CHAPTER VIII
_Nuova and Hero again, and a Battle_
Just as Nuova was about to launch herself into the air, a suddencommotion at the hive opening made her look back. After this look shehad no further thought of the garden. What she saw was the group ofdrones coming out of the hive, with another group of worker beesattendant upon them. These attendants were cleaning the drones' bodiesand wings and evidently preparing them for some great event. It wasplain to Nuova that this was the preparation for the Great CourtingChase. Her heart gave a leap, her eyes became misty; she stumbled andalmost fell. She was so dizzy that she thought sudden death had struckher. It was only, however, the blow of her heart and mind in realizingthat Hero--her Hero--must be in the group and preparing to leave herforever. He had, in a sense, already left her forever she knew, for hehad made his decision--or rather she felt that the cruel bee traditionhad made the decision for him--to follow the Princess. And if hefollowed her he could but win. Her wonderful, handsome, powerful Herowould be easily the successful one in the Great Courting Chase.
She ran her eyes anxiously over the group of drones now well out of theentrance and spreading out on the platform. At first she did not seeHero. But in a moment she did. He was a little apart from the others,and showed none of the excitement of the other drones. Indeed, he seemedto be rather depressed, and was evidently keeping quite by himself. Hehad not even an attendant with him. Nuova saw in this her chance.
She turned back from the edge of the platform, merged into the excitedcrowd, none of the bees paying any attention to her at all, and began towork her way through the press toward Hero.
Just then, however, Uno appeared by his side and began to brush hiswings. He turned on her with an impatient gesture. Surprised and angry,Uno made a grimace and left him. A moment later, Due, noticing that hehad no helper, hurried over to him, but she, also, much to her surpriseand chagrin, was treated as Uno had been.
Hero seemed to be in an irritable mood. As the drones and theirattendants came farther out, he moved away toward the front of theplatform. This brought him rather near Nuova, who was able to reach himbefore any other bee could offer him her services.
Nuova, unperceived by Hero, slipped behind him and began nervously andawkwardly, glancing at the attendants on the other drones for guidance,to clean his wings. Soon an awkward tug apprised Hero that some one wasagain trying to attend him, and he turned with an angry movement todrive her off, when he recognized Nuova, and arrested his gesture. Hestood still, looking at her keenly, and, without a word, let her go oncaring for him. She grew even more nervous and awkward. Then he smiledgently, and spoke to her in a low voice.
Nuova began to clean his wings]
"How do you come to be out here?" he asked. "You weren't sent as anattendant to us. Only the older and more experienced bees are giventhat--honor." He smiled again. "You didn't come out just now?"
"No," said Nuova almost in a whisper--"no, I was going out for honey."
"Oh, fine!" said Hero. "Out into the world already! You must have doneyour work in the hive very well."
"Yes," murmured Nuova demurely.
Just then two or three Black Bees slipped out from behind a bush nearthe platform, but no one noticed them.
"But why don't you go, then?" asked Hero. "It is beautiful over thereamong the flowers." He waved an antenna toward the garden. "Andfragrant, and exciting. Other kinds of creatures; beetles andgrasshoppers and big buzzing flies. Some bad ones, too; spiders andgiant bee-birds always watching, watching to catch you." Nuovashuddered. "But you are not afraid, are you?" Hero looked at her keenly."Or are you? Do you prefer to stay here in safety and just wait on thedrones?"
"Yes," said Nuova slowly, "I prefer to wait on a drone."
"I am surprised," said Hero sternly and even half-contemptuously.
Just then Nuova made an awkward tug at his wing. He winced. "Ouch!" hesaid; then half-laughed. "Your champion will never win Principessa ifyou pull his wings out."
As he said this, Nuova involuntarily, in response to her feelings, gavean even harder tug at his wings.
Hero exclaimed again, and half-pulled away from her. He spoke almostangrily.
"Here, what _are_ you doing?" he cried. Then, as he looked into theeager, excited, pretty face of his little attendant, he felt his heartgive a curious throb. And when he spoke again it was almost tenderly.
"Well, you are good to try and help me, anyway. But"--and now he spokerather moodily--"I don't need much preparing. I can beat any ofthem"--and he waved contemptuously toward the other drones--"easily,just as I am."
Poor Nuova! He could hardly have said a more discouraging thing to her,or one to hurt her more. She drew back a little and had hard work notto cry. She half-sobbed as she said: "That--is--fine. I am sure--youcan." She paused. Then she said slowly: "And if you do beat them, areyou sure to get--her? Are you sure to be able to catch--her?"
The excitement on the platform was growing. The drones seemed to begetting impatient, and the attendants worked feverishly at the cleaningand making ready for the wonderful event about to happen. The infectionof all this excitement began to seize Hero. He had turned his face awayfrom Nuova to stare intently at the opening of the hive. It was there,of course, that the Princess would soon appear.
At Nuova's last question he started a little. "Eh?" he said ratherbrusquely. "Oh, yes, of course, I can catch her. She will fly fasterthan we at first, but she can't keep it up as long as we can. She willtry to go higher and higher in the air, but that is hard work. That iswhen we shall catch up with her." He paused, then added, musingly: "Itis odd; she is trying her best to get away from us and yet she wants toget caught all the time. She must get caught, you know, or we shouldn'thave any Queen, and the hive would go all to pieces. The old Queen nevercomes back, of course. The Princess is our one chance to have a Queen atall."
Nuova seemed to be thinking hard. Something was puzzling her. "But," sheasked insistently, "what really does happen if a Princess doesn't getcaught, or something happens to her. There must be some way to save thecommunity, isn't there?"
Hero seemed to have lost interest again in Nuova and her questionings.He was gazing fixedly at the hive entrance.
"Oh," he said carelessly, "I don't know. I've heard sometimes that aworker bee can--"
He was suddenly interrupted. There was a new and very violent commotionon that side of the platform which the few Black Bees had approached,unnoticed, a few minutes before. Now there was a whole group of themplainly in sight and many others were coming quickly out from behind thebush. A great and angry buzzing was heard from the guards on theplatform and cries of "Lotta, Lotta! The Amazons! Call Lotta! Call theAmazons! Hurry! The Black Bees! The Black Bees!"
The guards, few as they were in comparison with the oncoming horde ofBlack Bees, threw themselves bravely at them, and a moment after Lottaand her Amazons began issuing pell-mell from the hive entrance. Theywere met almost immediately by the foremost Black Bees, who had easilykilled or were driving back the few guards, and were making rapidheadway over the platform toward the entrance. A few even had passed inthrough the entrance, but they were driven out again at once by theissuing Amazons. In fact, most of the first Black Bees to gain afoothold on the platform and to push forward to the entrance or into itwere killed. But that brought no terror to the others. They pressed onover the dead bodies of their comrades, lunging and striking viciouslywith their long lances.
But Lotta and the Amazons were fighting fiercely, too. They were makinga heroic defense of the hive and its stores. The battle raged with greatfury, but for a little while with no apparent advantage to either side.The Black Bees seemed, on the whole, the more expert and the morefurious fighters--they are, indeed, a race of bees famous for theirfighting--but Lotta's wonderful personal courage and deeds of prowesswere a great inspiration to the defenders. She appeared to be everywhereat once, and her shouts of defiance to the enemy and of encouragement toher followers made up in some measure for the feebler s
trength and lessexperience of her band.
This was so obvious to the Black Bees that she was soon singled out forspecial attack by groups of her adversaries. Two or three Black Beeswould combine to assail her from different sides, but her lightningmovements and dashing bravery had so far saved her even from beingtouched by an enemy's lance. But just at the moment when Nuova hadrecovered a little from her amazement and terror at this suddeninvasion, Lotta received her first wound. The fierce Black Bees wereclosing around her too closely. Nuova felt a violent rage rising withinher as she realized that at any cost the Black Bees were going to killthe leader of the Amazons. Lotta was staggering, and a half-dozen lanceswere lunging at her. She stumbled, gave one final shout ofdefiance--and fell.
It was a terrible blow to the Amber Amazons. They were seized withdismay. They had no one to lead them. They hesitated, gave way here andthere, and the Black Bees with triumphant shouts pressed forward. Someof them had even reached the entrance, when a new, shrill battle-cry andcall of encouragement to the Amber fighters rose above all the noise ofthe battle.
The cry came from Nuova. She had watched the whole terrible struggle ina sort of daze; half of terror, half of utter amazement. But when Lottawas struck down, the rage rising within her seized her completely, andwhen the Black Bees had pressed on over the fallen leader's body withshouts of triumph, she sprang forward, grasped Lotta's own lance fromher sinking hand, and threw herself with such fury on the rear of themarauders that they had to turn to defend themselves. Then it was thatshe had uttered her first battle-cry. As the Amber bees heard it and sawat the same time that some of the black fighters had turned to defendthemselves against an attack in the rear, they checked their retreatand began answering back this new shrill call. In the next moment theysaw something that filled them all with rejoicing and gave them at oncea new courage.
Nuova, taking a lesson from the method of the attackers, had lookedabout, even as she leaped into the fight, for the leader of the Blacks,and had fought her way fiercely directly toward her. In a moment theywere face to face, and in another moment thrusting and parrying indeadly personal combat.
But nothing could withstand the vigor and audacity of this rage-maddenednew warrior's assault, and the black leader, first contemptuous, thenamazed, then terrified, found herself fighting vainly for her life. Shemanaged to strike Nuova one or two glancing blows with her lance, butfor answer received a thrust fairly through the body, and fell with agreat cry of defeat and pain.
This it was that filled the despairing Amber bees with a new courage andreanimated them to fresh resistance. Turning on their attackers, theyrenewed the battle with an irresistible surge toward Nuova, and reachingher and following her lead in but few moments more they had rushed thedisheartened Black Bees off of the platform. They even followed theminto the grass, where they killed many of them one by one. Then theyhurried back with shouts of victory, and ranged themselves in lines formarching and dancing. While the foragers busied themselves with carryingthe bodies of the fallen off of the platform, all the Amazons marchedand danced and sang loud songs of triumph.
Nuova was among the fallen]
But Nuova was not among them. She was among the fallen. Not far from thebody of the dead leader of the Black Bees whom she had so brilliantlyovercome, Nuova lay huddled. Saggia, who had been hustled out of thepress and into the entrance of the hive while the battle was going on,now hurried to her fallen friend. Beffa, also, came hopping anxiously toher, and Hero, who knew now that Nuova was no coward, and had, indeed,been seized with a great admiration and at the same time a greatsolicitude for his extraordinary little worker-bee friend, also hastenedto her side and bent over her. Other bees, too, came crowding around,and Nuova's body would almost have been trampled under foot by thesurging crowd if Hero had not angrily cleared a little space about her.Saggia, who had found already to her great joy that Nuova showed nolance wound, but had only been stunned by a glancing blow, was liftingher gently to her feet. And just as Hero came to her side, Nuova, dazedand faint, first opened her eyes.
Nuova; or, The New Bee Page 9