Then I bethought me of the others, and staggered
to my feet, to see if I could arouse them. But first I took up Ayesha's
kirtle and the gauzy scarf with which she had been wont to hide her
dazzling loveliness from the eyes of men, and, averting my head so that
I might not look upon it, covered up that dreadful relic of the glorious
dead, that shocking epitome of human beauty and human life. I did this
hurriedly, fearing lest Leo should recover, and see it again.
Then, stepping over the perfumed masses of dark hair that lay upon the
sand, I stooped down by Job, who was lying upon his face, and turned him
over. As I did so his arm fell back in a way that I did not like, and
which sent a chill through me, and I glanced sharply at him. One look
was enough. Our old and faithful servant was dead. His nerves, already
shattered by all he had seen and undergone, had utterly broken down
beneath this last dire sight, and he had died of terror, or in a fit
brought on by terror. I had only to look at his face to see it.
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