Very soon they were all on the wall, and Webster led them along a narrow passage, which coiled round and round between heavy walls to an inner chamber, whose floor was covered with sand.
It seemed so retired, was so silent, that in security they placed no guard, they made no fire, neither did they talk; but stretched themselves on the sand and slept, and the sky was blue above them when they opened their eyes again.
Yet weariness weighed upon their lids, their limbs were heavy, and the morning air was charged with a sweet odour that seemed to lull the senses.
Slowly they opened their eyes, blinked at the strong light, closed them again, without any feeling of surprise that they had slept so long, then remained still, listening idly. They heard, afar off, the drowsy war-song of the Zulu warriors; but it was a sound detached from their surroundings that no longer moved them. They did not ask themselves where they were nor why. A strange relaxation of mind and body had overcome them—the reaction possibly from the fierce impulse which had impelled them on in face of all danger. Constant anxiety, want of sleep, and poor food had worn them out. Was that the explanation of their stupor, or did it arise from some other source—that faint and subtle odour that recalled to Laura, at least, the swinging of a censer in some dimly-lighted aisle? She saw the shadowy figures of priests moving softly to and fro, the forms of women kneeling, and involuntarily there broke from her lips, in a tremulous whisper, the petition, “Ave Maria.”
Webster stirred, and muttered with a yawn:
“Eight bells, and my watch; a calm sea, and a bright night.”
“Eh!” said Hume; “what’s the matter with my eyes? I cannot open them.”
“We’re bewitched!” shouted Klaas.
They sat up, and then with a cry of fear and amazement looked at each other. They were bound hand and foot!
Bound with the very rheims which they had used to secure their packs, their weapons removed, and all their belongings. And yet not one of them had felt the slightest touch, or heard the faintest movement of their enemies, neither was there anyone visible beyond themselves.