the cauldron.
They came at last to the entrance to the cavern cathedral of St.
Frumentius. It was a circular opening like the mouth of a fish, but the
surrounds of the portals were painted with a dense border of stars and
crosses, and of saintly heads. The portraits were primitive, and
rendered in ochre and soft earthy tones that were all the more appealing
for their childlike simplicity. The eyes of the saints were huge and
outlined in charcoal, their expressions tranquil and benign.
A deacon in a grubby green velvet robe guarded the entrance, but when
Tessay spoke to him he smiled and nodded and gestured for them to enter.
The lintel was low and Nicholas had to duck his head to pass under it,
but on the far side he raised it again to look about him in amazement.
The roof of the cavern was so high that it was lost in the gloom. The
rock walls -were covered with murals, a celestial host of angels and
archangels who flickered and wavered in the light of the candles and oil
lamps. They were partially obscured by the long tapestry banners that
hung down the walls, grimy with incense soot, their fringes frayed and
tattered. On one of these St. Michael rode a prancing white horse, on
another the Virgin knelt at the foot of the cross, while above her the
pate body of Christ bled from the wound of the Roman spear in his side.
This was the outer nave of the church. In the far wall '. the doorway to
the middle chamber was guarded by a massive pair of wooden doors that
stood open. The three of them crossed the stone floor, picking their way
between the kneeling petitioners and pilgrims in their rags and tatters,
in their misery and their religious ecstasy. In the feeble light of the
lamps and the blue haze of incense smoke they seemed lost souls
languishing eternally in the outer darkness of purgatory.
The visitors reached the set of three stone steps that led up to the
inner doors, but their way was blocked at the threshold by two robed
deacons in tall, flat-topped hats.
One of these addressed Tessay sternly.
'They will not even let us enter the qiddist, the middle chamber,'
Tessay told them regretfully. 'Beyond that lies the maqdas, the Holy of
Holies.' A
They peered past the guards, and in the gloom of the qiddist could just
make out the door to the inner sanctum.
'Only the ordained priests are allowed to enter the maqdas, for it
contains the tabot and the entrance to the tomb of the saint.'
Disappointed and frustrated, they made their way out of the cavern and
back along the terrace. They ate their dinner under a sky full of stars.
The air was still stiflingly hot, and clouds of mosquitoes hovered just
out of range of the repellents with which they had all smeared their
exposed skin.
'And so, English, I have got you where you wanted to be. Now, how are
you going to find this animal that you have come so far to hunt?' The
vodka was making Boris belligerent again.
'At first light I want you to send out your trackers to work the country
downstream from here,' Nicholas told him. 'Dik-dik are usually active in
the early morning, and again late in the afternoon.'
