The Devil-Tree of El Dorado: A Novel

by Frank Aubrey

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  ON THE 'DEVIL-TREE'S LADLE!'

  When Coryon sat down, a kind of buzzing or hum or talk in low tonesbroke out on all sides. Exclamations and expressions of astonishmentwere heard, for never had such audacity been known in a prisonerstanding thus on the very brink of death and almost within reach of theclutch of the fatal tree.

  Leonard was now bound again, and Dakla sent two or three of hissubordinate officers to stand beside him. But, even while they boundhim, the guards, as he could hardly fail to see, treated him with ameasure of involuntary respect; and well they might, for there was notone amongst them that durst look the evil Coryon in the face.

  Then was brought out the contrivance called the 'devil-tree's ladle';it was simply a long plank widened out at one end, and mounted, in thecentre, on wheels. An irrepressible shudder passed through Leonard whenhe saw this grim apparatus. But there was little outward sign of hisemotion, and his eyes were soon again fixed on Coryon, who rose andthus addressed those present,

  "Friends, ye all see here a confirmation of that which I have alreadyexplained unto you this morning. Yonder stands one of the strangerswhom the king hath admitted to his friendship; the man he was aboutto honour by alliance with his royal house. Ye can see for yourselvesthe untutored passions by which this youth, who was, forsooth, to havebeen your future king, is swayed, and his lack of seemly behaviour inthe presence of one like myself, who hath for so many years held ahigh position in the land, and hath conferred so many benefits uponit. Not the least of these, my friends, is that which I have justachieved--only just in time. I have, with the joint help of thosepowerful gods whom we all here serve, been able to defeat and overcomeeven the magic with which these men were armed. Ye all know, or haveheard, how they came provided, by some enemies of our race outside thecountry, with magic wands that brought down lightning and thunder anddeath upon those opposed to them; and to their seeming power the kingweakly yielded, and allowed these strangers to assume high stationsin the land. Zelus, my well-beloved son, early fell a victim to theirlawless intrusion into our domains, as did many of my people whom Isent to capture them. But in the end I have prevailed against them; Ihave taken from them their magic wands, and now they are, as ye all cansee, but ordinary men. But a punishment hath fallen upon the king, forhe is sick to death, and that is why he is not here to-day. He hathnot long to live, and soon the country will be without a king. Now itseemeth to me certain that the people are averse from accepting thisyoung stranger as the successor to their dying ruler, and that theydesire one of their own race. This hath caused me much anxious thought,but I have at last, I think, discovered a solution of the difficulty._I_ will espouse the Princess Ulama, and become the king's son-in-law;thus will your minds be set at rest; for ye will know that whenever theking dieth he will be succeeded by a ruler who is not only of your ownrace, but hath served his country long enough to satisfy all objectorsas to his experience, or his ability, or his solicitude for the welfareof his native land."

  While uttering these words, Coryon looked with a hardly-veiled smile ofmalice at Leonard, who, listening to the infamous proposal wrapped upin such unblushing hypocrisy, started as though he would have rushedagain upon the speaker; but he was held too firmly by those who nowsurrounded him. He could scarce keep from groaning aloud at what he hadjust heard.

  Coryon marked with evident satisfaction this effect of hisannouncement, and proceeded, in an unctuous voice, and with anaffectation of great resignation,

  "In doing this, good friends, I have, I assure you, no thought, nofeeling save the welfare of my country. I had not thought ever to taketo me another wife; though I had looked with favour upon the desire ofmy son Zelus to ally himself with our king's daughter. But, since thisyoung stranger hath rendered that impossible by slaying treacherouslymine only son, I will accept the necessities of the situation, andsacrifice my own feelings for the general good. Perhaps, after all,it is as well; for in me ye will have, as ye all know well, one whothinks always only of his people's weal. For long ages I have guardedthe land from outward foes by making friends of the powers of darkness.This, and this alone hath protected us from invasion by the hordes ofwild men that we know exist beyond our borders. The powers, whose HighPriest I am, have guarded us through many centuries, and have plantedaround the limits of our island a forest impenetrable and filled withterrible creatures for our protection. True, they let these strangersthrough, but only as a warning of that which might befall if we forgot,even for a moment, our religion, or rebelled against the sacrificesit requires and that our gods look for from us and will insist upon.True, we have to sacrifice some of those we love to our sacred tree,but what is that compared with the benefits and advantages that therest receive? We have peace, prosperity, contentment, freedom frominvasion, from wars, from enemies and dangers of all kinds; and,compared with these, the price that hath to be paid is, after all, butsmall. Henceforth, too, there will be a stronger guarantee for peacethroughout the land, in that your king and the head of your religionwill be one. And you, my faithful followers, who have served me well,"continued the arch-hypocrite, casting his eyes around, "will no morebe called upon to reside in the rocky fastness that has been so longour home; for I shall take up my abode in the palace of the king andthere shall ye all follow me." At this a loud cheer went up from all."And now to more immediate duties. I have condemned this murderer of myson to death; he shall end his life befittingly as a sacrifice to thegods whose power he hath defied in coming here--defied only to his owndoom. So shall perish all who brave me; and so shall perish this man'sfriends, his murderous abettors who, too, are in my power. And now,sirrah, if thou hast aught to say, thou hast just a minute. If thouhast aught to ask me, now is thy final opportunity."

  When he ceased speaking, Coryon sat down, first casting at Leonard ahideous glance of triumph. Leonard saw the sneer and knew that hisenemy's desire was to excite him to a farther display of useless anger;but the knowledge only served to calm him, and, when he spoke, it wasin a voice that had in it neither bitterness nor passion, but only agreat sadness. He did not wish to gratify Coryon by exhibiting anger;and thus he spoke,

  "It is true I have something I would say, but it is not to thee, OCoryon, but to those who are not Coryon's degraded servants, but freeagents, who have been misled into supporting him here to-day. To you,good people, I address myself." And Leonard cast his eyes around uponthose who were not wearers of Coryon's uniform. "I have much to say andmuch to ask. Know that the power of this boastful tyrant who declareswith mock humility his wicked purpose to force the youthful daughterof his king into an alliance that revolts her--know, good people,that his power is almost at an end, and that he will never enter intothat palace, in which he has promised to find place for his credulousfollowers. He may kill me if he will, but my death will naught avail;a few hours hence he will be either a prisoner in the hands of thosewho came with me, or hiding in his underground haunts like a huntedanimal that dares not show its face above the ground. But the end willbe the same. He will quickly be hurled out, and a terrible punishmentwill be meted out to him and to all those who abet him--every one,that is, who shall support him. Therefore I say this to you, whenmy friends come--as come they will--do not help Coryon's myrmidonsagainst them. They will come armed with a fearful power that you canscarce conceive; you shall see the very rocks fall away before them incrashing thunders as they hunt these rats out of their holes. If youfight on Coryon's side, they will mow you down like grass before thescythe. On the other hand, if you side not with these doomed ones, but,instead, ask for mercy, you shall find it; for we came not to this landto teach cruelty and murder, but to deliver it from the tyranny thathas so long oppressed it. That is my advice to you; what I would ask isthat you tell your fellow-citizens that I am sore distressed in thatI have done far less than I might to win their affections and theirconfidence. That I have made a terrible mistake, that it has led me tothis situation, I now see. But my error I shall expiate with my life;when I am dead,
and you see the benefits my friends will shower on theland, then tell all that I was of the same mind, and was full of naughtbut kindly feelings. But--my great--love for one so fair--as youryoung--princess--took up my thoughts, perhaps, more than should havebeen the case." Leonard's voice almost failed him here; but by a strongeffort he recovered himself and went on. "That is all that I would ask;let them remember me and think kindly of me. You will see in those dayswho has spoken truly--whether I, or Coryon. You will know how false hasbeen every word he has said to you to-day. Even what he says about myfriends is false; they are _not_ in his power, nor has he deprived themof their magic power, as you will all quickly see. To say that by hisatrocious so-called religious rites he has guarded and advanced thiscountry is a lie----"

  "Silence!" exclaimed Coryon, who had all this time been movingrestlessly in his seat.

  "I come from a land--the greatest on the earth--that has an empireupon which the sun ne'er sets; we have no such wicked murders calledsacrifices; yet we are safe against our enemies, and----"

  "Silence, I tell thee! What think'st thou we care about thy country orthyself?" Coryon burst out.

  "I say," Leonard went on, disregarding him, "that every word this manutters is a lie. He cannot say one single sentence without uttering alie----"

  "If thou sayest more, I will have thee scourged as well as killed,"Coryon cried, in growing rage. "It speaketh well to these good peoplefor my patience that I have let thee have thy say thus far. Never, formany a year, has mortal dared to flout me to my face as thou hastdone."

  "O Coryon!" Leonard exclaimed, turning and facing him, "truly did I saythat thou could'st not speak one single sentence without uttering somelie, and now thou art convicted. For I know of one, at least, that hasflouted and dared thee to thy face; one whose spirit thou couldst notquell; and she but a woman--her name Fernina!"

  At this a perfect howl of rage escaped from Coryon's lips. He sprang upand clutched at the air, and gasped; and, for a moment, Leonard halfthought he would have a fit. But he recovered himself, and shouted, ina screaming voice,

  "Seize him! Gag him! Lay him on the feeding-ladle of our sacred tree!We will see how he fancies its embrace!" Then, turning round andaddressing some one near him, he cried out,

  "Bring forward the princess, that she may witness this my act ofjustice towards the murderer she would have taken to her bosom. Let myfuture wife look on. Ha! ha! ha! My future wife! How dost thou like thetitle, murderer of my son, and would-be king?"

  His rage was something fearful to behold; many even of his ownmyrmidons trembled, and they made speed to do his bidding.

  Leonard was seized and bound to the wheeled plank, and, after tryingin vain to turn his head to take one last look at Ulama, he closed hiseyes and resigned himself to prayer. At the same time Ulama, lookingbut the mere ghost of her former self, was led to the side of Coryon'schair between two women, and forced to look upon the dreadful scene. Atthe sight of Leonard bound to the fatal plank, and the grim tree withits restless branches ever twisting in avid hunger for their prey, alook of stony horror came over her face; she gave one gasping, sobbingcry, and fell back unconscious.

  ON THE DEVIL-TREE'S LADLE. [_Page 297._]

  For some moments Coryon paused; he was inclined to wait till Ulamashould be restored to consciousness, for he wanted to prolong thetorture of the lovers somewhat before finally consigning Leonard to hisfate; but his fury mastered him, and he gave the signal to the two menholding one end of the plank to push it out along the stone pier.

  They had just begun to move it when a shot was heard, and one of themfell to the ground; and Leonard, turning his head, saw Templemore, highon the rocks above, kneeling with his rifle at his shoulder.

  Coryon saw it too, and, with a shout, and many threats, urged the otherman to push out the plank; but, instead, he started back in terror, andonly just in time to escape a second bullet that came singing past hisears and wounded a soldier standing near.

  Coryon, mad with rage and disappointed malice, snatched a spear froma soldier beside him, and ordered others in front of him to seizethe plank and push it out, prodding at them with the spear to forceobedience; but one, who stepped forward at his bidding, fell beforehe could reach the plank. Meantime, Templemore, followed by Ergalonand the brave Zonella, had come leaping down from ledge to ledge,threatening all who barred his way, and shooting down one or two whotried to stop him. He now stood, a revolver in each hand, at the end ofthe plank, and there he kept a circle around him, while Ergalon cut thecords by which Leonard was bound, released the cloth that had been tiedround his mouth to gag him, and helped him to his feet. Immediately herushed to Templemore.

  "Give me a rifle, Jack! Let me shoot down that son of Satan and rid theearth of him for ever."

  Ergalon was carrying three rifles, the one Templemore had been usingand two spare ones; one of these he handed now to Leonard.

  But, in the interval, Coryon's chief officer, Dakla, had taken in thesituation; and having already had experience of the weapons with whichhe saw Templemore was armed, had advised Coryon to retreat into thecovered-way.

  "It is useless to stay here, my lord," he said. "Thou wilt surely bekilled! Haste to the shelter while there is yet time! There I thinkthou wilt be safe. If not, thou canst retreat within the gates."

  "Dost think the danger is so great, good Dakla?" Coryon asked,incredulously.

  "I am sure of it, my lord. Haste thee--and take some soldiers with theeand keep them between thee and thine enemies, or thou wilt never reachthe shelter alive. I will leave some men here and take others up on tothe rocks above, whence we can hurl down great stones upon them. Haply,if no more come, we may yet prevail against these."

  Coryon and his priests and immediate followers hastened away,accordingly, leaving the still unconscious Ulama, in charge of the twowomen, behind his chair. He was only just in time, for a soldier heforced to walk beside him fell by a shot from Leonard's rifle a momentbefore they gained the shelter of the covered-way.

  Leonard saw the women beside Coryon's chair, and, though he knewnot that Ulama was lying there unconscious, he guessed she was nearthe spot; therefore he feared to fire more shots in that direction;while he knew it would be useless to fire at the iron-work of thecovered-way. For a space, therefore, there was a pause; but soonDakla's men appeared on the rocks above them and began to roll downstones and boulders.

  The position of the little band was now becoming critical. To retreat,leaving Ulama in the hands of Coryon, was not to be conceived. Yet theycould not advance, for a compact body of men stood ready to receivethem; and at these they durst not fire lest they might hit Ulama orone of her attendants. Yet every minute they stayed where they wereincreased their danger. Great masses of rock, started by persons abovewho showed only an arm or hand above the ridge, came crashing down andshooting past them. And, when a head was raised above it here and thereto take a hurried aim, it was seen only for a second, and gave littleopportunity for a shot.

  They had had two or three narrow escapes, and had avoided injuryonly by leaping out of the path of the rocks that came crashing andbounding down. Jack urged Zonella to go back, but she stoutly refused;and he was at his wits' end what course to take, when loud shoutingwas heard in the direction of the entrance of the enclosure. Soon, arush of armed men in red tunics came along the roadway at the rear ofthe black-coated soldiers standing around Coryon's chair. InstantlyCoryon's men gave way, and rushed across the terrace towards thecovered-way; while the red-coated men poured in and spread themselvesout on either side.

  And now could be seen men carrying flags and banners, and amongst themtwo of mighty stature; one of them, the taller, dressed in the coatof mail and the helmet with silver wings that had been preserved solong in the museum and that was said to have belonged to the legendaryMellenda. He wore, too, the great sword that belonged to the suit, andit seemed, upon his towering form, to be of no more than usual andproportionate size.

  As this majestic figure came more c
losely into view, accompaniedby Colenna and some others of the king's officers, Leonard andTemplemore's astonishment were great at recognising no other than theirfriend Monella!