what mine do men dig out gold in such
great masses? Iron ore, beloved, that by my alchemy I change to gold,
which soon shall serve us in our need."

Now Leo stared and I groaned, for I did not believe that it was gold,
and still less that she could make that metal. Then, reading my thought,
with one of those sudden changes of mood that were common to her, Ayesha
grew very angry.

"By Nature's self!" she cried; "wert thou not my friend, Holly, the fool
whom it pleases me to cherish, I would bind that right hand of thine
in those secret rays till the very bones within it were turned to gold.
Nay, why should I be vexed with thee, who art both blind and deaf?
Yet thou _shalt_ be persuaded," and leaving us, she passed down the
passages, called something to the priests who were labouring in the
workshop, then returned to us.

Presently they followed her, carrying on a kind of stretcher between
them an ingot of iron ore that seemed to be as much as they could lift.

"Now," she said, "how wilt thou that I mark this mass which as thou must
admit is only iron? With the sign of Life? Good," and at her bidding the
priests took cold-chisels and hammers and roughly cut upon its surface
the symbol of the looped cross--the _crux ansata_.

"It is not enough," she said when they had finished. "Holly, lend me
that knife of thine, to-morrow I will return it to thee, and of more
value."

So I drew my hunting knife, an Indian-made thing, that had a handle of
plated iron, and gave it her.

"Thou knowest the marks on it," and she pointed to various dents and to
the maker's name upon the blade; for though the hilt was Indian work the
steel was of Sheffield manufacture.

I nodded. Then she bade the priests put on the ray-proof armour that
we had discarded, and told us to go without the chamber and lie in the
darkness of the passage with our faces against the floor.

This we did, and remained so until, a few minutes later, she called us
again. We rose and returned into the chamber to find the priests, who
had removed the protecting garments, gasping and rubbing the salve upon
their eyes; to find also that the lump of iron ore and my knife were
gone. Next she commanded them to place the block of gold-coloured metal
upon their stretcher and to bring it with them. They obeyed, and we
noted that, although those priests were both of them strong men they
groaned beneath its weight.

"How came it," said Leo, "that thou, a woman, couldst car