The mechanical effort of rocking her body from side to side brought no
rest; the blow she struck upon her breast in her frenzy she felt no more
than the oaken door had felt those she had dealt it with the club. She
could not find even the soothing antidote of bodily pain for her intense
moral suffering. Again the time passed without her knowing or guessing
of its passage.
Driven to desperation she sprang at last from her seat and cried aloud.
“I would give my soul to know that he is safe!”
The words had not died away when a low groan passed, as it were, round
the room. The sound was distinctly that of a human voice, but it seemed
to come from all sides at once. Unorna stood still and listened.
“Who is in this room?” she asked in loud clear tones.
Not a breath stirred. She glanced from one specimen to another, as
though suspecting that among the dead some living being had taken a
disguise. But she knew them all. There was nothing new to her there. She
was not afraid. Her passion returned.
“My soul!--yes!” she cried again, leaning heavily on the table, “I would
give it if I could know, and it would be little enough!”
Again that awful sound filled the room, and rose now almost to a wail
and died away.
Unorna’s brow flushed angrily. In the direct line of her vision stood
the head of the Malayan woman, its soft, embalmed eyes fixed on hers.
“If there are people hidden here,” cried Unorna fiercely, “let them show
themselves! let them face me! I say it again--I would give my immortal
soul!”
This time Unorna saw as well as heard. The groan came, and the wail
followed it and rose to a shriek that deafened her. And she saw how
the face of the Malayan woman changed; she saw it move in the bright
lamp-light, she saw the mouth open. Horrified, she looked away. Her eyes
fell upon the squatting savages--their heads were all turned towards
her, she was sure that she could see their shrunken chests heave as they
took breath to utter that terrible cry again and again; even the fallen
body of the African stirred on the floor, not five paces from her. Would
their shrieking never stop? All of them--every one--even to the white
skulls high up in the case; not one skeleton, not one dead body that did
not mouth at her and scream and moan and scream again.
Unorna covered her ears with her hands to shut out the hideous,
unearthly noise. She closed her eyes lest she should see those dead
things move. Then came another noise. Were they descending from their
pedestals and cases and marching upon her, a heavy-footed company of
corpses?
Fearless to the last, she dropped her hands and opened her eyes.
“In spite of you all,” she cried defiantly, “I will give my soul to have
him safe!”
Something was close to her. She turned and saw Keyork Arabian at her
elbow. There was an odd smile on his usually unexpressive face.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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