The People Of The Mist: Chapter 38

Chapter 38

THE TRIUMPH OF NAM

"Which way are we to go now?" said Juanna; "must we climb down this
great gulf?"

"No, Shepherdess," answered Otter; "see, before you is a bridge," and he
pointed to the band of ice and rock which traversed the wide ravine.

"A bridge?" gasped Juanna, "why it is as slippery as a slide and steep
as the side of a house. A fly could not keep its footing on it."

"Look here, Otter," put in Leonard, "either you are joking or you are
mad. How can we cross that place? We should be dashed to pieces before
we had gone ten yards."

"Thus, Baas: we must sit each of us on one of the flat stones that lie
round here, then the stone will take us across of itself. I know, for I
have tried it."

"Do you mean to tell me that you have been over there on a rock?"

"No, Baas, but I have sent three stones over. Two crossed safely, I
watched them go the whole way, and one vanished in the middle. I think
that there is a hole there, but we must risk that. If the stone is heavy
enough it will jump it, if not, then we shall go down the hole and be no
more troubled."

"Great heavens!" said Leonard, wiping his forehead with the back of his
hand, "this is practical tobogganing with a vengeance. Is there no other
way?"

"I can see none, Baas, except for the birds, and I think that we had
better stop talking and make ready, for the priests are still behind us.
If you will watch on the neck here so that we are not surprised, I will
seek stones to carry us."

"How about this man?" said Leonard, pointing to Nam, who lay face
downwards on the snow, apparently in a dead faint.

"Oh! we must keep him a while, Baas; he may be useful if those priests
come. If not, I will talk with him before we start. He is asleep and
cannot run away."

Then Leonard went to the top of the neck, which was distant some twenty
yards, and Otter began to search for stones suitable to his purpose.

As for Juanna, she turned her back to the ice-bridge, at which she
scarcely dared to look, and sat herself upon a rock. In doing so the
jewels in the bag struck against her knee and jingled, and the thought
came into her mind that she would examine them while she waited, partly
because she desired to distract her thoughts from the vision of this new
and terrible ordeal which lay before her, and partly to gratify a not
unnatural curiosity.

Opening the mouth of the bag, she thrust her fingers into it, and one by
one drew out the biggest gems which were jumbled together there, placing
them on the rock beside her. In less than a minute she was feasting
her eyes upon such a collection of priceless jewels as had never before
gladdened the sight of any white woman, even in her wildest dreams;
indeed, till now Juanna had not thought it possible that stones so
splendid could exist on the hither side of the walls of heaven.

First there were great sapphires roughly squared, and two enormous
round star rubies: these had formed the eyes of the colossus, which were
removed on the morrow of their arrival, the star rubies representing the
blood-red pupils. Then there was a heart-shaped ruby of perfect colour
and without flaw, almost as large as a jackdaw's egg, which on the days
of sacrifice had adorned the breasts of the chief priests of the People
of the Mist for many generations. Next came the greatest wonders of
this treasure, two marvellous stones, one a sapphire and one a ruby,
fashioned respectively into models of the statue of the Dwarf and of the
hideous shape of the Water-Dweller. Then there were others--dozens
of them--some rudely cut and polished, and some as they came from the
earth, but every one of them singled out for its remarkable size and
flawlessness, or its perfect fire and beauty.

Juanna arranged them in rows and stared at them with ecstasy--where is
the woman who would not have done so?--till in contemplating them she
even forgot the present terrors of her position--forgot everything
except the gorgeous loveliness and infinite value of the wealth of gems,
which she had been the means of winning for Leonard.

Among other things that passed from her mind at this moment was the
presence of Nam, who, overcome by rage and exhaustion, lay in a seeming
faint upon the snow within twelve paces of her. She never saw him lift
his head and look at her with an expression as cold and cruel as that
which Otter had seen in the eyes of the Water-Dweller, when he lifted
_his_ head from its bed of rock. She never saw him roll slowly over and
over across the snow towards her, pausing a while between each turn of
his body, for now she was occupied in replacing the jewels one by one
into their bag of leather.

At last all were in, and with a sigh--for it was sad to lose sight
of objects so beautiful--Juanna drew the mouth of the bag tight and
prepared to place it round her neck.

At this moment it was that a hand, withered and lean with age, passed
beneath her eyes, and, swiftly as the snatch of an eagle's talon, seized
the bag and rent it from her grasp. She sprang up with a cry of dismay,
and well might she be dismayed, for there, running from her with
incredible speed, was Nam, the jewels in his hand.

Otter and Leonard heard her cry, and, thinking that the priest was
escaping, sped to cut him off. But he had no idea of escape, at least
not of such escape as they expected. Some forty yards from where Juanna
had been sitting, a little promontory of rock jutted out over the
unclimbable gulf below them and towards this spot Nam directed his
steps. Running along the ridge he halted at its end: indeed he must do,
unless he would fall a thousand feet or more to the bottom of the ravine
beneath. Then he turned and faced his pursuers, who by now had reached
the edge of the cliff.

"Come one step nearer," he cried, "and I let this bag fall whence you
shall never recover it, for no foot can tread these walls of rock, and
there is water at the bottom of the gulf."

Leonard and Otter stopped, trembling for the fate of the jewels.

"Listen, Deliverer," cried Nam; "you came to this land to seek these
trinkets, is it not so? And now you have found them and would be gone
with them? But before you go you wish to kill me for vengeance' sake,
because I have shown you to be cheats, and have sought to offer you up
to those gods whom you have blasphemed. But the red stones you desire
are in my hands, and if I unclasp my fingers they will be lost to you
and all the world for ever. Say now, if I bring them back to you in
safety, will you swear to give me my life and suffer me to go my ways in
peace?"

"Yes, we will swear it," answered Leonard, who could not conceal the
anguish of his anxiety. "Come back, Nam, and you shall depart unharmed;
but if you let the stones fall, then you shall follow them."

"You swear it," said the priest contemptuously: "you are come to this,
that you will sacrifice your revenge to satisfy your greed, O White Man
with a noble heart! Now I will outdo you, for I, who am not noble, will
sacrifice my life to disappoint you of your desires. What! shall the
ancient holy treasure of the People of the Mist be stolen by two white
thieves and their black hound? Never! I would have killed you all had
time been granted to me, but in that I failed, and I am glad that I have
failed, for now I will deal you a bitterer blow than any death. May the
curse of Jal and Aca cleave to you, you dogs without a kennel! May you
live outcasts and die in the dirt, and may your fathers and your mothers
and your children spit upon your bones as I do! Farewell!"

And shaking his disengaged hand at them he spat towards them; then with
a sudden motion Nam hurled himself backwards off the point of rock and
vanished into space, bearing the treasure with him.

For a while the three stood aghast and stared at each other and the
point of rock which had been occupied by the venerable form of the late
high priest; then Juanna sank upon the snow sobbing.

"It is my fault," she wailed, "all my fault. Just now I was boasting to
myself that I had won wealth for you, and I have lost everything. And we
have suffered for nothing, and, Leonard, you are a beggar. Oh! it is too
much--too much!"

"Go out there, Otter," said Leonard in a hoarse voice, pointing to the
place where Nam had hurled himself, "and see whether there is any chance
of our being able to climb down into the gulf."

The dwarf obeyed and presently returned shaking his head.

"It is impossible, Baas," he said; "the walls of rock are sheer as
though they had been cut with a knife; moreover there is water at the
bottom of them, as the old wizard said, for I can hear the sound of it.
Oh! Baas, Baas, why did you not kill him at first, or let me kill him
afterwards? Surely I told you that he would bring evil on us. Well, they
are gone and we can never find them again, so let us save our lives if
we may, for after all these are more to us than bright stones. Come now
and help me, Baas, for I have found two flat rocks that will serve our
turn, a big one for you and the Shepherdess, since doubtless she will
fear to make this journey alone, and a smaller one for myself."

Leonard followed him without a word; he was too heart-broken to speak,
while Juanna rose and returned to the spot where Nam had robbed her.
Looking up presently, her eyes still blurred with tears, she saw Leonard
and the dwarf laboriously pushing two heavy stones across the snow
towards her.

"Come, do not cry, Juanna," said Leonard, ceasing from his labours and
laying his hand kindly upon her shoulder, "they are gone and there is an
end of it. Now we must think of other things."

"Oh!" she answered, "if only you had seen them, you would never stop
crying all your life."

"Then I dare say that the fit will be a short one," replied Leonard
grimly, glancing at the awful bridge which stretched between them and
safety.

"Listen, Juanna, you and I must lie upon this stone, and it will--so
says Otter--carry us across to the other side of the ravine."

"I cannot, I cannot," she gasped, "I shall faint and fall off. I am sure
that I shall."

"But you must, Juanna," answered Leonard. "At least you must choose
between this and returning to the City of the Mist."

"I will come," she said. "I know that I shall be killed, but it is
better than going back to those horrible priests; and besides, it does
not matter now that I have lost the jewels."

"Jewels are not everything, Juanna."

"Listen, Shepherdess," put in Otter, "the thing is easy, though it looks
difficult. All that you have to do is to shut your eyes and lie still,
then the stone will carry you over. I am not afraid. I will go first
to show you the way, and where a black dwarf can pass, there you white
people who are so much braver can follow. But before I start, I will
tie you and the Deliverer together with my cord, for so you will feel
safer."

Then Otter dragged both stones to the very verge of the incline, and
having passed the rope about the waists of Juanna and Leonard, he
prepared himself for the journey.

"Now, Deliverer," he said, "when I am safe across, all that you must do
it to lie flat upon the stone, both of you, and to push a little with
the spear. Then before you know it, you will be by my side."

"All right," said Leonard doubtfully. "Well, I suppose that you had
better start; waiting won't make the matter any easier."

"Yes, Baas, I will go now. Ah! little did I think that I should ever be
forced to take such a ride as this. Well, it will be something to make
songs about afterwards."

And Otter laid himself face downwards on the stone with a little laugh,
though Leonard noticed that, however brave his spirit might be, he
could not prevent his flesh from revealing its natural weakness, for it
quivered pitifully.

"Now, Baas," he said, gripping the edges of the stone with his large
hands, "when I give the word do you push gently, and then you will see
how a black bird can fly. Put your head lower, Baas."

Leonard obeyed, and the dwarf whispered in his ear:

"I only want to say, Baas, in case we should not meet again, for
accidents will happen even on the safest roads, that I am sorry that I
made such a pig of myself yonder; it was so dull down there in that hole
of a palace, and the fog made me see all things wrong. Moreover, drink
and a wife have corrupted many a better man. Don't answer, Baas, but
start me, for I am growing afraid."

Placing his hand at the back of the stone, Leonard gave it a slight
push. It began to move, very slowly at first, then more fast and faster
yet, till it was rushing over the smooth ice pathway with a whirring
sound like that produced by the flight of a bird. Presently it had
reached the bottom of the first long slope and was climbing the gentle
rise opposite, but so slowly that for a while Leonard thought that it
was going to stop. It crossed its brow, however, and vanished for a few
seconds into a dip where the watchers could not see it, then it appeared
again at the head of the second and longest slope, of which the angle
was very steep. Down this the stone rushed like an arrow from a bow,
till it reached the narrow waist of the bridge, whereof the general
conformation bore some resemblance to that of a dead wasp lying on its
back. Indeed, from where Leonard and Juanna stood, the span of ice at
this point seemed to be no thicker than a silver thread, while Otter and
the stone might have been a fly upon the thread. Now of a sudden Leonard
distinctly saw the rock sledge and its living burden, which just then
was travelling its swiftest, move upwards as though it had leaped
into the air and then continue its course along the rising place which
represented the throat of the wasp, till at length it stopped.

Leonard looked at his watch; the time occupied by the transit was just
fifty seconds, and the distance could not have been much less than half
a mile.

"See," he cried to Juanna, who all this while had sat with her hand
before her eyes to shut out the vision of the dwarf's dreadful progress,
"he has crossed safely!" and he pointed to a figure that appeared to be
dancing with glee upon the breast of the snow slope.

As he spoke a faint sound reached their ears, for in those immense
silences sound can travel far. It was Otter shouting, and his words
seemed to be, "Come on, Baas; it is easy."

"I am glad he is safe," said Juanna faintly, "but now we must follow
him. Take my handkerchief, Leonard, and tie it over my eyes, please, for
I cannot bear to look. The idol's head was nothing to this."

Leonard obeyed her, bidding her not to be afraid.

"Oh! but I am terribly afraid," she said. "I never was so much
frightened in all my life, and I--I have lost the jewels! Leonard, do
forgive me for behaving so badly to you. I know that I have behaved
badly in many ways, though I have been too proud to admit it before. But
now, when I am going to die, I want to beg your pardon. I hope you will
think kindly of me, Leonard, when I am dead, for I do love you with
all my heart, indeed I do." And tears began to roll down beneath the
bandage.

"Dearest," he answered, kissing her tenderly, "as we are tied together,
it seems that if you die I must die too. Do not break down now after you
have borne so much."

"It is the jewels," she sobbed, "the jewels; I feel as though I had
committed a murder."

"Oh! bother the jewels!" said Leonard. "We can think about them
afterwards." And he advanced towards the flat stone, Juanna feeling the
while as though they were two of Carrier's victims about to know the
Marriage of the Loire.

As they came to the stone Leonard heard a sound behind him, a sound of
footsteps muffled by the snow, and glancing round he saw Soa rushing
towards them, almost naked, a spear-wound in her side, and the light of
madness shining in her eyes.

"Get back," he said sternly, "or----" and he lifted the great spear.

"Oh! Shepherdess," she wailed, "take me with you, Shepherdess, for I
cannot live without you."

"Tell her to go away," said Juanna, recognising the voice; "I never want
to see her any more."

"You hear, Soa," answered Leonard. "Stay, how has it gone yonder? Speak
truly."

"I know not, Deliverer; when I left, Olfan and his brother still held
the mouth of the tunnel and were unhurt, but the captain was dead. I
slipped past them and got this as I went," and she pointed to the gash
in her side.

"If he can hold out a little longer, help may reach him," muttered
Leonard. Then without more words, he laid himself and Juanna face
downwards on the broad stone.

"Now, Juanna," he said, "we are going to start. Grip fast with your
right hand, and see that you do not leave go of the edge of the stone,
or we shall both slip off it."

"Oh! take me with you, Shepherdess, take me with you, and I will be
wicked no more, but serve you as of old," shrilled the voice of Soa in
so despairing a cry that the rocks rang.

"Hold fast," said Leonard through his set teeth, as, disengaging his
right hand from about Juanna's waist, he seized the handle of the spear
and pressed its broad blade against a knob of rock behind them. Now the
stone, that was balanced on the very verge of the declivity, trembled
beneath them, and now, slowly and majestically as a vessel starting from
her slips when the launching cord is severed, it began to move down the
icy way.

For the first second it scarcely seemed to stir, then the motion grew
palpable, and at that instant Leonard heard a noise behind him and felt
his left foot clasped by a human hand. There was a jerk that nearly
dragged them off their sledge, but he held fast to the front edge of
the stone, and though he could still feel the hand upon his ankle, the
strain became almost imperceptible.

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