CHAPTER XIX
RACHEL FINDS HER SPIRIT
Northward, ever northward, journeyed Rachel with the Ghost-priests; fordays and weeks they journeyed, slowly, and for the most part at night,since these people dreaded the glare of the sun. Sometimes she was bornealong in a litter with Noie upon the shoulders of the huge slaves, butmore often she walked between the litters in the midst of a guard ofsoldiers, for now she was so strong that she never seemed to weary, noreven in the fever swamps where many fell ill, did any sickness touch her.Also this labour of the body seemed to soothe her wandering and tormentedmind, as did the touch of Noie's hand and the sound of Noie's voice. Attimes, however, her madness got hold of her and she broke out into thosebursts of wild laughter which had scared the Zulus. Then Eddo woulddescend from his litter and lay his long fingers on her forehead and lookinto her eyes in such a fashion that she went to sleep and was at peace.But if Noie spoke to her in these sleeps, she answered her questions, andeven talked reasonably as she had done before the people of Mafooti laidthe body of Richard at her feet, and she stood upon the roof of the hutwhich Ishmael strove to climb.
Thus it was that Noie came to learn all that had happened to her sincethey parted, for though she had gathered much from them, the Zulus couldnot, or would not tell her everything. In past days she had heard fromRachel of the lad, Richard Darrien, who had been her companion yearsbefore through that night of storm on the island in the river, and now sheunderstood that her lady loved this Richard, and that it was because ofhis murder by the wild brute, Ibubesi, that she had become mad.
Yes, she was mad, and for that reason Noie rejoiced that the dwarf peoplewere taking her to their home, since if she could be cured at all, theywere able to heal her, they the great doctors. Moreover, if these priestsand the Zulus would have let her go, whither else could she have gonewhose parents and lover were dead, except to the white people on thecoast, who did not reverence the insane, as do all black folk, but wouldhave locked her up in a house with others like her until she died. Noalthough she knew that there were dangers before them, many and greatdangers, Noie rejoiced that things had befallen thus.
Also in her tender care already Rachel improved much, and Noie believedthat one day she would be herself again. Only she wished that she and herlady were alone together; that there were no priests with them, and aboveall no Eddo. For Eddo as she knew well was jealous of her authority overRachel; jealous too of the love that they bore one to the other. He wishedto use this crazed white chieftainess who had been accepted as theirInkosazana by the great Zulu people, for his own purposes. This had beenclear from the beginning, and that was why when he first heard of her hehad consented to go on the embassy to Dingaan, since by his magic he couldforesee much of the future that was dark to Noie, whose blood was mixedand who had not all the gifts of the Ghost-kings.
Moreover, the Mother of the Trees was Noie's great aunt, being the sisterof her grandfather, or of his father, Noie was not sure which, for she haddwelt among them but a few days, and never thought to inquire of thematter. But of one thing she was sure, that Eddo the first priest, hatedthis Mother of the Trees, who was named Nya, and desired that "when hertree fell" the next mother should be his servant, which Nya was not.Perhaps, reflected Noie, it was in his mind that her lady would fill thispart, and being mad, obey him in all things.
Still she kept a watch upon her words, and even on her thoughts, for Eddoand his fellow-priests, Pani and Hana, were able to peer into humanhearts, and read their secrets. Also she protected Rachel from him as muchas she was able, never leaving her side for a moment, however weary shemight be, for she feared lest he should become the master of her will.Only when the fits of madness fell upon her mistress, she was forced toallow Eddo to quell them with his touch and eye, since herself she lackedthis power, nor dared she call the others to her help, for they were underthe hand of Eddo.
Northward, ever northward. First they passed through the Zulus and theirsubject tribes who knew of them and of the Inkosazana. All of these weresuffering from the curse that lay upon the land because, as they believed,there was blood between the Inkosazana and her people. The locustsdevoured their crops and the plague ravaged their cattle, so that theywere terrified of her, and of the little Grey-folk with whom shetravelled, the wizards who had shown fearful things to Dingaan and lefthim sick with dread. They fled at their approach, only leaving a few oftheir old people to prostrate themselves before this Inkosazana whowandered in search of her own Spirit, and the Dream-men who dwelt with theghosts in the heart of a forest, and to pray her and them to lift thiscloud of evil from the land, bringing gifts of such things as were left tothem.
At length all the Zulus were passed, and they entered into the territoriesof other tribes, wild, wandering tribes.
But even these knew of the Ghost-kings, and attempted nothing againstthem, as they had attempted nothing against Noie and her escort when shetravelled through this land on her embassy to the People of the Trees.Indeed, some of their doctors would visit them at their camps and ask anoracle, or an interpretation of dreams, or a charm against their enemies,or a deadly poison, offering great gifts in return. At times Eddo and hisfellow-priests would listen, and the giants would bring a tiny bowl filledwith dew into which they gazed, telling them the pictures they saw there,though this they did but seldom, as the supply of dew which they hadbrought with them from their own country ran low, and since it could notbe used twice they kept it for their own purposes.
Next they came to a country of vast swamps, where dwelt few men and manywild beasts, a country full of fevers and reeds and pools, in which livedsnakes and crocodiles. Yet no harm came to them from these things, for theGhost-priests had medicines that warded off sickness, and charms thatprotected them from all evil creatures, and in their bowls they read whatroad to take and how dangers could be avoided. So they passed the swampssafely; only here that slave whom Eddo had cursed at the kraal of Dingaan,and who from that day onward had wasted till he seemed to be nothing but agreat skeleton, sickened and died.
"Did I not tell you that it should be so?" said Eddo to the other slaves,who trembled before him as reeds tremble in the wind. "Be warned, yefools, who think that the strength of men lies in their bodies and theirspears." Then he kicked the corpse of the dead giant gently with hissandalled foot, and bade his brothers throw him into a pool for thecrocodiles to eat.
Having passed the swamps and many rivers, at length they turned westward,travelling for days over grassy uplands like to those of Natal, amongwhich wandered pastoral tribes with their herds of cattle. On these plainswere multitudes of game and many lions, especially in the bush-clad slopesof great isolated mountains that rose up here and there. These lionsroared round them at night, but the priests did not seem to be afraid, forwhen the brutes became overbold they placed deadly poison in the carcasesof buck that the nomad tribes brought them as offerings, of which thelions ate and died in numbers. Also they sold some of the poison to thetribe for a great price in cattle, as to the delivery of which cattle theygave minute directions, for they knew that none dared to cheat the Motherof the Trees and her prophets.
After the plains were left behind, they reached a vast, fertile andlow-lying country that sloped upwards for miles and miles, which, as Noieexplained to Rachel, when she would listen, was the outer territory of theGhost-people, for here dwelt the race of the Umkulus, or Great Ones, whowere their slaves, that folk to which the soldiers of their escortbelonged. Of these there were thousands and tens of thousands who earnedtheir living by agriculture, since although they were so huge andfierce-looking, they did not fight unless they were attacked. The chiefsof this people had their dwellings in vast caves in the sides of cliffswhich, if need be, could be turned into impregnable fortresses, but theirreal ruler was the Mother of the Trees, and their office was to protectthe country of the Trees and furnish it with food, since the Tree-peoplewere dreamers who did little work.
While they travelled through this land all the headmen
of the Umkulusaccompanied them, and every morning a council was held at which these madereport to the priests of all that had chanced of late, and laid theircauses before them for judgment. These causes Eddo and his fellow-priestsheard and settled as seemed best to them, nor did any dare to disputetheir rulings. Indeed, even when they deposed a high chief and set anotherin his place, the man who had lost all knelt before them and thanked themfor their goodness. Also they tried criminals who had stolen women orcommitted murder, but they never ordered such men to be slain outright.Sometimes Eddo would look at them dreamily and curse them in his slow,hissing voice, bidding them waste in body and in mind, as he had done tothe soldier at Umgugundhlovu, and die within one year, or two, or three,as the case might be. Or sometimes, if the crime was very bad, he wouldcommand that they should be sent to "travel in the desert," that is,wander to and fro without food or water until death found them. Now andagain miserable-looking men, mere skeletons, with hollow cheeks, and eyesthat seemed to start from their heads, would appear at their camps weepingand imploring that the curse which had been laid upon them in past daysshould be taken off their heads. At such people Eddo and hisbrother-priests, Pani and Hana, would laugh softly, asking them how theythrove upon the wrath of the Mother of the Trees, and whether they thoughtthat others who saw them would be encouraged to sin as they had done. Butwhen the poor wretches prayed that they might be killed outright with thespear, the priests shrank up in horror beneath their umbrellas, and askedif they were mad that they should wish them to "sprinkle their trees withblood."
One morning a number of these bewitched Umkulus, men, women and children,appeared, and when the three priests mocked them, as was their wont, andthe guards, some of whom were their own relatives, sought to beat themaway with sticks, threw themselves upon the ground and burst into weeping.Rachel, who was camped at a little distance with Noie, in a reed tent thatthe guard had made for her, which they folded up and carried as they didthe umbrellas, heard the sound of this lamentation, and came out followedby Noie. For a space she stood contemplating their misery with a troubledair, then asked Noie why these people seemed so starved and why they wept.Noie told her that when she was on her embassy the head of their kraal, anenormous man of middle age, whom she pointed out to Rachel, had sought todetain her because she was beautiful, and he wished to make her his wife,although he knew well that she was on an embassy to the Mother of theTrees. She had escaped, but it was for this reason that the curse of whichthey were perishing had been laid upon him and his folk.
Now Rachel went on to where the three priests sat beneath their umbrellasdozing away the hours of sunlight, beckoning to the doomed family tofollow her.
"Wake, priests," she cried in a loud voice, and they looked up astonished,rubbing their eyes, and asked what was the matter.
"This," said Rachel. "I command you to lift the weight of your maledictionoff the head of these people who have suffered enough."
"Thou commandest us!" exclaimed Eddo astonished. "And if we will not,Beautiful One, what then?"
"Then," answered Rachel, "_I_ will lift it and set it on to your heads,and you shall perish as they are perishing. Oh! you think me mad, youpriests, who kill more cruelly than did the Zulus, and mad I am whoseSpirit wanders. Yet I tell you that new powers grow within me, thoughwhence they come I know not, and what I say I can perform."
Now they stared at her muttering together, and sending for a wooden bowl,peeped into it. Whatever it was they saw there did not please them, for atlength Eddo addressed the crowd of suppliants, saying:
"The Mother of the Trees forgives; the knot she tied she looses; the treeshe planted she digs up. You are forgiven. Bones, put on strength; mouths,receive food; eyes, forget your blindness, and feet, your wanderings. Growfat and laugh; increase and multiply; for the curse we give you ablessing, such is the will of the Mother of the Trees."
"Nay, nay," cried Rachel, when she understood their words, "believe himnot, ye starvelings. Such is the will of the Inkosazana of the Zulus, shewho has lost her Spirit and another's, and travels all this weary way tofind them."
Then her madness seemed to come upon her again, for she tossed her arms onhigh and burst into one of her wild fits of laughter. But those whom shehad redeemed heeded it not, for they ran to her, and since they dared nottouch her, or even her robe, kissed the ground on which she had stood andblessed her. Moreover from that moment they began to mend, and within afew days were changed folk. This Noie knew, for they followed up Rachel tothe confines of the desert, and she saw it with her eyes. Also the fame ofthe deed spread among the Umkulu people who groaned under the cruel ruleof the Ghost-kings, and mad or sane, from that day forward they adoredRachel even more than the Zulus had done, and like the Zulus believed herto be a Spirit. No mere human being, they declared, could have lifted offthe curse of the Mother of the Trees from those upon whom it had fallen.
Thenceforward Eddo, Pani, and Hana hid their judgments from Rachel, andwould not suffer such suppliants to approach the camp. Also when theyseized a number of men because these had conspired together to rebelagainst the Ghost-people, and brought them on towards their own countryfor a certain purpose, they forced them to act as bearers like the others,so that Rachel might not guess their doom. For now, with all their power,they also were afraid of this white Inkosazana, as Dingaan had beenafraid.
So they travelled up this endless slope of fertile land, leaving all thekraals of the giant Umkulus behind them, and one morning at the dawncamped upon the edge of a terrible desert; a place of dry sands andsun-blasted rocks, that looked like the bottom of a drained ocean, wherenothing lived save the fire lizards and certain venomous snakes thatburied themselves in the sand, all except their heads, and only crawledout at night. After the people of the Umkulus this horrible waste was thegreat defence of the Ghost-kings, whose country it ringed about, sincenone could pass it without guides and water. Indeed, Noie had been forcedto stay here for days with her escort, until the Mother of the Trees,learning of her coming in some strange fashion, had sent priests andguards to bring her to her land. But the Zulus who were with her they didnot bring, except one witch-doctor to bear witness to her words. Thesethey left among the Umkulus till she should return, nor were those Zulussorry who had already heard enough of the magic of the Ghost-kings, andfeared to come face to face with them.
But it is true that they also feared the Umkulus, whom, because of theirgreat size and the fierceness of their air, the Zulus took to be evilspirits, though if this were so, they could not understand why they shouldobey a handful of grey dwarfs who lived far from them beyond the desert.Still these Umkulus did them no harm, for on her return Noie found themall safe and well.
That afternoon Rachel and the dwarfs plunged into the dreadful wilderness,heading straight for the ball of the sinking sun. Here, although shewished to do so, she was not allowed to walk, for fear lest the serpentsshould bite her, said Eddo, but must journey in the litter with Noie. Sothey entered it, and were borne forward at a great pace, the bearerstravelling at a run, and being often changed. Also many other bearers camewith them, and on the shoulders of each of them was strapped a hide bag ofwater. Of this they soon discovered the reason, for the sand of thatwilderness was white with salt; the air also seemed to be full of salt, sothat the thirst of those who travelled there was sharp and constant, andif it could not be satisfied they died.
It was a very strange journey, and although she did not seem to take muchnote of them at the time, its details and surroundings burned themselvesdeeply into Rachel's mind. The hush of the infinite desert, the whitemoonlight gleaming upon the salt, white sand; the tall rocks which stoodup here and there like unfinished obelisks and colossal statues, the snowyclouds of dust that rose beneath the feet of the company; the hoarseshouts of the guides, the close heat, the halts for water which wasgreedily swallowed in great gulps; the occasional cry and confusion when aman fell out exhausted, or because he had been bitten by one of theserpents--all these things, amongst others, were very
strange.
Once Rachel asked vaguely what became of these outworn and snake-poisonedmen, and Noie only shook her head in answer, for she did not think fit totell her that they were left to find their way back, or to perish, asmight chance.
All that night and for the first hours of the day that followed, they wentforward swiftly, camping at last to eat and sleep in the shadow of a massof rock that looked like a gigantic castle with walls and towers. Herethey remained in the burning heat until the sun began to sink once more,and then went on again, leaving some of the bearers behind them, becausethere was no longer water for so many. There the great men sat in patientresignation and watched them go, they who knew that having little or nowater, few of them could hope to see their homes again. Still, so greatwas their dread of the Ghost-priests, that they never dared to murmur, orto ask that any of the store of water should be given to them, they whowere but cattle to be used until they died.
The second night's journey was like the first, for this desert neverchanged, its aspect, and on the following morning they halted beneathanother pile of fantastic, sand-burnished rocks, from some of which hungsalt like icicles. Here one of the bearers who had been denied water as apunishment for laziness, although in truth he was sick, began to suck thesalt-icicles. Suddenly he went raving mad, and rushing with a knife atEddo, Pani, and Hana where they sat under their cane umbrellas that, forthe sake of coolness, were damped with this precious water, he tried tokill them.
Then as they saw the knife gleaming, all their imperturbable calm departedfrom these dwarfs. They squeaked in terror with thin voices as rats speak;they rolled upon the ground yelling to the slaves to save them from a "reddeath." The man was seized and, though he fought with all his giantstrength, held down and choked in the sand. Once, however, he twisted hishead free, howling a curse at them. Also he managed to hurl his knife atEddo, and the point of it scratched him on the hand, causing the paleblood to flow, a sight at which Eddo and the other priests broke intotears and lamentations, that continued long after the Umkulu was dead.
"Why are they such cowards?" asked Rachel, dreamily, for she had not seenthe murder of the slave, and thought that Eddo had only scratched himself.
"Because they fear the sight of blood, Zoola," answered Noie, "which is avery evil omen to them. Death they do not fear who are already amongghosts, but if it is a red death, their souls are spilt with their life,or so they believe."
Towards noon that day the sky banked up with lurid-coloured clouds; thesun which should have shone so hotly, went out, and a hush that was almostfearful in its heat and intensity, fell upon the desert. The Umkulubearers became disturbed, and gathered together into knots, talking in lowtones. Eddo and his brother priests who, either because of the adventureof the morning or the oppressive air, could not sleep, as was usual withthem, were also disturbed. They crept from beneath their umbrellas which,as the sun had vanished, were of no use to them, and stood togetherstaring at the salty plain, which under that leaden and lowering skylooked white as snow, and at the brooding clouds above. They even sent fortheir bowls to read in them pictures of what was about to happen, butthere was no dew left, so these could not be used.
Then they consulted with the captains of the bearers, who told then whatno magic was needed to guess that a mighty storm was gathering, and thatif it overtook them in the desert, they would be buried beneath thedrifting sand. Now this was a "white death" which the dwarfs did not seemto desire, so they ordered an instant departure, instead of delaying thestart until sunset, as they had intended, for then, if all went well, theywould have arrived at their homes by dawn, and not in the middle of thenight. So that litters were made ready, and they went forward through theoverpowering heat, that caused the bearers to hang out their tongues andreel as they walked.
Towards evening the storm began to stir. Little wandering puffs of windblew upon them and died away, and lightnings flickered intermittently.Then a hot breeze sprang up that gradually increased in strength until thesand rolled and rippled before it, now one way and now another, for thisbreeze seemed to blow in turn from every quarter of the heavens. Suddenly,however, after trying them all, it settled in the west, and drove straightinto their faces with ever increasing force. Now Eddo thrust out his headbetween the curtains of his litter and called to the bearers to hurry, asthey had but a little distance of desert left to pass, after which camethe grass country where there would be no danger from the sand. They heardand obeyed, changing the pole gangs frequently, as those who carried thelitters became exhausted.
But the storm was quicker than they; it burst upon them while they werestill in the waste, though not in its full strength. Then the darknesscame, utter darkness, for no moon or stars could be seen, and salt andsand drove down on them like hail. Through it all, the bearers fought on,though how they found their way Noie, who was watching them, could notguess, since no landmarks were left to guide them. They fought on,blinded, choked with the salt sand that drove into their eyes and lungs,till man after man, they fell down and perished. Others took their places,and yet they fought on.
It must have been near to midnight when the company, or those who wereleft of them, staggered to the edge of that dreadful wilderness which wasbut a vast plain of stone and sand, bordered on the west as on the east byslopes of fertile soil. For a while the fierce tempest lifted a little,and the light of the stars which struggled through breaks in the cloudsshowed that they were marching down a steep descent of grassland. Thusthey went on for several more hours, till at length the bearers of thelitter in which were Rachel and Noie, who for a long time had beenstaggering to and fro like drunken men, came to a halt, and litter andall, sank to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Rachel and Noie disentangled themselves from the litter, for they wereunhurt, and stood by it, not knowing where to go, till presently two otherlitters containing the priests came up, for the third had been abandoned,and its occupant crowded in with Eddo. Now a great clamour arose in thedarkness, the priests hissing commands to the surviving bearers to take upthe litter and proceed. But great as was their strength, this the poor mencould not do. There they lay upon the ground answering that Eddo mightcurse them if he wished, or even kill them as their brothers had beenkilled, but they were unable to stir another step until they had restedand drunk. Where they were, there they must lie until rain fell. Then thepriests wished Rachel to enter one of their litters, leaving Noie to walk,which they were afraid to do themselves. But when she understood, Rachelcut the matter short by answering,
"Not so, I will walk," and picking up the spear of one of the fallenUmkulu to serve as a staff, she took Noie by the hand and started forwarddown the hill.
One of the priests clasped her robe to draw her back, but she turned onhim with the spear, whereon he shrank back into his litter like a snailinto his shell and left her alone. So following the steep path theymarched on, and after them came the two litters with the priests, carriedby all the bearers who could still stand, for these old men weighed nomore than children. From far below them rose a mighty sound as of an angrysea.
"What is that noise?" called Rachel into the ear of Noie, for the gale wasrising again.
"The sound of wind in the forest where the Tree-folk dwell," she answered.
Then the dawn broke, an awful, blood-red dawn, and by degrees they saw.Beneath them ran a shallow river, and beyond it, stretching for leagueupon league farther than the eye could see, lay the mighty forest whereofthe trees soared two hundred feet or more into the air; the darkillimitable forest that rolled as the sea rolls beneath the pressure ofthe gale, and indeed, seen from above, looked like a green and tossingocean. At the sight of the water Rachel and Noie began to run towards ithand in hand, for they were parched with thirst whose mouths were full ofthe salt dust of the desert. The bearers of the litters in which were thethree priests ran also, paying no heed to the cries of the dwarfs within.At length it was reached, and throwing themselves down they drank untilthat raging thirst of theirs was satisfied; ev
en Eddo and his companionscrawled out of their litters and drank. Then having washed their hands andfaces in the cool water, they forded the fleet stream, and, filled with anew life, followed the road that ran beyond towards the forest. Scarcelyhad they set foot upon the farther bank when the heart of the tempest,which had been eddying round them all night long, burst over them in itsfury. The lightnings blazed, the thunder rolled, and the wild wind grew toa hurricane, so fierce that the litters in which were Eddo, Pani, and Hanawere torn from the grasp of the bearers and rolled upon the ground. Fromthe wreck of them, for they were but frail things, the little grey priestsemerged trembling, or rather were dragged by the hands of their giantbearers, to whom they clung as a frightened infant clings to its mother.Rachel saw them and, laughed.
"Look at the Masters of Magic!" she cried to Noie, "those who kill with acurse, those who rule the Ghosts," and she pointed to the tiny,contemptible figures with fluttering robes being dragged along by thosegiants whom but a little while before they had threatened with death.
"I see them," answered Noie into her ear. "Their spirits are strong whenthey are at peace, but in trouble they fear doom more than others. Now, ifI were those Umkulu, I would make an end of them while they can."
But these great, patient men did otherwise; indeed, when the dwarfs, wornout and bewildered by the hurricane, could walk no more, they took them upand carried them as a woman carries a babe.
Now they were passing a belt of open land between the river and the forestin which terrified mobs of cattle rushed to and fro, while their herds,slave-men of large size like the Umkulu, tried to drive them to some placewhere they would be safe from the tempest In this belt also grew broadfields of grain, which furnished food for the Tree-folk. At last they cameto the confines of the forest, and Rachel, looking round her withwondering eyes, saw at the foot of each great tree a tiny hut shaped likea tent, and in front of the hut a dwarf seated on the ground staring intoa bowl of water, and beating his breast with his hands.
"What do they?" she asked of Noie.
"They strive to read their fates, Lady, and weep because the wind ripplesthe dew in their bowls, so that they can see nothing, and cannot be surewhether their tree will stand or fall. Follow me, follow me; I know theway, here we are not safe."
The hurricane was at its height; the huge trees about them rocked and bentlike reeds, great boughs came crashing down; one of them fell upon apraying dwarf and crushed him to a pulp. Those around him saw it anduttered a wild shrill scream; Eddo, Pani, and Hana saw it and screamedalso, in the arms of their bearers, for this sight of blood was terribleto them. The forest was alive with the voices of the storm, it seemed tohowl and groan, and the lightnings illumined its gloomy aisles. Thegrandeur and the fearfulness of the scene excited Rachel; she waved thespear she carried, and began to laugh in the wild fashion of her madness,so that even the grey dwarfs, seated each at the foot of his tree, ceasedfrom his prayers to glance at her askance.
On they went, expecting death at every step, but always escaping it, untilthey reached a wide clearing in the forest. In the centre of this clearinggrew a tree more huge than any that Rachel had ever dreamed of, the boleof it, that sprang a hundred feet without a branch, was thicker thanDingaan's Great Hut, and its topmost boughs were lost in the scuddingclouds. In front of this tree was gathered a multitude of people, men,women, and children, all dwarfs, and all of them on their knees engaged inprayer. At its bole, by a tent-shaped house, stood a little figure, awoman whose long grey hair streamed upon the wind.
"The Mother of the Trees," cried Noie through the screaming gale. "Come toher, she will shelter us," and she gripped Rachel's arm to lead herforward.
Scarcely had they gone a step when the lightning blazed above themfearfully, and with it came an awful rush of wind. Perhaps that flash fellupon the tree, or perhaps the wind snapped its roots. At least its mightytrunk burst in twain, and with a crash that for a moment seemed to mastereven the roar of the volleying thunder, down it came to earth. Two hugelimbs fell on either side of Rachel and Noie, but they were not touched. Abough struck the Umkulu slave who was carrying Eddo, and swept off hishead, leaving the dwarf unharmed. Another bough fell upon Pani and hisbearer, and buried them in the earth beneath its bulk, so that they werenever seen again. As it chanced the most of the worshippers were beyondthe reach of the falling branches, but some of these that were torn loosein the fall, or shattered by the lightning, the wind caught and hurledamong them, slaying several and wounding others.
In ten seconds the catastrophe had come and gone, the Queen-Tree that hadruled the forest for a thousand years was down, a stack of green leaves,through which the shattered branches showed like bones, and a prostrate,splintered trunk. The shock threw Noie and Rachel to the ground, butRachel, rising swiftly, pulled Noie to her feet after her; then, actingupon some impulse, leapt forward, and climbing on to the trunk where itforked, ran down it till she almost reached its base, and stood thereagainst the great shield of earth that had been torn up with the roots.After that last fearful outburst a stillness fell, the storm seemed tohave exhausted itself, at any rate for a while. Rachel was able to get herbreath and look about her.
All around were lines of enormous trees, solemn aisles that seemed to leadup to the Queen of the Trees, and down these aisles, piercing the shadowscast by the interlacing branches overhead, shone the lights of that luridmorning. Rachel saw, and something struggled in the darkness of her brain,as the light struggled in the darkness of the forest aisles. Sheremembered--oh! what was it she remembered? Now she knew. It was the dreamshe had dreamed upon the island in the river, years and years ago, a dreamof such trees as these, and of little grey people like to these, and ofthe boy, Richard, grown to manhood, lashed to the trunk of one of thetrees. What had happened to her? She could recall nothing since she sawthe body of Richard upon its bier in the kraal Mafooti.
But this was not the kraal Mafooti, nor had Noie, who stood at her side,been with her there, Noie, who had gone on an embassy to her father'sfolk, the dwarf people. Ah! these people were dwarfs. Look at them runningto and fro screaming like little monkeys. She must have been dreaming along, bad dream, whereof the pictures had escaped her. Doubtless she wasstill dreaming and presently would awake. Well, the torment had gone outof it, and the fear, only the wonder remained. She would stand still andsee what happened. Something was happening now. A little thin handappeared, gripping the rough bark at the side of the fallen tree.
She peeped over the swell of it and saw an old dwarf woman with long whitehair, whose feet were set in a cleft of the shattered bole, and who hungto it as an ape hangs. Beneath her to the ground was a fall of full thirtyfeet, for the base of the bole was held high up by the roots, so that thelittle woman's hair hung down straight towards the ground, whither shemust presently fall and be killed. Rachel wondered how she had come there,if she had clung to the trunk when it fell, or been thrown up by theshock, or lifted by a bough. Next she wondered how long it would be beforeshe was obliged to leave go, and whether her white head or her back wouldfirst strike the earth all that depth beneath. Then it occurred to herthat she might be saved.
"Hold my feet," she said to Noie, who had followed her along the trunk,speaking in her own natural voice, at the sound of which Noie looked ather in joyful wonder. "Hold my feet; I think I can reach that old woman,"and without waiting for an answer she laid herself down upon the bole, herbody hanging over the curve of it.
Now Noie saw her purpose, and seating herself with her heels set againstthe roughness of the bark, grasped her by the ankles. Supporting some ofher weight on one hand, with the other Rachel reached downwards all thelength of her long arm, and just as the grasp of the old woman below wasslackening, contrived to grip her by the wrist. The dwarf swung loose,hanging in the air, but she was very light, of the weight of afive-year-old child, perhaps, no more, and Rachel was very strong. With aneffort she lifted her up till the monkey-like fingers gripped the roughbark again. Another effort and the little body
was resting on the round ofthe tree, one more and she was beside her.
Now Rachel rose to her feet again and laughed, but it was not the madlaughter that had scared Ishmael and the Zulus; it was her own laughter,that of a healthy, cultured woman.
The little creature, crouching on hands and knees at Rachel's feet, liftedher head and stared with her round eyes. At that moment, too, the sunbroke out, and its rays, shining where they had never shone for ages, fellupon Rachel, upon her bright hair, and the white robes in which the dwarfshad clothed her, and the gleaming spear in her hand, causing her to looklike some ancient statue of a goddess upon a temple roof.
"Who art thou," said the dwarf woman in the hissing voice of her race,"thou Beautiful One? I know! I know! Thou art that Inkosazana of the Zulusof whom we have had many visions, she for whom I sent. But the Inkosazanawas mad, she had lost her Spirit; it has been seen here. Beautiful One,_thou_ art not mad."
"What does she say, Noie?" asked Rachel. "I can only understand somewords."
Noie told her, and Rachel hid her eyes in her hand. Presently she let itfall, saying:
"She is right. I lost my Spirit for a while; it went away with anotherSpirit. But I think that I have found it again. Tell her, Noie, that Ihave travelled far to seek my Spirit, and that I have found it again."
Noie, who could scarcely take her eyes from Rachel's face, obeyed, but theold woman hardly seemed to heed her words; a grief had got hold of her.She rocked herself to and fro like a monkey that has lost its young, andcried out:
"My tree has fallen, the tree of my House, which stood from the beginningof the world, has fallen, but that of Eddo still stands," and she pointedto another giant of the forest that soared up, unharmed, at a littledistance. "Nya's tree has fallen--Eddo's tree still stands. His magic hasprevailed against me, his magic has prevailed against me!"
As she spoke a man appeared scrambling along the bole towards them; itwas Eddo himself. His round eyes shone, on his pale face there was a lookof triumph, for whoever might be lost, the danger had passed him by.
"Nya," he piped, tapping her on the shoulder, "thy Ghost has desertedthee, old woman, thy tree is down. See, I spit upon it," and he did so."Thou art no longer Mother of the Trees; thou art only the old woman Nya.The Ghost people, the Dream people, the little Grey people, have a newqueen, and I am her minister, for I rule her Spirit. Yonder she stands,"and he pointed at the tall and glittering Rachel. "Now, thou new-bornMother of the Trees, who wast the Inkosazana of the Zulus, obey me. Givedeath to this old woman, the Red Death, that her spirit may be spilt withher blood, and lost for ever. Give it to her with that spear in thy hand,while I hide my eyes, and reign thou in her place through me," and hebowed his head and waited.
"Not the Red Death, not the Red Death," wailed Nya. "Give me the WhiteDeath and save my soul, Beautiful One, and in return I will give theesomething that thou desirest, who am still the wisest of them all,although my Tree is down."
Noie whispered for a while in Rachel's ear. Then while all the dwarfpeople gathered beneath them, watching, Rachel bent forward, and puttingher arms about the trembling creature, lifted her up as though she were achild, and held her to her bosom.
"Mother," she said, "I give thee no death, red or white; I give thee love.Thy tree is down; sit thou in my shadow and be safer On him who harmsthee"--and she looked at Eddo--"on him shall the Red Death fall."