which the wise said had once been houses wherein men lived, and it was
suggested that they were descended from these men. No one, however,
dared go near these great ruins, because they were haunted: they only
looked on them from a distance. Other similar ruins were to be seen, she
had heard, in various parts of the country, that is, wherever one of
the mountains rose above the level of the swamp. Also the caves in which
they lived had been hollowed out of the rocks by men, perhaps the same
who built the cities. They themselves had no written laws, only custom,
which was, however, quite as binding as law. If any man offended
against the custom, he was put to death by order of the Father of the
"Household." I asked how he was put to death, and she only smiled and
said that I might see one day soon.

They had a Queen, however. _She_ was their Queen, but she was very
rarely seen, perhaps once in two or three years, when she came forth to
pass sentence on some offenders, and when seen was muffled up in a big
cloak, so that nobody could look upon her face. Those who waited upon
her were deaf and dumb, and therefore could tell no tales, but it was
reported that she was lovely as no other woman was lovely, or ever had
been. It was rumoured also that she was immortal, and had power over
all things, but she, Ustane, could say nothing of all that. What she
believed was that the Queen chose a husband from time to time, and as
soon as a female child was born, this husband, who was never again seen,
was put to death. Then the female child grew up and took the place of
the Queen when its mother died, and had been buried in the great caves.
But of these matters none could speak with certainty. Only _She_ was
obeyed throughout the length and breadth of the land, and to question
her command was instant death. She kept a guard, but had no regular
army, and to disobey her was to die.