ry. Come hither, slave, and bend
yourself so, resting your hands upon the ground."

Jeekie obeyed, and actively as a cat the priestess leaped on to his
back, and reaching up opened the mask of a corpse in the second row and
held her lamp before its face.

It was better preserved than the others, so that its features remained
comparatively perfect, and about them hung a tangle of golden hair.
Moreover, a broad battle-axe appeared resting on the shoulder.

"A viking," thought Alan. "I wonder how _he_ came here."

When he had looked the Asika leaped from Jeekie's back to the ground
and waving her arm around her, began to talk so rapidly that Alan could
understand nothing of her words, and asked Jeekie to translate them.

"She say," explained Jeekie between his chattering teeth, "that all
rest these Johnnies very poor crew, natives and that lot except one who
worship false Prophet and cut throat of Asika of that time, because she
infidel and he teach her better; also eat his dinner out of Little Bonsa
and chuck her into water. Very wild man, that Arab, but priests catch
him at last and fill him with hot gold before Little Bonsa because he no
care a damn for ghosts. So he die saying Hip, hip, hurrah! for houri and
green field of Prophet and to hell with Asika and Bonsa, Big and Little!
Now he sit up there and at night time worst ghost of all the crowd,
always come to finish off Mungana. That all she say, and quite enough
too. Come on quick, she want you and no like wait."

By now the Asika had passed almost round the hall, and was standing
opposite to an empty niche beyond and above which there were perhaps a
score of bodies gold-plated in the usual fashion.

"That is your place, Vernoon," she said gently, contemplating him with
her soft and heavy eyes, "for it was prepared for the white man with
whom Little Bonsa fled away, and since then, as you see, there have been
many Munganas, some of whom belong to me; indeed, that one," and she
touched a corpse on which the gold looked very fresh, "only left me last
year. But we always knew that Little Bonsa would bring you back again,
and so you see, we have kept your place empty."

"Indeed," remarked Alan, "that is very kind of you," and feeling that he
would faint if he stayed longer in this horrible and haunted vault, he
pushed past her with little ceremony and walked out through the gates
into the passage beyond.

CHAPTER XII

THE GOLD HOUSE

"How you like Asiki