4 African Mysteries: Zoraida, The Great White Queen, The Eye of Istar & The Veiled Man (Illustrated Edition). William Le Queux

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СКАЧАТЬ a few moments she remained silent; then, gazing up into my eyes with an intense, wistful look, she answered —

      “When thou hast learned the Secret, and used it upon our mutual behalf; then only can I extricate myself from the Bond of Blood.”

      “The Bond of Blood! What is that?” I asked eagerly.

      “Ah, no!” she responded, with a touch of sorrow in her voice. “I am unable to give thee explanation. When thou hast gained the Secret, then wilt thou learn the truth, and penetrate the veil of Great Mystery. Until that day have patience, and seek not that which must remain hidden.”

      “But I — I have lost the Crescent,” I blurted forth despondently.

      “It is in my possession,” she replied, with a smile, rising from her divan, kneeling beside me, and placing her arms about my neck. “When last night I recognised thee on thine arrival in our camp, I foresaw thy deadly peril. Labakan, who had been ordered to kill thee, was also aware of thy presence; therefore I had thy travelling companion, Halima, brought before me, and from her ascertained that on thy journey thine eyes had been constantly upon one of thy saddle-bags. I therefore felt confident that the Crescent thou hadst lost had been recovered. Later, I caused search to be made among thy belongings, and it being found there, it was abstracted and brought hither.”

      “Hadst thou a reason for this?” I asked, puzzled.

      “Yes. I knew that if the Crescent of Glorious Wonders were found in the possession of thyself, an Infidel, no argument of mine would save thee from death.”

      “But thou hast again rescued me, Zoraida,” I murmured in ecstasy. “Again my life hath been in thine hands.”

      “I love thee,” she responded, briefly and simply.

      “And thou art risking everything for my sake — even thy position as Queen of the Ennitra!”

      “Art thou not doing the same for me?” she asked. “As lovers it is our duty to assist each other, and to stand together in the hour of danger.”

      “How didst thou know I had lost that which thou hadst entrusted to my care?” I asked, much interested in this remarkable phase of the extraordinary affair.

      “I ascertained that when thou wert a slave in the Fáda thou hadst not the Crescent. Then I learnt of the circumstances of thy fall into the hands of the Kel-Fadê, and it was at once apparent that it was they who had filched it from thee.”

      “Thou didst not know how I recovered it?” I asked, transported by her beauty.

      “No,” she answered. “Tell me; I am interested to learn the truth;” and with charming ingenuousness she imprinted upon my cheek another warm, affectionate kiss.

      Briefly, I told her of my journey after my adventurous escape from Agadez, of the dastardly attempt to take my life, my strange rescue, and my wanderings in the gloomy subterranean passages beneath the Sheikh’s palace. As I related how I had suddenly entered the hall where the conspirators of the Senousya had assembled to practise their mystic rites, she grew excited and alarmed, eagerly drinking in every word of my description. When I had finished, she placed her hand upon my arm, and said with intense earnestness —

      “Tell no one of this, O Ce-cil! Thine eyes have beholden, and thou hast, alas! learned the secrets of the League of Terror. I fear that the punishment of eavesdroppers may be meted out to thee. Know thou that the terrible vengeance of the Senousya is so far-reaching that the man or woman it condemneth can never escape a violent death, even though he or she may flee beyond seas unto the uttermost corners of the earth. Wherever shineth the sun, there also are emissaries of the Senousya. Therefore take every precaution for thy safety; tell no one of the knowledge thou hast thus acquired; and upon the subject of the Holy War remain always silent as the grave. Take warning, and exercise caution — for my sake. The vengeance is always fatal!”

      “I will heed thy words,” I said. “But I care naught for enemies while I am nigh unto thee;” and as I drew her slowly towards me, her lips met mine in a warm, entrancing caress, enough to make any man’s senses whirl.

      “I — I wish we could meet daily,” she declared wistfully; “but for thee to tread the enchanted ground of my pavilion is impossible. At the peril of our lives, and by the connivance of those placed as janitors over me, am I enabled to-night to speak with thee for one brief hour, to hear thee tell me of thy love.” Then, grasping my hand tightly, and gazing with a fervent love-look into my face, she added, “For days, for weeks have I been longing to see thee, hoping against hope. In the dim, silent seclusion of mine own apartment strange rumours and distorted reports have reached me regarding thy fate. Although those I employed lied unto me, I felt confidence in thee. I knew thou wouldst strain every nerve to obtain knowledge of the Great Secret that is essential to our happiness. We meet now only to part again; to part perhaps for a few days, perhaps for many moons. Let me dwell within thy memory, so that thou wilt ever remember that she who loveth thee followeth thee unseen, and that all her trust is in thine own brave heart.”

      She spoke with the fierce passion of love, and in her fine brilliant eyes tears were welling. I was silent in the devout worship of my entrancing idol — this woman whose face was perfect in its beauty, whose supple figure and exquisite grace charmed me, and whose soft, tuneful Arabic sounded as sweetest music. With her slight form in my embrace, her cheek, fresh as an English girl’s, lying upon my breast, her long dark unplaited hair straying over my white burnouse, she filled me with a restful, dreamy languor, a feeling of perfect enchantment and bliss, enhanced by the heavy perfumes and the sensuousness of her luxuriant surroundings.

      “While wandering afar, the thought of thine affection hath given me heart; thou art always my Pole Star, my light, my guide,” I said, enraptured. “Though I have failed to obtain the knowledge which I sought, it was purely owing to the fickleness of fortune.”

      “Yes,” she answered gravely. “I know thou hast done thy best. Yet there are still means by which thou canst ascertain the truth, and elucidate the Great Mystery.”

      “How?”

      “By becoming one of us; by bearing arms under the green banner of Hadj Absalam, and accompanying us to Agadez.”

      “Art thou actually on thy way thither?” I asked, amazed. “Surely it is dangerous?”

      “Dangerous only for the Sultan of the Ahír,” she laughed.

      “I cannot understand,” I said. “What is the object of thy journey?”

      “The same as the object of all our expeditions,” she answered, the smile dying from her lips. “The trade of the Ennitra is marked always by rapine and murder, plunder and bloodshed;” and she shuddered.

      “Do thy people intend fighting?” I asked.

      “Hearken, and I will give thee explanation,” she said excitedly. “For many moons hath Hadj Absalam contemplated an attack upon the Sultan of the Ahír, and the looting of the great Fáda wherein thou wert held a slave. At last the expedition hath been arranged, and is now being carried out. Divided into four sections, our people, mustering all their strength for the supreme effort, have stealthily moved hither, and are now encamped at various points on the border of the Sultan’s territory, ready to advance upon Agadez like swarms of locusts at the moment the drum of victory is conveyed unto them. Armed to the teeth, and eager for a struggle that must be brief though deadly, they are awaiting the completion of our plans. Two days СКАЧАТЬ