The People of the Mist
Page 35
CHAPTER XXXIV
NAM'S LAST ARGUMENT
For a moment Juanna stood stupefied; for the manoeuvre had been sosudden that at first she could scarcely realise its results.
"Now, Shepherdess," began Nam blandly, "we can talk in private, for Ihave words to say to you which it is not fitting that other ears shouldhear."
"You fiend," she answered fiercely; then comprehending that violence orremonstrance would be useless, she added, "Speak on, I hear you."
"Listen, Shepherdess, and for your own sake I implore you, do not giveway to grief or rage. I swear to you that no harm shall come to yonderman if you will but do my bidding. Shepherdess, you are found out; Iknow, and the people know, that you are no goddess. It had been safer tosacrifice you to-day, but partly because of the pleading of my daughterwho loves you, and partly for other reasons, I have caused you to besaved alive. Now, Shepherdess, from this country there is no escape; asyou have chosen to come hither, here you must remain for life, and inthis cell you cannot live and die. Therefore, for my daughter's sakeI have cast about for a means to deliver you from bonds and to set youhigh in the land, ay, almost at its head," and he paused.
"Perhaps you will come to the point," said Juanna, who was tremblingwith fear and anger.
"It is this, Shepherdess," Nam answered bowing; "although you aredethroned as a goddess, you may still shine as a queen and rule over usas the wife of our king."
"Indeed," replied Juanna, turning suddenly cold; "and how shall I, whoam held to be dead, appear again as a woman wedded to your king? Surelythe people would find that strange, Nam?"
"No, Shepherdess, for I have prepared a tale which shall explain thewonder, and already its rumour runs from mouth to mouth. It will be saidthat you were a goddess and therefore immortal, but that for the sake oflove you have put off your godhead and put on the flesh, that you mightdwell for some years with him whom you desire."
"Indeed," said Juanna again. "And what if I refuse to consent to thisscheme, which, as I think, can have come only from a woman's brain?" andshe pointed to Soa.
"You are right, Shepherdess," answered Soa, "the plan is mine; I madeit to save you, and also," she added coolly, "to be revenged upon thatwhite thief who loves you, for he shall live to see you the wife ofanother man, a wild man."
"And have you never thought, Soa, that I may have wishes of my own inthis matter?"
"Doubtless, yet the fairest women cannot always have what they maychance to wish. Know, Shepherdess, that this must be both for your ownsake and for the sake of Nam, my father. Olfan loves you, and in thesetroubled times it is necessary that Nam and the priests should gain hissupport, which has been bought but now by the promise that you willbe given to him in marriage on this very day. For you, Shepherdess,although you might have wished to wed one of your own race, at the leastyou will rule a queen, and that is better than to perish miserably."
"I think otherwise, Soa," Juanna answered calmly, for she saw thatneither passion nor pleading would help her, "and of the two I choose todie," and she put her hand to her hair, then started, for she found thepoison gone.
"You will choose to die, Shepherdess," said Soa with a cold smile, "butthis is not always so easy. I have taken your medicine from you whileyou slept, and here there are no other means to compass death."
"I can starve, Soa," replied Juanna with dignity.
"That takes some time, Shepherdess, and to-day you will become the wifeof Olfan. Still it is needful that you should yourself consent to marryhim, for this chief is so foolish that he declares that he will not wedyou till you have accepted him with your own mouth and in the presenceof witnesses."
"Then I fear that the wedding will not be celebrated," said Juannawith a bitter laugh, for she could not refrain from giving some outwardexpression to all the loathing which she felt for this wicked woman, whoin her fierce love would save the life of her mistress by selling her toshame.
"I think that it will, Shepherdess," answered Soa, "for it seems thatwe have a way by which we can win you to speak those words which Olfandesires to hear."
"There is no way, Soa."
"What, none, Shepherdess? Think now: he whom you name Deliverer is aprisoner beyond that door. What if his life hangs upon your choice?What if he were shown to you about to die a fearful death from which youalone could save him by speaking a certain word?"
Now for the first time Juanna fully understood the hideous nature of theplot whereby Soa purposed either to force her to become the wife of asavage, or to thrust upon her the guilt of causing the death of the manwhom she loved, and she sank back upon the couch, saying:
"You would have done better to leave me yonder in the slave camp, Soa."
Then, abandoning the tone of forced calm in which she had spokenhitherto, Soa broke out bitterly:
"When you were in the slave camp, Shepherdess, you loved me who haveloved you from a child, for then no white dog had come to sow mischiefbetween us and to make you hate and distrust me. Then I would have diedfor you, ay, and this I would do now. But also I would be revenged uponthe white dog, for I, who am husbandless and childless, had but this onething, and he has taken it from me. You were to me as mother, and lover,and babe are to other women--my all, and now I am left desolate, andI will be revenged upon him before I die. But I still love you,Shepherdess, and could any other plan have been found to help you, Icould not have forced this marriage on you. No such plan can be found;thus alone can you live and become great and happy; and thus alone can Icontinue to feast my eyes upon you, though it be from far."
She ceased, trembling with the strength of the passions that shook her,to which indeed her words had given but feeble expression.
"Go," said Juanna, "I would have time to think."
Then Nam spoke again.
"We go, Shepherdess, in obedience to your wish, but before evening weshall return to hear your answer. Do not attempt to work mischief uponyourself, for know that you will be watched though you cannot see theeyes that watch you. If you do but so much as lift a hand against yourlife, or even strive to cut off the light that flows through yonderhole, then at once you will be seized and bound, and my daughter will beset to guard you. Shepherdess, farewell."
And they went, leaving Juanna alone and a prey to such thoughts as canscarcely be written.
For several hours she sat there upon the couch, allowing no hint of whatshe felt to appear upon her face, for she was too proud to suffer theeyes which she knew were spying on her, though whence she could nottell, to read her secret anguish.
As she sat thus in her desolation several things grew clear to Juanna,and the first of them was that Soa must be mad. The love and hate thatseethed in her fierce heart had tainted her brain, making her morerelentless than a leopard robbed of its young. From the beginning shehad detested Leonard and been jealous of him, and incautiously enough hehad always shown his dislike and distrust of her. By slow degrees thesefeelings had hardened into insanity, and to gratify the vile promptingsof her disordered mind she would hesitate at nothing.
From Soa, therefore, she could hope for no relenting. Nor had shebetter prospect with Nam, for it was evident that in his case politicalconsiderations operated as strongly as did those of a personal characterwith his daughter. He was so much involved, he had committed himself sodeeply in this matter of the false gods, that, rightly or wrongly, heconceived Soa's plan to offer the only feasible chance of escape fromthe religious complications by which he was surrounded, that threatenedto bring his life and power to a simultaneous end.
It was out of the question, therefore, to expect help from thehigh-priest, who was in the position of a man on a runaway horse withprecipices on either side of him, unless, indeed, she could show himsome safer path. Failing this, it would avail her nothing that he hatedand feared Olfan, and only promoted this marriage in order to bribe theking into standing his friend during the expected political convulsions.Indeed, as she guessed rightly, Nam would much better like to know hersafely over the bo
rders of the Mist-land than to be called upon to greether as its queen. This was obvious, seeing that should she return topower, religious or temporal, it was scarcely to be hoped that she wouldforget the wrongs which she had suffered at his hands. The marriage wasmerely a temporary expedient designed to ward off immediate evil, butshould it come about and the crisis be tided over, it was plain thatthe struggle between the false goddess and the perjured priest must becarried on until it ended in the death of one or both of them. However,all these things lay in the future as Nam foretold it, a future whichJuanna never meant to live to see.
There remained Leonard and Olfan. The former, of course, was powerless,at least for the present, having suffered himself to be entrapped,though his lack of caution mattered little, for doubtless if guilehad failed, force would have been employed. It was she who must saveLeonard, for he could do nothing to save her.
The more Juanna thought of the matter, the more she became convincedthat her only hope lay in Olfan himself, who had sworn friendship toher, and who certainly was no traitor. She remembered that in theirconversation of the day before he had admitted that she could be nothingto him while Leonard lived. Probably Nam had told her that the Delivererwas dead, and then it was, actuated by his passion which she knew tobe genuine enough, that he had entered into a bargain with the priest.These must be the terms of the compact, that the game of the false godsbeing played, Olfan undertook to support Nam and the rest of his partyto the best of his power, for the consideration to be received of herhand in marriage, stipulating, however, that she should give it of herown free will.
This of course she would never do; therefore Olfan's proviso gave hera loophole of escape, though Juanna was well aware that it would notbe wise to rely too implicitly on the generosity of the savage chief inmatters upon which savages are apt to be neither generous nor delicate.On this she must fall back as a last resource, or rather as a lastresource but one. Meanwhile, she would fight Nam and Soa step by step,yielding only when she saw that further obstinacy on her part wouldinvolve Leonard's destruction. It was possible, indeed it was probable,that everything might fail her, and in that event she must not failherself; in other words, although the poison had been taken from her,she must find a means of death.
Having thought these problems out so far as it was in her power todo, Juanna rose and began to walk up and down the cell, noting itsconstruction and peculiarities. Doubtless Leonard was behind yonderdoor, but it was so thick that she could hear nothing of his movements.For the rest, it seemed clear that escape was impossible. Excepting thedoors, the shaft in the rock was the only other opening that she wasable to see, but through this no child could pass, and if he might itwould be to fall into the pool of raging water.
Had Otter lived through the fight with the snake god, she wondered?There was small chance of it, but at least he had made an end worthy ofhis reputation, and she felt proud of him. And the other--Francisco. Ofhim also she was proud indeed, but for herself she was ashamed, for sheknew that she had been to blame, though not designedly. Who would haveguessed that this frail timid man could prove himself such a hero, orwho could estimate the power of the unsought and unhappy love whichenabled him to conquer the fear of death?
She had been wrong to be angry with Leonard, for she knew well that, ifit could have been so, he would gladly have given his own life for hers.Alas! it seemed that she was always wrong, for her temper was quick andthe tongue is an unruly member. They had both of them been ready to diefor her, and one of them had done so; well, now it was probable that thetables would be turned before many hours were over, and that she wouldbe called upon to offer herself to save her lover. If this came about,she would not forget the example of Francisco, but would rather try toequal it in the heroism of her end.
The day passed slowly, and at length the gloom gathering in the littlecell told her that night was near. Before it fell, however, Soa and Namentered, bearing candles, which they fixed upon brackets in the walls.
"We come, Shepherdess, to hear your answer," said Nam. "Will you consentto take Olfan for a husband, or will you not?"
"I will not consent."
"Think again, Shepherdess."
"I have thought. You have my answer."
At the words Nam seized her arm, saying, "Come hither, Shepherdess; Iwould show you something," and he led her to that door in passing whichLeonard had been entrapped. At the same time Soa extinguished one of thecandles, and taking the other in her hand she left the cell, bolting thedoor behind her, so that Nam and Juanna stood in darkness.
"Shepherdess," said Nam sternly, "you are about to see him whom youname the Deliverer. Now remember this, if you cry out or speak above awhisper--he dies."
Juanna made no answer, although she felt her heart grow faint withinher. Five minutes or more passed, and of a sudden a panel slid back inthe upper part of the door which connected the two cells, so that Juannacould see through it, although those who stood on the further side couldnot see her, for they were in light and she was in darkness.
And this was what she saw: Ranged against the wall of the second prison,and opposite to her, were three priests holding candles in their hands,whereof the light shone upon their sullen, cruel faces, and the snake'shead tattooed on their naked breasts. In front of these men stood twoother priests, and between them was Leonard bound and gagged.
On the hither side of the cell, and not more than two feet from the openpanel, stood Soa, on whom the eyes of the executioners were fixed, asthough awaiting a command. Between Soa and these men yawned an open holein the rock floor.
When Juanna had gazed upon this scene for some twenty seconds thesliding panel was closed, apparently by Soa, and Nam spoke:
"You have seen, Shepherdess," he said, "that the Deliverer is bound, andyou have seen also that before him is a hole in the floor of the prison.He who falls down that hole, Shepherdess, finds himself in the den ofthe Snake beneath, from the visiting of whom no man has ever returnedalive, for it is through it that we feed the Water-dweller at certainseasons of the year, and when there is no sacrifice. Now, Shepherdess,you must choose between two things; either to wed Olfan of your own freewill this night, or to see the Deliverer thrown to the Snake before youreyes, and afterwards to wed Olfan whether you will it or not. What doyou say, Shepherdess?"
Juanna took counsel with herself, and came to the conclusion that shewould resist a little longer, for she thought that this scene might havebeen planned merely to try her fortitude.
"I refuse to marry Olfan," she answered.
Then Nam opened the panel and whispered a word into the ear of Soa, whouttered a command. Instantly the two executioner priests flung Leonardon to his back upon the ground, an easy task seeing that his legs werefastened with ropes, and dragged him forward until his head hung overthe oubliette-like hole. Then they paused as though waiting for somefurther order. Nam drew Juanna some few paces away from the door.
"What is your word now, Shepherdess?" he said. "Is the man to die or besaved? Speak swiftly."
Juanna glanced through the opening and saw that now Leonard's head andshoulders had vanished down the oubliette, while one of the priests heldhim by the ankles, watching Soa for the sign to let him fall.
"Loose him," said Juanna faintly. "I will marry Olfan."
Stepping forward, Nam whispered to Soa, who issued another order.Thereupon the priests drew Leonard from his perilous position, and,unwillingly enough, rolled him to the side of the cell, for they wouldhave preferred to be rid of him. At that moment also the shutter wasclosed.
"I said _loose him_," repeated Juanna; "now the man lies unable to movelike a fallen tree, on the ground."
"No, Shepherdess," replied Nam; "perchance you may yet change your mind,and then it would be troublesome to bind him afresh, for he is verystrong and violent. Listen, Shepherdess; when Olfan comes presently toask your hand, you must say nothing of that man yonder, for he deemshim to be dead, and the moment you speak of him he will be dead. Do youunderstand?"
"Fear not, Shepherdess, it shall be done--when you have spoken withOlfan. And now, at what hour will it be your pleasure to see him?"
"When you will. The sooner it is finished the better."
"Good. My daughter," he added to Soa, who just then entered the cell,"be pleased to make fire, and then summon the king Olfan, who waitswithout."
Soa departed upon her errand, and, overcome with terror which she wouldnot show, Juanna sank upon the couch, hiding her face in her hands. Fora while there was silence, then the door opened again and, heralded bySoa, Olfan, the king, stood before her.
"Be careful, Shepherdess," whispered Nam as they entered; "one word--andthe Deliverer dies."