Mabel Fuller Blodgett

“ Speak quickly, for I bear not pain with patience, and indeed my soul hungers for the love light in thine eyes, and the touch of thy lips on mine. Speak then, my lord. Lah, the Queen, awaits thy answer.”
Then it was that I said a cruel thing. In truth, between her beauty and her proffered love, her tempting and the bond of my own oath, I was as a man distraught. Before me rose the sweet, pale face of her whom I had come to save. The vision of Astolba came between me and the Queen, and being made savage by my own misery, I answered bitterly: “Is it thus in thy country? The woman woos the man?” ”

“ Him, they think long since dead. Let his name be forgotten lest it be cursed before the Council.”
“But the maid, the maid!” cried Lestrade.
The eyes of the stranger narrowed. A curious light blazed in their depths. With a superhuman effort, the dying man raised himself from the ground.
“I am a priest of the Council,” he cried, in a strange, chanting kind of voice. “I have been traitor. I have been slave. To Edba and to Hed have I turned my back. But my gods remember, my gods are strong, my gods punish. Think not to wrest from the Snake, his bride.” ”

“ The next, her hand leaped to her dagger’s hilt. I did not move. In truth, death held for me then no terrors. The flash of the blade passed before my eyes. The point struck through the flesh to the bone and glanced off. Slowly the red stain spread upon the fold of my white tunic. The Queen’s eyes, wide with horror, followed it in silence. Then with a wild cry, Lah flung herself at my feet. She wept not as a woman weeps, but as a man—not easily, but with low, strangling sobs that caught and tore at the throat. ”

“ Women are queer creatures. I do not doubt that in the very face of this slow and evil death, she, the Queen, was altogether happy.
I could not bear her gaze. Neither could I stand idle, while the treacherous flood rose about us.
It was wild and useless labor, but with a frenzy of energy I pulled together two jewel chests, piled on blocks of silver that felt like featherweights to my mad strength, took ivory tusks and casks of wine, and built a throne higher than his who sat unmoved, the serpent god looking upon our misery. ”

“ I answered.
“And is that all?” she asked, still tenderly, but with a warning note of passion in her voice. “Is that all, when men have died, and joyfully, that they might but kiss the hem of my garment, the print of my sandal in the dust?”
“No,” said I, boldly, “that is not all; but, Lah, in my country, men’s hearts beat not to the ordering of aught save their own will. Neither do they love as slaves, but as masters. Beautiful above all women as you are, O my Queen, think not I will stoop before you. I am not cold. ”

“ O Rulers of the people of the Walled City! I cry out to you. The gods have turned away in anger. Edba, herself once a woman, heeds me no longer. I am not of your race. I have come a stranger to this land, but I ask you, have I not given back good measure for all that the land has given me? Surely, has prosperity come upon your people, O Throned Ones who sit and answer not. Much riches have I brought to them; my rule has been strong; my justice known abroad. The wicked tremble before my face, and the doer of brave deeds have I exalted! 192See, an empty throne awaits me in your midst. ”

“ And without former knowledge who could have guessed the hidden secrets of Lah’s palace, or the mysteries that gathered thick about the dwelling-place of Edba and of Hed.
I heard Lestrade whistling softly there in the darkness not ten paces away. The sound heartened me wonderfully. We were still together, and what might befall lost half its terror.
All at once our bearers halted. I was gently laid upon a couch. My bonds were loosened, and as I sprang to my feet a light flashed from above, and I found myself standing beside Lestrade. The throng had melted away as if by magic. ”

“ Such eyes! Two sparks of living fire, deep set, that ate through bone and muscle, flesh and sinew, and laid bare the soul. I shrank back, and the head of the red witch dropped down once more between her shoulders. I felt the terror that had seized me pass, but I had lost all wish to move. So I waited, in patience and unsurprised, the pleasure of the shrivelled hag, to whose lair the Queen had brought me.
For a space the red witch sat still as some carven image. As the firelight fell on the wizened, peering face, the peaked features took on new shapes of ugliness ”

“ When at length she did open her lips, I found too that I had forgotten the power of 152that musical voice; at least its tones sent a sudden thrill through all my being, and I listened, spellbound, against my will.
“Thou art a man,” said Lah; “therefore I say not to thee, let fear slip from thee as a garment. Fear lodges not in this breast of thine, else thou hadst not thrust thyself, by what means I know not, thus into the jaws of death; aye! into the secret storeroom of the Kings of the House, where lies the very treasure of the gods themselves.” ”

“ His massive knees lent me a moment’s foothold, and in childish rage I struck him furiously across the face with my dagger’s hilt. And at the sound the Queen sprang to her feet.
“Look!” she cried breathlessly; “look, the god is hollow!”
Men’s wits work nimbly at such a time as this. Without pausing, I swam behind the great metal image—and it was true: cleverly hidden in the back I saw a door. But the water had now reached its base.
“Swim for your life!” I called to the Queen, but she shook her head.
“I know not how the trick is done,” she answered steadily. “Save then yourself.” ”

“ Lestrade, grown strangely moody, and Astolba, with white, hushed face, sat with me, guests in the Queen’s banquet-hall; but I alone drank from the royal cup, and on me alone did the eyes of Lah rest with the look that was at once both promise and fulfilment.
I am a prudent man, but a man has need of more than prudence to guard against a foe like this. For the Queen was to me all woman in those days, and the spell of her beauty and her new-born gentleness was on me. ”

“ I was as a man carried out of himself. I waited, immovable as the very image of Hed himself whose squat figure presided side by side with Edba, over this heathen revel.
There was a stir among the people, as when the wind blows through the trees of the forest. I heard the royal salute, the clash of arms, and Lah had taken her place on the throne beside me. Then Agno raised his staff, and the band of players in the centre of the court struck from their rude instruments the first measures of a dance. ”

“ For surely, Astolba, you cannot think that such a thing as this could by any chance be true. The flower of death! Are you not already a little ashamed of all this nonsense? As for the Queen, has she not shielded us all at the risk of her own life? And while I am here, and Lestrade, what do you fear? Death could come to you only after it had come first to us. And in truth, it shall go hard if we do not soon find some way to save you and ourselves. But we must trust the Queen. ”

“ The multitude were wreathed with flowers as for a festal day. They jostled one another, it is true, to get a nearer look at the man about to suffer the extremest wrath of the mighty gods; they pushed one another aside, but with merry words and no anger. Their anger was all for him who had defiled the sanctuary. The very women held up their children and taught them words of infamy for me, the captive.
A man loves not to be called a coward. It was not for this that with patience I had learned from Astolba’s lips the language of this people. ”

“ A gray, furry body, fantastically striped in red and blue, two shining, bead-like eyes. This I saw; the next instant two sinewy claw-like hands were at my throat, and we were rolling over and over in the dust, the 34creature biting and striving to smother me in its embrace. It was strong, and it knew the tricks of wrestling. For a time neither one of us could boast of vantage.
The fight had ceased, and I dimly saw Lestrade trussed into a helpless bundle and lying upon the ground. The people of the Walled City stood in silence, resting upon their arms, like warriors of bronze. ”

“ Lestrade and I bent close and there sure enough, tattooed in lines of blue and red, on a spot above the heart as big as a man’s palm, we saw a rude map.
“Straight through the jungle northward,” breathed the priest, “by the swamp, by the waterfall, through the mountains, where beyond lieth the Pass of Blood! Behold the sign!”
His wavering forefinger touched the woven garment, and we saw the fantastic outline of an evil, leering god, about whose squat and crooked body twined a monstrous serpent. ”

“ Already the maddened people swarmed up the front of the massive building. The bodyguard within was faithful, and hurled back the rebels as they came. But the struggle I knew was but too unequal.
Fascinated by the spectacle, I still lingered. I saw one and another of the enemy bearing off rich spoil: jewelled garments, costly furnishings, goblets, skins, tapestries.
In the midst of the foe stood Agno, urging on the plunderers by word and gesture. His place was directly beneath the great statue of the god, Hed, and even as I looked a blue flame shot from above, and the stone image reeled. ”

“ Thus shalt thou escape death and gain great glory, and length of years, and fulness of power. Thus, O my Dering, Hubla the red witch hath seen it written in the magic vapor, and behold mine own eyes have been unsealed, and I too have seen us there—we two encircled by the serpent sacred to Hed. And for this day, I thank the gods, and thank them too that I am fair and that I come not empty handed to my lord. ”

“ Twelve tiger skins, twelve lion skins, and twelve skins of the panther, each one beyond common size, of great beauty and quite perfect, lay spread upon the rocky floor. With some of these I made a couch, and, wearied, sat me down to muse upon the secret of the storehouse and to plan how I might best escape with some prudently chosen portion of the treasure; how meet Astolba and Lestrade, and so journey swiftly and safely away from this wicked city and its people, whose mad lust for blood had well-nigh ended all our lives. ”

“ Let their death and the manner of their passing plead for us and turn away, while there be yet time, the wrath that is to come!”
A hoarse murmur of applause rang through the multitude, and of their number, a man richly dressed and I judged a warrior, stepped out from among his fellows and stood in the centre, alone.
“Agno, the High Priest, has said it. We, the people, repeat it. Oh Queen, let the blood of the stranger flow freely that the gods may be appeased.” ”

“ Perhaps a man grows used to danger. Perhaps my nerves were dulled by what had gone before. At least, I can say this with truth, I thought in that moment more on the pattern of the rug at my feet than on the chance of life or death that trembled in the balance. The crucial moment passed. Love triumphed. Zobo was ours.
An hour later I had left the place. We were to make the attempt that night,—Lestrade and myself disguised as priests, and Astolba dressed as a singing-boy attached to Edba’s Temple. According to a blessed, if heathenish, custom, we could go veiled. ”

“ I answered, and my anger made me now again as cold and as calm as I had before been hot and troubled within me. “In your power we are indeed; nevertheless, think not that it can touch, as you have said, the spirit of your captives. Lestrade’s body indeed trembles before you, your cruelty has lost him his reason, but his soul has but fled to its innermost retreat. You cannot lay so much as your little finger upon Gaston’s real self. It defies you, it remains unchanged despite you. You have turned his outer being by your devilish arts into the likeness of a beast. ”

“ The glory of Edba and of Hed is darkened, and our bodies, reverenced throughout the ages, shall crumble to dust, and be scattered through the world by every varying wind. A woman hath wrought great things for the Walled City. A woman shall pluck down even that which she hath set up. Speak, O my brothers! What price shall the stranger pay?”
Then a low, wrathful murmur filled that ancient Hall, to which I, still gloating over my treasure, my ruby without price, listened without fear. ”

“ I saw the giant beat the air for an instant with a wild and futile motion. Then the voice of the High Priest rose shrill in the awful quiet, bidding the wrestlers cease. But too late. For even as his words rang out, the massive form of Zobo’s foe relaxed, hung limp for a moment, then struck the ground with a dull, lifeless thud.
Zobo, turning, walked straight to the throne of Lah. As he reached it, I saw his lips move in a vain effort at speech. Then his giant body swayed and fell heavily. The Queen’s Champion lay, face downward, at her feet, his hand holding fast the hem of her garment. ”

“ Well for us that the friendly darkness covered us, and that before the dreadful onslaught of the storm the sentinels had fled. Our hard-earned knowledge of the network of dungeon, chamber, and corridor stood us in good stead; fear lent us strength and pricked us onward, and it was not long as we count by minutes before we paused for breath—we three together without the Palace, and so far safe, within the shadow of its wall. ”

“ You remember that I had asked Lah’s permission to go from the banquet, and as I passed, you had turned kindly to me, and bade me take courage, while even as you spoke the hideous cries from without came faintly to my ears. Perhaps your notice stirred the hatred of the Queen, for indeed of late she does hate me. At least she looked at me, and her look pierced me through and through. The thought of it kept me awake. I was cold with fear though the night was warm. I shall die with terror in this evil place. Oh, if you be a man, help me to escape or kill me quickly! ”

“ Astolba was standing, helpless as a bird in the snare of the fowler, her feet resting on the centre crimson stone.
A hush fell on the multitude. I saw a wreath of roses flung upon the victim’s head, while at the same time a slender 177cord, sent swift through the air by an unseen hand, coiled itself about the body of the shuddering girl.
“The great god Hed has chosen!” shrieked the people. “To the pit with the bride! To the pit!”
Then I knew my time had come. No human power could have held me back. I tore the clinging veil and mantle from my limbs. ”

“ In the Cage Though I knew from all that had gone before that change of quarters was little likely to bring me comfort, pleasure, or ease, either of mind or of body, my spirits rose, despite my better sense, as I turned my back upon the place of torment that had held me captive.
Neither did the triumphant malice of Agno’s dark countenance daunt me. Whatever befell, it was good. Good to be alive and breathe again the pure open air; good to be dazzled, half-blinded even, by a sun I had thought never to shine on me again save in death. ”

“ So I sit beside the fire alone, save for my dreams and for the ruby that hangs upon my breast. When I hold the gem, I bear within the hollow of my hand untold wealth. This I know full well, but the riches of the universe would not tempt me to sell the parting gift of Lah, the Queen.
Is this love? Again I say I know not. Only this: in life the jewel rests upon my heart, and at my death he will be a bold man and not wise, who shall dare to wrest it from me.
THE END ”