CHAPTER XVII.
Paula passed a fearful night in the small, frightfully hot prison-cellin which she and Betta were shut up. She could not sleep, and whenonce she succeeded in closing her eyes she was roused by the yells andclanking chains of the captives in the common prison and the heavy stepof another sufferer who paced the room overhead, even more restless thanherself.
Poor fellow-victim! Was it a tortured conscience that drove him hitherand thither, or was he as innocent as she was, and was it longing, love,and anxiety that bereft him of sleep?
He was no vulgar criminal. There was no room for those in this partof the building; and at midnight, when the noise in the large hall wassuddenly silenced, soft sounds of the lute came down to her from hiscell, and only a master could strike the strings with such skill.
She cared nothing for the stranger; but she was grateful for his gift ofmusic, for it diverted her thoughts from herself, and she listened withgrowing interest. Glad of an excuse for rising from her hard, hot bed,she sprang up and placed herself close to the one window, an openingbarred with iron. But then the music ceased and a conversation beganbetween the warder and her fellow-prisoner.
What voice was that? Did she deceive herself, or hear rightly?
Her heart stood still while she listened; and now every doubt wassilenced: It was Orion, and none other, whom she heard speaking in theroom above. Then the warder spoke his name; they were talking of herdeceased uncle; and now, as if in obedience to some sign, they loweredtheir voices. She heard whispering but could not distinguish what wassaid. At length parting words were uttered in louder tones, the door ofthe cell was locked and the prisoner approached his window.
At this she pressed her face close to the heated iron bars, lookedupwards, listened a moment and, as nothing was stirring, she said, firstsoftly, and then rather louder: "Orion, Orion!"
And, from above, her name was spoken in reply. She greeted him and askedhow and when he had come hither; but he interrupted her at the firstwords with a decisive: "Silence!" adding in a moment, "Look out!"
She listened in expectancy; the minutes crept on at a snail's pace to afull half hour before he at last said: "Now!" And, in a few moments,she held in her hand a written scroll that he let down to her by alutestring weighted with a scrap of wood.
She had neither light nor fire, and the night was moonless. So shecalled up "Dark!" and immediately added, as he had done: "Look out."
She then tied to the string the two best roses of those Pulcheria hadbrought her, and at her glad "Now!" they floated up.
He expressed his thanks in a few low chords overflowing with yearningand passion; then all was still, for the warder had forbidden him tosing or play at night and he dared not risk losing the man's favor.
Paula laid down again with Orion's letter in her hand, and when she feltslumber stealing upon her, she pushed it under her pillow and ere longwas sleeping on it. When they both woke, soon after sunrise, they hadbeen dreaming of each other and gladly hailed the return of day.
How furious Orion had felt when the prison door closed upon him! Helonged to wrench the iron bars from the window and kick down or forcethe door; and there is no more humiliating and enraging feeling for aman than that of finding himself shut up like a wild beast, cut off fromthe world to which he belongs and which he needs, both to give him allthat makes life worth having, and to receive such good as he can do andgive.
Yesterday their dungeon had seemed a foretaste of hell, they had eachbeen on the verge of despair; to-day what different feelings animatedthem! Orion had been the victim of blow on blow from Fate--Paula hadlooked forward to his return with an anxious and aching heart; to-dayhow calm were their souls, though both stood in peril of death.
The legend tells us that St. Cecilia, who was led away to the rack fromher marriage feast, even in the midst of the torments of martyrdom,listened in ecstasy to heavenly music and sweet echoes of the organ; andhow many have had the same experience! In the extremity of anguish anddanger they find greater joys than in the midst of splendor, ease andthe intoxicating pleasures of life; for what we call happiness is theconstant guest of those who have within reach that for which their soulsmost ardently long, irrespective of place and outward circumstances.
So these two in their prison were what they had not been for a longtime: full of heartfelt bliss; Paula with his letter, which he had begunat the Kadi's house, and in which he poured out his whole soul to her;Orion in the possession of her roses, on which he feasted his eyes andheart, and which lay before him while he wrote the following lines,which the kindhearted warder willingly transmitted to her:
Lo! As night in its gloom and horror fell on my prison, Methought the sun sank black, dark forever in death.
I drew thy roses up, and behold! from their crimson petals Beamed a glory of light, a glow as of sunshine and day!
Love! Love is the star that rose with those fragrant flowers; Rose, as Phoebus' car comes up from the tossing waves.
Is not the ardent flame of a heart that burns with passion Like the sparkling glow-worm hid in the heart of the rose?
While it yet was day, and we breathed in freedom and gladness, While the sun still shone, that light seemed small and dim;
But now, when night has fallen, sinister, dark, portentous, Its kindly ray beams forth to raise our drooping souls.
As seeds in the womb of earth break from the brooding darkness, Or as the soul soars free, heaven-seeking from the grave,
So the hopeless soil of a dungeon blossoms to rapture, Blooms with roses of Love, more sweet than the wildling rose!
And when had Paula ever felt happier than at the moment when thisoffering from her lover, this humble prison-flower, first reached her.
Old Betta could not hear the verses too often, and cried with joy, notat the poem, but at the wonderful change it had produced in her darling.Paula was now the radiant being that she had been at home on theLebanon; and when she appeared before the assembled judges in the hallof justice they gazed at her in amazement, for never had a woman on hertrial for life or death stood in their presence with eyes so full ofhappiness. And yet she was in evil straits. The just and clement Kadi,himself the loving father of daughters, felt a pang at his heart as henoted the delusive confidence which so evidently filled the soul of thisnoble maiden.
Yes, she was in evil straits: a crushing piece of evidence was in theirhands, and the constitution of the court--which was in strict conformitywith the law must in itself be unfavorable to her. Her case was to betried by an equal number of Egyptians and of Arabs. The Moslems wereincluded because by her co-operation, Arabs had been slain; while Paula,as a Christian and a resident in Memphis, came under the jurisdiction ofthe Egyptians.
The Kadi presided, and experience had taught him that the Jacobitemembers of the bench of judges kept the sentence of death in theirsleeves when the accused was of the Melchite confession. What hadespecially prejudiced them against this beautiful creature he knew not;but he easily discovered that they were hostile to the accused, and ifthey should utter the verdict "guilty", and only two Arabs should echoit, the girl's fate was sealed.
And what was the declaration which that whiterobed old man among thewitnesses desired to make--the venerable and learned Horapollo? Theglances he cast at Paula augured her no good.
It was so oppressively, so insufferably hot in the hall! Each one feltthe crushing influence, and in spite of the importance of the occasion,the proceedings every now and then came to a stand-still and then werehurried on again with unseemly haste.
The prisoner herself seemed happily to be quite fresh and not affectedby the sultriness of the day. It had cost her small effort to adhere toher statement that she had had no share in the escape of the sisters,when catechised by the ruffianly negro; but she found it hard to defyOthman's benevolent questioning. However, there was no choice, and shesucceeded in proving that she had never quitted Memphis nor the houseof Rufinus at the time when the Ara
b warriors met their death betweenAthribis and Doomiat. The Kadi endeavored to turn this to account forher advantage and Obada, who had found much to whisper over with hisgrey-headed neighbor on the bench reserved for witnesses, let him talk;but no sooner had he ended than the Vekeel rose and laid before thejudges the note he had found in Orion's room.
It was undoubtedly in the young man's handwriting and addressed toPaula, and the final words: "But do not misunderstand me. Your noble,and only too well-founded desire to lend succor to your fellow-believerswould have sufficed...." could not fail to make a deep impression. Whenthe Kadi questioned Paula, however, she replied with perfect truth thatthis document was absolutely unknown to her; at the same time shedid not deny that the sisters of St. Cecilia, who were of her ownconfession, had always had her warmest wishes, and that she had hopedthey might succeed in asserting their rights in opposition to thepatriarch.
The deceased Mukaukas, and the Jacobite members of the town-councileven, had shared these feelings and the Arabs had never interfered withthe pious sicknurses.
The calm conciseness with which she made these statements had afavorable effect, on her Moslem judges especially, and the Kadi began tohave some hopes for her; he desired that Orion should be called as beingbest able to account for the meaning of the letter he had written butnever sent.
On this the young man appeared, and though he and Paula did theirutmost to preserve a suitable demeanor, every one could see the violentagitation they felt at meeting each other in such a situation. Horapollonever took his eyes off Orion, whom he now saw for the first time, andhis features put on a darkening and menacing expression.
The young man acknowledged that he had written the letter in question,but he and Paula alike referred it to the danger with which thesisterhood had long been threatened from the patriarch's hostility.The assistance which, in that document, he had refused he would haveafforded readily and zealously at a later and fit season, and he couldhave counted on the aid of the Arab governor Amru, who, as he wouldhimself confirm, shared the views of the Mukaukas George as to the nuns'rights.
At this the old sage murmured loud enough to be heard: "Clever, veryclever!" and the Vekeel laughed aloud, exclaiming:
"I call that a cunning way of lengthening your days! Be on your guard,my lords. These two are partners in the game and are intimately allied.I have proof of that in my own hands. That youngster takes as good careof the damsel's fortune as though it were his own already, and what ismore...."
Here Paula broke in. She did not know what the malicious man was goingto say, but it was something insulting beyond a doubt. And there stoodOrion, just as she had pictured him in moments of tender remembrance;she felt his eye resting on her in ecstasy. To go up to him, to tell himall she was feeling in this critical struggle for life or death, seemedimpossible; but as the Vekeel began to disclose to their judges matterswhich concerned only herself and her lover, every impulse prompted herto interpose and, in this fateful hour, to do her friend such serviceas she once, like a coward, had shrank from. So with eager emotion, hereyes flashing, she interrupted the negro "Stop!" she cried, "you arewasting words and trouble. What you are trying to prove by subtlety I amproud and glad to declare. Hear it, all of you. The son of the Mukaukasis my betrothed!"
At the same time her eye sought to meet Orion's. And thus, in the veryextremity of danger, they enjoyed a solemn moment of the purest, deepesthappiness. Paula's eyes were moist with grateful tenderness, when Orionexclaimed:
"You have heard from her own lips what makes the greatest bliss of mylife. The noble daughter of Thomas is my promised bride!"
There was a murmur among the Jacobite judges. 'Till this moment severalof them, oppressed by the heat, had sat dreaming with their heads sunkon their breasts, but now they were suddenly as wide-awake and alertas though a jet of cold water had been turned on to them, and one criedout: "And your father, young man? You have forgotten him in a hurry!What would he have said to such a disgrace to his blood as your marriageto a Melchite, the daughter of those who caused your two brothers to bemurdered? Oh! if the dead could...."
"He blessed our union on his death-bed," Orion put in.
"Did he, indeed?" asked another Jacobite with sarcastic scorn. "Then thepatriarch was in the right when he refused to let the priests follow hiscorpse. That I should live to be witness to such crimes!"
But such words fell on the ears of the enraptured pair like the chirpingof crickets. They felt, they cared for nothing but what this blissfulmoment had brought them, and never suspected that Paula's glad avowalhad sealed her death-warrant.
The wrath of the Jacobite faction now hastened the end. The prosecutor,an Arab, now represented how many Moslems had lost their lives in theaffair of the nuns, and once more read Orion's letter. His Christiancolleagues tried to prove that this document could only refer to theflight, so ingeniously plotted, of the sisters; and now somethingquite new and unlooked-for occurred, which gave a fresh turn to theproceedings: the old man interrupted the Kadi to make a statement. Atthis Paula's confidence rose again for the last speaker had somewhatshaken it. She felt sure that the tried friend and adoptive father ofher faithful Philippus would take her part.
But what was this?
The old man seemed to measure her height in a glance which struck to herheart with its fierce enmity, and then he said deliberately:
"On the morning of the nuns' flight the accused, Paula, went to theconvent and there tolled the bell. Contradict me if you can, proudprefect's daughter; but I warn you beforehand, that in that case, Ishall be compelled to bring forward fresh charges."
At this the horror-stricken girl pictured to herself the widow anddaughter of Rufinus at her side on the condemned bench before thejudges, and felt that denial would drag her friends to destruction withher; with quivering lips she confirmed the old man's statement.
"And why did you toll the bell?" asked the Kadi.
"To help them," replied Paula. "They are my fellow-believers, and I lovethem."
"She was the originator of the treasonable and bloody scheme," cried theVekeel, "and did it for no other purpose than to cheat us, the rulers ofthis country."
The Kadi however signed to him to be silent and bid the Jacobite counselfor the accused speak next. He had seen her early in the day, and cameforward in the Egyptian manner with a written defence in his hand; butit was a dull formal performance and produced no effect; though theKadi did his utmost to give prominence to every point that might help tojustify her, she was pronounced guilty.
Still, could her crime be held worthy of death? It was amply proved thatshe had had a hand in the rescue of the nuns; but it was no less clearthat she had been far enough away from the sisters and their defenderswhen the struggle with the Arabs took place. And she was a woman, andhow pardonable it seemed in a pious maiden that she should help thefellow-believers whom she loved to evade persecution.
All this Othman pointed out in eloquent words, repeatedly and sternlysilencing the Vekeel when he sought to argue in favor of the sentence ofdeath; and the humane persuasiveness of the lenient judge won the heartsof most of the Moslems.
Paula's appearance had a powerful effect, too, and not less thecircumstance that their noblest and bravest foe had been the father ofthe accused.
When at length it was put to the vote the extraordinary result was thatall her fellow Christians--the Jacobites--without exception demandedher death, while of the infidels on the judges' bench only one supportedthis severe meed of punishment.
Sentence was pronounced, and as the Vekeel Obada passed closeto Orion--who was led back to his cell pale and hardly master ofhimself--he said, mocking him in broken Greek: "It will be your turnto-morrow, Son of the Mukaukas!"
Orion's lips framed the retort: "And yours, too, some day, Son of aSlave!"--but Paula was standing opposite, and to avoid infuriating herfoe he was able to do what he never could have done else: to let theVekeel and Horapollo pass on without a word in reply.
As soon as the
door was closed on this couple, Othman nodded approvinglyat Orion and said:
"Rightly and wisely done, my friend! The eagle should never forget thathe must not use his pinions in a cage as he does between the desert andthe sky."
He signed to the guards to lead him away, and stood apart while theyoung man looked and waived an adieu to his betrothed.
Finally the Kadi went up to Paula, whose heroic composure as she heardthe sentence of death had filled him with admiration.
"The court has decided against you, noble maiden," he said. "But itsverdict can he overruled by the clemency of our Sovereign Lord theKhaliff and the mercy of God the compassionate. Do you pray to Him--Iand a few friends will appeal to the Khaliff."
He disclaimed her gratitude, and when she, too, had been led away headded, in the figurative language of his nation, to the friends who werewaiting for him:
"My heart aches! To have to pronounce such a verdict oppressed me likea load; but to have an Obada for a fellow Moslem and be bound to obeyhim--there is no heavier lot on earth!"