CHAPTER XXIII.
UNDER THE VAMPIRE'S WING.
WHEN our dazzled gaze grew accustomed to the garish blaze of lights wefound ourselves standing in an enormous cavern.
Around us were glowing fires and shining torches innumerable; the smokefrom them half choked us, while above there seemed an immensity ofdarkness, for the roof of the natural chamber was so high that it couldnot be discerned.
Upon one object, weird and horrible, our startled gaze became rivetted.Straight before us, at some little distance, there rose a great blackrock to a height of, as far as I could judge, a thousand feet. Nearlyhalf way up was a great wide ledge or platform larger than any of themarket-places in the City in the Clouds, and upon this there had beenfashioned from the solid rock a colossal representation of thevampire-bat, the device borne upon the banners of Mo. Its enormous wings,each fully five hundred feet from the body to tip, outstretched on eitherside and supported by gigantic pillars of rock carved to representvarious grotesque and hideous figures of men and animals, formed greattemples on either side of the body. The latter, however, attracted ourattention more than did the wonderful wings, for as we stood aghast andamazed we discerned that the vast body of the colossus did not representthat of a bat, but the gigantic jaws were those of a crocodile.
"Zomara!" gasped Omar. "See! It is the great god with the wings of a batand the tail of a lion!"
I looked and saw that far behind rose the tufted tail of the king of theforest. From the two great eyes of the gigantic reptile shone dazzlingstreams of white light, like the rays of a mariner's beacon, andeverywhere twinkling yellow lights were moving about the face of thegreat rock, across the platform whereon the colossal figure rested, evento the distant summit.
Suddenly, as we stood gazing open-mouthed in wonder, the roar of ahundred war-drums beaten somewhere in the vicinity of the enormousrepresentation of the terrible deity of Mo rolled and echoed to theinnermost recesses of the subterranean vault, and just as they hadceased we distinctly saw the giant jaws of the crocodile slowly open.From them belched forth great tongues of flame and thick stifling smokethat, beaten down by a draught from above, curled its poisonous fumesaround us, causing us to cough violently. For fully a minute the greatmouth remained open, when to our horror we saw a small knot of humanfigures approaching it. One loud piercing shriek reached us and at thatinstant we saw the figure of a man or woman--we were not close enough todiscern which--flung by the others headlong into the open flaming mouth.
Again the drums rolled, and the next second the jaws of Zomara closedwith a loud crash that sent a shudder through us.
"The sacrifice!" gasped Omar. "This, then, is one of the horrible customsthat Goliba told us had been introduced by my mother, the Great WhiteQueen!"
"Horrible!" I exclaimed. "That fearful cry will haunt me to my dyingday."
"Let us return," said Kona. "We have witnessed enough, O Master."
"No," Omar answered. "Rather let us see for ourselves the true extent ofthese terrible rites. Goliba, though, alas! he is lost for ever, intendedthat we should."
"Very well," I said. "Lead us, and we will follow."
At that moment footsteps, pattering as those of children, reached ourears and there ran past us half a dozen hideous half-clad dwarfs. Theywere tiny, impish-looking creatures about three feet six high, withdarker skins than the inhabitants of this mystic land, but their faceswere whitewashed in manner similar to those of the royal executioners ofAshanti, and wore their crisp black hair drawn to a knot on top similarto the fashion affected by some savage tribes. As they rushed past ustheir little black eyes, piercing and bead-like, regarded us curiously,and with, we thought, a rather menacing glance; nevertheless theycontinued their way, and watching, we noticed the spot where theycommenced the toilsome ascent to the platform whereon stood the colossus.
"Such a work as that must have taken years to accomplish," I observed toOmar.
"With the Sanoms of Mo everything is possible," he answered. "The rulerof our country is a monarch whose will is so absolute that he or she cancompel everyone, from prince to slave, to participate in any work. Thusthe Naya may have caused every male inhabitant of Mo to help in itsconstruction."
When, however, following the dwarfs we had hurried forward to the stepscut in the black rock I bent to examine them. They were polished by thewear of ages of feet and hands passing over them, and when I pointed outthis fact to Omar he agreed with me that this place must have been inexistence centuries ago, and had probably been re-discovered within thelast two or three years.
The dwarfs, in ascending, put their toes into holes and niches in therocks and kept talking all the while. Every now and then they would stop,sway their heads about and sing a kind of low chant in not unmusicaltones. As we crept up slowly behind, with difficulty finding the rudesteps in the uncertain light, the last of the string of dwarfs keptturning to us bowing and crooning. I confess I began to be anxious,fearing that we might be going into a trap, but I noticed that my twocompanions were calm as iron bars. This gave me renewed courage, and wetoiled up until at last we reached the great platform and stood beneaththe left-hand wing of the gigantic vampire of solid rock. The pillarsthat had been left in the excavations to support it, were, like thesteps, worn smooth where crowds of human beings had jostled against them.The manner in which they were sculptured was very remarkable, the facesof all, both men, beasts, birds and fish, bearing hideous, uncannyexpressions, the fearful grimaces of those suffering the mostexcruciating bodily tortures. It was here apparent, as everywhere, thatthe gigantic figure had not been recently fashioned, but had for manycenturies past been visited by vast crowds of worshippers.
Beneath the outstretched wing under which we stood a large number ofpeople had assembled. Great blazing braziers here and there illuminatedthe weird place with a red uncertain glare, which falling on the faces ofthe crowd of devotees, showed that they had worked themselves into afrenzy of religious fervour. Some were crying aloud to the Crocodile-god,some were prostrate on their faces with their lips to the stones wornsmooth by the tramp of many feet, while many were going through all sortsof ceremonies and antics.
At the end, where the colossal wing joined the body wherein burned thegreat fiery furnace, there stood twelve dwarfs in flowing garments ofpure white. These were high-priests of Zomara. The fierce pigmies,unknown even to Omar, their prince, seemed a sacred tribe who perhaps hadlived here forgotten and undiscovered for generations. In any case it wasapparent that they never ascended to the land above, but devotedthemselves entirely to the curious rites and ceremonies of this strangepagan religion.
In the centre of the semi-circle of tiny bead-eyed priests with whitenedfaces stood one of great age with flowing white beard that nearly sweptthe ground. His figure was exceedingly grotesque, yet he bore himselfwith hauteur, and as he stood before a kind of altar erected in front ofa door, that seemed to lead into the body of the gigantic crocodile, hegave vent in a loud clear voice to the most earnest exhortations. Then,bathing his face and hands in a golden bowl held by the other priests, inorder, so I afterwards learnt, to wash away the bad impressions of theworld, he thus began an instructive lesson:
"Give ear, ye tender branches, unto the words of your parent stock; bendto the lessons of instruction and imbibe the maxims of age andexperience! As the ant creepeth not to its labour till led by its elders;as the young lark soareth not to the sun, but under the shadow of itsmother's wing, so neither doth the child of mortality spring forth toaction unless the parent hand points out its destined labour. But nolabour shall the hand of man appoint unto the people of Mo before theworship of Zomara, the sacred god of the crocodiles, and of the greatNaya, his handmaiden. Mean are the pursuits of the sons of the earth;they stretch out their sinews like the patient mule, they persevere intheir chase after trifles, as the camel in the desert beyond the ThousandSteps. As the leopard springeth upon his prey, so doth man rejoice overhis riches, and bask in the sun of slothfulness like the lion's cub. Onthe s
tream of life float the bodies of the careless and the intemperateas the carcases of the dead on the waves of the Lake of Sacrifices. Asthe birds of prey destroy the carcase so is man devoured by sin. No manis master over himself, but the Naya is his ruler; and to endeavour todefeat the purpose of Zomara is madness and folly. O people! pay yourvows to the King of Crocodiles alone, and not to your fetishes, which,though they be superior in your sight, are yet the work of his hands. Letvirtue be the basis of knowledge, and let knowledge be as a slave beforeher."
The worshippers at the shrine of the dread god raising their right handsthen repeated after the high priest some mystic words that, althoughhaving no meaning for me, struck terror into Omar's heart.
"Hearken!" he whispered to me in an awed tone. "Hearken! Our conspiracyagainst the Naya is already known! They are swearing allegiance to her,and vowing vengeance against any who thwart her will. If we are detectedhere as strangers it will mean certain death!"
I glanced around the strange, weird place, and could not suppress afeeling of despair that we should ever leave it again alive. The faces ofthe worshippers, men and women, illuminated by flaming flambeaux andburning braziers, were all fierce and determined-looking, showing thatthe worship of the Crocodile-god was conducted in no faint spirit. Beforethis gigantic representation of the national deity, they became seizedwith a religious mania that transformed them into veritable demons.
"Lo!" cried the silver-bearded priest. "Think, O people! of all our GreatWhite Queen hath done for you. She hath brought down the moon's rays fromthe realms of night to lighten our darkness, she hath marked the coursesof the stars with her wand and reduced eccentric orbs to the obedience ofa system. She hath caught the swift-flying light and divided its rays;she hath marshalled the emanations of the sun under their different-huedbanners, given symmetry and order to the glare of day, explained the darketernal laws of the Forest-god, and showed herself always acquainted withthe dictates of Zomara."
His hearers, swaying their bodies and performing all sorts of eccentricantics, cried aloud in confirmation of the benefits bestowed upon Mo byits queen.
"The secrets, too, of chemistry have been laid open by her," continuedthe diminutive priest. "Inert matter is engaged in warlike commotion andshe hath brought fire down from the heavens to entertain her. She hathplaced our land in such a state of defence that no invader can approachit; she hath brought from over the great black water the amazing'pom-poms' of the English, which shed a thousand bullets at one charge,and she hath caused cannon to be cast to project explosive shells beyondthe reach of the eye. She hath taught you at once the beauty of natureand the folly of man. Truly she is a great queen; therefore let not herson Omar who hath returned from over the great sea, wrest from her handthe regal sceptre. Already hath our queen perceived the haughtiness andthe vicious principles of her son, and maketh no doubt but that he willsoon aspire to her throne. This causeth the prudent Mistress of Mo toresolve to banish him and take all power from him. Let him be ejectedfrom our country and the queen's word be obeyed, for no beam of mercylurketh in her eye. The Naya is determined."
"The great Naya shall be obeyed," they cried aloud. "Omar, the maliciousprince, curbed by the authority of his mother, shall be banished."
"Or his life shall, like those of his followers we hold here asprisoners, pay the forfeit of presumption," added the high priest.
And as he uttered the words, those surrounding went to the door behindthe fire-altar, and opening it, led forth three of our Dagombas amid thesavage howls of the excited spectators.
"O, race of mortals," cried the priest, raising his hand the while, "Orace of mortals, to whose care and protection the offspring of clay arecommitted, say what hath been the success of your labours; what viceshave you punished; what virtues rewarded; what false lights have youextinguished; what sacrifices have you made to the god of Crocodiles?Helpless race of mortals, Zomara is your god and the Naya your queen. Butfor their protection how vain would be your toils, how endless yourresearches! Arm ye then and rally round the one to whom you owe all,whose power is such that this our country can never be assaulted by thetricks of fortune, or the power of man. Omar and his black swarm ofintruders must be driven out or given as sacrifice to Zomara. Till thisbe done the curse of the god ye fear shall rest upon our land, and hispresence shall nightly remind ye of your idleness. Will ye let thedefiant prince overthrow your queen?"
"He shall never do so," they shouted in a tumult of enthusiasm, which,ere it died away, increased tenfold, when suddenly before us we saw afemale figure in a loose yellow robe move with stately mien towards thesmoking altar and kneel for an instant before it.
Then, rising, she turned towards the people with her long, bare, scraggyarms uplifted in silence.
In the red flickering light we recognized the evil bony features. It wasthe dreaded Naya herself!
"The vengeance of Zomara upon mine enemies," she cried in harsh, metallictones. "I will treat each and every one who dareth to oppose me in theway I will now punish these three savages who have entered our regionforbidden. Watch, and let it be a warning to those who may be tempted bybribes to entertain disloyal thoughts."
With stately stride she led the way along a dark colonnade from beneaththe wing of the colossal vampire to the enormous closed mouth of thehideous crocodile, being followed by the high priest and his attendants,who dragged along the three of our unfortunate companions.
At once a headlong rush was made by the frenzied spectators to obtain aview of what was to transpire, and we followed leisurely at a respectabledistance, remaining in the shadow of one of the grotesquely-carvedcolumns of rock.
When all had taken up their places we could see the expressions of abjectfear upon the glistening faces of the wretched blacks, and longed to rushforth and rescue them, but with knowledge that instant death would resultfrom such foolhardiness we remained breathlessly silent, compelled towatch.
Again the high priest, with outstretched hands over the people, cried:
"Give heed unto me! Were Zomara, the god whom we worship, to beworshipped in perfectness, the whole length of our lives would notsuffice to lie prostrate before him. But the merciful Avenger of Wrongexpecteth not more from us than we are able to pay him. True it is thatwe should begin early, and late take rest, and daily and hourly offer upour praises and petitions to the throne of his handmaiden's grace. Butbetter is a late repentance than none; and the eleventh hour of the dayfor work than perpetual idleness unto the end of our time; and this isnot to be obtained for us but through our mighty Naya, the daughter ofZomara the Swallower-up of Evil."
Himself facing the hideous gigantic head with its long jaws and gleamingeyes, he flung himself suddenly upon his knees and commenced a gabbledprayer. All prostrated themselves in adoration, even to the great Nayaherself, whose magnificent jewels flashed and gleamed with wondrousbrilliancy each time she moved.
In order not to appear strange to this extraordinary proceeding, we, too,cast ourselves upon our knees and remained with heads bent in devotionalattitude, but allowing no detail of the weird scene to escape us.
Suddenly the priest arose, and with a fire-brand ignited at the braziernear his hand, he stood before the wonderful figure of Zomara and made amystic sign.
Instantly the ponderous jaws with their double row of iron teeth, each aslong and as sharp as swords, slowly opened, and there issued forth agreat roaring mass of flame that licked the upper jaw, a veritable tongueof fire.
The Naya rose, swaying her long arms wildly, but the people remainedstill kneeling, silent in awe.
Her voice was heard for a moment above the roaring and crackling of thefurnace in the throat of the colossus, and then, at a sudden signal fromthe high priest, our three wretched black companions were seized by thegroup of dwarfs, carried up a short flight of steps by white-robedattendants, and hurled headlong into the flaming mouth of the monster.
A loud scream broke upon our ears, and for a single instant the flamesbelched forth with increase
d fury, but as the last victim of thishorrible rite was consigned to his terrible doom, as sacrifice to thedreaded god, the cruel jaws closed again with a heavy clang.
The merciless barbarity of the Great White Queen horrified us. Thefearful fate of those who had shared our perils during our adventurousjourney to this spectral land of mystery held us dumb in terror anddismay.
Yet, ere the giant jaws of the hideous monstrosity had snapped together,the people, hilarious and excited, sprang to their feet exhorting theirgreat deity to send his fiercest vengeance upon us, the intruders, thatour sinews might be withered and that we might rot by the road-side likecattle smitten by the pest.
Then the terrible Naya, wheeling round slowly, gave her people herblessing, and they, in turn, shouted themselves hoarse in franticadulation.
Truly, the scene was the strangest and most weird that my eyes had evergazed upon.