The Great White Queen: A Tale of Treasure and Treason

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  THE FIGHT FOR THE EMERALD THRONE.

  THROWN into utter confusion by the great press of people well armed anddetermined, the soldiers, who had fought so desperately, and who intendedto blow up the house that Omar and his companions had made theirstronghold, fled precipitately up the hill, but so rapid and heavy wasthe firing, that few, if any, got out of the street alive.

  On seeing the chances thus suddenly turned in our favour we poured forthinto the street again, and joining our forces with those of our rescuers,rushed with them into the main thoroughfare leading to the palace,scrambling over the _debris_ of our barricade and the heaps of bodiesthat blocked our passage. A hurried question, addressed to a man rushingalong at my side, elicited glad tidings. So fiercely had the peoplefought that the troops sent out to quell the rising had been utterlyrouted everywhere, while many of the regiments had turned in our favourand had actually held several of the barricades, winning brilliantvictories.

  "It is yonder, at the palace, where the resistance will be greatest," theman cried excitedly, blood streaming from a ghastly wound on his brow."But our cause is good. The Naya shall die!"

  "To the Palace!" screamed the infuriated mob. "To the Palace!"

  And forward the frantic dash was made at redoubled pace until we came tothe pile of fallen masonry, which had, a few hours ago, been the greatimpregnable gateway that closed each day at sunset, and opened not tillsunrise, save for the Great White Queen herself.

  Here the place seemed undefended until we came close up to it, whenwithout warning we were met with a withering rifle fire that laid lowdozens of our comrades. The man who had been so enthusiastic a momentbefore and who had told me of our successes, was struck full in thebreast by a ball and fell against me dead.

  For a moment only did we hold back. Dawn was spreading now, but theheavy black smoke obscured the struggling daylight. Suddenly theresounded just at my rear Omar's well-known voice, crying:

  "Forward! Forward, my brethren. I, Omar, your prince, lead you into thepalace of my father. To-day there commenceth a new and brighter era forour beloved land. Falter not, but end the struggle valiantly as ye havecommenced it. Forward!"

  His words sent a sudden patriotic thrill through the great concourse ofarmed men, who instantly sprang forward, and regardless of the blazinglines of rifles before them climbed the ruins and engaged the defendershand to hand. It was a brilliant dash and could only have beenaccomplished by the courage inspired by Omar's words, for the odds wereonce more against us, and the rapid fire from behind the ruins played themost frightful havoc in our ranks. In the midst of the crowd I clamberedup, sword in hand, over the huge masses of masonry and rubbish, andspringing to earth on the other side, alighted in a corner where thepicked guards of the Naya were making a last desperate stand.

  At first the struggle had been a hand-to-hand one, but they hadretreated, and were now firing heavy volleys that effectively kept us atbay.

  Almost at the same moment as I sprang down I heard behind me fiendishyells and the clambering of many feet. In an instant I recognised it asthe savage war cry of the Dagombas, and next second a hundred half-nakedblacks, looking veritable fiends in the red glare, swept down headlong tothe spot where I stood and, headed by Kona brandishing his spear, dashedstraight upon the defenders. The effect of this was to cause the othersto spring forward as reinforcements, and quicker than the time occupiedin relating it, this position, an exceedingly strong one, fell into ourhands. So infuriated were the Dagombas by the excesses committed by thesoldiery in various parts of the city, that they vented their savagewrath upon the defenders until the butchery became awful, and I doubtwhether a single man escaped.

  The soldiers holding the next court, seeing this disaster, placed, ere wecould prevent them, two field-pieces behind the closed gate wherein holeshad been hacked, and with the walls crowded with men with rifles theybegan to pour upon us a deadly hail of shot and shell. Once, for a momentonly, Niaro, the provincial governor I had met at Goliba's, fought besideme, but after exchanging a few breathless words we became againseparated. Little time elapsed ere one and all understood that to remainlong under this galling fire of the palace guards would mean death to us,therefore it required no further incentive than an appeal from Omar tocause us to storm the entrance to the court.

  "Well done, friends," he shouted. "We have broken down the first defence.Come, let us sweep away the remainder, but spare the life of the Naya.Remember I am her son. Again, forward! Zomara giveth strength to yourhands and courage to your hearts. Use them for the purpose he hathbestowed them upon you."

  In the forward movement in response to these loudly-uttered words fearfulcries of rage and despair mingled with hoarse shouts of the vanquished.Rifles flashed everywhere in the faint morning light, bullets kept up asinging chorus above our heads, and about me, in the frightful tumult,gleamed naked blood-stained blades. At first the guards, like those inthe outer court, made a desperate resistance, but soon they showed signsof weakness, and I could distinguish in the faint grey dawn how graduallywe were driving them back, slowly gaining the entrance to the court,which, I remembered, was a very large and beautiful one with coolcolonnades, handsome fountains and beautiful flowering trees of a kind Ihad never seen in England.

  At last, after a fierce struggle, in which the defenders very nearlysucceeded in driving us out or slaughtering us where we stood, thefield-pieces were silenced, a charge of explosive was successfully placedbeneath the gate and a loud roar followed that shook every stone in thatcolossal pile.

  The ponderous door was shattered and the defenders disorganised by thesuddenness of the disaster. Almost before they were aware of it we hadpoured in among them. Then the slaughter was renewed, and the sceneswitnessed on every hand frightful to behold.

  Kona and his black followers fought like demons, spearing the soldiersright and left, always in the van of the fray. Omar and Kona wereapparently sharing the direction of the attack, for sometimes I heard thevoice of one raised, giving orders, and sometimes the other. But, howeverirregular the mode of proceeding might have been from a militarystandpoint, success was ours, for half an hour later the two innercourts, strenuously defended by the Naya's body guard, were taken, andjudging from the fact that the firing outside had become desultory itseemed as though hostilities in the streets had practically ceased.

  At this juncture some man, a tall, powerful fellow who was distinguishinghimself by his valiant deeds, told me that the military down in the city,finding the populace so strong, had, after a most terrific fight, atlast ceased all opposition and declared in favour of the Prince Omar.This, we afterwards discovered, was the actual truth. The carnage in thestreets had, however, been appalling, before this step had been resolvedupon, but when once the declaration had been made, the remnants of theNaya's army were, at the orders of the leaders of the people, marchedwithout the city wall on the opposite side to the great cliff, and therehalted to await the progress of events.

  Meanwhile, we were still hewing our way, inch by inch, towards the centreof the palace of the Great White Queen. So desperate was the conflictthat the perspiration rolled from us in great beads, and many of mycomrades fell from sheer exhaustion, and were trampled to death beneaththe feet of the wildly-excited throng.

  Soon, driving back the final ring of defenders, and shooting them down tothe last man, we dashed across the central court, where the polishedmarble paving ran with blood, and battering down the great gilded doors,that fell with a loud crash, gained our goal, entering the spacious Hallof Audience, in the centre of which, upon its raised dais, under thegreat gilded dome, stood the historic Emerald Throne.

  The magnificent hall was deserted. The bloodshed had been frightful. Thecourts were heaped with dead and dying. Several chairs were lyingoverturned, as if the courtiers and slaves had left hastily, and evenacross the seat of royalty one of the Naya's rich bejewelled robes ofstate had been hastily flung down. This, snatched up by one of theDagombas, was tossed
away into the crowd, who gleefully tore it to shredsas sign that the power of the dreaded Naya was for ever broken.

  To the exultant shouts of a thousand wild, blood-bespattered people, thegreat hall echoed again and again. The faint light showed too plainly atwhat terrible cost the victory had been won. Their clothes were torn,their faces were blackened by powder, from their superficial wounds bloodwas oozing, while the more serious consequences of sword-cuts andgun-shots had been hastily bound by shreds of garments. Flushed by theirvictory, they were a strange, forbidding-looking rabble. Yet they wereour partisans; a peaceful, law-abiding people who had been oppressed by atyrannical rule and long ripe for revolt, they had seized thisopportunity to break the power of the cruel-hearted woman who wasunworthy to hold sway upon that historic throne.

  "Let us seek the Naya! She shall not escape! Let us avenge the deaths ofour fathers and children!" were the cries raised when they found the Hallof Audience deserted. Apparently they had expected to find the GreatWhite Queen seated there, awaiting them, and their chagrin was intense atfinding her already a fugitive.

  "She dare not face us!" they screamed. "All tyrants are cowards. Killher! Let us kill her!"

  But Goliba, whom I was gratified to see present and unharmed, sprang uponthe dais, and waving his arms, cried:

  "Rather let us first place our valiant young prince upon the EmeraldThrone. Let him be appointed our ruler; then let us seek to place theNaya in captivity."

  "No," they cried excitedly. "Kill her!"

  "Give her alive to Zomara!" suggested one man near me, grimly. "Let hertaste the punishment to which she has consigned so many hundreds of ourrelatives and friends."

  Heedless of these shouts, Goliba, stretching forth his hand, led Omar,whose torn clothes and perspiring face told how hard he had fought,towards the wonderful throne of green gems, and seating him thereon,cried:

  "I, Goliba, on behalf of these, the people of our great kingdom, enthronethee and invest thee with the supreme power in place of thy mother, theNaya."

  Loud deafening cheers, long repeated, rose from the assembled multitude,and the soldiers dying in the courts outside knew that the revolt of thepeople had been successful; that right had won in this struggle againstmight. Then, when the cries of adulation became fainter, and withdifficulty silence was restored, Omar rose, and raising his sword, uponwhich blood was still wet, exclaimed in a loud, ringing voice:

  "I, Omar, the last descendant of the royal house of Sanom, herebyproclaim myself Naba of Mo."

  Again cheers rang through the vaulted hall, and presently, when theexcitement had once more died down, he added, gazing round with a regalair:

  "About me here I see those who have borne arms in my cause, and to eachand every one I render thanks. How much we may all of us deplore the lossof so many valuable lives death is nevertheless the inevitable result ofany recourse to arms. At least, we have the satisfaction of knowing thatour cause was a just one, and by the sacred memory of our ancestors Iswear that my rule shall be devoid of that cruelty and tyranny that havedisgraced the later pages of my beloved country's history. I, Omar, amyour ruler; ye are my people. Obey the laws we promulgate and the goodcounsels of our advisers, and security both of life and property shall beyours. From this moment human sacrifices to our great god Zomara--to whomall praise be given for this victory of our arms--are abolished. But ourfirst and foremost word from this, our seat of royalty, is that the lifeof the Naya shall be spared. Your Naba hath spoken."

  A visible look of disappointment overspread the countenances of thosearound me. All had, in their wild enthusiasm, desired to wreak theirvengeance upon the unjust queen, but this royal decree forbade it. Thereeven went forth murmurs of disapproval, and Omar, hearing them, said in aloud, serious voice:

  "A Sanom hath never allowed his kinsman to be murdered, thereforealthough the Naya hath plotted to take my life, she shall be heldcaptive, and not die. Let not a hair of her head be touched, or he wholifteth his hand against her shall be brought before me, and I will notspare him. Enough blood hath been already shed since the going down ofthe sun; let not another life be wasted."

  Then calling Goliba, Kona, Niaro, and myself up to his side upon theroyal dais, he continued:

  "These, my friends, who have assisted me to gain this, my kingdom, aredeserving of reward, and this shall at once be given them. Goliba, whomall know as a sage and upright man----"

  Cheers, long and ringing, here interrupted his words. When quiet had beenrestored he continued:

  "Goliba shall retain his position as chief of our royal councillors, andshall be also Grand Vizier of Mo. Niaro, a trusty governor to whom allwho have appealed have met with justice, is appointed Custodian of theGate of Mo, in place of Babila, for whom we all mourn. To Kona, head manof the Dagombas of the forest, I owe my life, and he shall be chief ofour army and of our body-guard, and his native followers shall themselvesbe the principal members of the guard. And Scarsmere," he said, turningtowards me, "Scarsmere hath been my friend and companion across the greatblack water; he knoweth not fear, for together we have been held bySamory and Prempeh, and have yet managed to preserve our lives. Since I,your Naba, left Mo by the Way of the Thousand Steps, and entered the landof the white men, Scarsmere hath been my friend and companion, thereforeall shall treat him with due respect, for although he cometh from thewonderful land afar he shall be Governor of this our city and Keeper ofour Treasure-house. He is the trusted and faithful friend of your Naba,and all shall regard him as highest in favour."

  "We greet thee, Goliba!" enthusiastically cried the surging crowd. "Wegreet thee, Niaro, Custodian of the Gate! We greet thee, Kona, a savagebut great chieftain! Thou art head of our army! We greet thee, Scarsmere,the friend of our royal Naba, and Governor of Mo! We, the people, acceptyou, and have confidence in your rule. Ye are all great, and are worthyof the offices to which ye have been raised. May your names be exaltedabove all others, and your faces be as beacons unto us!"

  And they shouted themselves hoarse in cheering, seeing in theenthronement of the young Naba the dawn of a just and beneficent rule.Their adulations became louder, and even more profuse, when Omarproceeded to appoint others, well known and popular, to various officesconnected with the palace.

  "Happy," cried the white-bearded sages who had taken their places behindthe throne--"happy is the prince whose trust is in Zomara and whosewisdom cometh from the King of the River."

  "Happy," cried the people, humbling themselves--"happy is our Naba, thefavourite of the Crocodile-god, the one from whose wrath all flee."

  "That," replied Omar, "O people, is too much even for the Naba of Mo tohear. But may Zomara approve of my thoughts and actions! So shall theinfernal powers destroy the wretches that employ them, and the arrowsrecoil upon those who draw a bow upon us. But, O sages, though yournumbers are reduced your integrity is more tried and approved; thereforelet Omar, your Naba, partake of the sweetness of your counsels and learnfrom aged experience the wisdom of the sons of earth. Ye shall tell mefrom time to time what the peace and sincerity of my throne requirethfrom me, for human prudence alone is far too weak to fight against thewiles of the deceitful."

  I stood beside the royal seat, deep in thought, silently gazing upon thethousand upturned, grimy faces. It had indeed been a curious turn ofevents that had conspired to place my friend upon the throne of anautocrat, and also to give, into my own unaccustomed hands, the rule andcontrol of this most magnificent and extensive capital, and all thewondrous treasures of the royal house of the Sanoms.