III
THE BATHS OF BRONZE
Even out of this night of dread the morning rose, and with it came Rei,bearing a message from the King. But he did not find the Wanderer inhis chamber. The Palace eunuchs said that he had risen and had asked forKurri, the Captain of the Sidonians, who was now the Queen's Jeweller.Thither Rei went, for Kurri was lodged with the servants in a court ofthe Royal House, and as the old man came he heard the sound of hammersbeating on metal. There, in the shadow which the Palace wall cast into alittle court, there was the Wanderer; no longer in his golden mail, butwith bare arms, and dressed in such a light smock as the workmen of Khemwere wont to wear.
The Wanderer was bending over a small brazier, whence a flame and alight blue smoke arose and melted into the morning light. In his hand heheld a small hammer, and he had a little anvil by him, on which layone of the golden shoulder-plates of his armour. The other pieces wereheaped beside the brazier. Kurri, the Sidonian, stood beside him, withgraving tools in his hands.
"Hail to thee, Eperitus," cried Rei, calling him by the name he hadchosen to give himself. "What makest thou here with fire and anvil?"
"I am but furbishing up my armour," said the Wanderer, smiling. "It hasmore than one dint from the fight in the hall;" and he pointed to hisshield, which was deeply scarred across the blazon of the White Bull,the cognizance of dead Paris, Priam's son. "Sidonian, blow up the fire."
Kurri crouched on his hams and blew the blaze to a white heat witha pair of leathern bellows, while the Wanderer fitted the plates andhammered at them on the anvil, making the jointures smooth and strong,talking meanwhile with Rei.
"Strange work for a prince, as thou must be in Alybas, whence thoucomest," quoth Rei, leaning on his long rod of cedar, headed with anapple of bluestone. "In our country chiefs do not labour with theirhands."
"Different lands, different ways," answered Eperitus. "In my country menwed not their sisters as your kings do, though, indeed, it comes intomy mind that once I met such brides in my wanderings in the isle of theKing of the Winds."
For the thought of the AEolian isle, where King AEolus gave him all thewinds in a bag, came into his memory.
"My hands can serve me in every need," he went on. "Mowing the deepgreen grass in spring, or driving oxen, or cutting a clean furrow withthe plough in heavy soil, or building houses and ships, or doing smith'swork with gold and bronze and grey iron--they are all one to me."
"Or the work of war," said Rei. "For there I have seen thee labour. Now,listen, thou Wanderer, the King Meneptah and the Queen Meriamun sendme to thee with this scroll of their will," and he drew forth a roll ofpapyrus, bound with golden threads, and held it on his forehead, bowing,as if he prayed.
"What is that roll of thine?" said the Wanderer, who was hammering atthe bronze spear-point, that stood fast in his helm.
Rei undid the golden threads and opened the scroll, which he gave intothe Wanderer's hand.
"Gods! What have we here?" said the Wanderer. "Here are pictures, tinyand cunningly drawn, serpents in red, and little figures of men sittingor standing, axes and snakes and birds and beetles! My father, whattokens are these?" and he gave the scroll back to Rei.
"The King has made his Chief Scribe write to thee, naming thee Captainof the Legion of Pasht, the Guard of the Royal House, for last nightthe Captain was slain. He gives thee a high title, and he promises theehouses, lands, and a city of the South to furnish thee with wine, anda city of the North to furnish thee with corn, if thou wilt be hisservant."
"Never have I served any man," said the Wanderer, flushing red, "thoughI went near to being sold and to knowing the day of slavery. The Kingdoes me too much honour."
"Thou wouldest fain begone from Khem?" asked the old man, eagerly.
"I would fain find her I came to seek, wherever she may be," said theWanderer. "Here or otherwhere."
"Then, what answer shall I carry to the King?"
"Time brings thought," said the Wanderer; "I would see the city if thouwilt guide me. Many cities have I seen, but none so great as this. As wewalk I will consider my answer to your King."
He had been working at his helm as he spoke, for the rest of his armourwas now mended. He had drawn out the sharp spear-head of bronze, and wasbalancing it in his hand and trying its edge.
"A good blade," he said; "better was never hammered. It went near todoing its work, Sidonian," and he turned to Kurri as he spoke. "Twothings of thine I had: thy life and thy spear-point. Thy life I gavethee, thy spear-point thou didst lend me. Here, take it again," and hetossed the spear-head to the Queen's Jeweller.
"I thank thee, lord," answered the Sidonian, thrusting it in his girdle;but he muttered between his teeth, "The gifts of enemies are gifts ofevil."
The Wanderer did on his mail, set the helmet on his head, and spoke toRei. "Come forth, friend, and show me thy city."
But Rei was watching the smile on the face of the Sidonian, and hedeemed it cruel and crafty and warlike, like the laugh of the Sardanaof the sea. He said nought, but called a guard of soldiers, and with theWanderer he passed the Palace gates and went out into the city.
The sight was strange, and it was not thus that the old man, who lovedhis land, would have had the Wanderer see it.
From all the wealthy houses, and from many of the poorer sort, rang thewail of the women mourners as they sang their dirges for the dead.
But in the meaner quarters many a hovel was marked with three smearsof blood, dashed on each pillar of the door and on the lintel; and thesound that came from these dwellings was the cry of mirth and festival.There were two peoples; one laughed, one lamented. And in and out ofthe houses marked with the splashes of blood women were ever going withempty hands, or coming with hands full of jewels, of gold, of silverrings, of cups, and purple stuffs. Empty they went out, laden they camein, dark men and women with keen black eyes and the features of birdsof prey. They went, they came, they clamoured with delight among themourning of the men and women of Khem, and none laid a hand on them,none refused them.
One tall fellow snatched at the staff of Rei.
"Lend me thy staff, old man," he said, sneering; "lend me thy jewelledstaff for my journey. I do but borrow it; when Yakub comes from thedesert thou shalt have it again."
But the Wanderer turned on the fellow with such a glance that he fellback.
"I have seen _thee_ before," he said, and he laughed over his shoulderas he went; "I saw thee last night at the feast, and heard thy greatbow sing. Thou art not of the folk of Khem. They are a gentle folk, andYakub wins favour in their sight."
"What passes now in this haunted land of thine, old man?" saidthe Wanderer, "for of all the sights that I have seen, this is thestrangest. None lifts a hand to save his goods from the thief."
Rei the Priest groaned aloud.
"Evil days have come upon Khem," he said. "The Apura spoil the people ofKhem ere they fly into the Wilderness."
Even as he spoke there came a great lady weeping, for her husband wasdead, and her son and her brother, all were gone in the breath of thepestilence. She was of the Royal House, and richly decked with gold andjewels, and the slaves who fanned her, as she went to the Temple of Ptahto worship, wore gold chains upon their necks. Two women of the Apurasaw her and ran to her, crying:
"Lend to us those golden ornaments thou wearest."
Then, without a word, she took her gold bracelets and chains and rings,and let them all fall in a heap at her feet. The women of the Apura tookthem all and mocked her, crying:
"Where now is thy husband and thy son and thy brother, thou who art ofPharaoh's house? Now thou payest us for the labour of our hands and forthe bricks that we made without straw, gathering leaves and rushes inthe sun. Now thou payest for the stick in the hand of the overseers.Where now is thy husband and thy son and thy brother?" and they wentstill mocking, and left the lady weeping.
But of all sights the Wanderer held this strangest, and many such therewere to see. At first he would have taken b
ack the spoil and given itto those who wore it, but Rei the Priest prayed him to forbear, lest thecurse should strike them also. So they pressed on through the tumult,ever seeing new sights of greed and death and sorrow. Here a mother weptover her babe, here a bride over her husband--that night the groom ofher and of death. Here the fierce-faced Apura, clamouring like gulls,tore the silver trinkets from the children of those of the baser sort,or the sacred amulets from the mummies of those who were laid out forburial, and here a water-carrier wailed over the carcass of the ass thatwon him his livelihood.
At length, passing through the crowd, they came to a temple that stoodnear to the Temple of the God Ptah. The pylons of this temple facedtowards the houses of the city, but the inner courts were built againstthe walls of Tanis and looked out across the face of the water. Thoughnot one of the largest temples, it was very strong and beautiful in itsshape. It was built of the black stone of Syene, and all the polishedface of the stone was graven with images of the Holy Hathor. Here shewore a cow's head, and here the face of a woman, but she always borein her hands the lotus-headed staff and the holy token of life, and herneck was encircled with the collar of the gods.
"Here dwells that Strange Hathor to whom thou didst drink last night,Eperitus," said Rei the Priest. "It was a wild pledge to drink beforethe Queen, who swears that she brings these woes on Khem. Though,indeed, she is guiltless of this, with all the blood on her beautifulhead. The Apura and their apostate sorcerer, whom we ourselvesinstructed, bring the plagues on us."
"Does the Hathor manifest herself this day?" asked the Wanderer.
"That we will ask of the priests, Eperitus. Follow thou me."
Now they passed down the avenue of sphinxes within the wall of brick,into the garden plot of the Goddess, and so on through the gates of theouter tower. A priest who watched there threw them wide at the sign thatwas given of Rei, the Master-Builder, the beloved of Pharaoh, and theycame to the outer court. Before the second tower they halted, and Reishowed to the Wanderer that place upon the pylon roof where the Hathorwas wont to stand and sing till the hearers' hearts were melted likewax. Here they knocked once more, and were admitted to the Hall ofAssembly where the priests were gathered, throwing dust upon their headsand mourning those among them who had died with the Firstborn. When theysaw Rei, the instructed, the Prophet of Amen, and the Wanderer clad ingolden armour who was with him, they ceased from their mourning, and anancient priest of their number came forward, and, greeting Rei, askedhim of his errand. Then Rei took the Wanderer by the hand and made himknown to the priest, and told him of those deeds that he had done, andhow he had saved the life of Pharaoh and of those of the Royal House whosat at the feast with Pharaoh.
"But when will the Lady Hathor sing upon her tower top?" said Rei, "forthe Stranger desires to see her and hear her."
The temple priest bowed before the Wanderer, and answered gravely:
"On the third morn from now the Holy Hathor shows herself upon thetemple's top," he said; "but thou, mighty lord, who art risen from thesea, hearken to my warning, and if, indeed, thou art no god, dare not tolook upon her beauty. If thou dost look, then thy fate shall be as thefate of those who have looked before, and have loved and have died forthe sake of the Hathor."
"No god am I," said the Wanderer, laughing, "yet, perchance, I shalldare to look, and dare to face whatever it be that guards her, if myheart bids me see her nearer."
"Then there shall be an end of thee and thy wanderings," said thepriest. "Now follow me, and I will show thee those men who last soughtto win the Hathor."
He took him by the hand and led him through passages hewn in the wallstill they came to a deep and gloomy cell, where the golden armour of theWanderer shone like a lamp at eve. The cell was built against the citywall, and scarcely a thread of light came into the chink between roofand wall. All about the chamber were baths fashioned of bronze, and inthe baths lay dusky shapes of dark-skinned men of Egypt. There they lay,and in the faint light their limbs were being anointed by some sad-facedattendants, as folk were anointed by merry girls in the shining bathsof the Wanderer's home. When Rei and Eperitus came near, the sad-facedbath-men shrank away in shame, as dogs shrink from their evil meat atnight when a traveller goes past.
Marvelling at the strange sight, the bathers and the bathed, theWanderer looked more closely, and his stout heart sank within him. Forall these were dead who lay in the baths of bronze, and it was not waterthat flowed about their limbs, but evil-smelling natron.
"Here lie those," said the priest, "who last strove to come near theHoly Hathor, and to pass into the shrine of the temple where night andday she sits and sings and weaves with her golden shuttle. Here theylie, the half of a score. One by one they rushed to embrace her, and oneby one they were smitten down. Here they are being attired for the tomb,for we give them all rich burial."
"Truly," quoth the Wanderer, "I left the world of Light behind me when Ilooked on the blood-red sea and sailed into the black gloom off Pharos.More evil sights have I seen in this haunted land than in all the citieswhere I have wandered, and on all the seas that I have sailed."
"Then be warned," said the priest, "for if thou dost follow where theywent, and desire what they desired, thou too shalt lie in yonder bath,and be washed of yonder waters. For whatever be false, this is true,that he who seeks love ofttimes finds doom. But here he finds it mostspeedily."
The Wanderer looked again at the dead and at their ministers, and heshuddered till his harness rattled. He feared not the face of Death inwar, or on the sea, but this was a new thing. Little he loved the sightof the brazen baths and those who lay there. The light of the sun andthe breath of air seemed good to him, and he stepped quickly from thechamber, while the priest smiled to himself. But when he reached theouter air, his heart came back to him, and he began to ask again aboutthe Hathor--where she dwelt, and what it was that slew her lovers.
"I will show thee," answered the priest, and brought him through theHall of Assembly to a certain narrow way that led to a court. In thecentre of the court stood the holy shrine of the Hathor. It was a greatchamber, built of alabaster, lighted from the roof alone, and shut inwith brazen doors, before which hung curtains of Tyrian web. From theroof of the shrine a stairway ran overhead to the roof of the temple andso to the inner pylon tower.
"Yonder, Stranger, the holy Goddess dwells within the Alabaster Shrine,"said the priest. "By that stair she passes to the temple roof, andthence to the pylon top. There by the curtains, once in every day, weplace food, and it is drawn into the sanctuary, how we know not, fornone of us have set foot there, nor seen the Hathor face to face. Now,when the Goddess has stood upon the pylon and sung to the multitudebelow, she passes back to the shrine. Then the brazen outer doors of thetemple court are thrown wide and the doomed rush on madly, one by one,towards the drawn curtains. But before they pass the curtains theyare thrust back, yet they strive to pass. Then we hear a sound of theclashing of weapons and the men fall dead without a word, while the songof the Hathor swells from within."
"And who are her swordsmen?" said the Wanderer.
"That we know not, Stranger; no man has lived to tell. Come, draw nearto the door of the shrine and hearken, maybe thou wilt hear the Hathorsinging. Have no fear; thou needst not approach the guarded space."
Then the Wanderer drew near with a doubting heart, but Rei the Prieststood afar off, though the temple priests came close enough. At thecurtains they stopped and listened. Then from within the shrine therecame a sound of singing wild and sweet and shrill, and the voice of itstirred the Wanderer strangely, bringing to his mind memories of thatIthaca of which he was Lord and which he should see no more; of thehappy days of youth, and of the God-built walls of windy Ilios. But hecould not have told why he thought on these things, nor why his heartwas thus strangely stirred within him.
"Hearken! the Hathor sings as she weaves the doom of men," said thepriest, and as he spoke the singing ended.
Then the Wanderer took counsel with himself wh
ether he should then andthere burst the doors and take his fortune, or whether he should forbearfor that while. But in the end he determined to forbear and see with hisown eyes what befell those who strove to win the way.
So he drew back, wondering much; and, bidding farewell to the agedpriest, he went with Rei, the Master Builder, through the town of Tanis,where the Apura were still spoiling the people of Khem, and he came tothe Palace where he was lodged. Here he turned over in his mind how hemight see the strange woman of the temple, and yet escape the baths ofbronze. There he sat and thought till at length the night drew on, andone came to summon him to sup with Pharaoh in the Hall. Then he roseup and went, and meeting Pharaoh and Meriamun the Queen in the outerchamber, passed in after them to the Hall, and on to the dais which hehad held against the rabble, for the place was clear of dead, and, savefor certain stains upon the marble floor that might not be washed away,and for some few arrows that yet were fixed high up in the walls or inthe lofty roof, there was nothing to tell of the great fray that hadbeen fought but one day gone.
Heavy was the face of Pharaoh, and the few who sat with him were sadenough because of the death of so many whom they loved, and the shameand sorrow that had fallen upon Khem. But there were no tears for herone child in the eyes of Meriamun the Queen. Anger, not grief, tore herheart because Pharaoh had let the Apura go. For ever as they sat atthe sad feast there came a sound of the tramping feet of armies, and oflowing cattle, and songs of triumph, sung by ten thousand voices, andthus they sang the song of the Apura:--
A lamp for our feet the Lord hath litten, Signs hath He shown in the Land of Khem. The Kings of the Nations our Lord hath smitten, His shoe hath He cast o'er the Gods of them. He hath made Him a mock of the heifer of Isis, He hath broken the chariot reins of Ra, On Yakub He cries, and His folk arises, And the knees of the Nation are loosed in awe.
He gives us their goods for a spoil to gather, Jewels of silver, and vessels of gold; For Yahveh of old is our Friend and Father, And cherisheth Yakub He chose of old. The Gods of the Peoples our Lord hath chidden, Their courts hath He filled with His creeping things; The light of the face of the Sun he hath hidden, And broken the scourge in the hands of kings.
He hath chastened His people with stripes and scourges, Our backs hath He burdened with grievous weights, But His children shall rise as a sea that surges, And flood the fields of the men He hates. The Kings of the Nations our Lord hath smitten, His shoe hath He cast o'er the Gods of them, But a lamp for our feet the Lord hath litten, Wonders hath he wrought in the Land of Khem.
Thus they sang, and the singing was so wild that the Wanderer cravedleave to go and stand at the Palace gate, lest the Apura should rush inand spoil the treasure-chamber.
The King nodded, but Meriamun rose, and went with the Wanderer as hetook his bow and passed to the great gates.
There they stood in the shadow of the gates, and this is what theybeheld. A great light of many torches was flaring along the roadwayin front. Then came a body of men, rudely armed with pikes, and thetorchlight shone on the glitter of bronze and on the gold helms of whichthey had spoiled the soldiers of Khem. Next came a troop of wild women,dancing, and beating timbrels, and singing the triumphant hymn of scorn.
Next, with a space between, tramped eight strong black-bearded men,bearing on their shoulders a great gilded coffin, covered with carvenand painted signs.
"It is the body of their Prophet, who brought them hither out of theirland of hunger," whispered Meriamun. "Slaves, ye shall hunger yet in thewilderness, and clamour for the flesh-pots of Khem!"
Then she cried in a loud voice, for her passion overcame her, and sheprophesied to those who bare the coffin, "Not one soul of you that livesshall see the land where your conjurer is leading you! Ye shall thirst,ye shall hunger, ye shall call on the Gods of Khem, and they shall nothear you; ye shall die, and your bones shall whiten the wilderness.Farewell! Set go with you. Farewell!"
So she cried and pointed down the way, and so fierce was her gaze, andso awful were her words, that the people of the Apura trembled and thewomen ceased to sing.
The Wanderer watched the Queen and marvelled. "Never had woman such ahardy heart," he mused; "and it were ill to cross her in love or war!"
"They will sing no more at my gates," murmured Meriamun, with a smile."Come, Wanderer; they await us," and she gave him her hand that he mightlead her.
So they went back to the banquet hall.
They hearkened as they sat till far in the night, and still the Apurapassed, countless as the sands of the sea. At length all were gone, andthe sound of their feet died away in the distance. Then Meriamun theQueen turned to Pharaoh and spake bitterly:
"Thou art a coward, Meneptah, ay, a coward and a slave at heart. In thyfear of the curse that the False Hathor hath laid on us, she whom thoudost worship, to thy shame, thou hast let these slaves go. Otherwisehad our father dealt with them, great Rameses Miamun, the hammer of theKhita. Now they are gone hissing curses on the land that bare them, androbbing those who nursed them up while they were yet a little people, asa mother nurses her child."
"What then might I do?" said Pharaoh.
"There is nought to do: all is done," answered Meriamun.
"What is thy counsel, Wanderer?"
"It is ill for a stranger to offer counsel," said the Wanderer.
"Nay, speak," cried the Queen.
"I know not the Gods of this land," he answered. "If these peoplebe favoured of the Gods, I say sit still. But if not," then said theWanderer, wise in war, "let Pharaoh gather his host, follow after thepeople, take them unawares, and smite them utterly. It is no hard task,they are so mixed a multitude and cumbered with much baggage!"
This was to speak as the Queen loved to hear. Now she clapped her handsand cried:
"Listen, listen to good counsel, Pharaoh."
And now that the Apura were gone, his fear of them went also, and ashe drank wine Pharaoh grew bold, till at last he sprang to his feetand swore by Amen, by Osiris, by Ptah, and by his father--greatRameses--that he would follow after the Apura and smite them. Andinstantly he sent forth messengers to summon the captains of his host inthe Hall of Assembly.
Thither the captains came, and their plans were made and messengershurried forth to the governors of other great cities, bidding them sendtroops to join the host of Pharaoh on its march.
Now Pharaoh turned to the Wanderer and said:
"Thou hast not yet answered my message that Rei carried to thee thismorning. Wilt thou take service with me and be a captain in this war?"
The Wanderer little liked the name of service, but his warlike heart wasstirred within him, for he loved the delight of battle. But before hecould answer yea or nay, Meriamun the Queen, who was not minded that heshould leave her, spoke hastily:
"This is my counsel, Meneptah, that the Lord Eperitus should abide herein Tanis and be the Captain of my Guard while thou art gone to smite theApura. For I may not be here unguarded in these troublous times, and ifI know he watches over me, he who is so mighty a man, then I shall walksafely and sleep in peace."
Now the Wanderer bethought him of his desire to look upon the Hathor,for to see new things and try new adventures was always his delight. Sohe answered that if it were pleasing to Pharaoh and the Queen he wouldwillingly stay and command the Guard. And Pharaoh said that it should beso.