The marble of the pavement was of so high a polish, that the great
torches were reflected even there.
This room, I repeat, was round a perfect circle of which the fountain
at our backs was the center.
We sat facing the curving walls. Before long, we began to be able to
see them. They were of peculiar construction, divided into a series
of niches, broken, ahead of us, by the door which had just opened to
give us passage, behind us, by a second door, a still darker hole
which I divined in the darkness when I turned around. From one door to
the other, I counted sixty niches, making, in all, one hundred and
twenty. Each was about ten feet high. Each contained a kind of case,
larger above than below, closed only at the lower end. In all these
cases, except two just opposite me, I thought I could discern a
brilliant shape, a human shape certainly, something like a statue of
very pale bronze. In the arc of the circle before me, I counted
clearly thirty of these strange statues.
What were these statues? I wanted to see. I rose.
M. Le Mesge put his hand on my arm.
"In good time," he murmured in the same low voice, "all in good time."
The Professor was watching the door by which we had entered the hall,
and from behind which we could hear the sound of footsteps becoming
more and more distinct.
It opened quietly to admit three Tuareg slaves. Two of them were
carrying a long package on their shoulders; the third seemed to be
their chief.
At a sign from him, they placed the package on the ground and drew out
from one of the niches the case which it contained.
"You may approach, gentlemen," said M. Le Mesge.
He motioned the three Tuareg to withdraw several paces.
"You asked me, not long since, for some proof of the Egyptian
influence on this country," said M. Le Mesge. "What do you say to that
case, to begin with?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the case that the servants had deposited
upon the ground after they took it from its niche.
Morhange uttered a thick cry.
We had before us one of those cases designed for the preservation of
mummies. The same shiny wood, the same bright decorations, the only
difference being that here Tifinar writing replaced the hieroglyphics.
The form, narrow at the base, broader above, ought to have been enough
to enlighten us.
I have already said that the lower half of this large case was
closed, giving the whole structure the appearance of a rectangular
wooden shoe.