill. At first they moved slowly, throw- 
 ing up the hard snow around them as the prow of a 
 ship throws foam. Tlien gathering momentum, they 
 sprang into the air with leaps such as those of shells 
 
THE AVALANCHE 73 
 
 ricocheting upon water, till in the end, singing 
 and hurtling, many of them rushed past and even 
 over us to vanish far beyond. Some indeed struck 
 our little mountain with the force of shot fired from 
 the great guns of a battle-ship, and shattered there, 
 or if they fell upon its side, tore away tons of rock 
 and passed with them into the chasm like a meteor 
 surrounded by its satellites. Indeed, no bombard- 
 ment devised and directed by man could have been 
 half so terrible or, had there been anything to destroy, 
 half so destructive. 
 
 The scene was appaUing in its unchained and 
 resistless might evolved suddenly from the com- 
 pletest calm. There in the lap of the quiet moun- 
 tains, looked down upon by the peaceful, tender 
 sky, the powers hidden in the breast of Nature were 
 suddenly set free, and, companioned by whirlwinds 
 and all the terrifying majesty of sound, loosed upon 
 the heads of us two human atoms. 
 
 At the first rush of snow we had leapt back behind 
 our protecting peak and, Ijnng at fvdl length upon 
 the ground, gripped it and clung there, fearing lest 
 the wind should whirl us to the abyss. Long ago 
 our tent had gone like a dead leaf in an autumn 
 gale, and at times it seemed as if we must follow. 
 
 The boulders hurtled over and past us ; one of them 
 fell full upon the little peak, shattering its crest and 
 bursting into fragments, which fled away, each sing- 
 ing its own wild song. We were not touched, but 
 when we looked behind us it was to see the yak, 
 which had risen in its terror, lying dead and head- 
 less. Then in our fear we lay stiU, waiting for the 
 end, and wondering dimly whether we should be 
 buried in the surging snow or swept away with the 
 hill, or crushed by the flying rocks, or lifted and lost 
 in the hurricane. 
 
 How long did it last ? We never knew. It may 
 have been ten minutes or two hours, for in such a 
 
74 AYESHA 
 
 scene time loses its proportions. Only we became 
 aware that the wind had fallen, while the noise of 
 grinding snow and hurtling boulders ceased. Very 
 cautiously we gained our feet and looked. 
 
 In front of lis the sheer mountain side, for a 
 deptti of two miles, by the width of about a 
 thousand yards, which had been covered with 
 many feet of snow, was now bare rock. Piled 
 up against the face of our hiU, almost to its sum- 
 mit, lay a tongue of snow, pressed to the con- 
 sistency of ice and spotted with boulders that 
 had lodged there. The peak itself was torn and 
 shattered, so that it revealed great gleaming sur- 
 faces and pits, in which glittered mica, or some other 
 mineral. The vast gulf behind was half filled with 
 the avalanche and its debris. But for the rest, it 
 seemed as though nothing had happened, for the 
 sun shone sweetly overhead and the solemn snows 
 reflected its rays from the sides of a hundred hills. 
 And we had endured it all and were still alive ; yes, 
 and unhurt. 
 
 But what a position was ours ! We dared not 
 attempt to descend the mount, lest we should sink 
 into the loose snow and be buried there. Moreover, 
 all along the breadth of the path of the avalanche 
 boulders from time to time still thundered down 
 the rocky slope, and with them came patches of 
 snow that had been left behind by the big slide, 
 small in themselves it is true, but each of them large 
 enough to kill a hundred men. It was obvious, 
 therefore, that until these conditions changed, or 
 death released us, we must abide where we were 
 upon the crest of the hiUock. 
 
 So there we sat, foodless and frightened, wonder- 
 ing what our old friend Kou-en would say if he 
 could see us now. By degrees hunger mastered all 
 our other sensations and we began to turn longing 
 eyes upon the headless body of the yak. 
 
THE AVALANCHE 75 
 
 " Let's skin him," said Leo, " it will be something 
 to do, and we shall want his hide to-night." 
 
 So with affectiors and even reverence, we per- 
 formed this office for the dead companion of our 
 journeyings, rejoicing the while that it was not we 
 who had brought him to his end. Indeed, long 
 residence among peoples who believed fuUy that the 
 souls of men could pass into, or were risen from, the 
 bodies of animals, had made us a little superstitious 
 on this matter. It would be scarcely pleasant, we 
 reflected, in some future incarnation to find our 
 faithful friend clad in human form and to hear him 
 bitterly reproach us for his murder. 
 
 Being dead, however, these arguments aid not 
 apply to eating him, as we were sure he would 
 himself acknowledge. So we cut off little bits of 
 his flesh and, rolling them in snow till they looked 
 as though they were nicely floured, hunger com- 
 pelling us, swallowed them at a gulp. It was a 
 disgusting meal and we felt like cannibals ; but what 
 coiid we do ? 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE GLACIER 
 
 EVEN that day came to an end at last, and after 
 a few more lumps of yak, our tent being gone, 
 we drew his hide over us and rested as best we could, 
 knowing that at least we had no more avalanches 
 to fear. That night it froze sharply, so that had it 
 not been for the yak's hide and the other rugs and 
 garments, which fortunately we were wearing when 
 the snow-slide began, it would, I think, have gone 
 hard with us. As it was, we suffered a great deal. 
 
 " Horace," said Leo at the dawn, " I am going to 
 leave this. If we have to die, I would rather do 
 so moving; but I don't believe that we shall die." 
 
 " Very well," I said, " let us start. If the snow 
 won't bear us now, it never wi51." 
 
 So we tied up our rugs and the yak's hide in two 
 bundles and, having cut off some more of the frozen 
 meat, began our descent. Now, although the mount 
 was under two hundred feet high, its base, fortu- 
 nately for us — for otherwise it must have been swept 
 away by the mighty pressure of the avalanche — 
 was broad, so that there was a long expanse of 
 piled-up snow between us and the level ground. 
 
 Since, owing to the overhanging conformation of the 
 place, it was quite impossible for us to descend in front 
 where pressure had made the snow hard as stone, 
 we were obliged to risk a march over the looser 
 material upon its flank. As there was nothing to 
 be gained by waiting, off we went, Leo leading and 
 
 78 
 
THE GLACIER 77 
 
 step by step trying the snow. To our joy we dis- 
 covered that the sharp night frost had so hardened 
 its surface that it would support us. About half way 
 down, however, where the pressure had been less, 
 it became much softer, so that we were forced to 
 lie upon our faces, which enabled us to distribute 
 our weight over a larger surface, and thus slither 
 gently down the hill. 
 
 All went weU until we were within twenty paces 
 of the bottom, where we must cross a soft mound 
 formed of the powdery dust thrown ofi by the 
 avalanche in its rush. Leo slipped over safely, 
 but I, following a yard or two to his right, of a 
 sudden felt the hard crust jdeld beneath me. An 
 ill-judged but quite natural flounder and wriggle, 
 such as a newly-landed flat-fish gives upon the sand, 
 completed the mischief, and with one piercing but 
 swiftly stifled yeU, I vanished. 
 
 Any one who has ever sunk in deep water wiU 
 know that the sensation is not pleasant, but I can 
 assure him that to go through the same experience 
 in soft snow is infinitely worse ; mud alone could 
 surpass its terrors. Down I went, and down, till 
 at length I seemed to reach a rock which alone saved 
 me from disappearing for ever. Now I felt the 
 snow closing above me and with it came darkness 
 and a sense of suffocation. So soft was the drift, 
 however, that before I was overcome I contrived 
 with my arms to thrust away the powdery dust from 
 about my head, thus forming a little hollow into 
 which air filtered slowly. Getting my hands upon 
 the stone, I strove to rise, but could not, the weight 
 upon me was too great. 
 
 Then I abandoned hope and prepared to die. 
 The process proved not altogether unpleasant. I 
 did not see visions from my past life as drowning 
 men are supposed to do, but — and this shows how 
 strong was her empire over me — my mind flew back 
 
78 AYESHA 
 
 to Ayesha. I seemed to behold her and a man at 
 her side, standing over me in some dark, rocky gulf. 
 She was wrapped in a long travelling cloak, and her 
 lovely eyes where wild with fear. I rose to salute 
 her, and make report, but she cried in a fierce, con- 
 centrated voice — 
 
 " What evil thing has happened here ? Thou 
 livest ; then where is my lord Leo ? Speak, man, and 
 say where thou hast hid my lord — or die." 
 
 The vision was extraordinarily real and vivid, I 
 remember, and, considered in connection with a cer- 
 tain subsequent event, in all ways most remarkable, 
 but it passed as swiftly as it came. 
 
 Then my senses left me. 
 
 I saw light again. I heard a voice, that of Leo ! 
 " Horace," he cried, " Horace, hold fast to the 
 stock of the rifle." Something was thrust against 
 my outstretched hand. I gripped it despairingly, 
 and there came a strain. It was useless, I did not 
 move. Then, bethinking me, I drew up my legs 
 and by chance or the mercy of Heaven, I know not, 
 got my feet against a ridge of the rock on which I 
 was lying. Again I felt the strain, and thrust with 
 all my might. Of a sudden the snow gave, and out 
 of that hole I shot like a fox from its earth. 
 
 I struck something. It was Leo straining at the 
 gun, and I knocked him backwards. Then down 
 the steep slope we rolled, landing at length upon the 
 very edge of the precipice. I sat up, drawing in 
 the air with great gasps, and oh ! how sweet it was. 
 My eyes fell upon my hand, and I saw that the veins 
 stood out on the back of it, black as ink and large 
 as cords. Clearly I must have been near my end. 
 
 " How long was I in there ? " I gasped to Leo, 
 who sat at my side, wiping off the sweat that ran 
 from his face in streams. 
 
 " Don't know. Nearly twenty minutes, I should 
 think." 
 
THE GLACIER 79 
 
 " Twenty minutes ! It seemed like twenty cen- 
 turies. How did you get me out ? You could 
 not stand upon the drift dust." 
 
 " No : I lay upon the yak skin where the snow 
 was harder and tunnelled towards you through 
 the powdery stuff with my hands, for I knew where 
 you had sunk and it was not far off. At last I saw 
 your finger tips ; they were so blue that for a few 
 seconds I took them for rock, and thrust the butt 
 of the rifle against them. Luckily you still had 
 life enough to catch hold of it, and you know the 
 rest. Were we not both very strong, it could never 
 have been done." 
 
 " Thank you, old feUow," I said simply. 
 
 " Why should you thank me ? " he asked with 
 one of his quick smiles. " Do you suppose that I 
 wished to continue this journey alone ? Come, if 
 you have got your breath, let us be getting on. 
 You have been sleeping in a cold bed and want 
 exercise. Look, my rifle is broken and yours is 
 lost in the snow. WeU, it will save us the trouble 
 of carrying the cartridges," and he laughed drearily. 
 
 Then we began our march, heading for the spot 
 where the road ended four miles or so away, for to 
 go forward seemed useless. In due course we 
 reached it safely. Once a mass of snow as large as 
 a church swept down just in front of us, and once 
 a great boulder loosened from the mountain 
 rushed at us suddenly like an attacking lion, or 
 the stones thrown by Polj^hemus at the ship of 
 Odysseus, and, leaping over our heads, vanished 
 with an angry scream into the depths beneath. 
 But we took little heed of these things : our nerves 
 were deadened, and no danger seemed to affect them. 
 
 There was the end of the road, and there were 
 our own footprints and the impress of the yak's 
 hoofs in the snow. The sight of them affected me, 
 for it seemed strange that we should have lived to 
 
8o AYESHA 
 
 look upon them again. We stared over the edge 
 of the precipice. Yes, it was sheer and absolutely 
 unclimbable. 
 
 " Come to the glacier," said Leo. 
 
 So we went on to it, and scrambling a little way 
 down its root, made an examination. Here, so 
 far as we could judge, the cliff was about four hun- 
 dred feet deep. But whether or no the tongue of 
 ice reached to the foot of it we were unable to tell, 
 since about two thirds of the way down it arched 
 inwards, like the end of a bent bow, and the con- 
 formation of the overhcinging rocks on either side 
 was such that we could not see where it terminated. 
 We climbed back again and sat down, and despair 
 took hold of us, bitter, black despair. 
 
 " What are we to do ? " I asked. " In front of 
 us death. Behind us death, for how can we recross 
 those mountains without food or guns to shoot 
 it with ? Here death, for we must sit and starve. 
 We have striven and failed. Leo, our end is at 
 hand. Only a miracle can save us." 
 
 " A miracle," he answered. " Well, what was 
 it that led us to the top of the mount so that we 
 were able to escape the avalanche ? And what 
 was it which put that rock in your way as you sank 
 into the bed of dust, and gave me wit and strength 
 to dig you out of your grave of snow ? And what 
 is it that has preserved us through seventeen years 
 of dangers such as few men have known and lived ? 
 Some directing Power. Some Destiny that will 
 accomplish itself in us. Why should the Power 
 cease to guide ? Why should the Destiny be 
 baulked at last ? " 
 
 He paused, then added fiercely, " I tell you, 
 Horace, that even if we had guns, food, and yaks, 
 I would not turn back upon our spoor, since to do 
 so would prove me a coward and unworthy of her. 
 I will go on." 
 
THE GLACIER 8i 
 
 " How ? " I asked. 
 
 " By that road," and he pointed to the glacier. 
 
 " It is a road to death ! " 
 
 " Well, if so, Horace, it would seem that in this 
 land men find life in death, or so they believe. If 
 we die now, we shall die travelling our path, and 
 in the country where we perish we may be born 
 again. At least I am determined, so you must 
 choose." 
 
 " I have chosen long ago. Leo, we began this 
 journey together and we will end it together. 
 Perhaps Ayesha knows and wiU help us," and I 
 laughed drearily. " If not — come, we are wasting 
 time." 
 
 Then we took counsel, and the end of it was that 
 we cut a skin rug and the yak's tough hide into 
 strips and knotted these together into two service- 
 able ropes, which we fastened about our middles, 
 leaving one end loose, for we thought that they 
 might help us in our descent. 
 
 Next we bound fragments of another skin rtig 
 about our legs and knees to protect them from the 
 chafing of the ice, and rocks, and for the same 
 reason put on our thick leather gloves. This done, 
 we took the remainder of our gear and heavy robes 
 and, having placed stones in them, threw them over 
 the brink of the precipice, trusting to find them 
 again, should we ever reach its foot. Now our 
 preparations were complete, and it was time for us 
 to start upon perhaps one of the most desperate 
 journeys ever undertaken by men of their own wiU. 
 
 Yet we stayed a little, looking at each other in 
 a piteous fashion, for we coiild not speak. Only 
 we embraced, and I confess, I think I wept a little. 
 It all seemed so sad and hopeless, these longings 
 endured through many years, these perpetual, 
 weary travellings, and now — the end. I could not 
 bear to think of that splendid man, my ward, my 
 
 F 
 
82 AYESHA 
 
 most dear friend, the companion of my life, who 
 stood before me so full of beauty and of vigour, 
 but who must within a few short minutes be turned 
 into a heap of quivering, mangled flesh. For myself 
 it did not matter. I was old, it was time that I 
 should die. I had lived innocently, if it were 
 innocent to follow this lovely image, this Siren of 
 the caves, who lured us on to doom. 
 
 No, I don't think that I thought of myself then, 
 but I thought a great deal of Leo, and when I saw 
 his determined face and flashing eyes as he nerved 
 himself to the last endeavour, I was proud of him. 
 So in broken accents I blessed him and wished him 
 well through all the aeons, praying that I might be 
 his companion to the end of time. In few words 
 and short he thanked me and gave me back my 
 blessing. Then he muttered — 
 
 " Come." 
 
 So side by side we began the terrible descent. At 
 first it was easy enough, although a slip would 
 have hurled us to eternity. But we v, ere strong 
 and skUful, accustomed to such places moreover, 
 and made none. About a quarter of the way 
 down we paused, standing upon a great boulder 
 that was embedded in the ice, and, turning round 
 cautiously, leaned our backs against the glacier 
 and looked about us. Truly it was a horrible 
 place, almost sheer, nor did we learn much, for 
 beneath us, a hundred and twenty feet or more, 
 the projecting bend cut off our view of what lay 
 below. 
 
 So, feeling that our nerves would not bear a pro- 
 longed contemplation of that dizzy gulf, once 
 more we set our faces to the ice and proceeded on 
 the downward climb. Now matters were more 
 difficult, for the stones were fewer and once or 
 twice we must slide to reach them, not knowing 
 if we should ever stop again. But the ropes which 
 
THE GLACIER 83 
 
 we threw over the angles of the rocks, or sahent 
 points of ice, letting ourselves down by their help 
 and drawing them after us when we reached the 
 next foothold, saved us from disaster. 
 
 Thus at length we came to the bend, which was 
 more than half way down the precipice, being, so far 
 as I could judge, about two hundred and fifty feet 
 from its lip, and say one hundred and fifty from the 
 darksome bottom of the narrow gulf. Here were 
 no stones, but only some rough ice, on which we 
 sat to rest. 
 
 " We must look," said Leo presently. 
 
 But the question was, how to do this. Indeed, 
 there was only one way, to hang over the bend 
 and discover what lay below. We read each other's 
 thought without the need of words, and I made a 
 motion as though I would start. 
 
 " No," said Leo, " I am younger and stronger 
 than you. Come, help me," and he began to 
 fasten the end of his rope to a strong, projecting 
 point of ice. " Now," he said, " hold my ankles." 
 
 It seemed an insanity, but there was nothing 
 else to be done, so, fixing my heels in a niche, I 
 grasped them and slowly he slid forward tiU his 
 body vanished to the middle. What he saw does 
 not matter, for I saw it all afterwards, but what 
 happened was that suddenly all his great weight 
 came upon my arms with such a jerk that his 
 ankles were torn from my grip. 
 
 Or,who knows ? perhaps in my terror I loosed them, 
 obe5dng the natural impulse which prompts a man 
 to save his own life. If so, may I be forgiven, but 
 had I held on, I must have been jerked into the 
 abyss. Then the rope ran out and remained taut. 
 
 " Leo ! " I screamed, " Leo ! " and I heard a 
 muffled voice saying, as I thought, " Come." What 
 it really said was — " Don't come." But indeed — 
 and may it go to my credit— I did not pause to 
 
84 AYESHA 
 
 think, but face outwards, just as I was sitting, 
 began to slide and scramble down the ice. 
 
 In two seconds I had reached the curve, in three 
 I was over it. Beneath was what I can only de- 
 scribe as a great icicle broken off short, and separ- 
 ated from the cliff by about four yards of space. 
 This icicle was not more than fifteen feet in length 
 and sloped outwards, so that my descent was not 
 sheer. Moreover, at the end of it the trickling of 
 water, or some such accident, had worn away the 
 ice, leaving a little ledge as broad, perhaps, as a 
 man's hand. There were roughnesses on the 
 surface below the curve, upon which my clothing 
 caught, also I gripped them desperately with my 
 fingers. Thus it came about that I slid down 
 quite gently and, my heels landing upon the little 
 ledge, remained almost upright, with outstretched 
 arms — ^like a person crucified to a cross of ice. 
 
 Then I saw everything, and the sight curdled 
 the blood within my veins. Hanging to the rope, 
 four or five feet below the broken point, was Leo, 
 out of reach of it, and out of reach of the cliff ; as 
 he hung turning slowly round and round, much 
 as — for in a dreadful, inconsequent fashion the 
 absurd similarity struck me even then — a joint 
 turns before the fire. Below yawned the black 
 gtilf, and at the bottom of it, far, far beneath, 
 appeared a faint, white sheet of snow. That is 
 what I saw. 
 
 Think of it ! Think of it ! I crucified upon the 
 ice, my heels resting upon a little ledge ; my fingers 
 grasping excrescences on which a bird could scarcely 
 have found a foothold ; round and below me dizzy 
 space. To climb back whence I came was impos- 
 sible, to stir even was impossible, since one slip 
 and I must be gone. 
 
 And below me, hung like a spider to its cord, Leo 
 turning slowly round and round ! 
 
THE GLACIER 85 
 
 I could see that rope of green hide stretch beneath 
 his weight and the double knots in it slip and 
 tighten, and I remember wondering which would give 
 first, the hide or the knots, or whether it would 
 hold till he dropped from the noose limb by limb. 
 
 Oh ! I have been in many a perilous pl9,ce, I who 
 sprang from the Swaying Stone to the point of the 
 Trembling Spur, and missed my aim, but never, never 
 in such a one as this. Agony took hold of me ; a 
 cold sweat burst from every pore. I could ieel it 
 running down my face like tears ; my hair bristled 
 upon my head. And below, in utter silence, Leo 
 turned round and round, and each time he turned 
 his up-cast eyes met mine with a look that was 
 horrible to see. 
 
 The silence was the worst of it, the silence and the 
 helplessness. If he had cried out, if he had strug- 
 gled, it would have been better. But to know that he 
 was alive there, with every nerve and perception at 
 its utmost stretch. Oh ! my God ! Oh ! my God ! 
 
 My limbs began to ache, and yet I dared not stir 
 a muscle. They ached horribly, or so I thought, 
 and beneath this torture, mental and physical, 
 my mind gave. I remembered things: remem- 
 bered how, as a child, I had climbed a tree and 
 reached a' place whence I could move neither up 
 nor down, and what I suffered then. Remembered 
 how once in Egypt a foolhardy friend of mine had 
 ascended the Second Pyramid alone, and become 
 thus crucified upon its shining cap, where he re- 
 mained for a whole half hour with four hundred 
 feet of space beneath him. I could see him now 
 stretching his stockinged foot downwards in a 
 vain attempt to reach the next crack, and drawing 
 it back again ; could see his tortured face, a white 
 blot upon the red granite. 
 
 Then that face vanished and blackness gathered 
 round me, and in the blackness visions : of the 
 
86 AYESHA 
 
 living, resistless avalanche, of the snow-grave into 
 which I had sunk — oh ! years and years ago ; of Aye- 
 sha demanding Leo's life at my hands. Blackness 
 and silence, through which I could only hear the 
 cracking of my muscles. 
 
 Suddenly in the blackness a flash, and in the silence 
 a sound. The flash was the flash of a knife which 
 Leo had drawn. He was hacking at the cord with it 
 fiercely, fiercely, to make an end. And the sound 
 was that of the noise he made, a ghastly noise, half 
 shout of defiance and half yell of terror, as at 
 the third stroke it parted. 
 
 I saw it part. The tough hide was half cut through, 
 and its severed portion curled upwards and down- 
 wards like the upper and lower lips of an angry dog, 
 whilst that which was unsevered stretched out 
 slowly, slowly, tUl it grew quite thin. Then it snapped, 
 so that the rope flew upwards and struck me across 
 the face like the lash of a whip. 
 
 Another instant and I heard a crackling, thudding 
 sound. Leo had struck the ground below. Leo 
 was dead, a mangled mass of flesh and bone as I 
 had pictured him. I could not bear it. My nerve 
 and human dignity came back. I would not wait 
 until, my strength exhausted, I slid from my perch 
 as a wounded bird falls from a tree. No, I would 
 follow him at once, of my own act. 
 
 I let my arms fall against my sides, and rejoiced 
 in the relief from pain that the movement gave me. 
 Then balanced upon my heels, I stood upright, 
 took my last look at the sky, muttered my last 
 prayer. For an instant I remained thus poised. 
 
 Shouting, " I come," I raised my hands above 
 my head and dived as a bather dives, dived into 
 the black gulf beneath. 
 
" He was hacking at the cord with it fiercely." 
 Ayes'ia 3 [Pis'' 86. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 IN THE GATE 
 
 OH ! that rush through space f Folk falling 
 thus are supposed to lose consciousness, but 
 I can assert that this is not true. Never were my 
 wits and perceptions more lively than while I tra- 
 velled from that broken glacier to the ground, and 
 never did a short journey seem to take a longer time. 
 I saw the white floor, like some living thing, leaping 
 up through empty air to meet me, then — finis ! 
 
 Crash ! Why, what was this ? I still lived. I 
 was in water, for I could feel its chill, and going 
 down, down, till I thought I should never rise again. 
 But rise I did, though my lungs were nigh to bursting 
 first. As I floated up towards the top I remembered 
 the crash, which told me that I had passed through 
 ice. Therefore I should meet ice at the surface 
 again. Oh ! to think that after surviving so much 
 I must be drowned like a kitten and beneath a sheet 
 of ice. My hands touched it. There it was above 
 me shining white like glass. Heaven be praised ! 
 My head broke through ; in this low and sheltered 
 gorge it was but a film no thicker than a penny 
 formed by the light frost of the previous night. So I 
 rose from the deep and stared about me, treading 
 water with my feet. 
 
 Then I saw the gladdest sight that ever my eyes 
 beheld, for on the right, not ten yards away, the 
 water running from his hair and beard, was Leo. 
 Leo alive, for he broke the thin ice with his arms as 
 
88 AYESHA 
 
 he struggled towards the shore from the deep river.' 
 He saw me also, and his grey eyes seemed to start 
 out of his head. 
 
 "Still living, both of us, ?,nd the precipice passed ! " 
 he shouted in a ringing, exultant voice. " I told 
 you we were led." 
 
 " Aye, but whither ? " I answered, as I too fought 
 my way through the film of ice. 
 
 Then it was I became aware that we were no 
 longer alone, for on the bank of the river, some thirty 
 yards from us, stood two figures, a man leaning 
 upon a long staff and a woman. He was a very old 
 man, for his eyes were horny, his snow-white hair and 
 beard hung upon the bent breast and shoulders, and 
 his sardonic, wrinkled features were yellow as wax. 
 They might have been those of a death mask cut in 
 marble. There, clad in an ample, monkish robe, and 
 leaning upon the staff, he stood still as a statue and 
 watched us. I noted it all, every detail, although 
 at the time I did not know that I was doing so, as 
 we broke our way through the ice towards them and 
 afterwards the picture came back to me. Also I saw 
 that the woman, who was very taU, pointed to us. 
 
 Nearer the bank, or rather to the rock edge of the 
 river, its surface was free of ice, for here the stream 
 ran very swiftly. Seeing this, we drew close together 
 and swam on side by side to help each other if need 
 were. There was much need, for in the fringe of 
 the torrent the strength that had served me so long 
 seemed to desert me, and I became helpless ; 
 numbed, too, with the biting coldness of the water. 
 
 1 Usually, as we learned afterwards, the river at this spot 
 was quite shallow; only a foot or two in depth. It was the 
 avalanche that by damming it with fallen heaps of snow 
 had raised its level very many feet. Therefore, to this 
 avalanche, which had threatened to destroy us, we in reality 
 owed our hves, for had the stream stood only at its normal 
 height we must have been dashed to pieces upon the stones. 
 — L.H.H. 
 
IN THE GATE 89 
 
 Indeed, had not Leo grasped my clothes I think 
 that I should have been swept away by the current 
 to perish. Thus aided I fought on a while, till he 
 said — 
 
 " I am going under. Hold to the rope end." 
 
 So I gripped the strip of yak's hide that was stiU 
 fast about him, and, his hand thus freed, Leo made 
 a last splendid effort to keep us both, cumbered as 
 we were with the thick, soaked garments that 
 dragged us down like lead, from being sucked 
 beneath the surface. Moreover, he succeeded where 
 any other swimmer of less strength must have 
 failed. Still, I believe that we should have drowned, 
 since here the water ran like a miU-race, had not 
 the man upon the shore, seeing our plight and urged 
 thereto by the woman, run with surprising swiftness 
 in one so aged, to a point of rock that jutted some 
 yards into the stream, past which we were being 
 swept, and seating himself, stretched out his long 
 stick towards us. 
 
 With a desperate endeavour, Leo grasped it as 
 we went by, rolling over and over each other, and 
 held on. Round we swung into the eddy, found 
 our feet, were knocked down again, rubbed and 
 pounded on the rocks. But still gripping that staff 
 of salvation, to his end of which the old man clung 
 like a limpet to a stone, while the woman clung to 
 him, we recovered ourselves, and, sheltered somewhat 
 by the rock, floundered towards the shore. L3dng 
 on his face — for we were still in great danger — the 
 man extended his arm. We could not reach it ; 
 and worse, suddenly the staff was torn from him ; 
 we were being swept away. 
 
 Then it was that the woman did a noble thing, 
 for springing into the water — yes, up to her armpits 
 —and holding fast to the old man by her left hand, 
 with the right she seized Leo's hair and dragged him 
 shorewards. Now he found his feet for a moment, 
 
go AYESHA 
 
 and throwing one arm about her slender form, 
 steadied himself thus, while with the other he 
 supported me. Next followed a long confused 
 struggle, but the end of it was that three of us, 
 the old man, Leo and I, rolled in a heap upon the 
 bank and lay there gasping. 
 
 Presently I looked up. The woman stood over us, 
 water streaming from her garments, staring like one 
 in a dream at Leo's face, smothered as it was with 
 blood running from a deep cut in his head. Even then 
 I noticed how stately and beautiful she was. Now she 
 seemed to awake and, glancing at the robes that 
 clung to her splendid shape, said something to her 
 companion, then turned and ran towards the cliff. 
 
 As we lay before him, utterly exhausted, the old 
 man, who had risen, contemplated us solemnly with 
 his dim eyes- He spoke, but we did not understand. 
 Again he tried another language and without success. 
 A third time and our ears were opened, for the 
 tongue he used was Greek ; yes, there in Central 
 Asia he addressed us in Greek, not very pure, it is 
 true, but still Greek. 
 
 "Are you wizards," he said, " that you have lived 
 to reach this land ? " 
 
 " Nay," I answered in the same tongue, though 
 in broken words — since of Greek I had thought 
 httle for many a year — " for then we should have 
 come otherwise," and I pointed to our hurts and 
 the precipice behind us. 
 
 " They know the ancient speech ; it is as we were 
 told from the Mountain," he muttered to himself. 
 Then he asked — 
 
 " Strangers, what seek you ? " 
 
 Now I grew cunning and did not answer, fearing 
 lest, should he learn the truth, he would thrust us 
 back into the river. But Leo had no such caution, 
 or rather all reason had left him ; he was light- 
 headed. 
 
" lie threw one %rm round her slender form, while wiLh the other ha 
 
 supported me." 
 
 AyesAa.] [Paffi ya. 
 
72V THE GATE 91 
 
 " We seek," he stuttered out — his Greek, which 
 had always been feeble, now was simply barbarous 
 and mixed with various Thibetan dialects — " we 
 seek the land of the Fire Mountain that is crowned 
 with the Sign of Life." 
 
 The man stared at us. " So you know," he said, 
 then broke off and added, " and whom do you seek ? " 
 
 " Her," answered Leo wildly, " the Queen." I 
 think that he meant to say the priestess, or the 
 goddess, but could only think of the Greek for 
 Queen, or rather something resembling it. Or 
 perhaps it was because the woman who had gone 
 looked Uke a queen. 
 
 " Oh ! " said the man, " you seek a queen — then 
 you are those for whom we were bidden to watch. 
 Nay, how can I be sure ? " 
 
 " Is this a time to put questions ? " I gasped 
 angrily. " Answer me one rather : who are you ? " 
 
 " I ? Strangers, my title is Guardian of the Gate, 
 and the lady who was with me is the Khania of 
 Kaloon." 
 
 At this point Leo began to faint. 
 
 " That man is sick," said the Guardian, "and now 
 that you have got your breath again, you must' have 
 shelter, both of you, and at once. Come, help me." 
 
 So, supporting Leo on either side, we dragged our- 
 selves away from that accursed cliff and Styx-like 
 river up a narrow, winding gorge. Presently it 
 opened out, and there, stretching across the glade, we 
 saw the Gate. Of this all I observed then , for my 
 memory of the details of this scene and of the con- 
 versation that passed is very weak and blurred, was 
 that it seemed to be a mighty wall of rock in which 
 a pathway had been hoUowed where doubtless once 
 passed the road. On one side of this passage was 
 a stair, which we began to ascend with great difficulty, 
 for Leo was now almost senseless and scarcely moved 
 his legs. Indeed at the head of the first flight he 
 
92 AYESHA 
 
 sank down in a heap, nor did our strength suffice 
 to lift him. 
 
 While I wondered feebly what was to be 
 done, I heard footsteps, and looking up, saw the 
 woman who had saved him descending the stair, 
 and after her two robed men with a Tartar cast of 
 countenance, very impassive ; small eyes and yellow- 
 ish skin. Even the sight of us did not appear to 
 move them to astonishment. She spoke some words 
 to them, whereon they lifted Leo's heavy frame, 
 apparently with ease, and carried him up the 
 steps. 
 
 We followed, and reached a room that seemed to 
 be hewn from the rock above the gateway, where the 
 woman called Khania left us. From it we passed 
 through other rooms, one of them a kind of kitchen, 
 in which a fire burned, tiU we came to a large 
 chamber, evidently a sleeping place, for in it were 
 wooden bedsteads, mattresses and rugs. Here 
 Leo was laid down, and with the assistance of one 
 of his servants, the old Guardian undressed him, 
 at the same time motioning me to take off my 
 own garments. This I did gladly enough, for the 
 first time during many days though with great pain 
 and difficulty, to find that I was a mass of 
 wounds and bruises. 
 
 Presently our host blew upon a whistle, and the 
 other servant appeared bringing hot water in a jar, 
 with which we were washed over. Then the 
 Guardian dressed our hurts with some soothing 
 ointment, and wrapped us round with blankets. 
 After this broth was brought, into which he mixed 
 medicine, and giving me a portion to drink 
 where I lay upon one of the beds, he took 
 Leo's head upon his knee and poured the rest of 
 it down his throat. Instantly a wonderful warmth 
 ran through me, and my aching brain began to 
 swim. Then I remembered no more. 
 
IN THE GATE 93 
 
 After this we were very, very ill. What may be 
 the exact medical definition of our sickness I 
 do not know, but in effect it was such as follows 
 loss of blood, extreme exhaustion of body, paralysing 
 shock to the nerves and extensive cuts and con- 
 tusions. These taken together produced a long period 
 of semi-unconsciousness, followed by another period 
 of fever and delirium. AU that I can recall of those 
 weeks while we remained the guests of the Guardian 
 of the Gate, may be summed up in one word — 
 dreams, that is until at last I recovered my senses. 
 
 The dreams themselves are forgotten, which is 
 perhaps as well, since they were very confused, and for 
 the most part awful ; a hotch-potch of nightmares, 
 reflected without doubt from vivid memories of our 
 recent and fearsome sufferings. At times I would 
 wake up from them a little, I suppose when food 
 was administered to me, and receive impressions of 
 whatever was passing in the place. Thus I can 
 recollect that yeUow-faced old Guardian standing 
 over me like a ghost in the moonlight, stroking 
 his long beard, his eyes fixed upon my face, as 
 though he would search out the secrets of my 
 soul. 
 
 " They are the men," he muttered to himself, 
 " without doubt they are the men," then walked to 
 the window and looked up long and earnestly, like 
 one who studies the stars. 
 
 After this I remember a disturbance in the room, 
 and dominating it, as it were, the rich sound of a 
 woman's voice and the rustle of a woman's silks 
 sweeping the stone floor. I opened my eyes and 
 saw that it was she who had helped to rescue us, 
 who had rescued us in fact, a taU and noble-looking 
 lady with a beauteous, weary face and hquid eyes 
 which seemed to burn. From the heavy cloak she 
 wore I thought tliat she must have just returned 
 fromajoumry. 
 
94 AYESHA 
 
 She stood above me and looked at me, then turned 
 away with a gesture of indifference, if not of disgust, 
 speaking to the Guardian in a low voice. By way 
 of answer he bowed, pointing to the other bed where 
 Leo lay asleep, and thither she passed with slow, 
 imperious movements. I saw her bend down and 
 lift the corner of a wrapping which covered his 
 wounded head, and heard her utter some smothered 
 words before she turned round to the Guardian as 
 though to question him further. 
 
 But he had gone, and being alone, for she thought 
 me senseless, she drew a rough stool to the side of 
 the bed, and seating herself studied Leo, who lay 
 thereon, with an earnestness that was almost 
 terrible, for her soul seemed to be concentrated in 
 her eyes, and to find expression through them. 
 Long she gazed thus, then rose and began to walk 
 swiftly up and down the chamber, pressing her 
 hands now to her bosom and now to her brow, a 
 certain passionate perplexity stamped upon her face, 
 as though she struggled to remember something 
 and could not. 
 
 " Where and when ? " she whispered. " Oh ! 
 where and when ? " 
 
 Of the end of that scene I know nothing, for 
 although I fought hard against it, oblivion mastered 
 me. After this I became aware that the regal- 
 looking woman called Khania, was always in the 
 room, and that she seemed to be nursing Leo with 
 great care and tenderness. Sometimes even she 
 nursed me when Leo did not need attention, and 
 she had nothing else to do, or so her maimer seemed 
 to suggest. It was as though I excited her curiosity, 
 and she wished me to recover that it might be 
 satisfied. 
 
 Again I awoke, how long afterwards I cannot say. 
 It was night, and the room was lighted by the moon 
 only, now shining in a clear sky. Its steady rays 
 
IN THE GATE 95 
 
 entering at the window-place fell on Leo's bed, and 
 by them I saw that the dark, imperial woman was 
 watching at his side. Some sense of her presence 
 must have communicated itself to him, for he began 
 to mutter in his sleep, now in English, now in Arabic. 
 She became intensely interested ; as her every move- 
 ment showed. Then rising suddenly she glided across 
 the room on tiptoe to look at me. Seeing her com- 
 ing I feigned to be asleep, and so well that she was 
 deceived. 
 
 For I was also interested. Who was this lady 
 whom the Guardian had called the Khania of 
 Kaloon ? Could it be she whom we sought ? Why 
 not ? And yet if I saw Ayesha, surely I should 
 know her, surely there would be no room for doubt. 
 
 Back she went again to the bed, kneeling down 
 beside Leo, and in the intense silence which followed — 
 for he had ceased his mutterings — I thought that I 
 could hear the beating of her heart. Now she began 
 to speak, very low and in that same bastard Greek 
 tongue, mixed here and there with Mongolian words 
 such as are common to the dialects of Central Asia. 
 I could not hear or understand aU she said, but some 
 sentences I did understand, and they frightened me 
 not a Mttle. 
 
 " Man of my dreams^" she murmured, " whence 
 come you ? Who are you ? Why did the Hesea 
 bid me to meet you ? " Then some sentences I could 
 not catch. " You sleep ; in sleep the eyes are opened. 
 Answer, I bid you ; say what is the bond between 
 you and me ? Why have I dreamt of you ? Why 
 
 do I know you ? Why ? " and the sweet, rich 
 
 voice died slowly from a whisper into silence, as 
 though she were ashamed to utter what was on 
 her tongue. 
 
 As she bent over him a lock of her hair broke 
 loose from its jewelled fillet and fell across his face. 
 At its touch Leo seemed to wake, for he lifted his 
 
96 AYESHA 
 
 gaunt, white hand and touched the hair, then said 
 in English — 
 
 " Where am I ? Oh ! I remember; " and their 
 eyes met as he strove to lift himself and could not. 
 Then he spoke again in his broken, stumbling 
 Greek, " You are the lady who saved me from the 
 water. Say, are you also that queen whom I have 
 sought so long and endured so much to find ? " 
 
 " I know not," she answered in a voice as sweet 
 as honey, a low, trembling voice ; " but true it is I 
 am a queen — if a Khania be a queen." 
 
 " Say then. Queen, do you remember me ? " 
 " We have met in dreams," she answered, " I 
 think that we have met in a past that is far away. 
 Yes ; I knew it when first I saw you there by the 
 river. Stranger with the well-remembered face, 
 tell me, I pray you, how you are named ? " 
 " Leo Vincey." 
 
 She shook her head, whispering — 
 " I know not the name, yet you I know." 
 " You know me ! How do you know me ? " he 
 said heavily, and seemed to sink again into slumber 
 or swoon. 
 
 She watched him for awhile very intently. Then 
 
 as though some force that she could not resist drew 
 
 her, I saw her bend down her head over his sleeping 
 
 face. Yes ; and I saw her kiss him swiftly on the lips, 
 
 then spring back crimson to the hair, as though over- 
 
 whdmed with shame at this victory of her mad 
 
 passion. 
 
 Now it was that she discovered me. 
 
 Bewildered, fascinated, amazed, I had raised 
 
 myself upon my bed, not knowing it ; I suppose that 
 
 I might see and hear the better. It was wrong, 
 
 doubtless, but no common curiosity over-mastered 
 
 me, who had my share in all this story. More, it was 
 
 foolish, but illness and wonder had killed my reason. 
 
 Yes, she saw me watching them, and such fury 
 
IN THE GATE 97 
 
 seemed to take hold of her that I thought my hour 
 had come. 
 
 " Man, have you dared ? " she said in an 
 
 intense whisper, and snatching at her girdle. Now 
 in her hand shone a knife, and I knew that it was 
 destined for my heart. Then in this sore danger 
 my wit came back to me, and as she advanced I 
 stretched out my shaking hand, saying — 
 
 " Oh ! of your pity, give me to drink. The fever 
 burns me, it burns," and I looked round like one 
 bewildered who sees not, repeating, " Give me 
 drink, you who are called Guardian," and I fell back 
 exhausted. 
 
 She stopped like a hawk in its stoop, and 
 swiftly sheathed the dagger. Then taking a bowl 
 of milk that stood on a table near her, she held it 
 to my lips, searching my face the while with her 
 flaming eyes, for indeed passion, rage, and fear had 
 lit them till they seemed to flame. I drank the 
 milk in great gulps, though never in my life did I 
 find it more hard to swallow. 
 
 " You tremble," she said ; " have dreams haunted 
 
 you ? " 
 
 " Aye, friend," I answered, " dreams of that fear- 
 some precipice and of the last leap." 
 
 " Aught else ? " she asked. 
 
 " Nay; is it not enough ? Oh ! what a journey 
 to have taken to befriend a queen." 
 
 " To befriend a queen," she repeated puzzled. 
 " What means the man ? You swear you have had 
 no other dreams ? " 
 
 " Aye, I swear by the Symbol of Life and the 
 Mount of the Wavering Flame, and by yourself, 
 O Queen from the ancient days." 
 
 Then I sighed and pretended to swoon, for I could 
 think of nothing else to do. As I closed my eyes I 
 saw her face that had been red as dawn turn pale as 
 eve, for my words and all which might lie behind them, 
 
 G 
 
98 AYESHA 
 
 had gone home. Moreover, she was in doubt, for I 
 could hear her fingering the handle of the dagger. 
 Then she spoke aloud, words for ray ears if they still 
 were open. 
 
 " I am glad," she said, " that he dreamed no other 
 dreams, since had he done so and babbled of them 
 it would have been ill-omened, and I do not wish 
 that one who has travelled far to visit us should 
 be hurled to the death-dogs for burial ; one, more- 
 over, who although old and hideous, still has the air 
 of a wise and silent man." 
 
 Now while I shivered at these unpleasant hints — 
 though what the " death-dogs " in which people 
 were buried might be, I could not conceive — to my 
 intense joy I heard the foot of the Guardian on the 
 stair, heard him too enter the room and saw him 
 bow before the lady. 
 
 " How go these sick men, niece ? " ^ he said in 
 his cold voice. 
 
 " They swoon, both of them," she answered. 
 
 " Indeed, is it so ? I thought otherwise. I 
 thought they woke." 
 
 " What have you heard. Shaman (i.e. wizard) ? " 
 she asked angrily. 
 
 " I ? Oh ! I heard the grating of a dagger in 
 its sheath and the distant baying of the death- 
 hounds." 
 
 " And what have you seen. Shaman ? " she asked 
 again, " looking through the Gate you guard ? " 
 
 " Strange sights, Khania, my niece. But — men 
 awake from swoons." 
 
 " Aye," she answered, " so while this one sleeps, 
 bear him to another chamber, for he needs change, 
 and the lord yonder needs more space and un- 
 tainted air." 
 
 The Guardian, whom she called " Shaman " or 
 
 * I found later that the Khania, Atene, was not Simbri's 
 niece but his great-niece, on the mother's side. — L. H. H. 
 
IN THE GATE 99 
 
 Magician, held a lamp in his hand, and by its light 
 it was easy to see his face, which I watched out of 
 the comer of my eye. I thought that it wore a very 
 strange expression, one moreover that alarmed me 
 somewhat. From the beginning I had misdoubted 
 me of this old man, whose cast of countenance was 
 vindictive as it was able ; now I was afraid of him. 
 
 " To which chamber, Khania ? " he said with 
 meaning. 
 
 " I think," she answered slowly, " to one that is 
 healthful, where he will recover. The man has 
 wisdom," she added as though in explanation, "more- 
 over, having the word from the Mountain, to harm 
 him would be dangerous. But why do you 
 ask?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " I tell you I heard the death-hounds bay, that is 
 all. Yes, with you I think that he has wisdom, 
 and the bee which seeks honey should suck the 
 flower — ^before it fades ! Also, as you say, there are 
 commands with which it is ill to trifle, even if we 
 cannot guess their meaning." 
 
 Then going to the door he blew upon his whistle, 
 and instantly I heard the feet of his servants upon 
 the stairs. He gave them an order, and gently 
 enough they lifted the mattress on which I lay and 
 followed him down sundry passages and past some 
 stairs into another chamber shaped like that we 
 had left, but not so large, where they placed me 
 upon a bed. 
 
 The Guardian watched me awhile to see that I 
 did not wake. Next he stretched out his hand and 
 felt my heart and pulse ; an examination the 
 resxilts of which seemed to puzzle him, for he uttered 
 a little exclamation and shook his head. After 
 this he left the room, and I heeird him bolt the door 
 behind him. Then, being still very weak, I fell 
 asleep in earnest. 
 
100 AYESHA 
 
 When I awoke it was broad daylight. My mind 
 was clear and I felt better than I had done for 
 many a day, signs by which I knew that the fever 
 had left me and that I was on the high road to 
 recovery, Now I remembered all the events of the 
 previous night and was able to weigh them care- 
 fully. This, to be sure, I did for many reasons, 
 among them that I knew I had been and still was, 
 in great danger. 
 
 I had seen and heard too much, and this woman 
 called Khania guessed that I had seen and heard. 
 Indeed, had it not been for my hints about the 
 Symbol of Life and the Mount of Flame, after 
 I had disarmed her first rage by my artifice, 
 I felt sure that she would have ordered the old 
 Guardian or Shaman to do me to death in this 
 way or the other ; sure also that he would not have 
 hesitated to obey her. I had been spared partly 
 because, for some unknown reason, she was afraid to 
 kill me, and partly that she might learn how much 
 I knew, although the " death-hounds had bayed," 
 whatever that might mean. Well, up to the present 
 I was safe, and for the rest I must take my chance. 
 Moreover it was necessary to be cautious, and, if 
 need were, to feign ignorance. So, dismissing the 
 matter of my own fate from my mind, I fell to 
 considering the scene which I had witnessed and 
 what might be its purport. 
 
 Was our quest at an end ? Was this woman 
 Ayesha ? Leo had so dreamed, but he was still 
 delirious, therefore here was little on which to lean. 
 What seemed more to the point was that she herself 
 evidently appeared to think that there existed some 
 tie between her and this sick man. Why had she 
 embraced him ? I was sure that she could be no 
 wanton, nor indeed would any woman indulge for 
 its own sake in such folly with a stranger who hung 
 between life and death. What she had done was 
 
IN THE GATE loi 
 
 done because irresistible impulse, born of know- 
 ledge, or at least of memories, drove her on, though 
 mayhap the knowledge was imperfect and the 
 memories were undefined. Who save Ayesha could 
 have known anything of Leo in the past ? None who 
 lived upon the earth to-day. 
 
 And yet, why not, if what Kou-en the abbot and 
 tens of millions of his fellow-worshippers believed 
 were true ? If the souls of human beings were in 
 fact strictly limited in number and became the 
 tenants of an endless succession of physical bodies 
 which they change from time to time as we change 
 our worn-out garments, why should not others have 
 known him ? For instance that daughter of the 
 Pharaohs who " caused hitn through love to break 
 the vows that he had vowed" knew a certain KaUi- 
 krates, a priest of " Isis whom the gods cherish and 
 the demons obey " ; even Amenartas, the mistress 
 of magic. 
 
 Oh ! now a light seemed to break upon me, a 
 wonderful light. What if Amenartas and this Khania, 
 this woman with royalty stamped on every feature, 
 should be the same ? Would not that " magic of 
 my own people that I have " of which she wrote 
 upon the Sherd, enable her to pierce the darkness 
 of the Past and recognize the priest whom she had 
 bewitched to love her, snatching him out of the very 
 hand of the goddess ? What if it were not Ayesha, 
 biit Amenartas re-incarnate who ruled this hidden 
 land and once more sought to make the man 
 she loved break through his vows ? If so, knowing 
 the evil that must come, I shook even at its shadow. 
 The truth must be learned, but how ? 
 
 Whilst i wondered the door opened, and the 
 sardonic, inscrutable-old-faced man, whom this 
 Khania had called Magician, and who called the 
 Khania niece, entered and stood before me. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE FIRST ORDEAL 
 
 THE Shaman advanced to my side and asked 
 me courteously how I fared. 
 
 I answered, " Better. Far better, oh, my host 
 — ^but how are you named ? " 
 
 " Simbri," he answered, " and, as I told you by 
 the water, my title is Hereditary Guardian of the 
 Gate. By profession I am the royal Physician in 
 this land." 
 
 " Did you say physician or magician ? " I asked 
 carelessly, as though I had not caught the word'. 
 He gave me a curious look. 
 
 " I said physician, and it is well for you and your 
 companion that I have some skill in my art. Other- 
 wisel think, perhaps, you would not have been alive 
 to-day, O my guest — but how are you named ? " 
 
 " HoUy," I said. 
 
 " O my guest. Holly." 
 
 " Had it not been for the foresight that brought 
 you and the lady Khania to the edge of yonder 
 darksome river, certainly we should not have been 
 alive, venerable Simbri, a foresight that seems to 
 me to savour of magic in such a lonely place. That 
 is why I thought you might have described yourself 
 as a magician, though it is true that you may have 
 been but fishing in those waters." 
 
 " Certainly I was fishing, stranger Holly — for 
 men, and I caught two." 
 
 '* Fishing by chance, host Simbri ? " 
 
 "Nay, by design, guest Holly. My trade of 
 physician includes the study of future events, for 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL 103 
 
 I am the chief of the Shamans or Seers of this land, 
 and, having been warned of your coming quite 
 recently, I awaited your arrival." 
 
 " Indeed, that is strange, most courteous also. 
 So here physician and magician mean the same." 
 
 " You say it," he answered with a grave bow ; 
 " but tell me, if you will, how did you find your way 
 to a land whither visitors do not wander ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " I answered, " perhaps we are but 
 travellers, or perhaps we also have studied — 
 medicine." 
 
 " I think that you must have studied it deeply, 
 since otherwise you would not have lived to cross 
 those mountains in search of — now, what did you 
 seek ? Your companion, I think, spoke of a queen 
 — yonder, on the banks of the torrent." 
 
 "Did he? Did he, indeed? Well, that is 
 strange since he seems to have found one, for surely 
 that royal-looking lady, named Khania, who sprang 
 into the stream and saved us, must be a queen." 
 
 " A queen she is, and a great one, for in our land 
 Khania means queen, though how, friend Holly, 
 a man who has lain senseless can have learned this, 
 I do not know. Nor do I know how you come to 
 speak our language." 
 
 " That is simple, for the tongue you talk is very 
 ancient, and as it chances in my own country it 
 has been my lot to study and to teach it. It is 
 Greek, but although it is still spoken in the world, 
 how it reached these mountains I cannot say." 
 
 " I will tell you," he answered. " Many genera- 
 tions ago a great conqueror born of the nation that 
 spoke this tongue fought his way through the 
 country to the south of us. He was driven back, 
 but a general of his of another race advanced and 
 crossed the mountains, and overcame the people of 
 this land, bringing with him his master's language 
 and his own worship. Here he established his 
 
104 AYESHA 
 
 dynasty, and here it remains, for being ringed in 
 with deserts and with pathless mountain snows, we 
 hold no converse with the outer world." 
 
 " Yes, I know something of that story ; the con- 
 queror was named Alexander, was he not ? " I asked, 
 
 " He was so named, and the name of the general 
 was Rassen, a native of a country called Egj^jt, or 
 so our records tell us. His descendants hold the 
 throne to this day, and the Khania is of his blood." 
 
 " Was the goddess whom he worshipped called 
 Isis ? " 
 
 " Nay," he answered, " she was called Hes." 
 
 " Which," I interrupted, " is but another title for 
 Isis. Tell me, is her worship continued here ? I 
 ask because it is now dead in Egypt, which was its 
 home." 
 
 " There is a temple on the Mountain yonder," 
 he repUed indifferently, " and in it are priests 
 and priestesses who practise some ancient cult. 
 But the real god of this people now, as long before 
 the day of Rassen their conqueror, is the fire that 
 dwells in this same Mountain, which from time to 
 time breaks out and slays them." 
 
 " And does a goddess dwell in the fire ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 Again he searched my face with his cold eyes, 
 then answered— 
 
 " Stranger Holly, I know nothing of any goddess. 
 That Mountain is sacred, and to seek to learn its 
 secrets is to die. Why do you ask such questions ? " 
 
 " Only because I am curious in the matter of old 
 religions, and seeing the symbol of Life upon yonder 
 peak, came hither to study yours, of which indeed 
 a tradition still remains among the learned." 
 
 " Then abandon that study, friend Holly, for 
 the road to it runs through the jaws of the death- 
 hounds, and the spears of savages Nor indeed is 
 there anything to learn," 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL 105 
 
 " And what, Physician, are the death-hounds ? " 
 
 " Certain dogs to which, according to our ancient 
 custom, all offenders against the law or the will of 
 the Khan, are cast to be torn to pieces." 
 
 "The will of the Khan! Has this Khania of 
 yours a husband then ? " 
 
 " Aye," he answered, " her cousin, who was the 
 ruler of half the land. Now they and the land are 
 one. But you have talked enough ; I am here to 
 say that your food is ready," and he turned to 
 leave the room. 
 
 " One more question, friend Simbri. How came 
 I to this chamber, and where is my companion ? " 
 
 " You were borne hither in your sleep, and see, 
 the change has bettered you. Do you remember 
 nothing ? " 
 
 " Nothing, nothing at all," I answered earnestly. 
 " But what of my friend ? " 
 
 " He also is better. The Khania Atene nurses 
 him." 
 
 "Atene ?" I said. " That is an old Egyptian name. 
 It meanss the Disk of the Sun, and a woman who 
 bore it thousands of years ago was famous for her 
 beauty.'* 
 
 " Well, and is not my niece Atene beautiful ? " 
 
 " How can I tell, O uncle of the Khania," I 
 answered wearily, " who have scarcely seen her ? " 
 
 Then he departed, and presently his yellow- 
 faced, sUent servants brought me my food. 
 
 Later in the morning the door opened again, and 
 through it, unattended, came the Khania Atene, 
 who shut and bolted it behind her. This action 
 did not reassure me, still, rising in my bed, I saluted 
 her as best I could, although at heart I was afraid. 
 She seemed to read my doubts for she said — 
 
 " Lie down, and have no fear. At present you 
 will come by no harm from me. Now, tell me what 
 is the man called Leo to you ? Your son ? Nay, 
 
io6 AYESHA 
 
 it cannot be, since — forgive me — flight is not born 
 of darkness." 
 
 " I have always thought that it was so born, 
 Khania. Yet you are right ; he is but my adopted 
 son, and a man whom I love." 
 
 " Say, what seek you here ? " she asked. 
 
 " We seek, Khania, whatsoever Fate shall bring 
 us on yonder Mountain, that which is crowned with 
 flame." 
 
 Her face paled at the words, but she answered 
 in a steady voice — 
 
 " Then there you wUl find nothing but doom, 
 if indeed you do not find it before you reach its 
 slopes, which are guarded by savage men. Yonder 
 is the CoUege of Hes, and to violate its Sanctuary 
 is death to any man, death in the ever-burning 
 fire." 
 
 And who rules this college, Khania — a 
 priestess ? " 
 
 " Yes, a priestess, whose face I have never seen, 
 for she is so old" that she veils herself from curious 
 eyes." 
 
 " Ah ! she veils herself, does she ? " I answered, 
 as the blood went thrilling through my veins, I who 
 remembered another who also was so old that she 
 veiled herself from curious eyes. " Well, veiled 
 or unveiled, we would visit her, trusting to find that 
 we are welcome." 
 
 " That you shall not do," she said, " for it is 
 unlawful, and I will not have your blood upon my 
 hands." 
 
 " Which is the stronger," I asked of her, " you, 
 Khania, or this priestess of the Mountain ? " 
 
 " I am the stronger. Holly, for so you are named, 
 are you not ? Look you, at my need I can sum- 
 mon sixty thousand men in war, while she has 
 naught but her priests and the fierce, untrained 
 tribes." 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL 107 
 
 " The sword is not the only power in the world," 
 I answered. " Tell me, now, does this priestess 
 ever visit the country of Kaloon ? " 
 
 " Never, never, for by the ancient pact, made after 
 the last great struggle long centuries ago beween the 
 College and the people of the Plain, it was decreed 
 and sworn to that should she set her foot across the 
 river, this means war to the end between us, and 
 rule for the victor over both. Likewise, save when 
 unguarded they bear their dead to burial, or 
 for some such high purpose, no Khan or Khania 
 of Kaloon ascends the Mountain." 
 
 " Which then is the true master — the Khan of 
 Kaloon or the head of the College of Hes ? " I asked 
 again. 
 
 " In matters spiritual, the priestess of Hes, who 
 is our Oracle and the voice of Heaven. In matters 
 temporal, the Khan of Kaloon." 
 
 " The Khan. Ah ! you are married, lady, are 
 you not ? " 
 
 " Aye," she answered, her face flushing. " And 
 I will tell you what you soon must learn, if you 
 have not learned it already, I am the wife of a mad- 
 man, and he is — hateful to me." 
 
 " I have learned the last already, Khania." 
 
 She looked at me with her piercing eyes. 
 
 " What ! Did my uncle, the Shaman, he who 
 is called Guardian, tell you ? Nay, you saw, as I 
 knew you saw, and it would have been best to slay 
 you for, oh ! what must you think of me ? " 
 
 I made no answer, for in truth I did not know 
 what to think, also I feared lest further rash ad- 
 missions should be followed by swift vengeance, 
 
 " You must believe," she went on, " that I, who 
 have ever hated men, that I — I swear that it is 
 true — ^whose lips are purer than those mountain 
 snows, I, the Khania of Kaloon, whom they name 
 Heart-of-Ice, am but a shameless thing." And, 
 
io8 AYESHA 
 
 covering her face with her hand, she moaned in the 
 bitterness. of her distress. 
 
 " Nay," I said, " there may be reasons, explana- 
 tions, if it pleases you to give them." 
 
 " Wanderer, there are such reasons ; and since 
 you know so much, you shall learn them also. Like 
 that husband of mine, I have become mad. When 
 first I saw the face of your companion, as I dragged 
 him from the river, madness entered me, and I 
 —I " 
 
 " Loved him," I suggested. " Well, such things 
 have happened before to people who were not mad." 
 
 " Oh ! " she went on, " it was more than love ; 
 I was possessed, and that night I knew not what I 
 did. A Power drove me on ; a Destiny compelled 
 me, and to the end I am his, and his alone. Yes, 
 I am his, and I swear that he shall be mine ; " and 
 with this wild declaration, dangerous enough under 
 the conditions, she turned and fled the room. 
 
 She was gone, and after the struggle, for such it 
 was, I sank back exhausted. How came it that 
 this sudden passion had mastered her ? Who and 
 what was this Khania, I wondered again, and — this 
 was more to the point, who and what would Leo be- 
 Ueve her to be ? If only I could be with him before 
 he said words or did deeds impossible to recall. 
 
 Three days went by, during which time I saw no 
 more of the Khania, who, or so I was informed by 
 Simbri, the Shaman, had returned to her city to make 
 ready for us, her guests. I begged him to allow me to 
 rejoin Leo, but he answered politely, though with 
 much firmness, that my foster-son did better with- 
 out me. Now, I grew suspicious, fearing lest some 
 harm had come to Leo, though how to discover the 
 truth I knew not. In my anxiety I tried to convey 
 a note to him, written upon a leaf of a water- 
 stained pocket-book, but the yellow-faced servant, 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL 109 
 
 refused to touch it, and Simbri said drily that he 
 would have naught to do with writings which he 
 could not read. At length, on the third night I 
 nxade up my mind that whatever the risk, with 
 leave or without it, I woiild try to find him. 
 
 By this time I could walk well, and indeed was 
 almost strong again. So about midnight, when the 
 moon was up, for I had no pther light, I crept from 
 my bed, threw on my garments, and taking a knife, 
 which was the only weapon I possessed, opened the 
 door of my room and started. 
 
 Now, when I was carried from the rock-chamber 
 where Leo and I had been together, I took note of 
 the way. First, reckoning from my sleeping-place, 
 there was a passage thirty paces, long, for I had 
 counted the footfalls of my bearers. Then came 
 a turn to the left, and ten more paces of passage, 
 and lastly near certain steps running to some place 
 unknown, another sharp turn to the right which 
 led to our old chamber. 
 
 Down the long passage I walked stealthily, and 
 although it was pitch dark, found the turn to the 
 left, and followed it till I came to the second sharp 
 turn to the right, that of the gallery from which 
 rose the stairs. I crept round it only to retreat 
 hastily enough, as well I might, for at the door of 
 Leo's room, which she was in the act of locking on 
 the outside, as I could see by the light of the lamp 
 that she held in her hand, stood the Khania herself. 
 
 My first thought was to fly back to my own cham- 
 ber, but I abandoned it, feeling sure that I should be 
 seen. Therefore I determined, if she discovered 
 rae, to face the matter out and say that I was trpng 
 to find Leo, and to learn how he fared. So I 
 crouched against the wall, and waited with a beat- 
 ing heart. I heard her sweep down the passage, 
 and — yes — begin to mount the stair. 
 
 Now, what should I do ? To try to reach Leo 
 
no AYESHA 
 
 was useless, for she had locked the door with the 
 key she held. Go back to bed ? No, I would follow 
 her, and if we met would make the same excuse. 
 Thus I might get some tidings, or perhaps— a dagger 
 thrust. 
 
 So round the comer and up the steps I went, 
 noiselessly as a snake. They were many and 
 winding, like those of a church tower, but at length 
 I came to the head of them, where was alittle landing, 
 and opening from it a door. It was a very ancient 
 door ; the light streamed through cracks where its 
 panels had rotted, and from the room beyond came 
 the sound of voices, those of the Shaman Simbri and 
 the Khania. 
 
 " Have you learned aught, my niece ? " I heard 
 him say, and also heard her answer — 
 
 " A little. A very little." 
 
 Then in my thirst for knowledge I grew bold, 
 and stealing to the door, looked through one of the 
 cracks in its wood. Opposite to me, in the fuU 
 flood of light thrown by a hanging lamp, her hand 
 resting on a table at which Simbri was seated, 
 stood the Khania. Truly she was a beauteous 
 sight, for she wore robes of royal purple, and on her 
 brow » little coronet of gold, beneath which her 
 curling hair streamed down her shapely neck and 
 bosom. Seeing her I guessed at once that she had 
 arrayed herself thus for some secret end, enhancing 
 her loveliness by every art and grace that is 
 known to woman. Simbri was looking at her 
 earnestly, with fear and doubt written on even his 
 cold, impassive features. 
 
 " What passed between you, then ? " he asked, 
 peering at her. 
 
 " I questioned him closely as to the reason of his 
 coming to this land, and wrung from him the answer 
 that it was to seek some beauteous woman — he 
 would say no more. I asked him if she were more 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL iii 
 
 beauteous than I am, and he replied with courtesy 
 — nothing else, I think — that it would be hard to 
 say, but that she had been different. Then I said 
 that though it behoved me not to speak of such a 
 matter, there was no lady in Kaloon whom men 
 held to be so fair as I ; moreover, that I was its 
 ruler, and that I and no other had saved him from 
 the water. Aye, and I added that my heart told 
 me I was the woman whom he sought." 
 
 " Have done, niece," said Simbri impatiently, 
 " I would not hear of the arts you used — ^well 
 enough, doubtless. What then ? " 
 
 "Then he said that it might be so, since he thought 
 that this woman was bom again, and studied me a 
 whUe, asking me if I had ever ' passed through 
 fire.' To this I replied that the only fires I had 
 passed were those of the spirit, and that I dwelt 
 in them now. He said, ' Show me your hair,' and 
 I placed a lock of it in his hand. Presently he let 
 it fall, and from that satchel which he wears about 
 his neck drew out another tress of hair — oh ! 
 Simbri, my uncle, the loveliest hair that ever eyes 
 beheld, for it was soft as silk, and reached fi;-om my 
 coronet to the ground. Moreover, no raven's wing 
 in the sunshine ever shone as did that fragrant tress. 
 
 " ' Yours is beautiful,' he said, ' but see, they 
 are not the same.' 
 
 " ' Mayhap,' I answered, * since no woman ever 
 wore such locks.' 
 
 " ' You are right,' he replied, ' for she whom I 
 seek was more than a woman.' 
 
 "And then — and then — though I tried him in 
 many ways he would say no more, so, feeling hate 
 against this Unknown rising in my heart, and 
 fearing lest I should utter words that were best 
 unsaid, I left him. Now I bid you, search the 
 books which are open to your wisdom and tell me of 
 this woman whom he seeks, who she is, and where 
 
ri2 AYESHA 
 
 she dwells. Oh ! search them swiftly, that I may 
 find her and — kill her if I can." 
 
 " Aye, if you can," answered the Shaman, " and 
 if she lives to kill. But say, where shall we begin 
 our quest ? Now, this letter from the Mountain 
 that the head-priest Oros sent to your court a 
 while ago ? " — and he selected a parchment from 
 a pile which lay upon the table and looked at her. 
 
 " Read," she said, " I would hear it again." 
 
 So he read ; " From the Hesea of the House 
 of Fire, to Atene, Khania of Kaloon. 
 
 " My Sister — Warning has reached me that two 
 strangers of a western race j oumey to your land, seek- 
 ing my Oracle, of which they would ask a question. 
 On the first day of the next moon, I command that 
 you and with you Simbri, your great-uncle, the wise 
 Shaman, Guardian of the Gate, shall be watching 
 the river in the gulf at the foot of the ancient road, 
 for by that steep path the strangers travel. Aid 
 them in all things and bring them safely to the 
 Mountain, knowing that in this matter I shall hold 
 him and you to account. Myself I will not meet 
 them, since to do so would be to break the pact 
 between our powers, which says that the Hesea of 
 the Sanctuary visits not the territory of Kaloon, save 
 in war. Also their coming is otherwise appointed." 
 
 " It would seem," said Simbri, laying down the 
 parchment, " that these are no chance wanderers, 
 since Hes awaits them." 
 
 " Aye, they are no chance wanderers, since my 
 heart awaited one of them also. Yet the Hesea 
 cannot be. that woman, for reasons which are 
 known to you." 
 
 " There are many women on the Mountain," 
 suggested the Shaman in a dry voice, " if indeed 
 any woman has to do with this matter." 
 
 " I at least have to do with it, and he shall not 
 go to the Mountain." 
 
THE FIRST ORDEAL 113 
 
 " Hes is powerful, my niece, and beneath these 
 smooth words of hers hes a dreadful threat. I 
 say that she is mighty from of old and has servants 
 in the earth and air who warned her of the coming 
 of these men, and will warn her of what befalls 
 them. I know it, who hate her, and to your royal 
 house of Rassen it has been known for many a gen- 
 eration. Therefore thwart her not lest ill befall us 
 all, for she is a spirit and terrible. She says that it 
 is appointed that they shall go " 
 
 " And I say it is appointed that he shall not go. 
 Let the other go if he desires." 
 
 " Atene, be plain, what wiU you with the man 
 called Leo — that he should become your lover ? " 
 asked the Shaman. 
 
 She stared him straight in the eyes, and answered 
 boldly— 
 
 " Nay, I will that he should become my husband." 
 
 " First he must will it too, who seems to have no 
 mind that way. Also, how can a woman have two 
 husbands ? " 
 
 She laid her hand upon his shoulder and said — 
 
 " I have no husband. You know it well, Simbri. 
 I charge you by the close bond of blood between 
 us, brew me another draught " 
 
 " That we may be bound yet closer in a bond of 
 murder ! Nay, Atene, I wiU not ; already your 
 sin lies heavy on my head. You are very fair ; take 
 the man in your own net, if you may, or let him be, 
 which is better far." 
 
 " I cannot let him be. Would that I were able. 
 I must love him as I must hate the other whom 
 he loves, yet some power hardens his heart against 
 me. Oh ! great Shaman, you that peep and mut- 
 ter, you who can read the future and the past, tell 
 me what you have learned from your stars and 
 divinations." 
 
 " Already I have sought through many a secret, 
 
 H 
 
114 AYESH4 
 
 toilsome hour and learned this, Atene," he answered. 
 " You are right, the fate of yonder man is intertwined 
 with yours, but between you and him there rises 
 a mighty wall that my vision cannot pierce nor my 
 familiars climb. Yet I am taught that in death 
 you and he — aye, and I also, shall be very near 
 together." 
 
 " Then com« death," she exclaimed with sullen 
 pride, " for thence at least I'll pluck out my desire." 
 
 " Be not so sure," he answered, " for I think that 
 the Power follows us even down this dark gulf of 
 death. I think also that I feel the sleepless eyes 
 of Hes watching our secret souls." 
 
 "Then blind them with the dust of illusions — as you 
 can. To-morrow, also, saying nothing of their sex, 
 send a messenger to the Mountain and tell the 
 Hesea that two old strangers have arrived — mark 
 you, old — but that they are very sick, that their 
 limbs were broken in the river, and that when they 
 have healed again, I will send them to ask the 
 question of her Oracle — that is, some tliree moons 
 hence. Perchance she may believe you, and be 
 content to wait ; or if she does not, at least no 
 more words. I must sleep or my brain will burst. 
 Give me that medicine which brings dreamless rest, 
 for never did I need it more, who also feel eyes 
 upon me," and she glanced towards the door. 
 
 Then I left, and not too soon, for as I crept down 
 the darksome passage, I heard it open behind me. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE DEATH-HOUNDS 
 
 IT may have been ten o'clock on the following 
 morning, or a little past it, when the Shaman 
 Simbri came into my room and asked me how I 
 had slept. 
 
 " Like a log," I answered, " like a log. A drugged 
 man could not have rested more soundly." 
 
 " Indeed, friend HoUy, and yet you look fatigued." 
 
 " My dreams troubled me somewhat," I answered. 
 " I suffer from such things. But surely by your 
 face, friend Simbri, you cannot have slept at all, 
 for never yet have I seen you with so weary an air." 
 
 " I am weary," he said, with a sigh. " Last 
 night I spent upon my business — watching at the 
 Gates." 
 
 " What gates ? " I asked. " Those by which 
 we entered this kingdom, for, if so, I would rather 
 watch than travel them." 
 
 " The Gates of the Past and of the Future. Yes, 
 those by which you entered, if you will ; for did 
 you not travel out of a wondrous Past towards 
 a Future that you cannot guess ? " 
 
 " But both of which interest you," I suggested. 
 
 " Perhaps," he answered, then added, " I come 
 to tell you that within an hour you are to start 
 for the city, whither the Khania has but now gone 
 on to make ready for you." 
 
 " Yes ; only you told me that she had gone some 
 days ago. WeU. I am sound again and prepared to 
 march, but say, how is my foster-son ? " 
 
ii6 A7ESHA 
 
 " He mends, he mends. But you shall see him 
 for yourself. It is the Khania's will. Here come 
 the slaves bearing your robes, and with them I 
 leave you." 
 
 So with their assistance I dressed myself, first 
 in good, clean under-linen, then in wide woollen 
 trousers and vest, and lastly in a fur-lined camel- 
 hair robe dyed black that was very comfortable 
 to wear, and in appearance not unlike a long over- 
 coat. A flat cap of the same material and a pair of 
 boots made of untanned hide completed my attire. 
 
 Scarcely was I ready when the yellow-faced ser- 
 vants, with many bows, took me by the hand and 
 led me down the passages and stairs of the Gate- 
 house to its door. Here, to my great joy, I found 
 Leo, looking pale and troubled, but otherwise £is well 
 as I could expect after his sickness. He was attired 
 like myself, save that his garments were of a finer 
 quality, and the overcoat was white, with a hood 
 to it, added, I suppose, to protect the wound in 
 his head from cold and the sun. This white dress 
 I thought became him very well, also about it 
 there was nothing grotesque or even remarkable. 
 He sprang to me and siezed my hand, asking 
 how I fared and where I had been hidden away, 
 a greeting of which, as I could see, the warmth was 
 not lost upon Simbri, who stood by. 
 
 I answered, well enough now that we were to- 
 gether again, and for the rest I would tell him later. 
 
 Then they brought us palanquins, carried, each 
 of them, by two ponies, one of which was har- 
 nessed ahead and the other behind between long 
 shaft-like poles. In these we seated ourselves, 
 and at a sign from Simbri slaves took the leading 
 ponies by the bridle and we started, leaving behind 
 us that grim old Gate-house through which we 
 were the first strangers to pass for many a generation. 
 
 For a mile or more our road ran down a winding, 
 

 " Slaves took the leading ponies by the bridle." 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 117 
 
 rocky gorge, till suddenly it took a turn, and the 
 country of Kaloon lay stretched before us. At 
 our feet was a river, probably the same with which 
 we had made acquaintance in the gulf, where, fed 
 by the mountain snows, it had its source. Here 
 it flowed rapidly, but on the vast, alluvial lands 
 beneath became a broad and gentle stream that 
 wound its way through the limitless plains till it 
 was lost in the blue of the distance. 
 
 To the north, however, this smooth, monotonous 
 expanse was broken by that Mountain which had 
 guided us from afar, the House of Fire. It was 
 a great distance from us, more than a hundred 
 miles, I should say, yet even so a most majestic 
 sight in that clear air. Many leagues from the 
 base of its peak the ground began to rise in brown 
 and rugged hillocks, from which sprang the holy 
 Mountain itself, a white and dazzling point that 
 soared fuU twenty thousand feet into the heavens. 
 
 Yes, and there upon the nether lip of its crater 
 stood the gigantic pillar, surmounted by a yet 
 more gigantic loop of virgin rock, whereof the 
 blackness stood out grimly against the blue of 
 the sky beyond and the blinding snow beneath. 
 
 We gazed at it with awe, as well we might, this 
 beacon of our hopes that for aught we knew might 
 also prove their monument, feeling even then that 
 yonder our fate would declare itself. I noted 
 further that all those with us did it reverence by 
 bowing their heads as they caught sight of the peak, 
 andbylajdng the first finger of the right hand across 
 the first finger of the left, a gesture, as we after- 
 wards discovered, designed to avert its evil in- 
 fluence. Yes, even Simbri bowed, a yielding to 
 inherited superstition of which I should scarcely 
 have suspected him. 
 
 " Have you ever journeyed to that Mountain ? " 
 asked Leo of him. 
 
ii8 AYESHA 
 
 Simbri shook his head and answered evasively. 
 
 " The people of the Plain do not set foot upon 
 the Mountain. Among its slopes beyond the river 
 which washes them, live hordes of brave and 
 most savage men, with whom we are oftentimes at 
 war ; for when they are hur gry they raid our cattle 
 and our crops. Moreover, there, when the Moun- 
 tain labours, run red streams of molten rock, and 
 now and again hot ashes fall that slay the traveller." 
 
 " Do the ashes ever fall in your country ? " asked 
 Leo. 
 
 " They have been known to do so when the 
 Spirit of the Mountain is angry> and that is why 
 we fear her." 
 
 " Who is this Spirit ? " said Leo eagerly. 
 
 " I do not know, lord," he answered with im- 
 patience. " Can men see a spirit ? " 
 
 " You look cis though you might, and had, not 
 so long ago," replied Leo, fixing his gaze on the 
 old man's waxen face and uneasy eyes. For now 
 their homy calm was gone from the eyes of Simbri, 
 which seemed as though they had beheld some sight 
 that haunted him. 
 
 " You do me too much honour, lord," he replied ; 
 " my skill and vision do not reach so far. But see, 
 here is the landing-stage, where boats await us, 
 for the rest of our journey is by water." 
 
 These boats proved to be roomy and comfortable, 
 having flat bows and stems, since, although some- 
 times a sail was hoisted, they were designed for 
 towing, not to be rowed with oars. Leo and 
 I entered the largest of them, and to our joy were 
 left alone except for the steersman. 
 
 Behind us was another boat, in which were attend- 
 ants and slaves, and some men who looked like 
 soldiers, for they carried bows and swords. Now 
 the ponies were taken from the palanquins, tha' 
 were packed away, and ropes of green hide, fastened 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 119 
 
 to iron rings in the prows of the boats, were fixed 
 to the towing tackle with which the animals had 
 been reharnessed. Then we started, the ponies, 
 two arranged tandem fashion to each punt, trotting 
 along a weU-made towing path that was funiished 
 with wooden bridges wherever canals or tributary 
 streams entered the main river. 
 
 "Thank Heaven," said Leo, "we are together 
 again at last ! Do you remember, Horace, that 
 when we entered the land of Kor it was thus, in 
 a boat ? The tale repeats itself." 
 
 " I can quite believe it," I answered. " I can 
 believe anything. Leo, I say that we are but gnats 
 meshed in a web, and yonder Khania is the spider 
 and Simbri the Shaman guards the net. But tell 
 me all you remember of what has happened to you, 
 and be quick, for I do not know how long they may 
 leave us alone." 
 
 " Well,'\ he said, " of course I remember our 
 arrival at that Gate after the lady and the old 
 man had puUed us out of the river, and, Horace, 
 talking of spiders reminds me of hanging at the 
 end of that string of yak's hide. Not that I need 
 much reminding, for I am not likely to forget it. 
 Do you know I cut the rope because I felt that I 
 was going mad, and wished to die sane. What 
 happened to you ? Did you slip ? " 
 
 " No ; I jumped after you. It seemed best to end 
 together, so that we might begin again together." 
 
 " Brave old Horace ! " he said affectionately, 
 the tears starting to his grey eyes. 
 
 "Well, never mind all that," I broke in; "you 
 see you were right when you said that we should 
 get through, and we have. Now for your tale." 
 
 " It is interesting, but not very long," he an- 
 swered, colouring. " I went to sleep, and when 
 I woke it was to find a beautiful woman leaning 
 over me, and Horace — at first I thought that it 
 
I20 AYESHA 
 
 was^you know who, and that she kissed me ; but 
 perhaps it was all a dream." 
 
 " It was no dream." I answered. " I saw it." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it — very sorry. At any 
 rate there was the beautiful woman — the Khania — 
 for I saw her plenty of times afterwards, and talked 
 to her in my best modem Greek — by the way, 
 Ayesha knew the old Greek; that's curious." 
 
 " She knew several of the ancient tongues, and so 
 did other people. Go on." 
 
 "Well, she nursed me very kindly, but, so far 
 as I know, until last night there was nothing more 
 affectionate, and I had sense enough to refuse to 
 talk about our somewhat eventful past. I pre- 
 tended not to understand, said that we were ex- 
 plorers, etc., and kept asking her where you were, 
 for I forgot to say I found that you had gone. I 
 think that she grew rather angry with me, for she 
 wanted to know something, and, as you can guess, 
 I wanted to know a good deal. But I could get 
 nothing out of her except that she was the Khania 
 — a person in authority. There was no doubt 
 about that, for when one of those slaves or servants 
 came in and interrupted her while she was trying 
 to draw the facts out of me, she called to some of 
 her people to throw him out of the window, and 
 he only saved himself by going down the stairs 
 very quickly. 
 
 " Well, I could make nothing of her, and she could 
 make little of me, though why she should be so 
 tenderly interested in a stranger, I don't know — 
 unless, unless — oh ! who is she, Horace ? " 
 
 " If you will go on I will tell you what I think 
 presently. One tale at a time." 
 
 " Very good. I got quite well and strong, com- 
 paratively speaking, till the climax last night, 
 which upset me again. After that old prophet, 
 Simbri, had brought me my supper, just as I was 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 121 
 
 thinking of going to sleep, the Khania came in 
 alone, dressed like a queen. I can tell you she 
 looked really royal, like a princess in a fairy book, 
 with a crown on, and her chestnut black hair 
 flowing round her. 
 
 " WeU, Horace, then she began to make love 
 to me in a refined sort of way, or so I thought, 
 looked at me and sighed, saying that we had known 
 each other in the past — very well indeed I gathered 
 — and implying that she wished to continue our 
 friendship. I fenced with her as best I could; 
 but a man feels fairly helpless lying on his back 
 with a very handsome and very imperial-looking 
 lady standing over him and pa5dng him compli- 
 ments. 
 
 " The end of it was that, driven to it by her 
 questions and to stop that sort of thing, I told her 
 that I was looking for my wife, whom I had lost, 
 for, after all, Ayesha is my wife, Horace. She 
 smiled and suggested that I need not look far ; 
 in short, that the lost wife was already found — 
 in herself, who had come to save me from death 
 in the river. Indeed, she spoke with such con- 
 viction that I grew sure that she was not merely 
 amusing herself, and felt very much inclined to 
 believe her, for, after all, Ayesha may be changed 
 now. 
 
 " Then while I was at my wits' end I remem- 
 bered the lock of hair — all that remains to us of 
 her," and Leo touched his breast. " I drew it out 
 and compared it with the Khania's, and at the 
 sight of it she became quite different, jealous, I 
 suppose, for it is longer than hers, and not in the 
 least like. 
 
 " Horace, I tell you that the touch of that lock of 
 hair — for she did touch it — appeared to act upon 
 her nature like nitric acid upon sham gold. It 
 turned it black ; all the bad in her came out. In 
 
122 AYESHA 
 
 her anger her voice sounded coarse ; yes, she grew 
 almost vulgar, and, as you know, when Ayesha was 
 in a rage she might be wicked as we understand 
 it, and was certainly terrible, but she was never 
 either coarse or vulgar, any more than lightning is. 
 
 " Well, from that moment I was sure that who- 
 ever this Khania may be, she has nothing to do 
 with Ayesha ; they are so different that they never 
 could have been the same — ^like the hair. So I 
 lay quiet and let her talk, and coax, and threaten 
 on, until at length she drew herself up and marched 
 from the room, and I heard her lock the door 
 behind her. That's all I have to teU you, and 
 quite enough too, for I don't think that the Khania 
 has done with me, and, to say the truth, I am 
 afraid of her." 
 
 " Yes," I said, " quite enough. Now sit stiU, 
 and don't start or talk loud, for that steersman 
 is probably a spy, and I can feel old Simbri's 
 eyes fixed upon our backs. Don't interrupt either, 
 for our time alone may be short." 
 
 Then I set to work and told him everything I 
 knew, whUe he listened in blank astonishment. 
 
 " Great Heavens ! what a tale," he exclaimed as I 
 finished. " Now, who is this Hesea who sent the 
 letter from the Mountain ? And who, who is the 
 Khania ? " 
 
 " Who does your instinct tell you that she is, 
 Leo ? " 
 
 " Amenartas ? " he whispered doubtfully. " The 
 woman who wrote the Sherd, whom Ayesha 
 said was the Eg5^tian princess — my wife two thou- 
 sand years ago ? Amenartas re-bom ? " 
 
 I nodded. " I think so. Why not ? As I 
 have told you again and again, I have always 
 been certain of one thing, that if we were allowed 
 to see the next act of the piece, we should find 
 Amenartas, or rather the spirit of Amenartas, 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 123 
 
 playing a leading part in it ; you will remember 
 I wrote as much in that record. 
 
 "If the old Buddhist monkKou-en could remember 
 his past, as thousands of them swear that they do, 
 and be sure of his identity continued from that 
 past, why should not this woman, with so much 
 at stake, helped as she is by the wizardry of the 
 Shaman, her uncle, faintly remember hers ? 
 
 " At any rate, Leo, why should she not stiU be 
 sufficiently under its influence to cause her, without 
 any fault or seeking of her own, to fall madly in love 
 at first sight with a man whom, after all, she has 
 always loved ? " 
 
 " The argument seems sound enough, Horace, and 
 if so I am sorry for the Khania, who hasn't much 
 choice in the matter — ^been forced into it, so to speak." 
 
 " Yes, but meanwhile your foot is in a trap 
 again. Guard yourself, Leo, guard yourself. I 
 believe that this is a trial sent to you, and 
 doubtless there will be more to follow. But I be- 
 lieve also that it would be better for you to die 
 than to make any mistake." 
 
 " I know it well," he answered ; " and you 
 need not be afraid. Whatever this Khania may 
 have been to me in the past — if she was anything 
 at all — that story is done with. I seek Ayesha, and 
 Ayesha alone, and Venus herself shall not tempt 
 me from her." 
 
 Then we began to speak with hope and fear of that 
 mysterious Hesea who had sent the letter from 
 the Mountain, commanding the Shaman Simbri 
 to meet us : the priestess or spirit whom he de- 
 clared was "mighty from of old" and had "ser- 
 vants in the earth and air." 
 
 Presently the prow of our barge bumped against 
 the bank of the river, and looking round I saw 
 that Simbri had left the boat in which he sat 
 and was preparing to enter ours. This he did. 
 
124 AYESHA 
 
 and, placing himself gravely on a seat in front of 
 us, explained that nightfall was coming on, and 
 he wished to give us his company and protection 
 through the dark. 
 
 " And to see that we do not give him the slip 
 in it," muttered Leo. 
 
 Then the drivers whipped up their ponies, and 
 we went on again. 
 
 " Look behind you," said Simbri presently, 
 " and you will see the city where you will sleep 
 to-night." 
 
 We turned ourselves, and there, about ten miles 
 away, perceived a flat-roofed town of considerable, 
 though not of very great size. Its position was good, 
 for it was set upon a large island that stood a 
 hundred feet or more above the level of the plain, 
 the river dividing into two branches at the foot 
 of it, and, as we discovered afterwards, uniting 
 again beyond. 
 
 The vast mound upon which this city was built 
 had the appearance of being artificial, but very 
 possibly the soil whereof it was formed had been 
 washed up in past ages during times of flood, so 
 that from a mudbank in the centre of the broad 
 river it grew by degrees to its present proportions. 
 With the exception of a columned and towered 
 edifice that crowned the city and seemed to be 
 encircled by gardens, we could see no great build- 
 ings in the place. 
 
 " How is the city named ? " asked Leo of Simbri. 
 
 " Kaloon," he answered, " as was aU this land 
 even when my fore-fathers, the conquerors, marched 
 across the mountains and took it more than two 
 thousand years ago. They kept the ancient title, 
 but the territory of the Mountain they called Hes, 
 because they said that the loop upon yonder peak 
 was the symbol of a goddess of this name whom 
 their general worshipped." 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 125 
 
 " Priestesses still live there, do they not ? " said 
 Leo, trying in his turn to extract the truth. 
 
 "Yes, and priests also. The College of them 
 was established by the conquerors, who subdued aU 
 the land. Or rather, it took the place of another 
 College of those who fashioned the Sanctuary 
 and the Temple, whose god was the fire in the 
 Mountain, as it is that of the people of Kaloon 
 to-day." 
 
 " Then who is worshipped there now ? " 
 
 " The goddess Hes, it is said ; but we know httle 
 of the matter, for between us and the Mountain 
 folk there has been enmity for ages. They kill 
 us and we kill them, for they are jealous of their 
 shrine, which none may visit save by permission, 
 to consult the Oracle and to make prayer or offer- 
 ing in times of calamity, when a Khan dies, or the 
 waters of the river sink and the crops fail, or when 
 ashes fall and earthquakes shake the land, or 
 great sickness comes. Otherwise, unless they 
 attack us, we leave them alone, for though every 
 man is trained to arms, and can fight if need be, 
 we are a peacefid folk, who cultivate the soil from 
 generation to generation, and thus grow rich. 
 Look round you. Is it not a scene of peace ? " 
 
 We stood up in the boat and gazed about us 
 at the pastoral prospect. Everywhere appeared 
 herds of cattle feeding upon meadow lands, or 
 troops of mules and horses, or square fields sown 
 with corn and outlined by trees. Village folk, 
 also, clad in long, grey gowns, were labouring on 
 the land, or, their day's toil finished, driving their 
 beasts homewards along roads built upon the banks 
 of the irrigation dykes, towards the hamlets that 
 were placed on rising knolls amidst tall poplar 
 groves. 
 
 In its sharp contrast with the arid deserts and fear- 
 ful mountains amongst which we had wandered for 
 
126 AYESHA 
 
 so many years, this country struck us as most 
 charming, and indeed, seen by the red light of 
 the sinking sun on that spring day, even as beautiful 
 with the same kind of beauty which is to be found 
 in Holland. One could understand too that these 
 landowners and peasant-farmers would by choice 
 be men of peace, and what a temptation their 
 wealth must offer to the hungry, half-savage tribes 
 of the mountains. 
 
 Also it was easy to guess when the survivors of 
 Alexander's legions under their Egyptian general 
 burst through the, iron band of snow-clad hUls 
 and saw this sweet country, with its homes, its 
 herds, and its ripening grain, that they must have 
 cried with one voice, " We will march and fight 
 and toil no more. Here we will sit us down to 
 live and die." Thus doubtless they did, taking 
 them wives from among the women of the people 
 of the land which they had conquered — ^perhaps 
 after a single battle. 
 
 Now as the light faded the wreaths of smoke 
 which hung over the distant Fire-moimtain began 
 to glow luridly. Redder and more angry did 
 they become while the darkness gathered, till at 
 length they seemed to be charged with pulsing 
 sheets of flame propelled from the womb of the 
 volcano, which threw piercing beams of light 
 through the eye of the giant loop that crowned 
 its brow. Far, far fled those beams, making a 
 bright path across the land, and striking the white 
 crests of the bordering wall of mountains. High 
 in the air ran that path, over the dim roofs of the 
 city of Kaloon, over the river, yes, straight above 
 us, over the mountains, and doubtless — though 
 there we could not follow them — across the desert 
 to that high eminence on its farther side where 
 we had lain bathed in their radiance. It was a 
 wondrous and most impressive sight, one too that 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 127 
 
 filled our companions with fear, for the steersmen 
 in our boats and the drivers on the towing-path 
 groaned aloud and began to utter prayers. 
 
 " What do they say ? " asked Leo of Simbri. 
 
 " They say, lord, that the Spirit of the Mountain 
 is angry, and passes down yonder flying light that is 
 called ' the Road of Hes ' to work some evil to our 
 land. Therefore they pray her not to destroy 
 them." 
 
 " Then does that light not always shine thus ? " he 
 asked again. 
 
 " Nay, but seldom. Once about three months 
 ago, and now to-night, but before that not for 
 years. Let us pray that it portends no misfortune 
 to Kaloon and its inhabitants." 
 
 For some minutes this fearsome illumination 
 continued, then it ceased as suddenly as it had 
 begun, and there remained of it only the dull glow 
 above the crest of the peak. 
 
 Presently the moon rose, a white, shining ball, 
 and by its rays we perceived that we drew near 
 to the city. But there was stiU something left 
 for us to see before we reached its shelter. While 
 we sat quietly in the boat — for the silence was 
 broken only by the lapping of the still waters 
 against its sides and the occasional splash of the 
 slackened tow-Hne upon their surface — we heard 
 a distant sound as of a hunt in full cry. 
 
 Nearer and nearer it came, its volume swelling 
 every moment, tiU it was quite close at last. Now 
 echoing from the trodden earth of the towing-path — 
 not that on which our ponies travelled, but the other 
 on the west bank of the river — was heard the beat 
 of the hoofs of a horse galloping furiously. 
 Presently it appeared, a fine, white animal, on the 
 back of which sat a man. It passed us like a flash, 
 but as he went by the man lifted himself and turned 
 his head, so that we saw his face in the moonUght; 
 
128 AYESHA 
 
 saw also the agony of fear that was written on it 
 and in his eyes. 
 
 He had come out of the darkness. He was gone 
 into the darkness, but after him swelled that awful 
 music. Look ! a dog appeared, a huge red dog, 
 that dropped its foaming muzzle to the ground 
 as it galloped, then lifted it and uttered a deep- 
 throated, bell-like bay. Others followed, and yet 
 others : in aU there must have been a hundred of 
 them, every one baying as it took the scent. 
 
 " The death-hounds .' " I muttered, clasping Leo 
 by the arm. 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " they are running that 
 poor devil. Here comes the huntsman." 
 
 As he spoke there appeared a second figure, 
 splendidly moimted, a cloak streaming from his 
 shoulders, and in his hand a long whip, which he 
 waved. He was big but loosely jointed, and as 
 he passed he turned his face also, and we saw that 
 it was that of a madman. There could be no doubt 
 of it ; insanity blazed in those hollow eyes and 
 rang in that savage, screeching laugh. 
 
 " The Khan ! The Khan ! " said Simbri, bowing, 
 and I could see that he was afraid. 
 
 Now he too was gone, and after him came his 
 guards. I counted eight of them, all carrpng whips, 
 with which they flogged their horses. 
 
 " What does this mean, friend Simbri ? " I 
 asked, as the sounds grew faint in the distance. 
 
 " It means, friend Holly," he answered, " that 
 the Khan does justice in his own fashion — hunting 
 to death one that has angered him." 
 
 " What then is his crime ? And who is that 
 poor man ? " 
 
 " He is a great lord of this land, one of the royal 
 kinsmen, and the crime for which he has been con- 
 demned is that he told the Khania he loved her, 
 and offered to make war upon her husband and 
 
" As he passed, he turned his face . 
 Ayesha ] 
 
 it was that of a madman." 
 
THE DEATH-HOUNDS 129 
 
 kill him, if she would promise herself to him in 
 marriage. But she hated the man, as she hates 
 all men, and brought the matter before the Khaii. 
 That is all the story." 
 
 " Happy is that prince who has so virtuous a 
 wife ! " I could not help saying unctuously, but 
 with meaning, and the old wretch of a Shaman 
 turned his head at my words and began to stroke 
 his white beard. 
 
 It was but a little while afterwards that once more 
 we heard the baying of the death-hounds. Yes, they 
 were heading straight for us, this time across coun- 
 try. Again the white horse and its rider appeared, 
 utterly exhausted, both of them, for the poor 
 beast could scarcely struggle on to the towing- 
 path. As it gained it a great red hound with a 
 black ear gripped its flank, and at the touch of 
 the fangs it screamed aloud in terror as only a 
 horse can. The rider sprang from its back, and, 
 to our horror, ran to the river's edge, thinking 
 evidently to take refuge in our boat. But before 
 ever he reached the water the devilish brutes were 
 upon him. 
 
 What followed I will not describe, but never 
 shall I forget the scene of those two heaps of worry- 
 ing wolves, and of the maniac Khan, who yelled 
 in his fiendish joy, and cheered on his death-hounds 
 to finish their red work. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE COURT OF KALOON 
 
 HORRIFIED, sick at heart, we continued our 
 journey. No wonder that the Khania hated 
 such a mad despot. And this woman was in love 
 with Leo , and this lunatic Khan, her husband, 
 was a victim to jealousy, which he avenged after the 
 very unpleasant fashion that we had witnessed. 
 Truly an agreeable prospect for all of us ! Yet, I 
 could not help reflecting, as an object lesson that 
 horrid scene had its advantages. 
 
 Now we reached the place where the river forked 
 at the end of the island, and disembarked upon a 
 quay. Here a guard of men commanded by some 
 Household ofi&cer, was waiting to receive us. They 
 led us through a gate in the high wall, for the town 
 was fortified, up a narrow, stone-paved street 
 which ran between houses apparently of the usual 
 Central Asian type, and, so far as I could judge by 
 moonlight, with no pretensions to architectural 
 beauty, and not large in size. 
 
 Clearly our arrival was expected and excited 
 interest, for people were gathered in knots about 
 the street to watch us pass ; also at the windows of 
 the houses and even on their flat roofs. At the top 
 of the long street was a sort of market place, 
 crossing which, accompanied by a curious crowd 
 who made remarks about us that we could not 
 understand, we reached a gate in an inner wall. 
 
 130 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON 131 
 
 Here we were challenged, but at a word from Simbri 
 it opened, and we passed through to find ourselves 
 in gardens. Following a road or drive, we came to 
 a large, rambling house or palace, surmounted by 
 high towers and very solidly built of stone in a 
 heavy, bastard Egyptian style. 
 
 Beyond its doorway we found ourselves in a 
 courtyard surrounded by a kind of verandah, from 
 which short passages led to different rooms. Down 
 one of these passages we were conducted by the 
 officer to an apartment, or rather a suite, consisting 
 of a sitting and two bed-chambers, which were 
 panelled, richly furnished in rather barbaric fashion, 
 and well-hghted with primitive oil lamps. 
 
 Here Simbri left us, sapng that the officer would 
 wait in the outer room to conduct us to the dining- 
 hall as soon as we were ready. Then we entered the 
 bed-chambers, where we found servants, or slaves, 
 quiet-mannered, obsequious men. These valets 
 changed our foot-gear, and taking off our heavy 
 travelling robes, replaced them with others fashioned 
 hke civilized frock-coats, but made of some white 
 material and trimmed with a beautiful ermine 
 fur. 
 
 Having dressed us in these they bowed to show 
 that our toilette was finished, and led us to the 
 large outer room where the officer awaited us. He 
 conducted us through several other rooms, all of 
 them spacious and apparently unoccupied, to a 
 great hall lit with many lamps and warmed — for 
 the nights were still cold — with large peat fires. 
 The roof of this hall was flat and supported by 
 thick stone columns with carved capitals, and 
 its walls were hung with worked tapestries, that 
 gave it an air of considerable comfort. 
 
 At the head of the hall on a dais stood a long, narrow 
 table, spread with a cloth and set with platters and 
 cups of silver. Here we waited till butlers with 
 
132 AYESHA 
 
 wands appeared through some curtains which they 
 drew. Then came a man beating a silver gong, 
 and after him a dozen or more courtiers, all dressed 
 in white robes like ourselves, followed by perhaps 
 as many ladies, some of them young and good- 
 looking, and for the most part of a fair t57pe, with 
 weU-cut features, though others were rather yellow- 
 skinned. They bowed to us and we to them. 
 
 Then there was a pause while we studied one 
 another, tiU a trumpet blew and heralded by foot- 
 men in a kind of yeUow hvery , two figures were seen 
 advancing down the passage beyond the curtains, 
 preceded by the Shaman Simbri and followed by 
 other officers. They were the Khan and the 
 Khania of Kaloon. 
 
 No one looking at this Khan as he entered his 
 dining-hall clad in festal white attire would have 
 imagined him to be the same raving human brute 
 whom we had just seen urging on his devilish hounds 
 to tear a fellow-creature and a helpless horse to 
 fragments and devour them. Now he seemed a 
 heavy, loutish man, very strongly buUt and not 
 ill-looking, but with shifty eyes, evidently a person 
 of dulled intellect, whom one would have thought 
 incapable of keen emotions of any kind. The Khania 
 need not be described. She was as she had been in 
 the chambers of the Gate, only more weary looking ; 
 indeed her eyes had a haunted air and it was easy 
 to see that the events of the previous night had 
 left their mark upon her mind. At the sight of us 
 she flushed a little, then beckoned to us to advance, 
 and said to her husband — 
 
 " My lord, these are the strangers of whom I have 
 told you." 
 
 His duU eyes fell upon me first, and my appearance 
 seemed to amuse him vaguely, at any rate he 
 laughed rudely, saying in barbarous Greek mixed 
 with words from the local patois — 
 
■ ' Are you the Khania's other friend?" 
 
 Ayesha.] 
 
 iPage 133. 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON 133 
 
 " What a curious old animal ! I have never seen 
 you before, have I ? " 
 
 " No, great Khan," I answered, " but I have 
 seen you out hunting this night. Did you have 
 good sport ? " 
 
 Instantly he became wide awake, and answered, 
 rubbing his hands — 
 
 " Excellent. He gave us a fine run, but my Uttle 
 
 dogs caught him at last, and then " and he 
 
 snapped his powerfid jaws together. 
 
 " Cease your brutal talk," broke in his wife fiercely, 
 and he slunk away from her and in so doing stumbled 
 against Leo, who was waiting to be presented to 
 him. 
 
 The sight of this great, golden-bearded man 
 seemed to astonish him, for he stared at him, then 
 asked — 
 
 " Are you the Khania's other friend whom she 
 went to see in the mountains of the Gate ? Then 
 I cotdd not understand why she took so much 
 trouble, but now I do. Well, be careful, or I shall 
 have to hunt you also." 
 
 Now Leo grew angry and was about to reply, 
 but I laid my hand upon his arm and said in EngUsh — 
 
 " Don't answer ; the man is mad." 
 
 " Bad, you mean," grumbled Leo ; " and if he 
 tries to set his cursed dogs on me, I will break his 
 neck." 
 
 Then the Khania motioned to Leo to take a seat 
 beside her, placing me upon her other hand, between 
 herself and her imcle, the Guardian, while the 
 Khan shuffled to a chair a little way down the 
 table, where he called two of the prettiest ladies 
 to keep him company. 
 
 Such was our introduction to the court of Kaloon. 
 As for the meal that followed, it was very plentiful, 
 but coarse, consisting for the most part of fish, 
 mutton, and sweetmeats, all of them presented upon 
 
134 AYESHA 
 
 huge silver platters. Also much strong drink was 
 served, a kind of spirit distilled from grain, of which 
 nearly all present drank more than was good for 
 them. After a few words to me about our journey, 
 the Khania turned to Leo and talked to him for the 
 rest of the evening, while I devoted myself to the 
 old Shaman Simbri. 
 
 Put briefly, the substance of what I learned from 
 him then and afterwards was as follows — 
 
 Trade was unknown to the people of Kaloon, 
 for the reason that all communication with the 
 south had been cut off for ages, the bridges that 
 once existed over the chasm having been allowed 
 to rot away. Their land, which was very large and 
 densely inhabited, was ringed round with unclimb- 
 able mountains, except to the north, where stood 
 the great Fire-peak. The slopes of this Peak, and 
 an unvisited expanse of country behind that ran 
 up to the confines of a desert, were the home of 
 ferocious mountain tribes, untamable highlanders, 
 who killed every stranger they caught. Conse- 
 quently, although the precious and other metals 
 were mined to a certain extent and manufactured 
 into articles of use and ornament, money did not 
 exist among the peoples either of the Plain or of 
 the Mountain, all business being transacted on 
 the principle of barter, and even the revenue col- 
 lected in kind. 
 
 Amongst the tens of thousands of the aborigines 
 of Kaloon dwelt a mere handful of a ruling 
 class, who were said to be — and probably were — 
 descended from the conquerors that appeared in 
 the time of Alexander. Their blood, however, was 
 now much mixed with that of the first inhabitants, 
 who, to judge from their appearance and the yellow 
 hue of their descendants must have belonged to 
 some branch of the great Tartar race. The govern- 
 ment, if so it could be called, was, on the whole, 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON iSs 
 
 of a mild though of a very despotic nature, and 
 vested in an hereditary Khan or Khania, according 
 as a man or a woman might be in the most direct 
 descent. 
 
 Of reUgions there were two, that of the people, 
 who worshipped the Spirit of the Fire Mountain, 
 and that of the rulers, who believed in magic, ghosts 
 and divinations. Even this shadow of a religion, 
 if so it can be called, was dying out, like its fol- 
 lowers, for generation by generation, the white 
 lords grew less in number or became absorbed in 
 the bulk of the people. 
 
 Still their rule was tolerated. I asked Simbri 
 why, seeing that they were so few. He shrugged 
 his shoulders and answered, because it suited the 
 country of which the natives had no ambition. 
 Moreover, the present Khania, our hostess, was the 
 last of the direct line of rulers, her husband and 
 cousin having less of the blood royal in his veins, 
 and as such the people were attached to her. 
 
 Also, as is commonly the case with bold and beauti- 
 ful women, she was popular among them, especially 
 as she was just and very liberal to the poor. These 
 were many, as the country was over-populated, 
 which accounted for its wonderful state of cultiva- 
 tion. Lastly they trusted to her skiU and courage 
 to defend them from the continual attacks of the 
 Mountain tribes who raided their crops and herds. 
 Their one grievance against her was that she had no 
 child to whom the khanship could descend, which 
 meant that after her death, as had happened after 
 that of her father, there would be struggles for the 
 succession. 
 
 " Indeed," added Simbri, with meaning, and glanc- 
 ing at Leo, out of the corners of his eyes, " the folk 
 say openly that it would be a good thing if the 
 Khan, who oppresses them and whom they hate, 
 should die, so that the Khania might take another 
 
136 AYESHA 
 
 husband while she is still young. Although he is 
 mad, he knows this, and that is why he is so jealous of 
 any lord who looks at her, as, friend Holly you saw 
 to-night. For should such an one gain her favour, 
 Rassen thinks that it would mean his death." 
 
 " Also he may be attached to his wife," I sug- 
 gested, speaking in a whisper. 
 
 " Perhaps so," answered Simbri ; " but if so, 
 she loves not him, nor any of these men," and he 
 glanced round the hall. 
 
 Certainly they did not look lovable, for by this 
 time most of them were half drunk, while even the 
 women seemed to have taken as much as was good 
 for them. The Khan himself presented a sorry 
 spectacle, for he was leaning back in his chair, 
 shouting something about his hunting, in a thick 
 voice. The arm of one of his pretty companions was 
 round his neck, while the other gave him to drink 
 from a gold cup ; some of the contents of which had 
 been spilt down his white robe. 
 
 Just then Atene looked round and saw him and 
 an expression of hatred and contempt gathered on 
 her beautiful face. 
 
 " See," I heard her say to Leo, " see the com- 
 panion of my days, and learn what it is to be Khania 
 of Kaloon." 
 
 " Then why do you not cleanse your court ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Because, lord, if I did so there would be no 
 court left. Swine will to their mire and these men 
 and women, who live in idleness upon the toil of 
 the humble folk, will to their liquor and vile luxury. 
 Well, the end is near, for it is killing them, and their 
 children are but few ; weakly also, for the ancient 
 blood grows thin and stale. But you are weary 
 and would rest. To-morrow we will ride together," 
 and calling to an officer, she bade him conduct us 
 to our rooms. 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON 137 
 
 So we rose, and, accompanied bySimbri, bowed 
 to her and went, she standing and gazing after 
 us, a royal and pathetic figure in the midst of all 
 that dissolute revelry. The Khan rose also, and in 
 his cunning fashion understood something of the 
 meaning of it all. 
 
 " You think us gay," he shouted ; " and why 
 should we not be who do not know how long we 
 have to live ? But you yellow-haired fellow, you 
 must not let Atene look at you like that. I tell 
 you she is my wife, and if you do, I shall certainly 
 have to hunt you." 
 
 At this drunken sally the courtiers roared with 
 laughter, but taking Leo by the arm, Simbri hurried 
 him from the hall. 
 
 " Friend," said Leo, when we were outside, 
 " it seems to me that this Khan of yours threatens 
 my life." 
 
 " Have no fear, lord," answered the Guardian ; 
 " so long as the Khania does not threaten it you 
 are safe. She is the real ruler of this land, and I 
 stand next to her." 
 
 " Then I pray you," said Leo, " keep me out of 
 the way of that drunken man, for, look you, if I am 
 attacked I defend myself." 
 
 " And who can blame you ?" Simbri replied, with 
 one of his slow, mysterious smiles. 
 
 Then we parted, and having placed both our beds 
 in one chamber, slept soundly enough, for we were 
 very tired, till we were awakened in the morning 
 by the baying of those horrible death-hounds, 
 being fed, I suppose, in a place near by. 
 
 Now in this city of Kaloon it was our weary 
 destiny to dwell for three long months, one of the 
 most hateful times, perhaps, that we ever passed 
 in all our Uves. Indeed, compared to it our endless 
 wanderings amid the Central Asian snows and 
 
138 AYESHA 
 
 deserts were but pleasure pilgrimages, and our stay 
 at the monastery beyond the mountains a sojourn 
 in Paradise. To set out its record in full would 
 be both tedious and useless, so I will only tell 
 briefly of our principal adventures. 
 
 On the morrow of our arrival the Khania Atene 
 sent us two beautiful white horses of pure and 
 ancient blood, and at noon we mounted them and 
 went out to ride with her accompanied by a guard 
 of soldiers. First she led us to the kennels where 
 the death-hounds were kept, great flagged courts 
 surrounded by iron bars, in which were narrow, 
 locked gates. Never have I seen brutes so large 
 and fierce ; the mastiffs of Thibet were but as lap- 
 dogs compared to them. They were red and black, 
 smooth-coated and with a blood-hound head, and 
 the moment they saw us they came ravening and 
 leaping at the bars as an angry wave leaps against 
 a rock. 
 
 These hounds were in the charge of men of certain 
 families, who had tended them for generations. 
 They obeyed their keepers and the Khan readily 
 enough, but no stranger might venture near them. 
 Also these brutes were the executioners of the 
 land, for to them all murderers and other crim- 
 inals were thrown, and with them, as we had 
 seen, the Khan hunted any who had incurred 
 his displeasure. Moreover, they were used for a 
 more innocent purpose, the chasing of certain 
 great bucks which were preserved in woods and 
 swamps of reeds. Thus it came about that they 
 were a terror to the country, since no man knew 
 but what in the end he might be devoured by them. 
 " Going to the dogs " is a term full of meaning 
 in any land, but in Kaloon it had a significance 
 that was terrible. 
 
 After we had looked at the hounds, not without 
 a prophetic shudder, we rode round the walls of the 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON 139 
 
 town, which were laid out as a kind of boulevard, 
 where the inhabitants walked and took their plea- 
 sure in the evenings. On these, however, there 
 was not much to see except the river beneath and 
 the plain beyond, moreover, though they were thick 
 and high there were places in them that must be 
 passed carefully, for, like everything else with 
 which the effete ruling class had to do, they had 
 been allowed to fall into disrepair. 
 
 The town itself was an uninteresting place also, 
 for the most part peopled by hangers-on of the 
 Court. So we were not sorry when we crossed the 
 river by a high-pitched bridge, where in days to 
 come I was destined to behold one of the strangest 
 sights ever seen by mortal man, and rode out into 
 the country. Here aJl was different, for we 
 found ourselves among the husbandmen, who were 
 the descendants of the original owners of the land 
 and lived upon its produce. Every available inch 
 of soil seemed to be cultivated by the aid of a wonder- 
 ful system of irrigation. Indeed water was lifted 
 to levels where it would not flow naturally, by means 
 of wheels turned with mules, or even in some places 
 carried up by the women, who bore poles on their 
 shoulders to which were balanced buckets. 
 
 Leo asked the Khania what happened if there was 
 a bad season. She replied grimly that famine hap- 
 pened, in which thousands of people perished, and 
 that after the famine came pestilence. These 
 famines were periodical, and were it not for them, 
 she added, the people would long ago have been 
 driven to kiU each other like hungry rats, since 
 having no outlet and increasing so rapidly, the 
 land, large as it was, could not hold them all. 
 
 " Win this be a good year ? " I asked. 
 
 " It is feared not," she answered, " for the river 
 has not risen well and but few rains have fallen. 
 Also the light that shone last night on the Fire- 
 
140 A7ESHA 
 
 mountain is thought a bad omen, which means, 
 they say, that the Spirit of the Mountain is angry 
 and that drought will follow. Let us hope they 
 will not say also that this is because strangers have 
 visited the land, bringing with them bad luck." 
 
 " If so," said Leo with a laugh, " we shall have 
 to fly to the Mountain to take refuge there." 
 
 " Do you then wish to take refuge in death ? " 
 she asked darkly. " Of this be sure, my guest, 
 that never while I live shall you be allowed to cross 
 the river which borders the slopes of yonder peak." 
 
 " Why not, Khania ? " 
 
 "Because, my lord Leo — that is your name, is 
 it not ? — such is my will, and while I rule here my 
 will is law. Come, let us turn homewards." 
 
 That night we did not eat in the great haU, but 
 in the room which adjoined our bed-chambers. We 
 were not left alone, however, for the Khania and her 
 uncle, the Shaman, who always attended her, joined 
 our meal. When we greeted them wondering, she 
 said briefly that it was arranged thus because she 
 refused to expose us to more insults. She added 
 that a festival had begun which would last for a 
 week, and that she did not wish us to see how vile 
 were the ways of her people. 
 
 That evening and many others which followed 
 it — we never dined in the central hall again — 
 passed pleasantly enough, for the Khania made Leo 
 tell her of England where he was bom, and of the 
 lands that he had visited, their peoples and customs. 
 I spoke also of the history of Alexander, whose 
 general Rassen, her far-off forefather, conquered the 
 country of Kaloon, and of the land of Egj/pt, whence 
 the latter came, and so it went on till midnight, 
 while Atene listened to us greedily, her eyes fixed 
 always on Leo's face. 
 
 Many such nights did we spend thus in the palace 
 
THE COURT OF KALOON 141 
 
 of the city of Kaloon where, in factj we were close 
 prisoners. But oh ! the days hung heavy on our 
 hands. If we went into the courtyard or reception 
 rooms of the palace, the lords and their followers 
 gathered round us and pestered us with questions, 
 for, being very idle, they were also very curious. 
 
 Also the women, some of whom were fair enough, 
 began to talk to us on this pretext or on that, and 
 did their best to make love to Leo ; for, in contrast 
 with their slim, delicate-looking men, they found 
 this deep-chested, yellow-haired stranger to their 
 taste. Indeed they troubled him much with gifts 
 of flowers and messages sent by servants or soldiers, 
 making assignations with him, which of course he 
 did not keep. 
 
 If we went out into the streets, matters were as 
 bad, for then the people ceased from their business, 
 such as it was, and followed us about, staring at us 
 till we took refuge again in the palace gardens. 
 
 There remained, therefore, only our rides in the 
 country with the Khania, but after three or four 
 of them, these came to an end owing to the jealousy 
 of the Khan, who vowed that if we went out together 
 any more he would follow with the death-hounds. 
 So we must ride alone, if at all, in the centre of a 
 large guard of soldiers sent to see that we did not 
 attempt to escape, and accompanied very often by 
 a mob of peasants, who with threats and entreaties 
 demanded that we should give back the rain v/hich 
 they said we had taken from them. For now the 
 great drought had begun in earnest. 
 
 Thus it came about that at length our only 
 resource was making pretence to fish in the river, 
 where the water was so clear and low that we could 
 catch nothing, watching the while the Fire-moun- 
 tain, that loomed in the distance mysterious and 
 unreachable, and vainly racking our brains for 
 plans to escape thither, or at least to communi- 
 
142 AYESHA 
 
 cate with its priestess, of whom we could learn no 
 more. 
 
 For two great burdens lay upon our souls. The 
 burden of desire to continue our search and to meet 
 with its reward which we were sure that we should 
 pluck amid the snows of yonder peak, if we could 
 but come there ; and the burden of approaching 
 catastrophe at the hands of the Khania Atene. She 
 had made no love to Leo since that night in the 
 Gateway, and, indeed, even if she had wished to, 
 this would have been difficult, since I took care that 
 he was never left for one hour alone. No duenna 
 could have clung to a Spanish princess more closely 
 than I did to Leo. 
 
 Yet I could see well that her passion was no 
 whit abated ; that it grew day by day, indeed, as 
 the fire swells in the heart of a volcano, and that 
 soon it must break loose and spread its ruin round. 
 The omen of it was to be read in her words, her 
 gestures, and her tragic eyes. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 IN THE shaman's CHAMBER 
 
 ONE night Simbri asked us to dine with him in 
 his own apartments in the highest tower of 
 the palace — had we but known it, for us a fateful 
 place indeed, for here the last act of the mighty 
 drama was destined to be fulfilled. So we went, 
 glad enough of any change. When we had eaten, 
 Leo grew very thoughtful, then said suddenly — 
 
 " Friend Simbri, I wish to ask a favour of you — 
 that you will beg the Khania to let us go our ways." 
 
 Instantly the Shaman's cunning old face became 
 like a mask of ivory. 
 
 " Surely you had better ask your favours of the 
 lady herself, lord ; I do not think that any in reason 
 will be refused to you," he replied. 
 
 " Let us stop fencing," said Leo, " and consider 
 the facts. It has seemed to me that the Khania Atene 
 is not happy with her husband." 
 
 " Your eyes are very keen, lord, and who shall 
 say that they have deceived you ? " 
 
 " It has seemed, further," went on Leo, reddening, 
 " that she has been so good as to look on me with 
 — some undeserved regard." 
 
 "Ah! perhaps you guessed that in the Gate- 
 house yonder, if you have not forgotten what most 
 men would remember." 
 
 " I remember certain things, Simbri, that have 
 to do with her and you." 
 
144 AYESHA 
 
 The Shaman only stroked his beard and said ; 
 " Proceed ! " 
 
 " There is little to add, Simbri, except that I am 
 not minded to bring scandal on the name of the first 
 lady in your land." 
 
 " Nobly said, lord, nobly said, though here they 
 do not trouble much about such things. But how 
 if the matter could be managed without scandal ? 
 If, for instance, the Khania chose to take another 
 husband the whole land would rejoice, for she is the 
 last of her royal race." 
 
 " How can she take another husband when she 
 has one living ? " 
 
 " True ; indeed that is a question which I have 
 considered, but the answer to it is that men die. 
 It is the common lot, and the Khan has been drink- 
 ing very heavily of late." 
 
 " You mean that men can be murdered," said 
 Leo angrily. " Well, I wiU have nothing to do with 
 such a crime. Do you understand me ? " 
 
 As the words passed his lips I heard a rustle and 
 turned my head. Behind us were curtains beyond 
 which the Shaman slept, kept his instruments of di- 
 vination and worked out his horoscopes. Now they 
 had been drawn, and between them, in her royal 
 array, stood the Khania still as a statue. 
 
 " Who was it that spoke of crime ? " she asked 
 in a cold voice. " Was it you, my lord Leo ? " 
 
 Rising from his chair, he faced her and said — 
 
 " Lady, I am glad that you have heard my words, 
 even if they should vex you." 
 
 " Why should it vex me to learn that there is 
 one honest man in this court who will have naught 
 to do with murder ? Nay, I honour you for those 
 words. Know also that no such foul thoughts have 
 come near to me. Yet, Leo Vincey, that which is 
 written — is written." 
 
 " Doubtless, Khania ; but what is written ? " 
 
IN THE SHAMAN'S CHAMBER 145 
 
 " Tell him, Shaman." 
 
 Now Simbri passed behind the curtain and re- 
 turned thence with a roll from which he read : " The 
 heavens have declared by their signs infallible that 
 before the next new moon, the Khan Rassen will lie 
 dead at the hands of the stranger lord who came to 
 this country from across the mountains." 
 
 " Then the heavens have declared a lie," said Leo 
 contemptuously. 
 
 " That is as you will," answered Atene ; " but so 
 it-must befall, not by my hand or those of my ser- 
 vants, but by yours. And then ? " 
 
 " Why by mine ? Why not by Holly's ? Yet, 
 if so, then doubtless I shall suffer the punishment 
 of my crime at the hands of his mourning widow," 
 he replied exasperated. 
 
 " You are pleased to mock me, Leo Vincey, well 
 knowing what a husband this man is to me." 
 
 Now I felt that the crisis had come, and so did 
 Leo, for he looked her in the face and said — 
 
 " Speak on, lady, say all you wish ; perhaps it 
 will be better for us both." 
 
 " I obey you, lord. Of the begiiming of this fate 
 I know nothing, but I read from the first page that 
 is open to me. It has to do with this present life 
 of mine. Learn, Leo Vincey, that from my child- 
 hood onwards you have haunted me. Oh ! when 
 first I saw you yonder by the river, your face was 
 not strange to me, for I knew it — I knew it well in 
 dreams. When I was a little maid and slept one 
 day amidst the flowers by the river's brim, it came 
 first to me — ask my uncle here if this be not so, 
 though it is true that your face was younger then. 
 Afterwards again and again I saw it in my sleep and 
 learned to know that you were mine, for the magic of 
 my heart taught me this. 
 
 " Then passed the long years while I felt that you 
 were drawing near to me, slowly, very slowly, but 
 
 K 
 
146 AYESHA 
 
 ever drawing nearer, wending onward and outward 
 through the peoples of the world ; across the hills, 
 across the plains, across the sands, across the snows, 
 on to my side. At length came the end, fOr one 
 night not three moons ago, whilst this wise man, my 
 uncle, and I sat together here studying the lore that 
 he has taught me and striving to wring its secrets 
 from the past, a vision came to me. 
 
 " Look you, I was lost in a charmed sleep which 
 looses the spirit from the body and gives it strength 
 to stray afar and to see those things that have been 
 and that are yet to be. Then I saw you and your 
 companion clinging to a point of broken ice, over 
 the river of the gulf. I do not lie ; it is written 
 here upon the scroll. Yes, it was you, the man of 
 my dreams, and no other, and we knew the place 
 and hurried thither and waited by the water, think- 
 ing that perhaps beneath it you lay dead. 
 
 " Then, while we waited, lo ! two tiny figures 
 appeared far above upon the icy tongue that no 
 man may climb, and oh ! you know the rest. Spell- 
 bound we stood and saw you slip and hang, saw you 
 sever the thin cord and rush downwards, yes and, 
 saw that brave man, HoUy, leap headlong after you. 
 
 " But mine was the hand that drew you from the 
 torrent, where otherwise you must have drowned, you 
 the love of the long past and of to-day, aye, and of aU 
 time. Yes, you and no other, Leo Vincey. It was 
 this spirit that foresaw your danger and this hand 
 which delivered you from death, and — and would 
 you refuse them now — when I, the Khania of 
 Kaloon, proffer them to you ? " 
 
 So she spoke, and leaned upon the table, looking 
 up into his face with lips that trembled and with 
 appealing eyes. 
 
 " Lady," said Leo, " you saved me, and again I 
 thank you, though perhaps it would have been 
 better if you had let me drown. But, forgive me 
 
IN THE SHAMAN'S CHAMBER 147 
 
 the question, if all this tale be true, why did you 
 marry another man ? " 
 
 Now she shrank back as though a knife had pricked 
 her. 
 
 " Oh ! blame me not," she moaned, " it was but 
 poHcy which bound me to this madman, whom I 
 ever loathed. They urged me to it ; yes, even you, 
 Simbri, my uncle, and for that deed accursed be 
 your head — urged me, saying that it was necessary 
 to end the war between Rassen's faction and my 
 own. That I was the last of the true race, more- 
 over, which must be carried on ; sasdng also that 
 my dreams and my rememberings were but sick 
 phantasies. So, alas ! alas ! I yielded, thinking 
 to make my people great." 
 
 " And yoursdf, the greatest of them, if all I 
 hear is true," commented Leo bluntly, for he was 
 determined to end this thing. " Well, I do not 
 blame you, Khania, although now you tell me that I 
 must cut a knot you tied by taking the Ufe of this 
 husband of your own choice, for so forsooth it is 
 decreed by fate, that fate which yott have shaped. 
 Yes, I must do what you will not do, and kill him. 
 Also your tale of the decree of the heavens and of 
 that vision which led you to the precipice to save us 
 is false. Lady, you met me by the river because 
 the ' mighty ' Hesea, the Spirit of the Mountain, so 
 commanded you." 
 
 " How know you that ? " Atene said, springing 
 up and facing him, while the jaw of old Simbri 
 dropped and the eyelids blinked over his glazed eyes, 
 
 " In the same way that I know much else. Lady, 
 it would have been better if you had spoken all the 
 truth." 
 
 Now Atene's face went ashen andher cheeks sank in. 
 
 " Who told you ? " she whispered. " Was it 
 you. Magician ? " and she turned upon her uncle 
 like a snake about to strike. " Oh ! if so, be sure 
 
148 AYESHA 
 
 that I shall learn it, and though we are of one blood 
 and have loved each other, I will pay you back in 
 agony." 
 
 "Atene, Atene," Simbri broke in, holding up his 
 claw-like hands, " you know well it was not I." 
 
 " Then it was you, you ape-faced wanderer, you 
 messenger of the evil gods ? Oh ! why did I not 
 kill you at the first ? Well, that fault can be 
 remedied." 
 
 " Lady," I said blandly, " am I also a magician ? " 
 
 " Aye," she answered, " I think that you are, 
 and that you have a mistress who dwells in fire." 
 
 " Then, Khania," I said, " such servants and 
 such mistresses are ill to meddle with. Say, what 
 answer has the Hesea sent to your report of our 
 coming to this land ? " 
 
 " Listen," broke in Leo before she could reply. 
 " I go to ask a certain question of the Oracle on 
 yonder mountain peak. With your will or without 
 it I tell you that I go, and afterwards you can settle 
 which is the stronger — the Khania of Kaloon or 
 the Hesea of the House of Fire." 
 
 Atene listened and for a while stood silent, per- 
 haps because she had no answer. Then she said 
 with a little laugh — 
 
 " Is that your will ? Well, I think that yonder 
 are none whom you would wish to wed. There is fire 
 and to spare, but no lovely, shameless spirit haunts 
 it to drive men mad with evil longings ; " and as 
 though at some secret thought, a spasm of pain 
 crossed her face and caught her breath. Then 
 she went on in the same cold voice — 
 
 " Wanderers, this land has its secrets, into which 
 no foreigner must pry. I say to you yet again that 
 while I live you set no foot upon that Mountain. 
 Know also, Leo Vincey, I have bared my heart to 
 you, and I have been told in answer that this long 
 quest of yours is not for me, as I was sure in my 
 
IN THE SHAMAN'S CHAMBER 149 
 folly, but, as I think, for some demon wearing the 
 shape of woman, whom you will never find. Now 
 I make no prayer to you; it is not fitting, but 
 you have learned too much. 
 
 "Therefore, consider well to-night and before 
 next sundown answer. Having offered, I do not go 
 back, and to-morrow you shall tell me whether 
 you will take me when the time comes, as come it 
 must, and rule this land and be great and happy 
 in my love, or whether, you and your familiar to- 
 gether, you will — die. Choose then between the 
 vengeance of Atene and her love, since I am not 
 minded to be mocked in my own land as a wanton 
 who sought a stranger and was — refused." 
 
 Slowly, slowly, in an intense whisper she spoke 
 the words, that fell one by one from her lips like 
 drops of blood from a death wound, and there fol- 
 lowed silence. Never shall I forget the scene. 
 There the old wizard watched us through his homy 
 eyes, that blinked like those of some night bird. 
 There stood the imperial woman in her royal robes, 
 with icy rage written on her face and vengeance in 
 her glance. There, facing her, was the great form 
 of Leo, quiet, alert, determined, holding back his 
 doubts and fears with the iron hand of will. And 
 there to the right was I, noting all things and won- 
 dering how long I, " the familiar," who had earned 
 Atene's hate, would be left alive upon the earth. 
 
 Thus we stood, watching each other, till suddenly 
 I noted that the flame of the lamp above us flickered 
 and felt a draught strike upon my face. Then I 
 looked round, and became aware of another pre" 
 sence. For yonder in the shadow showed the tall 
 form of a man. See ! it shambled forward sUently, 
 and I saw that its feet were naked. Now it reached 
 the ring of the lamplight and burst into a savage 
 laugh. 
 
 It was the Khan. 
 
150 A7ESHA 
 
 Atene, his wife, looked up and saw him, and never 
 did I admire that passionate woman's boldness 
 more, who admired little else about her save her 
 beauty, for her face showed neither anger nor fear, 
 but contempt only. And yet she had some cause 
 to be afraid, as she well knew. 
 
 " What do you here, Rassen ? " she asked, 
 " creeping on me with your naked feet ? Get you 
 back to your drink and the ladies of your court." 
 
 But he still laughed on, a hyena laugh. 
 
 " What have you heard ? " she said, " that makes 
 you so merry ? " 
 
 " What have I heard ? " Rassen gurgled out be- 
 tween his screams of hideous glee. " Oho ! I have 
 heard the Khania, the last of the true blood, the first 
 in the land, the proud princess who wiU not let her 
 robes be soiled by those of the ' ladies of the court ' 
 and my wife, my wife, who asked me to marry her — 
 mark that, you strangers — because I was her cousin 
 and a rival ruler, and the richest lord in all the land, 
 and thereby she thought she would increase her 
 power — I have heard her offer herself to a nameless 
 wanderer with a great yellow beard, and I have heard 
 him, who hates and would escape from her " — here he 
 screamed with laughter — " refuse her in such a 
 fashion as I would not refuse the lowest woman 
 in the palace. 
 
 " I have heard also — but that I alwa}^ knew — 
 that I am mad ; for, strangers, I was made mad by 
 a hate-philtre which that old Rat," and he pointed 
 to Simbri, " gave me in my drink — yes, at my mar- 
 riage feast. It worked well, for truly there is no 
 one whom I hate more than the Khania Atene. 
 Why, I cannot bear her touch, it makes me sick. 
 I loathe to be in the same room with her ; she taints 
 the air ; there is a smell of sorceries about her. 
 
 "It seems that it takes you thus also, YeUow- 
 beard? Well, if so, ask the old Rat for a love drink ; 
 
IN THE SHAMAIS-b LtiAmtmR 151 
 
 he can mix it, and then you will think her sweet and 
 sound and fair, and spend some few months jollily 
 enough. Man, don't be a fool, the cup that is thrust 
 into your hands looks goodly. Drink, drink deep. 
 You'll never guess the Uquor's bad — till to-morrow — 
 though it be mixed with a husband's poisoned blood," 
 and again Rassen screamed in his unholy mirth. 
 
 To all these bitter insults, venomed with the sting 
 of truth, Atene hstened without a word. Then she 
 turned to us and bowed. 
 
 " My guests," she said, " I pray you pardon me 
 for all I cannot help. You have strayed to a cor- 
 rupt and evil land, and there stands its crown and 
 flower. Khan Rassen, your doom is written, 
 and I do not hasten it, because once for a little 
 while we were near to each other, though you have 
 been naught to me for this many a year save a snake 
 that haunts my house. Were it otherwise, the next 
 cup you drank should still your madness, and that 
 vile tongue of yours which gives its venom voice. My 
 uncle, come with me. Your hand, for I grow weak 
 with shame and woe." ' 
 
 The old Shaman hobbled forward, but when he 
 came face to face with the Khan he stopped and 
 looked him up and down with his dim eyes. Then 
 he said — 
 
 " Rassen, I saw you born, the son of an evil woman, 
 and your father none knew but I. The flame flared 
 that night upon the Fire-mountain, and the stars 
 hid their faces, for none of them would own you, 
 no, not even those of the most evil influence. I saw 
 you wed and rise drunken from your marriage feast, 
 your arm about a wanton's neck. I have seen you 
 rule, wasting the land for your cruel pleasure, turn- 
 ing the fertUe fields into great parks for your game, 
 leaving those who tilled them to starve upon the 
 road or drown themselves in ditches for very misery. 
 And soon, soon I shall see you die in pain and blood. 
 
152 AYESHA 
 
 and then the chain will fall from the neck of this 
 noble lady whom you revile, and another more 
 worthy shall take your place and rear up children 
 to fill your throne, and the land shall have rest again." 
 
 Now I listened to these words — and none who did 
 not hear them can guess the fearful bitterness with 
 which they were spoken — expecting every moment 
 that the Khan would draw the short sword at his 
 side and cut the old man down. But he did not; 
 he cowered before him like a dog before some savage 
 master, the weight of whose whip he knows. Yes, 
 answering nothing, he shrank into the comer and 
 cowered there, while Simbri, taking Atene by the 
 hand, went from the room. At its massive, iron- 
 bound door he turned and pointing to the crouching 
 figure with his staff, said — 
 
 " Khan Rassen, I raised you up, and now I cast 
 you down. Remember me when you lie dying — 
 in blood and pain." 
 
 Their footsteps died away, and the Khan crept 
 from his corner, looking about him furtively. 
 
 " Have that Rat and the other gone ? " he asked 
 of us, wiping his damp brow with his sleeve ; and I 
 saw that fear had sobered him and that for awhile 
 the madness had left his eyes. 
 
 I answered that they had gone. 
 
 " You think me a coward," he went on passion- 
 ately, " and it is true, I am afraid of him and her— 
 as you. Yellow-beard, will be afraid when your turn 
 comes. I tell you that they sapped my strength 
 and crazed me with their drugged drink, making me 
 the thing I am, for who can war against their wizard- 
 ries ? Look you now. Once I was a prince, the 
 lord of half this land, noble of form and upright of 
 heart, and I loved her cursed beauty as all must love 
 it on whom she turns her eyes. And she turned 
 them on me, she sought me in marriage ; it was that 
 old Rat who bore her message. 
 
IN THE SHAMAN'S CHAMBER 153 
 
 " So I stayed the great war and married the Khania 
 and became the Khan ; but better had it been for 
 me if I had crept into her kitchen as a scullion, than 
 into her chamber as a husband. For from the first 
 she hated me, and the more I loved, the more she 
 hated, till at our wedding feast she doctored me 
 with that poison which made me loathe her, and 
 thus divorced us ; which made me mad also, eating 
 into my brain like fire." 
 
 " If she hated you so sorely, Khan," I asked, 
 " why did she not mix a stronger draught and have 
 done with you ? " 
 
 " Why ? Because of policy, for I ruled half the 
 land. Because it suited her also that I should live 
 on, a thing to mock at, since while I was alive no 
 other husband could be forced upon her by the 
 people. For she is not a woman, she is a witch, who 
 desires to live alone, or so I thought imtil to-night " — 
 and he glowered at Leo. 
 
 " She knew also that although I must shrink from 
 her, I still love her in my heart, and can still be jeal- 
 ous, and therefore that I should protect her from all 
 men. It was she who set me on that lord whom my 
 dogs tore awhile ago, because he was powerful and 
 sought her favour and would not be denied. But 
 now," and again he glowered at Leo, " now I know 
 why she has always seemed so cold. It is because 
 there hved a man to melt whose ice she husbanded 
 her fire." 
 
 Then Leo, who all this while had stood silent, 
 stepped forward. 
 
 " Listen, Khan," he said. " Did the ice seem 
 like melting a little while ago ? " 
 
 " No — imless you lied. But that was only because 
 the fire is not yet hot enough. Wait awhile until 
 it bums up, and melt you must, for who can match 
 his will against Atene ? " 
 
 " And what if the ice desires to flee the fire ? 
 
154 AYESHA 
 
 Khan, they said that I should kill you, but I do not 
 seek your blood. You think that I would rob you of 
 your wife, yet I have no such thought towards her. 
 We desire to escape this town of yours, but cannot, 
 because its gates are locked, and we are prisoners, 
 guarded night and day. Hear me, then. You 
 have the power to set us free and to be rid of us." 
 
 The Khan looked at him cunningly. " And if I 
 set you free, whither would you go ? You could 
 tumble down yonder gorge, but only the birds can 
 climb its heights." 
 
 " To the Fire-mountain, where we have business." 
 
 Rassen stared at him. 
 
 " Is it I who am mad, or are you, who wish to visit 
 the Fire-mountain ? Yet that is nothing to me, 
 save that I do not believe you. But if so you might 
 return again and bring others with you. Perchance, 
 having its lady, you wish this land also by right of 
 conquest. It has foes up yonder." 
 
 " It is not so," answered Leo earnestly. " As 
 one man to another, I tell you it is not so. I ask 
 no smile of your wife and no acre of your soil. Be 
 wise and help us to be gone, and live on imdis- 
 turbed in such fashion as may please you." 
 
 The Khan stood still awhile, swinging his long 
 arms vacantly, till something seemed to come into his 
 mind that moved him to merriment, for he burst 
 into one of his hideous laughs. 
 
 " I am thinking," he said, " what Atene would 
 say if she woke up to find her sweet bird flown. She 
 would search for you and be angry with me." 
 
 " It seems that she cannot be angrier than she 
 is," I answered. " Give us a night's start and let 
 her search never so closely, she shall not find us." 
 
 " You forget, Wanderer, that she and her old Rat 
 have arts. Those who knew where to meet you 
 might know where to seek you. And yet, and yet, 
 it would be rare to see her rage. ' Oh, Yellow- 
 
IN THE SHAMAN'S CHAMBER 155 
 
 beard, where are you, Yellow-beard ? ' he went 
 on, mimicking his wife's voice. ' Come back and let 
 me melt your ice. Yellow-beard.' " 
 
 Again he laughed ; then said suddenly — 
 
 " When can you be ready ? " 
 
 " In half an hour," I answered. 
 
 " Good. Go to your chambers and prepare. I 
 will join you there presently." 
 
 So we went. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE HUNT AND THE KILL 
 
 WE reached our rooms, meeting no one in the 
 passages, and there made our preparations. 
 First we changed our festal robes for those warmer 
 garments in which we had travelled to the city of 
 Kaloon. Then we ate and drank what we could of 
 the victuals which stood in the ante-chamber, not 
 knowing when we should find more food, and filled 
 two satchels such as these people shng about their 
 shoulders, with the remains of the meat and Uquor 
 and a few necessaries. Also we strapped our big 
 hunting knives about our middles and armed our- 
 selves with short spears that were made for the 
 stabbing of game. 
 
 " Perhaps he has laid a plot to murder us, and 
 we may as well defend ourselves while we can," 
 suggested Leo. 
 
 I nodded, for the echoes of the Khan's last laugh 
 still rang in my ears. It was a very evil laugh. 
 
 " Likely enough," I said. " I do not trust that 
 insane brute. Still, he wishes to be rid of us." 
 
 " Yes, but as . he said, live men may return, 
 whereas the dead do not." 
 
 " Atene thinks otherwise," I commented. 
 
 " And yet she threatened us with death," an- 
 swered Leo. 
 
 " Because her shame and passion make her mad," 
 I replied, after which we were silent. 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 157 
 
 Presently the door opened, and through it came 
 the Khan, muffled in a great cloak as though to 
 disguise himself. 
 
 " Come," he said, " if you are ready." Then 
 catching sight of the spears we held, he added: 
 " You will not need those things. You do not go 
 a-hunting." 
 
 " No," I answered, " but who can say — we 
 might be hunted." 
 
 " If you believe that perhaps you had best stay 
 where you are till the Khania wearies of YeUow- 
 beard and opens the gates for you," he rephed, 
 eyeing me with his cunning glance. 
 
 " I think not," I said, and we started, the Khan 
 leading the way and motioning us to be silent. 
 
 We passed through the empty rooms on to the 
 verandah, and from the verandah down into the 
 courtyard, where he whispered to us to keep in the 
 shadow. For the moon shone very clearly that 
 night, so clearly, I remember, that I could see the 
 grass which grew between the joints of the pave- 
 ment, and the Uttle shadows thrown by each separate 
 blade upon the worn surface of its stones. Now I 
 wondered how we should pass the gate, for there 
 a guard was stationed, which had of late been doubled 
 by order of the Khania. But this gate we left upon 
 our right, taking a path that led into the great 
 waUed garden, where Rassen brought us to a door 
 hidden behind a clump of shrubs, which he unlocked 
 with a key he carried. 
 
 Now we were outside the palace wall, and our 
 road ran past the kennels. As we went by these, 
 the great, sleepless death-hounds, that wandered 
 to and fro Uke prowling lions, caught our wind and 
 burst into a sudden chorus of terrific bays. I 
 shivered at the sound, for it was fearful in that 
 silence, also I thought that it would arouse the 
 keepers. But the Khan went to the bars and showed 
 
158 AYESHA 
 
 himself, whereon the brutes, which knew him, 
 ceased their noise. 
 
 "Fear not," he said as he returned, "the hunts- 
 men know that they are starved to-night, for to- 
 morrow certain criminals will be thrown to them." 
 
 Now we had reached the palace gates. Here 
 the Khan bade us hide in an archway and departed. 
 We looked at each other, for the same thought was 
 in both our minds — that he had gone to fetch the 
 murderers who were to make an end of us. But 
 in this we did him wrong, for presently we heard the 
 sound of horses' hoofs upon the stones, and he 
 returned leading the two white steeds that Atene 
 had given us. 
 
 " I saddled them with my own hands," he whis- 
 pered. " Who can do more to speed the parting 
 guest ? Now mount, hide your faces in your 
 cloaks as I do, and follow me." 
 
 So we mounted, and he trotted before us like a 
 running footman, such as the great lords of Kaloon 
 employed when they went about their business or 
 their pleasure. Leaving the main street, he led us 
 through a quarter of the town that had an evil 
 reputation, and down its tortuous by-ways. Here 
 we met a few revellers, while from time to time 
 night-birds flitted from the doorways and, throwing 
 aside their veils, looked at us, but as we made no 
 sign drew back again, thinking that we passed to 
 some assignation. We reached the deserted docks 
 upon the river's edge and came to a little quay, 
 alongside of which a broad ferry-boat was fastened. 
 
 " You must put your horses into it and row 
 across," Rassen said, " for the bridges are guarded, 
 and without discovering myself I cannot bid the 
 soldiers to let you pass." 
 
 So with some little trouble we urged the horses 
 into the boat, where I held them by their bridles 
 while Leo took the oars. 
 

 Ride fast, ride fast for safety, strangers.' 
 
 Ayes/ia ] 
 
 [Pao-e 159. 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 159 
 
 " Now go your ways, accursed wanderers," cried 
 the Khan as he thrust us from the quay, " and pray 
 the Spirit of the Mountain that the old Rat and his 
 pupil — your love, Yellow-beard, your love — are 
 not watching you in their magic glass. For if so 
 we may meet again." 
 
 Then as the stream caught us, sweeping the boat 
 out towards the centre of the river, he began to 
 laugh that horrible laugh of his, calling after us — 
 
 " Ride fast, ride fast for safety, strangers ; there 
 is death behind." 
 
 Leo put out his strength and backed water, so that 
 the punt himg upon the edge of the stream. 
 
 " I think that we should do well to land again 
 and kill that man, for he means mischief," he 
 said. 
 
 He spoke in English, but Rassen must have 
 caught the ring of his voice and guessed its mean- 
 ing with the cunning of the mad. At least he 
 shouted. 
 
 " Too late, fools," and with a last laugh turned, 
 ran so swiftly up the quay that his cloak flew out 
 upon the air behind him, and vanished into the 
 shadows at its head. 
 
 " Row on," I said, and Leo bent himself to the 
 oars. 
 
 But the ferry-boat was cumbersome and the 
 current swift, so that we were swept down a long 
 way before we could cross it. At length we reached 
 still water near the further shore, and seeing a 
 landing-place, managed to beach the punt and to 
 drag our horses to the bank. Then leaving the 
 craft to drift, for we had no time to scuttle her, 
 we looked to our girths and bridles, and mounted, 
 heading towards the far column of glowing smoke 
 which showed like a beacon above the summit of 
 the House of Fire. 
 
 At first our progress was very slow, for here 
 
i6o A7ESHA 
 
 there seemed to be no path, and we were obhged 
 to pick our way across the fields, and to search for 
 bridges that spanned such of the water-ditches 
 as were too wide for us to jump. More than an 
 hour was spent in this work, till we came to a village 
 wherein none were stirring, and here struck a road 
 which seemed to run towards the mountain, though, 
 as we learned afterwards, it took us very many miles 
 out of our true path. Now for the first time we were 
 able to canter, and pushed on at some speed, though 
 not too fast, for we wished to spare our horses 
 and feared lest they might faU in the uncertain 
 light. 
 
 A while before dawn the moon sank behind the 
 Mountain, and the gloom grew so dense that we 
 were forced to stop, which we did, holding the 
 horses by their bridles and allowing them to graze a 
 little on some young com. Then the sky turned grey, 
 the light faded from the column of smoke that was 
 our guide, the dawn came, blushing red upon the 
 vast snows of the distant peak, and shooting its 
 arrows through the loop above the piUar. We let 
 the horses drink from a channel that watered the 
 corn, and, mounting them, rode onward slowly. 
 
 Now with the shadows of the night a weight of 
 fear seemed to be lifted off our hearts and we grew 
 hopeful, aye, almost joyous. That hated city was 
 behind us. Behind us were the Khania with her 
 surging, doom-driven passions and her stormy 
 loveliness, the wizardries of her horny-eyed mentor, 
 so old in years and secret sin, and the madness of 
 that strange being, half-devil, half-martyr, at once 
 cruel and a coward — the Khan, her husband, and 
 his polluted court. In front lay the fire, the 
 snow and the mystery they hid, sought for so many 
 empty years. Now we would solve it or we would 
 die. So we pressed forward jojrfully to meet our 
 fate, whatever it might be. 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL i6i 
 
 For many hours our road ran deviously through 
 cultivated land, where the peasants at their labour 
 laid down their tools and gathered into knots to 
 watch us pass, and quaint, flat-roofed villages, 
 whence the women snatched up their children and 
 fled at the sight of us. They believed us to be 
 lords from the court who came to work them some 
 harm in person or in property, and their terror 
 told us how the country smarted beneath the rod 
 of the oppressor. By mid-day, although the peak 
 seemed to be but little nearer, the character of the 
 land had changed. Now it sloped gently upwards, 
 and therefore could not be irrigated. 
 
 Evidently all this great district was dependent on 
 the fall of timely rains, which had not come that 
 spring. Therefore, although the population was still 
 dense and every rod of the land was under the 
 plough or spade, the crops were failing. It was pitiful 
 to see the green, uneared corn already turning 
 yellow because of the lack of moisture, the beasts 
 searching the starved pastures for food and the poor 
 husbandmen wandering about their fields or striving 
 to hoe the iron soil. 
 
 Here the people seemed to know us as the two 
 foreigners whose coming had been noised abroad, and, 
 the fear of famine having made them bold, they 
 shouted at us as we went by to give them back the 
 rain which we had stolen, or so we understood their 
 words. Even the women and the children in the vil- 
 lages prostrated themselves before us, pointing first to 
 the Mountain and then to the hard, blue sky, and 
 crying to us to send them rain. Once, indeed, we 
 were threatened by a mob of peasants armed with 
 spades and reaping-hooks, who seemed inclined to 
 bar our path, so that we were obliged to put our 
 horses to a gallop and pass through them with a 
 rush. As we went forward the country grew ever more 
 arid and its inhabitants more scarce, till we saw no 
 
 L 
 
i62 AYESHA 
 
 man save a few wandering herds who drove their 
 cattle from place to place in search of provender. 
 
 By evening we guessed that we had reached that 
 border tract which was harried by the Mountain 
 tribes, for here strong towers built of stone were 
 dotted about the heaths, doubtless to serve as 
 watch-houses or places of refuge. Whether they 
 were garrisoned by soldiers I do not know, but I 
 doubt it, for we saw none. It seems probable 
 indeed that these forts were relics of days when the 
 land of Kaloon was guarded from attack by 
 rulers of a very different character to that of the 
 present Khan and his immediate predecessors. 
 
 At length even the watch-towers were left behind, 
 and by sundown we found ourselves upon a vast 
 uninhabited plain, where we could see no living 
 thing. Now we made up our minds to rest our 
 horses awhile, proposing to push forward again 
 with the moon, for having the wrath of the Khania 
 behind us we did not dare to linger. By this evening 
 doubtless she would have discovered our escape, 
 since before sundown, as she had decreed, Leo must 
 make his choice and give his answer. Then, as 
 we were sure, she would strike swiftly. Perhaps 
 her messengers were already at their work rousing 
 the country to capture us, and her soldiers following 
 on our path. 
 
 We unsaddled the horses and let them refresh 
 themselves by rolling on the sandy soil, and graze 
 after a fashion upon the coarse tufts of withering 
 herbage which grew around. There was no water 
 here ; but this did not so much matter, for both 
 they and we had drunk at a little muddy pool we 
 found not more than an hour before. We were 
 finishing our meal of the food that we had broug^it 
 with us, which, indeed, we needed sorely after our 
 sleepless night and long day's journey, when my 
 horse, which was knee-haltered close at hand, lay 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 163 
 
 down to roll again. This it could not do with ease 
 because of the rope about its fore-leg, and I watched 
 its efforts idly, till at length, at the fourth attempt, 
 after hanging for a few seconds upon its back, its 
 legs sticking straight into the air, it fell over slowly 
 towards me as horses do. 
 
 " Why are its hoofs so red ? Has it cut itself ? " 
 asked Leo in an indifferent voice. 
 
 As it chanced I also had just noticed this red 
 tinge, and for the first time, since it was most distinct 
 about the animal's frogs, which until it rolled thus 
 I had not seen. So I rose to look at them, thinking 
 that probably the evening light had deceived us, 
 or that we might have passed through some ruddy- 
 coloured mud. Sure enough they were red, as 
 though a dye had soaked into the horn and the 
 substance of the frogs. What was more, they gave 
 out a pungent, aromatic smell that was unpleasant, 
 such a smell as might arise from blood mixed with 
 musk and spices. 
 
 " It is very strange," I said. " Let us look at 
 your beast, Leo." 
 
 So we did, and found that its hoofs had been 
 similarly treated. 
 
 " Perhaps it is a native mixture to preserve the 
 horn," suggested Leo. 
 
 I thought awhile, then a terrible idea struck me. 
 
 " I don't want to frighten you," I said, " but I 
 think that we had better saddle up and get on." 
 
 " Why ? " he asked. 
 
 " Because I believe that villain of a Khan has 
 doctored our horses." 
 
 " What for ? To make them go lame ? " 
 
 " No, Leo, to make them leave a strong scent 
 upon dry ground." 
 
 He turned pale. " Do you mean — those 
 hounds ? " 
 
 I nodded. Then wasting no more time in words, 
 
i64 AYESHA 
 
 we saddled up in frantic haste. Just as I fastened 
 the last strap of my saddle I thought that a faint 
 sound reached my ear. 
 
 " Listen," I said. Again it came, and now there 
 was no doubt about it. It was the sound of baying 
 dogs. 
 
 " By Heaven ! the death-hounds," said Leo. 
 
 " Yes," I answered quietly enough, for at this 
 crisis my nerves hardened and all fear left me, 
 " our friend the Khan is out a-hunting. That is 
 why he laughed." 
 
 " What shall we do ? " asked Leo. " Leave the 
 horses ? " 
 
 I looked at the Peak. Its nearest flanks were 
 miles and miles away. 
 
 " Time enough to do that when we are forced. 
 We can never reach that mountain on foot, and 
 after they had run down the horses, they would 
 hunt us by spoor or gaze. No, man, ride as you 
 never rode before." 
 
 We sprang to our saddles, but before we gave 
 rein I turned and looked behind me. It wiU be 
 remembered that we had ridden up a long slope 
 which terminated in a ridge, about three miles 
 away, the border of the great plain whereon we 
 stood. Now the sun had sunk behind that ridge 
 so that although it was stUl light the plain had fallen 
 into shadow. Therefore, while no distant obj ect could 
 be seen upon the plain, anything crossing the 
 ridge remained visible enough in that clear air, at 
 least to persons of keen sight. 
 
 This is what we saw. Over the ridge poured a 
 multitude of httle objects, and amongst the last of 
 these galloped a man mounted on a great horse, 
 who led another horse by the bridle. 
 
 " All the pack are out," said Leo grimly, " and 
 Rassen has brought a second mount with him. 
 Now I see why he wanted us to leave the spears, 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 165 
 
 and I think," he shouted as we began to gallop, 
 " that before all is done the Shaman may prove 
 himself a true prophet." 
 
 Away we sped through the gathering darkness, 
 heading straight for the Peak. While we went I cal- 
 culated our chances. Our horses, as good as any in 
 the land, were stUl strong and fresh, for although 
 we had ridden far we had not over-pressed them, 
 and their condition was excellent. But doubtless 
 the death-hounds were fresh also, for, meaning to 
 run us down at night when he thought that he might 
 catch us sleeping, Rassen would have brought 
 them along easUy, following us by inquiry among the 
 peasants and only la5dng them on our spoor after 
 the last village had been left behind. 
 
 Also he had two mounts, and for aught we 
 knew — though afterwards this proved not to be the 
 case, for he wished to work his wickedness alone and 
 unseen — he might be followed by attendants with 
 relays. Therefore it would appear that unless we 
 reached some place whither he did not dare to fol- 
 low, before him — that is the slopes of the Peak 
 many miles away, he must run us down. There 
 remained the chance also that the dogs would tire 
 and refuse to pursue the chase. 
 
 This, however, seemed scarcely probable, for they 
 were extraordinarily swift and strong, and so savage 
 that when once they had scented blood, in which 
 doubtless our horse's hoofs were steeped, they would 
 fall dead from exhaustion sooner than abandon the 
 trail. Indeed, both the Khania and Simbri had 
 often told us as much. Another chance — they 
 might lose the scent, but seeing its nature, again 
 this was not probable. Even an English pack will 
 carry the trail of a red herring breast high without 
 a fault for hours, and here was something stronger 
 — a cunning compound of which the tell-tale 
 odour would hold for days. A last chance. If 
 
i66 AYESHA 
 
 we were forced to abandon our horses, we, their 
 riders, might possibly escape, could we find any 
 place to hide in on that great plain. If not, we 
 should be seen as well as scented, and then 
 
 No, the odds were all against us, but so they had 
 often been before ; meanwhile we had three miles 
 start, and perhaps help would come to us from the 
 Mountain, some help unforeseen. So we set our 
 teeth and sped away like arrows while the light 
 lasted. 
 
 Very soon it failed, and whilst the moon was 
 hidden behind the mountains the night grew dark. 
 
 Now the hounds gained on us, for in the gloom, 
 which to them was nothing, we did not dare to ride 
 full speed, fearing lest our horses should stumble 
 and lame themselves,' or fall. Then it was for the 
 second time since we had dwelt in this land of 
 Kaloon that of a sudden the fire flamed upon the 
 Peak. When we had seen it before, it had appeared 
 to flash across the heavens in one great lighthouse 
 ray, concentrated through the loop above the 
 pillar, and there this night also the ray ran far above 
 us like a lance of fire. But now that we were nearer 
 to its fount we found ourselves bathed in a soft, mys- 
 terious radiance like that of the phosphorescence 
 on a summer sea, reflected downwards perhaps from 
 the clouds and massy rock roof of the column loop 
 and diffused by the snows beneath. 
 
 This unearthly glimmer, faint as it was, helped 
 us much, indeed but for it we must have been 
 overtaken, for here the ground was very rough, 
 full of holes also made by burrowing marmots. 
 Thus in our extremity help did come to us from the 
 Mountain, until at length the moon rose, when as 
 quickly as they had appeared the volcanic fires 
 vanished, leaving behind them nothing but the 
 accustomed pillar of dull red smoke. 
 
 It is a commonplace to speak of the music of 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 167 
 
 hounds at chase, but often I have wondered how 
 that music sounds in the ears of the deer or the 
 fox fleeing for its life. Now, when we filled the 
 place of the quarry, it was my destiny to solve this 
 problem, and I assert with confidence that the 
 progeny of earth can produce no more hideous noise. 
 It had come near to us, and in the desolate silence 
 of the night the hellish harmonies of its volume 
 seemed terrific, yet I could discern the separate 
 notes of which it was composed, especially one 
 deep, bell-like bay. 
 
 I remembered that I had heard this bay when 
 we sat in the boat upon the river and saw that poor 
 noble done to death for the crime of loving the 
 Khania. As the hunt passed us then I observed 
 that it burst from the throat of the leading hound, 
 a huge brute, red in colour, with a coal-black 
 ear, fangs that gleamed like ivory, and a mouth 
 which resembled a hot oven. I even knew the 
 name of the beast, for afterwards the Khan, whose 
 peculiar joy it was, had pointed it out to me. He 
 called it Master, because no dog in the pack dared 
 fight it, and told me that it could kill an armed 
 man alone. 
 
 Now, as its baying warned us. Master was not 
 half a mile away ! 
 
 The coming of the moonlight enabled us to gallop 
 faster, especially as here the ground was smooth, 
 being covered with a short, dry turf, and for the 
 next two hours we gained upon the pack. Yes, 
 it was only two hours, or perhaps less, but it seemed 
 a score of ceni'iries. The slopes of the Peak were now 
 not more than ten miles ahead, but our horses were 
 giving out at last. They had borne us nobly, poor 
 beasts, though we were no light weights, yet their 
 strength had its limits. The sweat ran from them, 
 their sides panted like bellows, they breathed in 
 gasps, they stumbled and would scarcely answer 
 
i68 AYESHA 
 
 to the flogging of our spear-shafts. Their gallop 
 sank to a jolting canter, and I thought that soon 
 they must come to a dead stop. 
 
 We crossed the brow of a gentle rise, from which 
 the ground, that was sprinkled with bush and rocks, 
 sloped downwards to where, some miles below us, 
 the river ran, bounding the enormous flanks of 
 the Mountain. When we had travelled a little 
 way down this slope we were obliged to turn in 
 order to pass between two heaps of rock, which 
 brought us side on to its brow. And there, crossing 
 it not more than three hundred yards away, we 
 saw the pack. There were fewer of them now; 
 doubtless many had fallen out of the hunt, but 
 many still remained. Moreover, not far behind 
 them rode the Khan, though his second mount was 
 gone, or more probably he was riding it, having 
 galloped the first to a standstill. 
 
 Our poor horses saw them also, ana the sight lent 
 them wings, for all the while they knew that they 
 were running for their lives. This we could teU from 
 the way they quivered whenever the baying came 
 near to them, not as horses tremble with the pleasure- 
 able excitement of the hunt, but in an extremity 
 of terror, as I have often seen them do when a 
 prowling tiger roars close to their camp. On they 
 went as though they were fresh from the stable, 
 nor did they fail again until another four miles or 
 so were covered and the river was but a little way 
 ahead, for we could hear the rush of its waters. 
 
 Then slowly but surely the pack overtook us. 
 We passed a clump of bush, but when we had gone 
 a couple of hundred yards or so across the open 
 plain beyond, feeling that the horses were utterly 
 spent, I shouted to Leo — 
 
 " Ride round back to the bush and hide there." 
 
 So we did, and scarcely had we reached it and 
 dismounted when the hounds came past. Yes, 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 169 
 
 they went within fifty yards of us, lolloping along 
 upon our spoor and running all but mute, for now 
 they were too weary to waste their breath in vain. 
 " Run for it," I said to Leo as soon as they had 
 gone by, " for they wiU be back on the scent pre- 
 sently," and we set off to the right across thehne 
 that the hounds had taken, so as not to cut our 
 own spoor. 
 
 About a hundred yards away was a rock, which 
 fortunately we were able to reach before the pack 
 swung round upon the horses' tracks, and therefore 
 they did not view us. Here we stayed until, follow- 
 ing the loop, they came to the patch of bush and 
 passed behind it. Then we ran forward again as 
 far as we could go. Glancing backwards as we 
 went, I saw our two poor, foundered beasts plunging 
 away across the plain, happily almost in the same 
 line along which we had ridden from the rise. They 
 were utterly done, but freed from our weights and 
 urged on by fear, could still gallop and keep ahead 
 of the dogs, though we knew that this would not 
 be for very long. I saw also that the Khan, 
 guessing what we had done in our despair, was 
 trpng to caU his hounds off the horses, but as 
 yet without avail, for they would not leave the 
 quarry which they had viewed. 
 
 All this came to my sight in a flash, but I re- 
 member the picture well. The mighty, snow-clad 
 Peak surmounted by its column of glowing smoke 
 and casting its shadow for mile upon mile across 
 the desert flats; the plain with its isolated rocks 
 and grey bushes; the doomed horses struggling 
 across it with convulsive bounds ; the trailing line 
 of great dogs that loped after them, and amongst 
 these, looking small and lonely in that vast place, 
 the figure of the Khan and his horse, of which the 
 black hide was beflecked with foam. Then above, 
 the blue and tender sky, where the round moon 
 
170 AYESHA 
 
 shone so clearly that in her quiet, level light no 
 detail, even the smallest, could escape the eye. 
 
 Now youth and even middle age were far behind 
 me, and although a very strong man for my years, 
 I could not run as I used to do. Also I was most 
 weary, and my limbs were stiff and chafed with 
 long riding, so I made but slow progress, and to 
 worsen matters I struck my left foot against a 
 stone and hurt it much. I implored Leo to go 
 on and leave me, for we thought that if we could 
 once reach the river our scent would be lost in the 
 water ; at any rate that it would give us a chance 
 of life. Just then, too, I heard the belling bay of the 
 hound Master, and waited for the next. Yes, it 
 was nearer to us. The Khan had made a cast and 
 found our line. Presently we must face the end. 
 
 " Go, go ! " I said. " I can keep them back for 
 a few minutes and you may escape. It is your 
 quest, not mine. Ayesha awaits you, not me, and 
 I am weary of life. I wish to die and have done 
 with it." 
 
 Thus I gasped, not all at once, but in broken 
 words, as I hobbled along clinging to Leo's arm. 
 But he only answered in a low voice — 
 
 " Be quiet, or they wiU hear you," and on he 
 went, dragging me with him. 
 
 We were quite near the water now, for we could 
 see it gleaming below us, and oh ! how I longed for 
 one deep drink. I remember that this was the 
 uppermost desire in my mind, to drink and drink. 
 But the hounds were nearer still to us, so near 
 that we could hear the pattering of their feet on 
 the dry ground mingled with the thud of the hoofs 
 of the Khan's galloping horse. We had reached 
 some rocks upon a little rise, just where the bank 
 began, when Leo said suddenly — 
 
 " No use, we can't make it. Stop and let's see 
 the thing through." 
 
THE HUNT AND THE KILL 171 
 
 So we wheeled round, resting our backs against 
 the rock. There, about a hundred yards off, were 
 the death-hounds, but Heaven be praised ! only 
 three of them. The rest had followed the flying 
 horses, and doubtless when they caught them at 
 last, which may have been far distant, had stopped 
 to gorge themselves upon them. So they were out 
 of the fight. Only three, and the Khan, a wUd 
 figure, who galloped with them ; but those three, 
 the bla,ck and red brute, Master, and two others 
 almost as fierce and big. 
 
 " It might be worse," said Leo. " If you will 
 try to tackle the dogs, I'U do my best with the 
 Khan," and stooping down he rubbed his palms 
 in the grit, for they were wet as water, an example 
 which I followed. Then we gripped the spears in 
 our right hands and the knives in our left, and 
 waited. 
 
 The dogs had seen us now and came on, growling 
 and baying fearfully. With a rush they came, and 
 I am not ashamed to own that I felt terribly afraid, 
 for the brutes seemed the size of Uons and more 
 fierce. One, it was the smallest of them, out- 
 stripped the others, and, leaping up the little rise, 
 sprang straight at my throat. 
 
 Why or how I do not know, but on the impulse 
 of the moment I too sprang to meet it, so that its 
 whole weight came upon the point of my spear, 
 which was backed by my weight. The spear entered 
 between its forelegs, and such was the shock that 
 I was knocked backwards. But when I regained 
 my feet I saw the dog rolling on the ground before me 
 and gnashing at the spear shaft, which had been 
 twisted from my hand. 
 
 The other two had jumped at Leo, but failed 
 to get hold, though one of them tore away a large 
 fragment from his tunic. FooHshly enough, he 
 hurled his spear at it but missed, for the steel 
 
172 AYESHA 
 
 passed just under its belly and buried itself deep 
 in the ground. The pair of them did not come on 
 again at once. Perhaps the sight of their dsdng 
 companion made them pause. At any rate, they 
 stood at a Uttle distance snarling, where, as our 
 spears were gone, they were safe from us. 
 
 Now the Khan had ridden up and sat upon his 
 horse glowering at us, and his face was like the face 
 of a devil. I had hoped that he might fear to 
 attack, but the moment I saw his eyes, I knew that 
 this would not be. He was quite mad with hate, 
 jealousy, and the long-drawn excitement of the 
 hunt, and had come to kill or be killed. Shding 
 from the saddle, he drew his short sword — for either 
 he had lost his spear or had brought none — and made 
 a hissing noise to the two dogs, pointing at me with 
 the sword. I saw them spring and I saw him rush 
 at Leo, and after that who can tell exactly what 
 happened ? 
 
 My knife went home to the hilt in the body of one 
 dog and it came to the ground, and lay there — 
 for its hind-quarters were paralysed, howling, 
 snarling and biting at me. But the other, the fiend 
 called Master, got me by the right arm beneath the 
 elbow, and I felt my bones crack in its mighty jaws, 
 and the agony of it, or so I suppose, caused me to 
 drop the knife, so that I was weaponless. The 
 brute dragged me from the rock and began to shake 
 and worry me, although I kicked it in the stomach 
 with all my strength. I fell to my knees and, as it 
 chanced, my left hand came upon a stone of about 
 the size of a large orange, which I gripped. I 
 gained my feet again and pounded at its skull with 
 the stone, but still it did not leave go, and this was 
 well for me, for its next hold would have been on 
 my throat. 
 
 We twisted and tumbled to and fro, man and dog 
 together. At one turn I thought that I saw Leo 
 
THE HUNT ANU 1 tih KI1.1. 173 
 
 and the Khan roUing over and over each other upon 
 the ground ; at another, that he, the Khan, was 
 sitting against a stone looking at me, and it came 
 into my mind that he must have killed Leo and 
 was watching while the dog worried me to death. 
 
 Then just as things began to grow black, some- 
 thing sprang forward and I saw the huge hound 
 lifted from the earth. Its jaws opened, my arm 
 came free and fell against my side. Yes ! the 
 brute was whirling round in the air. Leo held 
 it by its hind legs and with all his great strength 
 whirled it round and round. 
 
 Thud ! He had dashed its head against the rock, 
 and it fell and lay still, a huddled heap of black and 
 red. 
 
 Oddly enough, I did not faint ; I suppose that the 
 pain and the shock to my nerves kept me awake, 
 for I heard Leo say in a matter-of-fact voice between 
 his gasps for breath — 
 
 " Well, that's over, and I think that I have 
 fulfilled the Shaman's prophecy. Let's look and 
 make sure." 
 
 Then he led me with him to one of the rocks, and 
 there, resting supinely against it, sat the Khan, 
 stUl living but unable to move hand or foot. The 
 madness had quite left his face and he looked at us 
 with melancholy eyes, like the eyes of a sick child. 
 
 " You are brave men," he said slowly, " strong 
 also, to have killed those hounds and broken my back. 
 So it has come about as was foretold by the old 
 Rat. After aU, I should have hunted Atene, not 
 you, though now she lives to avenge me, for her 
 own sake, not mine. Yellow-beard, she hunts you 
 too and with deadlier hounds than these, those of 
 her thwarted passions. Forgive me and fly to the 
 Mountain, Yellow-beard, whither I go before you, 
 for there one dwells who is stronger than Atene." 
 
 Then his jaw dropped and he was dead. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE MESSENGER 
 
 "T TE is gone," I panted, "and the world hasn't 
 JLI. lost much." 
 
 " Well, it didn't give him much, did it, poor devil, 
 so don't let's speak iU of him," answered Leo, who had 
 thrown himself exhausted to the ground. " Perhaps 
 he was all right before they made him mad. At 
 any rate he had pluck, for I don't want to tackle 
 such another." 
 
 " How did you manage it ? " I asked. 
 
 " Dodged in beneath his sword, closed with him, 
 threw him and smashed him up over that lump of 
 stone. Sheer strength, that's aU. A cruel business, 
 but it was his life or mine, and there you are. It's 
 lucky I finished it in time to help you before that 
 oven-mouthed brute tore your throat out. Did you 
 ever see such a dog ? It looks as large as a young 
 donkey. Are you much hurt, Horace ? " 
 
 " Oh, my forearm is chewed to a pulp, but no- 
 thing else, I think. Let us get down to the water ; 
 if I can't drink soon I shall faint. Also the rest of 
 the pack is somewhere about, fifty or more of them." 
 
 " I don't think they will trouble us, they have got 
 the horses, poor beasts. Wait a minute and I will 
 come." 
 
 Then he rose, found the Khan's sword, a beautiful 
 and ancient weapon, and with a single cut of its keen 
 edge, killed the second dog that I had wounded, 
 which was still yowling and snarling at us. After 
 this he collected the two spears and my knife, saying 
 
THE MESSENGER 175 
 
 that they might be useful, and without trouble 
 caught the Khan's horse, which stood with hanging 
 head close by, so tired that even this desperate fight 
 had not frightened it away. 
 
 " Now," he said, " up you go, old fellow. You 
 are not fit to walk any farther ; " and with his help I 
 chmbed into the saddle. 
 
 Then slipping the rein over his arm he led the 
 horse, which walked stiffly, on to the river, that ran 
 within a quarter of a mile of us, though to me, tor- 
 tured as I was by pain and half delirious with 
 exhaustion, the journey seemed long enough.^ 
 
 Still we came there somehow, and, forgetting my 
 wounds, I tumbled from the horse, threw myself flat 
 and drank and drank, more, I think, than ever I did 
 before. Not in aU my hfe have I tasted anything so 
 delicious as was that long draught of water. When 
 I had satisfied my thirst, I dipped my head and made 
 shift to jerk my wounded arm into it, for its coolness 
 seemed to stUl the pain. Presently Leo rose, the 
 water running from his face and beard, and said — 
 
 " What shall we do now ? The river seems to be 
 wide, over a hundred yards, and it is low, but 
 there may be deep water in the middle. Shall we 
 try to cross, in which case we might drown, or stop 
 where we are tiU daylight and take our chance of 
 the death-hounds ? " 
 
 " I can't go another foot," I murmured faintly, 
 " much less try to ford an unknown river." 
 
 Now, about thirty yards from the shore was an 
 island covered with reeds and grasses. 
 
 " Perhaps we could reach that," he said. " Come, 
 get on to my back, and we will try." 
 
 I obeyed with difficulty, and we set out, he feeling 
 his way with the handle of the spear. The water 
 proved to be quite shallow ; indeed, it never came 
 liiuch above his knees, so that we reached the island 
 without trouble. Here Leo laid me down on the soft 
 
176 AYESHA 
 
 rushes, and, returning to the mainland, brought 
 over the black horse and the remaining weapons, 
 and having unsaddled the beast, knee-haltered and 
 turned it loose, whereon it immediately lay down, 
 for it was too spent to feed. 
 
 Then he set to work to doctor my wounds. Well 
 it proved for me that the sleeve of my garment was 
 so thick, for even through it the flesh of my forearm 
 was torn to ribbons, moreover a bone seemed to 
 be broken. Leo collected a double handful of some 
 soft wet moss and, having washed the arm, wrapped 
 it round with a handkerchief, over which he laid the 
 moss. Then with a second handkerchief and some 
 strips of linen torn from our under-garments he 
 fastened a couple of split reeds to serve as rough 
 splints to the wounded limb. While he was doing 
 this I suppose that I slept or swooned. At any 
 rate, I remember no more. 
 
 Sometime during that night Leo had a strange 
 dream, of which he told me the next morning. I 
 suppose that it must have been a dream as certainly 
 I saw or was aware of nothing. Well, he dreamed 
 — I use his own words as nearly as possible — 
 that again he heard those accursed death-hounds 
 in full cry. Nearer and nearer they came, following 
 our spoor to the edge of the river — all the pack that 
 had run down the horses. At the water's brink they 
 halted and were mute. Then suddenly a puff of 
 wind brought the scent of us upon the island to one 
 of them which lifted up its head and uttered a 
 single bay. The rest clustered about it, and all 
 at once they made a dash at the water. 
 
 Leo could see and hear everything. He felt that 
 after all our doom was now at hand, and yet, held 
 in the grip of nightmare, if nightmare it were, he 
 was quite unable to stir or even to cry out to wake 
 and warn me. 
 
THE MESSENGER 177 
 
 Now followed the marvel of this vision. Giving 
 tongue as they came, half swimming and half 
 plunging, the hounds drew near to the island where 
 we slept. Then suddenly Leo saw that we 
 were no longer alone. In front of us, on the 
 brink of the water, stood the figure of a woman 
 clad in some dark garment. He could not describe 
 her face or appearance, for her back was towards 
 him. All he knew was that she stood there, like a 
 guard, holding some object in her raised hand, 
 and that suddenly the advancing hounds caught 
 sight of her. In an instant it was as though they 
 were paralysed by fear — for their bays turned to 
 fearful bowlings. One or two of those that were 
 nearest to the island seemed to lose their footing 
 and be swept away by the stream. The rest struggled 
 back to the bank, and fled wildly like whipped curs. 
 
 Then the dark, commanding figure, wMch in his 
 dream Leo took to be the guardian Spirit of the 
 Moimtain, vanished. That it left no footprints 
 behind it I can vouch, for in the morning we looked 
 to see. 
 
 When, awakened by the sharp pangs in my aim, 
 I opened my eyes again, the dawn was breaking. 
 A thin mist hung over the river and the island, and 
 through it I could see Leo sleeping heavily at my 
 side and the shape of the black horse, which had risen 
 and was grazing close at hand. I lay still for a 
 while remembering all that we had undergone and 
 wondering that I should live to wake, till presently 
 above the murmuring of the water I heard a sound 
 which terrified me, the sound of voices. I sat up and 
 peered through the reeds, and there upon the bank, 
 looking enormous in the mist, I saw two figures 
 mounted upon horses, those of a woman and a man. 
 
 They were pointing to the ground as though they 
 examined spoor in the sand. I heard the man say 
 
 M 
 
178 AYESHA 
 
 something about the dogs not daring to enter the 
 territory of the Mountain, a remark which came 
 hack to my mind again after Leo had told me his 
 dream. Then I remembered how we were placed. 
 
 " Wake ! " I whispered to Leo. " Wake, we are 
 pursued." 
 
 He sprang to his feet, rubbing his eyes and snatch- 
 ing at a spear. Now those upon the bank saw him, 
 and a sweet voice spoke through the mist, sasdng — 
 
 " Lay down that weapon, my guest, for we are 
 not come to harm you." 
 
 It was the voice of the Khania Atene, and the 
 man with her was the old Shaman Simbri. 
 
 " What shall, we do now, Horace ? " asked Leo 
 with something Uke a groan, for in the whole world 
 there were no two people whom he less wished to see. 
 
 " Nothing," I answered, " it is for them to play." 
 
 " Come to us," called the Khania across the water. 
 " I swear that we mean no harm. Are we not 
 alone ? " 
 
 " I do not know," answered Leo, " but it seems 
 unhkely. Where we are we stop until we are ready 
 to march again." 
 
 Atene spoke to Simbri. What she said we could 
 not hear, for she whispered, but she appeared to be 
 arguing with him and persuading him to some course 
 of which he strongly disapproved. Then suddenly 
 both of them put their horses at the water and rode 
 to us through the shallows. Reaching the island, 
 they dismounted, and we stood staring at each other. 
 The old man seemed very weary in body and 
 oppressed in mind, but the Khania was strong and 
 beautiful as ever, nor had passion and fatigue left 
 any trace upon her inscrutable face. It was she 
 who broke the silence, saying — 
 
 " You have ridden fast and far since last we met, 
 my guests, and left an evil token to mark the path 
 you took. Yonder among the rocks one lies dead. 
 
THE MESSENGER 179 
 
 Say, how came he to his end, who has no wound 
 upon him ? " 
 
 " By these," answered Leo, stretching out his hands. 
 
 " I knew it," she answered, " and I blame you not, 
 for fate decreed that death for him, and now it is 
 fulfilled. Still, there are those to whom you must 
 answer for his blood, and I only can protect you 
 from them." 
 
 " Or betray me to them," said Leo. " Khania, 
 what do you seek ? " 
 
 " That answer which you should have given me 
 this twelve hours gone. Remember, before you 
 speak, that I alone can save your life — aye, and will 
 do it and clothe you with that dead madman's 
 crown and mantle." 
 
 " You shall have your answer on yonder Moun- 
 tain," said Leo, pointing to the peak above us, 
 " where I seek mine." 
 
 She paled a little and replied, " To find that it is 
 death, for, as I have told you, the place is guarded 
 by savage folk who know no pity." 
 
 "So be it. Then Death is the answer that we 
 seek. Come, Horace, let us go to meet him." 
 
 " I swear to you," she broke in, " that there dwells 
 not the woman of your dreams. I am that woman, 
 yes, even I, as you are the man of mine." 
 
 " Then, lady, prove it yonder upon the Mountain," 
 Leo answered. 
 
 " There dwells there no woman," Atene went on 
 hurriedly, " nothing dwells there. It is the home 
 of fire and — a Voice." 
 
 " What voice ? " 
 
 *' The Voice of the Oracle that speaks from the 
 fire. The Voice of a spirit whota no man has ever 
 seen, or shall see." 
 
 " Come, Horace," said Leo, and he moved towards 
 the horse. 
 
 " Men," broke in the old Shaman, " would you 
 
i8o AYESHA 
 
 rush upon your doom ? Listen ; I have visfted 
 yonder haunted place, for it was I who according to 
 custom brought thither the body of the Khan Atene's 
 father for burial, and I warn you to set no foot 
 within its temples." 
 
 " Which your mistress said that we should never 
 reach," I commented, but Leo only answered — 
 
 " We thank you for your warning," and added, 
 " Horace, watch them while I saddle the horse, lest 
 they do us a mischief." 
 
 So I took the spear in my uninjured hand and 
 stood ready. But they made no attempt to hurt 
 us, only fell back a little and began to talk in hurried 
 whispers. It was evident to me that they were 
 much perturbed. In a few minutes the horse was sad- 
 dled and Leo assisted me to mount it. Then he said — 
 
 " We go to accomplish our fate, whatever it may 
 be, but before we part, Khania, I thank you for the 
 kindness you have shown us, and pray you to be 
 wise and forget that we have ever been. Through no 
 will of mine your husband's blood is on my hands, 
 and that alone must separate us for ever. We are 
 divided by the doors of death and destiny. Go back 
 to your people, and pardon me if most unwillingly 
 I have brought you doubt and trouble. Farewell." 
 
 She listened with bowed head, then replied, very 
 sadly — 
 
 " I thank you for your gentle words, but, Leo 
 Vincey, we do not part thus easily. You have sum- 
 moned me to the Mountain, and even to the Moun- 
 tain I shall follow you. Aye, and there I will meet its 
 Spirit, as I have always known I must and as the 
 Shaman here has always known I must. Yes, I will 
 match my strength ^and magic against hers, as it is 
 decreed that I shall do. To the victor be that 
 crown for which we have warred for ages." 
 
 Then suddenly Atene sprang to her saddle, and 
 turning her horse's head rode it back through the 
 
(If 
 
 <! I'' < 
 
 .v.. :_.... 
 
 " ' We go to accomplish our fate.' 
 
 A^'es/ia.] 
 
 .: t^^Q 
 
 {Page 180. 
 
THE MESSENGER i8i 
 
 water to the shore, followed by old Simbri, who lifted 
 up his crooked hands as though in woe and fear, 
 muttering as he went — 
 
 " You have entered the forbidden river and now, 
 Atene, the day of decision is upon us all — upon us 
 and her — that predestined day of ruin and of war." 
 
 " What do they mean ? " asked Leo of me. 
 
 "I don't know," I answered; "but I have no 
 doubt we shall find out soon enough and that it will 
 be something unpleasant. Now for this river." 
 
 Before we had struggled through it I thought more 
 than once that the day of drowning was upon us also, 
 for in places there were deep rapids which nearly 
 swept us away. But Leo, who waded, leading the 
 Khan's horse by the bridle, felt his path and 
 supported himself with the spear shaft, so that in 
 the end we reached the other bank safely. 
 
 Beyond itlay abreadth of marshy lands,that doubt- 
 less were overflowed when the torrent was in flood. 
 Through these we pushed our way as fast as we could, 
 for we feared lest the Khania had gone to fetch her 
 escort, which we thought she might have left behind 
 the rise, and would return with it presently to hunt 
 us down. At that time we did not know what we 
 learned afterwards, that with its bordering river the 
 soil of the Mountain was absolutely sacred and, in 
 practice, inviolable. True, it had been invaded by 
 the people of Kaloon in several wars, but on each 
 occasion their army was destroyed or met with ter- 
 rible disaster. Little wonder then they had come 
 to believe that the House of Fire was under the 
 protection of some unconquerable Spirit. 
 
 Leaving the marsh, we reached a bare, rising 
 plain, which led to the first slope of the Mountain 
 three or four miles away. Here we expected every 
 moment to be attacked by the savages of whom we 
 had heard so much, but no living creature did we 
 see. The place was a desert streaked with veins of 
 
i82 AYESHA 
 
 rock that once had been molten lava. I do not re- 
 member much else about it ; indeed, the pain in 
 my arm was so sharp that I had no eyes for physical 
 features. At length the rise ended in a bare, broad 
 donga, quite destitute of vegetation, of which the 
 bottom was buried in lava and a debris of rocks 
 washed down by the rain or melting snows from 
 slopes above. This donga was bordered on the far- 
 ther side by a cliff, perhaps fifty feet in height, in 
 which we could see no opening. 
 
 Still we descended the place, that was dark and 
 rugged ; pervaded, moreover, by an extraordinary 
 gloom, and as we went perceived that its lava floor 
 was sprinkled over with a multitude of white objects. 
 Soon we came to the first of these and found that it 
 was the skeleton of a human being. Here was a 
 veritable Valley of Dead Bones, thousands upon 
 thousands of them ; a gigantic graveyard. It seemed 
 as though some great army had perished here. 
 
 Indeed, we found afterwards that this was the 
 case, for on one of those occasions in the far past 
 when the people of Kaloon had attacked the Moun- 
 tain tribes, they were trapped and slaughtered 
 in this gully, leaving their bones as a warning 
 and a token. Among these sad skeletons we wan- 
 dered disconsolately, seeking a path up the opposing 
 cliff, and finding none, until at length we came to a 
 halt, not knowing which way to turn. Then it was 
 that we met with our first strange experience on 
 the Mountain. 
 
 The gulf and its mouldering relics depressed us, 
 so that for awhile we were silent, and, to tell the truth, 
 somewhat afraid. Yes, even the horse seemed afraid, 
 for it snorted a little, hung its head and shivered. 
 Close by us lay a pile of bones, the remains evidently 
 of a number of wretched creatures that, dead or 
 living, had been hurled down from the cliff above, 
 and on the top of the pile was a little huddled heap, 
 which we took for more bones. 
 
" It rose, it stood up, a human figure." 
 
 Ayesha . ] 
 
 {Page ,l^_ 
 
THE MESSENGER 183 
 
 " Unless we can find a way out of this accursed 
 charnel-house before long, I think that we shall 
 add to its company," I said, staring round me. 
 
 As the words left my lips it seemed to me that 
 from the corner of my eye I saw the heap on the top 
 of the bones stir. I looked round. Yes, it was 
 stirring. It rose, it stood up, a human figure, 
 apparently that of a woman — but of this I could not 
 be sure — wrapped from head to foot in white and 
 wearing a hanging veil over its face, or rather a 
 mask with cut eye-holes. It advanced towards 
 us while we stared at it, tiU the horse, catching 
 sight of the thing, shied violently and nearly threw 
 me. When at a distance of about ten paces it 
 paused and beckoned with its hand, that was also 
 swathed in white Mke the arm of a mummy. 
 
 " What the devil are you ? " shouted Leo, and 
 his voice echoed drearily among those naked rocks. 
 But the creature did not answer, it only continued 
 to beckon. 
 
 Leo walked up to it to assure himself that we 
 were not the victims of some hallucination. As he 
 caine it glided back to its heap of bones and stood 
 there like a ghost of one dead arisen from amidst 
 these grinning evidences of death, or rather a swathed 
 corpse, for that is what it resembled. Leo followed 
 with the intention of touching it to assure himself 
 of its reality, whereon it lifted its white-wrapped 
 arm and struck him lightly on the breast. Then as 
 he recoiled it pointed with its hand, first upwards 
 as though to the Peak or the sky, and next at the 
 wall of rock which faced us. 
 
 He returned to me saying, " What shall we do ? " 
 
 " Follow, I suppose. It may be a messenger from 
 above ; " and I nodded toward the mountain crest. 
 
 " From below, more likely," Leo muttered, 
 " for I don't like the look of this guide." 
 
 StiU he motioned with his hand to the creature to 
 
i84 AYESHA 
 
 proceed. Apparently it understood, for it turned to 
 the left and began to pick its way amongst the 
 stones and skeletons swiftly and without noise. We 
 followed for several hundred yards till it reached 
 a shallow cleft in the rock. This cleft we had seen 
 already, but as it appeared to end at a depth of about 
 thirty feet, we passed on. The figure entered here 
 and vanished. 
 
 " It must be a shadow," said Leo doubtfully. 
 
 " Nonsense," I answered, " shadows don't strike 
 one. Go on." 
 
 So he led the horse up the cleft, to find that at the 
 end it turned sharply to the right and that the form 
 was standing there awaiting us. Forward it went 
 again and we after it down a little gorge that grew 
 ever gloomier till it terminated in what might have 
 been a cave, or a gallery cut in the rock. 
 
 Here our guide came back to us apparently with 
 the intention of taking the horse by the bridle, but 
 at this nearer sight of it the brute snorted and 
 reared up, so that it almost fell backwards upon me. 
 As it found its feet again the figure struck it on the 
 head in the same passionless, inhuman way that it 
 had struck Leo, whereon the horse trembled and 
 burst into a sweat as though with fear, making no 
 further attempt to escape or to disobey. Then it 
 took one side of the bridle in its swathed hand and, 
 Leo clinging to the other, we plunged into the 
 tunnel. 
 
 Our position was not pleasant, for we knew not 
 whither we were being led by this horrible conductor, 
 and suspected that it might be to meet our deaths 
 in the darkness. Moreover, I guessed that the path 
 was narrow and bordered by some gulf, for as we 
 went I heard stones fall, apparently to a considerable 
 depth, while the poor horse lifted its feet gingerly 
 and snorted in abject fear. At length we saw day- 
 light, and never was I more glad of its advent. 
 
THE MESSENGER 185 
 
 although it showed us that there was a gulf on our 
 right, and that the path we travelled could not 
 measure more than ten feet in width. 
 
 Now we are out of the tunnel, that evidently 
 had saved us a wide detour, and standing for 
 the first time upon the actual slope of the Mountain, 
 which stretched upwards for a great number of 
 miles till it reached the snow-line above. Here also 
 we saw evidences of human life, for the ground was 
 cultivated in patches and herds of mountain sheep 
 and cattle were visible in the distance. 
 
 Presently we entered a gully, following a rough path 
 that led along the edge of a raging torrent. It was 
 a desolate place, half a mile wide or more, having 
 hundreds of fantastic lava boulders strewn about 
 its slopes. Before we had gone a mile I heard a 
 shrill whistle, and suddenly from behind these 
 boulders sprang a number of men, quite fifty of them. 
 All we could note at the time was that they were 
 brawny, savage-looking fellows, for the most part red 
 haired and bearded, although their complexions were 
 rather dark, who wore cloaks of white goat skins and 
 carried spears and shields. I should imagine that 
 they were not imUke the ancient Picts and Scots as 
 they appeared to the invading Romans. At us they 
 came uttering their shrill, whistling cries, evidently 
 with the intention of spearing us on the spot. 
 
 " Now for it," said Leo, drawing his sword, for 
 escape was impossible ; they were all round us. 
 " Good-bye, Horace." 
 
 " Good-bye," I answered rather faintly, under- 
 standing what the Khania and the old Shaman had 
 meant when they said that we should be killed 
 before we ascended the first slope of the Mountain. 
 
 MeanwhUe our ghastly-looking guide had slipped 
 behind a great boulder, and even then it occurred 
 to me that her part in the tragedy being played, 
 she, if it were a woman at all, was withdrawing her- 
 
i86 A7ESHA 
 
 self while we met our miserable fate. But here I 
 did her injustice, for she had, I suppose, come to 
 save us from this very fate which without her pre- 
 sence we must most certainly have suffered. When 
 the savages were within a few yards suddenly she 
 appeared on the top of the boulder, looking like a 
 second Witch of Endor, and stretched out her 
 arm. Not a word did she speak, only stretched out 
 her draped arm, but the effect was remarkable and 
 instantaneous. 
 
 At the sight of her down on to their faces went 
 those wild men, every one of them, as though a 
 lightning stroke had in an instant swept them out'of 
 existence. Then she let her arm fall and beckoned, 
 whereon a great fellow who, I suppose, was the leader 
 of the band, rose and crept towards her with bowed 
 head, submissive as a beaten dog. To him she made 
 signs, pointing to us, pointing to the far-off Peak, 
 crossing and uncrossing her white-wrapped arms, 
 but so far as I could hear, speaking no word. It was 
 evident that the chief understood her, however, for 
 he said something in a guttural language. Then he 
 uttered his shrill whistle, whereon the band arose 
 and departed thence at full speed, this way and the 
 other so that in another minute they had vanished as 
 quickly as they came. 
 
 Now our guide motioned to us to proceed, and 
 led the way upward as calmly as though nothing 
 had happened. 
 
 For over two hours we went on thus till our path 
 brought us from the ravine on to a grassy declivity, 
 across which it wound its way. Here, to our 
 astonishment, we found a fire burning, and hanging 
 above the fire an earthenware pot, which was on the 
 boil, although we could see no man tending it. The 
 figure signalled to me to dismount, pointing to the 
 pot in token that we were to eat the food which 
 doubtless she had ordered the wild men to prepare 
 
THE MESSENGER 1S7 
 
 for us, and very glad was I to obey her. Provision 
 had been made for the horse also, for near the fire 
 lay a great bundle of green forage. 
 
 While Leo off-saddled the beast and spread the 
 provender for it, taking with me a spare earthen 
 vessel that lay ready, I went to the edge of the 
 torrent to drink and steep my wounded arm in its 
 ice-cold stream. This relieved it greatly, though 
 by now I was sure from various sjanptoms that the 
 brute Master's fangs had fortunately only broken 
 or injured the small bone, a discovery for which I 
 was thankful enough. Having finished attending 
 to it as weU as I was able, I filled the jar with 
 water. 
 
 On my way back a thought struck me, and going 
 to where our mysterious guide stood still as Lot's 
 wife after she had been turned into a pillar of salt, 
 I offered it to her, hoping that she would iHiveil her 
 face and drink. Then for the first time she showed 
 some sign of being human, or so I thought, for it 
 seemed to me that she bowed ever so little in acknow- 
 ledgment of the courtesy. If so — and I may have 
 been mistaken — this was all, for the next instant 
 she turned her back on me to show that it was 
 declined. So she would not, or for aught I knew, 
 could not drink. Neither would she eat, for when 
 Leo tried her afterwards with food she refused it 
 in like fashion. 
 
 Meanwhile he had taken the pot off the fire, and 
 as soon as its contents grew cool enough we fell on 
 them eagerly, for we were starving. After we 
 had eaten and drunk, Leo re-dressed my arm as 
 best he could and we rested awhile. Indeed, I think 
 that, being very tired, we began to doze, for I was 
 awakened by a shadow falling on us and looked up 
 to see our corpse-like guide standing close by 
 and pointing first to the sun, then at the horse, 
 as though to show us that we had far to travel. 
 
i88 A7ESHA 
 
 So we saddled up and went on again somewhat 
 refreshed, for at least we were no longer ravenous. 
 
 All the rest of that day we journeyed on up the 
 grassy slopes, seeing no man, although occasionally 
 we heard the wild whistle which told us that we were 
 being watched by the Mountain savages. By sundown 
 the character of the country had changed, for the 
 grass was replaced with rocks, amongst which grew 
 stunted firs. We had left the lower slopes and were 
 beginning to climb the Mountain itself. 
 
 The sun sank and we went on through the twilight. 
 The twilight died and we went on through the dark, 
 our path lit only by the stars and the faint radiance 
 of the glowing pillar of smoke above the Peak, which 
 was reflected on to us from the mighty mantle of 
 its snows. Forward we toiled, whilst a few paces 
 ahead of us walked our unwearying guide. If she had 
 seemed weird and inhuman before, now she appeared 
 a very ghost, as, clad in her graveyard white, upon 
 which the faint light shimmered, never speaking, 
 never looking back, she glided on noiselessly between 
 the black rocks and the twisted, dark-green firs and 
 junipers. 
 
 Soon we lost all count of the road. We turned 
 this way and turned that way, we passed an open 
 patch and through the shadows of a grove, till at 
 length as the moon rose we entered a ravine, and 
 following a path that ran down it, came to a place 
 which is best described as a large amphitheatre cut 
 by the hand of nature out of the rock of the Moun- 
 tain. Evidently it was chosen as a place of defence, 
 for its entrance was narrow and tortuous, built up 
 at the end also, so that only one person could pass 
 its gateway at a time. Within an open space and 
 at its farther side stood low, stone houses built against 
 the rock. In front of these houses, the moonlight 
 shining full upon them, were gathered several 
 hundred men and women arranged in a semi-circle 
 
THE MESSENGER 189 
 
 and in alternate companies, who appeared to be 
 engaged in the celebration of some rite. 
 
 It was wild enough. In front of them, and in the 
 exact centre of the semi-circle, stood a gigantic, 
 red-bearded man, who was naked except for a skin 
 girdle about his loins. He was swinging himself 
 backwards and forwards, his hands resting upon his 
 hips, and as he swung, shouting something like 
 " Ho, haha, ho ! " When he bent towards the 
 audience it bent towards him, and every time he 
 straightened himself it echoed his final shout of 
 " Ho I" in a volume of sound that made the preci- 
 pices ring. Nor was this all, for perched upon his 
 hairy head, with arched back and waving tail, 
 stood a great white cat. 
 
 Anything stranger, and indeed more fantastic 
 than the general effect of this scene, lit by the 
 bright moonlight and set in that wild arena, it was 
 never my lot to witness. The red-haired, half-naked 
 men and women, the gigantic priest, the mystical 
 white cat, that, gripping his scalp with its claws, 
 waved its tail and seemed to take a part in 
 the performance ; the unholy chant and its 
 volleying chorus, all helped to make it extraordinarily 
 impressive. This struck us the more, perhaps, be- 
 cause at the time we could not in the least guess 
 its significance, though we imagined that it must be 
 preliminary to some sacrifice or offering. It was 
 like the fragment of a nightmare preserved by 
 the awakened senses in all its mad, meaningless 
 reality. 
 
 Now round the open space where these savages 
 were celebrating their worship, or whatever it might 
 be, ran a rough stone wall about six feet in height, 
 in which wall was a gateway. Towards this we 
 advanced quite unseen, for upon our side of the wall 
 grew many stunted pines. Through these pines our 
 guide led us, till in the thickest of them, some few 
 
igo AYESHA 
 
 yards from the open gateway and a little to tne 
 right of it, she motioned to us to stop. 
 
 Then she went to a low place in the wall and stood 
 there as though she were considering the scene 
 beyond. It seemed to us, indeed, that she saw what 
 she had not expected and was thereby perplexed or 
 angered. Presently she appeared to make up her 
 mind, for again she motioned to us to remain where 
 we were, enjoining silence upon us by placing her 
 swathed hand upon the mask that hid her face. 
 Next moment she was gone. How she went, or 
 whither, I cannot say ; all we knew was that she was 
 no longer there. 
 
 " What shall we do now ? " whispered Leo to me. 
 
 " Stay where we are tO she comes back again or 
 something happens," I answered. 
 
 So there being nothing else to be done, we stayed, 
 hoping that the horse would not betray us by 
 neighing, or that we might not be otherwise dis- 
 covered, since we were certain that if so we should 
 be m danger of death. Very soon, however, we 
 forgot the anxieties of our own position in the 
 study of the wild scene before us, which now 
 began to develop a fearful interest. 
 
 It would seem that what has been described was 
 but preliminary to the drama itself, and that this 
 drama was the trial of certain people for their Uves. 
 This we could guess, for after a while the incantation 
 ceased and the crowd in front of the big man with 
 the cat upon his head opened out, while behind him 
 a column of smoke rose into the air, as though light 
 had been set to some sunk furnace. 
 
 Into the space that had thus been cleared were 
 now led seven persons, whose hands were tied 
 behind them. They were of both sexes and in- 
 cluded an old man and a woman with a tall 
 and handsome figure, who appeared to be quite 
 young, scarcely more than a girl indeed. These 
 
THE MESSENGER 191 
 
 seven were ranged in a line where they stood, 
 clearly in great fear, for the old man fell upon his 
 knees and one of the women began to sob. Thus 
 they were left awhUe, perhaps to allow the fire 
 behind them to burn up, which it soon did with 
 great fierceness, throwing a vivid light upon every 
 detail of the spectacle. 
 
 Now all was ready, and a man brought a wooden 
 tray to the red-bearded priest, who was seated on a 
 stool, the white cat upon his knees, whither we had 
 seen it leap from his head a little while before. He 
 took the tray by its handles and at a word from him 
 the cat jumped on to it and sat there. Then amidst 
 the most intense silence he rose and uttered some 
 prayer, apparently to the cat, which sat facing him. 
 This done he turned the tray round so that the 
 creature's back was now towards him, and, advancing 
 to the line of prisoners, began to walk up and down 
 in front of them, which he did several times, at each 
 turn drawing a little nearer. 
 
 Holding out the tray, he presented it at the face 
 of the prisoner on the left, whereon the cat rose, 
 arched its back and began to lift its paws up and 
 down. Presently he moved to the next prisoner and 
 held it before him awhile, and so on till he came 
 to the fifth, that young woman of whom I have 
 spoken. Now the cat grew very angry, for in the 
 death-like stillness we could hear it spitting and 
 growling. At length it seemed to lift its paws and 
 strike the girl upon the face, whereon she screamed 
 aloud, a terrible scream. Then all the audience 
 broke out into a shout, a single word, which we under- 
 stood, for v/e had heard one very like it used by the 
 people of the Plain. It was " Witch ! Witch ! 
 Witch / " 
 
 Executioners who were waiting for the victim to 
 be chosen in this ordeal by cat, rushed forward and 
 seizing the girl began to drag her towards the fire. 
 
192 AYESHA 
 
 The prisoner who was standing by her and whom 
 we rightly guessed to be her husband, tried to pro- 
 tect her, but his arms being bound, poor fellow, 
 he could do nothing. One Of the executioners 
 knocked him down with a stick. For a moment his 
 wife escaped and threw herself upon him, but the 
 brutes lifted her up again, haling her towards the 
 fire, whilst aU the audience shouted wildly. 
 
 " I can't stand this," said Leo, " it's murder — 
 cold-blooded murder," and he drew his sword. 
 
 " Best leave the beasts alone," I answered doubt- 
 fully, though my own blood was boiling in my veins. 
 
 Whether he heard or not I do not know, for the 
 next thing I saw was Leo rushing through the gate 
 waving the Khan's sword and shouting at the top 
 of his voice. Then I struck my heels into the ribs 
 of the horse and followed after him. In ten seconds 
 we were among them. As we came the savages fell 
 back this way and that, staring at us amazed, for 
 at first I think they took us for apparitions. Thus 
 Leo on foot and I galloping after him, we came to 
 the place. 
 
 The executioners and their victim were near the 
 fire now — a very great fire of resinous pine logs 
 built in a pit that measured about eight feet across. 
 Close to it sat the priest upon his- stool, watching the 
 scene with a cruel smUe, and rewarding the cat with 
 little gobbets of raw meat, that he took from a 
 leathern pouch at his side, occupations in which he 
 was so deeply engaged that he never saw us untU we 
 were right on to him. 
 
 Shouting, "Leave her alone, you blackguards," 
 Leo rushed at the executioners, and with a single 
 blow of his sword severed the arm of one of them 
 who gripped the woman by the nape of the neck. 
 
 With a yell of pain and rage the man sprang back 
 and stood waving the stump towards the people 
 and staring at it wildly. In the confusion that 
 
THE MESSENGER 193 
 
 followed I saw the victim slip from the hands of her 
 astonished would-be murderers and run into the dark- 
 ness, where she vanished. Also I saw the witch-doctor 
 spring up, still holding the tray on which the cat 
 was sitting, and heard him begin to shout a perfect 
 torrent of furious abuse at Leo, who in reply waved 
 his sword and cursed him roundly in English and 
 many other languages. 
 
 Then of a sudden the cat upon the tray, infuriated, 
 I suppose, by the noise and the interruption of its 
 meal, sprang straight at Leo's face. He appeared 
 to catch it in mid-air with his left hand and with all 
 his strength dashed it to the ground, where it lay 
 writhing and screeching. Then, as though by an 
 afterthought, he stooped, picked the devilish 
 creature up again and hurled it into the heart of the 
 fire, for he was mad with rage and knew not what 
 he did. 
 
 At the sight of that awful sacrilege — for such it 
 was to them who worshipped this beast — a gasp of 
 horror rose from the spectators, followed by a howl 
 of execration. Then, like a wave of the sea, they 
 rushed at us. I saw Leo cut one man down, and next 
 instant I was off the horse and being dragged towards 
 the furnace. At the edge of it I met Leo in hke 
 plight, but fighting furiously, for his strength was 
 great and they were half afraid of him. 
 
 '■* Why couldn't you leave the cat alone ? " I 
 shouted at him in idiotic remonstrance, for my brain 
 had gone, and all I knew was that we were about to 
 be thrown into the fiery pit. Already I was over 
 it ; I felt the flames singe my hair and saw its red 
 caverns awaiting me, when of a sudden the brutal 
 hands that held me were unloosed and I fell back- 
 wards to the ground, where I lay staring upwards. 
 
 This was what I saw. Standing in front of the 
 fire, her draped form quivering as though with rage, 
 was our ghostly-looking guide, who pointed with her 
 
 N 
 
194 AYESHA 
 
 hand at the gigantic, red-headed witch-doctor. But 
 she was no longer alone, for with her were a 
 score or more of men clad in white robes and armed 
 with swords ; black-eyed, ascetic-looking men, with 
 clean-shaved heads and faces, for their scalps shone 
 in the firelight. 
 
 At the sight of them terror had seized that mul- 
 titude which, mad as goaded buUs but a few seconds 
 before, now fled in every direction like sheep 
 frightened by a wolf. The leader of the white-robed 
 priests, a man with a gentle face, which when at rest 
 was clothed in a perpetual smile, was addressing the 
 medicine-man, and I understood something of his talk. 
 
 " Dog," he said in effect, speaking in a smooth, 
 measured voice that yet was terrible, " accursed dog, 
 beast-worshipper, what were you about to do to the 
 guests of the mighty Mother of the Mountain ? Is it 
 for this that you and your idolatries have been spared 
 so long ? Answer, if you hav€ anything to say. 
 Answer quickly, for your time is short." 
 
 With a groan of fear the great fellow flung himself 
 upon his knees, not to the head-priest who ques- 
 tioned him, but before the quivering shape of our 
 guide, and to her put up half-articulate prayers for 
 mercy. 
 
 " Cease," said the high-priest, " she is the Minister 
 who judges and the Sword that strikes. I am the 
 Ears and the Voice. Speak and tell me — were you 
 about to cast those men, whom you were comman- 
 ded to receive hospitably, into yonder fire because 
 they saved the victim of your devilries and killed 
 the imp you cherished ? Nay, I saw it all. Know 
 that it was but a trap set to catch you, who have 
 been allowed to live too long." 
 
 But still the wretch writhed before the draped 
 form and howled for mercy. 
 
 " Messenger," said the high-priest, " with thee 
 the power goes. Declare thy decree." 
 
THE MESSENGER 195 
 
 Then our guide lifted her hand slowly and pointed 
 to the fire. At once the man turned ghastly white, 
 groaned and fell back, as I think, quite dead, slain 
 by his own terror. 
 
 Now many of the people had fled, but some re- 
 mained, and to these the priest called in cold tones, 
 bidding them approach. They obeyed, creeping 
 towards him. 
 
 " Look," he said, pointing to the man, " look and 
 tremble at the justice of Hes the Mother. Aye, and 
 be sure that as it is with him, so shall it be with 
 every one ofj you who dares to defy her and to 
 practise sorcery and murder. Lift up that dead dog 
 who was your chief." 
 
 Some of them crept forward and did his bidding. 
 
 " Now, cast him into the bed which he had made 
 ready for his victims." 
 
 Staggering forward to the edge of the flaming pit, 
 they obeyed, and the great body fell with a crash 
 amongst the burning boughs and vanished there. 
 
 " Listen, you people," said the priest, " and learn 
 that this man deserved his dreadful doom. Know 
 you why he purposed to kill that woman whom the 
 strangers saved ? Because his familiar marked her 
 as a witch, you think. I tell you it was not so. It 
 was because she being fair, he would have taken her 
 from her husband, as he had taken many another, 
 and she refused him. But the Eye saw, the Voice 
 spoke, and the Messenger did judgment. He is 
 caught in his own snare, and so shall you be, every 
 one of you who dares to think evil in his heart or 
 to do it with his hands. 
 
 "Such is the just decree of the Hesea, spoken by 
 her from her throne amidst the fires of the 
 Mountain," 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 
 
 ONE by one the terrified tribesmen crept away. 
 When the last of them were gone the priest 
 advanced to Leo and saluted him by placing his 
 hand upon his forehead. 
 
 " Lord," he said, in the same corrupt Grecian dialect 
 which was used by the courtiers of Kaloon, " I will not 
 ask if you are hurt, since from the moment that you 
 entered the sacred river and set foot within this land 
 you and your companion were protected by a power 
 invisible and could not be harmed by man or spirit, 
 however great may have seemed your danger. Yet 
 vUe hands have been laid upon you, and this is the 
 command of the Mother whom I serve, that, if you 
 desire it, every one of those men who touched you 
 shall die before your eyes. Say, is that your will ? " 
 
 " Nay," answered Leo ; " they were mad and 
 blind, let no blood be shed for us. All we ask of you, 
 friend — but, how are you called ? " 
 
 " Name me Oros," he answered. 
 
 " Friend Oros — a good title for one who dwells 
 upon the Mountain — all we ask is food and shelter, 
 and to be led swiftly into the presence of her whom 
 you name Mother, that Oracle whose wisdom we 
 have travelled far to seek." 
 
 He bowed and answered : " The food and shelter 
 are prepared, and to-morrow, when you have rested, 
 I am commanded to conduct you whither you 
 desire to be. Follow me, I pray you " ; and he pre- 
 ceded us past the fiery pit to a building that stood 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS I97 
 
 about fifty yards away against the rock wall of the 
 amphitheatre. 
 
 It would seem that it was a guest-house, or at 
 least had been made ready to serve that purpose, as in 
 it lamps were lit and a fire burned, for here the air 
 was cold. The house was divided into two rooms, 
 the second of them a sleeping place, to which he led 
 us through the first. 
 
 " Enter," he said, " for you will need to cleanse 
 yourselves, and you " — here he addressed himself to 
 me — " to be treated for that hurt to your arm which 
 you had from the jaws of the great hound." 
 
 " How know you that ? " I asked. 
 
 " It matters not if I do know and have made 
 ready," Oros answered gravely. 
 
 This second room was lighted and warmed like 
 the first, moreover, heated water stood in basins of 
 metal and on the beds were laid clean linen garments 
 and dark-coloured hooded robes, lined with rich fur. 
 Also upon a little table were ointments, bandages, 
 and splints, a marvellous thing to see, for it told me 
 that the very nature of my hurt had been divined. 
 But I asked no more questions ; I was too weary ; 
 moreover, I knew that it would be useless. 
 
 Now the priest Oros helped me to remove my 
 tattered robe, and, undoing the rough bandages 
 upon my arm, washed it gently with warm water, 
 in which he mixed some spirit, and examined it 
 with the skill of a trained doctor. 1 
 
 " The fangs rent deep," he said, " and the small 
 bone is broken, but you will take no harm, save for 
 the scars which must remain." Then, having 
 treated the wounds with ointment, he wrapped the 
 limb with such a delicate touch that it scarcely 
 pained me, sa5dng that by the morrow the swelling 
 would have gone down and he would set the bone. 
 This indeed happened. 
 
 After it was done he helped me to wash and to 
 
igS AYESHA 
 
 clothe myself in the clean garments, and put a sling 
 about my neck to serve as a rest for my arm. Mean- 
 while Leo had also dressed himself, so that we left 
 the chamber together very different men to the 
 foul, blood-stained wanderers who had entered 
 there. In the outer room we found food prepared 
 for us, of which we ate with a thankful heart 
 and without speaking. Then, blind with weariness, 
 we returned to the other chamber and, having 
 removed our outer garments, flung ourselves upon 
 the beds and were soon plunged in sleep. 
 
 At some time in the night I awoke suddenly, at 
 what hour I do not know, as certain people wake, 
 I among them, when their room is entered, 
 even without the slightest noise. Before I opened 
 my eyes I felt that some one was with us in the 
 place. Nor was I mistaken. A little lamp still 
 burned in the chamber, a mere wick floating in oil, 
 and by its light I saw a dim, ghost-like form standing 
 near the door. Indeed I thought almost that it was 
 a ghost, tiU presently I remembered, and knew it 
 for our corpse-like guide, who appeared to be look- 
 ing intently at the bed on which Leo lay, or so I 
 thought, for the head was bent in that direction. 
 
 At first she was quite stiU, then she moaned 
 aloud, a low and terrible moan, which seemed to 
 well from the very heart. 
 
 So the thing was not dumb, as I had believed. 
 Evidently it could suffer, and express its suffering in 
 a human fashion. Look ! it was wringing its 
 padded hands as in an excess of woe. Now it 
 would seem that Leo began to feel its influence 
 also, for he stirred and spoke in his sleep, so 
 low at first that I could only distinguish the tongue 
 he used, which was Arabic. Presently I caught a 
 few words. 
 
 " Ayesha," he said, " Ayesha ! " 
 
 The figure glided towards him and stopped. He 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 199 
 
 sat up in the bed still fast asleep, for his eyes were 
 shut. He stretched out his arms as though seeking 
 one whom he would embrace, and spoke again in a 
 low and passionate voice — 
 
 " Ayesha, through life and death I have sought 
 thee long. Come to me, my goddess, my desired." 
 
 The figure glided yet nearer, and I could see that 
 it was trembling, and now its arms were extended 
 also. 
 
 At the bedside she halted, and Leo laid himself 
 down again. Now the coverings had fallen back, 
 exposing his breast, where lay the leather satchel 
 he always wore, that which contained the lock of 
 Ayesha's hair. He was fast asleep, and the figure 
 seemed to fix its eyes upon this satchel. Presently 
 it did more, for, with surprising deftness those white- 
 wrapped fingers opened its clasp, yes, and drew out 
 the long tress of shining hair. Long and earnestly 
 she gazed at it, then gently replaced the relic, 
 closed the satchel and for a httle while seemed to 
 weep. While she stood thus the dreaming Leo 
 once more stretched out his arms and spoke, saying, 
 in the same passion-laden voice — 
 
 " Come to me, my darling, my beautiful, my 
 beautiful!" 
 
 At those words, with a little muffled scream, like 
 that of a scared night-bird, the figure turned and 
 flitted through the doorway. 
 
 When I was quite certain that she had gone, I 
 gasped aloud. 
 
 What might this mean, I wondered, in a very 
 agony of bewilderment. This could certainly be 
 no dream : it was real, for I was wide awake. 
 Indeed, what did it all mean ? Who was the 
 ghastly, mummy-like thing which had guided us 
 unharmed through such terrible dangers; the 
 Messenger that all men feared, who could strike down 
 
200 AYESHA 
 
 a brawny savage with a motion of its hand ? Why 
 did it creep into the place thus at dead of night, like 
 a spirit revisiting one beloved ? Why did its pres- 
 ence cause me to awake and Leo to dream ? Why 
 did it draw out the tress ; indeed, how knew it that 
 this tress was hidden there ? And why — oh ! why, 
 at those tender and passionate words did it flit 
 away at last like some scared bat ? 
 
 The priest Oros had called our guide Minister, 
 and Sword, that is, one who carries out decrees. 
 But what if they were its own decrees ? What if 
 this thing should be she whom we sought, Ayesha 
 herself ? Why should I tremble at the thought, 
 seeing that if so, our quest was ended, we had 
 achieved ? Oh ! it must be because about this 
 being there was something terrible, something 
 unhuman and appalling. If Ayesha lived within 
 those mummy-cloths, then it was a different Ayesha 
 whom we had known and worshipped. Well could 
 I remember the white- draped form of She-Who-Must- 
 Be-Obeyed, and how, long before she revealed her 
 glorious face to us, we guessed the beauty and the 
 majesty hidden beneath that veil by which 
 her radiant life and loveliness incarnate could not 
 be disguised. 
 
 But what of this creature ? I would not pursue the 
 thought. I was mistaken. Doubtless she was 
 what the priest Oros had said — some half-super- 
 natural being to whom certain powers were given, 
 and, doubtless, she had come to spy on us in our 
 rest that she might make report to the giver of 
 those powers. 
 
 Comforting myself thus I fell asleep again, for 
 fatigue overcame even such doubts and fears. In 
 the morning, when they were naturally less vivid, I 
 made up my mind that, for various reasons, it wotild 
 be wisest to say nothing of what I had seen to Leo. 
 Nor, indeed, did I do so until some days had gone by. 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 2or 
 
 When I awoke the full light was pouring into the 
 chamber, and by it I saw the priest Oros standing 
 at my bedside. I sat up and asked him what time 
 it was, to which he answered with a smile, but in a 
 low voice, that it lacked but two hours of mid-day, 
 adding that he had come to set my arm. Now 
 I saw why he spoke low, for Leo was still fast 
 asleep. 
 
 " Let him rest on," he said, as he undid the wrap- 
 pings on my arm, for he has suffered much, and," 
 he continued significantly, " may still have more 
 to suffer." 
 
 " What do you mean, friend Oros ? " I asked 
 sharply. " I thought you told us that we were safe 
 upon this Mountain." 
 
 " I told you, friend " and he looked at me. 
 
 " Holly is my name " 
 
 " — friend Holly, that your bodies are safe. I 
 said nothing of all the rest of you. Man is more 
 than flesh and blood. He is mind and spirit as 
 well, and these can be injured also." 
 
 " Who is there that would injure them ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " Friend," he answered, gravely, " you and your 
 companion have come to a haunted land, not as 
 mere wanderers, for then you would be dead ere now, 
 but of set purpose, seeking to lift the veil from 
 mysteries which have been hid for ages. Well, your 
 aim is known and it may chance that it wiU be 
 achieved. But if this veil is lifted, it may chance 
 eQso that you wUl find what shall send your souls 
 shivering to despair and madness. Say, are you not 
 afraid ? " 
 
 " Somewhat," I answered. " Yet my foster-son 
 and I have seen strange things and lived. We have 
 seen the very Light of Life roll by in majesty ; we 
 have been the guests of an Immortal, and watched 
 Death seem to conquer her and leave us untouched. 
 
202 ATESHA 
 
 Think you then that we will turn cowards now ? 
 Nay, we march on to fulfil our destinies." 
 
 At these words Oros showed neither curiosity nor 
 surprise ; it was as though I told him only what he 
 knew. 
 
 " Good," he repUed, smiling, and with a courteous 
 bow of his shaven head, " within an hour you shall 
 march on — to fulfil your destinies. If I have 
 warned you, forgive me, for I was bidden so to do, 
 perhaps to try your mettle. Is it needful that I 
 
 should repeat this warning to the lord " and 
 
 again he looked at me. 
 
 " Leo Vincey," I said. 
 
 " Leo Vincey, yes, Leo Vincey," he repeated, as 
 though the name were familiar to him but had 
 slipped his mind. " But you have not answered 
 my question. Is it needful that I should repeat 
 the warning ? " 
 
 " Not in the least ; but you can do so if you wish 
 when he awakes." 
 
 " Nay, I think with you, that it would be but 
 waste of words, for — forgive the comparison — ^what 
 the wolf dares " — and he looked at me — " the tiger 
 does not flee from," and he nodded towards Leo. 
 " There, see how much better are the wounds upon 
 your arm, which is no longer swollen. Now I will 
 bandage it, and within some few weeks the bone 
 will be as sound again as it was before you met the 
 Khan Rassen hunting in the Plains. By the way, 
 you will see him again soon, and his fair wife with 
 him." 
 
 " See him again ? Do the dead, then, come to 
 life upon this Mountain ? " 
 
 " Nay, but certain of them are brought hither 
 for burial. It is the privilege of the rulers of Kaloon ; 
 also, I think, that the Khania has questions to ask 
 of its Oracle." 
 
 " Who is its Oracle ? " I asked with eagerness. 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 203 
 
 " The Oracle," he replied darkly, " is a Voice. 
 It was ever so, was it not ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I have heard that from Atene, but a voice 
 implies a speaker. Is this speaker she whom you 
 name Mother ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, friend Holly." 
 
 " And is this Mother a spirit ? " 
 
 " It is a point that has been much debated. They 
 told you so in the Plains, did they not ? Also the 
 Tribes think it on the Mountain. Indeed, the thing 
 seems reasonable, seeing that all of us who live are 
 flesh and spirit. But you will form your own judg- 
 ment and then we can discuss the matter. There, 
 your arm is finished. Be careful now not to strike 
 it or to fall, and look, your companion awakes." 
 
 Something over an hour later we started upon our 
 upward j oumey. I was again mounted on the Khan's 
 horse, which having been groomed and fed was some- 
 what rested, while to Leo a litter had been offered. 
 This he declined, however, saying that he had now re- 
 covered and would not be carried like a woman. So he 
 walked by the side of my horse, using his spear as a 
 staff. We passed the fire-pit — now full of dead, white 
 ashes, among which were mixed those of the witch- 
 finder and his horrible cat — preceded by our dumb 
 guide, at the sight of whom, in her pale wrappings, 
 the people of the tribe who had returned to their 
 village prostrated themselves, and so remained 
 until she was gone by. 
 
 One of them, however, rose again and, breaking 
 through our escort of priests, ran to Leo, knelt 
 before him and kissed his hand. It was that young 
 woman whose life he had saved, a noble-looking 
 girl, with masses of red hair, and by her was her 
 husband, the marks of his bonds still showing on his 
 arms. Our guide seemed to see this incident, though 
 how she did so I do not know. At any rate she 
 
204 AYESHA 
 
 turned and made some sign which the priest inter- 
 preted. 
 
 Calhng the woman to him he asked her sternly how 
 she dared to touch the person of this stranger with her 
 vile lips. She answered that it was because her 
 heart was grateful. Oros said that for this reason 
 she was forgiven ; moreover, that in reward for what 
 they had suffered he was commanded to lift up her 
 husband to be the ruler of that tribe during the 
 pleasure of the Mother. He gave notice, moreover, 
 that all should obey the new chief in his place, accord- 
 ing to their customs, and if he did any evil, make 
 report that he might suffer punishment. Then 
 waving the pair aside, without listening to their 
 thanks or the acclamations of the crowd, he passed 
 on. 
 
 As we went down the ravine by which we had 
 approached the village on the previous night, a 
 sound of chanting struck our ears. Presently the 
 path turned, and we saw a solemn procession advanc- 
 ing up that dismal, sunless gorge. At the head 
 of it rode none other than the beautiful Khania, 
 followed by her great-uncle, the old Shaman, and 
 after these came a company of shaven priests in 
 their white robes, bearing between them a bier, 
 upon which, its face uncovered, lay the body of 
 the Khan, draped in a black garment. Yet he 
 looked better thus than he had ever done, for now 
 death had touched this insane and dissolute man 
 with something of the dignity which he lacked in 
 hfe. 
 
 Thus then we met. At the sight of our guide's 
 white form, the horse which the Khania rode reared 
 up so violently that I thought it would have thrown 
 her. But she mastered the animal with her whip 
 and voice, and called out — 
 
 " Who is this draped hag of the Mountain that 
 stops the path of the Khania Atene and her dead 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 205 
 
 lord ? My guests, I find you in ill company, for it 
 seems that you are conducted by an evil spirit to 
 meet an evil fate. That guide of yours must surely 
 be something hateful and hideous, for were she a 
 wholesome woman she would not fear to show her 
 face." 
 
 Now the Shaman plucked his mistress by the 
 sleeve, and the priest Oros, bowing to her, prayed 
 her to be silent and cease to speak such ill-omened 
 words into the air, which might carry them she 
 knew not whither. But some instinctive hate seemed 
 to bubble up in Atene, and she would not be silent, 
 for she addressed our guide using the direct " thou," 
 a manner of speech that we found was very usual 
 on the Moimtain though rare upon the Plains. 
 
 " Let the air carry them whither it wUl," she 
 cried. " Sorceress, strip off thy rags, fit only for a 
 corpse too vile to view. Show us what thou art, 
 thou flitting night-owl, who thinkest to frighten me 
 with that Uvery of death, which only serves to hide 
 the death within." 
 
 " Cease, I pray lady, cease," said Oros, stirred 
 for once out of his imperturbable calm. " She is the 
 Minister, none other, and with her goes the Power." 
 
 " Then it goes not against Atene, Khania of 
 Kaloon," she answered, " or so I think. Power, 
 forsooth ! Let her show her power. If she has 
 any it is not her own, but that of the Witch 
 of the Mountain, who feigns to be a spirit, and by 
 her sorceries has drawn away my guests " — and she 
 pointed to us — " thus bringing my husband to his 
 death." 
 
 " Niece, be silent ! " said the old Shaman, 
 whose wrinkled face was white with terror, whilst 
 Oros held up his hands as though in supplication 
 to some unseen Strength, saying — 
 
 " O thou that hearest and seest, be merciful, I 
 beseech thee, and forgive this woman her madness, 
 
2o6 A7ESHA 
 
 lest the blood of a guest should stain the hands of 
 thy servants, and the ancient honour of our worship 
 be brought low in the eyes of men." 
 
 Thus he prayed, but although his hands were up- 
 lifted, it seemed to me that his eyes were fixed upon 
 our guide, as ours were. While he spoke, I saw 
 her hand raised, as she had raised it when she slew 
 or rather sentenced the witch-doctor. Then she 
 seemed to reflect, and stayed it in mid air, so that it 
 pointed at the Khania. She did not move, she 
 made no sound, only she pointed, and the angry 
 words died upon Atene's lips, the fury left her eyes, 
 and the colour her face. Yes, she grew white and 
 silent as the corpse upon the bier behind her. Then, 
 cowed by that invisible power, she struck her horse 
 so fiercely that it bounded by us onward towards the 
 village, at which the funeral company were to rest 
 awhile. 
 
 As the Shaman Simbri followed the Khania, the 
 priest Oros caught his horse's bridle and said to 
 him — 
 
 " Magician, we have met before, for instance, when 
 your lady's father was brought to his funeral. Warn 
 her, then, you that know something of the truth 
 and of her power to speak more gently of the ruler 
 of this land. Say to her, from me, that had she not 
 been the ambassadress of death, and, therefore, 
 inviolate, surely ere now she would have shared her 
 husband's bier. Farewell, to-morrow we will speak 
 again," and, loosing the Shaman's bridle, Oros passed 
 on. 
 
 Soon we had left the melancholy procession behind 
 us and, issuing from the gorge, turned up the Moun- 
 tain slope towards the edge of the bright snows that 
 lay not far above. It was as we came out of this 
 darksome valley, where the overhanging pine trees 
 almost eclipsed the light, that suddenly we missed 
 our guide. 
 
*' She grew white and silent as the corpse upon the bier behind her.'' 
 Ayesha.] [P^.^e 206. 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 207 
 
 " Has she gone back to — to reason with the 
 Khania ? " I asked of Oros. 
 
 "Nay!" he answered, with a sUght smile, "I 
 think that she has gone forward to give warning 
 that the Hesea's guests draw near." 
 
 " Indeed," I answered, staring hard at the bare 
 slope of mountain, up which not a mouse could have 
 passed without being seen. " I understand — she 
 has gone forward," and the matter dropped. But 
 what I did not understand was — how she had gone. 
 As the Mountain was honeycombed with caves and 
 galleries, I suppose, however, that she entered one 
 of them. 
 
 All the rest of that day we rtiarched upwards, 
 gradually drawing nearer to the snow-line, as we went 
 gathering what information we could from the 
 priest Oros. This was the sum of it — 
 
 From the beginning of the world, as he expressed 
 it, that is, from thousands and thousands of years 
 ago, this Mountain had been the home of a peculiar 
 fire-worship, of which the head heirophant was a 
 woman. About twenty centuries before, however, 
 the invading general named Rassen, had made him- 
 self Khan of Kaloon. Rassen estabUshed a new 
 priestess on the Mountain, a worshipper of the Egyp- 
 tian goddess, Hes, or Isis. This priestess had intro^ 
 duced certain modifications in the ancient doctrines, 
 superseding the cult of fire, pure and simple, by a 
 new faith, which, while holding to some of the old 
 ceremonies, revered as its head, the Spirit of Life or 
 Nature, of whom they looked upon their priestess as 
 the earthly representative. 
 
 Of this priestess Oros would only tell us that she 
 was " ever present," although we gathered that 
 when one priestess died or was " taken to the fire," 
 as he put it, her child, whether in fact or by 
 adoption, succeeded her and was known by the 
 same names, those of " Hes" or the " Hesea " and 
 
2o8 AYESHA 
 
 " Mother." We asked if we should see this Mother, to 
 which he answered that she manifested herself very 
 rarely. As to her appearance and attributes he would 
 say nothing, except that the former changed from 
 time to time and that when she chose to use it she 
 had " all power." 
 
 The priests of her College, he informed us, num- 
 bered three hundred, never more nor less, and there 
 were also three hundred priestesses. Certain of 
 those who desired it were allowed to marry, and 
 from among their children were reared up the new 
 generation of priests and priestesses. Thus they 
 were a people apart from all others, with distinct 
 racial characteristics. This, indeed, was evident, 
 for our escort were all exceedingly hke to each other, 
 very handsome £ind refined in appearance, with 
 dark eyes, clean-cut features and olive-hued skins ; 
 such a people as might well have descended from 
 Easterns of high blood, with a dash of that of the 
 Egyptians and Greeks thrown in. 
 
 We asked him whether the mighty looped pillar 
 that towered from the topmost cup of the Moimtain 
 was the work of men. He answered. No ; the hand of 
 Nature had fashioned it, and that the light shining 
 through it came from the fires which burned 
 in the crater of the volcano. The first priestess, 
 having recognized in this gigantic column the 
 familiar Sjrmbol of Life of the Egyptian worship, 
 established her altars beneath its shadow. 
 
 For the rest, the Mountain with its mighty slopes 
 and borderlands was peopled by a multitude of half- 
 savage folk, who accepted the rule of the Hesea, 
 bringing her tribute of all things necessary, such as 
 food and metals. Much of the meat and grain how- 
 ever the priests raised themselves on sheltered farms, 
 and the metals they worked with their own hands. 
 This rule, however, was of a moral nature, since for 
 centuries the College had sought no conquests and 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 209 
 
 the Mother contented herself with punishing crime 
 in some such fashion as we had seen. For the petty 
 wars between the Tribes and the people of the Plain 
 they were not responsible, and those chiefs who 
 carried them on were deposed, unless they had them- 
 selves been attacked. All the Tribes, however, were 
 sworn to the defence of the Hesea and the College, 
 and, however much they might quarrel amongst 
 themselves, if need arose, were ready to die for her 
 to the last man. That war must one day break out 
 again between the priests of the Mountain and the 
 people of Kaloon was recognized ; therefore they en- 
 deavoured to be prepared for that great and final 
 struggle. 
 
 Such was the gist of his history, which, as we learned 
 afterwards, proved to be true in every particular. 
 
 Towards sundown we came to a vast cup extend- 
 ing over many thousand acres, situated beneath 
 the snow-line of the peak and filled with rich soil 
 washed down, I suppose, from above. So sheltered 
 was the place by its configuration and the over-hang- 
 ing mountain that, facing south-west as it did, not- 
 withstanding its altitude it produced corn and other 
 temperate crops in abundance. Here the College 
 had its farms, and very well cultivated these seemed 
 to be. This great cup, which could not be seen from 
 below, we entered through a kind of natural gate- 
 way, that might be easily defended against a host. 
 
 There were other peculiarities, but it is not 
 necessary to describe them further than to say that 
 I think the soil benefited by the natural heat of the 
 volcano, and that when this erupted, as happened 
 occasionally, the lava streams always passed to 
 the north and south of the cup of land. Indeed, it 
 was these lava streams that had built up the pro- 
 tecting cliffs. 
 
 Crossing the garden-like lands, we came to a small 
 
 o 
 
2IO AYESHA 
 
 town beautifully built of lava rock. Here dwelt 
 the priests, except those who were on duty, no 
 man of the Tribes or other stranger being allowed 
 to set foot within the place. 
 
 Following the main street of this town, we arrived 
 at the face of the precipice beyond, and found our- 
 selves in front of a vast archway, closed with mas- 
 sive iron gates fantastically wrought. Here, taking 
 my horse with them, our escort left us alone with 
 Oros. As we drew near the great gates swung back 
 upon their hinges. We passed them — with what sen- 
 sations I cannot describe — and groped our way down 
 a short corridor which ended in tall, iron-covered 
 doors. These also rolled open at our approach, and 
 next instant we staggered back amazed and half- 
 blinded by the intense blaze of light within. 
 
 Imagine, you who read, the nave of the vastest 
 cathedral with which you are acquainted. Then 
 double or treble its size, and you will have some con- 
 ception of that temple in which we found ourselves. 
 Perhaps in the begiiming it had been a cave, who 
 can say ? but now its sheer walls, its multitudinous 
 columns springing to the arched roof far above 
 us, had all been worked on and fashioned by 
 the labour of men long dead ; doubtless the old fire- 
 worshippers of thousands of years ago. 
 
 You win wonder how so great a place was lighted, 
 but I think that never would you guess. Thus — by 
 twisted columns of living flame ! I counted eighteen 
 of them, but there may have been others. They 
 sprang from the floor at regular intervals along the 
 lines of what in a cathedral would be the aisles. 
 Right to the roof they sprang, of even height and 
 girth, so fierce was the force of the natural gas 
 that drove them, and there were lost, I suppose, 
 through chimneys bored in the thickness of the 
 rock. Nor did they give off smell or smoke, or in 
 that great, cold place, any heat which could be 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 211 
 
 noticed, only an intense white light like that of 
 molten iron, and a sharp hissing noise as of a 
 million angry snakes. 
 
 The huge temple was utterly deserted, and, save 
 for this sybilant, pervading sound, utterly silent ; 
 an awesome, an overpowering place. 
 
 " Do these candles of yours ever go out ? " asked 
 Leo of Oros, placing his hand before his dazzled eyes. 
 
 " How can they," replied the priest, in his smooth, 
 matter-of-fact voice, seeing that they rise from 
 the eternal fire which the builders of this hall wor- 
 shipped ? Thus they have burned from the begin- 
 ning, and thus they will bum for ever, though, if we 
 wish it, we can shut off their light.* Be pleased to 
 follow me : you will see greater things." 
 
 So in awed silence we followed, and, oh ! how 
 small and miserable we three human beings looked 
 alone in that vast temple Uuminatedby this lightning 
 radiance. We reached the end of it at length, only 
 to find that to right and left ran transepts on a like 
 gigantic scale and lit in the same amazing fashion. 
 Here Oros bade us halt, and we waited a little while, 
 till presently, from either transept arose a sound of 
 chanting, and we perceived two white-robed proces- 
 sions advancing towards us from their depths. 
 
 On they came, very slowly, and we saw that the 
 procession to the right was a company of priests, and 
 that to the left a company of priestesses, a hundred 
 or so of them in all. 
 
 Now the men ranged themselves in front of us, 
 whUe the women ranged themselves behind, and at 
 a signal from Oros, all of them still chanting some 
 wild and thrilling hymn, once more we started 
 
 * This, as I ascertained afterwards, was done by thrusting 
 a broad stone of great thickness over the apertures through 
 which the gas or fire rushed and thus cutting ofE the air. 
 These stones were worked to and fro by means of pulleys 
 connected with iron rods. — L. H. H. 
 
213 AYESHA 
 
 forward, this time along a narrow gallery closed at 
 the end with double wooden doors. As our proces- 
 sion reached these they opened, and before us lay 
 the crowning wonder of this marvellous fane, a vast, 
 ellipse-shaped apse. Now we understood. The 
 plan of the temple was the plan of the looped piUar 
 which stood upon the brow of the Peak, and as we 
 rightly guessed, its dimensions were the same. 
 
 At intervals around this ellipse the fiery columns 
 flared, but otherwise the place was empty. 
 
 No, not quite, for at the head of the apse, almost 
 between two of the flame columns, stood a plain, 
 square altar of the size of a small room, in front of 
 which, as we saw when we drew nearer, were hung 
 curtains of woven silver thread. On this altar was 
 placed a large statue of silver, that, backed as it 
 was by the black rock, seemed to concentrate and 
 reflect from its burnished surface the intense light 
 of the two blazing pillars. 
 
 It was a lovely thing, but to describe it is hard 
 indeed. The figure, which was winged, represented 
 a draped woman of mature years, and pure but 
 gracious form, half hidden by the forward- 
 bending wings. Sheltered by these, yet shown 
 between them, appeared the image of a male child, 
 clasped to its bearer's breast with her left arm, 
 while the right was raised toward the sky. A 
 study of Motherhood, evidently, but how shall I 
 write of all that was conveyed by those graven 
 faces ? 
 
 To begin with the child. It was that of a sturdy 
 boy, full of health and the joy of life. Yet he had 
 been sleeping, and in his sleep some terror had over- 
 shadowed him with the dark shades of death and 
 evil. There was fear in the lines of his sweet mouth 
 and on the lips and cheeks, that seemed to quiver. 
 He had thrown his little arm about his mother's 
 neck, and, pressing close against her breast, looked 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 213 
 
 up to her for safety, his right hand and outstretched 
 finger pointing downwards and behind hinti, as 
 though to indicate whence the danger came. Yet it 
 was passing, already half-forgotten, for the up- 
 turned eyes expressed confidence renewed, peace of 
 soul attained. 
 
 And the mother. She did not seem to mock or 
 chide his fears, for her lovely face was anxious and 
 alert. Yet upon it breathed a very atmosphere of un- 
 changing tenderness and power invincible ; care for 
 the helpless, strength to shelter it from every harm. 
 The great, calm eyes told their story, the parted 
 lips were whispering some tale of hope, sure and 
 immortal ; the raised hand revealed whence that 
 hope arose. All love seemed to be concentrated 
 in the brooding figure, so human, yet so celestial ; all 
 heaven seemed to lie an open path before those 
 quivering wings. And see, the arching instep, the 
 upward-springing foot, suggested that thither those 
 wings were bound, bearing their God-given burden 
 far from the horror of the earth, deep into the 
 bosom of a changeless rest above. 
 
 The statue was only that of an affrighted child 
 in its mother's arms ; its interpretation made clear 
 even to the dullest by the simple symbolism of some 
 genius — Humanity saved by the Divine. 
 
 While we gazed at its enchanting beauty, the 
 priests and priestesses, filing away to right and left, 
 arranged themselves alternately, first a man and 
 then a woman, within the ring of the columns of fire 
 that bmned around the loop-shaped shrine. So 
 great was its circumference that the whole hundred 
 of them must stand wide apart one from another, 
 and, to our sight, resembled httle lonely children 
 clad in gleaming garments, while their chant of 
 worship reached us only like echoes thrown from 
 a far precipice. In short, the effect of this holy 
 shrine and its occupants was superb yet over- 
 
214 AYESHA 
 
 whelming, at least I know that it filled me with a 
 feeling akin to fear. 
 
 Oros waited till the last priest had reached his 
 appointed place. Then he turned and said, in his 
 gentle, reverent tones — 
 
 " Draw nigh, now, O Wanderers well-beloved, 
 and give greeting to the Mother," and he pointed 
 towards the statue. '^ 
 
 " Where is she ? " asked Leo, in a whisper, for 
 here we scarcely dared to speak aloud. " I see no 
 one." 
 
 " The Hesea dwells yonder," he answered, and, 
 taking each of us by the hand, he led us forward 
 across the great emptiness of the apse to the altar 
 at its head. 
 
 As we drew near the distant chant of the priests 
 gathered in volume, assuming a glad, triumphjint 
 note, and it seemed to me — though this, perhaps 
 was fancy — that the light from the twisted columns 
 of flame grew even brighter. 
 
 At length we were there, and, Oros, loosing our 
 hands, prostrated himself thrice before the altar. 
 Then he rose again, and, falling behind us, stood 
 in silence with bent head and folded fingers. We 
 stood silent also, our hearts filled with mingled 
 hope and fear like a cup with wine. 
 
 Were our labours ended ? Had we found her 
 whom we sought, or were we, perchance, but en- 
 meshed in the web of some marvellous mummery 
 and about to make acquaintance with the secret 
 of another new and mystical worship ? For years 
 and years we had searched, enduring every hardness 
 of flesh and spirit that man can suffer, and now we 
 were to learn whether we had endured in vain. Yes, 
 and Leo would learn if the promise was to be 
 fulfilled to him, or whether she whom he adored had 
 become but a departed dream to be sought for only 
 beyond the gate of Death. Little wonder that he 
 
BENEATH THE SHADOWING WINGS 215 
 
 trembled and turned white in the agony of that 
 great suspense. 
 
 Long, long was the time. Hours, years, ages, 
 aeons, seemed to flow over us as we stood there before 
 glittering silver curtains that hid the front of the 
 black altar beneath the mystery of the sphinx-like 
 face of the glorious image which was its guardian, 
 clothed with that frozen smile of eternal love and 
 pity. AU the past went before us as we struggled 
 in those dark waters of our doubt. Item by item, 
 event by event, we rehearsed the story which began 
 in the Caves of Kor, for our thoughts, so long at- 
 tuned, were open to each other and flashed from 
 soul to soul. 
 
 Oh ! now we knew, they were open also to another 
 soul. We could see nothing save the Altar and the 
 Effigy, we could only hear the slow chant of the 
 priests and priestesses and the snake-like hiss of the 
 rushing fires. Yet we knew that our hearts were 
 as an open book to One who watched beneath the 
 Mother's shadowing wings. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE COURT OF DEATH 
 
 NOW the curtains were open. Before us ap- 
 peared a chamber hollowed from the thick- 
 ness of the altar, and in its centre a throne, and on 
 the throne a figure clad in waves of billowy white 
 flowing from the head over the arms of the throne 
 down to its marble steps. We could see no more in 
 the comparative darkness of that place, save that 
 beneath the folds of the drapery the Oracle held in 
 its hand a loop-shaped, jewelled sceptre. 
 
 Moved by some impulse, we did as Oros had done, 
 prostrating ourselves, and there remained upon our 
 knees. At length we heard a tinkling as of little 
 bells, and, looking up, saw that the sistrum-shaped 
 sceptre was stretched towards us by the draped arm 
 which held it. Then a thin, clear voice spoke, and I 
 thought that it trembled a little. It spoke in Greek, 
 but in a much purer Greek than all these people 
 used. 
 
 " I greet you. Wanderers, who have journeyed so 
 far to visit this most ancient shrine, and although 
 doubtless of some other faith, are not ashamed to do 
 reverence to that unworthy one who is for this time 
 its Oracle and the guardian of its mysteries. Rise 
 now and have no fear of me ; for have I not sent 
 my Messenger and servants to conduct you to this 
 Sanctuary ? " 
 
 Slowly we rose, and stood silent, not knowing what 
 to say. 
 
 " I greet you. Wanderers," the voice repeated. 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH ' 217 
 
 " Tell me thou "-^and the sceptre"p©iiQ*ed towards 
 Leo — " how art thou named ?".--•-'' 
 
 " I am named Leo Vincey," he answered. 
 
 " Leo Vincey ! I like the name, which to me well 
 befits a man so goodly. And thou, the companion 
 of — Leo Vincey ? " 
 
 " I am named Horace Holly." 
 
 " So. Then tell me, Leo Vincey and Horace Holly, 
 what came ye so far to seek ? " 
 
 We looked at each other, and I said — 
 
 " The tale is long and strange. O — but by what 
 title must we address thee ? " 
 
 " By the name which I bear here, Hes." 
 
 " O Hes," I said, wondering what name she bore 
 elsewhere. 
 
 " Yet I desire to hear that tale," she went on, and 
 to me her voice sounded eager. " Nay, not all 
 to-night, for I know that you both are weary ; a 
 little of it only. In sooth, Strangers, there is a same- 
 ness in this home of contemplations, and no heart 
 can feed only on the past, if such a thing there be. 
 Therefore I welcome a new history from the world 
 without. Tell it me, thou, Leo, as briefly as thou wilt, 
 so that thou tell the truth, for in the Presence of 
 which I am a Minister, may nothing else be uttered." 
 
 " Priestess," he said, in his curt fashion," I obey. 
 " Many years ago when I was young, my friend and 
 foster-father and I, led by records of the past, 
 travelled to a wild land, and there found a cer- 
 tain divine woman who had conquered time." 
 
 " Then that woman must have been both aged 
 and hideous." 
 
 " I said. Priestess, that she had conquered time, not 
 suffered it, for the gift of immortal youth was hers. 
 Also she was not hideous ; she was beauty itself." 
 
 " Therefore, stranger, thou didst worship her for 
 her beauty's sake, as a man does." 
 
 " I did not worship her ; I loved her, which is 
 
2i8 AYESHA 
 
 another thing. The priest Oros here worships thee, 
 whom he calls Mother. I loved that immortal 
 woman." 
 
 "Then thou shouldst love her still. Yet, not 
 so, since love is very mortal." 
 
 "I love her stiU," he answered, "although she died." 
 
 " Why, how is that ? Thou saidst she was im- 
 mortal." 
 
 " Perchance she only seemed to die ; perchance 
 she changed. At least I lost her, and what I lost 
 I seek, and have sought this many a year." 
 
 " Why dost thou seek her in my Mountain, Leo 
 Vincey ? " 
 
 " Because a vision led me to ask counsel of its 
 Oracle. I am come hither to learn tidings of my 
 lost love, since here alone these may be found." 
 
 " And thou, Holly, didst thou also love an im- 
 mortal woman whose immortality, it seems, must 
 bow to death ? " 
 
 " Priestess," I answered, " I am sworn to this 
 quest, and where my foster-son goes I foUow. 
 He follows beauty that is dead " 
 
 " And thou dost follow him. Therefore both of 
 you follow beauty as men have ever done, being 
 blind and mad." 
 
 " Nay," I answered, " if they were blind, beauty 
 would be naught to them who could not see it, 
 and if they were mad, they would not know it when 
 it was seen. Knowledge and vision belong to the 
 wise, O Hes." 
 
 " Thou art quick of wit and tongue. Holly, as " 
 
 and she checked herself, then of a sudden, said, 
 " Tell me, did my servant the Khania of Kaloon 
 entertain both of you hospitably in her city, and 
 speed you on your journey hither, as I commanded 
 her ? " 
 
 " We knew not that she was thy servant," I 
 replied. " Hospitality we had and to spare, but 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 219 
 
 we were sped from her Court hitherward by the 
 death-hounds of the Khan, her husband. Tell us, 
 Priestess, what thou knowest of this journey of ours." 
 
 " A little," she answered carelessly. " More 
 than three moons ago my spies saw you upon the far 
 mountains, and, creeping very close to you at night, 
 heard you speak together of the object of your wan- 
 derings, then, returning thence swiftly, made report 
 to me. Thereon I bade the Khania Atene, and 
 that old magician her great-uncle, who is Guardian 
 of the Gate, go down to the ancient gates of Kaloon 
 to receive you and bring you hither with all speed. 
 Yet for men who burned to learn the answer to a 
 riddle, you have been long in coming." 
 
 " We came as fast as we might, O Hes," said 
 Leo ; " and if thy spies could visit those mountains, 
 where no man was, and find a path down that hide- 
 ous precipice, they must have been able also to tell 
 thee the reason of our delay. Therefore I pray, ask 
 it not of us." 
 
 " Nay, I will ask it of Atene herself, and she shall 
 surely answer me, for she stands without," re- 
 plied the Hesea in a cold voice. " Oros, lead the 
 Khania hither and be swift." 
 
 The priest turned and walking quickly to the 
 wooden doors by which we had entered the shrine, 
 vanished there. 
 
 " Now," said Leo to me nervously in the silence 
 that followed, and speaking in English, " now I 
 wish we were somewhere else, for I think that there 
 will be trouble." 
 
 " I don't think, I am sure," I answered ; " but 
 the more the better, for out of trouble may come the 
 truth, which we need sorely." Then I stopped, 
 reflecting that the strange woman before us said 
 that her spies had overheard our talk upon the 
 mountains,' where we had spoken nothing but 
 English, 
 
220 AYESHA 
 
 As it proved, I was wise, for quite quietly the 
 Hesea repeated after me — 
 
 ", Thou hast experience, Holly, for out of trouble 
 comes the truth, as out of wine." 
 
 Then she was silent, and, needless to say, I did 
 not pursue the conversation. 
 
 The doors swung open, and through them came a 
 procession clad in black, followed by the Shaman 
 Simbri, who walked in front of a bier, upon which 
 lay the body of the Khan; carried by eight 
 priests. Behind it was Atene, draped in a black 
 veil from head to foot, and after her marched 
 another company of priests. In front of the altai 
 the bier was set down and the priests fell back, 
 leaving Atene and her uncle standing alone before 
 the corpse. 
 
 " What seeks my vassal, the Khania of Kaloon ? " 
 asked the Hesea in a cold voice. 
 
 Now Atene advanced and bent the knee, but with 
 little graciousness. 
 
 " Ancient Mother, Mother from of old, I do rever- 
 ence to thy holy Office, as my forefathers have done 
 for many a generation," and again she curtseyed. 
 " Mother, this dead man asks of thee that right of 
 sepulchre in the fires of the holy Mountain which 
 from the beginning has been accorded to the royal 
 departed who went before him." 
 
 " It has been accorded as thou sayest," answered 
 the Hesea, " by those priestesses who filled my place 
 before me, nor shall it be refused to thy dead lord, 
 — or to thee Atene — when thy time comes." 
 
 " I thank thee, O Hes, and I pray that this 
 decree may be written down, for the snows of age 
 have gathered on thy venerable head and soon thou 
 must leave us for awhile. Therefore bid thy scribes 
 that it be written down, so that the Hesea who 
 rules after thee may fulfil it in its season." 
 
*' ' What seeks my vassal, the Khania of Kaloon ?*" 
 
 Aj'esha.} 
 
 [Pag^e 220. 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 221 
 
 " Cease," said the Hesea, " cease to pour out 
 thy bitterness at that which should command thy 
 reverence, oh ! thou foohsh child, who dost not 
 know but that to-morrow the fire shall claim the 
 frail youth and beauty which are thy boast. I bid 
 thee cease, and tell me how did death find this lord 
 of thine ? " 
 
 " Ask those wanderers yonder, that were his 
 guests, for his blood is on their heads and cries for 
 vengeance at thy hands." 
 
 " I killed him," said Leo, " to save my own life. 
 He tried to hunt us down with his dogs, and there 
 are the marks of them," and he pointed to my arm. 
 " The priest Oros knows, for he dressed the hurts." 
 
 " How did this chance ? " asked the Hesea of 
 Atene. 
 
 " My lord was mad," she answered boldly, " and 
 such was his cruel sport." 
 
 " So. And was thy lord jealous also ? Nay, 
 keep back the falsehood I see rising to thy lips. 
 Leo Vincey, answer thou me. Yet, I wUl not ask 
 thee to lay bare the secrets of a woman who has 
 offered thee her love. Thou, HoUy, speak, and let 
 it be the truth." 
 
 " It is this, O Hes," I answered. " Yonder 
 lady and her uncle the Shaman Simbri saved us 
 from death in the waters of the river that bounds 
 the precipices of Kaloon. Afterwards we were iH, 
 and they treated us kindly, but the Khania became 
 enamoured of my foster-son." 
 
 Here the figure of the Priestess stirred beneath its 
 gauzy wrappings, and the Voice asked — 
 
 " And did thy foster-son become enamoured of 
 thet Khania, as being a man he may well have done, 
 for without doubt she is fair ? " 
 
 " He can answer that question for himself, O Hes. 
 All I know is that he strove to escape from her, and 
 that in the end she gave him a day to choose between 
 
222 AYESHA 
 
 death and marriage with her, when her lord should 
 be dead. So, helped by the Khan, her husband, 
 who was jealous of him, we fled towards this Mountain, 
 which we desired to reach. Then the Khan set his 
 hounds upon us, for he was mad and false-hearted. 
 We killed him and came on in spite of this lady, his 
 wife, and her uncle, who would have prevented us, 
 and were met in a Place of Bones by a certain veiled 
 guide, who led us up the Mountain and twice saved 
 us from death. That is aU the story." 
 
 " Woman, what hast thou to say ? " asked the 
 Hesea- in a menacing voice. 
 
 " But little," Atene answered, without flinching. 
 " For years I have been bound to a madman and a 
 brute, and if my fancy wandered towards this man 
 and his fancy wandered towards me — well. Nature 
 spoke to us, and that is all. Afterwards it seems 
 that he grew afraid of the vengeance of Rassen, 
 or this Holly, whom I would that the hounds had 
 torn bone from bone, grew afraid. So they strove 
 to escape the land, and perchance wandered to thy 
 Mountain. But I weary of this talk, and ask thy 
 leave to rest before to-morrow's rite." 
 
 " Thou sayest, Atene," said the Hesea, " that 
 Nature spoke to this man and to thee, and that his 
 heart is thine ; but that; fearing thy lord's ven- 
 geance, he fled from thee, he who segms no coward. 
 Tell me, then, is that tress he hides in the satchel on 
 his breast thy gage of love to him ?" 
 
 " I know nothing of what he hides in the satchel," 
 answered the Khania sullenly. 
 
 " And yet, yonder in the Gatehouse when he lay 
 so sick he set the lock against thine own — ah, dost 
 remember now ? " 
 
 "So, O Hes, already he has told thee all our 
 secrets, though they be such as most men hide 
 within their breasts ; " and she looked contemptu- 
 ously at Leo. 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 223 
 
 " I told her nothing of the matter, Khania," Leo 
 said in an angry voice. 
 
 " Nay, thou toldest me nothing ; Wanderer my 
 watching spirit told me. Oh, didst thou think, 
 Atene, that thou couldst hide the truth from the 
 all-seeing Hesea of the Mountain ? If so, spare thy 
 breath, for I know aU, and have known it from the 
 first. I passed thy disobedience by; of thy false 
 messages I took no heed. For my own purposes 
 I, to whom time is naught, suffered even that thou 
 shouldst hold these, my guests, thy prisoners whilst 
 thou didst strive by threats and force to win a love 
 denied." 
 
 She paused, then went on coldly : " Woman, I tell 
 thee that, to complete thy sin, thou hast even dared 
 to lie to me here, in my very Sanctuary. 
 
 " If so, what of it ? " was the bold answer. " Dost 
 thou love the man thyseK ? Nay, it is monstrous. 
 Nature would cry aloud at such a shame. Oh ! 
 tremble not with rage. Hes, I know thy evil powers, 
 but I know also that I am thy guest, and that in 
 this hallowed place, beneath yonder sjnnbol of 
 eternal Love, thou may'st shed no blood. More, thou 
 canst not harm me, Hes, who am thy equal." 
 
 " Atene," replied the measured Voice, " did I 
 desire it, I could destroy thee where thou art. Yet 
 thou art right, I shall not harm thee, thou faithless 
 servant. Did not my writ bid thee through 
 yonder searcher of the stars, thy uncle, to meet 
 these guests of mine and bring them straight to my 
 shrine ? TeU me, for I seek to know, how comes 
 it that thou didst disobey me ? " 
 
 " Have then thy desire," answered Atene in a 
 new and earnest voice, devoid now of bitterness and 
 falsehood. " I disobeyed because that man is not 
 thine, but mine, and no other woman's ; because I 
 love him and have loved him from of old. Aye, since 
 first our souls sprang into life I have loved him, as he 
 
224 AYESHA 
 
 has loved me. My own heart tells me so ; the 
 magic of my uncle here tells me so, though how and 
 where and when these things have been I know not. 
 Therefore I come to thee, Mother of Mysteries, 
 Guardian of the secrets of the past, to learn the truth. 
 At least thou canst not lie at thine own altar, and I 
 charge thee, by the dread name of that Power to 
 which thou also must render thy account, that thou 
 answer now and here. 
 
 "Who is this man to whom my being yearns? 
 What has he been to me ? What has he to do 
 with thee ? Speak, O Oracle and make the secret 
 clear. Speak, I command, even though afterwards 
 thou dost slay me — if thou canst." 
 
 "Aye, speak! speak! " said Leo, "for know I am 
 in sore suspense. I also am bewildered by memo- 
 ries and rent with hopes and fears." 
 
 And I too echoed, " Speak ! " 
 
 " Leo Vincey," asked the Hesea, after she had 
 thought awhile, "whom dost thou believe me to 
 be?" 
 
 " I believe," he answered solemnly, " that thou art 
 that Ayesha at whose hands I died of old in the Caves 
 of Kor in Africa. I believe thou art that Ayesha whom 
 not twenty years ago I found and loved in those 
 same Caves of Kor, and there saw perish miserably, 
 swearing that thou wouldst return agtun." 
 
 " See now, how madness can mislead a man," 
 broke in Atene triumphantly. " ' Not twenty years 
 ago', he said, whereas I know well that more than 
 eighty summers have gone by since my grandsire 
 in his youth saw this same priestess sitting on the 
 Mother's throne." 
 
 " And whom dost thou believe me to be, Holly ? " 
 the Priestess asked, taking no note of the Khania's 
 words. 
 
 " What he believes I believe," I answered. 
 " The dead come back to life — sometimes. Yet 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 225 
 
 alone thou knowest the truth, and by thee only it 
 can be revealed." 
 
 " Aye," she said, as though musing, " the dead 
 come back to life — sometimes — and in strange shape, 
 and, mayhap, I know the truth. To-morrov/ when 
 yonder body is borne on high for burial we will speak 
 of it again. Till then rest you all, and prepare to 
 face that fearful thing— the Truth." 
 
 While the Hesea still spoke the silvery curtains 
 swung to their place as mysteriously as they had 
 opened. Then, as though at some signal, the black- 
 robed priests advanced. Surrounding Atene, they led 
 her from the Sanctuary, accompanied by her uncle 
 the Shaman, who, as it seemed to me, either through 
 fatigue or fear, could scarcely stand upon his feet, 
 but stood bhnking his dim eyes as though the light 
 dazed him. When these were gone, the priests and 
 priestesses, who aU this time had been ranged round 
 the walls, far out of hearing of our talk, gathered 
 themselves into their separate companies, and still 
 chanting, departed also, leaving us alone with Oros 
 and the corpse of tlie Khan, which remained where 
 it had been set down. 
 
 Now the head-priest Oros beckoned to us to follow 
 him, and we went also. Nor was I sorry to leave the 
 place, for its death-like loneliness — enhanced, 
 strangely enough, as it was, by the flood of light that 
 fiUed it ; a loneliness which was concentrated and 
 expressed in the awful figure stretched upon the 
 bier, oppressed and overcame us, whose nerves 
 were broken by all that we had undergone. Thank- 
 ful enough was I when, having passed the transepts 
 and down the length of the vast nave, we came to the 
 iron doors, the rock passage, and the outer gates, 
 which, as before, opened to let us through, and so at 
 last into the sweet, cold air of the night at that hour 
 which precedes the dawn. 
 
 Oros led us to a house well-built and fur- 
 
226 AYESHA 
 
 nished, where at his bidding, Hke men in a dream, 
 we drank of some Uquor which he gave us. I think 
 that drink was drugged, at least after swallowing it 
 I remembered no more tiU I awoke to find myself 
 Ipng on a bed and feeling wonderfully strong and 
 well. This I thought strange, for a lamp burning 
 in the room showed me that it was still dark, and 
 therefore that I could have rested but a little time. 
 
 I tried to sleep again, but was not able, so fell to 
 thinking till I grew weary of the task. For here 
 thoughts would not help me ; nothing could help, 
 except the truth, " that fearful thing," as the veiled 
 Priestess had called it. 
 
 Oh ! what if she should prove not the Ayesha 
 whom we desired, but some " fearful thing " ? 
 What were the meaning of the Khania's hints 
 and of her boldness, that surely had been inspired 
 by the strength of a hidden knowledge ? What if — 
 nay, it could not be — I would rise and dress my arm. 
 Or I would wake Leo and make him dress it — any- 
 thing to occupy my mind until the appointed hour, 
 when we must learn — the best — or the worst. 
 
 I sat up in the bed and saw a figure advancing to- 
 wards me. It was Oros, who bore a lamp in his hand. 
 
 " You have slept long, friend Holly," he said, 
 " and now it is time to be up and doing." 
 
 " Long ? " I answered testily. " How can that 
 be, when it is still dark ? " 
 
 " Because, friend, the dark is that of a new night. 
 Many hours have gone by since you lay down upon 
 this bed. Well, you were wise to rest you while 
 you may, for who knows when you will sleep again ! 
 Come, let me bathe your arm." 
 
 " TeU me," I broke in 
 
 " Nay, friend," he interrupted firmly, " I will tell 
 you nothing, except that soon you must start to be 
 present at the funeral of the Khan, and, perchance, 
 to learn the answer to your questions." 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 227 
 
 Ten minutes later he led me to the eating-chamber 
 of the house, where I found Leo already dressed, for 
 Oros had awakened him before he came to me and 
 bidden him to prepare himself. Oros told us here 
 that the Hesea had not suffered us to be disturbed 
 until the night came again since we had much to 
 undergo that day. So presently we started. 
 
 Once more we were led through the flame-lit hall 
 till we came to the loop-shaped apse. The place 
 was empty now, even the corpse of the Khan had 
 gone, and no draped Oracle sat in the altar shrine, 
 for its silver curtains were drawn, and we saw that 
 it was untenanted. 
 
 " The Mother has departed to do honour to the 
 dead, according to the ancient custom," Oros ex- 
 plained to us. 
 
 Then we passed the altar, and behind the statue 
 found a door in the rock wall of the apse, and beyond 
 the door a passage, and a haU as of a house, for out 
 of it opened other doors leading to chambers. 
 These, our guide told us, were the dwelling-places of 
 the Hesea and her maidens. He added that they ran 
 to the side of the Mountain and had windows that 
 opened on to gardens and let in the light and air. 
 In this haU six priests were waiting, each of whom 
 carried a bundle of torches beneath his arm and held 
 in his hand a lighted lamp. 
 
 " Our road runs through the dark," said Oros, 
 " though were it day we might climb the outer 
 snows, but this at night it is dangerous to do." 
 
 Then taking torches, he lit them at a lamp and 
 gave one to each of us. 
 
 Now our climb began. Up endless sloping 
 galleries we went, hewn with inconceivable labour 
 by the primeval fire-worshippers from the living 
 rock of the Mountain. It seemed to me that they 
 stretched for miles, and indeed this was so, since, 
 although the slope was always gentle, it took us 
 
228 A7ESHA 
 
 more than an hour to climb them. At length we 
 came to the foot of a great stair. 
 
 " Rest awhile here, my lord," Oros said, bowing 
 to Leo with the reverence that he had shown him 
 from the first, " for this stair is steep and long. 
 Now we stand upon the Mountain's topmost Up, 
 and are about to climb that tall looped column 
 which soars above." 
 
 So we sat down in the vault-like place and let the 
 sharp draught of air rushing to and from the passages 
 play upon us, for we were heated with journe3dng 
 up those close galleries. As we sat thus I heard a 
 roaring sound and asked Oros what it might be. 
 He answered that we were very near to the crater 
 of the volcano, and that what we heard through the 
 thickness of the rock was the rushing of its ever- 
 lasting fires. Then the ascent commenced. 
 
 It was not dangerous though very wearisome, 
 for there were nearly six hundred of those steps. 
 The climb of the passages had reminded me of 
 that of the gallery of the Great Pyramid drawn 
 out for whole furlongs ; that of the pillar was like 
 the ascent of a cathedral spire, or rather of several 
 spires piled one upon another. 
 
 Resting from time to time, we dragged ourselves 
 up the steep steps, each of them quite a foot in 
 height, till the pillar was climbed and only the loop 
 remained. Up it we went also, Oros leading us, 
 and glad was I that the stairway still ran within the 
 substance of the rock, for I could feel the needle's 
 mighty eye quiver in the rush of the winds which 
 swept about its sides. 
 
 At length we saw light before us, and in another 
 twenty steps emerged upon a platform. As Leo, 
 who went in front of me, walked from the stairway 
 I saw Oros and another priest seize him by the 
 arms, and called to him to ask what they were doing. 
 
 " Nothing," he cried back, " except that this is a 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 229 
 
 dizzy place and they feared lest I should fall. Mind 
 how you come, Horace," and he stretched out his 
 hand to me. 
 
 Now I was clear of the tunnel, and I believe that 
 had it not been for that hand I should have sunk to 
 the rocky floor, for the sight before me seemed to para- 
 lyse my brain. Nor was this to be wondered at, for 
 I doubt whether the world can show such another. 
 
 We stood upon the very apex of the loop, a flat 
 space of rock about eighty yards in length by some 
 thirty in breadth, with the star-strewn sky above us. 
 To the south, twenty thousand feet or more below, 
 stretched the dim Plain of Kaloon, and to the east 
 and west the snow-clad shoulders of the peak and 
 the broad brown slopes beneath. To the north 
 was a different sight, and one more awesome. 
 There, right under us as it seemed, for the pillar bent 
 inwards, lay the vast crater of the volcano, and in 
 the centre of it a wide lake of fire that broke into 
 bubbles and flowers of sudden flame, or spouted, 
 writhed and twisted like an angry sea. 
 
 From the surface of this lake rose smoke and 
 gases that took fire as they floated upwards, and, 
 mingling together, formed a gigantic sheet of living 
 light. Right opposite to us burned this sheet and, 
 the flare of it passing through the needle-eye of the 
 pillar under us, sped away in one dazzling beam 
 across the country of Kaloon, across the moun- 
 tains beyond, till it was lost on the horizon. 
 
 The wind blew from south to north, being sucked 
 in towards the hot crater of the volcano, and its fierce 
 breath, that screamed through the eye of the pillar 
 and against its rugged surface, bent the long 
 crest of the sheet of flame, as an ocean roller is bent 
 over by the gale, and tore from it fragments of fire, 
 that floated away to leeward like the blown-out sails 
 of a burning ship. 
 
 Had it not been for this strong and steady wind 
 
230 AYESHA 
 
 indeed, no creature could have lived upon the pillar, 
 for the vapours would have poisoned him, but its un- 
 ceasing blast drove these all away towards the north. 
 For the same reason, in the thin air of that icy 
 place the heat was not too great to be endured. 
 
 Appalled by that terriiic spectacle, which seemed 
 more appropriate to the terrors of the Pit than to 
 this earth of ours, and fearful lest the blast should 
 whirl me like a dead leaf into the glowing gulf 
 beneath, I fell on to my sound hand and my 
 knees, shouting to Leo to do Ukewise, and looked 
 about me. Now I observed lines of priests wrapped 
 in great capes, kneeling upon the face of the rock 
 and engaged apparently in prayer, but of Hes the 
 Mother, or of Atene, or of the corpse of the dead 
 Khan I could see nothing. 
 
 Whilst I wondered where they might be, Oros, 
 upon whose nerves this dread scene appeared to 
 have no effect, and some of our attendant priests 
 surrounded us and led us onwards by a path that 
 ran perilously near to the rounded edge of the rock. 
 A few downward steps and we found that we were 
 under shelter, for the gale was roaring over us. 
 Twenty more paces and we came to a recess cut, I 
 suppose, by man in the face of the loop, in such 
 fashion that a lava roof was left projecting half 
 across its width. 
 
 This recess, or rock chamber, which was large 
 enough to shelter a great number of people, we 
 reached safely, to discover that it was already ten- 
 anted. Seated in a chair hewn from the rock was the 
 Hesea, wearing a broidered, purple mantle above 
 her gauzy wrappings that enveloped her from head 
 to foot. There, too, standing near to her were the 
 Khania Atene and her uncle the old Shaman, who 
 looked but ill at ease, and lastly, stretched upon his 
 funeral couch, the fiery Ught beating upon his stark 
 form and face, lay the dead Khan, Rassen. 
 
THE COURT OF DEATH 231 
 
 We advanced to the throne and bowed to her 
 who sat thereon. The Hesea lifted her hooded head, 
 which seemed to have been sunk upon her breast 
 as though she were overcome by thought or care, 
 and addressed Oros the priest. For in the shelter of 
 those massive walls by comparison there was silence 
 and folk could hear each other speak. 
 
 " So thou hast brought them safely, my servant," 
 she said, " and I am glad, for to those that know it 
 not this road is fearful. My guests, what say you 
 of the burying-pit of the Children of Hes ? " 
 
 " Our faith tells us of a hell, lady," answered Leo, 
 " and I think that yonder cauldron looks like its 
 mouth." 
 
 " Nay," she answered, " there is no hell, save that 
 which from life to life we fashion for ourselves 
 within the circle of this little star. Leo Vincey, I 
 tell thee that heU is here, aye, here," and she struck 
 her hand upon her breast, while once more her head 
 drooped forward as though bowed down beneath 
 some load of secret misery. 
 
 Thus she stayed awhile, then lifted it and spoke 
 again, saying — 
 
 " Midnight is past, and much must be done and 
 suffered before the dawn. Aye, the darkness must 
 be turned to light, or perchance the light to eternal 
 darkness." 
 
 " Royal woman," she went on, addressing Atene, 
 "as is his right, thou hast brought thy dead 
 lord hither for burial in this consecrated place, 
 where the ashes of aU who went before him have 
 become fuel for the holy fires. Oros, my priest, 
 summon thou the Accuser and him who makes 
 defence, and let the books be opened that I may 
 pass my judgment on the dead, and call his soul to 
 live again, or pray that from it the breath of life 
 may be withheld. 
 
 "Priest, I say the Court of Death is open." 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE SECOND ORDEAL 
 
 OROS bowed and left the place, whereon the 
 Hesea signed to us to stand upon her right 
 and to Atene to stand upon her left. Presently 
 from either side the hooded priests and priestesses 
 stole into the chamber, and to the number of fifty 
 or more ranged themselves along its walls. Then 
 came two figures draped in black and masked, 
 who bore parchment books in their hands, and placed 
 themselves on either side of the corpse, while Oros 
 stood at its feet, facing the Hesea. 
 
 Now she lifted the sistrum that she held, and in 
 obedience to the signal Oros said — 
 
 " Let the books be opened." 
 
 Thereon the masked Accuser to the right broke 
 the seal of his book and began to read its pages. 
 It was a tale of the sins of this dead man entered 
 as fully as though that officer were his own conscience 
 given life and voice. In cold and horrible detail 
 it told of the evil doings of his childhood, of his 
 youth, and of his riper years, and thus massed 
 together the record was black indeed. 
 
 I listened amazed, wondering what spy had been set 
 upon the deeds of yonder man. throughout his days ; 
 thinking also with a shudder of how heavy would 
 be the tale against any one of us, if such a spy should 
 companion him from the cradle to the grave ; re- 
 membering too that full surely this count is kept by 
 scribes even more watchful than the ministers of Hes. 
 
 At length the long story drew to its close. Lastly it 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 233 
 
 told of the murder of that noble upon the banks of 
 the river ; it told of the plot against our lives for 
 no just cause ; it told of our cruel hunting with 
 the death-hounds, and of its end. Then the Accuser 
 shut his book and cast it on the ground, saying — 
 
 " Such is the record, O Mother. Sum it up as 
 thou hast been given wisdom." 
 
 Without speaking., the Hesea pointed with her 
 sistrum to the Defender, who thereon broke the seal 
 of his book and began to read. 
 
 Its tale spoke of all the good that the dead man 
 had done ; of every noble word that he had said, 
 of every kind action ; of plans which he had made 
 for the welfare of his vassals; of temptations to ill 
 that he had resisted ; of the true love that he had 
 borne to the woman who became his wife; of the 
 prayers which he had made and of the offerings 
 which he had sent to the temple of Hes. 
 
 Making no mention of her name, it told of how that 
 wife of his had hated him, oiiow she andthemagician, 
 who had fostered and ed^ated her, and was her 
 relative and guide, had set other women to lead him 
 astray that she might be free of him, Of how too 
 they had driven him mad with a poisonous drink 
 which took away his judgment, unchained all the 
 evil in his heart, and caused him by its baneful 
 influence to shrink unnaturally from her whose 
 love he still desired. 
 
 Also it set out that the heaviest of his crimes were 
 inspired by this wife of his, who sought to befoul his 
 name in the. ears of the people whom she led him to 
 oppress, and how bitter jealousy drove him to 
 cruel acts, the last and worst of which caused him 
 foully to violate the law of hospitality, and in at- 
 tempting to bring about the death of blameless 
 guests, at their hands to find his own. 
 
 Thus the Defender read, and having read, closed 
 the book and threw it on the ground, sajdng — 
 
234 AYES HA 
 
 " Such is the record, O Mother, sum it up as thou 
 hast been given wisdom." 
 
 Then the Khania, who all this time had stood 
 cold and impassive, stepped forward to speak, 
 and with her her uncle, the Shaman Simbri. But 
 before a word passed Atene's lips the Hesea raised 
 her sceptre and forbade them, saying — 
 
 "Thy day of trial is not yet, nor have we aught 
 to do with thee. When thou liest where he lies and 
 the books of thy deeds are read aloud to her who 
 sits in judgment, then let thine advocate make 
 answer for these things." 
 
 "So belt," answered Atene haughtily and fell back. 
 
 Now it was the turn of the high-priest Oros. 
 " Mother," he said, " thou hast heard. Balance 
 the writings, assess the truth, and according to thy 
 wisdom, issue thy commands. ShaU we hurl him 
 ■who was Rassen feet first into the fiery gulf, that 
 he may walk again in the paths of life, or head 
 first, in token that he is dead indeed ? " 
 
 Then while all waited in a hushed expectancy, 
 the great Priestess delivered her verdict. 
 
 " I hear, I balance, I assess, but judge I do not, 
 who claim no such power. Let the Spirit who 
 sent him forth, to whom he is returned again, pass 
 judgment on his spirit. This dead one has sinned 
 deeply, yet has he been more deeply sinned against. 
 Nor against that man can be reckoned the account of 
 his deeds of madness. Cast him then to his grave feet 
 first that his name may be whitened in the ears of 
 those unborn, and that thence he may return again at 
 the time appointed. It is spoken." 
 
 Now the Accuser lifted the book of his accusa- 
 tions from the ground and, advancing, hurled it 
 into the gulf in token that it was blotted out. Then 
 he turned and vanished from the chamber ; while the 
 Advocate, taking up his book, gave it into the keeping 
 of the priest Oros, that it might be preserved in the 
 
" Hurled it feet foremost into the iiery lake below." 
 Ayesia.} [Page 235. 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 235 
 
 archives of the temple for ever. This done, the 
 priests began a funeral chant and a solemn invoca- 
 tion to the great Lord of the Under-world that he 
 would receive this spirit and acquit it there as here 
 it had been acquitted by the Hesea, his minister. 
 
 Ere their dirge ended certain of the priests, 
 advancing with slow steps, lifted the bier and 
 carried it to the edge of the gulf ; then at a sign 
 from the Mother, hurled it feet foremost into the 
 fiery lake below, whilst all watched to see how it 
 struck the flame. For this they held to be an omen, 
 since should the body turn over in its descent it 
 was taken as a sign that the judgment of mortal 
 men had been refused in the Place of the Immor- 
 tals. It did not turn ; it rushed downwards straight 
 as a plummet and plunged into the fire hundreds 
 of feet below, and there for ever vanished. This 
 indeed was not strange since, as we discovered 
 afterwards, the feet were weighted. 
 
 In fact this solemn rite was but a formula that, 
 down to the exact words of judgment and com- 
 mittal, had been practised here from unknown 
 antiquity over the bodies of the priests and priest- 
 esses of the Mountain, and of certain of the great ones 
 of the Plain. So it was in ancient Egypt, whence with- 
 out doubt this ceremony of the tried of the dead was 
 derived, and so it continued to be in the land of 
 Hes, for no priestess ever ventured to condemn 
 the soul of one departed. 
 
 The real interest of the custom, apart from its 
 solemnity and awful surroundings, centred in the 
 accurate knowledge displayed by the masked 
 Accuser and Advocate of the life-deeds of the 
 deceased. It showed that although the College 
 of Hes affected to be indifferent to the doings and 
 politics of the people of the Plain that they once 
 ruled and over which, whilst secretly awaiting an 
 opportunity of re-conquest, they still claimed 
 
236 AYESHA 
 
 a spiritual authority, the attitude was assumed 
 rather than real. Moreover it suggested a system 
 of espionage so piercing and extraordinary that it 
 was difficult to believe it unaided by the habitual 
 exercise of some gift of clairvoyance. 
 
 The service, if I may call it so, was finished ; the 
 dead man had followed the record of his sins into 
 that lurid sea of fire, and by now was but a handful of 
 charred dust. But if his book had closed, ours 
 remained open and at its strangest chapter. We 
 knew it, all of us, and waited, our nerves thriUed, 
 with expectancy. 
 
 The Hesea sat brooding on her rocky throne. 
 She also knew that the hour had come. Presently 
 she sighed, then motioned with her sceptre and 
 spoke a word or two, dismissing the priests and 
 priestesses, who departed and were seen no more. 
 Two of them remained however, Oros and the head 
 priestess who was called Papave, a young woman 
 of a noble countenance. 
 
 " Listen, ray servants," she said. " Great things 
 are about to happen, which have to do with the 
 coming of yonder strangers, for whom I have 
 waited these many years as is well known to you. 
 Nor can I teU the issue since to me, to whom power 
 is given so freely, foresight of the future is denied. 
 It well may happen, therefore, that this seat will soon 
 be empty and this frame but food for the eternal 
 fires. Nay, grieve not, grieve not, for I do not die, 
 and if so, the spirit shall return again. 
 
 "Hearken, Papave. Thou art of the blood, and 
 to thee alone have I opened all the doors of wisdom. If 
 I pass now or at any time, take thou the ancient 
 power, fill thou my place, and in all things do as I have 
 instructed thee, that from this Mountain light may 
 shine upon the world. Further I command thee, and 
 thee also, Oros my priest, that if I be summoned 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 237 
 
 hence you entertain these strangers hospitably 
 until it is possible to escort them from the land, 
 whether by the road they came or across the northern 
 hills and deserts. Should the Khania Atene attempt 
 to detain them against their wiU, then raise the 
 Tribes upon her in the name of the Hesea ; depose 
 her from her seat, conquer her land and hold it. 
 Hear and obey." 
 
 " Mother, we hear and we wiH obey," answered 
 Oros and Papave as with a single voice. 
 
 She waved her hand to show that this matter 
 was finished ; then after long thought spoke again, 
 addressing herself to the Khania. 
 
 " Atene, last night thou didst ask me a question 
 — ^why thou dost love this man," and she pointed 
 to Leo. " To that the answer would be easy, for 
 is he not one who might weU stir passion in the 
 breast of a woman such as thou art ? But thou 
 didst say also that thine own heart and the wisdom 
 of yonder magician, thy uncle, told thee that since 
 thy soul first sprang to life thou hadst loved him, 
 and didst adjure me by the Power to whom I must 
 give my account to draw the curtain from the 
 past and let the truth be known. 
 
 " Woman, the hour has come, and I obey thy 
 summons — not because thou dost command but be- 
 cause it is my will. Of the beginning I can tell thee 
 nothing, who am still human and no goddess. I know 
 not why we three are wrapped in this coil of fate ; 
 I know not the destinies to which we journey up the 
 ladder of a thousand lives, with grief and pain 
 climbing the endless stair of circumstance, or, if I 
 know, I may not say. Therefore I take up the tale 
 where my own memory gives me light." 
 
 The Hesea paused, and we saw her frame shake as 
 though beneath some fearful inward effort of the will. 
 " Look now behind you," she cried, throwing her 
 arms wide 
 
238 AYES HA 
 
 We turned, and at first saw nothing save the 
 great curtain of fire that rose from the abyss of 
 the volcano, whereof, as I have told, the crest 
 was bent over by the wind like the crest of a break- 
 ing billow. But presently, as we watched, in the 
 depths of this red yeil. Nature's awful lamp-flame, a 
 picture began to form as it forms in the seer's 
 magic crystal. 
 
 Behold ! a temple set amid sands and washed by a 
 wide, palm-bordered river, and across its pyloned 
 court processions of priests, who pass to and fro 
 with flaunting banners. The court empties ; I could 
 see the shadow of a falcon's wings that fled across 
 its sunlit floor. A man clad in a priest's white 
 robe, shaven-headed, and bare-footed, enters through 
 the southern pylon gate and walks slowly towards a 
 painted granite shrine, in which sits the image of a 
 woman crowned with the double crown of 'Egypt, 
 surmounted by a lotus bloom, and holding in her 
 hand the sacred sistrum. Now, as though he heard 
 some sound, he halts and looks towards us, and 
 by the heaven above me, his face is the face of 
 Leo Vincey in his youth, the face too of that Kalli- 
 krates whose corpse we had seen in the Caves of 
 Kor! 
 
 " Look, look ! " gasped Leo, catching me by the 
 arm ; but I only nodded my head in answer. 
 
 The man walks on again, and kneeling before the 
 goddess in the shrine, embraces her feet and 
 makes his prayer to her. Now the gates roll open, 
 and a procession enters, headed by a veiled, noble- 
 looking woman, who bears offerings, which she sets 
 on the table before the shrine, bending her knee to 
 the effigy of the goddess. Her oblations made, she 
 turns to depart, and as she goes brushes her hand 
 against the hand of the watching priest, who 
 hesitates, then follows her. 
 
 When all her company have passed the gate 
 

 " Alone in the shadow of the Pyh3n." 
 
 ^jyes/ia.] 
 
 [Page 239. 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 239 
 
 she lingers alone in the shadow of the pylon, whisper- 
 ing to the priest and pointing to the river and the 
 southern land beyond. He is disturbed ; he reasons 
 with her, till, after one swift glance round, she lets 
 drop her veil, bending towards him and — their 
 lips meet. 
 
 As she flies her face is turned towards us, and lo ! 
 it is the very face of Atene, and amid her dusky hair 
 the urseus rears itself in jewelled gold, the S3n3ibol 
 of her royal rank. She looks at the shaven priest ; 
 she laughs as though in triumph ; she points to the 
 westering sun and to the river, and is gone. 
 
 Aye, and that laugh of long ago is echoed by 
 Atene at our side, for she also laughs in triumph 
 and cries aloud to the old Shaman — 
 
 " True diviners were my heart and thou ! Behold 
 how I won him in the past." 
 
 Then, hke ice on fire fell the cold voice of the 
 Hesea. 
 
 " Be silent, woman, and see how thou didst lose 
 him in the past." 
 
 Lo ! the scene changes, and on a couch a lovely 
 shape lies sleeping. She dreams; she is afraid; 
 and over her bends and whispers in her ear a 
 shadowy form clad with the emblems of the goddess 
 in the shrine, but now wearing upon her head the 
 vulture cap. The woman wakes from her dream and 
 looks round, and oh ! the face is the face of Ayesha as 
 it was seen of us when first she loosed her veil in the 
 Caves of K6r. 
 
 A sigh went up from us ; we could not speak 
 who thus fearfully once more beheld her loveliness. 
 
 Again she sleeps, again the awful form bends 
 over her and whispers. It points, the distance 
 opens. Lo ! on a stormy sea a boat, and in the boat 
 two wrapped in each other's arms, the priest and 
 the royal woman, while over them like a Vengeance, 
 raw-necked and ragged-pinioned, hovers a follow- 
 
240 AYESHA 
 
 ing vulture, such a vulture as the goddess wore 
 for headdress. 
 
 That picture fades from its burning frame, 
 leaving the vast sheet of fire empty as the noonday 
 sky. Then another forms. First a great, smooth- 
 walled cave carpeted with sand, a cave that we 
 remembered well. Then lying on the sand, now 
 no longer shaven, but golden-haired, the corpse 
 of the priest staring upwards with his glazed 
 eyes, his white skin streaked with blood, and 
 standing over him two women. One holds a 
 javelin in her hand and is naked except for her 
 flowing hair, and beautiful, beautiful beyond 
 imagining. The other, wrapped in a dark cloak, 
 beats the air with her hands, casting up her eyes 
 as though to call the curse of Heaven upon her 
 rival's head. And those women are she into 
 whose sleeping ear the shadow had whispered, 
 and the royal Eg5^tian who had kissed her lover 
 beneath the pylon gate. 
 
 Slowly all the figures faded ; it was as though the 
 fire ate them up, for first they became thin and 
 white as ashes; then vanished. The Hesea, who 
 had been leaning forward, sank backwards in her 
 chair, as if weary with the toU of her own magic. 
 
 For a while confused pictures flitted rapidly to and 
 fro across the vast mirror of the flame, such as might 
 be reflected from an intelligence crowded with the 
 memories of over two thousand years which it was too 
 exhausted to separate and define. 
 
 Wild scenes, multitudes of people, great caves, 
 and in them faces, amongst others our own, start- 
 ing up distorted and enormous, to grow tiny in 
 an instant and depart ; stark imaginations of Forms 
 towering and divine ; of Things monstrous and 
 inhuman ; armies marching, illimitable battle-fields, 
 and corpses rolled in blood, and hovermg over 
 them the spirits of the slain. 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 241 
 
 These pictures died as the others had died, and 
 the fire was blank again. 
 
 Then the Hesea spoke in a voice very faint 
 at first, that by slow degrees grew stronger. 
 
 " Is thy question answered, O Atene ? " 
 
 " I have seen strange sights, Mother, mighty 
 limnings worthy of thy magic, but how know I 
 that they are more than vapours of thine own brain 
 cast upon yonder fire to deceive and mock us ? " * 
 
 " Listen then," said the Hesea, in her weary voice, 
 " to the interpretation of the writing, and cease 
 to trouble me with thy doubts. Many an age ago, 
 but shortly after I began to live this last, long life 
 of mine, Isis, the great goddess of Egypt, had her 
 Holy House at Behbit, near the Nile. It is a ruin 
 now, and Isis has departed from Egypt, though still 
 under the Power that fashioned it and her: she 
 rules the world, for she is Nature's self. CJf that 
 shrine a certain man, a Greek, Kallikrates by name, 
 was chief priest, chosen for her service by the 
 favour of the goddess, vowed to her eternally and to 
 her alone, by the dreadful oath that might not be 
 broken without punishment as eternal. 
 
 " In the flame thou sawest that priest, and here 
 at, thy side he stands, re-born, to fulfil his destiny 
 and ours. 
 
 " There lived also a daughter of Pharaoh's house, 
 one Amenartas, who cast eyes of love upon this 
 Kallikrates, and, wrapping him in her spells — for 
 then as now she practised witcheries, — caused him 
 
 * Considered in the light of subsequent revelations, 
 vouchsafed to us by Ayesha herself, I am inclined to believe 
 that Atene's shrewd surmise was accurate, and that these 
 fearful pictures, although founded on events that had 
 happened in the past, were in the main " vapours " cast 
 upon the crater fire ; visions raised in our minds to 
 " deceive and mock us." — L. H. H. 
 
 Q 
 
242 AYESHA 
 
 to break his oaths and fly with her, as thou sawest 
 written in the flame. Thou, Atene, wast that 
 Amenartas. 
 
 " Lastly there lived a certain Arabian, named 
 Ayesha, a wise and lovely woman, who, in the 
 emptiness of her heart, and the sorrow of much 
 knowledge, had sought refuge in the service of the 
 universal Mother, thinking there to win the true 
 wisdom which ever fled from her. That Ayesha, as 
 thou sawest also, the goddess visited in a dream,' 
 bidding her to follow those faithless ones, and work 
 Heaven's vengeance on them, and promising her 
 in reward victory over death upon the earth and 
 beauty such as had not been known in woman. 
 
 She followed far ; she awaited them where they 
 wandered. Guided by a sage named Noot, one who 
 from the beginning had been appointed to hei 
 service and that of another — thou, Holly, wast 
 that man — she found the essence in which to bathe 
 is to outlive Generations, Faiths, and Empires, 
 saying— 
 
 " ' I will slay these guilty ones. I will slay them 
 presently, as I am commanded.' 
 
 " Yet Ayesha slew not, for now their sin was hei 
 sin, since she who had never loved came to desire this 
 man. She led them to the Place of Life, purposing 
 there to clothe him and herself with immortahty, 
 and let the woman die. But it was not so fated, for 
 then the goddess smote. The life was Ayesha' s as 
 had been sworn, but in its first hour, blinded 
 with jealous rage because he shrank from her un- 
 veiled glory to the mortal woman at his side, this 
 Ayesha brought him to his death, and alas ! alas ! 
 left herself undying. 
 
 " Thus did the angry goddess work woe upon her 
 faithless ministers, giving to the priest swift doom, 
 to the priestess Ayesha long remorse and misery, 
 and to the royal Amenartas jealousy more bitter 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 243 
 
 than life or death, and the fate of unending effort 
 to win back that love which, defying Heaven, she 
 had dared to steal, but to be bereft thereof again. 
 
 " Lo ! now the ages pass, and, at the time ap- 
 pointed, to that undying Ayesha who, whilst awaiting 
 his re-birth, from century to century mourned his 
 loss, and did bitter penance for her sins, came back the 
 man, her heart's desire. Then, whilst all went well for 
 her and him, again the goddess smote and robbed her 
 of her reward. Before her lover's living eyes, sunk 
 in utter shame and misery, the beautiful became 
 hideous, the undying seemed to die. 
 
 " Yet, Kalhkrates, I tell thee that she died not. 
 Did not Ayesha swear to thee yonder in the caves 
 of Kor that she would come again ? for even in that 
 awful hour this comfort kissed her soul. There- 
 after, Leo Vincey, who art Kallikrates, did not her 
 spirit lead thee in thy sleep and stand with thee upon 
 this very pinnacle which should be thy beacon light to 
 guide thee back to her ? And didst thou not search 
 these many years, not knowing that she companioned 
 thy every step and strove to guard thee in every 
 danger, till at length in the permitted hour thou 
 camest back to her ? " 
 
 She paused, and looked towards Leo, as though 
 awaiting his reply. 
 
 " Of the first part of the tale, except from the 
 writing on the sherd, I know nothing, Lady," he 
 said ; " of the rest I, or rather we, know that it is 
 true. Yet I would ask a question, and I pray 
 thee of thy charity let thy answer be swift and 
 short. Thou sayest that in the permitted hour 
 I came back to Ayesha. Where then is Ayesha ? 
 Art thou Ayesha ? And if so why is thy voice 
 changed ? Why art thou less in stature ? Oh ! 
 in the name of whatever god thou dost worship, 
 tell me art thou Ayesha ? " 
 
244 AYESHA 
 
 " / am Ayesha" she answered solemnly, " that 
 very Ayesha to whom thou didst pledge thyself 
 eternally." 
 
 " She lies, she Ues," broke in Atene. " I tell 
 thee, husband — for such with her own lips she de- 
 clares thou art to me — that yonder woman who says 
 that she parted from thee young and beautiful, less 
 than twenty years ago, is none other than the aged 
 priestess who for a century at least has borne rule 
 in these halls of Hes. Let her deny it if she can." 
 
 " Oros," said the Mother, "tell thou the tale of the 
 death of that priestess of whom the Khania speaks." 
 
 The priest bowed, and in his usual calm voice, as 
 though he were narrating some event of every day, 
 said mechanically, and in a fashion that carried no 
 conviction to my mind. 
 
 " Eighteen years ago, on the fourth night of the 
 first month of winter in the year 2333 of the founding 
 of the worship of Hes on this Mountain, the priestess 
 of whom the Khania Atene speaks died of old age 
 in my presence in the hundred and eighth year of 
 her rule. Three hours later we went to hft her from 
 the throne on which she died, to prepare her corpse 
 for burial in this fire, according to the ancient 
 custom. Lo ! a miracle, for she Uved again, the 
 same, yet very changed. 
 
 " Thinking this a work of evil magic, the Priests 
 and Priestesses of the CoUege rejected her, and 
 would have driven her from the throne. Thereon 
 the Mountain blazed and thundered, the light from 
 the fiery piUars died, and great terror feU upon the 
 souls of men. Then from the deep darkness above 
 the altar where stands the statue of the Mother of 
 Men, the voice of the Uving goddess spoke, saying — 
 
 " ' Accept ye her whom I have set to rule over you, 
 that my j udgments and my purposes may be fulfilled.' 
 
 " The Voice ceased, the fiery torches burnt again, 
 and we bowed the knee to the new Hesea, and 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 245 
 
 named her Mother in the ears of ail. That is the 
 tale to which hundreds can bear witness." 
 
 " Thou hearest, Atene," said the Hesea. " Dost 
 thou still doubt ? " 
 
 " Aye," answered the Khania, " for I hold that 
 Oros also lies, or if he lies not, then he dreams, or 
 perchance that voice he heard was thine own. Now 
 if thou art this undying woman, this Ayesha, let 
 proof be made of it to these two men who knew 
 thee in the past. Tear away those wrappings that 
 guard thy loveliness thus jealously. Let thy shape 
 divine, thy beauty incomparable, shine out upon 
 our dazzled sig^t. Surely thy lover will not forget 
 such charms ; surely he will know thee, and bow 
 the knee, sa5nng, ' This is my Immortal, and no other 
 woman.' 
 
 "Then, and not till then, will I beUeve 
 that thou art even what thou declarest thyself to 
 be, an evil spirit, who bought und57ing life with 
 murder and used thy demon loveliness to bewitch 
 the souls of men." 
 
 Now the Hesea on the throne seemed to be 
 much troubled, for she rocked herself to and fro, 
 and wrung her white-draped hands. 
 
 " Kallikrates," she said in a voice that 
 sounded like a moan, " is this thy will ? For if it 
 be, know that I must obey. Yet I pray thee 
 command it not, for the time is not yet come ; the 
 promise unbreakable is not yet fulfilled. / am 
 somewhat changed, Kallikrates, since I kissed thee 
 on the brow and named thee mine, yonder in the 
 Caves of Kor." 
 
 Leo looked about him desperately, tiU his eyes 
 fell upon the mocking face of Atene, who cried — 
 
 " Bid her unveil, my lord. I swear to thee I'll 
 not be jealous." 
 
 At that taunt he took fire. 
 
 " Aye," he said, " I bid her unveil, that I may 
 
246 AYESHA 
 
 learn the best or worst, who otherwise must die of 
 this suspense. Howsoever changed, if she be 
 Ayesha I shall know her, and if she be Ayesha, I 
 shall love her." 
 
 " Bold words, Kallikrates," answered the Hesea ; 
 " yet from my very heart I thank thee for them : 
 those sweet words of trust and faithfulness to thou 
 knowest not what. Learn now the truth, for I may 
 keep naught back from thee. When I unveil it is 
 decreed that thou must make thy choice for the 
 last time on this earth between yonder woman, my 
 rival from the beginning, and tjiat Ayesha to whom 
 thou art sworn. Thou canst reject me if thou wilt, 
 and no ill shall come to thee, but many a blessing, 
 as men reckon them — power and wealth and love. 
 Only then thou must tear my memory from thy 
 heart, for then I leave thee to follow thy fate alone, 
 till at the last the purpose of these deeds and 
 sufferings is made clear. 
 
 " Be warned. No light ordeal lies before thee. 
 Be warned. I can promise thee naught save such 
 love as woman never gave to man, love that per- 
 chance — I knov; not — must yet remain imsatisfied 
 upon the earth." 
 
 Then she turned to me and said : " Oh ! thou. Holly, 
 thou true friend, thou guardian from of old, thou, next 
 to him most beloved by me, to thy clear and innocent 
 spirit perchance wisdom may be given that is denied 
 to us, the little children whom thine arms protect. 
 Counsel thou him, my Holly, with the counsel that 
 is given thee, and I wiU obey thy words and his, 
 and, whatever befalls, will bless thee from my soul. 
 Aye, and should he cast me off, then in the Land 
 beyond the lands, in the Star appointed, where all 
 earthly passions fade, together will we dwell eternally 
 in a friendship glorious, thou and I alone." 
 
 " For thou wilt not reject ; thy steel, forged in 
 the furnace of pure truth and power, shall not lose 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 247 
 
 its temper in these small fires of temptation and be- 
 come a rusted chain to bind thee to another woman's 
 breast — until it canker to her heart and thine." 
 
 " Ayesha, I thank thee for thy words," I answered 
 simply, " and by them and that promise of thine, 
 I, thy poor friend — for more I never thought to be — 
 am a thousandfold repaid for many sufferings. 
 This I will add, that for my part I know that thou 
 art She whom we have lost, since, whate'er the lips 
 that speak them, those thoughts and words are 
 Ayesha's and hers alone." 
 
 Thus I spoke, not knowing what else to say, for 
 I was filled with a%reat joy, a calm and ineffable 
 satisfaction, which broke thus feebly from my heart. 
 For now I knew that I was dear to Ayesha as I had 
 always been dear to Leo ; the closest of friends, 
 from whom she never would be parted. What 
 more could I desire ? " 
 
 We fell back; we spoke together, whilst they 
 watched us silently. What we said I do not quite 
 remember, but the end of it was that, as the Hesea 
 had done, Leo bade me j udge and choose. Then into 
 my mind there came a clear command, from my own 
 conscience or otherwhere, who can say? This was 
 the command, that I should bid her to unveil, and 
 let fate declare its purposes. 
 
 " Decide," said Leo, " I cannot bear much more. 
 Like that woman, whoever she may be, whatever 
 happens, I wiU not blame you, Horace." 
 
 " Good," I answered, " I have decided," and, 
 stepping forward, I said: "We have taken counsel, 
 Hes, and it is our will, who would learn the truth 
 and be at rest, that thou shouldst unveil before us, 
 here and now." 
 
 " I hear and obey," the Priestess answered, in a 
 voice like to that of a d5nng woman, "only, I beseech 
 you both, be pitiful to me, spare me your mockeries ; 
 
248 A7ESHA 
 
 add not the coals of your hate and scorn to the fires 
 of a soul in hell, for whate'er I am, I became it for 
 thy sake, KaUikrates. Yet, yet I also am athirst 
 for knowledge ; for though I know all wisdom, 
 although I wield much power, one thing remains to 
 me to learn — what is the worth of the love of man, 
 and if, indeed, it can live beyond the horrors of the 
 grave ? " 
 
 Then, rising slowly, the Hesea walked, or rather 
 tottered to the unroofed open space in front of the 
 rock chamber, and stood there quite near to the 
 brink of the flaming gulf beneath. 
 
 " Come hither, Papave, and loose these veils," 
 she cried in a shriU, thin voice. 
 
 Papave advanced, and with a look of awe up- 
 on her handsome face began the task. She was not 
 a tall woman, yet as she bent over her I noted that 
 she seemed to tower above her mistress, the Hesea. 
 
 The outer veils fell revealing more within. These 
 fell also, and now before us stood the mummy-Hke 
 shape, although it seemed to be of less stature, of 
 that strange being who had met us in the Place of 
 Bones. So it would seem that our mysterious 
 guide and the high priestess Hes were the same. 
 
 Look ! Length by length the wrappings sank from 
 her. Would they never end ? How small grew the 
 frame within ? She was very short now, unnaturally 
 short for a full-grown woman, and oh ! I grew sick 
 at heart. The last bandages uncoiled themselves 
 like shavings from a stick ; two wrinkled hands 
 appeared, if hands they could be called. Then the 
 feet — once I had seen such on the mummy of a 
 princess of Egypt, and even now by some fantastic 
 play of the mind, I remembered that on her 
 coffin this princess was named " The Beautiful." 
 
 Everything was gone now, except a shift and a 
 last inner veil about the head. Hes waved back 
 the priestess Papave, who fell half fainting to the 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 249 
 
 ground and lay there covering her eyes with her 
 hand. Then uttering something like a scream she 
 gripped this veil in her thin talons, tore it away, 
 and with a gesture of uttermost despair, turned and 
 faced us. 
 
 Oh ! she was — nay, I will not describe her. I 
 knew her at once, for thus had I seen her last before 
 the Fire of Life, and, strangely enough, through 
 the mask of unutterable age, through that cloak 
 of humanity's last decay, still shone some resem- 
 blance to the glorious and superhuman Ayesha : 
 the shape of the face, the air of defiant pride that 
 for an instant bore her up — I know not what. 
 
 Yes, there she stood, and the fierce light of the 
 heartless fires beat upon her, revealing every shame. 
 
 There was a dreadful silence. I saw Leo's lips 
 turn white and his knees begin to give ; but by 
 some effort he recovered himself, and stayed still 
 and upright like a dead man held by a wire. Also 
 I saw Atene — and this is to her credit — turn her head 
 away. She had desired to see her rival humiliated, 
 but that horrible sight shocked her ; some sense 
 of their common womanhood for the moment 
 touched her pity. Only Simbri, who, I think, knew 
 what to expect, and Oros remained quite uimioved ; 
 indeed, in that ghastly silence the latter spoke, 
 and ever afterwards I loved him for his words. 
 
 " What of the vile vessel, rotted in the grave of 
 time ? What of the flesh that perishes ? " he said. 
 " Look through the ruined lamp to the eternal light 
 which bums within. Look through its covering car- 
 rion to the inextinguishable soul." 
 
 My heart applauded these noble sentiments. I 
 was of one mind with Oros, but oh. Heaven ! I felt 
 that my brain was going, and I wished that it would 
 go, so that I might hear and see no more. 
 
 That look which gathered on Ayesha's mummy 
 
250 AYESHA 
 
 face ! At first there had been a Uttle hope, but the 
 hope died, and anguish, anguish, anguish took its 
 place. 
 
 Something must be done, this could not endure. 
 My lips clave together, no word would come ; my 
 feet refused to move. 
 
 I began to contemplate the scenery. How won- 
 derful were that sheet of flame, and the ripples 
 which ran up and down its height. How awesome 
 its billowy crest. It would be warm Ipng in yon- 
 der red gulf below with the dead Rassen, but oh ! I 
 wished that I shared his bed and had finished 
 with these agonies. 
 
 Thank Heaven, Atene was speaking. She had 
 stepped to the side of the naked-headed Thing, and 
 stood by it in all the pride of her rich beauty and 
 perfect womanhood. 
 
 " Leo Vincey, or Kallikrates," said Atene, " take 
 which name thou wilt; thou thinkest ill of me 
 perhaps, but know that at least I scorn to mock a 
 rival in her mortal shame. She told us a wild tale 
 but now, a tale true or false, but more false than 
 true, I think, of how I robbed a goddess of a votary, 
 and of how that goddess — ^Ayesha's self perchance 
 — was avenged upon me for the crime of yielding to 
 the man I loved. Well, let goddesses — if such indeed 
 there be^take their way and work their will upon the 
 helpless, and I, a mortal, will take mine until the 
 clutch of doom closes round my throat and chokes out 
 life and memory, and I too am a goddess — or a clod. 
 
 " Meanwhile, thou man, I shame not to say it 
 before aU these witnesses, I love thee, and it seems 
 that this — this woman or goddess — loves thee also, 
 and she has told us that now, now thou must choose 
 between us once and for ever. She has told us too 
 that if I sinned against Isis, whose minister be it 
 remembered she declares herself, herself she sinned 
 yet more. For she would have taken thee both from 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 251 
 
 a heavenly mistress and from an earthly bride, and 
 yet snatch that guerdon of immortality which is 
 hers to-day. Therefore if I am evU, she is worse, 
 nor does the flame that bums within the casket 
 whereof Oros spoke shine so very pure and bright. 
 
 " Choose thou then Leo Vincey, and let there be 
 an end. I vaunt not myself ; thou knowest what 
 I have been and seest what I am. Yet I can give 
 thee love and happiness and, mayhap, children to 
 follow after thee, and with them some place and 
 power. What yonder witch can give thee thou 
 canst guess. Tales of the past, pictures on the flame, 
 wise maxims and honeyed words, and after thou art 
 dead once more, promises perhaps, of joy to come 
 when that terrible goddess whom she serves so 
 closely shall be appeased. I have spoken. Yet I 
 will add a word : 
 
 " O thou for whom, if the Hesea's tale be true, I did 
 once lay down my royal rank and dare the dangers 
 of an unsaUed sea; O thou whom in ages gone 
 I would have sheltered with my frail body from the 
 sorceries of this cold, self-seeking witch ; O thou 
 whom but a little while ago at my own life's risk I 
 drew from death in yonder river, choose, choose ! " 
 
 To aU this speech, so moderate yet so cruel, so 
 weU-reasoned and yet so false, because of its glosses 
 and omissions, the huddled Ayesha seemed to listen 
 with a fierce intentness. Yet she made no answer, 
 not a single word, not a sign even ; she who had 
 said her say and scorned to plead her part. 
 
 I looked at Leo's ashen face. He leaned towards 
 Atene, drawn perhaps by the passion shining in her 
 beauteous eyes, then of a sudden straightened him- 
 self, shook his head and sighed. The colour flamed 
 to his brow, and his eyes grew almost happy. 
 
 " After all," he said, thinking aloud rather than 
 speaking, " I have to do not with unknowable pasts 
 
252 AYESHA 
 
 or with mystic futures, but with the things of my 
 own Ufe. Ayesha waited for me through two 
 thousand years ; Atene could marry a man she 
 hated for power's sake, and then could poison him, 
 as perhaps she would poison me when I wearied her. 
 I know not what oaths I swore to Amenartas, if 
 such a woman lived. I remember the oaths I 
 swore to Ayesha. If I shrink from her now, why 
 then my life is a lie and my behef a fraud ; then love 
 will not endure the touch of age and never can 
 survive the grave. 
 
 " Nay, remembering what Ayesha was I take her 
 as she is, in faith and hope of what she shall be. 
 At least love is immortal and if it must, why let it 
 feed on memorj' alone till death sets free the soul." 
 
 Then stepping to where stood the dreadful, shri- 
 velled form, Leo knelt down before it and kissed her 
 on the brow. 
 
 Yes, he kissed the trembling horror of that 
 wrinkled head, and I think it was one of the greatest, 
 bravest acts ever done by man. 
 " Thou hast chosen," said Atene in a cold voice, 
 " and I teU thee, Leo Vincey, that the maimer of thy 
 choice makes me mourn my loss the more. Take 
 now thy — thy bride and let me hence." 
 
 But Ayesha still said no word and made no sign, 
 tiU presently she sank upon her bony knees and began 
 to pray aloud. These were ,the words of her prayer, 
 as I heard them, though the exact Power to which 
 it was addressed is not very «asy to determine, as I 
 never discovered who or what it was that she wor- 
 shipped in her heart — 
 
 "0 Thou minister of the almighty Will, thou sharp 
 sword in the hand of Doom, thou inevitable Law that 
 art named Nature ; thou who wast crowned as Isis of 
 the Egyptians, but art the goddess of all climes and 
 ages ; thou that leadest the man to the maid. 
 
THE SECOND ORDEAL 253 
 
 and layest the infant on his mother's breast, 
 that bringest our dust to its kindred dust, 
 that givest life to death, and into the dark of death 
 breathest the Ught of life again ; thou who causest 
 the abundant earth to bear, whose smile is Spring, 
 whose laugh is the ripple of the sea, whose 
 noontide rest is drowsy Summer, and whose sleep 
 is Winter's night, hear thou the supplication of thy 
 chosen child and minister : 
 
 " Of old thou gavest me thine own strength with 
 deathless days, and beauty above every daughter of 
 this Star. But I sinned against thee sore, and for 
 my sin I paid in endless centuries of solitude, in the 
 vileness that makes me loathsome to my lover's eyes, 
 and for its diadem of perfect power sets upon my 
 brow this crown of naked mockery. Yet in thy 
 breath, the swift essence that brought me light, 
 that brought me gloom, thou didst vow to me that 
 I who cannot die should once more pluck the lost 
 flower of my immortal loveliness from this foul 
 slime of shame. 
 
 " Therefore, merciful Mother that bore me, to thee 
 I make my prayer. Oh, let his true love atone 
 niy sin ; or, if it may not be, then give me death, 
 the last and most blessed of thy boons 1 '* 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE CHANGE 
 
 SHE ceased, and there was a long, long silence. 
 Leo and I looked at each other in dismay. 
 We had hoped against hope that this beautiful and 
 piteous prayer, addressed apparently to the great, 
 dumb spirit of Nature, would be answered. That 
 meant a miracle, but what of it ? The prolonga- 
 tion of the life of Ayesha was a miracle, though it 
 is true that some humble reptiles are said to live as 
 long as she had done. 
 
 The transference of her spirit from the Caves of Kor 
 to this temple was a mirade, that is, to our western 
 minds, though the dwellers in these parts of Central 
 Asia would not hold it so. That she should re-appear 
 with the same hideous body was a miracle. But was it 
 the same body ? Was it not the body of the last 
 Hesea ? One very ancient woman is much like 
 another, and eighteen years of the working of the 
 soul or identity within might well wear away their 
 trivial differences and give to the borrowed fonn 
 some resemblance to that which it had left. 
 
 At least the figures on that mirror of the flame 
 were a miracle. Nay, why so ? A hundred clairvoy- 
 ants in a hundred cities can produce or see their 
 like in water and in crystal, the difference being only 
 one of size. They were but reflections of scenes 
 familiar to the mind of Ayesha, or perhaps not so 
 much as that. Perhaps they were only phantasms 
 called up in our minds by her mesmeric force. 
 
 Nay, none of these things were true miracles, 
 since all, however strange, might be capable of ex- 
 planation. What right then had we to expect a 
 marvel now ? 
 
THE CHANGE 255 
 
 Such thoughts as these rose in our minds as the 
 endless minutes were bom and died and — nothing 
 happened. 
 
 Yes, at last one thing did happen. The light from 
 the sheet of flame died gradually away as the flame 
 itself sank downwards into the abysses of the pit. 
 But about this in itself there was nothing wonder- 
 ful, for as we had seen with our own eyes from afar 
 this fire varied much, and indeed it was customary 
 for it to die down at the approach of dawn, which 
 now drew very near. 
 
 Still that onward-creeping darkness added to the 
 terrors of the scene. By the last rays of the lurid 
 light we saw Ayesha rise and advance some few paces 
 to that little tongue of rock at the edge of the pit 
 off which the body of Rassen had been hurled ; saw 
 her standing on it also, looking like some black, mis- 
 shapen imp against the smoky glow which still rose 
 from the depths beneath. 
 
 Leo would have gone forward to her, for he be- 
 lieved that she was about to hurl herself to doom, 
 which indeed I thought was her design. But the priest 
 Oros, and the priestess Papave, obeying, I suppose, 
 some secret command that reached them I know not 
 how, sprang to him and seizing his arms, held him 
 back. Then it became quite dark, and through the 
 darkness we could hear Ayesha chanting a dirge-like 
 hymn in some secret, holy tongue which was unknown 
 to us. 
 
 A great flake of fire floated through the gloom, 
 rocking to and fro like some vast bird upon its 
 pinions. We had seen many such that night, torn 
 by the gale from the crest of the blazing curtain as 
 I have described. But — but — 
 
 " Horace," whispered Leo through his chattering 
 teeth, " that flame is coming up against the wind ! " 
 
 " Perhaps the wind has changed," I answered. 
 
256 AYESHA 
 
 though I knew well that it had not ; that it blew 
 stronger than ever from the south. 
 
 Nearer and nearer sailed the rocking flame, two 
 enormous wings was the shape of it, with something 
 dark between them. It reached the Uttle promon- 
 tory. The wings appeared to fold themselves about 
 the dwarfed figure that stood thereon — illuminating it 
 for a moment. Then the Ught went out of them 
 and they vanished — everything vanished. 
 
 A while passed, it may have been one minute or 
 ten, when suddenly the priestess Papave, in obedi- 
 ence to some summons which we could not hear, crept 
 by me. I knew that it was she because her woman's 
 garments touched me as she went. Another space 
 of silence and of deep darkness, during which I 
 heard Papave return, breathing in short, sobbing 
 gasps like one who is very frightened. 
 
 Ah ! I thought, Ayesha has cast herself into the 
 pit. The tragedy is finished ! 
 
 Then it was that the wondrous music came. Of 
 course it may have been only the sound of priests 
 chanting beyond us, but I do not think so, since 
 its quality was quite different to any that I heard 
 in the temple before or afterwards : to any indeed 
 that ever I heard upon the earth. 
 
 I cannot describe it, but it was awful to listen to, 
 yet most entrancing. From the black, smoke-veiled 
 pit where the fire had burned it welled and echoed — 
 now a single heavenly voice, now a sweet chorus, 
 and now an air-shaking thunder as of a hundred 
 organs played to time. 
 
 That diverse and majestic harmony seemed to in- 
 clude, to express every human emotion, and I have 
 often thought since then that in its all-embracing 
 scope and range, this, the song or paean of her 
 rebirth was symbolical of the infinite variety of 
 Ayesha's spirit. Yet like that spirit it had its 
 
" From the east a single ray of upward-springing light.'' 
 
 AyesAa ] [-^"f' 257. 
 
THE CHANGE 257 
 
 master notes ; power, passion, suffering, mystery and 
 loveliness. Also there could be no doubt as to the gen- 
 eral significance of the chant by whomsoever it was 
 sung. It was the changeful story of a mighty 
 soul ; it w£is worship, worship, worship of a queen 
 divine ! 
 
 Like slow clouds of incense fading to the ban- 
 nered roof of some high choir, the bursts of un- 
 earthly melodies grew faint ; in the far distance 
 of the hollow pit they wailed themselves away. 
 
 Look ! from the east a single ray of upward- 
 springing light. 
 
 " Behold the dawn," said the quiet voice of Oros. 
 
 That ray pierced the heavens above our heads, a 
 very sword of flame. It sank downwards, swiftly. 
 Suddenly it fell, not upon us, for as yet the rocky 
 walls of our chamber warded it away, but on to the 
 little promontory at its edge. 
 
 Oh ! and there — a Glory covered with a single gar- 
 ment — stood a shape celestial. It seemed to be asleep, 
 since the eyes were shut. Or was it dead, for at first 
 that face was a face of death ? Look, the sunlight 
 played upon her, shining through the thin veil, the 
 dark eyes opened like the eyes of a wondering child ; 
 the blood of life flowed up the ivory bosom into the 
 pallid cheeks ; the raiment of black and curling tresses 
 wavered in the wind ; the head of the jewelled snake 
 that held them sparkled beneath her breast. 
 
 Was it an illusion, or was this Ayesha as she had 
 been when she entered the rolling flame in the cav- 
 erns of Kor ? Our knees gave way beneath us, and 
 down, our arms about each other's necks, Leo and I 
 sank till we lay upon the ground. Then a voice 
 sweeter than honey, softer than the whisper of a 
 twilight breeze among the reeds, spoke near to us, 
 and these were the words it said — 
 
 " Come hither to me, Kallikrates, who would pay 
 
 R 
 
258 AYESHA 
 
 thee back that redeeming kiss of faith and love thou 
 gavest me hut now ! " 
 
 Leo struggled to his feet. Like a drunken 
 man he staggered to where Ayesha stood, then over- 
 come, sank before her on his knees. 
 
 " Arise," she said, " it is I who should kneel to 
 thee," and she stretched out her hand to raise him, 
 whispering in his ear the while. 
 
 StiU he would not, or could not rise, so very slowly 
 she bent over him and touched him with her lips 
 upon the brow. Next she beckoned to me. I came 
 and would have knelt also, but she suffered it not. 
 
 " Nay," she said, in her rich, remembered voice, 
 " thou art no suitor ; it shall not be. Of lovers 
 and worshippers henceforth as before, I can find a 
 plenty if I mU, or even if I wiU it not. But where 
 shall I find another friend like to thee, O Holly, 
 whom thus I greet ? " and leaning towards me, with 
 her lips she touched me also on the brow — ^just 
 touched me, and no more. 
 
 Fragrant was Ayesha's breath as roses, the odoiu: 
 of roses clung to her lovely hair ; her sweet body 
 gleamed like some white sea-pearl ; a faint but palp- 
 able radiance crowned her head ; no sculptor ever 
 fashioned such a marvel as the arm with which she 
 held her veil about her ; no stars in heaven ever 
 shone more purely bright than did her calm, 
 entranced eyes. 
 
 Yet it is true, even with her lips upon me, all I 
 felt for her was a love divine into which no human 
 passion entered. Once, I acknowledge to my shame, 
 it was otherwise, but I am an old man now 
 and have done with such frailties. Moreover, had 
 not Ayesha named me Guardian, Protector, Friend, 
 and sworn to me that with her and Leo I should ever 
 dwell where all earthly passions fail. I repeats 
 what more could I desire ? 
 
" She bent over him and touched him with her lips upon the brow." 
 
 A)'£s/ia.] [Pa^e25S. 
 
THE CHANGE 259 
 
 Taking Leo by the hand Ayesha returned with 
 him into the shelter of the rock-hewn chamber and 
 when she entered its shadows, shivered a httle as 
 though with cold. I rejoiced at this I remember, 
 for it seemed to show me that she still was human, 
 divine as she might appear. Here her priest and 
 priestess prostrated themselves before her new-bom 
 splendour, but she motioned to them to rise, laying 
 a hand upon the head oi each as though in blessing. 
 
 " I am a' cold," she said, " give me my mantle," 
 and Papave threw the purple - broidered garment 
 upon her shoulders, whence now it hung royally, 
 like a coronation robe. 
 
 " Nay," she went on, " it is not this long-lost shape 
 of mine, which in his kiss my lord gave back to 
 me, that shivers in the icy wind, it is my spirit's 
 self bared to the bitter breath of Destiny. O my love, 
 my love, offended Powers are not easUy appeased, 
 even when they appear to pardon, and though I shaU 
 no more be made a mockery in thy sight, how long 
 is given us together upon the world I know not ; 
 but a little hour perchance. Well, ere we pass other- 
 where, we wiU make it glorious, drinking as deeply of 
 the cup of joy as we have drunk of those of sorrows 
 and of shame. This place is hateful to me, for here I 
 have suffered more than ever woman did on earth or 
 phantom in the deepest hell. It is hateful, it is ill- 
 omened. I pray that never again may I behold it. 
 
 " Say, what is it passes in thy mind, magician ? " 
 and of a sudden she turned fiercely upon the Shaman 
 Simbri who stood near, his arms crossed upon his 
 breast. 
 
 " Only, thou Beautiful," he answered, " a dim 
 shadow of things to come. " I have what thou 
 dost lack with all thy wisdom, the gift of foresight, 
 and here I see a dead man lying " 
 
 " Another word," she broke in with fury born of 
 some dark fear, " and thou shalt be that man. Fool, 
 
26o AYESHA 
 
 put me not in mind that now I have strength again 
 to rid me of the ancient foes I hate, lest I should use a 
 sword thou thrustest to my hand," and her eyes that 
 had been so calm and happy, blazed upon him like fire. 
 
 The old wizard felt their fearsome might and 
 shrank from it till the wall stayed him. 
 
 " Great One ! now as ever I salute thee. Yes, now 
 as at the first beginning whereof we know alone," 
 he stammered. " I had no more to say ; the face 
 of that dead man was not revealed to me. I saw 
 only that some crowned Khan of Kaloon to be 
 shall lie here, as he whom the flame has taken 
 lay an hour ago." 
 
 " Doubtless many a Khan of Kaloon will lie here," 
 she answered coldly. " Fear not. Shaman, my wrath 
 is past, yet be wise, mine enemy, and prophesy no 
 more evil to the great. Come, let us hence." 
 
 So, still led by Leo, she passed from that chamber 
 and stood presently upon the apex of the soaring 
 pillar. The sun was up now, flooding the Mountain 
 flanks, the plains of Kaloon far beneath and the 
 distant, misty peaks with a sheen of gold. Ayesha 
 stood considering the mighty prospect, then address- 
 ing Leo, she said — 
 
 " The world is very fair ; I give it all to thee." 
 
 Now Atene spoke for the first time. 
 
 " Dost thou mean Hes — if thou art still the Hesea 
 and not a demon arisen from the Pit — that thou 
 offerest my territories to this man as a love-gift ? If 
 so, I tell thee that first thou must conquer them." 
 
 " Ungentle are thy words and mien," answered 
 Ayesha, " yet I forgive them both, for I also can 
 scorn to mock a rival in my hour of victory. When 
 thou wast the fairer, thou didst proffer him these 
 very lands, but say, who is the fairer now ? Look at 
 us, all of you, and judge," and she stood by Atene 
 and smiled. 
 
 The Khania was a lovely woman. Never to my 
 
THE CHANGE 261 
 
 knowledge have I seen one lovelier, but oh ! how coarse 
 and poor she showed beside the wild, ethereal beauty 
 of Ayesha bom again. For that beauty was not alto- 
 gether human, far less so indeed than it had been in 
 the Caves of Kor ; now it was the beauty of a spirit. 
 
 The little light that always shone upon Ayesha's 
 brow ; the wide-set, maddening eyes which were filled 
 sometimes with the fire of the stars and sometimes 
 with the blue darkness of the heavens wherein they 
 float ; the curved lips, so wistful yet so proud ; the 
 tresses fine as glossy silk that stiU spread and rip- 
 pled as though with a separate life ; the general air, 
 not so much of majesty as of some secret power 
 hard to be restrained, which strove in that delicate 
 body and proclaimed its presence to the most care- 
 less; that flame of the soul within whereof Oros 
 had spoken, shining now through no " vile vessel." 
 but in a vase of alabaster and of pearl — none of these 
 things and qualities were altogether human. I 
 felt it and was afraid, and Atene felt it also, for 
 she answered — 
 
 " I am but a woman. What thou art, thou knowest 
 best. Still a taper cannot shine midst yonder fires or 
 a glow-worm against a fallen star ; nor can my mortal 
 flesh compare with the glory thou hast earned from 
 hell in payment for thy gifts and homage to the lord of 
 111. Yet as woman I am thy equal, and as spirit I 
 shall be thy mistress, when robbed of these borrowed 
 beauties thou, Ayesha, standest naked and ashamed 
 before the Judge of all whom thou hast deserted and 
 defied ; yes, as thou stoodest but now upon yonder brink 
 above the burning pit where thou yet shalt wander 
 wailing thy lost love. For this I know, mine enemy, 
 that man and spirit cannot mate" and Atene ceased, 
 choking in her bitter rage and jealousy. 
 
 Now watching Ayesha, I saw her wince a little 
 beneath these evil-omened words, saw also a tinge of 
 grey touch the carmine of her hps and her deep eyes 
 
262 AYESHA 
 
 grow dark and troubled. But in a moment her fears 
 had gone and she was asking in a voice that rang 
 clear as silver bells — 
 
 " Why ravest thou, Atene, like some short-lived 
 summer torrent against the barrier of a seamless 
 cliff ? Dost think, poor creature of an hour, to 
 sweep away the rock of my eternal strength with 
 foam and bursting bubbles ? Have done and listen, 
 I do not seek thy petty rule, who, if I will it, can 
 take the empire of the world. Yet learn, thou 
 boldest it of my hand. More — I purpose soon to 
 visit thee in thy city — choose thou if it shall be in 
 peace or war! 
 
 " Therefore, Khania, purge thy court and amend 
 thy laws, that when I come I may find content- 
 ment in the land which now it lacks, and confirm 
 thee in thy government. My counsel to thee also 
 is that thou choose some worthy man to husband, 
 let him be whom thou wilt, if only he is just and 
 upright and one upon whom thou mayest rest, 
 needing wise guidance as thou dost, Atene. 
 
 " Come, now, my guests, let us hence," and she 
 walked past the Khania, stepping fearlessly upon 
 the very edge of the wind-swept, rounded peak. 
 
 In a second the attempt had been made and failed, 
 so quickly indeed that it was not until Leo and I com- 
 pared our impressions afterwards that we could be 
 sure of what had happened. As Ayesha passed her, 
 the maddened Kliania drew a hidden dagger and 
 struck with all her force at her rival's back. I saw 
 the knife vanish to the hilt in her body, as I thought, 
 but this cannot have been so since it fell to the 
 ground, and she who should have been dead, took 
 no hurt at all. 
 
 Feeling that she had failed, with a movement 
 like the sudden lurch of a ship, Atene thrust at 
 Ayesha, proposing to hurl her to destruction in the 
 
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 &-?:''«w«'„- 
 
 i^'^m 
 
 ^^L ^v^^H 
 
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 III 
 
 ilt^H^ 
 
 
 '-'W 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ■ "vH*|, ' 
 
 
 
 iW* 
 
 'M- 
 
 -'m 
 
 r^ ' i 
 
 
 /^0)|;j 
 
 jm - Ml 
 
 p^ ^^(IS 
 
 
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 h 
 
 
 p 
 
 I'^H 
 
 
 P^. %'■• , 'f ■; .^, 
 
 ■^ 
 
 ai^f"- ^' 
 
 p-f .--f 
 
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 ""^^^^t^^^; \ ,■ ■ 
 
 
 
 ''''■■•■''"'^-':<-.-:: 
 
 ^**«^i-,„ ' MavtucE 
 
 
 
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 s^*' ' c;K6in=eNHA=rSM | 
 
 
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 ^^'^ 
 
 : ■■'^c 
 
 
 
 
 " In a second, the attempt had been made and failed." 
 
THE CHANGE 263 
 
 depths beneath. Lo I her outstretched arms went 
 past her although Ayesha never seemed to stir. 
 Yes it was Atene who would have fallen, Atene who 
 already feU, had not Ayesha put out her hand and 
 caught her by the wrist, bearing aU her backward- 
 swaying weight as easily as though she were but an 
 infant, and without effort drawing her to safety. 
 
 " Foolish woman ! " she said in pitying tones. 
 " Wast thou so vexed that thou wouldst strip thy- 
 self of the pleasant shape which heaven has given 
 thee ? Surely this is madness, Atene, for how knowest 
 thou in what likeness thou mightest be sent to tread 
 the earth again ? As no queen perhaps, but as a 
 peasant's • child, deformed, unsightly ; for such 
 reward, it is said, is given to those that achieve self- 
 murder. Or even, as many think, shaped like a 
 beast — a snake, a cat, a tigress ! Why, see," and 
 she picked the dagger from the ground and cast it 
 into the air, " that point was poisoned. Had it but 
 pricked thee now ! " and she smiled at her and shook 
 her head. 
 
 But Atene could bear no more of this mockery, 
 more venomed than her own steel. 
 
 " Thou art not mortal," she wailed, " How can 
 I prevail against thee ? To Heaven I leave thy 
 punishment," and there upon the rocky peak Atene 
 sank down and wept. 
 
 Leo stood nearest to her, and the sight of this 
 royal woman in her misery proved too much for 
 him to bear. Stepping to her side he stooped and 
 Ufted her to her feet, muttering some kind words. 
 For a moment she rested on his arm, then shook 
 herself free of him and took the proffered hand of 
 her old uncle Simbri. 
 
 " I see," said Ayesha, " that as «ver, thou art 
 courteous, my lord Leo, but it is best that her own 
 servant should take charge of her, for — she may 
 hide more daggers. Come, the day grows, and 
 surely we need rest." 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE BETROTHAL 
 
 TOGETHER we descended the multitudinous 
 steps and passed the endless ,rock-hewn passages 
 till we came to the door of the dwelling of the high- 
 priestess and were led through it into a hall beyond. 
 Here Ayesha parted from us saying that she was out- 
 worn, as indeed she seemed to be with an utter 
 weariness, not of the body, but of the spirit. For 
 her delicate form drooped like a rain-laden lily, her 
 eyes grew dim as those of a person in a trance, and 
 her voice came in a soft, sweet whisper, the voice of 
 one speaking in her sleep. 
 
 " Good-bye," she said to us, " Oros will guard 
 you both, and lead you to me at the appointed time. 
 Rest you well." 
 
 So she went and the priest led us into a beautiful 
 apartment that opened on to a sheltered garden. 
 So overcome were we also by all that we had endured 
 and seen, that we could scarcely speak, much less 
 discuss these marvellous events. 
 
 " My brain swims," said Leo to Oros, " I desire 
 to sleep." 
 
 He bowed and conducted us to a chamber where 
 were beds, and on these we flung ourselves down 
 and slept, dreamlessly, like little children. 
 
 When we awoke it was afternoon. We rose and 
 bathed, then saying that we wished to be alone, 
 went together into the garden where eyen at this 
 altitude, now, at the end of August, the air was still 
 mild and pleasant. Behind a rock by a bed of 
 
" ' What have you to say, Horace ? ' asked Leo." 
 
THE BETROTHAL 265 
 
 campanulas and other mountain flowers and ferns, 
 was a bench near to the banks of a httle stream, 
 on which we seated ourselves. 
 
 " What have you to say, Horace ? " asked Leo 
 laying his hand upon my arm. 
 
 " Say ? " I answered. " That things have come 
 about most marvellously ; that we have dreamed 
 aright and laboured not in vain ; that you are the 
 most fortunate of men and should be the most 
 happy." 
 
 He looked at me somewhat strangely, and an- 
 swered — 
 
 " Yes, of course ; she is lovely, is she not — ^but," 
 and his voice dropped to its lowest whisper, " I 
 wish, Horace, that Ayesha were a little more human, 
 even as human as she was in the Caves of Kor. 
 I don't think she is quite flesh and blood, I felt it 
 when she kissed me — if you can call it a kiss — for 
 she barely touched my hair. Indeed how can she 
 be who changed thus in an hour ? Flesh and blood 
 are not born of flame, Horace." 
 
 "Are you sure that she was so born ? " I asked. 
 " Like the visions on the fire, may not that hideous 
 shape have been but an illusion of our minds ? May 
 she not be still the same Ayesha whom we knew in 
 K6r, not re-bom, but wafted hither by some 
 mysterious agency ? " 
 
 " Perhaps. Horace, we do not know — I think 
 that we shall never know. But I admit that to 
 me the thing is terrifying. I am drawn to her by 
 an infinite attraction, her eyes set my blood on fire, 
 the touch of her hand is as that of a wand of madness 
 laid upon my brain. And yet between us there is 
 some wall, invisible, stiU present. Or perhaps it is 
 only fancy. But, Horace, I think that she is afraid 
 of Atene. Why, in the old days the Khania would 
 have been dead and forgotten in an hour — ^you 
 remember Ustane ? " 
 
266 A7ESHA 
 
 " Perhaps she may have grown more gentle, Leo, 
 who, Uke ourselves, has learned hard lessons." 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " I hope that is so. At any 
 rate she has grown more divine — only, Horace, what 
 kind of a husband shall I be for that bright being, 
 if ever I get so far ? " 
 
 " Why should you not get so far ? " I asked 
 angrily, for his words jarred upon my tense nerves. 
 
 " I don't know," he answered, " but on general 
 principles do you think that such fortune will be 
 allowed to a man ? Also, what did Atene mean 
 when she said that man and spirit cannot mate — 
 and — other things ? " 
 
 " She meant that she hoped they could not, I 
 imagine, and, Leo, it is useless to trouble yourself 
 with forebodings that are more fitted to my years 
 than yours, and probably are based on nothing. Be 
 a philosopher, Leo. You have striven by wonderful 
 ways such as are unknown in the history of the 
 world ; you have attained. Take the goods the 
 gods provide you — the glory, the love and the power 
 — and let the future look to itself." 
 
 Before he could answer Oros appeared from round 
 the rock, and, bowing with more than his usual 
 humility to Leo, said that the Hesea desired our 
 presence at a service in the Sanctuary. Rejoiced 
 at the prospect of seeing her again before he had 
 hoped to do so, Leo sprang up and we accompanied 
 him back to our apartment. 
 
 Here priests were waiting, who, somewhat against 
 his wiU, trimmed his hair and beard, and would 
 have done the same for me had I not refused their 
 offices. Then they placed gold-embroidered sandals 
 on our feet and wrapped Leo in a magnificent white 
 robe, also richly worked with gold and purple ; a 
 somewhat similar robe, but of less ornate design, 
 being given to me. Lastly, a silver sceptre was 
 thrust into his hand and into my mine a plain 
 
THE BETROTHAL 267 
 
 wand. This sceptre was shaped hke a crook, and 
 the sight of it gave me some due to the nature of the 
 forthcoming ceremony. 
 
 " The crook of Osiris ! " I whispered to Leo. 
 
 " Look here," he answered, " I don't want to 
 impersonate any Egyptian god, or to be mixed up 
 in their heathen idolatries ; in fact, I won't." 
 
 " Better go through with it," I suggested, " prob- 
 ably it is only something s37mbolical." 
 
 But Leo, who, notwithstanding the strange cir- 
 cumstances connected with his life, retained the 
 religious principles in which I had educated him 
 very strongly indeed, refused to move an inch until 
 the nature of this service was made clear to him. 
 Indeed he expressed himself upon the subject with 
 vigour to Oros. At first the priest seemed puzzled 
 what to do, then explained that the forthcoming 
 ceremony was one of betrothal. 
 
 On learning this Leo raised no further objections, 
 asking only with some nervousness whether the 
 Khania would be present. Oros answered " No," 
 as she had already departed to Kaloon, vowing 
 war and vengeance. 
 
 Then we were led through long passages, till 
 finally we emerged into the gallery immediately in 
 front of the great wooden doors of the apse. At our 
 approach these swung open and we entered it, Oros 
 going first, then Leo, then myself, and following us, 
 the procession of attendant priests. 
 
 As soon as our eyes became accustomed to the 
 dazzling glare of the flaming pillars, we saw that 
 some great rite was in progress in the temple, for in 
 front of the divine statue of Motherhood, white- 
 robed and arranged in serried ranks, stood the com- 
 pany of the priests to the number of over two 
 hundred, and behind these the company of the 
 priestesses. Facing this congregation and a little 
 in advance of the two pillars of fire that flared on 
 
268 A7ESHA 
 
 either side of the shrine, Ayesha herself was 
 seated in a raised chair so that she cotild be seen of 
 all, while to her right stood a similar chair of which 
 I could guess the purpose. 
 
 She was unveiled and gorgeously apparelled, 
 though save for the white beneath, her robes were 
 those of a queen rather than of a priestess. About 
 her radiant brow ran a narrow band of gold, whence 
 rose the head of a hooded asp cut out of a single 
 crimson jewel, beneath which in endless profusion 
 the glorious waving hair flowed down and around, 
 hiding even the folds of her purple cloak. 
 
 This cloak, opening in front, revealed an under- 
 tunic of white silk cut low upon her bosom and kept 
 in place by a golden girdle, a double-headed snake, 
 so like to that which She had worn in Kor that it 
 might have been the same. Her naked arms were 
 bare of ornament, and in her right hand she held 
 the jewelled sistrum set with its gems and bells. 
 
 No empress could have looked more royal and no 
 woman was ever half so lovely, for to Ayesha's 
 human beauty was added a spiritual glory, her 
 heritage alone. Seeing her we could see naught 
 else. The rhythmic movement of the bodies of the 
 worshippers, the rolling grandeur of their chant of 
 welcome echoed, from the mighty roof, the fearful 
 torches of living flame ; all these things were lost 
 on us. For there re -born, enthroned, her arms 
 stretched out in gracious welcome, sat that perfect 
 and immortal woman, the appointed bride of one of 
 us, the friend and lady of the other, her divine pre- 
 sence breathing power, mystery and love. 
 
 On we marched between the ranks of hierophants, 
 till Oros and the priests left us and we stood alone 
 face to face with Ayesha. Now she lifted her sceptre 
 and the chant ceased. In the midst of the follow- 
 ing silence, she rose from her seat and gliding down 
 its steps, came to where Leo stood and touched him 
 
" Holding him thus, she began to speak in clear and silvery tones." 
 Aycs/.'a. ] [ fi'S'e 269, 
 
THE BETROTHAL 269 
 
 on the forehead with her sistrum, crying in a loud, 
 sweet voice — 
 
 " Behold the Chosen of the Hesea ! " whereon 
 all that audience echoed in a shout of thunder — 
 
 " Welcome to the Chosen of the Hesea ! " 
 
 Then while the echoes of that glad cry yet rang 
 round the rocky walls, Ayesha motioned to me to 
 stand at her side, and taking Leo by the hand drew 
 him towards her, so that now he faced the white- 
 robed company. Holding him thus she began to 
 speak in clear and silvery tones. 
 
 " Priests and priestesses of Hes, servants with 
 her of the Mother of the world, hear me. Now for the 
 first time I appear among you as I am, you who here- 
 tofore have looked but on a hooded shape, not know- 
 ing its form or fashion. Learn now the reason that I 
 draw my veil. Ye see this man, whom ye believed 
 a stranger that with his companion had wandered 
 to our shrine. I tell you that he is no stranger ; 
 that of old, in lives forgotten, he was my lord who 
 now comes to seek his love again. Say, is it not so, 
 Kallikrates ? " 
 
 " It is so," answered Leo. 
 
 " Priests and priestesses of Hes, as ye know, 
 from the beginning it has been the right and custom 
 of her who holds my place to choose one to be her 
 lord. Is it not so ? " 
 
 " It is so, O Hes," they answered. 
 
 She paused a while, then with a gesture of infinite 
 sweetness turned to Leo, bent towards him thrice 
 and slowly sank upon her knee. 
 
 " Say thou," Ayesha said, looking up at him with 
 her wondrous eyes, "say before these here gathered, 
 and all those witnesses whom thou canst not see, 
 dost thou again accept me as thy affianced bride ? " 
 
 " Aye, Lady," he answered, in a deep but shaken 
 voice, " now and for ever." 
 
 Then while all watched, in the midst of a great 
 
270 AYESHA 
 
 silence, Ayesha rose, cast down her sistrum sceptre 
 that rang upon the rocky floor, and stretched out 
 her arms towards him. 
 
 Leo also bent towards her, and would have 
 kissed her upon the Ups. But I who watched, saw 
 his face grow white as it drew near to hers. 
 While the radiance crept from her brow to his, turn- 
 ing his bright hair to gold, I saw also that this strong 
 man trembled like a reed and seemed as though he 
 were about to fall. 
 
 I think that Ayesha noted it too, for ere ever 
 their lips met she thrust him from her, and again 
 that grey mist of fear gathered on her face. 
 
 In an instant it passed. She had slipped from 
 him and with her hand held his hand as though to 
 support him. Thus they stood till his feet grew 
 firm and his strength returned. 
 
 Oros restored the sceptre to her, and lifting it she 
 said — 
 
 " O love and lord, take thou the place prepared 
 for thee, where thou shalt sit for ever at my side, 
 for with myself I give thee more than thou 
 canst know or than I will tell thee now. Mount thy 
 throne, O Affianced of Hes, and receive the wor- 
 ship of thy priests." 
 
 " Nay," he answered with a start as that word fell 
 upon his ears. " Here and now I say it once and 
 for all. I am but a man who know nothing of 
 strange gods, their attributes and ceremonials. None 
 shall bow the knee to me and on earth, Ayesha, I 
 bow mine to thee alone." 
 
 Now at this bold speech some of those who heard 
 it looked astonished and whispered to each other, 
 while a voice called — 
 
 " Beware, thou Chosen, of the anger of the 
 Mother ! " 
 
 Again for a moment Ayesha looked afraid, then 
 with a little laugh, swept the thing aside, sa5dng — 
 
THE BETROTHAL 271 
 
 " Surely with that I should be content. For me, 
 O Love, thy adoration ; for thee the betrothal song, 
 no more." 
 
 So, having no choice, Leo mounted the throne, 
 where notwithstanding his splendid presence, en- 
 hanced as it was by those glittering robes, he looked 
 iU enough at ease, as indeed must any man of his 
 faith and race. Happily however, if some act of 
 semi-idolatrous homage had been proposed, Ayesha 
 found a means to prevent its celebration, and soon 
 all such matters were forgotten both by the singers 
 who sang, and we who listened to the majestic 
 chant that followed. 
 
 Of its words unfortunately we were able to 
 understand but little, both because of the volume 
 of sound and of the secret priestly language in 
 which it was given, though its general purport 
 could not be mistaken. 
 
 The female voices began it, singing very low, and 
 convepng a strange impression of time and distance. 
 Now followed bursts of gladness alternating with 
 melancholy chords suggesting sighs and tears and 
 sorrows long endured, and at the end a joyous, tri- 
 umphant paean thrown to and fro between the men 
 and women singers, terminating in one united 
 chorus repeated again and again, louder and yet 
 louder, till it culminated in a veritable crash of 
 melody, then of a sudden ceased. 
 
 Ayesha rose and waved her sceptre, whereon all 
 the company bowed thrice, then turned and breaking 
 into some sweet, low chant that sounded like a luUaby, 
 marched, rank after rank, across the width of the 
 Sanctuary and through the carven doors, which 
 closed behind the last of them. 
 
 When all had gone, leaving us alone, save for the 
 priest Oros and the priestess Papave, who remained 
 in attendance on their mistress, Ayesha, who 
 sat gazing before her with dreaming, empty eyes, 
 seemed to awake, for she rose and said — 
 
272 AYESHA 
 
 " A noble chant, is it not, and an ancient ? It 
 was the wedding song of the feast of Isis and Osiris 
 at Behbit in Egypt, and there I heard it before 
 ever I saw the darksome Caves of Kor. Often have 
 I observed, my Holly, that music lingers longer than 
 aught else in this changeful world, though it is rare 
 that the very words should remain unvaried. Come, 
 beloved — tell me, by what name shall I call thee ? 
 Thou art KaUikrates and yet " 
 
 " Call me Leo, Ayesha," he answered, " as I was 
 christened in the only life of which I have any know- 
 ledge. This KaUikrates seems to have been an un- 
 lucky man, and the deeds he did, if in truth he was 
 aught other than a tool in the hand of destiny, have 
 bred no good to the inheritors of his body — or his 
 spirit, whichever it may be — or to those women with 
 whom his life was intertwined. Call me Leo, then, 
 for of KaUikrates I have had enough since that night 
 when I looked upon the last of him in Kor." 
 
 " Ah ! I remember," she answered, "when thou 
 sawest thyself lying in that narrow bed, and I sang 
 thee a song, did I not, of the past and of the future ? 
 I can recall two lines of it ; the rest I have for- 
 gotten — 
 
 Onward, never weary, clad with splendour for a robe I 
 Till accomplished be our fate, and the night is rushing 
 down.' 
 
 Yes, my Leo, now indeed we are ' clad with splendour 
 for a robe,' and now our fate draws near to its accom- 
 plishment. Then perchance will come the down- 
 rushing of the night " ; and she sighed, looked up ten- 
 derly, and said, " See, I am talking to thee in Arabic. 
 Hast thou forgotten it ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then let it be our tongue, for I love it best of all, 
 who lisped it at my mother's knee. Now leave me 
 here alone awhile ; I would think. Also," she added 
 
THE BETROTHAL 273 
 
 thoughtfully, and speaking with a strange and im- 
 pressive inflexion of the voice, " there are some to 
 whom I must give audience." 
 
 So we went, aU of us, supposing that Ayesha was 
 about to receive a deputation of the Chiefs of the 
 Mountain Tribes who came to felicitate her upon her 
 betrothal. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE THIRD ORDEAL 
 
 AN hour, two hours passed, while we strove 
 to rest in our sleeping place, but could not, 
 for some influence disturbed us. 
 
 " Why does not Ayesha come?" asked Leo at length, 
 pausing in his walk up and down the room. " I 
 want to see her again ; I cannot bear to be apart 
 from her. I feel as though she were drawing me 
 to her." 
 
 " How can I tell you ? Ask Oros ; he is outside the 
 door." 
 
 So he went and asked him, but Oros only smiled, 
 and answered that the Hesea had not entered her 
 chamber, so doubtless she must still remain in the 
 Sanctuary. 
 
 " Then I am going to look for her. Come, Oros, 
 and you too, Horace." 
 
 Oros bowed, but declined, saying that he was 
 bidden to bide at our door, adding that we, " to 
 whom all the paths were open," could return to 
 the Sanctuary if we thought well. 
 
 "I do think well," rephed Leo sharply. "Will 
 you come, Horace, or shall I go without you ? " 
 
 I hesitated. The Sanctuary was a public place, 
 it is true, but Ayesha had said that she desired 
 to be alone there for awhile. Without more words, 
 however, Leo shrugged his shoulders and started. 
 
 " You will never find your way," I said, and 
 followed him. 
 
 We went down the long passages that were 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 275 
 
 dimly lighted with lamps and came to the gallery. 
 Here we found no lamps ; still we groped our 
 way to the great wooden doors. They were shut, 
 but Leo pushed upon them impatiently, and one 
 of them swung open a Uttle, so that we could 
 squeeze ourselves between them. As we passed 
 it closed noiselessly behind us. 
 
 Now we shoidd have been in the Sanctuary, 
 and in the full blaze of those awful columns of 
 living fire. But they were out, or we had strayed 
 elsewhere ; at least the darkness was intense. We 
 tried to work our way back to the doors again, 
 but could not. We were lost. 
 
 More, something oppressed us ; we did not dare 
 to speaJc, We went on a few paces and stopped, 
 for we became aware that we were not alone. 
 Indeed, it seemed to me that we stood in the midst 
 of a thronging multitude, but not of men and 
 women. Beings pressed about us ; we could feel 
 their robes, yet could not touch them ; we could 
 feel their breath, but it was cold. The air stirred 
 all round us as they passed to and fro, passed in 
 endless numbers. It was as though we had entered 
 a cathedral filled with the vast congregation of 
 aU the dead who once had worshipped there. We 
 grew afraid — my face was damp with fear, the 
 hair stood up upon my head. We seemed to have 
 wandered into a hall of the Shades. 
 
 At length light appeared far away, and we saw 
 that it emanated from the two pillars of fire which 
 had burned on either side of the Shrine, that of 
 a sudden became luminous. So we were in the 
 Sanctuary, and still near to the doors. Now those 
 pillars were not bright ; they were low and lurid ; 
 the rays from them scarcely reached us standing 
 in the dense shadow. 
 
 But if we could not be seen in them we still 
 could see. Look ! Yonder sat Ayesha on a 
 
276 AYESHA 
 
 throne, and oh ! she was awful m her death-hke 
 majesty. The blue light of the sunken columns 
 played upon her, and in it she sat erect, with such 
 a face and mien of pride as no human creature 
 ever wore. Power seemed to flow from her ; yes, 
 it flowed from those wide-set, ghttering eyes like 
 light from jewels. 
 
 She seemed a Queen of Death receiving homage 
 from the dead. More, she was receiving homage from 
 dead or living — I know not which— for, as I thought 
 it, a shadowy Shape arose before the throne and 
 bent the knee to her, then another, and another, 
 and another. 
 
 As each vague Being appeared and bowed its 
 starry head she raised her sceptre in answering 
 salutation. We could hear the distant tinkle of 
 the sistrum bells, the only sound in all that place, 
 yes, and see her lips move, though no whisper reached 
 us from them. Surely spirits were worshipping her! 
 
 We gripped each other. We shrank back and 
 found the door. It gave to our push. Now we 
 were in the passages again, and now we had reached 
 our room. 
 
 At its entrance Oros was standing as we had left 
 him. He greeted us with his fixed smile, taking no 
 note of the terror written on our faces. We passed 
 him, and entering the room stared at each other. 
 
 " What is she ? " gasped Leo. " An angel ? " 
 
 " Yes," I answered, " something of that sort." 
 But to myself I thought that there are doubtless 
 many kinds of angels. 
 
 " And what were those — those shadows — doing ? " 
 he asked again, 
 
 "Welcoming her after her transformation, I 
 suppose. But perhaps they were not shadows — 
 only priests disguised and conducting some secret 
 ceremonial 1 " 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 277 
 
 Leo shrugged his shoulders but made no other 
 answer. 
 
 At length the door opened, and Oros, entering, 
 said that the Hesea commanded our presence 
 in her chamber. 
 
 So, still oppressed with fear and wonder — for 
 what we had seen was perhaps more dreadful than 
 anything that had gone before — ^we went, to find 
 Ayesha seated and looking somewhat weary, but 
 otherwise unchanged. With her was the priestess 
 Papave, who had just unrobed her of the royal 
 mantle which she wore in the Sanctuary. 
 
 Ayesha beckoned Leo to her, taking his hand 
 and searching his face with her eyes, not without 
 anxiety as I thought. 
 
 Now I turned, purposing to leave them alone, 
 but she saw, and said to me, smiling — 
 
 " Why wouldest thou forsake us, Holly ? To 
 go back to the Sanctuary once more ? " and she 
 looked at me with meaning in her glance. " Hast 
 thou questions to ask of the statue of the 
 Mother yonder that thou lovest the place so 
 much ? They say it speaks, telling of the future 
 to those who dare to kneel beside it uncompanioned 
 from night till dawn. Yet I have often done so, 
 but to me it has never spoken, though none long 
 to learn the future more." 
 
 I made no answer, nor did she seem to expect 
 any, for she went on at once — 
 
 " Nay, bide here and let us have done with all 
 sad and solemn thoughts. We three will sup to- 
 gether as of old, and for awhile forget our fears 
 and cares, and be happy as children who know not 
 sin and death, or that change which is death indeed. 
 Oros, await my lord without. Papave, I will call 
 thee later to disrobe me. Till then let none disturb 
 us." 
 
278 AYESHA 
 
 The room that Ayesha inhabited was not very 
 large, as we saw by the hanging lamps with which 
 it was lighted. It was plainly though richly fur- 
 nished, the rock walls being covered with tapestries, 
 and the tables and chairs inlaid with silver, but 
 the only token that here a woman had her home 
 was that about it stood several bowls of flowers. 
 One of these, I remember, was filled with the 
 delicate harebells I had admired, dug up roots 
 and all, and set in moss. 
 
 " A poor place," said Ayesha, " yet better than 
 that in which I dwelt those two thousand years 
 awaiting thy coming, Leo, for, see, beyond it is 
 a garden, wherein I sit," and she sank down upon 
 a couch by the table, motioning to us to take our 
 places opposite to her. 
 
 The meal was simple ; for us, eggs boiled hard 
 and cold venison ; for her, milk, some Uttle cakes 
 of flour, and mountain berries. 
 
 Presently Leo rose and threw off his gorgeous, 
 purple-broidered robe, which he stiU wore, and cast 
 upon a chair the crook-headed sceptre that Oros 
 had again thrust into his hand. Ayesha smiled as 
 he did so, sajdng — 
 
 " It woxild seem that thou boldest these sacred 
 emblems in but small respect." 
 
 " Very small," he answered. " Thou heardest 
 my words in the Sanctuary, Ayesha, so let us make 
 a pact. Thy rehgion I do not understand, but I 
 understand my own, and not even for thy sake 
 will I take part in what I hold to be idolatry." 
 
 Now I thought that she would be angered by 
 this plain speaking, but she only bowed her head 
 and answered meekly — 
 
 " Thy will is mine, Leo, though it will not be 
 easy always to explain thy absence from the cere- 
 monies in the temple. Yet thou hast a right to 
 thine own faith, which doubtless is mine also." 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 279 
 
 " How can that be ? " he asked, looking up. 
 
 " Because all great Faiths are the same, changed 
 a little to suit the needs of passing times and peoples. 
 What taught that of Egypt, which, in a fashion, we 
 still follow here ? That hidden in a multitude of 
 manifestations, one Power great and good, rules 
 all the universes : that the holy shall inherit a life 
 eternal and the vile, eternal death : that men shall be 
 shaped and judged by their own hearts and deeds, and 
 here and hereafter drink of the cup which they have 
 brewed : that their real home is not on earth, but 
 beyond the earth, where all riddles shall be answered 
 and all sorrows cease. Say, dost thou believe these 
 things, as I do ? " 
 
 " Aye, Ayesha, but Hes or Isis is thy goddess, 
 for hast thou not told us tales of thy dealings with 
 her in the past, and did we not hear thee make thy 
 prayer to her ? Who, then, is this goddess Hes ? " 
 
 " Know, Leo, that she is what I named her — 
 Nature's soul, no divinity, but the secret spirit 
 of the world ; that universal Motherhood, whose 
 symbol thou hast seen yonder, and in whose mysteries 
 lie hid all earthly life and knowledge." 
 
 " Does, then, this merciful Motherhood follow 
 her votaries with death and evil, as thou sayest 
 she has followed thee for thy disobedience, and me 
 — and another — because of some unnatural vows 
 broken long ago ? " Leo asked quietly. 
 
 Resting her arm upon the table, Ayesha looked 
 at him with sombre eyes and answered — 
 
 " In that Faith of thine of which thou speakest 
 are there perchance two gods, each having many 
 ministers : a god of good and a god of evil, an 
 Osiris and a Set ? " 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " I thought it. And the god of ill is strong, is 
 he not, and can put on the shape of good ? Tell 
 me, then, Leo, in the world that is to-day, whereof I 
 
28o AYESHA 
 
 know so little, hast thou ever heard of frail souls 
 who for some earthly bribe have sold themselves 
 to that evU one, or to his minister, and been paid 
 their price in bitterness and anguish ? " 
 
 " All wicked folk do as much in this form or in 
 that," he answered. 
 
 " And if once there lived a woman who was mad 
 with the thirst for beauty, for life, for wisdom, 
 and for love, might she not — oh ! might she not 
 perchance " 
 
 " Sell herself to the god called Set, or one of his 
 angels ? Ayesha, dost thou mean " — and Leo 
 rose, speaking in a voice that was full of fear — 
 " that thou art such a woman ? " 
 
 " And if so ? " she asked, also rising and drawing 
 slowly near to him, 
 
 " If so," he answered hoarsely, " if so, I think 
 that perhaps we had best fulfil our fates apart " 
 
 " Ah ! " she said, with a little scream of pain 
 as though a knife had stabbed her, " wouldst thou 
 away to Atene ? I tell thee that thou canst not 
 leave me. I have power — above aU men thou 
 shouldst know it, whom once I slew. Nay, thou 
 hast no memory, poor creature of a breath, and I — 
 I remember too well. I will not hold thee dead again , 
 — I'U hold thee hving. Look now on my beauty, 
 Leo" — and she bent her swa5nngform towards him, 
 compelling him with her glorious, alluring eyes — " and 
 begone if thou canst. Why, thou drawest nearer to 
 me. Man, that is not the path of flight. 
 
 " Nay, I will not tempt thee with these common 
 lures. Go, Leo, if thou wilt. Go, my love, and leave me 
 to my loneliness and my sin. Now — at once. Atene 
 will shelter thee tiU. spring, when thou canst cross 
 the mountains and return to thine own world 
 again, and to tliose things of common life which are 
 thy joy. See, Leo, I veil myself that thou mayest 
 not be tempted," and she flung the comer of her 
 
" ■ Ayesha, dosL thuu mean ihat ihou ait such a woman ? ' " 
 Aj-es/iaA [P^j^ 2S0. 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 281 
 
 cloak about her head, then asked a sudden ques- 
 tion through it — 
 
 " Didst thou not but now return to the Sanctuary 
 with Holly after I bade thee leave me there alone ? 
 Methought I saw the two of you standing by its 
 doors." 
 
 " Yes, we came to seek thee," he answered. 
 
 " And found more than ye sought, as often 
 chances to the bold — is it not so ? Well, I willed 
 that ye should come and see, and protected you 
 where others might have died." 
 
 " What didst thou there upon the throne, and 
 whose were those forms which we saw bending 
 before thee ? " he asked coldly. 
 
 " I have ruled in many shapes and lands, Leo. 
 Perchance they were ancient companions and 
 servitors of mine come to greet me once again 
 and to hear my tidings. Or perchance they were 
 but shadows of thy brain, pictures like those upon 
 the fire, that it pleased ine to summon to thy sight, 
 to try thy strength and constancy. 
 
 "Leo Vincey, know now the truth; that all 
 things are illusions, even that there exists no future 
 and no past, that what has been and what shall be 
 already is eternally. Know that I, Ayesha, am but a 
 magic wraith, foul when thou seest me foul, fair when 
 thou seest me fair ; a spirit-bubble reflecting a thou- 
 sand lights in the sunshine of thy smile, grey as dust 
 and gone in the shadow of thy frown. Think of the 
 throned Queen before whom the shadowy Powers 
 bowed and worship, for that is I. Think of the hideous, 
 withered Thing thou sawest naked on the rock, 
 and flee away, for that is I. Or keep me lovely, 
 and adore, knowing all evil centred in my spirit, 
 for that is I. Now, Leo, thou hast the truth. Put 
 me from thee for ever and for ever if thou wilt, 
 and be safe ; or clasp me, clasp me to thy heart, and 
 in payment for my lips and love take my sin upon 
 
282 AYESHA 
 
 thy head ! Nay, Holly, be thou silent, for now he 
 must judge alone." 
 
 Leo turned, as I thought, at first, to find 
 the door. But it was not so, for he did but walk up 
 and down the room awhile. Then he came back 
 to where Ayesha stood, and spoke quite simply 
 and in a very quiet voice, such as men of his 
 nature often assume in moments of great emotion. 
 
 " Ayesha," he said, " when I saw thee as thou 
 wast, aged and — thou knowest how — I clung to 
 thee. Now, when thou hast told me the secret of 
 this unholy pact of thine, when with my eyes, at least, 
 I have seen thee reigning a mistress of spirits good or 
 ill, yet I cling to thee. Let thy sin, great or little — 
 whate'er it is — be my sin also. In truth, I feel 
 its weight sink to my soul and become a part of 
 me, and although I have no vision or power of 
 prophecy, I am sure that I shall not escape its 
 punishment. Well, though I be innocent, let me 
 bear it for thy sake. I am content." 
 
 Ayesha heard, the cloak slipped from her head, 
 and for a moment she stood silent like one amazed, 
 then burst into a passion of sudden tears. Down 
 she went before him, and clinging to his garments, 
 she bowed her stately shape until her forehead 
 touched the ground. Yes, that proud being, who 
 was more than mortal, whose nostrils but now had 
 drunk the incense of the homage of ghosts or spirits, 
 humbled herself at this man's feet. 
 
 With an exclamation of horror, half-maddened at 
 the piteous sight, Leo sprang to one side, then 
 stooping, hfted and led her still weeping to the 
 couch. 
 
 " Thou knowest not what thou hast done," 
 Ayesha said at last. " Let all thou sawest on the 
 Mountain's crest or in the Sanctuary be but 
 visions of the night ; let that tale of an offended 
 goddess be a parable, a fable, if thou wilt. This 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 283 
 
 at least is true, that ages since I sinned for thee 
 and against thee and another ; that ages since 
 I bought beauty and life indefinite wherewith I 
 might win thee and endow thee at a cost which few 
 would dare ; that I have paid interest on the debt, 
 in mockery, utter loneliness, and daily pain which 
 scarce could be endured, until the bond fell due 
 at last and must be satisfied. 
 
 " Yes, how I may not tell thee, thou and thou 
 alone stoodst between me and the full discharge 
 of this most dreadful debt — for know that in 
 mercy it is given to us to redeem one another. 
 
 Now he would have spoken, but with a motion of 
 her hand she bade him be silent, and continued — 
 
 " See now, Leo, three great dangers has thy body 
 passed of late upon its journey to my side; the 
 Death-hounds, the Mountains, and the Precipice. 
 Know that these were but t5T)es and ordained f ore- 
 shadowings of the last threefold trial of thy soul. 
 From the pursuing passions of Atene which must have 
 undone us both, thou hast escaped victorious. Thou 
 hast endured the desert loneliness of the sands and 
 snows starving for a comfort that never came. Even 
 when the avalanche thundered round thee thy faith 
 stood fast as it stood above the Pit of flame, while 
 after bitter years of doubt a rushing flood of horror 
 swallowed up thy hopes. As thou didst descend the 
 glacier's steep, not knowing what lay beneath that 
 fearfvil path, so but now and of thine own choice, 
 for very love of me, thou hast plunged headlong 
 into an abyss that is deeper far, to share its 
 terrors with my spirit. Dost thou understand at 
 last?" 
 
 " Something, not all, I think," he answered slowly. 
 
 " Surely thou art wrapped in a double veil of blind- 
 ness," she cried impatiently. " Listen again — 
 
 " Hadst thou yielded to Nature's cr5dng and 
 rejected me but yesterday, in that foul shape, I 
 
284 A7ESHA 
 
 must perchance have lingered for uncounted time, 
 playing the poor part of priestess of a forgotten 
 faith. This was the first temptation, the ordeal of 
 thy flesh — nay, not the first — the second, for Atene 
 and her lurings were the first. But thou wast loyal, 
 and in the magic of thy conquering love my beauty 
 and my womanhood were re-bom. 
 
 " Hadst thou rejected me to-night, when, as I 
 was bidden to do, I showed thee that vision in the 
 Sanctuary and confessed to thee my soul's black 
 crime, then hopeless and helpless, unshielded by 
 my earthly power, I must have wandered on into 
 the deep and endless night of solitude. This was 
 the third appointed test, the trial of thy spirit, and 
 by thy steadfastness, Leo, thou hast loosed the hand 
 of Destiny from about my throat. Now I am re- 
 generate in thee — through thee may hope again 
 for some true life beyond, which thou shalt share. 
 And yet, and yet, if thou shouldst suffer, as well 
 may chance " 
 
 " Then I suffer, and there's an end," broke in 
 Leo serenely. " Save for a few things my mind is 
 clear, and there must be justice for us aU at last. If 
 I have broken the bond that boimd thee, if I have 
 freed thee from some threatening, spiritual ill 
 by taking a risk upon my head, well, I have not 
 lived, and if need be, shall not die, in vain. So 
 let us have done with all these problems, or rather 
 first answer thou me one. Ayesha, how wast 
 thou changed upon that peak ? " 
 
 " In flame I left thee,Leo, and in flame I did return, 
 as in flame, mayhap, we shall both depart. Or 
 perhaps the change was in the eyes of all of you 
 who watched, and not in this shape of mine. I 
 have answered. Seek to learn no more." 
 
 " One thing I do still seek to learn. Ayesha, we 
 were betrothed to-night. When wilt thou marry 
 me?" 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 285 
 
 " Not yet, not yet," she answered hurriedly, 
 her voice quivering as she spoke. " Leo, thou 
 must put that hope from thy thoughts awhile, and 
 for some few months, a year perchance, be content 
 to play the part of friend and lover." 
 
 " Why so ? " he asked, with bitter disappoint- 
 ment. "Ayesha, those parts have been mine for 
 many a day ; more, I grow no younger, and, unlike 
 thee, shall soon \>e old. Also, life is fleeting, 
 and sometimes I think that I near its end." 
 
 " Speak no such evil-omened words," she said, 
 springing from the couch and stamping her san- 
 dalled foot upon the ground in anger born of fear. 
 " Yet thou sayest truth ; thou art unfortified 
 against the accidents of time and chance. Oh ! 
 horrible, horrible; thou mightest die again, and 
 leave me living." 
 
 " Then give me of thy life, Ayesha." 
 
 " That would I gladly, all of it, couldst thou 
 but repay me with the boon of death to come. 
 
 " Oh ! ye poor mortals," she went on, with a sudden 
 burst of passion ; "ye beseech your gods for the 
 gift of many years, being ignorant that ye would 
 sow a seed within your breasts whence ye must 
 garner ten thousand miseries. Know ye not that 
 this world is indeed the wide house of hell, in whose 
 chambers from time to time the spirit tarries a little 
 while, then, weary and aghast, speeds wailing to the 
 peace that it has won. 
 
 "Think then what it is to live on here eternally 
 and yet be human ; to age in soul and see our 
 beloved die and pass to lands whither we may not 
 hope to follow ; to wait while drop by drop the 
 curse of the long centuries falls upon our imperish- 
 able being, Uke water slow dripping on a diamond 
 that it cannot wear, till they be bom anew forgetful 
 of us, and again sink from our helpless arms into 
 the void unknowable. 
 
286 A7ESHA 
 
 " Think what it is to see the sins we sin, the 
 tempting look, the word idle or unkind — aye, even 
 the selfish thought or struggle, multiplied ten 
 thousandfold and more eternal than ourselves, 
 spring up upon the universal bosom of the earth 
 to be the bane of a million destinies, whilst the 
 everlasting Finger writes its endless count, and 
 a cold voice of Justice cries in our conscience- 
 haunted sohtude, ' Oh ! soul unshriven, behold 
 the ripening harvest thy wanton hand did 
 scatter, and long in vain for the waters of forget- 
 fulness.' 
 
 "Think what it is to have every earthly wisdom, yet 
 to bum unsatisfied for the deeper and forbidden 
 draught ; to gather up all wealth and power and let 
 them slip again, like children weary of a painted 
 toy ; to sweep the harp of fame, and, maddened by 
 its jangling music, to stamp it small beneath our 
 feet ; to snatch at pleasure's goblet and find 
 its wine is sand, and at length, outworn, to 
 cast us down and pray the pitiless gods with whose 
 stolen garment we have wrapped ourselves, to 
 take it back again, and suffer us to slink naked 
 to the grave. 
 
 " Such is the life thou askest, Leo. Say, wilt 
 thou have it now ? " 
 
 "If it may be shared with thee," he answered. 
 " These woes are bom of loneliness, but then 
 our perfect fellowship would turn them into 
 joy." 
 
 "Aye," she said, "while it was permitted to 
 endure. So be it, Leo. In the spring, when the 
 snows melt, we will journey together to Libya, 
 and there thou shalt be bathed in the Fount of 
 Life, that forbidden Essence of which once thou 
 didst fear to drink. Afterwards I will wed 
 thee." 
 
 " That place is closed for ever, Ayesha." 
 
THE THIRD ORDEAL 287 
 
 " Not to my feet and thine," she answered. 
 "Fear not, my love, were this moimtain heaped there- 
 on, I would blast a path through it with mine eyes 
 and lay its secret bare. Oh ! would that thou 
 wast as I am, for then before to-morrow's sun 
 we'd watch the rolling pillar thunder by, and thou 
 shouldst taste its glory, 
 
 " But it may not be. Hunger or cold can starve 
 thee, and waters drown ; swords can slay thee, 
 or sickness sap away thy strength. Had it not 
 been for the false Atene, who disobeyed my 
 words, as it was foredoomed that she should 
 do, by this day we were across the mountains, 
 or had travelled northward through the frozen 
 desert and the rivers. Now we must await the 
 melting of the snows, for winter is at hand, and in 
 it, as thou knowest, no man can live upon their 
 heights." 
 
 "Eight months till April before we can start, 
 and how long to cross the mountains and all the 
 vast distances beyond, and the seas, and the- 
 swamps of Kor ? Why, at the best, Ayesha, two 
 years must go by before we can even find the place ; " 
 and he fell to entreating her to let them be wed at 
 once and journey afterwards. 
 
 But she said. Nay, and nay, and nay, it should 
 not be, tUl at length, as though fearing his pleading, 
 or that of her own heart, she rose and dismissed 
 us. 
 
 " Ah ! my Holly," she said to me as we three parted, 
 " I protnised thee and myself some few hours of rest 
 and of the happiness of quiet, and thou seest how 
 my desire has been fulfilled. Those old Eg5^tians 
 were wont to share their feasts with one grizzly 
 skeleton, but here I counted four to-night that 
 you both could see, and they are named Fear, 
 Suspense, Foreboding, and Love-denied. Doubt- 
 less also, when these are buried others will come 
 
288 AYESHA 
 
 to haunt us, and snatch the poor morsel from 
 our lips. 
 
 "So hath it ever been with me, whose feet 
 misfortune dogs. Yet I hope on, and now many 
 a barrier lies behind us ; and Leo, thou hast been 
 tried in the appointed triple fires and yet proved 
 true. Sweet be thy slumbers, O my love, and 
 sweeter still thy dreamSj for know, my soul shall 
 share them. I vow to thee that to-morrow we'll 
 be happy, aye, to-morrow without fail." 
 
 " Why will she not marry me at once ? " asked 
 Leo, when we were alone in our chamber. 
 " Because she is afraid," I answered. 
 
D 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 LEO AND THE LEOPARD 
 
 URING the weeks that followed these mo- 
 mentous days often and often I wondered to 
 myself whether a more truly wretched being had 
 ever lived than the woman, or the spirit, whom we 
 knew as She, Hes, and Ayesha. Whether in fact 
 also, or in our imagination only, she had arisen from 
 the ashes of her hideous age into the full bloom of 
 perpetual life and beauty inconceivable. 
 
 These things at least were certain : Ayesha had 
 achieved the secret of an existence so enduring that 
 for all human purposes it might be called unending. 
 Within certain Umitations — such as her utter in- 
 ability to foresee the future — undoubtedly also, she 
 was endued with powers that can only be described 
 as supernatural. 
 
 Her rule over the strange community amongst 
 whom she lived was absolute ; indeed, its members 
 regarded her as a goddess, and as such she was 
 worshipped. After marvellous adventures, the man 
 who was her very life, I might ahnost say her soul, 
 whose being was so mysteriously intertwined with 
 hers, whom she loved also with the intensest human 
 passion of which woman can be capable, had sought 
 her out in this hidden corner of the world. 
 
 More, thrice he had proved his unalterable fidelity 
 to her. First, by his rej ection of the royal and beauti- 
 ful, if undisciplined, Atene. Secondly, by clinging to 
 Ayesha when she seemed to be repulsive to every 
 natural sense. Thirdly, after that homage scene in the 
 
290 AYESHA 
 
 Sanctuary — though with her unutterable perfec- 
 tions before his eyes this did not appear to be so 
 wonderful — by steadfastness in the face of her 
 terrible avowal, true or false, that she had won her 
 gifts and him through some dim, unholy pact with 
 the powers of evil, in the unknown fruits and conse- 
 quences of which he must be involved as the price 
 of her possession. 
 
 Yet Ayesha was miserable. Even in her lightest 
 moods it was clear to me that those skeletons at the 
 feast of which she had spoken were her continual 
 companions. Indeed, when we were alone she 
 would acknowledge it in dark hints and veiled 
 allegories or allusions. Crushed though her rival 
 the Khania Atene might be, also she was still jeedous 
 of her. 
 
 Perhaps " afraid " would be a better word, foi 
 some instinct seemed to warn Ayesha that soon oi 
 late her hour would come to Atene again, and that 
 then it would be her own turn to drink of the bitter 
 waters of despair. 
 
 What troubled her more a thousandfold, how- 
 ever, were her fears for Leo. As may well be under- 
 stood, to stand in his intimate relationship to this 
 half divine and marvellous being, and yet not to 
 be allowed so much as to touch her lips, did not 
 conduce to his physical or mental well-being, 
 especially as he knew that the wall of separation 
 must not be climbed for at least two years. 
 Little wonder that Leo lost appetite, grew thin and 
 pale, and could not sleep, or that he implored her 
 continually to rescind her decree and marry him. 
 
 But on this point Ayesha was immovable. Insti- 
 gated thereto by Leo, and I may add my own 
 curiosity, when we were alone I questioned her 
 again as to the reasons of this self-denying 
 ordinance. All she would tell me, however, was 
 that between them rose the barrier of Leo's 
 
" In that darkened room she shimmered from head to foot like the 
 water of a phosphorescent sea." 
 
 Ayeska. ] 
 
 [Page 291. 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 291 
 
 mortality, and that until his physical being had 
 been impregnated with the mysterious virtue 
 of the Vapour of Life, it Was not wise that she 
 should take him as a husband. 
 
 I asked her why, seeing that though a long-lived 
 one, she was still a woman, whereon her face assumed 
 a calm but terrifying smile, and she answered — 
 
 " Art so sure, my HoUy ? Tell me, do your 
 women wear such jewels as that set upon my brow ? " 
 and she pointed to the faint but lambent light which 
 glowed about her forehead. 
 
 More, she began slowly to stroke her abundant hair, 
 then her breast and body. Wherever her fingers 
 passed the mystic light was born, until in that 
 darkened room — for the dusk was gathering-^she 
 shimmered from head to foot like the water of a 
 phosphorescent sea, a being glorious yet fearful to 
 behold. Then she waved her hand, and, save for the 
 gentle radiance on her brow, became as she had been. 
 
 " Art so sure, my HoUy ? " Ayesha repeated. 
 " Nay, shrink not ; that flame wiU not burn thee. 
 Mayhap thou didst but imagine it, as I have noted 
 thou dost imagine many things ; for surely no woman 
 could clothe herself in light and live, nor has so 
 much as the smell of fire passed upon my garments." 
 
 Then at length my patience was outworn, and I 
 grew angry. 
 
 " I am sure of nothing, Ayesha," I answered, 
 " except that thou wUt make us mad with all these 
 tricks and changes. Say, art thou a spirit then ? " 
 
 " We are aU spirits," she said reflectively, " and 
 I, perhaps, more than some. Who can be certain ? " 
 
 " Not I," I answered. " Yet I implore, woman 
 or spirit, tell me one thing. Tell me the truth. In 
 the beginning what wast thou to Leo, and what was 
 he to thee?" 
 
 She looked at me very solemnly and answered — 
 
 "Does my memory deceive me, Holly, or is it 
 
292 AYESHA 
 
 written in the first book of the Law of the Hebrews, 
 which once I used to study, that the sons of Heaven 
 came down to the daughters of men, and found that 
 they were fair ? " 
 
 " It is so written," I answered. 
 
 "Then, Holly, might it not have chanced that 
 once a daughter of Heaven came down to a man of 
 Earth and loved him well ? Might it not chance 
 that for this her sin, she, this high fallen star, who had 
 befouled her immortal state for him, was doomed 
 to suffer till at length his love, made divine by pain 
 and faithful even to a memory, was permitted to 
 redeem her ? " 
 
 Now at length I saw hght and sprang up eagerly, 
 but in a cold voice she added : 
 
 " Nay, Holly, cease to question me, for there are 
 things of which I can but speak to thee in figures 
 and in parables, not to mock and bewilder thee, but 
 because I must. Interpret them as thou wilt. Still, 
 Atene thought me no mortal, since she told us that 
 man and spirit may not mate ; and there are matters 
 in which I let her judgment weigh with me, as 
 without doubt now, as in other lives, she and that 
 old Shaman, her uncle, have wisdom, aye, and fore- 
 sight. So bid my lord press me no more to wed 
 him, for it gives me pain to say him nay — ah ! thou 
 knowest not how much. 
 
 " Moreover, I will declare myself to thee, old 
 friend ; whatever else I be, at least I am too 
 womanly to listen to the pleadings of my best 
 beloved and not myself be moved. See, I have set 
 a curb upon desire and drawn it until my heart 
 bleeds ; but if he pursues me with continual words 
 and looks of burning love, who knoweth but that 
 I shall kindle in his flame and throw the reins of 
 reason to the winds ? 
 
 "Oh, then together we might race adown 
 our passions' steep ; together dare the torrent 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 293 
 
 that rages at its foot, and there perchance be 
 whelmed or torn asunder. Nay, nay, another space 
 of journeying, but a Httle space, and we reach the 
 bridge my wisdom found, and cross it safely, and 
 beyond for ever ride on at ease through the happy 
 meadows of our love." 
 
 Then she was silent, nor would she speak more 
 upon the matter. Also — and this was the worst of 
 it — even now I was not sure that she told me the 
 truth, or, at any rate, all of it, for to Ayesha's mind 
 truth seemed many coloured as are the rays of light 
 thrown from the different faces of a cut jewel. We 
 never could be certain which shade of it she was 
 pleased to present, who, whether by preference or 
 of necessity, as she herself had said, spoke of such 
 secrets in figures of speech and parables. 
 
 It is a fact that to this hour I do not know whether 
 Ayesha is spirit or woman, or, as I suspect, a blend 
 of both. I do not know the limits of her powers, 
 or if that elaborate story of the beginning of her love 
 for Leo was true — which personally I doubt — or but 
 a fable, invented by her mind, and through it, as 
 she had hinted, pictured on the flame for her own 
 hidden purposes. 
 
 I do not know whether when first we saw her on the 
 Mountain she was really old and hideous, or did but 
 put on that shape in our eyes in order to test her 
 lover. I do not know whether, as the priest Oros 
 bore witness — which he may well have been bidden 
 to do — ^her spirit passed into the body of the dead 
 priestess of Hes, or whether when she seemed to 
 perish there so miserably, her body and her soul 
 were wafted straightway from the caves of Kor to 
 this Central Asian peak. 
 
 I do not know why, as she was so powerful, 
 she did not come to seek us, instead of leaving 
 us to seek her through so many weary years, 
 though I suggest that some superior force for- 
 
294 AYESHA 
 
 bade her to do more than companion us unseen, 
 watching our every act, reading our every 
 thought, until at length we reached the predestined 
 place and hour. Also, as will appear, there were 
 other things of which this is not the time to speak, 
 whereby I am stiU more tortured and perplexed. 
 
 In short, I know nothing, except that my existence 
 has been intertangled with one of the great mysteries 
 of the world ; that the glorious being called Ayesha 
 won the secret of life from whatever power holds it 
 in its keeping ; that she alleged — although of this, 
 remember, we have no actual proof — such life was to 
 be attained by bathing in a certain emanation, vapour 
 or essence ; that she was possessed by a passion not 
 easy to understand, but terrific in its force and im- 
 mortal in its nature, concentrated upon one other 
 being and one alone. That through this passion 
 also some angry fate smote her again, again, and 
 yet again, making of her countless days a burden, 
 and leading the power and the wisdom which knew all 
 but could foreknow nothing, into abysses of anguish, 
 suspense, and disappointment such as — Heaven be 
 thanked ! — we common men and women are not 
 called upon to plumb. 
 
 For the rest, should human eyes ever fall upon it, 
 each reader must form his own opinion of this his- 
 tory, its true interpretation and significance. These 
 and the exact parts played by Atene and myself in 
 its development I hope to solve shortly, though not 
 here. 
 
 Well, as I have said, the upshot of it all was that 
 Ayesha was devoured with anxiety about Leo. 
 Except in this matter of marriage, his every wish was 
 satisfied, and indeed forestalled. Thus he was 
 never again asked to share in any of the ceremonies 
 of the Sanctuary, though, indeed, stripped of its 
 rites and spiritual symbols, the religion of the 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 295 
 
 College of Hes proved pure and harmless enough. It 
 was but a diluted version of the Osiris and Isis wor- 
 ship of old Egypt, from which it had been inherited, 
 mixed with the Central Asian belief in the trans- 
 migration or reincarnation of souls and the possi- 
 bility of drawing near to the ultimate Godhead by 
 holiness of thought and life. 
 
 In fact, the head priestess and Oracle was only 
 worshipped as a representative of the Divinity, 
 while the temporal aims of the College in practice 
 were confined to good works, although it is true 
 that they still sighed for their lost authority over 
 the country of Kaloon. Thus they had hospitals, 
 and during the long and severe winters, when the 
 Tribes of the Mountain slopes were often driven to 
 the verge of starvation, gave liberally to the desti- 
 tute from their stores of food. 
 
 Leo liked to be with Ayesha continually, 
 so we spent each evening in her company, and 
 much of the day also, until she found that this 
 inactivity told upon him who for years had been 
 accustomed to endure every rigour of cHmate in the 
 open air. After this came home to her — although 
 she was always haimted by terror lest any accident 
 should befall him — Ayesha insisted upon his going 
 out to kill the wild sheep and the ibex, which lived 
 in numbers on the mountain ridges, placing him in 
 the charge of the chiefs and huntsnien of the Tribes, 
 with whom thus he became well acquainted. In 
 this exercise, however, I accompanied him but rarely, 
 as, if used too much, my arm still gave me pain. 
 
 Once indeed such an accident did happen. I was 
 seated in the garden with Ayesha and watching her. 
 Her head rested on her hand, and she was looking 
 with her wide eyes, across which the swift thoughts 
 passed like clouds over a windy sky, or dreams 
 through the mind of a sleeper — ^looking out vacantly 
 towards the mountain snows. Seen thus her 
 
296 AYES HA 
 
 loveliness was inexpressible, amazing ; merely to 
 gaze upon it was an intoxication. Contemplating it, 
 I understood indeed that, like to that of the fabled 
 Helen, this gift of hers alone — and it was but one of 
 many — must have caused infinite sorrows, had she 
 ever been permitted to display it to the world. It 
 would have driven humanity to madness : the men 
 with longings and the women with jealousy and 
 hate. 
 
 And yet in what did her surpassing beauty Me ? 
 Ayesha's face and form were perfect, it is true ; but so 
 are those of some other women. Not in these then 
 did it live alone, but rather, I think, especially while 
 what I may call her human moods were on her, in 
 the soft mystery that dwelt upon her features and 
 gathered and changed in her splendid eyes. Some 
 such mystery may be seen, however faintly, on the 
 faces of certain of the masterpieces of the Greek 
 sculptors, but Ayesha it clothed hke an ever- 
 present atmosphere, suggesting a glory that was not 
 of earth, making her divine. 
 
 As I gazed at her and wondered thus, of a sudden 
 she became terribly agitated, and, pointing to a 
 shoulder of the Mountain miles and miles away, 
 said — 
 
 " Look ! " 
 
 I looked, but saw nothing except a sheet of distant 
 snow. 
 
 " Blind fool, canst thou not see that my lord is in 
 danger of his life ? " she cried. " Nay, I forgot, 
 thou hast no vision. Take it now from me and look 
 again " ; and lajnng her hand, from which a 
 strange, numbing current seemed to flow, upon my 
 head, she muttered some swift words. 
 
 Instantly my eyes were opened, and, not upon 
 the distant Mountain, but in the air before me as it 
 were, I saw Leo rolling over and over at grips with a 
 great snow-leopard, whilst the chief and huntsmen 
 
" 1 saw Leo rolling over and over at grips with a great snow-leopard." 
 Aiieslia.] {Pagi 296. 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 297 
 
 with him ran round and round, seeking an oppor- 
 tunity to pierce the savage brute with their spears 
 and yet leave him unharmed. 
 
 Ayesha, rigid with terror, swayed to and fro at my 
 side, till presently the end came, for I could see Leo 
 drive his long knife into the bowels of the leopard, 
 which at once grew limp, separated from him, and 
 after a struggle or two in the bloodstained snow, lay 
 stm. Then he rose, laughing and pointing to his rent 
 garments, whilst one of the huntsmen came forward 
 and began to bandage some wounds in his hands and 
 thigh with strips of linen torn from his under-robe. 
 
 The vision vanished suddenly as it had come, 
 and I felt Ayesha leaning heavily upon my shoulder 
 hke any other frightened woman, and heard her 
 gasp— 
 
 " That danger also has passed by, but how many 
 are there to follow ? Oh ! tormented heart, how 
 long canst thou endure ! " 
 
 Then her wrath flamed up against the chief and 
 his huntsmen, and she summoned messengers and 
 sent them out at speed with a Utter and ointments, 
 bidding them to bear back the lord Leo and to bring 
 his companions to her very presence. 
 
 " Thou seest what days are mine, my Holly, 
 aye, and have been these many years," she said ; 
 " but those hounds shall pay me for this agony." 
 
 Nor would she suffer me to reason with her. 
 
 Four hours later Leo returned, limping after the 
 litter in which, instead of himself, for whom it was 
 sent, lay a mountain sheep and the skin of the 
 snow leopard that he had placed there to save the 
 huntsmen the labour of carrjdng them. Ayesha 
 was waiting for him in the haU of her dwelling, and 
 gliding to him — I cannot say she walked — over- 
 whelmed him with mingled solicitude and re- 
 proaches. He Ustened awhile, then asked — 
 
298 AYESHA 
 
 " How dost thou know anything of this matter ? 
 The leopard skin has not yet been brought to thee." 
 
 " I know because I saw," she answered. " The 
 worst hurt was above thy knee ; hast thou dressed 
 it with the salve I sent ? " 
 
 " Not I," he said. " But thou hast not left this 
 Sanctuary ; how didst thou see ? By thy magic ? " 
 
 " If thou wilt, at least I saw, and Holly also saw 
 thee rolling in the snow with that fierce brute, while 
 those curs ran round hke scared children." 
 
 " I am weary of this magic," interrupted Leo 
 crossly. " Cannot a man be left alone for an hour 
 even with a leopard of the mountain ? As for those 
 brave men " 
 
 At this moment Oros entered and whispered some- 
 thing, bowing low. 
 
 "As for those 'brave men,' I will deal with 
 them," said Ayesha with bitter emphasis, and 
 covering herself — ^f or she never appeared unveiled to 
 the people of the Mountain — she swept from the 
 place. 
 
 " Where has she gone, Horace ? " asked Leo. 
 " To one of her services in the Sanctuary ? " 
 
 " I don't know," I answered ; " but if so, I think 
 it will be that chief's burial service." 
 
 " Will it ? " he exclaimed, and instantly limped 
 after her. 
 
 A minute or two later I thought it wise to follow. 
 In the Sanctuary a curious scene was in progress. 
 Ayesha was seated in front of the statue. Before 
 her, very much frightened, knelt a brawny, red- 
 haired chieftain and five of his followers, who still 
 carried their hunting spears, while with folded arms 
 and an exceedingly grim look upon his face, Leo, 
 who, as I learned afterwards, had already interfered 
 and been silenced, stood upon one side listening to 
 what passed. At a little distance behind were a 
 dozen or more of the temple guards, men armed 
 
" ' Drive them out on to the moLintain.' 
 
 Ayesha. ] 
 
 [Page 299. 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 299 
 
 with swords and picked for their strength and 
 stature. 
 
 Ayesha, in her sweetest voice, was questioning 
 the men as to how the leopard, of which the skin 
 lay before her, had come to attack Leo. The chief 
 answered that they had tracked the brute to its 
 lair between two rocks ; that one of them had gone 
 in and wounded it, whereon it sprang upon him and 
 struck him down ; that then the lord Leo had en- 
 gaged it while the man escaped, and was also struck 
 down, after which, rolling with it on the ground, 
 he stabbed and slew the animal. That was all. 
 
 " No, not all," said Ayesha ; " for you forget, 
 cowards that you are, that, keeping yourselves in 
 safety, you left my lord to the fury of this beast. 
 Good. Drive them out on to the Mountain, there 
 to perish also at the fangs of beasts, and make it 
 known that he who gives them food or shelter dies." 
 
 Offering no prayer for pity or excuse, the chief 
 and his followers rose, bowed, and turned to go. 
 
 " Stay a moment, comrades," said Leo, " and, 
 chief, give me your arm ; my scratch grows stiff ; 
 I cannot walk fast. We wiU finish this hunt to- 
 gether." 
 
 " What doest thou ? Art mad ? " asked Ayesha. 
 
 " I know not whether I am mad," he answered, 
 " but I know that thou art wicked and unjust. 
 Look now, than these hunters none braver ever 
 breathed. That man " — and he pointed to the one 
 whom the leopard had struck down — " took my 
 place and went in before me because I ordered that 
 we should attack the creature, and thus was felled. 
 As thou seest all, thou mightest have seen this also. 
 Then it sprang on me, and the rest of these, my 
 friends, ran round waiting a chance to strike, which 
 at first they could not do unless they would have 
 killed me with it, since I and the brute rolled over 
 and over in the snow. As it was, one of them 
 
300 A7ESHA 
 
 seized it with his bare hands i look at the teeth marks 
 on his arm. So if they are to perish on the Moun- 
 tain, I, who am the man to blame, perish with 
 them." 
 
 Now, while the hunters looked at him with fer- 
 vent gratitude in their eyes, Ayesha thought a 
 little, then said cleverly enough — 
 
 " In truth, my lord Leo, had I known all the tale, 
 well mightest thou have named me wicked and un- 
 just ; but I knew only what I saw, and out of their 
 own mouths did I condemn them. My servants, 
 my lord here has pleaded for you, and you are for- 
 given ; more, he who rushed in upon the leopard and 
 he who seized it with his hands shall be rewarded 
 and advanced. Go ; but I warn you if you suffer my 
 lord to come into more danger, you shall not escape so 
 easily again." 
 
 So they bowed and went, still blessing Leo with 
 their eyes, since death by exposure on the Mountain 
 snows was the most terrible form of punishment 
 known to these people, and one only inflicted by 
 the direct order of Hes upon murderers or other 
 great criminals. 
 
 When we had left the Sanctuary and were alone 
 again in the hall, the storm that I had seen gather- 
 ing upon Leo's face broke in earnest. Ayesha 
 renewed her inquiries about his wounds, and wished 
 to call Oros, the physician, to dress them, and as he 
 refused this, offered to do so herself. He begged 
 that she would leave his wounds alone, and then, 
 his great beard bristling with wrath, asked her 
 solemnly if he was a child in arms, a query so absurd 
 that I could not help laughing. 
 
 Then he scolded her— yes, he scolded Ayesha! 
 Wishing to know what she meant (i) by spying 
 upon him with her magic, an evil gift that he had 
 always disliked and mistrusted ; (2) by condemning 
 
LEO AND Ttlt, Lli.UfJi.KU 301 
 
 brave and excellent men, his good friends, to a 
 death of fiendish cruelty upon such evidence, or 
 rather out of temper, on no evidence at all ; and (3) 
 by giving him into charge of them, as though he 
 were a little boy, and telling them that they would 
 have to answer for it if he were hurt s he who, in 
 his time, had killed every sort of big game known 
 and passed through some perils and encounters ? 
 
 Thus he beat her with his words, and, wonderful 
 to say, Ayesha, this being more than woman, sub- 
 mitted to the chastisement meekly. Yet had 
 any other man dared to address her with rough- 
 ness even, I doubt not that his speech and his Ufe 
 would have come to a swift and simultaneous end, 
 for I knew that now, as of old, she could slay by 
 the mere effort of her wiU. But she did not slay ; 
 she did not even threaten, only, as any other loving 
 woman might have done, she began to cry. Yes, 
 great tears gathered in those lovely eyes of hers 
 and, rolling one by one down her face, fell — for her 
 head was bent humbly forward — like heavy rain- 
 drops on the marble floor. 
 
 At the sight of this touching evidence of her 
 human, loving heart all Leo's anger melted. Now 
 it was he who grew penitent and prayed her pardon 
 humbly. She gave him her hand in token of for- 
 giveness, sasdng — 
 
 " Let others speak to me as they will" (sorry 
 should I have been to try it) ! " but from thee, Leo, 
 I cannot bear harsh words. Oh, thou art cruel, 
 cruel. In what have I offended ? Can I help it if 
 my spirit keeps its watch upon thee, as indeed, 
 though thou knewest it not, it has done ever since 
 we parted yonder in the Place of Life ? Can I help 
 it if, like some mother who sees her little child at 
 play upon a mountain's edge, my soul is torn with 
 agony when I know thee in dangers that I am power- 
 less to prevent or share ? What are the lives of a 
 
303 AYES HA 
 
 few half-wild huntsmen that I should let them weigh 
 for a single breath against thy safety, seeing that 
 if I slew these, others would be more careful of thee ? 
 Whereas if I slay them not, they or their fellows 
 may even lead thee into perils that would bring 
 about — thy death," and she gasped with horror at 
 the word. 
 
 " Listen, beloved," said Leo. " The life of the 
 humblest of those men is of as much value to him 
 as mine is to me, and thou hast no more right to 
 kill him than thou hast to kiU me. It is evil that 
 because thou carest for me thou shouldst suffer thy 
 love to draw thee into cruelty and crime. If thou 
 art afraid for me, then clothe me with that immor- 
 tality of thine, which, although I dread it somewhat, 
 holding it a thing unholy, and, on this earth, not per- 
 mitted by my Faith, I should stiU rejoice to inherit 
 for thy dear sake, knowing that then we could never 
 more be parted. Or, if as thou sayest, this as yet 
 thou canst not do, then let us be wed and take what 
 fortune gives us. All men must die ; but at least 
 before I die I shall have been happy with thee for a 
 while — yes, if only for a single hour." 
 
 " Would that I dared," Ayesha answered with a 
 little piteous motion of her hand. " Oh ! urge me 
 no more, Leo, lest that at last I should take the risk 
 and lead thee down a dreadful road. Leo, hast 
 thou never heard of the love which slays, or of the 
 poison that may lurk in a cup of joy too perfect ? " 
 
 Then, as though she feared herself, Ayesha 
 turned from him and fled. 
 
 Thus this matter ended. In itself it was not a 
 great one, for Leo's hurts were mere scratches, and 
 the hunters, instead of being killed, were promoted 
 to be members of his body-guard. Yet it told us 
 many things. For instance, that whenever she chose 
 to do so, Ayesha had the power of perceiving aU 
 
LEO AND THE LEOPARD 303 
 
 Leo's movements from afar, and even of communi- 
 cating her strength of mental vision to others, 
 although to help him in any predicament she 
 appeared to have no power, which, of course, ac- 
 counted for the hideous and ever-present might of 
 her anxiety. 
 
 Think what it would be to any one of us were we 
 mysteriously acquainted with every open danger, 
 every risk of sickness, every secret peril through 
 which our best-beloved must pass. To see the rock 
 trembling to its fall and they loitering beneath it ; 
 to see them drink of water and know it fuU of foulest 
 poison; to see them embark upon a ship and be 
 aware that it was doomed to sink, but not to be able 
 to warn them or to prevent them. Surely no mortal 
 brain could endure such constant terrors, since hour 
 by hour the arrows of death flit unseen and unheard 
 past the breasts of each of us, till at length one 
 finds its home there. 
 
 What then must Ayesha have suffered, watching 
 with her spirit's eyes all the hair-breadth escapes 
 of our joumeyings ? When, for instance, in the 
 beginning she saw Leo at my house in Cumberland 
 about to kill himself in his madness and despair, 
 and by some mighty efEort of her superhuman wiU, 
 wrung from whatever Power it was that held her 
 in its fearful thraldom, the strength to hurl her 
 soul across the world and thereby in his sleep reveal 
 to him the secret of the hiding-place where he would 
 find her. 
 
 Or to take one more example out of many — when 
 she saw him hanging by that slender thread of yak's 
 hide from the face of the waterfall of ice and her- 
 self remained unable to save him, or even to look 
 forward for a single moment and learn whether or 
 no he Wcis about to meet a hideous death, in which 
 event she must live on alone until in some dim age 
 he was born again. 
 
304 A7ESHA 
 
 Nor can her sorrows have ended with these 
 more material fears, since others as piercing must 
 have haunted her. Imagine, for instance, the 
 agonies of her jealous heart when she knew her lover 
 to be exposed to the temptations incident to his 
 solitary existence, and more especially to those of 
 her ancient rival Atene, who, by Ayesha's own 
 account, had once been his wife. Imagine also her 
 fears lest time and human change should do their 
 natural work on him, so that by degrees the memory 
 of her wisdom and her strength, and the image of 
 her loveliness faded from his thought, and with 
 them his desire for her company ; thus leaving her, 
 who had endured so long, forgotten and alone at 
 last. 
 
 Truly, the Power that Umited our perceptions did 
 so in purest mercy, for were it otherwise with us, 
 our race would go mad and perish raving in its 
 terrors. 
 
 Thus it would seem that Ayesha, great tormented 
 soul, thinking to win life and love eternal and 
 most glorious, was in truth but another blind 
 Pandora. From her stolen casket of beauty and 
 super-human power had leapt into her bosom, 
 there to dwell unceasingly, a hundred torturing 
 demons, of whose wings mere mortal kind do but 
 feel the far-off, icy shadowing. 
 
 Yes; and that the parallel might be complete, 
 Hope alone still lingered in that rifled chest. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ayesha's alchemy 
 
 IT was shortly after this incident of the snow- 
 leopard that one of these demon familiars of 
 Ayesha's, her infinite ambition, made its formidable 
 appearance. When we had dined with her in the 
 eveiring, Ayesha's habit was to discuss plans for 
 our mighty and unending future, that awful in- 
 heritance which she had promised to us. 
 
 Here I must explain, if I have not done so 
 already, that she had graciously informed me that 
 notwithstanding my refusal in past years of such a 
 priceless opportunity, I also was to be allowed to 
 bathe my superannuated self in the vital fires, though 
 in what guise I should emerge from them, hke Hero- 
 dotus when he treats of the mysteries of old Egypt, 
 if she knew, she did not think it lawful to reveal. 
 
 Secretly I hoped that my outward man might 
 change for the better, as the prospect of being 
 fixed for ever in the shape of my present and some- 
 what unpleasing personality, did not appeal to me as 
 attractive. In truth, so far as I was concerned, 
 the matter had an academic rather than an actual 
 interest, such as we take in a fairy tale, since I 
 did not believe that I should ever put on this kind 
 of immortality. Nor, I may add, now as before, was 
 I at all certain that I wished to do so. 
 
 These plans of Ayesha's were far reaching and in- 
 deed terrific. Her acquaintance with the modem 
 world, its political and social developments, 
 was still strictly limited ; for if she had the 
 power to follow its growth and activities, cer- 
 tainly it was one of which she made no use. In 
 
 306 jj 
 
3o6 AYESHA 
 
 practice her knowledge seemed to be confined to 
 what she had gathered during the few brief talks 
 which took place between us upon this subject in 
 past time at Kor. Now her thirst for information 
 proved insatiable, although it is true that ours was 
 scarcely up to date, seeing that ever since we lost 
 touch with the civilized peoples, namely for the 
 last fifteen years or so, we had been as much buried 
 as she was herself. 
 
 Still we were able to describe to her the condi- 
 tion of the nations and their affairs as they were at 
 the period when we bade them farewell, and, 
 more or less incorrectly, to draw maps of the various 
 countries and their boundaries, over which she pon- 
 dered long. 
 
 The Chinese were the people in whom she proved 
 to be most interested, perhaps because she was 
 acquainted with the Mongolian type, and hke 
 ourselves, understood a good many of their dialects. 
 Also she had a motive for her studies, which on«i 
 night she revealed to us in the most matter-of- 
 fact fashion. 
 
 Those who have read the first part of her history, 
 which I left in England to be published, may 
 remember that when we found her at Kor, She 
 horrified us by expressing a determination to possess 
 herself of Great Britain, for the simple reason that 
 we belonged to that country. Now, however, 
 like her powers, her ideas had grown, for she pur- 
 posed to make Leo the absolute monarch of the 
 world. In vaiH did he assure her most earnestly 
 that he desired no such empire. She merely laughed 
 at him and said — 
 
 " If 1 arise amidst the Peoples, I must rule the 
 Peoples, for how can Ayesha take a second place 
 among mortal men ? And thou, my Leo, rulest me, 
 yes, mark the truth, thou art my master ! Therefore 
 it is plain that thou wilt be the master of this 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 307 
 
 earth, aye, and perchance of others which do not 
 yet appear, for of these also I know something, 
 and, I think, can reach them if I will, though 
 hitherto I have had no mind that way. My true 
 life has not yet begun. Its little space within this 
 world has been filled with thought and care for 
 thee ; in waiting till thou wast bom again, and 
 during these last years of separation, until thou 
 didst return. 
 
 " But now a few more months, and the days of 
 preparation past, endowed with energy eternal, 
 with all the wisdom of the ages, and with a strength 
 that can bend the mountains or turn the ocean 
 from its bed, and we begin to be. Oh ! how I 
 sicken for that hour when first, like twin stars 
 new to the firmament of heaven, we break in our 
 immortal splendour upon the astonished sight of 
 men. It will please me, I tell thee, Leo, it will 
 please me, to see Powers, Principalities and Domin- 
 ions, marshalled by their kings and governors, bow 
 themselves before our thrones and humbly crave 
 the liberty to do our will. At least," she added, 
 " it wiU please me for a little time, until we seek 
 higher things." 
 
 So she spoke, while the radiance upon her brow 
 increased and spread itself, gleaming above her 
 like a golden fan, and her slumbrous eyes took fire 
 from it till, to my thought, they became glowing 
 mirrors in which I saw pomp enthroned and sup- 
 pliant peoples pass. 
 
 " And how," asked Leo, with something like a 
 groan — ^^for this vision of universal rule viewed from 
 afar did not seem to charm him — " how, Ayesha, 
 wilt thou bring these things about ? " 
 
 " How, my Leo ? Why, easily enough. For 
 many nights I have listened to the wise discourses 
 of our Holly here, at least he thinks them wise who 
 still has so much to learn, and pored over his crooked 
 
308 ATESHA 
 
 maps, comparing them with those that are written in 
 my memory, who of late have had no time for the 
 study of such Httle matters. Also I have weighed 
 and pondered your reports of the races of this 
 world ; their various fdUies, their futile struggling 
 for wealth and small supremacies, and I have 
 determined that it would be wise and kind to weld 
 them to one whole, setting ourselves at the head 
 of them to direct their destinies, and cause wars, 
 sickness, and poverty to cease, so that these crea- 
 tures of a little day (ephemeridse was the word 
 she used) may live happy from the cradle to the 
 grave. 
 
 " Now, were it not because of thy strange shrink- 
 ing from bloodshed, however politic and needful 
 — for my Leo, as yet thou art no true philosopher — 
 this were quickly done, since I can command a 
 weapon which would crush their armouries and 
 whelm their navies in the deep ; yes, I, whom even 
 the lightnings and Nature's elemental powers must 
 obey. But thou shrinkest from the sight of death, 
 and thou behevest that Heaven would be dis- 
 pleased because I make myself — or am chosen — 
 the instrument of Heaven. Well, so let it be, for 
 thy will is mine, and therefore we will tread a gentler 
 path." 
 
 " And how wilt thou persuade the kings of the 
 earth to place their crowns upon thy head ? " I 
 asked, astonished. 
 
 " By causing their peoples to offer them to us," 
 she answered suavely. " Oh ! HoUy, HoUy, how 
 narrow is thy mind, how strained the quality of 
 thine imagination ! Set its poor gates ajar, I pray, 
 and bethink thee. When we appear among men, 
 scattering gold to satisfy their want, clad in terrify- 
 ing power, in dazzling beauty and in immortality of 
 days, will they not cry, ' Be ye our monarchs and 
 rule over us ! ' " 
 
" She took a map, and, placing; hrr rnii^'er upon Pekin, said : ' There 
 
 is the place that shall he our home.' " 
 
 Ayesha ) [ r'nge 309. 
 
ATESHA'S ALCHEMY 309 
 
 " Perhaps," I answered dubiously, " but where 
 wilt thou appear ? " 
 
 She took a map of the eastern hemisphere which 
 I had drawn and, placing her finger upon Pekin, 
 said — 
 
 " There is the place that shall be our home for 
 some few centuries, say three, or five, or seven, should 
 it take so long to shape this people to my liking and 
 our purposes. I have chosen these Chinese because 
 thou tellest me that their numbers are uncountable, 
 that they are brave, subtle, and patient, and though 
 now powerless because ill-ruled and untaught, 
 able with their multitudes to flood the little western 
 nations. Therefore among them we will begin our 
 reign and for some few ages be at rest while they 
 learn wisdom from us, and thou, my Holly, makest 
 their armies unconquerable and givest their land 
 good government, wealth, peace, and a new religion." 
 
 What the new rehgion was to be I did not ask. 
 It seemed unnecessary, since I was convinced that 
 in practice it would prove a form of Ayesha-worship. 
 Indeed, my mind was so occupied with conjectures, 
 some of them quaint and absurd enough, as to what 
 would happen at the first appearance of Ayesha in 
 China that I forgot this subsidiary development of 
 our future rule. 
 
 " And if the ' little western nations ' will not 
 wait to be flooded ? " suggested Leo with irritation, 
 for her contemptuous tone angered him, one of a 
 prominent " western nation " of which he was very 
 proud, " If they combine, for instance, and attack 
 thee first ? " 
 
 " Ah ! " she said, with a flash of her eyes. " I 
 have thought of it, and for my part hope that it 
 will chance, since then thou canst not blame me 
 if I put out my strength. Oh ! then the East, 
 that has slept so long, shall awake — shall awake, 
 and upon battlefield after battlefield such as 
 
310 AYESHA 
 
 history cannot tell of, thou shalt see my flaming 
 standards sweep on to victory. One by one thou 
 shalt watch the nations fall and perish, until at length 
 I build thy throne upon the hecatombs of their 
 countless dead and crown thee emperor of a world 
 regenerate in blood and fire." 
 
 Leo, whom this new gospel of regeneration seemed 
 to appall, who was, in fact, a hater of absolute 
 monarchies and somewhat republican in his views 
 and sympathies, continued the argument, but I 
 took no further heed. The thing was grotesque 
 in its tremendous and fantastic absurdity ; Ayesha's 
 ambitions were such as no imperial-minded madman 
 could conceive. 
 
 Yet — here came the rub — I had not the slightest 
 doubt but that she was well able to put them into 
 practice and carry them to some marvellous and awful 
 conclusion. Why not ? Death could not touch 
 her ; she had triumphed over death. Her beauty — 
 that " cup of madness " in her eyes, as she named it 
 once to me — and her reckless will would compel the 
 hosts of men to f oUow her. Her piercing intelligence 
 would enable her to invent new weapons with which 
 the most highly-trained army could not possibly com- 
 pete. Indeed, it might be as she said, and as I for 
 one believed, with good reason, it proved, that 
 she held at her command the elemental forces of 
 Nature, such as those that lie hid in electricity, 
 which would give all living beings to her for a 
 prey. 
 
 Ayesha was still woman enough to have worldly 
 ambitions, and the most dread circumstance about 
 her superhuman powers was that they appeared 
 to be unrestrained by any responsibility to God or 
 man. She was, as we might well imagine a fallen 
 angel to be, if indeed, as she herself once hinted and 
 as Atene and the old Shaman believed, this were 
 not her true place in creation. By only two things 
 
4YESHA'S ALCHEMY 31T 
 
 that I was able to discover could she be moved — 
 her love for Leo and, in a very small degree, her 
 friendship for myself. 
 
 Yet her devouring passion for this one man, 
 inexplicable in its endurance and intensity, would, 
 I felt sure even then, in the future as in the past, 
 prove to be her heel of Achilles. When Ayesha was 
 dipped in the waters of Dominion and Deathless- 
 ness, this human love left her heart mortal, that 
 through it she might be rendered harmless as a 
 child, who otherwise would have devastated the 
 universe. 
 
 I was right. 
 
 Whilst I was still indulging myself in these 
 reflections and hoping that Ayesha would not take 
 the trouble to read them in my mind, I became 
 aware that Oros was bowing to the earth before her. 
 
 " Thy business, priest ? " she asked sharply ; 
 for when she was with Leo Ayesha did not like to 
 be disturbed. 
 
 " Hes, the spies are returned." 
 
 " Why didst thou send them out ? " she asked 
 indifferently. " What need have I of thy spies ? " 
 
 " Hes, thou didst command me." 
 
 " Well, their report ? " 
 
 " Hes, it is most grave. The people of Kaloon 
 are desperate because of the drought which has 
 caused their crops to fail, so that starvation stares 
 them in the eyes, and this they lay to the charge 
 of the strangers who came into their land and fled 
 to thee. The Khania Atene also is mad with rage 
 against thee and our holy College. Labouring night 
 and day, she has gathered two great armies, one 
 of forty, and one of twenty thousand men, and the 
 latter of these she sends against the Mountain 
 under the command of her uncle, Simbri the Shaman. 
 In case it should be defeated she purposes to remain 
 
312 AYESHA 
 
 with the second and greater army on the plains 
 about Kaloon." 
 
 ; " Tidings indeed," said Ayesha with a scornful 
 laugh. " Has her hate made this woman mad 
 that she dares thus to match herself against me? 
 My Holly, it crossed thy mind but now that it was 
 I who am mad, boasting of what I have no power 
 to perform. Well, within six days thou shalt 
 learn — oh ! verily thou shalt learn, and, though 
 the issue be so very small, in such a fashion that 
 thou wilt doubt no more for ever. Stay, I wUl 
 look, though the effort of it wearies me, for those 
 spies may be but victims to their own fears, or to 
 the falsehoods of Atene." 
 
 Then suddenly, as was common with her when 
 thus, Ayesha threw her sight afar, which either from 
 indolence, or because, as she said, it exhausted her, 
 she did but rarely, her lovely face grew rigid like 
 that of a person in a trance ; the light faded from 
 her brow, and the great pupils of her eyes con- 
 tracted themselves and lost their colour. 
 
 In a little while, five minutes perhaps, she sighed 
 like one awakening from a deep sleep, passed her hand 
 across her forehead and was as she had been, though 
 somewhat languid, as though strength had left her. 
 
 " It is true enough," she said, " and soon I must 
 be stirring lest many of my people should be killed. 
 My lord, wouldst thou see war ? Nay, thou shalt 
 bide here in safety whilst I go forward — to visit 
 Atene as I promised." 
 
 " Where thou goest, I go," said Leo angrily, 
 his face flushing to the roots of his hair with shame. 
 
 " I pray thee not, I pray thee not," she answered, 
 yet without venturing to forbid him. " We will 
 talk of it hereafter. Oros, away ! Send round 
 the Fire of Hes to every chief. Three nights hence 
 at the moonrise bid the Tribes gather — nay, not aU, 
 twenty thousand of their best will be enough, the 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 313 
 
 rest shall stay to guard the Mountain and this Sanc- 
 tuary. Let them bring food with them for fifteen 
 days. I join them at the following dawn. Go." 
 
 He bowed and went, whereon, dismissing the 
 matter from her mind, Ayesha began to question 
 me again about the Chinese and their customs. 
 
 It was in course of a somewhat similar conversa- 
 tion on the follov/ing night, of which, however, I 
 forget the exact details, that a remark of Leo's led 
 to another exhibition of Ayesha's marvellous 
 powers. 
 
 Leo — who had been considering her plans for con- 
 quest, and again combating them as best he could, 
 for they were entirely repugnant to his religious, 
 social and political views — said suddenly that 
 after all they must break down, since they would 
 involve the expenditure of sums of money so vast 
 that even Ayesha herself would be unable to 
 provide them by any known methods of taxa- 
 tion. She looked at him and laughed a little. 
 
 " Verily, Leo," she said, " to thee, yes ; and to 
 HoUy here I must seem as some madcap girl blown 
 to and fro by every wind of fancy, and building 
 me a pdace wherein to dwell out of dew and vapours, 
 or from the substance of the sunset fires. Thinkest 
 thou then that I would enter on this war — one 
 woman against all the world " — and as she spoke 
 her shape grew royal and in her awful eyes there 
 came a look that chilled my blood — " and make 
 no preparation for its necessities ? Why, since 
 last we spoke upon this matter, foreseeing all, I have 
 considered in my mind, and now thou shalt learn 
 how, without cost to those we rule — and for that 
 reason alone shall they love us dearly — I wiU glut 
 the treasuries of the Empress of the Earth. 
 
 " Dost remember, Leo, how in Kor I found but 
 a single pleasure during all those weary ages — 
 
314 AYESHA 
 
 that of forcing my mother Nature one by one to 
 yield me up her choicest secrets ; I, who am a student 
 of all things which are and of the forces that cause 
 them to be bom. Now follow me, both of you, 
 and ye shall look on what mortal eyes have not yet 
 beheld." 
 
 " What are we to see ? " I asked doubtfully, 
 having a lively recollection of Ayesha's powers as 
 a chemist. 
 
 " That thou shalt learn, or shalt not learn if it 
 pleases thee to stay behind. Come, Leo, my love, 
 my love, and leave this wise philosopher first to 
 find his riddle and next to guess it." 
 
 Then turning her back to me she smiled on him 
 so sweetly that although really he was more loth to 
 go than I, Leo would have followed her through a 
 furnace door, as indeed, had he but known it, he 
 was about to do. 
 
 So they started, and I accompanied them, since 
 with Ayesha it was useless to indulge in any foolish 
 pride, or to make oneself a victim to consistency. 
 Also I was anxious to see her new marvel, and did 
 not care to rely for an account of it upon Leo's 
 descriptive skill, which at its best was never more 
 than moderate. 
 
 She took us down passages that we had not passed 
 before, to a door which she signed to Leo to open. 
 He obeyed, and from the cave within issued a flood 
 of light. As we guessed at once, the place was 
 her laboratory, for about it stood metal flasks and 
 various strange-shaped instruments. Moreover, 
 there was a furnace in it, one of the best con- 
 ceivable, for it needed neither fuel nor stoking, 
 whose gaseous fires, like those of the twisted columns 
 in the Sanctuary, sprang from the womb of the 
 volcano beneath our feet. 
 
 When we entered two priests were at work there : 
 one of them stirring a cauldron with an iron rod 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 315 
 
 and the other receiving its molten contents into a 
 mould of clay. They stopped to salute Ayesha, 
 but she bade them to continue their task, asking 
 them if all went well. 
 
 "Very well, O Hes," they answered; and we 
 passed through that cave and sundry doors and 
 passages to a little chamber cut in the rock. There 
 was no lamp or flame of fire in it, and yet the place 
 was filled with a gentle light which seemed to flow 
 from the opposing wall. 
 
 " What were those priests doing ? " I said, more 
 to break the silence than for any other reason. 
 
 " Why waste breath upon foolish questions ? " 
 she replied. " Are no metals smelted in thy 
 country, O HoUy ? Now hadst thou sought to 
 know what I am doing — But that, without seeing, 
 thou wouldst not believe, so, Doubter, thou shalt 
 see." 
 
 Then she pointed to and bade us don, two strange 
 garments that hung upon the wall, made of a 
 material which seemed to be half cloth and half wood 
 and having head-pieces not unlike a diver's helmet. 
 
 So under her directions Leo helped me into mine, 
 lacing it up behind, after which, or so I gathered 
 from the sounds — for no light came through the 
 helmet — she did the same service for him. 
 
 " I seem very much in the dark," I said presently'; 
 for now there was silence again, and beneath this 
 extinguisher I felt alarmed and wished to be sure 
 that I was not left alone. 
 
 "Aye HoUy," I heard Ayesha's mocking voice 
 make answer, " in the dark, as thou wast ever, the 
 thick dark of ignorance and unbelief. Well, now, 
 as ever also, I will give thee light." As she spoke 
 I heard something roll back ,; I suppose that it must 
 have been a stone door. 
 
 Then, indeed, there was light, yes, even through 
 the thicknesses of that prepared garment, such 
 
3i6 AYESHA ^ 
 
 light as seemed to blind me. By it I saw that the 
 wall opposite to us had opened and that we were 
 all three of us on the threshold of another chamber. 
 At the end of it stood something like a little altar of 
 hard, black stone, and on this altar lay a mass of 
 substance of the size of a child's head, but fashioned, 
 I suppose from fantasy, to the oblong shape of a 
 human eye. 
 
 Out of this eye there poured that blistering and 
 intolerable light. It was shut; round by thick, 
 funnel-shaped screens of a material that looked like 
 fire-brick, yet it pierced them as though they were 
 but muslin. More, the rays thus directed upwards 
 struck full upon a lump of metal held in place 
 above them by a massive frame-^ork. 
 
 And what rays they were ! If all the cut dia- 
 monds of the world were brought together and set 
 beneath a mighty burning-glass, the light flashed 
 from them would not have been a thousandth part 
 so brilliant. They scorched my eyes and caused 
 the skin of my face and limbs to smart, yet Ayesha 
 stood there unshielded from them. Aye, she even 
 went down the length of the room and, throwing 
 back her veil, bent over them, as it seemed 
 a woman of molten steel in whose body the bones 
 were visible, and examined the mass that was sup- 
 ported by the hanging cradle. 
 
 "It is ready and somewhat sooner than I 
 thought," she said. Then as though it were but a 
 feather weight, she lifted the lump in her bare hands 
 and glided back with it to where we stood, laughing 
 and saying — 
 
 " Tell me now, O thou well-read Holly, if thou 
 hast ever heard of a better alchemist than this poor 
 priestess of a forgotten faith ? " And she thrust 
 the glowing substance up almost to the mask that 
 hid my face. 
 
 Then I turned and ran, or rather waddled, for in 
 
ATESHA'S ALCHEMY 317 
 
 that gear I could not run, out of the chamber 
 until the rock wall beyond stayed me, and there, 
 with my back towards her, thrust my helmeted 
 head against it, for I felt as though red hot 
 bradawls had been plunged into my eyes. So I 
 stood while she laughed and mocked behind me, 
 until at length I heard the door close, and the 
 blessed darkness came like a gift from Heaven. 
 
 Then Ayesha began to loose Leo from his ray-proof 
 armour, if so it can be called, and he in turn loosed 
 me; and there in that gentle radiance we stood 
 blinking at each other like owls in the sunlight, 
 while the tears streamed down our faces. 
 
 " Well, art satisfied", my Holly ? " she asked. 
 
 " Satisfied with what ? " I answered angrily, for 
 the smarting of my eyes was unbearablej " Yes, 
 with burnings and bedevilments I am well satisfied." 
 
 " And I also," grumbled Leo, who was swearing 
 softly but continuously to himself in the other 
 corner of the place. 
 
 But Ayesha only laughed, oh ! she laughed until 
 she seemed the goddess of aU merriment come to 
 earth, laughed till she also wept, then said — 
 
 " Why, what ingratitude is this ? Thou, my 
 Leo, didst wish to see the wonders that I work, 
 and thou, O Holly, didst come unbidden after I 
 bade thee stay behind, and now both of you are 
 rude and angry, aye, and weeping like a child with 
 a burnt finger. Here take this," and she gave 
 us some salve that stood upon a shelf, " and rub 
 it on your eyes and the smart will pass away." 
 
 So we did, and the pain went from them, though, 
 for hours afterwards, mine remained red as 
 blood. 
 
 " And what are these wonders ? " I asked her 
 presently. " If thou meanest that unbearable 
 flame " 
 
 "Nay, I mean what is bom of the flame, as, 
 
3i8 AYESHA 
 
 in thine ignorance thou dost call that mighty agent. 
 Look now ; " and she pointed to the metallic luinp 
 she had brought with her, which, still gleaming 
 faintly, lay upon the floor. " Nay, it has no heat. 
 Thinkest thou that I would wish to bum my tender 
 hands and so make them unsightly ? Touch it. 
 Holly." 
 
 But I would not, who thought to myself that 
 Ayesha might be well accustomed to the hottest 
 fires, and feared her impish mischief. I looked, 
 however, long and earnestly. 
 
 " Well, what is it. Holly ? " 
 
 " Gold," I said, then corrected myself and added, 
 " Copper," for the dull, red glow might have been 
 that of either metal. 
 
 " Nay, nay," she answered, " it is gold, pure 
 gold." 
 
 " The ore in this place must be rich," said Leo, 
 incredulously, for I would not speak any more. 
 
 " Yes, my Leo, the iron ore is rich." 
 
 " Iron ore ? " and he looked at her- 
 
 " Surely," she answered, " for from what mine 
 do men dig out gold in such great masses ? Iron 
 ore, beloved, that by my alchemy I change to gold, 
 which soon shall serve us in our need." 
 
 Now Leo stared and I groaned, for I did not 
 believe that it was gold, and still less that she could 
 make that metal. Then, reading my thought, 
 with one of those sudden changes of mood that were 
 common to her, Ayesha grew very angry. 
 
 " By Nature's self ! " she cried ; " wert thou not 
 my friend. Holly, the fool whom it pleases me to 
 cherish, I would bind that right hand of thine in 
 those secret rays till the very bones within it were 
 turned to gold. Nay, why should I be vexed with 
 thee, who art both blind and deaf ? Yet thou 
 shalt be persuaded," and leaving us, she passed 
 down the passages, called something to the 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 319 
 
 priests who were labouring in the workshop, then 
 returned to us. 
 
 Presently they followed her, carrpng on a kind 
 of stretcher between them an ingot of iron ore that 
 seemed to be as much as they could lift. 
 
 " Now," she said, " how wilt thou that I mark 
 this mass which as thou must admit is only iron ? 
 With the sign of Life ? Good," and at her bidding 
 the priests took cold-chisels and hammers and 
 roughly cut upon its surface the symbol of the 
 looped cross — the crux ansata. 
 
 " It is not enough," she said when they had 
 finished. " Holly, lend me that knife of thine, to- 
 morrow I will return it to thee, and of more value." 
 
 So I drew my hunting knife, an Indian-made thing, 
 that had a handle of plated iron, and gave it her. 
 
 " Thou knowest the marks on it," and she pointed 
 to various dents and to the maker's name upon the 
 blade ; for though the hilt was Indian work the steel 
 was of Sheffield manufacture. 
 
 I nodded. Then she bade the priests put on the 
 ray-proof armour that we had discarded, and told 
 us to go without the chamber and lie in the darkness 
 of the passage with our faces against the floor. 
 
 This we did, and remained so until, a few minutes 
 later, she called us again. We rose and returned 
 into the chamber to find the priests, who had re- 
 moved the protecting garments, gasping and rubbing 
 the salve upon their eyes ; to find also that the 
 Imnp of iron ore and my knife were gone. Next 
 she commanded them to place the block of gold- 
 coloured metal upon their stretcher and to bring 
 it with them. They obeyed, and we noted that, 
 although those priests were both of them strong 
 men they groaned beneath its weight. 
 
 " How came it," said Leo, " that thou, a woman, 
 couldst carry what these men find so heavy ? " 
 
 " It is one of the properties of that force which 
 
320 AYESHA 
 
 thou callest fire," she answered sweetly, " to make 
 what has been exposed to it, if for a little while only, 
 as light as thistle-do-wn. Else, how could I, who 
 am so frail, have borne yonder block of gold ? " 
 " Quite so ! I understand now," answered Leo. 
 
 Well, that was the end of it. The lump of metal 
 was hid away in a kind of rock pit, with an iron 
 cover, and we returned to Ayesha's apartments. 
 
 " So all wealth is thine, as well as aU power," 
 said Leo, presently, for remembering Ayesha's 
 awful threat I scarcely dared to open my mouth. 
 
 " It seems so," she answered wearily, " since 
 centuries ago I discovered that great secret, though 
 until ye came I had put it to no use. Holly here, 
 after his common fashion, beheves that this is 
 magic, but I tell thee again that there is no magic, 
 only knowledge which I have chanced to win." 
 
 " Of course," said Leo, " looked at in the right 
 way, that is in thy way, the thing is simple." I 
 think he would have liked to add, " as lying," 
 but as the phrase would have involved explanations, 
 did not. " Yet, Ayesha," he went on, " hast thou 
 thought that this discovery of thine will wreck the 
 world ? " 
 
 " Leo," she answered, " is there then nothing that 
 I can do which wiU not wreck this world, for which 
 thou hast such tender care, who shouldst keep all 
 thy care — for me ? " 
 
 I smiled, but remembering in time, turned the 
 smile into a frown at Leo, then fearing lest that also 
 might anger her, made my countenance as blank as 
 possible. 
 
 " If so," she continued, " well, let the world be 
 wrecked. But what meanest thou ? Oh ! my 
 lord, Leo, forgive me if I am so dull that I cannot 
 always follow thy quick thought — I who have lived 
 these many years alone, without converse with 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 321 
 
 nobler minds, or even those to which mine own is 
 equal." 
 
 " It pleases thee to mock me," said Leo, in a 
 vexed voice, " and that is not too brave." 
 
 Now Ayesha turned on him fiercely, and I looked 
 towards the door. But he did not shrink, only 
 folded his arms and stared her straight in the face. 
 She contemplated him a little, then said — 
 
 " After that great ordained reason which thou 
 dost not know, I think, Leo, that why I love thee 
 so madly is that thou alone art not afraid of me. 
 Not like Holly there, who, ever since I threatened to 
 turn his bones to gold — ^which, indeed, I was minded 
 to do," and she laughed — " trembles at my footsteps 
 and cowers beneath my softest glance. 
 
 "Oh! my lord, how good thou art to me, how 
 patient with my moods and woman's weaknesses," 
 and she made as though she were about to embrace 
 him. Then suddenly remembering herself, with a 
 little start that somehow conveyed more that 
 the most tragic gesture, she pointed to the couch 
 in token that he should seat himself. When he 
 had done so she drew a footstool to his feet and 
 sank upon it, looking up into his face with attentive 
 eyes, like a child who listens for a story. 
 
 " Thy reasons, Leo, give me thy reasons. Doubt- 
 less they are good, and, oh ! >e sure I'll weigh them 
 well." 
 
 " Here they are in brief," he answered, " The 
 world, as thou knewest in thy — " and he stopped. 
 
 " Thy earlier wanderings there," she suggested. 
 
 " Yes — thy earlier wanderings there, has set up 
 gold as the standard of its wealth. On it all 
 civilizations are founded. Make it as common as it 
 seems thou canst, and these must fall to pieces. 
 Credit will fail and, like their savage forefathers, 
 men must once more take to barter to supply their 
 needs as they do in Kaloon to-day." 
 
 X 
 
j22 A YESHA 
 
 " Why not ? " she asked. " It would be more 
 simple and bring them closer to the time when they 
 were good and knew not luxury and greed." 
 
 " And smashed in each other's heads with stone 
 axes," added Leo. / 
 
 " Who now pierce each other's hearts with steel, 
 or those leaden missiles of which thou hast told me. 
 Oh ! Leo, when the nations are beggared and their 
 golden god is down ; when the usurer and the fat 
 merchant tremble and turn white as chalk because 
 their hoards are but useless dross ; when I have 
 made the bankrupt Exchemges of the world my 
 mock, and laugh across the ruin of its richest mar- 
 kets, why, then, will not , true worth come to its 
 heritage again ? 
 
 " 'V^at of it if I do discomfort those who 
 think more of pelf than of courage and of virtue ; 
 those who, as that Hebrew prophet wrote, lay field 
 to field and house to house, until the wretched whom 
 they have robbed find no place left whereon to 
 dwell ? What if I prove your sagest chapmen 
 fools, and gorge your greedy money-changers with 
 the gold that they desire until they loathe its very 
 sight and touch ? What if I uphold the cause of 
 the poor and the oppressed against the ravening 
 lusts of Mammon ? Why, wiU not this world of 
 yours be happier then ? " 
 
 " I do not know," answered Leo. " All that I 
 know is that it would be a different world, one shaped 
 upon a new plan, governed by untried laws and 
 seeking other ends. In so strange a place who can 
 say what might or might not chance ? " 
 
 " That we shaU learn in its season, Leo. Or, 
 rather, if it be against thy wish, we will not turn 
 this hidden page. Since thou dost desire it, that 
 old evil, the love of lucre, shall still hold its 
 mastery upon the earth. Let the peoples keep 
 their yellow king, I'll not crown another in his 
 
AYESHA'S ALCHEMY 323 
 
 place, as I was minded — such as that living 
 Strength thou sawest burning eternally but now ; 
 that Power whereof I am the mistress, which 
 can give health to men, or even change the charac- 
 ter of metals, and in truth, if I so desire, obedient 
 to iriy word, destroy a city or rend this Mountain 
 from its roots. 
 
 " But see. Holly is wearied with much wondering 
 and needs his rest. Oh, HoUy ! thou wast bom a 
 critic of things done, not a doer of them. I know 
 thy tribe, for even in my day the colleges of Alexandria 
 echoed with their wranghngs and already the winds 
 blew thick with the dust of their forgotten bones. 
 Holly, I tell thee that at times those who create and 
 act are impatient of such petty doubts and caviUings. 
 Yet fear not, old friend, nor take my anger ill. 
 Already thy heart is gold without alloy, so what 
 need have I to gild thy bones ? " 
 
 I thanked Ayesha for her compliment, and 
 went to my bed wondering which was real, her 
 kindness or her wrath, or if both were but assumed. 
 Also I wondered in what way she had fallen 
 foul of the critics of Alexandria. Perhaps once she 
 had published a poem or a system of philosophy 
 and been roughly handled by them! It is quite 
 possible, only if Ayesha had ever written poetry 
 I think that it would have endured, like Sappho's. 
 In the morning I discovered that whatever else 
 about her might be false, Ayesha was a true chemist, 
 the very greatest, I suppose, who ever lived. For 
 as I dressed myself, those priests whom we had seen 
 in the laboratory, staggered into the room carrying 
 between them a heavy burden, that was covered 
 with a cloth, and, directed by Oros, placed it upon 
 the floor. 
 
 " What is that ? " I asked of Oros. 
 
 "A peace-offering sent by the Hesea," he said, "with 
 whom, as I am told, you dared to quarrel yesterday." 
 
3a4 A7ESHA 
 
 Then he withdrew the cloth, and there beneath it 
 shone that great lump of metal which, in the pre- 
 sence of myself and Leo, had been marked with the 
 Symbol of Life, that still appeared upon its surface. 
 Only now it was gold, not irbn, gold so good and 
 soft that I could write my name upon it with a nail. 
 My knife lay with it also, and of that too the handle, 
 though not the blade, had been changed from iron 
 into gold. 
 
 Ayesha asked to see this afterwards and was but 
 ill-pleased with the result of her experiment. She 
 pointed out to me that lines and blotches of gold 
 ran for an inch or more down the substance of the 
 steel, which she feared that they might weaken or 
 distemper, whereas it had been her purpose that the 
 hilt only should be altered.* 
 
 Often since that time I have marvelled how Ayesha 
 performed this miracle, and from what substances 
 she gathered or compounded the lightning-like ma- 
 terial which was her servant in the work ; also, 
 whether or no it had been impregnated with the 
 immortalizing fire of Life that burned in the caves 
 
 ' I proved in after days how realwereAyesha's alchemy, 
 and the knowledge which enabled her to solve the secret that 
 chemists have hunted for in vain, and, like Nature's self, to 
 transmute the commonest into the most precious of the 
 metals. At the first town that I reached on the frontiers of 
 India, I took this knife to a jeweller, a native, who was as clever 
 as he proved dishonest, and asked him to test the handle. He 
 did so with acids £(nd by other means, and told me that it 
 was of very pure gold, twenty-four carats, I think he said. 
 Also he pointed out that this gold became gradually merged 
 into the steel of the blade in a way which was quite 
 inexplicable to him, and asked me to clear up the matter. 
 Of course I could not, but at his request I left the knife 
 in his shop to give him an opportunity of examining it 
 further. The next day I was taken ill with one of the heart- 
 attacks to which I have been liable of late, and when I 
 became able to move about again a while afterwards, I 
 found that this jeweller had gone, none knew whither. So 
 bad my knife. — L. H. H. 
 
ATESHA'S ALCHEMY 325 
 
 of Kdr.* Yet to this hour I have found no answer 
 to the problem, for it is beyond my guessing. 
 
 I suppose that, in preparation for her conquest 
 of the inhabitants of this globe — to which, indeed, 
 it would have sufficed unaided by any other power 
 — the manufacture of gold from iron went on in the 
 cave unceasingly. 
 
 However this may be, during the few days that 
 we remained together Ayesha never so much as 
 spoke of it again. It seemed to have served her 
 purpose for the while, or in the press of other and 
 more urgent matters to have been forgotten or 
 thrust from her mind. Still, amongst others, of 
 which I have said nothing, since it is necessary 
 to select, I record this strange incident, and our 
 conversations concerning it at length, for the 
 reason that it made a great impression upon me 
 and furnishes a striking example of Ayesha's 
 dominion over the hidden forces of Nature whereof 
 we were soon to experience a more fearful instance. 
 
 * Recent discoveries would appear to suggest that this 
 mysterious " Fire of Life," which, whatever else it may 
 have been, was evidently a force and no true fire, since it 
 did not burn, owed its origin to the emanations from radium, 
 or some kindred substance. Although in the year 1885, 
 Mr. Holly would have known nothing of the properties of 
 these marvellous rays or emanations, doubtless Ayesha was 
 familiar with them and their enormous possibilities, of 
 which our chemists and scientific men have, at present, but 
 explored the fringe. — Editor. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 
 
 ON the day following this strange experience of 
 the iron that was turned to gold some great ser- 
 vice was held in the Sanctuary, as we understood, 
 "to consecrate the war." We did not attend it, 
 but that night we ate together as usual. Ayesha 
 was moody at the meal, that is, she varied from sullen- 
 ness to laughter. 
 
 " Know you," she said, " that to-day I was an 
 Oracle, and those fools of the Mountain sent their 
 medicine-men to ask of the Hesea how the battle 
 would go and which of them would be slain, and 
 which gain honour. And I — I could not teU them, 
 but juggled with my words, so that they might take 
 them as they would. How the battle will go I 
 know well, for I shall direct it, but the future — ah ! 
 that I cannot read better than thou canst, my Holly, 
 and that is iU indeed. For me the past and aU the 
 present lie bathed in hght reflected from that black 
 wall — the future." 
 
 Then she fell to brooding, and looking up at length 
 with an air of entreaty, said to Leo — 
 
 " Wilt thou not hear my prayer and bide where 
 thou art for some few days, or even go a-hunting ? 
 Do so, and I will stay with thee, and send HoUy and 
 Oros to command the Tribes in this petty fray." 
 
 "I will not," answered Leo, trembhng with indig- 
 nation, for this plan of hers that I should be sent 
 out to war, while he bided in safety in a temple, 
 moved him, a man brave to rashness, who, although 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 327 
 
 he disapproved of it in theory, loved fighting for 
 its own sake also, to absolute rage. 
 
 " I say, Ayesha, that I wiU not," he repeated ; 
 " moreover, that if thou leavest me here I will find my 
 way down the mountain alone, and join the battle." 
 
 " Then come," she answered, " and on thine own 
 head be it. Nay, not on thine beloved, on mine, 
 on mine." 
 
 After this, by some strange re-action, she became 
 Uke a merry girl, laughing more than I have ever 
 seen her do, and telling us many tales of the far, far 
 past, but none that were sad or tragic. It was very 
 strange to sit and Usten to her while she spoke of 
 people, one or two of them known as names in history 
 and many others who never have been heard of, 
 that had trod this earth and with whom she was 
 famiUar over two thousand years ago. Yet she 
 told us anecdotes of their loves and hates, their 
 strength or weaknesses, aU of them touched with 
 some tinge of humorous satire, or illustrating the 
 comic vanity of human aims and aspirations. 
 
 At length her talk took a deeper and more per- 
 sonal note. She spoke of her searchings after truth ; 
 of how, aching for wisdom, she had explored the 
 religions of her day and refused them one by one ; 
 of how she had preached in Jerusalem and been 
 stoned by the Doctors of the Law. Of how also 
 she had wandered back to Arabia and, being re- 
 jected by her own people as a reformer, had travelled 
 on to Egypt, and at the court of the Pharaoh of that 
 time met a famous magician, half charlatan and half 
 seer who, because she was far-seeing, ' clairvoyante ' 
 we should call it, instructed her in his art so well 
 that soon she became his master and forced him to 
 obey her. 
 
 Then, as though she were unwilling to reveal too 
 much, suddenly Ayesha's history passed from Egypt 
 to Kor. She spoke to Leo of his arrival there, 
 
328 AYESHA 
 
 a wanderer who was named Kallikrates, hunted 
 by savages and accompanied by the Egyptian 
 Amenartas, whom she appeared to have known 
 and hated in her own country, and of how 
 she entertained them. Yes, she even told of a 
 supper that the three of them had eaten together on 
 the evening before they started to discover the Place 
 of Life, and of an evil prophecy that this royal 
 Amenartas had made as to the issue of their 
 journey. 
 
 " Aye," Ayesha said, " it was such a silent night as 
 this and such a meal as this we ate, and Leo, not so 
 greatly changed, save that he was beardless then and 
 younger, was at my side. Where thou sittest. Holly, 
 sat the royal Amenartas, a very fair woman ; yes, 
 even more beautiful than I before I dipped me in the 
 Essence, fore-sighted also, though not so learned as I 
 had grown. From the first we hated each other, and 
 more than ever now, when she guessed how I had 
 learned to look upon thee, her lover, Leo ; for her hus- 
 band thou never wast, who didst flee too fast for 
 marriage. She knew also that the struggle between 
 us which had begun of old and afar was for centuries 
 and generations, and that until the end should 
 declare itself neither of us could harm the other, 
 who both had sinned to win thee, that wast appoint- 
 ed by fate to be the lodestone of our souls. Then 
 Amenartas spoke and said — 
 
 " ' Lo ! to my sight, Kallikrates, the wine in thy 
 cup is turned to blood, and that knife in thy hand, 
 O daughter of Yarab ' — for so she named me — ' drips 
 red blood. Aye, and this place is a sepulchre, and 
 thou, O Kallikrates, sleepest here, nor can she, thy 
 murderess, kiss back the breath of life into those 
 cold lips of thine.' 
 
 " So indeed it came about as was ordained," added 
 Ayesha reflectively, " f or I slew thee in yonder Place 
 of Life, yes, in my madness I slew thee because 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 329 
 
 thou wouldst not or couldst not understand the 
 change that had come over me, and shrankest from 
 my loveliness hke a blind bat from the splendour of 
 flame, hiding thy face in the tresses of her dusky 
 hair — Why, what is it now, thou Oros ? Can I never 
 be rid of thee for an hour ? " 
 
 " O Hes, a writing from the Khania Atene," the 
 priest said with his deprecating bow. 
 
 " Break the seal and read," she answered care- 
 lessly. " Perchance she has repented of her folly 
 and makes submission." 
 
 So he read — 
 
 " To the Hesea of the College on the Moimtain, 
 known as Ayesha upon earth, and in the household 
 of the Over-world whence she has been permitted 
 to wander, as ' Star-that-hath-fallen — ' " 
 
 " A pretty sounding name, forsooth," broke in 
 Ayesha; "ah! but, Atene, set stars rise again — 
 even from the Under-world. Read on, thou Oros." 
 
 " Greetings, O Ayesha. Thou who art very old, 
 hast gathered much wisdom in the passing of the 
 centuries, and with other powers, that of making 
 thyself seem fair in the eyes of men blinded by thine 
 arts. Yet one thing thou lackest that I have — 
 vision of those happenings which are not yet. Know, 
 O Ayesha, that I and my uncle, the great seer, have 
 searched the heavenly books to learn what is written 
 there of the issue of this war. 
 
 " This is written : — For me, death, whereat I re- 
 joice. For thee a spear cast by thine own hand. 
 For the land of Kaloon blood and ruin bred of thee ! 
 " Atene, 
 
 " Khania of Kaloon." 
 
 Ayesha listened in silence, but her lips did not 
 
330 A7ESHA 
 
 tremble, nor her cheek pale. To Oros she said 
 proudly — 
 
 "Say to the messenger of Atene that I have 
 received her message, and ere long will answer it, 
 face to face with her in her palace of Kaloon. Go, 
 priest, and disturb me no more." 
 
 When Oros had departed she turned to us and 
 said — 
 
 " That tale of mine of long ago was well fitted to 
 this hour, for as Amenartas prophesied of ill, so does 
 Atene prophesy of ill, and Amenartas and Atene 
 are one. Well, let the spear fall, if fall it must, and 
 I will not flinch from it who know that I shall surely 
 triumph at the last. Perhaps the Khania does but 
 think to frighten me with a cunning he, but if she has 
 read aright, then be sure, beloved, that it is still 
 well with us, since none can escape their destiny, nor 
 can our bond of union which was fashioned with the 
 universe that bears us, ever be undone." 
 
 She paused awhile, then went on with a sudden 
 outburst of poetic thought and imagery]: 
 
 " I tell thee, Leo, that out of the confusions of 
 our lives and deaths order shall yet be born. 
 Behind the mask of cruelty shine Mercy's tender 
 eyes ; and the wrongs of this rough and twisted 
 world are but hot blinding sparks which stream from 
 the all-righting sword of pure, etemsil Justice. The 
 heavy lives we see and know are only links in a 
 golden chain that shall draw us safe to the haven of 
 our rest ; steep and painful steps are they whereby 
 we climb to the allotted palace of our joy. Hence- 
 forth I fear no more, and fight no more against that 
 which must befall. For I say we are but winged 
 seeds blown down the gales of fate and change to the 
 appointed garden where we shall grow, filling its 
 blest air with the immortal fragrance of our bloom. 
 
 " Leave me now, Leo, and sleep awhile, for we ride 
 at dawn." 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 331 
 
 It was midday on the morrow when we moved 
 down the mountain-side with the army of the Tribes, 
 fierce and savage-looking men. The scouts were out 
 before us, then came the great body of their cavalry 
 mounted on wiry horses, while to right and left and 
 behind, the foot soldiers marched in regiments, each 
 under the command of its own chief. 
 
 Ayesha, veiled now— for she would not show her 
 beauty to these wild folk — rode in the midst of the 
 horsemen on a white mare of matchless speed 
 and shape. With her went Leo and myself, 
 Leo on the Khan's black horse, and I on 
 another no't unUke it, though thicker built. 
 About us were a bodyguard of armed priests and a 
 regiment of chosen soldiers, among them those 
 hunters that Leo had saved from Ayesha's wrath, 
 and who were now attached to his person. 
 
 We were merry, all of us, for in the crisp air of 
 late autumn flooded with sunlight, the fears and 
 forebodings that had haunted us in those gloomy, 
 firelit caves were forgotten. Moreover, the tramp 
 of thousands of armed men and the excitement of 
 coming battle thrilled our nerves. 
 
 Not for many a day had I seen Leo look so 
 vigorous and happy. Of late he had grown some- 
 what thin and pale, probably from causes that I have 
 suggested, but now his cheeks were red and his eyes 
 shone bright again. Ayesha also seemed joyous, 
 for the moods of this strange woman were as fickle 
 as those of Nature's self, and varied as a landscape 
 varies under the sunshine or the shadow. Npw she 
 was noon and now dark iiight ; now dawn, now 
 evening, and now thoughts came and went in the 
 blue depths of her eyes like vapours wafted across 
 the summer sky, and in the press of them her sweet 
 face changed and shimmered as broken water shim- 
 mers beneath the beaming stars. 
 
 "Too long," she said, with a httle thrilling laugh. 
 
333 AYESHA 
 
 " have I been shut in the bowels of sombre moun- 
 tains, companied only by mutes and savages or by 
 melancholy, chanting priests, and now I am glad 
 to look upon the world again. How beautiful are 
 the snows above, and the brown slopes below, and 
 the broad plains beyond that roll away to those 
 bordering hills ! How glorioios is the sun, eternal as 
 myself ; how sweet the keen air of heaven. 
 
 " Believe me, Leo, more than twenty centuries 
 have gone by since I was seated on a steed, and yet 
 thou seest I have not forgot my horsemanship, though 
 this beast cannot match those arabs that I rode in 
 the wide deserts of Arabia. Oh ! I remember how at 
 my father's side I galloped down to war against the 
 marauding Bedouins, and how with my own hand I 
 speared their chieftain and made him cry for mercy. 
 One day I will tell thee of that father of mine, for 
 I was his darling, and though we have been long 
 apart, I hold his memory dear and look forward to 
 our meeting. 
 
 " See, yonder is the mouth of that gorge where 
 Uved the cat-worshipping sorcerer, who would have 
 murdered both of you because thou, Leo, didst 
 throw his famihar to the fire. It is strange, but 
 several of the tribes of this Mountain and of the lands 
 behind it make cats their gods or divine by means 
 of them. I think that the first Rasseii, the graieral 
 of Alexander, must have brought the practice 
 here from Egypt. Of this Macedonian Alexander 
 I could tell thee much, for he was almost a con- 
 temporary of mine, and when I last was bom the 
 world still rang with the fame of his great deeds. 
 
 " It was Rassen who on the Mountain' sup- 
 planted the primeval fire-worship whereof the flam- 
 ing pillars which light its Sanctuary remain as monu- 
 ments, by that of Hes, or Isis, or rather blended 
 the two in one. Doubtless among the priests in 
 his army were some of Pasht or Sekket the Cat- 
 
" ' See, yonder is the mouth of the gorge where lived the 
 cat- worshipping sorcerer.'" 
 
 Ayes/ut.] 
 
 ^Page 33a, 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 333 
 
 headed, and these brought with them their secret cult, 
 that to-day has dwindled down to the vulgar divi- 
 nations of savage sorcerers. Indeed I remember 
 dimly that it was so, for I was the first Hesea of 
 this Temple, and journeyed hither with that same 
 general Rassen, a relative of mine." 
 
 Now both Leo and I looked at her wonderingly, 
 and I could see that she was watching us through her 
 veil. As usual, however, it was I whom she re- 
 proved, since Leo might think and do what he willed 
 and stiU escape her anger. 
 
 " Thou, HoUy," she said quickly, " who art ever 
 of a cavilling and suspicious mind, remembering 
 what I said but now, behevest that I lie to thee." 
 
 I protested that I was only reflecting upon an 
 apparent variation between two statements. 
 
 "Play not with words," she answered; "in thy 
 heart thou didst write me down a liar, and I take 
 that iU. Know, foolish man, that when I said that 
 the Macedonian Alexander lived before me, I meant 
 before this present life of mine. In the existence 
 that preceded it, though I outlasted him by thirty 
 years, we were bom in the same summer, and I knew 
 hirii well, for I was the Oracle whom he consulted 
 most upon his wars, and to my wisdom he owed his 
 victories. Afterwards we quarrelled, and I left him 
 and pushed forweird with Rassen. From that day 
 the bright star of Alexander began to wane." 
 
 At this Leo made a sound that resembled a whistle. 
 In a very agony of apprehension, beating back 
 the criticisms and certain recollections of the strange 
 tale of the old abbot, Kou-en, which would rise 
 within me, I asked quickly — 
 
 " And dost thou, Ayesha, remember well all that 
 befel thee in this former life ? " 
 
 "Nay, not weU," she answered, meditatively, 
 " only the greater facts, and those I have for the 
 most part recovered by that study of secret things 
 
334 AYESHA 
 
 which thou callest vision or magic. For instance, 
 my Holly, I recall that thou wast living in that life. 
 Indeed I seem to see an ugly philosopher clad in a 
 dirty robe and filled both with wine and the 
 learning of others, who disputed with Alexander till 
 he grew wroth with him and caused him to be 
 banished, or drowned : I forget which." 
 
 " I suppose that I was not called Diogenes ? " 
 I asked tartly, suspecting, perhaps not without 
 cause, that Ayesha was amusing herself by fooling me. 
 
 " No," she replied gravely, " I do not think that 
 was thy name. The Diogenes thou speakest of was 
 a much more famous man, one of real if crabbed 
 wisdom ; moreover, he did not indulge in wine. I 
 am mindful of very little of that hfe, howevei^, not 
 of more indeed than are many of the followers of the 
 prophet Buddha, whose doctrines I have studied and 
 of whom thou. Holly, hast spoken to me so much. 
 Maybe we did not meet while it endured. Still I 
 recollect that the Valley of Bones, where I foiuid 
 thee, my Leo, was the place where a great battle 
 was fought between the Fire-priests with their 
 vassals, the Tribes of the Mountain and the army 
 of Rassen aided by the people of Kaloon. For be- 
 tween these and the Mountain, in old days as now, 
 there was enmity, since in this present war history 
 does but rewrite itself." 
 
 " So thou thyself wast our guide," said Leo, looking 
 at her sharply. 
 
 "Aye, Leo, who else? though it is not wonderful 
 that thou didst not know me beneath those deathly 
 wrappings. I was minded to wait and receive thee 
 in the Sanctuary, yet when I learned that at length 
 both of you had escaped Atene and drew near, I 
 could restrain myself no more, but came forth thus 
 hideously disguised. Yes, I was with you even at 
 the river's bank, and though you saw me not, there 
 sheltered you from harm. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 335 
 
 "Leo, I yearned to look upon thee and to be 
 certain that thy heart had not changed, although 
 until the allotted time thou mightest not hear my 
 voice or see my face who wert doomed to undergo 
 that sore trial of thy faith. Of Holly also I desired 
 to learn whether his wisdom could pierce through 
 my disguise, and how near he stood to truth. It 
 was for this reason that I suffered him to see me 
 draw the lock from the satchel on thy breast and 
 to hear me wail over thee yonder in the Rest- 
 house. Well he did not guess so ill, but thou, thou 
 knewest me — in thy sleep — knewest me as I am, 
 and not as I seemed to be, yes," she added softly, 
 "and didst say certain sweet words which I re- 
 member well." 
 
 " Then beneath that shroud was thine own face," 
 asked Leo again, for he was very curious on this 
 point, " the same lovely face I see to-day ? " 
 
 " Mayhap — as thou wilt," she answered coldly ; 
 " also it is the spirit that matters, not the outward 
 seeming, though men in their bhndness think 
 otherwise^ Perchance my face is but as thy heart 
 fashions it, or as my will presents it to the sight and 
 fancy of its beholders. But hark ! The scouts have 
 touched." 
 
 As Ayesha spoke a sound of distant shouting was 
 borne upon the wind, and presently we saw a 
 fringe of horsemen falling back slowly upon our fore- 
 most Une, It was only to report, however, that the 
 skirmishers of Atene were in fjiU retreat. Indeed, a 
 prisoner whom they brought with them, on being ques- 
 tioned bythe priests, confessedat oncethatthe Khania 
 had no mind to meet us upon the fioly Mountain. 
 She proposed to give battle on the river's farther bank, 
 having for a defence its waters which we must ford, 
 a decision that showed good military judgment. 
 
 So it happened that on this day there was no 
 fighting. 
 
336 AYESHA 
 
 All that afternoon we descended the slopes of 
 the Mountain, more swiftly by far than we had 
 climbed them after our long flight from the city 
 of Kaloon. Before sunset we came to our prepared 
 camping ground, a wide and sloping plain that 
 ended at the crest of the Valley of Dead Bones, 
 where in past days we had met our mysterious 
 guide. This, however, we did not reach through 
 the secret mountain tunnel along which she had led 
 us, the shortest way by miles, as Ayesha told us now, 
 since it was unsuited to the passage of an army. 
 
 Bending to the left, we circled round a num- 
 ber of unclimbable koppies, beneath which that 
 tunnel passed, and so at length arrived upon the 
 brow of the dark ravine where we could sleep safe 
 from attack by night. 
 
 Here a tent was pitched for Ayesha, but as it was 
 the only one, Leo and I with our guard bivouacked 
 among some rocks at a distance of a few hundred 
 yards. When she found that this must be so, 
 Ayesha was very angry and spoke bitter words to 
 the chief who had charge of the food and baggage, 
 although, he, poor man, knew nothing of tents. 
 
 Also she blamed Oros, who replied meekly that he 
 had thought us captains accustomed to war and 
 its hardships. But most of all she was angry with 
 herself, who had forgotten this detail, and until 
 Leo stopped her with a laugh of vexation, went 
 on to suggest that we should sleep in the tent, since 
 she had no fear of the rigours of the mountain cold. 
 
 The end of it was that we supped together outside, 
 or rather Leo and I supped, for as there were guards 
 around us Ayesha did not even lift her veil. 
 
 That evening Ayesha was disturbed and ill at ease, 
 as though new fears which she could not overcome 
 assailed her. At length she seemed to conquer 
 them by some effort of her will and annoimced 
 that she was minded to sleep and thus refresh h^r 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 337 
 
 soul ; the only part of her, I think, which ever 
 needed rest. Her last words to us were — 
 
 " Sleep you also, sleep sound, but be not aston- 
 ished, my Leo, if I send to summon both of you 
 during the night, since in my slumbers I may find 
 new counsels and need to speak of them to thee ere 
 we break camp at dawn." 
 
 Thus we parted, but ah ! little did we guess how 
 and where the three of us would meet again^ 
 
 We were weary and soon fell fast asleep beside 
 our camp-fire, for, knowing that the whole army 
 guarded us, we had no fear. I remember watching 
 the bright stars which shone in the immense vault 
 above me until they paled in the pure light of the 
 risen moon, now somewhat past her full, and hearing 
 Leo mutter drowsily from beneath his fur rug that 
 Ayesha was quite right, and that it was pleasant 
 to be in the open air again, as he was tired of 
 caves. 
 
 After that I knew no more until I was awa- 
 kened by the challenge of a sentry in the dis- 
 tance; then after a pause, a second challenge 
 from the officer of our own guard. Another pause, 
 and a priest stood bowing before us, the flickering 
 light from the fire playing upon his shaven head 
 and face; which I seemed to recognize. 
 
 " I " — and he gave a name that was familiar 
 to me, but which I forget — " am sent, my lords, by 
 Oros, who commands me to say that the Hesea 
 would speak with you both and at once." 
 
 Now Leo sat up yawning and asked what was 
 the matter. I told him, whereon he said he wished 
 that Ayesha could have waited till daylight, then 
 added — 
 
 " Well, there is no help for it. Come on, Horace," 
 and he rose to follow the messenger. 
 
 The priest bowed again and said — 
 
 Y 
 
338 AYESHA 
 
 " The commands of the Hesea are that my lords 
 should bring their weapons and their guard." 
 
 " What," grumbled Leo, " to protect us for a 
 walk of a hundred yards through the heart of an 
 army ? " 
 
 " The Hesea," explained the man, " has left her 
 tent ; she is in the gorge yonder, stud3nng the line 
 of advance." 
 
 " How do you know that ? " I asked. 
 
 " I do not know it," he replied. " Oros told me 
 so, that is all, and therefore the Hesea bade my 
 lords bring their guard, for she is alone." 
 
 " Is she mad," ejaculated Leo, " to wander about 
 in such a place at midnight ? Well, it is like her." 
 
 I too thought it was like her, who did nothing 
 that others would have done, and yet I hesitated. 
 Then I remembered that Ayesha had said she might 
 send for us ; also I was sure that if any trick had been 
 intended we should not have been warned to bring 
 an escort. So we called the guard — there were 
 twelve of them — took our spears and swords and 
 started. 
 
 We were challenged by both the first and second 
 lines of sentries, and I noticed that as we gave them 
 the pass-word the last picket, who of course recog- 
 nized us, looked astonished. Still, if they had 
 doubts they did not dare to express them. So 
 we went on. 
 
 Now we began to descend the sides of the ravine 
 by a very steep path, with which the priest, our 
 guide, seemed to be curiously familiar, for he went 
 down it as though it were the stairway of his own 
 house. 
 
 "A strange place to take us to at night," said 
 Leo doubtfully, when we were near the bottom 
 and the chief of the bodyguard, that great red- 
 bearded hunter who had been mixed up in the 
 matter of the snow-leopard also muttered some 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 339 
 
 words of remonstrance. Whilst I was trying to 
 catch what he said, of a sudden something 
 white walked into the patch of moonlight at the 
 foot of the ravine, and we saw that it was the 
 veiled figure of Ayesha herself. The chief saw her 
 also and said contentedly — 
 
 " Hes ! Hes ! " 
 
 " Look at her," grumbled Leo, " strolling about 
 in that haunted hole as though it were Hyde Park ; " 
 and on he went at a run. 
 
 The figure turned and beckoned to us to follow 
 her as she glided forward, picking her way through 
 the skeletons which were scattered about upon the 
 lava bed of the cleft. Thus she went on into the 
 shadow of the opposing cliff that the moonlight 
 did not reach. Here in the wet season a stream 
 trickled down a path which it had cut through the 
 rock in the course of centuries, and the grit that 
 it had brought with it was spread about the lava 
 floor of the ravine, so that many of the bones were 
 almost completely buried in the sand. 
 
 These, I noticed, as we stepped into the shadow, 
 were inore numerous than usual just here, for on all 
 sides I saw the white crowns of skuUs, or the project- 
 ing ends of ribs and thigh bones. Doubtless, I thought 
 to myself, that streamway made a road to the plain 
 above, and in some past battle, the fighting around 
 it was very fierce and the slaughter great. 
 
 Here Ayesha had halted and was engaged in the 
 contemplation of this boulder-strewn path, as though 
 she meditated making use of it that day. Now 
 we drew near to her, and the priest who guided 
 us fell back with our guard, leaving us to go forward 
 alone, since they dared not approach the Hesea 
 unbidden. Leo was somewhat in advance of me, 
 seven or eight yards perhaps, and I heard him 
 say— 
 
 "Why dost thou venture into such places at 
 
340 A YES HA 
 
 night, Ayesha, unless indeed it is not possible for 
 any harm to come to thee ? " 
 
 She made no answer, only turned and opened 
 her arms wide, then let them fall to her side again. 
 Whilst I wondered what this signal of hers might 
 mean, from the shadows about us came a strange, 
 rustling sound. 
 
 I looked, and lo! everjTwhere the skeletons 
 were rising from their sandy beds. I saw their 
 white skulls, their gleaming arm and leg bones, 
 their hollow ribs. The long-slain army had come 
 to life again, and look ! in their hands were the 
 ghosts of spears. 
 
 Of course I knew at once that this was but another 
 manifestation of Ayesha's magic powers, which some 
 whim of hers had drawn us from our beds to witness. 
 Yet I confess that I felt frightened. Even the 
 boldest of men, however free from superstition, 
 might be excused should their nerve fail them if, 
 when standing in a churchyard at midnight, sud- 
 denly on every side they saw the dead arising from 
 their graves. Also our surroundings were wilder 
 and more eerie than those of any civilized burying- 
 place. 
 
 " What new devilment of thine is this ? " cried 
 Leo in a scared and angry voice. But Ayesha 
 made no answer. 
 
 I heard a noise behind me and looked round. The 
 skeletons were springing upon our body-guard, who 
 for their part, poor men, paralysed with terror, had 
 thrown down their weapons and fallen, some of 
 them, to their knees. Now the ghosts began to stab 
 at them with their phantom spears, and I saw that 
 beneath the blows they rolled over. The veiled 
 figure above me pointed with her hand at Leo and 
 said — 
 
 " Seize him, but I charge you, harm him not." 
 
 I knew the voice ; it was that of Atene! 
 
THE PROPHECY OF ATENE 341 
 
 Then too late I understood the trap into which 
 we had fallen. 
 
 " Treachery ! " I began to cry, and before the 
 word was out of my lips, a particularly able-bodied 
 skeleton silenced me with a violent blow upon the 
 head. But though I could not speak, my senses 
 still stayed with me for a little. I saw Leo fighting 
 furiously with a number of men who strove to pull 
 him down, so furiously, indeed that his frightful 
 efforts caused the blood to gush out of his mouth 
 from some burst vessel in the lungs. 
 
 Then sight and hearing failed me, and thinking 
 that this was death, I feU and remembered no more. 
 
 Why I was not killed outright I do not know, 
 unless in their hurry the disguised soldiers 
 thought me already dead, or perhaps that my 
 life was to be spared also. At least, beyond the 
 knock upon the head I received no injury. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 
 
 WHEN I came to myself again, it was daylight. 
 I saw the calm, gentle face of Oros bending 
 over me as he poured some strong fluid down my 
 throat that seenied to shoot through all my body, 
 and melt a curtain in my mind. I saw also that 
 beside him stood Ayesha. 
 
 " Speak, man, speak," she said in a terrible 
 voice. " What has chanced here ? Thou livest, 
 then where is my lord ? Where hast thou hid my 
 lord ? TeU me — or die." 
 
 It was the vision that I saw when my senses 
 left me in the snow of the avalanche, fulfilled to 
 the last detail ! 
 
 " Atene has taken him," I answered. 
 
 " Atene has taken him and thou art left alive ? " 
 
 " Do not be wrath with me," I answered, " it is 
 no fault of mine. Little wonder we were deceived 
 after thou hadst said that thou mightest summon 
 us ere dawn." 
 
 Then, as briefly as I could, I told the story^ 
 
 She listened, went to where our murdered guards 
 lay with unstained spears, and looked at them. 
 
 "Well for these that they are dead," she exclaimed. 
 " Now, Holly, thou seest what is the fruit of 
 mercy. The men whose lives I gave my lord have 
 failed him at his need." 
 
 Then she passed forward to the spot where Leo 
 was captured. Here lay a broken sword — Leo's — 
 that had been the Khan Rassen's, and two dead 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 343 
 
 men. Both of these were clothed in some tight- 
 fitting black garments, having their heads and faces 
 whitened with chalk and upon their vests a rude 
 imitation of a human skeleton, also daubed in chalk. 
 
 " A trick fit to frighten fools with," she said con- 
 temptuously. " But oh ! that Atene should have 
 dared to play the part of Ayesha, that she should 
 have dared ! " and she clenched her little hand. 
 " See, surprised and overwhelmed, yet he fought 
 well. Say ! was he hurt, HoUy ? It comes upon 
 me — ^no, tell me that I see amiss." 
 
 " Not much, I think," I answered doubtfully, " a 
 little blood was running from his mouth, no more. 
 Look, there go the stains of it upon that rock." 
 
 " For every drop I'll take a hundred lives. 
 By myself I swear it," Ayesha muttered with a 
 groan. Then she cried in a ringing voice, 
 
 " Back and to horse, for I have deeds to do this 
 day. Nay, bide thou here, Holly ; we go a shorter 
 path while the army skirts the gorge. Oros, give 
 him food and drink and bathe that hurt upon his 
 head. It is but a bruise, for his hood and hair are 
 thick." 
 
 So while Oros rubbed some stinging lotion on my 
 scalp, I ate and drank as best I could till my brain 
 ceased to swim, for the blow, though heavy, had not 
 fractured the bone. When I was ready they brought 
 the horses to us, and mounting them, slowly we 
 scrambled up the steep bed of the water-course. 
 
 " See," Ayesha said, pointing to tracks and hoof- 
 prints on the plain at its head, " there was a chariot 
 awaiting him, and harnessed to it were four swift 
 horses. Atene's scheme was clever and well laid, 
 and I, grown oversure and careless, slept thfough 
 it aU ! " 
 
 On this plain the army of the Tribes that had 
 broken camp before the dawn was already gather- 
 ing fast ; indeed, the cavalry, if I may call them so. 
 
344 AYESHA 
 
 were assembled there to the number of about five 
 thousand men, each of whom had a led horse. 
 Ayesha summoned the chiefs and captains, and 
 addressed them. 
 
 " Servants of Hes," she said, " the stranger lord, 
 my bethrothed and guest, has been tricked by a 
 false priest and, falling into a cunning snare, 
 captured as a hostage. It is necessary that I 
 follow him fast, before harm comes to him. We 
 move down to attack the army of the Khania 
 beyond the river. When its passage is forced I 
 pass on with the horsemen, for I must sleep in the 
 city of Kaloon to-night. What sayest thou, Oros ? 
 That a second and greater army defends its waUs ? 
 Man, I know it, and if there is need, that army I wiU 
 destroy. Nay, stare not at me. Already they are 
 as dead. Horsemen, you accompany me. 
 
 " Captains of the Tribes, you follow, and woe be 
 to that man who hangs back in the hour of battle, 
 for death and eternal shame shall be his portion, but 
 wealth and honour to those who bear them bravely. 
 Yes, I tell you, theirs shall be the fair land of Kaloon. 
 You have your orders for the passing of yonder 
 river. I, with the horsemen, take the central ford. 
 Let the wings advance." 
 
 The chiefs answered with a cheer, for they were 
 fierce men whose ancestors had loved war for gener- 
 ations. Moreover, mad as seemed the enterprise, 
 they trusted in their Oracle, the Hesea, and, like aU 
 hiU peoples, were easily fired by the promise of rich 
 plunder. 
 
 An hour's steady march down the slopes brought 
 the army to the edge of the marsh lands. Th^e, 
 as it chanced, proved no obstacle to our progress, 
 for in that season of great drought they were quite 
 dry, and for the same reason the shrunken river was 
 not so impassable a defence as I feared that it would 
 be. Still, because of its rocky bottom and steep, 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 345 
 
 opposing banks, it looked formidable enough, while 
 on the crests of those banks, in squadrons and 
 companies of horse and foot, were gathered the 
 regiments of Atene. 
 
 While the wings of footmen deployed to right and 
 left, the cavalry halted in the marshes and let their 
 horses fiU themselves with the long grass, now a little 
 browned by frost, that grew on this boggy soil, and 
 afterwards drink some water. 
 
 All this time Ayesha stood silent, for she also had 
 dismounted, that the mare she rode and her two led 
 horses might graze with the others. Indeed, she 
 spoke but once, saying — 
 
 " Thou thinkest this adventure mad, my Holly ? 
 Say, art afraid ? " 
 
 " Not with thee for captain," I answered, " Still, 
 that second army " 
 
 " Shall melt before me like mist before the gale," 
 she rephed in a low and thrilling voice. " HoUy, I 
 tell thee thou shalt see things such as no man upon 
 the earth has ever seen. Remember my words 
 when I loose the Powers and thou followest the rent 
 veil of Ayesha through the smitten squadrons of 
 Kaloon. Only — ^what if Atene should dare to murder 
 him ? Oh, if she should dare ! " 
 
 " Be comforted," I rephed, wondering what she 
 might mean by this loosing of the Powers. " I 
 think that she loves him too well." 
 
 " I bless thee for the words, Holly, yet — I know 
 he will refuse her, and then her hate for me and her 
 j ealous rage may overcome her love for him. Should 
 this be so, what will avail my vengeance ? Eat and 
 drink again, Holly — ^nay, I touch no food until I sit 
 in the palace of Kaloon — and look well to girth and 
 bridle, for thou ridest far and on a wild errand. 
 Mount thee on Leo's horse, which is swift and sure ; 
 if it dies, the guards will bring thee others." 
 
 I obeyed her as best I could, and once more bathed 
 
346 AYESHA 
 
 my head in a pool, and with the help of Oros tied a 
 rag soaked in the liniment on the bruise, after which 
 I felt sound enough. Indeed, the mad excitement 
 of those minutes of waiting, and some foreshadow- 
 ing of the terrible wonders that were about to be- 
 fall, made me forget my hurts. 
 
 Now, Ayesha was standing staring upwards, so 
 that although I could not see her veiled face, I 
 guessed that her eyes must be fixed on the sky 
 above the motmtain top. I was certain, also, that 
 she was concentrating her fearful will upon an un- 
 known object, for her whole frame quivered hke a 
 reed shaken in the wind. 
 
 It was a very strange morning — cold and clear, yet 
 curiously stiU, and with a heaviness in the air such 
 as precedes a great fall of snow, although for much 
 snow the season was yet too early. Once or twice, too, 
 in that utter calm, I thought that I felt everything 
 shudder ; not the ordinary trembling of earth- 
 quake, however, for the shuddering seemed to be 
 of the atmosphere quite as much as of the land. 
 It was as though all Nature around us were a Uving 
 creature which is very much afraid. 
 
 Following Ayesha's earnest gaze, I perceived 
 that thick, smoky clouds were gathering one 
 by one in the clear sky above the peak, and that 
 they were edged, each of them, with a fiery, rim. 
 Watching these fantastic and ominous clouds, I 
 ventured to say to her that it looked as though the 
 weather would change — ^not a very original remark, 
 but one which the circumstances suggested. 
 
 " Aye," she answered, " ere night the weather will 
 be wilder even than my heart. No longer shall they 
 cry for water in Kaloon ! Mount, Holly, mount ! 
 The advance begins ! " and unaided she sprang to 
 the saddle of the mare that Oros brought her. 
 
 Then, in the midst of the five thousand horsemen, 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 347 
 
 we moved down upon the ford. As we reached its 
 brink I noted that the two divisions of tribesmen were 
 already entering the stream half a mile to the right 
 and left of us. Of what befell them I can tell 
 nothing from observation, although I learned later 
 that they forced it after great slaughter on both 
 sides. 
 
 In front of us was gathered the main body of the 
 Khania's army, massed by regiments upon the further 
 bank, while hundreds of picked men stood up to their 
 middles in the water, waiting to spear or hamstring 
 our horses as we advanced. 
 
 Now, uttering their wild, whistling cry, our leading 
 companies dashed into the river, leaving us upon the 
 bank, and soon were engaged hotly with the footmen 
 in midstream. While this fray went on, Oros came 
 to Ayesha and told her a spy had reported that Leo, 
 bound in a two-wheeled carriage and accompanied 
 by Atene, Simbri and a guard, had passed through 
 the enemy's camp at night, galloping furiously 
 towards Kaloon. 
 
 "Spare thy words, I know it," she answered, and 
 he fell back behind her. 
 
 Our squadrons gained the bank, having destroyed 
 most of the men in the water, but as they set foot 
 upon it the enemy charged them and drove them 
 back with loss, llirice they returned to the attack, 
 and thrice were repulsed in this fashion. At length 
 Ayesha grew impatient. 
 
 " They need a leader, and I wiU give them one," 
 she said. " Come with me, my Holly," and; followed 
 by the main body of the horsemen, she rode a little 
 way into the river, and there waited until the 
 shattered troops had fallen back upon us. Oros 
 whispered to me — 
 
 " It is madness, the Hesea will be slain." 
 
 " Thinkest thou so ? " I answered. " More Uke 
 that we shall be slain," a saymg at which he 
 
348 AYESHA 
 
 smiled a little more than usual and shrugged his 
 shoulders, since, for all his soft ways, Oros was a 
 brave man. Also I believe that he spoke to try 
 me, knowing that his mistress would take no harm. 
 Ayesha held up her hand, in which there was no 
 weapon, and waved it forwards. A great cheer 
 answered that signal to advance, and in the midst of 
 it this frail, white-robed woman spoke to her horse, so 
 that it plunged deep into the water. 
 
 Two minutes later, and spears and arrows were 
 flying about us so thickly that they seemed to 
 darken the sky. I saw men and horses fall to right 
 and left, but nothing touched me or the wmte 
 robes that floated a yard or two ahead. Five 
 minutes and we were gaining the further bank, 
 and there the worst fight began. 
 
 It was fierce indeed, yet never an inch did the 
 white robes give back, and where they went men 
 would follow them or fall. We were up the bank 
 and the enemy was packed about us, but through 
 them we passed slowly, like a boat through an 
 adverse sea that buffets but cannot stay it. Yes, 
 further and fmrther, till 9,t last the lines ahead 
 grew thin as the living wedge of horsemen forced 
 its path between them — grew thin, broke and 
 vanished. 
 
 We had passed through the heart of the host, 
 and leaving the tribesmen who followed to deal with 
 its flying fragments, rode on half a mile or so and 
 mustered. Many were dead and more were hurt, 
 but the command was issued that all sore-wounded 
 men should fall out and give their horses to replace 
 those that had been killed. 
 
 This was done, and presently we moved on, three 
 thousand of us now, not more, heading for Kaloon. 
 The trot grew to a canter, and the canter to a gallop, 
 as we rushed forward across that endless plain, till 
 at midday, or a little after — for this route was far 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 349 
 
 shorter than that taken by Leo and myself in our 
 devious flight from Rassen and his death-hounds — we 
 dimly saw the city of Kaloon set upon its hill. 
 
 Now a halt was ordered, for here was a reservoir 
 in which was stiU some water, whereof the horses 
 drank, while the men ate of the food they carried 
 with them ; dried meat and barley meal. Here, too, 
 more spies met us, who said that the great army of 
 Atene was posted guarding the city bridges, and 
 that to attack it with our little force would mean 
 destruction. But Ayesha took no heed of their 
 words ; indeed, she scarcely seemed to hear them. 
 Only she ordered that aU wearied horses should be 
 abandoned and fresh ones mounted. 
 
 Forward again for hour after hour, in perfect silence 
 save for the thunder of our horses' hoofs. No word 
 spoke Ayesha, nor did her wild escort speak, only 
 from time to time they looked over their shoulders 
 and pointed with their red spears at the red sky 
 behind. 
 
 I looked also, nor shall I forget its aspect. The 
 dreadful, fire-edged clouds had grown and gathered 
 so that beneath their shadows the plain lay almost 
 black. They marched above us like an army in the 
 heavens, while from time to time vaporous points 
 shot forward, thin hke swords, or massed like charg- 
 ing horse. 
 
 Under them a vast stillness reigned. It was as 
 though the earth lay dead beneath their pall. 
 
 Kaloon, lit in a lurid light, grew nearer. The 
 pickets of the foe flew homeward before us, shaking 
 their javelins, and their mocking laughter reached 
 us in hollow echoes. Now we saw the vast array, 
 posted rank on rank with silken banners drooping in 
 that stirless air, flanked and screened by gUttering 
 regiments of horse. 
 
 An embassy approached us, and at the signal of 
 Ayesha's uplifted arm we halted. It was headed 
 
350 A YESHA 
 
 hy a lord of the court whose face I knew. He 
 pulled rein and spoke boldly. 
 
 " Listen, Hes, to the words of Atene. Ere now the 
 stranger lord, thy da.rling, is prisoner in her palace. 
 Advance, and we destroy thee and thy little band ; 
 but if by any miracle thou shouldest conquer, then 
 he dies. Get thee gone to thy Mountain fastness and 
 the Khania gives thee peace, and thy people their 
 lives. What answer to the words of the Khania ? " 
 
 Ayesha whispered to Oros, who called aloud — 
 
 " There is no answer. Go, if ye love life, for 
 death draws near to you." 
 
 So they went, fast as their swift steeds would 
 carry them, but for a little while Ayesha still sat 
 lost in thought. 
 
 Presently she turned, and through her thin veU I 
 saw that her face was white and terrible, and that 
 the eyes in it glowed like those of a lioness at 
 night. She said to me— hissing the words between 
 her clenched teeth — 
 
 " HoUy, prepare thyself to look into the mouth of 
 hell. I desired to spare them if I could, I swear it, but 
 my heart bids me be bold, to put off human pity, and 
 use all my secret might if I would see Leo Bving. 
 Holly, I ten thee they are about to murder him ! " 
 
 Then she cried aloud, " Fear nothing, Captains. 
 Ye are but few, yet with you goes the strength of 
 ten thousand thousand. Now follow the Hesea, 
 and whate'er ye meet, be not dismayed. Repeat it 
 to the soldiers, that fearing nothing they foUow the 
 Hesea through yonder host and across the bridge and 
 into the city of Kaloon." 
 
 So the chiefs rode hither and thither, cr3ang out 
 her words, and the savage tribesmen answered — 
 
 " Aye, we who followed through the water, will 
 follow across the plain. Onward, Hes, for darkness 
 swallows us." 
 
 Now some orders were given, and the companies 
 
" Ayesha tore off her veil and held it on high.' 
 
 Ayesha.} 
 
 [Page 351. 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 351 
 
 fell into a formation that resembled a great 
 wedge, Ayesha herself being its very point and apex, 
 for though Oros and I rode on either side of her, 
 spur as we would, our horses' heads never passed 
 her saddle bow. In front of that dark mass she 
 shone a single spot of white — one snowy feather on 
 a black torrent's breast. 
 
 A screaming bugle note — and, like giant arms, from 
 the shelter of some groves of poplar trees, curved 
 horns of cavalry shot out to surround us, while 
 the broad bosom of the opposing army, shimmering 
 with spears, rolled forward as a wave rolls crowned 
 with sunUt foam, and behind it, line upon line, un- 
 countable, lay a surging sea of men. 
 
 Our end was near. We were lost, or so it seemed. 
 
 Ayesha tore off her veil and held it on high, flowing 
 from her Uke a pennon, and lo ! upon her brow 
 blazed that wide and mystic diadem of light which 
 once only I had seen before. 
 
 Denser and denser grew the rushing clouds 
 above ; brighter and brighter gleamed the unearthly 
 star of light beneath. Louder and louder beat 
 the sound Of the falling hoofs of ten thousand 
 horses. From the Mountain peak behind us went 
 up sudden sheets of flame ; it spouted fire as a 
 whale spouts foam. 
 
 The scene was dreadful. In front, the towers of 
 Kaloon lurid in a monstrous simset. Above, a gloom 
 as of an eclipse. Around the darkling, sunburnt 
 plain. On it Atene's advancing army, and our rush- 
 ing wedge of horsemen destined, it would appear, 
 to inevitable doom. 
 
 Ayesha let fall her rein. She tossed her arms, 
 waving the torn, white veil as though it were a 
 signal cast to heaven. 
 
 Instantly from the churning jaws of the unholy 
 night above belched a blaze of answering flame. 
 
333 AYESHA 
 
 that also wavered like a rent and shaken veil in 
 the grasp of a black hand of cloud. 
 
 Then did Ayesha roll the thunder of her might 
 upon the Children of Kaloon. Then she called, and 
 the Terror came, such as men had never seen and 
 perchance never more will see. Awful bursts of 
 wind tore past us, lifting the very stones and soil 
 before them, and with the wind went haU and level, 
 hissing rain, made visible by the arrows of perpetual 
 lightnings that leapt downwards from the sky and 
 upwards from the earth. 
 
 It was as she had warned me. It was as 
 though hell had broken loose upon the world, 
 yet through that hell we rushed on unharmed. For 
 always these furies passed before us. No arrow flew, 
 no javelin was stained. The jagged haU was a herald 
 of our coming ; the levens that smote and stabbed 
 were our sword and spear, while ever the hurricane 
 roared and screamed with a miUion separate voices 
 which blended to one yell of sound, hideous and 
 indescribable. 
 
 As for the hosts about us they melted and were 
 gone. 
 
 Now the darkness was dense, like to that of 
 thickest night ; yet in the fierce flares of the light- 
 nings I saw them run this way and that, and amidst 
 the volleying, elemental voices I heard their shouts 
 of horror and of agony. I saw horses and riders 
 roll confused upon the ground ; like storm-drifted 
 leaves I saw their footmen piled in high and whir- 
 ling heaps, while the brands of heaven struck and 
 struck them tUl they sank together and grew still. 
 
 I saw the groves of trees bend, shrivel up and 
 vanish. I saw the high walls of Kaloon blown in 
 and flee away, while the houses within the walls 
 took fire, to go out beneath the torrents of the 
 driving rain, and again take fire. I saw blackness 
 sweep over us with great wings, and when I looked. 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 353 
 
 lo ! those wide wings were flame, floods of pulsing 
 flame that flew upon the tormented air. 
 
 Blackness, utter blackness ; turmoil, doom, 
 dismay! Beneath me the labouring horse; at 
 my side the steady crest of hght which sat on 
 Ayesha's brow, and through the ttmiult a clear, 
 exultant voice that sang — 
 
 " I promised thee wild weather ! Now, Holly, dost 
 thou believe that I can loose the prisoned Powers 
 of the world ? " 
 
 Lo J aU was past and gone, and above us shone 
 the quiet evening sky, and before us lay the empty 
 bridge, and beyond it the flaming city of Kaloon. 
 But the armies of Atene, where were they ? Go, 
 ask of those great cairns that hide their bones. Go, 
 ask it of her widowed land. 
 
 Yet of our wild company of horsemen not one 
 was lost. After us they galloped trembling, white- 
 lippedj like men who face to face had fought and 
 conquered Death, but triumphant — ah, trium- 
 phant ! 
 
 On the high head of the bridge Ayesha wheeled 
 her horse, and so for one proud moment stood to 
 welcome them. At the sight of her glorious, star- 
 crc wned countenance, which now her Tribes beheld 
 for the first time and the last, there went up such 
 a shout as men have seldom heard. 
 
 " The Goddess I " that shout thundered. "Wor- 
 ship the Goddess ! " 
 
 Then she turned her horse's head again, and they 
 followed on through the long strait street of the 
 burning city, up to the palace on its crest. 
 
 As the sun set we sped beneath its gateway. Silence 
 in the courtyard, silence everjrwhere, save for the 
 distant roar of fire and the scared howhngs of 
 the death-hoimds in their kennel. 
 
 Ayesha sprang from her horse, and waving back 
 
354 AYESHA 
 
 all save Oros and myself, swept through the open 
 doors into the halls beyond. 
 
 They were empty, every one — all were fled or dead. 
 Yet she never paused or doubted, but so swiftly 
 that we scarce could follow her, fUtted up the wide 
 stone stair that led to the topmost tower. Up, 
 still up, until we reached the chamber where had 
 dwelt Simbri the Shaman, that same chamber 
 whence he was wont to watch his stars, in which Atene 
 had threatened us with death. 
 
 Its door was shut and barred ; stiU, at Ayesha's 
 coming, yes, before the mere breath of her presence, 
 the iron bolts snapped like twigs, the locks flew 
 back, and inward burst that massive portal. 
 
 Now we were within the lamp-lit chamber, and this 
 is what we saw. Seated in a chair, pale-faced, 
 bound, yet proud and defiant-looking, was Leo. 
 Over him, a dagger in his withered hand — yes, about 
 to strike, in the very act — stood the old Shaman, 
 and on the floor hard by, gazing upward with 
 wide-set eyes, dead and still majestic in her death, 
 lay Atene, Khania of Kaloon. 
 
 Ayesha waved her arm and the knife fell from 
 Simbri's hand, clattering on the marble, while in 
 an instant he who had held it was smitten to still- 
 ness and became like a man turned to stone. 
 
 She stooped, lifted the dagger, and with a 
 swift stroke severed Leo's bonds ; then, as though 
 overcome at last, sank on to a bench in silence. 
 Leo rose, looking about him bewildered, and said 
 in the strained voice of one who is weak with much 
 suffering — 
 
 " But just in time, Ayesha. Another second, and 
 that murderous dog " — and he pointed to the Shaman 
 — " well, it was in time. But how went the battle, 
 and how camest thou here through that awful 
 hurricane ? And, oh, Horace, thank heaven they 
 did not kill you after all ! " 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 355 
 
 " The battle went ill foi some," Ayesha answered, 
 " and I came not through the hurricane, but on its 
 wings. TeU me now, what has befallen thee since we 
 parted ? " 
 
 "Trapped, overpowered, bound, brought here, 
 told that I must write to thee and stop thy advance, 
 
 or die— fefused, of course, and then " and he 
 
 glanced at the dead body on the floor. 
 
 " And then ? " repeated Ayesha. 
 
 " Then that fearful tempest, which seemed to 
 drive me mad. Oh ! if thou couldst have heard the 
 wind howling round these battlements, tearing off 
 their stones as though they were dry leaves ; if 
 thou hadst seen the lightnings f allin g thick and fast 
 as rain " 
 
 " They were my messengers. I sent them to save 
 thee," said Ayesha simply. 
 
 Leo stared at her, making no comment, but after 
 a pause, as though he were thinking the matter over, 
 he went on — 
 
 " Atene said as much, but I did not believe her. 
 I thought the end of the world had come, that was 
 aU. Well, she returned just now more mad even 
 than I was, and told me that her people were des- 
 troyed and that she could not fight against the 
 strength of heU, but that she could send me thither, 
 and took a knife to kill me. 
 
 " I said, ' Kill on,' for I knew that wherever I 
 went thou wouldst follow, and I was sick with the 
 loss of blood from some hurt I had in that struggle, 
 and weary of it all. So I shut my eyes waiting for 
 the stroke, but instead I felt her Ups pressed upon 
 my forehead, and heard her say — 
 
 " ' Nay, I wiU not do it. Fare thee well ; fulfil thou 
 
 thine own destiny, as I fulfil mine. For this cast 
 
 the dice have fallen against me ; elsewhere it may 
 
 be otherwise. I go to load them if I may.' 
 
 " I opened my eyes and looked. There Atene 
 
356 AYESHA 
 
 stood, a glass in her hand — see, it lies beside 
 her. 
 
 " ' Defeated, yet I win,' she cried, ' for I do but 
 pass before thee to prepare the path that thou 
 shalt tread, and to make ready thy place in the 
 Under-world. Till we meet again I pledge thee, for 
 I am destroyed. Ayesha's horsemen are in my 
 streets, and, clothed in lightnings, at their head, 
 rides Ayesha's avenging self.' 
 
 " So she drank, and fell dead — but now. Look, her 
 breast still quivers. Afterwards, that old man 
 would have murdered me, for, being roped, I could 
 not resist him, but the door burst in and thou 
 camest. Spare him, he is of her blood, and he loved 
 her." 
 
 Then Leo sank back into the chair ' where we 
 had discovered him bound, and seemed to fall into a 
 kind of torpor, for of a sudden he grew to look like 
 an old man. 
 
 " Thou art sick," said Ayesha anxiously. " Oros, 
 thy medicine, the draught I bade thee bring! Be 
 swift, I say." 
 
 The priest bowed, and from some pocket in his 
 ample robe produced a phial which he opened and 
 gave to Leo, saying — 
 
 " Drink, my lord ; this stuff will give thee back 
 thy health, for it is strong." 
 
 " The stronger the better," answered Leo, rousing 
 himself, and with something like his old, cheerfiil 
 laugh. " I am thirsty who have touched nothing 
 since last night, and have fought hard and been 
 carried far, yes — and lived through that hellish 
 storm." 
 
 Then he took the draught and emptied it. 
 
 There must have been virtue in that potion ; at 
 least, the change which it produced in him was won- 
 derful. Within a minute his eyes grew bright again, 
 and the colour returned into his cheeks. 
 
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS 357 
 
 " Thy medicines are vr-xy good, as I have learned 
 of old," he said to Ayesha ; " but the best of all of 
 them is to see thee safe and victorious before me, 
 and to know that I, who looked for death, yet live 
 to greet thee, my beloved. There is food," and he 
 pointed to a board upon which were meats, " say, 
 may I eat of them, for I starve ? " 
 
 " Aye," she answered softly, " eat, and, my 
 Holly, eat thou also." 
 
 So we fell to, yes, we fell to and ate even in the 
 presence of that dead woman who looked so royal 
 in her death ; of the old magician who stood there 
 powerless, like a man petrified, and of Ayesha, the 
 wondrous being that could destroy an army with 
 the fearful weapons which were servant to her will. 
 
 Only Oros ate nothing, but remained where he 
 was, smiling at us benignantly, nor did Ayesha touch 
 any food. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 
 
 WHEN I had satisfied myself, Leo was still at 
 his meal, for loss of blood or the effects of 
 the tremendous nerve tonic which Ayesha ordered 
 to be administered to him, had made him ravenous. 
 
 I watched his face and became aware of a curious 
 change in it, no immediate change indeed, but one, 
 I think, that had come upon him gradually, although 
 I only fuUy appreciated it now, after our short 
 separation. In addition to the thinness of which 
 I have spoken, his handsome countenance had grown 
 more ethereal ; his eyes were full of the shadows 
 Of things that were to come. 
 
 His aspect pained me, I knew not why, It was 
 no longer that of the Leo with whom I was familiar, 
 the deep-chested, mighty-limbed, jovial, upright 
 traveller, hunter and fighting- man who had chanced 
 to love and be loved of a spiritual power incarnated 
 in a mould of perfect womanhood and armed with 
 all the might of Nature's self. These things were 
 still present indeed, but the man was changed, and I 
 felt sure that this change came from Ayesha, since 
 the look upon his face had become exceeding like 
 to that which often hovered upon hers at rest. 
 
 She also was watching him, with speculative, 
 dreamy eyes, till presently, as some thought swept 
 through her, I saw those eyes blaze up, and the red 
 blood pour to cheek and brow. Yes, the mighty 
 
 868 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 359 
 
 Ayesha whose dead, slain for him, lay strewn by the 
 thousand on yonder plain, blushed and trembled 
 like a maiden at her first lover's kiss. 
 
 Leo rose from the table. " I would that I had 
 been with thee in the fray," he said. 
 
 " At the drift there was fighting," she answered, 
 "afterwards none. My ministers of Fire, Earth 
 and Air smote, no more ; I waked them from their 
 sleep and at my command they smote for thee and 
 saved thee." 
 
 " Many lives to take for one man's safety," Leo 
 said solemnly, as though the thought pained him. 
 
 " Had they been millions and not thousands, I 
 would have spent them every one. On my head be 
 their deaths, iiot on thine. Or rather on hers," and 
 she pointed to the dead Atene. " Yes, on hers who 
 made this war. At least she should thank me who 
 have sent so royal a host to guard her through the 
 darkness." 
 
 " Yet it is terrible," said Leo, " to think of thee, 
 beloved, red to the hair with slaughter." 
 
 " What reck I ? " she answered with a splendid 
 pride. " Let their blood suffice to wash the stain of 
 thy blood from off these cruel hands that once 
 did murder thee." 
 
 " Who am I that I should blame thee ? " Leo went 
 on as though arguing with himself, " I who but 
 yesterday killed two men — to save myself from 
 treachery." 
 
 " Speak not of it," she exclaimed in cold rage. 
 " I saw the place and. Holly, thou knowest how I 
 swore that a hundred lives should pay for every drop 
 of that dear blood of thine, and I, who lie not, have 
 kept the oath. Look now on that man who stands 
 yonder struck by my will to stone, dead yet living, 
 and say again what was he about to do to thee 
 when I entered here ? " 
 
 " To take vengeance on me for the doom of his 
 
36o AYESHA 
 
 queen and of her armies," answered Leo, " and, 
 Ayesha, how knowest thou that a Power higher 
 than thine own will not demand it yet ? " 
 
 As he spoke a pale shadow flickered on Leo's face, 
 such a shadow as might fall from Death's advancing 
 wing, and in the fixed eyes of the Shaman there 
 shone a stony smile. 
 
 For a moment terror seemed to take Ayesha, then 
 it was gone as quickly as it came. 
 
 " Nay," she said. " I ordain that it shall not be, 
 and save One who listeth not, what power reigns 
 in this wide earth that dare defy my will ? " 
 
 So she spoke, and as her words of awful pride— 
 for they were very awful — rang round that stone- 
 built chamber, a vision came to me — Holly. 
 
 I saw illimitable space peopled with shining suns, 
 and sunk in the infinite void above them one vast 
 Countenance clad in a calm so terrific that at its 
 aspect my spirit sank to nothingness. Yes, and I 
 knew that tiiis was Destiny enthroned above the 
 spheres. Those lips moved and obedient worlds 
 rushed upon their course. They moved again and 
 these rolling chariots of the heavens were turned 
 or stayed, appeared or disappeared. I knew also 
 that against this calm Majesty the being, woman or 
 spirit, at my side had dared to hurl her passion and 
 her strength. My soul reeled. I was afraid. 
 
 The dread phantasm passed, and when my mind 
 cleared again Ayesha was speaking in new, triumph- 
 ant tones. 
 
 "Nay, nay," she cried. " Past is the night of dread ; 
 dawns the day of victory ! Look ! " and she pointed 
 through the window-places shattered by the hurri- 
 cane, to the flaming town beneath, whence rose one 
 continual wail of misery, the wail of women mourning 
 their countless slain while the fire roared through 
 their homes like some unchained and rejoicing de- 
 mon. " Look, Leo, on the smoke of the first sacrifice 
 
" ' By this poor earthly symbol, I create thee King of Earth.' " 
 Aj'ts/ta.'i [Page 361. 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 361 
 
 that I offer to thy royal state and Hsten to its 
 music. Perchance thou deemst it naught. Why 
 then I'll give thee others. Thou lovest war. 
 Good ! we will go down to war and the rebellious 
 cities of the earth shall be the torches of our march." 
 
 She paused a moment, her delicate nostrils 
 quivering, and her face alight with the prescience 
 of ungamered splendours ; then like a swooping 
 swallow flitted to where, by dead Atene, the gold cir- 
 clet fallen from the Khania's hair lay upon the floor. 
 
 She stooped, lifted it, and coming to Leo held it 
 high above his head. Slowly she let her hand fall 
 until the glittering coronet rested for an instant on 
 his brow. Then she spoke, in her glorious voice that 
 rolled out rich and low, a very paean of triumph and 
 of power. 
 
 " By this poor, earthly s5mibol I create thee King 
 of Earth; yea in its round for thee is gathered all her 
 rule. Be thou its king, and mine ! " 
 
 Again the coronet was held aloft, again it sank, 
 and again she said or rather chanted — 
 
 " With this unbroken ring, token of eternity, I 
 swear to thee the boon of endless days. Endure 
 thou while the world endures, and be its lord, and 
 mine." 
 
 A third time the coronet touched his brow. 
 
 " By this golden round I do endow thee with 
 Wisdom's perfect gold uncountable, that is the 
 talisman whereat all nature's secret paths shall open 
 to thy feet. Victorious, victorious, tread thou 
 her wondrous ways with me, till from her topmost 
 peak at last she wafts us to our immortal throne 
 whereof the columns twain are Life and Death." 
 
 Then Ayesha cast away the crown and lo ! it fell 
 upon the breast of the lost Atene and rested there. 
 
 " Art content with these gifts of mine, my lord ? " 
 she cried. 
 
 Leo looked at her sadly and shook his head. 
 
362 AYES HA 
 
 " What more wilt thou then ? Ask and I swear 
 it shall be thine." 
 
 " Thou swearest ; but wilt thou keep the 
 oath ? " 
 
 " Aye, by myself I swear ; by myself and by the 
 Strength that bred me. If it be ought that I can 
 grant — then if I refuse it to thee, may such destruc- 
 tion fall upon me as will satisfy even Atene's watch- 
 ing soul." 
 
 I heard and I think that another heard also, at 
 least once more the stony smile shone in the eyes of 
 the Shaman. 
 
 " I ask of thee nothing that thou canst not give. 
 Ayesha, I ask of thee thyself — not at some distant 
 time when I have been bathed in a mysterious fire, 
 but now, now this night." 
 
 She shrank back from him a little, as though 
 dismayed. 
 
 " Surely," she said slowly, "I am like that foolish 
 philosopher who, walking abroad to read the des- 
 tinies of nations in the stars, fell down a pitfall dug 
 by idle children and broke his bones and perished 
 there. Never did I giiess that with all these glories 
 stretched before thee like mountain top on ghttering 
 mountain top, making a stairway for thy mortal 
 feet to the very dome of heaven, thou wouldst still 
 clutch at thy native earth and seek of it — but the 
 common boon of woman's love. 
 
 " Oh ! Leo, I thought that thy soul was set upon 
 nobler aims, that thou wouldst pray me for wider 
 powers, for a more vast dominion ; that as though 
 they were but yonder fallen door of wood and iron, 
 I should break for thee the bars of Hades, and like 
 the Eurydice of old fable draw thee living down 
 the steeps of Death, or throne thee midst the fires 
 of the furthest sun to watch its subject worlds at 
 play. 
 
 "Or I thought that thou wouldst bid me reveal 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYES HA 363 
 
 what no woman ever told, the bitter, naked truth — 
 all my sins and sorrows, all the wandering fancies 
 of my fickle thought ; even what thou knowest not 
 and perchance ne'er shalt know, who I am and whence 
 I came, and how to thy charmed eyes I seemed to 
 change from foul to fair, and what is the purpose 
 of my love for thee, and what the meaning of that 
 tale of an angry goddess— ^ho never was except in 
 dreams. 
 
 " I thought — nay, no matter what I thought, 
 save that thou wert for other than thou art, my 
 Leo, and in so high a moment that thou wouldst 
 seek to pass the mystic gates my glory can throw 
 wide and with me tread an air supernal to the hidden 
 heart of things. Yet thy prayer is but the same 
 that the whole world whispers beneath the silent 
 moon,in the palace and the cottage, among the snows 
 and on the burning desert's waste. ' Oh ! my love, 
 thy lips, thy lips. Oh ! my love, be mine, now, 
 now, beneath the moon, beneath the moon ! ' 
 
 " Leo, I thought better, higher, of thee." 
 
 " Mayhap, Ayesha, thou wouldest have thought 
 worse of me had I been content with thy suns and 
 constellations and spiritual gifts and dominations 
 that I neither desire nor understand. 
 
 " If I had said to thee : Be thou my angel, not 
 my wife ; divide the ocean that I may walk its bed ; 
 pierce the firmament and show me how grow the 
 stars ; tell me the origins of being and of death and 
 instruct me in their issues ; give up the races of 
 mankindjto my sword, and the wealth of all the earth 
 to fill my treasuries. Teach me also how to drive 
 the hurricane as thou canst do, and to bend the laws 
 of nature to my purpose : on earth make me half 
 a god — as thou art. 
 
 " But, Ayesha, I am no god ; I am a man, and as 
 a man I seek the woman whom I love. Oh ! divest 
 thyself of all these wrappings of thy power— that 
 
364 AYESHA 
 
 power which strews thy path with dead and keeps 
 me apart from thee. If only for one short night, 
 forget the ambition that gnaws unceasingly at thy 
 soul ; I say forget thy greatness and be a woman 
 and — ^my wife." 
 
 She made no answer, only looked at him and 
 shook her head, causing her glorious hair to ripple 
 like water beneath a gentle breeze. 
 
 " Thou deniest me," he went on with gathering 
 strength, " and that thou canst not do, that thou 
 mayest not do, for Ayesha, thou hast sworn, and I 
 demand the fulfilment of thine oath. 
 
 " Hark thou. I refuse thy gifts ; I will have none 
 of thy rule who ask no Pharaoh's throne and wish 
 to do good to men and not to kiU them — that the 
 world may profit. I will not go with thee to Kor, 
 nor be bathed in the breath of Life. I will leave 
 thee and cross the mountains, or perish on them, 
 nor with all thy strength canst thou hold me to thy 
 side, who indeed needest me not. No longer will I 
 endure this daily torment, the torment of thy pre- 
 sence and thy sweet words ; thy loving looks, thy 
 promises for next year, next year — next year. So 
 keep thine oath or let me begone." 
 
 Still Ayesha stood silent, only now her head 
 drooped and her breast began to heave. Then Leo 
 stepped forward ; he seized hef in his arms and 
 kissed her. She broke from his embrace, I know not 
 how, for though unretumed it was close enough, 
 and again stood before him but at a little distance. 
 
 " Did I not warn HoUy," she whispered with a 
 sigh, " to bid thee beware lest I should catch thy 
 human fire ? Man, I say to thee, it begins to 
 smoulder in my heart, and should it grow to 
 flame " 
 
 " Why then," he answered laughing, " we wiU be 
 happy for a little while." 
 
 " Aye, Leo, but how long ? Why, wert thou sole 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 365 
 
 lord of this loveliness of mine and not set above their 
 barmijag, night and day a hundred jealous daggers 
 would seek thy heart and — find it." 
 
 "How long, Ayesha ? A lifetime, a year, a month, 
 a minute — I neither know nor care, and while thou 
 art true to me I fear no stabs of envy." 
 
 "Is it so ? Wilt take the risk ? I can promise 
 thee nothing. Thou mightest — yes, in this way or 
 in that, thou mightest — die." 
 
 " And if I die, what then ? Shall we be sepa- 
 rated ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay, Leo, that is not possible. We never 
 can be severed, of this I am sure ; it is sworn to me. 
 But then through other lives and other spheres, 
 higher lives and higher spheres mayhap, our fates 
 must force a painful path to their last goal of 
 union." 
 
 " Why then I take the hazard, Ayesha. Shall the 
 life that I can risk to slay a leopard or a hon 
 in the sport of an idle hour, be too great a price to 
 offer for the splendours of thy breast ? Thine oath ! 
 Ayesha, I claim thine path." 
 
 Then it was that in Ayesha there began the most 
 mysterious and thriUing of her many changes. Yet 
 how to describe it I know not, unless it be by simile. 
 
 Once in Thibet we were imprisoned for months 
 by snows that stretched down from the mountain 
 slopes into the valleys and oh ! how weary did we 
 grow of those arid, aching fields of purest white. 
 At length rain set in, and blinding mists in which 
 it was not safe to wander, that made the dark nights 
 darker yet^ 
 
 So it was, imtil there came a morning when, seeing 
 the sun shine, we went to our door and looked out. 
 Behold a miracle ! Gone were the snows that choked 
 the valley, and in the place of them appeared vivid 
 springing grass, starred everywhere with flowers, 
 
366 AYESHA 
 
 and murmuring brooks and birds that sang and 
 nested in the willows. Gone was the frowning sky, 
 and all the blue firmament seemed one tender smile. 
 Gone were the austerities of winter with his harsh 
 winds, and in their j)lace spring, companioned by her 
 zephyrs, ghded down the vale singing her song of 
 love and life. 
 
 There in this high chamber, in the presence of the 
 living and the dead, while the last act of the great 
 tragedy unrolled itself before me, looking on Ayesha, 
 that forgotten scene sprang into my mind. For 
 on her face just such a change had come. Hitherto, 
 with all her loveliness, the heart of Ayesha had 
 seemed like that winter mountain wrapped in its 
 unapproachable snow and before her pure brow and 
 icy self-command, aspirations sank abashed and de- 
 sires died. 
 
 She swore she loved and her love fulfilled itself 
 in death and many a mysterious way. Yet it 
 was hard to believe that this passion of hers was 
 more than a spoken part, for how can the star seek 
 the moth although the moth may seek the star ? 
 Though the man may worship the goddess, for all 
 her smiles divine, how can the goddess love the man ? 
 
 But now everything was altered ! Look ! Ayesha 
 grew human; I could see her heart beat beneath 
 her robes and hear her breath come in soft, sweet 
 sobs, while o'er her upturned face and in her alluring 
 eyes there spread itself that look which is born of 
 love alone. Radiant and more radiant did she seem 
 to grow, sweeter and more sweet, no longer the 
 veiled Hermit of the Caves, no longer the Orade of 
 the Sanctuary, no longer the Valkyrie of the battle- 
 plain, but only the loveliest and most happy bride 
 that ever gladdened a husband's eyes. 
 
 She spoke, and it was of little things, for thus 
 Ayesha proclaimed the conquest of herself. 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 367 
 
 "Fie!" she said, showing her white robes torn 
 with spears and stained by the dust and dew of 
 war ; " Fie, my lord, what marriage garments are 
 these in which at last I come to thee, who would 
 have been adorned in regal gems and raiment befit- 
 ting to my state and thine ? " 
 
 ' I seek the woman, not her garment," said Leo, 
 his burning eyes fixed upon her face. 
 
 "Thou seekest the woman. Ah! there it hes. 
 Tell me, Leo, am I woman or spirit ? Say that I am 
 woman, for now the prophecy of this dead Atene 
 lies heavy on my soul, Atene who said that mortal 
 and immortal may not mate." 
 
 " Thou must be woman, or thou wouldst not have 
 tormented me as thou hast done these many weeks." 
 
 " I thank thee for the comfort of thy words. Yet, 
 was it woman whose breath wrought destruction 
 upon yonder plain ? Was it to a woman that Blast 
 and Lightning bowed and said, ' We are here : Com- 
 mand, us, we obey ' ? Did that dead thing (and she 
 pointed to the shattered door) break inward at a 
 woman's will ? Or could a woman charm this man 
 to stone ? 
 
 " Oh ! Leo, would that I were woman ! I tell thee 
 that I'd lay all my grandeur down, a wedding offering 
 at thy feet, could I be sure that for one short year I 
 should be naught but woman and — thy happy wife. 
 
 " Thou sayest that I did torment thee, but it is I 
 who have known torment, I who desired to 5deld 
 and dared not. Aye, I teU thee, Leo, were I not 
 sure that thy little stream of life is draining dry 
 into the great ocean of my life, drawn thither as 
 the sea draws its rivers, or as the sun draws mists, 
 e'en now I would not yield. But I know, for my 
 wisdom tells it me, ere ever we coidd reach the shores 
 of Libya, the ill work would be done, and thou dead 
 of thine own longiiig, thou dead and I widowed who 
 never was a wife. 
 
368 AYESHA 
 
 " Therefore see ! like lost Atene I take the dice 
 and cast them, not knowing how they shajl fall. 
 Not knowing how they shall fall, for good or ill I 
 cast," and she made a wild motion as of some des- 
 perate gamester throwing his last throw. 
 
 " So," Ayesha went on, " the thing is done and the 
 number sumihed for aye, though it be hidden from 
 my sight. I have made an end of doubts and fears, 
 and come death, come life, I'll meet it bravely. 
 
 " Say, how shall we be wed ? I have it. Holly here 
 must join our hands ; who else ? He that ever was 
 our guide shall give me unto thee, and thee to me. 
 This burning city is our altar, the dead and living 
 are our witnesses on earth and heaven. In place of 
 rites and ceremonials for this first time I lay my lips 
 on thine, and when 'tis done, for music I'll sing thee 
 a nuptial chant of love such as mortal poet has not 
 written nor have mortal lovers heard. 
 
 " Come, HoUy, do now thy pa,rt and give this maiden 
 to this man." 
 
 Like one in a dream I obeyed her and took Ayesha's 
 outstretched hand and Leo's. As I held them thus, 
 I teU the truth — it was as though some fire rushed 
 through my veins from her to him, shaking and 
 shattering me with swift waves of burning and 
 unearthly bliss. With the fire too came glorious 
 visions and sounds of mighty music, and a sense as 
 though my brain, filled with over-flowing life, must 
 burst asunder beneath its weight. 
 
 I joined their hands; I know not how; I blessed 
 them, I know not in what words. Then I reeled 
 back against the wall and watched. 
 
 This is what I saw. 
 
 With an abandonment and a passion so splendid 
 and intense that it seemed more than human, with 
 a murmured cry of " Husband ! " Ayesha cast her 
 arms about her lover's neck and drawing down his 
 
" With a murmured cry of ' Husband ! ' Ayesha cast her arms about 
 her lover's neck." 
 
 Aj'es/ia.'i 
 
 [Page 368. 
 
THE YIELDING OF AYESHA 369 
 
 head to hers so that the gold hair was mingled with 
 her raven locks, she kissed him on the lips. 
 
 Thus they clung a little while, and as they clung 
 the gentle diadem of hght from her brow spread to 
 his brow also, and through the white wrappings of 
 her robe became visible her perfect shape shining 
 with faint fire. With a little happy laugh she left 
 him, saying, 
 
 " Thus, Leo Vincey, oh ! thus for the second time 
 do I give myself to thee, and with this flesh and 
 spirit all I swore to thee, there in the dim Caves of 
 Kor and here in the palace of Kaloon. Know 
 thou this, come what may, never, never more shall 
 we be separate who are ordained one. Whilst thou 
 livest I live at thy side, and when thou diest, if die 
 thou must, I'll follow thee through worlds and firma- 
 ments, nor shall all the doors of heaven or hell avail 
 against my love. Where thou goest, thither I will go. 
 When thou sleepest, with thee will I sleep and it is 
 my voice that thou shalt hear murmuring through the 
 dreams of life and death ; my voice that shall sum- 
 mon thee to awaken in the last hour of everlasting 
 dawn, when all this night of misery hath furled her 
 wings for aye. 
 
 " Listen now while I sing to thee and hear that song 
 aright, for in its melody at length thou shalt learn 
 the truth, which unwed I might not tell to thee. Thou 
 shalt learn who and what / am, and who and what 
 thou art, and of the high purposes of our love, and 
 this dead woman's hate, and of all that I have hid 
 from thee in veiled, bewildering words and visions. 
 
 " Listen then, my love and lord, to the burden of 
 the Song of Fate." 
 
 She ceased speaking and gazed heavenwards with a 
 rapt look as though she waited for some inspiration 
 to fall upon her, and never, never — not even in the 
 fires of Kor had Ayesha seemed so divine as she did 
 now in this moment of the ripe harvest of her love. 
 A^ 
 
370 AYESHA 
 
 My eyes wandered from her to Leo, who stood 
 before her pale and still, still as the death-like figure 
 of the Shaman, still as the Khania's icy shape which 
 stared upwards from the ground. What was passing 
 in his mind, I wondered, that he could remain thus 
 insensible while in all her might and awful beauty 
 this proud being worshipped him. 
 
 Hark ! she began to sing in a voice so rich and 
 perfect that its honeyed notes seemed to cloy my 
 blood and stop my breath. 
 
 The world was not, was not, and in the womb of 
 Silence 
 
 Slept the souls of men. 
 Yet I was and thou 
 
 Suddenly Ayesha stopped, and I felt rather than 
 saw the horror on her face. 
 
 Look ! Leo swayed to and fro as though the 
 stones beneath him were but a rocking boat. To 
 and fro he swayed, stretched out his blind arms to 
 clasp her — then suddenly feU backwards, and lay 
 still. 
 
 Oh ! what a shriek was that she gave ! Surely 
 it must have wakened the very corpses upon the 
 plain. Surely it must have echoed in the stars. 
 One shriek only — then throbbing silence. 
 
 I sprang to him, and there, withered in Ayesha's 
 kiss, slain by the fire of her love, Leo lay dead — lay 
 dead upon the breast of dead Atene ! 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE PASSING OF AYESHA 
 
 I HEARD Ayesha say presently, and the words 
 struck me as dreadful in their hopeless ac- 
 ceptance of a doom against which even she had no 
 strength to struggle. 
 
 " It seems that my lord has left me for a while ; 
 I must hasten to my lord afar." 
 
 After that I do not quite know what happened. 
 I had lost the man who was all in all to me, 
 friend and child in one, and I was crushed as I 
 had never been before. It seemed so sad that I, 
 old and outworn, should stiU live on whilst he in the 
 flower of his age, snatched from joy and greatness 
 such as no man hath known, lay thus asleep. 
 
 I think that by an afterthought, Ayesha and Oros 
 tried to restore him, tried without result, for here 
 her powers were of no avail. Indeed my conviction 
 is that although some hngering life still kept him on 
 his feet, Leo had really died at the moment of her 
 embrace, since when I looked at him before he fell, 
 his face was that of a dead man. 
 
 Yes, I believe that last speech of hers, although she 
 knew it not, was addressed to his spirit, for in her 
 burning kiss his flesh had perished. 
 
 When at length I recovered myself a little, it was 
 to hear Ayesha in a cold, calm voice — her face I 
 could not see, for she had veUed herself— command- 
 ing certain priests who had been summoned to 
 " bear away the body of that accursed woman and 
 
 371 
 
372 AYESHA 
 
 bury her as befits her rank." Even then I be- 
 thought me, I remember, of the tale of Jehu and 
 Jezebel. 
 
 Leo, looking strangely calm and happy, lay now 
 upon a couch, the arms folded on his breast. When 
 the priests had tramped away carrying their royal 
 burden, Ayesha, who sat by his body brooding, 
 seemed to awake, for she rose and said — 
 
 " I need a messenger, and for no common journey, 
 since he must search out the habitations of the 
 Shades," and she turned herself towards Oros and 
 appeared to look at him. 
 
 Now, for the first time, I saw that priest change 
 countenance a little, for the eternal smile, of which 
 even this scene had not quite rid it, left his face 
 and he grew pale and trembled. 
 
 " Thou art afraid," she said contemptuously. 
 " Be at rest, Oros, I will not send one who is afraid, 
 Holly, wilt thou go for me — and him ? " 
 
 " Aye," I answered. " I am weary of life and de- 
 sire no other end. Only let it be swift and painless." 
 
 She mused a while, then said — 
 
 " Nay, thy time is not yet, thou still hast work to 
 do. Endure, my Holly, 'tis only for a breath." 
 
 Then she looked at the Shaman, the man turned 
 to stone, who all this while had stood there as a statue 
 stands, and cried — 
 
 " Awake ! " 
 
 Instantly he seemed to thaw into life, his limbs 
 relaxed, his breast heaved, he was as he had always 
 been : ancient, gnarled, malevolent. 
 
 " I hear thee, mistress," he said, bowing as a man 
 bows to the power that he hates. 
 
 " Thou seest, Simbri," and she waved her hand. 
 
 " I see. Things have befallen as Atene and I 
 foretold, have they not? 'Ere long the corpse of a 
 new-crowned Khan of Kaloon,' " and he pointed 
 to the gold circlet that Ayesha had set on Leo's 
 
THE PASSING OF AYESHA 373 
 
 brow, " ' will lie upon the brink of the Pit of Flame ' 
 — as I foretold." An evil smile crept into his eyes 
 and he went on — 
 
 " Hadst thou not smote me dumb, I who watched 
 could have warned thee that they would so befall ; 
 but, great mistress, it pleased thee to smite me 
 dumb. And so it seems, O Hes, that thou 
 hast overshot thyself and liest broken at the foot of 
 that pinnacle which step by step thou hast climbed 
 for more than two thousand weary years. See what 
 thou hast bought at the price of countless lives that 
 now before the throne of Judgment biing accusations 
 against thy powers misused, and cry out for justice on 
 thy head," and he looked at the dead form of Leo. 
 
 " I sorrow for them ; yet, Simbri, they were well 
 spent," Ayesha answered reflectively, " who by their 
 fore-written doom, as it was decreed, held thy knife 
 from falling and thus won me my husband. Aye 
 and I am happy — happier than such blind bats 
 as thou can see or guess. For know that now 
 with him I have re-wed my wandering soul di- 
 vorced by sin from me, and that of our marriage 
 kiss which burned his Ufe away there shall still 
 be bom to us children of Forgiveness and eternal 
 Grace and all things that are pure and fair. 
 
 "Look thou, Simbri, I wiU honour thee. Thou shalt 
 be my messenger, and beware ! beware I say how 
 thou dost fulfil thine office, since of every syllable 
 thou must render an account. 
 
 " Go thou down the dark paths of Death, and, 
 since even my thought may not reach to where he 
 sleeps to-night, search out my lord and say to him 
 that the feet of his spouse Ayesha are following fast. 
 Bid him have no fear for me who by this last sorrow 
 have atoned my crimes and am in his embrace re- 
 generate. Tell him that thus it was appointed, and 
 thus is best, since now he is dipped, indeed, in the 
 eternal Flame of Life ; now for him the mortal night 
 
374 AYESHA 
 
 is done and the everlasting day arises. Command him 
 that he await me in the Gate of Death, where it is 
 granted that I greet him presently. Thou hearest ? " 
 
 " I hear, O Queen, Mighty-from-of-Old." 
 
 " One message more. Say to Atene that I forgive 
 her. Her heart was high and greatly did she play 
 her part. There in the Gates we will balance our 
 accoimt. Thou hearest ? " 
 
 " I hear, O Eternal Star that hath conquered 
 Night." 
 
 " Then, man, begone ! " 
 
 As the word left Ayesha's lips Simbri leapt from the 
 floor, grasping at the air as though he would clutch 
 his own departing soul, staggered back against the 
 board where Leo and I had eaten, overthrowing it, 
 and amid a ruin of gold and silver vessels, fell down 
 and died. 
 
 She looked at him, then said to me — 
 
 " See, though he ever hated me, this magician 
 who has known Ayesha from the first, did homage 
 to my ancient majesty at last, when lies and defi- 
 ance would serve his end no more. No longer now 
 do I hear the name that his dead mistress gave to 
 me. The ' Star-that-hath-fallen ' in his lips and in 
 very truth is become the ' Star-which-hath-burst-the 
 bonds-of-Night,' and,- re-arisen, shines for ever — 
 shines with its twin immortal to set no more — ^my 
 Holly< Well, he is gone, and ere now, those that 
 serve me in the Under-world — dost remember? — 
 thou sawest their captains in the Sanctuary — ^bend 
 the head at great Ayesha's word and make her place 
 ready near her spouse. 
 
 " But ohj what foUy has been mine. Wheh 
 evMi here my wrath can show such power, 
 how could I hope that my lord would outlive the 
 fires of my love ? Still it was better so, for he 
 sought not the pomp I would have given him, nor 
 desired the death of men. Yet such pomp must 
 
THE PASSING OF AYES HA 375 
 
 have been his portion in this poor shadow of a 
 world, and the steps that encircle an usurper's throne 
 are ever slippery with blood. 
 
 " Thou art weary, my Holly, go rest thee. To- 
 morrow night we journey to the Mountain, there to 
 celebrate these obsequies." 
 
 I crept into the room adjoining — it had been Sim- 
 bri'Si and laid me down upon his bed, but to sleep 
 I was not able. Its door was open, and in the Ught 
 of the burning city that shone through the case- 
 ments I could see Ayesha watching by her dead. 
 Hour after hour she watched, her head resting on her 
 hand, sUent, stirless. She wept not, no sigh escaped 
 her ; only watched as a tender woman watches a 
 slumbering'^babe that she knows wiU awake at dawn. 
 
 Her face was unveiled and I perceived that it 
 had greatly changed. All pride and anger were 
 departed from it; it was grown soft, wistful, yet 
 fuU of confidence and quietness. For a while I could 
 not think of what it reminded me, tiU suddenly I 
 remembered. Now it was Uke, indeed the counter- 
 part almost, of the holy and majestic semblance 
 of the statue of the Mother in the Sanctuary. Yes, 
 with just such a look of love and power as that 
 mother cast upon her frightened child new-risen 
 from its dream of death, did Ayesha gaze upon her 
 dead, while her parted lips also seemed to whisper 
 " some tale of hope, sure and inmiortal." 
 
 At length she rose and came into my chamber. 
 
 " Thou thinkest me fallen and dost grieve for 
 me, my Holly," she said in a gentle voice, " know- 
 ing my fears lest some such fate should overtake 
 my lord." 
 
 " Ay, Ayesha, I grieve for thee as for myself." 
 
 " Spare then thy pity. Holly, since although the 
 human part of me would have kept him on the earth, 
 now my spirit doth rejoice that for a while he has 
 
376 AYESHA 
 
 burst his mortal bonds. For many an age, although 
 I knew it not, in my proud defiance of the Universal 
 Law, I have fought against his true weal and mine. 
 Thrice have I and the angel wrestled, matching 
 strength with strength, and thrice has he conquered 
 me. Yet as he bore away his prize this night 
 he whispered wisdom in my ear. This was his 
 message : That in death is love's home, in death 
 its strength ; that from the charnel-house of life this 
 love springs again glorified and pure, to reign a con- 
 queror for ever. Therefore I wipe away my tears 
 and, crowned once more a queen of peace, I go to 
 join him whom we have lost, there where he awaits 
 us, as it is granted to me that I shall do. 
 
 " But I am selfish, and forgot. Thou needest 
 rest. Sleep, friend, I bid thee sleep." 
 
 And I slept, wondering as my eyes closed whence 
 Ayesha drew this strange confidence and comfort. I 
 know not, but it was there, real and not assumed. I 
 can only suppose, therefore, that some illumination 
 had fallen on her soul, and that, as she stated, the 
 love and end of Leo, in a way unknown, did suffice 
 to satisfy her count of sins. 
 
 At the least those sins and all the load of death 
 that lay at her door never seemed to trouble her at 
 all. She appeared to look upon them merely as 
 events which were destined to occur ; as inevitable 
 fruits of a seed sowed long ago by the hand of 
 Fate, for whose workings she was not responsible. 
 The fears and considerations which weigh with 
 mortals did not affect or oppress her. In this, as in 
 other matters, Ayesha was a law imto herself. 
 
 When I awoke it was day, and through the win- 
 dow-place I saw the rain that the people of Kaloon 
 had so long desired falling in one straight sheet. 
 I saw also that Ayesha, seated by the shrouded 
 form of Leo, was giving orders to her priests and 
 captains and to some nobles, who had survived 
 
THE PASSING OF AYESHA 377 
 
 the slaughter of Kaloon, as to the new government 
 of the land. Then I slept again. 
 
 It was evening, and Ayesha stood at my bed- 
 side. 
 
 "AU is prepared," she said. "Awake and ride 
 with me." 
 
 So we went, escorted by a thousand cavalry, for 
 the rest stayed to occupy, or perchance to plunder, 
 the land of Kaloon. In front the body of Leo was 
 borne by relays of priests, and behind it rode the 
 veiled Ayesha, I at her side. 
 
 Strange was the contrast between this departure, 
 and our arrival. 
 
 Then the rushing squadrons, the elements that 
 raved, the perpetual sheen of hghtnings seen through 
 the swinging curtains of the hail ; the voices of de- 
 spair from an army rolled in blood beneath the 
 chariot wheels of thunder. 
 
 Now the white-draped corpse, the slow-pacing 
 horses, the riders with their spears reversed, and on 
 either side, seen in that melancholy moonhght, the 
 women of Kaloon burying their innumerable dead. 
 
 And Ayesha herself, yesterday a Valkyrie crested 
 with the star of flame, to-day but a bereaved woman 
 humbly following her husband to the tomb. 
 
 Yet how they feared her ! Some widow standing 
 on the grave mould she had dug, pointed as we 
 passed to the body of Leo, uttering bitter words which 
 I could not catch. Thereon her companions flung 
 themselves upon her and f eUing her with fist and 
 spade, prostrated themselves upon the ground, 
 throwing dust on their hair in token of their submis- 
 sion to the priestess of Death. 
 
 Ayesha saw them, and said to me with something 
 of her ancient fire and pride — 
 
 " I tread the plain of Kaloon no more, yet as a 
 parting gift have I read this high-stomached people 
 
378 AYES HA 
 
 a lesson that they needed long. Not for many a 
 generation, O Holly, will they dare to lift spear 
 against the College of Hes and its subject Tribes." 
 
 Again it was night, and where once lay that of the 
 Khan, the man whom he had killed, flanked by the 
 burning pillars, the bier of Leo stood in the inmost 
 Sanctuary before the statue of the Mother whose 
 gentle, unchanging eyes seemed to search his quiet 
 face. 
 
 On her throne sat the veiled Hesea, giving com- 
 mands to her priests and priestesses. 
 
 " I am weary " she said, " and it may be that I 
 leave you for a while to rest — beyond the moimtains. 
 A year, or a thousand years — I cannot say. If 
 so, let Papave, with Oros as her counsellor and hus- 
 band and their seed, hold my place till I return 
 again. 
 
 "Priests and priestesses of the College of Hes, 
 over new territories have I held my hand; take 
 them as an heritage from me, and rule them well 
 and gently. Henceforth let the Hesea of the Moun- 
 tain be also the Khania of Kaloon. 
 
 " Priests and priestesses of our ancient faith, 
 learn to look through its rites and tokens, outward 
 and visible, to the in-forming Spirit. If Hes the 
 goddess never ruled on earth, stiU pit5H[ng Nature 
 rules. If the name of Isis never rang through the 
 courts of heaven, still in heaven, with all love 
 fulfilled, nursing her human children on her breast, 
 dwells the mighty Motherhood whereof this statue 
 is the symbol, that Motherhood which bore us, and, 
 unforgetting, faithful, will receive us at the end. 
 
 "For of the bread of bitterness we shall not always 
 eat, of the water of tears we shall not always drink. 
 Beyond the night the royal suns ride on ; ever the 
 rainbow shines around the rain. Though they shp 
 
THE PASSING OF A7ESHA 379 
 
 from our clutching hands like melted snow, the 
 Uves we lose shall yet be fotmd immortal, and 
 from the burnt-out fures of our human hopes wiU 
 spring a heavenly star." 
 
 She paused and waved her hand as though to 
 dismiss them, then added by an after-thought, 
 pointing to myself — 
 
 " This man is my beloved friend and guest. Let 
 him be yours also. It is my wiU that you tend and 
 guard him here, and when the snows have melted 
 and summer is at hand, that you fashion a way for 
 him through the gulf and bring him across the moim- 
 tains by which he came, tiU you leave him in safety. 
 Hear and forget not, for be sure that to me you shall 
 give account of him." 
 
 The night drew towards the dawn, and we stood 
 upon the peak above the gulf of fire, four of us only— 
 Ayesha and I, and Oros and Papave. For the bearers 
 had laid down the body of Leo upon its edge and 
 gone their way. The curtain of flame flared in front 
 of us, its crest bent over hke a biUow in the gale, 
 and to leeward, one by one, floated the torn-off clouds 
 and pinnacles of fire. By the dead Leo knelt Ayesha, 
 gazing at that icy, smiling face, but speaking no 
 single word. At length she rose, and said — 
 
 " Darkness draws near, my Holly, that deep dark- 
 ness which forenms the glory of the dawn. Now fare 
 thee well for one Uttle hour. When thou art about 
 to die, but not before, call me, and I will come to 
 thee. Stir not and speak not tiU all be done, lest 
 when I am no longer here to be thy guard some 
 Presence should pass on and slay thee. 
 
 " Think not that I am conquered, for now my 
 name is Victory ! Think not that Ayesha's strength is 
 spent or her tale is done, for of it thou readest but 
 a single page. Think not even that I am to-day 
 that thing of sin and pride, the Ayesha thou didst 
 
38o AYESHA 
 
 adore and fear, I who in my lord's love and sacrifice 
 have again conceived my soul. For know that now 
 once more as at the beginning, his soul and mine 
 are one." 
 
 She thought awhile and added, 
 
 " Friend take this sceptre in memory of me, but 
 beware how thou usest it save at the last to sum- 
 mon me, for it has virtues," and she gave me the 
 jewelled Sistrum that she bore — then said, 
 
 " So kiss his brow, stand back, and be still." 
 
 Now, as once before, the darkness gathered on the 
 pit, and presently, although I heard no prayer, though 
 now no mighty music broke upon the sUence, through 
 that darkness, beating up the gale, came the two- 
 winged flame and hovered where Ayesha stood. 
 
 It appeared, it vanished, and one by one the long 
 minutes crept away until the first spear of dawn 
 lit upon the point of rock. 
 
 Lo ! it was empty, utterly empty and lonesome. 
 Gone was the corse of Leo and gone too was Ayesha 
 the imperial, the divine. 
 
 Whither had she gone ? I know not. But this 
 I know, that as the light returned and the broad 
 sheet of flame flared out to meet it, I seemed to see 
 two glorious shapes sweeping upward on its bosom, 
 and the faces that they wore were those of Leo and 
 of Ayesha. 
 
 Often and often during the weary months that 
 followed, whilst I wandered through the temple 
 or amid the winter snows upon the Mountain side, 
 did I seek to solve this question — Whither had She 
 gone ? I asked it of my heart ; I asked it of the 
 skies ; I asked it of the spirit of Leo which often 
 was so near to me. 
 
 But no sure answer ever came, not will I hazard 
 one. As mystery wrapped Ayesha's origin and lives 
 — for the truth of these things I never learned — so 
 
■" I seemed to see two glorious shapes sweeping upward on its bosom.'' 
 
 [Pa^e 380. 
 
THE PASSING OF AYESHA 381 
 
 did mystery wrap her deaths, or rather her depart- 
 ings, for I cannot think her dead. Surely she still is, 
 if not on earth, then in some other sphere ? 
 
 So I believe ; and when my own hour comes, 
 and it draws near swiftly, I shall know whether I 
 believe in vain, or whether she will appear to be my 
 guide as, with her last words, she swore that she would 
 do. Then, too, I shall learn what she was about 
 to reveal to Leo when he died, the purposes of their 
 being and of their love. 
 
 So I can wait in patience who must not wait for 
 long, though my heart is broken and I am desolate. 
 
 Oros and all the priests were very good to me. 
 Indeed, even had it been their wish, they would have 
 feared to be otherwise, who remembered and were 
 sure that in some time to come they must render 
 an account of this matter to their dread queen. By 
 way of return, I helped them as I was best able to 
 draw up a scheme for the government of the con- 
 quered country of Kaloon, and with my advice upon 
 many other questions. 
 
 And so at length the long months wore away, till 
 at the approach of summer the snows melted. Then 
 I said that I must be gone. They gave me of their 
 treasures in precious stones, lest I should need 
 money for my faring, since the gold of which I had 
 such plenty was too heavy to be carried by one 
 man alone. They led me across the plains of Kaloon, 
 where now the husbandmen, those that were left 
 of them, ploughed the land and scattered seed, and 
 so on to ^ts city. But amidst those blackened ruins 
 over which Atene's palace stiU frowned unharmed, I 
 would not enter, for to me it was, and always must 
 remain, a home of death. So I camped outside the 
 walls by the river just where Leo and I had landed 
 after that poor mad Khan set us free, or rather loosed 
 us to be hunted by his death-hounds. 
 
382 AYESHA 
 
 Next day we took boat and rowed up the river, 
 past the place where we had seen Atene's cousin 
 murdered, till we came to the Gate-house. Here 
 once again I slept, or rather did not sleep. 
 
 On the following morning I went down into the 
 ravine and foimd to my surprise that the rapid torrent 
 —shallow enough now — had been roughly bridged, and 
 that in preparation for my coming rude but sufficient 
 ladders were built on the face of the opposing pre- 
 cipice. At the foot of these I bade farewell to Oros, 
 who at our parting smiled benignantly as on the day 
 we met. 
 
 " We have seen strange things together," I said 
 to him, not knowing what 'else to say. 
 
 " Very strange," he answered. 
 
 " At least, friend Oros," I went on awkwardly 
 enough, " events have shaped themselves to youi 
 advantage, for you inherit a royal mantle." 
 
 " I wrap myself in a mantle of borrowed royalty," 
 he answered with precision, " of which doubtless 
 one day I shall be stripped." 
 
 " You mean that the great Hesea is not dead ? " 
 
 " I mean that Hes never dies. She changes, 
 that is all. As the wind blows now hence, now 
 hither, so she comes and goes, and who can teU 
 at what spot upon the earth, or beyond it, for a 
 while that wdnd hes sleeping ? But at sunset or at 
 dawn, at noon or at midnight, it wiU begin to blow 
 again, and then woe to those who stand across its 
 path. 
 
 " Remember the dead heaped upon the plains of 
 Kaloon. Remember the departing of the Shaman 
 Simbri with his message and the words that she 
 spoke then. Remember the passing of the Hesea 
 from the Mountain point. Stranger from the West, 
 surely as to-morrow's sun must rise, as she went, 
 so she will return again, and in my borrowed gar- 
 ment I await her advent." 
 
THE PASSING OF AYESHA 383 
 
 " I also await her advent," I answered, and thus 
 we parted. 
 
 Accompanied by twenty picked men bearing pro- 
 visions and arms, I cUmbed the ladders easily enough, 
 and now that I had food and shelter, crossed the 
 mountains without mishap. They even escorted 
 me through the desert beyond, till one night we 
 camped within sight of the gigantic Buddha that 
 sits before the monastery, gazing eternally across 
 the sands and snows. 
 
 When I awoke next morning the priests were gone. 
 So I took up my pack and pursued my journey alone, 
 and walking slowly came at sunset to the distant 
 lamasery. At its door an ancient figure, wrapped 
 in a tattered cloak, was sitting, engaged apparently in 
 contemplation of the skies. It was our old friend 
 Kou-en. Adjusting his horn spectacles on his nose he 
 looked at me. 
 
 " I was awaiting you, brother of the Monastery 
 called the World," he said in a voice, measured, very 
 ineffectually, to conceal his evident delight. "Have 
 you grown hungry there that you return to this poor 
 place ? " 
 
 " Aye, most excellent Kou-en," I answered, " him- 
 gry for rest." 
 
 " It shall be yours for aU the days of this incar- 
 nation. But say, where is the other brother ? " 
 
 " Dead," I answered. 
 
 " And therefore re-bom elsewhere, or perhaps, 
 dreaming in Devachan for a while. WeU, doubt- 
 less we shall meet him later on. Come, eat, and 
 afterwards tell me your story." 
 
 So I ate, and that night I told him aU. Kou-en lis- 
 tened with respectful attention, but the tale, strange 
 as it might seem to most people, excited no particular 
 wonder in his mind. Indeed, he explained it to me 
 
384 AYESHA 
 
 at such length by aid of some marvellous theory of 
 re-incamations, that at last I began to doze. 
 
 " At least," I said sleepily, " it would seem that 
 we are all winning merit on the Everlasting Plane," 
 for I thought that favourite catchword would please 
 him. 
 
 '" Yes, brother of the Monastery called the World," 
 Kou-en answered in a severe voice, " doubtless you 
 are all winning merit, but, if I may venture to say 
 so, you are winning it very slowly, especially the 
 woman — or the sorceress — or the mighty evil spirit 
 — ^whose names I understand you to tell me are 
 She, Hes, and Ayesha upon earth and in Avitchi, 
 Star-that-hath-Fallen " 
 
 (Here Mr. Holly's manuscript ends, its outer sheets 
 having been burnt when he threw it on to the fire at 
 his house in Cumberland.) 
 
 FINIS 
 
 Butler & Tanner, The Sclwood Printing Works, Frome, and Londoo.