Here Ayesha half rose from her couch, and then sank down again.

“I have no magic,” went on Ustane, her rich voice ringing strong and full, “and I am not a Queen, nor do I live for ever, but a woman’s heart is heavy to sink through waters, however deep, oh Queen! and a woman’s eyes are quick to see—­even through thy veil, oh Queen!

“Listen:  I know it, thou dost love this man thyself, and therefore wouldst thou destroy me who stand across thy path.  Ay, I die—­I die, and go into the darkness, nor know I whither I go.  But this I know.  There is a light shining in my breast, and by that light, as by a lamp, I see the truth, and the future that I shall not share unroll itself before me like a scroll.  When first I knew my lord,” and she pointed to Leo, “I knew also that death would be the bridal gift he gave me—­it rushed upon me of a sudden, but I turned not back, being ready to pay the price, and, behold, death is here!  And now, even as I knew that, so do I, standing on the steps of doom, know that thou shalt not reap the profit of thy crime.  Mine he is, and, though thy beauty shine like a sun among the stars, mine shall he remain for thee.  Never here in this life shall he look thee in the eyes and call thee spouse.  Thou too art doomed, I see”—­and her voice rang like the cry of an inspired prophetess; “ah, I see——­”

Then came an answering cry of mingled rage and terror.  I turned my head.  Ayesha had risen, and was standing with her outstretched hand pointing at Ustane, who had suddenly stopped speaking.  I gazed at the poor woman, and as I gazed there came upon her face that same woeful, fixed expression of terror that I had seen once before when she had broken out into her wild chant.  Her eyes grew large, her nostrils dilated, and her lips blanched.

Ayesha said nothing, she made no sound, she only drew herself up, stretched out her arm, and, her tall veiled frame quivering like an aspen leaf, appeared to look fixedly at her victim.  Even as she did so Ustane put her hands to her head, uttered one piercing scream, turned round twice, and then fell backwards with a thud—­prone upon the floor.  Both Leo and myself rushed to her—­she was stone dead—­blasted into death by some mysterious electric agency or overwhelming will-force whereof the dread She had command.

For a moment Leo did not quite realise what had happened.  But, when he did, his face was awful to see.  With a savage oath he rose from beside the corpse, and, turning, literally sprang at Ayesha.  But she was watching, and, seeing him come, stretched out her hand again, and he went staggering back towards me, and would have fallen, had I not caught him.  Afterwards he told me that he felt as though he had suddenly received a violent blow in the chest, and, what is more, utterly cowed, as if all the manhood had been taken out of him.

Then Ayesha spoke.  “Forgive me, my guest,” she said softly, addressing him, “if I have shocked thee with my justice.”