CHAPTER II
About the time the couriers departed from Messala's door with thedespatches (it being yet the early morning hour), Ben-Hur enteredIlderim's tent. He had taken a plunge into the lake, and breakfasted,and appeared now in an under-tunic, sleeveless, and with skirt scarcelyreaching to the knee.
The sheik saluted him from the divan.
"I give thee peace, son of Arrius," he said, with admiration, for,in truth, he had never seen a more perfect illustration of glowing,powerful, confident manhood. "I give thee peace and good-will.The horses are ready, I am ready. And thou?"
"The peace thou givest me, good sheik, I give thee in return.I thank thee for so much good-will. I am ready."
Ilderim clapped his hands.
"I will have the horses brought. Be seated."
"Are they yoked?"
"No."
"Then suffer me to serve myself," said Ben-Hur. "It is needfulthat I make the acquaintance of thy Arabs. I must know them byname, O sheik, that I may speak to them singly; nor less mustI know their temper, for they are like men: if bold, the betterof scolding; if timid, the better of praise and flattery. Let theservants bring me the harness."
"And the chariot?" asked the sheik.
"I will let the chariot alone to-day. In its place, let them bringme a fifth horse, if thou hast it; he should be barebacked, and fleetas the others."
Ilderim's wonder was aroused, and he summoned a servant immediately.
"Bid them bring the harness for the four," he said--"the harnessfor the four, and the bridle for Sirius."
Ilderim then arose.
"Sirius is my love, and I am his, O son of Arrius. We have beencomrades for twenty years--in tent, in battle, in all stages of thedesert we have been comrades. I will show him to you."
Going to the division curtain, he held it, while Ben-Hur passedunder. The horses came to him in a body. One with a small head,luminous eyes, neck like the segment of a bended bow, and mightychest, curtained thickly by a profusion of mane soft and wavyas a damsel's locks, nickered low and gladly at sight of him.
"Good horse," said the sheik, patting the dark-brown cheek."Good horse, good-morning." Turning then to Ben-Hur, he added,"This is Sirius, father of the four here. Mira, the mother,awaits our return, being too precious to be hazarded in a regionwhere there is a stronger hand than mine. And much I doubt," helaughed as he spoke--"much I doubt, O son of Arrius, if the tribecould endure her absence. She is their glory; they worship her;did she gallop over them, they would laugh. Ten thousand horsemen,sons of the desert, will ask to-day, 'Have you heard of Mira?' Andto the answer, 'She is well,' they will say, 'God is good! blessedbe God!'"
"Mira--Sirius--names of stars, are they not, O sheik?" askedBen-Hur, going to each of the four, and to the sire, offering hishand.
"And why not?" replied Ilderim. "Wert thou ever abroad on thedesert at night?"
"No."
"Then thou canst not know how much we Arabs depend upon the stars.We borrow their names in gratitude, and give them in love. My fathersall had their Miras, as I have mine; and these children are starsno less. There, see thou, is Rigel, and there Antares; that one isAtair, and he whom thou goest to now is Aldebaran, the youngestof the brood, but none the worse of that--no, not he! Againstthe wind he will carry thee till it roar in thy ears like Akaba;and he will go where thou sayest, son of Arrius--ay, by the gloryof Solomon! he will take thee to the lion's jaws, if thou darestso much."
The harness was brought. With his own hands Ben-Hur equipped thehorses; with his own hands he led them out of the tent, and thereattached the reins.
"Bring me Sirius," he said.
An Arab could not have better sprung to seat on the courser's back.
"And now the reins."
They were given him, and carefully separated.
"Good sheik," he said, "I am ready. Let a guide go before me tothe field, and send some of thy men with water."
There was no trouble at starting. The horses were not afraid.Already there seemed a tacit understanding between them andthe new driver, who had performed his part calmly, and withthe confidence which always begets confidence. The order ofgoing was precisely that of driving, except that Ben-Hur satupon Sirius instead of standing in the chariot. Ilderim's spiritarose. He combed his beard, and smiled with satisfaction as hemuttered, "He is not a Roman, no, by the splendor of God!" Hefollowed on foot, the entire tenantry of the dowar--men, women,and children--pouring after him, participants all in his solicitude,if not in his confidence.
The field, when reached, proved ample and well fitted for thetraining, which Ben-Hur began immediately by driving the fourat first slowly, and in perpendicular lines, and then in widecircles. Advancing a step in the course, he put them next intoa trot; again progressing, he pushed into a gallop; at lengthhe contracted the circles, and yet later drove eccentrically hereand there, right, left, forward, and without a break. An hour wasthus occupied. Slowing the gait to a walk, he drove up to Ilderim.
"The work is done, nothing now but practice," he said. "I giveyou joy, Sheik Ilderim, that you have such servants as these.See," he continued, dismounting and going to the horses, "see,the gloss of their red coats is without spot; they breathe lightlyas when I began. I give thee great joy, and it will go hard if"--heturned his flashing eyes upon the old man's face--"if we have notthe victory and our--"
He stopped, colored, bowed. At the sheik's side he observed,for the first time, Balthasar, leaning upon his staff, and twowomen closely veiled. At one of the latter he looked a second time,saying to himself, with a flutter about his heart, "'Tis she--'tisthe Egyptian!" Ilderim picked up his broken sentence--
"The victory, and our revenge!" Then he said aloud, "I am notafraid; I am glad. Son of Arrius, thou art the man. Be the endlike the beginning, and thou shalt see of what stuff is the liningof the hand of an Arab who is able to give."
"I thank thee, good sheik," Ben-Hur returned, modestly. "Let theservants bring drink for the horses."
With his own hands he gave the water.
Remounting Sirius, he renewed the training, going as before fromwalk to trot, from trot to gallop; finally, he pushed the steadyracers into the run, gradually quickening it to full speed.The performance then became exciting; and there were applausefor the dainty handling of the reins, and admiration for the four,which were the same, whether they flew forward or wheeled in varyingcurvature. In their action there were unity, power, grace, pleasure,all without effort or sign of labor. The admiration was unmixed withpity or reproach, which would have been as well bestowed upon swallowsin their evening flight.
In the midst of the exercises, and the attention they received fromall the bystanders, Malluch came upon the ground, seeking the sheik.
"I have a message for you, O sheik," he said, availing himselfof a moment he supposed favorable for the speech--"a messagefrom Simonides, the merchant."
"Simonides!" ejaculated the Arab. "Ah! 'tis well. May Abaddon takeall his enemies!"
"He bade me give thee first the holy peace of God," Malluch continued;"and then this despatch, with prayer that thou read it the instantof receipt."
Ilderim, standing in his place, broke the sealing of the packagedelivered to him, and from a wrapping of fine linen took two letters,which he proceeded to read.
[No. 1.]
"Simonides to Sheik Ilderim.
"O friend!
"Assure thyself first of a place in my inner heart.
"Then--
"There is in thy dowar a youth of fair presence, calling himselfthe son of Arrius; and such he is by adoption.
"He is very dear to me.
"He hath a wonderful history, which I will tell thee; come thouto-day or to-morrow, that I may tell thee the history, and havethy counsel.
"Meantime, favor all his requests, so they be not against honor.Should there be need of reparation, I am bound to thee for it.
"That I have interest in this youth, keep thou private.
"Remember me to thy other
guest. He, his daughter, thyself, and allwhom thou mayst choose to be of thy company, must depend upon meat the Circus the day of the games. I have seats already engaged.
"To thee and all thine, peace.
"What should I be, O my friend, but thy friend?
"SIMONIDES."
[No. 2.]
"Simonides to Sheik Ilderim.
"O friend!
"Out of the abundance of my experience, I send you a word.
"There is a sign which all persons not Romans, and who have moneys orgoods subject to despoilment, accept as warning--that is, the arrivalat a seat of power of some high Roman official charged with authority.
"To-day comes the Consul Maxentius.
"Be thou warned!
"Another word of advice.
"A conspiracy, to be of effect against thee, O friend, must includethe Herods as parties; thou hast great properties in their dominions.
"Wherefore keep thou watch.
"Send this morning to thy trusty keepers of the roads leading southfrom Antioch, and bid them search every courier going and coming;if they find private despatches relating to thee or thine affairs,THOU SHOULDST SEE THEM.
"You should have received this yesterday, though it is not toolate, if you act promptly.
"If couriers left Antioch this morning, your messengers know thebyways, and can get before them with your orders.
"Do not hesitate.
"Burn this after reading.
"O my friend! thy friend,
"SIMONIDES."
Ilderim read the letters a second time, and refolded them in thelinen wrap, and put the package under his girdle.
The exercises in the field continued but a little longer--in allabout two hours. At their conclusion, Ben-Hur brought the four toa walk, and drove to Ilderim.
"With leave, O sheik," he said, "I will return thy Arabs to thetent, and bring them out again this afternoon."
Ilderim walked to him as he sat on Sirius, and said, "I give themto you, son of Arrius, to do with as you will until after the games.You have done with them in two hours what the Roman--may jackals gnawhis bones fleshless!--could not in as many weeks. We will win--by thesplendor of God, we will win!"
At the tent Ben-Hur remained with the horses while they were beingcared for; then, after a plunge in the lake and a cup of arrack withthe sheik, whose flow of spirits was royally exuberant, he dressedhimself in his Jewish garb again, and walked with Malluch on intothe Orchard.
There was much conversation between the two, not all of it important.One part, however, must not be overlooked. Ben-Hur was speaking.
"I will give you," he said, "an order for my property stored inthe khan this side the river by the Seleucian Bridge. Bring itto me to-day, if you can. And, good Malluch--if I do not overtaskyou--"
Malluch protested heartily his willingness to be of service.
"Thank you, Malluch, thank you," said Ben-Hur. "I will take youat your word, remembering that we are brethren of the old tribe,and that the enemy is a Roman. First, then--as you are a man ofbusiness, which I much fear Sheik Ilderim is not--"
"Arabs seldom are," said Malluch, gravely.
"Nay, I do not impeach their shrewdness, Malluch. It is well,however, to look after them. To save all forfeit or hindrancein connection with the race, you would put me perfectly at rest bygoing to the office of the Circus, and seeing that he has compliedwith every preliminary rule; and if you can get a copy of the rules,the service may be of great avail to me. I would like to know thecolors I am to wear, and particularly the number of the cryptI am to occupy at the starting; if it be next Messala's on theright or left, it is well; if not, and you can have it changedso as to bring me next the Roman, do so. Have you good memory,Malluch?"
"It has failed me, but never, son of Arrius, where the heart helpedit as now."
"I will venture, then, to charge you with one further service.I saw yesterday that Messala was proud of his chariot, as hemight be, for the best of Caesar's scarcely surpass it. Can younot make its display an excuse which will enable you to find ifit be light or heavy? I would like to have its exact weight andmeasurements--and, Malluch, though you fail in all else, bring meexactly the height his axle stands above the ground. You understand,Malluch? I do not wish him to have any actual advantage of me.I do not care for his splendor; if I beat him, it will make hisfall the harder, and my triumph the more complete. If there areadvantages really important, I want them."
"I see, I see!" said Malluch. "A line dropped from the centre ofthe axle is what you want."
"Thou hast it; and be glad, Malluch--it is the last of my commissions.Let us return to the dowar."
At the door of the tent they found a servant replenishing thesmoke-stained bottles of leben freshly made, and stopped torefresh themselves. Shortly afterwards Malluch returned tothe city.
During their absence, a messenger well mounted had been despatchedwith orders as suggested by Simonides. He was an Arab, and carriednothing written.