"Yes," replied my uncle, "but I only got your wire in the nick of time."
Later in the day I told the tale of my second and successful hunt; for my people had received no details, but merely the bald telegram that I was alive and had secured the Girdle. That they were astonished at what I had to tell them, I need not say, and the fuss they made over me was quite embarrassing. My uncle, I thought, was somewhat upset by my descriptions of the evil doings of the Girdle, and I could not refrain from amusing myself by watching his face, whilst I enlarged on them.
"So," said my father, when I had concluded, "you have not let the terror out of the safe since that night."
"No," said I, "we decided that we would restrain our impatience, in order to give you a chance of taking part in the next seance. We thought it would add to your interest in the Girdle, if you could witness a real tragedy."
"What a bloodthirsty young villain you are," said my father, with a laugh.
"Personally," said I, thinking it time to reassure my uncle, "I am quite certain that nothing dreadful will happen again, and Edwards is of the same opinion. He says that he no longer has the tingly feeling and he has no presentiment of evil, both of which I consider good signs.
Moreover, he has elaborated a marvellous theory, though I myself cannot follow it. He has worked it out by what he calls the "Law of the Three _plus_ Five, equals Eight," and he argues something like this:--Raspul was killed with the Golden Girdle in his hand, after having blown up Three Shammar. Remember the number 3. Then when Kellner fled with the Girdle and was pursued, he shot Five Shammar. Remember the number 5, and the total 8. Now we begin with 3 again, the two Birs Nimroud Jews and Yusuf Mersina; then four Shammar of the original party which stole the Girdle, _plus_ Kellner, equals 5. Hence, we have two groups of 3 _plus_ 5 equals 8----"
"Heavens alive!" interrupted my father, "are you going on with this much longer?"
"Only a little more," said I, laughing, "but it is really interesting.
Edwards has spent a deal of time over it. Listen to his deductions. He places the dead Raspul at one end of the Golden Girdle, and the dead Shustri at the other end; and he maintains that as Raspul had directly and indirectly caused the deaths of 8 men; so when Shustri had directly or indirectly caused the deaths of a similar number, then the chain had to be completed by his own death."
"With all due deference to the brain power of your worthy friend," said my father, "I have never heard such a lot of rubbish in my life. I should say that he required looking after. Is he all right otherwise?"
"Perfectly," said I. "But you have not heard quite all. We now go back to the famous mare Shahzadi--the heroine of the shoe. You remember the eight nail-holes. Well, because Shahzadi cast that eight-nailed shoe, the Golden Girdle came into Raspul's possession, and gave him the mystic number 8."
"And what about the numbers 3 and 5?" asked my uncle, who was listening with all seriousness. "The doctor seems to have forgotten his 3 _plus_ 5."
"I know," said I. "I attacked him about that, but was told politely that I was dull of comprehension. Edwards explained it away by saying that originally Shahzadi's shoe, of course, had 3 nail-holes on either side, and if they had drilled the two new holes on the same side, then his theory would have been proved undeniably. We should have had the 3 _plus_ 5 equals 8. As things are, he considers that the mare's hoof probably would not stand having 5 nails on one side, and so they had to equalise the number."
"Most ingenious!" said my father, "though a trifle weak. But your friend thinks that the evil spirit which was in the Girdle has now flown, does he not?"
"Yes," said I, "he is almost certain on that point, but he suggests that, as there may possibly be what he terms 'a metallic sympathy'
between the Golden Girdle and the iron horse-shoe, it would be advisable to lay up the shoe in the safe with the Girdle."
"Pooh!" said my father. "Is not the safe itself made of iron? That should have settled the Girdle long ago, but apparently it did not."
"Not at all," said my uncle, to my astonishment, "it is not the same thing. In my opinion, the doctor has reason on his side. We all know that the ancients had a firm belief in the magical powers of iron, and we all know something of the luck of a horse-shoe. At any rate, whether there is anything in it or not, I shall uphold the doctor in his opinions, and shall ask the Consul-General to place the shoe in the safe, as soon as I meet him."
Thus it came about that, within a couple of hours, Shahzadi's shoe joined the Golden Girdle in its iron prison. Possibly they had never been so close before; yet it was but sixty years since only the height of Shahzadi's withers separated them. Could the one have related to the other its experiences during those six decades, the story would have been well worth writing down, and much more interesting than my own insignificant adventures.
Edwards was overjoyed when I told him what my uncle had done, and at dinner that night he was quite light-hearted and gay. After dinner came the great seance, whereat the death-dealing belt of serpents was to be let loose among us. It was held in the Consul-General's study, in the middle of which had been placed, for the occasion, a bare table--the dissecting table, as Edwards jocosely termed it; and when the Consul-General unlocked the safe, I think that more than one of us expected something desperate to happen. But nothing extraordinary occurred, and everyone craned forward, as I unrolled the rope, and left the Girdle lying at full length on the table.
My uncle, as he took it in his hands and examined it, could not restrain his delight, and, trembling visibly, he pronounced it to be the most glorious and beautiful treasure that it had ever been his good fortune to handle; even my father, who cared little for such things, was deeply impressed; while I myself regretted none of the troubles that it had cost me. I felt that I had not lived in vain. We were each allowed to take it up and gaze on it for a while, and then it was handed back to my uncle, for his more careful scrutiny.
"Egyptian," he said, "without a doubt, and of great age. Possibly a present from an Egyptian king to Queen Sophana, or to one of her ancestors. It is impossible, of course, to decide these matters until we have it at the Museum, with other things to refer to. But, Walter, I promise you that it will be found to be the most priceless work of art that has ever been brought to light. I know of nothing that can approach it in workmanship."
He then went on to discuss each detail of the Girdle, and as, on this occasion and on several subsequent ones when he examined it again, I acted in my old capacity of secretary and took shorthand notes of all that he said, I am able to give a faithful description of the far-famed belt of the Great Queen.
In length it was a trifle more than thirty inches; in depth it averaged five inches, widening in the centre to almost seven inches. The twelve snakes which composed it were twisted around one another in various contortions; the heads of four of them formed the clasp, their bodies intertwined with those of the snakes behind them; while the heads of the eight other snakes projected, at regular intervals, a little distance beyond either edge of the Girdle. In the centre, the bodies of two snakes were coiled, so as to resemble a circular brooch, some seven inches in diameter.
The delicacy of the workmanship can be understood when I say that the body of each reptile was fashioned out of hundreds of tiny scales, invisibly connected; and when one lifted the belt up at any point, the remainder of it hung limp and quivering. So, also, when placed on the table, the whole thing appeared to be alive, until each restless scale had settled down. But this was not all; for the scales were so arranged that when the Girdle lay flat and open, they closed tightly on each other; yet, as soon as the Girdle was formed into a circle and clasped, the scales on the inner side opened slightly. This peculiarity, we soon discovered, was not unintentional. At my uncle's request, I, one day, fastened the Girdle round my waist, and found that in removing it, it caught in my clothes; then I fastened it next to my skin, when I immediately felt an extraordinary sensation of pricking. We examined the belt again most carefully, and at once became convinced that we had fathomed the mystery of the evil results which we had heard followed the wearing of the Girdle. It was quite evident to me that people, and especially superstitious people, on clasping on the belt and feeling the sharp prickles, would be capable of doing almost anything. This was a most interesting discovery, and, at one fell swoop, it abolished half the magic supposed to be contained in Sophana's Girdle.
To my uncle, however, perhaps the greatest interest was the head of each snake. The eyes were precious stones, and the crown of the head was set with a large stone, in all cases beautifully engraved. The four heads which constituted the clasp were all similar, having small ruby eyes, and on the crown a square of jade upon which was engraved the magic figures, 1, 8, 1, 1 in hieroglyphics.
"Ah!" exclaimed my uncle, "the demon number. Our friend the doctor knows something of it."
"It is as I thought," said Edwards excitedly. "So, Walter, you can no longer scoff. I was right. The 3 and the 8 entered into all my calculations, as you will remember, and there are the mystic numbers at the beginning and at the end of the Golden Girdle. And was it a mere coincidence that Shahzadi's shoe had at first 3 nail-holes on either side, and then 8 nail-holes altogether?"
The heads of the two snakes coiled in the centre had amethysts for eyes, and each was crowned with a square of lapis-lazuli, engraved with the figure of Isis. The six other heads were set with different stones, the eyes being of sapphire, topaz, emerald, garnet, crystal, and cornelian; while the crown stones consisted of circular, oval, or heart-shaped bloodstone, chalcedony, haematite, jasper, onyx, and agate. On each of these large stones were engraved magical formulae, and a figure; the figures representing Osiris, Serapis, Horus, a human-headed lion, a human-headed hawk, and a lion-headed serpent.
Considering the age of the Girdle, and the vicissitudes through which it had passed, it was in a marvellous state of preservation. One or two of the stones had gone from the snakes' eyes, two of the larger stones were cracked, and here and there the bodies of the snakes were a trifle dented. With these exceptions there was little amiss with it; and when my uncle and I had cleaned it, it looked really beautiful.
For days we could talk of little else, and each day we had it brought out from the safe, to examine some particular part. It was photographed from every point of view; careful drawings were made of it; and impressions of each of the stones were taken; but all such things were returned to the safe, each time, to remain with the original, until we should remove the Girdle and everything connected with it, on leaving for England. My uncle refused to allow any description of it to be sent home, as it was his desire that the Girdle itself, in all its glory, should be allowed to burst on the astonished gaze of his _confreres_, without any previous warning.
CHAPTER XXIX.
A PROPHECY FULFILLED.
It was not long before my uncle made known to me the real reason for his journey to the East. The description that I had sent home of the Temple of Sophana had, as he told me, caused the smouldering fire within him to break into flame, and he decided that he was not too old to do something in the world of discovery. The report of my death, however, was a great shock to him, and extinguished the flame of his ambitions. Then, when he heard of my success, he no longer hesitated, but persuaded my father to accompany him, and set out at once. It was therefore, I found, not so much the Golden Girdle that had impelled him to come to Baghdad, as his craving to visit the ruins of Katib, and see with his own eyes what no other European, except myself, had seen. That I should wish to go with him was only natural; but it was not to be, as Edwards declared that I was wholly unfit for such an undertaking.
In due course all arrangements were made; and, at my suggestion, Faris was communicated with, and asked to conduct my father and uncle to the ruins. But it was nearly a month before everything was settled. In the end, Faris agreed to meet the party at the Birs Nimroud on a certain day, and to bring with him a sufficient escort of Aeniza. There he was to receive from my uncle the much coveted shoe of Shahzadi, and he promised to be responsible for the safety of the relatives of his "brother the magician" until he brought them back again to the Birs Nimroud. In my opinion, no expedition ever started under more favourable circumstances, and it was with many heart-burnings that, after seeing the two adventurers and their zaptiehs a few miles on the road, I turned back, and returned with Edwards to Baghdad.
"It is rather sickening," said I, "to be out of this. I must say I should have liked to have had a look at the temple in cold blood."
"Be content," said Edwards, "with what you have already seen and done.
Your constitution has been pretty well undermined as it is, and if you are not ever so careful, you will shatter it altogether."
"It will be a trifle dull," said I, "idling about this place until they come back."
"They will not be very long, I fancy," said Edwards. "The professor promised to waste no time, as he is most anxious to get home with the Girdle. I am to go on six months' leave by the same boat, so we will have merry times. In the meanwhile, I have got a job for you, and if you undertake it, you will not be bored by idleness."
"What is it?" I asked. "Nothing very exciting, I expect."
"Perhaps not quite up to your standard of excitement," said my friend, "but I told your father that I would do my level best to persuade you to carry out his wishes. All you have to do is to take pen, ink, and paper, and put together the story of your wanderings in search of the Golden Girdle."
"How deadly uninteresting," said I, with a groan.
Yet, as the time went on, and I found myself unable to do much riding or take other hard exercise, I began to jot down notes and headings on the paper which Edwards, each day, thrust obtrusively before me; and, at length, I came to the conclusion that such a treasure as the Golden Girdle was indeed worthy of having its history put on record. So I set to work with a will, full of misgivings of my ability to describe the queer things that I had seen and heard in the desert; and, each morning, sitting at my window, overlooking the mighty waters of the Tigris, I added a few sheets to the fast-growing pile.
While thus engaged, I received the first news of the wanderers, contained in a long letter from my father. It was written at Hillah, and finished as the camp was being struck at the Birs Nimroud. Edwards and I read it with intense interest, and both of us blushed when we came to passages dealing with the good names which we had left behind us; for many were the nice things that my father told me he had heard, not only from the Aeniza, but also from the Turkish officials at Hillah. There he had met the cheery old Commandant, who had recently returned from reinstating Ali Khan at Adiba. In the eyes of Ali Khan and his people, we were, the Commandant affirmed, the greatest heroes that Arabia had yet known, and if ever we revisited Adiba, our welcome would be magnificent. At the Birs Nimroud, Faris, Sedjur, two hundred horsemen, and many camels were found waiting, and immediately on his arrival, my uncle presented the sheik, in the presence of his men, with the shoe of Shahzadi, the Aeniza displaying extraordinary enthusiasm on the occasion. "We are just off," concluded my father, "and Sheik Faris is capering around on little Kushki, with the prized shoe dangling from her neck--the two of them as proud as peacocks."
[Illustration: "THE TWO OF THEM AS PROUD AS PEACOCKS"]
After this, we received no further news for some time. Then came the first letter from the ruins, my uncle having arranged that his zaptiehs, whom he had left at Hillah, should act as despatch riders, the Aeniza carrying his letters from Katib to a small village on the Sea of Njef, whence the zaptiehs rode on with them to Hillah and Baghdad. When this first letter was written, the party had been only three days in camp near the ruins, and the temple itself had not then been explored, although my uncle had looked down into it from the gap in the roof. The whole time had been occupied in a thorough examination of the outer chamber, with its ramification of passages, of which my father had made several elaborate plan-drawings. Faris and I had been right in thinking that there was only the one chamber, and that the various passages always led back to it, except, of course, the one by which we had originally entered, by way of the steps. Apparently, this form of building was not unknown to my uncle, who, however, had never actually seen anything of the kind, and was delighted with what he had now observed. With the drawings were numerous rubbings from glazed bricks, paper mouldings from carvings, copies of inscriptions, and a few photographic films, which I was to develop. All such things I had been instructed to place in the great safe with the treasured Girdle, and before long the collection began to swell to vast proportions.
Soon, the desert despatches came in regularly once a week, and each one was more bulky than the last, until the safe would hold no more, and cupboards had to be set apart to receive the accumulating mass of papers. Knowing what I did of my uncle's life at the British Museum, I trembled to think of what he was laying up for his old age. Neither did I relish the idea that he would probably persuade me to assist him in unravelling the threads of all his discoveries.
With considerable impatience I awaited the letter which should tell me that the explorers had reached the temple of the queen-goddess, and, when it came, I was relieved to learn that my uncle was in no way disappointed. In fact, it was evident that he was in the seventh heaven of joy, and had no intention of leaving the place until he had overhauled every nook and corner. They had entered the temple, as Faris and I had done, by the tunnelled way, and had found everything just as we had left it. Our tower of escape still stood against the side wall; Raspul's corpse, shrivelled and dried up, lay on the bench on which we had placed it, and the image, or statue, of Sophana looked down serenely on the debris scattered around her feet. No man had been near the place since that awful night, for Faris said that the tribes had become aware of the murder of the seer in his temple, and knowing that his corpse still remained unburied, feared to visit the spot. Even his own Aeniza refused to pitch their camp nearer than a mile from the ruins. The rosary of the seer had been found, but beyond saying that the beads composing it were highly interesting, my uncle did not enter into details.