|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 64
Surely Anubis the god of death, Anubis the jackal-headed--who leads the
soul of the departed through the underworld into the presence of the
great Osiris--surely he moved upon the wall and turned to look after
those two as they passed out of the inner chamber to stand beneath the
Hawk upon the wall.
Or was it the shifting of the moon amongst the shadows?
"Will you"--there was no trace of the man's anguish in his voice: the
Mohammedan's resignation to the inevitable may seem a weak way out to
one who will kick and worry until he drops from exhaustion, but it
saves a great deal of pain to others--"will you--you must surely marry
some day, so beautiful, so sweet you are--will you let me give you this
as a wedding-present, and will you think of me, a prisoner, when you
fasten it in your wedding-gown?" He held out a jewel in the shape of
the Hawk which spread its wings upon the wall above them. "It was
found here, in this sanctuary--a priestly ornament? a pilgrim's
offering? Who knows? Will you?--_I_ have no right to it, for beneath
my wings is the plumage of another race. I am not a pure-bred son of
Northern Egypt."
"Will you pin it in?"
The girl's voice shook as she tilted back her chin so that her mouth
was on a level with the man's as he bent to fasten the jewel in the
silk.
"Will you promise me one thing? Yes!--you are good to the prisoner.
Allah! how I love you, and surely, if I may not be your master I may
serve you. If you should be in trouble--ever--in this land of Egypt,
the very soil of which is drenched with the blood of those who have
fought, and loved, and won, and lost thousands of years before the
coming of the gentle prophet who said that in the sight of the great
God, anyway, we are brethren--yes, if trouble should come to you, will
you send me a messenger--to the Tents of Purple and of Gold? I am
doing you a great wrong in lingering where I can catch glimpses of you.
I love you--love you--but that is no excuse for causing you harm
through the wagging of evil tongues."
Tears dropped one by one upon the jewel which glittered on her breast.
"And if I were in trouble--great trouble--if I were to come to you
myself, how----?"
"My boat waits at the landing-stage from sundown to sunrise, the
swiftest mare in all Egypt, as the fortune-teller foretold you, the
snow-white mare Pi-Kay waits from the setting until the rising of the
sun at the Gate of To-morrow, which is a ruined portal on the road of
the Colossi. From there the way lies west. And fear not." He pointed
to an inscription on the wall and translated it in the Egyptian tongue.
"'_I have come full of joy because of my love to thee; my hands are
full of all life and purity. I am protecting thee among all gods_.'"
Followed by the dogs, they walked slowly down the incline to a mound of
rubbish flung up and left by an excavating party many years back;
behind it they found the stallion Sooltan in the care of his _sayis_,
also the one donkey which had wandered off in search of grass and got
lost, and whose absence in the cavalcade had not been noticed on
account of the disorder of the descent.
"Kismet!" had said Jobad the guide when he had made the discovery at
the water's edge.
If the white folk could not keep count of themselves he was not going
to draw their attention to the fact that one of the party was missing;
he had not the slightest intention of providing an evening meal for the
lion by offering to go in search of the pair. "Kismet!--Allah would
watch over them!"
Hugh Carden Ali leapt to the saddle without touching the stirrups, then
swung the girl as lightly as a leaf up into his arms.
Heedless of the extra burden of the slip of a girl who had mastered him
in the desert and who lay so quietly against his master's heart, the
magnificent black beast stood stock-still, then suddenly shivered
violently, just as the dogs of Billi, belly to ground, eyes blazing,
ruffs on end, growled softly.
Hugh Carden pressed Damaris back against his shoulder and turned and
looked in the direction whence had come that sound, paralysing if you
do not happen to be armed.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|