Ingersoll Lockwood

“ As Benè-agâ ceased speaking, he lifted his song, making the trailing mosses sway with the vigor of his notes, now deep and solemn, now clear and far-reaching.
The echoes came back softened down to flute notes. He listened breathlessly.
“O wonderful man!” thought I, “even the sleeping echoes rouse themselves to guide thy footsteps aright.”
“Come, my son!” he cried in tones of gladness, “our torches go to their end. Let us push on! Though the sun be not yet high enough to chase the inky darkness out of Palin-mâ-Talin’s depths, still, with this guiding string thou canst follow me!” ”

“ I replied in a firm, yet humble tone.
“No human creature is stranger to me! Thou art too young to be my brother! The light that is left me shines only for my own feet!” came slowly from the hermit’s cave in a full, deep, rich voice.
“True, great master,” I replied, “but then, may I not be thy son, and follow thy footsteps?”
“Thou art very wise for thy years,” spake Benè-agâ.
“Not so wise, great master,” was my reply, “as I shall be when I have sat at thy feet.”
“Come somewhat closer; thy child-voice sounds like an echo,” continued the blind hermit. “And yet thou art not a child! ”

“ Another instant and I’m saved! My feet strike firm.
I see the fair country come nearer and nearer.
Another leap, and with my faithful Bulger I’ve cleared the dreaded stairway of Bōga-Drappa! Staggering forward, I reach the greensward of the valley and fall fainting, after my terrible race for life!
Bulger’s mingled wailing and caresses roused me after a few moments of clouded brain and then all was well. And yet a shudder stole over me as I raised my eyes to take a last look at the rocky stairway of Bōga-Drappa, now clad once more in its black, glistening, treacherous slime. ”

“ Soon the crumpled, broken, crushed remnants of that strong hulk will follow.
This watery monster doth not feed upon what he swallows! He destroys for the mere love of destruction. Night had come now. I returned to my ship. The shifting sands and the whirlpool had uncovered their horrors. But I feared them no more! Like the horse-tamer when he has at last succeeded in thrusting the steel bit between the champing and gnashing teeth of the wild young steed, I now felt that they were conquered.
“And now for Thor’s Hammer!” was my cry, as I sat down beside Bulger for a brief moment’s reflection. ”

“ I cried. “Am I a worm to vegetate in mold and darkness? Nay! I am a creature of intelligence, of mind, of soul; the air, the sunlight, the boundless universe, are mine; I will enjoy them.”
Luckily I had not long to wait in the seaport, for a good, staunch vessel was nearly loaded.
Learning that she was bound for the Southern ocean, I at once ordered my effects to be set on board, and before the new moon had lost its crescent I was on the high seas with my faithful Bulger by my side and a bounding heart beating joyful music in my breast. ”

“ It is needless to say that every body was delighted to see Bulger. They all found that he had increased in size, beauty and intelligence.
He received all this homage with a dignity that was charming to behold.
To impress the crowd with a due sense of that discipline and self-control which he acquired as the constant companion and confidant of his master, he absolutely refused to touch the many tid-bits and dainty morsels which the retainers offered him, and gazed with the utmost indifference at the other dogs in their mad scramblings for the food which he had declined. ”

“ If he has just eaten and his body is rounded out like a well-filled balloon, his voice is deep and rumbling; if, on the other hand, he has not taken food for a day or so and his skin hangs in folds and wrinkles on his framework of bones, he speaks with a soft, flute-like tone.
As I stepped to the front, followed by Bulger, and took my place beside the heap of oysters, a deafening outcry went up, in which the deep roars of the inflated Wind Eaters were mingled with the soft flute-like tones of the fasting ones. ”

“ Thou hast felt the first touch of that deadly chill, which curdles the warmest blood and sends a sleep of death upon the rash intruder! But to me, O, my son, Palin-mâ-Talin is all light and glow! I cannot see that gloom which strikes such terror to thy soul. And thou must know, my son, that Palin-mâ-Talin has no shadows deep enough to hide the north star from my sight. I always know which way it was the sun went down, and which way it will be that he will rise; for all the winds are known to me, and whence they blow. To thy cheek the air appears to sleep at times. ”

“ They became, in good sooth, brothers and sisters to the marble dwellers on this island.
At length the end came!
The last sculptor was laid upon the carved bier of the great white temple by the sea!
A silence so long, so deep, so dreadful, fell upon the people that it almost seemed their speech was lost forever.
Within the dark grottoes and bosky underwood, they crawled to hide away from the very light of day.
Their limbs, once so supple and elastic, ever ready to bear their owners over hill and across plain, delighting in the dance, inured to the race, now became heavy and slow. ”

“ Doubtless my eyes brightened, and my cheeks took on a glow of crimson hue, for Bulger, who had been listening to my soliloquy with a most pained expression on his face, as he vainly tried to get at the meaning of my words, now broke out into a very lively succession of barks, bounding and springing about the room in the wildest merriment. He knew only too well that some terrible struggle had been going on in my mind.
Now he realized that all was well. Faithful creature, if he could only tell his love, how he would put all human lovers to blush! ”

“ I called out and in quicker time than it takes to tell it, I was on my way to the shore of the Sculptors’ Isle.
Faithful Bulger sat beside me, his eyes bright and expressive as he gazed into my face.
Landing at the foot of the marble stairway, I sprang lightly out of the launch, followed by Bulger, and bounded up the marble steps.
There were three landings before I reached the level of the temple, from each of which the outlook grew more and more delightful. In truth, it was a glorious approach to produce which art and nature had fairly outdone themselves. ”

“ One morning, while at work with my boxes, a low knock at my chamber door fell upon my ear. Bulger, scenting an enemy, gave a low growl. I swung the door open. It was the elder baron.
“Honored father,” I cried gayly, “act as if thou wert master here! Be sad, be gay; sit, stand, drink, eat, or fast!”
“Little baron,” began my father in a solemn voice, “I beseech thee give over thy jesting. When thou hast heard the object of my visit, grief will chase every vestige of mirth from thy light heart.” ”

“ Wont they bite or sting? What do they eat? What shall I keep them in? Will you make me a cage for them? Oh, I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so glad!” and she bounded about, now this way, now that, now into the air like an animated rubber ball, drumming like a partridge all the while.
Behold us, then, Bulger and me, prisoners in the land of the Roundbodies, with the Princess Rōlâ-Bōlâ as our keeper!
Hope sank low within our poor hearts.
I dared not breathe a word in opposition to the will of King Bô-gôô-gôô or the caprice of Rōlâ-Bōlâ lest the order should be revoked. ”

“ With redoubled fury they came back to their work.
I dared not cry out so soon to Benè-agâ, for mercy, for release from the cruel conditions he had imposed upon me! Rather death than yield so quickly; shrink so like a coward who stands motionless and trembling on the battle field, as a spent ball strikes his breast.
I slept at last!
But O, what a broken, fevered sleep it was! A sleep with unclosed eyes, full of dark and dismal sights. I could stand no more. I yielded and longed for death. In thought, I kissed my parents’ hands and felt their soft caresses on my brow and face. ”

“ My men, ashamed of their cowardice, crawl from their hiding-places and set to work with a will.
Already they have fastened a line to the end of the twine and it is moving briskly over the rail.
There can be no doubt now.
Bulger has saved us!
Springing into the main-shrouds and shielding my mouth from the gale with my hands, I called out to my men:
“Stand by the hawser! Make fast the line! Now heave, O! Let go all!”
With an angry splash the hawser fell into the sea and was soon on its way shorewards.
And this was the way Bulger saved the life of master, mate and twelve seamen! ”

“ With a wild cry of joy Bulger met me as I was drawn through the breakers.
I threw myself on my knees and covered him with kisses, while tears rolled hot and fast down my cheeks.
The people of the land gathered group-wise about us and watched our interchanging of caresses in deepest silence, agitating their thumbs and twitching the corners of their mouths.
“What land is this? Where are we, good people?” I inquired, after this first outpouring of love and gratitude had spent its fervor. ”

“ Look within thyself! Thou art the temple of an immortal soul! Enter its portals! Fix thine eyes on the mysterious writings there unrolled! Grow not weary and discouraged if thou canst not decipher their meaning as easily as thou wouldst the books of man! And O, my son, should the gloom and silence of Benè-agâ’s cave weigh too heavily on thy young soul, raise thine eyes to some one of the many lines which I have carved upon these rocky walls, in my hours of recreation. They will guide thee back to sweet contentment; give thee strength to persevere unto the end! ”

“ I was so placed that I could see all, without being seen myself. Chief Ztwish-Ztwish knew of my presence there.
As Bulger caught a glimpse of the raging and bellowing Go-Whizz, he grew so nervous that I was obliged to stoop and stroke his head to let him know I feared nothing. But the fact of the matter is, great dangers always exert a subduing influence upon me.
I face them cooly, but sadly, for my thoughts in such moments go back to the elder baron and to the gentle baroness, my mother, in the far-away home ’neath the skies of the beloved fatherland. ”

“ Quicker than thought I swung myself down from the platform, and, encircling Bulger with my left arm, made my way back again.
The good dog was delighted to be with me again, although he was trembling like an aspen leaf at the distant sound of the winds.
He well knew what was coming.
285But look! The sunlight is gone!
The very air seems affrighted.
A terrifying tremor of the ground beneath us causes the soles of our feet to tingle and prickle.
“Tôô-tôô-lō! Tôô-tôô-lō!”
It was Rōlâ-Bōlâ calling her lover away from the impending death with which the storm-cloud was fraught. ”

“ My heart sank within me at sight of that wall of living boulders encircling us, with their fierce visages turned, half in wonder, half in rage, upon the, to them, two funny beings as utterly unlike themselves as each other.
But love is always stronger than fear.
Stretching out my arms and drawing Bulger close to my breast, I cried out:
“O, Bulger! do I really live? Am I not still the object of some demon’s sportive malice?”
At sound of my voice the round-bodied monsters broke out into a hideous chorus of deep, rumbling laughter, during which their bodies rolled from side to side. ”

“ Refreshed by a hearty meal upon the luscious fruit which grew in wonderful profusion on every side, followed by a deep draught of cool, clear spring water, and calling joyfully to my faithful Bulger to follow me, I set out for the distant summit of the ridge which shut in this peaceful little corner of the earth’s surface, so well fitted for the home of human beings, and yet so utterly abandoned and tenantless, even by four footed creatures. ”

“ He answered me with a look of most tender affection, and then we both tripped, staggered, stumbled, fell headlong, side by side, while seemingly ten thousand living boulders, with awful shrieks, groans, and gurgling sounds, hung like a shadow over us for an instant, and all was black as night.
I felt my protuberant brow ground into the earth and the last bit of life crushed out of me.
My last though was:
“Bulger! O, Bulger! What a terrible death! But O, what a kind Providence to let us die together!” ”

“ Mine do!
’Tis Bulger’s bark and I am saved! Faster and faster the Wind Eaters ply their clubs.
I do not heed them. I do not feel them now, for nearer and nearer comes that joyous music.
’Tis here!
I’m strong again. I rise half up—my lips move—I speak—I cry out: “Quick, good Bulger, or all is lost!” A single glance at the terrible plight of his little master tells him all. With a howl of rage, his dark eyes shooting flame, he throws himself upon the heels of the Wind Eaters. ”