CHAPTER XIV.
THE HOMEWARD RIDE.
In his haste to inform his mother of our splendid victory, Victorinpassed the command of the troops to one of the oldest chiefs. We changedour tired horses for two fresh ones which were always led by the reinsready for Victorin's use, and he and I rode rapidly towards Mayence.
The night was serene; the moon shone superbly among myriads ofstars--those unknown worlds where we shall proceed to live when we leavethis world. Strange! In the very midst of the ineffable bliss that Iexperienced at the triumph of our army, a triumph that insured the peaceand prosperity of Gaul; in the very midst of the pleasurable thoughts ofsoon again seeing your mother and you, my son, after a hard day'sfighting; in the very midst of all these pleasing emotions a sudden fitof profound melancholy came over me, a painful presentiment saddened myheart.
In the fulness of my gratitude to the gods, I had raised my eyes toheaven in order to thank them for our success. The moon shed itsbrilliant light upon our path. I know not for what reason, but thatmoment my thoughts traveled back to our ancestors, and I recalled withsad piety all the glorious, the touching and the terrible deeds thatthey had done, and upon which also the sacred luminary of Gaul shed itsnever-ceasing light generations and generations ago. The sacrifice ofHena; the journey of Albinik the mariner and his wife Meroe to Caesar'scamp, across a region that was heroically given up to the flames by ourfathers during their war with the Romans; the nocturnal expeditions ofSylvest the slave to the secret meetings of the Sons of the Mistletoeand to the palace of Faustina, his escape and flight from the circus ofOrange where he came near being devoured by ferocious beasts; andfinally the bold insurrections, the formidable revolts, the signal forwhich was ever given by the courses of the moon, as prearranged by ourvenerable druids; all these events that lay in the distant past rose atthat moment before my mind like pale phantoms of the past.
The merry voice of Victorin drew me from my meditations:
"What are you dreaming about? How can you, one of the vanquishers inthis fair day's battle, be as mute as one of the vanquished?"
"Victorin, I was thinking of days that are no more--of events that tookplace during the centuries that have rolled by--"
"A curious thought!" replied the young general; and giving a loose tohis exuberant feelings he proceeded to say: "Let us leave the past tothe empty cups and the departed sweethearts! As for me, I am thinkingfirst of all of my mother's joy when she will learn of our victory;next, my thoughts run, and they run strongly, upon the burning blackeyes of Kidda the Bohemian girl, who is waiting for me. When I left herthis morning, at the close of the protracted banquet to which she drewme by a ruse, she made an appointment with me for this evening. Thiswill be a well rounded day, Schanvoch! A battle in the morning, and, inthe evening, a festive supper with a charming sweetheart on my knees!Ah! It is pleasurable to be a soldier and twenty years of age!"
"Listen, Victorin. So long as the cares of battle lay upon your mind, Isaw you wise, thoughtful and grave, as becomes a Chief of Gaul, and atall points worthy of your mother and yourself--"
"And by the beautiful eyes of Kidda, am I not still worthy of myselfwhen my thoughts turn to her after battle?"
"Do you know, Victorin, that Douarnek's mission to you in the name ofthe whole army is an evidence of the proud independence that animatesour soldiers, whose free will alone made you a general? Do you realizethat such words, pronounced by such men, are not, and will not bevain--and that it will be fatal to forget them?"
"Why, Schanvoch! It was a whim of veterans who grieve over their lostyouth--old men's words, censuring pleasures that their age can no longertaste."
"Victorin, you affect an indifference that your heart does not share. Isaw you touched, deeply affected by the language of that oldsoldier--and also by the attitude of his comrades."
"One feels so happy on the evening of a battle won, that everythingpleases. Besides, although his words were peevish enough, did they notbetoken the army's affection for me?"
"Do not deceive yourself, Victorin! The army's affection for youebbed--it returned at floodtide with to-day's great victory. But, becareful! Fresh acts of imprudence will furnish the basis for freshcalumnies, started by those who would wish to undo you--"
"And who wishes to undo me?"
"A chief always has rivals who envy him secretly; and you will not haveevery day a triumph on the battle field to confound those envious soulswith. Thanks to the gods, the utter annihilation of these barbaroushordes insures the peace of our beloved Gaul for many a year to come!"
"All the better, Schanvoch! All the better! Becoming again one of Gaul'smost obscure citizens, and hanging my sword, that will have becomeuseless, beside that of my father, I shall then be free to emptyinnumerable cups without restraint, and to make love to all the Bohemiangirls of the universe!"
"Victorin! Be careful, I repeat! Remember the words of the old soldier!"
"The devil take the old soldier and his foolish harangue! At this hour Ithink only of Kidda! Ah! Schanvoch, if you only saw her dance with hershort skirt and her silvery corsage!"
"Be careful! Both the camp and the town have their eyes upon thoseBohemian dancers! Your friendly relations with them will make a scandal!Take my advice! Be reserved in your conduct; at any rate, veil youramours in secrecy and obscurity!"
"Obscurity? Secrecy? No hypocrisy! I love to display to the eyes of all,the sweethearts that I am proud of! And I am even prouder of Kidda thanof to-day's victory!"
"Victorin! Victorin! Be careful, or that woman will be fatal to you!"
"Oh! Schanvoch! If you heard Kidda sing and dance, accompanying herselfwith a tambourine--Oh! If you heard and saw her you would become ascrazily in love with her as I am! But," added the young general breakingoff the thread of his delighted description, and pointing ahead of him,"look at yonder torches! Heaven be praised! It is my mother! In heranxiety to know the issue of the day she must have ridden out towardsthe battle field! Oh, Schanvoch! I am young, impetuous, ardent afterpleasures, that never leave me. I enjoy them with the delight ofintoxication--and yet, I swear to you by my father's sword, I wouldexchange all my future pleasures for the happiness that I am about toexperience when my mother will press me to her heart!"
Saying this, the young general gave the reins to his horse and withoutwaiting for me rode forward to meet Victoria, who was, indeed,approaching. When I reached the group, they had both alighted. Victoriaheld Victorin in a close embrace, and was saying to him in accentsimpossible to describe:
"My son, I am a happy mother!"
It was only then that I perceived by the light of the torches ofVictoria's escort that her right hand was bandaged. Victorin inquiredwith anxiety:
"Are you wounded, mother?"
"Only slightly," answered Victoria. And addressing me she extended herhand affectionately, saying:
"Brother, you are with us! My heart overflows with joy!"
"But who gave you the wound?"
"The Frankish woman whom Ellen and Sampso brought to my house after yourdeparture--"
"Elwig!" I cried horrified. "Oh! The accursed creature! She has approvedherself worthy of her race!"
"Schanvoch," Victoria said to me gravely, "we must not curse the dead.She whom you call Elwig lives no more--"
"Mother!" cried Victorin with increased anxiety. "Dear mother! Are youcertain the wound is slight?"
"Here, my son; I shall let you see it!"
And in order to reassure Victorin, she unwound the bandage in which herright hand was wrapped.
"You can see for yourself," she added. "I cut myself only in two placesin the palm of my hand as I sought to disarm the woman."
Indeed, the wounds that my foster-sister exhibited were two long but byno means deep cuts. They were in no respect serious.
"And Elwig was armed?" I inquired, seeking to recollect the events ofthe previous evening. "Where could she have found a weapon? Unless lastevening, before starting to swim after us, she picked u
p her knife fromthe beach and hid it under her clothes."
"And how and when did the woman try to stab you, mother? Were you alonewith her?"
"I asked Schanvoch to have Elwig brought to me at noon; I wanted to seeher and give her my help. Ellen and Sampso brought her to me. I happenedto be speaking with Robert, the chief of our reserves; we wereconsidering measures for the defense of the camp and town in the eventof our army's defeat. Elwig was taken to a contiguous apartment, andSchanvoch's wife and sister-in-law left the stranger alone while I sentfor an interpreter to help us understand each other. At the close of myconversation with Robert on military matters, he asked me for some helpfor the widow of an old soldier. That took me to the chamber where Elwigwas waiting for me. I went in for some silver pieces which I kept in alittle casket in which were also several Gallic jewels, necklaces andbracelets that I inherited from my mother--"
"If the casket was open," I cried, the savage cupidity of Neroweg'ssister flashing through my mind, "Elwig, like the true daughter of arace of thieves, must have wished to seize some of the preciousarticles."
"And that was how it happened, Schanvoch. When I entered, the youngFrankish woman was holding in her hand a gold necklace of exquisiteworkmanship. She was contemplating it greedily. The moment she saw meshe dropped the necklace at her feet, and crossing her arms over herbreast she looked at me for a moment in silence and with a savageexpression. Her pale face became red with shame and rage. She then gaveme a somber look, and pronounced my name. I supposed she asked whether Iwas Victoria. I nodded my head affirmatively and said: 'Yes, I amVictoria.' I had hardly uttered the words when Elwig threw herself at myfeet. Her forehead almost touched the floor, as if she humbly imploredmy protection. The woman must doubtlessly have profited by the movementto draw her knife from under her clothes without my perceiving it. Istooped down to raise her, when she suddenly leaped up, and with eyesthat shot fire sought to stab me, while saying 'Victoria!' 'Victoria!'in a tone of rooted hatred."
Although the danger was over, Victorin shuddered at the report that hismother was making; he approached her, gently took the wounded handbetween his own, and kissed it tenderly and lovingly.
"When I saw Elwig's knife raised over me," added Victoria, "my first andinvoluntary movement was to parry the blow and try to seize the knife,while I cried aloud to Robert for help. Robert rushed in and saw mestruggling with Elwig. I was cut in the hand and my blood flowed. Robertbelieved me dangerously wounded, drew his sword, seized Elwig by thethroat, and despatched her before I had time to stay his hand. I deplorethe death of the Frankish woman--she came voluntarily to my house."
"You pity her, mother!" cried Victorin. "That creature thievish andsavage like the rest of her kith! You pity her! I feel certain that shefollowed Schanvoch only in order to find an opportunity to introduceherself into your house, cut your throat and then rob you!"
"I pity her for being born of such a stock," answered Victoria sadly. "Ipity her for having harbored murder in her heart."
"Believe me," I said to my foster-sister. "That woman's death is a justpunishment; besides it puts an end to a life that was soiled with crimesat which nature shudders. May it have pleased the gods that, like Elwig,her brother Neroweg lost his life to-day, and that his stock may beextinguished in him. I will otherwise regret all my life that I did notfinish the man when I had a chance. I have a presentiment that hisdescendants will be fatal to mine."
Victoria gave me a look of astonishment at hearing me utter these words,the sense of which she could not comprehend.
But Victorin turned her thoughts and mine into other channels,exclaiming:
"Hesus be blessed, mother! This was a happy day for Gaul! You escaped agrave danger, and our arms are victorious! The Franks are driven fromour frontier!--"
Victorin broke off; he seemed to listen to a sound in the distance; withflashing eyes he resumed:
"Do you hear, mother? Do you hear the song that the wind carries to ourears?"
We all remained silent; and repeated in chorus by thousands of voicestremulous with the joy of triumph, the following refrain reached usacross the stillness of the night:
"This morning we said:-- 'How many are there of these barbarians?' This evening we say:-- 'How many were there of these blood-thirsty Franks!'"
PART II.
DOMESTIC TRAITORS.