The Devil-Tree of El Dorado: A Novel

by Frank Aubrey

  CHAPTER XXXIV.

  A MARRIAGE AND A PARTING.

  In the ancient Temple of the White Priests Leonard and Ulama weresolemnly made man and wife according to the custom of the country. KingDranoa was able to be present at the ceremony, and nearly the wholepopulation may be said to have assisted, for they thronged in crowds tothe great building where in ages past their kings had all been married;though comparatively few of the populace could find room inside theTemple. The remainder filled all the surrounding open spaces, andwaited patiently to greet the bride and bridegroom on their way back tothe palace.

  Templemore had a place of honour in the assemblage, and watched thefunction with curious interest. Sanaima, with an array of white-robedpriests; Monella, with his commanding form, conspicuous by his noblebearing; the beautiful Ulama, all suffused with blushes; and herhandsome bridegroom; the kindly, dignified Dranoa, looking weakand pale, yet well-pleased and content; and the brilliant crowd ofspectators, officers in gleaming armour, and courtiers in gorgeousdresses--all combined to form a noble pageant. The building, whoseinterior Templemore now for the first time saw, was a magnificentstructure, and helped to add grandeur to the imposing spectacle.

  At the conclusion of the ceremony, the procession, on its way back tothe palace, was greeted with excited and enthusiastic cheers and criesthat seemed almost loud enough to shake the towering buildings pastwhich it slowly filed.

  In the evening there were general feastings and rejoicings. These werecontinued till the night was far advanced; and it was morning ere thecity again subsided unto rest.

  The following day, Templemore was busy completing his preparations,and going round to bid farewell to those he knew. But, towards theafternoon, he was surprised to see a large crowd outside the palace;and still more astonished on learning that the people were gatheredin his honour. The good-hearted citizens, it appeared, liked not thenotion of his going away without some public mark of the esteem inwhich they held him; so, somewhat against his will, he was called outon to the terrace that overlooked the place in which the people hadassembled. Monella, Ulama, Leonard, and all the members of the courtand of the king's household, stepped out with him; and the first twoeach took him by the hand, and led him to a spot where all could seehim. Then a great shout went up, and he was cheered again and yetagain, till the strange feelings called up by the unexpected warmth ofthe welcome he received made him go red and white by turns.

  "They have come for a sight of you, and a word of farewell ere youleave us," explained Monella. "Will you not give them a few words?"

  Templemore was unused to oratory, and he would fain have excusedhimself; but he saw that to do so would disappoint his friends. So hemade them a short speech, assuring them of his appreciation of theirfriendly feelings.

  "The unexpected warmth and kindness you have shown in thus coming hereto-day," he said, "I shall always gratefully remember. If, in companywith the friends who led me hither, I have done aught that seems to youto call for commendation, I will only ask you, in return, to keep forme a tender corner in your memories when I have left you. If, when Ihave gone, you will but think as kindly of me as I shall of you, thenindeed I shall be well repaid."

  Then Monella addressed them in his sonorous tones.

  "My children, I am well pleased that ye should have thus gathered hereto-day, and of your own accord, to show to my friend that you are notunmindful of his part in the events of the past few months. I am gladand proud that he should receive, before he leaves us, this proof thatmy people are not ungrateful to one who hath done so much for them.A great work hath been accomplished in the land since we three, asstrangers to you all, arrived some months ago. At the last, its promptcompletion was due in no small measure to your quick response to myurgent call, at a time when hours were precious--and even moments.When I left you in the times long past, I sailed away with fleets andarmies; when returning I was a simple wanderer. Yet ye gathered gladlyat my summons, and no voice was raised to question my authority. Thiswas well, and helped me to achieve success; yet might we have been toolate to save the well-beloved of your princess had not our friend herekept all Coryon's vile following at bay till we could come to aid him.If the dread devil-tree exists, to-day, no more, and all the wickednessand cruelty that went with it have been trampled out for ever, if nowyour minds are all at peace, and your daughters and your other dearones are secure--ye owe much of this to our friend's ready courage anddevotion; and I am rejoiced to see that ye have not forgotten it!

  "Now will my friend know that he bears away with him the love and thegood wishes of us all. We wish him all happiness in his future life;our sole regret is that he cannot stay and spend that life with us."

  At this there were shouts and roars of applause, and other tokens ofassent.

  "And now, my children," went on the speaker, "I have somewhat else tosay to you. The ancient Temple of the Great Spirit is once more open;see that ye neglect not to there offer up your thanks for the blessingthat hath been vouchsafed you. Give heed to the teachings of the worthySanaima. See that ye take to your hearts the precepts that he willexpound to you. So shall the good work that I have begun be continuedand consummated after I shall have left you."

  Loud murmurs of surprise and objection were here heard.

  "Nay, let not that which I have said arouse your grief, my children.Remember my long life and weary wanderings to and fro upon the earth;these have been a punishment to me, even as events, during this sametime, have been to you. Ye would not wish to keep me here when I tellyou that my task is done, and my tired soul is seeking rest--rest notto be found on earth, but only in the great domain beyond the skies.I may not linger here now that the work that I was sent to do isfinished. I have freed you from the curse that did oppress you; havebrought you one to govern you who combines within himself the bloodboth of your ancient White Priests and of our kings; and in Sanaima yehave a wise counsellor and guide. Seek not then to stay me; when theGreat Spirit calleth, weep not and repine not, for then is the hour ofmy deliverance. Then shall I be united, at the last, to my well-belovedqueen, my Elmonta, and my children that have gone before!"

  When Monella ended, he raised his hands and face towards heaven, andstood gazing upwards like one inspired. His face seemed transfiguredand was lighted up as by a thrilling joy; and, as on the occasion ofhis talk in the palace with Templemore and Leonard a few days before,he appeared to see something invisible to those around him, but thesight of which filled him with supreme content. Then he dropped hisarms, looked around him as though he had just awaked from sleep, and,with bent head and tardy steps, walked silently away.

  Ulama caught Templemore by the arm.

  "Oh, do you think it can be true--what he says?" she exclaimed inanxious tones, almost a sob. "It cannot be that we are about to losehim? Do you think so?"

  "Nay, I see no cause to apprehend it," was Templemore's reply. "Ourfriend seems as robust and as strong as a man can wish."

  "Yes! So think I, and yet--he has spoken in this strange fashionseveral times of late. His words fill me with foreboding."

  She looked at Templemore with such sorrow in her gentle eyes thathe scarcely knew what to say to comfort her. And just then he wasobliged to leave her to return the salutes of the people, who were nowseparating and returning to their homes or their various callings.

  The next morning, shortly after sunrise, Templemore stood at the top ofthe hillside, not far from the entrance of the canyon--the spot fromwhich he had first seen the 'Golden City'--looking his last upon thefair scene outspread beneath, and saying the last words of farewell tohis friends. Once more the people had assembled to do him honour, andthey now crowded the slopes on every side.

  Already some of the little party who were to accompany him to 'MonellaLodge' had started and were on their way down the canyon, and Ergalon,under whose charge they were, stood waiting for Jack Templemore.The latter was surrounded by a little group, of whom the chief wereLeonard, Ulama, and Zonella, who seemed as if they could n
ot make uptheir minds to let him go. Monella, his arms folded, stood apart,gravely looking, first at the group, and then out over the landscapewith dreamy eyes, his noble figure, outlined against the dark foliage,the centre of a half-circle of officers and courtiers who stoodrespectfully a short distance from him. Templemore was dressed in thesame clothes he had worn on his arrival; beneath them he had buckledon the precious belt with the jewels it contained; his rifle was slungacross his shoulder.

  Amongst those around were to be seen Colenna and his son, Abla, andothers who had been amongst Templemore's first friends; and allshowed by their demeanour genuine sorrow at the parting. As a lastand special gift--one more token of his remembrance of his boyhood'sfriend--Leonard had that morning handed to Templemore a deed of giftmaking over all his property in the 'outer world' to Maud Kingsford.

  "It is nothing to give, since it is no longer of any use to me," heobserved, with a quiet smile. "But, since I _must_ convey it to someone, let it be a dowry for Maud in addition to the purse the otherssend."

  It would be difficult to say how many 'last hand-shakes' were given,or how many times Ulama, with tear-dimmed eyes, pleaded for 'a minutelonger--just a minute,' Zonella, with sorrow in her looks, seemingmutely to second the appeal. But the parting came at last, and, amidloud huzzas, and the waving of hands and scarves, and other tokens ofgood will, Templemore turned away and, with Ergalon, disappeared intothe thicket.

  Little was said by either as they made their way down the rough path,and, even when they rested in the shade of the half-way cave, neitherseemed disposed for talk. Almost in silence they ate the refreshmentswith which the forethought of their friends had loaded them, and drankcool draughts from the rocky shallows of the stream.

  Suddenly, while they sat within the cave, waiting for the sun to moveso far that the path should be in shade, a heavy booming detonationlike the firing of cannon burst upon their astonished ears; and theystarted up together and stood listening anxiously.

  "What on earth can that be?" exclaimed Templemore.

  Ergalon gravely shook his head.

  "Falling rock, I think," he answered. "If so, it must be farther downthe canyon."

  "Let us hasten," cried the other, a vision rising before his eyes ofthe entrance-cavern blocked, and his being forced to return. "This iswhat I have been fearing."

  Despite the sun, he started off at a rapid pace down the path, Ergalonfollowing and striving, as well as he could, to keep up with theother's impetuous movements. During the remainder of the descentthey heard two or three other similar noises; and at each of theseTemplemore hurried on still faster.

  When they reached the bottom, they came upon the little party who hadpreceded them; they were standing in doubt and alarm, looking alongthe valley, which was already partially blocked by fallen rocks, whilemore continued to fall at intervals, crashing on to those alreadyfallen and sending up clouds of dust. With the group, looking on at thescene in a sort of mild surprise, stood 'Nea' the puma.

  "The stars be praised," Ergalon exclaimed, relieved, "it's all at theother end."

  "What do you mean?" asked Templemore in surprise.

  "Why, the rocks have not fallen near your cave," was the reply. "All isclear there," and he pointed to the hidden cave.

  Then there were explanations, and, to Templemore's dismay, it nowappeared that Ergalon had mistaken his instructions and placed all thethings in the wrong place. He was not really to blame in the matter;for he only knew of the one cave--that to which he had accompaniedTemplemore when they had come down to fetch the spare weapons. He knewnothing of any other cavern, and Templemore had not remembered this.

  The situation was a trying and terribly disappointing one, andTemplemore found himself in a grave dilemma. If he hesitated, it wasplain his way would soon be totally barred. If he went on, and riskedbeing crushed by the falling rocks, he must go alone; leave behind himeverything he had intended to take with him, save what he had on hisperson, and make up his mind to face the dangers of the gloomy forestby himself! Even now it was almost folly to risk death or seriousinjury by making for the cavern.

  Templemore hesitated, the while that more boulders came crashing down.Then he thought of what it would mean for him were he to be shut upin the mountain for an indefinite period. He looked up keenly and sawenough of what was going on to grasp the fact that the whole sides ofthe canyon were crumbling and falling in, and it looked a sufficientquantity to make it likely that the reopening of the road would be awork of years. As that conviction dawned upon him, with a brief wordof farewell he dashed away from the group, and, despite their startledendeavours to stay him and the entreaties they called after him, he ranswiftly along the valley towards the entrance-cavern. After him boundedthe faithful puma; he had no time to give to the attempting to send herback, and the two went rapidly on, dodging the great masses that nowcrashed down faster than before. A massive boulder rolling down seemedabout to crush them, but they escaped it and disappeared in a cloud ofdust from the view of the spellbound witnesses of their hazardous race.

  Just when they reached the cavern a great stone pitched upon onealready fallen and, splitting into several pieces, sent heavy fragmentsflying around in all directions, like an exploding bomb-shell. One ofthese fragments struck Templemore in the back, smashing his rifle, andthrowing him, stunned and bruised, upon the floor of the cavern.