She and Allan

by H. Rider Haggard

  I was awakened when the sun was already high, by the sound of Robertson,who was on his knees, praying aloud as usual, a habit of his which Iconfess got on my nerves. Prayer, in my opinion, is a private matterbetween man and his Creator, that is, except in church; further, I didnot in the least wish to hear all about Robertson's sins, which seemedto have been many and peculiar. It is bad enough to have to bear theburden of one's own transgressions without learning of those of otherpeople, that is, unless one is a priest and must do so professionally.So I jumped up to escape and make arrangements for a wash, only tobutt into old Billali, who was standing in the doorway contemplatingRobertson with much interest and stroking his white beard.

  He greeted me with his courteous bow and said,

  "Tell your companion, O Watcher, that it is not necessary for him to goupon his knees to She-who-commands--and must be obeyed," he added withemphasis, "when he is not in her presence, and that even then he woulddo well to keep silent, since so much talking in a strange tongue mighttrouble her."

  I burst out laughing and answered,

  "He does not go upon his knees and pray to She-who-commands, but to theGreat One who is in the sky."

  "Indeed, Watcher. Well, here we only know a Great One who is upon theearth, though it is true that perhaps she visits the skies sometimes."

  "Is it so, Billali?" I answered incredulously. "And now, I would ask youto take me to some place where I can bathe."

  "It is ready," he replied. "Come."

  So I called to Hans, who was hanging about with a rifle on his arm, tofollow with a cloth and soap, of which fortunately we had a couple ofpieces left, and we started along what had once been a paved roadwayrunning between stone houses, whereof the time-eaten ruins stillremained on either side.

  "Who and what is this Queen of yours, Billali?" I asked as we went."Surely she is not of the Amahagger blood."

  "Ask it of herself, O Watcher, for I cannot tell you. All I know isthat I can trace my own family for ten generations and that my tenthforefather told his son on his deathbed, for the saying has come downthrough his descendants--that when he was young She-who-commands hadruled the land for more scores of years than he could count months oflife."

  I stopped and stared at him, since the lie was so amazing that it seemedto deprive me of the power of motion. Noting my very obvious disbeliefhe continued blandly,

  "If you doubt, ask. And now here is where you may bathe."

  Then he led me through an arched doorway and down a wrecked passage towhat very obviously once had been a splendid bath-house such as some Ihave seen pictures of that were built by the Romans. Its size was thatof a large room; it was constructed of a kind of marble with a slopingbottom that varied from three to seven feet in depth, and water stillran in and out of it through large glazed pipes. Moreover round it wasa footway about five feet across, from which opened chambers, unroofednow, that the bathers used as dressing-rooms, while between thesechambers stood the remains of statues. One at the end indeed, where analcove had protected it from sun and weather, was still quite perfect,except for the outstretched arms which were gone (the right hand Inoticed lying at the bottom of the bath). It was that of a nude youngwoman in the attitude of diving, a very beautiful bit of work, Ithought, though of course I am no judge of sculpture. Even the smilemingled with trepidation upon the girl's face was most naturallyportrayed.

  This statue showed two things, that the bath was used by females andthat the people who built it were highly civilised, also that theybelonged to an advanced if somewhat Eastern race, since the girl's nosewas, if anything, Semitic in character, and her lips, though prettilyshaped, were full. For the rest, the basin was so clean that I presumeit must have been made ready for me or other recent bathers, and atits bottom I discovered gratings and broken pipes of earthenware whichsuggested that in the old days the water could be warmed by means of afurnace.

  This relic of a long-past civilisation excited Hans even more than itdid myself, since having never seen anything of the sort, he thought itso strange that, as he informed me, he imagined that it must have beenbuilt by witchcraft. In it I had a most delightful and much-needed bath.Even Hans was persuaded to follow my example--a thing I had rarely knownhim to do before--and seated in its shallowest part, splashed some waterover his yellow, wrinkled anatomy. Then we returned to our house, whereI found an excellent breakfast had been provided which was brought tous by tall, silent, handsome women who surveyed us out of the corners oftheir eyes, but said nothing.

  Shortly after I had finished my meal, Billali, who had disappeared, cameback again and said that She-who-commands desired my presence as shewould speak with me; also that I must come alone. So, after attending tothe wounded, who both seemed to be getting on well, I went, followed byHans armed with his rifle, though I only carried my revolver. Robertsonwished to accompany me, as he did not seem to care about being leftalone with the Zulus in that strange place, but this Billali would notallow. Indeed, when he persisted, two great men stepped forward andcrossed their spears before him in a somewhat threatening fashion. Thenat my entreaty, for I feared lest trouble should arise, he gave in andreturned to the house.

  Following our path of the night before, we walked up a ruined streetwhich I could see was only one of scores in what had once been a verygreat city, until we came to the archway that I have mentioned, a largeone now overgrown with plants that from their yellow, sweet-scentedbloom I judged to be a species of wallflower, also with a kind ofhouseleek or saxifrage.

  Here Hans was stopped by guards, Billali explaining to me that he mustawait my return, an order which he obeyed unwillingly enough. Then Iwent on down the narrow passage, lined as before by guards who stoodsilent as statues, and came to the curtains at the end. Before these ata motion from Billali, who did not seem to dare to speak in this place,I stood still and waited.