by Frank Aubrey
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE LAST OF THE GREAT DEVIL-TREE.
Templemore did not find the occupation of directing the operationsfor destroying the great devil-tree a very agreeable or engrossingone. His memories of the amphitheatre filled him with disgust andloathing both of the place and of the vegetable monster it contained,and he never went near them without reluctance; for all that, he stuckconscientiously to the task now that he had undertaken it. But therewas neither excitement nor interest in it to keep his thoughts engaged,and to prevent their brooding upon his desire to get back to thosedear to him. Now that everything was settling down peacefully in theland, and there was nothing specially to keep him, he felt he was notjustified in prolonging further unduly his friends' suspense. He sawcomparatively little, too, of Leonard, who was continually engaged withMonella and others in councils and consultations that naturally hadlittle interest for Templemore; though, no doubt, they would have beenglad enough of his company and assistance in their deliberations, hadhe chosen to offer them.
As a consequence, he wandered about a good deal alone; and took tohaunting the spot from which he and Leonard had made their signalflares, and whence he could, with his glasses, just distinguish'Monella Lodge' and the adjacent open country. Here he would sit bythe hour together, wistfully gazing out over the vast panorama spreadbeneath him, and moodily watching for the slightest sign of life in thefar distance. Sometimes 'Nea,' the puma, offered herself as a companionin his walks; at such times, when he went to the amphitheatre, he wasalways in some concern to keep her out of the reach of the fatal tree,lest she should meet the fate that had befallen her unfortunate mate.
It had been arranged that he would wait till Leonard's marriage, sinceit was so near. But he had determined not to delay his going morethan two days beyond it; and he now awaited the event with somethingakin to impatience. At the same time, he knew that the journey backto Georgetown would be anything but easy or agreeable. It had beenarduous, difficult, wearisome, and dangerous enough on the way up, whenhe had the company of Leonard with his exhaustless boyish enthusiasm.What would it be like, he asked himself, going all that weary roadagain alone, for he would be alone in the sense of being the onlywhite man amongst a number of Indians. Then again, he must returnwith very little to show for all the time, and trouble, and dangerhe had incurred. Monella, it was true, promised him 'wealth'--and nodoubt would keep his promise in the form of a selection of preciousstones. _They_ were numerous and comparatively cheap in the country;so Templemore had no scruples about accepting such a present. And,when he reached Georgetown, they would mean wealth. That was allsatisfactory enough; but there was much, very much more he would haveliked to carry away with him; things of much less intrinsic value, butof greater scientific interest. Of these there were more than couldbe catalogued in a few lines; vessels of gold and silver; wonderfulantique jewellery, specimens of their armour, swords, etc., weresome; dress-fabrics also; an endless number of curious botanical andzoological specimens, for others--these form only the beginning of along list of things he had in his mind, and would have liked to carrywith him. But well he knew the impossibility; the difficulties oftransport were insurmountable. In a country where it was difficult toget carriers even for the bare food required, it was obviously uselessto dream of carrying back with him a 'collection' such as he would havewished to take.
There was natural disappointment in all this. It is hard for anexplorer to face danger, hardship, discomfort; to separate himselffrom civilisation and from those he loves, and to risk illness, fever,wounds and death, and then, having achieved success, to have to resignhimself to returning without those trophies he would have delighted inexhibiting to an astonished and wondering world. But just, perhaps,when he had convinced himself, by dwelling morbidly upon such thoughts,that he had good cause for dissatisfaction, his good nature wouldassert itself and remind him of the other side to the picture. Was it alittle matter to take back with him wealth enough to make his mother'sfuture secure and comfortable; to marry the girl of his heart, and tobe henceforth a man of means and affluence? And if his part in theexpedition ended in such result, had he any just cause for complaint?Did he not rather owe a debt of gratitude to those who had urged himon, in spite of his own scepticism, to share in their enterprise? Atthis thought a rush of gratitude would come into Templemore's mind;then he would torment himself in turn, with misgivings as to whetherhe was not guilty of ingratitude in now feeling impatient to get awayfrom--to leave for ever--the friends who had thrown such good fortunein his way.
And thus Jack Templemore felt anything but happy in the days thatpreceded Leonard's marriage. And, of course, he was in love, and felthome-sick; so, perhaps, it is not much to be wondered at that he wasrestless and changeable and ill at ease.
Yet, had he been in a different mood, his stay in the place might nowhave been very enjoyable, and of surpassing interest. He was free to gowhere he liked and do as he pleased. The people were not only friendlyand willing and anxious to please, but showed pride and pleasure, if hebut spoke to them. The story of the rescue of Leonard and the princesshad been noised abroad and told and re-told over and over again, andthe part that Templemore had taken in it was well known. Then, again,it had also now become known who Leonard really was; and the peoplefelt that what Templemore had done for his friend had been done forthem, inasmuch as it had saved for them the life of one who was oftheir own nation and whom they now valued highly. Thus Templemore wasregarded as a hero, second only to Monella (or Mellenda). The peoplewere quite ready to credit him with qualities he did not possess;for was he not the close and trusted friend of their own great hero?If Mellenda had chosen this one from all the people of the outsideworld--for they knew by this time that there _was_ a great world,outside their mountains, peopled with white races--must it not havebeen for some very good reason? Must he not be a great man, a hero, awonder, for the great Mellenda to have chosen him as his friend andcompanion on his return to Manoa?
Thus reasoned the simple-hearted people; and, since it was also knownthat he was going away from them for ever--going back to the outerworld that was his home--it created a sort of mystery about him. Musthe not be some very great man in that world that could not spare himeven to stay and enjoy the friendship and favour of their own greathero-king?
So they regarded him with an interest and curiosity almost amountingto awe. Mothers would bring out their children to look at him as hepassed, bidding them remember, for the remainder of their lives, thatthey had once seen the wonderful stranger, the great friend of theirown great hero.
Meanwhile, Ulama had given herself up zealously to joining with Leonardin the work he had set himself among the people. She had been gentlyand tactfully told the story of all that had occurred; she knew nowthat her 'bad dream' had been only too true. The knowledge cast for awhile its shadow upon her fair face, and she seemed to lose some of herchildish gaiety and to become more staid under its influence. But italso called into play all the womanly tenderness and sympathy of hernature. When she heard of unhappy women and children needing care andcomforting, she eagerly desired to assist in the work in company withLeonard and Sanaima; and thenceforth she devoted to it all the time shecould spare from attendance upon her ailing father.
Amongst those in constant attendance on the princess might now beseen Fernina. She had been brought to the palace by Sanaima, who haddiscovered that her husband was no longer living. The meeting betweenher and Leonard was affecting; he presented her to Ulama and commendedthe poor woman to her kindness. Ulama knew now the particulars of theterrible time the two had passed together in the dread cells withinreach of the great tree, and received her with a heart filled withcompassion. Fernina's gratitude and pride at the kindliness of herreception were such that they went far to assuage her sorrows. Her twochildren also were well cared for, and, by degrees, the old look ofdull misery in her face gave place to a softer expression that promisedto bring back, in a measure, her former beauty. It was understood thatFernina woul
d in the future take Zonella's place; for it had beenannounced that the latter would shortly be married to Ergalon.
One day Templemore informed Monella that the mine had been completed,that he had placed the cask of gunpowder in position, and laid a fuse.
"And the reptiles?" asked Monella.
"I have left them alone--and for a reason. It seems to me they areinclined to attack the tree; have done so, in fact. They are gettinghungry and have nothing else to attack, and, being well penned in, theyare beginning to feed on the only thing within their reach. After all,the 'flesh'--if one may so term it--of a 'flesh-eating' tree may quitepossibly form an acceptable food for these ugly reptiles when they arestarving. If, when we have blown it up--or down--they are disposed todevour it and so clear it out of the way, it may save some trouble."
Then a day was fixed for firing the mine, and a large crowd of thecitizens assembled to witness the destruction of their enemy; but many,whose memories of the place were sad, remained away.
When the explosion took place, a long tongue of flame shot up into theair with a thunderous roar, the great tree seemed lifted bodily up,swayed, and then fell with a mighty crash full length on the ground,disclosing a rent in the trunk from which a thick, noisome stream ofdark-coloured fluid slowly flowed. This gave off an odour so offensiveand over-powering that none could stay in the enclosure; so the crowdquickly dispersed, with loud expressions of wonderment and admirationat all that they had seen. But Templemore remained long enough to see,from a distance, that the foul reptiles had approached the tree, andwere greedily drinking up the liquid that flowed from the wound inthe trunk. And, visiting the place next day, he found that they hadtorn the rent still further open, and were busily tearing the trunkto pieces, the branches now showing but feeble signs of life. Inthe end they fulfilled his expectations and devoured every scrap ofthe monster. Thus ended the existence of the terrible, horror-ladendevil-tree!
* * * * *
It was shortly after he had completed the destruction of the hatedtree that Templemore made a discovery that filled him with graveuneasiness. He was wandering about among the heights that lay at oneend of the canyon--that immediately over the entrance-cavern--whenhe found himself amongst huge blocks which had been quarried out (asMonella had one day mentioned) with the idea of precipitating them intothe canyon to block it up impenetrably. On examining the quarry fromwhich they had been taken, he observed with alarm that some masses ofoverhanging rock seemed almost on the point of giving way. A sort ofpartial landslip had already taken place, and there were fresh-lookingcracks and fissures that threatened shortly to loosen the overhangingmasses and set them free to fall into the canyon below. He spoke toMonella about this, and he at once accompanied him to the spot, and hisopinion confirmed his own. This made Templemore busy himself in earnestwith his preparations for departure; for he feared that, if these rocksactually fell, the entrance to the cavern might be so blocked up as totake long and arduous labour to clear it.
It being now within a day or two of Leonard's marriage this was all hecould do in the matter. But Monella sent men down the canyon in chargeof Ergalon--since the latter now knew the road--to carry in advance anddeposit in the cavern some of the things Templemore desired to takewith him. They returned on the eve of the wedding, Ergalon stating thatall they had taken down had been duly stored as desired, ready forTemplemore when he went down.
That evening King Dranoa was much better and insisted on presiding atthe evening meal. He even hoped, he said, to be able to be present atthe wedding. Ulama's joy at this, and the sweet delight that lightedup her face, were alone enough to infuse happiness into those aroundher. She looked at Templemore, too, and smiled and nodded her head ina mysterious way that roused his curiosity; and, later, an explanationcame.
At the very end of the repast a mysterious-looking dish or tray, whosecontents were hidden by a golden cover, was brought in with a gooddeal of ceremony and was placed before the king. Then Ulama glancedshyly at Templemore and clapped her hands. At this the king lifted thecover, and displayed to view--not some new eatables, as Templemorehad anticipated, but--a beautifully fashioned belt, and severalexquisitely-worked purses that all sparkled and flashed with the littlediamonds and other stones that were worked in patterns into the silkennetting. And, when Templemore looked inquiringly at Leonard, that youngman only smiled and nodded mysteriously like the others.
Then King Dranoa thus addressed him:
"My friend, thou hast already heard, I believe, that we do not purposeto allow thee to depart hence without begging thine acceptance of somelittle testimony of our appreciation of what thou hast done for us. Isay we, for all here--all in the land indeed--are deeply in thy debt.Without thy courageous help and unselfish devotion my dear daughterwould not now be here happy and joyous as she is to-night, and mykinsman and son-in-law that is to be would, I fear, only too probablyhave met a dreadful fate. Therefore, we have all joined in subscribingto these presents, of which we beg thy acceptance. The princess hathworked this belt, and inside it are some of her own chosen jewels thatthou hast often seen her wear. The lady Zonella, and others of hermaidens, have worked these purses--they are for thy friends--and wehave all contributed to their contents. I know naught about thy worldoutside, but understand that what is in these satchels will be of fargreater value to thee, and those dear to thee, than to us here. I trulyhope it may be so; else I should hesitate to offer them, as being buta poor return for what thou hast done for us. If, however, they canpurchase for thee, in the future, any surcease of toil, of trouble,of anxiety, then, and only from that point of view, may they be worththe offering. Take them, my friend; and may the blessing of the GreatSpirit go with them, and accompany thy footsteps throughout thy life."
Then Ulama took the belt and poured out its contents upon the tray--amagnificent, glittering heap of superb precious stones. Then sheemptied each purse in turn, making other sparkling but smaller heaps.And each purse had a little label with a name to it; and Templemorelooked on in wonder as the contents of each were revealed and the namesread out by Leonard. There were three large purses, one for his mother,one for Maud, and one for Stella. Smaller ones for Mr. and RobertKingsford, Dr. Lorien and his son; and two, still smaller, for Carennaand Matava. No one had been forgotten.
Templemore looked from the one to the other, his heart filled withemotion. Even more than the overwhelming value of the jewels, he feltthe loving-kindness that had thus taken thought and trouble for thosedear to him.
"But--Dr. Lorien and Harry--and--the others----" he said, hesitating."I don't see----"
"The good doctor," Monella explained, "will be sorely disappointedthat he cannot come to see us and take back to the world some ofthe botanical rarities we have here, and which, to him, would begreat treasures. These are to console him. As to the others of yourfriends--this is the least we can do to show our regret for the sorrowand anxiety they will have borne on your behalf, through us. That isall."
For some minutes Templemore was silent.
"It is too much--a great deal too much!" he got out presently. "I don'tknow what to say----"
"Then say nothing, dear friend," Ulama interposed, with a merry laugh."Now let me put them back and show you how they all fit nicely into thebelt. You see, while you were working for us at that horrid old tree,we had not forgotten you. Keep the belt always for my sake, and thinkof us all lovingly in the future, as we always shall of you. Now I wantyou to take me out on the terrace."