CHAPTER XII
THE WHITE WITCH
I descended from the litter and told the others what the old fellow hadsaid. Robertson did not want to come, and indeed refused to do so untilI suggested to him that such conduct might prejudice a powerful personagainst us. Umslopogaas was indifferent, putting, as he remarked, nofaith in a ruler who was a woman.
Only Hans, although he was so tired, acquiesced with some eagerness,the fact being that his brain was more alert and that he had all thecuriosity of the monkey tribe which he so much resembled in appearance,and wanted to see this queen whom Zikali revered.
In the end we started, conducted by Billali and by men who carriedtorches whereof the light showed me that we were passing between houses,or at any rate walls that had been those of houses, and along whatseemed to be a paved street.
Walking under what I took to be a great arch or portico, we came intoa court that was full of towering pillars but unroofed, for I could seethe stars above. At its end we entered a building of which the doorwaywas hung with mats, to find that it was lighted with lamps and thatall down its length on either side guards with long spears stood atintervals.
"Oh, Baas," said Hans hesitatingly, "this is the mouth of a trap," whileUmslopogaas glared about him suspiciously, fingering the handle of hisgreat axe.
"Be silent," I answered. "All this mountain is a trap, therefore anotherdoes not matter, and we have our pistols."
Walking forward between the double line of guards who stood immovable asstatues, we came to some curtains hung at the end of a long, narrow hallwhich, although I know little of such things, were, I noted, made ofrich stuff embroidered in colours and with golden threads. Before thesecurtains Billali motioned us to halt.
After a whispered colloquy with someone beyond carried on through thejoin of the curtains, he vanished between them, leaving us alone forfive minutes or more. At length they opened and a tall and elegant womanwith an Arab cast of countenance and clad in white robes, appeared andbeckoned to us to enter. She did not speak or answer when I spoke toher, which was not wonderful as afterwards I discovered that she was amute. We went in, I wondering very much what we were going to see.
On the further side of the curtains was a room of no great sizeillumined with lamps of which the light fell upon sculptured walls. Itlooked to me as though it might once have been the inmost court or asanctuary of some temple, for at its head was a dais upon which onceperhaps had stood the shrine or statue of a god. On this dais there wasnow a couch and on the couch--a goddess!
There she sat, straight and still, clothed in shining white and veiled,but with her draperies so arranged that they emphasised rather thanconcealed the wonderful elegance of her tall form. From beneath theveil, which was such as a bride wears, appeared two plaits of glossy,raven hair of great length, to the end of each of which was suspended asingle large pearl. On either side of her stood a tall woman like to herwho had led us through the curtains, and on his knees in front, but tothe right, knelt Billali.
About this seated personage there was an air of singular majesty, suchas might pervade a queen as fancy paints her, though she had a noblerfigure than any queen I ever saw depicted. Mystery seemed to flow fromher; it clothed her like the veil she wore, which of course heightenedthe effect. Beauty flowed from her also; although it was shrouded I knewthat it was there, no veil or coverings could obscure it--at least, tomy imagination. Moreover she breathed out power also; one felt it in theair as one feels a thunderstorm before it breaks, and it seemed to methat this power was not quite human, that it drew its strength from afarand dwelt a stranger to the earth.
To tell the truth, although my curiosity, always strong, was enormouslyexcited and though now I felt glad that I had attempted this journeywith all its perils, I was horribly afraid, so much afraid that I shouldhave liked to turn and run away. From the beginning I knew myself tobe in the presence of an unearthly being clothed in soft and perfectwoman's flesh, something alien, too, and different from our human race.
What a picture it all made! There she sat, quiet and stately as aperfect marble statue; only her breast, rising and falling beneath thewhite robe, showed that she was alive and breathed as others do. Anotherthing showed it also--her eyes. At first I could not see them throughthe veil, but presently either because I grew accustomed to the light,or because they brightened as those of certain animals have power to dowhen they watch intently, it ceased to be a covering to them. DistinctlyI saw them now, large and dark and splendid with a tinge of deep bluein the iris; alluring and yet awful in their majestic aloofness whichseemed to look through and beyond, to embrace all without seeking andwithout effort. Those eyes were like windows through which light flowsfrom within, a light of the spirit.
I glanced round to see the effect of this vision upon my companions. Itwas most peculiar. Hans had sunk to his knees; his hands were joined inthe attitude of prayer and his ugly little face reminded me of that of abig fish out of water and dying from excess of air. Robertson, startledout of his abstraction, stared at the royal-looking woman on the couchwith his mouth open.
"Man," he whispered, "I've got them back although I have touched nothingfor weeks, only this time they are lovely. For yon's no human lady, Ifeel it in my bones."
Umslopogaas stood great and grim, his hands resting on the handle of histall axe; and he stared also, the blood pulsing against the skin thatcovered the hole in his head.
"Watcher-by-Night," he said to me in his deep voice, but also speakingin a whisper, "this chieftainess is not one woman, but all women.Beneath those robes of hers I seem to see the beauty of one who has'gone Beyond,' of the Lily who is lost to me. Do you not feel it thus,Macumazahn?"
Now that he mentioned it, certainly I did; indeed, I had felt itall along although amid the rush of sensations this one had scarcelydisentangled itself in my mind. I looked at the draped shape andsaw--well, never mind whom I saw; it was not one only but several insequence; also a woman who at that time I did not know although I cameto know her afterwards, too well, perhaps, or at any rate quiteenough to puzzle me. The odd thing was that in this hallucination thepersonalities of these individuals seemed to overlap and merge, till atlast I began to wonder whether they were not parts of the same entityor being, manifesting itself in sundry shapes, yet springing from onecentre, as different coloured rays flow from the same crystal, while thebeams from their source of light shift and change. But the fancy is toometaphysical for my poor powers to express as clearly as I would. Alsono doubt it was but a hallucination that had its origin, perhaps, in themischievous brain of her who sat before us.
At length she spoke and her voice sounded like silver bells heard overwater in a great calm. It was low and sweet, oh! so sweet that at itsfirst notes for a moment my senses seemed to swoon and my pulse to stop.It was to me that she addressed herself.
"My servant here," and ever so slightly she turned her head towards thekneeling Billali, "tells me that you who are named Watcher-in-the-Night,understand the tongue in which I speak to you. Is it so?"
"I understand Arabic of a kind well enough, having learned it on theEast Coast and from Arabs in past years, but not such Arabic as you use,O----" and I paused.
"Call me _Hiya_," she broke in, "which is my title here, meaning, as youknow, She, or Woman. Or if that does not please you, call me Ayesha.It would rejoice me after so long to hear the name I bore spoken by thelips of one of my colour and of gentle blood."
I blushed at the compliment so artfully conveyed, and repeated stupidlyenough,
"--Not such Arabic as you use, O--Ayesha."
"I thought that you would like the sound of the word better than thatof _Hiya_, though afterwards I will teach you to pronounce it as youshould, O--have you any other name save Watcher-by-Night, which seemsalso to be a title?"
"Yes," I answered. "Allan."
"--O--Allan. Tell me of these," she went on quickly, indicating mycompanions with a sweep of her slender hand, "for they do not speakArabic, I think. Or sta
y, I will tell you of them and you shall say ifI do so rightly. This one," and she nodded towards Robertson, "is a manbemused. There comes from him a colour which I see if you cannot, andthat colour betokens a desire for revenge, though I think that in histime he has desired other things also, as I remember men always did fromthe beginning, to their ruin. Human nature does not change, Allan, andwine and women are ancient snares. Enough of him for this time. Thelittle yellow one there is afraid of me, as are all of you. That iswoman's greatest power, although she is so weak and gentle, men arestill afraid of her just because they are so foolish that they cannotunderstand her. To them after a million years she still remains theUnknown and to us all the Unknown is also the awful. Do you remember theproverb of the Romans that says it well and briefly?"
I nodded, for it was one of the Latin tags that my father had taught me.
"Good. Well, he is a little wild man, is he not, nearer to the apes fromwhose race our bodies come? But do you know that, Allan?"
I nodded again, and said,
"There are disputes upon the point, Ayesha."
"Yes, they had begun in my day and we will discuss them later. Still, Isay--nearer to the ape than you or I, and therefore of interest, as thegerm of things is always. Yet he has qualities, I think; cunning, andfidelity and love which in its round is all in all. Do you understand,Allan, that love is all in all?"
I answered warily that it depended upon what she meant by love, to whichshe replied that she would explain afterwards when we had leisure totalk, adding,
"What this little yellow monkey understands by it at least has servedyou well, or so I believe. You shall tell me the tale of it some day.Now of the last, this Black One. Here I think is a man indeed, a warriorof warriors such as there used to be in the early world, if a savage.Well, believe me, Allan, savages are often the best. Moreover, all arestill savage at heart, even you and I. For what is termed culture isbut coat upon coat of paint laid on to hide our native colour, and oftenthere is poison in the paint. That axe of his has drunk deep, I think,though always in fair fight, and I say that it shall drink deeper yet.Have I read these men aright, Allan?"
"Not so ill," I answered.
"I thought it," she said with a musical laugh, "although at this place Irust and grow dull like an unused sword. Now you would rest. Go--all ofyou. To-morrow you and I will talk alone. Fear nothing for your safety;you are watched by my slaves and I watch my slaves. Until to-morrow,then, farewell. Go now, eat and sleep, as alas we all must do who lingeron this ball of earth and cling to a life we should do well to lose.Billali, lead them hence," and she waved her hand to signify that theaudience was ended.
At this sign Hans, who apparently was still much afraid, rose from hisknees and literally bolted through the curtains. Robertson followed him.Umslopogaas stood a moment, drew himself up and lifting the great axe,cried _Bayete_, after which he too turned and went.
"What does that word mean, Allan?" she asked.
I explained that it was the salutation which the Zulu people only giveto kings.
"Did I not say that savages are often the best?" she exclaimed in agratified voice. "The white man, your companion, gave me no salute, butthe Black One knows when he stands before a woman who is royal."
"He too is of royal blood in his own land," I said.
"If so, we are akin, Allan."
Then I bowed deeply to her in my best manner and rising from her couchfor the first time she stood up, looking very tall and commanding, andbowed back.
After this I went to find the others on the further side of thecurtains, except Hans, who had run down the long narrow hall and throughthe mats at its end. We followed, marching with dignity behind Billaliand between the double line of guards, who raised their spears as wepassed them, and on the further side of the mats discovered Hans, stilllooking terrified.
"Baas," he said to me as we threaded our way through the court ofcolumns, "in my life I have seen all kinds of dreadful things and facedthem, but never have I been so much afraid as I am of that white witch.Baas, I think that she is the devil of whom your reverend father, thePredikant, used to talk so much, or perhaps his wife."
"If so, Hans," I answered, "the devil is not so black as he is painted.But I advise you to be careful of what you say as she may have longears."
"It doesn't matter at all what one says, Baas, because she readsthoughts before they pass the lips. I felt her doing it there in thatroom. And do you be careful, Baas, or she will eat up your spirit andmake you fall in love with her, who, I expect, is very ugly indeed,since otherwise she would not wear a veil. Whoever saw a pretty womantie up her head in a sack, Baas?"
"Perhaps she does this because she is so beautiful, Hans, that she fearsthe hearts of men who look upon her would melt."
"Oh, no, Baas, all women want to melt men's hearts; the more the better.They seem to have other things in their minds, but really they think ofnothing else until they are too old and ugly, and it takes them a longwhile to be sure of that."
So Hans went on talking his shrewd nonsense till, following so far asI could see, the same road as that by which we had come, we reached ourquarters, where we found food prepared for us, broiled goat's fleshwith corncakes and milk, I think it was; also beds for us two white mencovered with skin rugs and blankets woven of wool.
These quarters, I should explain, consisted of rooms in a house builtof stone of which the walls had once been painted. The roof of the housewas gone now, for we could see the stars shining above us, but as theair was very soft in this sheltered plain, this was an advantage ratherthan otherwise. The largest room was reserved for Robertson and myself,while another at the back was given to Umslopogaas and his Zulus, and athird to the two wounded men.
Billali showed us these arrangements by the light of lamps andapologised that they were not better because, as he explained, the placewas a ruin and there had been no time to build us a house. He added thatwe might sleep without fear as we were guarded and none would dare toharm the guests of She-who-commands, on whom he was sure we, or at anyrate I and the black Warrior, had produced an excellent impression. Thenhe bowed himself out, saying that he would return in the morning, andleft us to our own devices.
Robertson and I sat down on stools that had been set for us, and ate,but he seemed so overcome by his experiences, or by his sombre thoughts,that I could not draw him into conversation. All he remarked was thatwe had fallen into queer company and that those who supped with Satanneeded a long spoon. Having delivered himself of this sentiment hethrew himself upon the bed, prayed aloud for a while as had become hisfashion, to be "protected from warlocks and witches," amongst otherthings, and went to sleep.
Before I turned in I visited Umslopogaas's room to see that all was wellwith him and his people, and found him standing in the doorway staringat the star-spangled sky.
"Greeting, Macumazahn," he said, "you who are white and wise and I amblack and a fighter have seen many strange things beneath the sun, butnever such a one as we have looked upon to-night. Who and what is thatchieftainess, Macumazahn?"
"I do not know," I said, "but it is worth while to have lived to seeher, even though she be veiled."
"Nor do I, Macumazahn. Nay, I do know, for my heart tells me that sheis the greatest of all witches and that you will do well to guard yourspirit lest she should steal it away. If she were not a witch, should Ihave seemed to behold the shape of Nada the Lily who was the wife of myyouth, beneath those white robes of hers, and though the tongue in whichshe spoke was strange to me, to hear the murmur of Nada's voice betweenher lips, of Nada who has gone further from me than those stars. Itis good that you wear the Great Medicine of Zikali upon your breast,Macumazahn, for perhaps it will shield you from harm at those hands thatare shaped of ivory."
"Zikali is another of the tribe," I answered, laughing, "although lessbeautiful to see. Also I am not afraid of any of them, and from thisone, if she be more than some white woman whom it pleases to veilherself, I shall hope to gather wisdom."
"Yes, Macumazahn, such wisdom as Spirits and the dead have to give."
"Mayhap, Umslopogaas, but we came here to seek Spirits and the dead, didwe not?"
"Aye," answered Umslopogaas, "these and war, and I think that we shallfind enough of all three. Only I hope that war will come the first, lestthe Spirits and the dead should bewitch me and take away my skill andcourage."
Then we parted, and too tired even to wonder any more, I threw myselfdown on my bed and slept.