CHAPTER XLII
The cloudless vault of heaven spread over the plain of Pelusium, thestars were bright, the moon threw her calm light over the thousands oftents which shone as white as little hillocks of snow. All was silent,the soldiers and the Egyptians, who had assembled to welcome the king,were now all gone to rest.
There had been great rejoicing and jollity in the camp; three enormousvats, garlanded with flowers and overflowing with wine, which spilt withevery movement of the trucks on which they were drawn by thirty oxen,were sent up and down the little streets of tents, and as the eveningclosed in tavern-booths were erected in many spots in the camp, at whichthe Regent's servants supplied the soldiers with red and white wine. Thetents of the populace were only divided from the pavilion of the Pharaohby the hastily-constructed garden in the midst of which it stood, andthe hedge which enclosed it.
The tent of the Regent himself was distinguished from all the others byits size and magnificence; to the right of it was the encampment of thedifferent priestly deputations, to the left that of his suite; among thelatter were the tents of his friend Katuti, a large one for her own use,and some smaller ones for her servants. Behind Ani's pavilion stood atent, enclosed in a wall or screen of canvas, within which old Hekt waslodged; Ani had secretly conveyed her hither on board his own boat. OnlyKatuti and his confidential servants knew who it was that lay concealedin the mysteriously shrouded abode.
While the banquet was proceeding in the great pavilion, the witch wassitting in a heap on the sandy earth of her conical canvas dwelling; shebreathed with difficulty, for a weakness of the heart, against which shehad long struggled, now oppressed her more frequently and severely; alittle lamp of clay burned before her, and on her lap crouched a sickand ruffled hawk; the creature shivered from time to time, closing thefilmy lids of his keen eyes, which glowed with a dull fire when Hekttook him up in her withered hand, and tried to blow some air into hishooked beak, still ever ready to peck and tear her.
At her feet little Scherau lay asleep. Presently she pushed the childwith her foot. "Wake up," she said, as he raised himself still halfasleep. "You have young ears--it seemed to me that I heard a womanscream in Ani's tent. Do you hear any thing?"
"Yes, indeed," exclaimed the little one. "There is a noise like crying,and that--that was a scream! It came from out there, from Nemu's tent."
"Creep through there," said the witch, "and see what is happening!"
The child obeyed: Hekt turned her attention again to the bird, which nolonger perched in her lap, but lay on one side, though it still tried touse its talons, when she took him up in her hand.
"It is all over with him," muttered the old woman, "and the one I calledRameses is sleeker than ever. It is all folly and yet--and yet! theRegent's game is over, and he has lost it. The creature is stretchingitself--its head drops--it draws itself up--one more clutch at mydress--now it is dead!"
She contemplated the dead hawk in her lap for some minutes, then shetook it up, flung it into a corner of the tent, and exclaimed:
"Good-bye, King Ani. The crown is not for you!" Then she went on: "Whatproject has he in hand now, I wonder? Twenty times he has asked mewhether the great enterprise will succeed; as if I knew any more thanhe! And Nemu too has hinted all kinds of things, though he would notspeak out. Something is going on, and I--and I? There it comes again."
The old woman pressed her hand to her heart and closed her eyes, herfeatures were distorted with pain; she did not perceive Scherau'sreturn, she did not hear him call her name, or see that, when she didnot answer him, he left her again. For an hour or more she remainedunconscious, then her senses returned, but she felt as if some ice-coldfluid slowly ran through her veins instead of the warm blood.
"If I had kept a hawk for myself too," she muttered, "it would soonfollow the other one in the corner! If only Ani keeps his word, and hasme embalmed!
"But how can he when he too is so near his end. They will let me rot anddisappear, and there will be no future for me, no meeting with Assa."
The old woman remained silent for a long time; at last she murmuredhoarsely with her eyes fixed on the ground:
"Death brings release, if only from the torment of remembrance. Butthere is a life beyond the grave. I do not, I will not cease to hope.The dead shall all be equally judged, and subject to the inscrutabledecrees.--Where shall I find him? Among the blest, or among the damned?And I? It matters not! The deeper the abyss into which they fling methe better. Can Assa, if he is among the blest, remain in bliss, when hesees to what he has brought me? Oh! they must embalm me--I cannot bearto vanish, and rot and evaporate into nothingness!"
While she was still speaking, the dwarf Nemu had come into the tent;Scherau, seeing the old woman senseless, had run to tell him that hismother was lying on the earth with her eyes shut, and was dying. Thewitch perceived the little man.
"It is well," she said, "that you have come; I shall be dead beforesunrise."
"Mother!" cried the dwarf horrified, "you shall live, and live betterthan you have done till now! Great things are happening, and for us!"
"I know, I know," said Hekt. "Go away, Scherau--now, Nemu, whisper inmy ear what is doing?" The dwarf felt as if he could not avoid theinfluence of her eye, he went up to her, and said softly--"The pavilion,in which the king and his people are sleeping, is constructed of wood;straw and pitch are built into the walls, and laid under the boards. Assoon as they are gone to rest we shall set the tinder thing on fire. Theguards are drunk and sleeping."
"Well thought of," said Hekt. "Did you plan it?" "I and my mistress,"said the dwarf not without pride. "You can devise a plot," said the oldwoman, "but you are feeble in the working out. Is your plan a secret?Have you clever assistants?"
"No one knows of it," replied the dwarf, "but Katuti, Paaker, and I; wethree shall lay the brands to the spots we have fixed upon. I am goingto the rooms of Bent-Anat; Katuti, who can go in and out as she pleases,will set fire to the stairs, which lead to the upper story, and whichfall by touching a spring; and Paaker to the king's apartments."
"Good-good, it may succeed," gasped the old woman. "But what was thescream in your tent?" The dwarf seemed doubtful about answering; butHekt went on:
"Speak without fear--the dead are sure to be silent." The dwarf,trembling with agitation, shook off his hesitation, and said:
"I have found Uarda, the grandchild of Pinem, who had disappeared, and Idecoyed her here, for she and no other shall be my wife, if Ani isking, and if Katuti makes me rich and free. She is in the service ofthe Princess Bent-Anat, and sleeps in her anteroom, and she must not beburnt with her mistress. She insisted on going back to the palace, so,as she would fly to the fire like a gnat, and I would not have her riskbeing burnt, I tied her up fast."
"Did she not struggle?" said Hekt.
"Like a mad thing," said the dwarf. "But the Regent's dumb slave, whowas ordered by his master to obey me in everything to-day, helped me. Wetied up her mouth that she might not be heard screaming!"
"Will you leave her alone when you go to do your errand?"
"Her father is with her!"
"Kaschta, the red-beard?" asked the old woman in surprise. "And did henot break you in pieces like an earthenware pot?"
"He will not stir," said Nemu laughing. "For when I found him, I madehim so drunk with Ani's old wine that he lies there like a mummy. It wasfrom him that I learned where Uarda was, and I went to her, and got herto come with me by telling her that her father was very ill, and beggedher to go to see him once more. She flew after me like a gazelle, andwhen she saw the soldier lying there senseless she threw herself uponhim, and called for water to cool his head, for he was raving in hisdreams of rats and mice that had fallen upon him. As it grew late shewanted to return to her mistress, and we were obliged to prevent her.How handsome she has grown, mother; you cannot imagine how pretty sheis."
"Aye, aye!" said Hekt. "You will have to keep an eye upon her when sheis your wife."
"I will treat he
r like the wife of a noble," said Nemu. "And pay areal lady to guard her. But by this time Katuti has brought home herdaughter, Mena's wife; the stars are sinking and--there--that was thefirst signal. When Katuti whistles the third time we are to go to work.Lend me your fire-box, mother."
"Take it," said Hekt. "I shall never need it again. It is all over withme! How your hand shakes! Hold the wood firmly, or you will drop itbefore you have brought the fire."
The dwarf bid the old woman farewell, and she let him kiss her withoutmoving. When he was gone, she listened eagerly for any sound that mightpierce the silence of the night, her eyes shone with a keen light, anda thousand thoughts flew through her restless brain. When she heard thesecond signal on Katuti's silver whistle, she sat upright and muttered:
"That gallows-bird Paaker, his vain aunt and that villain Ani, are nomatch for Rameses, even when he is asleep. Ani's hawk is dead; he hasnothing to hope for from Fortune, and I nothing to hope for from him.But if Rameses--if the real king would promise me--then my poor oldbody--Yes, that is the thing, that is what I will do."
She painfully raised herself on her feet with the help of her stick, shefound a knife and a small flask which she slipped into her dress, andthen, bent and trembling, with a last effort of her remaining strengthshe dragged herself as far as Nemu's tent. Here she found Uarda boundhand and foot, and Kaschta lying on the ground in a heavy drunkenslumber.
The girl shrank together in alarm when she saw the old woman, andScherau, who crouched at her side, raised his hands imploringly to thewitch.
"Take this knife, boy," she said to the little one. "Cut the ropes thepoor thing is tied with. The papyrus cords are strong, saw them with theblade."
[Papyrus was used not only for writing on, but also for ropes. The bridge of boats on which Xerxes crossed the Hellespont was fastened with cables of papyrus.]
While the boy eagerly followed her instructions with all his littlemight, she rubbed the soldier's temples with an essence which she had inthe bottle, and poured a few drops of it between his lips. Kaschta cameto himself, stretched his limbs, and stared in astonishment at the placein which he found himself. She gave him some water, and desired him todrink it, saying, as Uarda shook herself free from the bonds:
"The Gods have predestined you to great things, you white maiden. Listento what I, old Hekt, am telling you. The king's life is threatened,his and his children's; I purpose to save them, and I ask no reward butthis-that he should have my body embalmed and interred at Thebes. Swearto me that you will require this of him when you have saved him."
"In God's name what is happening?" cried Uarda. "Swear that you willprovide for my burial," said the old woman.
"I swear it!" cried the girl. "But for God's sake--"
"Katuti, Paaker, and Nemu are gone to set fire to the palace whenRameses is sleeping, in three places. Do you hear, Kaschta! Now hasten,fly after the incendiaries, rouse the servants, and try to rescue theking."
"Oh fly, father," cried the girl, and they both rushed away in thedarkness.
"She is honest and will keep her word," muttered Hekt, and she tried todrag herself back to her own tent; but her strength failed her half-way.Little Scherau tried to support her, but he was too weak; she sank downon the sand, and looked out into the distance. There she saw the darkmass of the palace, from which rose a light that grew broader andbroader, then clouds of black smoke, then up flew the soaring flame, anda swarm of glowing sparks.
"Run into the camp, child," she cried, "cry fire, and wake thesleepers."
Scherau ran off shouting as loud as he could.
The old woman pressed her hand to her side, she muttered: "There it isagain."
"In the other world--Assa--Assa," and her trembling lips were silent forever.