The Scarlet Banner

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER XVIII

  The King's brothers, at the head of their horsemen, now entered thesquare; they had witnessed the horrible incident from their saddles.Springing to the ground, they passionately clasped Gelimer's hands.

  "What troubles you, brother?" asked Gibamund. "That is not the glanceof the rescuer."

  "O my brother," sighed Gelimer, "pity me! I feel a loathing for mypeople; and that is hard."

  "Yes, for it is the best thing we possess," replied Zazo, gravely.

  "On earth," answered the King, thoughtfully. "Yet is it not a sin tolove even this earthly thing so ardently? All earthly possessions arebut vanity. Is it not true of our people and our native land?--" Hesank into a deep reverie.

  "Wake, King Gelimer!" called a voice from the throng in friendlywarning.

  It was Thrasaric. The sudden change had roused his wonder. He, too, hadturned to meet the tiger, but the King, who, from his seat onhorseback, had seen the animal crouching to spring, anticipated him.Him--and another.

  The older of the two foreigners had stood still, his spear poised tohurl.

  "That was a good thrust, Theudigisel," he whispered. "But let us seehow it will end. This King is losing the best moment."

  And so it seemed. For meanwhile the nobles had somewhat recovered fromtheir confusion, and, though no longer quite so insolently as before,but still defiantly enough, Gundomar stepped forward, saying: "You area hero, O King! It was ungrateful to doubt it, but you are not easy tounderstand, yet we neither will nor can serve and obey even a hero asour ancestors, Genseric's bears, served him."

  "It is neither necessary nor possible," Modigisel added. He attemptedto lisp and drawl according to the Roman fashion, but, carried away bygenuine emotion, soon forgot the affectation. "We are no longerBarbarians, like the comrades of the bloody sea-king. We have learnedfrom the Romans to live and to enjoy. Spare us the heavy weapons. Ours,indisputably, securely ours, is this glorious country, where men canonly revel, not toil. Pleasure, pleasure, and again pleasure is aloneworth living for. When death comes, all will be over. So, as long as Ilive, I will kiss and drink, will not fight, and will--"

  "Become a slave of Justinian," the King angrily interrupted.

  "Pshaw, those little Greeks! They will not dare to attack us."

  "Let them come! We will drive them pell-mell into the sea."

  "Ah, if the kingdom were in peril--the Gundings know that honor callsthem to the head of the wedge in every Vandal battle."

  "But no war is threatening."

  "No one is trying to quarrel with us."

  "Only it pleases the Asdings to make it a pretext for ordering thenoblest of the Vandals hither and thither like Moorish mercenaries orready slaves."

  "But we will no longer--We--"

  Modigisel could not finish; the loud blast of a horn and the noiseof galloping horses drowned his voice; a white figure on a darkcharger was dashing forward at the head of several mounted men. Twotorch-bearers were on the right and left, but could barely keep up withher; long golden locks were fluttering in the wind, and a large whitemantle enveloped both horse and rider.

  "That is Hilda," cried Gibamund.

  "Yes, Hilda and war!" exclaimed the Princess, exultingly, instantlychecking her snorting steed. Her eyes were blazing, and in her righthand she waved a parchment, crying: "War! King of the Vandals. And I--Iwas permitted to be the first to announce to you the fateful wordwhich, like the brazen voices of the battle horns, summons you, all youAsdings, to victory and honor."

  "She is glorious," said Thrasaric to Eugenia.

  The bride nodded.

  "A cloak," he went on. "She--Hilda--must not see me in this absurd,disgraceful guise. Lend me your cloak, friend Markomer."

  Stripping off the panther-skin, and throwing down the thyrsus, he flungthe brown cloak of the leader of the horsemen over his bare shoulders.

  "How do you, a woman, come with such a message?" asked Gelimer, takingthe parchment from her hand.

  Hilda now sprang from the saddle into her husband's open arms. "Verussends me. The swift-sailing ships which he expected have just run intothe harbor. He intended to bring you this letter--the first one hereceived--himself. But several other important ones were immediatelydelivered,--some from the King of the Visigoths,--which he was obligedto translate in part from cipher. So he ordered that I should be waked.'To wake Hilda means to wake battle,' my ancestor Hildebrand taughtme," she added, laughing, with sparkling eyes.

  "And in truth she came dashing among us like the leader of theValkyries," said Thrasaric, rather to himself than to Eugenia.

  "Verus of course knows nothing of that," Hilda went on. "Yet he smiledstrangely as he said: 'You are the right bearer of this message and myerrand to the King.' I did not linger. I bring you war, and--I feel it,O King of the Vandals--certain victory; read."

  Gelimer unrolled the parchment, whose seal had been broken, andmotioning to a torch-bearer, read aloud:

  "'To Gelimer, who calls himself the King of the Vandals--'"

  "Who is the insolent knave?" interrupted Zazo.

  "Goda, formerly Governor, now King of Sardinia."

  "Goda? The scoundrel! I never trusted him," cried Zazo.

  "'Since, by a false accusation, you have dethroned and imprisoned KingHilderic, I refuse you allegiance, usurper. You credulous fools forgotthat I am an Ostrogoth; but I never did. Almost the only one left alivein the massacre of my people, I have since thought only of vengeance.In blind confidence you gave me this governorship; but I have won theSardinians, and shall henceforth rule this island as its sovereign. Ifyou dare to attack me, I shall appeal, and I have received the promiseof the great Emperor Justinian's protection. I would far rather serve apowerful Imperator than a Vandal tyrant.'

  "Ay, this is war!" said Gelimer, gravely. "Certainly with Sardinia.Perhaps also with Constantinople, though the last letters from therespoke only of peace. Did you hear it?"--he now turned with royaldignity to the nobles. "Did you hear, you nobles and people of theVandal race? Shall I tell the rebel, shall I write to the Emperor:'Take and keep whatever you desire! Genseric's descendants shrink fromthe weight of their weapons'? Will you now continue to hold festivalsin the Circus, or will you--"

  "We will have war!" loudly shouted the giant Thrasaric, forcing his wayswiftly through the group of nobles. "O King Gelimer, your deed, yourwords, the sight of this glorious woman, and that bold traitor'sinsolent letter have again waked in me--surely, in us all--what, alas!has slumbered far, far too long. And like the effeminate ornament ofthese roses,"--he snatched the wreath from his head and hurled it onthe ground,--"I cast from me all the enervating, corrupting pleasuresand luxuries of life. Forgive me, my King, great King and hero. I willatone. Believe me, I will make amends in battle for the wrongs I havedone."

  Stretching out both hands, he was bending the knee. But the King drewhim to his breast:

  "I thank you, my Thrasaric. This will rejoice your ancestor, the heroThrasafrid, who now looks down upon you from heaven."

  But Thrasaric, breaking from the embrace and turning to the nobles,cried: "Not I alone; I must win back all, all of you around me, toduty, to heroic deeds! Oh, if my brother were only here! Comrades,kinsmen, hear me! Will you, like me, aid the valiant King? Will youobey him? Follow him in battle loyally unto death?"

  "We will! We will! To battle and death!" shouted the nobles.Modigisel's voice was louder than any of the rest. Gundomar alonehesitated a moment; then, drawing himself up to his full height, hestepped forward, saying, "I did not believe that war was threatening. Ireally thought it only a pretext of the over-strict King to force usfrom our life of pleasure to the pursuit of arms. But this Goda'sinsolence and the treacherous Emperor's promised aid to him are not tobe borne. Now it is in truth a conflict for our kingdom. There theGundings will stand on the shield side of the Asdings, now, as informer days and forever. King Gelimer, you are right. I was a fool.Forgive me!"

  "Forgive us all," cried th
e nobles, surging in passionate excitementtoward the King. Gelimer, deeply moved, held out both hands, which theyeagerly clasped.

  "Oh, Hilda," said Thrasaric, "you were waked at the right time. Thisis, in great measure, your work."

  Before the Princess could answer, he drew Eugenia from the clump ofmyrtles, into which she had shyly retreated.

  "Do you remember this little maid, my King? You nod? Well--I have wonher for my wife. Not by force! She will say so herself; she loves me.It is hard to believe, isn't it? But she will say so herself. Thepriest has blessed our union in the presence of all the people. Marryus according to your ancient royal right."

  The King smiled down upon the bride. "Well, then! Let this marriage bethe symbol of reconciliation, the uniting of the two nations. I will--"

  But a woman's haughty figure had forced a way through the crowd toEugenia's side; a purple mantle gleamed in the red glare of thetorches. Bending to the delicate, slender girl, she whispered somethingin her ear. Eugenia turned pale. The woman's low, hissing tones ceased,and she pointed with outstretched arm to the Numidian road, down whichthe stallion had vanished.

  "Oh, can it be?" moaned the bride, interrupting the King's words; shetried to move away from Thrasaric's side, but her feet faltered. Shesank forward fainting.

  Soft arms received her. It was Hilda, the Valkyria who had just exultedso eagerly in the thought of battle. Holding the light figure to herbosom with her left arm, she extended her right hand as if to protecther against Thrasaric, who in bewilderment wished to seize her.

  "Back," she said sternly. "Back! Whatever it may be that has bowed thislily's head, she shall first lift it again upon my breast and under myprotection. It was a wrong not easy to forgive to celebrate a weddingwith a Eugenia here in the Grove of Venus." A withering glance wanderedover Astarte, without resting upon her. "Thrasaric, decide foryourself. Are you worthy to lead this bride home now, from this place?"

  The giant's powerful figure trembled; his broad chest heaved; he pantedfor breath, then, sighing deeply, he shook his head and buried it inthe folds of his cloak.

  "Eugenia shall stay with me," said Hilda, gravely, pressing a kiss onthe pale brow of the reviving girl. Thrasaric cast one more glance ather, then vanished in the throng.

  Modigisel rushed angrily toward Astarte.

  "Serpent!" he cried with no trace of lisping. "Fiend! What did youwhisper in the poor girl's ear?"

  "The truth."

  "No! He never really, seriously meant it. And the stallion has gone tothe devil; my game is over."

  "Mine is not."

  "But you shall not. I am ashamed of the base trick."

  "I am not," she answered with a short laugh, gazing after Thrasaric.

  "Obey, slave, or--"

  He raised his arm for a blow. Again she threw back her beautiful head,but now so violently that the magnificent black hair burst from thegold fillets and fell over her rounded, dazzling shoulders; she closedher eyes and this time actually gnashed her beautiful little whiteteeth.

  The Vandal dared not strike this threatening creature.

  "Just wait till we reach home. There--"

  "There we will make friends again," she answered, smiling, flashing aside glance at him from her black eyes. It was open mockery. But afeeling of horror stole over him, and he shuddered as if from fear.

  "But grant me, my brother and my King, the joy of punishing this Goda,"cried Zazo, who had long been struggling with his impatience, and couldno longer control himself. "The fleet is ready to sail; let me go. Giveme only five thousand picked men--"

  "We Gundings will join you," cried Gundomar.

  "And I will promise to force Sardinia back to allegiance in a singlebattle and to bring you the traitor's head."

  Gelimer hesitated. "Now? Send away the whole fleet and the flower ofthe foot-soldiers? Now? When the Emperor may threaten us here onthe mainland at any moment? This must be considered. I must consultVerus--"

  "Verus?" cried Hilda, eagerly. "I forgot to tell you. Verus bade me sayto you that he advised trampling out these first sparks without delay.'I send you, Hilda,' he said with a peculiar smile, 'because I knowthat you will urge and fan the flame of a swift warlike expedition.'You, O King, ought at once, before you return to the Capitol, toprepare the fleet in the harbor for departure and send it to Sardiniaunder Zazo."

  "It is prepared," cried the latter, joyously. "For three days it hasbeen ready to meet the Byzantines. But the nearest foe is the best one.Oh, give the command, my King."

  "Did Verus counsel it?" said the latter, gravely. "Then it isadvisable, is for my welfare. Then, Zazo, your wish shall befulfilled."

  "Up! to the ships! to the sea! to battle!" shouted the latter,exultingly. "Up, follow me. Vandals! Tread the decks of thefame-crowned vessels again! The sea, the ocean, was ever the heavingblue battlefield of your greatest victories. Do you feel the breath ofthe morning wind, the strong south-southeast? It is the fair one forSardinia."

  "The god of wishes himself, who breathes in and rules the wind, issending it to you, descendants of Genseric. Follow it; it is the breathof victory that fills your sails. To battle! To battle! On to the sea!On to the sea! On to Sardinia!" a thousand voices shouted tumultuously.Full of passionate excitement, overflowing with warlike enthusiasm, theVandals poured out of the Grove of Venus toward Carthage and theharbor.

  The Romans gazed after them in amazement; the whole living generationhad never witnessed any trace of this spirit in their luxurious,effeminate rulers.

  "What do you say now, my Lord?" asked the younger stranger. "Have younot changed your opinion?"

  "No."

  "What? Yet you saw--" he pointed to the dead tiger.

  "I saw it. I heard the war-cry of the crowd too. I am sorry for thebrave King and his family. Let us go to our ship. They will all be losttogether."