 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. H. Rider Haggard. Asha, the Return of She. Chapter 4 The Avalanche On the morning of the second day from that night, the sunrise found us already on our path across the desert. There, nearly a mile behind us, we could see the ruined statue of Buddha seated in front of the ancient monastery, and in that clear atmosphere could even distinguish the bent form of our friend, the old Abbot, Ku'en, leaning against it until we were quite lost to sight. All the monks had wept when we parted from them, and Ku'en even more bitterly than the rest, for he had learnt to love us. I am grieved, he said, much grieved, which indeed I should not be, for such emotion partakes of sin. Yet I find comfort, for I know well that although I must soon leave this present life, yet we shall meet again in many future incarnations, and after you have put away these follies, together tread the path to perfect peace. Now take with you my blessings and my prayers, and be gone, forgetting not that should you live to return. And you shook his head doubtfully, here you will be ever welcome. So we embraced him, and went sorrowfully. It will be remembered that when the mysterious light fell upon us on the peak, I had my compass with me, and was able roughly to take its bearings, for lack of any better guide we now follow these bearings, travelling almost due northeast, for in that direction had shown the fire. All day, in the most beautiful weather, we marched across the flower-strewn desert, seeing nothing except bunches of game, and one or two herds of wild asses which had come down from the mountain to feed upon the new grass. As evening approached, we shot an antelope and made our camp, for we had brought the yoke and a tent with us, among some tamarisk scrub, of which the dry stems furnished us with fuel. Nor did we lack for water, since by scraping in the sand, soaked with melted snow, we found plenty of fair quality. So that night we subbed in luxury a pontea and antelope meek, which indeed we were glad to have, as it spared our little store of dried provisions. The next morning we ascertained our position as well as we could, and estimated that we had crossed about a quarter of the desert, a guess which proved very accurate, for on the evening of the fourth day of our journey, we reached the bottom slopes of the opposing mountains, without having experienced either accident or fatigue. As Leo said, things were going like clockwork, but I reminded him that a good start often meant a bad finish, nor was I wrong, for now came our hardship. To begin when the mountains proved to be exceeding high, it took us two days to climb their lower slopes. Also, the heat of the sun had softened the snow, which made walking through it laborious, whilst accustomed that we were to such conditions through long years of travelling, its continual glitter affected our eyes. The morning of the seventh day found us in the mouth of a defile which wandered away into the heart of the mountains. As it seemed the only possible path, we followed it, and were much cheered to discover that here must once have run a road. Not that we could see any road, indeed, for everything was buried in snow, but that one lay beneath our feet, we were certain, since although we marched along the edge of precipice, our path, however steep, was always flat. Moreover, the rock upon one side of it had often been scarred by the hand of man. Of this there could be no doubt, for as the snow did not cling here, we saw the tool marks upon its bare surface. Also, we came to several places where galleries had been built out from the mountainside, by means of beams let into it, as is still a common practice in Tibet. These beams, of course, had long since rotted away, leaving a gulf between us and the continuation of the path. When we met with such gaps, we were forced to go back and make a detour round or over some mountain, but although much delayed thereby, as it happened, we always managed to regain the road, if not without difficulty and danger. What tried us more, for here our skill and experience as mountaineers could not help us, was the cold at night, obliged as we were to camp in the severe frost at a great altitude, and to endure through the long hours of darkness, penetrating and icy winds, which soothed skizzlessly down the pass. At length on the tenth day, we reached the end of the defile, and as night was falling, camped there in the most bitter cold. Those were miserable hours, for now we had no fuel with which to boil water, and must satisfy our thirst by eating frozen snow, while our eyes smarted so sorely that we could not sleep. And notwithstanding all our raps and the warmth that we gathered from the yoke in the little ten, the cold caused our teeth to chatter like custom yet. The dawn came, and after it the sunrise, we crept from the ten, and leaving it standing a while, dragged our stiffened limbs a hundred yards or so to a spot where the defiled took a turn, in order that we might thaw in the rays of the sun, which at that hour could not reach us where we had camped. Leo was round at first, and I heard him utter an exclamation. In a few seconds I reached his side, and lo! before us lay our promised land. Far beneath us, ten thousand feet at least, for it must be remembered that we viewed it from the top of a mountain. It stretched away and away till its distance as met the horizon. In character it was quite flat, an alluvial plain that probably in some primeval age had been the bottom of one of the vast lakes of which a number exist in Central Asia. Most of them now in process of desiccation. One object only relieved this dreary flatness, a single snow-clad and gigantic mountain, of which even at that distance, for it was very far from us, we could clearly see the outline. Indeed, we could see more from its rounded crest rose a great bloom of smoke, showing that it was an active volcano, and on the hither lip of the crater, an enormous pillar of rope, whereof the top was formed to the shape of a loop. Yes, there it stood before us, that symbol of our vision, which we had sought so many years, and at the sight of it our hearts beat fast, and our breath came quickly. We noted at once that although we had not seen it during our passage of the mountains, since the peaks ahead and the rocky sides of the defile hid it from view, so great was its height, that it overtopped the tallest of them. This made it clear to us how it came to be possible, that the ray of light passing through the loop could fall upon the highest snows of that towering pinnacle, which we had climbed upon the furthest side of the desert. Also now, we were certain of the cause of that ray, for the smoke behind the loop explained this mystery. Doubtless at times when the volcano was awake, that smoke must be replaced by flame, emitting a light of fearful intensity, and this light it was that reached us, concentrated and directed by the loop. For the rest we thought, that about 30 miles away we could make out a wide-roofed town, set upon a mound, situated among trees upon the banks of a wide river, which flowed across the plain. Also it was evident, that this country had a large population who cultivated the soil, for by the aid of a pair of field glasses, one of our few remaining and most cherished possessions, we could see the green of springing crops pierced by irrigation canals, and the lines of trees that marked the limits of the fields. Yes, there before us stretched the promised land, and there rose the mystic mound, so that all we had to do was to march down the snow slopes and enter it where we would. Thus we thought in our folly, little guessing what lay before us, what terrors and weary suffering we must endure, before we stood at length beneath the shadow of the symbol of life. Our fatigues forgotten, we returned to the ten tastily swallowed some of our dried food, which we washed down with lumps of snow that gave us toothache and chilled us inside, but which thirst compelled us to eat, dragged the poor yoke to its feet, loaded it up and started. All this while, so great was our haste, and so occupied were each of us with our own thoughts, that if my memory serves me, we scarcely interchanged a word. Down the snow slopes we marched swiftly and without hesitation, for here the road was marked for us by means of pillars of rock set opposite to one another at intervals. These pillars we observed with satisfaction, for they told us that we were still upon a highway which led to the promised land. Yet, as we could not help noting, it was one which seemed to have gone out of use, since, with the exception of a few wild sheep tracks and the spore of some bears and mountain foxes, not a single sign of beast or man could we discover. This, however, was to be explained, we reflected by the fact that doubtless the road was only used in the summer season, or perhaps the inhabitants of the country were now state home people who never travelled it at all. Those slopes were longer than we thought, indeed, when darkness closed in, we had not reached the foot of them, so we were obliged to spend another night in the snow, pitching our tent in the shelter of an overhanging rock, as we had descended many thousand feet. The temperature proved, fortunately, a little milder. Indeed, I do not think that there were more than 18 or 20 degrees of frost that night. Also, here and there, the heat of the sun had melted the snow in secluded places, so that we were able to find water to drink, while the yoke could fill its poor old stomach with dead-looking mountain mosses, which it seemed to think better than nothing. Again, the still dawn came, throwing its red garment over the lonesome endless mountains, and we dragged ourselves to our numbed feet, ate some of our remaining food, and started onwards. Now we could no longer see the country beneath, for it and even the towering volcano were hidden from us by an intervening ridge that seemed to be pierced by a single narrow gully towards which we were headed. Indeed, as the pillar showed us, thither ran the buried road. By midday it appeared quite close to us, and we tramped on in feverish haste. As a chance, however, there was no need to hurry. For an hour later we learned the truth. Between us and the mouth of the gully rose, or rather sang, a sheer precipice that was apparently three or four hundred feet in depth, and at its foot we could hear the sound of water. Right to the edge of this precipice ran the path. For one of the stone pillars stood upon its extreme brink, and yet how could a road descend such a place as that? We stared aghast. Then a possible solution occurred to us. Don't you see, said Leo, with a hollow laugh, the gulf as open since this track was used, volcanic action probably. Perhaps, or perhaps there was a wooden bridge or stairway which has rotted. It does not matter. We must find another path, that is all. I answered as cheerfully as I could. Yes, and soon, he said, if we do not wish to stop here forever. So we turned to the right and marched along the edge of the precipice till, a mile or so away, we came to a small glacier, of which the surface was sprinkled with large stones, frozen into its substance. This glacier hung down the face of the cliff like a petrified waterfall, but whether or now it reached the foot we could not discover. At any rate, to think of attempting its descent seemed out of the question. From this point onwards, we could see that a precipice increased in depth, and far as the eye could reach, was absolutely sheer. So we went back again, and searched to the left of our road. Here the mountains receded, so that above us rose a mighty, dazzling slope of snow, and below us lay the same pitiless, unclimbable gulf. As the light began to fade, we perceived half a mile or more in front, a bare-topped hillock of rock, which stood on the verge of the precipice and hurried to it, thinking that from its crest we might be able to discover a way of descent. When at length we had struggled to the top, it was about 150 feet high. What we did discover was that here also, as beyond the glacier, the gulf was infinitely deeper than at the spot where the road ended. So deep indeed, that we could not see its bottom, although from it came the sound of roaring water. Moreover, it was quite half a mile in width. Whilst we stared round us, the sinking sun vanished behind a mountain, and the sky being heavy, the light went out like that of a candle. Now the ascent of this hillock had proved so steep, especially at one place, where we were obliged to climb a sort of rock ladder, that we scarcely cared to attempt to struggle down it again in that gloom. Therefore, remembering that there was little to choose between the top of this knoll and the snow plain at its foot, in the matter of temperature or other conveniences, and being quite exhausted, we determined to spend the night upon it, thereby, as we were to learn, saving our lives. Unloading the yoke, we pitched our tent under the lee of the topmost knob of rock, and ate a couple of handfuls of dried fish and corn cake. This was the last of food that we had brought with us from the lamasery, and we reflected with dismay that unless we could shoot something, our commissariat was now represented by the carcass of our old friend, the yoke. Then we wrapped ourselves up in our thick rugs and fur garments, and forgot our miseries in sleep. It cannot have been long before daylight, when we were awakened by a sudden and terrific sound, like the boom of a great cannon, followed by thousands of other sounds, which might be compared to the fuselage of musketry. Great Heaven, what is that? I said. We crawled from the tent, but as yet could see nothing, whilst the yoke began to low in a terrified manner, but if we could not see, we could hear and feel. The booming and cracking had ceased, and was followed by a soft grinding noise, the most sickening sound I think to which I ever listened. This was accompanied by a strange, steady, unnatural wind, which seemed to press upon us as water presses. Then the dawn broke, and we saw. The mountain side was moving down upon us in a vast avalanche of snow. Oh, what a sight was that! On from the crest of the precipitous slopes above, two miles and more away it came, a living thing, rolling, sliding, gliding, piling itself in long, leaping waves, hollowing itself into tocavenous valleys, like a tempest-driven sea, whilst above its surface hung a powdery cloud of frozen spray. As we watched, cling into each other terrified, the first of these waves struck our hill, causing the mighty mass of solid rock to quiver like a yacht beneath the impact of an ocean roller, or an aspen in a sudden rush of wind. It struck and slowly separated. Then, with a majestic motion, flowed like water over the edge of the precipice on either side and fell with a thudding sound into the unmeasured depth beneath. And this was but a little thing, a mere forerunner for after it, with a slow serpentine movement, rolled the body of the avalanche. It came in combers, it came in level floods, it piled itself against our hill, yes, to within fifty feet of the head of it, till we thought that even that rooted rock must be torn from its foundations and heard like a pebble to the depth beneath, and the turmoil of it all, the screaming of the blast caused by the compression of the air, the dull, continuous thudding of the fall of millions of tons of snow as they rushed through space and ended their journey in the gulf. Nor was this the worst of it, for as the deep snows above thinned, great boulders that had been buried beneath them perhaps for centuries were loosened from their resting places and began to thunder down the hill. At first they moved slowly, throwing up the hard snow around them as a pro over-ship throws foam. Then, gathering momentum, they sprang into the air with leaps such as those of shells ricocheting upon water, till in the end, singing and hurtling, many of them rushed past and even over us to vanish far beyond. Some indeed struck our little mountain with a force of shot fired from the great guns of a battleship and shatter there, or, if they fell upon its side, tore away tons of rocks and passed with them into the chas like a meteor surrounded by its satellites. Indeed, no bombardment devised and directed by man could have been half so terrible or had there been anything to destroy, half so destructive. The scene was appalling, in its unchained and resistless might, evolved suddenly from the completest calm. There, in the lap of the quiet mountains, looked down upon by the peaceful, tender sky, the powers hidden in the breast of nature were suddenly set free and companion by whirlwinds and all the terrifying majesty of sound loosed upon the heads of us two human atoms. At the first rush of snow we had left back behind our protecting peak and lying at full length upon the ground, gripped it and clung there, fearing lest the wind should whirl us to the abyss. Long ago our tent had gone like a dead leaf in an autumn gale at times it seemed as if we must follow. The boolers hurtled over and passed us. One of them fell upon the little peak shattering its crest and bursting into fragments which fled away, each singing its own wild song. We were not touched, but when we looked behind us it was to see the yoke which had risen in its terror lying dead and headless. Then, in our fear we lay still, waiting for the end wondering dimly whether we should be buried in the surging snow or swept away with the hill or crushed by the flying rocks or lifted and lost in the hurricane. How long did it last? We never knew. It may have been ten minutes or two hours for in such a seen time lose its proportion. Only we became aware that the wind had fallen while the noise of grinding snow and hurtling boulders ceased. Very cautiously we gained our feet and looked. In front of us was sheer mountainside for a depth of over two miles. The width of about a thousand yards which had been covered with many feet of snow was now bare rock. Piled up against the face of our hill almost to its summit lay a tongue of snow pressed to the consistency of ice and spotted with boulders that had lodged there. The peak itself was torn and shattered so that it revealed great gleaming surfaces and pits in which glittered mica or some other mineral. The vast gulf behind was half filled with the avalanche and its debris but for the rest it seemed as though nothing had happened for the sun shone sweetly overhead and the solemn snow reflected its rays from the sides of a hundred hills and we had endured it all and were still alive. Yes and unhurt. But what position was ours? We dared not attempt to descend the mount lest we should sink into the loose snow and be buried there. Moreover all along the breadth the paths of the avalanche boulders from time to time still thundered down the rock slope and with them came patches of snow that had been left behind by the big slide. Small in themselves it is true but each of them large enough to kill a hundred men. It was obvious therefore that until these conditions changed or death released us we must abide where we were upon the crest of the hill. So there we sat foodless and frightened wondering what our old friend Quinn would say if he could see us now. By degrees hunger mastered all our sensations and we began to turn longing eyes upon the headless body of the yoke. Let's skin him said Leo. It will be something to do and we shall want his hide tonight. So with affection and even reverence we performed this office for the dead companion of our journey rejoicing the while that it was not we who had brought him to his end. Indeed long residence among people who believed fully that the souls of men could pass into or would risen from the bodies of animals had made us a little superstitious on this matter. It would be scarcely pleasant we reflected in some future incarnation to find our faithful friend clad in human form and to hear him bitterly reproach us for his murder. Being dead however these arguments did not apply to eating him as we were sure he would himself acknowledge. So we cut off little bits of his flesh and rolling them in snow till they looked as though they were nicely floored hunger compelling us we swallowed them at a gulp it was a disgusting meal and we felt like cannibals but what could we do? End of chapter 4 of H Rider Haggard Asha the Return of She Read by Lors Rolander Chapter 5 of Aisha the Return of She This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recording are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Chanel Jackson Aisha the Return of She by H Rider Haggard Chapter 5 The Glacier Even that day we came to an end at last and after a few more lumps of yak our tent being gone we threw his hide over us and rested as best we could knowing that at least we had no more avalanches to fear that night it froze sharply so that had it not been for the yak's hide and the other rugs and garments which fortunately we were wearing when the snow slide began it would I think have gone hard with us as it was we suffered a great deal Horace said Leo with the dawn I'm going to leave this if we have to die I would rather do so moving but I don't believe that we shall die very well I said let us start if the snow won't bear us now it never will so we tied up our rugs and the yak's hide in two bundles and having cut off some of the frozen meat began our descent now although the mount was under 200 feet high its base fortunately fortunately for us for otherwise it must have been swept away by the mighty pressure of the avalanche was broad so that there was a long expanse of piled up snow between us and the level ground since owing to the overhanging conformation of the place it was quite impossible for us to descend in front where pressure had made the snow hard a stone we were obliged to risk a march over the looser material upon its flank as there was nothing to be gained by waiting off we went Leo leading and step by step trying the snow to our joy we discovered that the sharp night frost had so hardened its surface that it would support us about half way down however where the pressure had been less it began much softer so that we were forced to lie upon our faces to distribute our weight over a large surface and thus slither gently down the hill all went well until we were within 20 paces at the bottom where we must cross a soft mound formed of the powdery dust thrown off by the avalanche in its rush Leo slipped over safely but I following a yard or two to his right all of a sudden felt the hard crush yield beneath me and ill judged but quite natural flounder and wriggle such as newly landed flat fish gives upon the sand completed the mischief and with one piercing but swiftly stifled yell I vanished anyone who has ever sunk in deep water will know that the sensation but I can assure him that to go through the same experience in soft snow is infinitely worse mud alone could surpass its terrors down I went and down till at length I seemed to reach a rock which alone saved me from disappearing forever now I felt the snow closing above me and with it came darkness and a sense of suffocation so soft was the drift however that before I was overcome I contrived with my arms to thrust away the powdery dust from about my head thus forming a little hollow into which air filtered slowly getting my hands upon the stone I strove to rise but could not the weight upon me was too great then I abandoned hope and prepared to die the process proved not altogether unpleasant I did not see visions from my past as drowning men are supposed to do but and this shows how strong was her empire over me my mind flew back to Aisha I seemed to behold her and a man at her side standing over me in some dark rocky gulf she was wrapped in a long travelling cloak and her lovely eyes were wild with fear and rose to salute her and make report but she cried in a fierce concentrated voice what evil thing has happened here thou littest then where is my lord Leo speak man and say thou has hid my lord or die the vision was extraordinarily real and vivid I remember and considered in connection with a certain subsequent event remarkable but it passed as swiftly as it came and then my senses left me I saw a light again I heard a voice that of Leo Horace he cried Horace hold fast at the stock of the rifle something was thrust against my outstretched hand I gripped it desperately and there came a strain it was useless I did not move then thinking me I drew up my legs and by chance or the mercy of heaven I know not got my feet against a ridge of the rock on which I was lying again I felt the strain and thrust with all my might of a sudden the snow gave and out of that hole I shot like a fox from its earth I struck something it was Leo straining at the gun and I knocked him backwards then down the steep slope we rolled standing at length upon the very edge of the precipice I sat up drawing in the air with great gasps and oh how sweet it was my eyes fell upon my hand and I saw that the vein stood out on the back of it black as ink and largest cords clearly I must have been near the end how long was I in there I gasped to Leo who sat at my side wiping the sweat that ran from his face don't know nearly 20 minutes I should think 20 minutes it seemed like 20 centuries how did you get me out you could not stand upon the drift dust no I lay upon the yak skin where the snow was harder and tunneled towards you through the powdery stuff with my hands for I knew where you had sunk and it was not far off at last I saw your fingertips they were so blue that for a few seconds I took them for rock but thrust the butt of the rifle against them luckily you still had life enough to catch hold of it and you know the rest were we not both very strong it could never have been done thank you old friend I said simply why should you thank me he asked with one of his quick smiles that you suppose I wish to continue this journey alone come if you have got your breath let us be getting on you have been sleeping in a cold bed and want exercise look my rifle is broken and yours is lost in the snow well it will save us the trouble of carrying the cartridges and he laughed drearily then we began our march heading for the spot where the road ended four miles or so away for to go forward seemed useless in due course we reached it safely once a mass of snow as large as a church swept down just in front of us and once a great boulder loosened the mountain rushed at us suddenly like an attacking lion or the stone's throne at the polyfinus at the ship of Odysseus and leaping over our heads vanished with an angry scream into the depths beneath but we took little heed of these things our nerves were dead and no danger seemed to affect them there was the end of the road and there were our footprints and the impress of the yak's hoofs on the snow the sight of them affected me for it seemed strange that we should have lived to look upon them again we stared over the edge of the precipice yes it was sheer and absolute unclimable come to the glacier said Leo so we went on to it and scrambling a little way down its route made an examination here so far as we could judge the cliff was about 400 feet deep but whether or not the tongue of ice reached to the foot of it we were unable to tell since about two thirds of the way down it seemed arched inwards like the end of a bent bow and the conformation of the overhanging rocks on either side was such that we could not see where it terminated we climbed back again and sat down and the spare took hold of us bitter black despair what are we to do I asked in front of us death behind us death for how can we recross those mountains without food or guns to shoot it with here death for we must sit and starve we have striven and failed Leo our end is at hand only a miracle can save us a miracle he answered well what was it that led us to the top of the mount so that we were able to escape the avalanche and what was it which put that rock in your way as you sank into the bed of dust and gave me wit and strength to dig you out of your grave and what is it that has preserved us through 17 years of danger such as few men have known and lived some directing power some destiny that will accomplish itself in us why should the power cease to guide why should the destiny be balked at last he paused then added fiercely I tell you Horace that if we had guns food and yaks I would not turn back upon our spore since to do so would prove me a coward and unworthy of her I will go on how I asked by that road he pointed to the glacier is it a road to death well if so Horace it would seem that in this land men find life in death or so they believe if we die now we shall die travelling our path and in the country where we perish we may be born again at least I am determined so you must choose I have chosen long ago Leo we began this journey together and we will end it together perhaps Aisha knows and will help us and I laughed really if not come we are wasting time then we took council and the end of it was that we cut a skin rug and the yaks tough hide into strips and knotted these together until two serviceable ropes which we fastened about our middles leaving one end loose for we thought that they might help us in our descent next we bound fragments of another skin rug about our legs and knees to protect them from the chafing of the ice and rocks and for some reason put on our thick leather gloves this done we took the remainder of our gear and heavy robes and having placed stones in them threw them over the brink of the pessimists thrusting to find them again should we ever reach his foot now our preparations were complete and it was time for us to start upon perhaps one of the most desperate journeys ever undertaken by men of their own will yet we stayed a little looking at each other in piteous fashion for we could not speak only we embraced and I confess I think I wept a little it all seemed so sad and hopeless those longings endured through many years these perpetual weary travelings and now the end I could not bear to think of that splendid man my ward my most dear friend the companion of my life who stood before me so full of beauty and of vigor but who must within a few short minutes be turned into a heap of quivering mangled flesh for myself it did not matter I was old it was time that I should die I had lived innocently if it were innocent to follow this lovely image this siren of the caves who lured us on to do no I don't think that I thought of myself then but I thought a great deal of Leo and when I saw his determined face and flashing eyes as he nerve himself up to last endeavor I was proud of him so in broken accents I blessed him and wished him well through all the aeons praying that I would be his companion to the end of time in a few words and short he thanked me and gave me back my blessing then he muttered come so side by side we began the terrible descent at first it was easy enough although a slip would have hurled us to eternity but we were strong and skillful a custom to such places more over and made none about a quarter of the way down we paused standing a great boulder that was embedded in the ice and turning around cautiously leaned our backs against the glacier and looked about us truly it was a horrible place almost sheer nor did we learn much for beneath us a hundred and twenty feet or more the projecting bend cut off our view of what lay below so feeling that our nerves would not bear a prolonged contemplation of that dizzy gulf once more we set our faces to the ice and proceeded on the downward climb now matters were more difficult for the stones were fewer and once or twice we must slide to reach them not knowing if we should ever stop again but the ropes which we threw over the angles of the rocks or salient points of ice letting ourselves down by their help and drawing them after us when we reached the next foothold saved us from disaster thus at length we came to the bend which was more than half way down the precipice being so far as I could judge about two hundred feet from its lip and saw one hundred and fifty from the dark some bottom of the narrow gulf here were no stones but only some rough ice on which we sat to rest we must look said Leo recently but the question was how to do this indeed there was only one way to hang over the bend and discover what lay below we read each other's thoughts without the need of words and I made a motion as though I would start no said Leo I am younger and stronger than you come help me and he began to fasten the end of his rope to a strong projecting point of ice I said hold my ankles it seemed an insanity but there was nothing else to be done so fixing my heels in a niche I grasped them and slowly he slid forward till his body vanished into the middle what he saw does not matter for I saw it all afterwards but what happened was that suddenly all his great weight came upon my arms with such a jerk that his ankles were torn from my grip or who knows perhaps I loosened them obeying the natural impulse which prompts a man to save his own life if so may I be forgiven but had I held on I must have been jerked into the abyss then the rope ran out and remained taught Leo I screamed Leo and I heard a muffled voice saying as I thought come what it really said was don't come but indeed and made go to my credit I did not pause think but face outwards just as I was sitting began to slide and scramble down the ice in two seconds I had reached the curve in three I was over it beneath was what I can only describe as a great icicle broken off short and separated from the cliff by about four yards of space this icicle was not more than 15 feet in length and sloped outwards so that my descent was not more over at the end of it the tricking of water or some such accident had worn away the ice leaving a little ledge as broad perhaps as a man's hand there were roughnesses on the surface below the curve upon which my clothing caught also I gripped them desperately with my fingers thus it came about that I slid down quite gently my heels landing upon the little ledge remained almost upright outstretched arms like a person crucified to a cross of ice then I saw everything and the sight curdled the blood within my veins hanging upon the rope four or five feet below the point was Leo out of reach of it and out of reach of the cliff as he hung turning slowly round and round much as for in a dreadful inconsequent fashion the absurd similarity struck me even then a joint turns before fire below yawn the black gulf and at the bottom of it as far as beneath appeared a faint white sheet of snow that is what I saw think of it think of it I crucified upon the ice my heels resting upon a little ledge my fingers grasping excrescences on which a bird could scarcely have found a foothold round and below me a dizzy space to climb back whence I came was impossible to stir even was impossible since one slip and I must be gone and below me hung like a spider to its cord Leo turning slowly round and round I could see that rope of green hide stretch beneath his weight and the double knot in it slip and tighten I remember wondering which would give first the hide or the knot or whether it would until he dropped from the noose limb by limb oh I had been in many a perilous place I who sprang from the swaying stones to the point of trembling spur and missed my aim but never never in such a one as this agony took hold of me a cold sweat burst from every pore I could feel it running down my face like tears my hair bristled upon my head and below in utter silence round and round and each time he turned his upcast eyes met mine with a look that was horrible to see the silence was the worst of it the silence and the helplessness if he had cried out if he had struggled it would have been better but to know that he was alive there with every nerve and perception at its utmost strength oh my god oh my god my limbs began to ache and yet I dare not stir a muscle they ached horribly or so I thought and beneath this torture mental and physical my mind gave I remember things remembered how as a child I had climbed a tree and reached a place where I could move neither up nor down and what I suffered then remembered how once in Egypt a fool the friend of mine had ascended the second pyramid alone and became thus crucified upon its shining cap where he remained for a whole half hour with four hundred feet of space beneath him I could see him now stretching his stocky foot downwards in a vain attempt to reach the next crack and drawing it back again could see his tortured face a white blot upon the red granite then that face vanished the blackness gathered round me and in the blackness fissions of the living resist less avalanche of the snow grave into which I had sunk oh years and years oh of Aisha demanding Leo's life at my hands blackness and silence through which I could only hear the cracking of my muscles suddenly in the blackness a flash and in the silencer sound the flash of a knife which Leo had drawn he was hacking at the cord with it fiercely fiercely to make an end and the sound was that of the noise he made a ghastly noise half shout of defiance and half yell of terror as at the third stroke it parted I saw it part the tough hide was half cut through and its severed portion curled upward and downwards at the upper and lower lips of an angry dog whilst that which was unsevered stretched out slowly slowly till it grew quite thin then it snapped so that the robe flew upwards and struck me across the face like the lash of a whip another instant and I heard a crackling thudding sound Leo had struck the ground below Leo was dead a mangled mass of flesh and bone as I had pictured him I could not bear it my nerve and human dignity came back I would not wait until my strength exhausted slid from my perch as a wounded bird falls from a tree no I would follow him at once of my own act I let my arms fall against my side and rejoiced in the relief from pain that the movement gave me then balanced upon my heels I stood upright took my last look at the sky muttered my last prayer for an instant I remained thus poised shouting I come I raised my hand above my head and dived as a battered dives dived into the black gulf beneath End of Chapter 5 Recording by Chanel Jackson Chapter 6 of Ayesha The Return of She This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Christine Ayesha The Return of She by H. Rady Haggard Chapter 6 In the Gate Oh, that rush through space Folk following us are supposed to lose consciousness but I can assert that this is not true Never were my wits and perceptions more lively than while I travelled from that broken glacier to the ground and never did a short journey seem to take a longer time I thought the white floor like some living thing leaping up through empty air to meet me then, thinness Crash Why, what was this? I still lived I was in water, for I could feel its chill and going down till I thought I should never rise again But rise I did though my lungs were night bursting first As I floated up towards the top I remembered the crash which told me that I had passed through ice Therefore I should meet ice at the surface again Oh, to think that after surviving so much I must be drowned like a kitten and beneath a sheet of ice My hands touch it There it was above me, shining white like glass Heaven be praised My head broke through In this low and shorted gorge It will but a film no thicker than a penny formed by the light frost of the previous night So I rose from the deep and stared about me treading water with my feet Then I saw the gladdest sight that ever my eyes beheld For on the right not ten yards away The water running from his hair and beard was Leo Leo alive for he broke the thin ice with his arms as he struggled towards the shore from the deep river Footnote Usually as we learned afterwards the river at this spot was quite shallow only a foot or two in depth It was the avalanche that by damming it with fallen heaps of snow could raise its level very many feet Therefore to this avalanche which had threatened to destroy us we in reality owed our lives For had the stream stood only at its normal height we must have been dashed to pieces upon the stones End of footnote He saw me also and his grey eyes seemed to start out of his head Still living both of us and the precipice passed he shouted in a ringing extotant voice I told you we were led I but wither I answered as I too fought my way through the film of ice Then it was I became aware that we were no longer alone For on the bank of the river some thirty yards from us stood two figures a man leaning upon a long staff and a woman He was a very old man for his eyes were horny His long white hair and beard hung upon the bend breast and shoulders and his sardonic wrinkled features were yellow as wax They might have been those of a death mask cut in marble There clad in an ample monkish robe and leaning upon the staff he stood still as a statue and watched us I noted it all every detail although at the time I did not know that I was doing so I looked our way through the ice towards them and afterwards the picture came back to me Also I thought that the woman who was very tall pointed to us Nearer the bank or rather to the rock edge of the river its surface was free of ice for here the stream ran very swiftly Things this we drew close together and swam on side by side to help each other if need were There was much need the strength that had served me so long seemed to desert me and I became helpless numbed too with the biting coldness of the water Indeed, had not Leo grasped my closes I think that I should have been swept away by the current to perish Thus aided I fought on a vial till he said I'm going under hold to the rope end So I gripped the strip of yaks hide that was still fast about him and his hands as freed Leo made a last splendid effort to keep us both combered as we were with the thick soaked garments that dragged us down like lead from being sucked beneath the surface Moreover he succeeded where any other swimmer of less strength must have failed Still I believe that we should have drowned since here the water ran like a mill-rise had not the man upon the shore seeing our plight and earned there too by the woman run with surprising swiftness in one so aged to a point of rock that jotted some yards into the stream past which we were being swept and seating himself stretched out his long stick toward us With a desperate endeavour Leo grasped it as we went by rolling over and over each other and held on Round we swung into the eddy found our feet were knocked down again rubbed and pounded on the rocks but still gripping that stuff of salvation to his end of which the old man clung like a limpid to a stone while the woman clung to him we recovered ourselves and sheltered somewhat by the rock ploundered toward the shore lying on his face for we were still in great danger the man extended his arm we could not reach it and worse suddenly the stuff was torn from him we were being swept away then it was that the woman did a noble thing for springing into the water yes up to her armpits and holding fast to the old man by her left hand with the right she seized Leo's hair and dragged him shorewards now he found his feet for a moment and throwing one arm in her slender form steadied himself thus while with the other he supported me next followed a long confused struggle but the end of which was that three of us the old man Leo on eye rolled in a heap upon the bank and lay there gasping presently I looked up the woman stood over us water streaming from her garments staring like one in a dream at Leo's face as it was with blood running from a deep cut in his head even then I noticed how stately and beautiful she was now she seemed to awake and glancing at the ropes that clung to her splendid shape said something to her companion then turned and ran towards a cliff as we lay before him utterly exhausted the old man who had risen contemplated us solemnly with his dim eyes but we did not understand again he tried another language and without success a third time and our ears were opened for the tongue he used with Greek yes there in Central Asia he addressed us in Greek not very pure it is true but still Greek are you wizards he said that you have lived to reach this land nay I answered in the same tone though in broken words since of Greek I had thought little for many a year for then we should have come otherwise and I pointed to our hearts and the precipice behind us they know the ancient speech it is as we were told from the mountain he muttered to himself then he asked strangers what seek you now I grew cunning and did not answer fearing less should he learn the truth just as back into the river but Leo had no such caution or other all reason had left him he was lightheaded we seek he shattered out his Greek which had always been feeble now was simply barbers and mixed with various Tibetan dialects we seek the land of the fire mountain that is crowned with the sign of life the man stared at us so you know he said then broke off and added and whom do you seek her answered Leo widely the queen I think that he meant to say the priestess or the goddess but could only think of the Greek for queen or other something resembling it or perhaps it was because the woman who had gone looked like a queen oh said the man you think a queen then you are those for whom we are bitten to watch nay how can I be sure is this a time to put questions I gasped angrily answer me one rather who are you I, strangers my title is guardian of the gate and the lady who was with me is the Kanya of Kallun at this point Leo began to faint that man is sick said the guardian you have got your breath again you must have shelter both of you and at once come help me so supporting Leo on either side we dragged ourselves away from that accursed cliff and sticks like river upon narrow winding gorge presently it opened out and there stretching across the glade we stole the gate of this all I observed then from a memory of the details of this scene and of the conversation that passed is very weak and blurred was that it seemed to be a mighty wall of rock in which a pathway had been hollowed where doubtless ones passed the road on this side of this passage was a stair which we began to ascend with great difficulty for Leo was now almost senseless and scarcely moved his legs indeed at the end of the first flight he sank down in a heap nor did our strength suffice to lift him while I wondered feebly what was to be done I heard footsteps and looking up saw the woman who had saved him descending the stair and after her two robed men with a tartar cast of countenance very impassive small eyes and yellowish skin even the sight of us did not appear to move them to our astonishment she spoke some words to them whereon they lifted Leo's heavy frame apparently with ease and carried him up the steps we followed and reached a room that seemed to be honed from the rock above the gateway where the woman called Cania led us from it we passed through other rooms one of them a kind of kitchen in which a fire burned till we came to a large chamber evidently a sleeping place for in it were wooden bedsteads mattresses and rocks here Leo was laid down in the distance of one of his servants the old guardian undressed him at the same time motioning me to take off my own garments this I did gladly enough for the first time during many days though with great pain and difficulty to find that I was a mess of wounds and bruises presently our host blew upon a whistle and the other servant appeared bringing hot water in a jar with which we were washed or then the guardian dressed our hearts with some soothing ointment and wrapped us round with blankets after this broth was brought into which he mixed medicine and giving me a portion to drink where I lay upon one of the beds he took Leo's head upon his knee and poured the rest of it down his throat instantly a wonderful warmth ran through me and my aging brain began to swim then I remembered no more after this we were very very ill what may be the exact medical definition of our sickness I do not know but in effect it was such as follows loss of blood extreme exhaustion of body paralyzing, shock to the nerves and extensive cuts and contusions these taken together produced a long period of semi-unconsciousness followed by other period of fever all that I can recall of those weeks while we remained the guests of the guardian of the gate may be summed up in one word dreams that is until at last I recovered my senses the dreams themselves are forgotten which is perhaps as well since they were very confused and for the most part awful a hodgepodge of nightmares reflected without doubt from vivid memories of our recent and fearsome sufferings at times I would wake up form them a little as opposed when food was administered to me and receive impressions of whatever was potting in the place thus I can recollect that yellow-faced old guardian standing over me like a ghost in the moonlight stroking his long beard his eyes fixed upon my face as though he would search out the secrets of my soul they are the men he mattered to himself without doubt they are the men then walked to the window and looked up long and earnestly like one who studies the stars after this I remember a disturbance in the room and dominating it as it were the rich sound of a woman's voice and the rustle of a woman's silks sweeping the stone floor I opened my eyes and thought that it was she who had to rescue us who had rescued us in fact a tall and noble looking lady with a beautous, weary face and liquid eyes which seemed to burn from the heavy cloak she wore I thought that she must have just returned from a journey she stood above me and looked at me then turned away with a gesture of indifference if not of disgust speaking to the guardian in a low voice by way of answer he bowed pointing to the other bed where Leo lay asleep and thither she passed with slow, imperious movements I saw her bent down and left the corner of a wrapping which covered his mounted head and heard her utter some smothered words before she turned round to the guardian as though to question him further but he had gone and being alone for she thought me senseless she drew a rough stool to the side of the bed and sitting herself studied Leo who lays her on with an earnestness that was almost terrible for her soul seemed to be concentrated in her eyes and to find expression through them long she gazed us then rose and began to walk swiftly up and down the chamber pressing her hands now to her bosom and now to her brow a certain passionate perplexity stamped upon her face as though she struggled to remember something and could not where and when she whispered oh, where and when at the end of that scene I know nothing for although I fought hard against it oblivion mastered me after this I became aware the dreggal looking woman called Kania was always in the room and that she seemed to be nursing Leo with great care and tenderness sometimes even she nursed me when Leo did not need attention and she had nothing else to do or so her manner seemed to suggest it was as though I excited her curiosity and she wished me to recover that it might be satisfied again I awoke how long afterwards I cannot say it was night and the room was lighted by the moon only now shining in a clear sky its steady rays entering at the window place fell on Leo's bed and by them I saw that the dark imperial woman was watching at his side some sense of her presence must have communicated itself to him for he began to mutter in his sleep now in English now in Arabic she became intensely interested as her every movement showed then rising suddenly she glided across the room on tiptoe to look at me seeing her coming I feigned to be asleep and so well that she was deceived for I was also interested who was this lady whom the guardian had called the Kania of Kalloun could it be she whom we thought why not and yet if I saw Aisha surely I should know her surely there would be no room for doubt back she went again to the bed kneeling down beside Leo and in the intense silence which followed for he had seen his mutterings I thought that I could heard the beating of her heart now she began to speak very low and in the same bastard Greek tongue mixed here and there with Mongolian words such as are common to the dialects of Central Asia I could not hear or understand all she said but some sentences I did understand and they frightened me not a little man of my dreams she murmured when come you who are you why did the Hessea beat me to meet you then some sentences I could not catch you sleep in sleep the eyes are opened answer I beat you say what is the bond between you and me why have I dreamt of you why do I know you why and the sweet rich voice died slowly from a whisper into silence as though she was ashamed to utter what was on her tongue as she bent over him a lock of her hair broke loose from its deviled fillet and fell across his face at its touch Leo seemed to wake for he lifted his gaunt wide hand and touched the hair then said in English where am I and their eyes met as he strove to lift himself and could not then he spoke again in his broken stumbling Greek you're the ladies that saved me from the water say are you also that queen whom I have thought so long and endured so much to find I know not she answered in a voice as sweet as honey a low trembling voice but true it is queen if a cania be a queen say then queen do you remember me we have met in dreams she answered I think that we have met in the past that is far away yes I knew it when first I saw you there by the river stranger with a well-remembered face tell me I pray you how you are named Leo Vincy she shook her head whispering I know not the name yet you I know you know me how do you know me he said heavily and seemed to sink again into slumber or swoon she watched him for a while very intently then as though some force that she could not resist through her I saw her bend down her head over his sleeping face yes and I saw her kiss him swiftly on the lips then spring back crimson to the hair as though our realm with shame at this victory of her mad passion now it was that she discovered me beveildered fascinated amazed I had raised myself upon my bed not knowing it I suppose that I might see and hear the better it was wrong doubtless but now common curiosity over-mastered me who had my share in all this story more it was foolish but illness and wonder had killed my reason yes she saw me watching them and such furies seemed to take hold of her that I thought my hour had come man have you dared she said in an intense whisper and snatching at her girdle now in her hand shown a knife and I knew that it was destined for my heart then in this sword danger my wit came back to me and as she advanced I stretched out my shaking hand saying oh of your pity give me to drink the fever burns me it burns and I looked round like one beveildered who sees not repeating give me drink you who are called guardian and I fell back exhausted she stopped like a hawk in its stoop she is the dagger then taking a bowl of milk that stood on a table near her she held it to my lips searching my face the wild with their flaming eyes for indeed passion rage and fear had lit them till they seemed to flame I drank some milk in great gulps though never in my life did I find it more hard to swallow you tremble she said had dreams haunted you I friend I answered dreams of that fearsome precipice and of the last leap or else she asked nay is it not enough oh what a journey to have taken to befriend a queen to befriend a queen she repeated puzzled what means a man you swear you have had no other dreams I the symbol of life and the amount of the wavering flame and by yourself a queen from the ancient days then I sighed and pretended to swoon for I could think of nothing else to do as I closed my eyes I saw her face that had been red as dawn turn pale as eve for my words and all which might lie behind them had gone home moreover she was in doubt for I could hear her fingering the handle of the dagger then she spoke aloud words for my ears if they still were open I am glad she said that he dreamed no other dreams since had he done so and beveled of them it would have been ill omen'd and I do not wish that one who has travelled far to visit us should be hurled to the death dogs for burial one moreover who also old and hideous still has the air of a wise silent man now while I shivered at these unpleasant hints though what the death dogs in which people were buried might be I could not conceive to my intense joy I heard the foot of the guardian on the stairs heard him too enter the room and saw him bow before the lady how go these sick men niece footnote I found later that the Kania, a teen was not Simbri's niece but his great niece on the mother's side and a footnote he said in his cold voice they swoon both of them she answered indeed is it so I thought otherwise I thought they woke what have you heard Shaman she asked angrily I oh I heard the grating of a dagger in its sheath and baying of the death hounds and what have you seen Shaman she asked again looking through the gate you guard strange sight Kania my niece but men awake from swoons I she answered so while this one sleeps veer him to another chamber for he needs change and the Lord Yonder needs more space and untainted air the guardian whom she called Shaman or magician held a lamp in his hand and by its light it was easy to see his face which I watched out of the corner of my eyes I thought that it were a very strange expression one more oars that alarmed me somewhat from the beginning I had misdubbed me of this old man whose cast of countenance was vindictive as it was able now I was afraid of him to which chamber Kania he said with meaning I think she answered slowly to one that is helpful where he will recover the man has wisdom she added as though in explanation more over having the words from the mountain to calm him would be dangerous but why do you ask he shrugged his shoulders I tell you I heard the death hounds bay that is all yes with you are things that he has wisdom and the bee which seeks honey should suck the flower before it fades also as you say there are commands with which it is ill to trifle even if we cannot guess their meaning then going to the door he blew upon his whistle and instantly I heard the feet of his servants upon the stairs he gave them an order and gently enough they lifted the mattress on which I lay and followed him down sundry passages and passed some stairs into another chamber shaped like that we had left but not so large where they placed me upon a bed the guardian watched me a while to see that I did not wake next he stretched out his hand and felt my heart and pulse and examination the results of which seemed to puzzle him for he uttered a little exclamation and shook his head after this he left the room and I heard him bolt the door behind him then being still very weak I fell asleep in earnest when I awoke it was broad daylight my mind was clear and I felt better than I had done for many a day signs by which I knew that the fever had left me and that I was on the right road to recovery now I remembered all the events of the previous night and was able to weigh them carefully this to be sure I did for many reasons among them that I knew had been and still was in great danger I had seen and heard too much and this woman called Cania guessed that I had seen and heard indeed I did not be in for my hints about the symbol of life and the mount of flame after I had discerned her first rage by my artifice I felt sure that she would have ordered the old guardian or shaman to do me to death in this way or the other sure also that he would not have hesitated to obey her I had been spared partly because for some unknown reason she was afraid to kill me and partly that she might learn how much I knew although the deathhounds that bade whatever that might mean well up to the present I was safe and for the rest I must take my chance moreover it was necessary to be cautious and if need were to feign ignorance so dismissing the matter of my own fate from my mind I fell to considering the scene which I had witnessed and what might be its purpose was our guest at an end was this woman Aisha Leo had so dreamed that he was still delirious therefore here was little on which to lean what seemed more to the point was that she herself evidently appeared to think that there existed some tie between her and the sick man why had she embraced him ever sure that she could be no wanton nor indeed would any woman indulge for its own sake in such folly with a stranger who hung between life and death what she had done was done because of respectable impulse born of knowledge or at least of memories draw her on though may have the knowledge was imperfect and the memories were undefined who save Aisha could have known anything of Leo in the past none who lived upon the earth today and yet why not if what co-end the abbot and tens of millions of his fellow worshippers believed were true if the souls of human beings were in fact strictly limited in number and became the tenants of an endless succession of physical bodies which they changed from time to time as we changed our worn out garments why should not others have known him for instance that daughter of the pharaohs who caused him through love to break the oaths that he had vowed knew a certain calligratus a priest of Isis whom the gods cherish and the demons obey even amenartus the mistress of magic oh now a light seemed to break upon me a wonderful light what if amenartus and this cania this woman with royalties stamped on every feature should be the same would not that magic of my own people that I have of which she wrote upon the sherd enable her to pierce the darkness of the past and recognize the priest whom she had bewitched to love her snatching him out of the very hand of the goddess what if it were not Aisha but amenartus re-incarnate who ruled this hidden land and once more thought to make the man she loved break through his woes if so knowing the evil that must come I shook even at its shadow the truth must be learned but how whilst I wondered the door opened and the sardonic inscrutable old-faced man whom this cania had called magician and who called the canianese entered and stood before me end of chapter 6 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org H Rider Haggard Aisha the return of she chapter 7 the first ordeal the shaman advanced to my side and asked me cautiously how I fared I answered better, far better oh my host but how are you named Simbri he answered and as I told you by the water my title is hereditary guardian of the gate by profession I am the royal physician in this land did you say physician or magician I asked carelessly as though I had not caught the word he gave me a curious look I said physician and it's well for you and your companion that I have some skill in my art otherwise I think perhaps you would not have been alive today oh my guest but how are you named oh my guest Holly had it not been for the foresight that brought you and the Lady Kanya to the edge of John the Darksum river certainly we should not have been alive venerable Simbri a foresight that seems to me to savor of magic in such a lonely place that is why I thought you might have described yourself as a magician though it is true that you may have been but fishing in those waters certainly I was fishing stranger Holly for men and I caught too fishing by chance host Simbri no by design guest Holly my trade of physician includes the study of future events for I am the chief of the shamans or seers of this land and having been warned of your coming quite recently I have waited your arrival indeed that is strange most courteous also so here physician and magician mean the same you say it he answered with a grey bow but tell me if you will how did you find your way to a land with the visitors do not wonder oh I answered perhaps we are but travelers or perhaps we also have studied medicine I think you must have studied it deeply since otherwise you would not have lived to cross those mountains in search of now what did you see your companion I think spoke of a queen gender on the banks of the torrent did he did he indeed well that is strange since he seems to have found one for surely that royal looking lady named Kanya who sprang into the stream and saved us must be a queen a queen she is and a great one in our land Kanya means queen though how friend holly a man who slain senseless can have learned this I do not know nor do I know how you come to speak our language that is simple for the tongue you talk is very ancient and as it chances in my own country it has been my lot to study and to teach it it is Greek but although it is still spoken in the world how it reached these mountains I cannot say I will tell you he answered many generations ago a great conqueror born of the nation that spoke this tongue fought his way through the country to the south of us he was driven back but a general of his of another race advanced and crossed the mountains and overcame the people of this land bringing with him his master's language and his own worship here he establishes dynasty and here it remains being ringed in with deserts and with pathless mountain snows we hold no converse with the outer world yes I know something of that story the conqueror was named Alexander was he not I asked he was so named and the name of the general was Rassen a native of a country called Egypt or so our records tell us his descendants hold the throne to this day and the Kanya is of his blood was the goddess whom he worshipped called Isis nay he answered she was called His which I interrupted his but another title for Isis tell me it's a worship continued here I asked because it is now dead in Egypt which was its home there is a temple in the mountain Jonder he replied indifferently and in it are priests and priestesses who practice some ancient cult but the real god of this people now as long before the day Rassen their conqueror is the fire that dwells in this same mountain which from time to time breaks out and slays them and does a goddess dwell in the fire I asked again he searched my face with his cold eyes then answered stranger holly I know nothing of any goddess that mountain is sacred and to seek to learn its secrets is to die why do you ask such questions only because I am curious in the matter of old religions and seeing the symbol of life upon Yonder peak came hither to study yours which indeed a tradition still remain among the learned then abandon that study friend holly for the road to it runs through the pores of the death hounds and the spares of savages indeed is there anything to learn and what physician other dead hounds certain dogs to which according to our ancient custom all offenders against the law the will of the calm are cast to be torn to pieces the will of the calm has this Kanye of yours a husband then I he answered her cousin who was the ruler of half the land now they and the land are one but you have talked enough I'm here to say that your food is ready and he turned to leave the room one more question friend simply how came I to this chamber and where is my companion you were born hither in your sleep and see the changes better you do you remember nothing nothing at all I answered earnestly but what of my friend is also better the Kanye nurses him at in I said that is an old Egyptian name it means the disc of the sun and a woman who bore it thousands of years ago was famous for her beauty well and is not my niece at in a beautiful how can I tell uncle of the Kanye I answered where really have scarcely seen her then he departed and presently his yellow face silent servants brought me my food later in the morning the door opened again and through it unattended came the Kanye who shut and bolted it behind her this action did not reassure me still rising in my bed I salute her as best as I could although at heart I was afraid she seem to read my doubts for she said lie down and have no fear at present you will come by no home from me now tell me what is the man called Leo to you your son me it cannot be since forgive me light is not born of darkness I have always thought it was so born Kanye yet you're right he is but my adopted son and a man whom I love say what seek you here she asked we seek Kanye whatsoever fate bring us on yonder mountain that which is crowned with the same her face pale at the words but she answered in a steady voice then there you will find nothing but doom if indeed you do not find it before you reach its slopes which are guarded by savage men yonder is the college of his and to violate its sanctuary is death to any man death in the ever burning fire and who rules this college Kanye a priestess whose face I've never seen for is she so old that she veils herself from Cure's eyes ah she veils herself does she I answered as the blood went thrilling through my veins I who remembered another who also was so old that she veiled herself from Cure's eyes well veiled or unveiled we would visit her trusting to find that we are welcome that you shall not do she said for it's unlawful and I will not have your blood upon my hands which is the stronger I asked her you Kanye or this priestess of the mountain I'm the stronger Holly for so you are named are you not look you at my need I can summon 60,000 men in war while she has not but her priests and the fears untrained tribes the sword is not the only power in the world I answered tell me now does this priestess ever visit the country of Caloon never never for by the ancient pact made after the last great struggle long centuries ago between the college and the people of the plane it was decreed and sworn to that should she set her foot across the river this means war to the end between us and rule for the power of a both likewise say when unguarded they bear their dead to burial or for some such high purpose no Khan or Kanye of Caloon ascends the mountain which then is the true master the Khan of Caloon or the head of the college of Hes I asked again in matters spiritual the priestess of Hes who is our oracle and the voice of heaven in matters temporal Caloon the Khan are you are married lady are you not she answered her face flashing and I will tell you what you soon must learn if you have not learned it already I'm the wife of a madman and he is hateful to me I have earned the last already Kanye she looked at me with her piercing eyes what did my uncle the shaman he who is called guardian tell you may you saw as I knew you and it would have been best to slay you for oh what must you think of me I made no answer for in truth I did not know what to think also I fear less further rash admissions should be followed by swift vengeance you must believe she went on that I who have ever hated men that I swear that it is true who slips are pure than those mountain snows I the Kanye of Caloon whom they name heart of ice and but a shameless thing and covering her face with her hand she moaned in the bitterness of her distress now I said there may be reasons explanations if it pleases you to give them wonderer there are such reasons and since you know so much you should learn them also like the husband of mine I have become mad when first I saw the face of your companion as I dragged him from the river madness entered me and I I loved him I suggested well such things have happened before to people who were not mad oh she went on it was more than love I was possessed and that night I knew not what I did a power drew me on a destiny compelled me and to I'm his and his alone yes I am his and I swear that he shall be mine and with this wild declaration dangerous enough under the conditions she turned and fled the room she was gone and after the struggle for such it was I sank back exhausted how came it that this sudden passion had mastered her who and what was this Kanye I wondered again and this was more to the point who and what would Leo believe her to be if only I could be with him before he said words or did deeds impossible to recall three days went by during which time I saw no more of the Kanye who or so I was informed by Simri the shaman had returned to her city to make ready for us her guests I begged him to allow me to rejoin Leo but he answered politely which furnace that my foster son did better without me now I grew suspicious fearing less some harm had come to Leo though how to discover the truth I knew not in my anxiety I tried to convey a note to him written upon a leaf of a water-gain pocketbook but the yellow-faced servant refused to touch it and Simri said Riley that he would have not to do with writings which he could not read at length on the night I made up my mind that whatever the risk with leave or without it I would try to find him by this time I could walk well and indeed was almost strong again so about midnight when the moon was up for I had no other light I crept from my bed threw on my garments and taking a knife which was the only weapon I possessed opened the door of my room and started now when I was carried from chamber where Leo and I had been together I took note of the way first recogining from my sleeping place there was a passage 30 paces long for I had counted the footfalls of my bearers then came a turn to the left and 10 more paces of passage and lastly near certain steps running to some place unknown another sharp turn to the right which led to our old chamber down the long passage I walked stealthily and although it was pitch dark found the turn to the left and followed it till I came to the second sharp turn to the right that of the gallery from which rose the stairs I crept round it only to retreat hastily enough as well as I might for at the door of Leo's room which she was in at the act of locking on the outside as I could see by the light of the lamp that she held in her hand stood the Kanya herself my first thought was to fly back to my own chamber but I abandoned it feeling sure that I should be seen therefore I determined if she discovered me to face the matter out and say that I was trying to find Leo and to learn how we fared so I crouched against the wall and waited with a beating heart I heard her sweep down the passage and yes begin to mount the stair now what should I do to try to reach Leo was useless for I locked the door with the key she held go back to bed no I would follow her and if we met would make the same excuse thus I might get some tidings or perhaps a dagger thrust so round the corner and up the steps I went noiselessly as a snake they were many and winding like those of a church tower but at length I came to the head of them where was a little landing and opening from it door it was a very ancient door the light streamed through cracks where it's panel had rotted and from the room beyond came the sound of voices those of the shaman simbri and the khaniam have you learned ought my niece I heard him say and also heard her answer a little a very little then in my thirst for knowledge I grew bold and stealing to the door looked through one of the cracks in its wood opposite to me in the full flood of light thrown by a hanging lamp her hand resting on a table at which simbri was seated stood the khania truly she was a beautiful sight for she wore robes of royal purple and on her brow a little coronet of gold beneath which her curling's hair streamed down her shaped neck and bosom seeing her I guessed at once that she'd arrayed herself thus for some secret end enhancing her loveliness by every art and grace that is known to woman simbri was looking at her earnestly with fear and doubt written on even his cold impassive features what passed between you then he asked peering at her I questioned him closely as to the reason of his coming to this land and rang from him the answer that it was to seek some beautiful woman he would say no more I asked him if she were more beautiful than I am and he replied with courtesy nothing else I think that it would be hard to say but that she had been different then I said that though it behooved me not to speak of such a matter there was no lady in cologne whom men held to be so fair as I moreover that I was its ruler and that I and no other had saved him from the water I and I added that my heart told me I was the woman whom he sought have done needs said simbri impatiently I would not hear of the arts you used well enough doubtless what then then he said that it might be so since he thought that this woman was born again and studied me a while asking me if I had ever passed through fire to this I replied that the only fires I had passed were those of the spirit and that I'd weld in now he said show me your hair and I placed a lock of it in his hand presently he let it fall and from that satchel which he wears about his neck drew out another dress of hair oh simbri my uncle the loveliest hair that ever eyes beheld for it was soft as silk and reached from my coronet to the ground moreover no raven swing in the sunshine ever shown as did that fragrant dress yours is beautiful he said but see they are not the same may have I answered since no woman ever wore such locks you are right he replied for she whom I seek was more than a woman and then though I tried him in many ways he would say no more so feeling hate against this unknown rising in my heart and fearing less I should other words that were best unsaid I left him now I bid you search the books which are open to your wisdom and tell me of this woman whom she seeks who she is and where she dwells oh search them swiftly that I might find her and kill her if I can I if you can answer the shaman and if she lives to kill but say where shall we begin our quest now this letter from the mountain that the head priest or sent to your court a while ago and he selected a parchment from a pile which lay upon the table and looked at her read she said I would hear it again so he read from the heisha of the house of fire to a tene kanya of kaloon my sister warning has reached me that two strangers of a western race journey to your land seeking my oracle are which they would ask question on the first day of the next moon I command that you and with you simbri your great uncle the wise shaman guardian of the gate shall be watching the river in the gulf at the foot of the ancient road for by that steep path the strangers travel aid them in all things and bring them safely to the mountain knowing that in this matter I shall hold him and you to account myself I will not meet them since to do so would be to break the pact between our powers which says that the heisha of the sanctuary this is not the territory of kaloon save in war also their coming is otherwise appointed it would seem said simbri laying down the parchment that these are no chance wonders since he avoids them hey they are no chance wonders since my heart awaited one of them also yet the heisha cannot be that woman for reasons which are known to you there are many women on the mountain suggest the shaman in a dry voice if indeed any woman has to do with this matter I at least have to do with it and he shall not go to the mountain hess is powerful my niece and beneath these smooth words of hers lies a dreadful threat I say that she is mighty from of old and has servants in the earth and air who warned her of the coming of these men and I will warn her of what befalls them I know it who hate her and to your royal house or resin it has been known for many generations therefore thwart her not lest ill befall us all for she is a spirit and terrible she says that it disappointed that they shall go and I say it is appointed that he shall not go let the other go if he desires attene be playing what will you with the man called Leo that he should become your lover asked the shaman she stared him straight in the eyes and answered boldly nay I will that he should become my husband first he must will it too who seems to have no mind that way also how can a woman have two husbands she laid her hand upon his shoulder and said I have no husband you know it well simory I shards you by the close bond of blood between us brew me another draft that we may bound yet closer in a bond of murder nay attene I will not already your sin lies heavy on my head you are very fair take the man in your own net if you may or let him be which is better for I cannot let him be would that I were able you must love him as I must hate the other whom he loves yet some power hardens his heart against me oh great shaman you that peep and mutter you who can read the future in the past tell me what you have learned from your stars and divinations already I have sought through many a secret toil some hours and learn this attene he answered you are right the fate of yonder man is interwind with yours but between you and him there rises a mighty wall that my vision cannot pierce nor my familiars climb yet I'm taught that in death you and he I and I also shall be very near together then come death she exclaimed with sullen pride for thence at least I'll pluck out my desire but so sure he answered for I think that the power follows us even down this dark gulf of death I think also that I feel the sleepless eyes of his watching our secret souls then blind them with the dust of illusions as you can tomorrow also saying nothing of their sex send a messenger to the mountain and tell the Hesia that two old strangers have arrived old but that they are very sick that their limbs were broken in the river and that when they have healed again I will send them to ask the question of her oracle that is some three moons hence perhaps she may believe you and be content to wait or if she does not at least no more words I must sleep or my brain will burst give me that medicine which brings dreamless rest for never did I need it more who also feel eyes upon me and she glance towards the door then I left and not too soon for as I crept down the darksome passage I heard it open behind me end of chapter seven of H. Rider Haggard Asha the return of she read by Lars Rolander