The Hot Swamp
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wonderingly.
"Did you not thrust out the plank and cross over before the very eyes ofBladud?"
Branwen pursed her lips into the form of an O and opened her eyes wide.
"I never thought of that!" she said. "But after all it does not matter,for the prince took no notice of the plank, and _he_ is not the man togo and betray secrets!"
The Hebrew laughed, patted the girl on the head and sent her off torest. Then he busied himself in making preparation for his toolong-delayed journey.
Next morning, before daybreak, he set off, leaving Branwen in charge ofthe hut, with strict orders to keep well out of sight. If any oneshould come to it she was to retreat to the inner cavern and withdrawthe bridge.
"They may do as seemeth to them good in the outer hut. There is nothingthere worth stealing, and they are welcome to make themselves at home."
The Hebrew went on his mission; arrived in due time at his journey'send; reported Branwen's dilemma; guided a party of stout warriors underher father Gadarn, and led them to his hut in the dell in the dead of adark night, for it was no part of the programme to abduct the girl bymain force, unless peaceful or stealthy measures should proveunsuccessful. When, however, he reached the dell and entered hisdwelling, he found that the bird had flown! Every nook and cranny ofthe place was carefully searched; but, to the consternation of theHebrew, and the wrath of Gadarn and his men, not a vestige of Branwenwas to be found.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
ADVENTURES IN THE FORESTS.
Poor Branwen! it was an unfortunate day for her when, in her youthfulignorance and recklessness, she took to the wild woods, resolved tofollow Bladud to his destination and secretly wait there and watch overhim like a guardian angel, as it were, until the terrible disease shouldlay him on his deathbed, when she would reveal herself and nurse him tothe end!
Let not the reader suppose there was any lack of maiden modesty in thisresolve. It must be borne in mind that Branwen was little more than achild in experience; that she was of an age at which the world, with allits affairs, is enveloped in a halo of romance; that her soul had beendeeply stirred by the story of the rescue of the leprous old woman, andher pity powerfully aroused by the calm, though hopeless, tones of thedoomed man when he spoke of his blighted prospects. Rather than leavehim to die in absolute solitude she would sacrifice everything, and, inspite of infection and disfigurement, and the horrible nature of adisease which eats away the features before it kills, she would soothehis dying hours. Besides this, it must be remembered that ourancestors' notions of propriety were somewhat different from ours, and--well, it was about eight hundred years BuC!
Whether love was a factor in her resolve we cannot say, but we arefirmly convinced that, if it were, she was ignorant of the fact.
It is, however, one thing to resolve--quite another thing to carryresolution into effect. Branwen had, in an incidental way, obtainedfrom her protector, Beniah, information as to the direction in which thehunter of the Hot Swamp lived, and the distance to his dwelling; butwhen she actually found herself in the forest, with nothing to guide hersave the position of the sun--and, on cloudy days not even that--shebegan to realise somewhat of the difficulties that attended herenterprise, and when, on the first night, she crouched among the forkedbranches of an old oak, and heard the cries of wolves and other wildcreatures, and even saw them prowling about by the light of the moon asit flickered through the foliage, she began to appreciate the dangers.
She had not, indeed, been so foolish as to set out on her expeditionwithout a certain amount of forethought--what she deemed careful andwise consideration. She knew that by noting the position of the sunwhen at its highest point in the sky she could follow pretty closely thedirection which Beniah had pointed out to her. She was quite aware thatfood was absolutely necessary to life, and had packed up a large bundleof dried meat, and also provided herself with one of her host's bows anda sheaf of arrows. Besides this, she knew, like every girl of theperiod, how to snare rabbits, and was even expert in throwing stones, sothat, if it should come to the worst, she could manage to subsist onlittle birds. As to sleeping at night, she had been accustomed, as alittle girl, to climb trees, which faculty had not yet departed fromher, and she knew well that among the branches of many kinds of treesthere were cosy resting-places where neither man nor beast would belikely to discover her. She had also some idea of what it is to followa trail, for she had often heard the king's chief hunter refer to theprocess. As it was certain that Bladud, being an enormously big man,would leave a very obvious trail behind him, she would follow that--ofcourse keeping well in the rear, so that he might never dream of herexistence or intentions until the fatal time arrived when she shouldhave to appear like a guardian angel and nurse him till he died.
Poor Branwen felt dreadfully depressed when she thought of thistermination, and was quite unlike her gay reckless self for a time; buta vague feeling of unbelief in such a catastrophe, and a determinationto hope against hope kept her from giving way to absolute despair, andnerved her to vigorous exertion.
It was in this state of mind that she had set the Hebrew's house inorder; carried everything of value to the inner cave; removed the plankbridge; closed the outer door, and had taken her departure.
As already said, she concealed herself among the branches of an old oakthe first night, and, although somewhat alarmed by the cries of wildanimals, as well as by the appalling solitude and darkness around, shemanaged to make a fair supper of the dried meat. Then,--she could nottell when,--she fell into a profound slumber, which was not broken untilthe sun had risen high, and the birds were whistling gaily among thebranches--some of them gazing at her in mute surprise, as if they haddiscovered some new species of gigantic acorn.
She arose with alacrity, her face flushed with abounding health, and hereyes dancing with a gush of youthful hope. But memory stepped in, andthe thought of her sad mission caused a sudden collapse. The collapse,however, did not last long. Her eyes chanced to fall on the bundle ofdried meat. Appetite immediately supervened. Falling-to, she made ahearty breakfast, and then, looking cautiously round to see that nodanger was near, she slipped down from her perch, took up the bow andquiver and bundle of food, threw her blanket, or striped piece ofPhoenician cloth, over her shoulder, and resumed her journey.
It was soon after this that Branwen found out the misfortune ofignorance and want of experience. Ere long she began to feel thecravings of thirst, and discovered that she had forgotten to take withher a bottle, or any other sort of receptacle for water. About noon herthirst became so great that she half repented having undertaken themission. Then it became so intolerable that she felt inclined to sitdown and cry. But such an act was so foreign to her nature that shefelt ashamed; pursed her lips; contracted her brows; grasped her bow andstrode bravely on.
She was rewarded. The tinkling of water broke upon her senses likecelestial music. Running forward she came to a little spring, at whichshe fell on her knees, put her lips to the pool, and drank withthankfulness in her heart. Arising refreshed, she glanced upward, andobserved a bird of the pheasant species gazing fixedly down.
"How fortunate!" exclaimed the maiden, fitting an arrow to her bow.
It was not fortunate for the pheasant, evidently, whatever Branwen mayhave meant, for next moment the bird fell dead--transfixed with anarrow.
Being high noon by that time, the demands of nature made our huntressthink of a mid-day meal. And now it was that she became aware ofanother omission--the result, partly, of inexperience. Having pluckedand cleaned the bird, she prepared to roast it, when a suddenindescribable gaze overspread her pretty face. For a moment she stoodas if petrified. Then she suddenly laughed, but the laugh was notgleeful, for it is trying to human nature to possess a good appetite anda good dinner without the means of cooking! She had forgotten to takewith her materials for producing fire. She knew, indeed, that sticksand friction and fungus were the things required, but she knew not whatsort of sticks, or where
to find the right kind of fungus, or tinder.Moreover, she had never tried her hand at such work before, and knew nothow to begin.
Laying the bird on a bank, therefore, she dined off the dried meat--not,however, so heartily as before, owing to certain vague thoughts aboutsupply and demand--the rudimentary ideas of what now forms part of thescience of Political Economy. The first fittings of a carewornexpression across her smooth brow, showed, at all events, that domesticeconomy had begun to trouble her spirit.
"For," she thought to herself, "the dried meat won't last long, and Ican't eat raw things--disgusting!--and I've a long, long way to go."
Even at this early period of her mission, her character was beginning todevelop a little and to strengthen.
For several days she continued her journey through the great solitudeslying to the north-west of King Hudibras' town, keeping carefully out ofthe way of open places, lest wandering hunters should find