CHAPTER XIX.
Few things could be more intolerable to the gentle and retiring widowthan such a riot of the people. The unchained passion, the tumult, andall the vulgar accessories that surrounded her there grieved her tendernature; all through the old man's speech she had felt nothing but thedesire to escape, but as soon as she had acquired the certainty thatPaula was the hapless being whom her terrible house-mate was preparingto hand over to the superstition of the mob, she thought no more ofgetting home, but waited in the crush till at length she and the twochildren could be conducted by Rustem to the prison, though the waythither was through the most crowded streets.
Had the nameless horrors that hung over Paula already found their way toher ears through the prisonwalls, or might it yet be her privilege tobe able to prepare the girl for the worst, and to comfort the victimwho must already have been driven to the verge of desperation by thesentence of death?
On the previous day the chief warder had acceded without demur to herwish to see Paula, for the Kadi had enjoined him to show her and Orionall possible courtesy, but the Vekeel's threats made him now refuse toadmit Dame Joanna. However, while he was talking with her, his infantson stretched out his arms to Pulcheria, who had played with him the daybefore in her sweet way, and she now took him up and kissed him, thusbringing a kindly feeling to three hearts at once; and most of all tothat of the child's mother who immediately interested herself for them,and persuaded her husband to oblige them once more.
Pretty Emau had always waited on the mirthful Orion, under the palms byher father's inn, more gladly than on most other guests; and her husbandwho, after the manner of the Egyptians, was docile to his better halfthough till now he had not been quite free from jealousy, was even moreready to serve his benefactor's son since hearing that he was betrothedto the fair Paula.
There was a great uproar in the large common prison to-day, as usualwhen the judges had passed sentence of death on any criminal, and thewomen shuddered as the miserable wretches hallooed and bellowed. Manya shriek came up, of which it was hard to say whether it was theexpression of wild defiance or of bitter jesting, and no more suitableaccompaniment could be conceived to this terrific riot than the clank ofchains.
When the women reached Paula's cell their hearts throbbed painfully,for within the door which the warder unlocked anguish and despair mustdwell.
The prisoner was standing at the window, pressing her brow against theiron bars and listening to the lute played by her lover, which sounded,amid the turmoil of the other prisoners, like a bell above the roar ofthunder and the storm. By the bed sat Betta on a low stool, asleep withthe distaff in her lap; and neither she nor her mistress heeded theentrance of the visitors. A miserable lamp lighted the squalid room.
Mary would have flown to her friend, but Joanna held her back and calledPaula tenderly by name in a low voice. But Paula did not hear; her soulwas no doubt absorbed in anguish and the terror of death. The widownow raised her voice, and the ill-fated girl turned round; then, with alittle cry of joy, she hastened to meet the faithful creatures who couldfind her even in prison, and clasped first the widow, then Pulcheria,then the child in a tender embrace. Joanna put her hands fondly roundher face to kiss it, and to see how far fear and affliction had alteredher lovely features, and a faint cry of astonishment escaped her, forshe was looking, not at a grief and terror-stricken face, but a glad andcalm one, and a pair of large eyes looked brightly and gratefully intohers.
Had she not been told then what was hanging over her? Nay--for she atonce asked whether they had heard that she was condemned to die. And shewent on to tell them how things had gone with her at her trial, and howher good Philip's friend and foster-father had suddenly and inexplicablybecome her bitterest foe.
At this the others could not check their tears; it was Paula who had tocomfort and soothe them, by telling them that she had found a paternalfriend in the Kadi who had promised to intercede for her with theKhaliff.
Dame Joanna could scarcely take it all in. This girl and her heroicdemeanor, in the face of such disaster, seemed to her miraculous. Hertrust was beautiful; but how easily might it be deceived! how insecurewas the ground in which she had cast the anchor of hope.
Even little Mary seemed more troubled than her friend, and threw herselfsobbing on her bosom. And Paula returned her fondness, and tried tomollify Pulcheria as to the disgraceful conduct of their old housemate,and smiled kindly at the widow when she asked where she had found suchcomposure in the face of so much misfortune, saying that it was from herexample that she had learnt resignation to the worst that could befallher. Even in this dark hour she found more to be thankful for than tolament over; indeed, it had brought her a glorious joy. And this for thefirst time reminded Joanna and the girls that she was now betrothed, andagain she was clasped in their loving arms.
Just then the warder rapped; Paula rose thoughtfully, and exclaimed in alow voice: "I have something to send to Orion that I dare not entrust toa stranger: but now, now I have you, my Mary, and you shall take it tohim."
As she spoke she took out the emerald, gave it to the little girl, andcharged her to deliver it to her uncle as soon as they should bealone together. In the little note which she had wrapped around it sheimplored her lover to regard it as his own property, and to use it tosatisfy the claims of the Church.
The man was easily induced to take Mary to her uncle; and how happilyshe ran on before him up to Orion's cell, how great was his joy atseeing her again, how gratefully he pressed the emerald to his lips! Butwhen she exclaimed that her prophecy had been fulfilled, and that Paula,was now his, his brow was knit as he replied, with gloomy regret, thatthough he had won the woman he loved, it was only to lose her again.
"But the Kadi is your friend and will gain pardon from the Khaliff!"cried the child.
"But then another enemy suddenly starts up: Horapollo!"
"Oh, our old man!" and the child ground her teeth. "If you did but know,Orion!--And to think that I must live under the same roof with him!"
"You!" asked the young man.
"Yes, I. And Pulcheria, and Mother Joanna," and Mary went on to tell himhow the old man had come to live with them and Orion could guess fromvarious indications that she was concealing some important fact; so hepressed her to keep nothing from him, till the child could not at lastevade telling him all she had seen and heard.
At this he lost all caution and self-control. Quite beside himself hecalled aloud the name of his beloved, invoking in passionate tones thereturn of the Governor Amru, the only man who could help them in thiscrisis. His sole hope was in him. He had shown himself a real father tohim, and had set him a difficult but a noble task.
"Into which you have plunged over head and ears!" cried the child.
"I thought it all out while on my journey," replied Orion. "I triedyesterday to write out a first sketch of it, but I lacked what I mostwanted: maps and lists. Nilus had put them all up together; I was tohave taken them with me on the voyage with the nuns, and I ordered thatthey should be carried to the house of Rufinus...."
"That they should come to us?" interrupted the child with sparklingeyes. "Oh, they are all there! I saw the documents myself, when thechest was cleared out for old Horapollo, and to-morrow, quite earlyto-morrow, you shall have them." Orion kissed her brow with glad haste;then, striking the wall of his cell with his fist, he waited tillsomething had been withdrawn with a grating sound on the other side, andexclaimed:
"Good news, Nilus! The plans and lists are found: I shall have themto-morrow!"
"That is well!" replied the treasurer's thin voice from the adjoiningroom. "We shall need something to comfort us! A prisoner has just beenbrought in for having attacked an Arab horseman in a riot in the marketsquare. He tells me some dreadful news."
"Concerning my betrothed?"
"Alas! yes, my lord."
"Then I know it already," replied the young man; and after exchanginga few words with his master with reference to the old man's atrociou
sproposal, Nilus went on:
"My prison-mate tells me, too, that while he was in custody in theguard-house the Arabs were speaking of a messenger from the governorannouncing his arrival at Medina, and also that he intended making onlya short stay there. So we may expect his return before long."
"Then he will have started long before the Kadi's messenger can havearrived and laid the petition for pardon before the Khaliff!--We haveno hope but in Amru; if only we could send information to him on hisway...."
"He would certainly not tarry in Upper Egypt, but hasten his journey,or send on a plenipotentiary," said the voice on the other side of thewall. "If we had but a trusty man to despatch! Our people are scatteredto the four winds, and to hunt them up now...."
At this Mary's childish tones broke in with: "I can find a messenger."
"You? What are you thinking of, child?" said Orion. She did not heed hisremonstrance, but went on eagerly, quite sure of her own meaning:
"He shall be told everything, everything! Ought he to know what I heardabout your share in the flight of the sisters?"
"No, no; on no account!" cried Nilus and his master both at once; andMary understood that her proposition was accepted. She clapped herhands, and exclaimed full of enterprise and with glowing cheeks:
"The messenger shall start to-morrow; rely on me. I can do it as wellas the greatest. And now tell me exactly the road he is to take. To makesure, write the names of the stages on my little tablet.--But wait, Imust rub it smooth."
"What is this on the wax?" asked Orion. "A large heart with squares allover it.--And that means?"
"Oh! mere nonsense," said the child somewhat abashed. "It was only toshow how my heart was divided among the persons I love. A whole half ofit belongs to Paula, this quarter is yours; but there, there, there,"and at each word she prodded the wax with the stylus, "that is where Ihad kept a little corner for old Horapollo. He had better not come in myway again!"
Her nimble fingers smoothed the wax, and over the effaced heart--achild's whim--Orion wrote things on which the lives of two humanbeings depended. He did so with sincere confidence in his little ally'sadroitness and fidelity. Early next morning she was to receive a letterto be conveyed to Amru by the messengers.
"But a rapid journey costs money, and Amru always chooses the road bythe mountains and Berenice," observed the treasurer. "If we put togetherour last gold pieces they will hardly suffice."
"Keep them, you will want them here," said the little girl. "Andyet--there are my pearls, to be sure, and my mother's jewels--at thesame time...."
"You ought never to part from such things, you heart of gold!" criedOrion.
"Oh yes, yes! What do I want with them? But Dame Joanna has my mother'sthings in her keeping."
"And you are afraid to ask her for them?" asked the young man. Heappealed to Nilus, and when the treasurer had calculated the cost, Oriontook off a costly sapphire ring, which he gave to Mary, charging herto hand it to Joanna. Gamaliel, the Jew, would lend her as much as shewould require on this gem. Mary joyfully took possession of the ring;but presently, when the warder appeared to fetch her, her satisfactionsuddenly turned to no less vehement grief, and she took leave of Orionas if they were parting for ever.
In the passage leading to Paula's cell the man suddenly stood still:some one was approaching up the stairs.--If it should be the blackVekeel, and he should find visitors in the prison at so late an hour!
But no. Two lamps were borne in front of the new-comers, and by theirlight the warder recognized John, the new Bishop of Memphis, who hadoften been here before now to console prisoners.
He had come to-night prompted by his desire to see the condemnedMelchite. Mary's dress and demeanor betrayed at once that she could notbelong to any official employed here; and, as soon as he had learntwho she was, he whispered to his companion, an aged deacon who alwaysaccompanied him when he visited a female prisoner: "We find her here!"And when he had ascertained with whom the child had come hither at solate an hour, he turned again to his colleague and added in a low voice:
"The wife and daughter of Rufinus! Just so: I have long had my eyeon these Greeks. In church once or twice every year!--Melchites indisguise! Allied with this Melchite! And this is the school in whichthe Mukaukas' granddaughter is growing up! An abominable trick! Benjaminjudged rightly, as he always did!" Then, in a subdued voice, he asked:
"Shall we take her away with us at once?" But, as the deacon madeobjections, he hastily replied: "You are right; for the present it isenough that we know where she is to be found."
The warder meanwhile had opened Paula's cell; before the bishop went inhe spoke a few kind words to the child, asking her whether she did notlong to see her mother; and when Mary replied: "Very often!" he strokedher hair with his bony hand and said:
"So I thought.--You have a pretty name, child, and you, like yourmother, will perhaps ere long dedicate your life to the Blessed amongwomen, whose name you bear." And, holding the little girl by the hand,he entered the cell. While Paula looked in amazement at the prelate whocame so late a visitor, Joanna and Pulcheria recognized him as the braveecclesiastic who had so valiantly opposed the old sage and the misledpopulace, and they bowed with deep reverence. This the bishop observed,and came to the conclusion that these Greeks perhaps after all belongedto his Church. At any rate, the child might safely be left in their carea few days longer.
After he had exchanged a few cordial words with them the widow preparedto withdraw, and was about to take leave when he went up to her andannounced that he would pay her a visit the next day or the day after;that he wished to speak with her of matters involving the happinessof one who was dear to them both, and Dame Joanna, believing that hereferred to Paula, whispered:
"She has no idea as yet of the terrible fate the people have in storefor her. If possible, spare her the fearful truth before she sleeps thisnight."
"If possible," repeated the prelate. Then, as Mary kissed his handbefore leaving, he drew her to him and said: "Like the Infant Christ,every Christian child is the Mother's. You, Mary, are chosen beforethousands! The Lord took your father to himself as a martyr; your motherhas dedicated herself to Heaven. Your road is marked out for you, child,reflect on this. To-morrow-no, the day after, I will see you and guideyou in the new path."
At these words Joanna turned pale. She now understood what the bishop'spurpose was in calling on her. At the bottom of the stairs, she threwher arms round the child and asked her in--a low voice: "Do you pine forthe cloister--do you wish to go away from us like your mother, to thinkof nothing but saving your soul, to live a nun in the holy seclusionwhich Pulcheria has described to you so often?"
But this the child positively denied; and as Joanna's head droopedanxiously and sadly, Mary looked up brightly and exclaimed: "Never fear,Mother dear! Things will have altered greatly by the day after tomorrow.Let the bishop come! I shall be a match for him!--Oh! you do not know meyet. I have been like a lamb among you through all this misfortune andserious trouble; but there is something more in me than that. You willbe quite astonished!"
"Nay, nay. Remain what you are," the widow said.
"Always and ever full of love for you and Pul. But I am a grand andtrusted person now! I have something very important to do for Orionto-morrow. Something--Rustem will go with me.--Important, veryimportant, Mother Joanna. But what it is I must not tell--not even you!"
Here she was interrupted, for the heavy prison door opened for theirexit.
It was many hours before it was again unlocked to let out the bishop, solong was he detained talking to Paula in her cell.
To his enquiry as to whether she was an orthodox Greek, or as the commonpeople called it, a Melchite, she replied that she was the latter;adding that, if he had come with a view to perverting her from theconfession of her forefathers, his visit was thrown away; at the sametime she reverenced him as a Christian and a priest; as a learned man,and the friend whom her deceased uncle had esteemed above every otherminister of his confessi
on; she was gladly ready to disclose to him allthat lay on her soul in the face of death. He looked into the pure,calm face; and though, at her first declaration, he had felt prompted tothreaten her with the hideous end which he had but just done his utmostto avert, he now remembered the Greek widow's request and bound himselfto keep silence.
He allowed her to talk till midnight, giving him the whole history ofall she had known of joy and sorrow in the course of her young life;his keen insight searched her soul, his pious heart rose to meet thestrength and courage of hers; and when he quitted her, as he walkedhome with the deacon, the first words with which he broke a long silencewere:
"While you were asleep, God vouchsafed me an edifying hour through thatheretic child of earth."