The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-03-29
THE LADY OF THE HEAVENS.
Copyright, 1908, by H. Rider Haggard


III1lIiI1liI1IIiIIiI I1iIlSaIAI1ijlIN
 came to a cave in which sat my father, | Seyapi. and near to him my mother,
 and my other mothers, his wives. and l by brothers and sisters. all of whom | the Zulus killed, the wild beast, | Ibubesi. told them to do." T saw Ibubesi, and he prayed me for my pardon. and I granted it to | him." broke in Rachel.
 T did not see him. went on Noie l hercely, "nor would I have pardoned him if I had. Nor do I think that my l father and his family pardon him; I ] think that they wait to bear testimony against him before the Lord of the dead.''
 Did Seyapi tell you so?" asked Ra- che1.
 Nay. he sat there beneath a black tree whereof I could not see the top, and gazed into a bowl of black water, and in that bowl he showed me many pictures of things that have been and things that are to come, but they are
 secret. I may say nothing of them" And what was the end of it, my niece?" asked Nya, bending forward eagerly.
 Mother, the end of it was that the
 black tree which was shaped like the tree of our tribe above us took fire and went up in fierce flame. Then the roofs of the caves fell in and all
 the people of the dwarfs flew through
 the roofs. singing and rejoicing, into
 a place of light; only" she added slow,
 ly. ''it seemed to me that I was left
 alone amidst the ruins of the caves, I
 and the white ghost of the tree. Then
 voice cried to me to make my heart
 bold, to bear all things with patience,
 since to those who dare much for
 loves sake. much will be forgiven. So I wake, but what those words mean I cannot guess, seeing that I love no man, and never shall" and she rested her chin upon her hand and sat there musing-
 '.No,'' replied Nya. thou lowest no man, and therefore the riddle is hard" but as she spoke her eyes fell upon
 Rachel.
 Mother" said Rachel presently.
 "my heart Is the hungrier for all that
 it has fed upon. Can thy magic send
 me back to that country of the dead
 that I may search for him again? If so, for his sake I will dare the jour ney."
 Not so," answered Nya, shaking her head; ''it Is a road that very few have travelled: and none may travel twice
 and live"
 Now Rachel began to weep.
 Weep not, Maiden, there are other roads and perchance tomorrow thou shalt walk them. Now lie down and dreams"
 So they laid themselves down and slept. but the old witch-wife, Nya, sat waiting and watched them.
 'I think I understand,' she mur- mured to herself, as she gazed at the slumbering Rachel, flor to her who is so pure and good, and who has suffer ed such cruel wrong. the Guardians would not lie. I think I understand and that can find a path. Sleep on, sweet maiden sleep on in hope"
 Then she looked at Noie and shook her grey head.
 T do not understand" she mutter- ed. ''The blaci. tree shaped like the Tree of our Tribe. and Seyapi of the old blood seated beneath it. The tree that went up in fire, and the maid of | the old blood left alone with the ghost l of it, while the dwarf flew into light | and freedom. What does it mean? An. | that picture in the bowl! Now I can guess. Those who dare much for | love- It did not say for love of man, l and woman can love woman. But | would she dare a deed that none of Zulu blood is bold. Perhaps. perhaps. OhI Eddo, thou black sorcerer, whith CT art thou leading the Children of the Tree? On thy head be it. Eddo. not on mine. on thy head forever and for ever"
 When Rachel awoke. refreshed, on the following day. she lay a while Every detail of her vision now she was sure that it had been but a dream. Yet what a wonderful dream? How, even in her sleo- had she found the imagination to concieve
  magic rush beyond the stars: that mighty world set round with black cliffs against which rolled the waves of space; that changeful. wondrous world which unfolded itself petal by petal like a. rose, every petal lovelier and different from the last; that grey hall roofed with tilted Drecipices: and then those dead. those multftudes of the dead!
 What power had been born in her that she could imagine such things as these? Vision she had, like her mother but not after this sort. Per haps it was but an aftermath of her madness. for into the minds of the mad creep strange sights and sounds, and this place, and the people amongst whom she sojourned, the Ghost-people, the grey Dwarf-people. the Dealers in dreams, the Dwellers in the sombre forest, might we'll open new doors in such a soul as hers. Or perhaps she was still mad. She did not know, she did not greatly care. All she knew was that her poor heart ached with love for a man who was dead. and yet whom she could not find even among the dead. She had wished to die, but now she longed for death no Smore, fearing lest after all there should be something in that vision which the magic of Nya had summoned up. and that when she reached the further shcre she might not find him who dwelt in a different world. Oh! if only she could find him. then she would be { glad enough to go wherever it was that he had gone-
 Now Noie was awake at her side, and they talked together.
 we must have dreamt dreams. Noie," she said. Perhaps the Mother mir gled some drug with our food"
 'I do not know, Zoola,' answered Noie, ''but if so I want no more of those dreams which bode no good to me. Besides. who can tell what is 1 dream and what is truth? Mayhap this world is the dream, and the truth IS such things as we saw last night and she would say no more on the 1 matter.
 Nothing happened within the Wall that day, that is, nothing out of the common. A certain number of the 1 privileged, priestIy caste of the dwarfs were carried or conducted into the holy place. and up to the Fence of Death that they might die there, and a cer- tain number were brought out for ( burial. Some of those who came in were folk weary of life, or in other words suicides. and these walked, and