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For the rest it seemed unkind to refuse her invitation now when she was in trouble, especially as I had once promised that if ever I could be of help, she had only to command me. No, I must go. But if that word /Taduki/ were so much as mentioned I would leave again in a hurry. Moreover it would not be, for doubtless she had forgotten all about the stuff by now, even if it were not lost.
"Whoever dreamed of such a thing?" "You did," she answered, looking me in the eyes. "Now before we go I want to say one more thing. Harût and the head priestess have made me a present. They have given me a box full of that herb they called tobacco, but of which I have discovered the real name is Taduki.
"Perhaps, only I don't think Karema would ever have gone back to Ethiopia unless she was obliged. You remember how she hated the place. No, not even to see those black children of hers. Well, as we can never tell, it is no use speculating." "I thought there /was/ more /Taduki/," I remarked sadly. "I am sure I saw some in the coffer."
I have therefore only to repeat that I will not eat your apple, or rather, breathe your /Taduki/." "Adam over again," she replied, shaking her head. "The same old beginning and the same old end, because you see at last you will do exactly what Adam did." Here she rose and standing over me, looked me straight in the eyes with the curious result that all my will power seemed to evaporate.
Before she left the Kendah country, however, the priesthood presented her with two ancient rolls of papyrus, also with a quantity of a certain herb, not unlike tobacco in appearance, which by the Kendah was called /Taduki/. Once, before we took our great homeward journey across the desert, Lady Ragnall and I had a curious conversation about this herb whereof the property is to cause the person who inhales its fumes to become clairvoyant, or to dream dreams, whichever the truth may be.
Moreover he implored me, if the chance should ever come my way, to pursue experiments with /Taduki/ fumes and let him know the results. Here our conversation came to an end for suddenly a band that was braying near by, struck up "God save the Queen," and we hastily exchanged cards and parted.
So I sat down there in front of the fire, not even daring to smoke lest tobacco should complicate /Taduki/. Presently I heard a low sound of laughter, looked up and nearly fell backwards, that is, metaphorically, for the chair prevented such a physical collapse.
At any rate, there she stood, a lovely and inspired priestess clad in her sacerdotal robes, and sang, waving her arms and fixing her eyes upon mine. Presently she bent down, took a little of the /Taduki/ weed and with words of incantation, dropped it upon the embers in the bowl. Twice she did this, then sat herself upon the couch and waited.
Next she brought that accursed /Taduki/ box, I mean the inner silver one, the contents of which I heartily wished I had thrown upon the fire, and set it down, open, near the tripod. Lastly she lifted some glowing embers of wood from the grate with tongs, and dropped them into the stone bowl. "I think that's all. Now for the great adventure," she said in a voice that was at once rapt and dreamy.
Somehow her touch gave me confidence again and enabled me to say quite boldly that I only wanted my dinner. "Yes," she replied, "but you are not to eat much and you must only drink water. The priestesses in Kendah Land told me that this was necessary before taking /Taduki/ in its strongest form, as we are going to do to-night.
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