The Devil-Tree of El Dorado: A Novel

by Frank Aubrey

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  THE DEVIL-TREE BY MOONLIGHT.

  It was about ten o'clock when Templemore, with Ergalon as guide, cameout from the king's palace by a side-entrance that was little used, andthe door of which the latter now opened with a key. Outside, at a shortdistance, they found Monella pacing up and down.

  Before leaving, Templemore had told Leonard just so much as wouldexplain his absence; then had managed to slip away unobserved by theirfriends of the king's court.

  The night was fine but chilly, and all three were muffled up. In thesky overhead the moon shone calm and clear, lighting up the valleywith great distinctness; but across its face wild-looking clouds werescurrying, showing that a strong wind was blowing up above, thoughlittle of it was felt below. Only now and then an eddying gust wouldsweep down the hillside and stir the trees around them, then die awaywith a rustling sigh or a low moan.

  Ergalon led the way; skirting the town he took a roundabout road thatTemplemore soon saw led to the neighbourhood of the scene of theiradventure with the devil-tree, though they were approaching it from adifferent direction. Finally, they entered a thick wood that covereda steep hill; and now Templemore's companions made signs to him toobserve strict silence and to proceed as quietly as possible. When theyhad reached the summit of the slope, and stood on the ridge within theshadow of the trees, which here ceased abruptly, Templemore uttered ahalf-smothered exclamation. Instantly, he felt Monella's heavy handupon his shoulder grasping him with a grip of iron; and it brought tohim the recollection of the caution he had received.

  "Whatever you see or hear," Monella had rejoined, "you must remainabsolutely quiet and utter no sound; do nothing that might betray ourpresence."

  What had excited Templemore's surprise was the fact that he foundhimself looking down into the great amphitheatre in which stood thewell-remembered tree. Its long trailing branches were still movingabout swiftly in their strange, restless fashion; but most of theshorter and thicker branches were curled up at the top of the trunkin the same kind of _knot_ as they had formed after carrying thitherthe body of the puma. Viewed in the bright moonlight, the tree wasa hideous monstrosity that had yet a certain terrible fascinationwhich attracted and retained the sight while it revolted and repelledthe mind. The coiled branches upon the top reminded one irresistiblyof the snakes entwined round the head of the Medusa; they formeda kind of crown, of a character suitable to the frightful monsterwhose formless head, if one may so term it, they encircled. Theappearance of the whole thing was repulsive, ghastly, ghoulish. Therewas that in the mere form and outline of this gruesome wonder ofthe vegetable world that instinctively aroused aversion. Its nakedbranches--that in ordinary circumstances could belong only to a deadtree--its colour--half funereal, half of a deep blood-tint almostunknown amongst botanical productions--its never ceasing movement,so suggestive of an everlasting hunting after prey, of an insatiablecraving for its hateful diet of flesh and blood, of sleepless hunger,of tireless rapacity and relentless cruelty--all these made up anunnatural creation that appalled the instincts and chilled the veryblood of those who looked upon it. This had been the feeling, orcombination of feelings, that had made itself felt in Templemore's mindwhen he had first seen the spectacle by daylight; it impressed itselfmuch more strongly now that he saw the tree in the cold moonlight--nowstanding out clear and well-defined, now plunged into semi-obscurity,as the hurrying clouds chased each other across the sky above and threwtheir fleeting shadows beneath.

  From the spot where the three men stood a clear view was presented ofthe opposite side of the enclosure--_i.e._, of the side nearest tothe tree, which was there sufficiently close to the main terrace forits branches to sweep over it; but the terrace was here protected bya covered-way or verandah formed of metal gratings, the intersticesin which were small enough to keep the dreadful writhing snake-likebranches from pushing through them. When Templemore had seen the placebefore, this part of the terrace had been open; for the metal screens,or gratings, were, in reality, sliding shutters that could be withdrawninto grooves in the rock beyond. Here, at the end of the covered-way,was a gateway that formed the entrance to the labyrinth of caverns andgalleries in the cliff in which Coryon and his adherents lived.

  These sliding screens were movable at the will of those within thegateway. They could be either moved along in their grooves and thusprotect those traversing the covered-way, or withdrawn, so that thebranches of the fatal tree, in that case, guarded the entrance mosteffectually; for no man might then venture to approach the gateway andlive.

  Underneath, there were cells in the terrace, also within reach ofthe tree; and screened off, in like manner, by sliding grated doors.Through these gratings came faint beams of light.

  Templemore noted all these things; yet, while his gaze wandered tothem, each time the tree itself attracted it again and seemed to holdit spell-bound; and he waited--waited, hardly daring to breathe; waitedfor he knew not what; waited as one expectant and oppressed by a dimunshapen foreshadowing of some new and nameless horror.

  Nor was it without reason; for, slowly, the coiled 'crown' unfolded,and _something_ came little by little into view. Gradually the_something_ rose out of the hollow in the trunk, was carried up clearof it, then lowered over the side towards the ground. In shape it wascylindrical, and of a colour that could not be discovered in the fitfulmoonlight. Soon it was deposited upon the ground, and the branches thathad lowered it released their hold, and it remained for a brief spaceuntouched. Then other branches crept up to it with tortuous twistingsand, coiling round it, raised and swung it to and fro, then quicklydropped it. Anon, yet other branches would do the same; only, in theirturn, to drop it or to hand it on to others. Thus was it passed about;now lifted high in the air by one end, then by the other, anon dangledhorizontally in mid-air. In time it made the circuit of the tree; buteach branch, or set of branches that laid hold of it, rejected iteventually, as though, by some fell but unfailing instinct, they knewthere was nothing left in it to minister to their hateful appetite.And all the while the shadows came and went, and the moon looked downbetween them and lighted up the hideous scene.

  Meantime, from out the dark and filthy water and thick slime of thelarge pool a few hundred yards away, crawled uncouth monsters thelike of which Templemore had never looked upon, save, perhaps, insome fanciful representations of creatures said to have existed inpre-historic times. These mis-shapen reptiles were from ten to twelvefeet in length. They had heads and tails like crocodiles, and in manyother respects resembled them; but in place of the usual scales theywere covered with large horny plates several inches in diameter; and inthe centre of each plate was a strong spine or spike, thick at the basebut sharp at the point, and four or five inches long.

  These creatures crawled up to the fateful tree; and it was quicklyevident that they came to claim their share in the foul repast--the dryhusk and bones from which the tree had sucked the rest. Their armourmade them safe against the tree; for the branches no sooner touchedtheir bodies than they recoiled, baffled by the sharp points theyeverywhere encountered. Two or three of these horrid reptiles began todrag the dead body towards their haunt, and finally carried it away,but not without several tussles with the twisting, curling brancheswhich seemed loth to relinquish their prey; or, perhaps, wished to playwith it a little longer, as a cat might with a mouse.

  Monella had handed his field-glass to Templemore, still keeping a handupon his shoulder. The young man placed it to his eyes, and in aninstant gasped out,

  "Great heavens! _It is a human body!_"

  Yes!--if that may be so called which was but the mutilated husk ofwhat had once been a living, breathing, human being! But now there waslittle left beyond a shapeless form!

  Templemore felt sick, and almost reeled; but Monella's grasp up-heldhim, and was a silent reminder that he was expected to master hisemotions, however strong and painful they might be.

  "It is no time to give way," Monella whispered in his ear. "Wait andwatch!"

/>   It was, however, almost more than Templemore could do. He felt likeDante led by his guide to witness the tortures of the damned. But here,as it seemed to him, was a scene that rivalled in horror, if not inagony, even the scenes in the 'Inferno.' He set his teeth and clenchedhis hands; his breath was laboured, and his heart almost stood still.But for Monella's hold upon his shoulder he must have fallen.

  But now there came out of the covered-way two figures; they stood onthe terrace and bent their gaze upon the scene, silent and motionless.They were dressed in flowing robes of black, or some dark colour, thatwere emblazoned on the breast with a golden star.

  Grim, weird figures were they; their dark forms showing sharply againstthe light-coloured rocks behind them, the while they gazed with cruelcomposure upon the ghastly contention between the loathsome reptilesand the tree.

  When it was ended, and the beasts had disappeared with their prey intothe dark waters of the pool, one of the figures on the terrace put awhistle to his mouth, and a low piping sound reached the ears of theconcealed watchers.

  Immediately a rumbling noise was heard; and one of the sliding gratingsbeneath the terrace rolled back, thereby disclosing a cavernouscell, in which was a lighted lamp on a rough table. Then a figureseated by it, his face buried in his hands, sprang up with a loudcry, and retreated into the thick gloom beyond. But the terribletrailing branches swept in after him, twined round his legs andthrew him down, then quickly drew him out feet foremost. Vainly heshrieked, and clutched at this and that; at the table, at the edge ofthe sliding door; relentlessly, inexorably, he was dragged from onefutile hold to another, upsetting the lamp in his struggles, till hewas outside. Other branches swooped down upon him, coiling round himin all directions, and stifling his cries as, slowly, with an awfuldeliberation and absence of hurry, or even of the appearance of effort,he was hauled high into the air and disappeared into the hollow of thefatal tree. The great branches silently arranged themselves into theirknot-like circle; at another sound of the low whistle the sliding doorreturned to its place with a sullen rumble, and the two dark-robedspectators turned and left the place.

  Then Monella and Ergalon also came away; and it is no disparagementof Templemore's courage or 'nerve' to state that they had almost tocarry him between them. When they had got to a safe distance, Monellaplaced him on a boulder, and held to his lips a flask containing astrong cordial. Templemore, who had been on the point of fainting, feltrevived by it at once; the liquid seemed to course quickly through hisveins, and the feeling of deadly sickness, after a time, passed away.

  Monella, meanwhile, contemplated him with compassion and concern, butsaid no word. Presently Templemore gasped out,

  "What horrors! What frightful, cold-blooded atrocity! What a raceof foul fiends! Great heavens! To think such things go on in thisfair land--a land that seems so peaceful, so contented, so free fromordinary pain and suffering!"

  "Ah, my son," replied Monella, and there was an indescribablesadness in his tones, "_now_ you can understand the great horror inthe land; that which has oppressed it for many long ages; that casts agloom upon people's lives; that turns to gall and bitterness what, butfor it, would be a life of innocent enjoyment."

  "OTHER BRANCHES SWOOPED DOWN, COILING ROUND HIM." [_Page 252._]

  "But why----?" Templemore exclaimed almost fiercely; but the otherchecked him.

  "I think I know what you would say," Monella went on. "You would knowtwo or three things, I think. To the first question (as I read it)I reply that the reason you have not heard of this thing from otherpeople is that they have learned, from long habit, never to refer toit, even to one another. Almost incredible, you think? Not more so thanare many things that happen in your own life, in your own country. Icould name many known to all, yet alluded to by none--often wrongly, asI hold. Still, there is the fact. It is the same here. This horror inthe land broods over, enthrals the people; yet, because they hold it insuch dread, they make an affectation of pretending not to know of itsexistence; perhaps, in mercy to their children.

  "Next, it surprises you that _I_ have not told you sooner. The answeris simple. You are not like myself; I am one of this people; you arebut a sojourner in the land--a visitor. I had the desire to make yoursojourn here as pleasant as it could be; that your interest in the manycurious things you see about you should not be lessened, nor your stayhere rendered unhappy by the knowledge of that which you have seento-night--the earlier knowledge of which could have done no good to anyone.

  "Lastly, you naturally desire to know why, in that case, I have nowchosen to enlighten you. For this reason: the time is approaching whencertain plans of mine and of the king's will be completed, and when Idevoutly hope we may be able, with God's help, to end this thing forever. In that I shall ask you to help us--I hope you will aid us allyou can."

  "I will," said Templemore impetuously. "Against such a hellish crew asthat I am with you heart and soul. I think I begin to understand----"

  "Yes, I never doubted your readiness to take part with us. But it wasnecessary to give you absolute proof of what goes on, that you mightunderstand those with whom we have to deal. You have now seen foryourself----"

  "Ay, I have seen!" Jack shuddered.

  "And will now understand that, when the time comes to extirpatethis serpent brood, there must be no hesitation, no paltering, nohalf-and-half measures, no mercy. It will be of no use to kill the oldsnakes and leave the brood to grow up again, or eggs to hatch. Do youtake in my meaning?"

  "Yes, and think you will be right and well justified."

  "Good. If you wonder why, knowing all this, I have done nothingheretofore, it is that the king's plans could not sooner be matured.Meantime we have stayed the horror for a while."

  Jack uttered an impatient exclamation.

  "Oh, yes," Monella declared, "we _have_, and you have helped to do it.These wretched creatures you have seen sacrificed to this horrible'fetish-tree' of theirs, are their own soldiers--those who escaped fromus by running away. They deserve no pity. They themselves have givenmany an innocent victim--even women and children--to that tree----"

  "I know that to be true," Ergalon interposed.

  "The truce we forced on Coryon," resumed Monella "has had this effectat least--it has saved the lives of numbers of poor creatures who wouldhave been seized and sacrificed during the time that we have been here.Instead of that, however, the arch-fiend Coryon has had to contenthimself with making victims of his own wretched myrmidons by way ofpunishment for their running away from us. They are as bad as he--verynearly. At any rate they are not worth your pity."

  "Well, I am glad to hear that, at least," said Templemore. "It takesaway a little of the load of horror that turned me sick. Truly, of allthe diabolical atrocities that the mind of man in its depths of crueltyand wickedness ever conceived----"

  Ergalon shuddered now in his turn.

  "I can look on at the sacrifice of victims such as these," he saidgravely, "because I know that every one of them has deserved his fateby acts of cruelty; but when it is a case, as it has been in the past,of women, young girls, and poor little children----"

  "For Heaven's sake say no more," Jack entreated; "I begin to feel sickagain at such suggestions! I will fight to the death against suchwretches. As it is, for the rest of my life I shall see before me inmy dreams what I saw to-night. Surely no wilder phantasy, no moreoutrageous, blood-curdling nightmare ever entered the most disorderedbrain. And now it will haunt me to my life's end!"