What is more, there were plenty of them. As soon
as ever a mummy had burnt down to the ankles, which it did in about
twenty minutes, the feet were kicked away, and another one put in its
place. The bonfire was kept going on the same generous scale, and its
flames shot up, with a hiss and a crackle, twenty or thirty feet into
the air, throwing great flashes of light far out into the gloom, through
which the dark forms of the Amahagger flitted to and fro like
devils replenishing the infernal fires. We all stood and stared
aghast--shocked, and yet fascinated at so strange a spectacle, and half
expecting to see the spirits those flaming forms had once enclosed come
creeping from the shadows to work vengeance on their desecrators.
"I promised thee a strange sight, my Holly," laughed Ayesha, whose
nerves alone did not seem to be affected; "and, behold, I have not
failed thee. Also, it hath its lesson. Trust not to the future, for
who knows what the future may bring! Therefore, live for the day, and
endeavour not to escape the dust which seems to be man's end.
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