Chapter XXII. The Command
I think that both Bastin and Bickley, by instinct as it were, knew whathad passed between Yva and myself and that she had promised herself tome. They showed this by the way in which they avoided any mention ofher name. Also they began to talk of their own plans for the futureas matters in which I had no part. Thus I heard them discussing thepossibility of escape from the island whereof suddenly they seemed tohave grown weary, and whether by any means two men (two, not three)could manage to sail and steer the lifeboat that remained upon thewreck. In short, as in all such cases, the woman had come between; alsothe pressure of a common loss caused them to forget their differencesand to draw closer together. I who had succeeded where they both hadfailed, was, they seemed to think, out of their lives, so much that ourancient intimacy had ended.
This attitude hurt me, perhaps because in many respects the situationwas awkward. They had, it is true, taken their failures extremely well,still the fact remained that both of them had fallen in love with thewonderful creature, woman and yet more than woman, who had boundherself to me. How then could we go on living together, I in prospectivepossession of the object that all had desired, and they without thepale?
Moreover, they were jealous in another and quite a different fashionbecause they both loved me in their own ways and were convinced that Iwho had hitherto loved them, henceforward should have no affection leftto spare, since surely this Glittering Lady, this marvel of wisdom andphysical perfections would take it all. Of course they were in error,since even if I could have been so base and selfish, this was no conductthat Yva would have wished or even suffered. Still that was theirthought.
Mastering the situation I reflected a little while and then spokestraight out to them.
"My friends," I said, "as I see that you have guessed, Yva and I areaffianced to each other and love each other perfectly."
"Yes, Arbuthnot," said Bastin, "we saw that in your face, and in hersas she bade us good night before she went into the cave, and wecongratulate you and wish you every happiness."
"We wish you every happiness, old fellow," chimed in Bickley. Hepaused a while, then added, "But to be honest, I am not sure that Icongratulate you."
"Why not, Bickley?"
"Not for the reason that you may suspect, Arbuthnot, I mean not becauseyou have won where we have lost, as it was only to be expected that youwould do, but on account of something totally different. I told youa while ago and repetition is useless and painful. I need only addtherefore that since then my conviction has strengthened and I amsure, sorry as I am to say it, that in this matter you must prepare fordisappointment and calamity. That woman, if woman she really is, willnever be the wife of mortal man. Now be angry with me if you like, orlaugh as you have the right to do, seeing that like Bastin and yourself,I also asked her to marry me, but something makes me speak what Ibelieve to be the truth."
"Like Cassandra," I suggested.
"Yes, like Cassandra who was not a popular person." At first I wasinclined to resent Bickley's words--who would not have been in thecircumstances? Then of a sudden there rushed in upon my mind theconviction that he spoke the truth. In this world Yva was not for me orany man. Moreover she knew it, the knowledge peeped out of every wordshe spoke in our passionate love scene by the lake. She was aware, andsubconsciously I was aware, that we were plighting our troth, not fortime but for eternity. With time we had little left to do; not for longwould she wear the ring I gave her on that holy night.
Even Bastin, whose perceptions normally were not acute, felt that thesituation was strained and awkward and broke in with a curious air offorced satisfaction:
"It's uncommonly lucky for you, old boy, that you happen to havea clergyman in your party, as I shall be able to marry you in arespectable fashion. Of course I can't say that the Glittering Lady isas yet absolutely converted to our faith, but I am certain that shehas absorbed enough of its principles to justify me in uniting her inChristian wedlock."
"Yes," I answered, "she has absorbed its principles; she told me asmuch herself. Sacrifice, for instance," and as I spoke the word my eyesfilled with tears.
"Sacrifice!" broke in Bickley with an angry snort, for he needed a ventto his mental disturbance. "Rubbish. Why should every religion demandsacrifice as savages do? By it alone they stand condemned."
"Because as I think, sacrifice is the law of life, at least of all lifethat is worth the living," I answered sadly enough. "Anyhow I believeyou are right, Bickley, and that Bastin will not be troubled to marryus."
"You don't mean," broke in Bastin with a horrified air, "that youpropose to dispense--"
"No, Bastin, I don't mean that. What I mean is that it comes upon methat something will prevent this marriage. Sacrifice, perhaps, though inwhat shape I do not know. And now good night. I am tired."
That night in the chill dead hour before the dawn Oro came again. Iwoke up to see him seated by my bed, majestic, and, as it seemed to me,lambent, though this may have been my imagination.
"You take strange liberties with my daughter, Barbarian, or shetakes strange liberties with you, it does not matter which," he said,regarding me with his calm and terrible eyes.
"Why do you presume to call me Barbarian?" I asked, avoiding the mainissue.
"For this reason, Humphrey. All men are the same. They have the sameorgans, the same instincts, the same desires, which in essence arebut two, food and rebirth that Nature commands; though it is true thatmillions of years before I was born, as I have learned from the recordsof the Sons of Wisdom, it was said that they were half ape. Yet beingthe same there is between them a whole sea of difference, since somehave knowledge and others none, or little. Those who have none orlittle, among whom you must be numbered, are Barbarians. Those whohave much, among whom my daughter and I are the sole survivors, are theInstructed."
"There are nearly two thousand millions of living people in this world,"I said, "and you name all of them Barbarians?"
"All, Humphrey, excepting, of course, myself and my daughter who arenot known to be alive. You think that you have learned much, whereas intruth you are most ignorant. The commonest of the outer nations, when Idestroyed them, knew more than your wisest know today."
"You are mistaken, Oro; since then we have learned something of thesoul."
"Ah!" he exclaimed, "that interests me and perhaps it is true. Also, iftrue it is very important, as I have told you before--or was it Bastin?If a man has a soul, he lives, whereas even we Sons of Wisdom die, andin Death what is the use of Wisdom? Because you can believe, you havesouls and are therefore, perhaps, heirs to life, foolish and ignorant asyou are today. Therefore I admit you and Bastin to be my equals, thoughBickley, who like myself believes nothing, is but a common chemist anddoctor of disease."
"Then you bow to Faith, Oro?"
"Yes, and I think that my god Fate also bows to Faith. Perhaps, indeed,Faith shapes Fate, not Fate, Faith. But whence comes that faith whicheven I with all my learning cannot command? Why is it denied to me andgiven to you and Bastin?"
"Because as Bastin would tell you, it is a gift, though one that isnever granted to the proud and self-sufficient. Become humble as achild, Oro, and perchance you too may acquire faith."
"And how shall I become humble?"
"By putting away all dreams of power and its exercise, if such you have,and in repentance walking quietly to the Gates of Death," I replied.
"For you, Humphrey, who have little or none of these things, that may beeasy. But for me who have much, if not all, it is otherwise. You ask meto abandon the certain for the uncertain, the known for the unknown,and from a half-god communing with the stars, to become an earthwormcrawling in mud and lifting blind eyes towards the darkness ofeverlasting night."
"A god who must die is no god, half or whole, Oro; the earthworm thatlives on is greater than he."
"Mayhap. Yet while I endure I will be as a god, so that when nightcomes, if come it must, I shall have played my part and left my markupon
this little world of ours. Have done!" he added with a burst ofimpatience. "What will you of my daughter?"
"What man has always willed of woman--herself, body and soul."
"Her soul perchance is yours, if she has one, but her body is mine togive or withhold. Yet it can be bought at a price," he added slowly.
"So she told me, Oro."
"I can guess what she told you. Did I not watch you yonder by thelake when you gave her a ring graved with the signs of Life andEverlastingness? The question is, will you pay the price?"
"Not so; the question is--what is the price?"
"This; to enter my service and henceforth do my will--without debate orcavil."
"For what reward, Oro?"
"Yva and the dominion of the earth while you shall live, neither morenor less."
"And what is your will?"
"That you shall learn in due course. On the second night from this Icommand the three of you to wait upon me at sundown in the buried hallsof Nyo. Till then you see no more of Yva, for I do not trust her. She,too, has powers, though as yet she does not use them, and perchanceshe would forget her oaths, and following some new star of love, for alittle while vanish with you out of my reach. Be in the sepulchre at thehour of sundown on the second day from this, all three of you, if youwould continue to live upon the earth. Afterwards you shall learn mywill and make your choice between Yva with majesty and her loss withdeath."
Then suddenly he was gone.
Next morning I told the others what had passed, and we talked the matterover. The trouble was, of course, that Bickley did not believe me. Hehad no faith in my alleged interviews with Oro, which he set down todelusions of a semi-mesmeric character. This was not strange, sinceit appeared that on the previous night he had watched the door ofmy sleeping-place until dawn broke, which it did long after Oro haddeparted, and he had not seen him either come or go, although the moonwas shining brightly.
When he told me this I could only answer that all the same he had beenthere as, if he could speak, Tommy would have been able to certify. Asit chanced the dog was sleeping with me and at the first sound of theapproach of someone, woke up and growled. Then recognising Oro, he wentto him, wagged his tail and curled himself up at his feet.
Bastin believed my story readily enough, saying that Oro was a peculiarperson who no doubt had ways of coming and going which we did notunderstand. His point was, however, that he did not in the least wish tovisit Nyo any more. The wonders of its underground palaces and templeshad no charms for him. Also he did not think he could do any good bygoing, since after "sucking him as dry as an orange" with reference toreligious matters "that old vampire-bat Oro had just thrown him awaylike the rind," and, he might add, "seemed no better for the juice hehad absorbed."
"I doubt," continued Bastin, "whether St. Paul himself could haveconverted Oro, even if he performed miracles before him. What is theuse of showing miracles to a man who could always work a bigger onehimself?"
In short, Bastin's one idea, and Bickley's also for the matter of that,was to get away to the main island and thence escape by means of theboat, or in some other fashion.
I pointed out that Oro had said we must obey at the peril of our lives;indeed that he had put it even more strongly, using words to the effectthat if we did not he would kill us.
"I'd take the risk," said Bickley, "since I believe that you dreamt itall, Arbuthnot. However, putting that aside, there is a natural reasonwhy you should wish to go, and for my own part, so do I in a way. I wantto see what that old fellow has up his extremely long sleeve, if thereis anything there at all."
"Well, if you ask me, Bickley," I answered, "I believe it is thedestruction of half the earth, or some little matter of that sort."
At this suggestion Bickley only snorted, but Bastin said cheerfully:
"I dare say. He is bad enough even for that. But as I am quite convincedthat it will never be allowed, his intentions do not trouble me."
I remarked that he seemed to have carried them out once before.
"Oh! you mean the Deluge. Well, no doubt there was a deluge, but I amsure that Oro had no more to do with it than you or I, as I think I havesaid already. Anyhow it is impossible to leave you to descend into thathole alone. I suggest, therefore, that we should go into the sepulchreat the time which you believe Oro appointed, and see what happens. Ifyou are not mistaken, the Glittering Lady will come there to fetch us,since it is quite certain that we cannot work the lift or whatever itis, alone. If you are mistaken we can just go back to bed as usual."
"Yes, that's the best plan," said Bickley, shortly, after which theconversation came to an end.
All that day and the next I watched and waited in vain for the comingof Yva, but no Yva appeared. I even went as far as the sepulchre, but itwas as empty as were the two crystal coffins, and after waiting a whileI returned. Although I did not say so to Bickley, to me it was evidentthat Oro, as he had said, was determined to cut off all communicationbetween us.
The second day drew to its close. Our simple preparations were complete.They consisted mainly in making ready our hurricane lamps and packingup a little food, enough to keep us for three or four days if necessary,together with some matches and a good supply of oil, since, as Bastinput it, he was determined not to be caught like the foolish virgins inthe parable.
"You see," he added, "one never knows when it might please that oldwretch to turn off the incandescent gas or electric light, or whateverit is he uses to illumine his family catacombs, and then it would beawkward if we had no oil."
"For the matter of that he might steal our lamps," suggested Bickley,"in which case we should be where Moses was when the light went out."
"I have considered that possibility," answered Bastin, "and therefore,although it is a dangerous weapon to carry loaded, I am determined totake my revolver. If necessary I shall consider myself quite justifiedin shooting him to save our lives and those of thousands of others."
At this we both laughed; somehow the idea of Bastin trying to shoot Orostruck us as intensely ludicrous. Yet that very thing was to happen.
It was a peculiarly beautiful sunset over the southern seas. To thewest the great flaming orb sank into the ocean, to the east appearedthe silver circle of the full moon. To my excited fancy they were likescales hanging from the hand of a materialised spirit of calm. Over thevolcano and the lake, over the island with its palm trees, over the seasbeyond, this calm brooded. Save for a few travelling birds the skywas empty; no cloud disturbed its peace; the world seemed steeped ininnocence and quiet.
All these things struck me, as I think they did the others, because bythe action of some simultaneous thought it came to our minds that veryprobably we were looking on them for the last time. It is all very wellto talk of the Unknown and the Infinite whereof we are assured we arethe heirs, but that does not make it any easier for us to part with theKnown and the Finite. The contemplation of the wonders of Eternity doesnot conceal the advantages of actual and existent Time. In short thereis no one of us, from a sainted archbishop down to a sinful suicide, whodoes not regret the necessity of farewell to the pleasant light and thekindly race of men wherewith we are acquainted.
For after all, who can be quite certain of the Beyond? It may besplendid, but it will probably be strange, and from strangeness, after acertain age, we shrink. We know that all things will be different there;that our human relationships will be utterly changed, that perhaps sexwhich shapes so many of them, will vanish to be replaced by somethingunknown, that ambitions will lose their hold of us, and that, at thebest, the mere loss of hopes and fears will leave us empty. So at leastwe think, who seek not variation but continuance, since the spirit mustdiffer from the body and that thought alarms our intelligence.
At least some of us think so; others, like Bickley, write downthe future as a black and endless night, which after all has itsconsolations since, as has been wisely suggested, perhaps oblivion isbetter than any memories. Others again, like Bastin, would say ofit with
the Frenchman, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Yetothers, like Oro, consider it as a realm of possibilities, probablyunpleasant and perhaps non-existent; just this and nothing more. Onlyone thing is certain, that no creature which has life desires to leapinto the fire and from the dross of doubts, to resolve the gold--or thelead--of certainty.
"It is time to be going," said Bastin. "In these skies the sun seems totumble down, not to set decently as it does in England, and if we waitany longer we shall be late for our appointment in the sepulchre. I amsorry because although I don't often notice scenery, everything looksrather beautiful this evening. That star, for instance, I think it iscalled Venus."
"And therefore one that Arbuthnot should admire," broke in Bickley,attempting to lighten matters with a joke. "But come on and let us berid of this fool's errand. Certainly the world is a lovely place afterall, and for my part I hope that we haven't seen the last of it," headded with a sigh.
"So do I," said Bastin, "though of course, Faith teaches us that thereare much better ones beyond. It is no use bothering about what they arelike, but I hope that the road to them doesn't run through the hole thatthe old reprobate, Oro, calls Nyo."
A few minutes later we started, each of us carrying his share of theimpedimenta. I think that Tommy was the only really cheerful memberof the party, for he skipped about and barked, running backwards andforwards into the mouth of the cave, as though to hurry our movements.
"Really," said Bastin, "it is quite unholy to see an animal going on inthat way when it knows that it is about to descend into the bowels ofthe earth. I suppose it must like them."
"Oh! no," commented Bickley, "it only likes what is in them--likeArbuthnot. Since that little beast came in contact with the Lady Yva, ithas never been happy out of her company."
"I think that is so," said Bastin. "At any rate I have noticed that ithas been moping for the last two days, as it always does when she isnot present. It even seems to like Oro who gives me the creeps, perhapsbecause he is her father. Dogs must be very charitable animals."
By now we were in the cave marching past the wrecks of the half-buriedflying-machines, which Bickley, as he remarked regretfully, had neverfound time thoroughly to examine. Indeed, to do so would have neededmore digging than we could do without proper instruments, since themachines were big and deeply entombed in dust.
We came to the sepulchre and entered.
"Well," said Bickley, seating himself on the edge of one of the coffinsand holding up his lamp to look about him, "this place seems fairlyempty. No one is keeping the assignation, Arbuthnot, although the sun iswell down."
As he spoke the words Yva stood before us. Whence she came we did notsee, for all our backs were turned at the moment of her arrival. Butthere she was, calm, beautiful, radiating light.