Arachne — Complete

  CHAPTER III.

  When Ledscha heard the strokes of the oars she stopped again and, withglowing cheeks, gazed after the boat and the glimmering silver furrowwhich it left upon the calm surface of the moonlit water.

  Her heart was heavy. The doubts of her lover's sincerity which the slavehad awakened tortured her proud soul.

  Was Hermon really only trifling mischievously with her affection?

  Surely it was impossible.

  She would rather endure everything, everything, than this torturinguncertainty.

  Yet she was here on the Owl's Nest to seek the aid of old Tabus's magicarts. If any one could give her satisfaction, it was she and the demonswho obeyed her will, and the old woman was glad to oblige Ledscha; shewas bound to her by closer ties than most people in Tennis knew.

  Ledscha had no cause to be ashamed of her frequent visits to the Owl'sNest, for old Tabus had no equal as a leech and a prophetess, and thecorsair family, of which she was the female head, stood in high reputeamong the Biamites. People bore them no ill-will because they practisedpiracy; many of their race pursued the same calling, and the sailorsmade common cause with them.

  Ledscha's father, too, was on good terms with the pirates, and whenAbus, a handsome fellow who commanded his father's second ship and hadwon a certain degree of renown by many a bold deed, sought the handof his oldest daughter, he did not refuse him, and only imposed thecondition that when he had gained riches enough and made Ledscha hiswife, he would cease his piratical pursuits and, in partnership withhim, take goods and slaves from Pontus to the Syrian and Egyptianharbours, and grain and textiles from the Nile to the coasts of theBlack Sea.

  Young Abus had yielded to this demand, since his grandmother on theOwl's Nest thought it wise to delay for a time the girl's marriage tohim, the best beloved of her grandsons; she was then scarcely beyondchildhood.

  Yet Ledscha had felt a strong affection for the young pirate, inwhom she saw the embodiment of heroic manhood. She accompanied himin imagination through all his perilous expeditions; but she had beenpermitted to enjoy his society only after long intervals for a few days.

  Once he remained absent longer than usual, and this very voyage was tohave been his last on a pirate craft--the peaceful seafaring life was tobegin, after his landing, with the marriage.

  Ledscha had expected her lover's return with eager longing, but weekafter week elapsed, yet nothing was seen or heard of the ships owned bythe Owl's Nest family; then a rumour spread that this time the corsairswere defeated in a battle with the Syrian war-galleys.

  The first person who received sure tidings was old Tabus. Her grandsonHanno, who escaped with his life, at the bidding of his father Satabus,who revered his mother, had made his way to her amid great perils toconvey the sorrowful news. Two of the best ships in the family hadbeen sunk, and on one the brave Abus, Ledscha's betrothed husband, whocommanded it, had lost his life; on the other the aged dame's oldest sonand three of her grandchildren.

  Tabus fell as if struck by lightning when she heard the tidings, andsince that time her tongue had lost its power of fluent speech, her earits sharpness; but Ledscha did not leave her side, and saved her life bytireless, faithful nursing.

  Neither Satabus, the old woman's second son, who now commanded thelittle pirate fleet, nor his sons, Hanno and Labaja, had been seen inthe neighbourhood of Tennis since the disaster, but after Tabus hadrecovered sufficiently to provide for herself, Ledscha returned toTennis to manage her father's great household and supply the mother'splace to her younger sister, Taus.

  She had not recovered the careless cheerfulness of earlier years, but,graver than the companions of her own age, she absented herself fromthe gaieties of the Biamite maidens. Meanwhile her beauty had increasedwonderfully, and, attracting attention far and wide, drew many suitorsfrom neighbouring towns to Tennis. Only a few, however, had made offersof marriage to her father; the beautiful girl's cold, repellent mannerdisheartened them. She herself desired nothing better; yet it secretlyincensed her and pierced her soul with pain to see herself at twentyunwedded, while far less attractive companions of her own age had longbeen wives and mothers.

  The arduous task which she had performed a short time before for herwidowed sister had increased the seriousness of her disposition tosullen moroseness.

  After her return home she often rowed to the Owl's Nest, for Ledschafelt bound to old Tabus, and, so far as lay in her power, underobligation to atone for the injury which the horror of her lover'ssudden death had inflicted upon his grandmother.

  Now she had at last been subjugated by a new passion--love for the Greeksculptor Hermon, who did his best to win the heart of the Biamite girl,whose austere, extremely singular beauty attracted his artist eyes.

  To-day Ledscha had come to the sorceress to learn from her what awaitedher and her love. She had landed on the island, sure of favourablepredictions, but now her hopes lay as if crushed by hailstones.

  If Bias, who was superior to an ordinary slave, was right, she was to bedegraded to a toy and useful tool by the man who had already provedhis pernicious power over other women of her race, even her own youngsister, whom she had hitherto guarded with faithful care. It had by nomeans escaped her notice that the girl was concealing something fromher, though she did not perceive the true cause of the change.

  The bright moonbeams, which now wove a silvery web over everysurrounding object, seemed like a mockery of her darkened soul.

  If the demons of the heights and depths had been subject to her, as tothe aged enchantress she would have commanded them to cover the heavenswith black clouds. Now they must show her what she had to hope or tofear.

  She shook her head slightly, as if she no longer believed in afavourable turn of affairs, pushed the little curls which had escapedfrom the wealth of her black hair back from her forehead with herslender hand, and walked firmly to the house.

  The old dame was crouching beside the hearth in the middle room, turningthe metal spit, on which she had put the ducks, over the freshly kindledfire.

  The smoke hurt her eyes, which were slightly inflamed, yet they seemedto serve their purpose better than her half-dulled ear, for, after aswift glance at Ledscha, she stammered in her faltering speech: "Whathas happened? Nothing good, certainly. It is written on your face."

  The girl nodded assent, pointed with a significant gesture to her eyesand the open air, and went down to the shore again to convince herselfthat no other vessel was approaching.

  What she had to confide to Tabus was intended for her alone, andexperience taught how far spoken words could be heard at night over thewater.

  When she had returned to the hut, she bent down to the old woman's earand, holding her curved hand to her lips, cried, "He is not coming!"

  Tabus shrugged her shoulders, and the smile of satisfaction whichflitted over her brown, wrinkled face showed that the news was welcome.

  For her murdered grandson's sake the girl's confession that she hadgiven her heart to a Greek affected her painfully; but Tabus also hadsomething else on her mind for her beautiful darling.

  Now she only intimated by a silent nod that she understood Ledscha, andher head remained constantly in motion as the latter continued: "True,I shall see him again to-morrow, but when we part, it will hardly bein love. At any rate--do you hear, grandmother?--to-morrow must decideeverything. Therefore--do you understand me?--you must question thecords now, to-night, for to-morrow evening what they advised might betoo late."

  "Now?" repeated Tabus in surprise, letting her gaze rest inquiringlyupon the girl. Then she took the spit from the fire, exclaiming angrily:"Directly, do you mean? As if that could be! As if the stars obeyedus mortals like maids or men servants! The moon must be at the full tolearn the truth from the cords. Wait, child! What is life but waiting?Only have patience, girl! True, few know how to practise this art atyour age, and it is alien to many all their lives. But the stars! Fromthem, the least and the greatest, man can learn to go his way patiently,year by ye
ar. Always the same course and the same pace. No deviationeven one hair's breadth, no swifter or slower movement for the unrestingwanderers. No sudden wrath, no ardent desire, no weariness or aversionurges or delays them. How I love and honour them! They willingly submitto the great law until the end of all things. What they appoint forthis hour is for it alone, not for the next one. Everything in the vastuniverse is connected with them. Whoever should delay their course amoment would make the earth reel. Night would become day, the riverswould return to their sources. People would walk on their headsinstead of their feet, joy would be transformed to sorrow and power toservitude. Therefore, child, the full moon has a different effect fromthe waxing or waning one during the other twenty-nine nights of themonth. To ask of one what belongs to another is to expect an answer fromthe foreigner who does not understand your language. How young you are,child, and how foolish! To question the cords for you in the moonlightnow is to expect to gather grapes from thorns. Take my word for that!"

  Here she interrupted the words uttered with so much difficulty, andwith her blackish-blue cotton dress wiped her perspiring face, strangelyflushed by the exertion and the firelight.

  Ledscha had listened with increasing disappointment.

  The wise old dame was doubtless right, yet before she ventured to thesculptor's workshop the next day she must know at every cost how mattersstood, what she had to fear or to hope from him; so after a briefsilence she ventured to ask the question, "But are there only the starsand the cords which predict what fate holds in store for one who is sonearly allied to you?"

  "No, child, no," was the reply. "But nothing can be clone about lookinginto the future now. It requires rigid fasting from early dawn, and Iate the dates you brought me. I inhaled the odor of the roasting ducks,too, and then--it must be done at midnight; and at midnight your peoplewill be anxious if you are not at home by that time, or perhaps send aslave to seek you here at my house, and that--that must not be done--Imust prevent it."

  "So you are expecting some one," Ledscha eagerly replied. "And I knowwho it is. Your son Satabus, or one of your grandsons. Else why are theducks cooked? And for what is the wine jar which I just took from itshiding place?"

  A vehement gesture of denial from Tabus contradicted the girl'sconjecture; but directly after she scanned her with a keen, searchingglance, and said: "No, no. We have nothing to fear from you, surely.Poor Abus! Through him you will always belong to us. In spite of theGreek, ours you are and ours you will remain. The stars confirm it,and you have always been faithful to the old woman. You are shrewd andsteadfast. You would have been the right mate for him who was also wiseand firm. Poor, dear, brave boy! But why pity him? Because the saltwaves now flow over him? Fools that we are! There is nothing better thandeath, for it is peace. And almost all of them have found it. Of ninesons and twenty grandsons, only three are left. The others are allcalm after so much conflict and danger. How long ago it is since sevenperished at once! The last three their turn will come too. How I envythem that best of blessings, only may they not also go before me!"

  Here she lowered her voice, and in a scarcely audible whisper murmured:"You shall know it. My son Satabus, with his brave boys Hanno andLabaja, are coming later in the evening. About midnight--if ye protectthem, ye powers above--they will be with me. And you, child, I know yoursoul to its inmost depths. Before you would betray the last of Abus'skindred--"

  "My hand and tongue should wither!" Ledscha passionately interrupted,and then, with zealous feminine solicitude, she asked whether the threeducks would suffice to satisfy the hunger of these strong men.

  The old woman smiled and pointed to a pile of fresh leaves heaped oneabove another, beneath which lay several fine shad. They were not to becooked until the expected visitors arrived, and she had plenty of breadbesides.

  In the presence of these proofs of maternal solicitude the morose,wrinkled countenance of the old sorceress wore a kind, almost tenderexpression, and the light of joyous anticipation beamed upon her youngguest from her red-rimmed eyes.

  "I am to see them once more!" cried Tabus in an agitated tone. "Thelast--and all three, all! If they--But no; they will not set to work sonear Pelusium. No, no! They will not, lest they should spoil the meetingwith the old woman. Oh, they are kind; no one knows how kind my roughSatabus can be. He would be your father now, girl, if we could have keptour Abus--he was the best of all--longer. It is fortunate that you arehere, for they must see you, and it would have been hard for me to fetchthe other things: the salt, the Indian pepper, and the jug of Pelusinianzythus, which Satabus is always so fond of drinking."

  Then Ledscha went into the ruinous left wing of the house, where shetook from a covered hole in the floor what the old woman had kept forthe last of her race, and she performed her task gladly and with rareskill.

  Next she prepared the fish and the pan, and while her hands were movingbusily she earnestly entreated the old woman to gratify her wish andlook into the future for her.

  Tabus, however, persisted in her refusal, until Ledscha again called her"grandmother," and entreated her, by the heads of the three beloved oneswhom she expected, to fulfil her desire.

  Then the old dame rose, and while the girl, panting for breath, took theroasted ducks from the spit, the former, with her own trembling hands,drew from the little chest which she kept concealed behind a heap of dryreeds, branches, and straw, a shining copper dish, tossed the gold coinswhich had been in it back into the box, and moistened the bottom withthe blackish-red juice of the grape from the wine jar.

  After carefully making these preparations she called Ledscha andrepeated that the cords possessed the power of prophecy only on nightswhen the moon was full, and that she would use another means of lookinginto the future.

  Then she commanded the girl to let her hands rest now and to think ofnothing except the questions whose answer she had at heart. Lastly,she muttered into the vessel a series of incantations, which Ledscharepeated after her, and gazed as if spellbound at the dark liquid whichcovered the bottom.

  The girl, panting for breath, watched every movement of the sorceress,but some time elapsed ere the latter suddenly exclaimed, "There he is!"and then, without removing her eyes from the bottom of the vessel, shewent on, with faltering accents, as though she was describing a sceneclose before her eyes. "Two young men-both Greeks, if the dress does notdeceive--one is at your right hand, the other at your left. The formeris fair-haired; the glance of his eyes is deep and constant. It is he,I think--But no! His image is fading, and you are turning your back uponhim. You do it intentionally. No, no, you two are not destined for eachother. You think of the one with the waving black hair and beard--of himalone. He is growing more and more distinct--a handsome man, and how hisbrow shines! Yet his glance--it sees more than that of many others, but,like the rest of his nature, it lacks steadfastness."

  Here she paused, raised her shaking head, looked at Ledscha's flushedface, and in a grave, warning tone, said: "Many signs of happiness, butalso many dark shadows and black spots. If he is the one, child, youmust be on your guard."

  "He is," murmured the girl softly, as if speaking to herself.

  But the deaf old crone had read the words from her lips, and whilegazing intently at the wine, went on impatiently: "If the picture wouldonly grow more distinct! As it was, so it has remained. And now! Theimage of the fair man with the deep-blue eyes melts away entirely, and agray cloud flutters between you and the other one with the black beard.If it would only scatter! But we shall never make any progress in thisway. Now pay attention, girl."

  The words had an imperious tone, and with outstretched head andthrobbing heart Ledscha awaited the old woman's further commands.

  They came at once and ordered her to confess, as freely and openly asthough she was talking to herself, where she had met the man whom sheloved, how he had succeeded in snaring her heart, and how he repaid herfor the passion which he had awakened.

  These commands were so confused and mingled in utterance that any
oneless familiar with the speaker would scarcely have comprehended whatthey required of her, but Ledscha understood and was ready to obey.