Part 7 (1/2)

”Savage here declares that there are two conjurers in the kitchen pre snakes out of his pocket and mice from the hair of one of the nall answered

”Conjurers! Oh, do have thee,” exclaietting a little tired of promiscuous conversation, echoed her request

”By all h o and tell your two friends that _Mr

Here-co-room, and that the coe bowed and departed, like a hero to execution, for by his pallor I could see that he was in a great fright When he had gone we set to work and cleared a space in the ed chairs for the colers,” said Lord Ragnall, ”and ant a place to grow theirthem do in Kashe appeared through it, walking ripped the pockets of his s-tail coat firmly in his hand

”Mr Hare-root and Mr Mare-root,” he announced

”Hare-root and Mare-root!” repeated Lord Ragnall

”Hart and Mart, I expect,” I said ”I think I have read soicians, whose names these conjurers have taken”

(Since then I have discovered that they are mentioned in the Koran as masters of the Black Art)

A h the doorway The first was a tall, Eastern-looking person with a grave countenance, a long, white beard, a hooked nose, and flashi+ng, hawk-like eyes The second was shorter and rather stout, alsoface, small, beady-black eyes, and was clean-shaven They were very light in colour; indeed I have seen Italians who are much darker; and there was about their whole aspect a certain air of power

Instantly I remembered the story that Miss Holmes had told me at dinner and looked at her covertly, to see that she had turned quite pale and was tre a little I do not think that anyone else noticed this, however, as all were staring at the strangers Moreover she recovered herself in a er on her lips in token of silence

The men were clothed in thick, fur-lined cloaks, which they took off and, folding the revealed in robes of a beautiful whiteness and in large plain turbans, also white

”High-class So the while that as they arranged the robes they were taking in every one of us with their quick eyes One of theh they meant him to be present Then they walked towards us, each of the an ornamental basket made apparently of split reeds, that contained doubtless their conjuring outfit and probably the snake which Savage had found in his pocket Toset down the baskets, lifted their hands above their heads, as a person about to dive ers touched the floor Next they spoke, not in Arabic as I had expected that they would, but in Bantu, which of course I understood perfectly well

”I, Hart, head priest and doctor of the White Kendah People, greet you, O Macumazana,” said the elder man

”I, Mart, a priest and doctor of the People of the White Kendah, greet you, O Watcher-by-night, e have travelled far to find,” said the younger reet you, O Lord, who seereat, O Chief with a troubled past and with a one down' but still speaks from beneath, Mameena as and is of our company”

At this point it was uess who may have chanced to read the history of Mameena, and the turn of Miss Holmes to watch _me_ with animated interest

”O Slayer of evil men and beasts!” they went on, in their rich-voiced, ic tells us, are destined to deliver our land froreet you,before you, we acknowledge you as our lord and brother, tosafety areat reward”

Again they bowed, once, twice, thrice; then stood silent before ?” asked Scroope ”I could catch a feords”--he knew a little kitchen Zulu--”but not much”

I told him briefly while the others listened

”What does Mameena mean?” asked Miss Holmes, with a horrible acuteness

”Is it a woh doing reverence to that narew confused, though really there was no reason why I should, and irl who had made trouble in her day

Miss Holmes and the other ladies looked at me with amused disbelief, and to my dismay the venerable Hart turned to Miss Hollish:

”Mameena very beautiful woman, perhaps more beautiful than you, lady