now it, thou dost love this man thyself, and therefore
wouldst thou destroy me who stand across thy path. Ay, I die--I die, and
go into the darkness, nor know I whither I go. But this I know. There is
a light shining in my breast, and by that light, as by a lamp, I see
the truth, and the future that I shall not share unroll itself before
me like a scroll. When first I knew my lord," and she pointed to Leo, "I
knew also that death would be the bridal gift he gave me--it rushed upon
me of a sudden, but I turned not back, being ready to pay the price,
and, behold, death is here! And now, even as I knew that, so do I,
standing on the steps of doom, know that thou shalt not reap the profit
of thy crime. Mine he is, and, though thy beauty shine like a sun among
the stars, mine shall he remain for thee. Never here in this life shall
he look thee in the eyes and call thee spouse. Thou too art doomed, I
see"--and her voice rang like the cry of an inspired prophetess; "ah, I
see----"

Then came an answering cry of mingled rage and terror. 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 backwards with a thud--prone upon the floor.
Both Leo and myself rushed to her--she was stone dead--blasted into
death by some mysterious electric agency or overwhelming will-force
whereof the dread _She_ had command.

For a moment Leo did not quite realise 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 manho