If I see thy face again, be sure,
too, that thy bones shall soon be whiter than my mark upon thy hair."
Utterly awed and broken down, the poor creature rose, and, marked with
that awful mark, crept from the room, sobbing bitterly.
"Look not so frighted, my Holly," said Ayesha, when she had gone. "I
tell thee I deal not in magic--there is no such thing. 'Tis only a force
that thou dost not understand. I marked her to strike terror to her
heart, else must I have slain her. And now I will bid my servants to
bear my Lord Kallikrates to a chamber near mine own, that I may watch
over him, and be ready to greet him when he wakes; and thither, too,
shalt thou come, my Holly, and the white man, thy servant. But one thing
remember at thy peril. Naught shalt thou say to Kallikrates as to how
this woman went, and as little as may be of me. Now, I have warned
thee!" and she slid away to give her orders, leaving me more absolutely
confounded than ever. Indeed, so bewildered was I, and racked and torn
with such a succession of various emotions, that I began to think that
I must be going mad.
Pages:
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390