CHAPTER XXIV.
YOUNG LOVE'S DREAM.
What in all the world so sweet as young love's dream? It is the old,old story, and yet it is as new and fresh and blissful to the soul asit will be to the end of time, or until these natures of ours arechanged by the same Hand that framed them.
What more bewitching romance could cast its halo about the divinepassion than that which enshrined the affection of Fred Ashman for thewonderful Ariel, the only child of the grim Haffgo, king of theMurhapas?
He had met and chatted and exchanged glances with the beauties of hisown clime, and yet his heart remained unscathed. He reverenced the sexto which his adored mother and sister belonged, and yet never had hefelt the thrill that stirred his nature to the profoundest depths, whenhis eyes met those of the barbarian princess and the two smiled withouteither uttering a word.
"What care I for the gold and the diamonds and the precious stones ofthe Matto Grosso?" the ardent lover asked himself; "is not she theKoh-i-noor of them all?--the one gem whose preciousness is worth morethan all the world?"
He was willing that the Professor and Jared Long should risk theirlives in searching for the enchanted lake, and the burning mountainwhere such priceless wealth existed. Thousands of their kind had doneit before, and countless thousands would follow in their footstepsthrough the generations to come.
But as for _him_, a new mission had broken upon his consciousness; hehad a sacred duty to perform. Somewhere, in this broad world, a humansoul is always waiting for its mate. Perchance it never comes, and theweary one may be joined to that which heaven never intended it to bejoined, or it repines and goes to the grave unloved.
Fred Ashman was as sure as if he heard a voice from the stars, tellinghim that Ariel, the daughter of Haffgo, was his other self. He couldnever rest, he could not really live until it should be his lot tocarry her from this lonely wilderness to his own home thousands ofmiles away.
To the young lover, aglow and happy in his new passion, all things arepossible. It is he who can appreciate even the days of chivalry, whenthe valiant knight went forth, with lance and buckler to win his ladyagainst all comers, counting it his highest happiness to face theperils of flood and field if perchance he could but win her smile.
And yet, amid all the roseate dreams which fairly lifted Fred Ashmanfrom the gross earth, he could not entirely lose sight of his peculiarsituation and the formidable difficulties which environed his path. Hewould not admit they were insurmountable, but they were hard to climb.
To come down to facts, he felt that the first, and, indeed, theindispensable step was to secure a meeting with the princess that hadtaken such complete possession of his heart.
Guarded as she was by her father, who was sure to resent with instantdeath any such presumption on his part, he might well shrink from theappalling attempt; but love has many ways of picking the locks that maybe fastened to keep hearts apart.
"Ziffak!"
That was the name which came to his tongue again and again, with thequestion whether his friendship could not be enlisted on the side ofthe youth, who had come so strangely to the Murhapa village. He was ashrewd fellow who must suspect the truth of those stolen glances. Hehad shown a sudden and strong affection for the explorers, andespecially for Ashman to whom he surrendered. Was what friendshipstrong enough to lead him to a step that would insure a rupture withhis royal brother and probably bring about war in his little kingdom?
"I wonder what revelation he was on the point of making when he satdown with us in his mother's home," Ashman muttered, as he slowlywalked along the bank of the Upper Xingu, unmindful of the creepingshadow behind him.
That it bore upon that interview and related to the angry quarrel hedid not doubt, but he could only conjecture its nature which was notencouraging when he recalled that Ziffak had told him and his friends,without protest on his part, that they were likely to be compelled toleave the village that night.
Ashman ceased in his walk, for he saw, in spite of his absorbingreverie, that he had passed above the uppermost house of the village.The condition under which he was allowed to stay in peace, even for abrief time, was that he should not wander beyond the limits of the town.
It was useless to excite resentment without reason, and he was about toturn and retrace his steps, when a slight rustling of the undergrowth,which marked the boundary of the forest on the south caused him to turnhis head, stop, and hold his rifle ready for danger.
His old habit of caution came back the instant peril seemed to threaten.
While he debated whether to advance and force the stranger to revealhimself, the outlines of a form were distinguished and a slight figurestepped forth in the moonlight.
Ashman's heart seemed to stop beating and life itself hang in suspense,when he recognized the very being that had taken such full possessionof his thoughts.
Ay, Ariel, daughter of King Haffgo, stood before him.
For a moment, neither spoke or moved. It was not strange perhaps thatshe was the first to recover the power of utterance.
Advancing timidly, she said in a tremulous voice and with an accentjust broken enough to make it all the sweeter:
"You are in danger and I could not help coming to tell you."
"Heaven bless you!" he exclaimed, taking a step toward her, but stillobserving a respectful distance. "You have braved danger yourself togive me the warning."
"I left my home and waited for a chance to speak to you; I dared not goto the door of Ziffak's house for I would have been seen. Then, whileI was wondering what to do, I saw you come forth and walk toward theriver. I thought you would go to the end of the village, so I hurriedon and hid among the bushes until I could speak to you without any oneseeing me."
Ashman's head was in a swirl. He was trembling in every limb, whileshe seemed to be devoid of any agitation whatever.
"Your father King Haffgo was angry this afternoon, because I looked atyou; but," added the lover, "I could not have helped doing it, if Iknew my life would have paid for the act. Ziffak told me about you, soyou see I did not feel that you were a stranger, even though I then sawyou for the first time and never heard the music of your voice untilnow."
"The king is angry," said she, withdrawing a little as the happy fellowtook another step; "he says you shall be killed, but Ziffak persuadedhim to say your life should be spared if you went away to-night."
Ashman felt another delicious thrill as he reflected that if such werethe understanding, there would seem to be no cause for the lovely Arielto come thus far out of her way to repeat what Ziffak was sure toexplain before the departure of the explorers.
Ah, it must have been because of her interest in him that she hadsought this perilous stolen interview.
"Well, then," said he mournfully, "I must depart and never see youagain. Death would be preferable to _that_!"
"But you may come back some time," said she in such a tremulous,hesitating voice, that he impulsively sprang forward and caught herdainty hand before she could escape him.
"O don't!" she plead like a timid bird, striving to withdraw theimprisoned fingers which he still held fast.
"Nay, but you must, if I am never to see you again," he exclaimedvehemently; "O, Ariel, I had hoped that I might stay here until I couldsee and talk with you and tell you that I can never, never leave you;that if I go, you must go with me; I will take you to my home which ismany many long miles away, but I will be your slave; I will love you; Iwill make you happy; you shall never sigh for the land and the peopleyou leave behind you----"
There is no saying when the impetuous lover would have stopped hiswooing in this cyclone-like fashion hut for an alarming interruption.He had been smitten profoundly, and the urgency of the case impelledhim to an ardor which could not have found expression under any otherconditions; but, all the time the frightened maiden was striving tofree her imprisoned hand, and the lover felt he ought to release it butcould not.
Suddenly she ceased her efforts and l
ooked beyond him with a gasp andsuch a startled expression, that he knew some unusual cause hadproduced it.