As they drew near to these priests the Asika loosed a scarf that she wore over her breast-plate of gold fish scales, and threw the star-spangled thing over Alan's head, that even these priests should not see his face.

Then she spoke a word to them and they opened the gates.

Here Jeekie evinced a disposition to remain, remarking to his master that he thought that place, into which he had never entered, "much too holy for poor nigger like him." The Asika asked him what he had said and he explained his sense of unworthiness in her own tongue.
"Come, fellow," she exclaimed, "to translate my words and to bear witness that no trick is played upon your lord." Still Jeekie lingered bashfully, whereon at a sign from her one of the priests pricked him behind with his great spear, and uttering a low howl he sprang forward.
The Asika led the way down a passage, which they saw ended in a big hall lit with lamps.

Now they were in it and Alan became aware that they had entered the treasure house of the Asiki, since here were piled up great heaps of gold, gold in ingots, gold in nuggets, in stone jars filled with dust, in vessels plain or embossed with monstrous shapes in fetishes and in little squares and discs that looked as though they had served as coins.

Never had he seen so much gold before.
"You are rich here, Lady," he said, gazing at the piles astonished.
She shrugged her shoulders.