CHAPTER XVIII. REFUGE.
Fixing her telescope on the motionless form, that she might see it atonce when the morning came, Watho went down from the tower toPhotogen's room. He was much better by this time, and before she lefthim, he had resolved to leave the castle that very night. The darknesswas terrible indeed, but Watho was worse than even the darkness, andhe could not escape in the day. As soon, therefore, as the houseseemed still, he tightened his belt, hung to it his hunting-knife, puta flask of wine and some bread in his pocket, and took his bow andarrows. He got from the house, and made his way at once up to theplain. But what with his illness, the terrors of the night, and hisdread of the wild beasts, when he got to the level he could not walk astep further, and sat down, thinking it better to die than to live. Inspite of his fears, however, sleep contrived to overcome him, and hefell at full length on the soft grass.
He had not slept long when he woke with such a strange sense ofcomfort and security, that he thought the dawn at least must havearrived. But it was dark night about him. And the sky--no, it was notthe sky, but the blue eyes of his naiad looking down upon him! Oncemore he lay with his head in her lap, and all was well, for plainlythe girl feared the darkness as little as he the day.
"Thank you," he said. "You are like live armour to my heart; you keepthe fear off me. I have been very ill since then. Did you come up outof the river when you saw me cross?"
"I don't live in the water," she answered. "I live under the palelamp, and I die under the bright one."
"Ah, yes! I understand now," he returned. "I would not have behaved asI did last time if I had understood; but I thought you were mockingme; and I am so made that I cannot help being frightened at thedarkness. I beg your pardon for leaving you as I did, for, as I say, Idid not understand. Now I believe you were really frightened. Wereyou not?"
"I was, indeed," answered Nycteris, "and shall be again. But why youshould be, I cannot in the least understand. You must know how gentleand sweet the darkness is, how kind and friendly, how soft andvelvety! It holds you to its bosom and loves you. A little while ago,I lay faint and dying under your hot lamp.--What is it you call it?"
"The sun," murmured Photogen: "how I wish he would make haste!"
"Ah! do not wish that. Do not, for my sake, hurry him. I can take careof you from the darkness, but I have no one to take care of me fromthe light.--As I was telling you, I lay dying in the sun. All at onceI drew a deep breath. A cool wind came and ran over my face. I lookedup. The torture was gone, for the death-lamp itself was gone. I hopehe does not die and grow brighter yet. My terrible headache was allgone, and my sight was come back. I felt as if I were new made. But Idid not get up at once, for I was tired still. The grass grew coolabout me, and turned soft in colour. Something wet came upon it, andit was now so pleasant to my feet, that I rose and ran about. And whenI had been running about a long time, all at once I found you lying,just as I had been lying a little while before. So I sat down besideyou to take care of you, till your life--and my death--should comeagain."
"How good you are, you beautiful creature!--Why, you forgave me beforeever I asked you!" cried Photogen.
Thus they fell a talking, and he told her what he knew of his history,and she told him what she knew of hers, and they agreed they must getaway from Watho as far as ever they could.
"And we must set out at once," said Nycteris.
"The moment the morning comes," returned Photogen.
"We must not wait for the morning," said Nycteris, "for then I shallnot be able to move, and what would you do the next night? Besides,Watho sees best in the daytime. Indeed, you must come now,Photogen.--You must."
"I can not; I dare not," said Photogen. "I cannot move. If I but liftmy head from your lap, the very sickness of terror seizes me."
"I shall be with you," said Nycteris soothingly. "I will take care ofyou till your dreadful sun comes, and then you may leave me, and goaway as fast as you can. Only please put me in a dark place first, ifthere is one to be found."
"I will never leave you again, Nycteris," cried Photogen. "Only waittill the sun comes, and brings me back my strength, and we will goaway together, and never, never part any more."
"No, no," persisted Nycteris; "we must go now. And you must learn tobe strong in the dark as well as in the day, else you will always beonly half brave. I have begun already--not to fight your sun, but totry to get at peace with him, and understand what he really is, andwhat he means with me--whether to hurt me or to make the best of me.You must do the same with my darkness."
"But you don't know what mad animals there are away there towards thesouth," said Photogen. "They have huge green eyes, and they would eatyou up like a bit of celery, you beautiful creature!"
"Come, come! you must," said Nycteris, "or I shall have to pretend toleave you, to make you come. I have seen the green eyes you speak of,and I will take care of you from them."
"You! How can you do that? If it were day now, I could take care ofyou from the worst of them. But as it is, I can't even see them forthis abominable darkness. I could not see your lovely eyes but for thelight that is in them; that lets me see straight into heaven throughthem. They are windows into the very heaven beyond the sky. I believethey are the very place where the stars are made."
"You come then, or I shall shut them," said Nycteris, "and you shan'tsee them any more till you are good. Come. If you can't see the wildbeasts, I can."
"You can! and you ask me to come!" cried Photogen.
"Yes," answered Nycteris. "And more than that, I see them long beforethey can see me, so that I am able to take care of you."
"But how?" persisted Photogen. "You can't shoot with bow and arrow, orstab with a hunting-knife."
"No, but I can keep out of the way of them all. Why, just when I foundyou, I was having a game with two or three of them at once. I see, andscent them too, long before they are near me--long before they can seeor scent me."
"You don't see or scent any now, do you?" said Photogen, uneasily,rising on his elbow.
"No--none at present. I will look," replied Nycteris, and sprang toher feet.
"Oh, oh! do not leave me--not for a moment," cried Photogen, straininghis eyes to keep her face in sight through the darkness.
"Be quiet, or they will hear you," she returned. "The wind is from thesouth, and they cannot scent us. I have found out all about that. Eversince the dear dark came, I have been amusing myself with them,getting every now and then just into the edge of the wind, and lettingone have a sniff of me."
"Oh, horrible!" cried Photogen. "I hope you will not insist on doingso any more. What was the consequence?"
"Always, the very instant, he turned with flashing eyes, and houndedtowards me--only he could not see me, you must remember. But my eyesbeing so much better than his, I could see him perfectly well, andwould run away round him until I scented him, and then I knew he couldnot find me anyhow. If the wind were to turn, and run the other waynow, there might be a whole army of them down upon us, leaving no roomto keep out of their way. You had better come."
She took him by the hand. He yielded and rose, and she led him away.But his steps were feeble, and as the night went on, he seemed moreand more ready to sink.
"Oh dear! I am so tired! and so frightened!" he would say.
"Lean on me," Nycteris would return, putting her arm round him, orpatting his cheek. "Take a few steps more. Every step away from thecastle is clear gain. Lean harder on me. I am quite strong and wellnow."
So they went on. The piercing night-eyes of Nycteris descried not afew pairs of green ones gleaming like holes in the darkness, and manya round she made to keep far out of their way; but she never said toPhotogen she saw them. Carefully she kept him off the uneven places,and on the softest and smoothest of the grass, talking to him gentlyall the way as they went--of the lovely flowers and the stars--howcomfortable the flowers looked, down in their green beds, and howhappy the stars up in their blue beds!
When the morning began to c
ome, he began to grow better, but wasdreadfully tired with walking instead of sleeping, especially afterbeing so long ill. Nycteris too, what with supporting him, what withgrowing fear of the light which was beginning to ooze out of the east,was very tired. At length, both equally exhausted, neither was able tohelp the other. As if by consent they stopped. Embracing each theother, they stood in the midst of the wide grassy land, neither ofthem able to move a step, each supported only by the leaning weaknessof the other, each ready to fall if the other should move. But whilethe one grew weaker still, the other had begun to grow stronger. Whenthe tide of the night began to ebb, the tide of the day began to flow;and now the sun was rushing to the horizon, borne upon its foamingbillows. And ever as he came, Photogen revived. At last the sun shotup into the air, like a bird from the hand of the Father of Lights.Nycteris gave a cry of pain, and hid her face in her hands.
"Oh me!" she sighed; "I am _so_ frightened! The terrible light stingsso!"
But the same instant, through her blindness, she heard Photogen give alow exultant laugh, and the next felt herself caught up: she who allnight long had tended and protected him like a child, was now in hisarms, borne along like a baby, with her head lying on his shoulder.But she was the greater, for, suffering more, she feared nothing.