MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01D08B27.5CB38A40" This document is a Single File Web Page, also known as a Web Archive file. If you are seeing this message, your browser or editor doesn't support Web Archive files. Please download a browser that supports Web Archive, such as Windows® Internet Explorer®. ------=_NextPart_01D08B27.5CB38A40 Content-Location: file:///C:/A87AB227/QueenSheba'sRing.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="windows-1252"
Queen Sheba's Ring
By
H. Rider Haggard
Contents
CHAPTER
I - THE COMING OF THE RING
CHAPTER
II - THE ADVICE OF SERGEANT QUICK.
CHAPTER
III - THE PROFESSOR GOES OUT SHOOTING..
CHAPTER
V - PHARAOH MAKES TROUBLE
CHAPTER
VI - HOW WE ESCAPED FROM HARMAC
CHAPTER
VIII - THE SHADOW OF FATE
CHAPTER
IX - THE SWEARING OF THE OATH
CHAPTER
X - QUICK LIGHTS A MATCH
CHAPTER
XII - THE DEN OF LIONS
CHAPTER
XIII - THE ADVENTURES OF HIGGS
CHAPTER
XIV - HOW PHARAOH MET SHADRACH
CHAPTER
XV - SERGEANT QUICK HAS A PRESENTIMENT.
CHAPTER
XVI - HARMAC COMES TO MUR
CHAPTER
XVIII - THE BURNING OF THE PALACE.
CHAPTER
XX - THE TRIAL AND AFTER
CHAPTER I - THE COMING OF=
THE
RING
Every one has read
the monograph, I believe that is the right word, of my dear friend, Profess=
or
Higgs--Ptolemy Higgs to give him his full name--descriptive of the tablelan=
d of
Mur in North Central Africa, of the ancient underground city in the mountai=
ns
which surrounded it, and of the strange tribe of Abyssinian Jews, or rather
their mixed descendants, by whom it is, or was, inhabited. I say every one =
advisedly,
for although the public which studies such works is usually select, that wh=
ich
will take an interest in them, if the character of a learned and pugnacious
personage is concerned, is very wide indeed. Not to mince matters, I may as
well explain what I mean at once.
Professor Higgs's
rivals and enemies, of whom either the brilliancy of his achievements or his
somewhat abrupt and pointed methods of controversy seem to have made him a
great many, have risen up, or rather seated themselves, and written him
down--well, an individual who strains the truth. Indeed, only this morning =
one
of these inquired, in a letter to the press, alluding to some adventurous t=
raveller
who, I am told, lectured to the British Association several years ago, whet=
her
Professor Higgs did not, in fact, ride across the desert to Mur, not upon a
camel, as he alleged, but upon a land tortoise of extraordinary size.
The innuendo cont=
ained
in this epistle has made the Professor, who, as I have already hinted, is n=
ot
by nature of a meek disposition, extremely angry. Indeed, notwithstanding a=
ll
that I could do, he left his London house under an hour ago with a whip of
hippopotamus hide such as the Egyptians call a koorbash, purposing to avenge
himself upon the person of his defamer. In order to prevent a public scanda=
l,
however, I have taken the liberty of telephoning to that gentleman, who, bo=
ld
and vicious as he may be in print, is physically small and, I should say, o=
f a
timid character, to get out of the way at once. To judge from the abrupt
fashion in which our conversation came to an end, I imagine that the hint h=
as
been taken. At any rate, I hope for the best, and, as an extra precaution, =
have
communicated with the lawyers of my justly indignant friend.
The reader will n=
ow
probably understand that I am writing this book, not to bring myself or oth=
ers
before the public, or to make money of which I have no present need, or for=
any
purpose whatsoever, except to set down the bare and actual truth. In fact, =
so
many rumours are flying about as to where we have been and what befell us t=
hat
this has become almost necessary. As soon as I laid down that cruel column =
of
gibes and insinuations to which I have alluded--yes, this very morning, bef=
ore breakfast,
this conviction took hold of me so strongly that I cabled to Oliver, Captain
Oliver Orme, the hero of my history, if it has any particular hero, who is =
at
present engaged upon what must be an extremely agreeable journey round the
world--asking his consent. Ten minutes since the answer arrived from Tokyo.
Here it is:
"Do what you
like and think necessary, but please alter all names, et cetera, as propose
returning via America, and fear interviewers. Japan jolly place." Then
follows some private matter which I need not insert. Oliver is always
extravagant where cablegrams are concerned.
I suppose that be=
fore
entering on this narration, for the reader's benefit I had better give some
short description of myself.
My name is Richard
Adams, and I am the son of a Cumberland yeoman who married a Welshwoman.
Therefore I have Celtic blood in my veins, which perhaps accounts for my lo=
ve
of roving and other things. I am now an old man, near the end of my course,=
I
suppose; at any rate, I was sixty-five last birthday. This is my appearance=
as
I see it in the glass before me: tall, spare (I don't weigh more than a hun=
dred
and forty pounds--the desert has any superfluous flesh that I ever owned, my
lot having been, like Falstaff, to lard the lean earth, but in a hot climat=
e);
my eyes are brown, my face is long, and I wear a pointed white beard, which=
matches
the white hair above.
Truth compels me =
to
add that my general appearance, as seen in that glass which will not lie,
reminds me of that of a rather aged goat; indeed, to be frank, by the nativ=
es
among whom I have sojourned, and especially among the Khalifa's people when=
I
was a prisoner there, I have often been called the White Goat.
Of my very
commonplace outward self let this suffice. As for my record, I am a doctor =
of
the old school. Think of it! When I was a student at Bart.'s the antiseptic
treatment was quite a new thing, and administered when at all, by help of a
kind of engine on wheels, out of which disinfectants were dispensed with a
pump, much as the advanced gardener sprays a greenhouse to-day.
I succeeded above=
the
average as a student, and in my early time as a doctor. But in every man's =
life
there happen things which, whatever excuses may be found for them, would not
look particularly well in cold print (nobody's record, as understood by
convention and the Pharisee, could really stand cold print); also something=
in
my blood made me its servant. In short, having no strict ties at home, and
desiring to see the world, I wandered far and wide for many years, earning =
my
living as I went, never, in my experience, a difficult thing to do, for I w=
as always
a master of my trade.
My fortieth birth=
day
found me practising at Cairo, which I mention only because it was here that
first I met Ptolemy Higgs, who, even then in his youth, was noted for his
extraordinary antiquarian and linguistic abilities. I remember that in those
days the joke about him was that he could swear in fifteen languages like a
native and in thirty-two with common proficiency, and could read hieroglyph=
ics
as easily as a bishop reads the Times.
Well, I doctored =
him
through a bad attack of typhoid, but as he had spent every farthing he owne=
d on
scarabs or something of the sort, made him no charge. This little kindness =
I am
bound to say he never forgot, for whatever his failings may be (personally I
would not trust him alone with any object that was more than a thousand yea=
rs
old), Ptolemy is a good and faithful friend.
In Cairo I marrie=
d a
Copt. She was a lady of high descent, the tradition in her family being that
they were sprung from one of the Ptolemaic Pharaohs, which is possible and =
even
probable enough. Also, she was a Christian, and well educated in her way. B=
ut,
of course, she remained an Oriental, and for a European to marry an Oriental
is, as I have tried to explain to others, a very dangerous thing, especiall=
y if
he continues to live in the East, where it cuts him off from social recogni=
tion
and intimacy with his own race. Still, although this step of mine forced me=
to
leave Cairo and go to Assouan, then a little-known place, to practise chief=
ly
among the natives, God knows we were happy enough together till the plague =
took
her, and with it my joy in life.
I pass over all t=
hat
business, since there are some things too dreadful and too sacred to write
about. She left me one child, a son, who, to fill up my cup of sorrow, when=
he
was twelve years of age, was kidnapped by the Mardi's people.
This brings me to=
the
real story. There is nobody else to write it; Oliver will not; Higgs cannot
(outside of anything learned and antiquarian, he is hopeless); so I must. At
any rate, if it is not interesting, the fault will be mine, not that of the
story, which in all conscience is strange enough.
We are now in the
middle of June, and it was a year ago last December that, on the evening of=
the
day of my arrival in London after an absence of half a lifetime, I found my=
self
knocking at the door of Professor Higgs's rooms in Guildford Street, W.C. It
was opened by his housekeeper, Mrs. Reid, a thin and saturnine old woman, w=
ho
reminded and still reminds me of a reanimated mummy. She told me that the
Professor was in, but had a gentleman to dinner, and suggested sourly that =
I should
call again the next morning. With difficulty I persuaded her at last to inf=
orm
her master that an old Egyptian friend had brought him something which he
certainly would like to see.
Five minutes late=
r I
groped my way into Higgs's sitting-room, which Mrs. Reid had contented hers=
elf
with indicating from a lower floor. It is a large room, running the whole w=
idth
of the house, divided into two by an arch, where once, in the Georgian days,
there had been folding doors. The place was in shadow, except for the
firelight, which shone upon a table laid ready for dinner, and upon an
extraordinary collection of antiquities, including a couple of mummies with
gold faces arranged in their coffins against the wall. At the far end of the
room, however, an electric lamp was alight in the bow-window hanging over
another table covered with books, and by it I saw my host, whom I had not m=
et
for twenty years, although until I vanished into the desert we frequently c=
orresponded,
and with him the friend who had come to dinner.
First, I will des=
cribe
Higgs, who, I may state, is admitted, even by his enemies, to be one of the
most learned antiquarians and greatest masters of dead languages in Europe,
though this no one would guess from his appearance at the age of about
forty-five. In build short and stout, face round and high-coloured, hair and
beard of a fiery red, eyes, when they can be seen--for generally he wears a
pair of large blue spectacles--small and of an indefinite hue, but sharp as
needles. Dress so untidy, peculiar, and worn that it is said the police
invariably request him to move on, should he loiter in the streets at night.
Such was, and is, the outward seeming of my dearest friend, Professor Ptole=
my Higgs,
and I only hope that he won't be offended when he sees it set down in black=
and
white.
That of his compa=
nion
who was seated at the table, his chin resting on his hand, listening to some
erudite discourse with a rather distracted air, was extraordinarily differe=
nt,
especially by contrast. A tall well-made young man, rather thin, but
broad-shouldered, and apparently five or six and twenty years of age. Face
clean-cut--so much so, indeed, that the dark eyes alone relieved it from a
suspicion of hardness; hair short and straight, like the eyes, brown;
expression that of a man of thought and ability, and, when he smiled,
singularly pleasant. Such was, and is, Captain Oliver Orme, who, by the way=
, I
should explain, is only a captain of some volunteer engineers, although, in
fact, a very able soldier, as was proved in the South African War, whence he
had then but lately returned.
I ought to add al=
so
that he gave me the impression of a man not in love with fortune, or rather=
of
one with whom fortune was not in love; indeed, his young face seemed distin=
ctly
sad. Perhaps it was this that attracted me to him so much from the first mo=
ment
that my eyes fell on him--me with whom fortune had also been out of love for
many years.
While I stood
contemplating this pair, Higgs, looking up from the papyrus or whatever it
might be that he was reading (I gathered later that he had spent the aftern=
oon
in unrolling a mummy, and was studying its spoils), caught sight of me stan=
ding
in the shadow.
"Who the dev=
il
are you?" he exclaimed in a shrill and strident voice, for it acquires
that quality when he is angry or alarmed, "and what are you doing in my
room?"
"Steady,&quo=
t;
said his companion; "your housekeeper told you that some friend of you=
rs
had come to call."
"Oh, yes, so=
she
did, only I can't remember any friend with a face and beard like a goat.
Advance, friend, and all's well."
So I stepped into=
the
shining circle of the electric light and halted again.
"Who is it? =
Who
is it?" muttered Higgs. "The face is the face of--of--I have it--=
of
old Adams, only he's been dead these ten years. The Khalifa got him, they s=
aid.
Antique shade of the long-lost Adams, please be so good as to tell me your
name, for we waste time over a useless mystery."
"There is no
need, Higgs, since it is in your mouth already. Well, I should have known y=
ou
anywhere; but then your hair doesn't go white."
"Not it; too
much colouring matter; direct result of a sanguine disposition. Well,
Adams--for Adams you must be--I am really delighted to see you, especially =
as
you never answered some questions in my last letter as to where you got tho=
se
First Dynasty scarabs, of which the genuineness, I may tell you, has been
disputed by certain envious beasts. Adams, my dear old fellow, welcome a
thousand times"--and he seized my hands and wrung them, adding, as his=
eye
fell upon a ring I wore, "Why, what's that? Something quite unusual. B=
ut
never mind; you shall tell me after dinner. Let me introduce you to my frie=
nd,
Captain Orme, a very decent scholar of Arabic, with a quite elementary
knowledge of Egyptology."
"Mr. Orme,&q=
uot;
interrupted the younger man, bowing to me.
"Oh, well, M=
r.
or Captain, whichever you like. He means that he is not in the regular army,
although he has been all through the Boer War, and wounded three times, once
straight through the lungs. Here's the soup. Mrs. Reid, lay another place. =
I am
dreadfully hungry; nothing gives me such an appetite as unrolling mummies; =
it
involves so much intellectual wear and tear, in addition to the physical
labour. Eat, man, eat. We will talk afterwards."
So we ate, Higgs
largely, for his appetite was always excellent, perhaps because he was then
practically a teetotaller; Mr. Orme very moderately, and I as becomes a per=
son
who has lived for months at a time on dates--mainly of vegetables, which, w=
ith
fruits, form my principal diet--that is, if these are available, for at a p=
inch
I can exist on anything.
When the meal was
finished and our glasses had been filled with port, Higgs helped himself to
water, lit the large meerschaum pipe he always smokes, and pushed round the
tobacco-jar which had once served as a sepulchural urn for the heart of an =
old
Egyptian.
"Now,
Adams," he said when we also had filled our pipes, "tell us what =
has
brought you back from the Shades. In short, your story, man, your story.&qu=
ot;
I drew the ring he
had noticed off my hand, a thick band of rather light-coloured gold of a si=
ze
such as an ordinary woman might wear upon her first or second finger, in wh=
ich
was set a splendid slab of sapphire engraved with curious and archaic
characters. Pointing to these characters, I asked Higgs if he could read th=
em.
"Read them? =
Of
course," he answered, producing a magnifying glass. "Can't you? N=
o, I
remember; you never were good at anything more than fifty years old. Hullo!
this is early Hebrew. Ah! I've got it," and he read:
"'The gift of
Solomon the ruler--no, the Great One--of Israel, Beloved of Jah, to Maqueda=
of
Sheba-land, Queen, Daughter of Kings, Child of Wisdom, Beautiful.'
"That's the
writing on your ring, Adams--a really magnificent thing. 'Queen of
Sheba--Bath-Melachim, Daughter of Kings,' with our old friend Solomon chuck=
ed
in. Splendid, quite splendid!"--and he touched the gold with his tongu=
e,
and tested it with his teeth. "Hum--where did you get this intelligent
fraud from, Adams?"
"Oh!" I
answered, laughing, "the usual thing, of course. I bought it from a
donkey-boy in Cairo for about thirty shillings."
"Indeed,&quo=
t;
he replied suspiciously. "I should have thought the stone in it was wo=
rth
more than that, although, of course, it may be nothing but glass. The
engraving, too, is first-rate. Adams," he added with severity, "y=
ou
are trying to hoax us, but let me tell you what I thought you knew by this
time--that you can't take in Ptolemy Higgs. This ring is a shameless swindl=
e;
but who did the Hebrew on it? He's a good scholar, anyway."
"Don't
know," I answered; "wasn't aware till now that it was Hebrew. To =
tell
you the truth, I thought it was old Egyptian. All I do know is that it was
given, or rather lent, to me by a lady whose title is Walda Nagasta, and wh=
o is
supposed to be a descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba."
Higgs took up the
ring and looked at it again; then, as though in a fit of abstraction, slipp=
ed
it into his waistcoat pocket.
"I don't wan=
t to
be rude, therefore I will not contradict you," he answered with a kind=
of
groan, "or, indeed, say anything except that if any one else had spun =
me
that yarn I should have told him he was a common liar. But, of course, as e=
very
schoolboy knows, Walda Nagasta--that is, Child of Kings in Ethiopic--is much
the same as Bath-Melachim--that is, Daughter of Kings in Hebrew."
Here Captain Orme
burst out laughing, and remarked, "It is easy to see why you are not
altogether popular in the antiquarian world, Higgs. Your methods of controv=
ersy
are those of a savage with a stone axe."
"If you only
open your mouth to show your ignorance, Oliver, you had better keep it shut.
The men who carried stone axes had advanced far beyond the state of savager=
y.
But I suggest that you had better give Doctor Adams a chance of telling his
story, after which you can criticize."
"Perhaps Cap=
tain
Orme does not wish to be bored with it," I said, whereon he answered at
once:
"On the
contrary, I should like to hear it very much--that is, if you are willing to
confide in me as well as in Higgs."
I reflected a mom=
ent,
since, to tell the truth, for sundry reasons, my intention had been to trus=
t no
one except the Professor, whom I knew to be as faithful as he is rough. Yet
some instinct prompted me to make an exception in favour of this Captain Or=
me.
I liked the man; there was something about those brown eyes of his that
appealed to me. Also it struck me as odd that he should happen to be presen=
t on
this occasion, for I have always held that there is nothing casual or
accidental in the world; that even the most trivial circumstances are either
ordained, or the result of the workings of some inexorable law whereof the =
end is
known by whatever power may direct our steps, though it be not yet declared=
.
"Certainly I=
am
willing," I answered; "your face and your friendship with the
Professor are passport enough for me. Only I must ask you to give me your w=
ord
of honour that without my leave you will repeat nothing of what I am about =
to
tell you."
"Of
course," he answered, whereon Higgs broke in:
"There, that=
will
do; you don't want us both to kiss the Book, do you? Who sold you that ring,
and where have you been for the last dozen years, and whence do you come
now?"
"I have been=
a
prisoner of the Khalifa's among other things. I had five years of that
entertainment of which my back would give some evidence if I were to strip.=
I
think I am about the only man who never embraced Islam whom they allowed to
live, and that was because I am a doctor, and, therefore, a useful person. =
The
rest of the time I have spent wandering about the North African deserts loo=
king
for my son, Roderick. You remember the boy, or should, for you are his
godfather, and I used to send you photographs of him as a little chap."=
;
"Of course, =
of
course," said the Professor in a new tone; "I came across a Chris=
tmas
letter from him the other day. But, my dear Adams, what happened? I never
heard."
"He went up =
the
river to shoot crocodiles against my orders, when he was about twelve years
old--not very long after his mother's death, and some wandering Mahdi tribe=
smen
kidnapped him and sold him as a slave. I have been looking for him ever sin=
ce,
for the poor boy was passed on from tribe to tribe, among which his skill a=
s a
musician enabled me to follow him. The Arabs call him the Singer of Egypt, =
because
of his wonderful voice, and it seems that he has learned to play upon their
native instruments."
"And now whe=
re
is he?" asked Higgs, as one who feared the answer.
"He is, or w=
as,
a favourite slave among a barbarous, half-negroid people called the Fung, w=
ho
dwell in the far interior of North Central Africa. After the fall of the
Khalifa I followed him there; it took me several years. Some Bedouin were
making an expedition to trade with these Fung, and I disguised myself as on=
e of
them.
"On a certai=
n night
we camped at the foot of a valley outside a great wall which encloses the h=
oly
place where their idol is. I rode up to this wall and, through the open
gateway, heard some one with a beautiful
tenor voice singi=
ng
in English. What he sang was a hymn that I had taught my son. It begins:
'Abide with me, f=
ast
falls the eventide.'
"I knew the
voice again. I dismounted and slipped through the gateway, and presently ca=
me
to an open space, where a young man sat singing upon a sort of raised bench
with lamps on either side of him, and a large audience in front. I saw his =
face
and, notwithstanding the turban which he wore and his Eastern robe--yes, and
the passage of all those years--I knew it for that of my son. Some spirit of
madness entered into me, and I called aloud, 'Roderick, Roderick!' and he
started up, staring about him wildly. The audience started up also, and one=
of
them caught sight of me lurking in the shadow.
"With a howl=
of
rage, for I had desecrated their sanctuary, they sprang at me. To save my l=
ife,
coward that I was, I fled back through the gates. Yes, after all those year=
s of
seeking, still I fled rather than die, and though I was wounded with a spear
and stones, managed to reach and spring upon my horse. Then, as I was headed
off from our camp, I galloped away anywhere, still to save my miserable life
from those savages, so strongly is the instinct of self-preservation implan=
ted in
us. From a distance I looked back and saw by the light of the fired tents t=
hat
the Fung were attacking the Arabs with whom I had travelled, I suppose beca=
use
they thought them parties to the sacrilege. Afterwards I heard that they ki=
lled
them every one, poor men, but I escaped, who unwittingly had brought their =
fate
upon them.
"On and on I
galloped up a steep road. I remember hearing lions roaring round me in the
darkness. I remember one of them springing upon my horse and the poor beast=
's
scream. Then I remember no more till I found myself--I believe it was a wee=
k or
so later--lying on the verandah of a nice house, and being attended by some
good-looking women of an Abyssinian cast of countenance."
"Sounds rath=
er
like one of the lost tribes of Israel," remarked Higgs sarcastically,
puffing at his big meerschaum.
"Yes, someth=
ing
of that sort. The details I will give you later. The main facts are that th=
ese
people who picked me up outside their gates are called Abati, live in a town
called Mur, and allege themselves to be descended from a tribe of Abyssinian
Jews who were driven out and migrated to this place four or five centuries =
ago.
Briefly, they look something like Jews, practise a very debased form of the
Jewish religion, are civilized and clever after a fashion, but in the last =
stage
of decadence from interbreeding--about nine thousand men is their total fig=
hting
force, although three or four generations ago they had twenty thousand--and
live in hourly terror of extermination by the surrounding Fung, who hold th=
em
in hereditary hate as the possessors of the wonderful mountain fortress that
once belonged to their forefathers."
"Gibraltar a=
nd
Spain over again," suggested Orme.
"Yes, with t=
his
difference--that the position is reversed, the Abati of this Central African
Gibraltar are decaying, and the Fung, who answer to the Spaniards, are vigo=
rous
and increasing."
"Well, what
happened?" asked the Professor.
"Nothing
particular. I tried to persuade these Abati to organize an expedition to re=
scue
my son, but they laughed in my face. By degrees I found out that there was =
only
one person among them who was worth anything at all, and she happened to be
their hereditary ruler who bore the high-sounding titles of Walda Nagasta, =
or
Child of Kings, and Takla Warda, or Bud of the Rose, a very handsome and
spirited young woman, whose personal name is Maqueda----"
"One of the
names of the first known Queens of Sheba," muttered Higgs; "the o=
ther
was Belchis."
"Under prete=
nce
of attending her medically," I went on, "for otherwise their wret=
ched
etiquette would scarcely have allowed me access to one so exalted, I talked
things over with her. She told me that the idol of the Fung is fashioned li=
ke a
huge sphinx, or so I gathered from her description of the thing, for I have
never seen it."
"What!"
exclaimed Higgs, jumping up, "a sphinx in North Central Africa! Well,
after all, why not? Some of the earlier Pharaohs are said to have had deali=
ngs
with that part of the world, or even to have migrated from it. I think that=
the
Makreezi repeats the legend. I suppose that it is ram-headed."
"She told me
also," I continued, "that they have a tradition, or rather a beli=
ef,
which amounts to an article of faith, that if this sphinx or god, which, by=
the
way, is lion, not ram-headed, and is called Harmac----"
"Harmac!&quo=
t;
interrupted Higgs again. "That is one of the names of the sphinx--Harm=
achis,
god of dawn."
"If this
god," I repeated, "should be destroyed, the nation of the Fung, w=
hose
forefathers fashioned it as they say, must move away from that country acro=
ss
the great river which lies to the south. I have forgotten its name at the m=
oment,
but I think it must be a branch of the Nile.
"I suggested=
to
her that, in the circumstances, her people had better try to destroy the id=
ol.
Maqueda laughed and said it was impossible, since the thing was the size of=
a
small mountain, adding that the Abati had long ago lost all courage and
enterprise, and were content to sit in their fertile and mountain-ringed la=
nd,
feeding themselves with tales of departed grandeur and struggling for rank =
and
high-sounding titles, till the day of doom overtook them.
"I inquired
whether she were also content, and she replied, 'Certainly not'; but what c=
ould
she do to regenerate her people, she who was nothing but a woman, and the l=
ast
of an endless line of rulers?
"'Rid me of =
the
Fung,' she added passionately, 'and I will give you such a reward as you ne=
ver
dreamed. The old cave-city yonder is full of treasure that was buried with =
its
ancient kings long before we came to Mur. To us it is useless, since we have
none to trade with, but I have heard that the peoples of the outside world
worship gold.'
"'I do not w=
ant
gold,' I answered; 'I want to rescue my son who is a prisoner yonder.'
"'Then,' said
the Child of Kings, 'you must begin by helping us to destroy the idol of the
Fung. Are there no means by which this can be done?'
"'There are
means,' I replied, and I tried to explain to her the properties of dynamite=
and
of other more powerful explosives.
"'Go to your=
own
land,' she exclaimed eagerly, 'and return with that stuff and two or three =
who
can manage it, and I swear to them all the wealth of Mur. Thus only can you=
win
my help to save your son.'"
"Well, what =
was
the end?" asked Captain Orme.
"This: They =
gave
me some gold and an escort with camels which were literally lowered down a
secret path in the mountains so as to avoid the Fung, who ring them in and =
of
whom they are terribly afraid. With these people I crossed the desert to
Assouan in safety, a journey of many weeks, where I left them encamped about
sixteen days ago, bidding them await my return. I arrived in England this
morning, and as soon as I could ascertain that you still lived, and your
address, from a book of reference called Who's Who, which they gave me in t=
he
hotel, I came on here."
"Why did you
come to me? What do you want me to do?" asked the Professor.
"I came to y=
ou,
Higgs, because I know how deeply you are interested in anything antiquarian,
and because I wished to give you the first opportunity, not only of winning
wealth, but also of becoming famous as the discoverer of the most wonderful=
relics
of antiquity that are left in the world."
"With a very
good chance of getting my throat cut thrown in," grumbled Higgs.
"As to what I
want you to do," I went on, "I want you to find someone who
understands explosives, and will undertake the business of blowing up the F=
ung
idol."
"Well, that's
easy enough, anyhow," said the Professor, pointing to Captain Orme with
the bowl of his pipe, and adding, "he is an engineer by education, a
soldier and a very fair chemist; also he knows Arabic and was brought up in
Egypt as a boy--just the man for the job if he will go."
I reflected a mom=
ent,
then, obeying some sort of instinct, looked up and asked:
"Will you,
Captain Orme, if terms can be arranged?"
"Yesterday,&=
quot;
he replied, colouring a little, "I should have answered, 'Certainly no=
t.'
To-day I answer that I am prepared to consider the matter--that is, if Higgs
will go too, and you can enlighten me on certain points. But I warn you tha=
t I
am only an amateur in the three trades that the Professor has mentioned,
though, it is true, one with some experience."
"Would it be
rude to inquire, Captain Orme, why twenty-four hours have made such a
difference in your views and plans?"
"Not rude, o=
nly
awkward," he replied, colouring again, this time more deeply. "St=
ill,
as it is best to be frank, I will tell you. Yesterday I believed myself to =
be
the inheritor of a very large fortune from an uncle whose fatal illness bro=
ught
me back from South Africa before I meant to come, and as whose heir I have =
been
brought up. To-day I have learned for the first time that he married secret=
ly,
last year, a woman much below him in rank, and has left a child, who, of
course, will take all his property, as he died intestate. But that is not a=
ll.
Yesterday I believed myself to be engaged to be married; to-day I am undece=
ived
upon that point also. The lady," he added with some bitterness, "=
who was
willing to marry Anthony Orme's heir is no longer willing to marry Oliver O=
rme,
whose total possessions amount to under £10,000. Well, small blame to her o=
r to
her relations, whichever it may be, especially as I understand that she has=
a
better alliance in view. Certainly her decision has simplified matters,&quo=
t;
and he rose and walked to the other end of the room.
"Shocking
business," whispered Higgs; "been infamously treated," and he
proceeded to express his opinion of the lady concerned, of her relatives, a=
nd
of the late Anthony Orme, shipowner, in language that, if printed, would re=
nder
this history unfit for family reading. The outspokenness of Professor Higgs=
is
well known in the antiquarian world, so there is no need for me to enlarge =
upon
it.
"What I do n=
ot
exactly understand, Adams," he added in a loud voice, seeing that Orme=
had
turned again, "and what I think we should both like to know, is your e=
xact
object in making these proposals."
"I am afraid=
I
have explained myself badly. I thought I had made it clear that I have only=
one
object--to attempt the rescue of my son, if he still lives, as I believe he
does. Higgs, put yourself in my position. Imagine yourself with nothing and=
no
one left to care for except a single child, and that child stolen away from=
you
by savages. Imagine yourself, after years of search, hearing his very voice,
seeing his very face, adult now, but the same, the thing you had dreamed of=
and
desired for years; that for which you would have given a thousand lives if =
you
could have had time to think. And then the rush of the howling, fantastic m=
ob,
the breakdown of courage, of love, of everything that is noble under the pr=
essure
of primæval instinct, which has but one song--Save your life. Lastly, imagi=
ne
this coward saved, dwelling within a few miles of the son whom he had deser=
ted,
and yet utterly unable to rescue or even to communicate with him because of=
the
poltroonery of those among whom he had refuged."
"Well,"
grunted Higgs, "I have imagined all that high-faluting lot. What of it=
? If
you mean that you are to blame, I don't agree with you. You wouldn't have
helped your son by getting your own throat cut, and perhaps his also."=
"I don't
know," I answered. "I have brooded over the thing so long that it
seems to me that I have disgraced myself. Well, there came a chance, and I =
took
it. This lady, Walda Nagasta, or Maqueda, who, I think, had also brooded ov=
er
things, made me an offer--I fancy without the knowledge or consent of her
Council. 'Help me,' she said, 'and I will help you. Save my people, and I w=
ill
try to save your son. I can pay for your services and those of any whom you=
may
bring with you.'
"I answered =
that
it was hopeless, as no one would believe the tale, whereon she drew from her
finger the throne-ring or State signet which you have in your pocket, Higgs,
saying: 'My mothers have worn this since the days of Maqueda, Queen of Sheb=
a.
If there are learned men among your people they will read her name upon it =
and
know that I speak no lie. Take it as a token, and take also enough of our g=
old
to buy the stuffs whereof you speak, which hide fires that can throw mounta=
ins
skyward, and the services of skilled and trusty men who are masters of the
stuff, two or three of them only, for more cannot be transported across the=
desert,
and come back to save your son and me.' That's all the story, Higgs. Will y=
ou
take the business on, or shall I try elsewhere? You must make up your mind,
because I have no time to lose, if I am to get into Mur again before the
rains."
"Got any of =
that
gold you spoke of about you?" asked the Professor.
I drew a skin bag
from the pocket of my coat, and poured some out upon the table, which he
examined carefully.
"Ring
money," he said presently, "might be Anglo-Saxon, might be anythi=
ng;
date absolutely uncertain, but from its appearance I should say slightly
alloyed with silver; yes, there is a bit which has oxydized--undoubtedly ol=
d,
that."
Then he produced =
the
signet from his pocket, and examined the ring and the stone very carefully
through a powerful glass.
"Seems all
right," he said, "and although I have been greened in my time, I
don't make many mistakes nowadays. What do you say, Adams? Must have it bac=
k? A
sacred trust! Only lent to you! All right, take it by all means. I don't wa=
nt
the thing. Well, it is a risky job, and if any one else had proposed it to =
me,
I'd have told him to go to--Mur. But, Adams, my boy, you saved my life once,
and never sent in a bill, because I was hard up, and I haven't forgotten th=
at.
Also things are pretty hot for me here just now over a certain controversy =
of
which I suppose you haven't heard in Central Africa. I think I'll go. What =
do
you say, Oliver?"
"Oh!" s=
aid
Captain Orme, waking up from a reverie, "if you are satisfied, I am. It
doesn't matter to me where I go."
CHAPTER II - THE ADVICE OF
SERGEANT QUICK
At this moment a
fearful hubbub arose without. The front door slammed, a cab drove off furio=
usly,
a policeman's whistle blew, heavy feet were heard trampling; then came an
invocation of "In the King's name," answered by "Yes, and the
Queen's, and the rest of the Royal Family's, and if you want it, take it, y=
ou
chuckle-headed, flat-footed, pot-bellied Peelers."
Then followed tum=
ult
indescribable as of heavy men and things rolling down the stairs, with crie=
s of
fear and indignation.
"What the
dickens is that?" asked Higgs.
"The voice
sounded like that of Samuel--I mean Sergeant Quick," answered Captain =
Orme
with evident alarm; "what can he be after? Oh, I know, it is something=
to
do with that infernal mummy you unwrapped this afternoon, and asked him to
bring round after dinner."
Just then the door
burst open, and a tall, soldier-like form stalked in, carrying in his arms a
corpse wrapped in a sheet, which he laid upon the table among the wine glas=
ses.
"I'm sorry,
Captain," he said, addressing Orme, "but I've lost the head of the
departed. I think it is at the bottom of the stairs with the police. Had
nothing else to defend myself with, sir, against their unwarranted attacks,=
so
brought the body to the present and charged, thinking it very stiff and str=
ong,
but regret to say neck snapped, and that deceased's head is now under
arrest."
As Sergeant Quick
finished speaking, the door opened again, and through it appeared two very
flurried and dishevelled policemen, one of whom held, as far as possible fr=
om
his person, the grizzly head of a mummy by the long hair which still adhere=
d to
the skull.
"What do you
mean by breaking into my rooms like this? Where's your warrant?" asked=
the
indignant Higgs in his high voice.
"There!"
answered the first policeman, pointing to the sheet-wrapped form on the tab=
le.
"And here!&q=
uot;
added the second, holding up the awful head. "As in duty bound, we ask
explanation from that man of the secret conveyance of a corpse through the =
open
streets, whereon he assaults us with the same, for which assault, pending
investigation of the corpse, I arrest him. Now, Guv'nor" (addressing
Sergeant Quick), "will you come along with us quietly, or must we take
you?"
The Sergeant, who
seemed to be inarticulate with wrath, made a dash for the shrouded object on
the table, with the intention, apparently, of once more using it as a weapo=
n of
offence, and the policemen drew their batons.
"Stop,"
said Orme, thrusting himself between the combatants, "are you all mad?=
Do
you know that this woman died about four thousand years ago?"
"Oh, Lord!&q=
uot;
said the policeman who held the head, addressing his companion, "it mu=
st
be one of them mummies what they dig up in the British Museum. Seems pretty
ancient and spicy, don't it?" and he sniffed at the head, then set it =
down
upon the table.
Explanations
followed, and after the wounded dignity of the two officers of the Force had
been soothed with sundry glasses of port wine and a written list of the nam=
es
of all concerned, including that of the mummy, they departed.
"You take my
advice, bobbies," I heard the indignant Sergeant declaim outside the d=
oor,
"and don't you believe things is always what they seem. A party ain't
necessarily drunk because he rolls about and falls down in the street; he m=
ay
be mad, or 'ungry, or epileptic, and a body ain't always a body jest because
it's dead and cold and stiff. Why, men, as you've seen, it may be a mummy,
which is quite a different thing. If I was to put on that blue coat of your=
s,
would that make me a policeman?
Good heavens! I
should hope not, for the sake of the Army to which I still belong, being in=
the
Reserve. What you bobbies need is to study human nature and cultivate
observation, which will learn you the difference between a new-laid corpse =
and
a mummy, and many other things. Now you lay my words to heart, and you'll b=
oth
of you rise to superintendents, instead of running in daily 'drunks' until =
you
retire on a pension. Good-night."
Peace having been
restored, and the headless mummy removed into the Professor's bedroom, since
Captain Orme declared that he could not talk business in the presence of a
body, however ancient, we resumed our discussion. First of all, at Higgs's
suggestion I drew up a brief memorandum of agreement which set out the obje=
cts
of the expedition, and provided for the equal division amongst us of any pr=
ofit
that might accrue; in the event of the death of one or more of us, the
survivors or survivor to take their or his share.
To this arrangeme=
nt
personally I objected, who desired neither treasure nor antiquities, but on=
ly
the rescue of my son. The others pointed out, however, that, like most peop=
le,
I might in future want something to live on, or that if I did not, in the e=
vent
of his escape, my boy certainly would; so in the end I gave way.
Then Captain Orme
very sensibly asked for a definition of our respective duties, and it was
settled that I was to be guide to the expedition; Higgs, antiquarian,
interpreter, and, on account of his vast knowledge, general referee; and
Captain Orme, engineer and military commander, with the proviso that, in the
event of a difference of opinion, the dissentient was to loyally accept the
decision of the majority.
This curious docu=
ment
having been copied out fair, I signed and passed it to the Professor, who
hesitated a little, but, after refreshing himself with a further minute
examination of Sheba's ring, signed also, remarking that he was an infernal
fool for his pains, and pushed the paper across the table to Orme.
"Stop a minute," said the Captain; "I forgot something. I should like my = old servant, Sergeant Quick, to accompany us. He's a very handy man at a pinch, especially if, as I understand, we are expected to deal with explosives with which he has had a lot to do in the Engineers and elsewhere. If you agree I will call him, and ask if he will go. I expect he's somewhere round."<= o:p>
I nodded, judging=
from
the episode of the mummy and the policeman that the Sergeant was likely to =
be a
useful man. As I was sitting next to it, I opened the door for the Captain,
whereon the erect shape of Sergeant Quick, who had clearly been leaning aga=
inst
it, literally fell into the room, reminding me much of an overset wooden
soldier.
"Hullo!"
said Orme as, without the slightest change of countenance, his retainer
recovered himself and stood to attention. "What the deuce are you doing
there?"
"Sentry go,
Captain. Thought the police might change their minds and come back. Any ord=
ers,
Captain?"
"Yes. I am g=
oing
to North Central Africa. When can you be ready to start?"
"The Brindisi
mail leaves to-morrow night, Captain, if you travel by Egypt, but if you go=
by
Tunis, 7.15 a.m. Saturday is the time from Charing Cross. Only, as I unders=
tand
that high explosives and arms have to be provided, these might take awhile =
to
lay in and pack so as to deceive customs."
"You
understand!" said Orme. "Pray, how do you understand?"
"Doors in th=
ese
old houses are apt to get away from their frames, Captain, and the gentleman
there"--and he pointed to the Professor--"has a voice that carries
like a dog-whistle. Oh, no offence, sir. A clear voice is an excellent
thing--that is, if the doors fit"--and although Sergeant Quick's wooden
face did not move, I saw his humorous grey eyes twinkle beneath the bushy
eyebrows.
We burst out
laughing, including Higgs.
"So you are
willing to go?" said Orme. "But I hope you clearly understand that
this is a risky business, and that you may not come back?"
"Spion Kop w=
as a
bit risky, Captain, and so was that business in the donga, where every one =
was
hit except you and me and the sailor man, but we came back, for all that.
Begging your pardon, Captain, there ain't no such thing as risk. Man comes =
here
when he must, and dies when he must, and what he does between don't make a
ha'porth of difference."
"Hear,
hear," I said; "we are much of the same way of thinking."
"There have =
been
several who held those views, sir, since old Solomon gave the lady
that"--and he pointed to Sheba's ring, which was lying on the table.
"But excuse me, Captain; how about local allowances? Not having been a
marrying man myself, I've none dependent upon me, but, as you know, I've si=
sters
that have, and a soldier's pension goes with him. Don't think me greedy,
Captain," he added hastily, "but, as you gentlemen understand, bl=
ack
and white at the beginning saves bother at the end"--and he pointed to=
the
agreement.
"Quite right.
What do you want, Sergeant?" asked Orme.
"Nothing bey=
ond
my pay, if we get nothing, Captain, but if we get something, would five per
cent. be too much?"
"It might be
ten," I suggested. "Sergeant Quick has a life to lose like the re=
st
of us."
"Thank you
kindly, sir," he answered; "but that, in my opinion, would be too
much. Five per cent. was what I suggested."
So it was written
down that Sergeant Samuel Quick was to receive five per cent. of the total
profits, if any, provided that he behaved himself and obeyed orders. Then he
also signed the agreement, and was furnished with a glass of whisky and wat=
er
to drink to its good health.
"Now,
gentlemen," he said, declining the chair which Higgs offered to him,
apparently because, from long custom, he preferred his wooden-soldier attit=
ude
against the wall, "as a humble five-per-cent. private in this very
adventurous company I'll ask permission to say a word."
Permission was gi=
ven
accordingly, and the Sergeant proceeded to inquire what weight of rock it w=
as
wished to remove.
I told him that I=
did
not know, as I had never seen the Fung idol, but I understood that its size=
was
enormous, probably as large as St. Paul's Cathedral.
"Which, if solid, would take some stirring," remarked the Sergeant. "Dynamite might do it, but it is too bulky to be carried across the desert on camels = in that quantity. Captain, how about them picrates? You remember those new Boer shells that blew a lot of us to kingdom come, and poisoned the rest?"<= o:p>
"Yes,"
answered Orme; "I remember; but now they have stronger stuffs--azo-imi=
des,
I think they call them--terrific new compounds of nitrogen. We will inquire
to-morrow, Sergeant."
"Yes,
Captain," he answered; "but the point is, who'll pay? You can't b=
uy
hell-fire in bulk for nothing. I calculate that, allowing for the purchase =
of
the explosives and, say, fifty military rifles with ammunition and all other
necessaries, not including camels, the outfit of this expedition can't come=
to
less than £1,500."
"I think I h=
ave
that amount in gold," I answered, "of which the lady of the Abati
gave me as much as I could carry in comfort."
"If not,&quo=
t;
said Orme, "although I am a poor man now, I could find £500 or so in a
pinch. So don't let us bother about the money. The question is--Are we all
agreed that we will undertake this expedition and see it through to the end,
whatever that may be?"
We answered that =
we
were.
"Then has
anybody anything more to say?"
"Yes," I
replied; "I forgot to tell you that if we should ever get to Mur, none=
of
you must make love to the Walda Nagasta. She is a kind of holy person, who =
can
only marry into her own family, and to do so might mean that our throats wo=
uld
be cut."
"Do you hear
that, Oliver?" said the Professor. "I suppose that the Doctor's
warning is meant for you, as the rest of us are rather past that kind of
thing."
"Indeed,&quo= t; replied the Captain, colouring again after his fashion. "Well, to tell= you the truth, I feel a bit past it myself, and, so far as I am concerned, I do= n't think we need take the fascinations of this black lady into account."<= o:p>
"Don't brag,
Captain. Please don't brag," said Sergeant Quick in a hollow whisper.
"Woman is just the one thing about which you can never be sure. To-day
she's poison, and to-morrow honey--God and the climate alone know why. Plea=
se
don't brag, or we may live to see you crawling after this one on your knees,
with the gent in the specs behind, and Samuel Quick, who hates the whole tr=
ibe
of them, bringing up the rear. Tempt Providence, if you like, Captain, but
don't tempt woman, lest she should turn round and tempt you, as she has done
before to-day."
"Will you be=
so
good as to stop talking nonsense and call a cab," said Captain Orme
coldly. But Higgs began to laugh in his rude fashion, and I, remembering the
appearance of "Bud of the Rose" when she lifted her veil of cerem=
ony,
and the soft earnestness of her voice, fell into reflection. "Black
lady" indeed! What, I wondered, would this young gentleman think if ev=
er
he should live to set his eyes upon her sweet and comely face?
It seemed to me t=
hat
Sergeant Quick was not so foolish as his master chose to imagine. Captain O=
rme
undoubtedly was in every way qualified to be a partner in our venture; stil=
l, I
could have wished either that he had been an older man, or that the lady to=
whom
he was recently affianced had not chosen this occasion to break her engagem=
ent.
In dealing with difficult and dangerous combinations, my experience has been
that it is always well to eliminate the possibility of a love affair,
especially in the East.
CHAPTER III - THE PROFESS=
OR
GOES OUT SHOOTING
Of all our tremen=
dous
journey across the desert until we had passed the forest and reached the pl=
ains
which surrounded the mountains of Mur, there are, I think, but few incidents
with which the reader need be troubled. The first of these was at Assouan,
where a letter and various telegrams overtook Captain Orme, which, as by th=
is
time we had become intimate, he showed to me. They informed him that the
clandestine infant whom his uncle left behind him had suddenly sickened and
died of some childish ailment, so that he was once again heir to the large
property which he thought he had lost, since the widow only took a life
interest in some of the personalty. I congratulated him and said I supposed
this meant that we should not have the pleasure of his company to Mur.
"Why not?&qu=
ot;
he asked. "I said I was going and I mean to go; indeed, I signed a
document to that effect."
"I
daresay," I answered, "but circumstances alter cases. If I might =
say so,
an adventure that perhaps was good enough for a young and well-born man of
spirit and enterprise without any particular resources, is no longer good
enough for one who has the ball at his feet. Think what a ball it is to a m=
an
of your birth, intelligence, record, and now, great fortune come to you in
youth. Why, with these advantages there is absolutely nothing that you cann=
ot
do in England. You can go into Parliament and rule the country; if you like=
you
can become a peer. You can marry any one who isn't of the blood royal; in
short, with uncommonly little effort of your own, your career is made for y=
ou.
Don't throw away a silver spoon like that in order, perhaps, to die of thir=
st in
the desert or be killed in a fight among unknown tribes."
"Oh, I don't
know," he answered. "I never set heart much on spoons, silver or
other. When I lost this one I didn't cry, and now that I have found it agai=
n I
shan't sing. Anyway, I am going on with you, and you can't prevent me under=
the
agreement. Only as I have got such a lot to leave, I suppose I had better m=
ake
a will first and post it home, which is a bore."
Just then the
Professor came in, followed by an Arab thief of a dealer, with whom he was
trying to bargain for some object of antiquity. When the dealer had been
ejected and the position explained to him, Higgs, who whatever may be his
failings in small matters, is unselfish enough in big ones, said that he ag=
reed
with me and thought that under the circumstances, in his own interest, Orme
ought to leave us and return home.
"You may save
your breath, old fellow," answered the Captain, "for this reason =
if
for no other," and he threw him a letter across the table, which lette=
r I
saw afterwards. To be brief, it was from the young lady to whom he had been
engaged to be married, and who on his loss of fortune had jilted him. Now s=
he
seemed to have changed her mind again, and, although she did not mention the
matter, it is perhaps not uncharitable to suppose that the news of the deat=
h of
the inconvenient child had something to do with her decision.
"Have you
answered this?" asked Higgs.
"No,"
answered Orme, setting his mouth. "I have not answered, and I am not g=
oing
to answer it, either in writing or in person. I intend to start to-morrow f=
or
Mur and to travel as far on that road as it pleases fate to allow, and now =
I am
going to look at the rock sculptures by the cataract."
"Well, that's
flat," said Higgs after he had departed, "and for my part I am gl=
ad
of it, for somehow I think he will be a useful man among those Fung. Also, =
if
he went I expect that the Sergeant would go too, and where should we be wit=
hout
Quick, I should like to know?"
Afterwards I
conversed with the said Quick about this same matter, repeating to him my
opinions, to which the Sergeant listened with the deference which he was al=
ways
kind enough to show to me.
"Begging your
pardon, sir," he said, when I had finished, "but I think you are =
both
right and wrong. Everything has two ends, hasn't it? You say that it would =
be
wicked for the Captain to get himself killed, there being now so much money=
for
him to live for, seeing that life is common as dirt while money is precious,
rare and hard to come by. It ain't the kings we admire, it's their crowns; =
it
ain't the millionaires, it's their millions; but, after all, the millionair=
es
don't take their millions with them, for Providence, that, like Nature, hat=
es
waste, knows that if they did they'd melt, so one man dead gives another br=
ead,
as the saying goes, or p'raps I should say gingerbread in such cases.
"Still, on t=
he
whole, sir, I admit you are right as to the sinfulness of wasting luck. But=
now
comes the other end. I know this young lady what the Captain was engaged to,
which he never would have been if he had taken my advice, since of all the
fish-blooded little serpents that ever I set eyes on she's the serpentest,
though pretty, I allow. Solomon said in his haste that an honest woman he h=
ad
not found, but if he had met the Honourable Miss--well, never mind her
name--he'd have said it at his leisure, and gone on saying it. Now, no one
should never take back a servant what has given notice and then says he's
sorry, for if he does the sorrow will be on the other side before it's all
done; and much less should he take back a fiancée (Quick said a 'finance'),=
on
the whole, he'd better drown himself--I tried it once, and I know. So that's
the tail of the business.
"But," =
he
went on, "it has a couple of fins as well, like that eel beast I caugh=
t in
the Nile. One of them is that the Captain promised and vowed to go through =
with
this expedition, and if a man's got to die, he'd better die honest without
breaking his word. And the other is what I said to you in London when I sig=
ned
on, that he won't die a minute before his time, and nothing won't happen to
him, but what's bound to happen, and therefore it ain't a ha'porth of use
bothering about anything, and that's where the East's well ahead of the Wes=
t.
"And now, si=
r,
I'll go and look after the camels and those half-bred Jew boys what you call
Abati, but I call rotten sneaks, for if they get their thieving fingers into
those canisters of picric salts, thinking they're jam, as I found them tryi=
ng
to do yesterday, something may happen in Egypt that'll make the Pharaohs tu=
rn
in their graves and the Ten Plagues look silly."
So, having finish=
ed
his oration, Quick went, and in due course we started for Mur.
The second incide=
nt
that is perhaps worth recording was an adventure that happened to us when we
had completed about two of our four months' journey.
After weeks of we=
ary
desert travel--if I remember right, it was exactly a fortnight after the dog
Pharaoh, of which I shall soon have plenty to say, had come into Orme's
possession--we reached an oasis called Zeu, where I had halted upon my road
down to Egypt. In this oasis, which, although not large in extent, possesses
springs of beautiful water and groves of date-trees, we were, as it chanced,
very welcome, since when I was there before, I had been fortunate enough to
cure its sheik of an attack of ophthalmia and to doctor several of his peop=
le
for various ailments with good results. So, although I was burning to get
forward, I agreed with the others that it would be wise to accede to the
request of the leader of our caravan, a clever and resourceful, but to my m=
ind untrustworthy
Abati of the name of Shadrach, and camp in Zeu for a week or so to rest and
feed our camels, which had wasted almost to nothing on the scant herbage of=
the
desert.
This Shadrach, I =
may
add here, whom his companions, for some reason unknown to me at that time, =
called
the Cat, was remarkable for a triple line of scars upon his face, which, he
informed me, had been set there by the claws of a lion. Now the great enemi=
es
of this people of Zeu were lions, which at certain seasons of the year, I
suppose when food grew scarce, descended from the slopes of a range of hills
that stretched east and west at a distance of about fifty miles north of the
oasis, and, crossing the intervening desert, killed many of the Zeu sheep, =
camels,
and other cattle, and often enough any of the tribe whom they could catch. =
As
these poor Zeus practically possessed no firearms, they were at the mercy of
the lions, which grew correspondingly bold. Indeed, their only resource was=
to
kraal their animals within stone walls at night and take refuge in their hu=
ts,
which they seldom left between sunset and dawn, except to replenish the fir=
es
that they lit to scare any beast of prey which might be prowling through the
town.
Though the lion
season was now in full swing, as it happened, for the first five days of our
stay at Zeu we saw none of these great cats, although in the darkness we he=
ard
them roaring in the distance. On the sixth night, however, we were awakened=
by
a sound of wailing, which came from the village about a quarter of a mile a=
way,
and when we went out at dawn to see what was the matter, were met by a
melancholy procession advancing from its walls. At the head of it marched t=
he
grey-haired old chief, followed by a number of screaming women, who in their
excitement, or perhaps as a sign of mourning, had omitted to make their
toilette, and by four men, who carried something horrid on a wickerwork doo=
r.
Soon we learned w=
hat
had happened. It seemed that hungry lions, two or three of them, had broken
through the palm-leaf roof of the hut of one of the sheik's wives, she whose
remains were stretched upon the door, and, in addition to killing her, had
actually carried off his son. Now he came to implore us white men who had g=
uns
to revenge him on the lions, which otherwise, having once tasted human fles=
h,
would destroy many more of his people.
Through an
interpreter who knew Arabic, for not even Higgs could understand the peculi=
ar
Zeu dialect, he explained in excited and incoherent words that the beasts l=
ay
up among the sand-hills not very far away, where some thick reeds grew arou=
nd a
little spring of water. Would we not come out and kill them and earn the
blessing of the Zeus?
Now I said nothin=
g,
for the simple reason that, having such big matters on hand, although I was
always fond of sport, I did not wish any of us to be led off after these li=
ons.
There is a time to hunt and a time to cease from hunting, and it seemed to =
me,
except for the purposes of food, that this journey of ours was the latter.
However, as I expected, Oliver Orme literally leaped at the idea. So did Hi=
ggs,
who of late had been practising with a rifle and began to fancy himself a s=
hot.
He exclaimed loudly that nothing would give him greater pleasure, especiall=
y as
he was sure that lions were in fact cowardly and overrated beasts.
From that moment I
foreboded disaster in my heart. Still, I said I would come too, partly beca=
use
I had not shot a lion for many a day and had a score to settle with those
beasts which, it may be remembered, nearly killed me on the Mountain of Mur,
and partly because, knowing the desert and also the Zeu people much better =
than
either the Professor or Orme, I thought that I might possibly be of service=
.
So we fetched our
rifles and cartridges, to which by an afterthought we added two large water=
-bottles,
and ate a hearty breakfast. As we were preparing to start, Shadrach, the le=
ader
of the Abati camel-drivers, that man with the scarred face who was nicknamed
the Cat, came up to me and asked me whither we were going. I told him, wher=
eon
he said:
"What have y=
ou
to do with these savages and their troubles, lords? If a few of them are ki=
lled
it is no matter, but as you should know, O Doctor, if you wish to hunt lions
there are plenty in that land whither you travel, seeing that the lion is t=
he
fetish of the Fung and therefore never killed. But the desert about Zeu is
dangerous and harm may come to you."
"Then accomp=
any
us," broke in the Professor, between whom and Shadrach there was no lo=
ve
lost, "for, of course, with you we should be quite safe."
"Not so,&quo=
t;
he replied, "I and my people rest; only madmen would go to hunt worthl=
ess
wild beasts when they might rest. Have we not enough of the desert and its
dangers as it is? If you knew all that I do of lions you would leave them
alone."
"Of the dese=
rt
we have plenty also, but of shooting very little," remarked the Captai=
n,
who talked Arabic well. "Lie in your beds; we go to kill the beasts th=
at
harass the poor people who have treated us so kindly."
"So be it,&q=
uot;
said Shadrach with a smile that struck me as malicious. "A lion made
this"--pointing to the dreadful threefold scar upon his face. "May
the God of Israel protect you from lions. Remember, lords, that, the camels
being fresh again, we march the day after to-morrow, should the weather hol=
d,
for if the wind blows on yonder sand-hills, no man may live among them;&quo=
t;
and, putting up his hand, he studied the sky carefully from beneath its sha=
dow,
then, with a grunt, turned and vanished behind a hut.
All this while
Sergeant Quick was engaged at a little distance in washing up the tin break=
fast
things, to all appearance quite unconscious of what was going on. Orme call=
ed
him, whereupon he advanced and stood to attention. I remember thinking how
curious he looked in those surroundings--his tall, bony frame clothed in
semi-military garments, his wooden face perfectly shaved, his iron-grey hair
neatly parted and plastered down upon his head with pomade or some equivale=
nt
after the old private soldier fashion, and his sharp ferret-like grey eyes
taking in everything.
"Are you com=
ing
with us, Sergeant?" asked Orme.
"Not unless
ordered so to do, Captain. I like a bit of hunting well enough, but, with a=
ll
three officers away, some one should mount guard over the stores and transp=
ort,
so I think the dog Pharaoh and I had best stop behind."
"Perhaps you=
are
right, Sergeant, only tie Pharaoh up, or he'll follow me. Well, what do you
want to say? Out with it."
"Only this,
Captain. Although I have served in three campaigns among these here Arabians
(to Quick, all African natives north of the Equator were Arabians, and all
south of it, niggers), I can't say I talk their lingo well. Still, I made o=
ut
that the fellow they call Cat don't like this trip of yours, and, begging y=
our
pardon, Captain, whatever else Cat may be, he ain't no fool."
"Can't help =
it,
Sergeant. For one thing, it would never do to give in to his fancies now.&q=
uot;
"That's true,
Captain. When once it's hoist, right or wrong, keep the flag flying, and no
doubt you'll come back safe and sound if you're meant to."
Then, having reli=
eved
his mind, the Sergeant ran his eye over our equipment to see that nothing h=
ad
been forgotten, rapidly assured himself that the rifles were in working ord=
er,
reported all well, and returned to his dishes. Little did any of us guess u=
nder
what circumstances we should next meet with him.
After leaving the
town and marching for a mile or so along the oasis, accompanied by a mob of=
the
Zeus armed with spears and bows, we were led by the bereaved chief, who also
acted as tracker, out into the surrounding sands. The desert here, although=
I
remembered it well enough, was different from any that we had yet encounter=
ed
upon this journey, being composed of huge and abrupt sand-hills, some of wh=
ich were
quite three hundred feet high, separated from each other by deep, wind-cut
valleys.
For a distance, w=
hile
they were within reach of the moist air of the oasis, these sand-mountains
produced vegetation of various sorts. Presently, however, we passed out into
the wilderness proper, and for a while climbed up and down the steep, shift=
ing
slopes, till from the crest of one of them the chief pointed out what in So=
uth
Africa is called a pan, or vlei, covered with green reeds, and explained by=
signs
that in these lay the lions. Descending a steep declivity, we posted oursel=
ves,
I at the top, and Higgs and Orme a little way down either side of this vlei.
This done, we dispatched the Zeus to beat it out towards us, for although t=
he
reeds grew thick along the course of the underground water, it was but a na=
rrow
place, and not more than a quarter of a mile in length.
Scarcely had the
beaters entered the tall reeds, evidently with trepidation, for a good many=
of
them held back from the adventure, when a sound of loud wailing informed us
that something had happened. A minute or two later we saw two of them beari=
ng
away what appeared to be the mangled remains of the chief's son who had been
carried off on the previous night.
Just then, too, we
saw something else, for half-way down the marsh a great male lion broke cov=
er,
and began to steal off toward the sand-hills. It was about two hundred yards
from Higgs, who chanced to be nearest to it, and, therefore, as any big-game
hunter will know, for practical purposes, far out of shot. But the Professo=
r,
who was quite unaccustomed to this, or, indeed, any kind of sport, and, like
all beginners, wildly anxious for blood, lifted his rifle and fired, as he =
might
have done at a rabbit. By some marvellous accident the aim was good, and the
bullet from the express, striking the lion fair behind the shoulder, passed
through its heart, and knocked it over dead as a stone.
"By Jingo! D=
id
you see that?" screamed Higgs in his delight. Then, without even stopp=
ing
to reload the empty barrel, he set off at the top of his speed toward the
prostrate beast, followed by myself and by Orme, as fast as our astonishment
would allow.
Running along the
edge of the marsh, Higgs had covered about a hundred yards of the distance,
when suddenly, charging straight at him out of the tall reeds, appeared a
second lion, or rather lioness. Higgs wheeled round, and wildly fired the l=
eft
barrel of his rifle without touching the infuriated brute. Next instant, to=
our
horror, we saw him upon his back, with the lioness standing over him, lashi=
ng
her tail, and growling.
We shouted as we =
ran,
and so did the Zeus, although they made no attempt at rescue, with the resu=
lt
that the lioness, instead of tearing Higgs to pieces, turned her head
confusedly first to one side and then to the other. By now I, who had a long
start of Orme, was quite close, say within thirty yards, though fire I dared
not as yet, fearing lest, should I do so, I might kill my friend. At this
moment the lioness, recovering her nerves, squatted down on the prostrate
Higgs, and though he hit at her with his fists, dropped her muzzle, evident=
ly
with the intention of biting him through the head.
Now I felt that i=
f I
hesitated any more, all would be finished. The lioness was much longer than
Higgs--a short, stout man--and her hind quarters projected beyond his feet.=
At
these I aimed rapidly, and, pressing the trigger, next second heard the bul=
let
clap upon the great beast's hide. Up she sprang with a roar, one hind leg
dangling, and after a moment's hesitation, fled toward the sand-hill.
Now Orme, who was
behind me, fired also, knocking up the dust beneath the lioness's belly, but
although he had more cartridges in his rifle, which was a repeater, before
either he or I could get another chance, it vanished behind a mound. Leavin=
g it
to go where it would, we ran on towards Higgs, expecting to find him either
dead or badly mauled, but, to our amazement and delight, up jumped the
Professor, his blue spectacles still on his nose, and, loading his rifle as=
he
went, charged away after the wounded lioness.
"Come
back," shouted the Captain as he followed.
"Not for
Joe!" yelled Higgs in his high voice. "If you fellows think that =
I'm
going to let a great cat sit on my stomach for nothing, you are jolly well
mistaken."
At the top of the
first rise the long-legged Orme caught him, but persuade him to return was =
more
than he, or I when I arrived, could do. Beyond a scratch on his nose, which=
had
stung him and covered him with blood, we found that he was quite uninjured,
except in temper and dignity. But in vain did we beg him to be content with=
his
luck and the honours he had won.
"Why?" =
he
answered, "Adams wounded the beast, and I'd rather kill two lions than
one; also I have a score to square. But if you fellows are afraid, you go
home."
Well, I confess I=
felt
inclined to accept the invitation, but Orme, who was nettled, replied:
"Come, come;
that settles the question, doesn't it? You must be shaken by your fall, or =
you
would not talk like that, Higgs. Look, here runs the spoor--see the blood?
Well, let's go steady and keep our wind. We may come on her anywhere, but d=
on't
you try any more long distance shots. You won't kill another lion at two
hundred and fifty yards."
"All
right," said Higgs, "don't be offended. I didn't mean anything, e=
xcept
that I am going to teach that beast the difference between a white man and a
Zeu."
Then we began our
march, following the blood tracks up and down the steep sand-slopes. When we
had been at it for about half-an-hour our spirits were cheered by catching
sight of the lioness on a ridge five hundred yards away. Just then, too, so=
me
of the Zeus overtook us and joined the hunt, though without zeal.
Meanwhile, as the=
day
grew, the heat increased until it was so intense that the hot air danced ab=
ove
the sand slopes like billions of midges, and this although the sun was not
visible, being hidden by a sort of mist. A strange silence, unusual even in=
the
desert, pervaded the earth and sky; we could hear the grains of sand trickl=
ing
from the ridges. The Zeus, who accompanied us, grew uneasy, and pointed upw=
ard
with their spears, then behind toward the oasis of which we had long lost
sight. Finally, when we were not looking, they disappeared.
Now I would have
followed them, guessing that they had some good reason for this sudden depa=
rture.
But Higgs refused to come, and Orme, in whom his foolish taunt seemed still=
to
rankle, only shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
"Let the bla=
ck
curs go," exclaimed the Professor as he polished his blue spectacles a=
nd
mopped his face. "They are a white-livered lot of sneaks. Look! There =
she
is, creeping off to the left. If we run round that sand-hill we shall meet
her."
So we ran round t=
he
sand-hill, but we did not meet her, although after long hunting we struck t=
he
blood spoor afresh, and followed it for several miles, first in this direct=
ion,
and then in that, until Orme and I wondered at Higgs's obstinacy and endura=
nce.
At length, when even he was beginning to despair, we put up the lioness in a
hollow, and fired several shots at her as she hobbled over the opposing slo=
pe,
one of which hit her, for she rolled over, then picked herself up again, ro=
aring.
As a matter of fact, it came from the Captain's rifle, but Higgs, who, like
many an inexperienced person was a jealous sportsman, declared that it was =
his
and we did not think it worth while to contradict him.
On we toiled, and,
just beyond the ridge, walked straight into the lioness, sitting up like a
great dog, so injured that she could do nothing but snarl hideously and paw=
at
the air.
"Now it is my
turn, old lady," ejaculated Higgs, and straightway missed her clean fr=
om a
distance of five yards. A second shot was more successful, and she rolled o=
ver,
dead.
"Come on,&qu=
ot;
said the exultant Professor, "and we'll skin her. She sat on me, and I
mean to sit on her for many a day."
So we began the j=
ob,
although I, who had large experience of this desert, and did not like the
appearance of the weather, wished to leave the beast where it lay and get b=
ack
to the oasis. It proved long, for I was the only one of us who had any
practical knowledge of flaying animals, and in that heat extremely unpleasa=
nt.
At length it was
done, and, having doubled the hide over a rifle for two of us to carry in
turns, we refreshed ourselves from the water-bottles (I even caught the
Professor washing the blood off his face and hands with some of the precious
fluid). Then we started for the oasis, only to discover, though we were all
sure that we knew the way, that not one of us had a slightest idea of its r=
eal
direction. In the hurry of our departure we had forgotten to bring a compas=
s,
and the sun, that would have been our guide in ordinary circumstances, and =
to
which we always trusted in the open desert, was hidden by the curious haze =
that
has been described.
So, sensibly enou=
gh,
we determined to return to the sand crest where we had killed the lioness, =
and
then trace our own footprints backward. This seemed simple enough, for ther=
e,
within half-a-mile, rose the identical ridge.
We reached it,
grumbling, for the lion-skin was heavy, only to discover that it was a tota=
lly
different ridge. Now, after reflection and argument, we saw our exact mista=
ke,
and made for what was obviously the real ridge--with the same result.
We were lost in t=
he
desert!
CHAPTER IV - THE DEATH WI=
ND
"The fact is," said Higgs presently, speaking with the air of an oracle, "t= he fact is that all these accursed sand-hills are as like each other as mummy beads on the same necklace, and therefore it is very difficult to know them apart. Give me that water-bottle, Adams; I am as dry as a lime-kiln."<= o:p>
"No," I
said shortly; "you may be drier before the end."
"What do you
mean? Oh! I see; but that's nonsense; those Zeus will hunt us up, or, at the
worst, we have only to wait till the sun gets out."
As he spoke, sudd=
enly
the air became filled with a curious singing sound impossible to describe,
caused as I knew, who had often heard it before, by millions and millions of
particles of sand being rubbed together. We turned to see whence it came, a=
nd
perceived, far away, rushing towards us with extraordinary swiftness, a huge
and dense cloud preceded by isolated columns and funnels of similar clouds.=
"A
sand-storm," said Higgs, his florid face paling a little. "Bad lu=
ck for
us! That's what comes of getting out of bed the wrong side first this morni=
ng.
No, it's your fault, Adams; you helped me to salt last night, in spite of my
remonstrances" (the Professor has sundry little superstitions of this
sort, particularly absurd in so learned a man). "Well, what shall we d=
o?
Get under the lee of the hill until it blows over?"
"Don't suppo=
se
it will blow over. Can't see anything to do except say our prayers,"
remarked Orme with sweet resignation. Oliver is, I think, the coolest hand =
in
an emergency of any one I ever met, except, perhaps, Sergeant Quick, a man,=
of
course, nearly old enough to be his father. "The game seems to be pret=
ty
well up," he added. "Well, you have killed two lions, Higgs, and =
that
is something."
"Oh, hang it!
You can die if you like, Oliver. The world won't miss you; but think of its
loss if anything happened to me. I don't intend to be wiped out by a beastly
sand-storm. I intend to live to write a book on Mur," and Higgs shook =
his
fist at the advancing clouds with an air that was really noble. It reminded=
me
of Ajax defying the lightning.
Meanwhile I had b=
een
reflecting.
"Listen,&quo=
t; I
said. "Our only chance is to stop where we are, for if we move we shall
certainly be buried alive. Look; there is something solid to lie on," =
and
I pointed to a ridge of rock, a kind of core of congealed sand, from which =
the
surface had been swept by gales. "Down with you, quick," I went o=
n,
"and let's draw that lion-skin over our heads. It may help to keep the
dust from choking us. Hurry, men; it's coming!"
Coming, it was
indeed, with a mighty, wailing roar. Scarcely had we got ourselves into
position, our backs to the blast and our mouths and noses buried after the
fashion of camels in a similar predicament, the lion-skin covering our heads
and bodies to the middle, with the paws tucked securely beneath us to preve=
nt
it from being blown away, when the storm leaped upon us furiously, bringing
darkness in its train. There we lay for hour after hour, unable to see, una=
ble
to talk because of the roaring noise about us, and only from time to time
lifting ourselves a little upon our hands and knees to disturb the weight of
sand that accumulated on our bodies, lest it should encase us in a living t=
omb.
Dreadful were the
miseries we suffered--the misery of the heat beneath the stinking pelt of t=
he
lion, the misery of the dust-laden air that choked us almost to suffocation,
the misery of thirst, for we could not get at our scanty supply of water to
drink. But worst of all perhaps, was the pain caused by the continual frict=
ion of
the sharp sand driven along at hurricane speed, which, incredible as it may
seem, finally wore holes in our thin clothing and filed our skins to rawnes=
s.
"No wonder t=
he
Egyptian monuments get such a beautiful shine on them," I heard poor H=
iggs
muttering in my ear again and again, for he was growing light-headed; "=
;no
wonder, no wonder! My shin-bones will be very useful to polish Quick's tall
riding-boots. Oh! curse the lions. Why did you help me to salt, you old ass;
why did you help me to salt? It's pickling me behind."
Then he became qu=
ite
incoherent, and only groaned from time to time.
Perhaps, however,
this suffering did us a service, since otherwise exhaustion, thirst, and du=
st
might have overwhelmed our senses, and caused us to fall into a sleep from
which we never should have awakened. Yet at the time we were not grateful to
it, for at last the agony became almost unbearable. Indeed, Orme told me
afterwards that the last thing he could remember was a quaint fancy that he=
had
made a colossal fortune by selling the secret of a new torture to the
Chinese--that of hot sand driven on to the victim by a continuous blast of =
hot
air.
After a while we =
lost
count of time, nor was it until later that we learned that the storm endured
for full twenty hours, during the latter part of which, notwithstanding our
manifold sufferings, we must have become more or less insensible. At any ra=
te,
at one moment I remembered the awful roar and the stinging of the sand whip=
s,
followed by a kind of vision of the face of my son--that beloved, long-lost=
son
whom I had sought for so many years, and for whose sake I endured all these
things. Then, without any interval, as it were, I felt my limbs being scorc=
hed as
though by hot irons or through a burning-glass, and with a fearful effort
staggered up to find that the storm had passed, and that the furious sun was
blistering my excoriated skin. Rubbing the caked dirt from my eyes, I looked
down to see two mounds like those of graves, out of which projected legs th=
at
had been white. Just then one pair of legs, the longer pair, stirred, the s=
and
heaved up convulsively, and, uttering wandering words in a choky voice, the=
re
arose the figure of Oliver Orme.
For a moment we s=
tood
and stared at each other, and strange spectacles we were.
"Is he
dead?" muttered Orme, pointing to the still buried Higgs.
"Fear so,&qu=
ot;
I answered, "but we'll look;" and painfully we began to disinter =
him.
When we came to it
beneath the lion-skin, the Professor's face was black and hideous to see, b=
ut,
to our relief, we perceived that he was not dead, for he moved his hand and
moaned. Orme looked at me.
"Water would
save him," I said.
Then came the anx=
ious
moment. One of our water-bottles was emptied before the storm began, but the
other, a large, patent flask covered with felt, and having a screw vulcanite
top, should still contain a good quantity, perhaps three quarts--that is, if
the fluid had not evaporated in the dreadful heat. If this had happened, it
meant that Higgs would die, and unless help came, that soon we should follow
him. Orme unscrewed the flask, for my hands refused that office, and used h=
is teeth
to draw the cork, which, providentially enough the thoughtful Quick had set=
in
the neck beneath the screw. Some of the water, which, although it was quite
hot, had not evaporated, thank God! flew against his parched lips, and I saw
him bite them till the blood came in the fierceness of the temptation to
assuage his raging thirst. But he resisted it like the man he is, and, with=
out
drinking a drop, handed me the bottle, saying simply:
"You are the
oldest; take care of this, Adams."
Now it was my tur=
n to
be tempted, but I, too, overcame, and, sitting down, laid Higgs's head upon=
my
knee; then, drop by drop, let a little of the water trickle between his swo=
llen
lips.
The effect was
magical, for in less than a minute the Professor sat up, grasped at the fla=
sk
with both hands, and strove to tear it away.
"You cruel brute! You cruel selfish brute!" he moaned as I wrenched it from him.<= o:p>
"Look here,
Higgs," I answered thickly; "Orme and I want water badly enough, =
and
we have had none. But you might take it all if it would save you, only it
wouldn't. We are lost in the desert, and must be sparing. If you drank
everything now, in a few hours you would be thirsty again and die."
He thought awhile,
then looked up and said:
"Beg pardon-=
-I
understand. I'm the selfish brute. But there's a good lot of water there; l=
et's
each have a drink; we can't move unless we do."
So we drank,
measuring out the water in a little india-rubber cup which we had with us. =
It
held about as much as a port wine glass, and each of us drank, or rather sl=
owly
sipped, three cupfuls; we who felt as though we could have swallowed a gall=
on
apiece, and asked for more. Small as was the allowance, it worked wonders in
us; we were men again.
We stood up and
looked about us, but the great storm had changed everything. Where there had
been sand-hills a hundred feet high, now were plains and valleys; where the=
re
had been valleys appeared sand-hills. Only the high ridge upon which we had
lain was as before, because it stood above the others and had a core of roc=
k.
We tried to discover the direction of the oasis by the position of the sun,
only to be baffled, since our two watches had run down, and we did not know=
the
time of day or where the sun ought to be in the heavens. Also, in that howl=
ing
wilderness there was nothing to show us the points of the compass.
Higgs, whose
obstinacy remained unimpaired, whatever may have happened to the rest of his
vital forces, had one view of the matter, and Orme another diametrically
opposed to it. They even argued as to whether the oasis lay to our right or=
to
our left, for their poor heads were so confused that they were scarcely cap=
able
of accurate thought or observation. Meanwhile I sat down upon the sand and
considered. Through the haze I could see the points of what I thought must =
be
the hills whence the Zeus declared that the lions came, although of course,=
for
aught I knew, they might be other hills.
"Listen,&quo=
t; I
said; "if lions live upon those hills, there must be water there. Let =
us
try to reach them; perhaps we shall see the oasis as we go."
Then began our
dreadful march. The lion-skin that had saved our lives, and was now baked h=
ard
as a board, we left behind, but the rifles we took. All day long we dragged
ourselves up and down steep sand-slopes, pausing now again to drink a sip of
water, and hoping always that from the top of the next slope we should see a
rescue party headed by Quick, or perhaps the oasis itself. Indeed, once we =
did
see it, green and shining, not more than three miles away, but when we got =
to
the head of the hill beyond which it should lie we found that the vision was
only a mirage, and our hearts nearly broke with disappointment. Oh! to men =
dying
of thirst, that mirage was indeed a cruel mockery.
At length night
approached, and the mountains were yet a long way off. We could march no mo=
re,
and sank down exhausted, lying on our faces, because our backs were so cut =
by
the driving sand and blistered by the sun that we could not sit. By now alm=
ost
all our water was gone. Suddenly Higgs nudged us and pointed upwards. Follo=
wing
the line of his hand, we saw, not thirty yards away and showing clear again=
st
the sky, a file of antelopes trekking along the sand-ridge, doubtless on a
night journey from one pasturage to another.
"You fellows
shoot," he muttered; "I might miss and frighten them away," =
for
in his distress poor Higgs was growing modest.
Slowly Orme and I
drew ourselves to our knees, cocking our rifles. By this time all the buck =
save
one had passed; there were but six of them, and this one marched along about
twenty yards behind the others. Orme pulled the trigger, but his rifle would
not go off because, as he discovered afterwards, some sand had worked into =
the
mechanism of the lock.
Meanwhile I had a=
lso
covered the buck, but the sunset dazzled my weakened eyes, and my arms were
feeble; also my terrible anxiety for success, since I knew that on this shot
hung our lives, unnerved me. But it must be now or never; in three more pac=
es
the beast would be down the dip.
I fired, and know=
ing
that I had missed, turned sick and faint. The antelope bounded forward a few
yards right to the edge of the dip; then, never having heard such a sound
before, and being overcome by some fatal curiosity, stopped and turned arou=
nd,
staring at the direction whence it had come.
Despairingly I fi=
red
again, almost without taking aim, and this time the bullet went in beneath =
the
throat, and, raking the animal, dropped it dead as a stone. We scrambled to=
it,
and presently were engaged in an awful meal of which we never afterwards li=
ked
to think. Happily for us that antelope must have drunk water not long befor=
e.
Our hunger and th=
irst
assuaged after this horrible fashion, we slept awhile by the carcase, then
arose extraordinarily refreshed, and, having cut off some hunks of meat to
carry with us, started on again. By the position of the stars, we now knew =
that
the oasis must lie somewhere to the east of us; but as between us and it th=
ere
appeared to be nothing but these eternal sand-hills stretching away for many
miles, and as in front of us toward the range the character of the desert
seemed to be changing, we thought it safer, if the word safety can be used =
in
such a connection, to continue to head for that range. All the remainder of=
this
night we marched, and, as we had no fuel wherewith to cook it, at dawn ate =
some
of the raw meat, which we washed down with the last drops of our water.
Now we were out of
the sand-hills, and had entered on a great pebbly plain that lay between us=
and
the foot of the mountains. These looked quiet close, but in fact were still=
far
off. Feebly and ever more feebly we staggered on, meeting no one and findin=
g no
water, though here and there we came across little bushes, of which we chew=
ed
the stringy and aromatic leaves that contained some moisture, but drew up o=
ur
mouths and throats like alum.
Higgs, who was the
softest of us, gave out the first, though to the last he struggled forward =
with
surprising pluck, even after he had been obliged to throw away his rifle,
because he could no longer carry it, though this we did not notice at the t=
ime.
When he could not support himself upon his feet, Orme took him by one arm, =
and
I by the other, and helped him on, much as I have seen two elephants do by a
wounded companion of the herd.
Half-an-hour or so
later my strength failed me also. Although advanced in years, I am tough and
accustomed to the desert and hardships; who would not be who had been a sla=
ve
to the Khalifa? But now I could do no more, and halting, begged the others =
to
go on and leave me. Orme's only answer was to proffer me his left arm. I to=
ok
it, for life is sweet to us all, especially when one has something to live
for--a desire to fulfil as I had, though to tell the truth, even at the tim=
e I
felt ashamed of myself.
Thus, then, we
proceeded awhile, resembling a sober man attempting to lead two drunken fri=
ends
out of reach of that stern policeman, Death. Orme's strength must be wonder=
ful;
or was it his great spirit and his tender pity for our helplessness which
enabled him to endure beneath this double burden.
Suddenly he fell =
down
as though he had been shot, and lay there senseless. The Professor, however,
retained some portion of his mind, although it wandered. He became
light-headed, and rambled on about our madness in having undertaken such a
journey, "just to pot a couple of beastly lions," and although I =
did
not answer them, I agreed heartily with his remarks. Then he seemed to imag=
ine
that I was a clergyman, and kneeling on the sand, he made a lengthy confess=
ion
of his sins which, so far as I gathered, though I did not pay much attentio=
n to
them, for I was thinking of my own, appeared chiefly to consist of the unla=
wful
acquisition of certain objects of antiquity, or of having overmatched other=
s in
the purchase of such objects.
To pacify him, fo=
r I
feared lest he should go raving mad, I pronounced some religious absolution,
whereon poor Higgs rolled over and lay still by Orme. Yes; he, the friend w=
hom
I had always loved, for his very failings were endearing, was dead or at the
point of death, like the gallant young man at his side, and I myself was dy=
ing.
Tremors shook my limbs; horrible waves of blackness seemed to well up from =
my
vitals, through my breast to my brain, and thence to evaporate in queer, ja=
gged
lines and patches, which I realized, but could not actually see. Gay memori=
es
of my far-off childhood arose in me, particularly those of a Christmas party
where I had met a little girl dressed like an elf, a little girl with blue =
eyes
whom I had loved dearly for quite a fortnight, to be beaten down, stamped o=
ut,
swallowed by that vision of the imminent shadow which awaits all mankind, t=
he
black womb of a re-birth, if re-birth there be.
What could I do? I
thought of lighting a fire; at any rate it would serve to scare the lions a=
nd
other wild beasts which else might prey upon us before we were quite dead. =
It
would be dreadful to lie helpless but sentient, and feel their rending fang=
s.
But I had no strength to collect the material. To do so at best must have m=
eant
a long walk, for even here it was not plentiful. I had a few cartridges
left--three, to be accurate--in my repeating rifle; the rest I had thrown a=
way
to be rid of their weight. I determined to fire them, since, in my state I
thought they could no longer serve either to win food or for the purposes o=
f defence,
although, as it happened, in this I was wrong. It was possible that, even in
that endless desert, some one might hear the shots, and if not--well,
good-night.
So I sat up and f=
ired
the first cartridge, wondering in a childish fashion where the bullet would
fall. Then I went to sleep for awhile. The howling of a hyena woke me up, a=
nd,
on glancing around, I saw the beast's flaming eyes quite close to me. I aim=
ed
and shot at it, and heard a yell of pain. That hyena, I reflected, would wa=
nt
no more food at present.
The silence of the
desert overwhelmed me; it was so terrible that I almost wished the hyena ba=
ck
for company. Holding the rifle above my head, I fired the third cartridge. =
Then
I took the hand of Higgs in my own, for, after all, it was a link--the last
link with humanity and the world--and lay down in the company of death that
seemed to fall upon me in black and smothering veils.
I woke up and bec=
ame
aware that some one was pouring water down my throat. Heaven! I thought to
myself, for at that time heaven and water were synonymous in my mind. I dra=
nk a
good deal of it, not all I wanted by any means, but as much as the pourer w=
ould
allow, then raised myself upon my hands and looked. The starlight was
extraordinarily clear in that pure desert atmosphere, and by it I saw the f=
ace
of Sergeant Quick bending over me. Also, I saw Orme sitting up, staring abo=
ut
him stupidly, while a great yellow dog, with a head like a mastiff, licked =
his
hand. I knew the dog at once; it was that which Orme had bought from some
wandering natives, and named Pharaoh because he ruled over all other dogs.
Moreover, I knew the two camels that stood near by. So I was still on
earth--unless, indeed we had all moved on a step.
"How did you
find us, Sergeant?" I asked feebly.
"Didn't find
you, Doctor," answered Quick, "dog Pharaoh found you. In a busine=
ss
like this a dog is more useful than man, for he can smell what one can't se=
e.
Now, if you feel better, Doctor, please look at Mr. Higgs, for I fear he's
gone."
I looked, and,
although I did not say so, was of the same opinion. His jaw had fallen, and=
he
lay limp and senseless; his eyes I could not see, because of the black
spectacles.
"Water,"=
; I
said, and Quick poured some into his mouth, where it vanished.
Still he did not
stir, so I opened his garments and felt his heart. At first I could detect
nothing; then there was the slightest possible flutter.
"There's
hope," I said in answer to the questioning looks. "You don't happ=
en
to have any brandy, do you?" I added.
"Never trave=
lled
without it yet, Doctor," replied Quick indignantly, producing a metal
flask.
"Give him
some," I said, and the Sergeant obeyed with liberality and almost
instantaneous effect, for Higgs sat up gasping and coughing.
"Brandy; fil=
thy
stuff; teetotaller! Cursed trick! Never forgive you. Water, water," he
spluttered in a thick, low voice.
We gave it to him,
and he drank copiously, until we would let him have no more indeed. Then, by
degrees, his senses came back to him. He thrust up his black spectacles whi=
ch
he had worn all this while, and stared at the Sergeant with his sharp eyes.=
"I
understand," he said. "So we are not dead, after all, which perha=
ps is
a pity after getting through the beastly preliminaries. What has happened?&=
quot;
"Don't quite
know," answered Orme; "ask Quick."
But the Sergeant =
was
already engaged in lighting a little fire and setting a camp-kettle to boil,
into which he poured a tin of beef extract that he had brought with other
eatables from our stores on the chance that he might find us. In fifteen
minutes we were drinking soup, for I forbade anything more solid as yet, an=
d,
oh! what a blessed meal was that. When it was finished, Quick fetched some
blankets from the camels, which he threw over us.
"Lie down and
sleep, gentlemen," he said; "Pharaoh and I will watch."
The last thing I
remember was seeing the Sergeant, in his own fashion an extremely religious
man, and not ashamed of it, kneeling upon the sand and apparently saying his
prayers. As he explained afterwards, of course, as a fatalist, he knew well
that whatever must happen would happen, but still he considered it right and
proper to return thanks to the Power which had arranged that on this occasi=
on
the happenings should be good, and not ill, a sentiment with which every on=
e of
us agreed. Opposite to him, with one of his faithful eyes fixed on Orme, sa=
t Pharaoh
in grave contemplation. Doubtless, being an Eastern dog, he understood the
meaning of public prayer; or perhaps he thought that he should receive some
share of gratitude and thanks.
When we awoke the=
sun
was already high, and to show us that we had dreamed no dream, there was Qu=
ick
frying tinned bacon over the fire, while Pharaoh sat still and watched him-=
-or
the bacon.
"Look,"
said Orme to me, pointing to the mountains, "they are still miles away=
. It
was madness to think that we could reach them."
I nodded, then tu=
rned
to stare at Higgs, who was just waking up, for, indeed, he was a sight to s=
ee.
His fiery red hair was full of sand, his nether garments were gone, apparen=
tly
at some stage in our march he had dispensed with the remains of them because
they chafed his sore limbs, and his fair skin, not excluding that of his fa=
ce,
was a mass of blisters, raised by the sun. In fact he was so disfigured that
his worst enemy would not have known him. He yawned, stretched himself, alw=
ays
a good sign in man or beast, and asked for a bath.
"I am afraid=
you
will have to wash yourself in sand here, sir, like them filthy Arabians,&qu=
ot;
said Quick, saluting. "No water to spare for baths in this dry country.
But I've got a tube of hazeline, also a hair-brush and a looking-glass,&quo=
t;
he added, producing these articles.
"Quite so,
Sergeant," said Higgs, as he took them; "it's sacrilege to think =
of
using water to wash. I intend never to waste it in that way again." Th=
en
he looked at himself in the glass, and let it fall upon the sand, ejaculati=
ng,
"Oh! good Lord, is that me?"
"Please be
careful, sir," said the Sergeant sternly; "you told me the other =
day
that it's unlucky to break a looking-glass; also I have no other."
"Take it
away," said the Professor; "I don't want it any more, and, Doctor,
come and oil my face, there's a good fellow; yes, and the rest of me also, =
if
there is enough hazeline."
So we treated each
other with the ointment, which at first made us smart fearfully, and then, =
very
gingerly sat down to breakfast.
"Now,
Sergeant," said Orme, as he finished his fifth pannikin of tea, "=
tell
us your story."
"There isn't
much of a story, Captain. Those Zeu fellows came back without you, and, not
knowing the lingo, I could make nothing of their tale. Well, I soon made
Shadrach and Co. understand that, death-wind or no death-wind--that's what =
they
call it--they must come with me to look for you, and at last we started,
although they said that I was mad, as you were dead already. Indeed, it was=
n't
until I asked that fellow Shadrach if he wanted to be dead too"--and t=
he
Sergeant tapped his revolver grimly--"that he would let any one go.
"As it prove=
d,
he was right, for we couldn't find you, and after awhile the camels refused=
to
face the storm any longer; also one of the Abati drivers was lost, and hasn=
't
been heard of since. It was all the rest of us could do to get back to the
oasis alive, nor would Shadrach go out again even after the storm had blown
itself away. It was no use arguing with the pig, so, as I did not want his
blood upon my hands, I took two camels and started with the dog Pharaoh for
company.
"Now this wa=
s my
thought, although I could not explain it to the Abati crowd, that if you li=
ved
at all, you would almost certainly head for the hills as I knew you had no
compass, and you would not be able to see anything else. So I rode along the
plain which stretches between the desert and the mountains, keeping on the =
edge
of the sand-hills. I rode all day, but when night came I halted, since I co=
uld
see no more. There I sat in that great place, thinking, and after an hour or
two I observed Pharaoh prick his ears and look toward the west. So I also
started toward the west, and presently I thought that I saw one faint strea=
k of
light which seemed to go upward, and therefore couldn't come from a falling
star, but might have come from a rifle fired toward the sky.
"I listened,=
but
no sound reached me, only presently, some seconds afterwards, the dog again
pricked his ears as though he heard something. That settled me, and I mount=
ed
and rode forward through the night toward the place where I thought I had s=
een
the flash. For two hours I rode, firing my revolver from time to time; then=
as
no answer came, gave it up as a bad job, and stopped. But Pharaoh there
wouldn't stop. He began to whine and sniff and run forward, and at last bol=
ted into
the darkness, out of which presently I heard him barking some hundreds of y=
ards
away, to call me, I suppose. So I followed and found you three gentlemen, d=
ead,
as I thought at first. That's all the story, Captain."
"One with a =
good
end, anyway, Sergeant. We owe our lives to you."
"Beg your
pardon, Captain," answered Quick modestly; "not to me at all, but=
to
Providence first that arranged everything, before we were born perhaps, and
next to Pharaoh. He's a wise dog, Pharaoh, though fierce with some, and you=
did
a good deal when you bought him for a bottle of whisky and a sixpenny
pocket-knife."
It was dawn on the
following morning before we sighted the oasis, whither we could travel but
slowly, since, owing to the lack of camels, two of us must walk. Of these t=
wo,
as may be guessed, the Sergeant was always one and his master the other, fo=
r of
all the men I ever knew I think that in such matters Orme is the most
unselfish. Nothing would induce him to mount one of the camels, even for
half-an-hour, so that when I walked, the brute went riderless. On the other
hand, once he was on, notwithstanding the agonies he suffered from his
soreness, nothing would induce Higgs to get off.
"Here I am a=
nd
here I stop," he said several times, in English, French, and sundry
Oriental languages. "I've tramped it enough to last me the rest of my
life."
Both of us were
dozing upon our saddles when suddenly I heard the Sergeant calling to the
camels to halt and asked what was the matter.
"Looks like
Arabians, Doctor," he said, pointing to a cloud of dust advancing towa=
rd
us.
"Well, if
so," I answered, "our best chance is to show no fear and go on. I
don't think they will harm us."
So, having made r=
eady
such weapons as we had, we advanced, Orme and the Sergeant walking between =
the
two camels, until presently we encountered the other caravan, and, to our
astonishment, saw none other than Shadrach riding at the head of it, mounte=
d on
my dromedary, which his own mistress, the Lady of the Abati, had given to m=
e.
We came face to face, and halted, staring at each other.
"By the bear=
d of
Aaron! is it you, lords?" he asked. "We thought you were dead.&qu=
ot;
"By the hair=
of
Moses! so I gather," I answered angrily, "seeing that you are goi=
ng
off with all our belongings," and I pointed to the baggage camels laden
with goods.
Then followed
explanations and voluble apologies, which Higgs for one accepted with a very
bad grace. Indeed, as he can talk Arabic and its dialects perfectly, he made
use of that tongue to pour upon the heads of Shadrach and his companions a
stream of Eastern invective that must have astonished them, ably seconded a=
s it
was by Sergeant Quick in English.
Orme listened for
some time, then said:
"That'll do,=
old
fellow; if you go on, you will get up a row, and, Sergeant, be good enough =
to
hold your tongue. We have met them, so there is no harm done. Now, friend
Shadrach, turn back with us to the oasis. We are going to rest there for so=
me
days."
Shadrach looked
sulky, and said something about our turning and going on with them, whereon=
I
produced the ancient ring, Sheba's ring, which I had brought as a token from
Mur. This I held before his eyes, saying:
"Disobey, and
there will be an account to settle when you come into the presence of her w=
ho
sent you forth, for even if we four should die"--and I looked at him
meaningly--"think not that you will be able to hide this matter; there=
are
too many witnesses."
Then, without more
words, he saluted the sacred ring, and we all went back to Zeu.
CHAPTER V - PHARAOH MAKES
TROUBLE
Another six weeks=
or
so had gone by, and at length the character of the country began to change.=
At
last we were passing out of the endless desert over which we had travelled =
for
so many hundreds of miles; at least a thousand, according to our observatio=
ns
and reckonings, which I checked by those that I had taken upon my eastward
journey. Our march, after the great adventure at the oasis, was singularly
devoid of startling events. Indeed, it had been awful in its monotony, and =
yet,
oddly enough, not without a certain charm--at any rate for Higgs and Orme, =
to
whom the experience was new.
Day by day to tra=
vel
on across an endless sea of sand so remote, so unvisited that for whole wee=
ks
no man, not even a wandering Bedouin of the desert, crossed our path. Day by
day to see the great red sun rise out of the eastern sands, and, its journey
finished, sink into the western sands. Night by night to watch the moon, the
same moon on which were fixed the million eyes of cities, turning those san=
ds
to a silver sea, or, in that pure air, to observe the constellations by whi=
ch
we steered our path making their majestic march through space. And yet to k=
now
that this vast region, now so utterly lonesome and desolate, had once been =
familiar
to the feet of long-forgotten men who had trod the sands we walked, and dug=
the
wells at which we drank.
Armies had marched
across these deserts, also, and perished there. For once we came to a place
where a recent fearful gale had almost denuded the underlying rock, and the=
re
found the skeletons of thousands upon thousands of soldiers, with those of
their beasts of burden, and among them heads of arrows, sword-blades, fragm=
ents
of armour and of painted wooden shields.
Here a whole host=
had
died; perhaps Alexander sent it forth, or perhaps some far earlier monarch
whose name has ceased to echo on the earth. At least they had died, for the=
re
we saw the memorial of that buried enterprise. There lay the kings, the
captains, the soldiers, and the concubines, for I found the female bones he=
aped
apart, some with the long hair still upon the skulls, showing where the poo=
r,
affrighted women had hived together in the last catastrophe of slaughter or=
of famine,
thirst, and driven sand. Oh, if only those bones could speak, what a tale w=
as
theirs to tell!
There had been ci=
ties
in this desert, too, where once were oases, now overwhelmed, except perhaps=
for
a sand-choked spring. Twice we came upon the foundations of such places, old
walls of clay or stone, stark skeletons of ancient homes that the shifting
sands had disinterred, which once had been the theatre of human hopes and
fears, where once men had been born, loved, and died, where once maidens had
been fair, and good and evil wrestled, and little children played. Some Job=
may
have dwelt here and written his immortal plaint, or some king of Sodom, and=
suffered
the uttermost calamity. The world is very old; all we Westerns learned from=
the
contemplation of these wrecks of men and of their works was just that the w=
orld
is very old.
One evening again=
st
the clear sky there appeared the dim outline of towering cliffs, shaped lik=
e a
horseshoe. They were the Mountains of Mur many miles away, but still the
Mountains of Mur, sighted at last. Next morning we began to descend through
wooded land toward a wide river that is, I believe, a tributary of the Nile,
though upon this point I have no certain information. Three days later we
reached the banks of this river, following some old road, and faring
sumptuously all the way, since here there was much game and grass in plenty=
for
the camels that, after their long abstinence, ate until we thought that they
would burst. Evidently we had not arrived an hour too soon, for now the
Mountains of Mur were hid by clouds, and we could see that it was raining u=
pon
the plains which lay between us and them. The wet season was setting in, an=
d,
had we been a single week later, it might have been impossible for us to cr=
oss
the river, which would then have been in flood. As it was, we passed it wit=
hout
difficulty by the ancient ford, the water never rising above the knees of o=
ur
camels.
Upon its further =
bank
we took counsel, for now we had entered the territory of the Fung, and were
face to face with the real dangers of our journey. Fifty miles or so away r=
ose
the fortress of Mur, but, as I explained to my companions, the question was=
how
to pass those fifty miles in safety. Shadrach was called to our conference,=
and
at my request set out the facts.
Yonder, he said, =
rose
the impregnable mountain home of the Abati, but all the vast plain included=
in
the loop of the river which he called Ebur, was the home of the savage Fung
race, whose warriors could be counted by the ten thousand, and whose princi=
pal
city, Harmac, was built opposite to the stone effigy of their idol, that was
also called Harmac----
"Harmac--tha=
t is
Harmachis, god of dawn. Your Fung had something to do with the old Egyptian=
s,
or both of them came from a common stock," interrupted Higgs triumphan=
tly.
"I daresay, =
old
fellow," answered Orme; "I think you told us that before in Londo=
n;
but we will go into the archæology afterwards if we survive to do so. Let
Shadrach get on with his tale."
This city, which =
had
quite fifty thousand inhabitants, continued Shadrach, commanded the mouth of
the pass or cleft by which we must approach Mur, having probably been first
built there for that very purpose.
Orme asked if the=
re
was no other way into the stronghold, which, he understood, the embassy had
left by being let down a precipice. Shadrach answered that this was true, b=
ut
that although the camels and their loads had been let down that precipitous
place, owing to the formation of its overhanging rocks, it would be perfect=
ly
impossible to haul them up it with any tackle that the Abati possessed.
He asked again if
there was not a way round, if that circle of mountains had no back door.
Shadrach replied that there was such a back door facing to the north some e=
ight
days' journey away. Only at this season of the year it could not be reached,
since beyond the Mountains of Mur in that direction was a great lake, out of
which flowed the river Ebur in two arms that enclosed the whole plain of Fu=
ng.
By now this lake would be full, swollen with rains that fell on the hills of
Northern Africa, and the space between it and the Mur range nothing but an =
impassable
swamp.
Being still
unsatisfied, Orme inquired whether, if we abandoned the camels, we could not
then climb the precipice down which the embassy had descended. To this the
answer, which I corroborated, was that if our approach were known and help
given to us from above, it might be possible, provided that we threw away t=
he
loads.
"Seeing what
these loads are, and the purpose for which we have brought them so far, tha=
t is
out of the question," said Orme. "Therefore, tell us at once,
Shadrach, how we are to win through the Fung to Mur."
"In one way
only, O son of Orme, should it be the will of God that we do so at all; by
keeping ourselves hidden during the daytime and marching at night. Accordin=
g to
their custom at this season, to-morrow, after sunset, the Fung hold their g=
reat
spring feast in the city of Harmac, and at dawn go up to make sacrifice to
their idol. But after sunset they eat and drink and are merry, and then it =
is
their habit to withdraw their guards, that they may take part in the festiv=
al.
For this reason I have timed our march that we should arrive on the night of
this feast, which I know by the age of the moon, when, in the darkness, with
God's help, perchance we may slip past Harmac, and at the first light find =
ourselves
in the mouth of the road that runs up to Mur. Moreover, I will give warning=
to
my people, the Abati, that we are coming, so that they may be at hand to he=
lp
us if there is need."
"How?"
asked Orme.
"By firing t=
he
reeds"--and he pointed to the dense masses of dead vegetation
about--"as I arranged that I would do before we left Mur many months a=
go.
The Fung, if they see it, will think only that it is the work of some wande=
ring
fisherman."
Orme shrugged his
shoulders, saying:
"Well, friend
Shadrach, you know the place and these people, and I do not, so we must do =
what
you tell us. But I say at once that if, as I understand, yonder Fung will k=
ill
us if they can, to me your plan seems very dangerous."
"It is dange=
rous,"
he answered, adding with a sneer, "but I thought that you men of Engla=
nd
were not cowards."
"Cowards! you
son of a dog!" broke in Higgs in his high voice. "How dare you ta=
lk
to us like that? You see this man here"--and he pointed to Sergeant Qu=
ick,
who, tall and upright, stood watching this scene grimly, and understanding =
most
of what passed--"well, he is the lowest among us--a servant only"
(here the Sergeant saluted), "but I tell you that there is more courag=
e in
his little finger than in your whole body, or in that of all the Abati peop=
le,
so far as I can make out."
Here the Sergeant
saluted again, murmuring beneath his breath, "I hope so, sir. Being a
Christian, I hope so, but till it comes to the sticking-point, one can neve=
r be
sure."
"You speak b=
ig
words, O Higgs," answered Shadrach insolently, for, as I think I have
said, he hated the Professor, who smelt the rogue in him, and scourged him
continually with his sharp tongue, "but if the Fung get hold of you, t=
hen
we shall learn the truth."
"Shall I pun=
ch
his head, sir?" queried Quick in a meditative voice.
"Be quiet,
please," interrupted Orme. "We have troubles enough before us,
without making more. It will be time to settle our quarrels when we have got
through the Fung."
Then he turned to
Shadrach and said:
"Friend, thi=
s is
no time for angry words. You are the guide of this party; lead us as you wi=
ll,
remembering only that if it comes to war, I, by the wish of my companions, =
am
Captain. Also, there is another thing which you should not forget--namely, =
that
in the end you must make answer to your own ruler, she who, I understand fr=
om
the doctor here, is called Walda Nagasta, the Child of Kings. Now, no more
words; we march as you wish and where you wish. On your head be it!"
The Abati heard a=
nd
bowed sullenly. Then, with a look of hate at Higgs, he turned and went about
his business.
"Much better=
to
have let me punch his head," soliloquized Quick. "It would have d=
one
him a world of good, and perhaps saved many troubles, for, to tell the trut=
h, I
don't trust that quarter-bred Hebrew."
Then he departed =
to
see to the camels and the guns while the rest of us went to our tents to get
such sleep as the mosquitoes would allow. In my own case it was not much, s=
ince
the fear of evil to come weighed upon me. Although I knew the enormous
difficulty of entering the mountain stronghold of Mur by any other way, suc=
h as
that by which I had quitted it, burdened as we were with our long train of
camels laden with rifles, ammunition, and explosives, I dreaded the results=
of
an attempt to pass through the Fung savages.
Moreover, it occu=
rred
to me that Shadrach had insisted upon this route from a kind of jealous
obstinacy, and to be in opposition to us Englishmen, whom he hated in his
heart, or perhaps for some dark and secret reason. Still, the fact remained
that we were in his power, since owing to the circumstances in which I had
entered and left the place, it was impossible for me to act as guide to the
party. If I attempted to do so, no doubt he and the Abati with him would
desert, leaving the camels and their loads upon our hands. Why should they =
not,
seeing that they would be quite safe in concluding that we should never hav=
e an
opportunity of laying our side of the case before their ruler?
Just as the sun w=
as
setting, Quick came to call me, saying that the camels were being loaded up=
.
"I don't much
like the look of things, Doctor," he said as he helped me to pack my f=
ew
belongings, "for the fact is I can't trust that Shadrach man. His pals
call him 'Cat,' a good name for him, I think. Also, he is showing his claws
just now, the truth being that he hates the lot of us, and would like to get
back into Purr or Mur, or whatever the name of the place is, having lost us=
on
the road. You should have seen the way he looked at the Professor just now.=
Oh!
I wish the Captain had let me punch his head. I'm sure it would have cleared
the air a lot."
As it chanced,
Shadrach was destined to get his head "punched" after all, but by
another hand. It happened thus. The reeds were fired, as Shadrach had decla=
red
it was necessary to do, in order that the Abati watchmen on the distant
mountains might see and report the signal, although in the light of subsequ=
ent
events I am by no means certain that this warning was not meant for other e=
yes
as well. Then, as arranged, we started out, leaving them burning in a great
sheet of flame behind us, and all that night marched by the shine of the st=
ars
along some broken-down and undoubtedly ancient road.
At the first sign=
of
dawn we left this road and camped amid the overgrown ruins of a deserted to=
wn
that had been built almost beneath the precipitous cliffs of Mur, fortunate=
ly
without having met any one or being challenged. I took the first watch, whi=
le
the others turned in to sleep after we had all breakfasted off cold meats, =
for
here we dared not light a fire. As the sun grew high, dispelling the mists,=
I
saw that we were entering upon a thickly-populated country which was no
stranger to civilization of a sort. Below us, not more than fifteen or sixt=
een
miles away, and clearly visible through my field-glasses, lay the great tow=
n of
Harmac, which, during my previous visit to this land, I had never seen, as I
passed it in the night.
It was a city of =
the
West Central African type, with open market-places and wide streets, contai=
ning
thousands of white, flat-roofed houses, the most important of which were
surrounded by gardens. Round it ran a high and thick wall, built, apparentl=
y,
of sun-burnt brick, and in front of the gateways, of which I could see two,
stood square towers whence these might be protected. All about this city the
flat and fertile land was under cultivation, for the season being that of e=
arly
spring, already the maize and other crops showed green upon the ground.
Beyond this belt =
of
plough-lands, with the aid of the field-glasses, I could make out great her=
ds
of grazing cattle and horses, mixed with wild game, a fact that assured me =
of
the truth of what I had heard during my brief visit to Mur, that the Fung h=
ad
few or no firearms, since otherwise the buck and quagga would have kept at a
distance. Far off, too, and even on the horizon, I saw what appeared to be
other towns and villages. Evidently this was a very numerous people, and one
which could not justly be described as savage. No wonder that the little Ab=
ati
tribe feared them so intensely, notwithstanding the mighty precipices by wh=
ich they
were protected from their hate.
About eleven o'cl=
ock
Orme came on watch, and I turned in, having nothing to report. Soon I was f=
ast
asleep, notwithstanding the anxieties that, had I been less weary, might we=
ll
have kept me wakeful. For these were many. On the coming night we must slip
through the Fung, and before midday on the morrow we should either have ent=
ered
Mur, or failed to have entered Mur, which meant--death, or, what was worse,
captivity among barbarians, and subsequent execution, preceded probably by
torture of one sort or another.
Of course, howeve=
r,
we might come thither without accident, travelling with good guides on a da=
rk
night, for, after all, the place was big, and the road lonely and little us=
ed,
so that unless we met a watch, which, we were told, would not be there, our
little caravan had a good chance to pass unobserved. Shadrach seemed to thi=
nk
that we should do so, but the worst of it was that, like Quick, I did not t=
rust
Shadrach. Even Maqueda, the Lady of the Abati, she whom they called Child of
Kings, had her doubts about him, or so it had seemed to me.
At any rate, she =
had
told me before I left Mur that she chose him for this mission because he was
bold and cunning, one of the very few of her people also who, in his youth,=
had
crossed the desert and, therefore, knew the road. "Yet, Physician,&quo=
t;
she added meaningly, "watch him, for is he not named 'Cat'? Yes, watch
him, for did I not hold his wife and children hostages, and were I not sure
that he desires to win the great reward in land which I have promised to hi=
m, I
would not trust you to this man's keeping."
Well, after many
experiences in his company, my opinion coincided with Maqueda's, and so did
that of Quick, no mean judge of men.
"Look at him,
Doctor," he said when he came to tell me that I could turn in, for whe=
ther
it were his watch or not, the Sergeant never seemed to be off duty. "L=
ook,
at him," and he pointed to Shadrach, who was seated under the shade of=
a
tree, talking earnestly in whispers with two of his subordinates with a very
curious and unpleasing smile upon his face. "If God Almighty ever made=
a
scamp, he's squatting yonder. My belief is that he wanted to be rid of us a=
ll
at Zeu, so that he might steal our goods, and I hope he won't play the same
trick again to-night. Even the dog can't abide him."
Before I could
answer, I had proof of this last statement, for the great yellow hound, Pha=
raoh,
that had found us in the desert, hearing our voices, emerged from some corn=
er
where it was hidden, and advanced toward us, wagging its tail. As it passed
Shadrach, it stopped and growled, the hair rising on its back, whereon he
hurled a stone at it and hit its leg. Next instant Pharaoh, a beast of enor=
mous
power, was on the top of him, and really, I thought, about to tear out his
throat.
Well, we got him =
off
before any harm was done, but Shadrach's face, lined with its livid scars, =
was
a thing to remember. Between rage and fear, it looked like that of a devil.=
To return. After =
this
business I went to sleep, wondering if it were my last rest upon the earth,=
and
whether, having endured so much for his sake, it would or would not be my
fortune to see the face of my son again, if, indeed, he still lived, yonder=
not
a score of miles away--or anywhere.
Toward evening I =
was
awakened by a fearful hubbub, in which I distinguished the shrill voice of
Higgs ejaculating language which I will not repeat, the baying of Pharaoh, =
and
the smothered groans and curses of an Abati. Running from the little tent, I
saw a curious sight, that of the Professor with Shadrach's head under his l=
eft
arm, in chancery, as we used to call it at school, while with his right he =
punched
the said Shadrach's nose and countenance generally with all his strength,
which, I may add, is considerable. Close by, holding Pharaoh by the collar,
which we had manufactured for him out of the skin of a camel that had died,
stood Sergeant Quick, a look of grim amusement on his wooden face, while
around, gesticulating after their Eastern fashion, and uttering guttural so=
unds
of wrath, were several of the Abati drivers. Orme was absent, being, in fac=
t,
asleep at the time.
"What are you
doing, Higgs?" I shouted.
"Can't--you-=
-see,"
he spluttered, accompanying each word with a blow on the unfortunate Shadra=
ch's
prominent nose. "I am punching this fellow's beastly head. Ah! you'd b=
ite,
would you? Then take that, and that and--that. Lord, how hard his teeth are.
Well, I think he has had enough," and suddenly he released the Abati, =
who,
a gory and most unpleasant spectacle, fell to the ground and lay there pant=
ing.
His companions, seeing their chief's melancholy plight, advanced upon the P=
rofessor
in a threatening fashion; indeed, one of them drew a knife.
"Put up that
thing, sonny," said the Sergeant, "or by heaven, I'll loose the d=
og
upon you. Got your revolver handy, Doctor?"
Evidently, if the=
man
did not understand Quick's words, their purport was clear to him, for he
sheathed his knife and fell back with the others. Shadrach, too, rose from =
the
ground and went with them. At a distance of a few yards, however, he turned,
and, glaring at Higgs out of his swollen eyes, said:
"Be sure,
accursed Gentile, that I will remember and repay."
At this moment, t=
oo,
Orme arrived upon the scene, yawning.
"What the de=
uce
is the matter?" he asked.
"I'd give fi=
ve
bob for a pint of iced stone ginger," replied Higgs inconsequently. Th=
en
he drank off a pannikin of warmish, muddy-coloured water which Quick gave to
him, and handed it back, saying:
"Thanks,
Sergeant; that's better than nothing, and cold drink is always dangerous if=
you
are hot. What's the matter? Oh! not much. Shadrach tried to poison Pharaoh;
that's all. I was watching him out of the corner of my eye, and saw him go =
to
the strychnine tin, roll a bit of meat in it which he had first wetted, and
throw it to the poor beast. I got hold of it in time, and chucked it over t=
hat
wall, where you will find it if you care to look. I asked Shadrach why he h=
ad
done such a thing. He answered, 'To keep the dog quiet while we are passing
through the Fung,' adding that anyhow it was a savage beast and best out of=
the
way, as it had tried to bite him that morning. Then I lost my temper and we=
nt
for the blackguard, and although I gave up boxing twenty years ago, very so=
on
had the best of it, for, as you may have observed, no Oriental can fight wi=
th
his fists. That's all. Give me another cup of water, Sergeant."
"I hope it m=
ay
be," answered Orme, shrugging his shoulders. "To tell the truth, =
old
fellow, it would have been wiser to defer blacking Shadrach's eyes till we =
were
safe in Mur. But it's no use talking now, and I daresay I should have done =
the
same myself if I had seen him try to poison Pharaoh," and he patted the
head of the great dog, of which we were all exceedingly fond, although in
reality it only cared for Orme, merely tolerating the rest of us.
"Doctor,&quo=
t;
he added, "perhaps you would try to patch up our guide's nose and soot=
he
his feelings. You know him better than we do. Give him a rifle. No, don't do
that, or he might shoot some one in the back--by accident done on purpose.
Promise him a rifle when we get into Mur; I know he wants one badly, becaus=
e I
caught him trying to steal a carbine from the case. Promise him anything so
long as you can square it up."
So I went, taking=
a
bottle of arnica and some court plaster with me, to find Shadrach surrounde=
d by
sympathizers and weeping with rage over the insult, which, he said, had been
offered to his ancient and distinguished race in his own unworthy person. I=
did
my best for him physically and mentally, pointing out, as I dabbed the arni=
ca
on his sadly disfigured countenance, that he had brought the trouble on him=
self,
seeing that he had really no business to poison Pharaoh because he had trie=
d to
bite him. He answered that his reason for wishing to kill the dog was quite
different, and repeated at great length what he had told the Professor--nam=
ely,
that it might betray us while we were passing through the Fung. Also he wen=
t on
so venomously about revenge that I thought it time to put a stop to the thi=
ng.
"See here,
Shadrach," I said, "unless you unsay those words and make peace at
once, you shall be bound and tried. Perhaps we shall have a better chance of
passing safely through the Fung if we leave you dead behind us than if you
accompany us as a living enemy."
On hearing this, =
he
changed his note altogether, saying that he saw he had been wrong. Moreover=
, so
soon as his injuries were dressed, he sought out Higgs, whose hand he kissed
with many apologies, vowing that he had forgotten everything and that his h=
eart
toward him was like that of a twin brother.
"Very good,
friend," answered Higgs, who never bore malice, "only don't try to
poison Pharaoh again, and, for my part, I'll promise not to remember this
matter when we get to Mur."
"Quite a
converted character, ain't he, Doctor?" sarcastically remarked Quick, =
who
had been watching this edifying scene. "Nasty Eastern temper all gone;=
no
Hebrew talk of eye for eye or tooth for tooth, but kisses the fist that smo=
te
him in the best Christian spirit. All the same, I wouldn't trust the swine
further than I could kick him, especially in the dark, which," he added
meaningly, "is what it will be to-night."
I made no answer =
to
the Sergeant, for although I agreed with him, there was nothing to be done,=
and
talking about a bad business would only make it worse.
By now the aftern=
oon
drew towards night--a very stormy night, to judge from the gathering clouds=
and
rising wind. We were to start a little after sundown, that is, within an ho=
ur,
and, having made ready my own baggage and assisted Higgs with his, we went =
to
look for Orme and Quick, whom we found very busy in one of the rooms of an
unroofed house. To all appearance they were engaged, Quick in sorting pound
tins of tobacco or baking-powder, and Orme in testing an electric battery a=
nd
carefully examining coils of insulated wire.
"What's your
game?" asked the Professor.
"Better than
yours, old boy, when Satan taught your idle hands to punch Shadrach's head.=
But
perhaps you had better put that pipe out. These azo-imide compounds are sai=
d to
burn rather more safely than coal. Still, one never knows; the climate or t=
he
journey may have changed their constitution."
Higgs retreated
hurriedly, to a distance of fifty yards indeed, whence he returned, having
knocked out his pipe and even left his matches on a stone.
"Don't waste
time in asking questions," said Orme as the Professor approached with
caution. "I'll explain. We are going on a queer journey to-night--four
white men with about a dozen half-bred mongrel scamps of doubtful loyalty, =
so
you see Quick and I thought it as well to have some of this stuff handy.
Probably it will never be wanted, and if wanted we shall have no time to use
it; still, who knows? There, that will do. Ten canisters; enough to blow up
half the Fung if they will kindly sit on them. You take five, Quick, a batt=
ery
and three hundred yards of wire, and I'll take five, a battery, and three
hundred yards of wire. Your detonators are all fixed, aren't they? Well, so=
are
mine," and without more words he proceeded to stow away his share of t=
he
apparatus in the poacher pockets of his coat and elsewhere, while Quick did=
likewise
with what remained. Then the case that they had opened was fastened up agai=
n and
removed to be laden on a camel.
CHAPTER VI - HOW WE ESCAP=
ED
FROM HARMAC
As finally arrang=
ed
this was the order of our march: First went an Abati guide who was said to =
be
conversant with every inch of the way. Then came Orme and Sergeant Quick,
conducting the camels that were loaded with the explosives. I followed in o=
rder
to keep an eye upon these precious beasts and those in charge of them. Next
marched some more camels, carrying our baggage, provisions, and sundries, a=
nd
finally in the rear were the Professor and Shadrach with two Abati.
Shadrach, I should
explain, had selected this situation for the reason, as he said, that if he
went first, after what had passed, any mistake or untoward occurrence might=
be
set down to his malice, whereas, if he were behind, he could not be thus
slandered. On hearing this, Higgs, who is a generous soul, insisted upon
showing his confidence in the virtue of Shadrach by accompanying him as a
rearguard. So violently did he insist, and so flattered did Shadrach seem t=
o be
by this mark of faith, that Orme, who, I should say, if I have not already =
done
so, was in sole command of the party now that hostilities were in the air,
consented to the plan, if with evident reluctance.
As I know, his own
view was that it would be best for us four Englishmen to remain together,
although, if we did so, whatever position we chose, it would be impossible =
for
us in that darkness to keep touch with the line of camels and their loads,
which were almost as important to us as our lives. At least, having made up=
our
minds to deliver them in Mur, we thought that they were important, perhaps
because it is the fashion of the Anglo-Saxon race to put even a self-created
idea of duty before personal safety or convenience.
Rightly or wrongl=
y,
so things were settled, for in such troublous conditions one can only do wh=
at
seems best at the moment. Criticism subsequent to the event is always easy,=
as
many an unlucky commander has found out when the issue went awry, but in
emergency one must decide on something.
The sun set, the
darkness fell, and it began to rain and blow. We started quite unobserved, =
so
far as we could tell, and, travelling downward from the overgrown, ruined t=
own,
gained the old road, and in complete silence, for the feet of camels make no
noise, passed along it toward the lights of Harmac, which now and again, wh=
en
the storm-clouds lifted, we saw glimmering in front of us and somewhat to o=
ur
left.
In all my long
wanderings I cannot remember a more exciting or a more disagreeable journey.
The blackness, relieved only from time to time by distant lightnings, was t=
hat
of the plagues of Egypt; the driving rain worked through the openings of our
camel-hair cloaks and the waterproofs we wore underneath them, and wet us
through. The cold, damp wind chilled us to the bone, enervated as we were w=
ith
the heat of the desert. But these discomforts, and they were serious enough=
, we
forgot in the tremendous issue of the enterprise. Should we win through to =
Mur?
Or, as a crown to our many labours and sufferings, should we perish present=
ly on
the road? That was the question; as I can assure the reader, one that we fo=
und
very urgent and interesting.
Three hours had g=
one
by. Now we were opposite to the lights of Harmac, also to other lights that
shone up a valley in the mountain to our right. As yet everything was well;=
for
this we knew by the words whispered up and down the line.
Then of a sudden,=
in
front of us a light flashed, although as yet it was a long way off. Next ca=
me
another whispered message of "Halt!" So we halted, and presently =
one
of the front guides crept back, informing us that a body of Fung cavalry had
appeared upon the road ahead. We took counsel. Shadrach arrived from the re=
ar,
and said that if we waited awhile they might go away, as he thought that th=
eir
presence must be accidental and connected with the great festival. He implo=
red
us to be quite silent. Accordingly, not knowing what to do, we waited.
Now I think I have
forgotten to say that the dog Pharaoh, to prevent accidents, occupied a big
basket; this basket, in which he often rode when tired, being fixed upon one
side of Orme's camel. Here he lay peaceably enough until, in an unlucky mom=
ent,
Shadrach left me to go forward to talk to the Captain, whereon, smelling his
enemy, Pharaoh burst out into furious baying. After that everything was
confusion. Shadrach darted back toward the rear. The light ahead began to m=
ove quickly,
advancing toward us. The front camels left the road, as I presume, following
their leader according to the custom of these beasts when marching in line.=
Presently, I know=
not
how, Orme, Quick, and myself found ourselves together in the darkness; at t=
he
time we thought Higgs was with us also, but in this we were mistaken. We he=
ard
shoutings and strange voices speaking a language that we could not understa=
nd.
By the sudden glare of a flash of lightning, for the thunderstorm was now
travelling over us, we saw several things. One of these was the Professor's=
riding-dromedary,
which could not be mistaken because of its pure white colour and queer meth=
od
of holding its head to one side, passing within ten yards, between us and t=
he
road, having a man upon its back who evidently was not the Professor. Then =
it
was that we discovered his absence and feared the worst.
"A Fung has =
got
his camel," I said.
"No,"
answered Quick; "Shadrach has got it. I saw his ugly mug against the
light."
Another vision was
that of what appeared to be our baggage camels moving swiftly away from us,=
but
off the road which was occupied by a body of horsemen in white robes. Orme
issued a brief order to the effect that we were to follow the camels with w=
hich
the Professor might be. We started to obey, but before we had covered twenty
yards of the cornfield or whatever it was in which we were standing, heard
voices ahead that were not those of Abati. Evidently the flash which showed=
the
Fung to us had done them a like service, and they were now advancing to kil=
l or
capture us.
There was only one
thing to do--turn and fly--and this we did, heading whither we knew not, but
managing to keep touch of each other.
About a quarter o=
f an
hour later, just as we were entering a grove of palms or other trees which =
hid
everything in front of us, the lightning blazed again, though much more
faintly, for by this time the storm had passed over the Mountains of Mur,
leaving heavy rain behind it. By the flash I, who was riding last and, as it
chanced, looking back over my shoulder, saw that the Fung horsemen were not
fifty yards behind, and hunting for us everywhere, their line being extended
over a long front. I was, however, sure that they had not yet caught sight =
of
us in the dense shadow of the trees.
"Get on,&quo=
t; I
said to the others; "they will be here presently," and heard Quick
add:
"Give your c=
amel
his head, Captain; he can see in the dark, and perhaps will take us back to=
the
road."
Orme acted on this
suggestion, which, as the blackness round us was pitchy, seemed a good one.=
At
any rate it answered, for off we went at a fair pace, the three camels marc=
hing
in line, first over soft ground and afterwards on a road. Presently I thoug=
ht
that the rain had stopped, since for a few seconds none fell on us, but
concluded from the echo of the camels' feet and its recommencement that we =
had
passed under some archway. On we went, and at length even through the gloom=
and
rain I saw objects that looked like houses, though if so there were no ligh=
ts
in them, perhaps because the night drew toward morning. A dreadful idea str=
uck
me: we might be in Harmac! I passed it up for what it was worth.
"Very
likely," whispered Orme back. "Perhaps these camels were bred her=
e,
and are looking for their stables. Well, there is only one thing to do--go
on."
So we went on for=
a
long while, only interfered with by the occasional attentions of some barki=
ng
dog. Luckily of these Pharaoh, in his basket, took no heed, probably becaus=
e it
was his habit if another dog barked at him to pretend complete indifference
until it came so near that he could spring and fight, or kill it. At length=
we
appeared to pass under another archway, after which, a hundred and fifty ya=
rds
or so further on, the camels came to a sudden stop. Quick dismounted, and
presently I heard him say:
"Doors. Can =
feel
the brasswork on them. Tower above, I think, and wall on either side. Seem =
to
be in a trap. Best stop here till light comes. Nothing else to be done.&quo=
t;
Accordingly, we
stopped, and, having tied the camels to each other to prevent their strayin=
g,
took shelter from the rain under the tower or whatever it might be. To pass
away the time and keep life in us, for we were almost frozen with the wet a=
nd
cold, we ate some tinned food and biscuits that we carried in our saddle-ba=
gs,
and drank a dram of brandy from Quick's flask. This warmed us a little, tho=
ugh
I do not think that a bottleful would have raised our spirits. Higgs, whom =
we
all loved, was gone, dead, probably, by that time; the Abati had lost or
deserted us, and we three white men appeared to have wandered into a savage=
stronghold,
where, as soon as we were seen, we should be trapped like birds in a net, a=
nd
butchered at our captor's will. Certainly the position was not cheerful.
Overwhelmed with
physical and mental misery, I began to doze; Orme grew silent, and the
Sergeant, having remarked that there was no need to bother, since what must=
be
must be, consoled himself in a corner by humming over and over again the ve=
rse
of the hymn which begins:
"There is a blessed home beyond=
this
land of woe, Where trials neve=
r come
nor tears of sorrow flow."
Fortunately for u=
s,
shortly before dawn the "tears of sorrow" as represented by the r=
ain
ceased to flow. The sky cleared, showing the stars; suddenly the vault of
heaven was suffused with a wonderful and pearly light, although on the earth
the mist remained so thick that we could see nothing. Then above this sea of
mist rose the great ball of the sun, but still we could see nothing that was
more than a few yards away from us.
"There is a
blessed home beyond this land of woe"
droned Quick bene=
ath
his breath for about the fiftieth time, since, apparently, he knew no other
hymn which he considered suitable to our circumstances, then ejaculated
suddenly:
"Hullo! here=
's a
stair. With your leave I'll go up it, Captain," and he did.
A minute later we
heard his voice calling us softly:
"Come here,
gentlemen," he said, "and see something worth looking at."
So we scrambled up
the steps, and, as I rather expected, found ourselves upon the top of one of
two towers set above an archway, which towers were part of a great protecti=
ve
work outside the southern gates of a city that could be none other than Har=
mac.
Soaring above the mist rose the mighty cliffs of Mur that, almost exactly o=
pposite
to us, were pierced by a deep valley.
Into this valley =
the
sunlight poured, revealing a wondrous and awe-inspiring object of which the
base was surrounded by billowy vapours, a huge, couchant animal fashioned of
black stone, with a head carved to the likeness of that of a lion, and crow=
ned
with the uraeus, the asp-crested symbol of majesty in old Egypt. How big the
creature might be it was impossible to say at that distance, for we were qu=
ite
a mile away from it; but it was evident that no other monolithic monument t=
hat
we had ever seen or heard of could approach its colossal dimensions.
Compared to this
tremendous effigy indeed, the boasted Sphinx of Gizeh seemed but a toy. It =
was
no less than a small mountain of rock shaped by the genius and patient labo=
ur
of some departed race of men to the form of a lion-headed monster. Its maje=
sty
and awfulness set thus above the rolling mists in the red light of the morn=
ing,
reflected on it from the towering precipices beyond, were literally
indescribable; even in our miserable state, they oppressed and overcame us,=
so
that for awhile we were silent. Then we spoke, each after his own manner:
"The idol of=
the
Fung!" said I. "No wonder that savages should take it for a
god."
"The greatest
monolith in all the world," muttered Orme, "and Higgs is dead. Oh=
! if
only he had lived to see it, he would have gone happy. I wish it had been I=
who
was taken; I wish it had been I!" and he wrung his hands, for it is the
nature of Oliver Orme always to think of others before himself.
"That's what=
we
have come to blow up," soliloquized Quick. "Well, those 'azure
stinging-bees,' or whatever they call the stuff (he meant azo-imides) are
pretty active, but it will take a lot of stirring if ever we get there. See=
ms a
pity, too, for the old pussy is handsome in his way."
"Come
down," said Orme. "We must find out where we are; perhaps we can =
escape
in the mist."
"One
moment," I answered. "Do you see that?" and I pointed to a n=
eedle-like
rock that pierced the fog about a mile to the south of the idol valley, and=
say
two miles from where we were. "That's the White Rock; it isn't white
really, but the vultures roost on it and make it look so. I have never seen=
it
before, for I passed it in the night, but I know that it marks the beginnin=
g of
the cleft which runs up to Mur; you remember, Shadrach told us so. Well, if=
we
can get to that White Rock we have a chance of life."
Orme studied it
hurriedly and repeated, "Come down; we may be seen up here."
We descended and
began our investigations in feverish haste. This was the sum of them: In the
arch under the tower were set two great doors covered with plates of copper=
or
bronze beaten into curious shapes to represent animals and men, and apparen=
tly
very ancient. These huge doors had grilles in them through which their
defenders could peep out or shoot arrows. What seemed more important to us,
however, was that they lacked locks, being secured only by thick bronze bol=
ts
and bars such as we could undo.
"Let's clear=
out
before the mist lifts," said Orme. "With luck we may get to the
pass."
We assented, and I
ran to the camels that lay resting just outside the arch. Before I reached
them, however, Quick called me back.
"Look through
there, Doctor," he said, pointing to one of the peep-holes.
I did so, and in =
the
dense mist saw a body of horsemen advancing toward the door.
They must have se=
en
us on the top of the wall. "Fools that we were to go there!"
exclaimed Orme.
Next instant he
started back, not a second too soon, for through the hole where his face had
been, flashed a spear which struck the ground beyond the archway. Also we h=
eard
other spears rattle upon the bronze plates of the doors.
"No luck!&qu=
ot;
said Orme; "that's all up, they mean to break in. Now I think we had
better play a bold game. Got your rifles, Sergeant and Doctor? Yes? Then ch=
oose
your loopholes, aim, and empty the magazines into them. Don't waste a shot.=
For
heaven's sake don't waste a shot. Now--one--two--three, fire!"
Fire we did into =
the
dense mass of men who had dismounted and were running up to the doors to bu=
rst
them open. At that distance we could scarcely miss and the magazines of the
repeating rifles held five shots apiece. As the smoke cleared away I counted
quite half-a-dozen Fung down, while some others were staggering off, wounde=
d.
Also several of the men and horses beyond were struck by the bullets which =
had
passed through the bodies of the fallen.
The effect of this
murderous discharge was instantaneous and remarkable. Brave though the Fung
might be, they were quite unaccustomed to magazine rifles. Living as they d=
id
perfectly isolated and surrounded by a great river, even if they had heard =
of
such things and occasionally seen an old gaspipe musket that reached them in
the course of trade, of modern guns and their terrible power they knew noth=
ing.
Small blame to them, therefore, if their courage evaporated in face of a fo=
rm
of sudden death which to them must have been almost magical. At any rate th=
ey
fled incontinently, leaving their dead and wounded on the ground.
Now again we thou=
ght
of flight, which perhaps would have proved our wisest course, but hesitated
because we could not believe that the Fung had left the road clear, or done
more than retreat a little to wait for us. While we lost time thus the mist
thinned a great deal, so much indeed that we could see our exact position. =
In
front of us, towards the city side, lay a wide open space, whereof the walls
ended against those of Harmac itself, to which they formed a kind of vestib=
ule
or antechamber set there to protect this gateway of the town through which =
we
had ridden in the darkness, not knowing whither we went.
"Those inner
doors are open," said Orme, nodding his head toward the great portals =
upon
the farther side of the square. "Let's go see if we can shut them.
Otherwise we shan't hold this place long."
So we ran across =
to
the further doors that were similar to those through which we had just fire=
d,
only larger, and as we met nobody to interfere with our efforts, found that=
the
united strength of the three of us was just, only just, sufficient to turn
first one and then the other of them upon its hinges and work the various b=
olts
and bars into their respective places. Two men could never have done the jo=
b,
but being three and fairly desperate we managed it. Then we retreated to ou=
r archway
and, as nothing happened, took the opportunity to eat and drink a few
mouthfuls, Quick remarking sagely that we might as well die upon full as up=
on
empty stomachs.
When we had cross=
ed
the square the fog was thinning rapidly, but as the sun rose, sucking the
vapours from the rain-soaked earth, it thickened again for awhile.
"Sergeant,&q=
uot;
said Orme presently, "these black men are bound to attack us soon. Now=
is
the time to lay a mine while they can't see what we are after."
"I was just
thinking the same thing, Captain; the sooner the better," replied Quic=
k.
"Perhaps the Doctor will keep a watch here over the camels, and if he =
sees
any one stick up his head above the wall, he might bid him good-morning. We
know he is a nice shot, is the Doctor," and he tapped my rifle.
I nodded and the =
two
of them set out laden with wires and the packages that looked like tobacco
tins, heading for a stone erection in the centre of the square which resemb=
led
an altar, but was, I believe, a rostrum whence the native auctioneers sold
slaves and other merchandise. What they did there exactly, I am sure I do n=
ot
know; indeed, I was too much occupied in keeping a watch upon the walls whe=
reof
I could clearly see the crest above the mist, to pay much attention to thei=
r proceedings.
Presently my
vigilance was rewarded, for over the great gateway opposite, at a distance =
of
about a hundred and fifty paces from me, appeared some kind of a chieftain =
clad
in white robes and wearing a very fine turban or coloured head-dress, who
paraded up and down, waving a spear defiantly and uttering loud shouts.
This man I covered
very carefully, lying down to do so. As Quick had said, I am a good rifle s=
hot,
having practised that art for many years; still, one may always miss, which,
although I bore no personal grudge against the poor fellow in the fine
head-dress, on this occasion I did not wish to do. The sudden and mysterious
death of that savage would, I felt sure, produce a great effect among his
people.
At length he stop=
ped
exactly over the door and began to execute a kind of war-dance, turning his
head from time to time to yell out something to others on the farther side =
of
the wall. This was my opportunity. I covered him with as much care as thoug=
h I
were shooting at a target, with one bull's eye to win. Aiming a little low =
in
case the rifle should throw high, very gently I pressed the trigger. The
cartridge exploded, the bullet went on its way, and the man on the wall sto=
pped
dancing and shouting and stood quite still. Clearly he had heard the shot or
felt the wind of the ball, but was untouched.
I worked the lever
jerking out the empty case, preparatory to firing again, but on looking up =
saw
that there was no need, for the Fung captain was spinning round on his heels
like a top. Three or four times he whirled thus with incredible rapidity, t=
hen
suddenly threw his arms wide, and dived headlong from the wall like a bather
from a plank, but backward, and was soon no more. Only from the farther sid=
e of
those gates arose a wail of wrath and consternation.
After this no oth=
er
Fung appeared upon the wall, so I turned my attention to the spy-hole in the
doors behind me, and seeing some horsemen moving about at a distance of fou=
r or
five hundred yards on a rocky ridge where the mist did not lie, I opened fi=
re
on them and at the second shot was fortunate enough to knock a man out of t=
he
saddle. One of those with him, who must have been a brave fellow, instantly
jumped down, threw him, dead or living, over the horse, leaped up behind hi=
m, and
galloped away accompanied by the others, pursued by some probably ineffecti=
ve
bullets that I sent after them.
Now the road to t=
he
Pass of Mur seemed to be clear, and I regretted that Orme and Quick were not
with me to attempt escape. Indeed, I meditated fetching or calling them, wh=
en
suddenly I saw them returning, burying a wire or wires in the sand as they
came, and at the same time heard a noise of thunderous blows of which I cou=
ld
not mistake the meaning. Evidently the Fung were breaking down the farther
bronze doors with some kind of battering-ram. I ran out to meet them and to=
ld
my news.
"Well
done," said Orme in a quiet voice. "Now, Sergeant, just join up t=
hose
wires to the battery, and be careful to screw them in tight. You have tested
it, haven't you? Doctor, be good enough to unbar the gates. No, you can't do
that alone; I'll help you presently. Look to the camels and tighten the gir=
ths.
These Fung will have the doors down in a minute, and then there will be no =
time
to lose."
"What are you
going to do?" I asked as I obeyed.
"Show them s=
ome
fireworks, I hope. Bring the camels into the archway so that they can't foul
the wire with their feet. So--stand still, you grumbling brutes! Now for th=
ese
bolts. Heavens! how stiff they are. I wonder why the Fung don't grease them.
One door will do--never mind the other."
Labouring furious=
ly
we got it undone and ajar. So far as we could see there was no one in sight
beyond. Scared by our bullets or for other reasons of their own, the guard =
there
appeared to have moved away.
"Shall we ta=
ke
the risk and ride for it?" I suggested.
"No,"
answered Orme. "If we do, even supposing there are no Fung waiting bey=
ond
the rise, those inside the town will soon catch us on their swift horses. We
must scare them before we bolt, and then those that are left of them may le=
t us
alone. Now listen to me. When I give the word, you two take the camels outs=
ide
and make them kneel about fifty yards away, not nearer, for I don't know the
effective range of these new explosives; it may be greater than I think. I
shall wait until the Fung are well over the mine and then fire it, after wh=
ich
I hope to join you. If I don't, ride as hard as you can go to that White Ro=
ck,
and if you reach Mur give my compliments to the Child of Kings, or whatever=
she
is called, and say that although I have been prevented from waiting upon he=
r,
Sergeant Quick understands as much about picrates as I do. Also get Shadrach
tried and hanged if he is guilty of Higgs's death. Poor old Higgs! how he w=
ould
have enjoyed this."
"Beg your
pardon, Captain," said Quick, "but I'll stay with you. The doctor=
can
see to the baggage animals."
"Will you be
good enough to obey orders and fall to the rear when you are told, Sergeant?
Now, no words. It is necessary for the purposes of this expedition that one=
of
us two should try to keep a whole skin."
"Then, sir," pleaded Quick, "mayn't I take charge of the battery?"<= o:p>
"No," he
answered sternly. "Ah! the doors are down at last," and he pointe=
d to
a horde of Fung, mounted and on foot, who poured through the gateway where =
they
had stood, shouting after their fashion, and went on: "Now then, pick =
out
the captains and pepper away. I want to keep them back a bit, so that they =
come
on in a crowd, not scattered."
We took up our
repeating rifles and did as Orme told us, and so dense was the mass of huma=
nity
opposite that if we missed one man, we hit another, killing or wounding a
number of them. The result of the loss of several of their leaders, to say
nothing of meaner folk, was just what Orme had foreseen. The Fung soldiers,
instead of rushing on independently, spread to right and left, until the wh=
ole
farther side of the square filled up with thousands of them, a veritable se=
a of
men, at which we pelted bullets as boys hurl stones at a wave.
At length the
pressure of those behind thrust onward those in front, and the whole fierce,
tumultuous mob began to flow forward across the square, a multitude bent on=
the
destruction of three white men, armed with these new and terrible weapons. =
It
was a very strange and thrilling sight; never have I seen its like.
"Now," =
said
Orme, "stop firing and do as I bid you. Kneel the camels fifty yards
outside the wall, not less, and wait till you know the end. If we shouldn't
meet again, well, good-bye and good luck."
So we went, Quick
literally weeping with shame and rage.
"Good
Lord!" he exclaimed, "good Lord! to think that, after four campai=
gns,
Samuel Quick, Sergeant of Engineers, with five medals, should live to be se=
nt
off with the baggage like a pot-bellied bandmaster, leaving his captain to
fight about three thousand niggers single-handed. Doctor, if he don't come =
out,
you do the best you can for yourself, for I'm going back to stop with him,
that's all. There, that's fifty paces; down you go, you ugly beasts," =
and
he bumped his camel viciously on the head with the butt of his rifle.
From where we had
halted we could only see through the archway into the space beyond. By now =
the
square looked like a great Sunday meeting in Hyde Park, being filled up with
men of whom the first rows were already past the altar-like rostrum in its
centre.
"Why don't he
loose off them stinging-bees?" muttered Quick. "Oh! I see his lit=
tle
game. Look," and he pointed to the figure of Orme, who had crept behind
the unopened half of the door on our side of it and was looking intently ro=
und
its edge, holding the battery in his right hand. "He wants to let them=
get
nearer so as to make a bigger bag. He----"
I heard no more of
Quick's remarks, for suddenly something like an earthquake took place, and =
the
whole sky seemed to turn to one great flame. I saw a length of the wall of =
the
square rush outward and upward. I saw the shut half of the bronze-plated do=
or
skipping and hopping playfully toward us, and in front of it the figure of a
man. Then it began to rain all sorts of things.
For instance, sto=
nes,
none of which hit us, luckily, and other more unpleasant objects. It is a
strange experience to be knocked backward by a dead fist separated from its
parent body, yet on this occasion this actually happened to me, and, what is
more, the fist had a spear in it. The camels tried to rise and bolt, but th=
ey
are phlegmatic brutes, and, as ours were tired as well, we succeeded in
quieting them.
Whilst we were th=
us occupied
somewhat automatically, for the shock had dazed us, the figure that had been
propelled before the dancing door arrived, reeling in a drunken fashion, and
through the dust and falling débris we knew it for that of Oliver Orme. His
face was blackened, his clothes were torn half off him, and blood from a sc=
alp
wound ran down his brown hair. But in his right hand he still held the litt=
le
electric battery, and I knew at once that he had no limbs broken.
"Very succes=
sful
mine," he said thickly. "Boer melinite shells aren't in it with t=
his
new compound. Come on before the enemy recover from the shock," and he
flung himself upon his camel.
In another minute=
we
had started at a trot toward the White Rock, whilst from the city of Harmac
behind us rose a wail of fear and misery. We gained the top of the rise on
which I had shot the horseman, and, as I expected, found that the Fung had
posted a strong guard in the dip beyond, out of reach of our bullets, in or=
der
to cut us off, should we attempt to escape. Now, terrified by what had
happened, to them a supernatural catastrophe, they were escaping themselves,
for we perceived them galloping off to the left and right as fast as their =
horses
would carry them.
So for awhile we =
went
on unmolested, though not very quickly, because of Orme's condition. When we
had covered about half the distance between us and the White Rock, I looked
round and became aware that we were being pursued by a body of cavalry abou=
t a
hundred strong, which I supposed had emerged from some other gate of the ci=
ty.
"Flog the
animals," I shouted to Quick, "or they will catch us after all.&q=
uot;
He did so, and we
advanced at a shambling gallop, the horsemen gaining on us every moment. No=
w I
thought that all was over, especially when of a sudden from behind the White
Rock emerged a second squad of horsemen.
"Cut off!&qu=
ot;
I exclaimed.
"Suppose so,
sir," answered Quick, "but these seem a different crowd."
I scanned them and
saw that he was right. They were a very different crowd, for in front of th=
em
floated the Abati banner, which I could not mistake, having studied it when=
I
was a guest of the tribe: a curious, triangular, green flag covered with go=
lden
Hebrew characters, surrounding the figure of Solomon seated on a throne.
Moreover, immediately behind the banner in the midst of a bodyguard rode a =
delicately
shaped woman clothed in pure white. It was the Child of Kings herself!
Two more minutes =
and
we were among them. I halted my camel and looked round to see that the Fung
cavalry were retreating. After the events of that morning clearly they had =
no
stomach left for a fight with a superior force.
The lady in white
rode up to us.
"Greetings,
friend," she exclaimed to me, for she knew me again at once. "Now,
who is captain among you?"
I pointed to the
shattered Orme, who sat swaying on his camel with eyes half closed.
"Noble
sir," she said, addressing him, "if you can, tell me what has hap=
pened.
I am Maqueda of the Abati, she who is named Child of Kings. Look at the sym=
bol
on my brow, and you will see that I speak truth," and, throwing back h=
er
veil, she revealed the coronet of gold that showed her rank.
At the sound of t=
his
soft voice (the extreme softness of Maqueda's voice was always one of her
greatest charms), Orme opened his eyes and stared at her.
"Very queer
dream," I heard him mutter. "Must be something in the Mohammedan
business after all. Extremely beautiful woman, and that gold thing looks we=
ll
on her dark hair."
"What does t=
he
lord your companion say?" asked Maqueda of me.
Having first
explained that he was suffering from shock, I translated word for word, whe=
reon
Maqueda blushed to her lovely violet eyes and let fall her veil in a great
hurry. In the confusion which ensued, I heard Quick saying to his master:
"No, no, sir;
this one ain't no houri. She's a flesh and blood queen, and the pleasantest=
to
look at I ever clapped eyes on, though a benighted African Jew. Wake up,
Captain, wake up; you are out of that hell-fire now. It's got the Fung, not
you."
The word Fung see=
med
to rouse Orme.
"Yes," =
he
said; "I understand. The vapour of the stuff poisoned me, but it is
passing now. Adams, ask that lady how many men she's got with her. What does
she say? About five hundred? Well, then, let her attack Harmac at once. The
outer and inner gates are down; the Fung think they have raised the devil a=
nd
will run. She can inflict a defeat on them from which they will not recover=
for
years, only it must be done at once, before they get their nerve again, for,
after all, they are more frightened than hurt."
Maqueda listened =
to
this advice intently.
"It is to my
liking; it is very good," she said in her quaint archaic Arabic when I=
had
finished translating. "But I must consult my Council. Where is my uncl=
e,
the prince Joshua?"
"Here,
Lady," answered a voice from the press behind, out of which presently
emerged, mounted on a white horse, a stout man, well advanced in middle age,
with a swarthy complexion and remarkably round, prominent eyes. He was clad=
in
the usual Eastern robes, richly worked, over which he wore a shirt of
chain-mail, and on his head a helmet, with mail flaps, an attire that gave =
the
general effect of an obese Crusader of the early Norman period without his
cross.
"Is that
Joshua?" said Orme, who was wandering a little again. "Rummy-look=
ing
cock, isn't he? Sergeant, tell Joshua that the walls of Jericho are down, so
there'll be no need to blow his own trumpet. I'm sure from the look of him =
that
he's a perfect devil with a trumpet."
"What does y=
our
companion say?" asked Maqueda again.
I translated the
middle part of Orme's remarks, but neither the commencement nor the end, but
even these amused her very much, for she burst out laughing, and said, poin=
ting
to Harmac, over which still hung a cloud of dust:
"Yes, yes,
Joshua, my uncle, the walls of Jericho are down, and the question is, will =
you
not take your opportunity? So in an hour or two we shall be dead, or if God
goes with us, perhaps free from the menace of the Fung for years."
The prince Joshua
stared at her with his great, prominent eyes, then answered in a thick,
gobbling voice:
"Are you mad,
Child of Kings? Of us Abati here there are but five hundred men, and of the
Fung yonder tens of thousands. If we attacked, they would eat us up. Can fi=
ve
hundred men stand against tens of thousands?"
"It seems th=
at
three stood against them this morning, and worked some damage, my uncle, bu=
t it
is true those three are of a different race from the Abati," she added
with bitter sarcasm. Then she turned to those behind her and cried: "W=
ho
of my captains and Council will accompany me, if I who am but a woman dare =
to
advance on Harmac?"
Now here and ther=
e a
voice cried, "I will," or some gorgeously dressed person stepped
forward in a hesitating way, and that was all.
"You see, me=
n of
the West!" said Maqueda after a little pause, addressing us three. &qu=
ot;I
thank you for the great deeds that you have done and for your counsel. But I
cannot take it because my people are not--warlike," and she covered her
face with her hands.
Now there arose a
great tumult among her followers, who all began to talk at once. Joshua in
particular drew a large sword and waved it, shouting out a recital of the
desperate actions of his youth and the names of Fung chieftains whom he all=
eged
he had killed in single combat.
"Told you th=
at
fat cur was a first-class trumpeter," said Orme languidly, while the
Sergeant ejaculated in tones of deep disgust:
"Good Lord! =
what
a set. Why, Doctor, they ain't fit to savage a referee in a London football
ground. Pharaoh there in his basket (where he was barking loudly) would make
the whole lot run, and if he was out--oh my! Now, then, you
porpoise"--this he addressed to Joshua, who was flourishing his sword
unpleasantly near--"put your pasteboard up, won't you, or I'll knock y=
our
fat head off," whereon the Prince, who, if he did not understand Quick=
's
words, at any rate caught their meaning wonderfully well, did as he was tol=
d,
and fell back.
Just then, indeed,
there was a general movement up the pass, in the wide mouth of which all th=
is
scene took place, for suddenly three Fung chieftains appeared galloping tow=
ard
us, one of whom was veiled with a napkin in which were cut eyeholes. So
universal was this retreat, in fact, that we three on our camels, and the C=
hild
of Kings on her beautiful mare, found ourselves left alone.
"An
embassy," said Maqueda, scanning the advancing horsemen, who carried w=
ith
them a white flag tied to the blade of a spear. "Physician, will you a=
nd
your friends come with me and speak to these messengers?" And without =
even
waiting for an answer, she rode forward fifty yards or so on to the plain, =
and
there reined up and halted till we could bring our camels round and join he=
r.
As we did so, the three Fung, splendid-looking, black-faced fellows, arrive=
d at
a furious gallop, their lances pointed at us.
"Stand still,
friends," said Maqueda; "they mean no harm."
As the words pass=
ed
her lips, the Fung pulled the horses to their haunches, Arab-fashion, lifted
spears and saluted. Then their leader--not the veiled man, but another--spo=
ke
in a dialect that I, who had spent so many years among the savages of the
desert, understood well enough, especially as the base of it was Arabic.
"O, Walda
Nagasta, Daughter of Solomon," he said, "we are the tongues of our
Sultan Barung, Son of Barung for a hundred generations, and we speak his wo=
rds
to the brave white men who are your guests. Thus says Barung. Like the Fat =
One
whom I have already captured, you white men are heroes. Three of you alone,=
you
held the gate against my army. With the weapons of the white man you killed=
us
from afar, here one and there one. Then, at last, with a great magic of thu=
nder
and lightning and earthquake, you sent us by scores into the bosom of our g=
od,
and shook down our walls about our ears and out of that hell you escaped
yourselves.
"Now, O white
men, this is the offer of Barung to you: Leave the curs of the Abati, the
baboons who gibber and deck themselves out, the rock-rabbits who seek safet=
y in
the cliffs, and come to him. He will give you not only life, but all your
heart's desire--lands and wives and horses; great shall you be in his counc=
ils
and happy shall you live. Moreover, for your sakes he will try to spare your
brother, the Fat One, whose eyes look out of black windows, who blows fire =
from
his mouth, and reviles his enemies as never man did before. Yes, although t=
he
priests have doomed him to sacrifice at the next feast of Harmac, he will t=
ry
to spare him, which, perhaps, he can do by making him, like the Singer of E=
gypt,
also a priest of Harmac, and thus dedicate forever to the god with whom,
indeed, he says he had been familiar for thousands of years. This is our
message, O white men."
Now, when I had
translated the substance of this oration to Orme and Quick, for, as I saw by
the quiver that passed through her at the Fung insults upon her tribe, Maqu=
eda
understood it, their tongues not differing greatly, Orme who, for the time =
at
any rate, was almost himself again, said:
"Tell these
fellows to say to their Sultan that he is a good old boy, and that we thank=
him
very much; also that we are sorry to have been obliged to kill so many of t=
hem
in a way that he must have thought unsportsmanlike, but we had to do it, as=
we
are sure he will understand, in order to save our skins. Tell him also that,
speaking personally, having sampled the Abati yonder and on our journey, I
should like to accept his invitation. But although, as yet, we have found no
men among them, only, as he says, baboons, rock-rabbits, and boasters witho=
ut a
fight in them, we have"--and here he bowed his bleeding head to Maqued=
a--"found
a woman with a great heart. Of her salt we have eaten, or are about to eat;=
to
serve her we have come from far upon her camels, and, unless she should be
pleased to accompany us, we cannot desert her."
All of this I
rendered faithfully, while every one, and especially Maqueda, listened with
much attention. When they had considered our words, the spokesman of the
messengers replied to the effect that the motives of our decision were of a
nature that commanded their entire respect and sympathy, especially as their
people quite concurred in our estimate of the character of the Abati ruler,
Child of Kings. This being so, they would amend their proposition, knowing =
the
mind of their Sultan, and having, indeed, plenipotentiary powers.
"Lady of
Mur," he went on, addressing Maqueda directly, "fair daughter of =
the
great god Harmac and a mortal queen, what we have offered to the white lord=
s,
your guests, we offer to you also. Barung, our Sultan, shall make you his h=
ead
wife; or, if that does not please you, you shall wed whom you will"--a=
nd,
perhaps by accident, the envoy's roving eyes rested for a moment upon Oliver
Orme.
"Leave, then,
your rock-rabbits, who dare not quit their cliffs when but three messengers
wait without with sticks," and he glanced at the spear in his hand,
"and come to dwell among men. Listen, high Lady; we know your case. Yo=
u do
your best in a hopeless task. Had it not been for you and your courage, Mur
would have been ours three years ago, and it was ours before your tribe
wandered thither. But while you can find but a hundred brave warriors to he=
lp
you, you think the place impregnable, and you have perhaps that number, tho=
ugh
we know they are not here; they guard the gates above. Yes, with a few of y=
our
Mountaineers whose hearts are as those of their forefathers were, so far as=
you
have defied all the power of the Fung, and when you saw that the end drew n=
ear,
using your woman's wit, you sent for the white men to come with their magic=
, promising
to pay them with the gold which you have in such plenty in the tombs of our=
old
kings and in the rocks of the mountains."
"Who told you
that, O Tongue of Barung?" asked Maqueda in a low voice, speaking for =
the
first time. "The man of the West whom you took prisoner--he whom you c=
all
Fat One?"
"No, no, O W=
alda
Nagasta, the lord Black Windows has told us nothing as yet, except sundry
things about the history of our god, with whom, as we said, he seems to be
familiar, and to whom, therefore, we vowed him at once. But there are others
who tell us things, for in times of truce our peoples trade together a litt=
le,
and cowards are often spies. For instance, we knew that these white men were
coming last night, though it is true that we did not know of their fire mag=
ic,
for, had we done so, we should not have let the camels slip through, since
there may be more of it on them----"
"For your
comfort, learn that there is--much more," I interrupted.
"Ah!"
replied the Tongue, shaking his head sadly, "and yet we suffered Cat, =
whom
you call Shadrach, to make off with that of your fat brother; yes, and even
gave it to him after his own beast had been lamed by accident. Well, it is =
our
bad luck, and without doubt Harmac is angry with us to-day. But your answer=
, O
Walda Nagasta, your answer, O Rose of Mur?"
"What can it=
be,
O Voices of Barung the Sultan?" replied Maqueda. "You know that b=
y my
blood and by my oath of office I am sworn to protect Mur to the last."=
"And so you
shall," pleaded the Tongue, "for when we have cleaned it of baboo=
ns
and rock-rabbits, which, if you were among us, we soon should do, and thus
fulfilled our oath to regain our ancient secret City of the Rocks, we will =
set
you there once more as its Lady, under Barung, and give you a multitude of
subjects of whom you may be proud."
"It may not =
be,
O Tongue, for they would be worshippers of Harmac, and between Jehovah, who=
m I
serve, and Harmac there is war," she answered with spirit.
"Yes,
sweet-smelling Bud of the Rose, there is war, and let it be admitted that t=
he
first battle has gone against Harmac, thanks to the magic of the white men.=
Yet
yonder he sits in his glory as the spirits, his servants, fashioned him in =
the
beginning," and he pointed with his spear toward the valley of the ido=
l.
"You know our prophecy--that until Harmac rises from his seat and flies
away, for where he goes, the Fung must follow--till then, I say, we shall h=
old
the plains and the city of his name--that is, for ever."
"For ever is=
a
long word, O Mouth of Barung." Then she paused a little, and added slo=
wly,
"Did not certain of the gates of Harmac fly far this morning? Now what=
if
your god should follow his gates and those worshippers who went with them, =
and
be seen no more? Or what if the earth should open and swallow him, so that =
he
goes down to hell, whither you cannot follow? Or what if the mountains shou=
ld
fall together and bury him from your sight eternally. Or what if the lightn=
ings
should leap out and shatter him to dust?"
At these ominous =
words
the envoys shivered, and it seemed to me that their faces for a moment turn=
ed
grey.
"Then, O Chi=
ld
of Kings," answered the spokesman solemnly, "the Fung will
acknowledge that your god is greater than our god, and that our glory is
departed."
Thus he spoke and=
was
silent, turning his eyes toward the third messenger, he who wore a cloth or
napkin upon his head that was pierced with eyeholes and hung down to the
breast. With a quick motion, the man dragged off this veil and threw it to =
the
ground, revealing a very noble countenance, not black like that of his
followers, but copper-coloured. He was about fifty years of age, with deep-=
set
flashing eyes, hooked nose, and a flowing, grizzled beard. The collar of go=
ld
about his neck showed that his rank was high, but when we noticed a second
ornament of gold, also upon his brow, we knew that it must be supreme. For =
this
ornament was nothing less than the symbol of royalty, once worn by the anci=
ent
Pharaohs of Egypt, the double snakes of the uraeus bending forward as thoug=
h to
strike, which, as we had seen, rose also from the brow of the lion-headed
sphinx of Harmac.
As he uncovered, =
his
two companions leapt to the ground and prostrated themselves before him,
crying, "Barung! Barung!" while all three of us Englishmen salute=
d,
involuntarily, I think, and even the Child of Kings bowed.
The Sultan
acknowledged our greetings by raising his spear. Then he spoke in a grave
measured voice:
"O Walda
Nagasta, and you, white men, sons of great fathers, I have listened to the =
talk
between you and my servants; I confirm their words and I add to them. I am
sorry that my generals tried to kill you last night. I was making prayer to=
my
god, or it should not have happened. I have been well repaid for that deed,
since an army should not make war upon four men, even though by their secret
power four men can defeat an army. I beseech you, and you also, Rose of Mur=
, to
accept my proffered friendship, since otherwise, ere long, you will soon be
dead, and your wisdom will perish with you for I am weary of this little war
against a handful whom we despise.
"O Walda
Nagasta, you have breathed threats against the Majesty of Harmac, but he is=
too
strong for you, nor may the might that can turn a few bricks to dust and
shatter the bones of men prevail against him who is shaped from the heart o=
f a
mountain and holds the spirit of eternity. So at least I think: but even if=
it
is decreed otherwise, what will that avail you? If it should please the god=
to
leave us because of your arts, the Fung will still remain to avenge him ere
they follow. Then I swear to you by my majesty and by the bones of my ances=
tors
who sit in the caves of Mur, that I will spare but one of the Abati Jews,
yourself, O Child of Kings, because of your great heart, and the three white
men, your guests, should they survive the battle, because of their courage =
and
their wisdom. As for their brother, Black Windows, whom I have captured, he
must be sacrificed, since I have sworn it, unless you yield, when I will pl=
ead
for his life to the god, with what result I cannot tell. Yield, then, and I
will not even slay the Abati; they shall live on and serve the Fung as slav=
es
and minister to the glory of Harmac."
"It may not =
be,
it may not be!" Maqueda answered, striking the pommel of her saddle wi=
th
her small hand. "Shall Jehovah whom Solomon, my father, worshipped,
Jehovah of all the generations, do homage to an idol shaped by the hands He
made? My people are worn out; they have forgot their faith and gone astray,=
as
did Israel in the desert. I know it. It may even happen that the time has c=
ome
for them to perish, who are no longer warriors, as of old. Well, if so, let
them die free, and not as slaves. At least I, in whom their best blood runs=
, do
not seek your mercy, O Barung. I'll be no plaything in your house, who, at =
the
worst, can always die, having done my duty to my God and those who bred me.
Thus I answer you as the Child of many Kings. Yet as a woman," she add=
ed
in a gentler voice, "I thank you for your courtesy. When I am slain,
Barung, if I am fated to be slain, think kindly of me, as one who did her b=
est against
mighty odds," and her voice broke.
"That I shall
always do," he answered gravely. "Is it ended?"
"Not
quite," she answered. "These Western lords, I give them to you; I=
absolve
them from their promise. Why should they perish in a lost cause? If they ta=
ke
their wisdom to you to use against me, you have vowed them their lives, and,
perhaps, that of their brother, your captive. There is a slave of yours
also--you spoke of him, or your servant did--Singer of Egypt is his name. O=
ne
of them knew him as a child; perchance you will not refuse him to that
man."
She paused, but
Barung made no answer.
"Go, my
friends," she went on, turning toward us. "I thank you for your l=
ong journey
on my behalf and the blow you have struck for me, and in payment I will send
you a gift of gold; the Sultan will see it safe into your hands. I thank yo=
u. I
wish I could have known more of you, but mayhap we shall meet again in war.
Farewell."
She ceased, and I
could see that she was watching us intently through her thin veil. The Sult=
an
also watched us, stroking his long beard, a look of speculation in his eyes,
for evidently this play interested him and he wondered how it would end.
"This won't =
do,"
said Orme, when he understood the thing. "Higgs would never forgive us=
if
we ate dirt just on the off-chance of saving him from sacrifice. He's too
straight-minded on big things. But, of course, Doctor," he added jerki=
ly,
"you have interests of your own and must decide for yourself. I think I
can speak for the Sergeant."
"I have
decided," I answered. "I hope that my son would never forgive me =
either;
but if it is otherwise, why, so it must be. Also Barung has made no promises
about him."
"Tell him, t=
hen,"
said Orme. "My head aches infernally, and I want to go to bed, above
ground or under it."
So I told him,
although, to speak the truth, I felt like a man with a knife in his heart, =
for
it was bitter to come so near to the desire of years, to the love of life, =
and
then to lose all hope just because of duty to the head woman of a pack of
effete curs to whom one had chanced to make a promise in order to gain this
very end. If we could have surrendered with honour, at least I should have =
seen
my son, whom now I might never see again.
One thing, howeve=
r, I
added on the spur of the moment--namely, a request that the Sultan would te=
ll
the Professor every word that had passed, in order that whatever happened to
him he might know the exact situation.
"My Harmac,&=
quot;
said Barung when he had heard, "how disappointed should I have been wi=
th
you if you had answered otherwise when a woman showed you the way. I have h=
eard
of you English before--Arabs and traders brought me tales of you. For insta=
nce,
there was one who died defending a city against a worshipper of the Prophet=
who
called himself a prophet, down yonder at Khartoum on the Nile--a great deat=
h,
they told me, a great death, which your people avenged afterwards.
"Well I did =
not
quite believe the story, and I wished to judge of it by you. I have judged,
white lords, I have judged, and I am sure that your fat brother, Black Wind=
ows,
will be proud of you even in the lion's jaws. Fear not; he shall hear every
word. The Singer of Egypt, who, it appears, can talk his tongue, shall tell=
the
tale to him, and make a song of it to be sung over your honourable graves. =
And
now farewell; may it be my lot to cross swords with one of you before all is
done. That shall not be yet, for you need rest, especially yonder tall son =
of a
god who is wounded," and he pointed to Orme. "Child of Kings with=
a
heart of kings, permit me to kiss your hand and to lead you back to your
people, that I would were more worthy of you. Ah! yes, I would that we were=
your
people."
Maqueda stretched=
out
her hand, and, taking it, the Sultan barely touched her fingers with his li=
ps.
Then, still holding them, he rode with her toward the pass.
As we approached =
its
mouth, where the Abati were crowded together, watching our conference, I he=
ard
them murmur, "The Sultan, the Sultan himself!" and saw the prince
Joshua mutter some eager words to the officers about him.
"Look out,
Doctor," said Quick into my ear. "Unless I'm mistook, that porpoi=
se
is going to play some game."
Hardly were the w=
ords
out of his mouth when, uttering the most valiant shouts and with swords dra=
wn,
Joshua and a body of his companions galloped up and surrounded our little
group.
"Now yield,
Barung," bellowed Joshua; "yield or die!"
The Sultan stared=
at
him in astonishment, then answered:
"If I had any
weapon (he had thrown down his lance when he took Maqueda by the hand),
certainly one of us should die, O Hog in man's clothes."
Then he turned to
Maqueda and added, "Child of Kings, I knew these people of yours to be
cowardly and treacherous, but is it thus that you suffer them to deal with
envoys under a flag of peace?"
"Not so, not
so," she cried. "My uncle Joshua, you disgrace me; you make our
people a shame, a hissing, and a reproach. Stand back; let the Sultan of the
Fung go free."
But they would no=
t;
the prize was too great to be readily disgorged.
We looked at each
other. "Not at all the game," said Orme. "If they collar him=
, we
shall be tarred with their extremely dirty brush. Shove your camel in front,
Sergeant, and if that beggar Joshua tries any tricks, put a bullet through
him."
Quick did not nee=
d to
be told twice. Banging his dromedary's ribs with the butt end of his rifle,=
he
drove it straight on to Joshua, shouting:
"Out of the
light, porpoise!" with the result that the Prince's horse took fright,=
and
reared up so high that its rider slid off over its tail to find himself sea=
ted
on the ground, a sorry spectacle in his gorgeous robes and armour.
Taking advantage =
of
the confusion which ensued, we surrounded the Sultan and escorted him out of
the throng back to his two companions, who, seeing that there was something
amiss, were galloping toward us.
"I am your
debtor," said Barung, "but, O White Men, make me more so. Return,=
I
pray you, to that hog in armour, and say that Barung, Sultan of the Fung,
understands from his conduct that he desires to challenge him to single com=
bat,
and that, seeing he is fully armed, the Sultan, although he wears no mail,
awaits him here and now."
So I went at once
with the message. But Joshua was far too clever to be drawn into any such
dangerous adventure.
Nothing, he said,
would have given him greater joy than to hack the head from the shoulders of
this dog of a Gentile sheik. But, unhappily, owing to the conduct of one of=
us
foreigners, he had been thrown from his horse, and hurt his back, so that he
could scarcely stand, much less fight a duel.
So I returned wit=
h my
answer, whereat Barung smiled and said nothing. Only, taking from his neck a
gold chain which he wore, he proffered it to Quick, who, as he said, had
induced the prince Joshua to show his horsemanship if not his courage. Then=
he
bowed to us, one by one, and before the Abati could make up their mind whet=
her
to follow him or not, galloped off swiftly with his companions toward Harma=
c.
Such was our
introduction to Barung, Sultan of the Fung, a barbarian with many good poin=
ts,
among them courage, generosity, and appreciation of those qualities even in=
a
foe, characteristics that may have been intensified by the blood of his mot=
her,
who, I am told, was an Arab of high lineage captured by the Fung in war and
given as a wife to the father of Barung.
CHAPTER VIII - THE SHADOW=
OF
FATE
Our ride from the
plains up the pass that led to the high tableland of Mur was long and, in i=
ts
way, wonderful enough. I doubt whether in the whole world there exists anot=
her
home of men more marvellously defended by nature. Apparently the road by wh=
ich
we climbed was cut in the first instance, not by human hands, but by the ac=
tion
of primæval floods, pouring, perhaps, from the huge lake which doubtless on=
ce
covered the whole area within the circle of the mountains, although to-day =
it
is but a moderate-sized sheet of water, about twenty miles long by ten in b=
readth.
However this may be, the old inhabitants had worked on it, the marks of the=
ir
tools may still be seen upon the rock.
For the first mil=
e or
two the road is broad and the ascent so gentle that my horse was able to ga=
llop
up it on that dreadful night when, after seeing my son's face, accident, or=
rather
Providence, enabled me to escape the Fung. But from the spot where the lions
pulled the poor beast down, its character changes. In places it is so narrow
that travellers must advance in single file between walls of rock hundreds =
of
feet high, where the sky above looks like a blue ribbon, and even at midday=
the
path below is plunged in gloom. At other spots the slope is so precipitous =
that
beasts of burden can scarcely keep their foothold; indeed, we were soon obl=
iged
to transfer ourselves from the camels to horses accustomed to the rocks. At
others, again, it follows the brink of a yawning precipice, an ugly place to
ride or turn rectangular corners, which half-a-dozen men could hold against=
an
army, and twice it passes through tunnels, though whether these are natural=
I
do not know.
Besides all these
obstacles to an invader there were strong gates at intervals, with towers n=
ear
by where guards were stationed night and day, and fosses or dry moats in fr=
ont
of them which could only be crossed by means of drawbridges. So the reader =
will
easily understand how it came about that, whatever the cowardice of the Aba=
ti,
though they strove for generations, the Fung had as yet never been able to
recapture the ancient stronghold, which, or so it is said, in the beginning
these Abati won from them by means of an Oriental trick.
Here I should add
that, although there are two other roads to the plains--that by which, in o=
rder
to outflank the Fung, the camels were let down when I started on my embassy=
to
Egypt, and that to the north where the great swamps lie--these are both of =
them
equally, if not more, impassable, at any rate to an enemy attacking from be=
low.
A strange cavalca=
de
we must have seemed as we crawled up this terrific approach. First went a b=
ody
of the Abati notables on horseback, forming a long line of colour and
glittering steel, who chattered as they rode, for they seemed to have no id=
ea
of discipline. Next came a company of horsemen armed with spears, or rather=
two
companies in the centre of which rode the Child of Kings, some of her court=
iers
and chief officers, and ourselves, perhaps, as Quick suggested, because
infantry in the event of surprise would find it less easy to run away than
those who were mounted upon horses. Last of all rode more cavalry, the duty=
of
whose rear files it was to turn from time to time, and, after inspection, to
shout out that we were not pursued.
It cannot be said
that we who occupied the centre of the advance were a cheerful band. Orme,
although so far he had borne up, was evidently very ill from the shock of t=
he
explosion, so much so that men had to be set on each side of him to see tha=
t he
did not fall from the saddle. Also he was deeply depressed by the fact that
honour had forced us to abandon Higgs to what seemed a certain and probably=
a
cruel death; and if he felt thus, what was my own case, who left not only my
friend, but also my son, in the hands of savage heathens?
Maqueda's face was
not visible because of the thin spangled veil that she wore, but there was
something about her attitude suggestive of shame and of despair. The droop =
of
the head and even her back showed this, as I, who rode a little behind and =
on
side of her, could see. I think, too, that she was anxious about Orme, for =
she
turned toward him several times as though studying his condition. Also I am
sure that she was indignant with Joshua and others of her officers, for when
they spoke to her she would not answer or take the slightest notice of them
beyond straightening herself in the saddle. As for the Prince himself, his =
temper
seemed to be much ruffled, although apparently he had overcome the hurt to =
his
back which prevented him from accepting the Sultan's challenge, for at a
difficult spot in the road he dismounted and ran along actively enough. At =
any
rate, when his subordinates addressed him he only answered them with mutter=
ed
oaths, and his attitude towards us Englishmen, especially Quick, was not
amiable. Indeed, if looks could have killed us I am sure that we should all
have been dead before ever we reached the Gate of Mur.
This so-called ga=
te
was the upper mouth of the pass whence first we saw, lying beneath us, the
vast, mountain-ringed plain beyond. It was a beautiful sight in the sunshin=
e.
Almost at our feet, half-hidden in palms and other trees, lay the flat-roof=
ed
town itself, a place of considerable extent, as every house of any conseque=
nce
seemed to be set in a garden, since here there was no need for cramping wal=
ls
and defensive works. Beyond it to the northward, farther than the eye could=
reach,
stretching down a gentle slope to the far-off shores of the great lake of
glistening water, were cultivated fields, and amongst them villas and, here=
and
there, hamlets.
Whatever might be=
the
faults of the Abati, evidently they were skilled husbandsmen, such as their
reputed forefathers, the old inhabitants of Judæa, must have been before th=
em,
for of that strain presumably some trace was still present in their veins.
However far he may have drifted from such pursuits, originally the Jew was =
a tiller
of the soil, and here, where many of his other characteristics had evaporat=
ed
under pressure of circumstances--notably the fierce courage that Titus knew=
--this
taste remained to him, if only by tradition.
Indeed, having no
other outlet for their energies and none with whom to trade, the interests =
of
the Abati were centred in the land. For and by the land they lived and died,
and, since the amount available was limited by the mountain wall, he who had
most land was great amongst them, he who had little land was small, he who =
had
no land was practically a slave. Their law was in its essentials a law of t=
he land;
their ambitions, their crimes, everything to do with them, were concerned w=
ith
the land, upon the produce of which they existed and grew rich, some of the=
m,
by means of a system of barter. They had no coinage, their money being meas=
ures
of corn or other produce, horses, camels, acres of their equivalent of soil,
and so forth.
And yet, oddly
enough, their country is the richest in gold and other metals that I have e=
ver
heard of even in Africa--so rich that, according to Higgs, the old Egyptians
drew bullion from it to the value of millions of pounds every year. This,
indeed, I can well believe, for I have seen the ancient mines which were
worked, for the most part as open quarries, still showing plenty of visible
gold on the face of the slopes. Yet to these alleged Jews this gold was of =
no
account. Imagine it; as Quick said, such a topsy-turvy state of things was
enough to make a mere Christian feel cold down the back and go to bed think=
ing
that the world must be coming to an end.
To return, the pr=
ince
Joshua, who appeared to be generalissimo of the army, in what was evidently=
a
set phrase, exhorted the guards at the last gates to be brave and, if need
were, deal with the heathen as some one or other dealt with Og, King of Bas=
han,
and other unlucky persons of a different faith. In reply he received their
earnest congratulations upon his escape from the frightful dangers of our
journey.
These formalities
concluded, casting off the iron discipline of war, we descended a joyous mo=
b,
or rather the Abati did, to partake of the delights of peace. Really,
conquerors returning from some desperate adventure could not have been more
warmly greeted. As we entered the suburbs of the town, women, some of them =
very
handsome, ran out and embraced their lords or lovers, holding up babies for
them to kiss, and a little farther on children appeared, throwing roses and
pomegranate flowers before their triumphant feet. And all this because these
gallant men had ridden to the bottom of a pass and back again!
"Heavens!
Doctor," exclaimed the sardonic Quick, after taking note of these
demonstrations, "Heavens! what a hero I feel myself to be. And to think
that when I got back from the war with them Boers, after being left for dea=
d on
Spion Kop with a bullet through my lung and mentioned in a dispatch--yes, I,
Sergeant Quick, mentioned in a dispatch by the biggest ass of a general as =
ever
I clapped eyes on, for a job that I won't detail, no one in my native villa=
ge
ever took no note of me, although I had written to the parish clerk, who
happens to be my brother-in-law, and told him the train I was coming by. I =
tell
you, Doctor, no one so much as stood me a pint of beer, let alone wine,&quo=
t;
and he pointed to a lady who was proffering that beverage to some one whom =
she
admired.
"And as for
chucking their arms round my neck and kissing me," and he indicated
another episode, "all my old mother said--she was alive then--was that=
she
'hoped I'd done fooling about furrin' parts as I called soldiering, and come
home to live respectable, better late than never.' Well, Doctor, circumstan=
ces
alter cases, or blood and climate do, which is the same thing, and I didn't
miss what I never expected, why should I when others like the Captain there,
who had done so much more, fared worse? But, Lord! these Abati are a sicken=
ing
lot, and I wish we were clear of them. Old Barung's the boy for me."
Passing down the =
main
street of this charming town of Mur, accompanied by these joyous demonstrat=
ors,
we came at last to its central square, a large, open space where, in the mo=
ist
and genial climate, for the high surrounding mountains attracted plentiful
showers of rain, trees and flowers grew luxuriantly. At the head of this sq=
uare
stood a long, low building with white-washed walls and gilded domes, backed=
by
the towering cliff, but at a little distance from it, and surrounded by dou=
ble
walls with a moat of water between them, dug for purposes of defence.
This was the pala= ce, which on my previous visit I had only entered once or twice when I was rece= ived by the Child of Kings in formal audience. Round the rest of this square, ea= ch placed in its own garden, were the houses of the great nobles and officials= , and at its western end, among other public buildings, a synagogue or temple whi= ch looked like a model of that built by Solomon in Jerusalem, from the descrip= tion of which it had indeed been copied, though, of course, upon a small scale.<= o:p>
At the gate of th=
e palace
we halted, and Joshua, riding up, asked Maqueda sulkily whether he should
conduct "the Gentiles," for that was his polite description of us=
, to
the lodging for pilgrims in the western town.
"No, my
uncle," answered Maqueda; "these foreign lords will be housed in =
the
guest-wing of the palace."
"In the
guest-wing of the palace? It is not usual," gobbled Joshua, swelling
himself out like a great turkey cock. "Remember, O niece, that you are
still unmarried. I do not yet dwell in the palace to protect you."
"So I found =
out
in the plain yonder," she replied; "still, I managed to protect
myself. Now, I pray you, no words. I think it necessary that these my guests
should be where their goods already are, in the safest place in Mur. You, my
uncle, as you told us, are badly hurt, by which accident you were prevented
from accepting the challenge of the Sultan of the Fung. Go, then, and rest;=
I
will send the court physician to you at once. Good-night, my uncle; when you
are recovered we will meet again, for we have much that we must discuss. Na=
y,
nay, you are most kind, but I will not detain you another minute. Seek your
bed, my uncle, and forget not to thank God for your escape from many
perils."
At this polite
mockery Joshua turned perfectly pale with rage, like the turkey cock when h=
is
wattles fade from scarlet into white. Before he could make any answer, howe=
ver,
Maqueda had vanished under the archway, so his only resource was to curse u=
s,
and especially Quick, who had caused him to fall from his horse. Unfortunat=
ely
the Sergeant understood quite enough Arabic to be aware of the tenor of his
remarks, which he resented and returned:
"Shut it,
Porpoise," he said, "and keep your eyes where Nature put 'em, or
they'll fall out."
"What says t=
he
Gentile?" spluttered Joshua, whereon Orme, waking up from one of his f=
its
of lethargy, replied in Arabic:
"He says tha=
t he
prays you, O Prince of princes, to close your noble mouth and to keep your
high-bred eyes within their sockets lest you should lose them"; at whi=
ch
words those who were listening broke into a fit of laughter, for one redeem=
ing
characteristic among the Abati was that they had a sense of humour.
After this I do n=
ot
quite know what happened for Orme showed signs of fainting, and I had to at=
tend
to him. When I looked round again the gates were shut and we were being
conducted toward the guest-wing of the palace by a number of gaily dressed
attendants.
They took us to o=
ur
rooms--cool, lofty chambers ornamented with glazed tiles of quaint colour a=
nd
beautiful design, and furnished somewhat scantily with articles made of
rich-hued woods. This guest-wing of the palace, where these rooms were
situated, formed, we noted, a separate house, having its own gateway, but, =
so
far as we could see, no passage or other connection joining it to the main
building. In front of it was a small garden, and at its back a courtyard wi=
th
buildings, in which we were informed our camels had been stabled. At the ti=
me
we noted no more, for night was falling, and, even if it had not been, we w=
ere
too worn out to make researches.
Moreover, Orme was
now desperately ill--so ill that he could scarcely walk leaning even on our
shoulders. Still, he would not be satisfied till he was sure that our stores
were safe, and, before he could be persuaded to lie down, insisted upon bei=
ng
supported to a vault with copper-bound doors, which the officers opened,
revealing the packages that had been taken from the camels.
"Count them,
Sergeant," he said, and Quick obeyed by the light of a lamp that the o=
fficer
held at the open door. "All correct, sir," he said, "so far =
as I
can make out."
"Very good,
Sergeant. Lock the door and take the keys."
Again he obeyed, =
and,
when the officer demurred to their surrender, turned on him so fiercely that
the man thought better of it and departed with a shrug of his shoulders, as=
I
supposed to make report to his superiors.
Then at length we=
got
Orme to bed, and, as he complained of intolerable pains in his head and wou=
ld
take nothing but some milk and water, having first ascertained that he had =
no
serious physical injuries that I could discover, I administered to him a st=
rong
sleeping-draught from my little travelling medicine case. To our great reli=
ef
this took effect upon him in about twenty minutes, causing him to sink into=
a
stupor from which he did not awake for many hours.
Quick and I washed
ourselves, ate some food that was brought to us, and then took turns to wat=
ch
Orme throughout the night. When I was at my post about six o'clock on the
following morning he woke up and asked for drink, which I gave to him. After
swallowing it he began to wander in his mind, and, on taking his temperatur=
e, I
found that he had over five degrees of fever. The end of it was that he went
off to sleep again, only waking up from time to time and asking for more dr=
ink.
Twice during the
night and early morning Maqueda sent to inquire as to his condition, and,
apparently not satisfied with the replies, about ten in the forenoon arrived
herself, accompanied by two waiting-ladies and a long-bearded old gentleman
who, I understood, was the court physician.
"May I see
him?" she asked anxiously.
I answered yes, if
she and those with her were quite quiet. Then I led them into the darkened =
room
where Quick stood like a statue at the head of the bed, only acknowledging =
her
presence with a silent salute. She gazed at Oliver's flushed face and the
forehead blackened where the gases from the explosion had struck him, and as
she gazed I saw her beautiful violet eyes fill with tears. Then abruptly she
turned and left the sick-chamber. Outside its doors she waved back her
attendants imperiously and asked me in a whisper:
"Will he
live?"
"I do not
know," I answered, for I thought it best that she should learn the tru=
th.
"If he is only suffering from shock, fatigue, and fever, I think so, b=
ut
if the explosion or the blow on his head where it cut has fractured the sku=
ll,
then----"
"Save him,&q=
uot;
she muttered. "I will give you all I--nay, pardon me; what need is the=
re
to tempt you, his friend, with reward? Only save him, save him."
"I will do w=
hat
I can, Lady, but the issue is in other hands than mine," I answered, a=
nd
just then her attendants came up and put an end to the conversation.
To this day the
memory of that old rabbi, the court physician, affects me like a nightmare,=
for
of all the medical fools that ever I met he was by far the most pre-eminent.
All about the place he followed me suggesting remedies that would have been
absurd even in the Middle Ages. The least harmful of them, I remember, was =
that
poor Orme's head should be plastered with a compound of butter and the bone=
s of
a still-born child, and that he should be given some filthy compound to dri=
nk
which had been specially blessed by the priests. Others there were also tha=
t would
certainly have killed him in half-an-hour.
Well, I got rid of
him at last for the time, and returned to my vigil. It was melancholy work,
since no skill that I had could tell me whether my patient would live or di=
e.
Nowadays the young men might know, or say that they did, but it must be
remembered that, as a doctor, I am entirely superannuated. How could it be
otherwise, seeing that I have passed the best of my life in the desert with=
out
any opportunity of keeping up with the times.
Three days went b=
y in
this fashion, and very anxious days they were. For my part, although I said
nothing of it to any one, I believed that there was some injury to the
patient's skull and that he would die, or at best be paralyzed. Quick, howe=
ver,
had a different opinion. He said that he had seen two men in this state bef=
ore
from the concussion caused by the bursting of large shells near to them, and
that they both recovered although one of them became an idiot.
But it was Maqueda
who first gave me any definite hope. On the third evening she came and sat =
by
Orme for awhile, her attendants standing at a little distance. When she left
him there was a new look upon her face--a very joyful look--which caused me=
to
ask her what had happened.
"Oh! he will
live," she answered.
I inquired what m=
ade
her think so.
"This,"=
she
replied, blushing. "Suddenly he looked up and in my own tongue asked m=
e of
what colour were my eyes. I answered that it depended upon the light in whi=
ch
they might be seen.
"'Not at all=
,'
he said. 'They are always vi-o-let, whether the curtain is drawn or no.' No=
w,
physician Adams, tell me what is this colour vi-o-let?"
"That of a
little wild flower which grows in the West in the spring, O Maqueda--a very
beautiful and sweet-scented flower which is dark blue like your eyes."=
"Indeed,
Physician," she said. "Well, I do not know this flower, but what =
of
that? Your friend will live and be sane. A dying man does not trouble about=
the
colour of a lady's eyes, and one who is mad does not give that colour
right."
"Are you gla=
d, O
Child of Kings?" I asked.
"Of
course," she answered, "seeing that I am told that this captain a=
lone
can handle the firestuffs which you have brought with you, and, therefore, =
that
it is necessary to me that he should not die."
"I
understand," I replied. "Let us pray that we may keep him alive. =
But there
are many kinds of firestuffs, O Maqueda, and of one of them which chances to
give out violet flames I am not sure that my friend is master. Yet in this
country it may be the most dangerous of all."
Now when she heard
these words the Child of Kings looked me up and down angrily. Then suddenly=
she
laughed a little in a kind of silent way that is peculiar to her, and, with=
out
saying anything, beckoned to her ladies and left the place.
"Very varieg=
ated
thing, woman, sir," remarked Quick, who was watching. (I think he mean=
t to
say "variable.") "This one, for instance, comes up that pass=
age
like a tired horse--shuffle, shuffle, shuffle--for I could hear the heels of
her slippers on the floor. But now she goes out like a buck seeking its
mate--head in air and hoof lifted. How do you explain it, Doctor?"
"You had bet=
ter
ask the lady herself, Quick. Did the Captain take that soup she brought
him?"
"Every drop,
sir, and tried to kiss her hand afterward, being still dazed, poor man, poor
man! I saw him do it, knowing no better. He'll be sorry enough when he come=
s to
himself."
"No doubt,
Sergeant. But meanwhile let us be glad that both their spirits seem to have
improved, and if she brings any more soup when I am not there, I should let=
him
have it. It is always well to humour invalids and women."
"Yes, Doctor;
but," he added, with a sudden fall of face, "invalids recover
sometimes, and then how about the women."
"Sufficient =
to
the day is the evil thereof," I answered; "you had better go out =
for
exercise; it is my watch." But to myself I thought that Fate was alrea=
dy
throwing its ominous shadow before, and that it lay deep in Maqueda's violet
eyes.
Well, to cut a lo=
ng
story short, this was the turning-point of Orme's illness, and from that da=
y he
recovered rapidly, for, as it proved, there was no secret injury to the sku=
ll,
and he was suffering from nothing except shock and fever. During his
convalescence the Child of Kings came to see him several times, or to be ac=
curate,
if my memory serves me right, every afternoon. Of course, her visits were t=
hose
of ceremony--that is to say, she was always accompanied by several of her
ladies, that thorn in my flesh, the old doctor, and one or two secretaries =
and
officers-in-waiting.
But as Oliver was=
now
moved by day into a huge reception room, and these people of the court were
expected to stop at one end of it while she conversed with him at the other=
, to
all intents and purposes, save for the presence of myself and Quick, her ca=
lls
were of a private nature. Nor were we always present, since, now that my
patient was out of danger the Sergeant and I went out riding a good
deal--investigating Mur and its surroundings.
It may be asked w=
hat
they talked about on these occasions. I can only answer that, so far as I
heard, the general subject was the politics of Mur and its perpetual war wi=
th
the Fung. Still, there must have been other topics which I did not hear, si=
nce
incidently I discovered that Orme was acquainted with many of Maqueda's pri=
vate
affairs whereof he could only have learned from her lips.
Thus when I ventu=
red
to remark that perhaps it was not altogether wise for a young man in his
position to become so intimate with the hereditary ruler of an exclusive tr=
ibe
like the Abati, he replied cheerfully that this did not in the least matter,
as, of course, according to their ancient laws, she could only marry with o=
ne
of her own family, a fact which made all complications impossible. I inquir=
ed which
of her cousins, of whom I knew she had several, was the happy man. He repli=
ed:
"None of the=
m.
As a matter of fact, I believe that she is officially affianced to that fat
uncle of hers, the fellow who blows his own trumpet so much, but I needn't =
add
that this is only a form to which she submits in order to keep the others
off."
"Ah!" I
said. "I wonder if Prince Joshua thinks it only a form?"
"Don't know =
what
he thinks, and don't care," he replied, yawning; "I only know that
things stand as I say, and that the porpoise-man has as much chance of beco=
ming
the husband of Maqueda as you have of marrying the Empress of China. And no=
w,
to drop this matrimonial conversation and come to something more important,
have you heard anything about Higgs and your son?"
"You are mor=
e in
the way of learning state secrets than I am, Orme," I answered
sarcastically, being rather irritated at the course of events and his
foolishness. "What have you heard?"
"This, old
fellow. I can't say how she knows it, but Maqueda says that they are both in
good health and well treated. Only our friend Barung sticks to his word and
proposes to sacrifice poor old Higgs on this day fortnight. Now, of course,
that must be prevented somehow, and prevented it shall be if it costs me my
life. Don't you suppose that I have been thinking about myself all the time,
for it isn't so, only the trouble is that I can't find any plan of rescue w=
hich
will hold water."
"Then what's=
to
be done, Orme? I haven't spoken much of the matter before for fear of upset=
ting
you when you were still weak, but now that you are all right again we must =
come
to some decision."
"I know, I
know," he answered earnestly; "and I tell you this, that rather t=
han
let Higgs die alone there, I will give myself up to Barung, and, if I can't
save him, suffer with him, or for him if I can. Listen: there is to be a gr=
eat
council held by the Child of Kings on the day after to-morrow which we must
attend, for it has only been postponed until I was well enough. At this cou=
ncil
that rogue Shadrach is to be put upon his trial, and will, I believe, be
condemned to death. Also we are formally to return Sheba's ring which Maque=
da
lent to you to be used in proof of her story. Well, we may learn something
then, or at any rate must make up our minds to definite action. And now I a=
m to
have my first ride, am I not? Come on, Pharaoh," he added to the dog,
which had stuck at his bedside all through his illness so closely that it w=
as
difficult to entice him away even to eat; "we are going for a ride,
Pharaoh; do you hear that, you faithful beast?"
CHAPTER IX - THE SWEARING=
OF
THE OATH
Two or three days
after this conversation, I forget exactly which it was, Maqueda held her
council in the great hall of the palace. When we entered the place in charg=
e of
a guard, as though we were prisoners, we found some hundreds of Abati gathe=
red
there who were seated in orderly rows upon benches. At the farther end, in =
an
apse-shaped space, sat the Child of Kings herself on a gilded or perhaps a
golden chair of which the arms terminated in lions' heads. She was dressed =
in a
robe of glittering silver, and wore a ceremonial veil embroidered with star=
s, also
of silver, and above it, set upon her dark hair, a little circlet of gold, =
in
which shone a single gem that looked like a ruby. Thus attired, although her
stature is small, her appearance was very dignified and beautiful, especial=
ly
as the gossamer veil added mystery to her face.
Behind the throne
stood soldiers armed with spears and swords, and at its sides and in front =
of
it were gathered her court to the number of a hundred or more, including her
waiting-ladies, who in two companies were arranged to the right and left. E=
ach
member of this court was gorgeously dressed according to his profession.
There were the
generals and captains with Prince Joshua at the head of them in their
Norman-like chain armour. There were judges in black robes and priests in
gorgeous garments; there were territorial lords, of whose attire I remember
only that they wore high boots, and men who were called Market-masters, who=
se
business it was to regulate the rate of exchange of products, and with them=
the
representatives of other trades.
In short, here was
collected all the aristocracy of the little population of the town and
territory of Mur, every one of whom, as we found afterwards, possessed some
high-sounding title answering to those of our dukes and lords and Right
Honourables, and knights, to say nothing of the Princes of the Blood, of wh=
om
Joshua was the first.
Really, although =
it
looked so fine and gay, the spectacle was, in a sense, piteous, being evide=
ntly
but a poor mockery and survival of the pageantry of a people that had once =
been
great. The vast hall in which they were assembled showed this, since, altho=
ugh
the occasion was one that excited public interest, it was after all but a
quarter filled by those who had a right to be present.
With much dignity=
and
to the sound of music we were marched up the broad nave, if I may describe =
it
thus, for the building, with its apse and supporting cedar columns, bore so=
me
resemblance to a cathedral, till we reached the open space in front of the
throne, where our guards prostrated themselves in their Eastern fashion, an=
d we
saluted its occupant in our own. Then, chairs having been given to us, afte=
r a
pause a trumpet blew, and from a side chamber was produced our late guide, =
Shadrach,
heavily manacled and looking extremely frightened.
The trial that
followed I need not describe at length. It took a long while, and the three=
of
us were called upon to give evidence as to the quarrel between our companio=
n,
the Professor, and the prisoner about the dog Pharaoh and other matters. The
testimony, however, that proclaimed the guilt of Shadrach was that of his
companion guides, who, it appeared, had been threatened with floggings unle=
ss
they told the truth.
These men swore, =
one
after the other, that the abandonment of Higgs had been a preconceived plan.
Several of them added that Shadrach was in traitorous communication with the
Fung, whom he had warned of our advent by firing the reeds, and had even
contrived to arrange that we were to be taken while he and the other Abati,
with the camels laden with our rifles and goods which they hoped to steal,
passed through in safety.
In defence Shadra=
ch
boldly denied the whole story, and especially that he had pushed the Gentil=
e,
Higgs, off his dromedary, as was alleged, and mounted it himself because his
own beast had broken down or been injured.
However, his lies
availed him little, since, after consultation with the Child of Kings, pres=
ently
one of the black-robed judges condemned him to suffer death in a very cruel
fashion which was reserved for traitors. Further, his possessions were to be
forfeited to the State, and his wife and children and household to become
public slaves, which meant that the males would be condemned to serve as
soldiers, and the females allotted to certain officials in the order of the=
ir
rank.
Several of those =
who
had conspired with him to betray us to the Fung were also deprived of their
possessions and condemned to the army, which was their form of penal servit=
ude.
Thus amidst a mig=
hty
wailing of those concerned and of their friends and relatives ended this
remarkable trial, of which I give some account because it throws light upon=
the
social conditions of Abati. What hope is there for a people when its crimin=
als
are sent, not to jail, but to serve as soldiers, and their womenfolk however
innocent, are doomed to become the slaves of the judges or whoever these may
appoint. Be it added, however, that in this instance Shadrach and his frien=
ds
deserved all they got, since, even allowing for a certain amount of false e=
vidence,
undoubtedly, for the purposes of robbery and private hate, they did betray
those whom their ruler had sent them to guide and protect.
When this trial w=
as
finished and Shadrach had been removed, howling for mercy and attempting to
kiss our feet like the cur he was, the audience who had collected to hear it
and to see us, the Gentile strangers, dispersed, and the members of the Pri=
vy
Council, if I may call it so, were summoned by name to attend to their duti=
es.
When all had gathered, we three were requested to advance and take seats wh=
ich
had been placed for us among the councillors.
Then came a pause,
and, as I had been instructed that I should do, I advanced and laid Sheba's
ring upon a cushion held by one of the court officers, who carried it to
Maqueda.
"Child of
Kings," I said, "take back this ancient token which you lent to m=
e to
be a proof of your good faith and mine. Know that by means of it I persuaded
our brother who is captive, a man learned in all that has to do with the pa=
st,
to undertake this mission, and through him the Captain Orme who stands befo=
re
you, and his servant, the soldier."
She took it and,
after examination, showed it to several of the priests, by whom it was
identified.
"Though I pa=
rted
from it with fear and doubt, the holy ring has served its purpose well,&quo=
t;
she said, "and I thank you, Physician, for returning it to my people a=
nd
to me in safety."
Then she replaced=
it
on the finger from which it had been withdrawn when she gave it to me many
months before.
There, then, that
matter ended.
Now an officer cr=
ied:
"Walda Nagas=
ta
speaks!" whereon every one repeated, "Walda Nagasta speaks,"=
and
was silent.
Then Maqueda bega=
n to
address us in her soft and pleasant voice.
"Strangers f=
rom
the Western country called England," she said, "be pleased to hear
me. You know our case with the Fung--that they surround us and would destroy
us. You know that in our extremity I took advantage of the wandering hither=
of
one of you a year ago to beg him to go to his own land and there obtain
firestuffs and those who understand them, with which to destroy the great a=
nd
ancient idol of the Fung. For that people declare that if this idol is
destroyed they will leave the land they dwell in for another, such being th=
eir
ancient prophecy."
"Pardon, O C=
hild
of Kings," interrupted Orme, "but you will remember that only the
other day Barung, Sultan of the Fung, said that in this event his nation wo=
uld
still live on to avenge their god, Harmac. Also he said that of all the Aba=
ti
he would leave you alive alone."
Now at these
ill-omened words a shiver and a murmur went through the Council. But Maqueda
only shrugged her shoulders, causing the silver trimmings on her dress to
tinkle.
"I have told=
you
the ancient prophecy," she answered, "and for the rest words are =
not
deeds. If the foul fiend, Harmac, goes I think that the Fung will follow hi=
m.
Otherwise, why do they make sacrifice to Earthquake as the evil god they ha=
ve
to fear? And when some five centuries ago, such an earthquake shook down pa=
rt
of the secret city in the bowels of the mountains that I will show to you
afterwards, why did they fly from Mur and take up their abode in the plain,=
as
they said, to protect the god?"
"I do not
know," answered Oliver. "If our brother were here, he whom the Fu=
ng
have captured, he might know, being learned in the ways of idol-worshipping,
savage peoples."
"Alas! O Son=
of
Orme," she said, "thanks to that traitor whom but now we have
condemned, he is not here and, perhaps, could tell us nothing if he were. At
least, the saying runs as I have spoken it, and for many generations, becau=
se
of it, we Abati have desired to destroy the idol of the Fung to which so ma=
ny
of us have been offered in sacrifice through the jaws of their sacred lions.
Now I ask," and she leaned forward, looking at Oliver, "will you =
do
this for me?"
"Speak of the
reward, my niece," broke in Joshua in his thick voice when he saw that=
we
hesitated what to answer, "I have heard that these Western Gentiles ar=
e a
very greedy people, who live and die for the gold which we despise."
"Ask him,
Captain," exclaimed Quick, "if they despise land also, since yest=
erday
afternoon I saw one of them try to cut the throat of another over a piece n=
ot
bigger than a large dog-kennel."
"Yes," I
added, for I confess that Joshua's remarks nettled me, "and ask him
whether the Jews did not despoil the Egyptians of their ornaments of gold in
the old days, and whether Solomon, whom he claims as a forefather, did not
trade in gold to Ophir, and lastly whether he knows that most of his kindre=
d in
other lands make a very god of gold."
So Orme, as our
spokesman, put these questions with great gusto to Joshua, whom he disliked
intensely, whereat some of the Council, those who were not of the party of =
the
Prince, smiled or even laughed, and the silvery ornaments upon Maqueda's dr=
ess
began to shake again as though she also were laughing behind her veil. Stil=
l,
she did not seem to think it wise to allow Joshua to answer--if he could--b=
ut
did so herself, saying:
"The truth i=
s, O
my friends, that here we set small store by gold because, being shut in and
unable to trade, it is of no use to us save as an ornament. Were it otherwi=
se,
doubtless we should value it as much as the rest of the world, Jew or Genti=
le,
and shall do so when we are freed from our foes who hem us in. Therefore, my
uncle is wrong to claim as a virtue that which is only a necessity, especia=
lly
when, as your servant says," and she pointed to the Sergeant, "our
people make land their gold and will spend their lives in gaining more of i=
t,
even when they have enough."
"Then do the
Gentiles seek no reward for their services?" sneered Joshua.
"By no means,
Prince," answered Oliver, "we are soldiers of fortune, since
otherwise why should we have come here to fight your quarrel" (laying =
an
unpleasant emphasis on the "your") "against a chief who, if =
half
savage, to us seems to have some merits, those of honour and courage, for
instance? If we risk our lives and do our work, we are not too proud to take
whatever we can earn. Why should we be, seeing that some of us need wealth,=
and
that our brother, who is as good as dead yonder, owing to the treachery of
those who were sent to guard him, has relatives in England who are poor and
should be compensated for his loss?"
"Why,
indeed?" ejaculated Maqueda. "Listen, now, my friends. In my own =
name
and in that of the Abati people I promised to you as many camel-loads of th=
is
gold as you can carry away from Mur, and before the day is done I will show=
it
to you if you dare follow me to where it lies hid."
"First the w=
ork,
then the pay," said Oliver. "Now tell us, Child of Kings, what is
that work?"
"This, O Son=
of
Orme. You must swear--if this is not against your consciences as
Christians--that for the space of one year from to-day you will serve me and
fight for me and be subject to my laws, striving all the while to destroy t=
he
idol Harmac by your Western skill and weapons, after which you shall be fre=
e to
go whither you will with your reward."
"And if we
swear, Lady," asked Oliver after reflection, "tell us what rank s=
hall
we hold in your service?"
"You shall b=
e my
chief captain for this enterprise, O Son of Orme, and those with you shall
serve under you in such positions as you may please."
At these words a
murmur of dissatisfaction arose from the mail-clad generals in the Council.=
"Are we then=
, to
obey this stranger, O Child of Kings?" queried Joshua as their spokesm=
an.
"Aye, my unc=
le,
so far as this great enterprise is concerned, as I have said. Can you handle
the firestuffs of which they alone have the secret? Could any three of you =
have
held the gate of Harmac against the armies of the Fung and sent it flying
skyward?"
She paused and wa=
ited
in the midst of a sullen silence.
"You do not
answer because you cannot," continued Maqueda. "Then for this pur=
pose
be content to serve awhile under the command of those who have the skill and
power which you lack."
Still there was n=
o answer.
"Lady,"
said Orme in this ominous quiet, "you are so good as to make me a gene=
ral
among your soldiers, but will they obey me? And who are your soldiers? Does
every man of the Abati bear arms?"
"Alas! no,&q=
uot;
she replied, fixing upon this latter question perhaps because she could not
answer the first. "Alas! no. In the old days it was otherwise, when my
great ancestresses ruled, and then we did not fear the Fung. But now the pe=
ople
will not serve as soldiers. They say it takes them from their trades and the
games they love; they say they cannot give the time in youth; they say that=
it
degrades a man to obey the orders of those set over him; they say that war =
is
barbarous and should be abolished, and all the while the brave Fung wait
without to massacre our men and make our women slaves. Only the very poor a=
nd
the desperate, and those who have offended against the laws will serve in m=
y army,
except it be as officers. Oh! and therefore are the Abati doomed," and,
throwing back her veil, suddenly, she burst into tears before us all.
I do not know tha=
t I
ever remember seeing a sight more pathetic in its way than that of this
beautiful and high-spirited young woman weeping in the presence of her Coun=
cil
over the utter degeneracy of the race she was called upon to rule. Being old
and accustomed to these Eastern expressions of emotion, I remained silent,
however; but Oliver was so deeply affected that I feared lest he should do
something foolish. He went red, he went white, and was rising from his seat=
to
go to her, had I not caught him by the arm and pulled him back. As for Quic=
k,
he turned his eyes to the ceiling, as though engaged in prayer, and I heard=
him
muttering:
"The Lord he=
lp
the poor thing, the Lord help her; the one pearl in the snout of all these =
gilded
swine! Well, I understand I am a bit of a general now, and if I don't make =
'em
sit up for her sake my name ain't Samuel Quick."
Meanwhile there w=
as
much consternation and indignant murmuring amongst the Court, which felt th=
at
reflections had been thrown upon it collectively and individually. At such a
crisis, as usual, Prince Joshua took the lead. Rising from his seat, he kne=
lt,
not without difficulty, before the throne, and said:
"O Child of
Kings, why do you distress us with such words? Have you not the God of Solo=
mon
to protect you?"
"God protects
those who protect themselves," sobbed Maqueda.
"And have you
not many brave officers?"
"What are
officers without an army?"
"And have you
not me, your uncle, your affianced, your lover?" and he laid his hand
where he conceived his heart to be, and stared up at her with his rolling,
fish-like eyes. "Had it not been for the interference of these Gentile=
s,
in whom you seem to put such trust," he went on, "should I not ha=
ve
taken Barung captive the other day, and left the Fung without a head?"=
"And the Aba=
ti
without such shreds of honour as still belong to them, my uncle."
"Let us be w=
ed,
O Bud of the Rose, O Flower of Mur, and soon I will free you from the Fung.=
We
are helpless because we are separate, but together we shall triumph. Say, O
Maqueda, when shall we be wed?"
"When the id=
ol
Harmac is utterly destroyed, and the Fung have departed for ever, my
uncle," she answered impatiently. "But is this a time to talk of
marriage? I declare the Council closed. Let the priests bring the rolls that
these strangers from the West may take the oath, and then pardon me if I le=
ave
you."
Now from behind t=
he
throne there appeared a gorgeous gentleman arrayed in a head-dress that
reminded me faintly of a bishop's mitre, and wearing over his robes a
breastplate of precious stones roughly polished, which was half hidden by a
very long white beard.
This person, who = it seemed was the high priest, carried in his hand a double roll of parchment written over with characters which we afterwards discovered were bastard Hebrew, very ancient and only decipherable by three or four of the Abati, if indeed any of them could really read it. At least it was said to be the rol= l of the law brought by their forefathers centuries ago from Abyssinia, together with Sheba's ring and a few other relics, among them the cradle (a palpable forgery), in which the child of Solomon and Maqueda, or Belchis, the first known Queen of Sheba, was traditionally reported to have been rocked. This = roll of the law, which for generations had been used at all important ceremonies among the Abati, such as the swearing-in of their queens and chief officers, was now tendered to us to hold and kiss while we took the oath of obedience= and allegiance in the names of Jehovah and of Solomon (a strange mixture, it st= ruck us), solemnly vowing to perform those things which I have already set out.<= o:p>
"This seems a
pretty wide promise," said Oliver, after it had been read to us and
translated by me to Quick. "Do you think that we ought to take it
on?"
I answered
"Yes," that was from my point of view, since otherwise I saw no
chance of achieving the object that had caused me to enter upon this advent=
ure.
Then, being especially requested to do so, the Sergeant, after reflecting a=
while,
gave his considered opinion.
"Sir," =
he
said to Orme, "we are three white men here consorting with a mob of
quarter-bred African Jews and one real lady. It seems to me that we had best
swear anything they want us to, trusting to the lady to see us through the
mess, since otherwise we shall be mere filibusters in the country without
official rank, and liable therefore to be shot on sight by the enemy, or any
mutineers who get the upper hand here. Also, we have the Professor and the
Doctor's son to think of. Therefore I say: Swear to anything in reason,
reserving allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain, and trust to luck. You =
see,
Captain, we are in their power anyway, and this oath may help, but can't hu=
rt
us, while to refuse it must give offence to all these skunks, and perhaps to
the lady also, which is of more consequence."
"I think you=
are
probably right, Sergeant," said Orme. "Anyway, in for a penny, in=
for
a pound."
Then he turned to
Maqueda, who had been watching this conference in an unknown tongue with so=
me
anxiety, or so it seemed to me, and added in Arabic: "O Child of Kings=
, we
will take your oath, although it is wide, trusting to your honour to protec=
t us
from any pitfalls which it may cover, for we would ask you to remember that=
we
are strangers in your land who do not understand its laws and customs. Only=
we
stipulate that we retain our allegiance to our own ruler far away, remaining
the subjects of that monarch with all rights thereto appertaining. Also, we
stipulate that before we enter on our duties, or at any rate during those
duties, we shall be at full liberty to attempt the rescue of our friend and
companion, now a prisoner in the hands of the Fung, and of the son of one o=
f us
who is believed to be a slave to them, and that we shall have all the
assistance which you can give us in this matter. Moreover, we demand that i=
f we
should be tried for any offence under this oath, you to whom we swear
allegiance shall be our judge alone, none others intermeddling in the trial=
. If
you accept these terms we will swear the oath; otherwise we swear nothing, =
but
will act as occasion may arise."
Now we were reque=
sted
to stand back while the Child of Kings consulted with her advisers, which s=
he
did for a considerable time, since evidently the questions raised involved
differences of opinion. In the end, however, she and those who supported her
seemed to overrule the objectors, and we were called up and told that our t=
erms
had been accepted and engrossed upon the form of the oath, and that everyth=
ing there
included would be faithfully observed by the Ruler and Council of the Abati=
.
So we signed and
swore, kissing the book, or rather the roll, in the civilized fashion.
Afterwards, very tired, for all this business had been anxious, we were
conducted back to our own quarters to lunch, or rather to dine, for the Aba=
ti
ate their heaviest meal at midday, taking a siesta after it according to the
common Eastern custom.
About four o'cloc=
k of
that afternoon I was awakened from my nap by the growls of Pharaoh, and loo=
ked
up to see a man crouching against the door, evidently in fear of the dog's
fangs. He proved to be a messenger from Maqueda, sent to ask us if we cared=
to
accompany her to a place that we had never seen. Of course we answered
"Yes," and were at once led by the messenger to a disused and dus=
ty
hall at the back of the palace, where presently Maqueda and three of her la=
dies
joined us, and with them a number of men who carried lighted lamps, gourds =
of
oil, and bundles of torches.
"Doubtless,
friends," said Maqueda, who was unveiled and appeared to have quite
recovered from our outburst of the morning, "you have seen many wonder=
ful
places in this Africa and other lands, but now I am about to show you one t=
hat,
I think, is stranger than them all."
Following her, we
came to a door at the end of the hall which the men unbolted and shut again
behind us, and thence passed into a long passage cut in the rock, that slop=
ed
continuously downwards and at length led through another doorway to the vas=
test
cave that we had ever heard of or seen. So vast was it, indeed, that the fe=
eble
light of our lamps did not suffice to reach the roof, and only dimly showed=
to
right and left the outlines of what appeared to be shattered buildings of r=
ock.
"Behold the =
cave
city of Mur," said Maqueda, waving the lamp she held. "Here it was
that the ancients whom we believe to have been the forefathers of the Fung,=
had
their secret stronghold. These walls were those of their granaries, temples,
and places of ceremonial, but, as I have told you, centuries ago an earthqu=
ake
shattered them, leaving them as they are now. Also, it broke down much of t=
he
cave itself, causing the roof to fall, so that there are many parts where i=
t is
not safe to enter. Come now and see what is left."
We followed her i=
nto
the depth of the wonderful place, our lanterns and torches making little st=
ars
of light in that great blackness. We saw the ruins of granaries still filled
with the dust of what I suppose had once been corn, and came at length to a
huge, roofless building of which the area was strewn with shattered columns,
and among them overgrown statues, covered so thick by dust that we could on=
ly
discover that most of them seemed to be shaped like sphinxes.
"If only Hig=
gs
were here," said Oliver with a sigh, and passed on to Maqueda, who was
calling him to look at something else.
Leaving the templ=
e in
which it was unsafe to walk, she led us to where a strong spring, the water
supply of the place, bubbled up into a rock basin, and overflowing thence t=
hrough
prepared openings, ran away we knew not whither.
"Look, this
fountain is very ancient," said Maqueda, pointing to the lip of the ba=
sin
that was worn away to the depth of several inches where those who drew water
had for many generations rested their hands upon the hard rock.
"How did they
light so vast a cavern?" asked Oliver.
"We do not
know," she answered, "since lamps would scarcely have served them=
. It
is a secret of the past which none of the Abati have cared to recover, and
another is how the air is always kept fresh so deep in the bowels of the
mountain. We cannot even say whether this place is natural, as I think, or
hollowed out by men."
"Both, I
expect," I answered. "But tell me, Lady, do the Abati make any us=
e of
this great cave?"
"Some corn is
still stored here in pits in case of siege," she replied, adding sadly,
"but it is not enough to be of real service, since almost all of it co=
mes
from the estates of the Child of Kings. In vain have I prayed the people to
contribute, if only a hundredth part of their harvest, but they will not. E=
ach
says that he would give if his neighbour gave, and so none give. And yet a =
day
may come when a store of corn alone would stand between them and death by
hunger--if the Fung held the valley, for instance," and she turned
impatiently and walked forward to show us the stables where the ancients ke=
pt
their horses and the marks of their chariot wheels in the stone floor.
"Nice people,
the Abati, sir," said Quick to me. "If it weren't for the women a=
nd
children, and, above all, for this little lady, whom I am beginning to wors=
hip
like my master, as in duty bound, I'd like to see them do a bit of
hungering."
"There is one
more place to show you," said Maqueda, when we had inspected the stabl=
es
and argued as to what possible causes could have induced the ancients to ke=
ep
horses underground, "which perhaps you will think worth a visit, since=
it
holds the treasures that are, or shall be, yours. Come!"
We started forward
again along various passages, the last of which suddenly widened into a bro=
ad
and steep incline of rock, which we followed for quite fifty paces till it
ended in what seemed to be a blank wall. Here Maqueda bade her ladies and
attendants halt, which indeed they seemed very anxious to do, though at the
moment we did not know why. Then she went to one end of the wall where it
joined that of the passage, and, showing us some loose stones, asked me to =
pull
them out, which I did, not without difficulty. When an aperture had been ma=
de large
enough for a man to creep through, she turned to her people and said:
"You, I know,
believe this place to be haunted, nor would the bravest of you enter it sav=
e by
express command. But I and these strangers have no such fears. Therefore gi=
ve
us a gourd of oil and some torches and bide where you are till we return,
setting a lamp in the hole in the wall to guide us in case our own should
become extinguished. No, do not reason but obey. There is no danger, for th=
ough
hot, the air within is pure, as I know who have breathed it more than
once."
Then she gave her
hand to Oliver, and with his assistance crept through the hole. We followed=
, to
find ourselves in another cavern, where, as she had said, the temperature w=
as
much hotter than that without.
"What is this
place?" asked Orme in a low voice, for its aspect seemed to awe him.
"The tomb of=
the
old kings of Mur," she replied. "Presently you shall see," a=
nd
once more she took his hand, for the slope was sharp and slippery.
On we went, always
descending, for perhaps four hundred yards, our footfalls echoing loudly in=
the
intense silence, and our lamps, round which the bats circled in hundreds,
making four stars of light in the utter blackness, till at length the passa=
ge
widened out into what appeared to be a vast circular arena, with a lofty
dome-like roof of rock. Maqueda turned to the right, and, halting before so=
me
objects that glimmered whitely, held up her light, saying, "Look!"=
;
This was what we =
saw:
A great stone chair and, piled upon its seat and upon its base, human bones.
Amongst these was a skull, and on it, grotesquely tilted, a crown of gold,
while other ornaments--sceptres, rings, necklaces, weapons and armour--were
mingled with the bones. Nor was this all, for in a wide circle round the ch=
air
were other skeletons, fifty or more of them, and amongst them the ornaments
that their owners had worn.
Also, in front of
each stood a tray of some metal, which we afterwards discovered to be silve=
r or
copper, and heaped upon it every kind of valuable, such as golden cups and
vases, toilet utensils, necklaces, pectorals, bracelets, leglets, earrings =
and
beads that seemed to be cut from precious stones, piles of ring money, and a
hundred other things such as have been prized by mankind since the beginnin=
g of
civilization.
"You
understand," said Maqueda, as we stared, open-mouthed at this awful and
marvellous sight, "he in the chair was the king. Those about him were =
his
officers, guards, and women. When he was buried they brought his household
here, bearing his wealth, sat them down about him, and killed them. Blow aw=
ay
the dust, and you will see that the rock beneath is still stained with their
blood; also, there are the sword-marks on their skulls, and neckbones."=
;
Quick, who was of=
an
inquiring mind, stepped forward and verified these statements.
"Golly!"=
; he
said, throwing down the skull of a man over whom the tired executioners had
evidently bungled badly, "I'm glad I didn't serve the old kings of Mur.
But the same game goes on in a small way to-day in Africa, for when I was
campaigning on the West Coast I came across it not a fortnight old, only th=
ere
they had buried the poor beggars living."
"Perhaps,&qu=
ot;
said Maqueda, when the Sergeant's remarks had been translated to her. "=
;Yet
I do not think the custom is one that my people would love," and she
laughed a little, then added, "forward, friends, there are many more of
these kings and oil does not burn for ever."
So we moved on, a=
nd
at a distance of some twenty paces found another chair with scattered bones=
on
and about the seat, lying where each had fallen as the dead man decayed. Ro=
und
it were the skeletons of the unfortunates who had been doomed to accompany =
him
upon his last journey, every one of them behind his tray of golden objects,=
or
of simple treasure. In front of this king's chair also were the bones of a =
dog with
a jewelled collar.
Again we proceede=
d to
a third mortuary, if it may so be called, and here Maqueda pointed out the
skeleton of a man, in front of which stood a tray piled up with what eviden=
tly
had been the medicine bottles of the period and among them a number of rude
surgical instruments.
"Say, O
Physician Adams," she remarked with a smile, "would you have wish=
ed
to be court doctor to the kings of Mur, if indeed that was then their city's
name?"
"No, Lady,&q=
uot;
I answered; "but I do wish to examine his instruments if I have your
leave," and while she hurried forward I stooped down and filled my
pockets. Here I may remark, that upon subsequent inspection I found among t=
hese
instruments, manufactured I know not what number of thousands of years ago-=
-for
on that point controversy rages among the learned--many that with modificat=
ions
are still in use to-day.
Of that strange a=
nd
dreadful sepulchre there is little more to tell. From monarch to monarch we
marched on till at length we grew weary of staring at bones and gold. Even
Quick grew weary, who had passed his early youth in assisting his father, t=
he
parish sexton, and therefore, like myself, regarded these relics with
professional interest, though of a different degree. At any rate, he remark=
ed
that this family vault was uncommonly hot, and perhaps, if it pleased her
Majesty, as he called Maqueda, we might take the rest of the deceased gentl=
emen
as read, like a recruit's attestation questions.
But just then we =
came
to No. 25, according to my counting, and were obliged to stop to wonder, for
clearly this king had been the greatest of them all, since round him lay ab=
out
two or three times the average number of dead, and an enormous quantity of
wealth, some of it in the form of little statues of men and women, or perha=
ps
of gods. Yet, oddly enough, he was hunchback with a huge skull, almost a
monstrosity indeed. Perhaps his mind partook of the abnormal qualities of h=
is
body, since no less than eleven little children had been sacrificed at his
obsequies, two of whom, judging from their crooked bones, must have been his
own.
One wonders what
chanced in Mur and the surrounding territories which then acknowledged its =
sway
when King Hunchback ruled. Alas! history writes no record.
CHAPTER X - QUICK LIGHTS A
MATCH
"Here we beg=
in
to turn, for this cave is a great circle," said Maqueda over her shoul=
der.
But Oliver, whom =
she
addressed, had left her side and was engaged in taking observations behind =
the
hunchback's funeral chair with an instrument which he had produced from his
pocket.
She followed him =
and
asked curiously what this thing might be, and why he made use of it here.
"We call it a
compass," he answered, "and it tells me that beyond us lies the e=
ast,
where the sun rises; also it shows at what height we stand above the sea, t=
hat
great water which you have never seen, O Child of Kings. Say now, if we cou=
ld
walk through this rock, what should we find out yonder?"
"The lion-he=
aded
idol of the Fung, I have been told," she answered. "That which you
saw before you blew up the gate of the city Harmac. But how far off it may =
be I
do not know, for I cannot see through stone. Friend Adams, help me to refill
the lamps, for they burn low, and all these dead would be ill company in the
dark. So at least my people think, since there is not one of them that dare=
s to
enter this place. When first we found it only a few years ago and saw the
company it held, they fled, and left me to search it alone. Look, yonder ar=
e my
footsteps in the dust."
So I refilled the
shallow hand-lamps, and while I did so Orme took some hasty observations of
which he jotted down the results in his pocket-book.
"What have y=
ou
learned?" she asked, when at last he rejoined us somewhat unwillingly,=
for
she had been calling to him to come.
"Not so much=
as
I should have done if you could have given me more time," he replied,
adding in explanation, "Lady, I was brought up as an engineer, that is,
one who executes works, and to do so takes measurements and makes calculati=
ons.
For instance, those dead men who hollowed or dressed these caves must have =
been
engineers and no mean ones."
"We have such
among us now," she said. "They raise dams and make drains and hou=
ses,
though not so good as those which were built of old. But again I ask--what =
have
you learned, O wise Engineer?"
"Only that h=
ere
we stand not so very far above the city Harmac, of which I chanced to take =
the
level, and that behind yonder chair there was, I think, once a passage which
has been built up. But be pleased to say nothing of the matter, Lady, and to
ask me no more questions at present, as I cannot answer them with
certainty."
"I see that =
you
are discreet as well as wise," she replied with some sarcasm. "We=
ll,
since I may not be trusted with your counsel, keep it to yourself."
Oliver bowed and
obeyed this curt instruction.
Then we began our
return journey, passing many more groups of skeletons which now we scarcely
troubled to look at, perhaps because the heavy air filled with dust that on=
ce
had been the flesh of men, was telling on our energies. Only I noticed, or
rather the observant Quick called my attention to the fact, that as we went=
the
kings in their chairs were surrounded by fewer and fewer attendants and wom=
en,
and that the offerings placed at their feet were of an ever-lessening value.
Indeed, after we had passed another five or six of them, their murdered
retinues dwindled to a few female skeletons, doubtless those of favourite w=
ives
who had been singled out for this particular honour.
At length there w=
ere
none at all, the poor monarchs, who now were crowded close together, being =
left
to explore the shades alone, adorned merely with their own jewellery and
regalia. Ultimately even these were replaced by funeral gold-foil ornaments,
and the trays of treasure by earthenware jars which appeared to have contai=
ned
nothing but food and wine, and added to these a few spears and other weapon=
s.
The last of the occupied chairs, for there were empty ones beyond, contained
bones which, from their slenderness and the small size of the bracelets amo=
ng them,
I saw at once had belonged to a woman who had been sent to the grave without
companions or any offerings at all.
"Doubtless,&=
quot;
said Maqueda, when I pointed this out to her, "at that time the ancien=
ts
had grown weak and poor, since after so many kings they permitted a woman to
rule over them and had no wealth to waste upon her burial. That may have be=
en
after the earthquake, when only a few people were left in Mur before the Ab=
ati
took possession of it."
"Where, then,
are those of your own house buried?" asked Oliver, staring at the empty
chairs.
"Oh! not in =
this
place," she answered; "I have told you it was discovered but a few
years ago. We rest in tombs outside, and for my part I will sleep in the si=
mple
earth, so that I may live on in grass and flowers, if in no other way. But
enough of death and doom. Soon, who can tell how soon? we shall be as these
are," and she shuddered. "Meanwhile, we breathe, so let us make t=
he
best of breath. You have seen your fee, say, does it content you?"
"What fee?&q=
uot;
he asked. "Death, the reward of Life? How can I tell until I have pass=
ed
its gate?"
Here this
philosophical discussion was interrupted by the sudden decease of Quick's l=
amp.
"Thought the=
re
was something wrong with the blooming thing," said the Sergeant, "=
;but
couldn't turn it up, as it hasn't got a screw, without which these
old-fashioned colza oils never were no good. Hullo! Doctor, there goes
yours," and as he spoke, go it did.
"The
wicks!" exclaimed Maqueda, "we forgot to bring new wicks, and wit=
hout
them of what use is oil? Come, be swift; we are still far from the mouth of
this cave, where none except the high priests will dare to seek us," a=
nd,
taking Oliver by the hand, she began to run, leaving us two to follow as be=
st
we could.
"Steady,
Doctor," said Quick, "steady. In the presence of disaster comrades
should always stick together, as it says in the Red-book presented by the c=
rown
to warrant officers, but paid for out of their deferred allowance. Take my =
arm,
Doctor. Ah! I thought so, the more haste the less speed. Look there," =
and
he pointed to the flying shapes ahead, now a long way off, and with only one
lamp between them.
Next instant Maqu=
eda
turned round holding up this remaining lamp and called to us. I saw the fai=
nt
light gleam upon her beautiful face and glitter down the silver ornaments of
her dress. Very wild and strange she looked in that huge vault, seen thus f=
or a
single moment, then seen no more, for presently where the flame had been was
but a red spark, and then nothing at all.
"Stop still =
till
we come back to you," cried Oliver, "and shout at intervals."=
;
"Yes, sir,&q=
uot;
said Quick, and instantly let off a fearful yell, which echoed backward and
forward across the vault till I was quite bewildered.
"All right,
coming," answered Oliver, and his voice sounded so far to the left that
Quick thought it wise to yell again.
To cut a long sto=
ry
short, we next heard him on our right and then behind us.
"Can't trust
sounds here, sir, echoes are too uncertain," said the Sergeant; "=
but
come on, I think I've placed them now," and calling to them not to mov=
e,
we headed in what we were sure was the right direction.
The end of that
adventure was that presently I tripped up over a skeleton and found myself
lying half stunned amidst trays of treasure, affectionately clasping a skull
under the impression that it was Quick's boot.
He hauled me up a=
gain
somehow, and, as we did not know what to do, we sat down amidst the dead and
listened. By now the others were apparently so far off that the sound of
Oliver's calling only reached us in faint, mysterious notes that came from =
we
knew not whence.
"As, like
idiots, we started in such a hurry that we forgot to bring any matches with=
us,
there is nothing to be done, except wait," I said. "No doubt in d=
ue
course those Abati will get over their fear of ghosts and come to look for
us."
"Wish I coul=
d do
the same, sir. I didn't mind those deaders in the light, but the dark's a
different matter. Can't you hear them rattling their shanks and talking all
round us?"
"Certainly I=
do
hear something," I answered, "but I think it must be the echo of =
our
own voices."
"Well, let us
hold our jaw, sir, and perhaps they will hold theirs, for this kind of
conversation ain't nice."
So we were silent,
but the strange murmuring still went on, coming apparently from the wall of=
the
cave behind us, and it occurred to me that I had once heard something like =
it
before, though at the time I could not think where. Afterwards I remembered
that it was when, as a boy, I had been taken to see the Whispering Gallery =
in
St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Half-an-hour or so
went by in this fashion, and still there were no signs of the Abati or of o=
ur
missing pair. Quick began to fumble among his clothes. I asked him what he =
was
doing.
"Can't help
thinking I've got a wax match somewhere, Doctor. I remember feeling it in o=
ne
of the pockets of this coat on the day before we left London, and thinking
afterwards it wasn't safe to have had it packed in a box marked 'Hold.' Now=
if
only I could find that match, we have got plenty of torches, for I've stuck=
to
my bundle all through, although I never thought of them when the lamps were
going out."
Having small beli=
ef
in the Sergeant's match, I made no answer, and the search went on till
presently I heard him ejaculate:
"By Jingo, h=
ere
it is, in the lining. Yes, and the head feels all right. Now, Doctor, hold =
two
of the torches toward me; make ready, present, fire!" and he struck the
match and applied it to the heads of the resinous torches.
Instantly these
blazed up, giving an intense light in that awful darkness. By this light, f=
or
one moment only, we saw a strange, and not unattractive spectacle. I think I
forgot to say that in the centre of this vault stood a kind of altar, which
until that moment, indeed, I had not seen. This altar, which, doubtless, had
been used for ceremonial purposes at the funerals of the ancient Kings,
consisted of a plain block of basalt stone, whereon was cut the symbol of a
human eye, the stone being approached by steps and supported upon carved and
crouching sphinxes.
On the lowest of
these steps, near enough to enable us to see them quite clearly, were seated
Oliver Orme and Maqueda, Child of Kings. They were seated very close togeth=
er;
indeed, if I must tell the truth, Oliver's arm was about Maqueda's waist, h=
er
head rested upon his shoulder, and apparently he was engaged in kissing her
upon the lips.
"Right about
face," hissed the Sergeant, in a tone of command, "and mark time!=
"
So we right-about=
ed
for a decent period, then, coughing loudly--because of the irritant smoke of
the torches--advanced to cross the cavern, and by accident stumbled upon our
lost companions. I confess that I had nothing to say, but Quick rose to the
occasion nobly.
"Glad to see
you, Captain," he said to Oliver. "Was getting very anxious about
you, sir, until by good luck I found a match in the lining of my coat. If t=
he
Professor had been here he'd have had plenty, which is an argument in favou=
r of
continuous smoking, even when ladies are present. Ah! no wonder her Majesty=
is
faint in this hot place, poor young thing. It's lucky you didn't leave hold=
of
her, sir. Do you think you could manage to support her, sir, as we ought to=
be
moving. Can't offer to do so myself, as I have lamed my foot with the tooth=
of
a dead king, also my arms are full of torches. But if you prefer the
Doctor--what do you say, sir? That you can manage? There is such an echo in
this vault that it is difficult to hear--very well, let us go on, for these
torches won't last for ever, and you wouldn't like us to have to spend a wh=
ole night
here with the lady in such a delicate condition, would you, especially as t=
hose
nasty-tempered Abati might say that you had done it on purpose? Take her
Majesty's arm, Doctor, and let us trek. I'll go ahead with the torches.&quo=
t;
To all this artle=
ss
harangue Oliver answered not a single word, but glared at us suspiciously o=
ver
the shape of Maqueda, who apparently had fainted. Only when I ventured to o=
ffer
her some professional assistance she recovered, and said that she could get=
on
quite well alone, which meant upon Orme's arm.
Well, the end of =
it
was that she got on, and so did we, for the torches lasted until we reached=
the
narrow, sloping passage, and, rounding the corner, saw the lantern burning =
in
the hole in the wall, after which, of course, things were easy.
"Doctor,&quo=
t;
said Oliver to me in a voice of studied nonchalance that night, as we were
preparing to turn in, "did you notice anything in the Vault of Kings t=
his
afternoon?"
"Oh, yes,&qu=
ot;
I answered, "lots! Of course, myself, I am not given to archæology, li=
ke
poor Higgs, but the sight struck me as absolutely unique. If I were incline=
d to
moralize, for instance, what a contrast between those dead rulers and their
young and beautiful successor, full of life and love"--here he looked =
at
me sharply--"love of her people, such as I have no doubt in their
day----"
"Oh, shut it,
Adams! I don't want a philosophical lecture with historical comparisons. Did
you notice anything except bones and gold when that unutterable ass, Quick,
suddenly turned on the lights--I mean struck the match which unfortunately =
he
had with him."
Now I gave it up =
and
faced the situation.
"Well, if you
want the truth," I said, "not very much myself, for my sight isn'=
t as
good as it used to be. But the Sergeant, who has extraordinarily sharp eyes,
thought that he saw you kissing Maqueda, a supposition that your relative
attitudes seemed to confirm, which explains, moreover, some of the curious
sounds we heard before he lit the torches. That's why he asked me to turn my
back. But, of course, we may have been mistaken. Do I understand you to say
that the Sergeant was mistaken?"
Oliver consigned =
the
Sergeant's eyes to an ultimate fate worse than that which befell those of
Peeping Tom; then, in a burst of candour, for subterfuge never was his fort=
e,
owned up:
"You made no
mistake," he said, "we love each other, and it came out suddenly =
in
the dark. I suppose that the unusual surroundings acted on our nerves."=
;
"From a moral
point of view I am glad that you love each other," I remarked, "s=
ince
embraces that are merely nervous cannot be commended. But from every other,=
in
our circumstances the resulting situation strikes me as a little short of
awful, although Quick, a most observant man, warned me to expect it from the
first."
"Curse
Quick," said Oliver again, with the utmost energy. "I'll give him=
a
month's notice this very night."
"Don't,"=
; I
said, "for then you'll oblige him to take service with Barung, where he
would be most dangerous. Look here, Orme, to drop chaff, this is a pretty
mess."
"Why? What's
wrong about it, Doctor?" he asked indignantly. "Of course, she's a
Jew of some diluted sort or other, and I'm a Christian; but those things ad=
apt
themselves. Of course, too, she's my superior, but after all hers is a stri=
ctly
local rank, and in Europe we should be on much the same footing. As for her
being an Eastern, what does that matter? Surely it is not an objection whic=
h should
have weight with you. And for the rest, did you ever see her equal?"
"Never, neve=
r,
never!" I answered with enthusiasm. "The young lady to whom any
gentleman has just engaged himself is always absolutely unequalled, and, le=
t me
admit at once that this is perhaps the most original and charming that I ha=
ve
ever met in all Central Africa. Only, whatever may be the case with you, I
don't know whether this fact will console me and Quick when our throats are
being cut. Look here, Orme," I added, "didn't I tell you long ago
that the one thing you must not do was to make love to the Child of
Kings?"
"Did you?
Really, I forget; you told me such a lot of things, Doctor," he answer=
ed
coolly enough, only unfortunately the colour that rose in his cheeks betray=
ed
his lips.
At this moment,
Quick, who had entered the room unobserved, gave a dry cough, and remarked:=
"Don't blame=
the
Captain, Doctor, because he don't remember. There's nothing like shock from=
an
explosion for upsetting the memory. I've seen that often in the Boer war, w=
hen,
after a big shell had gone off somewhere near them, the very bravest soldie=
rs
would clean forget that it was their duty to stand still and not run like
rabbits; indeed, it happened to me myself."
I laughed, and Ol=
iver
said something which I could not hear, but Quick went on imperturbably:
"Still, trut=
h is
truth, and if the Captain has forgotten, the more reason that we should rem=
ind
him. That evening at the Professor's house in London you did warn him, sir,=
and
he answered that you needn't bother your head about the fascinations of a
nigger woman----"
"Nigger
woman," broke out Oliver; "I never used such words; I never even
thought them, and you are an impertinent fellow to put them into my mouth.
Nigger woman! Good heavens! It's desecration."
"Very sorry,
Captain, now I come to think of it, I believe you said black woman, speakin=
g in
your haste. Yes and I begged you not to brag, seeing that if you did we mig=
ht
live to see you crawling after her, with myself, Samuel Quick bringing up t=
he
rear. Well, there it is we are, and the worst of it is that I can't blame y=
ou,
being as anticipated in the prophecy--for that's what it was though I didn't
know it myself at the time--exactly in the same state myself, though, of
course, at a distance, bringing up the rear respectfully, as said."
"You don't m=
ean
that you are in love with the Child of Kings?" said Oliver, staring at=
the
Sergeant's grim and battered figure.
"Begging your
pardon, Captain, that is exactly what I do mean. If a cat may look at a que=
en,
why mayn't a man love her? Howsoever, my kind of love ain't likely to inter=
fere
with yours. My kind means sentry-go and perhaps a knife in my gizzard;
yours--well, we saw what yours means this afternoon, though what it will all
lead to we didn't see. Still, Captain, speaking as one who hasn't been keen=
on
the sex heretofore, I say--sail in, since it's worth it, even if you've got=
to
sink afterwards, for this lady, although she is half a Jew, and I never cou=
ld
abide Jews, is the sweetest and the loveliest and the best and the bravest
little woman that ever walked God's earth."
At this point Oli=
ver
seized his hand and shook it warmly, and I may mention that I think some re=
port
of Quick's summary of her character must have reached Maqueda's ears. At any
rate, thenceforward until the end she always treated the old fellow with wh=
at
the French call the "most distinguished consideration."
But, as I was not=
in
love, no one shook my hand, so, leaving the other two to discuss the virtues
and graces of the Child of Kings, I went off to bed filled with the gloomie=
st
forbodings. What a fool I had been not to insist that whatever expert
accompanied Higgs should be a married man. And yet, now when I came to thin=
k of
it, that might not have bettered matters, and perhaps would only have added=
to
the transaction a degree of moral turpitude which at present was lacking, s=
ince
even married men are sometimes weak.
The truth was that
Maqueda's attractions were extraordinarily great. To her remarkable beauty =
she
added a wonderful charm of manner and force of mind. Also her situation must
touch the heart and pity of any man, so helpless was she in the midst of all
her hollow grandeur, so lonely amongst a nation of curs whom she strove in =
vain
to save, and should she escape destruction with them, doomed to so sad and
repulsive a fate, namely to become the wife of a fat poltroon who was her o=
wn
uncle. Well, we know to what emotion pity is akin, and the catastrophe had
occurred a little sooner than I had expected, that was all.
Doubtless to her,=
in
comparison with the men to whom she was accustomed and allowed by etiquette=
to
take as her associates, this brave and handsome young Englishman, who had c=
ome
into her care sick and shattered after the doing of a great deed, must have
seemed a veritable fairy prince. And she had helped to nurse him, and he had
shown himself grateful for her kindness and condescension, and--the rest
followed, as surely as the day follows the night.
But how would it =
end?
Sooner or later the secret must come out, for already the Abati nobles, if I
may call them so for want of a better name, and especially Joshua, were
bitterly jealous of the favour their lady showed to the foreigner, and watc=
hed
them both. Then what--what would happen? Under the Abati law it was death f=
or
any one outside of the permitted degree of relationship to tamper with the
affections of the Child of Kings. Nor was this wonderful, since that person
held her seat in virtue of her supposed direct descent from Solomon and the
first Maqueda, Queen of Sheba, and therefore the introduction of any alien =
blood
could not be tolerated.
Moreover, Orme,
having sworn an oath of allegiance, had become subject to those laws. Lastl=
y, I
could not in the least hope from the character of the pair concerned that t=
his
was but a passing flirtation.
Oh! without a dou=
bt
these two had signed their own death-warrant yonder in the Cave of Death, a=
nd
incidentally ours also. This must be the end of our adventure and my long
search for the son whom I had lost.
CHAPTER XI - THE RESCUE F=
AILS
Our breakfast on = the following morning was a somewhat gloomy meal. By common consent no allusion= was made to the events of the previous day, or to our conversation at bedtime.<= o:p>
Indeed, there was= no talk at all to speak of, since, not knowing what else to do, I thought I co= uld best show my attitude of mind by preserving a severe silence, while Quick seemed to be absorbed in philosophical reflections, and Orme looked rather excited and dishevelled, as though he had been writing poetry, as I daresay= was the case. In the midst of this dreary meal a messenger arrived, who announc= ed that the Walda Nagasta would be pleased to see us all within half-an-hour.<= o:p>
Fearing lest Orme
should say something foolish, I answered briefly that we would wait upon he=
r,
and the man went, leaving us wondering what had happened to cause her to de=
sire
our presence.
At the appointed =
time
we were shown into the small audience room, and, as we passed its door, I
ventured to whisper to Oliver:
"For your own
sake and hers, as well as that of the rest of us, I implore you to be caref=
ul.
Your face is watched as well as your words."
"All right, =
old
fellow," he answered, colouring a little. "You may trust me."=
;
"I wish I
could," I muttered.
Then we were show=
n in
ceremoniously, and made our bows to Maqueda, who was seated, surrounded by =
some
of the judges and officers, among them, Prince Joshua, and talking to two
rough-looking men clad in ordinary brown robes. She greeted us, and after t=
he
exchange of the usual compliments, said:
"Friends, I =
have
summoned you for this reason. This morning when the traitor Shadrach was be=
ing
led out to execution at the hands of these men, the officers of the law, he
begged for a delay. When asked why, as his petition for reprieve had been
refused, he said that if his life was spared he could show how your compani=
on,
he whom they call Black Windows, may be rescued from the Fung."
"How?"
asked Orme and I in one breath.
"I do not
know," she answered, "but wisely they spared the man. Let him be
brought in."
A door opened, and
Shadrach entered, his hands bound behind his back and shackles on his feet.=
He
was a very fearful and much chastened Shadrach, for his eyes rolled and his
teeth chattered with terror, as, having prostrated himself to the Walda
Nagasta, he wriggled round and tried to kiss Orme's boot. The guards pulled=
him
to his feet again, and Maqueda said:
"What have y=
ou
to tell us, traitor, before you die?"
"The thing is
secret, O Bud of the Rose. Must I speak before so many?"
"Nay," =
she
answered, and ordered most of those present to leave the room, including the
executioners and soldiers.
"The man is
desperate, and there will be none left to guard him," said Joshua
nervously.
"I'll do tha=
t,
your Highness," answered Quick in his bad Arabic, and stepping up behi=
nd
Shadrach he added in English, "Now then, Pussy, you behave, or it will=
be
the worse for you."
When all had gone
again Shadrach was commanded to speak and say how he could save the English=
man
whom he had betrayed into the hands of the Fung.
"Thus, Child=
of
Kings," he answered, "Black Windows, as we know, is imprisoned in=
the
body of the great idol."
"How do you =
know
it, man?"
"O Lady, I do
know it, and also the Sultan said so, did he not? Well, I can show a secret
road to that idol whence he may be reached and rescued. In my boyhood I, wh=
o am
called Cat, because I can climb so well, found that road, and when the Fung
took me afterward and threw me to the lions, where I got these scars upon my
face, by it I escaped. Spare me, and I will show it to you."
"It is not
enough to show the road," said Maqueda. "Dog, you must save the
foreign lord whom you betrayed. If you do not save him you die. Do you
understand?"
"That is a h=
ard
saying, Lady," answered the man. "Am I God that I should promise =
to
save this stranger who perchance is already dead? Yet I will do my best,
knowing that if I fail you will kill me, and that if I succeed I shall be
spared. At any rate, I will show you the road to where he is or was impriso=
ned,
although I warn you that it is a rough one."
"Where you c=
an
travel we can follow," said Maqueda. "Tell us now what we must
do."
So he told her, a=
nd
when he had done the Prince Joshua intervened, saying that it was not fitti=
ng
that the Child of Kings in her own sacred person should undertake such a
dangerous journey. She listened to his remonstrances and thanked him for his
care of her.
"Still I am
going," she said, "not for the sake of the stranger who is called
Black Windows, but because, if there is a secret way out of Mur I think it =
well
that I should know that way. Yet I agree with you, my uncle, that on such a
journey I ought not to be unprotected, and therefore I pray that you will be
ready to start with us at noon, since I am sure that then we shall all be
safe."
Now Joshua began =
to
make excuses, but she would not listen to them.
"No, no,&quo=
t;
she said, "you are too honest. The honour of the Abati is involved in =
this
manner, since, alas! it was an Abati that betrayed Black Windows, and an
Abati--namely, yourself--must save him. You have often told me, my uncle, h=
ow
clever you are at climbing rocks, and now you shall make proof of your skill
and courage before these foreigners. It is a command, speak no more," =
and
she rose, to show that the audience was finished.
That same afterno=
on
Shadrach, by mountain paths that were known to him, led a little company of
people to the crest of the western precipice of Mur. Fifteen hundred feet or
more beneath us lay the great plains upon which, some miles away, could be =
seen
the city of Harmac. But the idol in the valley we could not see, because he=
re
the precipice bent over and hid it from our sight.
"What now,
fellow," said Maqueda, who was clad in the rough sheepskin of a peasant
woman, which somehow looked charming upon her. "Here is the cliff, the=
re
lies the plain; I see no road between the two, and my wise uncle, the princ=
e,
tells me that he never heard of one."
"Lady,"
answered the man, "now I take command, and you must follow me. But fir=
st
let us see that nobody and nothing are lacking."
Then he went round
the company and numbered them. In all we were sixteen; Maqueda and Joshua, =
we
three Englishmen, armed with repeating rifles and revolvers, our guide
Shadrach, and some picked Mountaineers chosen for their skill and courage. =
For
even in Mur there were brave men left, especially among the shepherds and
huntsmen, whose homes were on the cliffs. These sturdy guides were laden wi=
th
ropes, lamps, and long, slender ladders that could be strapped together.
When everything h=
ad
been checked and all the ladders and straps tested, Shadrach went to a clum=
p of
bushes which grew feebly on the wind-swept crest of the precipice. In the m=
idst
of these he found and removed a large flat stone, revealing what evidently =
had
been the head of a stair, although now its steps were much worn and crumble=
d by
the water that in the wet season followed this natural drain to the depths
below.
"This is that
road the ancients made for purposes of their own," explained Shadrach,
"which, as I have said, I chanced to discover when I was a boy. But let
none follow it who are afraid, for it is steep and rough."
Now Joshua, who w=
as
already weary with his long ride and walk up to the crest of the precipice,
implored Maqueda almost passionately to abandon the idea of entering this
horrid hole, while Oliver backed up his entreaties with few words but many
appealing glances, for on this point, though for different reasons, the pri=
nce
and he were at one.
But she would not
listen.
"My uncle,&q=
uot;
she said, "with you, the experienced mountaineer, why should I be afra=
id?
If the Doctor here, who is old enough to be the father of either of us"
(so far as Joshua was concerned this remark lacked truth), "is willing=
to
go, surely I can go also? Moreover, if I remained behind, you would wish to
stay to guard me, and never should I forgive myself if I deprived you of su=
ch a
great adventure. Also, like you, I love climbing. Come, let us waste no more
time."
So we were roped =
up.
First went Shadrach, with Quick next to him, a position which the Sergeant
insisted upon occupying as his custodian, and several of the Mountaineers,
carrying ladders, lamps, oil, food and other things. Then in a second gang =
came
two more of these men, Oliver, Maqueda, myself, and next to me, Joshua. The
remaining mountaineers brought up the rear, carrying spare stores, ladders,=
and
so forth. When all was ready the lamps were lit, and we started upon a very
strange journey.
For the first two
hundred feet or so the stairs, though worn and almost perpendicular, for the
place was like the shaft of a mine, were not difficult to descend, to any o=
f us
except Joshua, whom I heard puffing and groaning behind me. Then came a gal=
lery
running eastward at a steep slope for perhaps fifty paces, and at the end o=
f it
a second shaft of about the same depth as the first, but with the stairs mu=
ch
more worn, apparently by the washing of water, of which a good deal trickled
out of the sides of the shaft. Another difficulty was that the air rushing =
up from
below made it hard to keep the lamps alight.
Toward the bottom=
of
this section there was scarcely any stair left, and the climbing became very
dangerous. Here, indeed, Joshua slipped, and with a wail of terror slid down
the shaft and landed with his legs across my back in such a fashion that ha=
d I
not happened to have good hand and foot hold at the time, he would have
propelled me on to Maqueda, and we must have all rolled down headlong, prob=
ably
to our deaths.
As it was, this f=
at
and terrified fellow cast his arms about my neck, to which he clung, nearly
choking me, until, just when I was about to faint beneath his weight and
pressure, the Mountaineers in the third party arrived and dragged him off. =
When
they had got him in charge, for I refused to move another step while he was
immediately behind me, we descended by a ladder which the first party had s=
et
up, to the second level, where began another long, eastward sloping passage
that ended at the mouth of a third pit.
Here arose the gr=
eat
question as to what was to be done with the Prince Joshua, who vowed that he
could go no farther, and demanded loudly to be taken back to the top of the
cliff, although Shadrach assured him that thenceforward the road was much
easier. At length we were obliged to refer the matter to Maqueda, who settl=
ed
it in very few words.
"My uncle,&q=
uot;
she said, "you tell us that you cannot come on, and it is certain that=
we
cannot spare the time and men to send you back. Therefore, it seems that you
must stop where you are until we return, and if we should not return, make =
the
best of your own way up the shaft. Farewell, my uncle, this place is safe a=
nd
comfortable, and if you are wise you will rest awhile."
"Heartless
woman!" gobbled Joshua, who was shaking like a jelly with fear and rag=
e.
"Would you leave your affianced lord and lover alone in this haunted h=
ole
while you scramble down rocks like a wild cat with strangers? If I must sta=
y,
do you stay with me?"
"Certainly
not," replied Maqueda with decision. "Shall it be said that the C=
hild
of Kings is afraid to go where her guests can travel?"
Well, the end of =
it
was that Joshua came on in the centre of the third body of Mountaineers, who
were practically obliged to carry him.
Shadrach was righ=
t,
since for some reason or other the stairs thenceforward remained more perfe=
ct.
Only they seemed almost endless, and before we reached our goal I calculated
that we must have descended quite twelve hundred feet into the bowels of the
rock. At length, when I was almost tired out and Maqueda was so breathless =
that
she was obliged to lean on Oliver, dragging me behind her like a dog on a
string, of a sudden we saw a glimmer of daylight that crept into the tunnel
through a small hole. By the mouth of yet another pit or shaft, we found
Shadrach and the others waiting for us. Saluting, he said that we must unro=
pe, leave
our lamps behind, and follow him. Oliver asked him whither this last shaft =
led.
"To a still
lower level, lord," he answered, "but one which you will scarcely
care to explore, since it ends in the great pit where the Fung keep their
sacred lions."
"Indeed,&quo=
t;
said Oliver, much interested for reasons of his own, and he glanced at Quic=
k,
who nodded his head and whistled.
Then we all follo=
wed
Shadrach to find ourselves presently upon a plateau about the size of a rac=
quet
court which, either by nature or by the hand of man, had been recessed into=
the
face of that gigantic cliff. Going to the edge of this plateau, whereon grew
many tree-ferns and some thick green bushes that would have made us invisib=
le
from below even had there been any one to see us, we saw that the sheer
precipice ran down beneath for several hundred feet. Of these yawning depth=
s,
however, we did not at the moment make out much, partly because they were
plunged in shadow and partly for another reason.
Rising out of the
gulf below was what we took at first to be a rounded hill of black rock, ob=
long
in shape, from which projected a gigantic shaft of stone ending in a kind of
fretted bush that alone was of the size of a cottage. The point of this
bush-like rock was exactly opposite the little plateau on to which we had
emerged and distant from it not more than thirty, or at most, forty feet.
"What is
that?" asked Maqueda, of Shadrach, pointing in front of her, as she ha=
nded
back to one of the Mountaineers a cup from which she had been drinking wate=
r.
"That, O Wal=
da
Nagasta," he answered, "is nothing else than the back of the migh=
ty
idol of the Fung, which is shaped like a lion. The great shaft of rock with=
the
bush at the end of it is the tail of the lion. Doubtless this platform on w=
hich
we stand is a place whence the old priests, when they owned Mur as well as =
the
land of the Fung, used to hide themselves to watch whatever it was they wan=
ted
to see. Look," and he pointed to certain grooves in the face of the ro=
ck,
"I think that here there was once a bridge which could be let down at =
will
on to the tail of the lion-god, though long ago it has rotted away. Yet ere=
now
I have travelled this road without it."
We stared at him
astonished, and in the silence that followed I heard Maqueda whisper to Oli=
ver:
"Perhaps tha=
t is
how he whom we call Cat escaped from the Fung; or perhaps that is how he
communicates with them as a spy."
"Or perhaps =
he
is a liar, my Lady," interrupted Quick, who had also overheard their t=
alk,
a solution which, I confess, commended itself to me.
"Why have you
brought us here?" asked Maqueda presently.
"Did I not t=
ell
you in Mur, Lady--to rescue Black Windows? Listen, now, it is the custom of=
the
Fung to allow those who are imprisoned within the idol to walk unguarded up=
on
its back at dawn and sunset. At least, this is their custom with Black
Windows--ask me not how I know it; this is truth, I swear it on my life, wh=
ich
is at stake. Now this is my plan. We have with us a ladder which will reach
from where we stand to the tail of the idol. Should the foreign lord appear
upon the back of the god, which, if he still lives, as I believe he does, h=
e is
almost sure to do at sundown, as a man who dwells in the dark all day will =
love
the light and air when he can get them, then some of us must cross and brin=
g him
back with us. Perhaps it had best be you, my lord Orme, since if I went alo=
ne,
or even with these men, after what is past Black Windows might not altogeth=
er
trust me."
"Fool,"
broke in Maqueda, "how can a man do such a thing?"
"O Lady, it =
is
not so difficult as it looks. A few steps across the gulf, and then a hundr=
ed
feet or so along the tail of the lion which is flat on the top and so broad
that one may run down it if careful to follow the curves, that is on a still
day--nothing more. But, of course, if the Lord Orme is afraid, which I did =
not
think who have heard so much of his courage----" and the rogue shrugged
his shoulders and paused.
"Afraid,
fellow," said Oliver, "well, I am not ashamed to be afraid of suc=
h a
journey. Yet if there is need I will make it, though not before I see my
brother alone yonder on the rock, since all this may be but a trick of your=
s to
deliver me to the Fung, among whom I know that you have friends."
"It is madne=
ss;
you shall not go," said Maqueda. "You will fall and be dashed to
pieces. I say that you shall not go."
"Why should =
he
not go, my niece?" interrupted Joshua. "Shadrach is right; we have
heard much of the courage of this Gentile. Now let us see him do
something."
She turned on the
Prince like a tiger.
"Very good, =
my
uncle, then you shall go with him. Surely one of the ancient blood of the A=
bati
will not shirk from what a 'Gentile' dares."
On hearing this
Joshua relapsed into silence, and I have no clear memory of what he did or =
said
in connection with the rest of that thrilling scene.
Now followed a pa=
use
in the midst of which Oliver sat down and began to take off his boots.
"Why do you
undress yourself, friend?" asked Maqueda nervously.
"Because,
Lady," he answered, "if I have to walk yonder road it is safer to=
do
so in my stockings. Have no fear," he added gently, "from boyhood=
I
have been accustomed to such feats, and when I served in my country's army =
it
was my pleasure to give instruction in them, although it is true that this =
one
surpasses all that ever I attempted."
"Still I do
fear," she said.
Meanwhile Quick h=
ad
sat down and begun to take off his boots.
"What are you
doing, Sergeant?" I asked.
"Getting rea=
dy
to accompany the Captain upon forlorn hope, Doctor."
"Nonsense,&q=
uot;
I said, "you are too old for the game, Sergeant. If any one goes, I
should, seeing that I believe my son is over there, but I can't try it, as I
know my head would give out, and I should fall in a second, which would only
upset everybody."
"Of
course," broke in Oliver, who had overheard us, "I'm in command h=
ere,
and my orders are that neither of you shall come. Remember, Sergeant, that =
if
anything happens to me it is your business to take over the stores and use =
them
if necessary, which you alone can do. Now go and see to the preparations, a=
nd
find out the plan of campaign, for I want to rest and keep quiet. I daresay=
the
whole thing is humbug, and we shall see nothing of the Professor; still, one
may as well be prepared."
So Quick and I we=
nt
to superintend the lashing of two of the light ladders together and the
securing of some planks which we had brought with us upon the top of the ru=
ngs,
so as to make these ladders easy to walk on. I asked who would be of the pa=
rty
besides Shadrach and Orme, and was told no one, as all were afraid. Ultimat=
ely,
however, a man named Japhet, one of the Mountaineers, volunteered upon being
promised a grant of land from the Child of Kings herself, which grant she p=
roclaimed
before them all was to be given to his relatives in the event of his death.=
At length everyth=
ing
was ready, and there came another spell of silence, for the nerves of all o=
f us
were so strained that we did not seem able to talk. It was broken by a soun=
d of
sudden and terrible roaring that arose from the gulf beneath.
"It is the h=
our
of the feeding of the sacred lions which the Fung keep in the pit about the
base of the idol," explained Shadrach. Then he added, "Unless he
should be rescued, I believe that Black Windows will be given to the lions
to-night, which is that of full moon and a festival of Harmac, though maybe=
he
will be kept till the next full moon when all the Fung come up to
worship."
This information =
did
not tend to raise anyone's spirits, although Quick, who always tried to be
cheerful, remarked that it was probably false.
The shadows began=
to
gather in the Valley of Harmac, whereby we knew that the sun was setting be=
hind
the mountains. Indeed, had it not been for a clear and curious glow reflect=
ed
from the eastern sky, the gulf would have plunged us in gloom. Presently, f=
ar
away upon a rise of rock which we knew must be the sphinx head of the huge
idol, a little figure appeared outlined against the sky, and there began to=
sing.
The moment that I heard the distant voice I went near to fainting, and inde=
ed should
have fallen had not Quick caught me.
"What is it,
Adams?" asked Oliver, looking up from where he and Maqueda sat whisper=
ing
to each other while the fat Joshua glowered at them in the background.
"Has Higgs appeared?"
"No," I
answered, "but, thank God, my son still lives. That is his voice. Oh! =
if
you can, save him, too."
Now there was much
suppressed excitement, and some one thrust a pair of field-glasses into my =
hand,
but either they were wrongly set or the state of my nerves would not allow =
me
to see through them. So Quick took them and reported.
"Tall, slim
figure wearing a white robe, but at the distance in this light can't make o=
ut
the face. One might hail him, perhaps, only it would give us away. Ah! the =
hymn
is done and he's gone; seemed to jump into a hole in the rock, which shows =
that
he's all right, anyway, or he couldn't jump. So cheer up, Doctor, for you h=
ave
much to be thankful for."
"Yes," I
repeated after him, "much to be thankful for, but still I would that I=
had
more after all these years to search. To think that I should be so close to=
him
and he know nothing of it."
After the ceasing=
of
the song and the departure of my son, there appeared upon the back of the i=
dol
three Fung warriors, fine fellows clad in long robes and armed with spears,=
and
behind them a trumpeter who carried a horn or hollowed elephant's tusk. The=
se
men marched up and down the length of the platform from the rise of the nec=
k to
the root of the tail, apparently to make an inspection. Having found nothin=
g,
for, of course, they could not see us hidden behind the bushes on our littl=
e plateau,
of which no doubt they did not even know the existence, and much less that =
it
was connected with the mountain plain of Mur, the trumpeter blew a shrill b=
last
upon his horn, and before the echoes of it had died away, vanished with his
companions.
"Sunset tour=
of
inspection. Seen the same kind of thing as at Gib.," said the Sergeant.
"Oh! by Jingo! Pussy isn't lying after all--there he is," and he
pointed to a figure that rose suddenly out of the black stone of the idol's
back just as the guards had done.
It was Higgs, Hig=
gs
without a doubt; Higgs wearing his battered sun-helmet and his dark spectac=
les;
Higgs smoking his big meerschaum pipe, and engaged in making notes in a
pocket-book as calmly as though he sat before a new object in the British
Museum.
I gasped with
astonishment, for somehow I had never expected that we should really see hi=
m,
but Orme, rising very quietly from his seat beside Maqueda, only said:
"Yes, that's=
the
old fellow right enough. Well, now for it. You, Shadrach, run out your ladd=
er
and cross first that I may be sure you play no trick."
"Nay,"
broke in Maqueda, "this dog shall not go, for never would he return fr=
om
his friends the Fung. Man," she said, addressing Japhet, the Mountaine=
er
to whom she had promised land, "go you over first and hold the end of =
the
ladder while this lord crosses. If he returns safe your reward is
doubled."
Japhet saluted, t=
he
ladder was run out and its end set upon the roughnesses in the rock that
represented the hair of the sphinx's tail. The Mountaineer paused a moment =
with
hands and face uplifted; evidently he was praying. Then bidding his compani=
ons
hold the hither end of the ladder, and having first tested it with his foot=
and
found that it hung firm, calmly he walked across, being a brave fellow, and
presently was seen seated on the opposing mass of rock.
Now came Oliver's
turn. He nodded to Maqueda, who went white as a sheet, muttering some words=
to
her that did not reach me. Then he turned and shook my hand.
"If you can,
save my son also," I whispered.
"I'll do my =
best
if I can get hold of him," he answered. "Sergeant, if anything ha=
ppens
to me you know your duty."
"I'll try and
follow your example, Captain, under all circumstances, though that will be
hard," replied Quick in a rather shaky voice.
Oliver stepped ou=
t on
the ladder. I reckoned that twelve or fourteen short paces would take him
across, and the first half of these he accomplished with quiet certainty. W=
hen
he was in the exact middle of the passage, however, the end of one of the
uprights of the ladder at the farther side slipped a little, notwithstanding
the efforts of Japhet to keep it straight, with the result that the plank b=
ound
on the rungs lost its level, sinking an inch or so to the right, and nearly
causing Oliver to fall from it into the gulf. He wavered like a wind-shaken=
reed,
attempted to step forward, hesitated, stopped, and slowly sank on to his ha=
nds
and knees.
"Ah!"
panted Maqueda.
"The Gentile=
has
lost his head," began Joshua in a voice full of the triumph that he co=
uld
not hide. "He--will----"
Joshua got no
further, for Quick, turning, threatened him savagely with his fist, saying =
in
English:
"Stow your j=
aw
if you don't want to follow him, you swine," whereon Joshua, who
understood the gesture, if not the words, relapsed into silence.
Now the Mountaine=
er
on the farther side spoke, saying:
"Have no fea=
r,
the ladder is safe."
For a moment Oliv=
er
remained in his crouching posture on the board, which was all that separated
him from an awful death in the gulf beneath. Next, while we watched, agoniz=
ed,
he rose to his feet again, and with perfect calmness walked across to its o=
ther
end.
"Well done o=
ur
side!" said Quick, addressing Joshua, "why don't your Royal Highn=
ess
cheer? No, you leave that knife alone, or presently there'll be a hog the l=
ess
in this world," and stooping down he relieved the Prince of the weapon
which he was fingering with his round eyes fixed upon the Sergeant.
Maqueda, who had
noted all, now interfered.
"My uncle,&q=
uot;
she said, "brave men are risking their lives yonder while we sit in
safety. Be silent and cease from quarrelling, I pray you."
Next moment we had
forgotten all about Joshua, being utterly absorbed in watching the drama in
progress upon the farther side of the gulf. After a slight pause to recover=
his
nerve or breath, Orme rose, and preceded by Japhet, climbed up the bush-like
rock till he reached the shaft of the sphinx's tail. Here he turned and wav=
ed
his hand to us, then following the Mountaineer, walked, apparently with the
utmost confidence, along the curves of the tail to where it sprang from the=
body
of the idol. At this spot there was a little difficulty in climbing over the
smooth slope of rock on to the broad terrace-like back. Soon, however, they
surmounted it, and vanishing for a few seconds into the hollow of the loins,
which, of course, was a good many feet deep, re-appeared moving toward the
shoulders. Between these we could see Higgs standing with his back toward u=
s,
utterly unconscious of all that was passing behind him.
Passing Japhet,
Oliver walked up to the Professor and touched him on the arm. Higgs turned,=
stared
at the pair for a moment, and then, in his astonishment, or so we guessed, =
sat
down plump upon the rock. They pulled him to his feet, Orme pointing to the
cliff behind, and evidently explaining the situation and what must be done.
Then followed a short and animated talk. Through the glasses we could even =
see
Higgs shaking his head. He told them something, they came to a determinatio=
n,
for now he turned, stepped forward a pace or two, and vanished, as I learnt=
afterwards,
to fetch my son, without whom he would not try to escape.
A while went by; =
it
seemed an age, but really was under a minute. We heard the sound of shouts.
Higgs's white helmet reappeared, and then his body, with two Fung guards
clinging on to him. He yelled out in English and the words reached us faint=
ly:
"Save yourse=
lf!
I'll hold these devils. Run, you infernal fool, run!"
Oliver hesitated,
although the Mountaineer was pulling at him, till the heads of more Fung
appeared. Then, with a gesture of despair, he turned and fled. First ran
Oliver, then Japhet, whom he had outpaced, and after them came a number of
priests or guards, waving knives, while in the background Higgs rolled on t=
he
rock with his captors.
The rest was very
short. Orme slid down the rump of the idol on to the tail, followed by the
Mountaineer, and after them in single file came three Fung, who apparently
thought no more of the perilous nature of their foothold than do the sheiks=
of
the Egyptian pyramids when they swarm about those monuments like lizards. N=
or,
for the matter of that, did Oliver or Japhet, who doubled down the tail as
though it were a race track. Oliver swung himself on to the ladder, and in a
second was half across it, we holding its other end, when suddenly he heard=
his
companion cry out. A Fung had got hold of Japhet by the leg and he lay face
downward on the board.
Oliver halted and
slowly turned round, drawing his revolver as he did so. Then he aimed and
fired, and the Fung, leaving go of Japhet's leg, threw up his arms and plun=
ged
headlong into the gulf beneath. The next thing I remember is that they were
both among us, and somebody shouted, "Pull in the ladder."
"No," s=
aid
Quick, "wait a bit."
Vaguely I wondered
why, till I perceived that three of those courageous Fung were following ac=
ross
it, resting their hands upon each other's shoulders, while their companions
cheered them.
"Now, pull,
brothers, pull!" shouted the Sergeant, and pull we did. Poor Fung! they
deserved a better fate.
"Always infl=
ict
loss upon the enemy when you get a chance," remarked the Sergeant, as =
he
opened fire with his repeating rifle upon other Fung who by now were cluste=
ring
upon the back of the idol. This position, however, they soon abandoned as
untenable, except one or two of them who remained there, dead or wounded.
A silence followe=
d,
in the midst of which I heard Quick saying to Joshua in his very worst Arab=
ic:
"Now does yo=
ur
Royal Highness think that we Gentiles are cowards, although it is true those
Fung are as good men as we any day?"
Joshua declined
argument, and I turned to watch Oliver, who had covered his face with his
hands, and seemed to be weeping.
"What is it,=
O
friend, what is it?" I heard Maqueda say in her gentle voice--a voice =
full
of tears, tears of gratitude I think. "You have done a great deed; you
have returned safe; all is well."
"Nay," =
he
answered, forgetting her titles in his distress, "all is ill. I have
failed, and to-night they throw my brother to the lions. He told me so.&quo=
t;
Maqueda, finding =
no
answer, stretched out her hand to the Mountaineer, his companion in adventu=
re,
who kissed it.
"Japhet,&quo=
t;
she said, "I am proud of you; your reward is fourfold, and henceforth =
you
are a captain of my Mountaineers."
"Tell us what
happened," I said to Oliver.
"This,"=
he
answered: "I remembered about your son, and so did Higgs. In fact, he
spoke of him first--they seem to have become friends. He said he would not
escape without him, and could fetch him in a moment, as he was only just be=
low.
Well, he went to do so, and must have found the guard instead, who, I suppo=
se,
had heard us talking. You know as much about the rest as I do. To-night, wh=
en
the full moon is two hours high, there is to be a ceremony of sacrifice, and
poor Higgs will be let down into the den of lions. He was writing his will =
in a
note-book when we saw him, as Barung had promised to send it to us."
"Doctor,&quo=
t;
said the Sergeant, in a confidential voice, when he had digested this
information, "would you translate for me a bit, as I want to have a ta=
lk
with Cat there, and my Arabic don't run to it?"
I nodded, and we =
went
to that corner of the plateau where Shadrach stood apart, watching and
listening.
"Now, Cat,&q=
uot;
said the Sergeant (I give his remarks in his own language, leaving out my
rendering) "just listen to me, and understand that if you tell lies or
play games either you or I don't reach the top of this cliff again alive. Do
you catch on?"
Shadrach replied =
that
he caught on.
"Very well.
You've told us that once you were a prisoner among the Fung and thrown to t=
hese
holy lions, but got out. Now just explain what happened."
"This, O Qui=
ck.
After ceremonies that do not matter, I was let down in the food-basket into=
the
feeding-den, and thrown out of the basket like any other meat. Then the gat=
es
were lifted up by the chains, and the lions came in to devour me according =
to
their custom."
"And what
happened next, Shadrach?"
"What happen=
ed?
Why, of course I hid myself in the shadow as much as possible, right against
the walls of the precipice, until a satan of a she-lion snuffled me out and
gave a stroke at me. Look, here are the marks of her claws," and he
pointed to the scars upon his face. "Those claws stung like scorpions;
they made me mad. The terror which I had lost when I saw their yellow eyes =
came
back to me. I rushed at the precipice as a cat that is hunted by a dog rush=
es
at a wall. I clung to its smooth side with my nails, with my toes, with my
teeth. A lion leaped up and tore the flesh of my leg, here, here," and=
he
showed the marks, which we could scarcely see in that dim light. "He r=
an
back for another spring. Above me I saw a tiny ledge, big enough for a hawk=
to sit
on--no more. I jumped, I caught it, drawing up my legs so that the lion mis=
sed
me. I made the effort a man makes once in his life. Somehow I dragged mysel=
f to
that ledge; I rested one thigh upon it and pressed against the rock to stea=
dy
myself. Then the rock gave, and I tumbled backward into the bottom of a tun=
nel.
Afterwards I escaped to the top of the cliff in the dark, O God of Israel! =
in
the dark, smelling my way, climbing like a baboon, risking death a thousand
times. It took me two whole days and nights, and the last of those nights I
knew not what I did. Yet I found my way, and that is why my people name me
Cat."
"I
understand," said Quick in a new and more respectful voice, "and =
however
big a rascal you may be, you've got pluck. Now, say, remembering what I told
you," and he tapped the handle of his revolver, "is that feeding-=
den
where it used to be?"
"I believe s=
o, O
Quick; why should it be changed? The victims are let down from the belly of=
the
god, just there between his thighs where are doors. The feeding-place lies =
in a
hollow of the cliff; this platform on which we stand is over it. None saw my
escape, therefore none searched for the means of it, since they thought that
the lions had devoured me, as they have devoured thousands. No one enters
there, only when the beasts have fed full they draw back to their
sleeping-dens, and those who watch above let down the bars. Listen," a=
nd
as he spoke we heard a crash and a rattle far below. "They fall now, t=
he
lions having eaten. When Black Windows and perhaps others are thrown to the=
m,
by and by, they will be drawn up again."
"Is that hol=
e in
the rock still there, Shadrach?"
"Without dou=
bt,
though I have not been down to look."
"Then, my bo=
y,
you are going now," remarked Quick grimly.
CHAPTER XII - THE DEN OF
LIONS
We returned to the
others and told them everything that we had learned from Shadrach.
"What's your
plan, Sergeant?" asked Oliver when he had heard. "Tell me, for I =
have
none; my head is muddled."
"This, Capta=
in,
for what it is worth; that I should go down through the hole that Cat here
speaks of, and get into the den. Then when they let down the Professor, if =
they
do, and pull up the gates, that I should keep back the lions with my rifle
while he bolts to the ladder which is ready for him, and I follow if I
can."
"Capital,&qu=
ot;
said Orme, "but you can't go alone. I'll come too."
"And I
also," I said.
"What scheme=
s do
you make?" asked Maqueda eagerly, for, of course, she could not unders=
tand
our talk.
We explained.
"What, my
friend," she said to Oliver reproachfully, "would you risk your l=
ife
again to-night? Surely it is tempting the goodness of God."
"It would be
tempting the goodness of God much more if I left my friend to be eaten by
lions, Lady," he answered.
Then followed much
discussions. In the end it was agreed that we should descend to the level of
the den, if this were possible; that Oliver and Quick should go down into t=
he
den with Japhet, who instantly volunteered to accompany them, and that I, w=
ith
some of the Mountaineers, should stop in the mouth of the hole as a reserve=
to
cover their retreat from the lions. I pleaded to be allowed to take a more
active part, but of this they would not hear, saying with some truth, that I
was by far the best shot of the three, and could do much more to help them =
from
above, if, as was hoped, the moon should shine brightly.
But I knew they
really meant that I was too old to be of service in such an adventure as th=
is.
Also they desired to keep me out of risk.
Then came the
question as to who should descend the last tunnel to the place of operation=
s.
Oliver wished Maqueda to return to the top of the cliff and wait there, but=
she
said at once that she could not think of attempting the ascent without our =
aid;
also that she was determined to see the end of the matter. Even Joshua would
not go; I think, that being an unpopular character among them, he distrusted
the Mountaineers, whose duty it would have been to escort him.
It was suggested =
that
he should remain where he was until we returned, if we did return, but this
idea commended itself to him still less than the other. Indeed he pointed o=
ut
with much truth what we had overlooked, namely, that now the Fung knew of t=
he
passage and were quite capable of playing our own game, that is, of throwin=
g a
bridge across from the sphinx's tail and attempting the storm of Mur.
"And then wh=
at
should I do if they found me here alone?" he added pathetically.
Maqueda answered =
that
she was sure she did not know, but that meanwhile it might be wise to block=
the
mouth of the tunnel by which we had reached the plateau in such a fashion t=
hat
it could not easily be forced.
"Yes,"
answered Oliver, "and if we ever get out of this, to blow the shaft in=
and
make sure that it cannot be used."
"That shaft
might be useful, Captain," said Quick doubtfully.
"There is a
better way, Sergeant, if we want to mine under the sphinx; I mean through t=
he
Tomb of Kings. I took the levels roughly, and the end of it can't be far of=
f.
Anyhow, this shaft is of no more use to us now that the Fung have found it
out."
Then we set to wo=
rk
to fill in the mouth of the passage with such loose stones as we could find=
. It
was a difficult business, but in the end the Mountaineers made a very fair =
job
of it under our direction, piling the rocks in such a fashion that they cou=
ld
scarcely be cleared away in any short time without the aid of explosives.
While this work w=
as
going on, Japhet, Shadrach, and the Sergeant in charge of him, undertook to
explore the last shaft which led down to the level of the den. To our relie=
f,
just as we had finished building up the hole, they returned with the news t=
hat
now after they had removed a fallen stone or two it was quite practicable w=
ith
the aid of ropes and ladders.
So, in the same o=
rder
as before, we commenced its passage, and in about half-an-hour, for it was
under three hundred feet in depth, arrived safely at the foot. Here we foun=
d a
bat-haunted place like a room that evidently had been hollowed out by man. =
As
Shadrach had said, at its eastern extremity was a large, oblong boulder, so
balanced that if even one person pushed on either of its ends it swung arou=
nd,
leaving on each side a passage large enough to allow a man to walk through =
in a
crouching attitude.
Very silently we propped open this primæval door and looked out. Now the full moon was up, a= nd her brilliant light had begun to flood the gulf. By it we saw a dense shado= w, that reached from the ground to three hundred feet or so above us. This we = knew to be that thrown by the flanks of the gigantic sphinx which projected beyo= nd the mountain of stone whereon it rested, those flanks whence, according to Shadrach, Higgs would be lowered in a food-basket. In this shadow and on ei= ther side of it, covering a space of quite a hundred yards square, lay the feedi= ng-den, whence arose a sickly and horrible odour such as is common to any place frequented by cats, mingled with the more pungent smell of decaying flesh.<= o:p>
This darksome den=
was
surrounded on three sides by precipices, and on the fourth, that toward the
east, enclosed by a wall or barrier of rock pierced with several gates made=
of
bars of metal, or so we judged by the light that flowed through them.
From beyond this
eastern wall came dreadful sounds of roars, snarls, and whimperings. Eviden=
tly
there the sacred lions had their home.
Only one more thi=
ng
need be mentioned. On the rock floor almost immediately beneath us lay rema=
ins
which, from their torn clothes and hair, we knew must be human. As somebody
explained, I think it was Shadrach, they were those of the man whom Orme had
shot upon the tail of the sphinx, and of his companions who had been tilted=
off
the ladder.
For awhile we gaz=
ed
at this horrible hole in silence. Then Oliver took out his watch, which was=
a
repeater, and struck it.
"Higgs told
me," he said, "that he was to be thrown to the lions two hours af=
ter
moonrise, which is within fifteen minutes or so. Sergeant, I think we had
better be getting ready."
"Yes,
Captain," answered Quick; "but everything is quite ready, includi=
ng
those brutes, to judge by the noise they make, excepting perhaps Samuel Qui=
ck,
who never felt less ready for anything in his life. Now then, Pussy, run out
that ladder. Here's your rifle, Captain, and six reload clips of cartridges,
five hollow-nosed bullets in each. You'll never want more than that, and it=
's
no use carrying extra weight. In your right-hand pocket, Captain, don't for=
get.
I've the same in mine. Doctor, here's a pile for you; laid upon that stone.=
If
you lie there, you'll have a good light and rest for your elbow, and at this
range ought to make very pretty shooting, even in the moonlight. Best keep =
your
pistol on the safe, Captain; at least, I'm doing so, as we might get a fall,
and these new-fangled weapons are very hair-triggered. Here's Japhet ready,
too, so give us your marching orders, sir, and we will go to business; the
Doctor will translate to Japhet."
"We descend =
the
ladder," said Orme, "and advance about fifty paces into the shado=
w,
where we can see without being seen; where also, according to Shadrach, the
food-basket is let down. There we shall stand and await the arrival of this
basket. If it contains the Professor, he whom the Fung and the Abati know as
Black Windows, Japhet, you are to seize him and lead, or if necessary carry,
him to the ladder, up which some of the mountaineers must be ready to help =
him.
Your duty, Sergeant, and mine, also that of the Doctor firing from above, w=
ill
be to keep off the lions as best we can, should any lions appear, retreatin=
g as
we fire. If the brutes get one of us he must be left, since it is foolish t=
hat
both lives should be sacrificed needlessly. For the rest, you, Sergeant, and
you, Japhet, must be guided by circumstances and act upon your own discreti=
on.
Do not wait for special orders from me which I may not be able to give. Now,
come on. If we do not return, Adams, you will see the Child of Kings safely=
up
the shafts and conduct her to Mur. Good-bye, Lady."
"Good-bye,&q=
uot;
answered Maqueda in a brave voice; I could not see her face in the darkness.
"Presently, I am sure, you will return with your brother."
Just then Joshua
broke in:
"I will not =
be
outdone in courage by these Gentiles," he said. "Lacking their te=
rrible
weapons, I cannot advance into the den, but I will descend and guard the fo=
ot
of the ladder."
"Very well,
sir," answered Orme in an astonished voice, "glad to have your
company, I am sure. Only remember that you must be quick in going up it aga=
in,
since hungry lions are active, and let all take notice that we are not
responsible for anything that may happen to you."
"Surely you =
had
better stop where you are, my uncle," remarked Maqueda.
"To be mocke=
d by
you for ever after, my niece. No, I go to face the lions," and very sl=
owly
he crept through the hole and began to descend the ladder. Indeed, when Qui=
ck
followed after an interval he found him only half-way down, and had to hurry
his movements by accidentally treading on his fingers.
A minute or two
later, peeping over the edge, I saw that they were all in the den, that is,
except Joshua, who had reascended the ladder to the height of about six fee=
t,
and stood on it face outward, holding to the rock on either side with his h=
ands
as though he had been crucified. Fearing lest he should be seen there, even=
in
the shadow, I suggested to Maqueda that she should order him either to go d=
own,
or to return, which she did vigorously, but without effect. So in the end we
left him alone.
Meanwhile the thr=
ee had
vanished into the shadow of the sphinx, and we could see nothing of them. T=
he
great round moon rose higher and higher, flooding the rest of the charnel-h=
ouse
with light, and, save for an occasional roar or whimper from the lions beyo=
nd
the wall, the silence was intense. Now I could make out the metal gates in =
this
wall, and even dark and stealthy forms which passed and repassed beyond the=
ir
bars. Then I made out something else also, the figures of men gathering on =
the top
of the wall, though whence they came I knew not. By degrees their number
increased till there were hundreds of them, for the wall was broad as a
roadway.
Evidently these w=
ere
spectators, come to witness the ceremony of sacrifice.
"Prince,&quo=
t; I
whispered to Joshua, "you must get down off the ladder or you will bet=
ray
us all. Nay, it is too late to come up here again, for already the moonlight
strikes just above your head. Go down, or we will cast the ladder loose and=
let
you fall."
So he went down a=
nd
hid himself among some ferns and bushes where we saw no more of him for a
while, and, to tell the truth, forgot his existence.
Far, far above us,
from the back of the idol I suppose, came a faint sound of solemn chanting.=
It
sank, and we heard shouts. Then suddenly it swelled again. Now Maqueda, who
knelt near me, touched my arm and pointed to the shadow which gradually was
becoming infiltrated with the moonlight flowing into it from either side. I
looked, and high in the air, perhaps two hundred feet from the ground, saw
something dark descending slowly. Doubtless it was the basket containing Hi=
ggs,
and whether by coincidence or no, at this moment the lions on the farther s=
ide
of the wall burst into peal upon peal of terrific roaring. Perhaps their
sentries watching at the gate saw or smelt the familiar basket, and
communicated the intelligence to their fellows.
Slowly, slowly it
descended, till it was within a few feet of the ground, when it began to sw=
ay
backward and forward like a pendulum, at each swing covering a wider arc.
Presently, when it hung over the edge of the shadow that was nearest to us,=
it
was let down with a run and overset, and out of it, looking very small in t=
hose
vast surroundings and that mysterious light, rolled the figure of a man.
Although at that distance we could see little of him, accident assured us of
his identity, for as he rolled the hat he wore fell from him, and I knew it=
at
once for Higgs's sun-helmet. He rose from the ground, limped very slowly and
painfully after the helmet, picked it up, and proceeded to use it to dust h=
is
knees. At this moment there was a clanking sound.
"Oh! they li=
ft
the gates!" murmured Maqueda.
Then followed more
sounds, this time of wild beasts raging for their prey, and of other human
beasts shrieking with excitement on the wall above. The Professor turned and
saw. For a moment he seemed about to run, then changed his mind, clapped the
helmet on his head, folded his arms and stood still, reminding me in some
curious way, perhaps, because of the shortness of his thick figure, of a pi=
cture
I had seen of the great Napoleon contemplating a disaster.
To describe what
followed is extremely difficult, for we watched not one but several
simultaneous scenes. For instance, there were the lions, which did not beha=
ve
as might have been expected. I thought that they would rush through the doo=
rs
and bound upon the victim, but whether it was because they had already been=
fed
that afternoon or because they thought that a single human being was not wo=
rth
the trouble, they acted differently.
Through the open
gates they came, in two indolent yellow lines, male lions, female lions,
half-grown lions, cub lions that cuffed each other in play, in all perhaps
fifty or sixty of them. Of these only two or three looked towards the
Professor, for none of them ran or galloped, while the rest spread over the
den, some of them vanishing into the shadow at the edge of the surrounding
cliff where the moonlight could not reach.
Here one of them,=
at
any rate, must have travelled fast enough, for it seemed only a few seconds
later that we heard a terrific yell beneath us, and craning over the rock I=
saw
the Prince Joshua running up the ladder more swiftly than ever did any Lond=
on
lamplighter when I was a boy.
But quickly as he
came, the long, thin, sinuous thing beneath came quicker. It reared itself =
on
its hind legs, it stretched up a great paw--I can see the gleaming claws in=
it
now--and struck or hooked at poor Joshua. The paw caught him in the small of
the back, and seemed to pin him against the ladder. Then it was drawn slowly
downward, and heaven! how Joshua howled. Up came the other paw to repeat th=
e operation,
when, stretching myself outward and downward, with an Abati holding me by t=
he
ankles, I managed to shoot the beast through the head so that it fell all o=
f a
heap, taking with it a large portion of Joshua's nether garments.
A few seconds lat=
er
he was among us, and tumbled groaning into a corner, where he lay in charge=
of
some of the mountaineers, for I had no time to attend to him just then.
When the smoke cl=
eared
at length, I saw that Japhet had reached Higgs, and was gesticulating to hi=
m to
run, while two lions, a male and a female, stood at a little distance,
regarding the pair in an interested fashion. Higgs, after some brief words =
of
explanation, pointed to his knee. Evidently he was lamed and could not run.
Japhet, rising to the occasion, pointed to his back, and bent down. Higgs f=
lung
himself upon it, and was hitched up like a sack of flour. The pair began to
advance toward the ladder, Japhet carrying Higgs as one schoolboy carries a=
nother.
The lion sat down
like a great dog, watching this strange proceeding with mild interest, but =
the
lioness, filled with feminine curiosity, followed sniffing at Higgs, who lo=
oked
over his shoulder. Taking off his battered helmet, he threw it at the beast,
hitting her on the head. She growled, then seized the helmet, playing with =
it
for a moment as a kitten does with a ball of wool, and next instant, findin=
g it
unsatisfying, uttered a short and savage roar, ran forward, and crouched to
spring, lashing her tail. I could not fire, because a bullet that would hit=
her
must first pass through Japhet and Higgs.
But, just when I
thought that the end had come, a rifle went off in the shadow and she rolled
over, kicking and biting the rock. Thereon the indolent male lion seemed to
awake, and sprang, not at the men, but at the wounded lioness, and a hellish
fight ensued, of which the details and end were lost in a mist of dust and
flying hair.
The crowd upon the
wall, becoming alive to the real situation, began to scream in indignant
excitement which quickly communicated itself to the less savage beasts. The=
se
set up a terrible roaring, and ran about, keeping for the most part to the
shadows, while Japhet and his burden made slow but steady progress toward t=
he
ladder.
Then from the glo=
om
beneath the hind-quarters of the sphinx rose a sound of rapid firing, and
presently Orme and Quick emerged into the moonlight, followed by a number of
angry lions that advanced in short rushes. Evidently the pair had kept their
heads, and were acting on a plan.
One of them empti=
ed
his rifle at the pursuing beasts, while the other ran back a few paces,
thrusting in a fresh clip of cartridges as he went. Then he began to fire, =
and
his companion in turn retreated behind him. In this way they knocked over a
number of lions, for the range was too short for them to miss often, and the
expanding bullets did their work very well, paralyzing even when they did n=
ot
kill. I also opened fire over their heads, and, although in that uncertain
light the majority of my shots did no damage, the others disposed of severa=
l animals
which I saw were becoming dangerous.
So things went on
until all four, that is, Japhet with Higgs upon his back, and Orme and Quic=
k,
were within twenty paces of the ladder, although separated from each other =
by
perhaps half the length of a cricket pitch. We thought that they were safe,=
and
shouted in our joy, while the hundreds of spectators on the wall who
fortunately dared not descend into the den because of the lions, which are
undiscriminating beasts, yelled with rage at the imminent rescue of the
sacrifice.
Then of a sudden =
the
position changed. From every quarter fresh lions seemed to arrive, ringing =
the
men round and clearly bent on slaughter, although the shouting and the soun=
d of
firearms, which they had never heard before, frightened them and made them
cautious.
A half-grown cub
rushed in and knocked over Japhet and Higgs. I fired and hit it in the flan=
k.
It bit savagely at its wound, then sprang on to the prostrate pair, and sto=
od
over them growling, but in such pain that it forgot to kill them. The ring =
of
beasts closed in--we could see their yellow eyes glowing in the gloom. Orme=
and
Quick might have got through by the help of their rifles, but they could not
leave the others. The dreadful climax seemed at hand.
"Follow
me," said Maqueda, who all this while had watched panting at my side, =
and
rose to run to the ladder. I thrust her back.
"Nay," I
shouted. "Follow me, Abati! Shall a woman lead you?"
Of how I descended
that ladder I have no recollection, nor do I in the least know how the
Mountaineers came after me, but I think that the most of them rolled and
scrambled down the thirty feet of rock. At least, to their honour be it sai=
d,
they did come, yelling like demons and waving long knives in their hands.
The effect of our
sudden arrival from above was extraordinary. Scared by the rush and the noi=
se,
the lions gave way, then bolted in every direction, the wounded cub, which =
could
not, or would not move, being stabbed to death where it stood over Higgs and
Japhet.
Five minutes more=
and
all of us were safe in the mouth of the tunnel.
That was how we
rescued Higgs from the den of the sacred lions which guarded the idol of th=
e Fung.
CHAPTER XIII - THE ADVENT=
URES
OF HIGGS
A more weary and
dishevelled set of people than that which about the hour of dawn finally
emerged from the mouth of the ancient shaft on to the cliffs of Mur it has
seldom been my lot to behold. Yet with a single exception the party was a h=
appy
one, for we had come triumphant through great dangers, and actually effected
our object--the rescue of Higgs, which, under the circumstances most people
would have thought impossible. Yes, there he was in the flesh before us, ha=
ving
injured his knee and lost his hat, but otherwise quite sound save for a few
trifling scratches inflicted by the cub, and still wearing what the natives=
called
his "black windows."
Even the Prince
Joshua was happy, though wrapped in a piece of coarse sacking because the l=
ion
had taken most of his posterior clothing, and terribly sore from the deep c=
uts
left by the claws.
Had he not dared =
the
dangers of the den, and thus proved himself a hero whose fame would last for
generations? Had I not assured him that his honourable wounds, though painf=
ul
(as a matter of fact, after they had set, they kept him stiff as a mummy for
some days, so that unless he stood upon his feet, he had to be carried, or =
lie
rigid on his face) would probably not prove fatal? And had he not actually
survived to reach the upper air again, which was more than he ever expected=
to
do? No wonder that he was happy.
I alone could not
share in the general joy, since, although my friend was restored to me, my =
son
still remained a prisoner among the Fung. Yet even in this matter things mi=
ght
have been worse, since I learned that he was well treated, and in no danger.
But of that I will write presently.
Never shall I for=
get
the scene after the arrival of Higgs in our hole, when the swinging boulder=
had
been closed and made secure and the lamps lighted. There he sat on the floo=
r,
his red hair glowing like a torch, his clothes torn and bloody, his beard
ragged and stretching in a Newgate frill to his ears. Indeed, his whole
appearance, accentuated by the blue spectacles with wire gauze side-pieces,=
was
more disreputable than words can tell; moreover, he smelt horribly of lion.=
He
put his hand into his pocket, and produced his big pipe, which had remained=
unbroken
in its case.
"Some tobacc=
o,
please," he said. (Those were his first words to us!) "I have
finished mine, saved up the last to smoke just before they put me into that
stinking basket."
I gave him some, =
and
as he lit his pipe the light of the match fell upon the face of Maqueda, who
was staring at him with amused astonishment.
"What an
uncommonly pretty woman," he said. "What's she doing down here, a=
nd
who is she?"
I told him, where=
on
he rose, or rather tried to, felt for his hat, which, of course, had gone, =
with
the idea of taking it off, and instantly addressed her in his beautiful and
fluent Arabic, saying how glad he was to have this unexpected honour, and so
forth.
She congratulated=
him
on his escape, whereon his face grew serious.
"Yes, a nasty
business," he said, "as yet I can hardly remember whether my name=
is
Daniel, or Ptolemy Higgs." Then he turned to us and added, "Look
here, you fellows, if I don't thank you it isn't because I am not grateful,=
but
because I can't. The truth is, I'm a bit dazed. Your son is all right, Adam=
s;
he's a good fellow, and we grew great friends. Safe? Oh! yes, he's safe as a
church! Old Barung, he's the Sultan, and another good fellow, although he d=
id
throw me to the lions--because the priests made him--is very fond of him, a=
nd
is going to marry him to his daughter."
At this moment the
men announced that everything was ready for our ascent, and when I had atte=
nded
to Joshua with a heart made thankful by Higgs's news, we began that toilsome
business, and, as I have already said, at length accomplished it safely. But
even then our labours were not ended, since it was necessary to fill up the
mouth of the shaft so as to make it impossible that it should be used by the
Fung, who now knew of its existence.
Nor was this a
business that could be delayed, for as we passed the plateau whence Oliver =
and
Japhet had crossed to the sphinx, we heard the voices of men on the farther
side of the rough wall that we had built there. Evidently the priests, or i=
dol
guards, infuriated by the rescue of their victim, had already managed to br=
idge
the gulf and were contemplating assault, a knowledge which caused us to hur=
ry
our movements considerably. If they had got through before we passed them, =
our
fate would have been terrible, since at the best we must have slowly starve=
d in
the pit below.
Indeed, as soon a=
s we
reached the top and had blocked it temporarily, Quick, weary as he was, was
sent off on horseback, accompanied by Maqueda, Shadrach, now under the term=
s of
his contract once more a free man, and two Mountaineers, to gallop to the
palace of Mur, and fetch a supply of explosives. The rest of us, for Higgs
declined to leave, and we had no means of carrying Joshua, remained watching
the place, or rather the Abati watched while we slept with our rifles in ou=
r hands.
Before noon Quick returned, accompanied by many men with litters and all th=
ings
needful.
Then we pulled out
the stones, and Oliver, Japhet, and some others descended to the first level
and arranged blasting charges. Awhile after he reappeared with his companio=
ns,
looking somewhat pale and anxious, and shouted to us to get back. Following=
our
retreat to a certain distance, unwinding a wire as he came, presently he
stopped and pressed the button of a battery which he held in his hand. There
was a muffled explosion and a tremor of the soil like to that of an earthqu=
ake,
while from the mouth of the shaft stones leapt into the air.
It was over, and =
all
that could be noted was a sinkage in the ground where the ancient pit had b=
een.
"I am sorry =
for
them," said Oliver presently, "but it had to be done."
"Sorry for
whom?" I asked.
"For those F=
ung
priests or soldiers. The levels below are full of them, dead or alive. They
were pouring up at our heels. Well, no one will travel that road again.&quo=
t;
Later, in the gue= st house at Mur, Higgs told us his story. After his betrayal by Shadrach, whic= h, it appeared, was meant to include us all, for the Professor overheard the hurried talk between him and a Fung captain, he was seized and imprisoned in the body of the great sphinx, where many chambers and dungeons had been hollowed out by the primæval race that fashioned it. Here Barung the Sultan visited him and informed him of his meeting with the rest of us, to whom apparently he had taken a great liking, and also that we had refused to purchase a chance of his release at the price of being false to our trust.<= o:p>
"You know,&q=
uot;
said Higgs, "that when first I heard this I was very angry with you, a=
nd
thought you a set of beasts. But on considering things I saw the other side=
of
it, and that you were right, although I never could come to fancy the idea =
of
being sacrificed to a sphinx by being chucked like a piece of horse-flesh t=
o a
lot of holy lions. However, Barung, an excellent fellow in his way, assured=
me
that there was no road out of the matter without giving grave offence to the
priests, who are very powerful among the Fung, and bringing a fearful curse=
on
the nation.
"Meanwhile, =
he
made me as comfortable as he could. For instance, I was allowed to walk upon
the back of the idol, to associate with the priests, a suspicious and most
exclusive set, and to study their entire religious system, from which I hav=
e no
doubt that of Egypt was derived. Indeed, I have made a great discovery whic=
h,
if ever we get out of this, will carry my name down to all generations. The
forefathers of these Fung were undoubtedly also the forefathers of the
pre-dynastic Egyptians, as is shown by the similarity of their customs and
spiritual theories. Further, intercourse was kept up between the Fung, who =
then
had their headquarters here in Mur, and the Egyptians in the time of the
ancient empire, till the Twentieth Dynasty, indeed, if not later. My friend=
s,
in the dungeons in which I was confined there is an inscription, or, rather=
, a
graffite, made by a prisoner extradited to Mur by Rameses II., after twenty
years' residence in Egypt, which was written by him on the night before he =
was
thrown to the sacred lions, that even in those days were an established
institution. And I have got a copy of that inscription in my pocket-book. I
tell you," he added in a scream of triumph, "I've got a certified
copy of that inscription, thanks to Shadrach, on whose dirty head be
blessings!"
I congratulated h=
im
heartily upon this triumph, and before he proceeded to give us further
archæological details, asked him for some information about my boy.
"Oh," s=
aid
Higgs, "he is a very nice young man and extremely good looking. Indeed=
, I
am quite proud to have such a godson. He was much interested to hear that y=
ou
were hunting for him after so many years, quite touched indeed. He still ta=
lks
English, though with a Fung accent, and, of course, would like to escape.
Meanwhile, he is having a very good time, being chief singer to the god, for
his voice is really beautiful, an office which carries with it all sorts of
privileges. I told you, didn't I, that he is to be married to Barung's only
legitimate daughter on the night of the next full moon but one. The ceremon=
y is
to take place in Harmac City, and will be the greatest of its sort for gene=
rations,
a feast of the entire people in short. I should very much like to be presen=
t at
it, but being an intelligent young man he has promised to keep notes of
everything, which I hope may become available in due course."
"And is he
attached to this savage lady?" I asked dismayed.
"Attached? O=
h,
dear no, I think he said he had never seen her, and only knew that she was
rather plain and reported to possess a haughty temper. He is a philosophical
young man, however, as might be expected from one who has undergone so many
vicissitudes, and, therefore, takes things as they come, thanking heaven th=
at
they are no worse. You see, as the husband of the Sultan's daughter, unless=
the
pair quarrel very violently, he will be safe from the lions, and he could n=
ever
quite say as much before. But we didn't go into these domestic matters very
deeply as there were so many more important things to interest us both. He =
wanted
to know all about you and our plans, and naturally I wanted to know all abo=
ut
the Fung and the ritual and traditions connected with the worship of Harmac=
, so
that we were never dull for a single moment. In fact, I wish that we could =
have
had longer together, for we became excellent friends. But whatever happens,=
I
think that I have collected the cream of his information," and he tapp=
ed a
fat note-book in his hands, adding:
"What an awf=
ul
thing it would have been if a lion had eaten this. For myself it did not
matter; there may be many better Egyptologists, but I doubt if any one of t=
hem
will again have such opportunities of original research. However, I took ev=
ery
possible precaution to save my notes by leaving a copy of the most importan=
t of
them written with native ink upon sheepskin in charge of your son. Indeed, I
meant to leave the originals also, but fortunately forgot in the excitement=
of
my very hurried departure."
I agreed with him
that his chances had been unique and that he was a most lucky archæologist,=
and
presently he went on puffing at his pipe.
"Of course, =
when
Oliver turned up in that unexpected fashion on the back of the idol,
remembering your wishes and natural desire to recover your son, I did my be=
st
to rescue him also. But he wasn't in the room beneath, where I thought I sh=
ould
find him. The priests were there instead, and they had heard us talking abo=
ve,
and you know the rest. Well, as it happens, it didn't matter, though that
descent into the den of lions--there were two or three hundred feet of it, =
and
the rope seemed worn uncommonly thin with use--was a trying business to the=
nerves."
"What did you
think about all the time?" asked Oliver curiously.
"Think about=
? I
didn't think much, was in too great a fright. I just wondered whether St. P=
aul
had the same sensations when he was let down in a basket; wondered what the
early Christian martyrs felt like in the arena; wondered whether Barung, wi=
th
whom my parting was quite affectionate, would come in the morning and look =
for
me as Darius did for Daniel and how much he would find if he did; hoped tha=
t my
specs would give one of those brutes appendicitis, and so forth. My word! i=
t was
sickening, especially that kind of school-treat swing and bump at the end. I
never could bear swinging. Still, it was all for the best, as I shouldn't h=
ave
gone a yard along that sphinx's tail without tumbling off, tight-rope walki=
ng
not being in my line; and I'll tell you what, you are just the best three
fellows in the whole world. Don't you think I forget that because I haven't
said much. And now let's have your yarn, for I want to hear how things stan=
d,
which I never expected to do this side of Judgment-day."
So we told him al=
l,
while he listened open-mouthed. When we came to the description of the Tomb=
of
the Kings his excitement could scarcely be restrained.
"You haven't
touched them," he almost screamed; "don't say you have been vanda=
ls
enough to touch them, for every article must be catalogued in situ and draw=
ings
must be made. If possible, specimen groups with their surrounding offerings
should be moved so that they can be set up again in museums. Why, there's s=
ix
months' work before me, at least. And to think that if it hadn't been for y=
ou,
by now I should be in process of digestion by a lion, a stinking, mangy, sa=
cred
lion!"
Next morning I was
awakened by Higgs limping into my room in some weird sleeping-suit that he =
had
contrived with the help of Quick.
"I say, old
fellow," he said, "tell me some more about that girl, Walda Nagas=
ta.
What a sweet face she's got, and what pluck! Of course, such things ain't i=
n my
line, never looked at a woman these twenty years past, hard enough to remem=
ber
her next morning, but, by Jingo! the eyes of that one made me feel quite qu=
eer
here," and he hit the sleeping-suit somewhere in the middle, "tho=
ugh
perhaps it was only because she was such a contrast to the lions."
"Ptolemy,&qu=
ot;
I answered in a solemn voice, "let me tell you that she is more danger=
ous
to meddle with than any lion, and what's more, if you don't want to further
complicate matters with a flaming row, you had better keep to your old habi=
ts
and leave her eyes alone. I mean that Oliver is in love with her."
"Of course he
is. I never expected anything else, but what's that got to do with it? Why
shouldn't I be in love with her too? Though I admit," he added sadly,
contemplating his rotund form, "the chances are in his favour, especia=
lly
as he's got the start."
"They are,
Ptolemy, for she's in love with him," and I told him what we had seen =
in
the Tomb of Kings.
First he roared w=
ith
laughter, then on second thoughts grew exceedingly indignant.
"I call it
scandalous of Oliver, compromising us all in this way--the lucky dog! These
selfish, amorous adventures will let us in for no end of trouble. It is even
probably, Adams, that you and I may come to a miserable end, solely because=
of
this young man's erotic tendencies. Just fancy neglecting business in order=
to
run after a pretty, round-faced Jewess, that is if she is a Jewess, which I
doubt, as the blood must have got considerably mixed by now, and the first
Queen of Sheba, if she ever existed, was an Ethiopian. As a friend almost o=
ld enough
to be his father, I shall speak to him very seriously."
"All
right," I called after him as he hobbled off to take his bath, "o=
nly
if you are wise, you won't speak to Maqueda, for she might misinterpret your
motives if you go on staring at her as you did yesterday."
That morning I was
summoned to see the Prince Joshua and dress his wounds, which, although not=
of
a serious nature, were very painful. The moment that I entered the man's
presence I noticed a change in his face. Like the rest of us I had always s=
et
this fellow down as a mere poltroon and windbag, a blower of his own trumpe=
t,
as Oliver had called him. Now I got an insight into his real nature which
showed me that although he might be these things and worse, he was also a v=
ery
determined and dangerous person, animated by ambitions which he meant to
satisfy at all hazards.
When I had done w=
hat
I could for him and told him that in my opinion he had no ill results to fe=
ar
from his hurts, since the thick clothes he was wearing at the time had prob=
ably
cleaned the lion's paws of any poison that might have been on them, he said=
,
"Physician, I
desire private words with you."
I bowed, and he w=
ent
on:
"The Child of
Kings, hereditary ruler of this land, somewhat against the advice of her
Council, has thought fit to employ you and your Gentile companions in order
that by your skill and certain arts of which you are masters you may damage=
its
ancient enemies, the Fung, and in reward has promised to pay you well should
you succeed in your endeavours. Now, I wish you to understand that though y=
ou
think yourselves great men, and may for aught I know be great in your own
country, here you are but servants like any other mercenaries whom it may
please us to hire."
His tone was so
offensive that, though it might have been wiser to keep silent, I could not
help interrupting him.
"You use hard
words, Prince," I said; "let me then explain what is the real pay=
for
which we work and undergo some risks. Mine is the hope of recovering a son =
who
is the slave of your enemies. That of the Captain Orme is the quest of
adventure and war, since being a rich man in his own country he needs no
further wealth. That of him whom you call Black Windows, but whose name is
Higgs, is the pure love of learning. In England and throughout the West he =
is
noted for his knowledge of dead peoples, their languages, and customs, and =
it
is to study these that he has undertaken so terrible a journey. As for Quic=
k,
he is Orme's man, who has known him from childhood, an old soldier who has
served with him in war and comes hither to be with the master whom he
loves."
"Ah!" s=
aid
Joshua, "a servant, a person of no degree, who yet dares to threaten m=
e,
the premier prince of the Abati, to my face."
"In the pres=
ence
of death all men are equal, Prince. You acted in a fashion that might have
brought his lord, who was daring a desperate deed, to a hideous doom."=
"And what do=
I
care about his lord's desperate deeds, Physician? I see that you set store =
by
such things, and think those who accomplish them great and wonderful. Well,=
we
do not. There is no savage among the barbarous Fung would not do all that y=
our
Orme does, and more, just because he is a savage. We who are civilized, we =
who
are cultivated, we who are wise, know better. Our lives were given us to en=
joy,
not to throw away or to lose at the sword's point, and, therefore, no doubt=
, you
would call us cowards."
"Yet, Prince,
those who bear that title of coward which you hold one of honour, are apt t=
o perish
'at the sword's point.' The Fung wait without your gates, O Prince."
"And therefo=
re,
O Gentile, we hire you to fight the Fung. Still, I bear no grudge against y=
our
servant, Quick, who is himself but a white-skinned Fung, for he acted accor=
ding
to his nature, and I forgive him; only in the future let him beware! And
now--for a greater matter. The Child of Kings is beautiful, she is young and
high spirited; a new face from another land may perchance touch her fancy.
But," he added meaningly, "let the owner of that face remember who
she is and what he is; let him remember that for any outside the circle of =
the
ancient blood to lift his eyes to the daughter of Solomon is to earn death,=
death
slow and cruel for himself and all who aid and abet him. Let him remember,
lastly, that this high-born lady to whom he, an unknown and vagrant Gentile,
dares to talk as equal to equal, has from childhood been my affianced, who =
will
shortly be my wife, although it may please her to seem to flout me after the
fashion of maidens, and that we Abati are jealous of the honour of our wome=
n.
Do you understand?"
"Yes,
Prince," I answered, for by now my temper was roused. "But I woul=
d have
you understand something also--that we are men of a high race whose arm
stretches over half the world, and that we differ from the little tribe of =
the
Abati, whose fame is not known to us, in this--that we are jealous of our o=
wn
honour, and do not need to hire strangers to fight the foes we fear to face.
Next time I come to attend to your wounds, O Prince, I trust that they will=
be
in front, and not behind. One word more, if you will be advised by me you w=
ill
not threaten that Captain whom you call a Gentile and a mercenary, lest you
should learn that it is not always well to be a coward, of blood however
ancient."
Then, in a toweri=
ng
rage, I left him, feeling that I had made a thorough fool of myself. But the
truth was that I could not sit still and hear men such as my companions, to=
say
nothing of myself, spoken of thus by a bloated cur, who called himself a pr=
ince
and boasted of his own poltroonery. He glowered at me as I went, and the me=
n of
his party who hung about the end of the great room and in his courts, glowe=
red
at me also. Clearly he was a very dangerous cur, and I almost wished that i=
nstead
of threatening to slap his face down in the tunnel, Quick had broken his ne=
ck
and made an end of him.
So did the others
when I told them the story, although I think it opened their eyes, and
especially those of Oliver, to the grave and growing dangers of the situati=
on.
Afterward he informed me that he had spoken of the matter with Maqueda, and
that she was much frightened for our sakes, and somewhat for her own. Joshu=
a,
she said, was a man capable of any crime, who had at his back the great
majority of the Abati; a jealous, mean and intolerant race who made up in
cunning for what they lacked in courage.
Yet, as I saw wel=
l,
the peril of their situation did nothing to separate this pair or to lessen
their love. Indeed, rather did it seem to bind them closer together, and to
make them more completely one. In short, the tragedy took its appointed cou=
rse,
whilst we stood by and watched it helplessly.
On the afternoon =
of
my angry interview with Joshua we were summoned to a meeting of the Council,
whither we went, not without some trepidation, expecting trouble. Trouble t=
here
was, but of a different sort to that which we feared. Scarcely had we enter=
ed
the great room where the Child of Kings was seated in her chair of state
surrounded by all the pomp and ceremony of her mimic court, when the big do=
ors
at the end of it were opened, and through them marched three gray-bearded m=
en
in white robes whom we saw at once were heralds or ambassadors from the Fun=
g.
These men bowed to the veiled Maqueda and, turning toward where we stood in=
a little
group apart, bowed to us also.
But of Joshua, who was there supported by two servants, for he could not yet stand alone, and = the other notables and priests of the Abati, they took not the slightest heed.<= o:p>
"Speak,"
said Maqueda.
"Lady,"
answered the spokesman of the embassy, "we are sent by our Sultan, Bar=
ung,
son of Barung, Ruler of the Fung nation. These are the words of Barung: O W=
alda
Nagasta! 'By the hands and the wit of the white lords whom you have called =
to
your aid, you have of late done much evil to the god Harmac and to me his
servant. You have destroyed one of the gates of my city, and with it many o=
f my
people. You have rescued a prisoner out of my hands, robbing Harmac of his
sacrifice and thereby bringing his wrath upon us. You have slain sundry of =
the
sacred beasts that are the mouth of sacrifice, you have killed certain of t=
he
priests and guards of Harmac in a hole of the rocks. Moreover my spies tell=
me that
you plan further ills against the god and against me. Now I send to tell you
that for these and other offences I will make an end of the people of the
Abati, whom hitherto I have spared. In a little while I marry my daughter to
the white man, that priest of Harmac who is called Singer of Egypt, and who=
is
said to be the son of the physician in your service, but after I have
celebrated this feast and my people have finished the hoeing of their crops=
, I
take up the sword in earnest, nor will I lay it down again until the Abati =
are
no more.
"'Learn that
last night after the holy beasts had been slain and the sacrifice snatched
away, the god Harmac spoke to his priests in prophecy. And this was his
prophecy; that before the gathering in of the harvest his head should sleep
above the plain of Mur. We know not the interpretation of the saying, but t=
his
I know, that before the gathering of the harvest I, or those who rule after=
me,
will lie down to sleep within my city of Mur.'
"'Now,
choose--surrender forthwith and, save for the dog, Joshua, who the other day
tried to entrap me against the custom of peoples, and ten others whom I sha=
ll
name, I will spare the lives of all of you, though Joshua and these ten I w=
ill
hang, since they are not worthy to die by the sword. Or resist, and by Harm=
ac
himself I swear that every man among the Abati shall die save the white lor=
ds
whom I honour because they are brave, and that servant of yours who stood w=
ith
them last night in the den of lions, and that every woman shall be made a
slave, save you, O Walda Nagasta, because of your great heart. Your answer,=
O
Lady of the Abati!'"
Now Maqueda looked
around the faces of her Council, and saw fear written upon them all. Indeed=
, as
we noted, many of them shook in their terror.
"My answer w=
ill
be short, ambassadors of Barung," she replied, "still, I am but o=
ne
woman, and it is fitting that those who represent the people should speak f=
or
the people. My uncle, Joshua, you are the first of my Council, what have yo=
u to
say? Are you willing to give up your life with ten others whose names I do =
not
know, that there may be peace between us and the Fung?"
"What?"
answered Joshua, with a splutter of rage, "do I live to hear a Walda
Nagasta suggest that the first prince of the land, her uncle and affianced
husband, should be surrendered to our hereditary foes to be hanged like a
worn-out hound, and do you, O unknown ten, who doubtless stand in this cham=
ber,
live to hear it also?"
"My uncle, y=
ou
do not. I asked if such was your wish, that is all."
"Then I answ=
er
that it is not my wish, nor the wish of the ten, nor the wish of the Abati.
Nay, we will fight the Fung and destroy them, and of their beast-headed idol
Harmac we will make blocks to build our synagogues and stones to pave our
roads. Do you hear, savages of Fung?" and assisted by his two servants=
he
hobbled towards them, grinning in their faces.
The envoys looked=
him
up and down with their quiet eyes. "We hear and we are very glad to
hear," their spokesman answered, "since we Fung love to settle our
quarrels with the sword and not by treaty. But to you, Joshua, we say: Make
haste to die before we enter Mur, since the rope is not the only means of d=
eath
whereof we know."
Very solemnly the
three ambassadors saluted, first the Child of Kings and next ourselves, then
turned to go.
"Kill
them!" shouted Joshua, "they have threatened and insulted me, the=
Prince!"
But no one lifted=
a
hand against the men, who passed safely out of the palace to the square, wh=
ere
an escort waited with their horses.
CHAPTER XIV - HOW PHARAOH=
MET
SHADRACH
When the ambassad=
ors
had gone, at first there was silence, a very heavy silence, since even the
frivolous Abati felt that the hour was big with fate. Of a sudden, however,=
the
members of the Council began to chatter like so many monkeys, each talking
without listening to what his neighbour said, till at length a gorgeously
dressed person, I understood that he was a priest, stepped forward, and sho=
uted
down the others.
Then he spoke in =
an
excited and venomous fashion. He pointed out that we Gentiles had brought a=
ll this
trouble upon Mur, since before we came the Abati, although threatened, had
lived in peace and glory--he actually used the word glory!--for generations.
But now we had stung the Fung, as a hornet stings a bull, and made them mad=
, so
that they wished to toss the Abati. He proposed, therefore, that we should =
at
once be ejected from Mur.
At this point I s=
aw
Joshua whisper into the ear of a man, who called out:--
"No, no, for
then they would go to their friend, Barung, a savage like themselves, and
having learned our secrets, would doubtless use them against us. I say that
they must be killed instantly," and he drew a sword, and waved it.
Quick walked up to
the fellow and clapped a pistol to his head.
"Drop that
sword," he said, "or you'll never hear the end of the story,"
and he obeyed, whereupon Quick came back.
Now Maqueda began=
to
speak, quietly enough, although I could see that she was quaking with passi=
on.
"These men a=
re
our guests," she said, "come hither to serve us. Do you desire to
murder our guests? Moreover, of what use would that be? One thing alone can
save us, the destruction of the god of the Fung, since, according to the
ancient saying of that people, when the idol is destroyed the Fung will lea=
ve
their city of Harmac. Moreover, as to this new prophecy of the priests of t=
he
idol, that before the gathering in of the harvest his head shall sleep above
the plain of Mur, how can that happen if it is destroyed, unless indeed it
means that Harmac shall sleep in the heavens. Therefore what have you to fe=
ar
from threats built upon that which cannot happen?
"But can you
destroy this false god Harmac, or dare you fight the Fung? You know that it=
is
not so, for had it been so what need was there for me to send for these
Westerns? And if you murder them, will Barung thereby be appeased? Nay, I t=
ell
you that being a brave and honourable man, although our enemy, he will beco=
me
ten times more wroth with you than he was before, and exact a vengeance even
more terrible. I tell you also, that then you must find another Walda Nagas=
ta
to rule over you, since I, Maqueda, will do so no more."
"That is
impossible," said some one, "you are the last woman of the true b=
lood."
"Then you can
choose one of blood that is not true, or elect a king, as the Jews elected =
Saul,
for if my guests are butchered I shall die of very shame."
These words of he=
rs
seemed to cow the Council, one of whom asked what would she have them do?
"Do?" s=
he
replied, throwing back her veil, "why, be men, raise an army of every =
male
who can carry a sword; help the foreigners, and they will lead you to victo=
ry.
People of the Abati, would you be slaughtered, would you see your women sla=
ves,
and your ancient name blotted out from the list of peoples?"
Now some of them
cried, "No."
"Then save y=
ourselves.
You are still many, the strangers here have skill in war, they can lead if =
you
will follow. Be brave a while, and I swear to you that by harvest the Abati
shall sit in the city of Harmac and not the Fung in Mur. I have spoken, now=
do
what you will," and rising from her chair of state Maqueda left the
chamber, motioning to us to do likewise.
The end of all th=
is
business was that a peace was made between us and the Council of the Abati.
After their pompous, pedantic fashion they swore solemnly on the roll of the
Law that they would aid us in every way to overcome the Fung, and even obey
such military orders as we might give them, subject to the confirmation of
these orders by a small council of their generals. In short, being very
frightened, for a time they forgot their hatred of us foreigners.
So a scheme of
operations was agreed upon, and some law passed by the Council, the only
governing body among the Abati, for they possessed no representative
institutions, under which law a kind of conscription was established for a
while. Let me say at once that it met with the most intense opposition. The
Abati were agriculturalists who loathed military service. From their childh=
ood
they had heard of the imminence of invasion, but no actual invasion had ever
yet taken place. The Fung were always without, and they were always within,=
an
inland isle, the wall of rock that they thought impassable being their sea
which protected them from danger.
They had no
experience of slaughter and rapine, their imaginations were not sufficiently
strong to enable them to understand what these things meant; they were lost=
in
the pettiness of daily life and its pressing local interests. Their homes in
flames, they themselves massacred, their women and children dragged off to =
be
the slaves of the victors, a poor remnant left to die of starvation among t=
he
wasted fields or to become wild men of the rocks! All these things they loo=
ked
upon as a mere tale, a romance such as their local poets repeated in the
evenings of a wet season, dim and far-off events which might have happened =
to
the Canaanites and Jebusites and Amalekites in the ancient days whereof the=
book
of their Law told them, but which could never happen to them, the comfortab=
le
Abati. In that book the Israelites always conquered in the end, although the
Philistines, alias Fung, sat at their gates. For it will be remembered that=
it
includes no account of the final fall of Jerusalem and awful destruction of=
its
citizens, of which they had little if any knowledge.
So it came about =
that
our recruiting parties, perhaps press gangs would be a better term, were not
well received. I know it, for this branch of the business was handed over to
me, of course as adviser to the Abati captains, and on several occasions, w=
hen
riding round the villages on the shores of their beautiful lake, we were me=
t by
showers of stones, and were even the object of active attacks which had to =
be
put down with bloodshed. Still, an army of five or six thousand men was got
together somehow, and formed into camps, whence desertions were incessant, =
once
or twice accompanied by the murder of officers.
"It's 'opele=
ss,
downright 'opeless, Doctor," said Quick to me, dropping his h's, as he
sometimes did in the excitement of the moment. "What can one do with a=
crowd
of pigs, everyone of them bent on bolting to his own sty, or anywhere except
toward the enemy? The sooner the Fung get them the better for all concerned,
say I, and if it wasn't for our Lady yonder" (Quick always called Maqu=
eda
after "our Lady," after it had been impressed upon him that "=
;her
Majesty" was an incorrect title), "my advice to the Captain and y=
ou
gentlemen would be: Get out of this infernal hole as quick as your legs can
carry you, and let's do a bit of hunting on the way home, leaving the Abati=
to
settle their own affairs."
"You forget,
Sergeant, that I have a reason for staying in this part of the world, and so
perhaps have the others. For instance, the Professor is very fond of those =
old
skeletons down in the cave," and I paused.
"Yes, Doctor,
and the Captain is very fond of something much better than a skeleton, and =
so
are we all. Well, we've got to see it through, but somehow I don't think th=
at
every one of us will have that luck, though it's true that when a man has l=
ived
fairly straight according to his lights a few years more or less don't matt=
er
much one way or the other. After all, except you gentlemen, who is there th=
at
will miss Samuel Quick?"
Then without wait=
ing
for an answer, drawing himself up straight as a ramrod he marched off to as=
sist
some popinjays of Abati officers, whom he hated and who hated him, to instil
the elements of drill into a newly raised company, leaving me to wonder what
fears or premonitions filled his honest soul.
But this was not
Quick's principal work, since for at least six hours of every day he was
engaged in helping Oliver in our great enterprise of driving a tunnel from =
the
end of the Tomb of Kings deep into the solid rock that formed the base of t=
he
mighty idol of the Fung. The task was stupendous, and would indeed have been
impossible had not Orme's conjecture that some passage had once run from the
extremity of the cave toward the idol proved to be perfectly accurate. Such=
a
passage indeed was found walled up at the back of the chair containing the
bones of the hunchbacked king. It descended very sharply for a distance of
several hundred yards, after which for another hundred yards or more its wa=
lls and
roof were so riven and shaky that, for fear of accidents, we found it neces=
sary
to timber them as we went.
At last we came t=
o a
place where they had fallen in altogether, shaken down, I presume, by the g=
reat
earthquake which had destroyed so much of the ancient cave-city. At this sp=
ot,
if Oliver's instruments and calculations could be trusted, we were within a=
bout
two hundred feet of the floor of the den of lions, to which it seemed proba=
ble
that the passage once led, and of course the question arose as to what shou=
ld
be done.
A Council was hel=
d to
discuss this problem, at which Maqueda and a few of the Abati notables were
present. To these Oliver explained that even if that were possible it would=
be
useless to clear out the old passage and at the end find ourselves once mor=
e in
the den of lions.
"What, then,=
is
your plan?" asked Maqueda.
"Lady,"=
he
answered, "I, your servant, am instructed to attempt to destroy the id=
ol
Harmac, by means of the explosives which we have brought with us from Engla=
nd.
First, I would ask you if you still cling to that design?"
"Why should =
it
be abandoned?" inquired Maqueda. "What have you against it?"=
"Two things,
Lady. As an act of war the deed seems useless, since supposing that the sph=
inx
is shattered and a certain number of priests and guards are destroyed, how =
will
that advance your cause? Secondly, such destruction will be very difficult,=
if
it can be done at all. The stuff we have with us, it is true, is of fearful
strength, yet who can be sure that there is enough of it to move this mount=
ain
of hard rock, of which I cannot calculate the weight, not having the measur=
ements
or any knowledge of the size of the cavities within its bulk. Lastly, if the
attempt is to be made, a tunnel must be hollowed of not less than three hun=
dred
feet in length, first downward and then upward into the very base of the id=
ol,
and if this is to be done within six weeks, that is, by the night of the
marriage of the daughter of Barung, the work will be very hard, if indeed it
can be completed at all, although hundreds of men labour day and night.&quo=
t;
Now Maqueda thoug=
ht a
while, then looked up and said:
"Friend, you=
are
brave and skilful, tell us all your mind. If you sat in my place, what would
you do?"
"Lady, I wou=
ld
lead out every able-bodied man and attack the city of the Fung, say, on the
night of the great festival when they are off their guard. I would blow in =
the
gates of the city of Harmac, and storm it and drive away the Fung, and
afterwards take possession of the idol, and if it is thought necessary, des=
troy
it piecemeal from within."
Now Maqueda consu=
lted
with her councillors, who appeared to be much disturbed at this suggestion,=
and
finally called us back and gave us her decision.
"These lords=
of
the Council," she said, speaking with a ring of contempt in her voice,
"declare that your plan is mad, and that they will never sanction it
because the Abati could not be persuaded to undertake so dangerous an
enterprise as an attack upon the city of Harmac, which would end, they thin=
k,
in all of them being killed. They point out, O Orme, that the prophecy is t=
hat
the Fung will leave the plain of Harmac when their god is destroyed and not
before, and that therefore it must be destroyed. They say, further, O Orme,
that for a year you and your companions are the sworn servants of the Abati,
and that it is your business to receive orders, not to give them, also that=
the
condition upon which you earn your pay is that you destroy the idol of the
Fung. This is the decision of the Council, spoken by the mouth of the princ=
e Joshua,
who command further that you shall at once set about the business to execute
which you and your companions are present here in Mur."
"Is that your
command also, O Child of Kings?" answered Oliver, colouring.
"Since I also
think that the Abati can never be forced to attack the city of the Fung, it=
is,
O Orme, though the words in which it is couched are not my words."
"Very well, O
Child of Kings, I will do my best. Only blame us not if the end of this mat=
ter
is other than these advisers of yours expect. Prophecies are two-edged swor=
ds
to play with, and I do not believe that a race of fighting men like the Fung
will fly and leave you triumphant just because a stone image is shattered, =
if
that can be done in the time and with the means which we possess. Meanwhile=
, I
ask that you should give me two hundred and fifty picked men of the
Mountaineers, not of the townspeople, under the captaincy of Japhet, who mu=
st
choose them, to assist us in our work."
"It shall be
done," she answered, and we made our bows and went. As we passed throu=
gh
the Council we heard Joshua say in a loud voice meant for us to hear:
"Thanks be to
God, these hired Gentiles have been taught their place at last."
Oliver turned on =
him
so fiercely that he recoiled, thinking that he was about to strike him.
"Be careful,
Prince Joshua," he said, "that before this business is finished y=
ou
are not taught yours, which I think may be lowly," and he looked meani=
ngly
at the ground.
So the labour beg=
an,
and it was heavy indeed as well as dangerous. Fortunately, in addition to t=
he
picrate compounds that Quick called "azure stinging bees," we had
brought with us a few cases of dynamite, of which we now made use for blast=
ing
purposes. A hole was drilled in the face of the tunnel, and the charge
inserted. Then all retreated back into the Tomb of Kings till the cartridge=
had
exploded, and the smoke cleared off, which took a long while, when our peop=
le
advanced with iron bars and baskets, and cleared away the débris, after whi=
ch
the process must be repeated.
Oh! the heat of t=
hat
narrow hole deep in the bowels of the rock, and the reek of the stagnant air
which sometimes was so bad that the lights would scarcely burn. Indeed, aft=
er a
hundred feet had been completed, we thought that it would be impossible to
proceed, since two men died of asphyxiation and the others, although they w=
ere
good fellows enough, refused to return into the tunnel. At length, however,
Orme and Japhet persuaded some of the best of them to do so, and shortly af=
ter
this the atmosphere improved very much, I suppose because we cut some crann=
y or
shaft which communicated with the open air.
There were other
dangers also, notably of the collapse of the whole roof where the rock was
rotten, as we found it to be in places. Then it proved very hard to deal wi=
th
the water, for once or twice we struck small springs impregnated with coppe=
r or
some other mineral that blistered the feet and skin, since every drop of th=
is
acid water had to be carried out in wooden pails. That difficulty we overca=
me
at last by sinking a narrow well down to the level of the ancient tunnel of
which I have spoken as having been shaken in by the earthquake.
Thus we, or rather
Oliver and Quick with the Mountaineers, toiled on. Higgs did his best, but
after a while proved quite unable to bear the heat, which became too much f=
or
so stout a man. The end of it was that he devoted himself to the
superintendence of the removal of the rubbish into the Tomb of Kings, the c=
are
of the stores and so forth. At least that was supposed to be his business, =
but
really he employed most of his time in drawing and cataloguing the objects =
of
antiquity and the groups of bones that were buried there, and in exploring =
the
remains of the underground city. In truth, this task of destruction was most
repellent to the poor Professor.
"To think,&q=
uot;
he said to us, "to think that I, who all my life have preached the
iniquity of not conserving every relic of the past, should now be employed =
in
attempting to obliterate the most wonderful object ever fashioned by the
ancients! It is enough to make a Vandal weep, and I pray heaven that you may
not succeed in your infamous design. What does it matter if the Abati are w=
iped
out, as lots of better people have been before them? What does it matter if=
we
accompany them to oblivion so long as that noble sphinx is preserved to be =
the
wonder of future generations? Well, thank goodness, at any rate I have seen=
it,
which is more, probably, than any of you will ever do. There, another brute=
is dumping
his rubbish over the skull of No. 14!"
Thus we laboured
continually, each at his different task, for the work in the mine never
stopped, Oliver being in charge during the day and Quick at night for a who=
le
week, since on each Sunday they changed with their gangs, Quick taking the =
day
shift and Oliver the night, or vice versa. Sometimes Maqueda came down the =
cave
to inspect progress, always, I noticed, at those hours when Oliver happened=
to
be off duty. Then on this pretext or on that they would wander away togethe=
r to
visit I know not what in the recesses of the underground city, or elsewhere=
. In
vain did I warn them that their every step was dogged, and that their every
word and action were noted by spies who crept after them continually, since
twice I caught one of these gentry in the act. They were infatuated, and wo=
uld
not listen.
At this time Oliv=
er
only left the underground city twice or thrice a week to breathe the fresh =
air
for an hour or two. In truth, he had no leisure. For this same reason he fi=
tted
himself up a bed in what had been a priest's chamber, or a sanctuary in the=
old
temple, and slept there, generally with no other guard but the great dog,
Pharaoh, his constant companion even in the recesses of the mine.
It was curious to=
see
how this faithful beast accustomed itself to the darkness, and made its oth=
er
senses, especially that of smell, serve the purpose of eyes as do the blind=
. By
degrees, too, it learned all the details of the operations; thus, when the
cartridge was in place for firing, it would rise and begin to walk out of t=
he
tunnel even before the men in charge.
One night the tra=
gedy
that I feared very nearly happened, and indeed must have happened had it not
been for this same hound, Pharaoh. About six o'clock in the evening Oliver =
came
off duty after an eight-hour shift in the tunnel, leaving Higgs in command =
for
a little while until it was time for Quick to take charge. I had been at wo=
rk
outside all day in connection with the new conscript army, a regiment of wh=
ich
was in revolt, because the men, most of whom were what we should call small=
-holders,
declared that they wanted to go home to weed their crops. Indeed, it had pr=
oved
necessary for the Child of Kings herself to be summoned to plead with them =
and
condemn some of the ringleaders to punishment.
When at length th=
is
business was over we left together, and the poor lady, exasperated almost to
madness, sharply refusing the escort of any of her people, requested me to
accompany her to the mine.
At the mouth of t=
he
tunnel she met Oliver, as probably she had arranged to do, and after he had
reported progress to her, wandered away with him as usual, each of them
carrying a lamp, into some recess of the buried city. I followed them at a
distance, not from curiosity, or because I wished to see more of the wonder=
s of
that city whereof I was heartily sick, but because I suspected that they we=
re
being spied upon.
The pair vanished
round a corner that I knew ended in a cul-de-sac, so extinguishing my lamp,=
I
sat down on a fallen column and waited till I should see their light reappe=
ar,
when I proposed to effect my retreat. Whilst I sat thus, thinking on many
things and, to tell the truth, very depressed in mind, I heard a sound as of
some one moving and instantly struck a match. The light of it fell full upon
the face of a man whom I recognized at once as a body-servant of the prince
Joshua, though whether he was passing me toward the pair or returning from
their direction I could not be sure.
"What are you
doing here?" I asked.
"What is tha=
t to
you, Physician?" he answered.
Then the match bu=
rnt
out, and before I could light another he had vanished, like a snake into a
stone wall.
My first impulse =
was
to warn Maqueda and Oliver that they were being watched, but reflecting that
the business was awkward, and that the spy would doubtless have given over =
his
task for this day, I left it alone, and went down to the Tomb of the Kings =
to
help Higgs. Just afterwards Quick came on duty, long before his time, the f=
act
being that he had no confidence in the Professor as a director of mining
operations. When he appeared Higgs and I retreated from that close and filt=
hy
tunnel, and, by way of recreation, put in an hour or so at the cataloguing =
and archæological
research in which his soul delighted.
"If only we
could get all this lot out of Mur," he said, with a sweep of his hand,
"we should be the most famous men in Europe for at least three days, a=
nd
rich into the bargain."
"Ptolemy,&qu=
ot;
I answered, "we shall be fortunate if we get ourselves alive out of Mu=
r,
let alone these bones and ancient treasures," and I told him what I had
seen that evening.
His fat and kindly
face grew anxious.
"Ah!" he
said. "Well, I don't blame him; should probably do the same myself if I
got the chance, and so would you--if you were twenty years younger. No, I d=
on't
blame him, or her either, for the fact is that although their race, educati=
on,
and circumstances are so different, they are one of Nature's pairs, and whi=
le
they are alive nothing will keep them apart. You might as well expect a mag=
net
and a bit of iron to remain separate on a sheet of notepaper. Moreover, they
give themselves away, as people in that state always do. The pursuit of
archæology has its dangers, but it is a jolly sight safer than that of woma=
n,
though it did land me in a den of lions. What's going to happen, old
fellow?"
"Can't say, =
but
I think it very probable that Oliver will be murdered, and that we shall fo=
llow
the same road, or, if we are lucky, be only bundled out of Mur. Well, it's =
time
for dinner; if I get a chance I will give them a hint."
So we made our wa=
y to
the old temple in the great cave, where we kept our stores and Oliver had h=
is
headquarters. Here we found him waiting for us and our meal ready, for food=
was
always brought to us by the palace servants. When we had eaten and these men
had cleared away, we lit our pipes and fed the dog Pharaoh upon the scraps =
that
had been reserved for him. Then I told Oliver about the spy whom I had caug=
ht tracking
him and Maqueda.
"Well, what =
of
it?" he said, colouring in his tell-tale fashion; "she only took =
me
to see what she believed to be an ancient inscription on a column in that
northern aisle."
"Then she'd =
have
done better to take me, my boy," said Higgs. "What was the charac=
ter
like?"
"Don't know," he answered guiltily. "She could not find it again."<= o:p>
An awkward silence
followed, which I broke.
"Oliver,&quo=
t; I
said, "I don't think you ought to go on sleeping here alone. You have =
too
many enemies in this place."
"Rubbish,&qu=
ot;
he answered, "though it's true Pharaoh seemed uneasy last night, and t=
hat
once I woke up and thought I heard footsteps in the court outside. I set th=
em
down to ghosts, in which I have almost come to believe in this haunted plac=
e,
and went to sleep again."
"Ghosts be
blowed!" said Higgs vulgarly, "if there were such things I have s=
lept
with too many mummies not to see them. That confounded Joshua is the wizard=
who
raises your ghosts. Look here, old boy," he added, "let me camp w=
ith
you to-night, since Quick must be in the tunnel, and Adams has to sleep out=
side
in case he is wanted on the army business."
"Not a bit of
it," he answered; "you know you are too asthmatical to get a wink=
in
this atmosphere. I won't hear of such a thing."
"Then come a=
nd
sleep with us in the guest-house."
"Can't be do=
ne;
the Sergeant has got a very nasty job down there about one o'clock, and I
promised to be handy in case he calls me up," and he pointed to the
portable field telephone that fortunately we had brought with us from Engla=
nd,
which was fixed closed by, adding, "if only that silly thing had anoth=
er
few hundred yards of wire, I'd come; but, you see, it hasn't and I must be =
in
touch with the work."
At this moment the
bell tinkled, and Orme made a jump for the receiver through which for the n=
ext
five minutes he was engaged in giving rapid and to us quite unintelligible
directions.
"There you
are," he said, when he had replaced the mouthpiece on its hook, "=
if I
hadn't been here they would probably have had the roof of the tunnel down a=
nd
killed some people. No, no; I can't leave that receiver unless I go back to=
the
mine, which I am too tired to do. However, don't you fret. With a pistol, a
telephone, and Pharaoh I'm safe enough. And now, good night; you fellows had
better be getting home as I must be up early to-morrow and want to sleep wh=
ile
I can."
On the following
morning about five o'clock Higgs and I were awakened by some one knocking at
our door. I rose and opened it, whereon in walked Quick, a grim and grimy
figure, for, as his soaked clothes and soiled face told us, he had but just
left his work in the mine.
"Captain wan=
ts to
see you as soon as possible, gentlemen," he said.
"What's the
matter, Sergeant?" asked Higgs, as we got into our garments.
"You'll see =
for
yourself presently, Professor," was the laconic reply, nor could we get
anything more out of him.
Five minutes late=
r we
were advancing at a run through the dense darkness of the underground city,
each of us carrying a lamp. I reached the ruins of the old temple first, for
Quick seemed very tired and lagged behind, and in that atmosphere Higgs was
scant of breath and could not travel fast. At the doorway of the place wher=
e he
slept stood the tall form of Oliver holding a lamp aloft. Evidently he was
waiting for us. By his side sat the big yellow dog, Pharaoh, that, when he
smelt us, gambolled forward, wagging his tail in greeting.
"Come
here," said Orme, in a low and solemn voice, "I have something to=
show
you," and he led the way into the priest's chamber, or sanctuary, what=
ever
it may have been, where he slept upon a rough, native-made bedstead. At the
doorway he halted, lowered the lamp he held, and pointed to something dark =
on
the floor to the right of his bedstead, saying, "Look!"
There lay a dead =
man,
and by his side a great knife that evidently had fallen from his hand. At t=
he
first glance we recognised the face which, by the way, was singularly peace=
ful,
as though it were that of one plunged in deep sleep. This seemed odd, since=
the
throat below was literally torn out.
"Shadrach!&q=
uot;
we said, with one voice.
Shadrach it was;
Shadrach, our former guide, who had betrayed us; Shadrach who, to save his =
own
life, had shown us how to rescue Higgs, and for that service been pardoned,=
as
I think I mentioned. Shadrach and no other!
"Pussy seems=
to
have been on the prowl and to have met a dog," remarked Quick.
"Do you unde=
rstand
what has happened?" asked Oliver, in a dry, hard voice. "Perhaps I
had better explain before anything is moved. Shadrach must have crept in he=
re
last night--I don't know at what time, for I slept through it all--for purp=
oses
of his own. But he forgot his old enemy Pharaoh, and Pharaoh killed him. See
his throat? When Pharaoh bites he doesn't growl, and, of course, Shadrach c=
ould
say nothing, or, as he had dropped his knife, for the matter of that, do
anything either. When I was woke up about an hour ago by the telephone bell=
the
dog was fast asleep, for he is accustomed to that bell, with his head resti=
ng upon
the body of Shadrach. Now why did Shadrach come into my room at night with a
drawn knife in his hand?"
"Doesn't see=
m a
difficult question to answer," replied Higgs, in the high voice which =
was
common to him when excited. "He came here to murder you, and Pharaoh w=
as
too quick for him, that's all. That dog was the cheapest purchase you ever
made, friend Oliver."
"Yes,"
answered Orme, "he came here to murder me--you were right about the ri=
sk,
after all--but what I wonder is, who sent him?"
"And so you =
may
go on wondering for the rest of your life, Captain," exclaimed Quick.
"Still, I think we might guess if we tried."
Then news of what= had happened was sent to the palace, and within little over an hour Maqueda arrived, accompanied by Joshua and several other members of her Council. Wh= en she saw and understood everything she was horrified, and sternly asked Josh= ua what he knew of this business. Of course, he proved to be completely innoce= nt, and had not the slightest idea of who had set the murderer on to work this = deed of darkness. Nor had anybody else, the general suggestion being that Shadra= ch had attempted it out of revenge, and met with the due reward of his crime.<= o:p>
Only that day poor
Pharaoh was poisoned. Well, he had done his work, and his memory is blessed=
.
CHAPTER XV - SERGEANT QUI=
CK
HAS A PRESENTIMENT
From this time
forward all of us, and especially Oliver, were guarded night and day by pic=
ked
men who it was believed could not be corrupted. As a consequence, the Tsar =
of
Russia scarcely leads a life more irksome than ours became at Mur. Of priva=
cy
there was none left to us, since sentries and detectives lurked at every
corner, while tasters were obliged to eat of each dish and drink from each =
cup
before it touched our lips, lest our fate should be that of Pharaoh, whose =
loss
we mourned as much as though the poor dog had been some beloved human being=
.
Most of all was it
irksome, I think, to Oliver and Maqueda, whose opportunities of meeting were
much curtailed by the exigencies of this rigid espionage. Who can murmur sw=
eet
nothings to his adored when two soldiers armed to the teeth have been
instructed never to let him out of their sight? Particularly is this so if =
the
adored happens to be the ruler of those soldiers to whom the person guarded=
has
no right to be making himself agreeable. For when off duty even the most
faithful guardians are apt to talk. Of course, the result was that the pair
took risks which did not escape observation. Indeed, their intimate relatio=
ns became
a matter of gossip throughout the land.
Still, annoying as
they might be, these precautions succeeded, for none of us were poisoned or=
got
our throats cut, although we were constantly the victims of mysterious
accidents. Thus, a heavy rock rolled down upon us when we sat together one
evening upon the hill-side, and a flight of arrows passed between us while =
we
were riding along the edge of a thicket, by one of which Higgs's horse was
killed. Only when the mountain and the thicket were searched no one could be
found. Moreover, a great plot against us was discovered in which some of the
lords and priests were implicated, but such was the state of feeling in the=
country
that, beyond warning them privately that their machinations were known, Maq=
ueda
did not dare to take proceedings against these men.
A little later on
things mended so far as we were concerned, for the following reason: One day
two shepherds arrived at the palace with some of their companions, saying t=
hat
they had news to communicate. On being questioned, these peasants averred t=
hat
while they were herding their goats upon the western cliffs many miles away,
suddenly on the top of the hills appeared a body of fifteen Fung, who bound=
and
blindfolded them, telling them in mocking language to take a message to the
Council and to the white men.
This was the mess=
age:
That they had better make haste to destroy the god Harmac, since otherwise =
his
head would move to Mur according to the prophecy, and that when it did so, =
the
Fung would follow as they knew how to do. Then they set the two men on a ro=
ck
where they could be seen, and on the following morning were in fact found by
some of their fellows, those who accompanied them to the Court and corrobor=
ated
this story.
Of course the mat=
ter
was duly investigated, but as I know, for I went with the search party, whe=
n we
got to the place no trace of the Fung could be found, except one of their
spears, of which the handle had been driven into the earth and the blade
pointed toward Mur, evidently in threat or defiance. No other token of them
remained, for, as it happened, a heavy rain had fallen and obliterated their
footprints, which in any case must have been faint on this rocky ground.
Notwithstanding t=
he
most diligent search by skilled men, their mode of approach and retreat
remained a mystery, as, indeed, it does to this day. The only places where =
it
was supposed to be possible to scale the precipice of Mur were watched
continually, so that they could have climbed up by none of these. The infer=
ence
was, therefore, that the Fung had discovered some unknown path, and, if fif=
teen
men could climb that path, why not fifteen thousand!
Only, where was t=
his
path? In vain were great rewards in land and honours offered to him who sho=
uld
discover it, for although such discoveries were continually reported, on
investigation these were found to be inventions or mares' nests. Nothing bu=
t a
bird could have travelled by such roads.
Then at last we s=
aw
the Abati thoroughly frightened, for, with additions, the story soon passed
from mouth to mouth till the whole people talked of nothing else. It was as
though we English learned that a huge foreign army had suddenly landed on o=
ur
shores and, having cut the wires and seized the railways, was marching upon
London. The effect of such tidings upon a nation that always believed invas=
ion
to be impossible may easily be imagined, only I hope that we should take th=
em better
than did the Abati.
Their swagger, th=
eir
self-confidence, their talk about the "rocky walls of Mur,"
evaporated in an hour. Now it was only of the disciplined and terrible
regiments of the Fung, among whom every man was trained to war, and of what
would happen to them, the civilized and domesticated Abati, a peace-loving
people who rightly enough, as they declared, had refused all martial burden=
s,
should these regiments suddenly appear in their midst. They cried out that =
they
were betrayed--they clamoured for the blood of certain of the Councillors. =
That
carpet knight, Joshua, lost popularity for a while, while Maqueda, who was
known always to have been in favour of conscription and perfect readiness to
repel attack, gained what he had lost.
Leaving their far=
ms,
they crowded together into the towns and villages, where they made what in
South Africa are called laagers. Religion, which practically had been dead
among them, for they retained but few traces of the Jewish faith if, indeed,
they had ever really practised it, became the craze of the hour. Priests we=
re
at a premium; sheep and cattle were sacrificed; it was even said that, after
the fashion of their foes the Fung, some human beings shared the same fate.=
At
any rate the Almighty was importuned hourly to destroy the hated Fung and to
protect His people--the Abati--from the results of their own base selfishne=
ss
and cowardly neglect.
Well, the world h=
as
seen such exhibitions before to-day, and will doubtless see more of them in=
the
instance of greater peoples who allow luxury and pleasure-seeking to sap th=
eir
strength and manhood.
The upshot of it =
all
was that the Abati became obsessed with the saying of the Fung scouts to the
shepherds, which, after all, was but a repetition of that of their envoys
delivered to the Council a little while before: that they should hasten to
destroy the idol Harmac, lest he should move himself to Mur. How an idol of
such proportions, or even its head, could move at all they did not stop to
inquire. It was obvious to them, however, that if he was destroyed there wo=
uld
be nothing to move and, further, that we Gentiles were the only persons who
could possibly effect such destruction. So we also became popular for a lit=
tle while.
Everybody was pleasant and flattered us--everybody, even Joshua, bowed when=
we
approached, and took a most lively interest in the progress of our work, wh=
ich
many deputations and prominent individuals urged us to expedite.
Better still, the
untoward accidents such as those I have mentioned, ceased. Our dogs, for we=
had
obtained some others, were no longer poisoned; rocks that appeared fixed did
not fall; no arrows whistled among us when we went out riding. We even foun=
d it
safe occasionally to dispense with our guards, since it was every one's
interest to keep us alive--for the present. Still, I for one was not deceiv=
ed
for a single moment, and in season and out of season warned the others that=
the
wind would soon blow again from a less favourable quarter.
We worked, we wor=
ked,
we worked! Heaven alone knows how we did work. Think of the task, which, af=
ter
all, was only one of several. A tunnel must be bored, for I forget how far,
through virgin rock, with the help of inadequate tools and unskilled labour,
and this tunnel must be finished by a certain date. A hundred unexpected di=
fficulties
arose, and one by one were conquered. Great dangers must be run, and were
avoided, while the responsibility of this tremendous engineering feat lay u=
pon the
shoulders of a single individual, Oliver Orme, who, although he had been
educated as an engineer, had no great practical experience of such enterpri=
ses.
Truly the occasion
makes the man, for Orme rose to it in a way that I can only call heroic. Wh=
en
he was not actually in the tunnel he was labouring at his calculations, of
which many must be made, or taking levels with such instruments as he had. =
For
if there proved to be the slightest error all this toil would be in vain, a=
nd
result only in the blowing of a useless hole through a mass of rock. Then t=
here
was a great question as to the effect which would be produced by the amount=
of explosive
at his disposal, since terrible as might be the force of the stuff, unless =
it
were scientifically placed and distributed it would assuredly fail to
accomplish the desired end.
At last, after
superhuman efforts, the mine was finished. Our stock of concentrated explos=
ive,
about four full camel loads of it, was set in as many separate chambers, ea=
ch
of them just large enough to receive the charge, hollowed in the primæval r=
ock
from which the idol had been hewn.
These chambers we=
re
about twenty feet from each other, although if there had been time to prolo=
ng
the tunnel, the distance should have been at least forty in order to give t=
he
stuff a wider range of action. According to Oliver's mathematical reckoning,
they were cut in the exact centre of the base of the idol, and about thirty
feet below the actual body of the crouching sphinx. As a matter of fact this
reckoning was wrong in several particulars, the charges having been set far=
ther
toward the east or head of the sphinx and higher up in the base than he
supposed. When it is remembered that he had found no opportunity of measuri=
ng
the monument which practically we had only seen once from behind under
conditions not favourable to accuracy in such respects, or of knowing its
actual length and depth, these trifling errors were not remarkable.
What was remarkab=
le
is that his general plan of operations, founded upon a mere hypothetical
estimate, should have proved as accurate as it did.
At length all was
prepared, and the deadly cast-iron flasks had been packed in sand, together
with dynamite cartridges, the necessary detonators, electric wires, and so
forth, an anxious and indeed awful task executed entirely in that stifling
atmosphere by the hands of Orme and Quick. Then began another labour, that =
of
the filling in of the tunnels. This, it seems, was necessary, or so I
understood, lest the expanding gases, following the line of least resistanc=
e,
should blow back, as it were, through the vent-hole. What made that task the
more difficult was the need of cutting a little channel in the rock to cont=
ain
the wires, and thereby lessen the risk of the fracture of these wires in the
course of the building-up process. Of course, if by any accident this should
happen, the circuit would be severed, and no explosion would follow when the
electric battery was set to work.
The arrangement w=
as
that the mine should be fired on the night of that full moon on which we had
been told, and spies confirmed the information, the feast of the marriage of
Barung's daughter to my son would be celebrated in the city of Harmac. This
date was fixed because the Sultan had announced that so soon as that festiv=
ity,
which coincided with the conclusion of the harvest, was ended, he meant to
deliver his attack on Mur.
Also, we were anx=
ious
that it should be adhered to for another reason, since we knew that on this=
day
but a small number of priests and guards would be left in charge of the ido=
l,
and my son could not be among them. Now, whatever may have been the views of
the Abati, we as Christians who bore them no malice did not at all desire to
destroy an enormous number of innocent Fung, as might have happened if we h=
ad
fired our mine when the people were gathered to sacrifice to their god.
The fatal day arrived at last. All was
completed, save for the blocking of the passage, which still went on, or,
rather, was being reinforced by the piling up of loose rocks against its mo=
uth,
at which a hundred or so men laboured incessantly. The firing wires had been
led into that little chamber in the old temple where the dog Pharaoh tore o=
ut
the throat of Shadrach, and no inch of them was left unguarded for fear of
accident or treachery.
The electric
batteries--two of them, in case one should fail--had been tested but not
connected with the wires. There they stood upon the floor, looking innocent
enough, and we four sat round them like wizards round their magic pot, who
await the working of some spell. We were not cheerful; who could be under so
intense a strain? Orme, indeed, who had grown pale and thin with continuous
labour of mind and body, seemed quite worn out. He could not eat nor smoke,=
and
with difficulty I persuaded him to drink some of the native wine. He would =
not
even go to look at the completion of the work or to test the wires.
"You can see=
to
it," he said; "I have done all I can. Now things must take their
chance."
After our midday =
meal
he lay down and slept quite soundly for several hours. About four o'clock t=
hose
who were labouring at the piling up of débris over the mouth of the tunnel
completed their task, and, in charge of Quick, were marched out of the
underground city.
Then Higgs and I =
took
lamps and went along the length of the wires, which lay in a little trench
covered over with dust, removing the dust and inspecting them at intervals.
Discovering nothing amiss, we returned to the old temple, and at its doorway
met the mountaineer, Japhet, who throughout all these proceedings had been =
our
prop and stay. Indeed, without his help and that of his authority over the
Abati the mine could never have been completed, at any rate within the time=
.
The light of the =
lamp
showed that his face was very anxious.
"What is the
matter?" I asked.
"O
Physician," he answered, "I have words for the ear of the Captain=
Orme.
Be pleased to lead me to him."
We explained that=
he
slept and could not be disturbed, but Japhet only answered as before, addin=
g:
"Come you wi=
th
me, my words are for your ears as well as his."
So we went into t=
he
little room and awoke Oliver, who sprang up in a great fright, thinking that
something untoward had happened at the mine.
"What's
wrong?" he asked of Japhet. "Have the Fung cut the wires?"
"Nay, O Orme=
, a
worse thing; I have discovered that the Prince Joshua has laid a plot to st=
eal
away 'Her-whose-name-is-high.'"
"What do you
mean? Set out all the story, Japhet," said Oliver.
"It is short,
lord. I have some friends, one of whom--he is of my own blood, but ask me n=
ot
his name--is in the service of the Prince. We drank a cup of wine together,
which I needed, and I suppose it loosed his tongue. At any rate, he told me,
and I believed him. This is the story. For his own sake and that of the peo=
ple
the Prince desires that you should destroy the idol of Fung, and therefore =
he has
kept his hands off you of late. Yet should you succeed, he does not know wh=
at
may happen. He fears lest the Abati in their gratitude should set you up as=
great
men."
"Then he is = an ass!" interrupted Quick; "for the Abati have no gratitude."<= o:p>
"He fears,&q=
uot;
went on Japhet, "other things also. For instance, that the Child of Ki=
ngs
may express that gratitude by a mark of her signal favour toward one of
you," and he stared at Orme, who turned his head aside. "Now, the
Prince is affianced to this great lady, whom he desires to wed for two reas=
ons:
First, because this marriage will make him the chief man amongst the Abati,
and, secondly, because of late he has come to think that he loves her whom =
he
is afraid that he may lose. So he has set a snare."
"What snare?=
"
asked one of us, for Japhet paused.
"I don't
know," answered Japhet, "and I do not think that my friend knew e=
ither,
or, if he did, he would not tell me. But I understand the plot is that the
Child of Kings is to be carried off to the Prince Joshua's castle at the ot=
her
end of the lake, six hours' ride away, and there be forced to marry him at
once."
"Indeed,&quo=
t;
said Orme, "and when is all this to happen?"
"I don't kno=
w,
lord. I know nothing except what my friend told me, which I thought it righ=
t to
communicate to you instantly. I asked him the time, however, and he said th=
at
he believed the date was fixed for one night after next Sabbath."
"Next Sabbat=
h is
five days hence, so that this matter does not seem to be very pressing,&quo=
t;
remarked Oliver with a sigh of relief. "Are you sure that you can trust
your friend, Japhet?"
"No, lord, I=
am
not sure, especially as I have always known him to be a liar. Still, I thou=
ght
that I ought to tell you."
"Very kind of
you, Japhet, but I wish that you had let me have my sleep out first. Now go
down the line and see that all is right, then return and report."
Japhet saluted in=
his
native fashion and went.
"What do you think of this story?" asked Oliver, as soon as he was out of hearing.<= o:p>
"All bosh,&q=
uot;
answered Higgs; "the place is full of talk and rumours, and this is on=
e of
them."
He paused and loo=
ked
at me.
"Oh!" I
said, "I agree with Higgs. If Japhet's friend had really anything to t=
ell
he would have told it in more detail. I daresay there are a good many thing=
s Joshua
would like to do, but I expect he will stop there, at any rate, for the
present. If you take my advice you will say nothing of the matter, especial=
ly
to Maqueda."
"Then we are=
all
agreed. But what are you thinking of, Sergeant?" asked Oliver, address=
ing
Quick, who stood in a corner of the room, lost apparently in contemplation =
of
the floor.
"I,
Captain," he replied, coming to attention. "Well, begging their p=
ardon,
I was thinking that I don't hold with these gentlemen, except in so far tha=
t I
should say nothing of this job to our Lady, who has plenty to bother her ju=
st
now, and won't need to be frightened as well. Still, there may be something=
in
it, for though that Japhet is stupid, he's honest, and honest men sometimes=
get
hold of the right end of the stick. At least, he believes there is somethin=
g,
and that's what weighs with me."
"Well, if th=
at's
your opinion, what's best to be done Sergeant? I agree that the Child of Ki=
ngs
should not be told, and I shan't leave this place till after ten o'clock to=
-night
at the earliest, if we stick to our plans, as we had better do, for all that
stuff in the tunnel wants a little time to settle, and for other reasons. W=
hat
are you drawing there?" and he pointed to the floor, in the dust of wh=
ich
Quick was tracing something with his finger.
"A plan of o=
ur
Lady's private rooms, Captain. She told you she was going to rest at sundow=
n,
didn't she, or earlier, for she was up most of last night, and wanted to ge=
t a
few hours' sleep before--something happens. Well, her bed-chamber is there,
isn't it? and another before it, in which her maids sleep, and nothing behi=
nd
except a high wall and a ditch which cannot be climbed."
"That's quite
true," interrupted Higgs. "I got leave to make a plan of the pala=
ce,
only there is a passage six feet wide and twenty long leading from the guard
chamber to the ladies' anteroom."
"Just so,
Professor, and that passage has a turn in it, if I remember right, so that =
two
well-armed men could hold it against quite a lot. Supposing now that you an=
d I,
Professor, should go and take a nap in that guard-room, which will be empty,
for the watch is set at the palace gate. We shan't be wanted here, since if=
the
Captain can't touch off that mine, no one can, with the Doctor to help him =
just
in case anything goes wrong, and Japhet guarding the line. I daresay there's
nothing in this yarn, but who knows? There might be, and then we should bla=
me ourselves.
What do you say, Professor?"
"I? Oh, I'll=
do
anything you wish, though I should rather have liked to climb the cliff and
watch what happens."
"You'd see
nothing, Higgs," interrupted Oliver, "except perhaps the reflecti=
on
of a flash in the sky; so, if you don't mind, I wish you would go with the
Sergeant. Somehow, although I am quite certain that we ought not to alarm
Maqueda, I am not easy about her, and if you two fellows were there, I shou=
ld
know she was all right, and it would be a weight off my mind."
"That settles
it," said Higgs; "we'll be off presently. Look here, give us that
portable telephone, which is of no use anywhere else now. The wire will rea=
ch
to the palace, and if the machine works all right we can talk to you and te=
ll
each other how things are going on."
Ten minutes later
they had made their preparations. Quick stepped up to Oliver and stood at
attention, saying:
"Ready to ma=
rch.
Any more orders, Captain?"
"I think not,
Sergeant," he answered, lifting his eyes from the little batteries tha=
t he
was watching as though they were live things. "You know the arrangemen=
ts.
At ten o'clock--that is about two hours hence--I touch this switch. Whatever
happens it must not be done before, for fear lest the Doctor's son should n=
ot
have left the idol, to say nothing of all the other poor beggars. The spies=
say
that the marriage feast will not be celebrated until at least three hours a=
fter
moonrise."
"And that's =
what
I heard when I was a prisoner," interrupted Higgs.
"I
daresay," answered Orme; "but it is always well to allow a margin=
in
case the procession should be delayed, or something. So until ten o'clock I=
've
got to stop where I am, and you may be sure, Doctor, that under no
circumstances shall I fire the mine before that hour, as indeed you will be
here to see. After that I can't say what will happen, but if we don't appea=
r,
you two had better come to look for us--in case of accidents, you know. Do =
your
best at your end according to circumstances; the Doctor and I will do our b=
est
at ours. I think that is all, Sergeant. Report yourselves by the telephone =
if
the wire is long enough and it will work, which I daresay it won't, and,
anyway, look out for us about half-past ten. Good-bye!"
"Good-bye,
Captain," answered Quick, then stretched out his hand, shook that of O=
rme,
and without another word took his lamp and left the chamber.
An impulse prompt=
ed
me to follow him, leaving Orme and Higgs discussing something before they
parted. When he had walked about fifty yards in the awful silence of that v=
ast
underground town, of which the ruined tenements yawned on either side of us,
the Sergeant stopped and said suddenly:
"You don't
believe in presentiments, do you, Doctor?"
"Not a
bit," I answered.
"Glad of it,
Doctor. Still, I have got a bad one now, and it is that I shan't see the
Captain or you any more."
"Then that's=
a
poor look-out for us, Quick."
"No, Doctor,=
for
me. I think you are both all right, and the Professor, too. It's my name th=
ey
are calling up aloft, or so it seems to me. Well, I don't care much, for,
though no saint, I have tried to do my duty, and if it is done, it's done. =
If
it's written, it's got to come to pass, hasn't it? For everything is written
down for us long before we begin, or so I've always thought. Still, I'll gr=
ieve
to part from the Captain, seeing that I nursed him as a child, and I'd have
liked to know him well out of this hole, and safely married to that sweet l=
ady
first, though I don't doubt that it will be so."
"Nonsense,
Sergeant," I said sharply; "you are not yourself; all this work a=
nd
anxiety has got on your nerves."
"As it well
might, Doctor, not but I daresay that's true. Anyhow, if the other is the t=
rue
thing, and you should all see old England again with some of the stuff in t=
hat
dead-house, I've got three nieces living down at home whom you might rememb=
er.
Don't say nothing of what I told you to the Captain till this night's game =
is
played, seeing that it might upset him, and he'll need to keep cool up to t=
en
o'clock, and afterwards too, perhaps. Only if we shouldn't meet again, say =
that
Samuel Quick sent him his duty and God's blessing. And the same on yourself,
Doctor, and your son, too. And now here comes the Professor, so good-bye.&q=
uot;
A minute later th=
ey
had left me, and I stood watching them until the two stars of light from th=
eir
lanterns vanished into the blackness.
CHAPTER XVI - HARMAC COME=
S TO
MUR
Slowly and in very
bad spirits I retraced my steps to the old temple, following the line of the
telephone wire which Higgs and Quick had unreeled as they went. In the
Sergeant's prognostications of evil I had no particular belief, as they see=
med
to me to be born of the circumstances which surrounded us, and in different
ways affected all our minds, even that of the buoyant Higgs.
To take my own ca=
se,
for instance. Here I was about to assist in an act which for aught I knew m=
ight
involve the destruction of my only son. It was true we believed that this w=
as
the night of his marriage at the town of Harmac, some miles away, and that =
the
tale of our spies supported this information. But how could we be sure that=
the
date, or the place of the ceremony, had not been changed at the last moment?
Supposing, for instance, that it was held, not in the town, as arranged, bu=
t in
the courts of the idol, and that the fearful activities of the fiery agent =
which
we were about to wake to life should sweep the celebrants into nothingness.=
The thought made =
me
turn cold, and yet the deed must be done; Roderick must take his chance. An=
d if
all were well, and he escaped that danger, were there not worse behind? Thi=
nk
of him, a Christian man, the husband of a savage woman who worshipped a sto=
ne
image with a lion's head, bound to her and her tribe, a state prisoner, tre=
bly
guarded, whom, so far as I could see, there would be no hope of rescuing. It
was awful. Then there were other complications. If the plan succeeded and t=
he
idol was destroyed, my own belief was that the Fung must thereby be
exasperated. Evidently they knew some road into this stronghold. It would be
used. They would pour their thousands up it, a general massacre would follo=
w, of
which, justly, we should be the first victims.
I reached the cha=
mber
where Oliver sat brooding alone, for Japhet was patrolling the line.
"I am not ha=
ppy
about Maqueda, Doctor," he said to me. "I am afraid there is
something in that story. She wanted to be with us; indeed, she begged to be
allowed to come almost with tears. But I wouldn't have it, since accidents =
may
always happen; the vibration might shake in the roof or something; in fact,=
I
don't think you should be here. Why don't you go away and leave me?"
I answered that
nothing would induce me to do so, for such a job should not be left to one =
man.
"No, you're
right," he said; "I might faint or lose my head or anything. I wi=
sh
now that we had arranged to send the spark from the palace, which perhaps we
might have done by joining the telephone wire on to the others. But, to tell
you the truth, I'm afraid of the batteries. The cells are new but very weak,
for time and the climate have affected them, and I thought it possible the
extra difference might make the difference and that they would fail to work.
That's why I fixed this as the firing point. Hullo, there's the bell. What =
have
they got to say?"
I snatched the receiver, and presently heard the cheerful voice of Higgs announcing that t= hey had arrived safely in the little anteroom to Maqueda's private apartments.<= o:p>
"The palace
seems very empty," he added; "we only met one sentry, for I think
that everybody else, except Maqueda and a few of her ladies, have cleared o=
ut,
being afraid lest rocks should fall on them when the explosion occurs."=
;
"Did the man=
say
so?" I asked of Higgs.
"Yes, someth=
ing
of that sort; also he wanted to forbid us to come here, saying that it was
against the Prince Joshua's orders that we Gentiles should approach the pri=
vate
apartments of the Child of Kings. Well, we soon settled that, and he bolted.
Where to? Oh! I don't know; to report, he said."
"How's
Quick?" I asked.
"Much the sa=
me
as usual. In fact, he is saying his prayers in the corner, looking like a
melancholy brigand with rifles, revolvers, and knives stuck all over him. I
wish he wouldn't say his prayers," added Higgs, and his voice reached =
me
in an indignant squeak; "it makes me feel uncomfortable, as though I o=
ught
to join him. But not having been brought up a Dissenter or a Moslem, I can't
pray in public as he does. Hullo! Wait a minute, will you?"
Then followed a
longish pause, and after it Higgs's voice again.
"It's all
right," it said. "Only one of Maqueda's ladies who had heard us a=
nd
come to see who we were. When she learns I expect she will join us here, as=
the
girl says she's nervous and can't sleep."
Higgs proved righ=
t in
his anticipations, for in about ten minutes we were rung up again, this tim=
e by
Maqueda herself, whereon I handed the receiver to Oliver and retired to the
other end of the room.
Nor, to tell the
truth, was I sorry for the interruption, since it cheered up Oliver and hel=
ped
to pass the time.
The next thing wo=
rth
telling that happened was that, an hour or more later, Japhet arrived, look=
ing
very frightened. We asked him our usual question: if anything was wrong with
the wires. With a groan he answered "No," the wires seemed all ri=
ght,
but he had met a ghost.
"What ghost,=
you
donkey?" I said.
"The ghost of
one of the dead kings, O Physician, yonder in the burial cave. It was he wi=
th
the bent bones who sits in the farthest chair. Only he had put some flesh on
his bones, and I tell you he looked fearful, a very fierce man, or rather
ghost."
"Indeed, and=
did
he say anything to you, Japhet?"
"Oh! yes,
plenty, O Physician, only I could not understand it all, because his langua=
ge
was somewhat different to mine, and he spat out his words as a green log sp=
its
out sparks. I think that he asked me, however, how my miserable people dare=
d to
destroy his god, Harmac. I answered that I was only a servant and did not k=
now,
adding that he should put his questions to you."
"And what di=
d he
say to that, Japhet?"
"I think he = said that Harmac would come to Mur and settle his account with the Abati, and th= at the foreign men would be wise to fly fast and far. That's all I understood;= ask me no more, who would not return into that cave to be made a prince."<= o:p>
"He's got ho=
ld
of what Barung's envoys told us," said Oliver, indifferently, "an=
d no
wonder, this place is enough to make anybody see ghosts. I'll repeat it to
Maqueda; it will amuse her."
"I wouldn't =
if I
were you," I answered, "for it isn't exactly a cheerful yarn, and
perhaps she's afraid of ghosts too. Also," and I pointed to the watch =
that
lay on the table beside the batteries, "it is five minutes to ten.&quo=
t;
Oh! that last five
minutes! It seemed as many centuries. Like stone statues we sat, each of us
lost in his own thoughts, though for my part the power of clear thinking
appeared to have left me. Visions of a sort flowed over my mind without sin=
king
into it, as water flows over marble. All I could do was fix my eyes on the =
face
of that watch, of which in the flickering lamp-light the second-hand seemed=
to
my excited fancy to grow enormous and jump from one side of the room to the=
other.
Orme began to cou=
nt
aloud. "One, two, three, four, five--now!" and almost simultaneou=
sly
he touched the knob first of one battery and next of the other. Before his
finger pressed the left-hand knob I felt the solid rock beneath us surge--no
other word conveys its movement. Then the great stone cross-piece, weighing
several tons, that was set as a transom above the tall door of our room,
dislodged itself, and fell quite gently into the doorway, which it complete=
ly
blocked.
Other rocks fell =
also
at a distance, making a great noise, and somehow I found myself on the grou=
nd,
my stool had slid away from me. Next followed a muffled, awful roar, and wi=
th
it came a blast of wind blowing where wind never blew before since the
beginning of the world, that with a terrible wailing howled itself to silen=
ce
in the thousand recesses of the cave city. As it passed our lamps went out.
Lastly, quite a minute later I should think, there was a thud, as though
something of enormous weight had fallen on the surface of the earth far abo=
ve
us.
Then all was as it
had been; all was darkness and utter quietude.
"Well, that's
over," said Oliver, in a strained voice which sounded very small and f=
ar
away through that thick darkness; "all over for good or ill. I needn't
have been anxious; the first battery was strong enough, for I felt the mine
spring as I touched the second. I wonder," he went on, as though speak=
ing
to himself, "what amount of damage nearly a ton and a half of that awf=
ul
azo-imide compound has done to the old sphinx. According to my calculations=
it
ought to have been enough to break the thing up, if we could have spread the
charge more. But, as it is, I am by no means certain. It may only have driv=
en a
hole in its bulk, especially if there were hollows through which the gases
could run. Well, with luck, we may know more about it later. Strike a match,
Adams, and light those lamps. Why, what's that? Listen!"
As he spoke, from
somewhere came a series of tiny noises, that, though they were so faint and
small, suggested rifles fired at a great distance. Crack, crack, crack! went
the infinitesimal noises.
I groped about, a=
nd
finding the receiver of the field telephone, set it to my ear. In an instant
all grew plain to me. Guns were being fired near the other end of the wire,=
and
the transmitter was sending us the sound of them. Very faintly but with
distinctness I could hear Higgs's high voice saying, "Look out, Sergea=
nt,
there's another rush coming!" and Quick answering, "Shoot low,
Professor; for the Lord's sake shoot low. You are empty, sir. Load up, load=
up!
Here's a clip of cartridges. Don't fire too fast. Ah! that devil got me, but
I've got him; he'll never throw another spear."
"They are be= ing attacked!" I exclaimed. "Quick is wounded. Now Maqueda is talking= to you. She says, 'Oliver, come! Joshua's men assail me. Oliver, come!'"<= o:p>
Then followed a g=
reat
sound of shouting answered by more shots, and just as Orme snatched the
receiver from my hand the wire went dead. In vain he called down it in an
agonized voice. As well might he have addressed the planet Saturn.
"The wire's
cut," he exclaimed, dashing down the receiver and seizing the lantern
which Japhet had just succeeded in re-lighting; "come on, there's murd=
er
being done," and he sprang to the doorway, only to stagger back again =
from
the great stone with which it was blocked.
"Good God!&q=
uot;
he screamed, "we're shut in. How can we get out? How can we get out?&q=
uot;
and he began to run round and round the room, and even to spring at the wal=
ls
like a frightened cat. Thrice he sprang, striving to climb to the coping, f=
or
the place had no roof, each time falling back, since it was too high for hi=
m to
grasp. I caught him round the middle, and held him by main force, although =
he
struck at me.
"Be quiet,&q=
uot;
I said; "do you want to kill yourself? You will be no good dead or mai=
med.
Let me think."
Meanwhile Japhet =
was
acting on his own account, for he, too, had heard the tiny, ominous sounds
given out by the telephone and guessed their purport. First he ran to the
massive transom that blocked the doorway and pushed. It was useless; not ev=
en
an elephant could have stirred it. Then he stepped back, examining it
carefully.
"I think it =
can
be climbed, Physician," he said. "Help me now," and he motio=
ned
to me to take one end of the heavy table on which the batteries stood. We
dragged it to the doorway, and, seeing his purpose, Oliver jumped on to it =
with
him. Then at Japhet's direction, while I supported the table to prevent its
oversetting, Orme rested his forehead against the stone, making what
schoolboy's call "a back," up which the mountaineer climbed activ=
ely
until he stood upon his shoulders, and by stretching himself was able to gr=
asp
the end of the fallen transom. Next, while I held up the lamp to give him
light, he gripped the roughnesses of the hewn stone with his toes, and in a=
few
moments was upon the coping of the wall, twenty feet or more above the floor
line.
The rest was
comparatively easy, for taking off his linen robe, Japhet knotted it once or
twice, and let it down to us. By the help of this improvised rope, with Orme
supporting me beneath, I, too, was dragged up to the coping of the wall. Th=
en
both of us pulled up Oliver, who, without a word, swung himself over the wa=
ll,
hanging to Japhet's arms, and loosing his hold, dropped to the ground on the
farther side. Next came my turn. It was a long fall, and had not Oliver cau=
ght
me I think that I should have hurt myself. As it was, the breath was shaken=
out
of me. Lastly, Japhet swung himself down, landing lightly as a cat. The lam=
ps
he had already dropped to us, and in another minute they were all lighted, =
and
we were speeding down the great cavern.
"Be
careful," I cried; "there may be fallen rocks about."
As it happened I =
was
right, for at that moment Oliver struck his legs against one of them and fe=
ll,
cutting himself a good deal. In a moment he was up again, but after this our
progress grew slow, for hundreds of tons of stone had been shaken from the =
roof
and blocked the path. Also, whole buildings of the ancient and underground =
city
had been thrown down, although these were mostly blown inward by the rush of
air. At length we came to the end of the cave, and halted dismayed, for her=
e, where
the blast of the explosion had been brought to a full stop, the place seeme=
d to
be crowded with rocks which it had rolled before it.
"My God! I
believe we are shut in," exclaimed Oliver in despair.
But Japhet, lante=
rn
in hand, was already leaping from block to block, and presently, from the t=
op
of the débris, called to us to come to him.
"I think the=
re
is a road left, though a bad one, lords," he said, and pointed to a
jagged, well-like hole blown out, as I believe, by the recoil of the blast.
With difficulty and danger, for many of the piled up stones were loose, we
climbed down this place, and at its bottom squeezed ourselves through a nar=
row
aperture on to the floor of the cave, praying that the huge door which led =
to
the passage beyond might not be jammed, since if it were, as we knew well, =
our
small strength would not avail to move it. Happily, this fear at least prov=
ed groundless,
since it opened outward, and the force of the compressed air had torn it fr=
om
its massive stone hinges and thrown it shattered to the ground.
We scrambled over=
it,
and advanced down the passage, our revolvers in our hands. We reached the
audience hall, which was empty and in darkness. We turned to the left, cros=
sing
various chambers, and in the last of them, through which one of the gates of
the palace could be approached, met with the first signs of the tragedy, for
there were bloodstains on the floor.
Orme pointed to t=
hem
as he hurried on, and suddenly a man leapt out of the darkness as a buck le=
aps
from a bush, and ran past us, holding his hands to his side, where evidentl=
y he
had some grievous hurt. Now we entered the corridor leading to the private
apartments of the Child of Kings, and found ourselves walking on the bodies=
of
dead and dying men. One of the former I observed, as one does notice little
things at such a moment, held in his hand the broken wire of the field
telephone. I presume that he had snatched and severed it in his death pang =
at
the moment when communication ceased between us and the palace.
We rushed into the
little antechamber, in which lights were burning, and there saw a sight tha=
t I
for one never shall forget.
In the foreground=
lay
more dead men, all of them wearing the livery of Prince Joshua. Beyond was
Sergeant Quick, seated on a chair. He seemed to be literally hacked to piec=
es.
An arrow that no one had attempted to remove was fast in his shoulder; his
head, which Maqueda was sponging with wet cloths--well, I will not describe=
his
wounds.
Leaning against t=
he
wall near by stood Higgs, also bleeding, and apparently quite exhausted.
Behind, besides Maqueda herself, were two or three of her ladies, wringing
their hands and weeping. In face of this terrible spectacle we came to a su=
dden
halt. No word was spoken of by any one, for the power of speech had left us=
.
The dying Quick
opened his eyes, lifted his hand, upon which there was a ghastly sword-cut,=
to
his forehead, as though to shade them from the light--ah! how well I recall
that pathetic motion--and from beneath this screen stared at us a while. Th=
en
he rose from the chair, touched his throat to show that he could not speak,=
as
I suppose, saluted Orme, turned and pointed to Maqueda, and with a triumpha=
nt
smile sank down and--died.
Such was the noble
end of Sergeant Quick.
To describe what
followed is not easy, for the scene was confused. Also shock and sorrow have
blurred its recollection in my mind. I remember Maqueda and Orme falling in=
to
each other's arms before everybody. I remember her drawing herself up in th=
at
imperial way of hers, and saying, as she pointed to the body of Quick:
"There lies =
one
who has shown us how to die. This countryman of yours was a hero, O Oliver,=
and
you should hold his memory in honour, since he saved me from worse than
death."
"What's the
story?" asked Orme of Higgs.
"A simple one
enough," he answered. "We got here all right, as we told you over=
the
wire. Then Maqueda talked to you for a long while until you rang off, saying
you wanted to speak to Japhet. After that, at ten o'clock precisely, we hea=
rd
the thud of the explosion. Next, as we were preparing to go out to see what=
had
happened, Joshua arrived alone, announced that the idol Harmac had been
destroyed, and demanded that the Child of Kings, 'for State reasons,' should
accompany him to his own castle. She declined and, as he insisted, I took it
upon myself to kick him out of the place. He retired, and we saw no more of
him, but a few minutes later there came a shower of arrows down the passage,
and after them a rush of men, who called, 'Death to the Gentiles. Rescue th=
e Rose.'
"So we began=
to
shoot and knocked over a lot of them, but Quick got that arrow through his
shoulder. Three times they came on like that, and three times we drove them
back. At last our cartridges ran low, and we only had our revolvers left, w=
hich
we emptied into them. They hung a moment, but moved forward again, and all
seemed up.
"Then Quick =
went
mad. He snatched the sword of a dead Abati and ran at them roaring like a b=
ull.
They hacked and cut at him, but the end of it was that he drove them right =
out
of the passage, while I followed, firing past him.
"Well, those=
who
were left of the blackguards bolted, and when they had gone the Sergeant
tumbled down. The women and I carried him back here, but he never said anot=
her
word, and at last you turned up. Now he's gone, God rest him, for if ever t=
here
was a hero in this world he was christened Samuel Quick!" and, turning
aside, the Professor pushed up the blue spectacles he always wore on to his
forehead, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
With grief more
bitter than I can describe we lifted up the body of the gallant Quick and,
bearing it into Maqueda's private apartment, placed it on her own bed, for =
she
insisted that the man who had died to protect her should be laid nowhere el=
se.
It was strange to see the grim old soldier, whose face, now that I had wash=
ed
his wounds, looked calm and even beautiful, laid out to sleep his last sleep
upon the couch of the Child of Kings. That bed, I remember, was a rich and
splendid thing, made of some black wood inlaid with scrolls of gold, and ha=
ving
hung about it curtains of white net embroidered with golden stars, such as =
Maqueda
wore upon her official veil.
There upon the
scented pillows and silken coverlet we set our burden down, the work-worn h=
ands
clasped upon the breast in an attitude of prayer, and one by one bid our
farewell to this faithful and upright man, whose face, as it chanced, we we=
re
never to see again, except in the glass of memory. Well, he had died as he =
had
lived and would have wished to die--doing his duty and in war. And so we le=
ft
him. Peace be to his honoured spirit!
In the blood-stai=
ned
ante-room, while I dressed and stitched up the Professor's wounds, a sword-=
cut
on the head, an arrow-graze along the face, and a spear-prick in the thigh,
none of them happily at all deep or dangerous, we held a brief council.
"Friends,&qu=
ot;
said Maqueda, who was leaning on her lover's arm, "it is not safe that=
we
should stop here. My uncle's plot has failed for the moment, but it was onl=
y a
small and secret thing. I think that soon he will return again with a thous=
and
at his back, and then----"
"What is in =
your
mind?" asked Oliver. "To fly from Mur?"
"How can we
fly," she answered, "when the pass is guarded by Joshua's men, and
the Fung wait for us without? The Abati hate you, my friends, and now that =
you
have done your work I think that they will kill you if they can, whom they =
bore
with only till it was done. Alas! alas! that I should have brought you to t=
his
false and ungrateful country," and she began to weep, while we stared =
at
each other, helpless.
Then Japhet, who =
all
this while had been crouched on the floor, rocking himself too and fro and
mourning in his Eastern fashion for Quick, whom he had loved, rose, and, co=
ming
to the Child of Kings, prostrated himself before her.
"O Walda
Nagasta," he said, "hear the words of your servant. Only three mi=
les
away, near to the mouth of the pass, are encamped five hundred men of my own
people, the Mountaineers, who hate Prince Joshua and his following. Fly to
them, O Walda Nagasta, for they will cleave to you and listen to me whom you
have made a chief among them. Afterwards you can act as may seem wisest.&qu=
ot;
Maqueda looked at
Oliver questioningly.
"I think tha=
t is
good advice," he said. "At any rate, we can't be worse off among =
the
Mountaineers than we are in this undefended place. Tell your women to bring
cloaks that we can throw over our heads, and let us go."
Five minutes late=
r, a
forlorn group filled with fears, we had stolen over the dead and dying in t=
he
passage, and made our way to the side gate of the palace that we found open,
and over the bridge that spanned the moat beyond, which was down. Doubtless
Joshua's ruffians had used it in their approach and retreat. Disguised in t=
he
long cloaks with monk-like hoods that the Abati wore at night or when the
weather was cold and wet, we hurried across the great square. Here, since we
could not escape them, we mingled with the crowd that was gathered at its f=
arther
end, all of them--men, women and children--chattering like monkeys in the
tree-tops, and pointing to the cliff at the back of the palace, beneath whi=
ch,
it will be remembered, lay the underground city.
A band of soldiers
rode by, thrusting their way through the people, and in order to avoid them=
we
thought it wise to take refuge in the shadow of a walk of green-leaved trees
which grew close at hand, for we feared lest they might recognize Oliver by=
his
height. Here we turned and looked up at the cliff, to discover what it was =
at
which every one was staring. At that moment the full moon, which had been
obscured by a cloud, broke out, and we saw a spectacle that under the
circumstances was nothing less than terrifying.
The cliff behind =
the
palace rose to a height of about a hundred and fifty feet, and, as it chanc=
ed,
just there a portion of it jutted out in an oblong shape, which the Abati
called the Lion Rock, although personally, heretofore, I had never been abl=
e to
see in it any great resemblance to a lion. Now, however, it was different, =
for
on the very extremity of this rock, staring down at Mur, sat the head and n=
eck
of the huge lion-faced idol of the Fung. Indeed, in that light, with the pr=
omontory
stretching away behind it, it looked as though it were the idol itself, mov=
ed
from the valley upon the farther side of the precipice to the top of the cl=
iff
above.
"Oh! oh!
oh!" groaned Japhet, "the prophecy is fulfilled--the head of Harm=
ac
has come to sleep at Mur."
"You mean th=
at
we have sent him there," whispered Higgs. "Don't be frightened, m=
an;
can't you understand that the power of our medicine has blown the head off =
the
sphinx high into the air, and landed it where it sits now?"
"Yes," I
put in, "and what we felt in the cave was the shock of its fall."=
"I don't care
what brought him," replied Japhet, who seemed quite unstrung by all th=
at
he had gone through. "All I know is that the prophecy is fulfilled, and
Harmac has come to Mur, and where Harmac goes the Fung follow."
"So much the
better," said the irreverent Higgs. "I may be able to sketch and
measure him now."
But I saw that
Maqueda was trembling, for she, too, thought this occurrence a very bad ome=
n,
and even Oliver remained silent, perhaps because he feared its effect upon =
the
Abati.
Nor was this
wonderful since, from the talk around us, clearly that effect was great.
Evidently the people were terrified, like Japhet. We could hear them forebo=
ding
ill, and cursing us Gentiles as wizards, who had not destroyed the idol of =
the
Fung as we promised, but had only caused him to fly to Mur.
Here I may mention
that as a matter of fact they were right. As we discovered afterwards, the
whole force of the explosion, instead of shattering the vast bulk of the st=
one
image, had rushed up through the hollow chambers in its interior until it
struck against the solid head. Lifting this as though it were a toy, the ex=
panding
gas had hurled that mighty mass an unknown distance into the air, to light =
upon
the crest of the cliffs of Mur, where probably it will remain forever.
"Well,"= I said, when we had stared a little while at this extraordinary phenomenon, "thank God it did not travel farther, and fall upon the palace."<= o:p>
"Oh! had it =
done
so," whispered Maqueda in a tearful voice, "I think you might have
thanked God indeed, for then at least I should be free from all my troubles.
Come, friends, let us be going before we are discovered."
CHAPTER XVII - I FIND MY =
SON
Our road toward t=
he
pass ran through the camping ground of the newly created Abati army, and wh=
at
we saw on our journey thither told us more vividly than any words or reports
could do, how utter was the demoralization of that people. Where should have
been sentries were no sentries; where should have been soldiers were groups=
of
officers talking with women; where should have been officers were camp
followers drinking.
Through this
confusion and excitement we made our way unobserved, or, at any rate,
unquestioned, till at length we came to the regiment of the Mountaineers, w=
ho,
for the most part, were goatherds, poor people who lived upon the slopes of=
the
precipices that enclosed the land of Mur. These folk, having little to do w=
ith
their more prosperous brethren of the plain, were hardy and primitive of
nature, and therefore retained some of the primeval virtues of mankind, suc=
h as
courage and loyalty.
It was for the fi=
rst
of these reasons, and, indeed, for the second also, that they had been post=
ed
by Joshua at the mouth of the pass, which he knew well they alone could be
trusted to defend in the event of serious attack. Moreover, it was desirabl=
e,
from his point of view, to keep them out of the way while he developed his
plans against the person of the Child of Kings, for whom these simple-minded
men had a hereditary and almost a superstitious reverence.
As soon as we were
within the lines of these Mountaineers we found the difference between them=
and
the rest of the Abati. The other regiments we had passed unchallenged, but =
here
we were instantly stopped by a picket. Japhet whispered something into the =
ear
of its officer that caused him to stare hard at us. Then this officer salut=
ed
the veiled figure of the Child of Kings and led us to where the commander of
the band and his subordinates were seated near a fire sitting together. At =
some
sign or word that did not reach us the commander, an old fellow with a long
grey beard, rose and said:
"Your pardon,
but be pleased to show your faces."
Maqueda threw back
her hood and turned so that the light of the moon fell full upon her, where=
on
the old man dropped to his knee, saying:
"Your comman=
ds,
O Walda Nagasta."
"Summon your
regiment and I will give them," she answered, and seated herself on a
bench by the fire, we three and Japhet standing behind her.
The commander iss=
ued
orders to his captains, and presently the Mountaineers formed up on three s=
ides
of a square above us, to the number of a little over five hundred men. When=
all
were gathered Maqueda mounted the bench upon which she had been sitting, th=
rew
back her hood so that every one could see her face in the light of the fire,
and addressed them:
"Men of the
mountain-side, this night just after the idol of the Fung had been destroye=
d,
the Prince Joshua, my uncle, came to me demanding my surrender to him, whet=
her
to kill me or to imprison me in his castle beyond the end of the lake, for
reasons of State as he said, or for other vile purposes, I do not know.&quo=
t;
At these words a
murmur rose from the audience.
"Wait,"
said Maqueda, holding up her hand, "there is worse to come. I told my
uncle, Prince Joshua, that he was a traitor and had best be gone. He went,
threatening me and, when I do not know, withdrew the guards that should be
stationed at my palace gates. Now, some rumour of my danger had reached the
foreigners in my service, and two of them, he who is called Black Windows, =
whom
we rescued from the Fung, and the soldier named Quick, came to watch over m=
e,
while the Lord Orme and the Doctor Adams stayed in the cave to send out that
spark of fire which should destroy the idol. Nor did they come back without
need, for presently arrived a band of Prince Joshua's men to take me.
"Then Black
Windows and the soldier his companion fought a good fight, they two holding=
the
narrow passage against many, and slaying a number of them with their terrib=
le
weapons. The end of it was, men of the mountains, that the warrior Quick,
charging down the passage, drove away those servants of Joshua who remained
alive. But in so doing he was wounded to the death. Yes, that brave man lies
dead, having given his life to save the Child of Kings from the hands of her
own people. Black Windows also was wounded--see the bandages about his head.
Then came the Lord Orme and the Doctor Adams, and with them your brother
Japhet, who had barely escaped with their lives from the cave city, and kno=
wing
that I was no longer safe in the palace, where even my sleeping-room has be=
en drenched
with blood, with them I have fled to you for succour. Will you not protect =
me,
O men of the mountain-side?"
"Yes, yes,&q=
uot;
they answered with a great shout. "Command we obey. What shall we do, O
Child of Kings?"
Now Maqueda called
the officers of the regiment apart and consulted with them, asking their
opinions, one by one. Some of them were in favour of finding out where Josh=
ua
might be, and attacking him at once. "Crush the snake's head and its t=
ail
will soon cease wriggling!" these said, and I confess this was a view =
that
in many ways commended itself to us.
But Maqueda would
have none of it.
"What!"=
she
exclaimed, "shall I begin a civil war among my people when for aught I
know the enemy is at our gates?" adding aside to us, "also, how c=
an
these few hundred men, brave though they be, hope to stand against the
thousands under the command of Joshua?"
"What, then,
would you do?" asked Orme.
"Return to t=
he
palace with these Mountaineers, O Oliver, and by help of that garrison, hol=
d it
against all enemies."
"Very well,&=
quot;
he replied. "To those who are quite lost one road is as good as anothe=
r;
they must trust to the stars to guide them."
"Quite so,&q=
uot;
echoed Higgs; "and the sooner we go the better, for my leg hurts, and I
want a sleep."
So Maqueda gave h=
er
commands to the officers, by whom they were conveyed to the regiment, which
received them with a shout, and instantly began to strike its camp.
Then it was, comi=
ng
hot-foot after so much sorrow, loss and doubt, that there followed the happ=
iest
event of all my life. Utterly tired out and very despondent, I was seated o=
n an
arrow-chest awaiting the order to march, idly watching Oliver and Maqueda
talking with great earnestness at a little distance, and in the intervals
trying to prevent poor Higgs at my side from falling asleep. While I was th=
us
engaged, suddenly I heard a disturbance, and by the bright moonlight caught
sight of a man being led into the camp in charge of a guard of Abati soldie=
rs,
whom from their dress I knew to belong to a company that just then was empl=
oyed
in watching the lower gates of the pass.
I took no particu=
lar
heed of the incident, thinking only that they might have captured some spy,
till a murmur of astonishment, and the general stir, warned me that somethi=
ng
unusual had occurred. So I rose from my box and strolled towards the man, w=
ho
now was hidden from me by a group of Mountaineers. As I advanced this group
opened, the men who composed it bowing to me with a kind of wondering respe=
ct
that impressed me, I did not know why.
Then for the first
time I saw the prisoner. He was a tall, athletic young man, dressed in fest=
al
robes with a heavy gold chain about his neck, and I wondered vaguely what s=
uch
a person should be doing here in this time of national commotion. He turned=
his
head so that the moonlight showed his dark eyes, his somewhat oval-shaped f=
ace
ending in a peaked black beard, and his finely cut features. In an instant I
knew him.
It was my son
Roderick!
Next moment, for =
the
first time for very many years, he was in my arms.
The first thing t=
hat
I remember saying to him was a typically Anglo-Saxon remark, for however mu=
ch
we live in the East or elsewhere, we never really shake off our native
conventions, and habits of speech. It was, "How are you, my boy, and h=
ow
on earth did you come here?" to which he answered, slowly, it is true,=
and
speaking with a foreign accent:
"All right,
thank you, father. I ran upon my legs."
By this time Higgs
hobbled up, and was greeting my son warmly, for, of course, they were old
friends.
"Thought you
were to be married to-night, Roderick?" he said.
"Yes, yes,&q=
uot;
he answered, "I am half married according to Fung custom, which counts=
not
to my soul. Look, this is the dress of marriage," and he pointed to his
fine embroidered robe and rich ornaments.
"Then, where=
's
your wife?" asked Higgs.
"I do not kn=
ow
and I do not care," he answered, "for I did not like that wife. A=
lso
it is all nothing as I am not quite married to her. Fung marriage between b=
ig
people takes two days to finish, and if not finished does not matter. So she
marry some one else if she like, and I too."
"What happen=
ed
then?" I asked.
"Oh, this,
father. When we had eaten the marriage feast, but before we past before pri=
est,
suddenly we hear a thunder and see a pillar of fire shoot up into sky, and
sitting on top of it head of Harmac, which vanish into heaven and stop ther=
e.
Then everybody jump up and say:
"'Magic of w=
hite
man! Magic of white man! White man kill the god who sit there from beginnin=
g of
world, now day of Fung finished according to prophecy. Run away, people of
Fung, run away!'
"Barung the
Sultan tear his clothes too, and say--'Run away, Fung,' and my half-wife, s=
he
tear her clothes and say nothing, but run like antelope. So they all run to=
ward
east, where great river is, and leave me alone. Then I get up and run
too--toward west, for I know from Black Windows," and he pointed to Hi=
ggs,
"when we shut up together in belly of god before he let down to lions,
what all this game mean, and therefore not frightened. Well, I run, meeting=
no
one in night, till I come to pass, run up it, and find guards, to whom I te=
ll
story, so they not kill me, but let me through, and at last I come here, qu=
ite
safe, without Fung wife, thank God, and that end of tale."
"I am afraid=
you
are wrong there, my boy," I said, "out of the frying-pan into the
fire, that's all."
"Out of
frying-pan into fire," he repeated. "Not understand; father must =
remember
I only little fellow when Khalifa's people take me, and since then speak no
English till I meet Black Windows. Only he give me Bible-book that he have =
in
pocket when he go down to be eat by lions." (Here Higgs blushed, for no
one ever suspected him, a severe critic of all religions, of carrying a Bib=
le
in his pocket, and muttered something about "ancient customs of the
Hebrews.")
"Well,"
went on Roderick, "read that book ever since, and, as you see, all my
English come back."
"The question
is," said Higgs, evidently in haste to talk of something else, "w=
ill
the Fung come back?"
"Oh! Black
Windows, don't know, can't say. Think not. Their prophecy was that Harmac m=
ove
to Mur, but when they see his head jump into sky and stop there, they run e=
very
man toward the sunrise, and I think go on running."
"But Harmac =
has
come to Mur, Roderick," I said; "at least his head has fallen on =
to
the cliff that overlooks the city."
"Oh! my
father," he answered, "then that make great difference. When Fung
find out that head of Harmac has come here, no doubt they come after him, f=
or
head his most holy bit, especially as they want hang all the Abati whom they
not like."
"Well, let's
hope that they don't find out anything about it," I replied, to change=
the
subject. Then taking Roderick by the hand I led him to where Maqueda stood a
yard or two apart, listening to our talk, but, of course, understanding very
little of it, and introduced him to her, explaining in a few words the
wonderful thing that had happened. She welcomed him very kindly, and
congratulated me upon my son's escape. Meanwhile, Roderick had been staring=
at
her with evident admiration. Now he turned to us and said in his quaint bro=
ken
English:
"Walda Nagas=
ta
most lovely woman! No wonder King Solomon love her mother. If Barung's
daughter, my wife, had been like her, think I run through great river into
rising sun with Fung."
Oliver instantly
translated this remark, which made us all laugh, including Maqueda herself,=
and
very grateful we were to find the opportunity for a little innocent merrime=
nt
upon that tragic night.
By this time the
regiment was ready to start, and had formed up into companies. Before the m=
arch
actually began, however, the officer of the Abati patrol, in whose charge
Roderick had been brought to us, demanded his surrender that he might deliv=
er
his prisoner to the Commander-in-Chief, Prince Joshua. Of course, this was
refused, whereon the man asked roughly:
"By whose
order?"
As it happened,
Maqueda, of whose presence he was not aware, heard him, and acting on some
impulse, came forward, and unveiled.
"By mine,&qu=
ot;
she said. "Know that the Child of Kings rules the Abati, not the Prince
Joshua, and that prisoners taken by her soldiers are hers, not his. Be gone
back to your post!"
The captain stare=
d,
saluted, and went with his companions, not to the pass, indeed, as he had b=
een
ordered, but to Joshua. To him he reported the arrival of the Gentile's son,
and the news he brought that the nation of the Fung, dismayed by the
destruction of their god, were in full flight from the plains of Harmac,
purposing to cross the great river and to return no more.
This glad tidings
spread like wildfire; so fast, indeed, that almost before we had begun our
march, we heard the shouts of exultation with which it was received by the
terrified mob gathered in the great square. The cloud of terror was suddenly
lifted from them. They went mad in their delight; they lit bonfires, they
drank, they feasted, they embraced each other and boasted of their bravery =
that
had caused the mighty nation of the Fung to flee away for ever.
Meanwhile, our
advance had begun, nor in the midst of the general jubilation was any
particular notice taken of us till we were in the middle of the square of M=
ur
and within half a mile of the palace, when we saw by the moonlight that a l=
arge
body of troops, two or three thousand of them, were drawn up in front of us,
apparently to bar our way. Still we went on till a number of officers rode =
up,
and addressing the commander of the regiment of Mountaineers, demanded to k=
now
why he had left his post, and whither he went.
"I go whithe=
r I
am ordered," he answered, "for there is one here greater than
I."
"If you mean=
the
Gentile Orme and his fellows, the command of the Prince Joshua is that you =
hand
them over to us that they may make report to him of their doings this
night."
"And the com=
mand
of the Child of Kings is," replied the captain of the Mountaineers,
"that I take them with her back to the palace."
"It has no
weight," said the spokesman insolently, "not being endorsed by the
Council. Surrender the Gentiles, hand over to us the person of the Child of
Kings of whom you have taken possession, and return to your post till the
pleasure of the Prince Joshua be known."
Then the wrath of
Maqueda blazed up.
"Seize those
men!" she said, and it was done instantly. "Now, cut the head from
him who dared to demand the surrender of my person and of my officers, and =
give
it to his companions to take back to the Prince Joshua as my answer to his
message."
The man heard, and
being a coward like all the Abati, flung himself upon his face before Maque=
da,
trying to kiss her robe and pleading for mercy.
"Dog!" =
she
answered, "you were one of those who this very night dared to attack my
chamber. Oh! lie not, I knew your voice and heard your fellow-traitors call=
you
by your name. Away with him!"
We tried to
interfere, but she would not listen, even to Orme.
"Would you p=
lead
for your brother's murderer?" she asked, alluding to Quick. "I ha=
ve
spoken!"
So they dragged h=
im
off behind us, and presently we saw a melancholy procession returning whence
they came, carrying something on a shield. It reached the opposing ranks,
whence there arose a murmur of wrath and fear.
"March on!&q=
uot;
said Maqueda, "and gain the palace."
So the regiment
formed into a square, and, setting Maqueda and ourselves in the centre of i=
t,
advanced again.
Then the fight be=
gan.
Great numbers of the Abati surrounded us and, as they did not dare to make a
direct attack, commenced shooting arrows, which killed and wounded a number=
of
men. But the Highlanders also were archers, and carried stronger bows. The
square was halted, the first ranks kneeling and the second standing behind
them. Then, at a given word, the stiff bows which these hardy people used
against the lion and the buffalo upon their hills were drawn to the ear and
loosed again and again with terrible effect.
On that open plac=
e it
was almost impossible to miss the mobs of the Abati who, having no experien=
ce
of war, were fighting without order. Nor could the light mail they wore
withstand the rush of the heavy barbed arrows which pierced them through and
through. In two minutes they began to give, in three they were flying back =
to
their main body, those who were left of them, a huddled rout of men and hor=
ses.
So the French must have fled before the terrible longbows of the English at
Crécy and Poitiers, for, in fact, we were taking part in just such a mediæv=
al battle.
Oliver, who was
watching intently, went to Japhet and whispered something in his ear. He no=
dded
and ran to seek the commander of the regiment. Presently the result of that
whisper became apparent, for the sides of the hollow square wheeled outward=
and
the rear moved up to strengthen the centre.
Now the Mountaine=
ers
were ranged in a double or triple line, behind which were only about a dozen
soldiers, who marched round Maqueda, holding their shields aloft in order to
protect her from stray arrows. With these, too, came our four selves, a num=
ber
of camp-followers and others, carrying on their shields those of the regime=
nt
who were too badly wounded to walk.
Leaving the dead
where they lay, we began to advance, pouring in volleys of arrows as we wen=
t.
Twice the Abati tried to charge us, and twice those dreadful arrows drove t=
hem
back. Then at the word of command, the Highlanders slung their bows upon th=
eir
backs, drew their short swords, and in their turn charged.
Five minutes
afterwards everything was over. Joshua's soldiers threw down their arms, and
ran or galloped to right and left, save a number of them who fled through t=
he
gates of the palace, which they had opened, and across the drawbridge into =
the
courtyards within. After them, or, rather, mixed up with them, followed the
Mountaineers, killing all whom they could find, for they were out of hand a=
nd
would not listen to the commands of Maqueda and their officers, that they
should show mercy.
So, just as the d=
awn
broke this strange moonlit battle ended, a small affair, it is true, for th=
ere
were only five hundred men engaged upon our side and three or four thousand=
on
the other, yet one that cost a great number of lives and was the beginning =
of
all the ruin that followed.
Well, we were safe
for a while, since it was certain, after the lesson which he had just learn=
ed,
that Joshua would not attempt to storm the double walls and fosse of the pa=
lace
without long preparation. Yet even now a new trouble awaited us, for by some
means, we never discovered how, that wing of the palace in which Maqueda's
private rooms were situated suddenly burst into flames.
Personally, I bel=
ieve
that the fire arose through the fact that a lamp had been left burning near=
the
bed of the Child of Kings upon which was laid the body of Sergeant Quick.
Perhaps a wounded man hidden there overturned the lamp; perhaps the draught
blowing through the open doors brought the gold-spangled curtains into cont=
act
with the wick.
At any rate, the
wood-panelled chambers took fire, and had it not happened that the set of t=
he
wind was favourable, the whole palace might have been consumed. As it was, =
we
succeeded in confining the conflagration to this particular part of it, whi=
ch
within two hours had burnt out, leaving nothing standing but the stark, sto=
ne
walls.
Such was the fune=
ral
pyre of Sergeant Quick, a noble one, I thought to myself, as I watched it b=
urn.
When the fire was=
so
well under control, for we had pulled down the connecting passage where Hig=
gs
and Quick fought their great fight, that there was no longer any danger of =
its
spreading, and the watches had been set, at length we got some rest.
Maqueda and two or
three of her ladies, one of them, I remember, her old nurse who had brought=
her
up, for her mother died at her birth, took possession of some empty rooms, =
of
which there were many in the palace, while we lay, or rather fell, down in =
the
guest-chambers, where we had always slept, and never opened our eyes again
until the evening.
I remember that I
woke thinking that I was the victim of some wonderful dream of mingled joy =
and
tragedy. Oliver and Higgs were sleeping like logs, but my son Roderick, sti=
ll
dressed in his bridal robes, had risen and sat by my bed staring at me, a
puzzled look upon his handsome face.
"So you are
here," I said, taking his hand. "I thought I dreamed."
"No,
Father," he answered in his odd English, "no dream; all true. Thi=
s is
a strange world, Father. Look at me! For how many years--twelve--fourteen,
slave of savage peoples for whom I sing, priest of Fung idol, always near d=
eath
but never die. Then Sultan Barung take fancy to me, say I come of white blo=
od
and must be his daughter's husband. Then your brother Higgs made prisoner w=
ith
me and tell me that you hunt me all these years. Then Higgs thrown to lions=
and
you save him. Then yesterday I married to Sultan's daughter, whom I never s=
ee before
but twice at fast of idol. Then Harmac's head fly off to heaven, and all Fu=
ng
people run away, and I run too, and find you. Then battle, and many killed,=
and
arrow scratch my neck but not hurt me," and he pointed to a graze just
over his jugular vein, "and now we together. Oh! Father, very strange
world! I think there God somewhere who look after us!"
"I think so,
too, my boy," I answered, "and I hope that He will continue to do=
so,
for I tell you we are in a worse place than ever you were among the Fung.&q=
uot;
"Oh, don't m=
ind
that, Father," he answered gaily, for Roderick is a cheerful soul.
"As Fung say, there no house without door, although plenty people made
blind and can't see it. But we not blind, or we dead long ago. Find door by=
and
by, but here come man to talk to you."
The man proved to=
be
Japhet, who had been sent by the Child of Kings to summon us, as she had ne=
ws
to tell. So I woke the others, and after I had dressed the Professor's flesh
wounds, which were stiff and sore, we joined her where she sat in the gatew=
ay
tower of the inner wall. She greeted us rather sadly, asked Oliver how he h=
ad
slept and Higgs if his cuts hurt him. Then she turned to my son, and
congratulated him upon his wonderful escape and upon having found a father =
if
he had lost a wife.
"Truly,"
she added, "you are a fortunate man to be so well loved, O son of Adam=
s.
To how many sons are given fathers who for fourteen long years, abandoning =
all
else, would search for them in peril of their lives, enduring slavery and b=
lows
and starvation and the desert's heat and cold for the sake of a long-lost f=
ace?
Such faithfulness is that of my forefather David for his brother Jonathan, =
and
such love it is that passes the love of women. See that you pay it back to =
him,
and to his memory until the last hour of your life, child of Adams."
"I will, ind=
eed,
I will, O Walda Nagasta," answered Roderick, and throwing his arms abo=
ut
my neck he embraced me before them all. It is not too much to say that this
kiss of filial devotion more than repaid me for all I had undergone for his
beloved sake. For now I knew that I had not toiled and suffered for one of =
no
worth, as is so often the lot of true hearts in this bitter world.
Just then some of
Maqueda's ladies brought food, and at her bidding we breakfasted.
"Be
sparing," she said with a melancholy little laugh, "for I know no=
t how
long our store will last. Listen! I have received a last offer from my uncle
Joshua. An arrow brought it--not a man; I think that no man would come lest=
his
fate should be that of the traitor of yesterday," and she produced a s=
lip
of parchment that had been tied to the shaft of an arrow and, unfolding it,
read as follows--
"O Walda
Nagasta, deliver up to death the Gentiles who have bewitched you and led yo=
u to
shed the blood of so many of your people, and with them the officers of the
Mountaineers, and the rest shall be spared. You also I will forgive and mak=
e my
wife. Resist, and all who cling to you shall be put to the sword, and to
yourself I promise nothing.
"Written by
order of the Council,
"Joshua, Pri=
nce
of the Abati."
"What answer shall I send?" she
asked, looking at us curiously.
"Upon my
word," replied Orme, shrugging his shoulders, "if it were not for
those faithful officers I am not sure but that you would be wise to accept =
the
terms. We are cooped up here, but a few surrounded by thousands, who, if th=
ey
dare not assault, still can starve us out, as this place is not victualled =
for
a siege."
"You forget =
one
of those terms, O Oliver!" she said slowly, pointing with her finger to
the passage in the letter which stated that Joshua would make her his wife,=
"Now
do you still counsel surrender?"
"How can
I?" he answered, flushing, and was silent.
"Well, it do=
es
not matter what you counsel," she went on with a smile, "seeing t=
hat
I have already sent my answer, also by arrow. See, here is a copy of it,&qu=
ot;
and she read--
"To my
rebellious People of the Abati:
"Surrender t=
o me
Joshua, my uncle, and the members of the Council who have lifted sword agai=
nst
me, to be dealt with according to the ancient law, and the rest of you shal=
l go
unharmed. Refuse, and I swear to you that before the night of the new moon =
has
passed there shall be such woe in Mur as fell upon the city of David when t=
he
barbarian standards were set upon her walls. Such is the counsel that has c=
ome
to me, the Child of Solomon, in the watches of the night, and I tell you th=
at
it is true. Do what you will, people of the Abati, or what you must, since =
your
fate and ours are written. But be sure that in me and the Western lords lie=
s your
only hope.
"Walda
Nagasta."
"What do you mean, O Maqueda,"=
I asked,
"about the counsel that came to you in the watches of the night?"=
"What I say,=
O
Adams," she answered calmly. "After we parted at dawn I slept
heavily, and in my sleep a dark and royal woman stood before me whom I knew=
to
be my great ancestress, the beloved of Solomon. She looked on me sadly, yet=
as
I thought with love. Then she drew back, as it were, a curtain of thick clo=
ud
that hid the future and revealed to me the young moon riding the sky and
beneath it Mur, a blackened ruin, her streets filled with dead. Yes, and she
showed to me other things, though I may not tell them, which also shall com=
e to
pass, then held her hands over me as if in blessing, and was gone."
"Old Hebrew
prophet business! Very interesting," I heard Higgs mutter below his br=
eath,
while in my own heart I set the dream down to excitement and want of food. =
In
fact, only two of us were impressed, my son very much, and Oliver a little,
perhaps because everything Maqueda said was gospel to him.
"Doubtless a=
ll
will come to pass as you say, Walda Nagasta," said Roderick with
conviction. "The day of the Abati is finished."
"Why do you =
say
that, Son?" I asked.
"Because,
Father, among the Fung people from a child I have two offices, that of Sing=
er
to the God and that of Reader of Dreams. Oh! do not laugh. I can tell you m=
any
that have come true as I read them; thus the dream of Barung which I read to
mean that the head of Harmac would come to Mur, and see, there it sit,"
and turning, he pointed through the doorway of the tower to the grim lion-h=
ead
of the idol crouched upon the top of the precipice, watching Mur as a beast=
of
prey watches the victim upon which it is about to spring. "I know when
dreams true and when dreams false; it my gift, like my voice. I know that t=
his
dream true, that all," and as he ceased speaking I saw his eyes catch
Maqueda's, and a very curious glance pass between them.
As for Orme, he o=
nly
said:
"You Easterns
are strange people, and if you believe a thing, Maqueda, there may be somet=
hing
in it. But you understand that this message of yours means war to the last,=
a
very unequal war," and he looked at the hordes of the Abati gathering =
on
the great square.
"Yes," =
she
answered quietly, "I understand, but however sore our straits, and how=
ever
strange may seem the things that happen, have no fear of the end of that wa=
r, O
my friends."
CHAPTER XVIII - THE BURNI=
NG
OF THE PALACE
Orme was right.
Maqueda's defiance did mean war, "an unequal war." This was our
position. We were shut up in a long range of buildings, of which one end had
been burned, that on account of their moat and double wall, if defended with
any vigour, could only be stormed by an enemy of great courage and
determination, prepared to face a heavy sacrifice of life. This was a
circumstance in our favour, since the Abati were not courageous, and very m=
uch
disliked the idea of being killed, or even injured.
But here our
advantage ended. Deducting those whom we had lost on the previous night, the
garrison only amounted to something over four hundred men, of whom about fi=
fty
were wounded, some of them dangerously. Moreover, ammunition was short, for
they had shot away most of their arrows in the battle of the square, and we=
had
no means of obtaining more. But, worst of all, the palace was not provision=
ed
for a siege, and the mountaineers had with them only three days' rations of
sun-dried beef or goat's flesh, and a hard kind of biscuit made of Indian c=
orn mixed
with barley meal. Thus, as we saw from the beginning, unless we could manag=
e to
secure more food our case must soon grow hopeless.
There remained yet
another danger. Although the palace itself was stone-built, its gilded domes
and ornamental turrets were of timber, and therefore liable to be fired, as
indeed had already happened. The roof also was of ancient cedar beams, thin=
ly
covered with concrete, while the interior containing an enormous quantity of
panels, or rather boarding, cut from some resinous wood.
The Abati, on the
other hand, were amply supplied with every kind of store and weapon, and co=
uld
bring a great force to blockade us, though that force was composed of a tim=
id
and undisciplined rabble.
Well, we made the
best preparations that we could, although of these I did not see much, since
all that day my time was occupied in attending to the wounded with the help=
of
my son and a few rough orderlies, whose experience in doctoring had for the
most part been confined to cattle. A pitiful business it proved without the=
aid
of anæsthetics or a proper supply of bandages and other appliances. Althoug=
h my
medicine chest had been furnished upon a liberal scale, it proved totally
inadequate to the casualties of battle. Still I did my best and saved some
lives, though many cases developed gangrene and slipped through my fingers.=
Meanwhile Higgs, =
who
worked nobly, notwithstanding his flesh wounds, which pained him considerab=
ly,
and Orme were also doing their best with the assistance of Japhet and the o=
ther
officers of the highland regiment. The palace was thoroughly examined, and =
all
weak places in its defences were made good. The available force was divided
into watches and stationed to the best advantage. A number of men were set =
to
work to manufacture arrow shafts from cedar beams, of which there were plen=
ty in
the wooden stables and outhouses that lay at the back of the main building,=
and
to point and wing the same from a supply of iron barbs and feathers which
fortunately was discovered in one of the guard-houses. A few horses that
remained in a shed were killed and salted down for food, and so forth.
Also every possib=
le
preparation was made to repel attempts to storm, paving stones being piled =
up
to throw upon the heads of assailants and fires lighted on the walls to heat
pitch and oil and water for the same purpose.
But, to our
disappointment, no direct assault was delivered, such desperate methods not
commending themselves to the Abati. Their plan of attack was to take cover
wherever they could, especially among the trees of the garden beyond the ga=
tes,
and thence shoot arrows at any one who appeared upon the walls, or even fire
them in volleys at the clouds, as the Normans did at Hastings, so that they
might fall upon the heads of persons in the courtyards. Although these caut=
ious
tactics cost us several men, they had the advantage of furnishing us with a
supply of ammunition which we sorely needed. All the spent arrows were
carefully collected and made use of against the enemy, at whom we shot when=
ever
opportunity offered. We did them but little damage, however, since they were
extremely careful not to expose themselves.
In this fashion t=
hree
dreary days went past, unrelieved by any incident except a feint, for it was
scarcely more, which the Abati made upon the second night, apparently with =
the
object of forcing the great gates under cover of a rainstorm. The advance w=
as
discovered at once, and repelled by two or three volleys of arrows and some
rifle shots. Of these rifles, indeed, whereof we possessed about a score, t=
he
Abati were terribly afraid. Picking out some of the most intelligent soldie=
rs
we taught them how to handle our spare guns, and though, of course, their s=
hooting
was extremely erratic, the result of it, backed up by our own more accurate
marksmanship, was to force the enemy to take cover. Indeed, after one or two
experiences of the effect of bullets, not a man would show himself in the o=
pen
within five hundred yards until night had fallen.
On the third
afternoon we held a council to determine what must be done, since for the l=
ast
twenty-four hours it had been obvious that things could not continue as they
were. To begin with, we had only sufficient food left to keep our force from
starvation for two more days. Also the spirits of our soldiers, brave men
enough when actual fighting was concerned, were beginning to flag in this
atmosphere of inaction. Gathered into groups, they talked of their wives and
children, and of what would happen to them at the hands of Joshua; also of
their cattle and crops, saying that doubtless these were being ravaged and
their houses burned. In vain did Maqueda promise them five-fold their loss =
when
the war was ended, for evidently in their hearts they thought it could only=
end
one way. Moreover, as they pointed out, she could not give them back their
children if these were killed.
At this melancholy
council every possible plan was discussed, to find that these resolved
themselves into two alternatives--to surrender, or to take the bull by the
horns, sally out of the palace at night and attack Joshua. On the face of i=
t,
this latter scheme had the appearance of suicide, but, in fact, it was not =
so
desperate as it seemed. The Abati being such cowards it was quite probable =
that
they would run in their thousands before the onset of a few hundred determi=
ned
men, and that, if once victory declared itself for the Child of Kings, the =
bulk
of her subjects would return to their allegiance. So we settled on it in pr=
eference
to surrender, which we knew meant death to ourselves, and for Maqueda a cho=
ice
between that last grim solution of her troubles and a forced marriage.
But there were ot=
hers
to be convinced, namely, the Mountaineers. Japhet, who had been present at =
the
council, was sent to summon all of them except those actually on guard, and
when they were assembled in the large inner court Maqueda went out and addr=
essed
them.
I do not remember=
the
exact words of her speech, and I made no note of them, but it was extremely
beautiful and touching. She pointed out her plight, and that we could halt =
no
longer between two opinions, who must either fight or yield. For herself she
said she did not care, since, although she was young and their ruler, she s=
et
no store upon her life, and would give it up gladly rather than be driven i=
nto
a marriage which she considered shameful, and forced to pass beneath the yo=
ke
of traitors.
But for us foreig=
ners
she did care. We had come to her country at her invitation, we had served h=
er
nobly, one of us had given his life to protect her person, and now, in
violation of her safeguard and that of the Council, we were threatened with=
a
dreadful death. Were they, her subjects, so lacking in honour and hospitali=
ty
that they would suffer such a thing with no blow struck to save us?
Now the majority =
of
them shouted "No," but some were silent, and one old captain
advanced, saluted, and spoke.
"Child of
Kings," he said, "let us search out the truth of this matter. Is =
it
not because of your love of the foreign soldier, Orme, that all this trouble
has arisen? Is not that love unlawful according to our law, and are you not
solemnly affianced to the Prince Joshua?"
Maqueda considered
awhile before she replied, and said slowly:
"Friend, my
heart is my own, therefore upon this point answer your question for yoursel=
f.
As regards my uncle Joshua, if there existed any abiding contract between u=
s it
was broken when a few nights ago he sent his servants armed to attack and d=
rag
me off I know not whither. Would you have me marry a traitor and a coward? I
have spoken."
"No," a=
gain
shouted the majority of the soldiers.
Then in the silen=
ce
that followed the old captain replied, with a canniness that was almost Sco=
tch:
"On the point
raised by you, O Child of Kings, I give no opinion, since you, being but a
woman, if a high-born one, would not listen to me if I did, but will doubtl=
ess
follow that heart of yours of which you speak to whatever end is appointed.
Settle the matter with your betrothed Joshua as you will. But we also have a
matter to settle with Joshua, who is a toad with a long tongue that if he s=
eems
slow yet never misses his fly. We took up your cause, and have killed a gre=
at
number of his people, as he has killed some of ours. This he will not forge=
t.
Therefore it seems to me that it will be wise that we should make what we c=
an
of the nest that we have built, since it is better to die in battle than on=
the
gallows. For this reason, then, since we can stay here no longer, for my pa=
rt I
am willing to go out and fight for you this night, although Joshua's people
being so many and ours so few, I shall think myself fortunate if I live to =
see
another sun."
This hard and
reasoned speech seemed to appeal to the dissentients, with the result that =
they
withdrew their opposition, and it was agreed that we should attempt to break
our way through the besieging army about one hour before the dawn, when they
would be heavily asleep and most liable to panic.
Yet, as it chance=
d,
that sortie was destined never to take place, which perhaps was fortunate f=
or
us, since I am convinced that it would have ended in failure. It is true th=
at
we might have forced our way through Joshua's army, but afterwards those of=
us
who remained alive would have been surrounded, starved out, and, when our
strength and ammunition were exhausted taken prisoners or cut down.
However that may =
be,
events shaped a different course for us, perhaps because the Abati got wind=
of
our intention and had no stomach for a pitched battle with desperate men. A=
s it
happened, this night from sunset on to moonrise was one of a darkness so
remarkable that it was impossible to see anything even a foot away, also a =
wind
blowing from the east made sounds very inaudible. Only a few of our men wer=
e on
guard, since it was necessary that they should be rested till it was time f=
or
them to prepare for their great effort. Also, we had little fear of any dir=
ect
attack.
About eight o'clo=
ck,
however, my son Roderick, one of the watch stationed in the gateway towers,=
who
was gifted with very quick ears, reported that he thought he heard people
moving on the farther side of the massive wooden doors beyond the moat.
Accordingly some of us went to listen, but could distinguish nothing, and
concluded therefore that he was mistaken. So we retired to our posts and wa=
ited
patiently for the moon to rise. But as it chanced no moon rose, or rather we
could not see her, because the sky was completely covered by thick banks of=
thunder-clouds
presaging the break-up of a period of great heat. These, as the wind had now
died down, remained quite stationary upon the face of the sky, blotting out=
all
light.
Perhaps another h=
our
had passed when, chancing to look behind me, I saw what I thought was a met=
eor
falling from the crest of the cliff against which the palace was built, that
cliff whither the head of the idol Harmac had been carried by the force of =
the
explosion.
"Look at that
shooting star," I said to Oliver, who was at my side.
"It is not a
shooting star, it is fire," he replied in a startled voice, and, as he
spoke, other streaks of light, scores of them, began to rain down from the =
brow
of the cliff and land upon the wooden buildings to the rear of the palace t=
hat
were dry as tinder with the drought, and, what was worse, upon the gilded
timber domes of the roof.
"Don't you
understand the game?" he went on. "They have tied firebrands to
arrows and spears to burn us out. Sound the alarm. Sound the alarm!"
It was done, and
presently the great range of buildings began to hum like a hive of bees. The
soldiers still half asleep, rushed hither and thither shouting. The officers
also, developing the characteristic excitement of the Abati race in this ho=
ur
of panic, yelled and screamed at them, beating them with their fists and sw=
ords
till some kind of control was established.
Then attempts were
made to extinguish the flames, which by this time had got hold in half-a-do=
zen
places. From the beginning the effort was absolutely hopeless. It is true t=
hat
there was plenty of water in the moat, which was fed by a perennial stream =
that
flowed down the face of the precipice behind; but pumping engines of any so=
rt
were quite unknown to the Abati, who, if a building took fire, just let it
burn, contenting themselves with safeguarding those in its neighbourhood.
Moreover, even in the palace, such articles as pails, jugs, or other vessels
were comparatively few and far between.
Those that we cou=
ld
find, however, were filled with water and passed by lines of men to the pla=
ces
in most danger--that is, practically everywhere--while other men tried to c=
ut
off the advance of the flames by pulling down portions of the building.
But as fast as one
fire was extinguished others broke out, for the rain of burning darts and of
lighted pots or lamps filled with oil descended continuously from the cliff
above. A strange and terrible sight it was to see them flashing down through
the darkness, like the fiery darts that shall destroy the wicked in the day=
of
Armageddon.
Still, we toiled =
on
despairingly. On the roof we four white men, and some soldiers under the
command of Japhet, were pouring water on to several of the gilded domes, wh=
ich
now were well alight. Close by, wrapped in a dark cloak, and attended by so=
me
of her ladies, stood Maqueda. She was quite calm, although sundry burning
arrows and spears, falling with great force from the cliff above, struck the
flat roofs close to where she stood.
Her ladies, howev=
er, were
not calm. They wept and wrung their hands, while one of them went into viol=
ent
hysterics in her very natural terror. Maqueda turned and bade them descend =
to
the courtyard of the gateway, where she said she would join them presently.
They rushed off, rejoicing to escape the sight of those burning arrows, one=
of
which had just pierced a man and set his clothes and hair on fire, causing =
him
to leap from the roof in his madness.
At Oliver's reque=
st I
ran to the Child of Kings to lead her to some safer place, if it could be
found. But she would not stir.
"Let me be, O
Adams," she said. "If I am to die, I will die here. But I do not
think that is fated," and with her foot she kicked aside a burning spe=
ar
that had struck the cement roof, and, rebounding, fallen quite close to her.
"If my people will not fight," she went on, with bitter sarcasm,
"at least they understand the other arts of war, for this trick of the=
irs
is clever. They are cruel also. Listen to them mocking us in the square. Th=
ey
ask whether we will roast alive or come out and have our throats cut. Oh!&q=
uot;
she went on, clenching her hands, "oh! that I should have been born the
head of such an accursed race. Let Sheol take them all, for in the day of t=
heir
tribulation no finger will I lift to save them."
She was silent fo=
r a
moment, and down below, near the gateway, I heard some brute screaming,
"Pretty pigeons! Pretty pigeons, are your feathers singeing? Come then
into our pie, pretty pigeons, pretty pigeons!" followed by shouts of
ribald laughter.
But it chanced it=
was
this hound himself who went into the "pie." Presently, when the
flames were brighter, I saw him, in the midst of a crowd of his admirers,
singing his foul song, another verse of it about Maqueda, which I will not
repeat, and by good fortune managed to put a bullet through his head. It was
not a bad shot considering the light and circumstances, and the only one I
fired that night. I trust also that it will be the last I shall ever fire at
any human being.
Just as I was abo=
ut
to leave Maqueda and return with her message to Orme, to the effect that she
would not move, the final catastrophe occurred. Amongst the stables was a l=
arge
shed filled with dry fodder for the palace horses and camels. Suddenly this
burst into a mass of flame that spread in all directions. Then came the las=
t,
hideous panic. From every part of the palace, the Mountaineers, men and
officers together, rushed down to the gateway. In a minute, with the single=
exception
of Japhet, we four and Maqueda were left alone upon the roof, where we stood
overwhelmed, not knowing what to do. We heard the drawbridge fall; we heard=
the
great doors burst upon beneath the pressure of a mob of men; we heard a coa=
rse
voice--I thought it was that of Joshua--yell:
"Kill whom y=
ou
will, my children, but death to him who harms the Child of Kings. She is my
spoil!"
Then followed
terrible sights and sounds. The cunning Abati had stretched ropes outside t=
he
doors; it was the noise they made at this work which had reached Roderick's
ears earlier during the darkness. The terrified soldiers, flying from the f=
ire,
stumbled and fell over these ropes, nor could they rise again because of th=
ose
who pressed behind. What happened to them all I am sure I do not know, but
doubtless many were crushed to death and many more killed by Joshua's men. I
trust, however, that some of them escaped, since, compared to the rest of t=
he Abati,
they were as lions are to cats, although, like all their race, they lacked =
the
stamina to fight an uphill game.
It was at the com=
mencement
of this terrific scene that I shot the foul-mouthed singer.
"You shouldn=
't
have done that, old fellow," screamed Higgs in his high voice, strivin=
g to
make himself heard above the tumult, "as it will show those swine wher=
e we
are."
"I don't thi=
nk
they will look for us here, anyway," I answered.
Then we watched
awhile in silence.
"Come,"
said Orme at length, taking Maqueda by the hand.
"Where are y=
ou
going, O Oliver?" she asked, hanging back. "Sooner will I burn th=
an
yield to Joshua."
"I am going =
to
the cave city," he answered; "we have nowhere else to go, and lit=
tle
time to lose. Four men with rifles can hold that place against a thousand.
Come."
"I obey,&quo=
t;
she answered, bowing her head.
We went down the
stairway that led from the roof on which the inhabitants of the palace were
accustomed to spend much of their day, and even to sleep in hot weather, as=
is
common in the East. Another minute and we should have been too late. The fi=
re
from one of the domes had spread to the upper story, and was already appear=
ing
in little tongues of flame mingled with jets of black smoke through cracks =
in
the crumbling partition wall.
As a matter of fa=
ct
this wall fell in just as my son Roderick, the last of us, was passing down=
the
stairs. With the curiosity of youth he had lingered for a few moments to wa=
tch
the sad scene below, a delay which nearly cost him his life.
On the ground flo=
or
we found ourselves out of immediate danger, since the fire was attacking th=
is
part of the palace from above and burning downward. We had even time to go =
to
our respective sleeping-places and collect such of our possessions and
valuables as we were able to carry. Fortunately, among other things, these
included all our note-books, which to-day are of priceless value. Laden wit=
h these
articles, we met again in the audience hall, which, although it was very ho=
t,
seemed as it had always been, a huge, empty place, whereof the roof, painted
with stars, was supported upon thick cedar columns, each of them hewn from =
a single
tree.
Passing down that
splendid apartment, which an hour later had ceased to exist, lamps in hand,=
for
these we had found time to fetch and light, we reached the mouth of the pas=
sage
that led to the underground city without meeting a single human being.
Had the Abati bee=
n a
different race they could perfectly well have dashed in and made us prisone=
rs,
for the drawbridge was still intact. But their cowardice was our salvation,=
for
they feared lest they should be trapped by the fire. So I think at least, b=
ut
justice compels me to add that, on the spur of the moment, they may have fo=
und
it impossible to clear the gateways of the mass of fallen or dead soldiers =
over
which it would have been difficult to climb.
Such, at any rate,
was the explanation that we heard afterwards.
We reached the mo=
uth
of the vast cave in perfect safety, and clambered through the little orifice
which was left between the rocks rolled thither by the force of the explosi=
on,
or shaken down from the roof. This hole, for it was nothing more, we procee=
ded
to stop with a few stones in such a fashion that it could not be forced wit=
hout
much toil and considerable noise, only leaving one little tortuous channel
through which, if necessary, a man could creep.
The labour of
rock-carrying, in which even Maqueda shared, occupied our minds for awhile,=
and
induced a kind of fictitious cheerfulness. But when it was done, and the ch=
illy
silence of that enormous cave, so striking in comparison with the roar of t=
he
flames and the hideous human tumult which we had left without, fell upon us
like sudden cold and blinding night upon a wanderer in windy, sunlit mounta=
ins,
all our excitement perished. In a flash, we understood our terrible positio=
n, we
who had but escaped from the red fire to perish slowly in the black darknes=
s.
Still we strove to
keep our spirits as best we could. Leaving Higgs to watch the blocked passa=
ge,
a somewhat superfluous task, since the fire without was our best watchman, =
the
rest of us threaded our way up the cave, following the telephone wire which
poor Quick had laid on the night of the blowing-up of the god Harmac, till =
we
came to what had been our headquarters during the digging of the mine. Into=
the
room which was Oliver's, whence we had escaped with so much difficulty afte=
r that
event, we could not enter because of the transom that blocked the doorway.
Still, there were plenty of others at hand in the old temple, although they
were foul with the refuse of the bats that wheeled about us in thousands, f=
or
these creatures evidently had some unknown access to the open air. One of t=
hese
rooms had served as our store-chamber, and after a few rough preparations we
assigned it to Maqueda.
"Friends,&qu=
ot;
she said, as she surveyed its darksome entrance, "it looks like the do=
or
of a tomb. Well, in the tomb there is rest, and rest I must have. Leave me =
to
sleep, who, were it not for you, O Oliver, would pray that I might never wa=
ke
again.
"Man," =
she
added passionately, before us all, for now in face of the last peril every
false shame and wish to conceal the truth had left her; "man, why were=
you
born to bring woe upon my head and joy to my heart? Well, well, the joy
outweighs the woe, and even if the angel who led you hither is named Azrael,
still I shall bless him who has revealed to me my soul. Yet for you I weep,=
and
if only your life could be spared to fulfil itself in happiness in the land
that bore you, oh! for you I would gladly die."
Now Oliver, who
seemed deeply moved, stepped to her and began to whisper into her ear,
evidently making some proposal of which I think I can guess the nature. She
listened to him, smiling sadly, and made a motion with her hand as though to
thrust him away.
"Not so,&quo=
t;
she said, "it is nobly offered, but did I accept, through whatever
universes I may wander, those who came after me would know me by my trail of
blood, the blood of him who loved me. Perhaps, too, by that crime I should =
be
separated from you for ever. Moreover, I tell you that though all seems bla=
ck
as this thick darkness, I believe that things will yet end well for you and
me--in this world or another."
Then she was gone,
leaving Orme staring after her like a man in a trance.
"I daresay t=
hey
will," remarked Higgs sotto voce to me, "and that's first-rate so=
far
as they are concerned. But what I should jolly well like to know is how they
are going to end for us who haven't got a charming lady to see us across the
Styx."
"You needn't
puzzle your brain over that," I answered gloomily, "for I think t=
here
will soon be a few more skeletons in this beastly cave, that's all. Don't y=
ou
see that those Abati will believe we are burned in the palace?"
CHAPTER XIX - STARVATION<=
/span>
I was right. The
Abati did think that we had been burned. It never occurred to them that we
might have escaped to the underground city. So at least I judged from the f=
act
that they made no attempt to seek us there until they learned the truth in =
the
fashion that I am about to describe. If anything, this safety from our enem=
ies
added to the trials of those hideous days and nights. Had there been assaul=
ts
to repel and the excitement of striving against overwhelming odds, at any r=
ate
we should have found occupation for our minds and remaining energies.
But there were no=
ne.
By turns we listened at the mouth of the passage for the echo of footsteps =
that
never came. Nothing came to break a silence so intense that at last our ear=
s,
craving for sound, magnified the soft flitter of the bats into a noise as of
eagle's wings, till at last we spoke in whispers, because the full voice of=
man
seemed to affront the solemn quietude, seemed intolerable to our nerves.
Yet for the first=
day
or two we found occupation of a sort. Of course our first need was to secur=
e a
supply of food, of which we had only a little originally laid up for our us=
e in
the chambers of the old temple, tinned meats that we had brought from London
and so forth, now nearly all consumed. We remembered that Maqueda had told =
us
of corn from her estates which was stored annually in pits to provide again=
st
the possibility of a siege of Mur, and asked her where it was.
She led us to a p=
lace
where round stone covers with rings attached to them were let into the floo=
r of
the cave, not unlike those which stop the coal-shoots in a town pavement, o=
nly
larger. With great difficulty we prised one of these up; to me it did not s=
eem
to have been moved since the ancient kings ruled in Mur and, after leaving =
it
open for a long while for the air within to purify, lowered Roderick by a r=
ope
we had to report its contents. Next moment we heard him saying: "Want =
to come
up, please. This place is not pleasant."
We pulled him out=
and
asked what he had found.
"Nothing goo=
d to
eat," he answered, "only plenty of dead bones and one rat that ra=
n up
my leg."
We tried the next=
two
pits with the same result--they were full of human bones. Then we
cross-examined Maqueda, who, after reflection, informed us that she now
remembered that about five generations before a great plague had fallen on =
Mur,
which reduced its population by one-half. She had heard, also, that those s=
tricken
with the plague were driven into the underground city in order that they mi=
ght
not infect the others, and supposed that the bones we saw were their remain=
s.
This information caused us to close up those pits again in a great hurry,
though really it did not matter whether we caught the plague or no.
Still, as she was
sure that corn was buried somewhere, we went to another group of pits in a
distant chamber, and opened the first one. This time our search was rewarde=
d,
to the extent that we found at the bottom of it some mouldering dust that y=
ears
ago had been grain. The other pits, two of which had been sealed up within
three years as the date upon the wax showed, were quite empty.
Then Maqueda
understood what had happened.
"Surely the
Abati are a people of rogues," she said. "See now, the officers
appointed to store away my corn which I gave them have stolen it! Oh! may t=
hey
live to lack bread even more bitterly than we do to-day."
We went back to o=
ur
sleeping-place in silence. Well might we be silent, for of food we had only
enough left for a single scanty meal. Water there was in plenty, but no foo=
d.
When we had recovered a little from our horrible disappointment we consulted
together.
"If we could=
get
through the mine tunnel," said Oliver, "we might escape into the =
den
of lions, which were probably all destroyed by the explosion, and so out in=
to
the open country."
"The Fung wo=
uld
take us there," suggested Higgs.
"No, no,&quo=
t;
broke in Roderick, "Fung all gone, or if they do, anything better than
this black hole, yes, even my wife."
"Let us
look," I said, and we started.
When we reached t=
he
passage that led from the city to the Tomb of Kings, it was to find that the
wall at the end of it had been blown bodily back into the parent cave, leav=
ing
an opening through which we could walk side by side. Of course the contents=
of
the tomb itself were scattered. In all directions lay bones, objects of gold
and other metals, or overturned thrones. The roof and walls alone remained =
as
they had been.
"What vandal=
ism!"
exclaimed Higgs, indignant even in his misery. "Why wouldn't you let me
move the things when I wanted to, Orme?"
"Because they
would have thought that we were stealing them, old fellow. Also those
Mountaineers were superstitious, and I did not want them to desert. But what
does it matter, anyway? If you had, they would have been burned in the
palace."
By this time we h=
ad
reached that end of the vast tomb where the hunchbacked king used to sit, a=
nd
saw at once that our quest was vain. The tunnel which we had dug beyond was
utterly choked with masses of fallen rock that we could never hope to move,
even with the aid of explosives, of which we had none left.
So we returned, o=
ur
last hope gone.
Also another trou=
ble
stared us in the face; our supply of the crude mineral oil which the Abati =
used
for lighting purposes was beginning to run low. Measurement of what remaine=
d of
the store laid up for our use while the mine was being made, revealed the f=
act
that there was only enough left to supply four lamps for about three days a=
nd
nights: one for Maqueda, one for ourselves, one for the watchman near the
tunnel mouth, and one for general purposes.
This general-purp=
ose
lamp, as a matter of fact, was mostly made use of by Higgs. Truly, he furni=
shed
a striking instance of the ruling passion strong in death. All through those
days of starvation and utter misery, until he grew too weak and the oil gave
out, he trudged backward and forward between the old temple and the Tomb of
Kings carrying a large basket on his arm. Going out with this basket empty,=
he
would bring it back filled with gold cups and other precious objects that he
had collected from among the bones and scattered rubbish in the Tomb. These=
objects
he laboriously catalogued in his pocket-book at night, and afterwards packed
away in empty cases that had contained our supplies of explosive and other
goods, carefully nailing them down when filled.
"What on ear=
th
are you doing that for, Higgs?" I asked petulantly, as he finished off
another case, I think it was his twentieth.
"I don't kno=
w,
Doctor," he answered in a thin voice, for like the rest of us he was
growing feeble on a water-diet. "I suppose it amuses me to think how j=
olly
it would be to open all these boxes in my rooms in London after a first-rat=
e dinner
of fried sole and steak cut thick," and he smacked his poor, hungry li=
ps.
"Yes, yes," he went on, "to take them out one by one and show
them to ---- and ----," and he mentioned by name officials of sundry g=
reat
museums with whom he was at war, "and see them tear their hair with ra=
ge
and jealousy, while they wondered in their hearts if they could not manage =
to
seize the lot for the Crown as treasure-trove, or do me out of them
somehow," and he laughed a little in his old, pleasant fashion.
"Of course I
never shall," he added sadly, "but perhaps one day some other fel=
low
will find them here and get them to Europe, and if he is a decent chap, pub=
lish
my notes and descriptions, of which I have put a duplicate in each box, and=
so
make my name immortal. Well, I'm off again. There are four more cases to fi=
ll
before the oil gives out, and I must get that great gold head into one of t=
hem,
though it is an awful job to carry it far at a time. Doctor, what disease i=
s it
that makes your legs suddenly give way beneath you, so that you find yourse=
lf sitting
in a heap on the floor without knowing how you came there? You don't know?
Well, no more do I, but I've got it bad. I tell you I'm downright sore behi=
nd
from continual and unexpected contact with the rock."
Poor old Higgs! I=
did
not like to tell him that his disease was starvation.
Well, he went on =
with
his fetching and carrying and cataloguing and packing. I remember that the =
last
load he brought in was the golden head he had spoken of, the wonderful like=
ness
of some prehistoric king which has since excited so much interest throughout
the world. The thing being too heavy for him to carry in his weakened state,
for it is much over life-size, he was obliged to roll it before him, which
accounts for the present somewhat damaged condition of the nose and
semi-Egyptian diadem.
Never shall I for=
get
the sight of the Professor as he appeared out of the darkness, shuffling al=
ong
upon his knees where his garments were worn into holes, and by the feeble l=
ight
of the lamp that he moved from time to time, painfully pushing the great ye=
llow
object forward, only a foot or two at each push.
"Here it is =
at
last," he gasped triumphantly, whilst we watched him with indifferent
eyes. "Japhet, help me to wrap it up in the mat and lift it into the b=
ox.
No, no, you donkey--face upward--so. Never mind the corners, I'll fill them
with ring-money and other trifles," and out of his wide pockets he emp=
tied
a golden shower, amongst which he sifted handfuls of dust from the floor and
anything else he could find to serve as packing, finally covering all with a
goat's-hair blanket which he took from his bed.
Then very slowly =
he
found the lid of the box and nailed it down, resting between every few stro=
kes
of the hammer whilst we watched him in our intent, but idle, fashion, wonde=
ring
at the strange form of his madness.
At length the last
nail was driven, and seated on the box he put his hand into an inner pocket=
to
find his note-book, then incontinently fainted. I struggled to my feet and
sprinkled water over his face till he revived and rolled on to the floor, w=
here
presently he sank into sleep or torpor. As he did so the first lamp gave ou=
t.
"Light it,
Japhet," said Maqueda, "it is dark in this place."
"O Child of
Kings," answered the man, "I would obey if I could, but there is =
no
more oil."
Half-an-hour later
the second lamp went out. By the light that remained we made such arrangeme=
nts
as we could, knowing that soon darkness would be on us. They were few and
simple: the fetching of a jar or two of water, the placing of arms and
ammunition to our hands, and the spreading out of some blankets on which to=
lie
down side by side upon what I for one believed would be our bed of death.
While we were thus
engaged, Japhet crawled into our circle from the outer gloom. Suddenly I saw
his haggard face appear, looking like that of a spirit rising from the grav=
e.
"My lamp is
burned out," he moaned; "it began to fail whilst I was on watch at
the tunnel mouth, and before I was half-way here it died altogether. Had it=
not
been for the wire of the 'thing-that-speaks' which guided me, I could never
have reached you. I should have been lost in the darkness of the city and
perished alone among the ghosts."
"Well, you a=
re
here now," said Oliver. "Have you anything to report?"
"Nothing, lo=
rd,
or at least very little. I moved some of the small rocks that we piled up, =
and
crept down the hole till I came to a place where the blessed light of day f=
ell
upon me, only one little ray of it, but still the light of day. I think that
something has fallen upon the tunnel and broken it, perhaps one of the outer
walls of the palace. At least I looked through a crack and saw everywhere
ruins--ruins that still smoke. From among them I heard the voices of men
shouting to each other.
"One of them
called to his companion that it was strange, if the Gentiles and the Child =
of
Kings had perished in the fire, that they had not found their bones which w=
ould
be known by the guns they carried. His friend answered that it was strange
indeed, but being magicians, perhaps they had hidden away somewhere. For his
part he hoped so, as then sooner or later they would be found and put to de=
ath
slowly, as they deserved, who had led astray the Child of Kings and brought=
so
many of the heaven-descended Abati to their death. Then fearing lest they
should find and kill me, for they drew near as I could tell by their voices=
, I crept
back again, and that is all my story."
We said nothing;
there seemed to be nothing to say, but sat in our sad circle and watched the
dying lamp. When it began to flicker, leaping up and down like a thing aliv=
e, a
sudden panic seized poor Japhet.
"O Walda
Nagasta," he cried, throwing himself at her feet, "you have calle=
d me
a brave man, but I am only brave where the sun and the stars shine. Here in=
the
dark amongst so many angry spirits, and with hunger gnawing at my bowels, I=
am
a great coward; Joshua himself is not such a coward as I. Let us go out into
the light while there is yet time. Let us give ourselves up to the Prince.
Perhaps he will be merciful and spare our lives, or at least he will spare
yours, and if we die, it will be with the sun shining on us."
But Maqueda only
shook her head, whereon he turned to Orme and went on:
"Lord, would=
you
have the blood of the Child of Kings upon your hands? Is it thus that you r=
epay
her for her love? Lead her forth. No harm will come to her who otherwise mu=
st
perish here in misery."
"You hear wh=
at
the man says, Maqueda?" said Orme heavily. "There is some truth in
it. It really does not matter to us whether we die in the power of the Abat=
i or
here of starvation; in fact, I think that we should prefer the former end, =
and
doubtless no hand will be laid on you. Will you go?"
"Nay," =
she
answered passionately. "A hand would be laid on me, the hand of Joshua,
and rather than that he should touch me I will die a hundred deaths. Let fa=
te
take its course, for as I have told you, I believe that then it will open t=
o us
some gate we cannot see. And if I believe in vain, why there is another gate
which we can pass together, O Oliver, and beyond that gate lies peace. Bid =
the
man be silent, or drive him away. Let him trouble me no more."
The lamp flame sa=
nk
low. It flickered, once, twice, thrice, each time showing the pale, drawn f=
aces
of us six seated about it, like wizards making an incantation, like corpses=
in
a tomb.
Then it went out.=
How long were we =
in
that place after this? At least three whole days and nights, I believe, if =
not
more, but of course we soon lost all count of time. At first we suffered
agonies from famine, which we strove in vain to assuage with great draughts=
of
water. No doubt these kept us alive, but even Higgs, who it may be remember=
ed
was a teetotaller, afterwards confessed to me that he has loathed the sight=
and
taste of water ever since. Indeed he now drinks beer and wine like other
people. It was torture; we could have eaten anything. In fact the Professor=
did
manage to catch and eat a bat that got entangled in his red hair. He offere=
d me
a bite of it, I remember, and was most grateful when I declined.
The worst of it w=
as
also that we had a little food, a few hard ship's biscuits, which we had sa=
ved
up for a purpose, namely, to feed Maqueda. This was how we managed it. At
certain intervals I would announce that it was time to eat, and hand Maqueda
her biscuit. Then we would all pretend to eat also, saying how much we felt
refreshed by the food and how we longed for more, smacking our lips and bit=
ing
on a piece of wood so that she could not help hearing us.
This piteous farce
went on for forty-eight hours or more until at last the wretched Japhet, who
was quite demoralized and in no mood for acting, betrayed us, exactly how I
cannot remember. After this Maqueda would touch nothing more, which did not
greatly matter as there was only one biscuit left. I offered it to her, whe=
reon
she thanked me and all of us for our courtesy toward a woman, took the bisc=
uit,
and gave it to Japhet, who ate it like a wolf.
It was some time
after this incident that we discovered Japhet to be missing; at least we co=
uld
no longer touch him, nor did he answer when we called. Therefore, we conclu=
ded
that he had crept away to die and, I am sorry to say, thought little more a=
bout
it for, after all, what he suffered, or had suffered, we suffered also.
I recall that bef= ore we were overtaken by the last sleep, a strange fit came upon us. Our pangs passed away, much as the pain does when mortification follows a wound, and = with them that horrible craving for nutriment. We grew cheerful and talked a gre= at deal. Thus Roderick gave me the entire history of the Fung people and of his life among them and other savage tribes. Further, he explained every secret detail of their idol worship to Higgs, who was enormously interested, and t= ried to make some notes by the aid of our few remaining matches. When even that = subject was exhausted, he sang to us in his beautiful voice--English hymns and Arab songs. Oliver and Maqueda also chatted together quite gaily, for I heard th= em laughing, and gathered that he was engaged in trying to teach her English.<= o:p>
The last thing th=
at I
recollect is the scene as it was revealed by the momentary light of one of =
the
last matches. Maqueda sat by Oliver. His arm was about her waist, her head
rested upon his shoulder, her long hair flowed loose, her large and tender =
eyes
stared from her white, wan face up toward his face, which was almost that o=
f a
mummy.
Then on the other
side stood my son, supporting himself against the wall of the room, and bey=
ond
him Higgs, a shadow of his former self, feebly waving a pencil in the air a=
nd
trying, apparently, to write a note upon his Panama straw hat, which he hel=
d in
his left hand, as I suppose, imagining it to be his pocket-book. The
incongruity of that sun-hat in a place where no sun had ever come made me
laugh, and as the match went out I regretted that I had forgotten to look at
his face to ascertain whether he was still wearing his smoked spectacles.
"What is the=
use
of a straw hat and smoked spectacles in kingdom-come?" I kept repeatin=
g to
myself, while Roderick, whose arm I knew was about me, seemed to answer:
"The Fung
wizards say that the sphinx Harmac once wore a hat, but, my father, I do not
know if he had spectacles."
Then a sensation =
as
of being whirled round and round in some vast machine, down the sloping sid=
es
of which I sank at last into a vortex of utter blackness, whereof I knew the
name was death.
Dimly, very dimly=
, I
became aware that I was being carried. I heard voices in my ears, but what =
they
said I could not understand. Then a feeling of light struck upon my eyeballs
which gave me great pain. Agony ran all through me as it does through the l=
imbs
of one who is being brought back from death by drowning. After this somethi=
ng
warm was poured down my throat, and I went to sleep.
When I awoke agai=
n it
was to find myself in a large room that I did not know. I was lying on a be=
d,
and by the light of sunrise which streamed through the window-places I saw =
the
three others, my son Roderick, Orme and Higgs lying on the other beds, but =
they
were still asleep.
Abati servants
entered the room bringing food, a kind of rough soup with pieces of meat in=
it
of which they gave me a portion in a wooden bowl that I devoured greedily. =
Also
they shook my companions until they awoke and almost automatically ate up t=
he
contents of similar bowls, after which they went to sleep again, as I did,
thanking heaven that we were all still alive.
Every few hours I=
had
a vision of these men entering with the bowls of soup or porridge, until at
last life and reason came back to me in earnest, and I saw Higgs sitting up=
on
the bed opposite and staring at me.
"I say, old
fellow," he said, "are we alive, or is this Hades?"
"Can't be
Hades," I answered, "because there are Abati here."
"Quite
right," he replied. "If the Abati go anywhere, it's to hell, where
they haven't whitewashed walls and four-post beds. Oliver, wake up. We are =
out
of that cave, anyway."
Orme raised himse=
lf
on his hand and stared at us.
"Where's
Maqueda?" he asked, a question to which of course, we could give no
answer, till presently Roderick woke also and said:
"I remember
something. They carried us all out of the cave; Japhet was with them. They =
took
the Child of Kings one way and us another, that is all I know."
Shortly afterwards
the Abati servants arrived, bearing food more solid than the soup, and with
them came one of their doctors, not that old idiot of a court physician, who
examined us, and announced that we should all recover, a fact which we knew
already. We asked many questions of him and the servants, but could get no
answer, for evidently they were sworn to silence. However, we persuaded the=
m to
bring us water to wash in. It came, and with it a polished piece of metal, =
such
as the Abati use for a looking-glass, in which we saw our faces, the terrib=
le,
wasted faces of those who have gone within a hair's breadth of death by
starvation in the dark.
Yet although our
gaolers would say nothing, something in their aspect told us that we were in
sore peril of our lives. They looked at us hungrily, as a terrier looks at =
rats
in a wire cage of which the door will presently be opened. Moreover, Roderi=
ck,
who, as I think I have said, has very quick ears, overheard one of the
attendants whisper to another:
"When does o=
ur
service on these hounds of Gentiles come to an end?" to which his fell=
ow
answered, "The Council has not yet decided, but I think to-morrow or t=
he
next day, if they are strong enough. It will be a great show."
Also that evening,
about sunset, we heard a mob shouting outside the barrack in which we were
imprisoned, for that was its real use, "Give us the Gentiles! Give us =
the
Gentiles! We are tired of waiting," until at length some soldiers drove
them away.
Well, we talked t=
he
thing over, only to conclude that there was nothing to be done. We had no
friend in the place except Maqueda, and she, it appeared, was a prisoner li=
ke
ourselves, and therefore could not communicate with us. Nor could we see the
slightest possibility of escape.
"Out of the
frying-pan into the fire," remarked Higgs gloomily. "I wish now t=
hat
they had let us die in the cave. It would have been better than being baite=
d to
death by a mob of Abati."
"Yes,"
answered Oliver with a sigh, for he was thinking of Maqueda, "but that=
's
why they saved us, the vindictive beasts, to kill us for what they are plea=
sed
to call high treason."
"High
treason!" exclaimed Higgs. "I hope to goodness their punishment f=
or
the offence is not that of mediæval England; hanging is bad enough--but the
rest----!"
"I don't thi=
nk
the Abati study European history," I broke in; "but it is no use
disguising from you that they have methods of their own. Look here,
friends," I added, "I have kept something about me in case the wo=
rst
should come to the worst," and I produced a little bottle containing a
particularly swift and deadly poison done up into tabloids, and gave one to
each of them. "My advice is," I added, "that if you see we a=
re
going to be exposed to torture or to any dreadful form of death, you should
take one of these, as I mean to do, and cheat the Abati of their
vengeance."
"That is all
very fine," said the Professor as he pocketed his tabloid, "but I
never could swallow a pill without water at the best of times, and I don't
believe those beasts will give one any. Well, I suppose I must suck it, tha=
t's
all. Oh! if only the luck would turn, if only the luck would turn!"
Three more days w=
ent
by without any sign of Higgs's aspiration being fulfilled. On the contrary,
except in one respect, the luck remained steadily against us. The exception=
was
that we got plenty to eat and consequently regained our normal state of hea=
lth
and strength more rapidly than might have been expected. With us it was
literally a case of "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."=
Only somehow I do=
n't
think that any of us really believed that we should die, though whether this
was because we had all, except poor Quick, survived so much, or from a snea=
king
faith in Maqueda's optimistic dreams, I cannot say. At any rate we ate our =
food
with appetite, took exercise in an inner yard of the prison, and strove to =
grow
as strong as we could, feeling that soon we might need all our powers. Oliv=
er
was the most miserable among us, not for his own sake, but because, poor
fellow, he was haunted with fears as to Maqueda and her fate, although of t=
hese
he said little or nothing to us. On the other hand, my son Roderick was by =
far
the most cheerful. He had lived for so many years upon the brink of death t=
hat
this familiar gulf seemed to have no terrors for him.
"All come ri=
ght
somehow, my father," he said airily. "Who can know what happen?
Perhaps Child of King drag us out of mud-hole, for after all she was very
strong cow, or what you call it, heifer, and I think toss Joshua if he drive
her into corner. Or perhaps other thing occur."
"What other
thing, Roderick?" I asked.
"Oh! don't k=
now,
can't say, but I think Fung thing. Believe we not done with Fung yet, belie=
ve
they not run far. Believe they take thought for morrow and come back again.
Only," he added sadly, "hope my wife not come back, for that old =
girl
too full of lofty temper for me. Still, cheer up, not dead yet by long day's
march, and meanwhile food good and this very jolly rest after beastly
underground city. Now I tell Professor some more stories about Fung religio=
n,
den of lions, and so forth."
On the morning af=
ter
this conversation a crisis came. Just as we had finished breakfast the door=
s of
our chamber were thrown open and in marched a number of soldiers wearing
Joshua's badge. They were headed by an officer of his household, who comman=
ded
us to rise and follow him.
"Where to?&q=
uot;
asked Orme.
"To take your
trial before the Child of Kings and her Council, Gentile, upon the charge of
having murdered certain of her subjects," answered the officer sternly=
.
"That's all
right," said Higgs with a sigh of relief. "If Maqueda is chairman=
of
the Bench we are pretty certain of an acquittal, for Orme's sake if not for=
our
own."
"Don't you be
too sure of that," I whispered into his ear. "The circumstances a=
re
peculiar, and women have been known to change their minds."
"Adams,"=
; he
replied, glaring at me through his smoked spectacles, "If you talk like
that we shall quarrel. Maqueda change her mind indeed! Why, it is an insult=
to
suggest such a thing, and if you take my advice you won't let Oliver hear y=
ou.
Don't you remember, man, that she's in love with him?"
"Oh, yes,&qu=
ot;
I answered, "but I remember also that Prince Joshua is in love with he=
r,
and that she is his prisoner."
CHAPTER XX - THE TRIAL AND
AFTER
They set us in a
line, four ragged-looking fellows, all of us with beards of various degrees=
of
growth, that is, all the other three, for mine had been an established fact=
for
years, and everything having been taken away from us, we possessed neither
razor nor scissors.
In the courtyard =
of
our barrack we were met by a company of soldiers, who encircled us about wi=
th a
triple line of men, as we thought to prevent any attempt of escape. So soon=
as
we passed the gates I found, however, that this was done for a different
reason, namely, to protect us from the fury of the populace. All the way fr=
om
the barrack to the courthouse, whither we were being taken now that the pal=
ace
was burned, the people were gathered in hundreds, literally howling for our
blood. It was a strange, and, in a way, a dreadful sight to see even the br=
ightly
dressed women and children shaking their fists and spitting at us with faces
distorted by hate.
"Why they lo=
ve
you so little, father, when you do so much for them?" asked Roderick,
shrugging his shoulders and dodging a stone that nearly hit him on the head=
.
"For two
reasons," I answered. "Because their Lady loves one of us too muc=
h,
and because through us many of their people have lost their lives. Also they
hate strangers, and are by nature cruel, like most cowards, and now that th=
ey
have no more fear of the Fung, they think it will be safe to kill us."=
"Ah!" s=
aid
Roderick; "yet Harmac has come to Mur," and he pointed to the gre=
at
head of the idol seated on the cliff, "and I think where Harmac goes, =
Fung
follow, and if so they make them pay plenty for my life, for I great man am=
ong
Fung; Fung myself husband of Sultan's daughter. These fools, like children,
because they see no Fung, think there are no Fung. Well, in one year, or
perhaps one month, they learn."
"I daresay, =
my
boy," I answered, "but I am afraid that won't help us."
By now we were
approaching the court-house where the Abati priests and learned men tried c=
ivil
and some criminal cases. Through a mob of nobles and soldiers who mocked us=
as
we went, we were hustled into the large hall of judgment that was already f=
ull
to overflowing.
Up the centre of =
it
we marched to a clear space reserved for the parties to a cause, or prisone=
rs
and their advocates, beyond which, against the wall, were seats for the jud=
ges.
These were five members of the Council, one of whom was Joshua, while in the
centre as President of the Court, and wearing her veil and beautiful robes =
of
ceremony, sat Maqueda herself.
"Thank God,
she's safe!" muttered Oliver with a gasp of relief.
"Yes,"
answered Higgs, "but what's she doing there? She ought to be in the do=
ck,
too, not on the Bench."
We reached the op=
en
space, and were thrust by soldiers armed with swords to where we must stand,
and although each of us bowed to her, I observed that Maqueda took not the
slightest notice of our salutations. She only turned her head and said
something to Joshua on her right, which caused him to laugh.
Then with startli=
ng
suddenness the case began. A kind of public prosecutor stood forward and dr=
oned
out the charge against us. It was that we, who were in the employ of the Ab=
ati,
had traitorously taken advantage of our position as mercenary captains to s=
tir
up a civil war, in which many people had lost their lives, and some been ac=
tually
murdered by ourselves and our companion who was dead. Moreover, that we had
caused their palace to be burned and, greatest crime of all, had seized the
sacred person of the Walda Nagasta, Rose of Mur, and dragged her away into =
the
recesses of the underground city, whence she was only rescued by the chance=
of
an accomplice of ours, one Japhet, betraying our hiding-place.
This was the char=
ge
which, it will be noted, contained no allusion whatever to the love
entanglement between Maqueda and Oliver. When it was finished the prosecutor
asked us what we pleaded, whereon Oliver answered as our spokesman that it =
was
true there had been fighting and men killed, also that we had been driven i=
nto
the cave, but as to all the rest the Child of Kings knew the truth, and must
speak for us as she wished.
Now the audience
began to shout, "They plead guilty! Give them to death!" and so
forth, while the judges rising from their seats, gathered round Maqueda and
consulted her.
"By heaven! I
believe she is going to give us away!" exclaimed Higgs, whereon Oliver
turned on him fiercely and bade him hold his tongue, adding:
"If you were
anywhere else you should answer for that slander!"
At length the
consultation was finished; the judges resumed their seats, and Maqueda held=
up
her hand. Thereon an intense silence fell upon the place. Then she began to
speak in a cold, constrained voice:
"Gentiles,&q=
uot;
she said, addressing us, "you have pleaded guilty to the stirring up of
civil war in Mur, and to the slaying of numbers of its people, facts of whi=
ch
there is no need for evidence, since many widows and fatherless children can
testify to them to-day. Moreover, you did, as alleged by my officer, commit=
the
crime of bearing off my person into the cave and keeping me there by force =
to
be a hostage for your safety."
We heard and gasp=
ed,
Higgs ejaculating, "Good gracious, what a lie!" But none of the r=
est
of us said anything.
"For these
offences," went on Maqueda, "you are all of you justly worthy of a
cruel death." Then she paused and added, "Yet, as I have the powe=
r to
do, I remit the sentence. I decree that this day you and all the goods that
remain to you which have been found in the cave city, and elsewhere, togeth=
er
with camels for yourselves and your baggage, shall be driven from Mur, and =
that
if any one of you returns hither, he shall without further trial be handed =
over
to the executioners. This I do because at the beginning of your service a
certain bargain was made with you, and although you have sinned so deeply I
will not suffer that the glorious honour of the Abati people shall be tarni=
shed
even by the breath of suspicion. Get you gone, Wanderers, and let us see yo=
ur
faces no more for ever!"
Now the mob gathe=
red
in the hall shouted in exultation, though I heard some crying out, "No,
kill them! Kill them!"
When the tumult h=
ad
died down Maqueda spoke again saying:
"O noble and
generous Abati, you approve of this deed of mercy; you who would not be held
merciless in far lands, O Abati, where, although you may not have heard of
them, there are, I believe, other peoples who think themselves as great as =
you.
You would not have it whispered, I say, that we who are the best of the wor=
ld,
we, the children of Solomon, have dealt harshly even with stray dogs that h=
ave
wandered to our gates? Moreover, we called these dogs to hunt a certain bea=
st
for us, the lion-headed beast called Fung, and, to be just to them, they hu=
nted
well. Therefore spare them the noose, though they may have deserved it, and=
let
them run hence with their bone, say you, the bone which they think that they
have earned. What does a bone more or less matter to the rich Abati, if only
their holy ground is not defiled with the blood of Gentile dogs?"
"Nothing at =
all!
Nothing at all!" they shouted. "Tie it to their tails and let them
go!"
"It shall be
done, O my people! And now that we have finished with these dogs, I have
another word to say to you. You may have thought or heard that I was too fo=
nd
of them, and especially of one of them," and she glanced toward Oliver.
"Well, there are certain dogs who will not work unless you pat them on=
the
head. Therefore I patted this one on the head, since, after all, he is a cl=
ever
dog who knows things that we do not know; for instance, how to destroy the =
idol
of the Fung. O great Abati, can any of you really have believed that I, of =
the
ancient race of Solomon and Sheba, I, the Child of Kings, purposed to give =
my
noble hand to a vagrant Gentile come hither for hire? Can you really have b=
elieved
that I, the solemnly betrothed to yonder Prince of Princes, Joshua, my uncl=
e,
would for a moment even in my heart have preferred to him such a man as
that?" And once again she looked at Oliver, who made a wild motion, as
though he were about to speak. But before he could so much as open his lips
Maqueda went on:
"Well, if you
believed, not guessing all the while I was working for the safety of my peo=
ple,
soon shall you be undeceived, since to-morrow night I invite you to the gre=
at
ceremony of my nuptials, when, according to the ancient custom, I break the
glass with him whom on the following night I take to be my husband," a=
nd
rising, she bowed thrice to the audience, then stretched out her hand to
Joshua.
He, too, rose,
puffing himself out like a great turkey-cock, and, taking her hand, kissed =
it,
gobbling some words which we did not catch.
Wild cheering
followed, and in the momentary silence which followed Oliver spoke.
"Lady,"=
he
said, in a cold and bitter voice, "we 'Gentiles' have heard your words=
. We
thank you for your kind acknowledgment of our services, namely, the destruc=
tion
of the idol of the Fung at the cost of some risk and labour to ourselves. We
thank you also for your generosity in allowing us, as the reward of that
service, to depart from Mur, with insult and hard words, and such goods as
remain to us, instead of consigning us to death by torture, as you and your
Council have the power to do. It is indeed a proof of your generosity, and =
of
that of the Abati people which we shall always remember and repeat in our o=
wn
land, should we live to reach it. Also, we trust that it will come to the e=
ars
of the savage Fung, so that at length they may understand that true nobility
and greatness lie not in brutal deeds of arms, but in the hearts of men. But
now, Walda Nagasta, I have a last request to make of you, namely, that I may
see your face once more to be sure that it is you who have spoken to us, and
not another beneath your veil, and that if this be so, I may carry away wit=
h me
a faithful picture of one so true to her country and noble to her guests as=
you
have shown yourself this day."
She listened, then
very slowly lifted her veil, revealing such a countenance as I had never se=
en
before. It was Maqueda without a doubt, but Maqueda changed. Her face was p=
ale,
which was only to be expected after all she had gone through; her eyes glow=
ed
in it like coals, her lips were set. But it was her expression, at once def=
iant
and agonized, which impressed me so much that I never shall forget it. I
confess I could not read it in the least, but it left upon my mind the beli=
ef
that she was a false woman, and yet ashamed of her own falsity. There was t=
he greatest
triumph of her art, that in those terrible circumstances she should still h=
ave
succeeded in conveying to me, and to the hundreds of others who watched, th=
is
conviction of her own turpitude.
For a moment her =
eyes
met those of Orme, but although he searched them with pleading and despair =
in
his glance, I could trace in hers no relenting sign, but only challenge not
unmixed with mockery. Then with a short, hard laugh she let fall her veil a=
gain
and turned to talk with Joshua. Oliver stood silent a little while, long en=
ough
for Higgs to whisper to me:
"I say, isn't
this downright awful? I'd rather be back in the den of lions than live to s=
ee
it."
As he spoke I saw
Oliver put his hand to where his revolver usually hung, but, of course, it =
had
been taken from him. Next he began to search in his pocket, and finding that
tabloid of poison which I had given him, lifted it toward his mouth. But ju=
st
as it touched his lips, my son, who was next to him, saw also. With a quick
motion he struck it from his fingers, and ground it to powder on the floor
beneath his heel.
Oliver raised his=
arm
as though to hit him, then without a sound fell senseless. Evidently Maqueda
noted all this also, for I saw a kind of quiver go through her, and her han=
ds
gripped the arms of her chair till the knuckles showed white beneath the sk=
in.
But she only said:
"This Gentile
has fainted because he is disappointed with his reward. Take him hence and =
let
his companion, the Doctor Adams, attend to him. When he is recovered, condu=
ct
them all from Mur as I have decreed. See that they go unharmed, taking with
them plenty of food lest it be said that we only spared their lives here in
order that they might starve without our gates."
Then waving her h=
and
to show that the matter was done with, she rose and, followed by the judges=
and
officers, left the court by some door behind them.
While she spoke a
strong body of guards had surrounded us, some of whom came forward and lift=
ed
the senseless Oliver on to a stretcher. They carried him down the court, the
rest of us following.
"Look,"
jeered the Abati as he passed, "look at the Gentile pig who thought to
wear the Bud of the Rose upon his bosom. He has got the thorn now, not the
rose. Is the swine dead, think you?"
Thus they mocked =
him
and us.
We reached our pr=
ison
in safety, and there I set to work to revive Oliver, a task in which I
succeeded at length. When he had come to himself again he drank a cup of wa=
ter,
and said quite quietly:
"You fellows
have seen all, so there is no need for talk and explanations. One thing I b=
eg
of you, if you are any friends of mine, and it is that you will not reproac=
h or
even speak of Maqueda to me. Doubtless she had reasons for what she did;
moreover, her bringing up has not been the same as ours, and her code is
different. Do not let us judge her. I have been a great fool, that is all, =
and
now I am paying for my folly, or, rather, I have paid. Come, let us have so=
me
dinner, for we don't know when we shall get another meal."
We listened to th=
is
speech in silence, only I saw Roderick turn aside to hide a smile and wonde=
red
why he smiled.
Scarcely had we
finished eating, or pretending to eat, when an officer entered the room and
informed us roughly that it was time for us to be going. As he did so some
attendants who had followed him threw us bundles of clothes, and with them =
four
very beautiful camel-hair cloaks to protect us from the cold. With some of
these garments we replaced our rags, for they were little more, tying them =
and
the rest of the outfit up into bundles.
Then, clothed as
Abati of the upper class, we were taken to the gates of the barrack, where =
we
found a long train of riding camels waiting for us. The moment that I saw t=
hese
beasts I knew that they were the best in the whole land, and of very great
value. Indeed, that to which Oliver was conducted was Maqueda's own favouri=
te
dromedary, which upon state occasions she sometimes rode instead of a horse=
. He
recognized it at once, poor fellow, and coloured to the eyes at this unexpe=
cted
mark of kindness, the only one she had vouchsafed to him.
"Come,
Gentiles," said the officer, "and take count of your goods, that =
you
may not say that we have stolen anything from you. Here are your firearms a=
nd
all the ammunition that is left. These will be given to you at the foot of =
the
pass, but not before, lest you should do more murder on the road. On those
camels are fastened the boxes in which you brought up the magic fire. We fo=
und
them in your quarters in the cave city, ready packed, but what they contain=
we
neither know nor care. Full or empty, take them, they are yours. Those,&quo=
t;
and he pointed to two other beasts, "are laden with your pay, which the
Child of Kings sends to you, requesting that you will not count it till you
reach Egypt or your own land, since she wishes no quarrelling with you as to
the amount. The rest carry food for you to eat; also, there are two spare
beasts. Now, mount and begone."
So we climbed into
the embroidered saddles of the kneeling dromedaries, and a few minutes later
were riding through Mur toward the pass, accompanied by our guard and hooti=
ng
mobs that once or twice became threatening, but were driven off by the sold=
iers.
"I say,
Doctor," said Higgs to me excitedly, "do you know that we have got
all the best of the treasure of the Tomb of Kings in those five-and-twenty
crates? I have thought since that I was crazy when I packed them, picking o=
ut
the most valuable and rare articles with such care, and filling in the crac=
ks
with ring money and small curiosities, but now I see it was the inspiration=
of
genius. My subliminal self knew what was going to happen, and was on the jo=
b,
that's all. Oh, if only we can get it safe away, I shall not have played Da=
niel
and been nearly starved to death for nothing. Why, I'd go through it all ag=
ain
for that golden head alone. Shove on, shove on, before they change their mi=
nds;
it seems too good to be true."
Just then a rotten
egg thrown by some sweet Abati youth landed full on the bridge of his nose,=
and
dispersing itself into his mouth and over his smoked spectacles, cut short =
the
Professor's eloquence, or rather changed its tenor. So absurd was the sight
that in spite of myself I burst out laughing, and with that laugh felt my h=
eart
grow lighter, as though our clouds of trouble were lifting at length.
At the mouth of t=
he
pass we found Joshua himself waiting for us, clad in all his finery and cha=
in
armour, and looking more like a porpoise on horseback than he had ever done=
.
"Farewell,
Gentiles," he said, bowing to us in mockery, "we wish you a quick
journey to Sheol, or wherever such swine as you may go. Listen, you Orme. I
have a message for you from the Walda Nagasta. It is that she is sorry she
could not ask you to stop for her nuptial feast, which she would have done =
had
she not been sure that, if you stayed, the people would have cut your throa=
t,
and she did not wish the holy soil of Mur to be defiled with your dog's blo=
od.
Also she bids me say that she hopes that your stay here will have taught yo=
u a
lesson, and that in future you will not believe that every woman who makes =
use
of you for her own ends is therefore a victim of your charms. To-morrow nig=
ht
and the night after, I pray you think of our happiness and drink a cup of w=
ine
to the Walda Nagasta and her husband. Come, will you not wish me joy, O
Gentile?"
Orme turned white=
as
a sheet and gazed at him steadily. Then a strange look came into his grey e=
yes,
almost a look of inspiration.
"Prince
Joshua," he said in a very quiet voice, "who knows what may happen
before the sun rises thrice on Mur? All things that begin well do not end w=
ell,
as I have learned, and as you also may live to learn. At least, soon or lat=
e,
your day of reckoning must come, and you, too, may be betrayed as I have be=
en.
Rather should you ask me to forgive your soul the insults that in your hour=
of
triumph you have not been ashamed to heap upon one who is powerless to aven=
ge
them," and he urged his camel past him.
As we followed I =
saw
Joshua's face turn as pale as Oliver's had done, and his great round eyes
protrude themselves like those of a fish.
"What does he
mean?" said the prince to his companions. "Pray God he is not a
prophet of evil. Even now I have a mind--no, let him go. To break my marria=
ge
vow might bring bad luck upon me. Let him go!" and he glared after Oli=
ver
with fear and hatred written on his coarse features.
That was the last=
we
ever saw of Joshua, uncle of Maqueda, and first prince among the Abati.
Down the pass we =
went
and through the various gates of the fortifications, which were thrown open=
as
we came and closed behind us. We did not linger on that journey. Why should=
we
when our guards were anxious to be rid of us and we of them? Indeed, so soo=
n as
the last gate was behind us, either from fear of the Fung or because they w=
ere
in a hurry to return to share in the festivities of the approaching marriag=
e, suddenly
the Abati wheeled round, bade us farewell with a parting curse, and left us=
to
our own devices.
So, having roped =
the
camels into a long line, we went on alone, truly thankful to be rid of them,
and praying, every one of us, that never in this world or the next might we=
see
the face or hear the voice of another Abati.
We emerged on to =
the
plain at the spot where months before we had held our conference with Barun=
g,
Sultan of the Fung, and where poor Quick had forced his camel on to Joshua's
horse and dismounted that hero. Here we paused awhile to arrange our little
caravan and arm ourselves with the rifles, revolvers, and cartridges which
until now we had not been allowed to touch.
There were but fo= ur of us to manage the long train of camels, so we were obliged to separate. H= iggs and I went ahead, since I was best acquainted with the desert and the road, Oliver took the central station, and Roderick brought up the rear, because = he was very keen of sight and hearing and from his long familiarity with them, knew how to drive camels that showed signs of obstinacy or a wish to turn.<= o:p>
On our right lay =
the
great city of Harmac. We noted that it seemed to be quite deserted. There,
rebuilt now, frowned the gateway through which we had escaped from the Fung
after we had blown so many of them to pieces, but beneath it none passed in=
or
out. The town was empty, and although they were dead ripe the rich crops had
not yet been reaped. Apparently the Fung people had now left the land.
Now we were oppos=
ite
to the valley of Harmac, and saw that the huge sphinx still sat there as it=
had
done for unknown thousands of years. Only its head was gone, for that had
"moved to Mur," and in its neck and shoulders appeared great clef=
ts,
caused by the terrific force of the explosion. Moreover, no sound came from=
the
enclosures where the sacred lions used to be. Doubtless every one of them w=
as
dead.
"Don't you
think," suggested Higgs, whose archæological zeal was rekindling fast,
"that we might spare half-an-hour to go up the valley and have a look =
at
Harmac from the outside? Of course, both Roderick and I are thoroughly
acquainted with his inside, and the den of lions, and so forth, but I would
give a great deal just to study the rest of him and take a few measurements.
You know one must camp somewhere, and if we can't find the camera, at dawn =
one
might make a sketch."
"Are you
mad?" I asked by way of answer, and Higgs collapsed, but to this hour =
he
has never forgiven me.
We looked our last
upon Harmac, the god whose glory we had destroyed, and went on swiftly till
darkness overtook us almost opposite to that ruined village where Shadrach =
had
tried to poison the hound Pharaoh, which afterwards tore out his throat. He=
re
we unloaded the camels, no light task, and camped, for near this spot there=
was
water and a patch of maize on which the beasts could feed.
Before the light
quite faded Roderick rode forward for a little way to reconnoitre, and
presently returned announcing shortly that he had seen no one. So we ate of=
the
food with which the Abati had provided us, not without fear lest it should =
be
poisoned, and then held a council of war.
The question was
whether we should take the old road toward Egypt, or now that the swamps we=
re
dry, strike up northward by the other route of which Shadrach had told us.
According to the map this should be shorter, and Higgs advocated it strongl=
y,
as I discovered afterwards because he thought there might be more archæolog=
ical
remains in that direction.
I, on the other h=
and,
was in favour of following the road we knew, which, although long and very
wearisome, was comparatively safe, as in that vast desert there were few pe=
ople
to attack us, while Oliver, our captain, listened to all we had to say, and
reserved his opinion.
Presently, howeve=
r,
the question was settled for us by Roderick, who remarked that if we travel=
led
to the north we should probably fall in with the Fung. I asked what he mean=
t,
and he replied that when he made his reconnaissance an hour or so before,
although it was true that he had seen no one, not a thousand yards from whe=
re
we sat he had come across the track of a great army. This army, from various
indications, he felt sure was that of Barung, which had passed there within
twelve hours.
"Perhaps my =
wife
with them, so I no want to go that way, father," he added with sincere
simplicity.
"Where could
they be travelling?" I asked.
"Don't
know," he answered, "but think they go round to attack Mur from o=
ther
side, or perhaps to find new land to north."
"We will sti=
ck
to the old road," said Oliver briefly. "Like Roderick I have had
enough of all the inhabitants of this country. Now let us rest awhile; we n=
eed
it."
About two o'clock=
we
were up again and before it was dawn on the following morning we had loaded=
our
camels and were on the road. By the first faint light we saw that what Rode=
rick
had told us was true. We were crossing the track of an army of many thousand
men who had passed there recently with laden camels and horses. Moreover, t=
hose
men were Fung, for we picked up some articles that could have belonged to n=
o other
people, such as a head-dress that had been lost or thrown away, and an arrow
that had fallen from a quiver.
However, we saw
nothing of them, and, travelling fast, to our great relief by midday reached
the river Ebur, which we crossed without difficulty, for it was now low. Th=
at
night we camped in the forest-lands beyond, having all the afternoon marche=
d up
the rising ground at the foot of which ran the river.
Toward dawn Higgs,
whose turn it was to watch the camels, came and woke me.
"Sorry to
disturb you, old fellow," he said, "but there is a most curious s=
ky
effect behind us which I thought you might like to see."
I rose and looked=
. In
the clear, starlight night I could just discern the mighty outline of the
mountains of Mur. Above them the firmament was suffused with a strange red =
glow.
I formed my own conclusion at once, but only said:
"Let us go to
tell Orme," and led the way to where he had lain down under a tree.
He was not sleepi=
ng;
indeed, I do not think he had closed his eyes all night, the night of Maque=
da's
marriage. On the contrary, he was standing on a little knoll staring at the
distant mountains and the glow above them.
"Mur is on
fire," he said solemnly. "Oh, my God, Mur is on fire!" and t=
urning
he walked away.
Just then Roderick
joined us.
"Fung got in=
to
Mur," he said, "and now cut throat of all Abati. We well out of t=
hat,
but pig Joshua have very warm wedding feast, because Barung hate Joshua who=
try
to catch him not fairly, which he never forget; often talk of it."
"Poor
Maqueda!" I said to Higgs, "what will happen to her?"
"I don't
know," he answered, "but although once, like everybody else, I ad=
ored
that girl, really as a matter of justice she deserves all she gets, the
false-hearted little wretch. Still it is true," he added, relenting,
"she gave us very good camels, to say nothing of their loads."
But I only repeat=
ed,
"Poor Maqueda!"
That day we made =
but
a short journey, since we wished to rest ourselves and fill the camels befo=
re
plunging into the wilderness, and feeling sure that we should not be pursue=
d,
had no cause to hurry. At night we camped in a little hollow by a stream th=
at
ran at the foot of a rise. As dawn broke we were awakened by the voice of
Roderick, who was on watch, calling to us in tones of alarm to get up, as we
were followed. We sprang to our feet, seizing our rifles.
"Where are
they?" I asked.
"There,
there," he said, pointing toward the rise behind us.
We ran round some
intervening bushes and looked, to see upon its crest a solitary figure seat=
ed
on a very tired horse, for it panted and its head drooped. This figure, whi=
ch
was entirely hidden in a long cloak with a hood, appeared to be watching our
camp just as a spy might do. Higgs lifted his rifle and fired at it, but
Oliver, who was standing by him, knocked the barrel up so that the bullet w=
ent
high, saying:
"Don't be a
fool. If it is only one man there's no need to shoot him, and if there are =
more
you will bring them on to us."
Then the figure u=
rged
the weary horse and advanced slowly, and I noticed that it was very small.
"A boy," I thought to myself, "who is bringing some
message."
The rider reached=
us,
and slipping from the horse, stood still.
"Who are
you?" asked Oliver, scanning the cloaked form.
"One who bri=
ngs
a token to you, lord," was the answer, spoken in a low and muffled voi=
ce.
"Here it is," and a hand, a very delicate hand, was stretched out,
holding between the fingers a ring.
I knew it at once=
; it
was Sheba's ring which Maqueda had lent to me in proof of her good faith wh=
en I
journeyed for help to England. This ring, it will be remembered, we returne=
d to
her with much ceremony at our first public audience. Oliver grew pale at the
sight of it.
"How did you
come by this?" he asked hoarsely. "Is she who alone may wear it
dead?"
"Yes, yes,&q=
uot;
answered the voice, a feigned voice as I thought. "The Child of Kings =
whom
you knew is dead, and having no more need for this ancient symbol of her po=
wer,
she bequeathed it to you whom she remembered kindly at the last."
Oliver covered his
face with his hands and turned away.
"But," =
went
on the speaker slowly, "the woman Maqueda whom once it is said you
loved----"
He dropped his ha=
nds
and stared.
"----the wom=
an
Maqueda whom once it is said you--loved--still lives."
Then the hood sli=
pped
back, and in the glow of the rising sun we saw the face beneath.
It was that of
Maqueda herself!
A silence followed
that in its way was almost awful.
"My Lord
Oliver," asked Maqueda presently, "do you accept my offering of Q=
ueen
Sheba's ring?"
NOTE BY MAQUEDA
Once called Walda
Nagasta and Takla Warda, that is, Child of Kings and Bud of the Rose, once =
also
by birth Ruler of the Abati people, the Sons of Solomon and Sheba.
I, Maqueda, write
this by the command of Oliver, my lord, who desires that I should set out
certain things in my own words.
Truly all men are
fools, and the greatest of them is Oliver, my lord, though perhaps he is al=
most
equalled by the learned man whom the Abati called Black Windows, and by the
doctor, Son of Adam. Only he who is named Roderick, child of Adam, is somew=
hat
less blind, because having been brought up among the Fung and other people =
of
the desert, he has gathered a little wisdom. This I know because he has tol=
d me
that he alone saw through my plan to save all their lives, but said nothing=
of it
because he desired to escape from Mur, where certain death waited on him and
his companions. Perhaps, however, he lies to please me.
Now, for the trut=
h of
the matter, which not being skilled in writing I will tell briefly.
I was carried out=
of
the cave city with my lord and the others, starving, starving, too weak to =
kill
myself, which otherwise I would have done rather than fall into the hands o=
f my
accursed uncle, Joshua. Yet I was stronger than the rest, because as I have
learned, they tricked me about those biscuits, pretending to eat when they =
were
not eating, for which never will I forgive them. It was Japhet, a gallant m=
an
on one side, but a coward on the other like the rest of the Abati, who betr=
ayed
us, driven thereto by emptiness within, which, after all, is an ill enemy to
fight. He went out and told Joshua where we lay hid, and then, of course, t=
hey
came.
Well, they took a=
way
my lord and the others, and me too they bore to another place and fed me ti=
ll
my strength returned, and oh! how good was that honey which first I ate, fo=
r I
could touch nothing else. When I was strong again came Prince Joshua to me =
and
said, "Now I have you in my net; now you are mine."
Then I answered
Joshua, "Fool, your net is of air; I will fly through it."
"How?" =
he
asked. "By death," I answered, "of which a hundred means lie=
to
my hand. You have robbed me of one, but what does that matter when so many
remain? I will go where you and your love cannot pursue me."
"Very well,
Child of Kings," he said, "but how about that tall Gentile who has
caught your eyes, and his companions? They, too, have recovered, and they s=
hall
die every one of them after a certain fashion (which, I Maqueda, will not s=
et
down, since there are some things that ought not to be written). If you die,
they die; as I told you, they die as a wolf dies that is caught by the
shepherds; they die as a baboon dies that is caught by the husbandman."=
;
Now I looked this=
way
and that, and found that there was no escape. So I made a bargain.
"Joshua,&quo=
t; I
said, "let these men go and I swear upon the name of our mother, she of
Sheba, that I will marry you. Keep them and kill them, and you will have no=
ne
of me."
Well, in the end,
because he desired me and the power that went with me, he consented.
Then I played my
part. My lord and his companions were brought before me, and in presence of=
all
the people I mocked them; I spat in their faces, and oh! fools, fools, fool=
s,
they believed me! I lifted my veil, and showed them my eyes, and they belie=
ved
also what they seemed to see in my eyes, forgetting that I am a woman who c=
an
play a part at need. Yes, they forgot that there were others to deceive as
well, all the Abati people, who, if they thought I tricked them, would have
torn the foreigners limb from limb. That was my bitterest morsel, that I sh=
ould
have succeeded in making even my own lord believe that of all the wicked wo=
men
that ever trod this world, I was the most vile. Yet I did so, and he cannot
deny it, for often we have talked of this thing till he will hear of it no
more.
Well, they went w=
ith
all that I could give them, though I knew well that my lord cared nothing, =
for
what I could give, nor the doctor, Child of Adam, either, who cared only for
his son that God had restored to him. Only Black Windows cared, not because=
he
loves wealth, but because he worships all that is old and ugly, for of such
things he fashions up his god.
They went, for their going was reported =
to me,
and I, I entered into hell because I knew that my lord thought me false, and
that he would never learn the truth, namely, that what I did I did to save =
his
life, until at length he came to his own country, if ever he came there, an=
d opened
the chests of treasure, if ever he opened them, which perhaps he would not =
care
to do. And all that while he would believe me the wife of Joshua, and--oh! I
cannot write of it. And I, I should be dead; I, I could not tell him the tr=
uth
until he joined me in that land of death, if there men and women can talk
together any more.
For this and no o=
ther
was the road that I had planned to walk. When he and his companions had gon=
e so
far that they could not be followed, then I would tell Joshua and the Abati=
all
the truth in such language as should never be forgotten for generations, and
kill myself before their eyes, so that Joshua might lack a wife and the Aba=
ti a
Child of Kings.
I sat through the
Feast of Preparation and smiled and smiled. It passed and the next day pass=
ed,
and came the night of the Feast of Marriage. The glass was broken, the cere=
mony
was fulfilled. Joshua rose up to pledge me before all the priests, lords, a=
nd
headmen. He devoured me with his hateful eyes, me, who was already his. But=
I,
I handled the knife in my robe, wishing, such was the rage in my heart, tha=
t I
could kill him also.
Then God spoke, a=
nd
the dream that I had dreamed came true. Far away there rose a single cry, a=
nd
after it other cries, and the sounds of shouting and of marching feet. Far =
away
tongues of fire leapt into the air, and each man asked his neighbour,
"What is this?" Then from all the thousands of the feasting people
rose one giant scream, and that scream said, "Fung! Fung! The Fung are=
on
us! Fly, fly, fly!"
"Come,"
shouted Joshua, seizing me by the arm, but I drew my dagger on him and he l=
et
go. Then he fled with the other lords, and I remained in my high seat benea=
th
the golden canopy alone.
The people fled p=
ast
me without fighting; they fled into the cave city, they fled to the rocks; =
they
hid themselves among the precipices, and after them came the Fung, slaying =
and
burning, till all Mur went up in flames. And I, I sat and watched, waiting =
till
it was time for me to die also.
At last, I know n=
ot
how long afterwards, appeared before me Barung, a red sword in his hand, wh=
ich
he lifted to me in salute.
"Greeting, C=
hild
of Kings," he said. "You see Harmac is come to sleep at Mur."=
;
"Yes," I
answered, "Harmac is come to sleep at Mur, and many of those who dwelt
there sleep with him. What of it? Say, Barung, will you kill me, or shall I
kill myself?"
"Neither, Ch=
ild
of Kings," he answered in his high fashion. "Did I not make you a
promise yonder in the Pass of Mur, when I spoke with you and the Western me=
n,
and does a Fung Sultan break his word? I have taken back the city that was
ours, as I swore to do, and purified it with fire," and he pointed to =
the
raging flames. "Now I will rebuild it, and you shall rule under me.&qu=
ot;
"Not so,&quo=
t; I
answered; "but in place of that promise I ask of you three things.&quo=
t;
"Name
them," said Barung.
"They are th=
ese:
First, that you give me a good horse and five days' food, and let me go whe=
re I
will. Secondly, that if he still lives you advance one Japhet, a certain
Mountaineer who befriended me and brought others to do likewise, to a place=
of
honour under you. Thirdly, that you spare the rest of the Abati people.&quo=
t;
"You shall go
whither you desire, and I think I know where you will go," answered
Barung. "Certain spies of mine last night saw four white men riding on
fine camels towards Egypt, and reported it to me as I led my army to the se=
cret
pass that Harmac showed me, which you Abati could never find. But I said, '=
Let
them go; it is right that brave men who have been the mock of the Abati sho=
uld
be allowed their freedom.' Yes, I said this, although one of them was my
daughter's husband, or near to it. But she will have no more of him who fle=
d to
his father rather than with her, so it was best that he should go also, sin=
ce,
if I brought him back it must be to his death."
"Yes," I
answered boldly, "I go after the Western men; I who have done with the=
se
Abati. I wish to see new lands."
"And find an=
old
love who thinks ill of you just now," he said, stroking his beard.
"Well, no wonder, for here has been a marriage feast. Say, what were y=
ou
about to do, O Child of Kings? Take the fat Joshua to your breast?"
"Nay, Barung=
, I
was about to take this husband to my breast," and I showed him the kni=
fe
that was hidden in my marriage robe.
"No," he
said, smiling, "I think the knife was for Joshua first. Still, you are=
a
brave woman who could save the life of him you love at the cost of your own.
Yet, bethink you, Child of Kings, for many a generation your mothers have b=
een
queens, and under me you may still remain a queen. How will one whose blood=
has
ruled so long endure to serve a Western man in a strange land?"
"That is wha=
t I
go to find out, Barung, and if I cannot endure, then I shall come back agai=
n,
though not to rule the Abati, of whom I wash my hands for ever. Yet, Barung=
, my
heart tells me I shall endure."
"The Child of
Kings has spoken," he said, bowing to me. "My best horse awaits h=
er,
and five of my bravest guards shall ride with her to keep her safe till she
sights the camp of the Western men. I say happy is he of them who was born =
to
wear the sweet-scented Bud of the Rose upon his bosom. For the rest, the man
Japhet is in my hands. He yielded himself to me who would not fight for his=
own
people because of what they had done to his friends, the white men. Lastly,
already I have given orders that the slaying should cease, since I need the
Abati to be my slaves, they who are cowards, but cunning in many arts. Only=
one
more man shall die," he added sternly, "and that is Joshua, who w=
ould
have taken me by a trick in the mouth of the pass. So plead not for him, fo=
r by
the head of Harmac it is in vain."
Now hearing this I
did not plead, fearing lest I should anger Barung, and but waste my breath.=
At daybreak I sta=
rted
on the horse, having with me the five Fung captains. As we crossed the
marketplace I met those that remained alive of the Abati, being driven in
hordes like beasts, to hear their doom. Among them was Prince Joshua, my un=
cle,
whom a man led by a rope about his neck, while another man thrust him forwa=
rd
from behind, since Joshua knew that he went to his death and the road was o=
ne
which he did not wish to travel. He saw me, and cast himself down upon the
ground, crying to me to save him. I told him that I could not, though it is=
the
truth, I swear it before God, that, notwithstanding all the evil he had wor=
ked toward
me, toward Oliver my lord, and his companions, bringing to his end that gal=
lant
man who died to protect me, I would still have saved him if I could. But I
could not, for although I tried once more, Barung would not listen. So I
answered:
"Plead, O
Joshua, with him who has the power in Mur to-day, for I have none. You have
fashioned your own fate, and must travel the road you chose."
"What road do
you ride, mounted on a horse of the plains, Maqueda? Oh! what need is there=
for
me to ask? You go to see that accursed Gentile whom I would I had killed by
inches, as I would that I could kill you."
Then calling me by
evil names, Joshua sprang at me as though to strike me down, but he who held
the rope about his neck jerked him backward, so that he fell and I saw his =
face
no more.
But oh! it was sa=
d,
that journey across the great square, for the captive Abati by hundreds--me=
n,
women, and children together--with tears and lamentations cried to me to
preserve them from death or slavery at the hands of the Fung. But I answere=
d:
"Your sins a=
gainst
me and the brave foreign men who fought so well for you I forgive, but sear=
ch
your hearts, O Abati, and say if you can forgive yourselves? If you had
listened to me and to those whom I called in to help us, you might have bea=
ten
back the Fung, and remained free for ever. But you were cowards; you would =
not
learn to bear arms like men, you would not even watch your mountain walls, =
and
soon or late the people who refuse to be ready to fight must fall and become
the servants of those who are ready."
And now, my Olive=
r, I
have no more to write, save that I am glad to have endured so many things, =
and
thereby win the joy that is mine to-day. Not yet have I, Maqueda, wished to
reign again in Mur, who have found another throne.