I shall never
forget the howl of terror which he uttered when he saw the more or less
perfect portraits of his long-scattered brethren staring at him from the
quiet water, or the merry peal of laughter with which Ayesha greeted his
consternation. As for Leo, he did not altogether like it either, but ran
his fingers through his yellow curls, and remarked that it gave him the
creeps.
After about an hour of this amusement, in the latter part of which Job
did _not_ participate, the mutes by signs indicated that Billali was
waiting for an audience. Accordingly he was told to "crawl up," which
he did as awkwardly as usual, and announced that the dance was ready
to begin if _She_ and the white strangers would be pleased to attend.
Shortly afterwards we all rose, and, Ayesha having thrown a dark cloak
(the same, by the way, that she had worn when I saw her cursing by the
fire) over her white wrappings, we started. The dance was to be held in
the open air, on the smooth rocky plateau in front of the great cave,
and thither we made our way.
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