He greeted me with his courteous bow and said,

“Tell your companion, O Watcher, that it is not necessary for him to go upon his knees to She-who-commands—­and must be obeyed,” he added with emphasis, “when he is not in her presence, and that even then he would do well to keep silent, since so much talking in a strange tongue might trouble her.”

I burst out laughing and answered,

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

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

“Is it so, Billali?” I answered incredulously.  “And now, I would ask you to 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, to follow with a cloth and soap, of which fortunately we had a couple of pieces left, and we started along what had once been a paved roadway running between stone houses, whereof the time-eaten ruins still remained 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 is that I can trace my own family for ten generations and that my tenth forefather told his son on his deathbed, for the saying has come down through his descendants—­that when he was young She-who-commands had ruled the land for more scores of years than he could count months of life.”

I stopped and stared at him, since the lie was so amazing that it seemed to deprive me of the power of motion.  Noting my very obvious disbelief he 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 to what very obviously once had been a splendid bath-house such as some I have seen pictures of that were built by the Romans.  Its size was that of a large room; it was constructed of a kind of marble with a sloping bottom that varied from three to seven feet in depth, and water still ran in and out of it through large glazed pipes.  Moreover round it was a footway about five feet across, from which opened chambers, unroofed now, that the bathers used as dressing-rooms, while between these chambers stood the remains of statues.  One at the end indeed, where an alcove had protected it from sun and weather, was still quite perfect, except for the outstretched arms which were gone (the right hand I noticed lying at the bottom of the bath).  It was that of a nude young woman in the attitude of diving, a very beautiful bit of work, I thought, though of course I am no judge of sculpture.  Even the smile mingled with trepidation upon the girl’s face was most naturally portrayed.