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The Eye of Istar: A Romance of the Land of No Return

by William Le Queux · English · Gutenberg #41003 · 673,485 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Eye of Istar: A Romance of the Land of No Return

Author: William Le Queux

Illustrator: Alfred Pearse


        
Release date: October 9, 2012 [eBook #41003]
                Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41003

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYE OF ISTAR: A ROMANCE OF THE LAND OF NO RETURN ***

The Eye of Istar
A Romance of the Land of No Return
By William Le Queux
Illustrations by Alfred Pearse
Published by Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

The Eye of Istar, by William Le Queux.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
THE EYE OF ISTAR, BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX.

PREFACE.

_PEACE, O READER!  Constant, blessed and abundant salutations_.

_Of a verity the groves of my hopes have been refreshed by cooling
showers from the clouds of Allah's blessing, my rose garden has been
weeded of the thorns of despondency, and the tree of my prosperity has
become fruit-bearing from the breeze of his bounty.  He is the Giver of
Gifts, the Source of Liberality, the Sovereign, the dust of whose
sandals is deservedly the collyrium of the eyes of mortal men; and I,
called by my fellows El-Motardjim, am the servant who, in compliance
with the exalted command, have placed my finger of acquiescence on the
vision of obedience.  During many hopeless nights I waited for the
radiation of the sun of the benefits of prosperity, and counted the
stars till the rise of dawn, but, by my ill-luck and the machinations of
enemies, was deprived of the felicity of penetrating the mystery of the
Land Forbidden_.

_At length, however, on a happy day when the fire of my anguish burned
so brightly that it was not easy to extinguish it with the water of
patience, the Abolisher of the signs of darkness and aberration invested
me with the robe of the favoured, guarded me through the calamities and
vicissitudes of fortune during long journeys, directed my footsteps
through the mazes of paths untrodden, and revealed unto my dazzled eyes
weird and wondrous marvels stranger than men have dreamed_.

_Therefore, O Reader! wipe the dust of ennui and fatigue from the
speculum of thy mind, withdraw the tongue of blame into thy palate, and
lend a willing ear to this my Tarik; for, verily, I have elucidated the
secret of the mystic Land of the No Return; I have torn the veil that
hideth the Great Sin from the eyes of men, and have gazed into the Eye
of Istar.  "Imsh Allah_!"

PROLOGUE.

Thrice hath the Fast of Ramadan come and gone since the Granter of
Requests last allowed my eyes to behold the well-remembered landscape,
scarcely visible in the pale light of dawn.  Hills, covered with tall
feathery palms, rose abruptly from the barren, sun-scorched plain, and,
at their foot, stood the dazzlingly-white city of Omdurman, the
impregnable and mysterious headquarters of Mahdiism, while beyond, like
a silver ribbon winding through the marshes, the Nile glided, half
veiled by its thin white cloud of morning vapours.

Within the walled and strongly-guarded city was a scene, strange and
fantastic.  The air, heavy with war rumours, was rent by the deafening
strokes of enormous brazen tamtams, mingling with the loud shouts of
dark-faced Jalins, half-naked negro fanatics of the Kunjara and the
Dinka, armed _cap a pie_, ready for battle at a moment's notice.  The
excitement, which had increased daily for many months, had risen to
fever heat.

Throughout the short, hot night, the great _nahas_--those huge brass war
drums of the Khalifa Abdullah, Ruler of the Soudan--had been beaten by
relays of perspiring negro slaves, glittering with beads and trinkets,
the indescribable monotonous rhythm causing the wildly-excited populace
to cry, "_Nakelkum_!" and "_Naklulkum_!" as, in the fresh, cool hour,
when the Wolf's Tail--the first brushes of grey light which appear as
forerunners of dawn--showed in the heavens, they seized guns, spears and
shields, and rushing from their houses across the great square of Abu
Anga they congregated in the wide, open space near the Tree of Hadra,
where the Raya Zerga, or dreaded black standard of the Khalifa, hung
ominous and motionless in the morning air.

Wild-haired men sped fleetly to and fro, brandishing their gleaming arms
and apostrophising Eblis; women left their millet unbeaten and followed,
while musicians chanted war songs softly in a sad falsetto, accompanying
themselves upon their little _ginkris_--those queer, two stringed
guitars, fashioned from a tortoise shell, which give forth a dismal
sound like the chirping of a grasshopper of the oasis.  The servants of
the Merciful are those who walk meekly on the earth, and when the
ignorant speak to them, answer, "Peace"; and who pass the night adoring
Allah, and standing up to pray unto him, and who say, "O Allah, avert
from us the torment of hell, for the torment thereof is perpetual;
verily, the same is a miserable abode"; and who, when they bestow, are
neither profuse nor niggardly, but observe a just medium between these,
and who invoke not another god together with the One Allah, neither slay
the soul which Allah hath forbidden to be slain, unless for a just
cause.  The Dervishes were going forth to battle.

On one side of the spacious review ground frowned the castellated walls
of the imposing white fortress, held so long by Faragallah Pasha against
the fierce hordes of the Mahdi; on the other, the ill-built quarters of
the Genadien, or regular soldiers, while the single tree in the centre
was historical by reason of the head of Gordon, the brave Pasha of the
Infidels, having been exhibited thereon by order of our tyrannical lord,
the Madhi.  It was at this spot that the wild multitude heaped curses
upon the last grim relic of the gallant, deserted hero of Khartoum, the
man whose matchless bravery and dogged perseverance were alike admired
by my own co-religionists, as well as by the Infidels themselves.

But the Mahdi, Khalifat-er-Rasul--the great False Prophet, renowned
throughout the world, who, by inducing us to believe that, by his
supernatural influence, he could transform the bullets of the white men
into water, caused us to flock to his standard and attempt to conquer
the Soudan--was now dead, and the power of the Khalifa Abdullah supreme.
Seven years ago had the hand of Allah's justice fallen heavily upon the
hypocritical imitator of the Great Prophet, who asserted that he could
part the waters of the Nile, that his body was invulnerable, and who was
so successful in his ingenious impostures that the people threw
themselves down frantically to kiss the spots his crimson slippers had
touched, while the water in which he performed his ablutions was drunk
as an unfailing remedy for every sort of malady.  The very dust of his
sandals was declared to be the collyrium of the eyes of men.  But the
struggle with the English, the fall of El Obeid, the capture of Galabat,
and the defeat and death of the King of Abyssinia were events now long
past and forgotten.

In this record of fact, adventure and strange marvels, I,
Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz, called by some, El-Motardjim ("the translator"), on
account of my knowledge of many tongues, am compelled to speak of
myself.  I am not a Soudanese, but an Arab, son of the Hadj Yakub
Sarraf, Kaid of the Aures.  I passed my childhood at my birthplace,
El-Manaa, two days' journey from Batna.  Then my father, having trading
relations with an Arab merchant living in London, the giant city of the
English, I was sent there for two years to learn the tongue.  But I
cared not for the English, nor the ways of life in a city where the
women go abroad unveiled and laugh in the faces of the men, where speech
is carried along wires, where light is shed by two wires in contact and
where carriages are propelled along the roads without horses.  Of a
verity, the London of the English is a city full of marvels, infidel
customs, amazing sights, and the accursed inventions of Eblis himself.
To the English the One Accursed has imparted the secret of his wiles and
miracles, whereby they are the powerful people on the face of the earth.
After two years rubbing shoulders with the white men who believed not
in the Prophet, but worshipped a cross as emblem of their deity, I grew
weary, for, during the whole time, mine eyes were never refreshed by
seeing the interior of a mosque, although once or twice I entered their
churches without removing my shoes, as is their custom.

During my absence in the land of the Infidels my mother died, and six
moons after my return my father was taken into Certainty.  Then life
among my people, the Chawi--the beauty of whose women is world famous--
had but little charm for me, born Bedouin that I am.  I longed for the
journeys afar by camel, the free life, the burning sun and the limitless
horizon.  I felt the need of the devouring heat.  I sighed for the
desert and the endless sands, and all my youthful dreams were radiant
with rosy anticipations.  Therefore, after a few months of idleness, I
resolved to quit my studies and travel south across the Great Desert.
At sunrise, one day, I left behind my native mountains, and, with a
camel caravan, journeyed to Mourzouk.  Thence I travelled with various
caravans to El Fasher, Dem Zibehr, Lado, and other places in the Soudan,
on many occasions finding myself in Khartoum, where several times I saw
the grave-faced Gordon, the heroic White Pasha, who was afterwards so
treacherously murdered.  At the age of twenty-one I had succeeded in
establishing a small caravan of my own to journey between Khartoum and
Suakin, but suddenly the Mahdi rose against the Christians, and all
trade was stopped.  Unfortunately, being an Arab from Algeria, I was an
alien, therefore my camels were at once seized, and, against my will, I
was pressed into military service, forced to take the _bea'a_, and bear
my part in the holy war under the dreaded standard of the Madhi.  At
Tamai and Abu Klea I fought the English invaders, afterwards carrying
arms in Dongola, Berber, Galabat, Karkoj and Kordofan, where I fought
Infidels, slave-raiders and rebellious tribes, witnessing many fierce
combats and scenes of massacre too horrible to describe.  "Allah
encompasseth the Infidels," says our Koran.  "The lightning wanteth but
little of taking away their sight; so often as it enlighteneth them they
walk therein, but when darkness cometh on them they stand still."  I
loved the brilliant nights and the ruddy splendour of the moonbeams
reflected on the sands; even the sinister howls of the jackals on the
plains of Kababich had become a familiar sound and no longer disturbed
me.

Such, briefly, is the story how, from a student at the French Lycee at
Algiers, and a clerk in a London merchant's office, I developed into a
Dervish.

Now, however, as one of the renowned Ansar-ed-Din of the False Prophet's
successor, I, with face seared by sun-scalds, sat my milk-white horse in
the square of Abu Anga, ready to take part in the monster parade, prior
to setting forth upon an expedition across the Great Desert, westward to
Kano, the great capital of the powerful Sultan of Sokoto, which all knew
would be fraught with many perils.

But it was the Khalifa's will; none dare demur.

In the Koran, our perspicuous Book of Everlasting Will, it is written
that "Allah, the One Worthy of Praise, alone knoweth the heart of man,"
therefore he is aware that the profane chicanery of the Mahdi had
impressed me not, neither did I admire the fanatical teaching of the
Khalifa's speeches and sermons.  But to speak in Omdurman against
Mahdiism, or the Khalifa, meant death, therefore silence and obedience
were best.  Indeed, life was at all times uncertain in the Dervish
capital.  The Khalifa was intensely vain and proud, professing the
religion of Al-Islam, but leading an idle, dissolute life, shut up in
his great white Palace, surrounded by all the pomp and splendour of a
Soudanese Sultan.  Cruel, quick-tempered and distrustful, he was fearful
and jealous of his authority, and the smallest infringement of it was
looked upon as a heinous offence, to be punished accordingly.  By an
elaborate system, he was surrounded by villainous, despicable spies, who
all pandered to his jealous and tyrannical nature.  These spies were
everywhere, and besides obtaining admission to private houses in order
to ascertain if the inmates were loyal, their duty was also to seek out
the most attractive girls to grace their master's extensive harem.
Wherever a pretty woman was found throughout his dominions he at once
received information about her, and in a very short time she was
conveyed to the palace of Omdurman, where the hundred fountains were
refreshing, the marble courts were cool, and the Garden of Enchantment
was red with flowers and green with many leaves.

CHAPTER ONE.

THE BLAST OF THE ONBEIA.

We were leaving Omdurman, on an expedition to the far west, beyond the
high misty mountains of Marran and the great glaring Saharan plains.
Our forces, consisting of over fifteen thousand armed warriors, were
assembling to parade and receive our Ruler's blessing ere we departed.

Red and fiery the sun rose, the houses shone milk-white against the
intense blue of the sky, the monotonous thumping of the _nahas_
continued, the yelling of the fanatical multitude increased, and the
black silken standard, planted in the centre of the parade-ground,
stirred by a breath of hot wind, suddenly spread itself out lazily,
revealing its inscription in sprawly Arabic characters of bright yellow.
The excited populace, the black-faced warriors of the Tumali, the
Tegeleand the Fajelu, regarding this as a good omen, shouted themselves
hoarse in cursing our enemies, but a few seconds later the sound of loud
trumpets echoed across the square, and a silence, sudden and complete,
fell upon the multitude.  Drawn up in long lines, we were facing in the
direction of the Holy City, ranging ourselves in order, attending the
commands of Allah and the Khalifa and celebrating the divine praise.
From where I sat I had full view of the great arched gate of the Palace,
which next second was thrown open as the Khalifa himself, stout,
dark-bearded, and hawk-eyed, rode forth, accompanied by his officers and
bodyguard.  Mounted on a fine camel, and wearing a suit of golden mail
armour and a helmet with spotless plume, he was surrounded by about two
hundred horsemen also clad in mail, with thick, red turbans around their
helmets, their horses all wearing brass head armour to protect them from
sword cuts.  Four _onbeia_ blowers walked in front, and, in turns,
sounded the great elephant's tusk, while, headed by the dreaded sable
standard and moving very slowly, came the Khalifa, stern, stately,
statuesque, with drawn sword.  Behind, followed the gaudily-attired
_mulazimin_, or body-servants, riding, while his black guards, veritable
giants in stature, formed a compact square around him.

The spectacle was brilliant and imposing.  In the bright morning
sunshine the spears and armour of the cavalcade flashed and glittered,
and, as the Khalifa drew up his camel within a few yards of me, his keen
black eyes wandered around us, as if in search of absentees.  Thrice the
deafening plaudits of the multitude rent the air; thrice he bowed an
acknowledgment with regal gesture.  With one voice the people cried,
"Alhamdolillah!"--the pious expression which leaves the lips of True
Believers on all occasions of concluding actions--the review began, and
the wild enthusiasm and confusion knew no bounds.  Remington rifles with
ammunition were distributed to us, in addition to the customary three
spears and sword, and, amid the endless shouting and recitation of suras
from the Koran, with bows and protestations we dashed at a wild gallop
hither and thither past the powerful Ruler of the Soudan, raising clouds
of white dust.  At length, in obedience to a long, loud blast from the
_onbeia_, we halted, and the Khalifa--whose custom it was to attend the
mosque five times a day and to enforce the presence of all his principal
emirs--commenced the second portion of the parade.  The review, or
_arda_, as it was called, was a religious ceremony, and those who took
part in it were supposed to obtain special advantages and blessings.

Gazing slowly around him, with an expression of restlessness and revenge
clearly portrayed upon his gross, bloated features, he waved his fat
hand, with imperious gesture, exclaiming in a loud, firm voice,--

"Harken unto me, O my people!  The believer doth not escape from the
chastisement of Allah--whose glory be glorified,--until he leaveth four
things--lying, pride, niggardliness and evil-thinking.  Paradise
desireth four kinds of men: the first of them are they who feed the
hungry; the second, they who lend succour unto the naked; the third,
they who fast in Ramadan; and the fourth, they who read the Koran.  Fear
ye Allah in secret, O my people!"

Every head bent low in obedient submission, every voice cried with one
accord, "May the peace of Allah cover thee like a cloak, O august Ruler!
O Pearl of the conch of Prophecy!"

"Our kingdom is made flourishing through justice, is protected by
courage, and ruled by good government," he continued.  "Good government
is that the gate of the Chief be guarded in the proper time of being
guarded, and opened in the proper time of being open, and the
gate-keeper friendly.  Verily, the One Merciful hath servants whom he
distinguisheth with his favours, and whom he rewardeth for fighting for
the Faith with great rewards.  To go forth into battle against the
Sultan of Sokoto is necessary for the well being of our State, and of
our people; therefore, O men-at-arms, gird your loins and sharpen your
spears, so that ye may enter the great city of Kano, vanquish your
enemies, trample their country underfoot, deliver it over to fire and
sword, and return hither to your ease within yonder walls of this, your
dwelling-place.  In the darkness of night, as in the sunshine of noon,
ye carry with ye upon thy wanderings the ever-anxious thoughts of your
Khalifa, into whose keeping the welfare of our kingdom was entrusted by
the holy Mahdi whom Allah, who liveth in Heaven, hath been pleased to
remove from amongst us."

"His name be exalted and praised!" roared the excited, dark-faced
multitude.  "May it endure as long as time lasts!"

"True, O my people," continued the autocrat, with well-feigned
reverence.  "May our great Chief, El-Mahdi, drink of the stream
Al-Cawthar, whiter than milk or silver, and more odoriferous than musk,
with as many cups set around it as there are stars in the firmament, of
which water whosoever drinketh will thirst no more for ever.  May he
wander through the groves of Jannat-al-Ferdaws with the glorious
Hur-al-oyun, whose dark eyes are a pleasure to beholders, and whose
pavilions are as hollow pearls."

Then, after the people had given vent to loud acclamations, he repeated,
in a loud voice, two long prayers from the Koran, followed by the
_khutba_ for days of the Jihad, "Praise be to Allah, the One Merciful,
who is the best of helpers; for we say, verily, help us against the
Infidel people.  He who is dissatisfied with the licentious, we ask Him,
`Do help us against the Infidel people.'  Glory to Him who scattereth
the strength of the unbelievers; so we say, verily, `Do help us.'  He
who surroundeth with His aid His grateful worshippers, help us.  He whom
Allah sent to give vigour unto the lukewarm, help us.  Know ye that
Allah, whose name be exalted, has written upon you the Jihad against the
wicked.  Therefore, exert yourselves and say, `Help us against the
Infidels, and may their place be in Al-Hawiyat.'  And be ye patient in
the fatigues of the expedition; for, verily, His help maketh bold those
who watch.  Then say ye, `Help us against the Infidels.  Thou art our
Allah.  Then help us against the people of the Infidels.'"

This concluded, he delivered a further invocation for the victory of the
religion of Al-Islam, long life for himself, and the continual success
of his arms, following it up with a prayer, calling down the vengeance
of Allah on all unbelievers and those who had erred from the paths of
Mahdiism, especially the enemies we were about to attack, and asking
that their wives and children might be given as booty unto us.  At the
end of the prayers he repeated the _Fatiha_, the whole gigantic assembly
joining in the declaration of the Unity, loud, fervent, impressive.

Every head again bowed for a second, then wild yelling, shrill
battle-cries and deafening war gongs sounded, mad, enthusiastic
confusion becoming general everywhere as the Khalifa Abdullah and his
black bodyguard slowly moved back along the Nile bank towards the great
white Palace, the ponderous iron-studded gates of which opened wide to
receive them.  Men and women, giving vent to cries of "_Sidi!  Khalifat
el Mahdi_!" and "_Ya Sidi ana mazlum_!" threw themselves upon their
faces, craving his blessing as he passed, and some of the more fanatical
struggled and fought with his bodyguard of ebon-faced Taisha in a vain
endeavour to touch the hem of the garment of the Great Ruler inspired by
Allah.

Thus, while the shouting multitude followed our Master, we dismounted,
ate the handful of dhurra allotted to each of us, and took leave of our
women and relations prior to setting forth on the first stage of an
expedition to Kano, the City of the Mirage, which most probably would
occupy us many months, and from which many of us would certainly never
return.

CHAPTER TWO.

SUN AND SILENCE.

Headed by the great Raya Zerga, held in awe throughout the Soudan from
Assouan even unto Lado, we of the Jihadieh, two hours later, under the
heat of the brilliant sun, rode forth from the city gate, amid the
vociferous shouting of the women, the frantic beating of war drums, the
ear-piercing blast of great _onbeias_ and the encouraging yells of old
men and children.  Then, with a parting war-cry, our gleaming swords
flourishing in air, we left the cupolas and minarets of Omdurman behind,
and spurred forward in huge compact bodies towards the low, distant
hills, half hidden in their mystic haze, but supposed to be the abode of
the Jinns, or genii, which our dead lord, the Mahdi, declared always
fought in thousands on our side.  Some of my comrades-in-arms declared
that they had had visions of these strange creatures, but I confess I
have never seen one, and am inclined to agree with what one of the White
Fathers once told us in El Obeid, that their existence is purely
imaginary.  But perhaps I am a sceptic.  Indeed, my white skin betrayed
my Arab parentage, and, because of it, I had long ago been nicknamed by
my dark-visaged comrades, "The Unbeliever."  Not because I had ever
expressed doubt as to the truth of the Mahdist teaching, but my pale
face was alone responsible for the epithet which had, in fun, been
bestowed upon me.

My personal appearance, as a horseman of the great Khalifa, was,
perhaps, not such as would commend itself to the Roumis, the enemies of
Allah and His Prophet.  My Jibbeh, or Dervish uniform coat, was dirty
and patched with multi-coloured strips of cotton; on my head was the
white skull-cap, called the _takia_, bound by a broad white turban;
while I wore a pair of loose cotton unmentionables with a red girdle,
and my bare feet were thrust into rough slippers of undressed cowhide.
My weapons consisted of a circular shield which bore the deep dints of
past combats, two small spears, one long one, a rifle, and a heavy sword
with cross hilt strapped up under my left arm.

Light-hearted, laughing among ourselves, and eager for the fray, we
crossed the hills, but saw nothing of the mysterious Jinns; then,
continuing our ride into the stony, waterless desert of Bayuda, that
immense country forgotten of Allah, we halted at sundown for the
_maghrib_, and journeyed forward yet another three hours before
encamping.  The expedition was under the leadership of Ali Wad Helu,
chief of the Baggara Arabs, upon whose crimson flag, borne before him,
was inscribed in gold in the Arabic character, `_Nekhrib ed Dunia wa
nammir el Akher_.'  (We shall destroy this, and create the next world).
This was his motto.  A fierce and fanatical warrior, he had acted a
conspicuous and unenviable part in that terrible storm of 1885 which
deluged the Soudan with blood, and now thought not of sparing the lives
of his men, but urged that, by dying by the sword, we should go direct
to the Jannat-al-Ferdaws, where the great lote-tree throws a cool shade,
and where the houris have lips of musk and eyes bright and sparkling as
stars of night.

Resting during the day, on account of the furnace-heat of sunshine, and
travelling during the clear, starlit nights over the sands with our
black standard ever waving at our head, the hosts of the Khalifa swept
onward through the land of sun and silence, like a great swarm of
locusts, bent upon ruthless pillage and destruction.  Day by day, week
by week, we travelled over the immense plain, always in the crimson
track of the dying day.  Everywhere spread vast solitudes, an
interminable country of desolation and sad monotony, without a plant or
a vestige of life--only shifting, brown sand-hills, boundless horizons
and a blinding glare of sun.  Through Foja and El Fasher we passed, then
over the great, bare mountains to Kol-Kol.  Three journeys from that
place, however, Ali Wad Helu, fearing attack by hostile tribes, sent
forward fifty spearmen--of whom I was one--to act as scouts.  The orders
we received we obeyed promptly, and, heedless of heat and sand storms,
we travelled rapidly onward to Abu Guerra, across infinite, mysterious
solitudes, where the blazing heat and the loose sand retarded our
advance, until, at last, we reached El-Asagga, on the shore of Lake
Tsad, exactly one moon after our departure from Omdurman.

Inured as the cavalry of the Khalifa were to the burning breath and
silent gloom of the desert, the privations of the march and the fatigue
of long travel, we found in this journey that our horses were utterly
unfit to negotiate the stony wilderness that lay between ourselves and
Kano, known to the desert wanderers as the City of the Mirage by reason
of the amazing mirages seen in the vicinity almost daily; therefore, on
arrival at the Well of Sabo-n-Gari, four days' journey south from the
Lake, and two days' beyond the boundary of the territory of the Sultan
of Sokoto, we resolved to encamp under the palms and await our main body
in order to utilise the spare camels which they had brought with them in
case of need.  To attempt to approach nearer to the city we intended to
attack would, we knew, result in speedy death.

The last fires had faded from the west; moonless night had fallen.  The
poison-wind blew in sharp hot gusts, the heat from the sand was
reflected into one's face, black clouds hung low and ominous, and the
atmosphere, laden with particles of grit, was stifling.  We prayed our
_isha_, ate our dhurra, and leaving three of our comrades on the alert,
in case of surprise, stretched ourselves in our tents and endeavoured to
snatch a brief repose.  The neighbourhood of the well was not a safe
place after sundown, for wild beasts came there for water, and we had
seen the marks of lions on the sands.  Wearied, my eyes at length closed
in sleep, and I was dreaming of cool, idle hours at my mountain home in
the far-off Aures, and of bygone days amid the civilisation of London,
when suddenly I was startled by the quick rattle of musketry, followed
by fiendish yells, while, at the same moment, there was a flash of
powder as a bullet tore its way through the canvas of my little tent,
whistling unpleasantly near my head.  Seizing my rifle, I sprang up,
and, with my comrades who had been sleeping by my side, rushed forth.

Next second I knew the truth.  The place was alive with horsemen, led by
a minor sheikh mounted upon a splendid grey.  We had fallen into the
trap against which our spies had repeatedly warned us, and were
evidently being attacked from every side by the Tuaregs.  In the Great
Desert there are two terrors ever present--the sand and the Tuaregs.
The latter are the forbidding-looking pirates of the desert, held in awe
from El Fasher to Timbuktu.  It is said that ages ago they were
compelled to migrate south from the fertile Atlas into the Great Desert,
and owing to their eyes being unaccustomed to the terrible glare, nor
their lungs to the sand storms, they adopted a head dress with two
veils.  One, the _nicab_, is rolled round the temples, hanging down in
front to protect the eyes; the other, the _litham_, reaches from the
nostrils to the edge of the clothing, completely covering the lower part
of the face.  Hence they are known to-day, everywhere in the Soudan, as
the "Veiled Men of the Desert," while upon all those who do not adopt
their mysterious-looking costume they bestow the sobriquet, "mouths for
flies."  The veils are never removed, even at meal times, and the garb
has become so much a part of them that any one, being deprived of it, is
unrecognisable to his friends and relatives.  If one of their number is
killed in battle and divested of his veil, no one can identify him until
it has been restored to its place.  And this, in spite of the fact that
the bridge of the nose and the eyes alone are visible.  Their power is
felt in nearly every part of the Great Desert, and to such an extent
have they carried their depredations that until quite recently almost
every town was compelled to pay them tribute.  These nomads are thieves
of the worst character, travellers and merchants being their principal
victims.  Their vague form of Islamism they have reduced to a belief in
talismans, and their chest and back are covered with bags of black and
yellow, like a cuirass.  Ruse is their principal weapon, even though
they never show themselves without spear or gun, a sword at their side
and a poniard attached to the left arm.  We, of the Khalifa's army, had
bestowed upon them three epithets which epitomise their
psychology--"Thieves, Hyenas, and the Abandoned of Allah."

There had been a deadly feud of long standing between us, and they,
learning that a small party of Dervishes was in the vicinity, had
apparently come forth to check our advance.  But the horsemen of the
Khalifa Abdullah, Sultan of the Soudan, know not fear, as their valiant
actions at Abu Klea, Berber, El Obeid and Toski had already proved, and
now, even though we saw ourselves surrounded by hundreds of yelling
"Veiled Men," who poured into us a withering fire from their
long-barrelled guns, not a man among us was dismayed although many bit
the dust ere reaching cover.

That it must be a struggle to the death we knew, therefore, unable to
mount, we obtained what protection we could among the few palm-trunks,
and replied to the hail of bullets with careful precision, picking off a
white-robed figure whenever one showed itself.  Behind every rock or
tree large enough to shelter a human form a veiled man lurked, and,
well-practised in the use of fire-arms, they proved themselves superior
shots.  As far as we could discern in the gloom they outnumbered us by
about ten to one, and their weapons, aimed deliberately at us from the
security of the ambuscade, had already taken deadly effect.  On every
side white robes fluttered as rifles shed their weird red light, and ere
long many of our men, stumbling forward, sank upon the sand and died
with fierce curses upon their lips.  Unable to approach our opponents
sufficiently near to effectively use our long spears we continued our
erratic fire, determined to make a stubborn stand until the end.  During
a quarter-of-an-hour this continued, when suddenly wild piercing yells
sounded above the incessant rattle of musketry as, with one accord,
about two hundred Tuaregs, their villainous faces encircled by their
black veils, and standing in their stirrups, swept down upon us with a
ringing shout of triumph.  In a moment a fierce hand-to-hand struggle
ensued, for horses and riders plunged upon our spears, and dozens of the
desert pirates fell impaled, their burnouses dyed with blood.  One man,
tall and sinewy, his breast loaded with talismans, riding a
magnificently-caparisoned horse, and evidently a sheikh, I held in the
grip of death, and he fell by my hand.  Indeed, so strenuous was our
defence that, on glancing round, I felt half inclined to believe that
the fierce onslaught would not be repeated; yet, almost before this
thought had crossed my mind, another shrill war-cry resounded as an
additional force on foot emerged from the dark clump of trees with
burnouses flying, eyes blazing, and firing as they ran they rushed
together upon us in such numbers as to prove absolutely overwhelming.
With rifles held high above their heads, and yelling fiercely, they sped
onward, driving us from our cover, and shooting us down, although we
slashed, stabbed and hacked like very demons.  Prodigies of strength and
valour were performed by my comrades, the Dervishes, in their last
defence.  The struggle inflamed them, as it ever does men courageous by
nature and born brave.  They sold their lives dearly, but to effectually
repulse the attack or to crave for quarter were alike futile.  Alas, the
soldiers of the Black Standard, who for years had fought long and
fearlessly for the holy Mahdi and his successor, were now falling
helpless victims to the cunning and rapidity with which the Tuaregs had
delivered their terrible onslaught.

Full of breathless anxiety were those fatal moments.  Elated by their
success and filled with a deadly hatred against us, our enemies were
evidently determined to sweep us into eternity.  The ground was
encumbered with dead and dying.  Several of my comrades, believing that
the Jinns had deserted us, and therefore resistance was useless, threw
down their arms, and falling on their knees, cried, in the name of the
_One_ for their lives to be spared, but the Veiled Men of the Desert
only jeered, and shot them down as ruthlessly as they would slaughter
dogs, crying, "Kill the black-faced sons of offal!  Let not one escape,
or he will give warning unto the hosts of the accursed tyrant, the
Khalifa.  Kill the dogs!  Kill them!"  My comrades' death-wail uplifted,
and, sharpened in soaring, hung in anguish at its height; then, like
hope's expiring sigh, it faltered downward and fell mute.

Escape was hopeless; we had fallen into an ambush.  Our enemies had
surrounded us by hundreds.  Amid the shrieks, the firing, the fiendish,
exultant cries of the victors and the fierce, hoarse curses of the
dying, I fought on with spear and shield, unhorsing more than one of our
deadly foes.  My comrades were apparently all being ruthlessly
slaughtered, when suddenly a gigantic son of the desert, lithe as a
deer, black veiled, and sitting his white horse as if he were part of
it, galloped straight towards me with a loud cry, his whirling blade
flourishing in mid-air ready to match me, strength to strength.  In a
second my spear left my hand, and striking him full in the breast,
felled him to earth a corpse, but ere I could draw breath, another
piercing yell sounded behind me, and I felt a sharp twinge in the left
shoulder.  Then a horrible, choking sensation seized me, and I have a
vague recollection of a man's dark face, hideously distorted by hatred,
and with a black _rawani_, or shawl wrapped around it, within a few
inches of mine, so near that I could feel his hot, foetid breath upon my
cheek.

A sudden darkness next instant fell upon me, and all consciousness
became blotted out.

Of events that immediately followed, or of how long I remained
insensible I have no knowledge.  Thoughts, strange and confused, grim
and pleasant, incongruously mixed flitted through my unbalanced mind,
but I had no idea of place, of time, of anything.  A darkness, black and
impenetrable, had obliterated my senses and held me powerless, until a
sharp spasm of pain shot through my limbs, and then I recollected, in a
half dreamy manner, that I had fallen in the desperate fight.  I tried
to repeat the first _sura_, but my lips, cold and clammy, refused to
utter sound.  The pain increased in intensity until my whole body became
racked by a torture so acute and horrible that I believe I must have
fainted.  Many are the scars I had received in battle, but never had I
experienced such suffering.  Indeed, the pain was so intense that I felt
myself writhing in terrible agony, while the perspiration stood in great
beads upon my neck and brow, and the tightness in my chest held me, as
in a vice, breathless, with all the horrible pangs of asphyxiation.

An interval of senselessness was followed by a brief period of calm;
then gradually, with a feeling that I was struggling hand-to-hand with
Azrael, the dreaded Angel of Terrors, I slowly struggled back to
consciousness.  Blindly enduring, I suffered alternately torments of
fire and of ice.  Memories haunted me, vivid, voluptuous; scenes of a
passionate past recurred.  I stood in a magical Hall of Echoes, where
every echo seemed the voice it mocked, and through some flaw in each
illusion drove the shattering spear of truth.

In the impenetrable darkness my fingers wandered involuntarily to seek
the objects around.  On either side I stretched forth my hands, but
clutched at air.  Faint sibilations, like the sound of hushed whispering
fell upon my ear, and in that moment filled me with a strange fear.  My
resting-place seemed soft and comfortable, and as again my hands sought
to discover something that would give me a clue to my whereabouts, my
fingertips suddenly came into contact with embroidered satin.  I could
feel the raised pattern upon the smooth, glossy surface at my side, and
became aware that I was not stretched upon the sand, where I had fallen,
but upon a divan.  I felt the cushion upon which my aching head was
pillowed.  It was also of satin, soft as down.  The air seemed heavy
with the sensuous intoxicating odour of attar of rose rising from a
perfuming-pan--a subtle scent that still vibrates my memory--and as I
touched the pillow I made a further discovery.  Raising my hand to wipe
my clammy brow, I became aware of the reason of my obscurity of vision.

My forehead and eyes had been bandaged with a folded square of thick
black silk.

By frantic movement I endeavoured to tear away the tightly-bound fabric,
but failed.  It had been dexterously knotted, and no effort of mine
could remove it.  Again, with words of haste upon my lips, I tried to
tear it from my eyes, but did not succeed, for when I tried to lift my
left hand to my head I again experienced a spasm of pain that was
excruciating.

Suddenly I was conscious of the presence of someone near me, and a voice
in low, soft, musical tones, scarcely above a whisper, exclaimed in the
Hausa tongue,--

"_Barka, sanu sanu_."

My acquaintance with this language of the people beyond Lake Tsad was
very imperfect, but I nevertheless knew that the words gave me peace,
and, being translated, were, "Allah, bless thee.  Gently, gently."

"Peace be upon thee, O unknown friend," I answered fervently, in Arabic.
"Thou who hast given succour unto the wounded, I beseech of thee allow
mine eyes to behold the mirror of thy face."

"Of a verity thine eyes shall ere long witness things that,
peradventure, will amaze thee," answered the low voice of the unknown,
in tones in which severity and gentleness were strangely mingled.

Soft hands deftly unloosed the double knots at the back of my head, the
scarf was drawn away, and on eagerly opening my bewildered eyes they
were dazzled by a strange flood of bright light that poured down upon
them.

Next second, however, my vision grew accustomed to the extraordinary
brilliance, and the scene which met my wondering gaze was so strange and
bewildering, so inexplicable and stupendous, so awe-inspiring yet
entrancing, that, in sheer amazement, I slowly raised myself upon my arm
and gazed aghast in stupefaction, fascinated, open-mouthed, petrified.

CHAPTER THREE.

AZALA.

My transition had been remarkable; the sight that met my eyes was,
indeed, sufficient to cause breathless wonderment.

What time had elapsed since, in the darkness of night, I had fallen
senseless beneath the palms of the oasis of Sabo-n-Gari, or by what
means I had been rescued from the tortures of a lingering death by fever
and thirst, I knew not.  I had lapsed into unconsciousness at a moment
when the last of my brave comrades had been slain, only to awaken and
find myself stretched on a divan in a spacious apartment, the walls of
which were richly hung with rose-coloured silk.  The marble floor was
half hidden by the profusion of rugs of beautifully blended hues, while
around, near the arched roof, verses and good counsels from the Koran
were written in Arabic characters, in long lean letters of gold.  There
were many dainty coffee-stools of inlaid silver and pearl, and a number
of soft divans of gold-coloured silk.  The place was windowless, but the
sunlight, apparently reflected and intensified by mirrors, was admitted
from the roof, and so directed that it fell in a golden bar across my
face, presumably for the purpose of bringing me back to consciousness.

At one end of this brilliant apartment was a door with horse-shoe arch,
like all the others, leading to a little retreat, the gloom of which
was, to me, impenetrable.  In a corner, close to me, was a great gold
perfuming-pan from which rose sweet odours in a column of thin blue
smoke, while two gilded derboukas and a pair of slippers, cast aside
upon one of the larger mats, showed that the occupants had indulged in
those terpsichorean exercises in which Eastern women delight.

Almost before I could realise the luxury of my surroundings, a soft,
cool hand was laid upon my fevered brow, and, turning my head with
difficulty, I suddenly beheld a vision of wondrous beauty.  Over me
there bent a fair face, so perfect in feature that I became entranced.
The eyes, dark and large, expressive of the soul that lay behind, held
me in fascination, and I gazed, tongue-tied, in amazement.

She was young, not more than twenty, with a countenance white as those
of the Englishwomen who come to Algiers at Ramadan; soft brown eyes
denoting the mildest, tenderest nature, and a mouth sweetly pursed like
the bud of a rose.  Tendrils of soft, brown, wavy hair strayed across a
fair forehead, hung heavily with strings of golden sequins, the centre
of which was formed by a great oval pearl surrounded by diamonds, the
finest my eyes had ever beheld, and in her ears were large,
delicately-chased rings of gold.  Her dress was the gorgeous costume of
the harem: the tiny skullcap thickly embroidered with gold and seed
pearls, set jauntily upon her head, the zouave of palest amaranth
velvet, similarly embroidered, worn over a gauzy, low-necked vest, and
the flimsy _serroual_ or trousers of pale pink China silk.  Her white,
delicately-moulded arms were bare, adorned by heavy _mesais_ of gold and
jingling bangles set with gems, while her feet, likewise uncovered, were
thrust into dainty little embroidered slippers of pale green velvet, her
_redeefs_ being composed of single bands of curiously worked gold set
with beautiful jacinths.  Her necklets, of which she wore fully a dozen,
were of various patterns, several being composed of strings of golden
coins, or discs of gold thickly encrusted with rubies and turquoises,
her oval perfume bottle, suspended at her breast, being conspicuous on
account of the top being formed of a single emerald, while the diamonds
set in the ornament itself were of amazing lustre.

My mouth was parched, but she knelt beside me, and supporting me with
her left arm, with her right held a goblet to my lips.

How it came about I never knew, but before the draught was finished a
change passed over me.  Whether it was her soft touch, her strange and
fawnlike loveliness, or the tender pity in her eyes matters not, the
issue was the same; she struck some chord in my turbulent nature, and in
a moment it was filled full with passion for her.  I did not for a
moment mistake the significance of the flood of feeling that surged
through my veins.  I have never shirked facts.

"I thank thee," I said; "thine hand is kind."

As she smiled upon me, moving slightly, her sequins tinkled, and the ray
of sunlight, streaming full upon her, caused her jewels to flash and
gleam with a thousand iridescent fires, producing an effect that was
dazzling.

Opening her lips she displayed an even set of beautiful pearly teeth, as
she exclaimed, in the soft speech of my mother tongue,--

"Peace, O stranger.  May the blessing of the One, whose name be exalted,
rest eternally upon thee.  Let not fear oppress thee; of a verity thou
art with friends."

"Mine eyes are bewildered, O One of Beauty, whose countenance is as the
glorious light of day, and whose eyes are brilliant as stars in the
desert.  Upon thee be perfect peace and the fervent blessings of one who
hath approached near unto Certainty," I answered with difficulty.  Then,
as I raised my hand and it came into contact with bandages about my
shoulder, I added "The darkness of unconsciousness hath long obscured my
mind, and I know not under whose roof I rest.  Allah hath been gracious
unto me.  Verily, He bestoweth abundant provision on such of His
servants as He pleaseth."

"Yea, O stranger," she answered, piously.  "Everything shall perish
except Himself; unto Him belongeth judgment.  Accursed be those who
struck thee down, for Allah, Gracious Bestower of abundant benefits,
knoweth both the secret malice which their breasts conceal and the open
hatred which they discover."

In a fit of renewed weakness, brought about by the turmoil of my blood,
I lay back upon the silken pillows watching her face.  It almost seemed
as though something of what was passing in my mind communicated itself
to her.

"Knowest thou mine enemies?"  I asked, raising myself, and, to my
astonishment, discovering, for the first time, that the loose garments I
wore were of finest silk, and that I was veiled and disguised as a
woman.

"I know that thou wouldst kill me," she answered briefly, with a curious
smile, standing before me with hands behind her back, a veritable houri.

"Kill thee!  Why?"

"Because thou art a soldier of the great Khalifa of Omdurman, enemy of
my people, and Ruler of the Soudan."

"What name bearest thou?"  I asked.

"I am called Azala Fathma."

"Daughter of whom?"

"Daughter of 'Othman, Sultan of Sokoto."

"Thou--Princess of Sokoto!"  I gasped, struggling slowly and with
difficulty to my feet, scarcely believing my ears.  "Where, then, have I
taken mine ease?"

"For three days past hast thou been concealed here, in the harem of
thine enemy," she answered, in low, placid tones, looking seriously at
me.  Then, noticing the uneasy glance I cast in the direction of the
dark alcove beyond, she added quickly, "Let not apprehension fall upon
thee.  To this my apartment none dares enter unbidden, therefore thou
art safe, even in the midst of those whom thou didst seek to destroy."

"Chastise me not with a scourge of words, O Daughter of the Sultan," I
said, apologetically.  "Thy servant Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz, Arab of the Chawi,
horseman of the Khalifa, armeth not himself against those who give him
succour, nor seeketh he the overthrow of the city of thy father."

Leaning gracefully, with her back against the twisted column of polished
marble, inlaid with gold, supporting the arched roof, she clasped her
hands behind her handsome head and gazed at me.  Then, half
reproachfully she said,--

"Whoso doth that which is right, doth it to the advantage of his own
soul; and whoso doth evil, doth it against the same: hereafter shall we
return unto Allah.  Thou earnest with scouts to reconnoitre--perchance
to enter this our city singly or in company--so that on the advance of
the ruthless legions of thy Sultan thou mightest, by treachery, admit
them within our walls.  But Allah, who hath placed the twelve signs in
the heavens, is merciful and knoweth the hearts of men.  Thine
encampment was discovered and destroyed."

"How was my life spared?"  I asked.

"I was present when thou wert forced to bite the dust," she explained.
"I had journeyed unto Katsena, where I had lingered one moon, and was
returning hither to Kano when my Tuareg guards, warned of thine
approach, watched thee by stealth, and in the darkness fell upon thee at
a moment when thou wert unprepared.  On the rising of the sun I searched
the spot, and found that thou alone still lived.  Secretly thou wert
attired in the haick belonging to one of my handmaidens, and by my
orders conveyed hither in a _jakfi_ on one of mine own camels.  Still
dressed as a female slave thou wert able to pass the guards of the outer
courts and of the harem, to rest and recover on mine own divan."

"Then to thee, O Azala, Princess of Sokoto, whose beauty is peerless, I
owe my life," I answered, fervently.  "Truly hast thou snatched me back
from the grave, even though I sought to assist in the sacking of this,
the palace of thy father, and in the holding of thy people in bondage.
Tell me, why shouldst thou interest thyself in my well-being?"

Hesitating, apparently confused at my question, Azala moved uneasily,
toying with the silken fringe of her broad girdle.

"Is it not written that we should bear no malice?" she answered, after a
pause.  "Al-Sijil registereth our deeds."

"Wisdom falleth from thy lips," I said, smiling.  "But hadst thou no
motive in bringing me into this thine apartment, even at the imminent
risk of detection and disgrace?"

"I am not compelled to answer thy question," she replied, with a forced
laugh.  "Reason underlyeth most of our actions."

"And wilt thou not explain thy reason?"

"No.  At present my lips must remain sealed," she answered calmly, her
bejewelled breast heaving and falling in a long-drawn sigh.
"Peradventure thou mayest learn my motive some day; then will thine eyes
open in astonishment, for thou wilt gain knowledge of things undreamed
of and behold marvels amazing."

"Thou speakest in enigmas.  When may these secrets be revealed unto me?
Of what character are they?"

"Seek not to unloosen my tongue's strings, O mine enemy--"

"Nay, not enemy, friend, grateful and ever devoted," I interrupted.

"Then, if thou art my friend seek not to discover mine innermost
thoughts," she said, earnestly.  "As the wicked are in Sajin, beneath
the seventh heaven, where dwelleth Eblis and his host, so assuredly will
those who seek to discover the hidden marvels without mine aid or
sanction taste of the bitter fruit of Al-Zakkum."

"But if thou givest unto me a pledge that thou wilt render explanation,
I will be content," I said.

"Not only will I, when the time is ripe, explain the strange secret unto
thee, but, likewise, shall I seek thine assistance in elucidating a
strange and incomprehensible mystery."

"I am thine to command," I answered gallantly, taking her slim, white
hand in mine.  "When thou desireth me to serve thee, O Azala, thou wilt
find me ever ready, for to thee I owe my life; my future is in thine
hands."

"To seek the key of the hidden mystery, to vanquish the angel Malec who
hath charge of the gates of hell, will require a stout heart and lion's
courage," she said slowly, fixing her clear, wonderful eyes upon mine,
and allowing her soft bejewelled hand to linger for a second within my
grasp.

"When the day dawneth thou wilt not find me wanting in defiance of
danger, for, of a verity, I fear nothing with the beauteous daughter of
the Sultan 'Othman as my pole-star."

For a second a blush suffused her pale cheeks.

"As thou trusteth me, so also will I trust thee," she said, in deep
earnestness.  "Even though my position is exalted as Princess of Sokoto;
even though I am surrounded by all that is beautiful, with many slaves
to do my bidding, yet unhappiness eateth like a canker-worm into my
heart."

"Wherefore art thou unhappy?"  I asked, sympathetically.

"Ah! the reason none may know," she sighed.  "Until I call upon thee to
render thine aid in seeking to discover things that are forbidden, thou
must necessarily remain in the outer darkness of ignorance.  Here, in
the palace of my father, thou must remain in hiding until the time for
action cometh.  Then will I show thee that which will fascinate and
astound thee."

"Thy words of mystery arouse curiosity within me," I said.  "Canst thou
not reveal to me anything now?"

"Nothing.  Save to tell thee that thou canst, if thou wilt, shield me
from a fate worse than death.  A disaster, horrible and complete,
threateneth to overwhelm me, and thou alone canst prevent it."

"How?"

"By patience, silence, and passive obedience to my commands."

"I am thine," I said, as, entranced by her marvellous grace and beauty,
my arm slowly encircled her slim waist, begirt with dull gold and
flashing jewels.  I strove to draw her to me, but without any violence
of movement, and with the most perfect dignity, she disengaged herself
from my embrace.  Yet I held her to me and breathed into her ear words
of devotion.  Then, as her beautiful head at last turned slowly toward
me, and her eyes, looking into mine, spoke mutely of reciprocated
affection, our lips met in a hot, passionate caress.

I was trembling upon the pinnacle of Al-Araf, that partition that
divides pleasure from misery, love from hatred, hell from paradise.  She
was the proud and handsome daughter of the Sultan 'Othman, the woman,
the fame of whose exquisite beauty had long ago reached us even in
far-off Omdurman; I, a mere Dervish, without home or property, one of a
band paid by the all-powerful Khalifa to plunder, murder and destroy.

What words of tenderness I uttered I scarcely remember.  The sensuous
fragrance, rising from the perfuming-pan, seemed to induce a sweet,
dreamy half-consciousness, but for the first time I experienced the
passion of love.  I loved her with all the strength of my being, and the
only words that impressed themselves upon me in those moments of mad
infatuation were those uttered by the woman I adored,--

"Yea, O Zafar, I will place my trust in thee."  Resting in my embrace,
her bright eyes betrayed her perfect happiness, and as I softly stroked
her silky hair and implanted a kiss upon her white, sequin-covered brow
she clung to me with her long bare arms clasped tightly around my neck
in an ecstasy of joy.

"Never will I forsake thee," I answered, fondly.  "With the faithfulness
and obedience of a slave will I carry out thy commands, for thou art my
queen and I thy devoted bondman."

Tears dimmed her bright, clear eyes; tears of joy she vainly strove to
suppress.

"Truly to-day is the dawn of my life's happiness," she said, in a low
tone, full of emotion.  "To-day Allah hath sent me a friend."

"And, on my part, I pledge myself unto thee with unswerving devotion," I
exclaimed, fervently.  "In veiled words hast thou spoken of certain
solemn secrets.  When thou explainest to me my task of elucidation,
assuredly wilt thou find me ready and eager to undertake it.  In thine
hands thou holdest my future, for life or death."

"Upon those who seek to come between us may the wrath of the One Granter
of Requests fall like an avenging fire; may they find no patron nor
defender, nor may they rest beneath the shadow of the lote-tree," she
said.  "It is written in the Book of Everlasting Will that Allah, who
knoweth all things, joineth man and woman with his bounteous blessing.
Therefore may the rose-grove of thy prosperity and good fortune be
increased daily in freshness and magnificence, and in what difficulty
thou mayest be placed, or into what evil thou mayest peradventure, fall,
bear in thy mind my declaration of love, and remember always that, even
though deserts of great space and rapid waters may separate us, I am
thine and thou art mine alone.  I trust to thee to break asunder the
invisible bonds that fetter me unto misery."

"But surely we shall not be parted," I exclaimed, the mere suggestion
being intolerable.

"Neither sultans nor their kin are capable of ruling events," she said.
"Of what the future may have in store none knoweth but the sorceresses
and the wise women, who, alas! holdeth their knowledge to themselves."

"True, O Azala, my enchantress.  In like manner wilt thou remember
always, if we part, that I shall be striving to return unto thee; that
the one object of my life henceforward is to break asunder the
mysterious fetters of thine unhappiness."

Our hands clasped.  She looked straight into my eyes.  Hers was no
dreamy nature.  With her, to resolve was but a preliminary of to
execute.  No physiognomist would need to have been told that this
beautiful woman, so quick in intelligence, so kind in manner, so buoyant
and joyous in disposition, was at the same time, in force of character
and determination, as firm as adamant.

"And thou wilt not fail to render me assistance in the hour of my need?"
she exclaimed.

"May Allah bear witness that I am prepared to strive towards the
elucidation of thy mystery while I have breath."

Pressing my hand with lingering tenderness, she said,--

"Thy words give peace unto me, O Zafar.  Henceforth shall I rest in the
knowledge that the man who is my friend is prepared to risk his life on
my behalf."

"Yea," I answered; adding, "of a verity this meeting between enemies
hath been a strange one.  Hast thou not warned thy father of the
approach of the hosts of the Khalifa?"

"Even on the same night as thine encampment was destroyed warning was
conveyed unto him, with the result that our troops have been sent
forward into the desert with the object of checking the advance of thy
tribesmen."

"They are not my clansmen," I answered, quickly.  "I am an Arab, a
native of the Aures, the mountains far north beyond the Great Desert."

"Then thou art not a Dervish?" she exclaimed, gladly.

"No," I answered, and at the same moment remembering that the Khalifa's
troops numbered many thousands, and that it was scarcely likely that
they would be turned aside in their onward march by a few squadrons of
the Sultan of Sokoto, I asked,--

"Have the horsemen of the Black Standard been routed?"

"I know not.  Yesterday I overheard the messengers delivering their
report to the Sultan in the Hall of Audience," she replied.

"But if they are still advancing!  Think what terrible fate awaiteth
thee if the soldiers of the Khalifa loot this thy beautiful palace, and
spread death and desolation through thy city with fire and sword!"

"Arrangements have already been made for my secret escape.  In case of
danger I shall assume thy garments, arms and shield, which I have
preserved, and pass as a Dervish."

"Excellent," I said, laughing at her ingenuity.  "But let us hope that
my comrades will never gain these walls.  If they do, it will, alas! be
an evil day for Kano."

"The detection and slaughter of thy scouts placed our army upon its
guard," she said.  "Already the defences of our city have been
strengthened, and every man is under arms.  If the Dervishes attack us,
of a verity will they meet with an opposition long and strenuous, for by
our fighting men the walls of Kano are believed to be impregnable.
See!" she added, drawing aside a portion of the silken hangings close to
her, and disclosing a small window covered with a quaintly-worked wooden
lattice.  "Yonder our men are watching.  Our principal city gate, the
Kofa-n-Dakaina, is strongly guarded by night and day."

CHAPTER FOUR.

THE MARK OF THE ASPS.

Stepping to the window, I found that the apartment in which we stood was
evidently situated in a tower of the palace--which I had heard was built
high on Mount Dala--for the great city, with its white, flat-roofed
houses and cupolas, and minarets of mosques, lay stretched beneath us.
At the massive gate, in the high frowning walls which surrounded the
extensive and wealthy capital of the Empire of Sokoto, the far-famed
_entrepot_ of Central Africa, soldiers, attired in bright uniforms of
blue and gold, swarmed like flies, while cannon bristled on the walls,
and everywhere spears and arms glittered in the sun.  She pointed out
the Jakara, a wide, deep lake, the great Slave Market crowded with
buyers, sellers and human merchandise, the Palace of Ghaladima and the
Kofa Mazuger.  The city was agog, for the hum of life rose from its
crowded streets and busy market-places, mingling now and then with the
ominous roll of the war-drums, the twanging of _ginkris_, the clashing
of cymbals, and the shouts of the eager, ever-watchful troops.  By the
cloudless, milk-white sky I knew it was about noon, and the sun directly
overhead poured down mercilessly upon the immense sandy plain which
stretched away eastward and northward until it was lost in the misty
haze of the distant horizon.  Date palms rose in small clusters near the
ornamental lake in the centre of the city; in the square spreading
_alleluba-trees_ cast their welcome shade, and beautiful _gotuias_
unfolded their large, featherlike leaves above slender and undivided
stems, but beyond the city walls there was not a tree, not a blade of
grass, not a living thing.  Out there all was sun, sand and silence.

"Dost thou reside here always?"  I asked, as together we gazed down upon
the great white city.

"Yes.  Seldom are we in Sokoto itself, for of later years its prosperity
hath declined, and the palace is of meagre proportions; indeed, it is
now half ruined and almost deserted.  The wealth and industry of the
empire is centred here in Kano, for our trade extendeth as far north as
Mourkouk, Ghat, and even Tripoli; to the west, not only to Timbuktu, but
even to the shores of the great sea; to the east, all over Bornu; and to
the south, among the Igbira, the Igbo, and among the pagans and ivory
hunters of the Congo."

"True," I said, gazing round upon the prosperous capital of one of the
most interesting empires in the world.  "It is scarcely surprising that
my ambitious lord, the Khalifa, should desire to annex the land of the
Sultan 'Othman.  Even our own cities of Omdurman or Khartoum are not of
such extent.  How many persons inhabit this, thy palace?"

"In this, the Great Fada, nearly three thousand men and women reside.
In the harem alone are four hundred women and six hundred slaves and
eunuchs, while the Imperial bodyguard numbers nearly a thousand."

Glancing below, I saw the palace was enclosed by white walls as high and
strong as the outer fortifications.  It was built within the great Kasba
or fortress, a veritable city within a city.

Turning, our eyes met, and pointing to the distant, sun-baked
wilderness, I exclaimed,--

"Away there, the vultures would already have stripped my bones hadst
thou not taken compassion upon me."

"Speak not again of that," she answered.  "Thou wert the only man in
whose body the spark of life still burned.  It was my duty to rescue
thee," she replied, rather evasively.

"Now that we understand and trust each other, now indeed, that we are
friends true and faithful, wilt thou not tell me why thou didst convey
me hither unto thine apartment?"

She hesitated, gazing away towards the misty line where sky and desert
joined, until suddenly she turned, and looking boldly into my face with
her clear, trusting eyes, answered,--

"It was in consequence of something that was revealed."

"By whom?"

"By thee."

"What revelation have I made?"  I asked, sorely puzzled.

She held her breath, her fingers twitched with nervous excitement, and
the colour left her cheeks.  She seemed striving to preserve some
strange secret, yet, at the same time, half inclined to render me the
explanation I sought.

"The astounding truth became unveiled unconsciously," she said.

"My mind faileth to follow the meanderings of thy words," I said.  "What
truth?"

"Behold!" she cried, and hitching the slim fingers of both her hands in
the bodice of cream flimsy silk she wore beneath her zouave, she tore it
asunder disclosing, not without a blush of modesty, her white chest.

"Behold!" she cried, hoarsely.  "What dost thou recognise?"

With both her hands she held the torn garment apart, and, as she did so,
my eyes became riveted in abject amazement.  Bending, I examined it
closely, assuring myself that I was not dreaming.

"Hast thou never seen its counterpart?" she asked, panting breathlessly.

"Yea," I answered, with bated breath.  "Of a verity the coincidence
astoundeth me."

The sight caused me to marvel greatly; I was bewildered, for it conjured
up a thought that was horrible.  In the exact centre of her delicate
chest, immediately above her heaving bosom, was a strange, dark red mark
of curious shape, deeply branded into the white flesh, as if at some
time or other it had been seared by a red-hot iron.  The paleness of the
flesh and the firm contour of her bosom rendered the indelible mark the
more hideous, but its position and its shape dumbfounded me.  The
strange blemish constituted an inexplicable mystery.

It was unaccountable, incredible.  I stood agape, staring at it with
wide-open, wondering eyes, convinced that its discovery was precursory
of revelations startling and undreamed of.

The mark, about the length of the little finger, and perfectly defined,
was shaped to represent two serpents with heads facing each other, their
writhing bodies intertwined in double curves.

In itself this mystic brand was hideous enough, but to me it had a
significance deeper and more amazing, for in the centre of my own chest
I bore a mark exactly identical in every detail!

For years; nay, ever since I had known myself, the red scar, not so
noticeable upon my brown, sun-tanned skin as upon Azala's pale, delicate
breast, had been one of the mysteries of my life.  Vividly I remembered
how, in my early youth, in far El-Manaa I had sought an explanation of
my parents, but they would never vouchsafe any satisfactory reply.  On
what occasion, or for what purpose the mysterious brand had been placed
upon me I knew not.  Vaguely I believed that it had been impressed as a
means of identification at my birth, and until this moment had been
fully convinced that I alone bore the strangely-shaped device.  Judge,
then, my abject astonishment to find a similar mark, evidently impressed
by the identical seal, upon the breast of the woman who had thus exerted
her ingenuity to save my life--the woman whose grace and marvellous
beauty had captivated me, the woman who had admitted that she
reciprocated my affection.

In that brief moment I remembered well the strange, ambiguous reply that
my mother had given me when, as a lad, my natural curiosity had been
aroused,--

"Sufficient for thee to know that the Mark of the Asps is upon thee, O
my son.  Seek not to discover its significance until thou meetest with
its exact counterpart.  Then strive night and day to learn the truth,
for if thou canst elucidate the mystery, thine ears will listen to
strange things, and thine eyes will behold wondrous and undreamed-of
marvels."

Since then, twenty long years had elapsed, and I had wandered far and
near, in England, in France, in Algeria and across the Great Desert.
Both my parents had died with the strange secret still locked in their
hearts, for by no amount of ingenious questioning could I succeed in
unloosing their tongues.  Now, however, my mother's prophetic utterance
and counsel, spoken in our white house on the green hill-side, came back
vividly to my memory, and I gazed in silence at Azala full of
apprehensive thoughts.

My mother had more than once assured me that she knew not its meaning,
and that, although she had sought explanation of my father, he had
refused to reveal to her more than she had told me, and he, too, had
died with the secret resolutely preserved.  But the exact counterpart of
the brand burnt into my own flesh was now before me.  What could be the
significance of the two asps? how, indeed, came the daughter of the
great Sultan 'Othman, whom none dare approach, to be disfigured the same
as myself, a free-booter of the Khalifa, a Dervish and an outcast?

"How earnest thou to bear the brand of the serpents?"  I asked, when
again I found speech.  "An identical mark is upon my own breast also."

But ere she could answer my inquiry a stealthy movement behind startled
us, and as I turned, two gigantic black eunuchs sprang upon me, while
two others appeared from behind the rose silk hangings.

"Behold!" cried a man, whom I knew by his gorgeous dress to be the Aga
of the Eunuchs.  "It is a man, not a woman!  The slave hath not lied.
Seize him!"

"May Allah show thee mercy!" gasped Azala, pale and trembling, with
clasped hands.  "We are betrayed!"

I struggled and fought with all the strength I possessed, but my brutal
captors bore me down, and in their sinewy hands I was in a moment
helpless as a babe.  Then I knew that Azala was, alas! lost to me.
Romance, hope, passion, one by one, dropped, emberlike, into the ashes.

CHAPTER FIVE.

THE BLACK EUNUCH.

Azala, with blanched face and clasped hands uplifted in supplication,
sank upon her knees before the gigantic Chief of the Black Eunuchs, whom
she addressed as Khazneh, beseeching him with arguments, persuasive,
forcible and passionate, to spare my life.

"All blame be upon my head!" she cried, in earnest appeal.  "He fell
wounded at the fight of Sabo-n-Gari, and I tended him and brought him
hither.  Spare him!  Let not the keen arrow of sorrow enter the soul of
the daughter of thy Master, the Sultan."

"Thy servant hath already received his orders," the high and potent
official replied with imperturbable coolness, resting his hand on the
bejewelled hilt of his great scimitar, looking down at her upturned and
agitated countenance.

"From whom?"

"From my Imperial Master, thine august father."

"May the curse of Eblis rest upon our betrayer!" she cried, with a quick
setting of her mouth.  "The stranger hath done no harm, but by me, it
seemeth, he hath been brought unto his doom."

"He is thy lover.  Thou wert suspected two days ago," the eunuch
answered gruffly, standing statuesque and immovable while my captors
held me, apparently reluctant to move, because they desired to overhear
the argument between the beautiful Azala and their master.

"I deny thine accusation," she replied, rising to her feet quite calmly.
"Thou, Khazneh, who art powerful here in the harem, shall learn a
lesson in politeness thou wilt not easily forget.  Lies and insults may
fall from thy lips, but they neither injure nor distress the daughter of
thy Master, 'Othman."

"Silence, woman!" he cried fiercely, shaking his fat fist in the face of
the trembling, indignant girl, and showing his white teeth.  "Thinkest
thou that thou canst save a man whom thou bringest unto thine apartment
in secrecy, dressed in woman's garments?"

"If thou darest remove him hence I will appeal in person unto my
father."

"Already his Majesty hath full knowledge of this affair," the great
negro eunuch answered, treating her threat with calm indifference.  "By
his order a watch hath been placed upon thee.  We saw the accursed son
of offal caress and kiss thee."

"May Allah cut out thy heart!  Am I a slave, that spies should be set to
report upon my doings?" she asked, her eyes flashing with indignation.
Then, turning to the negroes who held me in iron grip, she said, "I,
Azala Fathma, Princess of Sokoto, order ye to release him."

"And I, Khazneh, Aga of the Eunuchs, order ye to remove him hence.  He
is a Dervish from Omdurman, a traitor, and an enemy of thy Sultan.  Away
with him!" cried the black-faced man with big, blood-shot eyes.  His
gaze was ever on Azala, unless it were fixed on me with a sullen gleam
of hate.

But she rushed across to the heavy silken curtain that hid the secret
door, and, standing boldly before it, uplifted her long, white arm, and
pointing to the towering eunuch, cried,--

"Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz, whom I have long known by report, is not an enemy, but
a firm friend of his Majesty, whose despicable slave thou art.
Therefore I forbid thee to lay hands upon him.  Even though thou findest
him here in the place forbidden; nevertheless, I, as Princess of Sokoto,
claim for him the protection of the Sultan."

In silence, unable to extricate myself, I stood while my fate was thus
discussed.  A spasm wrenched my soul--one of those agonies which leave
their trace, mental or physical, forever.

"Knowest thou not the punishment meted out to those who dare to pass the
Janissaries and tread the sacred courts of the harem?" asked the Aga,
impatiently.

"The punishment is death," she answered.  Her thin nostrils palpitated.
She crushed her finger-nails against the jewels on her bosom.  "But if
Zafar, my friend, suffereth the penalty, I warn thee that thine head
shall be struck off and thy body be given to the dogs as offal before
the going down of the sun."

"Be it so," laughed the hulking brute, insolently, his fingers playing
with the long, keen _jambiyah_ in his belt.  Then, turning to my
captors, he said, "Come, away with him quickly."

Next second the hangings were raised, disclosing an open door, through
which I was unceremoniously hurried, and as I was dragged out into the
dark, inter-mural passage, I heard the Aga of the Eunuchs exclaim
tauntingly,--

"Seek his Majesty if thou wilt, but I may tell thee that he set out for
Katsena at sunrise, and ere his return thy lover's bones will lie
bleaching in the sun."

"Farewell, Azala," I shouted.  "Be thou of good cheer.  Remember that in
my heart the tree of affection hath struck root.  I am thy friend
always--always--even though our enemies may thus part us."

"We will never part," she cried, rushing across to me; but the Aga,
catching her roughly by the arm, dragged her away by sheer brute force.

"Whither he goeth there also will I go," she gasped, struggling to elude
his grasp, overturning one of the little mother-of-pearl coffee stools
in her frantic efforts to reach and embrace me.

"Tarry no longer," cried Khazneh, in anger, addressing my captors.  "Let
the Sultan's will be obeyed."

"Farewell, Azala!  Farewell," I cried, paralysed with fury as I saw her
bow her head upon her arms and weep.

But she answered not, for, as I was dragged fiercely from her sight, I
saw her struggling with the chief eunuch, endeavouring to follow us.
With brutal disregard of her sex, the big, gaudily-attired brute had
seized her by the throat.  Her dress was torn, her hair dishevelled, and
her jewels lay scattered and trodden under foot.  Suddenly a scream
sounded, dull and muffled, and, just as I was dragged away into the dark
passage, I witnessed the woman who had entranced me hurled backward.  I
saw her reel, stagger, and fall senseless upon her divan.

The grinning negroes who held me laughed aloud, and hurried me along the
short, close passage, and down flight after flight of broken, time-worn
steps, while Khazneh, closing the small, heavy door, barred and bolted
it securely.  Then he followed us, biting his finger-nails in deep
thought.  Whither they were conducting me I knew not, neither did I
care.  Azala and I had, by the treachery of some unknown slave, been
torn asunder, perhaps never again to meet.  Only death would, I knew,
expiate the crime of being found in disguise in the Sultan's harem, and
towards the bourne whence none return was I being conveyed.

My anticipations of immediate death were not, however, realised.  Deep
down into the foundations of the ancient palace the eunuchs conducted
me, along a labyrinth of gloomy passages that showed the great extent of
the Fada, until we came to a long, subterranean corridor where, on
entering, I saw, behind iron bars, the lean, emaciated figure of a man,
haggard, unkempt, with the gleam of madness in his eyes.  Shaking the
bars wildly with the strength of a wild beast, he cried as we passed,--

"Strangers!  Have compassion.  Have pity.  In the name of Allah, who
both heareth and knoweth, remove these fetters which for fourteen long
years have held me captive."

"_Na'al abuk_!"  (Curse thy father) growled Khazneh, lifting his
trailing scimitar in its scabbard and striking the wretched prisoner a
heavy blow as he passed.  But the man tearing at the bars shrieked and
howled in his madness,--

"May the venom of vipers consume thy vitals, and may the kisses of thy
women poison thee, thou black-faced son of offal!  I recognise thee,
thou fiend.  Thou art the Aga of the Eunuchs; the incarnation of Eblis
himself.  May thy body be cast upon a dungheap and thy soul be delivered
unto the tortures of Al-Hawiyat!"

Leaving the wretched man hurling his horrible imprecations, we passed
onward along the dark corridor of filthy dens, each protected with
strong bars of iron, several being occupied by men, lean, wild-haired
and half-clad, who looked more like animals than human beings crouching
on their heaps of dirty, mouldy straw.  No sunlight ever penetrated
there, and the only air or light admitted entered between the crevices
of the massive paving stones of the court above.  The walls of this
Dantean dungeon were black with damp and age, the floor was encrusted
with all kinds of filth, and the air was hot, foetid, and so
overpowering that Khazneh himself was compelled to take the corner of
his silken robe and hold it to his nostrils.

At length, however, on arrival at the further end of the passage, a
small door with an iron grating swung open and I was thrust in and there
left, the door being immediately closed and secured.  In the almost
impenetrable darkness I could distinguish nothing, but when I heard the
footsteps of my captors receding, my heart sank within me.  Noises
sounded weirdly in the cavernous blackness; the groans, curses and
prayers of my fellow-prisoners.  Who were these emaciated, half-starved
wretches?  What, I wondered, had been their crimes?

CHAPTER SIX.

RAGE AND REMORSE.

With my feet upon the heap of dirty, evil-smelling straw, I stood
hesitating how to act.  Of the size or character of my cell I knew
nothing; therefore, after reviewing the situation as calmly as I could,
I started to feel the walls and ascertain their exact proportions.  The
place, I found, was small, horribly small.  Its height was only just
sufficient to allow me to stand upright, while it was not long enough to
allow me to lie down except in a crouching, uncomfortable position, its
breadth being just two paces.

When, after making myself acquainted with these details, I stood
reflecting upon my position, I heard a slight movement in the straw at
my feet, and as I bent to ascertain the cause my hand came into contact
with the chill, smooth body of a large snake which I had evidently
disturbed.

Its contact thrilled me.  I drew my hand away in horror, springing back
towards the wall, expecting each moment to feel my leg bitten.
Straining my eyes into the darkness I did my utmost to discover the
whereabouts of the reptile, believing that if it had its bead-like eyes
fixed upon me I could detect their brightness.  But though I heard a
slow rustling among the straw, my enemy seemed in no mood for attack,
and I waited motionless, not daring to stir.  To be doomed to live and
sleep in company of a snake was certainly one of the most hideous
tortures to which a man could be subjected, and was a refinement of
cruelty equal to any of the revolting barbarities I had witnessed while
serving under the standards of the Mahdi and the Khalifa.  But the hours
dragged on, and although my fellow occupant of the cell remained silent,
apparently content, the dungeon itself was weirdly horrible.  The cries
of my fellow captives, some of whom were perfectly sane and others
palpably mad from torture and long confinement, resounded through the
place with startling suddenness, and I could hear those whose minds were
unhinged gnashing their teeth and beating their bars in vain, frantic
effort to obtain release.

With these horrors about me, the whole of my past seamed to flit through
my mind--a panorama of wild free life and exciting adventure.  My sudden
unconsciousness after my fall at the well of Sabo-n-Gari, my strange
awakening, and the vision of incomparable beauty that had risen before
my wondering, fevered eyes, all recurred to me in hazy indistinctness,
like some weird, half-remembered dream.  But the pale, anxious face of
Azala, who had fought so hard to save me falling into the merciless
clutches of my pitiless captors, came before me--vivid, distinct,
entrancing.  Her every feature was engraven indelibly upon my memory,
and her voice seemed to repeat in soft, musical Arabic those strange,
mysterious words that had thrilled and entranced me.

She trusted me, she had said.  Would she, I wondered, be successful in
releasing me from this horribly maddening captivity?  That she would use
every endeavour of which she was capable I was confident; nevertheless,
I knew well the enormity of my crime, and feared that even her earnest
words would not soften the flint heart of the relentless Sultan 'Othman,
whose every whim was law within his own extensive kingdom.

Well I knew the manner of living of this dreaded ruler of the Western
Soudan.  He formed the etiquette of his brilliant court upon that of the
Khalifa's, keeping himself strictly invisible to the vulgar gaze.  He
seldom exposed himself to perish of the evil eye.  It was he who
compelled the women throughout his empire to lead the life of the
Eastern harem, and forbade that any (married or single) should show
themselves unveiled, making his own family set the example.  People
approaching the Sultan in audience covered their heads with dust: he
never spoke directly to assemblies nor to the people, but always dealt
with them through the medium of a herald.  Upon the occasions of his
going out, his _cortege_ was preceded by musicians, drums, and trumpets,
and he rode in solitary state, with his suite at a respectable distance
behind.  Servants marched surrounding his horse, and holding by turns to
his saddle; they were called foot companions, and their head-man was the
"master of the road."  Only one drum was allowed to precede them, and
musicians kept silent when in sight of a town in which the Sultan was
residing.

She had spoken of strange marvels, of hidden mysteries that require
elucidation, of perils, and of her own misery.  Why had unhappiness
consumed her?  Why, indeed, had she concealed so much from me?  For
hours I pondered over the veiled words she had uttered, seeking in them
some explanation, but finding none.

Then I remembered the hideous blemish upon her fair breast--that mystic
mark exactly identical with mine.  What, I wondered, could these
entwined asps denote?  The words of my dead mother rang in my ears:
"Seek not to discover its significance until thou meetest with its exact
counterpart.  Then strive night and day to learn the truth, for, if thou
canst elucidate the mystery, thine ears will listen unto strange things,
and thine eyes behold wondrous marvels."

Upon the breast of Azala, the Princess, I had discovered that which I
had sought throughout my eventful life, yet even in that moment evil
fortune had befallen me, and now, instead of being free to strive
towards solving the enigma, I was held captive in that dismal,
evil-smelling dungeon, under sentence of death.

Days dragged by--dull, dismal, dispiriting.  Suffering the anguish of
separation and lost happiness, my whole life seemed wounded.  In the
dark, damp cell, surrounded by a thousand horrors, oppressed by a
thousand vague regrets and bitter thoughts, I awaited the end.  Indeed,
as the long hours slowly passed, it surprised me that my captors did not
drag me forth to die.  Once a day three negro guards, heavily armed,
appeared and cast to us a little _dodowa_, or kind of cake made of
vegetables, with as little ceremony as if they were giving food to dogs,
while a slave filled our earthen vessel with water; but we had no
exercise, and were compelled to remain behind our bars like animals
entrapped.

My cell had been occupied quite recently by some poor wretch, who,
according to the story of a half-starved Arab in captivity near me, had
died of fever only a few days before my arrival, and with whom the
serpent who made his abode there had apparently been on friendly terms.
At first both the reptile and myself were consumed by a mutual fear of
one another, but on close acquaintanceship he grew to regard me as
harmless, and really performed me a service by clearing the mice and
other vermin from my narrow, suffocating den.

Once a loud, piercing shriek escaped one of my half-demented fellow
captives, who declared he had been bitten by a scorpion, and, to my
dismay, the same reptile found its way through the bars of my cell some
hours later, but fortunately I detected it in time, driving it out
before it could attack me.  Hour by hour, day by day, I crouched,
disconsolate and despairing, in the almost impenetrable gloom.
Accustomed as I was to the wild life of the plains, confinement amid
such loathsome surroundings was doubly irksome and nauseating.

In that Stygian darkness day was like night, and I could keep no count
of time; but with the harsh gibberings of idiots always grating on my
ears, I grew apprehensive that ere long I, too, must become demented.
My respite from death I attributed to the intervention of the fair woman
whose wondrous beauty had enmeshed me, and whose words of mystery had
aroused in me an intense, unconquerable desire to solve the one great
enigma of my life.

Yet as time went on and relief came not, I began to fear that the eunuch
had spoken the truth when he informed Azala of the Sultan's absence, and
that, fearing to order me to execution, Khazneh had resolved that I
should be driven to madness in that foul, foetid dungeon, where so many
captives had pined and died.  Many times I had heard how the great
Sultan 'Othman was ruled almost entirely by harem influence; how the
bright-eyed, imperious Sultana of to-day might be a mangled corpse torn
to pieces by the yelping jackals at the city-gate to-morrow; how a
single word whispered by a dark-haired houri into the ear of her lord
might either cause a courtier's head to fall, or secure for some menial
an exalted office of power, with many slaves and fat emoluments.
Indeed, it was notorious throughout the Soudan that in the great Fada of
the Sultan of Sokoto none was safe.  Wives, courtiers, guards, eunuchs,
slaves, all trembled, fearing to arouse the anger of the brutal
autocrat, for well were they aware that the keen _doka_ of the black
executioner was kept ever busy, and none knew whose head next might
fall.  Black plots and dastardly intrigues were constantly at work
within the great Courts of the Harem.  The favourite, one day loaded
with costly jewels, basking in the smiles of her august master, radiant
upon her divan and ruler of the gilded Courts of Enchantment, would
assuredly sooner or later fall a victim to the jealousy of her less
fortunate sisters, and be compelled to wash the feet of the bright-eyed
slave her whilom handmaiden, become the wife of some common soldier, or
drink the fatal draught from the golden Cup of Death.

Yet amid such surroundings, continually witnessing the complicated plots
and counter-plots engendered by the fiercest feminine hatred, with
unceremonious strangling, poisoning or decapitation as the inevitable
result, lived Azala, pure as the jasmine-flower, bright as the sunrise
on the Great Desert, graceful as the rose bending beneath the evening
zephyr, a maiden of absolutely incomparable countenance and entrancing
loveliness.

For nearly a whole moon had I remained in my foul, dank kennel, when one
morning four gaudily-attired Janissaries released me, and, without
deigning to reply to my eager questions, conducted me out of the dungeon
and up the worn and broken flight of stairs to the blessed light of day.
So long had I been in darkness that the sun's glare blinded me, and
keenly apprehensive that Azala's efforts had been unavailing, and that I
was at last being led to execution, I walked on between my guards,
inert, dejected and despairing.

A dozen Janissaries, each armed with gleaming scimitar and _jambiyah_,
joined us, as across one great open courtyard after another was I
conducted in procession solemn and funereal.  The magnitude and
magnificence of those squares, with great plashing fountains, tall palms
and colonnades of dead-white horse-shoe arches, astounded me.  Evidently
they were the outer courts of the palace, for at each gate there stood
Janissaries in uniforms of blue and gold, with drawn swords, erect,
silent, statuesque.  Leaving the Courts of Love, the innermost centre of
the great Fada, we crossed the Court of the Grand Vizier, the Court of
the Gado (Lord of the Treasury), the Court of the Eunuchs, the Court of
the Janissaries, the Court of the Armourers and many others, each larger
and more massive in construction, until at length we came to the great,
arched outer gate, the only entrance to this sumptuous and gigantic
dwelling-place of one of the most powerful potentates of Al-Islam.  Here
my heart sank within me, for awaiting us was the executioner, a big,
brutal negro, who carried over his shoulder his great _doka_, or keen,
curved sword, that had smote off so many heads of men and women.

Instinctively I knew my fate.  I was being conducted to the Kaboga, or
place of execution, there to die.

As we approached, the ponderous gate opened and with a loud blast from a
dozen blatant wind instruments of curious shape there entered a man
attired in white, sitting erect on a richly-caparisoned, coal-black Arab
horse, and followed by a crowd of mounted attendants and guards on foot.

"May Allah, the One Granter of Requests, envelop our lord the Sultan
with the Cloak of Peace," cried the guards, lifting their bass voices
with one accord, salaaming before the sharp-eyed man, whose black beard
was well trimmed, and in whose crimson turban gleamed a magnificent
aigrette of diamonds.

Three loud blasts and the roll of a drum announced the return of the
Sultan 'Othman.  Each time slaves and guards bent low with reverent
genuflexions, and each time they lifted aloud their voices in praise of
his Imperial Majesty.

As, tongue-tied in amazement, I gazed upon the brilliant cavalcade of
the powerful autocrat whose fame had been carried over the boundless
deserts even to Omdurman, his keen glance fell upon me.  Upon his dark,
sensual face, in which cruelty was strongly marked, there rested for a
second a shadow of displeasure, then reining his horse close to me his
searching eyes wandered to the executioner and the Janissaries.
Scarcely had I sufficient clothes to cover me, and what I wore were
ragged and dirty, yet with the pride of my race I drew myself up, facing
him boldly.

In deep, stern tones he demanded of his Grand Vizier beside him, whose
name was Mahaza, son of Alhan, the nature of the crime for which I was
to suffer.

"During thine absence, O Mirror of Virtue, yonder spy, an accursed
Dervish from Omdurman, hath been discovered by Khazneh, Aga of the
women, attired in a woman's haick, concealed within thy Courts of
Enchantment."

"In my harem?" exclaimed the Sultan, whose angry eyes flashed in my
direction.  "By what means did the dog obtain admission?"

"I know not, O Branch of Honour," answered the Grand Vizier, but at that
moment Khazneh, in robes of bright yellow silk, pushed forward, and
making a deep obeisance, exclaimed,--

"Give leave unto thy servant to speak, O lord, our Sultan.  I found the
Dervish spy concealed within the pavilion of thy daughter Azala."

The Sultan 'Othman glared at me with brows contracted, and uttered a
fierce and terrible curse upon his enemy the Khalifa.  His soul in an
instant filled with bitterest rage and hate.

"How camest thou, son of _sebel_ to pass the guards of mine innermost
court?" he demanded, in wrathful tones that caused all to tremble.

"I, an Arab of the North, was wounded in battle, and thy daughter, upon
whom may the blessing of the One Bountiful rest, gave unto me succour.
If thou sparest me--"

"Silence, dog!" he roared; then, with a gesture of impatience, turned to
his councillor, saying,--

"Let the spy's head be struck off and placed upon the palace gate as a
warning."

The eyes of my guards, on hearing this, brightened, and they cried: "Thy
will, O Mighty Ruler, is our command," and those holding me pushed me
forward so roughly that my ragged jibbeh was torn from the neck to the
waist, displaying my chest.

The Sultan, with a parting injunction to my captors to place my head
upon the gate and to announce throughout the city that a spy of the
Khalifa had been captured and executed, was about to ride away when
suddenly I noticed that he again fixed his gaze full upon me and sat for
a few seconds perplexed and thoughtful.

"Bring hither thy prisoner.  Let him approach me closely," he shouted to
the Janissaries, who were at that moment hurrying me away.

Amazed at the Sultan's sudden change of manner, the Aga of the Eunuchs
and his menials dragged me back before their ruler, who, with his
startled eyes fixed upon my uncovered breast, asked in a tone of awe,--

"Speak, slave!  How earnest thou by that mystic mark of the serpents?"

His anger had instantly cooled.  He had detected the strange red scar,
and for him it evidently had some serious significance, for he had grown
pale under his manly bronze, and the bejewelled hand that held the reins
trembled slightly.

"Of its origin I have no knowledge," I answered, glancing quickly round
and noticing the effect produced by the monarch's sudden change of
manner.

"Whence comest thou?" he asked, with eagerness unusual to an autocrat.

"From Omdurman.  I am of the Ansar of the Khalifa."

"And thy parentage?"

"I was born in the Mountains of Aures, two days' journey from Batna.  My
father was the Hadj Yakub Sarraf."

"Yukub Sarraf, the Kaid of El-Manaa?" he inquired quickly, his sinister
face betraying an expression of combined surprise and fear.

"Even so, O Sultan."

The excess of his rage was only equalled by the promptness of his
remorse.

Bending in his saddle for a moment, he examined closely the puzzling
mark upon me, and then, after a few moments' silence, he turned to
Khazneh, who had been standing aghast and amazed, and said,--

"Let the spy's life be spared, but let him be expelled from our midst.
If thou findest him within the confines of our empire after three suns
have set, then let him die.  Mount him upon the swiftest _meheri_, and
let twenty guards similarly mounted journey with him until he hath
passed beyond the boundary of Sokoto.  I have ordained it.  Let it be
done accordingly."

Turning to me he said: "If thou ridest on the wings of haste thy life
shall be spared; but enter not again into this my kingdom, or of a
verity thine head shall fall."  And as he turned to ride forward, he
added, in a harsh, strained voice that became softened towards me: "Go,
leave my rose garden of happiness quickly.  Go, and may the peace of
Allah, the Omniscient, rest upon thee in the hour of thine adversity."

The all-powerful Sultan, with face pale and agitated, moved slowly
onward across the great court with bowed head, followed by his wondering
councillors and cringing slaves.  Next second I was free.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE WHITE CITY.

All sounds had gradually died away in the town.  A marabout had climbed
to the terrace of the great mosque and was crying "Allah is great!
Allah is great!"  The surrounding terraces were peopled with white forms
which stood out against the summits of the palm-trees and the green of
the baobab.  Their backs were turned to the purple splendours of the
dying light, for their faces looked towards the already darkened east,
lighted for them by that eternal light in which Mecca is to be found.
The silence was harshly broken by a brazen sound.  It was the tamtams in
the Kasbah sounding the call for prayer.

The plain was now a vast desert phantasmagorically illuminated.  Above,
the sky flamed into every imaginable colour, and the small
water-channel, scarcely visible a moment before, blazed into a
reflection of the ardour of the sky, while the rows of ospreys on its
banks looked like necklaces of pink pearls.  Then all the enchantment
was overwhelmed by the sudden twilight that heralds the tropical night.

Well mounted on a swift camel, with water-skin and provision-bag filled,
and escorted by my guards, I had ridden through the crowded markets, and
passing out of the Kofa-n-Magaidi, or eastern gate, set forth across the
wide, sandy plain in the direction of prayer.  The brief glimpse I
caught of the place as I passed hurriedly through its streets surprised
me.  The inhabitants seemed to some extent a cultured people, and the
women apparently enjoyed considerable personal freedom, although the
majority were veiled.  The men, despite their bellicose spirit and the
chronic state of warfare maintained, were not naturally cruel, and
treated their slaves kindly.

The towers, cupolas and high white walls of the great, impregnable
palace, wherein dwelt the woman who had enchanted me, stood dark and
frowning against the crimson brilliance of the after-glow, and from my
exalted position on the back of my _meheri_ I turned once to glance at
them, wondering if Azala knew of my expulsion.  Perhaps from her lattice
in the great square tower rising above the city she was watching my
departure, but she had given no sign, and sorrowfully I at length turned
my back upon the White City of the Sultan 'Othman, and urged my camel
onward towards the horizon, which seemed a sea of mirage, with a feeling
that Fate had, indeed, laid her hand upon me with undeserved harshness.

In the cooler hours that succeeded, when the light had entirely faded,
and the wind, whirling up clouds of find sand into our faces, compelled
us to cover them as we rode on, leaving only our eyes visible, Shu'ba,
the chief of the black horsemen accompanying me, declared that if we
were to reach Kukawa, in Bornu, within three days, we should be
compelled to press forward constantly, resting but a few hours during
the heat of noon.  My guards were heavily armed, each carrying a very
keen, straight sword, a dagger suspended from the left wrist, and a
spear six feet long, while with several this arsenal was also
supplemented by a rifle.  Acting no doubt under the Sultan's orders,
they treated me with every consideration, and proved themselves
lighthearted, genial fellows; yet the long ride through the great,
silent wilderness, eternally warm, eternally gloomy, gave me many
opportunities for dismal reflections upon the strange turn events had
taken.  Azala had fascinated, entranced me, and I loved her with all the
strength of my being.  Yet I had been thus forcibly torn from her, never
to return on penalty of death.  Each long stride of the animal beneath
me took me further from her, yet she trusted in me to save her.  From
the words uttered by Khazneh in reply to the Sultan, it was evident that
the latter had had no knowledge of my capture and imprisonment, and
Azala had, on account of her father's absence, been unable to secure my
release.

The mysterious symbol that seemed to link me in some inexplicable manner
to the woman I loved had apparently produced in the Sultan a feeling of
dismay, for when he noticed it a sudden terror had enthralled him.
Awe-stricken at its significance, he had instantly rescinded the order
for my execution, sending me forth from his empire as if apprehensive
that my presence was a harbinger of some dreaded evil.

For a brief space we halted in the date-grove of Maifoura at midnight,
eating a little _tiggra_ with curdled milk diluted with water, and some
_ngaji_ or paste of sorghum, and having thus recruited our strength the
cry of "_Ala e'dhahar! ala e dhahar_!"  (Mount! mount!) sounded, and we
resumed our ride over the low hills of Kobiri, and through the great,
gloomy forest of Gounel.  South of the Lake Tsad the country is fertile,
and only here and there are there wide, sandy deserts reminding one of
the waterless, sterile regions of Azawagh and Taganet in the Great
Sahara, that arid, monotonous, and almost impassable gulf that separates
the regions of Sokoto, Bornu, Baguirmi and Gando from the European
civilisation of Northern Algeria.  Having passed through the forest, the
wooded level became interrupted from time to time by bare-naked
concavities, or shallow hollows, consisting of black, sedimentary soil,
where, during the rainy season, the water collects, and drying up
gradually leaves a most fertile sediment for the cultivation of the
_masakwa_, a kind of holcus which is the most important article in the
agriculture of Sokoto.  We saw herds of ostriches, troops of gazelles
and many moufflons as, on our forced march, we passed the great ruins of
Thaba, grim, grey, time-worn monuments of the Roman occupation, forded
the Yoobe river at Ngouroutoua--where my guards told me an English
traveller named Richardson had died many years ago--skirted the lagoon
of Mouggobi, and continuing for nearly eight hours along narrow, verdant
valleys, where, side by side with the diminutive, stunted palms, grew
the colossal baobabs, the mastodons of the vegetable kingdom, whose
gigantic branches were inhabited by vultures, serpents, bats and
lizards.  Then at last we passed out upon the great granite plateau of
Koyam, dotted over with hillocks and in part strewn with quartz sand,
home of the nomad Uled-Delim, "pirates of the desert," a sun-baked,
stony wilderness devoid of any living thing.  The third day was occupied
wholly in crossing this vast solitude, where incessantly we were
compelled to shout "_Hai_!  _Hai_!" the ejaculation of caution to our
camels, as the beasts, weary and jaded, plodded on until, about an hour
after we had knelt to repeat our _majhrib_, while the shadows were
lengthening as the sun declined, the tall, white watch-tower at the
principal gate of Kukawa rose before us, and beyond lay the waters of
Lake Tsad shimmering like liquid gold in the glorious evening light.

When the cry was raised that the town was in sight, my guards held
consultation and halted.  Then Shu'ba, drawing up his camel close to
mine, exclaimed,--

"Thou hast performed the journey within the time stipulated by our lord
the Sultan, therefore we now leave thee to continue thy way alone."

"Wilt thou not rest yonder for a while before returning?"  I asked,
surprised.

"Nay," he answered, shrugging his shoulders significantly.  "The people
of Bornu are our enemies.  We would rather take our ease upon the plains
than within the city of those who seek our overthrow"--a speech that was
greeted by low, guttural sounds of approbation by the others perched on
their camels around.  Then, continuing, he said, "It is our Sultan's
will that the _meheri_ thou ridest shall be given unto thee, together
with this rifle, ammunition and _jambiyah_," and as he uttered these
words he handed me the gun he carried, together with his pouch and a
crooked knife in a silver scabbard he drew from his sash.

"Alone in these regions thou mayest require them," observed a
light-hearted young negro, with a broad grin.

"Unto thy Sultan, whose dignity be increased, render thanks in my name.
Tell him that Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz is his grateful servant, and that he
beareth neither malice nor hatred," I answered.

"Behold, I am also charged with a further duty," said Shu'ba, with a
solemnity quite unusual to him.  "Before we left the Fada one of the
eunuchs of the Courts of Enchantment gave this unto me to deliver into
thine hands," and he drew from the breast of his gandoura a small box of
delicately-chased gold, securely sealed.

"Whence didst thou obtain it?"  I asked, in surprise, taking it in my
hands.

"From Hisham, the eunuch.  He refused to tell who had given it unto him,
but gave me strict command to place it in thine hands at the moment when
we parted, with an injunction that it must not be opened until thou art
actually within the walls of Kukawa."

"May I not investigate its contents now?"  I asked, puzzled.

"Nay, curb thine impatience.  Behold, the sun is already declining," he
answered, glancing around.  "Spur onward, or, of a verity, thou wilt not
obtain entrance to yonder city ere its gate is closed."

His prompting influenced me to make hurried adieu, and, as with one
accord they gave me "Peace," I sped away in the direction of the town,
turning once to wave back a farewell.  As I rode forward, four armed
horsemen, their white burnouses flying in the wind, sped across the
plain to meet me.  With rifles held high in air with threatening
gesture, they in a few minutes pulled their horses to their haunches
before me, loudly demanding whence I came.

"I am Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz of the Ansar of thine ally, the Khalifa of
Omdurman," I replied, laughing a moment later at the effect my words had
produced.

"From Omdurman?" they gasped.  "How earnest thou hither in company with
horsemen of the Sultan 'Othman, who fled at our approach?"

Briefly, I told them how I had been held prisoner, and subsequently
expelled by the Sultan.

"Allah hath indeed covered thee with the cloak of protection," observed
one of the men, "None who descends to the terrible dungeons beneath the
Fada of Kano ever comes forth alive."

"Yea, thou hast assuredly narrowly escaped," agreed another, and, as
they turned to ride back with me, they related news of how, on the
advance of the Khalifa's troops towards Sokoto, the iron cymbals of war
had been silenced, for the Dervishes had been attacked and routed by the
Kanouri and Tuaregs in the swamps outside Massenya, after which it was
believed the survivors had returned in confusion to Omdurman.  Thus I
found myself in sorry plight, without resources, and with a thousand
miles of gloomy forest and burning desert between myself and the Dervish
headquarters beside the Nile.  With my companions I entered the
ponderous gate which was being kept open for our arrival, and, passing
the little daily market (the _dyrriya_), which was crowded, we rode
along the _deudal_, or promenade, past groups of Arabs and native
courtiers in all the finery of their dress and of their
brightly-caparisoned horses, until we came to the house of the sheikh, a
spacious place with a single _chedia_ or caoutchouc-tree in front.  But
the sand into which we had floundered as if it were a mire pursued us
everywhere--in the streets, in the houses.  The lounging slaves stared
at my ragged attire, but the Sheikh Mohammed Ben Bu-Sad, to whom I was
conducted, was very gracious, and after hearing the story of the defeat
of my comrades-in-arms, my captivity, and my narrow escape, gave orders
that for the present I should be lodged with one of the horsemen who had
met me, and whom I discovered was named Lamino (properly El-Amin), his
confidential officer.  Thus, an hour later, I found myself installed in
a small, clay-built house in the _billa gedibe_, or eastern town, and
when alone I drew forth the small, golden box Shu'ba had given me.  It
was square, about the length of the middle finger, covered with
quaintly-graven arabesques, and securely sealed with yellow wax.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

VEILED MEN OF THE DESERT.

Eagerly I broke the seals and tremblingly opened the lid of the tiny
casket, taking out a folded piece of paper covered with lines of Arabic
hastily scrawled in yellow ink.  These, in the dim twilight, I
deciphered only with difficulty, and found they read as follows:--

"_Know, O Stranger, now thou hast escaped from the wrath of our lord the
Sultan, that thy presence within the walls of the Fada hath placed
Azala, Princess of Sokoto, in deadly Peril.  If thou wilt lend her thine
aid, return, for thou alone canst solve the mysterious symbol of the
asps, rescue her from death, and bring her unto the garden of happiness.
Know, O Stranger, that even though she cannot communicate or have
speech with thee, that she loveth thee; that each hour of thine enforced
absence is as a year, and that the gilded pavilion wherein she dwelleth
is but a house of sorrow because of thy departure.  Keep the seal of
silence ever upon thy lips and obey the command of Azala Fathma quickly,
that thine endeavours may be approved.  Return unto her speedily in such
disguise that thou canst not be recognised; then will she tear aside the
veil of secrecy and reveal unto thee strange marvels.  Pause not in
thine efforts to return, for each day bringeth her nearer unto cruel and
ignominious Certainty.  May the rose-grove of thy prosperity and good
fortune be increased daily in freshness and magnificence, and the
foundation of thy belief in the purity of thy One of Beauteous
Countenance be more firmly established from hour to hour.--Thy Friend_."

After the heat and burden of the long African day the respite at
twilight always gives one a sensation of physical solace, yet
nevertheless it brings with it a feeling of intense sadness and
melancholy.

Again and again I read the curious missive.  Evidently at Azala's
instigation it had been penned in order to reassure me, and to induce me
to return so that I could assist her in solving the mysterious problem
to which she had hinted so pointedly when we had been alone.  But
foreseeing plainly the serious risk I should run if I attempted to
re-enter Kano, and the absolute impossibility of obtaining access to the
innermost courts of the Fada, I regarded the suggestion as utterly
hopeless.  Had not the Sultan warned me that if I again set foot within
his empire my life would pay the penalty?  Might not his dread of the
mysterious evil that I might bring upon him cause him to take my life,
notwithstanding his daughter's fervent supplications?

Yet Azala was in sore need of help, and sought my aid.  Her promise to
"tear aside the veil of secrecy" I felt inclined to construe into a
pledge to render me explanation of the curious marks that both of us
bore.  Was it not more than an extraordinary coincidence that with a
thousand miles of arid, stony desert, and a similar distance of fertile
land separating us at our birth, we should each bear the Brand of the
Asps--the mystic symbol the sight of which terrified even the powerful
Ruler of Sokoto.

From the demeanour of both the Sultan and his daughter I felt that the
strange device was the key of some greater secret underlying it, and the
thought of Azala in peril, and trusting in me alone for assistance,
urged me to a resolution to obey the injunctions of my anonymous
correspondent.  I had both a stout heart and a strong arm.  My true
Bedouin parentage had imparted to me the reckless _nonchalance_ of the
vagabond adventurer, and my life during the past ten years had been a
strange series of nomadic ups and downs, desert wandering, fighting,
slave-raiding, trading; in fact, I had picked up a precarious livelihood
in the same manner as the majority of Sons of the Desert whose camels
are their only wealth, and whose ragged tents their only dwelling-place.

The Mystery of the Asps seemed inexplicable, but in that cool night
beneath the stars in the little open court I made solemn determination
to return to Kano and seek its solution, even though compelled to risk
my life in the attempt.

Until the going down of the sun on the Nahr-el-arba following my arrival
at Kukawa was I the guest of Lamino; then, refreshed by rest, I prayed
my _Fatiha_ in the Great Mosque, and assuming the loose robe of dark
blue cotton, wrapping a white litham around my face and twisting some
yards of camel's hair around my head, set out upon my _meheri_ to
accompany a caravan of Buzawe conveying merchandise to El Fasher, whence
I intended to travel alone back to Omdurman, there to report the
annihilation of my comrades.

In the whole of that vast region from Lake Tsad to El Fasher, comprising
thousands of square miles, there is not a single carriage road, not a
mile of navigable waters, not a wheeled vehicle, canoe or boat of any
kind.  There are scarcely any beaten tracks, for most of the routes,
though followed for ages without divergence to right or left, are
temporarily effaced with every sandstorm, and recovered only by means of
the permanent landmarks--wells, prominent dunes, a solitary knoll
crowned with a solitary bush, or perchance a ghastly line of bleached
bones of men and animals, the remains of slaves, camels, or travellers
that may have perished of thirst or exhaustion between the oases.  Few
venture to travel alone, or even in small parties, which could offer but
little resistance to the bands of marauders hovering about all the main
lines of traffic.  Hence the caravans usually comprise hundreds and even
thousands of men and pack animals, all under a _kebir_, or guide, whose
word is law.  Under him are assistants, armed escorts and scouts to
reconnoitre the land in dangerous neighbourhoods, besides notaries to
record contracts and agreements, sometimes even public criers, and an
_imam_ to recite the prescribed prayers.

The caravan, belonging to Abu Talib, a wealthy merchant of Yo, was a
small one, consisting of about one hundred camels heavily laden with
ivory, kola nuts, spices, and other goods from the far south, destined
for the great market at El Fasher, and was guarded by twenty
fierce-looking Arabs and a number of negro and Arab drivers, all well
armed, for the country through which we were to pass was infested by the
marauding Tuaregs, those black-veiled terrors of the plains, who know
nothing of anything but the desert and the implacable sun.

Abu Talib, who accompanied us in person, was an aged, good-hearted man
of the tribe of Aulad Hamed, who had spent the greater part of his life
trading between In Salah and Timbuktu, or between Yo and Mourkouk, over
the boundless Sahara, and in the darkness, as we rode together and our
camels with silent tread loomed like phantoms in the midnight air, we
told each other of our journeys and adventures.  His companions were
true sons of the sands, active, vigorous and enterprising, inured to
hardships, and with the mental faculties sharpened almost to a
preternatural degree by the hard struggle for existence in their arid,
rocky homes.  In making their way across those trackless solitudes they
seemed endowed with that "sense of direction," the existence of which
has recently been discussed by students of psychology.  In the whole of
the Great Sahara no race is more shrewd or cunning than the Buzawe, and
their tact and skill enable them to get the better both of Arabs and
negroes in the markets of the oases.  Greed and harshness were stamped
upon their hard features, but nevertheless they treated me, a lonely
wanderer, with considerable kindness.

On leaving Kukawa we passed across a great plain, then through a dense
forest, afterwards entering a fine, undulating country, covered with a
profusion of herbage, with here and there large gamshi-trees with broad,
fleshy leaves of brightest green.  The moon shone bright as day, and as
our file of camels strode on with slow, rhythmic movement under their
burdens, the drivers would now and then sing snatches of wild songs of
daring in the Hausa tongue.

Thus, resting by day and journeying by night, we moved forward around
the marshy shore of Lake Tsad to Missene, thence through the cool, shady
forest of Dekena Kreda, enlivened by many birds, along the
densely-populated valleys of Boulala to the strange little town of Amm
Chererib situate in the hollow formed between four great mountains, at
length, when the moon was again at the full, reaching Abecher, at the
foot of the hills of Outoulo, without much exciting incident.  Halting
for one day under the fortified walls to fill our camels' _kewas_ with
provisions, we again pushed forward unceasingly in order to accomplish
the two hundred and fifty miles of barren, waterless land unmercifully
scorched and burnt by a devouring sun, that stretches between the
capital of Darmaba and El Fasher.  This portion of the journey was the
most difficult we had encountered, for the rough stones played terrible
havoc with the spongy feet of our camels, and the heat was insufferable,
even at night, on account of the poison-wind sweeping across us
continuously.  For five days we pushed forward by short stages only,
until at sunrise one day we espied an oasis, and, encamping in the small
shade it afforded, Abu Talib decided to give the animals rest.  The
packs were therefore removed, our tents erected, and having eaten our
_dakkwa_, a dry paste made of pounded Guinea-corn with dates and pepper,
washed it down with some _giya_ made of sorghum, we reclined and slept
during the warm, drowsy hours of the siesta.

Some noise had awakened me, and lighting my keef-pipe I was squatting in
the shadow cast by one of the camel's packs, deep in my own sad
thoughts, when the crack of a rifle startled me.  Next second, even
before my companions could seize their arms, the whole neighbourhood was
alive with yelling Tuaregs on horseback, armed to the teeth, with their
draperies floating in the wind.  I saw they all wore the black litham
about their faces.  One, as he advanced on foot, levelled his gun at me
and fired, but missed.  In a moment I threw myself full length upon the
sand behind a camel's pack, and opened fire upon our enemies.  With
deliberate aim I had picked off three with as many shots, when suddenly
I heard old Abu Talib cry,--

"Lost are we!  Our enemies are the Aoulemidens!"

Almost before the words died upon his lips a bullet struck the old man
full in the breast; he staggered back and fell, within a few yards of
me, a corpse.  To resist these fierce outlaws, the most relentless tribe
of Tuaregs who lived in the depths of that arid, desolate country, with
no knowledge of the outside world, was, we knew, hopeless, for there
were fully three hundred of them, and as they found our little band
disinclined to surrender, they began shooting us down ruthlessly.
Already four of our party had been captured and bound, while three were
lying dead, nevertheless our rapid fusillade kept at bay those preparing
to dash in and seize our camels' packs.

Fiercely we fought for life.  We knew that if we fell into the hands of
this brigandish tribe who called themselves "The Breath of the Wind," by
which their victims were to understand that they might as well seek the
wind as hope to recover their stolen property, we should either be sold
at the nearest market, or placed under some horrible and fiendish
torture to die a slow, agonising death.  Suddenly a wild yell rent the
air, and before we were aware of it a troop of some fifty horsemen
dashed in among us, so quickly that resistance was impossible.
Hand-to-hand we struggled, straining every muscle to evade our enemies,
but ere long the obstinate, heroic courage of my companions could no
longer blind them to the approach of the inevitable, and we were each
secured and bound, captives in the hands of the merciless veiled men of
the desert, whose fierce brutality was feared alike by slaves and
Sultans throughout the sun-parched land.

Our arms were twisted from our grasp, our camels' packs seized, and,
linked together ignominiously by chains around our necks, we were
secured to three palm trunks, under a strong guard with loaded rifles,
to wait while our captors investigated their booty and reloaded our
camels.  Nearly two hours this occupied, when at length the
grey-bearded, sinister-faced leader of the band of free-booters gave the
order to mount, and before long the party, numbering nearly three
hundred horsemen armed to the teeth, moved away into the sandy
wilderness, compelling us to trudge over the hot, stony ground on foot
under the fiery rays of the blazing sun.  It was evident that we were to
be sold as slaves.  One unfortunate camel-driver, who had been wounded,
fell from sheer exhaustion within the first hour, and was left to die,
for slave-raiders like "The Breath of the Wind" regard the wounded only
as an encumbrance, and as they will not sell they are either put out of
their misery by a shot, or left to die of thirst and become food for the
vultures.  Fortunately, with the exception of a slight cut on the left
hand received from a _jambiyah_ with which one of my captors had slashed
at me, I sustained no injury, and with my companions, a little band of
silent, despairing men, I plodded wearily onward--onward to be sold into
slavery.

Upon all the perpendicular rays of the sun beat down with a heat as
burning and intense as that of a fiery furnace, and always--always for a
horizon--the desert, the infinite breadth of glaring sands.

CHAPTER NINE.

AN AUDIENCE OF THE KHALIFA.

Those days of burning heat were full of horrors.  Treated with scant
humanity, we were half starved, allowed only sufficient water to slake
our thirst once a day, and beaten mercilessly with thongs of rhinoceros
hide whenever one, more faint and weary than the rest, lagged behind.
Eastward we travelled for six days, until, at the well of Lassera Dar
Abd-er-Rahman, we were sold for two small bags of gold to some nomad
Dasas encamped there.  The Tuaregs dare not enter a town in the Eastern
Soudan, although, in the West, they are universally dreaded on account
of their depredations; therefore they always sell their captives to
other slavers, who dispose of their human wares at the nearest trade
centre.  Hence, by our new masters we were conveyed to Dara, a town one
day's journey south of El Fasher, placed in the slave market, and, after
considerable haggling, disposed of.

My new master was a well-dressed, keen-eyed, wizen-faced old Arab of the
tribe known as Jalin, who, after inspecting me and looking into my mouth
as he would a horse, handed payment with ill grace to the black-faced
scoundrel who sold me, and ordered me to follow him.  Together we passed
out of the busy, bustling crowd, when he addressed me, asking my name.

"Art thou an Arab from the North?" he exclaimed in surprise, when I had
told him who I was, and the place of my birth.  "How earnest thou
hither?"

"I fell into the hands of the Tuaregs, upon whom may the curse of Eblis
rest!"  I answered, hesitating to inform him at present that I was a
Dervish.

As we walked to the city gate, where he said his camels were tethered,
he told me his name was Shazan, and, judge my extreme satisfaction when
he added that he was about to return to Omdurman, where he lived
opposite the Beit-el-Amana.  Hence, my stroke of ill-fortune turned out
advantageous, for within a week I found myself once again within the
great walls of the Khalifa's stronghold.  Then my new master having
treated me harshly, I resolved at last that he should suffer, therefore
I applied to the Kaid for release from slavery, on the ground that I was
a member of the Ansar of the Khalifa.  Old Shazan, amazed that his
latest purchase should turn out to be one of his great ruler's
bodyguard, rated me soundly for not informing him at first, but I
laughed, telling him that I had desired to get to Omdurman, and kept my
own counsel, until such time as it suited me.  Knowing that he would
lose the money he had paid for me, the close-fisted old merchant refused
to comply with the order made by the Kaid for my release, but the rumour
of my escape from Kano, coming to the ears of the great Abdullah, the
latter one day sent six of his personal attendants with orders to
release me, and to bring me before him.

The shadows were lengthening in the marble courts of the "Bab," or great
palace of the Mahdi's tyrannical successor, when I was conducted across
the outer square, where brightly-dressed guards were lounging on their
rifles, or playing _damma_ beneath the cool, vine-veiled arches.  Never
before had I been permitted to set foot inside the court, although many
times had I passed under the shadow of the Iron Mosque near by, and
gazed with curiosity at the high walls, smeared with red sand, which
encircled the marble courts, gilded pavilions and cool gardens of the
ruler of the Soudan--the ruler whose only idea was self-aggrandisement.
The extent of the palace amazed me, for, even if it was scarcely as
luxurious as the wonderful Fada at Kano, it was assuredly quite as
large.  Through one open, sun-lit court after another we passed, until
we were challenged by four of the royal bodyguard with drawn swords, but
a word propitiated them, and a few seconds later I found myself in the
great, marble-built Hall of Audience, in the presence of the stout,
sinister-faced man of middle age and kingly bearing, with black, scraggy
beard, whose name was a power throughout the Soudan.  He wore a robe of
bright purple, embroidered with gold, a turban of white silk, and his
fat, brown hands were loaded with rings of enormous value.

Beneath a great baldachin of bright yellow silk, with tassels and
fringes of gold, surmounted by the standard of the Mahdi, the powerful
Abdullah, the ruler before whom all trembled, reclined upon his
luxurious silken divan, fanned by black slaves on either side, while a
negro lad sat at his feet, ready to hand him a pipe, the mouth-piece of
which was studded with diamonds.  Around him were grouped his
body-servants, the _mulazimin_, and officers, while near him was Abdel
Gayum, the chief eunuch, his hand resting upon his sword, and Ali Wad
Helu, chief of the Baggara, who had led the ill-fated expedition of
which I had been a member.

Conducted by my guides up to the scarlet mat spread before the
potentate, who thought himself master of the whole world, I fell upon my
knees in obeisance, expressing thanks for my rescue from bondage.

"Let him be seated," the Khalifa ordered, turning to his slaves, and in
an instant cushions were brought, and I sat myself, cross-legged,
awaiting questions to fall from his lips.  "What, I wondered, had I done
that I was allowed to sit in the royal presence?"

"So thou art the Arab Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz, the horseman who alone escaped
death at the well of Sabo-n-Gari?" exclaimed the vain, cruel,
quick-tempered man who ruled the Soudan under the guise of Mahdiism.

"I am, O King," I answered, bowing until my forehead touched the carpet.

"Of a verity will I punish those enemies who attacked my Jehadieh," he
cried suddenly, in fiercest rage.  "Where be those owls, those oxen of
the oxen, those beggars, those cut-off ones, those aliens, those Sons of
Flight?  Withered be their hands! palsied be their fingers! the foul
moustachioed fellows! basest of the Arabs who ever hammered tent-peg!
sneaking cats! goats of Al-Akhfash!  Truly will I torture them with the
torture of oil, the mines of infamy, the cold of countenance!  By Allah,
and by Allah, and by Allah, we will crush those sons of Ach Chaitan like
snakes, and throw their bodies to the dogs!"  Then, turning to me in
calmer mood, the autocrat of the Soudan exclaimed, "Some of thine
adventures have already reached mine ear, and I would hear from thine
own lips how thou didst escape and how farest thou in the Fada of
'Othman of Sokoto.  Let not thy tongue hurry, but relate carefully in
thine own words what things occurred to thee."

"Thy servant is honoured, O Ruler of our Empire," I answered.  "Under
thy Raya Zerga did I go forth, but returned hither as the slave of the
merchant Shazan--"

"Already have we full knowledge of that," the tyrannical monarch
interrupted, and turning to one of his officers he added, with an
imperious wave of his fat hand, "Let the merchant Shazan, the dog of a
Jalin, receive fifty strokes with the bastinado and be fined two bags of
gold for purchasing a slave belonging to his Sultan."

Then, as the official hastened out lo do his capricious master's
bidding, the Khalifa turned towards me, his thick red lips parted in a
smile, lolling back lazily on his divan as he exclaimed,--

"Continue thy story.  Our ears are open for information regarding the
city of 'Othman, therefore describe in detail all that thou knowest."

Briefly I related how we had been attacked at night by the Tuaregs, how
my comrades had been slaughtered fighting till the last, and how I awoke
to find myself within the palace of the Sultan 'Othman, when suddenly
the injunction contained in the anonymous letter recurred to me: "Keep
the seal of silence ever upon thy lips."  Therefore I deemed it
expedient to omit from my narrative all reference to Azala, making it
appear that I had been rescued by a kind-hearted soldier of the palace
guard.  I knew that Abdullah delighted in listening to calumnies and
hearing evil spoken of other people, and for half-an-hour entertained
him by describing the situation and aspect of Kano, the dimensions of
the Fada, the horrors of my dungeon, and the personal appearance and
character of the Sultan 'Othman, to which all listened with breathless
attention.

When I had finished he remained silent a moment, as if reflecting, then
raising his head he bestowed a few words of commendation upon me,
concluding by the declaration,--

"Of a verity thou art a faithful and valiant servant.  Henceforward thou
shalt be chief of my _mulazimin_, and honoured among men."

I was expressing thanks in flowery speech to the autocrat for this
appointment, which, as chief of his Majesty's body-servants, was a
position of great honour, with substantial emoluments, when suddenly the
silk-robed heralds posted at the entrance to the Hall of Audience
sounded three loud blasts upon their shining _onbeias_.  Then, as every
one's attention was directed towards the great horse-shoe arch from
which the curtains of blue silk were ceremoniously drawn aside by black
guards, there entered a tall, commanding figure in gorgeous robe,
attended by a dozen followers less showily dressed, but all armed,
making great show of ostentation.  With swaggering gait the stranger
strode up the spacious hall, and as the Khalifa motioned me to rise and
step aside to allow the new-comer to make obeisance in the royal
presence, I was amazed and alarmed to suddenly recognise in him the man
I least desired to meet.

It was Khazneh, the brutal Aga of the Eunuchs at the court of 'Othman,
Sultan of Sokoto.

CHAPTER TEN.

BY IMPERIAL REQUEST.

In fear of recognition I held my breath, and, withdrawing among the
crowd of guards and courtiers assembled around the royal divan, watched
the obsequious homage paid the Khalifa by Khazneh, who I discovered was
accompanied by Mahaza, Grand Vizier of Sokoto.

Abdullah, reclining lazily upon his silken cushions, at first paid
little heed to their salaams.  On his brow was a dark, forbidding look;
probably he was thinking of the ill-fated expedition he had dispatched,
and the apparent hopelessness of ever conquering his enemy 'Othman.
Long ago had he overstepped the dignity of a sovereign, and now coveted
the honours of a god.  The two ambassadors from the Fada at Kano
prostrated themselves, pressing their foreheads to the ground, and
assured the powerful head of the Mahdists that they were charged by
their Sultan to convey to him most fervent salutations.  Yet he affected
not to notice their presence.

Surprised at the haughty coolness of his reception, Khazneh, still upon
his knees, continued to address the mighty Khalifa.

"Know, O One of Exalted Dignity, Ruler of the Soudan, who holdeth thy
servants' destinies in the hollow of thine hand, the object of our
journey hither is to spread out the carpet of apologies, to become
ennobled by meeting thine exalted person, to regenerate and to refresh
the meadow of our expectations by the showers of the fountain-head of
thy wisdom, and to see the rosebuds of our hopes opening and smiling
from the breeze of thy regard.  Our lord the Sultan has sent us to
deliver this, therefore command and deal with us as thou listeth," and
from the breast of his gorgeous robe he drew forth a sealed letter,
which was ceremoniously handed to the reclining potentate by one of the
black slaves.

The Khalifa Abdullah, suddenly interested, opened it, and, having read
the missive, crushed it in his hand with impatient gesture.

"Behold," added Khazneh, "we are charged to deliver unto thee a few gems
for thine acceptance as a peace-offering, and to assure thee of our lord
'Othman's good will and high esteem," and as he uttered the words, the
gaudily-dressed members of the mission advanced, and, kneeling,
deposited before the royal divan a golden salver heaped with costly
jewels.

With a cursory glance at them, the occupant of the divan at length
motioned the ambassadors to rise, saying in a deep, impressive voice,--

"The request of the Sultan is granted, and his presents accepted, O
messengers.  Assure thy lord that the knot of our amity is to-day
strengthened by this invitation to travel unto Kano, and that ere many
moons have risen we shall have the felicity of conversing with him.  At
present Allah hath not on the face of the earth a servant more excellent
nor wise than he, and we are invested with the robe of being the elect
and favoured.  May the path of our association never become obstructed."

The dead silence that had fallen upon the Court was broken by rustling
movement and low murmurings of approbation.

"Truly thou art wise and generous, O Ruler, upon whom be the blessing of
the pardoning Sovereign," exclaimed Mahaza.  "Thou, who art
distinguished by great possessions, abundant revenues, innumerable
quantities of cattle, and multitudes of servants and slaves, showerest
upon thy servants copious favours.  May the enemies of the threshold of
thy dignity and station be overtaken by the deluge of affliction, and
may they in the sea of exclusion be drowned by the waves of perdition."

"Verily, if thou comest unto Kano, our lord will receive thee with
befitting welcome," added Khazneh.

"Thou, successor to the holy Mahdi who possessest the three greatest
blessings, namely, meekness in the time of anger, liberality in the time
of dearth, and pardon in a powerful position, wilt find a reception
awaiteth thee such as none have hitherto received within the walls of
our city.  The relation of a king unto his subjects is like the relation
of a soul to the body; in the same way as the soul doth not neglect the
body for a single instant, so the king must not forget the care of his
subjects even during the twinkling of an eye.  Thou hast never swerved
from the straight path, hence thou art honoured throughout the Soudan,
even to the uttermost ends of Sokoto, and if thou wilt deign to visit
our Sultan he will offer unto thee and thine officers, guards and
slaves, generous entertainment within the Fada, for he desireth an
understanding with thee that our countries may unite to defeat and
discomfort our mutual enemies."

The reason of the unlooked-for invitation to visit the great White City
he had plotted to besiege immediately commended itself to the Khalifa,
who, with a benign smile, took from his finger two great emerald rings,
and, handing one to each of the Sultan's ambassadors, assured them that
the sun of his personal favours shone upon them, adding, in prophetic
tones,--

"Take your ease here, for ye must be spent with long travel.  I know not
the day when I can set forth, for I act according to hidden knowledge,
the visible effects of which are ofttimes evil, but the consequences
always beneficent and salutary."

Then, as the two men from Kano again pressed their brows to the carpet,
renewed laudations and gratitude for blessings received emanated from
their lips, and from those assembled there rose panegyrical murmurs that
Abdullah had decided to visit the Sultan 'Othman as honoured guest
instead of arrogant conqueror.

Thus was the meeting between the two powerful rulers of the Sahara and
the Soudan arranged, a meeting destined to mark an epoch in the history
of Central Africa.  The Khalifa's curiosity to investigate the extent of
the wealthy country which acknowledged 'Othman as Sultan probably
accounted for his sudden decision to undertake the long and tedious
journey.  Although the invitation had been sent with a view to effecting
an offensive and defensive alliance between the two peoples, yet, in my
new office as chief of the Khalifa's body-servants, I had ample means of
knowing that he still cherished hopes of eventually overthrowing his
whilom ally, and annexing the Empire of Sokoto.  Two days after the
reception of the envoys, Mahaza left on his return to inform 'Othman of
his friend's intended visit, while Khazneh remained to accompany his
master's guest.  Being permitted as a favoured servant to approach
Abdullah closely, I was fortunately enabled to express to him a hope
that the Aga of the Sultan's Eunuchs would not be made aware of my
identity with the hapless victim of his wrath, and it was with
satisfaction I found that in my silk robes of bright crimson and gold
and picturesque head-dress my enemy failed to recognise me.

The day was an eventful one in Omdurman when, at first flush of dawn, my
royal master seated himself under the thatched _rukuba_ and addressed
his Ansar, urging upon them the necessity of loyalty and discipline
during his absence.  Then, after a great review of seventy thousand
troops in the square of Abu nga, the Mahdist chieftain, with a portion
of his harem, one thousand male slaves and four thousand courtiers and
picked horsemen with banners, moved down the Road of the Martyrs on the
first stage of the long journey westward.  Prayers for the safety of the
Khalifa were at that moment being said by nearly one hundred thousand
men and women in the Great Mosque--not a mosque in its usual sense, but
a huge yard--and their murmurings sounded like a distant roar as, in the
cool hour before sunrise, we rode at walking pace along the winding Nile
bank towards the misty hills where dwelt the Jinns.

Eager as were my companions to feast their eyes on the glories of Kano,
none was so eager as myself lo pass the grim, prison-like portals of the
great l'ada and rest beside those cool, ever-plashing fountains within
the wonderful labyrinth of wide courts and shady arcades.  The wheel of
fortune had indeed taken a strange turn and was spinning in my favour,
for I was actually returning to Azala in disguise so effectual that even
Khazneh could not detect me, and as each day brought me nearer to her I
racked my brain in vain to devise some means by which I could, on
arrival, inform her of my presence and obtain an interview.

To fathom the hidden secret of the Mark of the Asps I was determined,
and on the hot, tedious journey across the dreary, sandy waste, infested
by marauders, and known by the ominous name of _Ur immandess_--"He
(Allah) hears not;" that is, is deaf to the cry of the waylaid
traveller--I served my capricious master with patience and diligence,
awaiting such time as I could seek the woman who had entranced me, and
learn from her lips the strange things she had promised to reveal.

By day the journey was terribly fatiguing, but in the cool nights, when
we encamped for our _kayf_, there was feasting, dancing and
merry-making.  The night hours were enlivened by _Safk_ (clapping of
hands) and the loud sounds of songs.  There were many groups of
dancing-girls, surrounded by crowds of onlookers.  Though sometimes they
performed Al-Nahl, the Bee dance, their performances were wild in the
extreme, resembling rather the hopping of bears than the graceful dances
of the harem, and the bystanders joined in the song--an interminable
recitative, as usual in the minor key, and so well tuned that it sounded
like one voice, with the refrain "La Yayha!  La Yayha!"  Through the
brief, brilliant night always "La Yayha!"

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

TIAMO THE DWARF.

A whole moon passed ere the sun-whitened walls and minarets of Kano
became visible.  The sandy approaches of the city were strewn with bones
and carcasses that had been disinterred by wild beasts, the remains of
camels, horses and asses that had fallen and died in the last stages of
the journey.  The cities of the desert are invariably encircled by their
bones, and the roads across the glaring wilderness are lined by their
bodies.  The sun had risen about four hours when the advance guard of
the Ansar spurred hurriedly back to announce that the town was in sight,
and very shortly the details of the distant shape grew clearer, and we
espied a body of troops, bearing the green-and-gold standard of the
Sultan, riding forth to welcome us.  They were gaudily attired in bright
blue, and, as they dashed forward, indulged in their La'ab al-Barut
(gunpowder play) while their bright shields and unsheathed swords
flashed and gleamed in the sun, as now and then the wind parted the
cloud of dust and smoke which enveloped them.  The faint sound of
trumpets and clash of cymbals came from the distant city, enthroned upon
the horizon a dark silhouette, large and long, an image of grandeur in
immensity, wherein all my hopes were centred, and as we approached we
saw that Mahaza, the Grand Vizier, had been sent by the Sultan 'Othman
to give us peace and conduct us into the Fada.

My master's retinue, consisting as it did of nearly five thousand
persons, was indeed an imposing one, and when an hour later we entered
the city gate and passed up the hill to where the well-remembered tower
of the Fada stood white against the intensely blue sky, the brass cannon
mounted on the walls belched forth thundering salutes, and a cloud of
soft white smoke floated up in the still, warm air.  Strange it was, I
reflected, that the houses of Kano everywhere displayed that essential
characteristic of early Egyptian art--the pyramidal form, which
represented solidity to those ancient architects.  The walls of the
oldest constructions had a slight inward inclination, and possessed no
windows, or only the roughest sketch of them.  Light and air entered
through openings cut in the roof.  The summits of the dwellings were
ornamented by those triangular battlements which may be seen on the
palaces of Rameses Meiamoun.  The pylon, which is another characteristic
of Egyptian architecture, gave access to the dwellings.  In short, the
effect of the whole, their harmonious proportions, the symmetrical
distribution of their ornamental mottoes, and their massiveness,
proclaimed the art of Egypt, bearing out the legend that the people of
Sokoto came originally from the far east.  The multitude was wild with
excitement.  In their eagerness to catch a glimpse of the Khalifa,
world-famous for his piety and his cruelty, they rendered the streets
almost impassable, shouting themselves hoarse in welcome.  Blatant
tam-tams beat a monotonous accompaniment to the roar of artillery, and
as the Sultan's guest, mounted on a magnificent camel at the head of his
black Jihadieh, passed onward, the shout of "_Alhahu Akhbar_!" rose from
fifty thousand throats, echoing again and again.  Progress was slow on
account of the immense crowds, and even the Sultan's spearmen, who
preceded us, had considerable difficulty in clearing a path.  Numbers
were bruised, kicked by the horses or fatally injured by the long
spears, but they were left unnoticed--a mere remark "_Umru Khalas_," (It
is the end of life) being all the sympathy ever offered.  Yet the
impetuous populace continued to yell enthusiastic words of welcome, the
guns thundered, and the three stately men preceding the Khalifa blew
long, piercing blasts on their immense _onbeias_ fashioned from
elephants' tusks.

At length, on arrival at the great, gloomy portal of the Fada, the
iron-studded gates suddenly opened, revealing the Sultan 'Othman clad in
golden casque and royal robe of amaranth velvet, with a
handsomely-caparisoned, milk-white horse curveting under him, and
surrounded by his gaudily-attired bodyguards and mukuddums, who filled
the air with their adulations, declaring that their Imperial master was
_Ma al-Sama_ (the splendour of Heaven).

Alone he came forward wishing his guest "Peace" in a loud voice, then
adroitly dismounting, embraced the Khalifa.  Abdullah, much pleased at
this mark of respect and homage, greeted him warmly and ordered him to
remount, but the Sultan remained on foot, uttering some rapid
instructions to his emirs, who had also dismounted to stand beside him.

Passing through the archway into the great outer court, the Jihadieh and
the Ansar remaining outside, we all dismounted with the exception of my
royal master and the ladies of his harem, whose camels were led onward
to the inner pavilion that had been set apart for them.  As chief of the
_mulazimin_ I followed my royal master, and as we passed from court to
court, Janissaries, eunuchs, slaves and courtiers made salaam and raised
their voices in shouts of welcome.  The reception was throughout marked
by the most frantic enthusiasm, even the two gigantic negro mutes at the
gate of the Imperial harem--who usually stood with drawn swords
motionless as statues--raising their hands to give peace unto the great
Ruler of the Soudan.

The extensive palace echoed with the sounds of feasting and
merry-making.  The Ansar fraternised with the Janissaries, the Jihadieh
with the Sultan's bodyguards, and the slaves of the Sultan 'Othman with
those of the Ruler of the Soudan.  The Khalifa, as religious head of the
Dervishes and successor of the holy Mahdi, stood upon his "farwa" or
white sheepskin, under the shadow of an ilex-tree in the Court of the
Eunuchs, and conducted prayers in which all joined.  Such was the wild
fanaticism and enthusiasm that had prevailed during the firing of
salutes that several men had dashed up to the very muzzles of the guns
on the walls of the palace and were blown to pieces.  The souls of these
unfortunate people had, the Khalifa assured us, gone straight to
Paradise, there to have their abode among lote-trees free from thorns,
and fruitful trees of mauz, under an extended shade near a flowing water
in gardens of delight, and every word that fell from his lips was
regarded as the utterance of a prophet by the people as they murmured
and told their beads.

After prayers, when the sura entitled "The Inevitable" had been recited,
a great feast was held in the Sultan's sumptuous pavilion.  The Khalifa
was seated on his Imperial host's right hand, and over five hundred
officials and courtiers were present.  The dishes upon which the viands
were served were of beaten gold, the goblets of chased gold studded with
gems, while in the centre of the gilded pavilion a large fountain of
crystal diffused a subtle perfume.  Behind both the Sultan and his guest
stood court tasters, who broke the seal of each dish and ate portions of
the food before it was handed to their masters, lest poison should be
introduced.

After the meal, jugglers entered and performed clever feats of magic,
dancing-girls of every tribe under the Sultan's rule performed in turn
various terpsichorean feats upon the great mat spread in the centre of
the pavilion, and to the loud thumping of derboukas and the plaintive
twanging of curiously-shaped stringed instruments, they danced until
they sank upon their cushions from sheer exhaustion.  These were
followed by snake-charmers, wrestlers of herculean strength and
story-tellers--the entertainment, which was on the most lavish scale,
being continued until, at the going down of the sun, the clear voice of
the _mueddin_ was heard droning the _azan_.

The leisure at my disposal when, after the shadows lengthened and
declined into the glory and vivid charm of the tropical twilight the
Khalifa had retired to his private pavilion, I occupied in exploring
those parts of the palace to which I had free access.  Its vast
proportions and its sumptuous decorations and appointments surprised me.
When, on the previous occasion, I had passed through its great arcaded
courts I was on my way to execution, therefore little opportunity had
been afforded to me of ascertaining the full extent of the buildings;
but now, in the cool evening hour, as, alone and thoughtful, I strolled
under the dark colonnades and across the great open squares with their
tall palms, time-worn fountains and wealth of roses, I noted its
magnificence.

Around me on every side were sounds of revelry--barefooted girls were
trilling and quavering, accompanied by noisy tambourines and serannel
pipes of abominable discordance and the constant beating of derboukas
and the clapping of hands; but holding aloof from my companions, I
wandered from court to court in order to obtain a view of the great
square tower wherein Azala's chamber was situated.  At last, on entering
the court where dwelt the serving-men of the Grand Vizier Mahaza, the
tower rose high in the gathering gloom.  From which of its small,
closely-barred lattices had the city been revealed to me?  Halting in
the garden and looking up at its white walls, I tried in vain to
recognise the window of the apartment where Azala had nursed me back to
consciousness.  Had she, I wondered, lonely and sad, watched from behind
the lattice the festivities in the courts below?  If so, might she not
discern me now, gazing up at her chamber, and by some means or other
contrive a meeting!  Yet to deceive the watchfulness of the Grand Eunuch
and his satellites was impossible.  The square wherein I stood was
almost deserted, for in the court beyond there was feasting and
marissa-drinking among the Janissaries and the Jehadieh, and all had
been attracted thither.  I must have been standing there, oblivious to
my surroundings, a considerable time, for it had grown almost dark, when
a voice behind me brought me back to a knowledge of things about me.

"Why standest thou here aloof from thy comrades, O friend?" the voice
inquired, and on turning quickly I was confronted by a black dwarf,
whose face was the most hideous my eyes had ever witnessed, and his
crooked stature certainly the smallest.  His head, which scarcely
reached to my hip, seemed too large for his hump-backed body, while his
hands and feet were abnormal.  Indeed, his personal appearance was the
reverse of prepossessing, even though he was well dressed in an Arab fez
and a robe of bright blue silk with yellow sash.  His age was difficult
to guess.  He might have been any age between thirty and fifty, but his
thin, squeaking voice suggested senile weakness.  His smile increased
his ugliness as, perpetually, his eyes, like flaming fire-lances, darted
towards me.

"The cool air of this thy garden is refreshing after the heat of the
desert," I replied in Arabic, as he had addressed me in that language.

"But I have been watching thee," the human monstrosity continued,
looking up at me as his mouth elongated, showing an even set of white
teeth.  "While thy fellows have been making merry thou hast been gazing
up at yonder lattice?  Hast thou seen her?"

"Whom dost thou mean?"  I inquired, startled that this ugly imp should
be aware of my quest.

"Affect not ignorance," he said, lowering his voice to almost a whisper.
"Thou hast knowledge as full as myself that high up yonder there
dwelleth the Lalla Azala, the beauteous daughter of his Majesty."

"Well," I said, anxiously, "tell me of her.  I know so little."

"She hath rescued thee from death, and for many moons hath awaited thy
return.  She sendeth thee health and peace," he answered, slowly.

"But how dost thou know my innermost secrets?"  I inquired, regarding
the strange, unearthly-looking figure with some suspicion.

"Fear not betrayal, O friend," he replied.  "I am called Tiamo,
_khaddan_ (servitor) of the Lalla Azala, and thy devoted servant.  By
day and night alike hath her bright eyes sought for sign of thee, for
she ascertained, through one of our spies in Omdurman, of thy promotion
unto the chieftainship of the Khalifa's body-servants, and knew that
thou wouldst accompany him hither."

"Art thou bearer of a message from her?"  I asked, bending towards him
in eagerness.

"Yes.  Hers is indeed a joyless life.  Through the long day hath she
stood at her lattice trying in vain to distinguish thee amid the crowds.
Yet even now she is most probably standing there, and hath recognised
thee.  Yea.  Behold!" he cried, excitedly.  "See!  There is the sign?"

I strained my eyes upward, and could just distinguish in the darkness
something white fluttering from a lattice high up near the summit of the
tower.  It showed for an instant, then disappeared; but it was
sufficient to tell me that I was not forgotten.

"Such means of communication are unsafe," the black dwarf growled, as if
to himself.

"What message bearest thou?"  I asked, turning to him and remarking the
frown of displeasure that had overspread his hideous countenance.

"The One of Beauty hath ordered me to tell thee to wait patiently.  She
is in sore peril, being so zealously watched by eunuchs and harem-guards
that at present she cannot have speech with thee.  Wait, and she will
communicate with thee when it is safe."

"What is the nature of her peril?"  I inquired.

But the dwarf frowned, glanced up at the little lattice to assure
himself that there was no longer a signal there, sighed, and then
replied,--

"I am forbidden to tell thee.  Rest in the knowledge that Tiamo, her
servant and thine, will render thee what assistance thou requirest."

"Is the Lalla so carefully guarded that none can approach her?"  I
asked, as together we moved on into the adjoining court, where the
fighting-men were making merry.

"Alas!" he answered, "she leadeth a lonely life.  Forbidden to enter the
great Courts of Enchantment wherein dwell the wives and houris of the
Sultan amid every luxury, and where every diversion and gaiety is
provided, she is compelled by the Sultan, whom she hath displeased, to
live alone with her companions, slaves and waiting-women, in the rooms
in yonder tower until such time as she shall be given in marriage."

"And shall I see her?"

"She is striving toward that end," the dwarf answered briefly, adding,
"May thine Allah, who hath created seven heavens, and as many different
stories of the earth, keep thee in peace and safety."

Gradually I overcame the distrust with which I at first regarded the
hideous little pagan.  From words he let drop in our subsequent
conversation it was evident he was Azala's trusted servant, and was no
doubt admitted to her apartments because of his personal deformity and
ugliness of countenance.  Until near midnight we squatted together in
his little den in the Court of the Eunuchs, smoked, drank marissa and
chatted; but he was discreet, silent as the Sphinx upon the affairs of
his mistress, and to all my questions made the stereotyped reply, "Wait;
a message will be conveyed unto thee."

Day by day, amid the round of bountiful entertainment, I waited in
patience, glancing ever and anon up at the dwelling-place of the woman
who besought my aid.  Still no message came.  Sometimes after the _isha_
had been prayed I met Tiamo, but to all inquiry he remained practically
dumb.  "The Lalla is still unable to see thee," he always replied, if I
expressed surprise that the promised message had not reached me.  But he
would invariably add a word of hope, expressing regret that
circumstances had conspired against us.

One night, after superintending the duties of the _mulazimin_, I was
crossing the Court of the Grand Vizier when Tiamo hurriedly approached
me.  By his face I could see that something had occurred, and as he
brushed past me in full view of others about him he whispered, "Come to
me one hour after midnight."  Then he walked on without waiting for me
to reply.

Punctually at the hour appointed I entered his little den with beating
heart.  The shutter was closed, therefore we were unobserved.

"Hasten.  There is but brief space," he exclaimed quickly, and pulling
from beneath his divan a blue silk robe and yellow turban similar to
those worn by the eunuchs, he added, "Attire thyself in these.  The
Lalla biddeth thee repair unto her chamber."

I obeyed him without doubt or hesitation.

"Now, come with me," he said, when at last I had buckled on a scimitar
and thrust my feet into slippers of crimson leather, and together we
went out into the open court.

A deep silence rested on the great palace, broken only by the cool
plashing of the fountains in their marble basins.  The heavens, blue as
a sapphire, were profound and mysterious.  Myriads of stars twinkled in
the clear depths of the skies, and all objects were defined with a
wonderful accuracy in the silver moonlight.  The Fada was hushed in
sleep.  On the marble steps of the Bab-Seadet, the gate of the Imperial
harem, the black guards stood on either side, mute, erect, motionless,
their naked swords gleaming in the moonbeams.  How many scenes of
gorgeous festivity had been witnessed beyond that great door of iron!
how many terrible and bloody dramas had been enacted within those grim,
grey walls--dramas of love and hatred, of ambition, disappointment and
revenge, of all the fiercest passions of the human heart!  By night and
day the bewitching pearls of the harem intrigued, schemed and plotted--
themselves, through their Imperial Master, ruling the world outside.
Too often, alas! in the history of the Empire of Sokoto it had occurred
that some dark eye, some bewitching face masking a beautiful slave's
ignorance and cunning, had mastered her irresponsible and irresistible
lord, and been the means of striking off the heads of not only her
rivals within the harem, but those of even the wisest councillors and
the bravest fighting-men outside.

As together we crossed the silent court our echoing footsteps broke the
quiet.  In the gateway of the harem a single light glimmered yellow in
contrast with the white moonbeams; but turning our backs upon it we
passed through one court after another, receiving salutes from the
guards at each gateway.  My disguise as eunuch was complete, and as we
strolled onward without apparent haste my confidence grew until, on
crossing the Court of the Armourers and entering the Court of the Pages,
we discerned a white-robed figure enveloped in a haick and wearing the
ugly baggy trousers which are the out-door garments of Moslem women.

"Behold!"  I exclaimed, with bated breath.  "The Lalla Azala awaiteth
us!"

"No," answered the strange, grotesque being.  "It is her mute slave,
Ayesha.  Place thyself in her hands.  She will conduct thee unto her
mistress."

As we advanced, the woman, whose face I could not distinguish, raised
her hand with commanding gesture, and opening a small door beckoned me
to follow.  This I did, Tiamo remaining behind.  Across many courts and
through several doors, which the woman carefully bolted after us, we
sped until, skirting a pretty garden where pomegranates, almonds,
cypresses and myrtles alternated regularly, and roses in full bloom
embowered the long alley, we came to a door in a wall near the tower.
Having looked well around to see that nobody remarked us, she introduced
me into a passage so small that I was compelled to bend to enter it.
Taking up a lamp that had apparently been placed there in readiness, she
went on before, and I followed through some intricate wanderings; then,
instead of ascending, we began to go down a flight of broken stone
steps.

The air became hot and stifling, and foul odours rose from the place
into which we were descending.  Suddenly a loud, piercing shriek of pain
sounded weirdly, followed by another and yet another.  Then I recognised
the uneven steps as those leading to the foul dungeon with its maniac
prisoners.

The rough, exultant laugh of my enemy, Khazneh, reached my ears from
below, mingled with the imploring cry of some unfortunate wretch who was
undergoing torture.  Next second a suspicion flashed across my mind that
I had been betrayed.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

MYSTERIES OF EBLIS.

My mute conductress halted, listened intently, then placed her finger
significantly on her lips.  As she turned her half-veiled face towards
me I saw in the flickering lamplight that her tattooed forehead was
brown and wizened, that her dark, gleaming eyes were deeply sunken, and
that her hand holding the lamp was thin, brown and bony.

The sounds that alarmed us ceased, and, after waiting a few moments,
scarce daring to breathe, she descended several more stairs to a turn in
the flight, and I found myself before a small, black door, which she
quickly opened and closed again after we had passed through.  Raising
her finger to command silence, she moved along a narrow passage and then
there commenced a toilsome ascent over great, roughly-hewn steps that I
well remembered descending when, in the clutches of my captors, I had
been roughly dragged from the apartment of my enchantress.  With a
nimbleness that showed a familiarity with their unevenness, she mounted,
while I stumbled on behind, nearly coming to grief once or twice, and
being compelled to save myself with my hands.  In my eagerness to meet
the woman who had entranced me, upward I toiled, until my breath came
and went in short, quick gasps, and I was forced to rest a moment, while
she also halted, smiling and turning the lamp towards me.  The
intricacies of these secret passages were puzzling and fatiguing, and I
was anxious to pass into the well-remembered room wherein the Sultan's
daughter had, during so many weary moons, awaited me.

At last we stood before a door secured by a large iron bar, so heavy
that old Ayesha could not draw it from its socket, but quickly I removed
the barrier.  The slave who had acted as my guide opened the door, drew
aside the heavy curtain, and then stepping forward I found myself once
again before the bright-eyed girl who desired my aid.

The place was dimly illumined by great hanging lamps of gold, which shed
a soft and dubious light through cut crystals of green and crimson, and
the air was sweetly scented by the odours of musk and cinnamon rising
from the perfuming-pans.  Azala, pale and beautiful, in her gorgeous
harem dress, with arms, ankles and neck laden with jewels, was reclining
with languorous grace upon her divan of light blue satin fringed with
gold, that was placed in the alcove at the end of the apartment, her
wealth of dark hair straying in profusion over the great, tasselled
cushion of yellow silk.  Her feet, tiny and well-formed, were bare, her
pearl-embroidered slippers having been kicked aside, her pipe stood
near, and upon a coffee-stool of ebony and gold stood a large silver
dish of rare fruit, while kneeling beside her was a black female slave
cooling her slowly with a fan of peacock's feathers.  Unnoticed by her,
I stood for a few seconds, bewitched by her loveliness as she lay there
in graceful abandon, her body saturated with perfumes, her soul filled
with prayers.

"Welcome, O Zafar!  Allah favoureth us!" she cried excitedly, springing
to her feet the instant she recognised me, and, rushing across, grasping
both my hands.  "Thou hast brought happiness with thee."

"At last, Azala," I said, clasping her soft hands tenderly, and gazing
into those brilliant black eyes that seemed to delight in the anxious
curiosity which they aroused in my features.  "Of a verity Allah is
all-powerful and all-merciful.  Our destinies are written in the Book,
and therefore what is there left but to submit?  For many moons have I
striven to seek thee, to redeem the pledge I made unto thee, and now at
last is our meeting accomplished."

Noticing that I looked askance at the presence of Ayesha and the young
negress, she waved her hand to them to retire.  Then, when the curtains
had fallen behind them, she led me slowly to her divan, saying in
serious tones, "Come hither, O Zafar, I would have long and serious
speech with thee."

She having ensconced herself comfortably among her rich, downy cushions,
I seated myself beside her, and as one arm stole around her slim waist,
encircled by its bejewelled girdle, I drew her tenderly towards me with
the intention of imprinting on her white, sequin-covered brow a
passionate caress.  Gently but firmly she disengaged herself from my
embrace.  At first the marvellous beauty of my divinity held me
spell-bound, but fortified by her smile I found courage to pour out a
rhapsody of love and admiration, to which she listened, blushing deeply.

Thus, in the bliss of whispering love, we forgot the heavy sorrows
oppressing us, and put aside all apprehension for the present and all
care for the future.

After a recital of my adventures on being torn from her presence, I told
her how wearily the hours had passed and of my mad desire to be again at
her side, to which she answered,--

"In thee, O Zafar, have I placed my trust.  The sun of the favour of the
One Merciful shineth upon us, therefore let us abandon all fear."

"The firmament possesseth but one sun, and the Empire of Sokoto but one
Princess.  That life, light, joy and prosperity may attend thee is my
most fervent desire."

"May perfect peace attend thee in the rose-grove of thine happiness,"
she answered, turning towards me the most beautiful face that Allah had
ever formed.  "For many moons have I waited at yonder lattice for thy
coming, knowing full well that thou art ready to serve me."

"Ay, ready to serve thee, O Pearl of Sokoto," I said fervently.  "I love
only thee, and am thy slave."

She was toying in hesitation with her broad gold armlet that contained a
talisman.  Spells and charms are believed in as strongly by the ladies
of Kano as those of Omdurman.  The eye and knuckle-bone of a fox hung
upon the neck of a boy gives him courage; its fat rubbed on a woman will
convert her husband's love into indifference.  The dried liver of a cat
is believed to bring back the love of a desired object to the person who
possesses it; the skin of its nose, if worn on the ankle, is a
preventive against murder by poison; while its ashes, if taken
internally, will give all the shrewd, cunning qualities of the cat.  The
one Azala wore was the _kus kaftar_--a portion of the dried skin of a
female leopard one moon old, which always bears the greatest price in
the seraglios, because, if worn on the arm, it is believed to conciliate
the affections of all to its wearer; and as she fingered it she uttered
some kind of incantation that I failed to understand.

Her head had fallen back upon the great gold-tasselled pillow, and with
her white arm thrown out above she looked up smiling into my face,
uttering words of courage, declaring that I was the only man she had
ever asked to perform a service.

"But," she added, suddenly raising herself into a sitting position and
gazing straight into my eyes, "how little--how very little we are
thinking of the deadly peril which threateneth us!  Both of us are
confident in each other's love; but, alas! no safety can there be until
the Great Secret be solved."

"What secret?"  I asked, endeavouring to read her story in her brilliant
eyes.

"The Secret of the Asps," she answered, in a calm, low tone.  "The
secret of the strange, mysterious mark that is upon my breast and thine.
When it is solved, then only may peace be ours."

"Tell me all thou knowest regarding the curious imprint," I said
eagerly, lifting her bejewelled hand and pressing it tenderly.  "Now
that I am thy best beloved, ready to serve thee blindly and implicitly,
surely I may know the secret of things concerning both of us," I argued.

But with a sigh she answered, "No.  Some knowledge hath been conveyed to
me upon condition that I should preserve its secret until such time as
the mystery shall be elucidated.  Suffice it to thee to know that thou
art the person to whom the truth may be revealed if thou hast
forbearance and courage."

"Will any act of mine place about thee the walls of security and the
stillness of peace?"  I inquired, with eagerness.

"Already have I told thee that, if thou wilt, thou canst save me."

"From what destiny?"

"From one unknown, yet horrible--undecided, yet terrible," she answered,
hoarsely.

"Then I am thine to command, O Azala," I answered.  "In Zafar thou hast
a servant who will serve thee with faith and fearlessness, unto even the
uttermost ends of the earth."

"When the dawn cometh we shall be compelled to part, for full well thou
knowest what fate awaiteth thee if thou wert discovered by Khazneh or
his brutal myrmidons," she said, slowly.  "But ere we bid each other
farewell we have much to arrange, for upon the success of our plans
dependeth whether our hands again clasp in welcome, or our lips meet in
salutation.  In receiving thee here I have run many risks in common with
thee.  If our enemies conveyed word unto the Sultan, assuredly would the
vials of his wrath be poured out upon me, and he would execute his
threat of giving me in marriage to some common soldier of the
palace-guard."

"Has his Majesty given utterance to such a threat?"

"Yea.  Because I fell into the displeasure of Khadidja, the scheming
slave who now ruleth the harem as his chief wife, I became banished from
the Courts of Enchantment.  Indeed, only by the intercession of mine own
mother, who hath long ago been deposed from her position of Sultana, and
is now a mere slave, compelled to wash the feet of many who once served
her, was I spared the indignity of being cast out from the palace and
given as drudge to one of the horsemen who guard the Kofa-n-Kura.
Indeed, the hand of misfortune hath fallen heavily upon me," and she
drew a long sigh, as in deep thought her pointed chin rested in her
dainty palm.

"What was the nature of thine offence?"  I inquired, interested.

"Involuntarily I acted as eaves-dropper.  One morning, lying in my
hammock in a corner of the harem-garden where the rose-bushes grow
thickly, I suddenly heard voices beyond.  One I recognised as that of
Khadidja, and the two others those of Shekerleb and Leilah, Arab slaves.
Listening, I heard them discuss in detail an ingenious plot they had
arranged to poison my mother, myself and three others, for Khadidja
expressed herself determined to be supreme mistress of the seraglio.
Appalled by this bold scheme of wholesale revenge, I lay silent, scarce
daring to breathe, but when they had left I went straightway to the
Sultan and in my mother's presence explained all to him.  The woman
Khadidja was brought before him, but denied the accusation, swore on the
Koran that she had not walked into the garden that morning, and brought
Shekerleb and Leilah to corroborate her false statement.  My father was
convinced of her innocence, and believed also her allegation that a plot
hatched by my mother was on foot to encompass her death.  He grew angry,
degraded my unfortunate mother from her position of Sultana to the
meanest slavery, and subsequently banished me to the loneliness of this
high abode."

"Of a verity thy lot, O beloved, hath been an unhappy one, but let us
now look forward to the dawn of a joyous day, to a noonday of
prosperity, and to a sunset of peace.  Azala, I love thee," and as our
lips met for the first time in a hot, passionate kiss, her bare, scented
chest, with its profusion of jewels, rose and fell with an emotion she
was unable to suppress.

In the dead, unbroken silence that followed, the distant roll of a drum,
and the cry of the sentinels on the watch-towers at the city gates came
up through the silk-curtained lattice, announcing that another hour had
passed.

"Harken," she cried quickly, springing to her feet, clutching me by the
arm, and looking earnestly into my face.  "We have but brief space
wherein to plan our emancipation.  Fearest thou to investigate the
mysteries of Eblis, or to serve his handmaiden?"

"Fear dwelleth not in mine heart when the Pearl of Sokoto is nigh," I
answered gallantly, bending to kiss her hand.

"Even though thy Pearl may be daughter of the Evil One, and able to
accomplish things superhuman?" she asked, in a strange, harsh voice.

"He who believeth in the one Allah and in his Prophet, holdeth in his
hand a two-edged sword against the Ghul (Devil) and all the evil spirits
of Al-Hawiyat," I replied, surprised at this latter speech, and at the
strange, haggard look that had suddenly overspread her beautiful
countenance.  "At the moment before our enemy Khazneh laid hands upon
me, thou didst promise to reveal unto me some hidden marvel, the nature
of which thou wouldst not disclose.  For that purpose have I come
hither, and now await the fulfilment of thy promise."

Grasping my right wrist and looking into my face with eyes that seemed
to emit fire, so strangely brilliant were they, she said,--

"Hast thou no fear of the future, or of the power of the Evil Eye?"

"The curse of Eblis himself shall not deter me from seeking to fathom
the Mystery of the Asps.  A voice that is dead hath commanded me, and I
shall obey, even though I am compelled to engage Azrael in single
combat.  There is some strange secret in the mystic links that bind our
existence--a secret I intend to discover at any hazard."

"Bravely spoken, O Zafar," she answered, her cheeks flushing with
excitement and her sequins tinkling musically as she moved.  "Thine
heart is true as thy trusty Masser blade.  May it be the will of Allah,
who made the earth for a carpet, that thy courage never fail thee in
thine attempt to rescue me from the plots that encompass me, and to
penetrate the veil that hath so long hidden the truth of the entwined
serpents."  She raised her face with a fond, wistful look.

Our lips met, and with her arms about my neck she clung to me,
trembling, as if in fear.  Then, fortifying herself for an effort, she
slowly withdrew from my embrace, and led me across to the
heavily-curtained door of the inner chamber, saying,--

"Thou hast declared thyself fearless and undaunted in the coming fight
to possess the secret which none may know, even though it is imperative
that thou shouldst pass barriers hitherto considered by all
insurmountable.  Truly thou art worthy a woman's love."

"Thou knowest how the unquenchable fire of love burneth within me, O
light of mine eyes," I answered, in fervent adoration.  "With thee as
the sun of my firmament, and with a stout heart within me, I am not
afraid."

For answer she turned, and with her hand upon the curtain, said,--

"Come hither.  As a preliminary to thine encounter with the Invisible, I
will reveal unto thee an undreamed of marvel that will cause thine eyes
to open wide in wonderment, and thine heart to cease its beating.  Fear
abideth not within thee.  Enter therefore this portal whereat Malec,
powerful yet invisible, mounteth guard, and learn the means by which the
Mystery of the Asps may be unravelled."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THE PRISM OF DESTINY.

With sudden movement she drew aside the silken curtain, and we stepped
into a small, dark, stone chamber, almost a cell.  Then with a word of
warning she guided my footsteps to a narrow flight of stairs, which she
descended with caution, her golden anklets jingling as she went.  As I
followed, there clung about her soft draperies those sweet perfumes of
the harem, the fragrance of which had intoxicated me.

Again she flung back a second heavy curtain that barred a horse-shoe
arch at the foot of the stairs, when instantly my eyes were blinded by a
flood of brilliant light.  Under my feet I felt a carpet so thick that
my slipper sank deep into it, and gradually as my dazzled vision grew
accustomed to the unusual glare, I realised that I was in a chamber
about the size of the one we had just quitted, but decorated entirely in
bright green, the hue of which, reflected into Azala's anxious
countenance, gave her a complexion pallid and ghastly.  The walls and
ceiling were painted green, with good counsels from the Koran in long,
lean letters of darker shade, the divans and cushions were of green
silk, the stools of malachite, the large alcoves at the end fashioned
from dark green marble, beautifully carved, while a malachite table,
shaped like a crescent, near the end of the apartment, was studded with
huge green crystals that glittered in the light like emeralds.  The
effect was weird and startling, for the bright white light came from a
thousand lamps cunningly arranged overhead, while screens of glass, the
colour of the deep sea, shot from the walls slanting beams of brilliant
green.

The place was luxurious, yet, as I gazed around it, I could not repress
a shudder.

"Go!  Take thine ease upon yonder divan," Azala said in a strange voice,
pointing to the great couch within the alcove, and as I obeyed her, she
took from her arm the gold band with its talisman of leopard's skin and
handed it to me.  Apparently she dare not wear it there.

Standing in the centre of the curious chamber, she clapped her hands
loudly, and instantly a curtain opposite was drawn aside, and there
appeared the ugly, hunchbacked form of the grinning dwarf, Tiamo,
followed by two female Arab slaves handsomely dressed in tissue of white
and gold, and wearing long strings of talismans, and embroidered bags
containing mysterious powders, cabalistic figures, and prayers in the
language of Maghrib.

The trio, advancing, knelt before their mistress, and with a murmured
blessing kissed her feet, prostrating themselves before her.

"Rise," she commanded, almost breathless with excitement.  "Know ye that
in one brief hour the dawn will show in the direction of the holy city.
Speed therefore on the wings of haste and execute my will."

"We, thy slaves, obey thee, O Mistress," they answered with one accord,
and, rising, disappeared for a few moments.  The two girls presently
came forth bearing between them a huge golden bowl full of some sweet
yet pungent perfume, which they set on a tripod upon the table of green
malachite while Tiamo produced a small golden brazier which he lit and
placed beneath the bowl.  Then the girls produced green-painted
derboukas, and seating themselves upon the mats at the horns of the
crescent-shaped table, commenced a monotonous thumping on their drums,
while the hideous dwarf, grinning from ear to ear, beat a rapid tattoo
upon a double tambourine or _kalango_, all three chanting a
weirdly-intoned accompaniment.

The curious spectacle held me on the tiptoe of expectation, for while
the music was continued with a regularity that quickly became
monotonous, Azala stood with her bejewelled hands outstretched over the
bowl, repeating some words in the Hausa tongue which I could not
understand.  Her face had now grown deathly pale; surrounding her eyes
were large, dark rings that betrayed the terrible anxiety at her heart.
As the golden bowl became heated, the colourless liquid perfume gave off
a vapour so pungent that it caused water to well in my eyes and my head
to swim as if I had drunk marissa too freely.  I was afraid to rise to
my feet lest I should stagger and fall, so upon the edge of the divan I
sat entranced and fascinated.  The brighter the brazier grew the more
dimly burned the lamps above until the brilliant light vanished and we
remained in a semi-darkness, made brighter now and then by the uncertain
flicker of the fire.  Emerald crystals everywhere in ceiling and walls
flashed like jewels with a bright green brilliance each time the flames
shot up, producing a weird and dazzling effect, while in the shadow
Azala prostrated herself, uttering an appeal to some power unseen.

Eagerly I watched the next development of this remarkable experiment.
Suddenly the woman I loved struggled to her feet and with her right
forefinger touched the edge of the steaming bowl.  As she did this, a
bright flash, blinding as lightning, shot through the chamber, causing
the music to cease and the slaves, awe-stricken, to bow their heads
until their brows touched the carpet.

"Malec, iron-hearted Janitor of Hell, hath been overthrown!" they
exclaimed, in voices hushed in fear.

Again was the flash repeated as Azala's hand touched the edge of the
bowl of repousse gold, and the slaves gasped in Arabic,--

"Lo! the Guardian of Al-Hawiyat is vanquished by the sword of Eblis!"

Then, a third time my eyes became dazzled by the sudden brilliance which
apparently proceeded from the great basin of perfume, and the slaves
lifted their voices, saying,--

"The Pillars of Hell have indeed fallen!--the sword of Eblis is
sheathed, and Malec, trembling, hath hidden his dog's face before the
incomparable beauty of her Highness, the Lalla Azala!"

Tiamo, whom Azala addressed as El-Sadic (the Sincere), rose at the
bidding of his mistress.  With her hand pressed to her heart, as if to
stay its wild beating, she stood close to me with her face upturned and
her lips moving as if invoking the aid of some unseen power.

"Behold!" she cried, with a suddenness that caused me to start.
"Behold, the Prism of Destiny!"  And as the words fell from her white,
trembling lips, there was a wild noise like the rushing of great waters,
and a circular portion of the wall of the chamber directly opposite
appeared to fall asunder, disclosing a huge gold ring, within which,
placed perpendicularly, was a large crystal prism, the length of a man's
body, which, as it revolved in its setting, showed all the gorgeous hues
of the spectrum with a rapidity that was bewildering.

Azala, standing motionless, gazed at it, while the slaves remained
kneeling with eyes riveted upon it in fear and expectation.  Propelled
by some unseen agency, it revolved noiselessly within its golden circle,
emitting shafts of multi-coloured light that illumined parts of the
strange chamber, leaving the remainder in deepest shadow.  Gradually,
however, the speed with which the great crystal turned slackened, and
Azala, advancing towards me, placed her hand lightly upon my shoulder,
exclaiming in a low, intense tone,--

"Lo! that which we sought is revealed!  Behold! before us is the
forbidden Prism of Destiny, into which none may gaze without incurring
the displeasure of the One Merciful, and the curse of Eblis the
Terrible."

The lights flashing full upon my face seemed to enthral my senses, for
her words sounded distant, discordant and indistinct.  But a sudden
exclamation of hers aroused me.

"See!" she cried, pointing to the three-sided crystal.  "Its motion
steadies!  It mirrors life in its wondrous depths, but those who dare
discern their future ofttimes pay the penalty of their folly by being
struck with blindness, and ignominy attendeth them.  Allah, though
merciful, is just, and it is written in the Book of Everlasting Will
that we may know nought of the hereafter, save what holy writ teacheth
us."

"But how is the extraordinary effect produced?"  I asked, marvelling
greatly at the curious chimera, for though it appeared but a phantom,
the prism actually revolved, and the illusion could not be caused by
reflected light, as I at first had been inclined to believe.

"By offering sacrifice to Eblis," she answered, looking into my eyes, an
intoxicating gaze of promise, triumph, tenderness.  On her lips dawned a
smile which was pledge of the future--the future all light, all hope,
all love.  Then, pointing to the boiling bowl, she said, "He giveth
sight of it to those of his slaves and handmaidens who invoke his aid."

"Art thou actually one of his handmaidens?"  I gasped in fear, amazed to
observe that her beauty seemed to gradually fade, leaving her face
yellow, care-lined and withered.

"I am," she answered in a deep, discordant voice.  "Once before, after
thou wert taken from me, the Prism of Destiny made its revelation.  The
temptation to gaze therein proved too great, and, alas!  I fell."

"What didst thou discern?"  I eagerly inquired, my eyes still fixed in
fascination upon the mysterious, rotating crystal, my senses gradually
becoming more than ever confused.

"I pierced the impenetrable veil of futurity."

"And what manner of things were revealed?"

"I beheld many marvels," she answered, in a slow, impressive voice.
"Marvels that thou, too, canst behold if thou darest brave the wrath."

She spoke so earnestly, fixing her searching eyes upon me, that I felt
my courage failing.  The constant flashing of brilliant colours in my
eyes seemed to unnerve me, throwing me into a kind of helpless stupor,
in which my senses became frozen by the ghastly mysteries practised
before me.  It was this feeling of helplessness that caused my heart to
sink.

"Didst thou not declare thou wouldst engage Malec in single combat in
thine endeavour to fathom the Secret of the Asps?" she observed, half
reproachfully.  "Yet thine hand quivereth like the aspen, and thou
carest not to seek the displeasure consequent upon such an action."

Erect, almost statuesque, she stood before me, pale and of incomparable
beauty, holding my sun-browned hand in hers.

"Hearken, O Azala," I cried, struggling with difficulty to my feet, and
passing my hand across my aching brow to steady the balance of my brain.
"No man hath yet accused Zafar-Ben-A'Ziz of cowardice.  If, in order to
seek the key to the mystery of the strange marks we both bear, it is
imperative that I should gaze into yonder crystal, then I fear nought."

"It is imperative," she stammered.  "If it were not, I, of all persons,
would not endeavour to induce thee to invoke the curse upon thyself."

"Then let me gaze," I said, and with uneven steps went forward, my hand
in hers, to where the great prism had so miraculously appeared.  It was
moving very slowly, the only light in the chamber being that emitted
from its triangular surfaces, and as I halted before it my head reeled
with a strange sensation of dizziness I had never before experienced.

Aloud the prostrate slaves cried,--

"O Malec, Angel of Terror, vanquished by a woman's beauty, let the eyes
of this friend of thy conqueror witness the sight which is forbidden, so
that he may drink of the fountain of truth, and repose in the radiance
of her countenance."  Tiamo was thumping his _kalango_ and grinning
hideously.

Bewildered, and only half-conscious of my surroundings, I felt Azala
dragging me forward.  Though the objects swam around me and I had a
curious sensation as if I were treading on air, I advanced to within an
arm's length of the slowly-moving prism.  My eyes were cast down to the
green carpet, for in the sudden terror that had seized me I feared to
look.

"Speak!" cried Azala, in a voice that seemed afar off.  "What beholdest
thou?"

But no answer passed my lips.

"Gaze long and earnestly, O Zafar, so that the image of things revealed
may be graven upon the tablets of thy memory for use for our well-being
hereafter," she urged in a voice sounding like the distant cry of a
night-bird.

The thought of her peril flashed in an instant across my unbalanced
mind.  Her appeal, I remembered, was for our mutual benefit, in order
that I should be enabled to elucidate the Mystery of the Asps and bring
peace upon her.  What, I wondered, was the nature of this strange
revelation which she herself had already witnessed.

Ashamed at this terror that branded me as coward, and determined to
strive towards the solution of the remarkable mystery that bound me in a
bond of love to the beautiful daughter of the Sultan, I held my breath
and slowly raised my head.

Next second my heart stood still as, fascinated in amazement and aghast
in horror, I gazed deep into the prism's crystal depths, where an
omination, wondrous and entrancing, met my eyes.

There was indeed revealed unto me a marvel of which I had not dreamed.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

A SIGN AFAR.

The movement of the huge crystal was so slow as to be almost
imperceptible, but the kaleidoscope of life and movement it presented
held me spell-bound.

By this strange combination of dactyliomancy with christallomantia, an
effect was produced so amazing and unaccountable that my wondering
vision became riveted upon it, as gradually my mind cleared of the
chaotic impression it had received.

The reflecting surfaces, turned at various angles to my line of sight,
presented in their unsullied transparency a specular inversion of
figures and scenes that, ere they took clearly-delineated shape,
dissolved and faded, to be succeeded by others of a totally different
character.  Objects and persons with whom I seemed to have been familiar
in my youth in the far-off Aures passed before my gaze in bewildering
confusion.  Ere I could recognise them, however, they disappeared,
phantom-like, giving place to a series of pictures of the terrors of
battle, so vividly portrayed that they held me overawed.  The first
showed a beautiful court, evidently the private pavilion of some
potentate, with cool arcades, plashing fountains, tall palms and
trailing vines.  But the place had been assaulted and ignominiously
fallen.  The courts sacred to the women were full of armed, dark-skinned
men, who, with brutal ruthlessness, were tearing from the "pearls of the
harem" their jewels, and with wanton cruelty massacring them even as I
gazed.  Over the pavements of polished jasper, blood flowed, trickling
into the great basin of the fountain, and as one after another the
houris fell and died, a fierce red light shone in the sky, showing that
the barbarous conquerors, intoxicated with blood and loot, had fired the
palace.  Then in the dense smoke that curled from out the arcades as
they were enveloped and destroyed, the scene of merciless slaughter and
ruthless destruction was lost, and there gradually evolved scenes of
burning desert, of welcome oases, of great and wonderful cities, all of
which grew slowly and were quickly lost.  Just at that moment, however,
a sound behind me caused me to start, and turning, I saw that the dwarf,
who had risen noiselessly, had witnessed the magic pictures as well as
ourselves.

On seeing that his inquisitiveness had been detected, he turned quickly,
rejoined his fellow-slaves, and fell again upon his knees, raising his
voice in the strange incantation the girls continued to repeat.
Apparently Azala did not notice him; too engrossed was she in the
revelations of the prism, for when I again gazed into the crystal,
objects and persons were passing in rapid confusion, and she was vainly
endeavouring to decipher their mysterious import.

For a second we saw the face of a beautiful woman with hair like golden
sheen, and were both amazed to discover that in place of rows of sequins
she wore a single ornament suspended upon her white, unfurrowed brow.
Apparently it was carved from a single diamond of enormous size and
exceeding lustre, but its shape puzzled us; it was fashioned to
represent a curious device of arrow-heads.  Quickly the
mysteriously-beautiful face dissolved, and from its remains there came
in rapid succession pictures of a mighty city, of a great plain, of
running water, of a seething populace, and of a cool garden rich in
flowers and fruit.  Then there appeared a vision so ghastly and gruesome
that I drew back in horror.

It represented a pavement of polished marble, whereon a woman was
stretched dead, mutilated by the keen scimitar of a black eunuch of
giant stature, who with his foot upon the lifeless body gazed down,
grinning with satisfaction at his own brutality.

The face of the man startled me.  The hideous countenance, on which
revenge was so strongly depicted, was that of our mutual enemy, Khazneh,
Chief of the Black Eunuchs of his Imperial Majesty!

"Enough!" cried Azala, horrified at what seemed a revolting augury of
her own end.  "See! the brute hath struck off her head!"  And
shuddering, she gazed around the apartment with a look of abject terror,
her haggard features in that moment becoming paler and more drawn.

"Heed it not as ill-potent," I said, smoothing her hair tenderly, and
endeavouring to remove from her mind the horrifying thought that she
might fall under the _doka_ of the Grand Eunuch.  "The mystic Prism of
Destiny showeth much that is grim, distorted and fantastic.  The
eventuality is only resolved so that we may arm ourselves against the
Destroyer."

But, apprehensive of her fate, she shook her head sorrowfully, saying in
low, harsh tones, "When on the previous occasion I gazed into the prism
a similar scene was conjured up before me, only the woman was then at
his knees imploring mercy, while he, with _doka_ uplifted, laughed her
to scorn.  Now, see the end!  Her head hath fallen!"

Again I turned to ascertain what next might be shown in the revolving
crystal, the mystery of which was ever-increasing, but it had ceased to
move.  Eagerly I bent, gazing into its green, transparent depths in
order to discover whether the strange scenes were mere optical
illusions.  Only for a second was I permitted to gaze, but in that brief
moment suspicion seized me that I had been imposed upon.  Whether Azala
actually believed that forecasts of the future could be witnessed in the
crystal, or whether she was only striving to impress me by regaling me
with an exhibition of the mystical, in which all women of her race
delight, I know not; but I was sceptical and became convinced that the
pictures had been conjured up by mechanical contrivance, and that the
illusions--probably the stock-in-trade of some court necromancer--were
performed by ingenious but hidden paintings or tableaux.

By this discovery I was much perturbed, for it was remarkable that, on
witnessing the scenes, Azala's surprise and agitation were natural and
unfeigned, and this act led me to the conclusion that, believing in
spells and amulets, she was also ready to place faith in any
extraordinary marvel that she might gaze upon.

It was common knowledge, I remembered, that the women of Sokoto were
extremely superstitious, believing as implicitly in the sayings of their
astrologers as we, of the North, believe in the efficacy of
representations of the hand of Fathma of Algiers nailed over our doors
to avert the Evil Eye.  Was this chamber the sanctum of some seer whose
duty it was to forecast the good or evil fortune of the doves of the
harem?

I turned, and was about to address to her some question directed towards
fathoming the secrets of this cunningly-contrived instrument of
psychomancy, when suddenly she drew aside the curtain from a lattice
near, uttering an exclamation of mingled surprise and dismay.

Rushing towards her, I looked out, and the sight riveted my gaze in
abject amazement.

The dawn had already spread with delicate tints of pink and rose, but in
the northern sky a strange, inverted picture was presented with such
clearness and vividness of outline that every detail is still as fresh
in my mind as it was at the moment I witnessed it.

The picture was produced not by the chicanery of any necromancer, but by
Nature herself.  It was that strange, puzzling illusion--the mirage.  So
weird and wonderful was it that, even though I had seen many similar
pictures in the heavens during my journeys over the plains, I gave an
involuntary exclamation of amazement.

As we gazed away beyond the city, across the sandy desert, the aerial
tableaux mirrored above appeared to be the reflection of a flat, black
rock of colossal dimensions, rising high and inaccessible like a wall,
and descending sheer into dark, deep water, upon the surface of which
its gloomy image was reflected as in a mirror.  The spot, weird and
lonely, was devoid of every vestige of herbage or any living thing, and
as I looked upon it in wonderment, impressed by its weirdness, Azala
suddenly grasped my arm, exclaiming excitedly,--

"Behold! that black pool!  See, it is the Lake of the Accursed!  Many
times hath its image been revealed unto us in the sky.  Remark it
carefully, for of a verity am I convinced that in this vision we have a
key to the Secret.  At that spot must thou search if thou desirest to
fathom the mystery."

My eyes took in every detail of the ineffably dismal picture, the great,
inhospitable face of dark granite seemingly so smooth that an eagle
could scarce obtain a foothold, its rugged summit with one pointed crag,
like a man's forefinger, pointing higher than the rest towards the dark,
lowering clouds that seemed to hang about it, and the Stygian blackness
of the stagnant water at its gigantic base.  But its sight told me
nothing, for it was the reflected image of a scene I had never before
gazed upon, a scene so unutterably dismal and dispiriting that I doubted
whether any clue could there be found.

Cloud-pictures are of such frequent occurrence at Kano that it is known
among the desert tribes as "The City of the Mirage."

For a few moments the sky remained the mirror of this mystic picture;
then gradually it faded into air.  When it had entirely disappeared,
Azala, uttering no word, drew the curtain again before the lattice as at
the same instant Tiamo and the two slaves rose, bowing before their
mistress.  With quick, impatient gesture she motioned to them to leave,
and I, marvelling greatly at the strange religio-magic and extraordinary
mirage I had witnessed, followed her through the open curtain and up the
stairs back to her own sweetly perfumed apartment.

But in that moment there occurred to me the solemn declaration I had so
often heard in the mosque: "Whoso taketh Eblis for his patron beside
Allah, shall surely perish with a manifest destruction."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

TALES OF THE STORY-TELLERS.

In her own chamber, Azala, tottering towards her divan, sank upon it
exhausted, while I, grasping her hand, stood by in rigid silence, not
daring to speak.

As upon her cushion she was lying, one arm beneath her head, I watched
the flush of health mount to her countenance, and her beauty gradually
return.  She opened her eyes, and as she gazed into mine long and
steadily, I told myself that she was nothing like any other daughter of
man.  Those glorious orbs under their great curved brows shone upon me
like suns under triumphal arches.  The idea of holding her in my arms
brought me a fury of rapture; she held me bound by an unseen chain.  It
seemed as though she had become my very soul, and yet for all that there
flowed between us the invisible waves of an ocean without bounds.  She,
the daughter of the Sultan, was remote and inaccessible.  The splendour
of her beauty diffused around her a nebula of light, and I found myself
believing at moments that she was not before me--that she did not really
exist--that it was all a dream.

She moved, the diamonds on her heaving bosom shining resplendently, and
raising herself slowly to a sitting posture, asked in a low, intense
tone,--

"Now that thou hast gazed into the Prism of Destiny and witnessed the
sign in the heavens, fearest thou to penetrate further the veil of evil
that surroundeth us?"

"Already have I spoken, O Pearl among Women.  I fear not to speak the
truth," I answered, yet half inclined to scoff at the pictures shown in
the prism.  Yet the distinctness of the gloomy mirage had impressed me,
and I refrained from saying anything to give her pain.

"Then thou must of necessity seek the spot, the image of which hath been
revealed," she said, and motioning me to a cushion near her, added,
"Take thine ease for short space, and lend me thine ear."

Drawing the cushion closer to her, I seated myself, my hand still
clasping hers; then, wit

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