One more glance and I was sure of it -- there was danger
in standing on the floor. Sir Henry was placed on one side of
me, Umslopogaas on the other. Keeping my eyes fixed straight
before me, I whispered to them, first in Zulu and then in English,
to draw slowly back inch by inch till half their feet were resting
on the marble flooring where the brass ceased. Sir Henry whispered
on to Good and Alphonse, and slowly, very very slowly, we shifted
backwards; so slowly that nobody, except Nyleptha and Sorais,
who saw everything seemed to notice the movement. Then I glanced
again at Nyleptha, and saw that, by an almost imperceptible nod,
she indicated approval. All the while Agon's eyes were fixed
upon the altar before him apparently in an ecstasy of contemplation,
and mine were fixed upon the small of his back in another sort
of ecstasy. Suddenly he flung up his long arm, and in a solemn
and resounding voice commenced a chant, of which for convenience'
sake I append a rough, a _very_ rough, translation here, though,
of course, I did not then comprehend its meaning. It was
an invocation to the Sun, and ran somewhat as follows: --
There is silence upon the face of the Earth and the waters thereof!
Yea, the silence doth brood on the waters like a nesting bird;
The silence sleepeth also upon the bosom of the profound darkness,
Only high up in the great spaces star doth speak unto star,
The Earth is faint with longing and wet with the tears of her desire;
The star-girdled night doth embrace her, but she is not comforted.
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