Chapter XVIICheck to the Queen
From my loophole I had seen it all. From that same post of vantage, I now beheld the arch-traitor Agno come forth at the head of his fawning priests to do homage to his Queen. Through all the false ardor of his congratulations, Lah had not spoken. Indeed, from the very beginning of the conflict till now no word had passed her lips. Only in the midst of Agno’s discourse, at a sign from their royal mistress, four slaves had raised the body of the fallen hero, and borne him within the Palace. As they passed, the Queen’s hand had rested lightly upon her Champion’s forehead, in a mute caress. That was all, but I knew that Lah was not ungrateful.
The High Priest’s long-winded flatterieswere not done, when at another sign from the Queen, the royal salute broke forth from the guard and was echoed by the people. The mighty clamor drowned the honeyed words, and I saw Agno’s face writhe with passion, as Lah, with an imperious gesture, bade him stand aside. But for once her woman’s hate had outrun her wisdom. The public affront was too great to be silently borne. Another moment, and Agno, surrounded by his priests, had reached his raised seat of honor, and from thence had begun a wild address to the still waiting throng.
In the face of the late decision of Edba and of Hed, the High Priest dared not impeach the Queen. His words, however, were aimed at her new-born power, and they were full of painful interest to me who listened, for they dealt with me and with my comrade, and with Astolba, my promised bride.
“All glory, honor, and strength to Lah!” he shouted. “Friend of the gods; heaven-born mistress of the people of the Walled City. Behold Zobo the Mighty has wrestled, and to him belongs the victory. I, the HighPriest of the Temple, proclaim a festival; a feast of gladness and of thanksgiving.
“On the third day hence shall it be, and on the altar of the gods will we slay the strangers and do to death her, the Snake’s chosen bride. So shall the Queen be rid of her enemies, peace and prosperity given to us, and the anger of the great ones turned away.”
At these words the bloodthirsty crowd went once again wild with joy. I saw the Queen turn as though about to speak, but the deafening clamor would have drowned her voice. I think at least she saw Agno’s evil, smiling face, and dared not run the risk of insult. So in proud silence she drew back. The Palace gates closed behind her, and I, with a new anxiety gnawing at my heart, turned also to seek my fellow-victims.
This was the sad end of a brilliant beginning. As I passed the Queen’s private audience room, the sound of a strange low chant drew me closer. The tapestried curtain was pulled a little aside, and within I saw the red witch bending over a brazier,and showing dim through the blue smoke that coiled upward, serpent-like, from the living embers. She it was who chanted this weird monotonous refrain, and as I looked again, I beheld Lah, pale and rigid, listening, with a look of mingled dread and longing, to the evil song.
Then I passed onward, and as I did so, the four slaves bearing the body of Zobo met me in the passage. I signed for them to stop, and they did so in submissive silence. The Champion lay on his back. There were red stains on the embroidered cloth that covered him, and the giant frame bore marks of the past struggle, that would never be effaced. But I saw with joy that he still breathed deeply and regularly enough, though his wide-open eyes knew me not. They were bringing him to the Queen and to Hubla. The magic touch of the one or the muttered spell of the other would call back again the light of reason to those glazed, unseeing eyes. So much I knew, for I had sojourned already long enough in the Walled City to learn somewhat of its dark wisdom.I drew aside therefore and let the slaves go forward with their burden.
There was deep silence within now, instead of that weird blood-curdling chant, but its dull measures still beat upon my brain like the heavy throb of a piston or the blow of a hammer. The desire filled me to lie at rest and let Astolba’s white fingers smooth with light touch my weary head. So thinking, I sought the spot where last we three had met,—Lestrade, the maid, and I. But the place was empty. First calmly, then with a secret dread and fevered anxiety, I sought them,—my fellow-captives, going from room to room. But in vain. The deserted chambers mocked me. A woman’s sandal lay upon the floor; it was small and dainty like its owner, the fair girl whom I had lost, but it bore no message. I picked it up and hid it safe within the folds of my tunic, near my heart.
Then I turned, and there in ominous silence stood the Queen. Her eyes met mine, nor did they drop or falter before the imperious question that sprung to my lips. And when her answer came, there was new depth andnew sweetness in her voice, so that the very memory of it, even in these days, is a charm to bind me fast.
“What is the loss of these two to me and to thee? O stranger to my gods and to my people! through the lips of Hubla, fate hath spoken. Out of all the world we two stand apart. For life, for death; for good, for ill; for joy, for sorrow, thou and I, together and alone.”