A
hermit was he, and a philosopher, and greatly skilled in the secrets
of Nature, and he it was who discovered the Fire that I shall show you,
which is Nature's blood and life, and also that he who bathed therein,
and breathed thereof, should live while Nature lives. But like unto
thee, oh Holly, this man, Noot, would not turn his knowledge to account.
'Ill,' he said, 'was it for man to live, for man was born to die.'
Therefore did he tell his secret to none, and therefore did he come and
live here, where the seeker after Life must pass, and was revered of
the Amahagger of the day as holy, and a hermit. And when first I came to
this country--knowest thou how I came, Kallikrates? Another time I will
tell thee, for it is a strange tale--I heard of this philosopher, and
waited for him when he came to fetch his food, and returned with him
hither, though greatly did I fear to tread the gulf. Then did I beguile
him with my beauty and my wit, and flatter him with my tongue, so that
he led me down and showed me the Fire, and told me the secrets of the
Fire, but he would not suffer me to step therein, and, fearing lest he
should slay me, I refrained, knowing that the man was very old, and soon
would die. And I returned, having learned from him all that he knew of
the wonderful Spirit of the World, and that was much, for the man
was wise and very ancient, and by purity and abstinence, and the
contemplations of his innocent mind, had worn thin the veil between that
which we see and the great invisible truths, the whisper of whose wings
at times we hear as they sweep through the gross air of the world.
Then--it was but a very few days after, I met thee, my Kallikrates,
who hadst wandered hither with the beautiful Egyptian Amenartas, and I
learned to love for the first and last time, once and for ever, so that
it entered into my mind to come hither with thee, and receive the gift
of Life for thee and me. Therefore came we, with that Egyptian who would
not be left behind, and, behold, we found the old man Noot lying but
newly dead. _There_ he lay, and his white beard covered him like a
garment," and she pointed to a spot near where I was sitting; "but
surely he hath long since crumbled into dust, and the wind hath borne
his ashes hence."

Here I put out my hand and felt in the dust, and presently my fingers
touched something. It was a human tooth, very yellow, but sound. I held
it up and showed it to Ayesha, who laughed.

"Yes," sh