Her lips met mine in a long, hot, passionate caress; but at last she pushed me from her with firmness, saying
No, I must not I must not love thee! Allah, Lord of the Three Worlds, Pardoner of Transgressions, knoweth that thou art always in my thoughts yet we can never be more than friends.
Why? I asked, in dismay. May we not marry some day?
Thou art a Roumi, while I I am a dweller in the mansion of grief.
But all things are possible, I said. If thou art afraid of thy people, trust in me. Meet me clandestinely, attired in European garments, and we will leave by the steamer for Marseilles, where we can marry.
I uttered these passionate words scarce knowing what thoughts I expressed. As soon as they had left my mouth I was filled with regret.
No. Ask me not, she replied, firmly. Already, by bringing thee hither, by unveiling before thee, and by suffering thee to kiss me, I have invoked the Wrath. The curse is already upon me, and and, alas! I shall pay the penalty soon enough, she added, with a touch of gloomy sadness.
What dost thou mean? I asked, gazing into her beautiful, entrancing face.
It meaneth that I, Zoraida Fathma, am consumed by that sorrow and despair that is precursory of death; that Eblis hath set his fatal seal upon me that I am doomed!
Her lustrous eyes, with their arched and darkened brows, looked into mine with an expression of intensity and desperation, and she glanced furtively, as if in fear, into the distant corner of the room, where the light from the great lamp of beaten brass did not penetrate.
Thine enigmas are puzzling, I said. What evil canst thou fear?
A shudder ran through her slim frame. Then she clutched my hand and tightly held it.
I cannot I It is forbidden that I should love thee, O Cecil, she said, sighing and setting her teeth firmly.
Why?
Because a greater and more insurmountable obstacle than our difference of race and creed preventeth it.
But tell me what it is? I demanded.
Isbir showhyyah, (Have patience a little), she replied. Though I may love thee, my Amîn, thou canst never be my husband. I am as much a captive as any of my slaves, and, alas! far, far more unhappy than they.
Why did she have slaves? I wondered. Slavery in Algeria had, I knew, been abolished since the overthrow of the Dey, although in the far south, beyond the Areg, the tribes still held many in bondage.
Unhappy? I cried. What is the cause of thy misery? Art thou thyself a slave, or or art thou wedded?
She started, staring at me with a strange expression.
I I love thee! she stammered. Is not that sufficient? If I wish at present to conceal certain facts, why dost thou desire me to tell lies to thee? To my woman Messoudia thou didst take oath to seek no further information beyond what I give thee.
True, O Zoraida, I said. Forgive me. Yet the mystery that surroundeth thyself is so puzzling.
I know, she said, with a tantalising laugh. But when a woman loves, it is imprudent of her to compromise herself; and she beat an impatient tattoo with her fingers, with their henna-stained nails, upon a derbouka lying within her reach.
I did not reply. I was engrossed in thought. All that she had said made it plainer to me that she was the wife of Hadj Absalam.
She watched me in silence. Then, with a sudden impetuousness, she sprang from her divan, and, standing up, flung her arms about my neck, kissing me passionately. The silk of her serroual rustled, her bangles jingled, and in her quick movement she lost her remaining slipper, and stood barefooted, a veritable Queen of the Harem, a houri of Paradise.
Hark! she whispered, starting in alarm as we stood locked in each others arms, while I rained kisses upon her fair face. Hark! she cried. Listen! What was that?
I held my breath, but could detect nothing.
My foolish fancy, I suppose, she added, a few moments later, after she had strained her ears to again catch the sounds that had alarmed her. Think! If we were betrayed! It would mean torture and death! she said hoarsely, and, disengaging herself from my arms, she walked quickly over to the opposite wall, and, drawing aside a heavy curtain, reassured herself that a door it concealed was securely bolted.
Returning, she flung herself upon her divan among her cushions and motioned me to a seat beside her. Then, taking from the little mother-of-pearl stool a box of embossed gold filled with cigarettes, she offered me one, and, lighting one herself, reclined with her head thrown back gazing up to me.
We are more than friends, Ce-cil, she said presently, thoughtfully watching the smoke that curled upward from her rosy lips. I only wish it were possible that I could leave this land and go to thine. Ah! If thou couldst but know how dull and colourless is my life, how rapidly my doom approaches how horrible it all is!
What is this strange destiny that the Fates have in store for thee? I asked, mystified.
Have I not already told thee that thy curiosity cannot be satisfied?
Yes. But I love thee, I protested. Surely I may know the character of any danger that threateneth?
She shook her head, and, taking my hand, noticed upon my finger a plain gold signet ring that had belonged to my father. Slowly she drew it off and placed it upon her middle finger, saying, I take this in remembrance of to-night.
But is there nothing I can do to avert this mysterious evil which thou apprehendest? I asked.
She did not reply. With her face turned towards the painted ceiling, her dark, serious eyes gazed away into space. Her bare breast, with its profusion of pearls and diamonds, heaved and fell as she breathed, and the sweet odour of rose and geranium that pervaded her filled my nostrils with intoxicating fragrance.
Why canst thou not escape from here? I continued. If danger threateneth, fly from it. I will assist thee. And is not Allah merciful? He giveth life and death.
Hákk, she replied. Yet to leave this place unobserved would be impossible. I have been able by a ruse to gain thine admittance here, but any attempt to leave would only result in my death.
Are not thy servants amenable to bribery? I suggested.
Alas! as they are my slaves, so are they my gaolers. They are charged with my safe custody, and if I eluded their vigilance, they would pay the penalty of their negligence with their lives. Ah! thou knowest not the more terrible of the tortures practised by my people. Thou knowest not the Ennitra. Soon I shall return again to the Ahaggar, and then the Great Desert and the Atlas will separate us. For me escape is impossible. Thou wilt go to thine own land ere many moons, and and forget me!
Never! I exclaimed, vehemently.
Thou wilt marry one of thine own women who have no prejudices, and who may go unveiled, like those who come to Mustapha at Ramadân.
No, Zoraida, I said; I love only thee.
She gazed long and earnestly into my eyes, at the same time toying with my ring.
And thou art ready to serve me implicitly? she inquired eagerly.
I am. Command me.
Then know, O Cecil, my life is at stake, she said, in a low, hoarse whisper, drawing herself up with one arm still entwined tenderly about my neck.
Why art thou threatened? I asked, in surprise.
Because I because I am guilty of a crime; I possess the secret of a hidden marvel. Having dared to penetrate the hideous mysteries of Eblis, one of them, undreamed of and astounding, hath been revealed unto me. Its knowledge placeth in my hands a secret power that I might use with fearful effect, but the awful curse hath now fallen upon me, and I am doomed. Only thy willing assistance can save me. Yet and she paused. Yet I feel doubtful whether thou, a Roumi, wouldst dare to undertake the mission that is necessary for my safety; whether thou couldst place sufficient confidence in me to carry out instructions which to thee may seem so extraordinary.
I am. Command me.
Then know, O Cecil, my life is at stake, she said, in a low, hoarse whisper, drawing herself up with one arm still entwined tenderly about my neck.
Why art thou threatened? I asked, in surprise.
Because I because I am guilty of a crime; I possess the secret of a hidden marvel. Having dared to penetrate the hideous mysteries of Eblis, one of them, undreamed of and astounding, hath been revealed unto me. Its knowledge placeth in my hands a secret power that I might use with fearful effect, but the awful curse hath now fallen upon me, and I am doomed. Only thy willing assistance can save me. Yet and she paused. Yet I feel doubtful whether thou, a Roumi, wouldst dare to undertake the mission that is necessary for my safety; whether thou couldst place sufficient confidence in me to carry out instructions which to thee may seem so extraordinary.
I have perfect trust in thee, I said. I am ready from this moment to serve thee blindly, implicitly, if I can save thee and further the prospect of our marriage.
Marriage? No! no! Do not speak of it now, she exclaimed hastily. Hast thou never heard of the truth uttered by our Harikar al-Hakim, who said, Marriage is a joy for a month and a sorrow for a life, and the paying of settlements, and the breaking of the back under a load of misery, and the listening to a womans tongue. To thee I can promise nothing, for my life may end at any moment.
But thy death can be averted. How?
By rendering me assistance thou canst save me from the awful physical and mental torture from the horrors of the grave. Wilt thou consent to become my secret agent?
Yes. I am ready to perform any task thou mayest require of me.
Then remember the oath of secrecy thou didst take before Messoudia brought thee hither; for, first of all, thou, trusting to thine own Deity, must enter with me into the presence of the Great Unknown.
And as she touched a little silver gong, the great negro in handsome blue livery, who had announced me, entered the harem and prostrated himself before his mistress until his forehead touched the carpet; while two houris, in clinging robes of white silk, entered bearing a great gold bowl of sweet perfume in which Zoraida, with an imperious gesture, washed her hands, and bade me follow her example.
Thou wilt not be timid, she asked, even though we go voluntarily together to the very threshold of the grave; even though we may peradventure taste of the horrors of death?
No, I replied, endeavouring to remain calm.
My nerves were strung to their highest pitch, and my heart beat quickly. I stood breathless, watching one of the houris, who lit a small gold lamp that burned with a thin blue flame. What, I wondered, was the character of the strange scene I was about to witness? Zoraida, my enchanting Pearl of the Harem, and I were going together voluntarily into the presence of the Great Unknown!
Chapter Fourteen.
Seeking the Unknown
Having placed the quaintly-shaped lamp on the pearl and silver stool in the centre of the harem, the negro went out, returning immediately with a small bronze urn marvellously chased, which on bended knee he carefully handed to his mistress. At a word from Zoraida, her women and the tall Soudanese prostrated themselves facing the table, pressing their foreheads to the carpet. Then, turning to me, she said in deep earnestness
Knowest thou that the deeds we are about to commit are a terrible sacrilege? Though thou wilt witness strange things, yet peradventure they may cost us our lives nay, our very souls.
Why? I asked, somewhat alarmed at her sudden seriousness. Is it imperative that we should risk everything?
Every sin beareth its fruit, she replied, as, slowly rising from her divan and holding above her head the urn the negro had brought, she added, Hath not the Prophet told us that when the earth shall be shaken by a violent shock, and the mountains shall be dashed to pieces and shall become as dust scattered abroad, we shall be separated into three distinct classes? Those who have preceded others in the Faith shall precede them to Paradise. The Companions of the Right Hand shall go and dwell in the Gardens of Delight, among lote trees free from thorns and trees of mauz always fruitful; but the Companions of the Left Hand how miserable shall they be! They who, like ourselves at this moment, invoke the secret power of Eblis the Terrible, will dwell amidst the burning winds under the shade of the great black smoke. They are the damned, for they, in their error, have gone astray in the Valley of Perdition. Then know, O Roumi! that thou hast chosen to accompany me unto the dreaded Shrine of Darkness, to seek of the beneficent Granter of Requests what is hidden, to face the terrors of the tomb, so that thou mayest hold over thy fellows a power terrific, fatal, awful!
Her eyes were dilated, filled with a strange, unnatural light, and I stood aghast at her solemn speech.
Art thou not one of the chosen? I asked. Art thou not
Hold thy peace! she commanded. Then, holding forth the bronze urn, she exclaimed, See! in this vessel are the ashes of the great Masinissa, the Numidian king, whose body was entombed at Medrassen two thousand years ago. By their light we will search for the Great Unknown.
With a sudden movement she took from the urn a small handful of white dust, and, holding it high over the lamp, sprinkled it slowly into its faint blue flame. In a moment the place was illuminated by a white glare so brilliant that I was compelled to shade my blinking eyes with my hands, while at the same time the apartment was filled with a dense smoke of a light green hue, but so pungent as to plunge me into the agonies of asphyxiation.
Thrice she threw into the flame the ashes of the King; thrice she uttered strange words in a drawling monotone, that were repeated by the three servants who lay prostrate and appalled. Then, dipping her finger in the dust, she drew it across my forehead from left to right, and afterwards made the same sign across her own bejewelled brow and across her bare breast.
Rise, she said, turning to her servants. Bring hither the elixir. Then leave us.
All three scrambled to their feet in haste to do the bidding of their imperious mistress, and, after the lapse of a few moments, the two houris in white reappeared, one bearing a tiny bowl containing a colourless liquid, while the other brought between her fingers a long thin poignard, the hilt of which was studded with rubies and turquoises. When they had placed them beside the lamp, and the heavy curtains had fallen behind the two girls, Zoraida turned her great dark eyes upon me, exclaiming
Thou wilt ere long learn a wonderful secret which hath been revealed to none on earth except myself. Already hast thou taken an oath never to disclose what thou mayest see between these walls. Know, O Cecil! that by thy passionate love for me thou wilt bind thyself to one who can produce strange effects from simple causes, and who can show thee wonders undreamed of. Yonder knife and potion will bind thy soul unto mine; thou wilt become one of the Companions of the Left Hand, whose habitation is the shadowless Land of Torment, where the burning wind scorches and water scalds like boiling pitch.
Is there then no hope for those who love thee? I asked, so mystified and my senses so dulled by the curious odour of the smoke, that I scarce knew what words escaped me.
None, she replied, sighing. Neither rest, mercy, nor the Garden of Delights can fall to the lot of he who loveth me.
Why?