CHAPTER XXXIII. STORY OF THE CITY OF FIRE (CONTINUED)
"My awakening was as strange as anything which had befallen me. I layupon a silken bed in a pavilion which was furnished with exquisite, ifsomewhat barbaric, taste.
"A silken shaded lamp hung upon a golden chain near to my couch, but itwas dimmed by the rosy light streaming in through the open door--a lightwhich I believed to be that of dawn. I ached in every limb and felt weakand ill. There was a bandage about my head, too, but this great physicalweakness numbed my curiosity, and I just lay still, looking out throughthe doorway into a lovely garden. I could form no impression of what hadhappened, and the ceaseless throbbing in my head rendered any attempt todo so very painful.
"I was lying there, in this curious and apathetic state, when thecurtains draped in the doorway were pulled more widely aside and a womancame in.
"Gentlemen, I will not endeavour to describe her, except to say that shewas so darkly lovely that I doubted the evidence of my senses; tall andlithe, with the grace of some beautiful jungle creature.
"When she saw that I was awake, she paused and lowered her head inconfusion. She wore a gossamer robe of sheeny golden silk, and, standingthere with the light of the dawn behind her, she made a picture that Ithink would have driven a painter crazy.
"I am supposed to be an unimpressionable man, and perhaps it is true;but there at that moment, as the glance of her dark eyes met thewondering look in mine, I knew that my hour had come for good or ill.
"This is not the time nor the place for personal reminiscences. I amhere for another purpose. One of those accidents which are really dueto the hand of fate had precipitated me into the garden of the house ofNaida, and she in her great compassion had tended me and sheltered me,keeping my presence secret from those who would have dealt with me insummary fashion, and, indeed, who were actually on the look-out for myarrival.
"Yes, so Naida informed me. To my great surprise she spoke almostperfect English, and that sort of understanding sprang up between usimmediately which, in the case of a man and a beautiful woman throwntogether as we were, can only terminate in one way.
"She was some sort of priestess of the temple which I had seen from thetop of the cliff. What else she was I very shortly learned.
"In accordance with one of the many strange customs of the City of Fire,her personal servants, or rather slaves, were blind mutes! Gentlemen,I warned you that my story was tough. Doubtless you are beginning toappreciate the fact that I spoke no more than the truth.
"Naida, for such was her name, told me that the Brahmin, Vadi, who hadacted as my guide, was one of the followers of the Prophet of Fire, towhom had been given the duty of intercepting me. His failure to reportwithin a certain time had resulted in two of the priests of thisstrange cult being sent out to obtain information. That these were theyellow-robed mendicants who had passed me in the mountains, I did notdoubt.
"Their reports, so Naida informed me, had led to a belief that Vadihad perished with me; but as an extra measure of precaution, that verynight--indeed, shortly after I had passed that way--a guard had been setupon the secret entrance. Therefore, even if my strength had permitted,I should have been unable to return by the way I had come.
"But indeed I was as weak as a child, and only to the presence of muchfoliage upon the acclivity down which I had rolled, and to the fact thatI had fallen upon soft soil in a bed of flowers, can I ascribe my havingfailed to break my neck.
"In this way, gentlemen, I entered upon a brief period of my life atonce more sweet and more bitter than any I had known. Next to thatstrange, invisible prophet whose name was Fire-Tongue, Naida heldunquestioned sway in this secret city. Her house was separated from theothers, and she travelled to and from the temple in a covered litter. Tolook upon her, as upon Fire-Tongue himself, was death. Women, I learned,were eligible for admission to this order, and these were initiated byNaida.
"As the days of my strange but delightful captivity wore on, I learnedmore and more of the weird people who, unseen, surrounded me. There werelodges of the Cult of Fire all over the East, all having power to makeinitiates and some to pass disciples into the higher grades. Those whoaspired to the highest rank in the order, however, were compelled tovisit this secret city in the Indian hills.
"Then at last I learned a secret which Naida had for long kept back fromme. These followers of the new Zoroaster were polygamists, and shewas the first or chief wife of the mysterious personage known asFire-Tongue. I gathered that others had superseded her, and her lord andmaster rarely visited this marble house set amid its extensive gardens.
"Her dignities remained, however, and no one had aspired to dethrone heras high priestess of the temple. She evidently knew all the secrets ofthe organization, and I gathered that she was indispensable to the groupwho controlled it.
"Respecting Fire-Tongue himself, his origin, his appearance, she wasresolutely silent, a second Acte, faithful to the last. That the ends ofthis cult were not only religious but political, she did not deny, butupon this point she was very reticent. An elaborate system of espionagewas established throughout the East, Near and Far, and death was thepenalty of any breach of fidelity.
"Respecting the tests to which candidates were put, she spoke with morefreedom. Those who, having reached the second grade, aspired to thefirst, were submitted to three very severe ones, to make trial of theircourage, purity, and humility. Failure in any of these trials resultedin instant death, and the final test, the trial by fire, which tookplace in a subterranean chamber of the great temple, resulted in acandidate whose courage failed him being precipitated into that lake offlame which I have already described--a dreadful form of death, which byaccident I had witnessed.
"Gentlemen, realizing what the existence of such an organization meant,what a menace to the peace of the world must lie here, what dreadfulthings were almost hourly happening about me at behest of this invisiblemonster known as Fire-Tongue, I yet confess--for I am here to speak thetruth--that, although I had now fully recovered my strength, I lingeredon in a delicious idleness, which you who hear me must find it hard tounderstand.
"I have the reputation of being a cold, hard man. So had Antony beforehe met Cleopatra. But seven years ago, under the Indian moon, I learnedtolerance for the human weakness which forgets the world for the smilesof a woman.
"It had to end. Sooner or later, discovery was inevitable. One night Itold Naida that I must go. Over the scene that followed I will pass insilence. It needed all the strength of a fairly straight, hard life tohelp me keep to my decision.
"She understood at last, and consented to release me. But there wereobstacles--big ones. The snow on the lower mountain slopes had begun tomelt, and the water-gate in the valley by which I had entered was nowimpassable. As a result, I must use another gate, which opened into amountain path, but which was always guarded. At first, on hearing this,I gave myself up for lost, but Naida had a plan.
"Removing a bangle which she always wore, she showed me the secret markof Fire-Tongue branded upon the creamy skin.
"'I will put this mark upon your arm,' she said. 'In no other way canyou escape. I will teach you some of the passwords by which the brethrenknow one another, and if you are ever questioned you will say that youwere admitted to the order by the Master of the Bombay Lodge, news ofwhose death has just reached us.'
"'But,' said I, 'how can I hope to pass for an Oriental?'
"'It does not matter,' Naida replied. 'There are some who are notOrientals among us!'
"Gentlemen, those words staggered me, opening up a possibility which hadseemed only shadowy before. But Naida, who had tremendous strength ofcharacter, definitely refused to discuss this aspect of the matter,merely assuring me that it was so.
"'Those who have successfully passed the ordeal of fire,' she said, 'areput under a vow of silence for one month, and from moon to moon mustspeak to no living creature. Therefore, once you bear the mark ofthe Fiery Tongue, you may safely pass the gate, except that there arec
ertain signs which it is necessary you should know. Afterward, if youshould ever be in danger of discovery anywhere in the East, you willremember the passwords, which I shall teach you.'
"So I was branded with the mark of Fire-Tongue, and I spent my lastnight with Naida learning from her lips the words by which members ofthis order were enabled to recognize one another. In vain I entreatedNaida to accompany me. She would allow herself to love and be loved; butthe vows of this singular priesthood were to her inviolable.
"She exacted an oath from me that I would never divulge anything which Ihad seen or heard in the City of Fire. She urged that I must leave Indiaas quickly as possible. I had already learned that this remote societywas closely in touch with the affairs of the outside world. And, becauseI knew I was leaving my heart behind there in the Indian hills, Irecognized that this dreadful parting must be final.
"Therefore I scarcely heeded her when she assured me that, should I everbe in danger because of what had happened, a message in the Timesof India would reach her. I never intended to insert such a message,gentlemen. I knew that it would need all my strength to close this doorwhich I had opened.
"I will spare you and myself the details of our parting. I passed outfrom the City of Fire in the darkest hour of the night, through a longwinding tunnel, half a mile in length. I had protested to Naida that thesecret mark might be painted upon my arm and not branded, but she hadassured me that the latter was a necessity, and this now became evident;for, not only three times was it subjected to scrutiny, but by the lastof the guards, posted near the outer end of the tunnel, it was testedwith some kind of solution.
"Silence and the salutation with the moistened finger tips, togetherwith the brand upon my arm, won me freedom from the abode ofFire-Tongue.
"From a village situated upon one of the tributaries of the Ganges Ireadily obtained a guide, to whom such silent, yellow-robed figures asmine were evidently not unfamiliar; and, crossing the east of Nepal,I entered Bengal, bearing a strange secret. I found myself in an emptyworld--a world which had nothing to offer me. For every step south tookme farther from all that made life worth living."
CHAPTER XXXIV. NICOL BRINN'S STORY (CONCLUDED)
"The incidents of the next seven years do not concern you, gentlemen.I had one aim in life--to forget. I earned an unenviable reputation forfoolhardy enterprises. Until this very hour, no man has known why Idid the things that I did do. From the time that I left India until themoment when fate literally threw me in the way of the late Sir CharlesAbingdon, I had heard nothing of the cult of Fire-Tongue; and in spiteof Naida's assurance that its membership was not confined to Orientals,I had long ago supposed it to be a manifestation of local fanaticism,having no political or international significance.
"Then, lunching with the late Sir Charles after my accident in theHaymarket, he put to me a question which literally made me hold mybreath.
"'Do you know anything of the significance of the term Fire-Tongue?' heasked.
"I am not accustomed to any display of feeling in public, and I repliedin what I think was an ordinary tone:
"'In what connection, Sir Charles?'
"'Well,' said he, watching me oddly, 'I know you have travelled inIndia, and I wondered if you had ever come in contact with the legendwhich prevails there, that a second Zoroaster has arisen, to preach thedoctrine of eternal fire.'
"'I have heard it,' I replied, guardedly.
"'I thought it possible,' continued Sir Charles, 'and I am tempted totell you of a curious experience which once befell me during the timethat I was a guest of my late friend Colonel Banfield in Delhi. Myreputation as an osteologist was not at that time so fully establishedas it later became, but I already had some reputation in this branchof surgery; and one evening a very dignified Hindu gentleman sought aninterview with me, saying that a distinguished native noble, who wasa guest of his, had met with a serious accident, and offering me a feeequivalent to nearly five hundred pounds to perform an operation whichhe believed to be necessary.
"'I assured him that my services were at his disposal, and blanklydeclined to accept so large a fee. He thereupon explained that thecircumstances were peculiar. His friend belonged to a religious cult ofan extremely high order. He would lose caste if it became known that hehad been attended by a Christian surgeon; therefore my visit must be asecret one.
"'It made no difference,' I replied. 'I quite understood; and he mightrely upon my discretion.
"'Accordingly I was driven in a car which was waiting to some house uponthe outskirts of the city and conducted to a room where the patienthad been carried. I saw him to be a singularly handsome young man,apparently about twenty-three years of age. His features were flawless,and he possessed light ivory skin and wavy jet-black hair. His eyes,which were very dark and almond-shaped, had a strange and arrestingbeauty. But there was something effeminate about him which repelledme, I cannot say in what way; nor did I approve of the presence of manybowls of hyacinths in the room.
"'However, I performed the operation, which, although slight, demandedsome skill, and with the nature of which I will not trouble you. Intenseanxiety was manifested by the young man's attendants, and one of these,a strikingly beautiful woman, insisted on remaining while the operationwas performed.
"'She seemed more especially to concern herself with preserving intacta lock of the young man's jet-black hair, which was brushed in ratheran odd manner across his ivory forehead. Naturally enough, thiscircumstance excited my curiosity and, distracting the woman's attentionfor a moment--I asked her to bring me something from a table at theopposite side of the room--I lightly raised this wayward lock andimmediately replaced it again.
"'Do you know what it concealed, Mr. Brinn?'
"I assured him that I did not.
"'A mark, apparently natural, resembling a torch surmounted by a tongueof fire!'
"I was amazed, gentlemen, by Sir Charles's story. He was given his feeand driven back to his quarters. But that he had succeeded where I hadfailed, that he had actually looked upon Fire-Tongue in person, I couldnot doubt. I learned from this, too, that the Prophet of Fire did notalways remain in his mountain stronghold, for Delhi is a long way fromthe Secret City.
"Strange though it must appear, at this time I failed to account for SirCharles confiding this thing to me. Later, I realized that he must haveseen the mark on my arm, although he never referred to it.
"Well, the past leapt out at me, as you see, and worse was to come.The death of Sir Charles Abingdon told me what I hated to know: thatFire-Tongue was in England!
"I moved at once. I inserted in the Times the prearranged message,hardly daring to hope that it would come to the eye of Naida; but itdid! She visited me. And I learned that not only Sir Charles Abingdon,but another, knew of the mark which I bore!
"I was summoned to appear before the Prophet of fire!
"Gentlemen, what I saw and how I succeeded in finding out the locationof his abode are matters that can wait. The important things are these:first, I learned why Sir Charles Abingdon had been done to death!
"The unwelcome attentions of the man known as Ormuz Khan led Sir Charlesto seek an interview with him. I may say here and now that Ormuz Khan isFire-Tongue! Oh! it's a tough statement--but I can prove it. Sir Charlespractically forced his way into this man's presence--and immediatelyrecognized his mysterious patient of years ago!
"He accused him of having set spies upon his daughter's movements--anaccusation which was true--and forbade him to see her again. From thathour the fate of Sir Charles was sealed. What he knew, the worldmust never know. He had recorded, in a private paper, all that he hadlearned. This paper was stolen from his bureau--and its contents ledto my being summoned to the house of Fire-Tongue! It also spurred theorganization to renewed efforts, for it revealed the fact that SirCharles contemplated confiding the story to others.
"What were the intentions of the man Ormuz in regard to Miss Abingdon,I don't know. His entourage all left England some days ago--with threee
xceptions. I believe him to have been capable of almost anything.He was desperate. He knew that Ormuz Khan must finally and definitelydisappear. It is just possible that he meant Miss Abingdon to disappearalong with him!
"However, that danger is past. Mrs. McMurdoch, who to-day accompaniedher to his house, was drugged by these past-masters in the use ofpoisons, and left unconscious in a cottage a few miles from Hillside,the abode of Ormuz.
"You will have observed, gentlemen, that I am somewhat damaged. However,it was worth it! That the organization of the Fire-Worshippers isdestroyed I am not prepared to assert. But I made a discovery to-daywhich untied my hands. Hearing, I shall never know how, that Naida hadhad a secret interview with me, Fire-Tongue visited upon her the penaltypaid seven years ago by my informant in Nagpur, by Sir Charles Abingdon,recently, by God alone knows how many scores--hundreds--in the historyof this damnable group.
"I found her lying on a silken divan in the deserted house, her handsclasped over a little white flower like an odontoglossum, which lay onher breast. It was the flower of sleep--and she was dead.
"My seven years' silence was ended. One thing I could do for the world:remove Fire-Tongue--and do it with my own hands!
"Gentlemen, at the angle where the high road from Upper Claybury joinsthe Dover Road is the Merton Cottage Hospital. Mr. Harley is awaitingus there. He is less damaged than I am. A native chauffeur, whose name Idon't know, is lying insensible in one of the beds--and in another is adead man, unrecognizable, except for a birthmark resembling a torch onhis forehead, his head crushed and his neck broken.
"That dead man is Fire-Tongue. I should like, Mr. Commissioner, to signthe statement."
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