flickering flame. Suddenly, as I was trying to make up my mind what
to do, with a convulsive movement that somehow gave an impression of
despairing energy, the woman rose to her feet and cast the dark cloak
from her.

It was _She_ herself!

She was clothed, as I had seen her when she unveiled, in the kirtle of
clinging white, cut low upon her bosom, and bound in at the waist with
the barbaric double-headed snake, and, as before, her rippling black
hair fell in heavy masses down her back. But her face was what caught my
eye, and held me as in a vice, not this time by the force of its beauty,
but by the power of fascinated terror. The beauty was still there,
indeed, but the agony, the blind passion, and the awful vindictiveness
displayed upon those quivering features, and in the tortured look of the
upturned eyes, were such as surpass my powers of description.

For a moment she stood still, her hands raised high above her head, and
as she did so the white robe slipped from her down to her golden girdle,
baring the blinding loveliness of her form. She stood there, her fingers
clenched, and the awful look of malevolence gathered and deepened on her
face.

Suddenly I thought of what would happen if she discovered me, and the
reflection made me turn sick and faint. But, even if I had known that I
must die if I stopped, I do not believe that I could have moved, for
I was absolutely fascinated. But still I knew my danger. Supposing she
should hear me, or see me through the curtain, supposing I even sneezed,
or that her magic told her that she was being watched--swift indeed
would be my doom.