been applied. I must now see his father, theking."
"Alone?" asked the queen.
"Alone," replied the doctor.
"Well, what think ye of Bladud?" asked the king, when his physicianentered his chamber, and carefully shut the door.
"He is smitten with a fatal disease," said the doctor in a low, earnestvoice.
"Not absolutely fatal?" cried the king, with sudden anxiety.
"As far as I know it is so. There is no cure that I ever heard of.Bladud is smitten with leprosy. It may be years before it kills him,but it will surely do so at last."
"Impossible--impossible!" cried the king, becoming fierce andunbelieving in his horror. "You are too confident, my medicine-man.You may, you must, be mistaken. There is a cure for everything!"
"Not for leprosy," returned the doctor, with sad but firm emphasis. "Atleast I never heard of a cure being effected, except by some of theEastern wise men."
"Then, by all the gods that protect our race and family, my son shallreturn to the East and one of these wise men shall cure him--else--else--Have ye told the queen?"
"Not yet."
"That is well. I will myself tell her. Go!" This summary dismissalwas nothing new to the doctor, who understood the king well, andsympathised with his obvious distress. Pausing at the door, however, hesaid--
"I have often talked with Phoenician captains about this disease, andthey tell me that it is terribly infectious, insomuch that those who aresmitten with it are compelled to live apart and keep away from men. IfBladud remains here the disease will surely spread through the house,and thence through the town."
Poor Hudibras fell into a chair, and covered his face with both hands,while the doctor quietly retired.
It is impossible to describe the consternation that ensued when theterrible fact was made known. Of course the news spread into the town,and the alarm became general, for at various times the Phoenicianmariners had entertained the islanders with graphic descriptions of thehorrors connected with this loathsome disease, and it soon becameevident, that even if the king and his family were willing to run therisk of infection by keeping Bladud near them, his people and warriorswould insist on the banishment of the smitten man.
To Bladud himself the blow was almost overwhelming--almost, but notquite, for the youth was possessed of that unselfish, self-sacrificingspirit which, in all ages of the world's history, has bid defiance tomisfortune, by bowing the head in humble submission to the will of God.He knew well the nature of the dread disease by which he had beenattacked, and he shuddered at the thought that, however long he might bespared to live, it would sap his strength, disfigure his person, andultimately render his face hideous to look upon, while a life ofabsolute solitude must from that day forward be his portion. No wonderthat in the first rush of his dismay, he entertained a wild thought ofputting an end to his own existence. There was only one gleam ofcomfort to him, and that was, the recollection that he had caught thedisease in a good cause--in the rescue of a poor old woman fromdestruction. The comfort of the thought was not indeed great, still itwas something in the awful desolation that overwhelmed him at the time.
While travelling in the East, a short time previous to setting sail forhome, he had come across an old woman who was being chased by a wildbull. Her flight would have been short-lived in any case, for therechanced to be a steep precipice not far from her, towards which she ranin her terror and scrambled hastily down until she reached a spot whereshe could go no further without losing her foothold. To the rock sheclung and screamed in her despair.
It was her screams that first attracted Bladud's attention. Rushingforward, he was just in time to see the bull--which could not check itsmad career--plunge over the cliff, at the bottom of which it was killedby the fall.
Bladud at once began to descend to the help of the poor woman. As hedid so, the words "unclean! unclean!" met his ear. The woman was aleper, and, even in her dire extremity, the force of habit caused her togive the usual warning which the Eastern law requires. A shudder passedthrough the prince's frame, for he knew well the meaning of the cry--butas he looked down and saw the disfigured face and the appealing eyesturned towards him, a gush of intense pity, and of that disregard ofself which is more or less characteristic of all noble natures, inducedhim to continue his descent until he reached the poor creature.Grasping her tightly round the waist, he assisted her up the perilousascent, and finally placed her in safety at the top of the cliff.
For a time Bladud felt some anxiety as to the result of the risk he hadrun, but did not mention his adventure to any one. Gradually the fearwore off, and at length that feeling of invulnerability which is sostrong in youth, induced him to dismiss the subject from his thoughtsaltogether. He had quite forgotten it until the doctor's statement fellupon him with the stunning violence of a thunder-clap.
It is usually when deep sorrows and great difficulties are sent to them,that men and women find out the quality of their natures. Despair,followed by listless apathy, might well have seized on one who, a fewdays before, possessed all the advantages of great physical strength andmanly beauty, with what appeared to be sound health and a bright lifebefore him. But, instead of giving way, he silently braced himself fora lifelong conflict. He did not turn, in his extremity, to the gods ofhis fathers--whatever these might be--for he did not believe in them,but he did believe in one good supreme Being. To Him he raised hisheart, offered an unspoken prayer, and felt comforted as well asstrengthened in the act.
Then, being a man of prompt action, he thoughtfully but quickly formedhis plans, having previously made fast his door--for well he knew thatalthough his strong-minded father might keep him at arm's-length, hisloving mother and sister would not only come to talk with him, butwould, despite all risks, insist on embracing him.
That he was not far wrong was proved the same evening, for when the kingrevealed the terrible news to his wife and daughter, they went straightto Bladud's door and knocked for admission.
"Who goes there?" demanded the prince.
"Your mother. Let me in, Bladud."
"I may not do so just now, dear mother. Tomorrow you shall know all.Rest content. I feel better."
In the dead of night Bladud went out softly and sought the hut whereCaptain Arkal and Maikar slept. He found them conversing in greatsorrow about the terrible calamity that had overtaken their friend whenhe entered. They started up in surprise to receive him.
"Keep off," he said, shrinking back. "Touch me not! I know not whetherthe disease may not be catching even at its present stage. Sit down. Iwill stand here and tell you what I want you to tell my mother in themorning."
The two men silently obeyed, and the prince continued.
"I am on the point of leaving home--it may be for ever. The Disposer ofall things knows that. The disease, as you know, is thought to beincurable. If so, I shall die where no one shall find me. If healthreturns I shall come back. It will be of no use to search for me; but Ithink that will not be attempted. Indeed, I know that my father wouldbe compelled to banish me if I wished to remain at home. It is partlyto spare him the pain of doing so that I banish myself of my own accord;and partly to avoid leaving infection behind me that I go withoutfarewell. Let my dear mother and sister understand this clearly--and--comfort them if you can."
"But where will you go to and what will you do?" asked the captainanxiously.
"That I do not yet know. The forests are wide. There is plenty of roomfor man and beast. This only will I reveal to you. To-night I shallcall at the hut of Beniah the Hebrew. He is a wise man and will adviseme. If I send news of myself it shall be through him. But tell notthis to any one. It would only bring trouble on the old man. Farewell,my comrades. I will remember you as brothers--always. May theAll-powerful One watch over us."
Unable to restrain himself, little Maikar sprang up with the obviousintention of rushing at his friend and seizing his hand, but the princestepped back, shut the door against him, and, i
n another moment, wasgone.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
AN EAVESDROPPER IN THE CAVE.
An hour later Beniah the Hebrew, who had been obliged to postpone for atime his journey to the North, was startled by hearing footstepsapproaching his hut in the dell. It was so unusual an event at thathour of the night, that he arose quickly and grasped the six-foot staffwhich was his only weapon.
At a much earlier hour Branwen had retired to rest in the inner cave,and was buried in that profound sleep which proverbially accompaniesinnocence and youth. The noise in the outer cave partially aroused her,but, turning on her other side with a profound sigh, she prepared for alittle more of the perquisites of innocence and youth. Presently shewas startled into a condition of absolute wide-awakeness by the sound ofa well-known voice, but it suddenly changed into that of the Hebrew.
"I've dreamt it, I suppose," she muttered, in a tone of regret;nevertheless, she listened.
"Come in," said Beniah, evidently to some one outside of his door.
"I may not enter--I am a leper," answered the first voice; and Branwensat up, with her great beautiful eyes opened to the utmost, andlistening intently, though she could not make out clearly what was said.
"It matters not; I have no fear. Come in. What! Prince Bladud!"exclaimed Beniah in astonishment as our hero entered.
"Even so. But how is it that you know me?"
"I saw you once, and, once seen, you are not easily forgotten. But whatmean ye about being a leper?"
"Keep at a safe distance, and I will tell you."
Hereupon the prince began to give the old man an account of his illness;the opinion expressed by the doctor as to its nature; and thedetermination he had formed of forsaking home, and retiring to thesolitude of some unfrequented part of the forest for the remainder ofhis life.
It would have been a sight worth looking at--had there been light to seeit--the vision of Branwen, as she stood in the passage in partial_deshabille_, with her eyes wide, her lips parted, her heart beating,and a wealth of auburn hair curling down her back, listening, as itwere, with every power of her soul and body. But she could not heardistinctly. Only a disconnected word reached her now and then. In astate of desperate curiosity she returned to her cave.
A few minutes later a noise was heard by the two men in the outer cave;and a little old woman in a grey shawl was seen to thrust a plank overthe chasm and totter across towards them.
Poor Beniah was horrified. He did not know what to do or say. Happilyhe was one of those men whose feelings are never betrayed by theirfaces.
The old woman hobbled forward and sat down on a stool close to them.Looking up in their faces, she smiled and nodded.
In doing so she revealed the fact that, besides having contorted herface into an unrecognisable shape, she had soiled it in several placeswith streaks of charcoal and earth.
"Who is this?" asked Bladud in surprise. Before the old man couldreply, the old woman put her hand to her ear, and, looking up in theprince's face, shouted, in tones that were so unlike to her own naturalvoice that Beniah could scarce believe his ears--
"What say you, young man? Speak out; I'm very deaf."
With a benignant smile Bladud said that he had merely asked who she was.
"Haven't you got eyes, young man? Don't you see that I'm a little oldwoman?"
"I see that," returned the prince, with a good-humoured laugh; "and Ifear you're a deaf old woman, too."
"Eh?" she said, advancing her head, with her hand up at the ear.
"You seem indeed to be extremely deaf," shouted the prince.
"What does he say?" demanded the old woman, turning to the Hebrew.
By this time Beniah had recovered his self-possession. Perceiving thatthe maiden was bent on carrying out her _role_, and that he might aswell help her, he put his mouth close to her ear, and shouted in a voicethat bid fair to render her absolutely deaf--
"He says he thinks you are extremely deaf; so I think you had betterhold your tongue and let us go on with our conversation."
"Deaf, indeed!" returned the woman in a querulous tone; "so I am, thoughI hear you well enough when you shout like that. Perhaps he'll be asdeaf as I am when he's as old. There's nothing like youth for pride andimpudence. But go on, never mind me."
"She's a poor creature who has sought refuge with me from herpersecutors," said Beniah, turning to the prince, while the old womanfell to crooning a wild song in a low voice, accompanying the music--ifsuch it may be called--by a swaying motion of her body to and fro.
Seeing that she meant to sit there, and that she apparently heardnothing, Bladud resumed the conversation where it had been interrupted.
"Now, as I was saying, you know the country in all directions, and cantell me of the most likely part where I can find what I want--a solitudewhere I shall be able to escape from the face of man, and build a hut tolive in till I die. It may be long, it may be short, before deathrelieves me. Meanwhile, I can hunt and provide myself with food tillthe time comes."
The crooning of the old woman stopped at this point, and she sank herface on her hands as if she had fallen asleep.
"I know of a man--a hunter," said Beniah, "a wild sort of being, wholives a long way from here, in a beautiful part of the land, where thereis a wonderful swamp with a hot spring in the midst of it. Besideshunting, the man who lives there cultivates the ground a little, andkeeps a few cattle and pigs. It may be that he can put you in the wayof finding what you want; and you need not tell him about your disease,for you are not yet sure about it. Thus you will have an opportunity ofkeeping out of the way of men until you find out whether the doctor isright about it. He may be wrong, you know. Diseases sometimes resembleeach other without being the same."
Bladud shook his head.
"There can be no doubt that I am doomed," he said. "I know the diseasetoo well."
The Hebrew also believed that, if the doctor was right in his opinion,there was no hope for the youth. Being unwilling, however, to dwellupon this point, he asked--
"How did you come by it?"
"Very simply," answered the prince, who thereupon entered into a graphicaccount of the incident which we have already recorded. Having done so,he made up his mind, after some further talk, to pay a visit to thehunter who dwelt in the region of the Hot Swamp.
"But you will not surely go without arms?" said Beniah.
"Why not? If I am doomed to die at any rate, why should I take the lifeof any man to save my own?"
"Let me at least give you a bow and a sheaf of arrows. You cannotprocure food without these."
"Well, you are right. I will accept your kind offer. To say truth, myheart was so crushed at first by this blow, that such matters did notoccur to me when I left; for it is terrible to think of having to die ofa slow disease without father, mother, or sister to comfort one!"
"It is indeed, my son," returned Beniah with much feeling. "If you willaccept it, I can give you a word of comfort."
"Give it me," said Bladud; "for I need it much,--if it be but true."
"It is true," returned the Hebrew earnestly; "for in one of the books ofour holy men who spoke for the All-Father, it is written, `When myfather and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.'"
"It is a good word," returned the prince; "and I can well believe itcomes from the All-Father, for is He not also All-Good? Yet I canscarcely claim it as mine, for my father and mother have not forsakenme, but I them."
A few minutes more, and Bladud rose to depart. He took the bow andarrows in his left hand, and, totally forgetting for the moment the dutyof keeping himself aloof from his fellow-men, he shook hands warmly withBeniah, patted the old woman kindly on the shoulder, and went out intothe dark night.
The moment he was gone Branwen started up with flashing eyes that werestill bedewed with tears, and seized the old man's hand.
"Child," he said, "thou hast been weeping."
"Who could listen to his telling of
that old woman's escape from thebull and the precipice without tears?" she replied. "But tell me, whatis this terrible disease that has smitten the prince?"
"It is one well known and much dreaded in the East--called leprosy."
Here the Hebrew went into a painfully graphic account of the disease;the frightful disfigurement it caused, and its almost, if not quite,certain termination in death.
"And have the queen and Hudibras actually let him go away to die alone?"she exclaimed.
"Not so, my child. Before you interrupted us he told me that he hadleft home by stealth on purpose. But, Branwen," continued the old manwith some severity, "how could you run such a risk of being discovered?"
"I ran no risk," she replied, with a laugh.
"Besides, it was not fair to pretend to be deaf and thus obtain all hissecrets."
"I don't care whether it was fair or not," replied the girl with awilful shake of her head. "And was it fair of you to back me up as youdid?"
"Your rebuke is just, yet it savours of ingratitude. I should not havedone so, but I was completely taken aback. Do you know that your faceis dirty?"
"I know it. I made it so on purpose. Now tell me--when are you goingaway to tell my father and brothers about me?"
"I shall probably start to-morrow. But many days must pass before I canbring them here, for, as you know, their town is a long way off. But,child, you do not seem to reflect that you have betrayed me."
"How?" asked Branwen,
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