wear it," Ayesha
muttered with a groan. Then she cried in a ringing voice,

"Back and to horse, for I have deeds to do this day. Nay, bide thou
here, Holly; we go a shorter path while the army skirts the gorge. Oros,
give him food and drink and bathe that hurt upon his head. It is but a
bruise, for his hood and hair are thick."

So while Oros rubbed some stinging lotion on my scalp, I ate and drank
as best I could till my brain ceased to swim, for the blow, though
heavy, had not fractured the bone. When I was ready they brought the
horses to us, and mounting them, slowly we scrambled up the steep bed of
the water-course.

"See," Ayesha said, pointing to tracks and hoof-prints on the plain at
its head, "there was a chariot awaiting him, and harnessed to it were
four swift horses. Atene's scheme was clever and well laid, and I, grown
oversure and careless, slept through it all!"

On this plain the army of the Tribes that had broken camp before the
dawn was already gathering fast; indeed, the cavalry, if I may call them
so, were assembled there to the number of about five thousand men, each
of whom had a led horse. Ayesha summoned the chiefs and captains, and
addressed them. "Servants of Hes," she said, "the stranger lord, my
betrothed and guest, has been tricked by a false priest and, falling
into a cunning snare, captured as a hostage. It is necessary that I
follow him fast, before harm comes--to him. We move down to attack the
army of the Khania beyond the river. When its passage is forced I pass
on with the horsemen, for I must sleep in the city of Kaloon to-night.
What sayest thou, Oros? That a second and greater army defends its
walls? Man, I know it, and if there is need, that army I will destroy.
Nay, stare not at me. Already they are as dead. Horsemen, you accompany
me.

"Captains of the Tribes, you follow, and woe be to that man who hangs
back in the hour of battle, for death and eternal shame shall be his
portion, but wealth and honour to those who bear them bravely. Yes, I
tell you, theirs shall be the fair land of Kaloon. You have your orders
for the passing of yonder river. I, with the horsemen, take the central
ford. Let the wings advance."

The chiefs answered with a cheer, for they were fierce men whose
ancestors had loved war for generations. Moreover, mad as seemed the
enterprise, they trusted in their Oracle, the Hesea, and, like all hill
peoples, were easily fired by the promise of rich plunder.