CHAPTER XXXI
THE WHITE DAWN
Lifting Juanna in his arms, Leonard hurried from the sleeping apartmentto the throne-room, where he halted hesitating, for he did not know whatwas to happen next. Soa, who had preceded him, surrounded by the fourpriests and with a torch in her hand, stood against that wall of thechamber where she had lain bound on the night of the drugging of Otter.
"Bald-pate has fainted with fear, he is a coward," she said to thepriests, pointing to the burden in Leonard's arms; "open the secret way,and let us pass on."
Then a priest came forward, and pressed upon a stone in the wall, whichgave way, leaving a space sufficiently large for him to insert his handand pull upon some hidden mechanism with all his force. Thereon a pieceof the wall swung outward as though upon a pivot, revealing a flight ofsteps, beyond which ran a narrow passage. Soa descended first, bearingthe light, which she was careful to hold in such a way as to keep thefigure of Leonard, and the burden that he bore, in comparative darkness.After her went two priests, followed by Leonard, carrying Juanna, therear being brought up by the remaining priests, who closed the secretdoor behind them.
"So that is how it is done," thought Leonard to himself, turning hishead to watch the process, no detail of which escaped him.
Otter, who had followed Leonard from Juanna's chamber, saw them go,though from some little distance, for, like a cat, the dwarf could seein the dark. When the rock had closed again, he returned to Francisco,who sat upon the bed lost in prayer or thought.
"I have seen how they make a hole in the wall," he said, "and passthrough it. Doubtless our comrades, the Settlement men, went that way.Say, shall we try it?"
"What is the use, Otter?" answered the priest. "The road leads only tothe dungeons of the temple; if we got so far we should be caught there,and everything would be discovered, including this trick," and hepointed to the robes of Aca, which he wore.
"That is true," said Otter. "Come, then, let us go and sit upon thethrones and wait till they fetch us."
So they went to the great chairs and sat themselves down in them,listening to the tramp of the guards outside the doorway. Here Franciscoresumed his prayers, while Otter sang songs of the deeds that he haddone, and more especially a very long one which he had composed upon thetaking of the slave camp--"to keep his heart alive," as he explained toFrancisco.
A quarter of an hour passed and the curtains were drawn aside, admittinga band of priests, headed by Nam, and bearing two litters.
"Now silence, Otter," whispered Francisco, drawing his hood over hisface.
"Here sit the gods," said Nam, waving the torch that he carried towardsthe two quiet figures on the thrones. "Descend, ye gods, that we maybear you to the temple and seat you in a lofty place, whence ye shallwatch the glories of the rising sun."
Then, without more ado, Otter and Francisco came down from their seats,and took their places in the litters. Presently they felt themselvesbeing borne forward at a considerable speed. When they were outside thepalace gates Otter peeped through the curtain in the hope of perceivingsome change in the weather. In vain; the mist was denser than usual,although it grew grey with the light of the coming dawn. Now they wereat those gates of the temple that were nearest to the colossal idol, andhere, at the mouth of one of the numerous underground passages, guardsassisted them to descend.
"Farewell, Queen," whispered the voice of Olfan into Francisco's ear;"I would have given my life to save you, but I have failed; as it is, Ilive to avenge you upon Nam and all his servants."
Francisco made no answer, but pressed on down the passage holding hishead low. Soon they were at the foot of the idol, and, led by priests,began to ascend the stairway in the interior of the statue. Up theytoiled slowly in the utter darkness; indeed, to Francisco this, the lastjourney of his life, seemed the longest.
At length they emerged upon the head of the colossus, where neither ofthem had been before. It formed a flat platform about eight feet square,quite unprotected at the edges, beneath which curved the sheer outlinesof the sculptured head. The ivory throne whereon Juanna had sat whenfirst she visited the temple was gone, and instead of it, placed atthe very verge of the forehead, were two wooden stools upon which thevictims must seat themselves. From this horrible elevation could be seenthat narrow space of rock between the feet of the colossus and the wallof the pool where was the stone altar, although, owing to the slope ofthe bowed head, he who stood upon it almost overhung the waters of thewell.
Otter and Francisco seated themselves on the stools, and behind them Namand three other priests took their stand, Nam placing himself in sucha position that his companions could not see anything of Francisco'sslight form, which they believed to be that of the Shepherdess.
"Hold me, Otter," whispered Francisco. "My senses will leave me, and Ishall fall."
"Shut your eyes and lean back, then you will see nothing," answeredOtter. "Moreover, make ready your medicine, for the time is at hand."
"It is ready," he answered. "May I be forgiven the sin, for I cannotbear to be hurled living to the Snake!"
Otter made no answer, but set himself to watch the scene beneath him.The temple was filled with mist that from the great height looked likesmoke, and through this veil he could just distinguish the black andmoving mass of the vast assembly, who had sat the long night throughwaiting to witness the consummation of the tragedy, while the sound oftheir voices as they spoke together in hushed tones reached him likethat of the murmuring of distant waters. Behind him stood the fourpriests or executioners in a solemn, silent line, their eyes fixedupon the grey mist, while above them, around them, and beneath them wasnothing but sheer and giddy space.
It was a hideous position, heightened by every terror that man andnature can command, and even the intrepid dwarf, who feared neitherdeath nor devil, and over whom religious doubts had no power, began tofeel its chilling influence grip his heart. As for Francisco, suchmind as he had left to him was taken up with fervent prayer, so it ispossible that he did not suffer so much as might have been expected.
Five minutes or more passed thus; then a voice spoke from the mistbelow, saying:
"Are those who are named Aca and Jal on high, O priest?"
"They are on high," answered Nam.
"Is it the hour of dawn, O priest?" said the voice again, and this timeOtter knew it for that of the spokesman of the elders.
"Not yet awhile," answered Nam, and he glanced at the snow peak thattowered thousands of feet into the air behind and above the temple.
Indeed every eye in that assembly was staring at this peak, although itsgigantic outline could only be seen dimly through the mist, dimly asthe shape of a corpse buried in a winding-sheet of snow. Here, upon theloftiest precipices of the mountain the full light of morning struckfirst and struck always, for their pinnacles soared far above the levelof the mist wreaths, and by the quality of that light this people judgedthe weather of the new-born day. If the snow was rosy-red, then theyknew that ere long the sun would shine upon them. If, on the other hand,it gleamed cold and white, or, still worse, grey, it was a sign that thecoming day would be misty in the city and on the plains. Therefore inthis, the hour of the trial of the gods whom they had set up, all thatcompany watched the mountain peak as they had never watched before, tosee if it should show white or red.
Very gradually the light increased, and it seemed to Otter that the mistwas somewhat thinner than was usual at this hour, though as yet it hungdensely between them and the mountain snows. Now he could trace thewalls of the amphitheatre, now he could see the black shimmer of thewater beneath, and distinguish the glitter of many hundreds of upturnedeyeballs as they glared at him and beyond him. The silence grew more andmore intense, for none spoke or moved: all were waiting to see the dawnbreak upon the slope of snow, and wondering--would it be red or white?Must the gods die or live? So intense and fearful was the hush, unbrokenby a breath of air or the calling of a bird, that Otter could bear it nolonger, but suddenly burst into s
ong.
He had a fine deep voice, and it was a Zulu war-song that he sang, atriumphant paean of the rush of conquering impis interspersed with thewails of women and the groans of the dying. Louder and louder he sang,stamping his naked feet upon the rock, while the people wondered at themarvel. Surely this was a god, they thought, who chanted thus exultinglyin a strange tongue while men waited to see him cast into the jaws ofthe Snake. No mortal about to die so soon and thus terribly could findthe heart to sing, and much less could he sing such a song as that theyheard.
"He is a god," cried a voice far away, and the cry was echoed on everyside till at length, suddenly, men grew silent, and Otter also ceasedfrom his singing, for he had turned his head and seen. Lo! the veil ofmist that hid the mountain's upper heights grew thin:--it was the momentof dawn, but would it be a red dawn or a white? As he looked the vapoursdisappeared from the peak, though they still lay thick upon the slopesbelow, and in their place were seen its smooth and shining outlinesclothed in a cloak of everlasting snows.
The ordeal was ended. No touch of colour, no golden sunbeam or crimsonshadow stained the ghastly surface of those snows, they were pallid asthe faces of the dead.
"A white dawn! A white dawn!" roared the populace. "Away with the falsegods! Hurl them to the Snake!"
"It is finished," whispered Otter again into Francisco's ear; "now takeyour medicine, and, friend, farewell!"
The priest heard and, clasping his thin hands together, turned histormented face, in which the soft eyes shone, upwards towards theheavens. For some seconds he sat thus; then Otter, peering beneath hishood, saw his countenance change, and once more a glory seemed to shineupon it as it had shone when, some hours since, Francisco promised to dothe deed that now he was about to dare.
Again there was silence below, for the spokesman of the Council ofElders had risen, and was crying the formal question to the priestsabove:
"Is the dawn white or red, ye who stand on high?"
Nam turned and looked upon the snow.
"The dawn is fully dawned and it is white!" he answered.
"Be swift," whispered Otter into Francisco's ear.
Then the priest raised his right hand to his lips, as though to partakeof the sacrament of death.
A moment later and he let it fall with a sigh, whispering back to Otter:"I cannot, it is a deadly sin. They must kill me, for I will not killmyself."
Before the dwarf could answer, Nature, more merciful than hisconscience, did that for Francisco which he refused to do for himself,for of a sudden he swooned. His face turned ashen and slowly he began tosink backwards, so that he would have fallen had not Nam, who saw thathe had fainted with fear, caught him by the shoulders and held himupright.
"The dawn is white! We see it with our eyes," answered the spokesmen ofthe elders. "O ye who stand on high, cast down the false gods accordingto the judgment of the People of the Mist."
Otter heard and knew that the moment had come to leap, for now he needtrouble himself with Francisco no more.
Swiftly he turned his head, looking at Nam, for he would know if hemight carry out a purpose that he had formed. It was to seize the highpriest and bear him to the depths below.
It was not possible, he was out of reach; moreover, were he to snatchNam away, Francisco would fall backwards, and the others might see thatthis was not the Shepherdess. Otter stood up upon his feet, and kickingthe stool on which he had sat off the platform, he watched its flight.It flew into the water, never touching the rock, and then the dwarf knewthat he had planned well.
Now Nam and one priest seized the fainting form of Francisco and theother two stepped towards Otter. The dwarf waited till their hands wereoutstretched to grasp him, then suddenly he sprang at the man upon hisright, and shouting "Come thou with me," he gripped him about the middlein his iron grasp, and, putting out all his strength, hurled himself andhis burden into sheer space beneath.
The priest shrieked aloud, and a gasp of wonder went up from thewatching thousands as the dwarf and his victim rushed downward like astone. They cleared the edge of the pool by an inch or two--no more, andstruck the boiling waters, sinking through them till Otter thought theywould never rise again. But at last they did rise. Then Otter loosed thedead or senseless priest, and at that moment the body of Francisco, castthither by Nam, struck the water beside him and straightway vanished forever.
Otter loosed his grip, and diving beneath the surface swam hard for thenorth side of the pool, for there he had noticed that the current wasleast strong, and there also the rock bank overhung a little. He reachedit safely, and rising once more grasped a knob of rock with one hand,and lay still where in the shadow and the swirl of waters he could notbe discovered by any watching from above. He breathed deeply and movedhis limbs; it was well, he was unhurt. The priest whom he had taken withhim, being heaviest, had met the water first, so that though the leapwas great the shock had been little.
"Ha!" said Otter to himself, "thus far my Spirit has been with me, andhere I could lie for hours and never be seen. But there is still theSnake to contend with," and hastily he seized the weapon that he hadconstructed out of the two knives, and unwound a portion of the cordthat was fast about his middle. Then again he looked across the surfaceof the waters. Some ten fathoms from him, in the exact centre of thewhirlpool, the body of the priest was still visible, for the vortex boreit round and round, but of Francisco there was nothing to be seen. Onlythirty feet above him Otter could see lines of heads bending over therocky edges of the pool and gazing at the priest as he was tossed aboutlike a straw in an eddy.
"Now, if he is still there and awake," thought Otter, "surely the fatherof crocodiles will take this bait; therefore I shall do best to be stillawhile and see what happens."
As he reflected thus a louder shout than any he had heard before reachedhis ears from the multitude in the temple above him, so tumultuous ashout indeed, that for a few moments even the turmoil of the waters waslost in it.
"Now what chances up there, I wonder?" thought Otter again. Then hisattention was diverted in a somewhat unpleasant fashion.
This was the cause of that shout: a miracle, or what the People of theMist took to be a miracle, had come about; for suddenly, for the firsttime within the memory of man, the white dawn had changed to red.Blood-red was the snow upon the mountain, and lo! its peaks were turnedto fire.
For a while all those who witnessed this phenomenon stood aghast, thenthere arose that babel of voices which had reached the ears of Otter ashe lurked under the bank of rock.
"The gods have been sacrificed unjustly," yelled the people. "They aretrue gods; see, the dawn is red!"
The situation was curious and most unexpected, but Nam, who had been ahigh priest for more than fifty years, proved himself equal to it.
"This is a marvel indeed!" he cried, when silence had at length beenrestored; "for no such thing is told of in our history as that a whitedawn upon the mountain should turn to red. Yet, O People of the Mist,those whom we thought gods have not been offered up wrongfully. Nay,this is the meaning of the sign: now are the true gods, Aca and Jal,appeased, because those who dared to usurp their power have gone down todoom. Therefore the curse is lifted from the land and the sunlight hascome back to bless us."
As he finished speaking, again the tumult broke out, some crying thisthing and some that. But no action was taken, for Nam's excuse was readyand plausible, and the minds of men were confused. So the assembly brokeup in disorder; only the priests and as many more as could find place,Olfan among them, crowded round the edges of the pool to see whathappened in its depths.
Meanwhile Otter had seen that which caused him to think no more of theshouting above him than of the humming of last year's gnats. Sufferinghis eyes to travel round the circumference of the rocky wall, he sawthe mouth of a circular hole, situated immediately under the base ofthe idol, which may have measured some eight feet in diameter. The loweredge of this hole stood about six inches above the level of the pool,and water ran out
of it in a thin stream. Passing down this stream,half swimming and half waddling, appeared that huge and ungainly reptilewhich was the real object of the worship of the People of the Mist.
Great as were its length and bulk, the dwarf saw it but for a fewmoments, so swift were its movements; then the creature vanished intothe deep waters, to reappear presently by the side of the dead priest,who was now beginning to sink. Its horrible head rose upon the waters ason that night when the woman had been thrown to it; it opened its hugejaws, and, seizing the body of the man across the middle, it disappearedbeneath the foam. Otter watched the mouth of the hole, and not in vain;for before he could have counted ten the monster was crawling throughit, bearing its prey into the cave.
Now once more the dwarf felt afraid, for the Snake, or rather thecrocodile, at close quarters was far more fearful than anything that hisimagination had portrayed. Keeping his place beneath the ledge, which,except for the coldness of the water, he found himself able to do withlittle fatigue or difficulty, Otter searched the walls of the pool,seeking for some possible avenue of escape, since his ardour forpersonal conflict with this reptile had evaporated. But search as hewould he could find nothing; the walls were full thirty feet high, andsloped inwards, like the sides of an inverted funnel. Wherever the exitsfrom the pool might be, they were invisible; also, notwithstanding hisstrength and skill, Otter did not dare to swim into the furious eddy tolook for them.
One thing he noticed, indeed: immediately above the entrance to thecrocodile's den, and some twenty feet from the level of the water, twoholes were pierced in the rock, six feet or so apart, each measuringabout twelve inches square. But these holes were not to be reached, andeven if reached they were too small to pass, so Otter thought no more ofthem.
Now the cold was beginning to nip him, and he felt that if he stayedwhere he was much longer he would become paralyzed by it, for it was fedfrom the ice and snow above. Therefore, it would seem that there was butone thing to do--to face the Water Dweller in his lair. To this, then,Otter made up his mind, albeit with loathing and a doubtful heart.