5. ZAEMON'S CURSE
It appeared that for the present at any rate I was to have my residencein the royal pyramid. The glittering cavalcade drew up in the greatpaved square which lies before the building, and massed itself ingroups. The mammoth was halted before the doorway, and when a stair hadbeen brought, the trumpets sounded, and we three who had ridden in thegolden half-castle under the canopy of snakes, descended to the ground.
It was plain that we were going from beneath the open sky to theapartments which lay inside the vast stone mazes of the pyramid, andwithout thinking, the instinct of custom and reverence that had becomepart of my nature caused me to turn to where the towering rocks of theSacred Mountain frowned above the city, and make the usual obeisance,and offer up in silence the prescribed prayer. I say I did this thingunthinking, and as a matter of common custom, but when I rose to myfeet, I could have sworn I heard a titter of laughter from somewhere inthat fancifully bedecked crowd of onlookers.
I glanced in the direction of the scoffers, frowningly enough, andthen I turned to Phorenice to demand their prompt punishment for thedisrespect. But here was a strange thing. I had looked to see her in theact and article of rising from an obeisance; but there she was, standingerect, and had clearly never touched her forehead to the ground.Moreover, she was regarding me with a queer look which I could notfathom.
But whatever was in her mind, she had no plan to bawl about it thenbefore the people collected in the square. She said to me, "Come,"and, turning to the doorway, cried for entrance, giving the secret wordappointed for the day. The ponderous stone blocks, which barred theporch, swung back on their hinges, and with stately tread she passedout of the hot sunshine into the cool gloom beyond, with the fan-girlfollowing decorously at her heels. With a heaviness beginning to growat my heart, I too went inside the pyramid, and the stone doors, with asullen thud, closed behind us.
We did not go far just then. Phorenice halted in the hall of waiting.How well I remembered the place, with the pictures of kings on its redwalls, and the burning fountain of earth-breath which blazed from a jetof bronze in the middle of the flooring and gave it light. The old Kingthat was gone had come this far of his complaisance when he bademe farewell as I set out twenty years before for my vice-royalty inYucatan. But the air of the hall was different to what it had been inthose old days. Then it was pure and sweet. Now it was heavy with somescent, and I found it languid and oppressive.
"My minister," said the Empress, "I acquit you of intentional insult;but I think the colonial air has made you a very simple man. Such anobeisance as you showed to that mountain not a minute since has not beenmade since I was sent to reign over this kingdom."
"Your Majesty," I said, "I am a member of the Priests' Clan and wasbrought up in their tenets. I have been taught, before entering a house,to thank the Gods, and more especially our Lord the Sun, for the goodair that He and They have provided. It has been my fate more than onceto be chased by streams of fire and stinking air amongst the mountainsduring one of their sudden boils, and so I can say the prescribed prayerupon this matter straight from my heart."
"Circumstances have changed since you left Atlantis," said Phorenice,"and when thanks are given now, they are not thrown at those old Gods."
I saw her meaning, and almost started at the impiety of it. If this wasto be the new rule of things, I would have no hand in it. Fate mightdeal with me as it chose. To serve truly a reigning monarch, that I wasprepared for; but to palter with sacrilege, and accept a swineherd'sdaughter as a God, who should receive prayers and obeisances, revoltedmy manhood. So I invited a crisis.
"Phorenice," I said, "I have been a priest from my childhood up,revering the Gods, and growing intimate with their mysteries. Till Ifind for myself that those old things are false, I must stand by thatallegiance, and if there is a cost for this faithfulness I must pay it."
She looked at me with a slow smile. "You are a strong man, Deucalion,"she said.
I bowed.
"I have heard others as stubborn," she said, "but they were converted."She shook out the ruddy bunches of her hair, and stood so that the lightof the burning earth-breath might fall on the loveliness of her face andform. "I have found it as easy to convert the stubborn as to burn them.Indeed, there has been little talk of burning. They have all rushed toconversion, whether I would or no. But it seems that my poor looks andtongue are wanting in charm to-day."
"Phorenice is Empress," I said stolidly, "and I am her servant.To-morrow, if she gives me leave, I will clear away this rabble whichclamours outside the walls. I must begin to prove my uses."
"I am told you are a pretty fighter," said she. "Well, I hold some smallskill in arms myself, and have a conceit that I am something of a judge.To-morrow we will take a taste of battle together. But to-day Imust carry through the honourable reception I have planned for you,Deucalion. The feast will be set ready soon, and you will wish to makeready for the feast. There are chambers here selected for your use, andstored with what is needful. Ylga will show you their places."
We waited, the fan-girl and I, till Phorenice had passed out of the glowof the light-jet, and had left the hall of waiting through a doorwayamongst the shadows of its farther angle, and then (the girl taking alamp and leading) we also threaded our way through the narrow mazes ofthe pyramid.
Everywhere the air was full of perfumes, and everywhere the passagesturned and twisted and doubled through the solid stone of the pyramid,so that strangers might have spent hours--yes, or days--in search beforethey came to the chamber they desired. There was a fine cunningnessabout those forgotten builders who set up this royal pyramid. They hadno mind that kings should fall by the hand of vulgar assassins who mightcome in suddenly from outside. And it is said also that the king of thetime, to make doubly sure, killed all that had built the pyramid, orseen even the lay of its inner stones.
But the fan-girl led the way with the lamp swinging in her hand, as oneaccustomed to the mazes. Here she doubled, there she turned, and hereshe stopped in the middle of a blank wall to push a stone, which swungto let us pass. And once she pressed at the corner of a flagstone on thefloor, which reared up to the thrust of her foot, and showed us a stairsteep and narrow. That we descended, coming to the foot of an inclinedway which led us upward again; and so by degrees we came unto thechamber which had been given for my use.
"There is raiment in all these chests which stand by the walls,"said the girl, "and jewels and gauds in that bronze coffer. They arePhorenice's first presents, she bid me say, and but a small earnest ofwhat is to come. My Lord Deucalion can drop his simplicity now, and fighimself out in finery to suit the fashion."
"Girl," I said sharply, "be more decorous with your tongue, and spare mesuch small advice."
"If my Lord Deucalion thinks this a rudeness, he can give a word toPhorenice, and I shall be whipped. If he asks it, I can be stripped andscourged before him. The Empress will do much for Deucalion just now."
"Girl," I said, "you are nearer to that whipping than you think for."
"I have got a name," she retorted, looking at me sullenly from under herblack brows. "They call me Ylga. You might have heard that as we rodehere on the mammoth, had you not been so wrapped up in Phorenice."
I gazed at her curiously. "You have never seen me before," I said, "andthe first words you utter are those that might well bring trouble toyourself. There is some object in all this."
She went and pushed to the massive stone that swung in the doorway ofthe chamber. Then she put her little jewelled fingers on my garment anddrew me carefully away from the airshaft into the farther corner. "I amthe daughter of Zaemon," she said, "whom you knew."
"You bring me some message from him?"
"How could I? He lives in the priests' dwellings on the Mountain you didobeisance to. I have not put eyes on him these two years. But when Isaw you first step out from that red pavilion they had pitched at theharbour side, I--I felt a pity for you, Deucalion. I remembered you weremy father's, Zaemon's, fri
end, and I knew what Phorenice had in store.She has been plotting it all these two months."
"I cannot hear words against the Empress."
"And yet--"
"What?"
She stamped her sandal upon the stone of the floor. "You must be a veryblind man, Deucalion, or a very daring one. But I shall not interferefurther; at least not now. Still, I shall watch, and if at any time youseem to want a friend I will try and serve you."
"I thank you for your friendship."
"You seem to take it lightly enough. Why, sir, even now I do not believeyou know my power, any more than you guess my motive. You may be firstman in this kingdom, but let me tell you I rank as second lady. Andremember, women stand high in Atlantis now. Believe me, my friendship isa commodity that has been sought with frequence and industry."
"And as I say, I am grateful for it. You seem to think little enough ofmy gratitude, Ylga; but, credit me, I never have bestowed it on a womanbefore, and so you should treasure it for its rarity."
"Well," she said, "my lord, there is an education before you." She leftme then, showing me how to call slaves when I wished for their help, andfor a full minute I stood wondering at the words I had spoken to her.Who was the daughter of Zaemon that she should induce me to change thehabit of a lifetime?
The slaves came at my bidding, and showed themselves anxious to deckme with a thousand foolishnesses in the matter of robes and gauds, and(what seemed to be the modern fashion of their class) holding out thevirtues of a score of perfumes and unguents. Their manner irritatedme. Clean I was already, and shaved; my hair was trim, and my robe wasunsoiled; and, considering these pressing attentions of theirs somethingof an impertinence, I set them to beat one another as a punishment,promising that if they did not do it with thoroughness, I would handthem on to the brander to be marked with stripes which would endure.It is strange, but a common menial can often surpass even a rebelliousgeneral in power of ruffling one.
I had seen many strange sights that day, and undergone many newsensations; but of all the things which came to my notice, Phorenice'smanner of summoning the guests to her feast surprised me most. Nay, itdid more; it shocked me profoundly; and I cannot say whether amazementat her profanity, or wonder at her power, was for the moment strongestin my breast. I sat in my chamber awaiting the summons, when gradually,growing out of nothing, a sound fell upon my ear which increased involume with infinitely small graduations, till at last it became aclanging din which hurt the ear with its fierceness; and then (I guessedwhat was coming) the whole massive fabric of the pyramid trembled andgroaned and shook, as though it had been merely a child's wooden toybrushed about by a strong man's sandal.
It was the portent served out yearly by the chiefs of the Priests' Clanon the Sacred Mountain, when they bade all the world take count of theirsins. It was the sacred reminder that from roaring, raging fire, andfrom the agony of monstrous earth-tremors, man had been born, and thatby these same agencies he would eventually be swallowed up--he andthe sins within his breast. And here the Empress was prostituting itssolemnities into a mere call to gluttony, and sign for ribald laughterand sensuous display.
But how had she acquired the authority to do this thing? Who was shethat she should tamper with those dimly understood powers, the forcesthat dwell within the liquid heart of our mother earth? Had there beentreachery? Had some member of the Priests' Clan forgotten his sacredvows, and babbled to this woman matters concerning the holy mysteries?Or had Phorenice discovered a key to these mysteries with her own agilebrain?
If that last was the case, I could continue to serve her with silentconscience. Though she might be none of my making, at least she wasEmpress, and it was my duty to give her obedience. But if she hadsuborned some weaker member of the Clan on the Sacred Mount, that wouldbe a different matter. For be it remembered that it was one of theelements of our constitution to preserve our secrets and mysteriesinviolate, and to pursue with undying hatred both the man who had daredto betray them, and the unhappy recipient of his confidence.
It was with very undecided feelings, then, that I obeyed the summons ofthe earth-shaking, and bade the slaves lead me through the windings ofthe pyramid to the great banqueting-hall. The scene there was dazzling.The majestic chamber with its marvellous carvings was filled with acompany decked out with all the gauds and colours that fancy couldconceive. Little recked they of the solemn portent which had summonedthem to the meal, of the death and misery that stalked openly throughthe city wards without, of the rebels which lay in leaguer beyond thewalls, of the neglected Gods and their clan of priests on the SacredMountain. They were all gluttonous for the passions of the moment; itwas their fashion and conceit to look at nothing beyond.
Flaming jets of earth-breath lit the great hall to the brightness ofmidday; and when I stepped out upon the pavement, trumpets blared, sothat all might know of my coming. But there was no roar of welcome."Deucalion," they lisped with mincing voices, bowing themselvesridiculously to the ground so that all their ornaments and silks mightjangle and swish. Indeed, when Phorenice herself appeared, and allsent up their cries and made lawful obeisance, there was the sameartificiality in the welcome. They meant well enough, it is true;but this was the new fashion. Heartiness had come to be accounted abarbarism by this new culture.
A pair of posturing, smirking chamberlains took me in charge, andushered me with their flimsy golden wands to the dais at the fartherend. It appeared that I was to sit on Phorenice's divan, and eat my meatout of her dish.
"There is no stint to the honour the Empress puts upon me," I said, as Iknelt down and took my seat.
She gave me one of her queer, sidelong looks. "Deucalion may have morebeside, if he asks for it prettily. He may have what all the other menin the known world have sighed for, and what none of them will everget. But I have given enough of my own accord; he must ask me warmly forthose further favours."
"I ask," I said, "first, that I may sweep the boundaries clear of thisrabble which is clamouring against the city walls."
"Pah," she said, and frowned. "Have you appetite only for the sternerpleasures of life? My good Deucalion, they must have been rustic folkin that colony of yours. Well, you shall give me news now of thetoothsomeness of this feast."
Dishes and goblets were placed before us, and we began to eat, though Ihad little enough appetite for victual so broken and so highly spiced.But if this finicking cookery and these luscious wines did not appealto me, the other diners in that gorgeous hall appreciated it all to thefull. They sat about in groups on the pavement beneath the light-jetslike a tangle of rainbows for colour, and according to the new customthey went into raptures and ecstasies over their enjoyment. Women andmen both, they lingered over each titillation of the palate as though itwere a caress of the Gods.
Phorenice, with her quick, bright eyes, looked on, and occasionallyflung one or another a few words between her talk with me, and now andagain called some favoured creature up to receive a scrap of viandfrom the royal dish. This the honoured one would eat with extravagantgesture, or (as happened twice) would put it away in the folds of hisclothes as a treasure too dear to be profaned by human lips.
To me, this flattery appeared gross and disgustful, but Phorenice,through use, perhaps, seemed to take it as merely her due. There was,one had to suppose, a weakness in her somewhere, though truly to theoutward seeing none was apparent. Her face was strong enough, and it wassubtle also, and, moreover, it was wondrous comely. All the courtiers inthe banqueting-hall raved about Phorenice's face and the other beautiesof her body and limbs, and though not given to appreciation in thesematters, I could not but see that here at least they had a groundworkfor their admiration, for surely the Gods have never favoured mortalwoman more highly. Yet lovely though she might be, for myself Ipreferred to look upon Ylga, the girl, who, because of her rank, wasprivileged to sit on the divan behind us as immediate attendant. Therewas an honesty in Ylga's face which Phorenice's lacked.
They did not eat to nutrify their bodie
s, these feasters in thebanqueting-hall of the royal pyramid, but they all ate to cloythemselves, and they strutted forth new usages with every platter andbowl that the slaves brought. To me some of their manners wereclosely touching on disrespect. At the halfway of the meal, a gorgeouspopinjay--he was a governor of an out-province driven into the capitalby a rebellion in his own lands--this gorgeous fop, I say, walked upbetween the groups of feasters with flushed face and unsteady gait, anddid obeisance before the divan. "Most astounding Empress," cried he,"fairest among the Goddesses, Queen regnant of my adoring heart, hail!"
Phorenice with a smile stretched him out her cup. I looked to see himpour respectful libation, but no such thing. He set the drink to hislips and drained it to the final drop. "May all your troubles," hecried, "pass from you as easily, and leave as pleasant a flavour."
The Empress turned to me with one of her quick looks. "You do not likethis new habit?"
To which I replied bluntly enough that to pour out liquor at a person'sfeet had grown through custom to be a mark of respect, but that drinkingit seemed to me mere self-indulgence, which might be practised anywhere.
"You still keep to the old austere teachings," she said. "Our newer codebids us enjoy life first, and order other things so as not to meddlewith our more immediate pleasure."
And so the feast went on, the guests practising their gluttonies andtheir absurdities, and the guards standing to their arms round thecircuit of the walls as motionless and as stern as the statues carvenin the white stone beyond them. But a term was put to the orgy withsomething of suddenness. There was a stir at the farther doorway of thebanqueting-hall, and a clash, as two of the guards joined their spearsacross the entrance. But the man they tried to stop--or perhaps it wasto pin--passed them unharmed, and walked up over the pavement betweenthe lights, and the groups of feasters. All looked round at him; a fewthrew him ribald words; but none ventured to stop his progress. A few,women chiefly, I could see, shuddered as he passed them by, as though awintry chill had come over them; and in the end he walked up and stoodin front of Phorenice's divan, and gazed fixedly on her, but withoutmaking obeisance.
He was a frail old man, with white hair tumbling on his shoulders, andragged white beard. The mud of wayfaring hung in clots on his feet andlegs. His wizened body was bare save for a single cloth wound abouthis shoulders and his loins, and he carried in his hand a wand with thesymbol of our Lord the Sun glowing at its tip. That wand went to showhis caste, but in no other way could I recognize him.
I took him for one of those ascetics of the Priests' Clan, who hadforsworn the steady nurtured life of the Sacred Mountain, and who livedout in the dangerous lands amongst the burning hills, where there isdaily peril from falling rocks, from fire streams, from evil vapours,from sudden fissuring of the ground, and from other movements of thoseunstable territories, and from the greater lizards and other monstrousbeasts which haunt them. These keep constant in the memory the might ofthe Holy Gods, and the insecurity of this frail earth on which we haveour resting-place, and so the sojourners there become chastened in thespirit, and gain power over mysteries which even the most studious andlearned of other men can never hope to attain.
A silence filled the room when the old man came to his halt, andPhorenice was the first to break it. "Those two guards," she said, inher clear, carrying voice, "who held the door, are not equal to theirwork. I cannot have imperfect servants; remove them."
The soldiers next in the rank lifted their spears and drove them home,and the two fellows who had admitted the old man fell to the ground. Oneshrieked once, the other gave no sound: they were clever thrusts both.
The old man found his voice, thin, and high, and broken. "Another crimeadded to your tally, Phorenice. Not half your army could have hinderedmy entrance had I wished to come, and let me tell you that I am here tobring you your last warning. The Gods have shown you much favour; theygave you merit by which you could rise above your fellows, till at lastonly the throne stood above you. It was seen good by those on the SacredMountain to let you have this last ambition, and sit on this thronethat has as long and honourably been filled by the ancient kings ofAtlantis."
The Empress sat back on the divan smiling. "I seemed to get these thingsas I chose, and in spite of your friends' teeth. I may owe to you, oldman, a small parcel of thanks, though that I offered to repay; but formy lords the priests, their permission was of small enough value whenit came. I would have you remember that I was as firm on the throne ofAtlantis as this pyramid stands upon its base when your worn-out priestscame up to give their tottering benediction."
The old man waved aside her interruption. "Hear me out," he said. "I amhere with no trivial message. There is nothing paltry about the threatI can throw at you, Phorenice. With your fire-tubes, your handling oftroops, and your other fiendish clevernesses, you may not be easy tooverthrow by mere human means, though, forsooth, these poor rebels whoyap against your city walls have contrived to hold their ground for longenough now. It may be that you are becoming enervated; I do not know.It may be that you are too wrapped up in your feastings, your dressings,your pomps, and your debaucheries, to find leisure to turn to the artof war. It may be that the man's spirit has gone out from your arm andbrain, and you are a woman once more--weak, and pleasure-loving; again Ido not know.
"But this must happen: You must undo the evil you have done; you mustgive bread to the people who are starving, even if you take it fromthese gluttons in this hall; you must restore Atlantis to the state inwhich it was entrusted to you: or else you must be removed. It cannotbe permitted that the country should sink back into the lawlessnessand barbarism from which its ancient kings have digged it. You hear,Phorenice. Now give me true answer."
"Speak him fair. Oh! For the sake of your fortune, speak him fair," cameYlga's voice in a hurried whisper from behind us. But the Empress tookno notice of it. She leaned forward on the cushions of the divan with aknit brow.
"Do you dare to threaten me, old man, knowing what I am?"
"I know your origin," he said gravely, "as well as you know it yourself.As for my daring, that is a small matter. He need be but a timid man whodares to say words that the High Gods put on his lips."
"I shall rule this kingdom as I choose. I shall brook interference fromno creature on this earth, or beneath it, or in the sky above. The Godshave chosen me to be Their regent in Atlantis, and They do not depose methrough such creatures as you. Go away, old man, and play the fanatic inanother court. It is well that I have an ancient kindliness for you, oryou would not leave this place unharmed."
"Now, indeed, you are lost," I heard Ylga murmur from behind, and theold man in front of us did not move a step. Instead, he lifted up theSymbol of our Lord the Sun, and launched his curse. "Your blasphemygives the reply I asked for. Hear me now make declaration of war onbehalf of Those against whom you have thrown your insults. You shall beoverthrown and sent to the nether Gods. At whatever cost the land shallbe purged of you and yours, and all the evil that has been done to itwhilst you have sullied the throne of its ancient kings. You will notamend, neither will you yield tamely. You vaunt that you sit as firm onyour throne as this pyramid reposes on its base. See how little youknow of what the future carries. I say to you that, whilst you are yetEmpress, you shall see this royal pyramid which you have pollutedwith your debaucheries torn tier from tier, and stone from stone, andscattered as feathers spread before a wind."
"You may wreck the pyramid," said Phorenice contemptuously. "I myselfhave some knowledge of the earth forces, as I have shown this night. Butthough you crumble every stone above us now and grind it into grit anddust, I shall still be Empress. What force can you crazy priests bringagainst me that I cannot throw back and destroy?"
"We have a weapon that was forged in no mortal smithy," shrilled theold man, "whereof the key is now lodged in the Ark of the Mysteries. Butthat weapon can be used only as a last resource. The nature of it evenis too awful to be told in words. Our other powers will be launchedagainst
you first, and for this poor country's sake I pray that they maycause you to wince. Yet rest assured, Phorenice, that we shall not stepaside once we have put a hand to this matter. We shall carry it through,even though the cost be a universal burning and destruction. For knowthis, daughter of the swineherd, it is agreed amongst the most High Godsthat you are too full of sin to continue unchecked."
"Speak him fairly," Ylga urged from behind. "He has a power at which youcannot even guess."
The Empress made to rise, but Ylga clung to her skirt. "For the sake ofyour fame," she urged, "for the sake of your life, do not defy him." ButPhorenice struck her fiercely aside, and faced the old man in a tumultof passion. "You dare call me a blasphemer, who blaspheme yourself? Youdare cast slurs upon my birth, who am come direct from the most highHeaven? Old man, your craziness protects you in part, but not in all.You shall be whipped. Do you hear me? I say, whipped. The lean fleshshall be scourged from your scraggy bones, and you shall totter awayfrom this place as a red and bleeding example for those who would daretraduce their Empress. Here, some of you, I say, take that man, and lethim be whipped where he stands."
Her cry went out clearly enough. But not a soul amongst those glitteringfeasters stirred in his place. Not a soldier amongst the guards steppedfrom his rank. The place was hung in a terrible silence. It seemed asthough no one within the hall dared so much as to draw a breath. Allfelt that the very air was big with fate.
Phorenice, with her head crouched forward, looked from one group toanother. Her face was working. "Have I no true servants," she asked,"amongst all you pretty lip-servers?"
Still no one moved. They stood, or sat, or crouched like peoplefascinated. For myself, with the first words he had uttered, I hadrecognized the old man by his voice. It was Zaemon, the weak governorwho had given the Empress her first step towards power; that earnestsearcher into the mysteries, who knew more of their powers, and moreabout the hidden forces, than any other dweller on the Sacred Mountain,even at that time when I left for my colony. And now, during his strangehermit life, how much more might he not have learned? I was torn bywarring duties. I owed much to the Priests' Clan, by reason of my oathand membership; it seemed I owed no less to Phorenice. And, again, wasZaemon the truly accredited envoy of the high council of the priests ofthe Sacred Mountain? And was the Empress of a truth deposed by the HighGods above, or was she still Empress, and still the commander of myduty? I could not tell, and so I sat in my seat awaiting what the eventwould sow.
Phorenice's fury was growing. "Do I stand alone here?" she cried. "HaveI pampered you creatures out of all touch with gratitude? It seems thatat last I want a new chief to my guards. Ho! Who will be chief of theguards of the Empress?"
There was a shifting of eyes, a hesitation. Then a great burly formstrode up from the farther end of the hall, and a perceptible shudderwent up from all the others as they watched him.
"So, Tarca, you prefer to take the risks, and remain chief of the guardyourself?" she said with an angry scoff. "Truly there did not seem to bemany thrusting forward to strip you of the office. I shall have a finesorting up of places in payment for this night's work. But for thepresent, Tarca, do your duty."
The man came up, obviously timorous. He was a solidly made fellow, butnot altogether unmartial, and though but little of his cheek showedabove his decorated beard, I could see that he paled as he came nearto the priest. "My lord," he said quietly, "I must ask you to come withme."
"Stand aside," said the old man, thrusting out the Symbol in front ofhim. I could see his eyes gather on the soldier and his brows knit witha strain of will.
Tarca saw this too, and I thought he would have fallen, but with aneffort he kept his manhood, and doggedly repeated his summons. "I mustobey the command of my mistress, and I would have you remember, my lord,that I am but a servant. You must come with me to the whip."
"I warn you!" cried the old man. "Stand from out of my path, you!"
It must have been with the courage of desperation that the soldier daredto use force. But the hand he stretched out dropped limply back to hisside the moment it touched the old man's bare shoulder, as though it hadbeen struck by some shock. He seemed almost to have expected some suchrepulse; yet when he picked up that hand with the other, and lookedat it, and saw its whiteness, he let out of him a yell like a woundedbeast. "Oh, Gods!" he cried. "Not that. Spare me!"
But Zaemon was glowering at him still. A twitching seized the man'sface, and he put up his sound hand to it and plucked at his beard,which was curled and plaited after the new fashion of the day. A womanstanding near screamed as the half of the beard came off in his fingers.Beneath was silver whiteness over half his face. Zaemon had smitten himwith a sudden leprosy that was past cure.
Yet the punishment was not ended even then. Other twitchings took himon other parts of the body, and he tore off his armour and his foppishclothes, and always where the bare flesh showed, there had the horridplague written its white mark; and in the end, being able to endure nomore, the man fell to the pavement and lay there writhing.
Zaemon said no further word. He lifted the Symbol before him, sethis eyes on the farther door of the banqueting-hall and walked forit directly, all those in his path shrinking away from him with openshudders. And through the valves of the door he passed out of our sight,still wordless, still unchecked.
I glanced up at Phorenice. The loveliness of her face was drawn andhaggard. It was the first great reverse, this, she had met with inall her life, and the shock of it, and the vision of what might followafter, dazed her. Alas, if she could only have guessed at a tenth of theterrors which the future had in its womb, Atlantis might have been savedeven then.