just the veil before the woman's face.

"The Sphinx shall not see your face, neither shall the stars, nor shall
the wind touch your mouth, O! my beloved! For I would take you to the
ruins of the Temple of Khafra, where the rose colour of the stone shall
tint your face and your hands, where eyes shall not see nor hear the
story of the love I have to tell you."

And leaning across he put his arm about Jill and lifted her from her
saddle, and laid her across his knees with her head in the hollow of
his shoulder.

"I am of the desert, O! my woman, of the sandstorm and the winds, the
rocks, and the heat--I have no desire this night for soft cushions, nor
for the fragrance of the hanging curtains of your chamber. I love you,
Allah, and this time I will not wait. You have played with me for many
moons! Not even once have I laid my lips upon even the whiteness of
your hand since Allah in His greatness made you my wife in the name
before the law. At your wish I have denied myself all, until I have
longed to bring you to my feet with the lash of the whip--yet have I
waited, knowing that the moment of your surrender would be the sweeter
for it.

"And the spirits of the past shall be your hand-maidens, and the moon
shall be your lamp, and the sand shall be your marriage-couch this
night--and I, O! woman--I shall be your master."

And who knows if it was not love who wrought upon the granite until the
Sphinx was born? For after all Love is eternal, and eternity is Love.

CHAPTER XXXVI

The silver shafts of the full moon struck down into the ruined outer
courts of the Temple of Khafra, turning the rose-colour of the granite
to a dull terra-cotta, and picking out the pavement with weird designs
of gigantic beasts and flowers, the which, when Jill put her foot upon
them, proved to be nothing more harmful than the shadows thrown by the
walls and huge blocks of fallen masonry.

Slowly she crossed the court and as slowly climbed the incline leading
to the chambers of long dead priests and priestesses, pausing at the
opening with a little catch of the breath, and a quick glance at the
man she loved beside her.

The darkness of Egypt is a common enough expression on the lips of
those who know nothing of what they are talking about, and Jill, who
had often used the words, stood transfixed at the abysmal blackness in
front of her.

Outside it was as clear as day, inside it was darker than any night,
and like a flash,