ds I saw old Billali, who not being a man of war was
keeping as close to us as he could, go flat onto his venerable face, and
reflected that he must have got a thrown spear through him. Casting a
hurried glance at him to see if he were done for or only wounded, out
of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something diaphanous which
gleamed in the moonlight and reminded me of I knew not what at the
moment.

I looked round quickly to see what it might be and lo! there, almost at
my side was the veiled Ayesha herself, holding in her hand a little rod
made of black wood inlaid with ivory not unlike a field marshal's baton,
or a sceptre.

I never saw her come and to this day I do not know how she did so; she
was just there and what is more she must have put luminous paint or
something else on her robes, for they gleamed with a sort of faint,
phosphorescent fire, which in the moonlight made her conspicuous all
over the field of battle. Nor did she speak a single word, she only
waved the rod, pointed with it towards the fierce hordes who were
drawing near to us, killing as they came, and began to move forward with
a gliding motion.

Now from every side there went up a roar of "_She-who-commands!
She-who-commands!_" while the people of Rezu in front shouted "_Lulala!
Lulala!_ Fly, Lulala is upon us with the witchcrafts of the moon!"

She moved forward and by some strange impulse, for no order was given,
we all began to move after her. Yes, the ranks that a minute before were
beginning to give way to wild panic, became filled with a marvellous
courage and moved after her.

The men of Rezu also, and I suppose with them Rezu himself, for I saw no
more of him at that time, began to move uncommonly fast over the edge
of the plateau towards the plain beneath. In fact they broke into flight
and leaping over dead and dying, we rushed after them, always following
the gleaming robe of Ayesha, who must have been an extremely agile
person, since without any apparent exertion she held her place a few
steps ahead of us.

There was another curious circumstance about this affair, namely, that
terrified though they were, those Rezuites, after the first break, soon
seemed to find it impossible to depart with speed. They kept turning
round to look behind them at that following vision, as though they were
so many of Lot's wives. Moreover, the same fate overtook many of them
which fell upon that scriptural lady, since they appeared to becom