CHAPTER XXV
FALLING, LIKE ICARUS, INTO THE SEA
The aurora light, which had flamed brightly, was now extinct, anddarkness was upon the face of the deep, where we floated on the backof the monster. He swam, forcing himself onward with his hind-legs,with one broad wing folded up close. Had both been folded up theathaleb could have swum rapidly; but the broken wing lay expandedover the water, tossing with the waves, so that our progress was butslight. Had it not been for this, the athaleb's own instinct mighthave served to guide him toward some shore which we might have hopedto reach before life was extinct; but as it was, all thought ofreaching any shore was out of the question, and there arose before usonly the prospect of death--a death, too, which must be lingering andpainful and cruel. Thus amid the darkness we floated, and the wavesdashed around us, and the athaleb never ceased to struggle in thewater, trying to force his way onward. It seemed sweet at that momentto have Layelah with me, for what could have been more horrible thanloneliness amid those black waters? and Layelah's mind was made upto meet death with joy, so that her mood conveyed itself to me. AndI thought that since death was inevitable it were better to meetit thus, and in this way end my life--not amid the horrors of thesacrifice and the Mista Kosek, but in a way which seemed natural toa seafaring man like myself, and with which I had long familiarized mythoughts. For I had fallen upon a world and among people which wereall alien and unintelligible to me; and to live on would only open theway to new and worse calamities. There was peace also in the thoughtthat my death would snatch the prospect of death from Almah. She wouldnow be safe. It was only when we were together as lovers that deaththreatened her; but now since I was removed she could resume herformer life, and she might remember me only as an episode in thatlife. That she would remember me I felt sure, and that she would weepfor me and mourn after me was undeniable; but time as it passed wouldsurely alleviate that grief, and Almah would live and be happy.Perhaps she might yet regain her native land and rejoin her lovedkindred, whom she would tell of the stranger from an unknown shore whohad loved her, and through whose death she had gained her life. Suchwere the thoughts that filled my mind as I floated over the blackwater with darkness all around, as I held Layelah in my arms, with mycoat wrapped around her, and murmured in her ear tender words ofconsolation and sympathy.
A long, long time had passed--but how long I know not--when suddenlyLayelah gave a cry, and started up on her knees, with her head bentforward listening intently. I too listened, and I could distinctlyhear the sound of breakers.
It was evident that we were approaching some shore; and, from what Iremembered of the shore of Magones, such a shore meant death, anddeath alone. We stood up and tried to peer through the gloom. Atlength we saw a whole line of breakers, and beyond all was black. Wewaited anxiously in that position, and drew steadily nearer. It wasevident that the athaleb was desirous of reaching that shore, and wecould do nothing but await the result.
But the athaleb had his wits about him, and swam along on a line withthe breakers for some distance, until at length an opening appeared,into which he directed his course. Passing through this we reachedstill water, which seemed like a lagoon surrounded by a coral reef.The athaleb swam on farther, and at length we saw before us an islandwith a broad, sandy beach, beyond which was the shadowy outline of aforest. Here the monster landed, and dragged himself wearily upon thesand, where he spread his vast bulk out, and lay panting heavily. Wedismounted--I first, so as to assist Layelah; and then it seemed as ifdeath were postponed for a time, since we had reached this place wherethe rich and rank vegetation spoke of nothing but vigorous life.
Fortune had indeed dealt strangely with me. I had fled with Almah, andwith her had reached one desolate shore, and now I found myself withLayelah upon another shore, desolate also, but not a savagewilderness. This lonely island, ringed with the black ocean waters,was the abode of a life of its own, and there was nothing here tocrush the soul into a horror of despair like that which was caused bythe tremendous scenes on Magones.
In an instant Layelah revived from her gloom. She looked around,clapped her little hands, laughed aloud, and danced for joy.
"Oh, Atam-or," she cried, "see--see the trees, see the grass, thebushes! This is a land of wonder. As for food, you can call it downfrom the sky with your sepet-ram, or we can find it on the rocks.Oh, Atam-or! life is better than death, and we can live here, and wecan be happy. This shall be better to us than the lands of the Orin,for we shall be alone, and we shall be all in all to one another."
I could not help laughing, and I said:
"Layelah, this is not the language of the Kosekin. You should at oncego to the other side of this island, and sit down and wait for death."
"Never," said Layelah; "you are mine, Atam-or, and I never will leaveyou. If you wish me to die for you, I will gladly lay down my life;but I will not leave you. I love you, Atam-or; and now, whether it belife or death, it is all the same so long as I have you."
Our submersion in the sea and our long exposure afterward had chilledboth of us, but Layelah felt it most. She was shivering in her wetclothes in spite of my coat which I insisted on her wearing, and Idetermined, if possible, to kindle a fire. Fortunately my powder wasdry, for I had thrown off my flask with my coat before jumping intothe sea, and thus I had the means of creating fire. I rubbed wetpowder over my handkerchief, and then gathered some dried sticks andmoss. After this I found some dead trees, the boughs of which weredry and brittle, and in the exercise I soon grew warm, and had thesatisfaction of seeing a great heap of fagots accumulating. I firedmy pistol into the handkerchief, which, being saturated with powder,caught the fire, and this I blew into a flame among the dried moss.A bright fire now sprang up and blazed high in the air; while I, inorder to have an ample supply of fuel, continued to gather it for along time. At length, as I came back, I saw Layelah lying on the sandin front of the fire, sound asleep. I was glad of this, for she wasweary, and had seemed so weak and tremulous that I had felt anxious;so now I arranged my coat over her carefully, and then sat down for atime to think over this new turn which my fortune had taken.
This island was certainly very unlike Magones, yet I had no surety butthat it might be equally destitute of food. This was the firstquestion, and I could not think of sleep until I had found out moreabout the place. The aurora light, which constantly brightens andlessens in this strange world, was now shining gloriously, and I setforth to explore the island. The beach was of fine sand all the way.The water was smooth, and shut in on every side by an outer reefagainst which the sea-waves broke incessantly. As I walked I soonperceived what the island was; for I had often seen such places beforein the South Pacific. It was, in fact, a coral islet, with a reef ofrocks encircling it on every side. The vegetation, however, was unlikeanything in the world beyond; for it consisted of many varieties oftree-ferns, that looked like palms, and giant grasses, and bamboo. Theisland was but small, and the entire circuit was not over a mile. Isaw nothing that looked like food, nor did it seem likely that in sosmall a place there could be enough sustenance for us. Our only hopewould be from the sea, yet even here I could see no signs of any sortof shell-fish. On the whole the prospect was discouraging, and Ireturned to the starting-point with a feeling of dejection; but thisfeeling did not trouble me much at that time: my chief thought was ofrest, and I flung myself down on the sand and fell asleep.
I was awakened by a cry from Layelah. Starting up, I saw her standingand looking into the sky. She was intensely excited. As soon as shesaw me she rushed toward me and burst into tears, while I, full ofwonder, could only stare upward.
"Oh!" cried Layelah, "they've turned back--they've found us! We shallhave to leave our dear, lovely island. Oh, Atam-or, I shall lose younow; for never, never, never again will you have one thought of lovefor your poor Layelah!"
With these words she clung sobbing to me. For my part I do notremember what I said to soothe her, for the sight above was so amazingthat it took up all my attention. The auro
ra shone bright, and in thesky I saw two vast objects wheeling and circling, as if about todescend. I recognized them at once as athalebs; but as their backswere hid from view by their immense wings, I could not make outwhether they were wanderers about to alight of their own accord, orguided here by riders--perhaps by the Kosekin from whom we had beenparted.
This much at least I remember. I said to Layelah that these athalebswere wild ones, which had come here because they saw or scented ourwounded one; but Layelah shook her head with mournful meaning.
"Oh no," said she; "Almah has come back for you. This fire-light hasguided them. If you had not made the fire they never, never, nevercould have found us; but now all is lost."
There was no time for conversation or discussion. The athalebs drewswiftly nearer and nearer, descending in long circuits, until atlength they touched the ground not far away on the wide sandy beach.Then we saw people on their backs, and among them was Almah. Wehurried toward them, and Almah rushed into my arms, to the greatdisgust of Layelah, for she was close beside me and saw it all. Shegave an exclamation of grief and despair, and hurried away.
From Almah I learned that our disappearance had caused alarm; that twoof the athalebs had come back in search of us; that they had been toMagones, and had searched over the seas, and were just about giving usup as lost, when the fire-light had attracted their attention anddrawn them here.
I said nothing at that time about the cause of our disappearance, butmerely remarked that the athaleb had fallen into the sea and swamhere. This was sufficient. They had to remain here for some timelonger to rest their athalebs. At length we prepared to depart. Ourwounded athaleb was left behind to take care of himself. I was takenwith Almah, and Layelah went on the other. We were thus separated; andso we set forth upon our return, and at length arrived at the amir.
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