CHAPTER IV.
I half arose and felt for a trusty six-shooter. This pistol was not onethat had been purchased for this or any other occasion, as the worthlesspistols of the time are usually purchased, but it had been my companionfrom boyhood.
As I half arose the lion suddenly halted. He lifted his proud headhigher still in the air, and to my consternation half turned about andlooked straight in my direction. Then a sidewise and circuitous step ortwo with his long reach of hinder leg, his wide and deep and flexibleflank; slow and kingly; splendid to see!
I sank down again, quite willing to let him interview the land of Arabsin the black chasm below. They had spears and guns and everything downthere, everything but courage to face a lion with; and I was not goingto interfere with a fight which at the first had promised to be entirelytheir own.
But this new movement of mine only accentuated his graceful motion. Thehead now turned in the air, like the head of a man. I had time to note,and I record it with certainty, that the massive head and the tumbledmane towered straight above the shoulder. In fact, the lower parts ofthe long mane looked most like the long shaggy beard of a man fallingdown upon his broad breast. This I noted as he still kept on in hissidewise circuit above us and around us on the yellow sand and under theyellow moon. At times he was almost indistinct. But the carriage of thathead! There was a fine fascination in the lift and the movement and theturn of that stately head that must ever be remembered, but can never bedescribed.
As he came nearer--for his sidewise walk was mainly in our direction--Isaw that he, too, was yellow, as if born of this yellow world in thisyellow night; but his was a more ponderous yellow; the yellow of red andrusty old gold. At times he seemed almost black; and all the timeterrible.
In half a minute more he would be too close for comfort, and I decidedto arouse my companion. She wakened fully awake, if I may be allowed toexpress a fact so awkwardly. You may know that there are people likethat.
"What is it?"
"A lion."
"Are you sure?"
"Certain."
"Where?"
"Right before your eyes."
"Why, I see nothing."
She had looked and was still looking far out against the yellow horizonwhere her eyes had rested when she fell asleep. And as she looked, orrather before I ventured to point her to the spot almost under the tombwhere the lion strode, he passed on and was by this time perhaps almostquite under the great slab of granite where we rested.
I was about to whisper the fact in her ear when I fancied I felt thewhole tomb tremble! Then it seemed to shake, or rather rumble again.Then again it rumbled. Then again! Then there was a roar that literallyshook the sand. I heard the sand sift and rattle down like drops of rainfrom where it lay in the crevices as I listened to find whether or nothe was moving forward toward the place by which we had ascended. He wassurely moving forward. I felt rather than heard him move. I assert--andI must content myself for the present with merely asserting--that youcan _feel_ the movements of an animal under such circumstances. And Iassert further that an animal, especially a wild beast, can _feel_ yourmovements under almost any circumstances. The undeveloped senses deservea book by themselves. But just now, with the largest lion I ever sawcoming straight upon me, is hardly the time or place to write such atreatise.
Pistol in hand I sprang to the steep and rugged passage. And not asecond too soon. His mighty head was almost on a level with the graniteslab. And he was half crouching for a bound and a spring upward, whichwould perhaps land him in our faces. I could see--or did I feel--thathis huge hinder feet were spread wide out and sunken in the sand withpreparation to bend all their force toward bearing him upward in onemighty bound.
I fired! fired right into his big red mouth, between two hideous picketsof ugly yellow teeth. He fell back, and then, gathering his ferociousstrength, he bounded up and forward again; this time striking his leftshoulder heavily against a projecting corner of the granite slab.Fortunately the ascent was slightly curving, so that the distance couldnot be made at a single bound without collision, else had we both surelybeen destroyed.
Again the supple and comely beast, disdaining to creep or crawl, made amighty leap upward. But only to strike the rounding corner of the greatgranite slab and fall back as before.
But I knew he would reach us in time! And if ever man did wish forfitting arms to fight with and defend woman it was I at that time. True,I had five shots left; but what were they in the face of this furiousking of beasts? I began to fear that they would only serve to enragehim.
Still, he should have all I had to give. Death is, has been, and willbe. The best we can make of it all is to try and see that we shall notdie ingloriously.
The woman had been by my side all this time. And now, as the lion pausedas if to gather up the broken thunderbolts of his strength, she laid ahand on my arm, never so gently, and said: "Let me go down and meet himface to face. I think he will not harm me."
"Madam," I exclaimed impetuously, "you will meet him up here, and faceto face, soon enough, I think."
"No, that will not do. You must trust the lion; as Daniel did."
I pushed her back, as she tried to pass down, almost violently.
"There!" I cried as I wheeled about and forced her before me for aninstant, "if you have real courage leap to the head of yonder column,then on to the next! Quick! be brave enough to save yourself and----"
"No! I will not run away and leave you to die."
"For God's sake you will run away and save me."
"Why? How?"
"I will join you there, go! Quick, or it will be too late!"
Another leap of the lion! Bang! Bang!
This time he did not fall back, but held on by sheer force of hispowerful arms; his terrible claws tearing at the granite slab as theyhung and hooked over its outer edge.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The last shot. I hurled my revolver in his face, forhe had not flinched or given back a single grain. His breath and mybreath were mingled there in the smoke of my pistol. I heard--or did Ifeel--his great hinder feet fastening in the steep earth under him forhis final struggle to the top?
I turned, saw that she had reached the farther column; and with threeleaps and a bound I had crossed the granite slabs and stood erect on thenearer one! Not a moment had I left. The lion, with great noise of clawson the granite, came tearing to the surface. I crouched down out ofbreath on the outer edge of my column, so as to be surely out of reachof his ponderous paws. I expected him to decide the matter at once, toreach us or give it up instantly. But he seemed in no haste now. Hescarcely advanced at all, for what seemed to me to be a long time.Finally, jerking his tail like the swift movement of a serpent, hestrode along the farthest edge of the granite slab and seemed to take nonotice of us whatever. Blood was dripping from his mouth, but he did notseem to heed it.
Once more he strode with his old majesty, and seemed ashamed that heshould have descended to the indignity of a struggle to gain the placewhere he now stood sullen and triumphant. Enraged? He was choking, dyingwith rage; and yet this kingly creature would not even condescend tolook in our direction.
Why, I could feel his fearful rage as he now walked on and around theedge of that granite slab. At length he came opposite to where I laycrouching on the farther edge of my column. He passed on without so muchas turning his eyes in my direction. And yet I felt, I felt and knew, asdistinctly as if he could have talked and told me, that he was carefullymeasuring the distance.
When the lion, in his stately round, came to the narrow pass by which hehad ascended he paused an instant, and half lowered his head.
Ah, how devoutly I did pray that he would be generous enough to descendto the sands and gracefully present us with his absence.
But no! Lifting his huge head even higher in the air than before, he nowpassed on hurriedly, came on around to where in his stately majesty hestood with quivering flank and flashing eye almost within reach of me.Yet he still disdained to even so much
as look at me. His head was farabove me as I crouched there on the farther edge of my column; hisflashing eyes were lifted and looking far above me and beyond me. Maybehe was on the lookout over the desert for the coming of his companion.
Soon, however, he set his huge paws on the very edge of the great slabon which he stood, and then suddenly threw his right paw out toward meand against the edge of my column with the force and velocity of acatapult!
I heard the sharp, keen claws strike and scrape on the granite as ifthey had been hooks of steel.
Then he threw himself on his breast, and hitching himself a little toone side, he threw his right paw so far that it landed full in thecenter of my column's top and tore a bit of my coat sleeve. Then hehitched his huge body a little farther on over the edge and again threwhis huge paw right at my face. It fell short of its mark only a fewinches, as it seemed to me. But, having hastily gathered in my garments,his claws did not find anything to fasten on and they drew back empty.
At this point three dusky etchings stood out against the golden east onthe yellow sands, and looked intently at us with their enormous headshigh in the air. And now the beast slowly arose and moved on. A lion'shead seems always disproportionately large, but when he is exercisingfor an appetite to eat you it looks large indeed.
The monster who was occupying the platform with us surely saw hisfollowers; indeed, he must have seen them long before; but his unbendingdignity seemed to forbid that he should take any heed of them.
The new-born hope that he would descend and join his followers died ashe came on around.
And now something strange and notable transpired. This one incident ismy excuse for thus elaborating this otherwise passive and tediously dullsketch of this night. I had risen to my feet, and as the lion came onaround, this woman, with a force that was irresistible, sprang to myside, thrust me behind her, and stepping forward with a single spring,she stood on the edge of the column nearest to the lion.
I would have followed, but that same force, which I can now understandwas a mental force and not at all a physical force, held me hard andfast to where I stood.
She had let her robe fall as she sprang forward and now stood only asthe hand of God had fashioned her; a snow-white silhouette of perfectcomeliness against the terrible and bloody mouth and tossing mane of thelion. She leaned forward as he came on around and close to the edge ofhis slab. She looked him firmly and steadily in the face, her wondrouseyes, her midnight eyes of all Israel, the child of the wilderness, hadonce more met the lion of the desert as of old.
Who was this woman here who stepped between death and me and stoodlooking a wounded lion in the face? Was this Judith again incarnate? Orwas this something more than Judith? Was it the Priestess and theProphetess Miriam, back once more to the banks of the Nile? Was it theold and forgotten mastery of all things animate which Moses and hissister knew that gave her dominion over the king of the desert? Or washer name Mary? "That other Mary," if you will, who won all things to herside, God in heaven, God upon earth, by the sad, sweet pity of her face,and the story of holy love that was written there? The lion's head for amoment forgot its lofty defiance as she leaned a little forward. Thenthe tossed and troubled mane rose up and rolled forward like aninflowing sea. It never seemed so terrible. He was surely about tospring! And she, too! Her right foot settled solidly back, her left kneebent like a bow, her shapely and snowy shoulders, under their glory ofblack hair, bowed low. Her dauntless and defiant spirit had alreadyprecipitated itself forward and was smiting the imperious beast full inhis blazing eyes. I knew that her body would follow her spirit in aninstant more.
Face to face! Spirit to spirit! Soul to soul! A second only the combatlasted. The awful ferocity and force of the brute was beaten down,melted like lofty battlements of snow before the burning arrows of thesun, and he slowly, surlily, shrank in size, in spirit, in space. A pawdrew back from the edge of the block, the eyes drooped, the head droppeda little, and the terrible mane seemed terrible no more, as slowly,doggedly, mightily, aye doggedly and majestically, too, at the sametime, this noble creature forced himself sidewise and back a little.
Then he hesitated. Rebellion was in his mighty heart. He turned suddenlyand looked her full in the face once more. All the beast that was in himrose up. The terrible mane now seemed more terrible than before. Withgreat head tossed, tail whipped back, and teeth in the air, talonsunsheathed and legs gathered under him, he was about to bound forward.
But the woman was before him! With eyes still fastened on his face, shewith one long leap forward drove not only her shining soul but her snowybody right against his teeth. Or rather, she had surely done so had notthe lion, half turned about, shrank back as she leaped forward. Thenslowly, looking back with his blazing but cowering eyes, feeling backwith his spirit still defiant, if but to see whether her courage failedher in the least or her mighty spirit was still in battle armor; andthen he passed. His companions had drawn back and into a depression inthe desert where he slowly and sullenly joined them.
One, two, three, four dim yet distinct black silhouettes against theyellow east; then but a single confused black etching; away, away,smaller and smaller, gone!
I gathered up her robe, crossed over, and letting it fall on hershoulders where she still stood, looking down and after the beast. Ipicked up my pistol from where it had fallen, a few feet below, and asshe turned about, carefully reloaded it from cartridges by chance in myvest pocket.
Returning to the summit, I found her again resting on her couch at thecorner of the huge slab, tranquilly as if we had not been disturbed. Idid not speak. Not a single word had been uttered all this time.
I sat down at the feet of this woman--not at her side, as before--andlet my own feet dangle down over the edge on the side farthest away fromthe isolated columns. Neither of us spoke; nor did she move hand or foottill morning.
Eleven Possible Cases Page 8
