— she indicated the rich furnishing of the saloon, the sideboard silver and plate, the stained glass of the skylight.

“All these things I have, and more — nay, but thy treasures are nothing compared with what I shall show thee in the great chamber — yet must I keep them hidden because of the beasts that call me Sultana! Where they came from, these treasures, must be men like thee, Tomlin, women like the painted women of my gallery, people with the art to make these things instead of the brute power to steal them. And there I will go, and thou art to be my guide.”

“Then, in Heaven’s name, let us go now!” cried Tomlin, trying to rise. She laughed in his ear again, and her soft, warm arms pressed him back in the chair with a power that amazed him.