第79章

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 backward with a thudprone upon the floor.Both Leo and myself rushed to hershe was stone deadblasted into death by some mysterious electric agency or overwhelming will-force whereof the dread _i_ She _i_ had command.

For a moment Leo did not quite realize 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.""Forgive thee, thou fiend!" roared poor Leo, wringing his hands in his rage and grief."Forgive thee, thou murderess! By Heaven I will kill thee if I can! '

"Nay, nay," she answered, in the same soft voice, "thou dost not understandthe time has come for thee to learn.Thou art my love, my Kallikrates, my Beautiful, my Strong! For two thousand years, Kallikrates, have I waited for thee, and now at length thou hast come back to me; and as for this woman,"pointing to the corpse, "she stood between me and thee, and therefore have I removed her, Kallikrates.""It is an accursed lie!" said Leo."My name is not Kallikrates! I am Leo Vincey; my ancestor was Kallikratesat least, I believe he was.""Ah, thou sayest itthine ancestor was Kallikrates, and thou, even thou, art Kallikrates reborn, come backand mine own dear lord!""I am not Kallikrates, and as for being thy lord, or having aught to do with thee, I had sooner be the lord of a fiend from hell, for she would be better than thou.""Sayest thou sosayest thou so, Kallikrates? Nay, but thou hast not seen me for so long a time that no memory remains.Yet I am very fair, Kallikrates!""I hate thee, murderess, and I have no wish to see thee.What is it to me how fair thou art? I hate thee, I say.""Yet within a very little space shalt thou creep to my knee, and swear that thou dost love me," answered Ayesha, with a sweet, mocking laugh."Come, there is no time like the present time; here, before this dead girl who loved thee, let us put it to the proof.

"Look now on me, Kallikrates!" and with a sudden motion she shook her gauzy covering from her, and stood forth in her low kirtle and her snaky zone, in her glorious, radiant beauty and her imperial grace, rising from her wrappings, as it were, like Venus from the wave, or Galatea from her marble, or a beatified spirit from the tomb, _i_ She _i_ stood forth, and fixed her deep and glowing eyes upon Leo's eyes, and Isaw his clenched fists unclasp, and his set and quivering features relax beneath her gaze.I saw his wonder and astonishment grow into admiration, and then into fascination, and the more he struggled the more Isaw the power of her dread beauty fasten on him and take possession of his senses, drugging them, and drawing the hear out of him.Did I not know the process? Had not I, who was twice his age, gone through it myself? Was I not going through it afresh even then, although her sweet and passionate gaze was not for me? Yes, alas, I was! Alas, that I should have to confess that at that very moment I was rent by mad and furious jealousy.I could have flown at him, shame upon me! The woman had confounded and almost destroyed my moral sense, as she was bound to confound all who looked upon her superhuman loveliness.ButI do not quite know how I got the better of myself, and once more turned to see the climax of the tragedy.

"Oh, great Heaven!" gasped Leo, "art thou a woman?""A woman in truthin very truth-and thine own spouse, Kallikrates!" she answered, stretching out her rounded ivory arms towards him, and smiling, ah, so sweetly!

He looked and looked, and slowly I perceived that he was drawing nearer to her.Suddenly his eye fell upon the corpse of poor Ustane, and he shuddered and stopped.

"How can I?" he said, hoarsely."Thou art a murderess;she loved me."

Observe, he was already forgetting that he had loved her.

"It is naught," she murmured, and her voice sounded sweet as the night wind passing through the trees."It is naught at all.If I have sinned, let my beauty answer for my sin.If I have sinned, it is for love of thee; let my sin, therefore, be put away and forgotten;" and once more she stretched out her arms and whispered "Come," and then in another few seconds it was over.I saw him struggleI saw him even turn to fly; but her eyes drew him more strongly than iron bonds, and the magic of her beauty and concentrated will and passion entered into him and overpowered himay, even there, in the presence of the body of the woman who had loved him well enough to die for him.It sounds horrible and wicked enough, but he cannot be blamed too much, and be sure his sin will find him out.The temptress who drew him into evil was more than human, and her beauty was greater than the loveliness of the daughters of men.