you, O Watcher-by-night, whom we have travelled far to find," said the
younger man. Then together,

"We both greet you, O Lord, who seem small but are great, O Chief with
a troubled past and with a mighty future, O Beloved of Mameena who has
'gone down' but still speaks from beneath, Mameena who was and is of our
company."

At this point it was my turn to shiver and become pale, as any may guess
who may have chanced to read the history of Mameena, and the turn of
Miss Holmes to watch _me_ with animated interest.

"O Slayer of evil men and beasts!" they went on, in their rich-voiced,
monotonous chant, "who, as our magic tells us, are destined to deliver
our land from the terrible scourge, we greet you, we bow before you, we
acknowledge you as our lord and brother, to whom we vow safety among us
and in the desert, to whom we promise a great reward."

Again they bowed, once, twice, thrice; then stood silent before me with
folded arms.

"What on earth are they saying?" asked Scroope. "I could catch a few
words"--he knew a little kitchen Zulu--"but not much."

I told him briefly while the others listened.

"What does Mameena mean?" asked Miss Holmes, with a horrible acuteness.
"Is it a woman's name?"

Hearing her, Harût and Marût bowed as though doing reverence to that