o Leo held it high above his head.
Slowly she let her hand fall until the glittering coronet rested for an
instant on his brow. Then she spoke, in her glorious voice that rolled
out rich and low, a very paean of triumph and of power.

"By this poor, earthly symbol I create thee King of Earth; yea in its
round for thee is gathered all her rule. Be thou its king, and mine!"

Again the coronet was held aloft, again it sank, and again she said or
rather chanted--"With this unbroken ring, token of eternity, I swear to
thee the boon of endless days. Endure thou while the world endures, and
be its lord, and mine."

A third time the coronet touched his brow.

"By this golden round I do endow thee with Wisdom's perfect gold
uncountable, that is the talisman whereat all nature's secret paths
shall open to thy feet. Victorious, victorious, tread thou her wondrous
ways with me, till from her topmost peak at last she wafts us to our
immortal throne whereof the columns twain are Life and Death."

Then Ayesha cast away the crown and lo! it fell upon the breast of the
lost Atene and rested there.

"Art content with these gifts of mine, my lord?" she cried.

Leo looked at her sadly and shook his head.

"What more wilt thou then? Ask and I swear it shall be thine."

"Thou swearest; but wilt thou keep the oath?"

"Aye, by myself I swear; by myself and by the Strength that bred me.
If it be ought that I can grant--then if I refuse it to thee, may such
destruction fall upon me as will satisfy even Atene's watching soul."

I heard and I think that another heard also, at least once more the
stony smile shone in the eyes of the Shaman.

"I ask of thee nothing that thou canst not give. Ayesha, I ask of
thee thyself--not at some distant time when I have been bathed in a
mysterious fire, but now, now this night."

She shrank back from him a little, as though dismayed.

"Surely," she said slowly, "I am like that foolish philosopher who,
walking abroad to read the destinies of nations in the stars, fell down
a pitfall dug by idle children and broke his bones and perished there.
Never did I guess that with all these glories stretched before thee
like mountain top on glittering mountain top, making a stairway for thy
mortal feet to the very dome of heaven, thou wouldst still clutch at thy
native earth and seek of it--but the common boon of woman's love.

"Oh! Leo, I thought that thy soul was set upon nobler aims, that thou
wouldst pr