"It is not wise to move!" purred Yasmini.
They did not see her make any sign, though she must have made one,
for their eyes were fixed on the swaying snakes, and their brains
were active with the problem of whether to try to shoot or not. It
seemed to them that the snakes reached a resolution first, and
struck. And in the same instant as each drew his pistol the hooded
messengers of death were jerked out of sight by hands that snatched
at horsehair from behind the hangings.
"I have many such!" smiled Yasmini, and they turned to meet her eyes
again, hoping she could not read the fear in theirs. "But that is not
why the sahib shall beg of me." Kirby was not too overcome to notice
the future tense. "That is only a reason why the sahibs should forget
their Western manners. But--if the pistols please the sahibs--"
They stowed their pistols away again and sat as if the very cushions
might be stuffed with snakes, both of them aware that she had
produced a mental effect which was more to her advantage than the
pistols would have been had they made her a present of them. She gave
a sudden shrill cry that startled them and made them look wildly for
the door; but she had done no more than command a punkah-wallah, and
the heavy-beamed punkah began to swing rhythmically overhead, adding,
if that were possible, to the mesmeric spell.
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