Rahah entered into her part with keen delight, jerked the camphor-bottle to the floor with her elbow, and jumped up with a most artistically guilty start when Dick and Stratford entered with the four Ethiopians, while Georgia dropped the hammer with a clatter on the stones.
“What is in that box which the women are nailing up?” demanded Abd-ur-Rahim, sharply, while the faces of his followers betrayed much excitement, not unmixed with triumph.
“Do they really want to know?” asked Georgia, with something like pity in her tones, when the question was translated to her. “Well, I will show them if they are so anxious to see it.”
Lifting the lid, she drew out with one hand the bottle containing the snake, and with the other one which enclosed a very evil-looking deformed frog, and held them out to the inquisitors, who recoiled precipitately.
“They are the devils which obeyed the English doctor who was carried off by Shaitan from his house at Kubbet-ul-Haj!” was the murmur which went round.
“There are plenty more in the box,” said Georgia, cheerfully. “You can unpack them for yourselves if you would like to look at them; only I would advise you for your own sakes to take care not to break the bottles.”
“Is it true that if the bottles were opened the devils would get loose?” asked one of the Ethiopians, in an awful whisper.
“It is quite true that if the bottles are opened what is in them will come out,” responded Georgia, setting down on the box the two she had been holding; “but you shall see for yourselves what will happen.”
She lifted the bottle containing the frog, as though to hurl it in the direction of the visitors, but Abd-ur-Rahim interposed hastily in much agitation.
“Let my lord entreat the doctor lady to let the evil things remain where they are,” he said to Stratford. “Surely he must know that I have but obeyed the commands I have received, and that I have done my best to save him and his company from all annoyance. Moreover, though the doctor lady should destroy these men and myself by her magic, my soldiers outside would certainly set the palace on fire, and burn her and all my lord’s company, when they found out what had happened. Suffer her not, then, to work us evil, and we will but ask her a few questions and depart.”