“Thou, Holly,” she said quickly, “who art ever of a cavilling and suspicious mind, remembering what I said but now, believest that I lie to thee.”

I protested that I was only reflecting upon an apparent variation between two statements.

“Play not with words,” she answered; “in thy heart thou didst write me down a liar, and I take that ill.  Know, foolish man, that when I said that the Macedonian Alexander lived before me, I meant before this present life of mine.  In the existence that preceded it, though I outlasted him by thirty years, we were born in the same summer, and I knew him well, for I was the Oracle whom he consulted most upon his wars, and to my wisdom he owed his victories.  Afterwards we quarrelled, and I left him and pushed forward with Rassen.  From that day the bright star of Alexander began to wane.”  At this Leo made a sound that resembled a whistle.  In a very agony of apprehension, beating back the criticisms and certain recollections of the strange tale of the old abbot, Kou-en, which would rise within me, I asked quickly—­“And dost thou, Ayesha, remember well all that befell thee in this former life?”

“Nay, not well,” she answered, meditatively, “only the greater facts, and those I have for the most part recovered by that study of secret things which thou callest vision or magic.  For instance, my Holly, I recall that thou wast living in that life.  Indeed I seem to see an ugly philosopher clad in a dirty robe and filled both with wine and the learning of others, who disputed with Alexander till he grew wroth with him and caused him to be banished, or drowned:  I forget which.”

“I suppose that I was not called Diogenes?” I asked tartly, suspecting, perhaps not without cause, that Ayesha was amusing herself by fooling me.

“No,” she replied gravely, “I do not think that was thy name.  The Diogenes thou speakest of was a much more famous man, one of real if crabbed wisdom; moreover, he did not indulge in wine.  I am mindful of very little of that life, however, not of more indeed than are many of the followers of the prophet Buddha, whose doctrines I have studied and of whom thou, Holly, hast spoken to me so much.  Maybe we did not meet while it endured.  Still I recollect that the Valley of Bones, where I found thee, my Leo, was the place where a great battle was fought between the Fire-priests with their vassals, the Tribes of the Mountain and the army of Rassen aided by the people of Kaloon.  For between these and the Mountain, in old days as now, there was enmity, since in this present war history does but rewrite itself.”

“So thou thyself wast our guide,” said Leo, looking at her sharply.

“Aye, Leo, who else? though it is not wonderful that thou didst not know me beneath those deathly wrappings.  I was minded to wait and receive thee in the Sanctuary, yet when I learned that at length both of you had escaped Atene and drew near, I could restrain myself no more, but came forth thus hideously disguised.  Yes, I was with you even at the river’s bank, and though you saw me not, there sheltered you from harm.