CHAPTER XVIII
THE BURNING OF THE PALACE
Orme was right. Maqueda's defiance did mean war, "an unequal war." Thiswas our position. We were shut up in a long range of buildings, of whichone end had been burned, that on account of their moat and double wall,if defended with any vigour, could only be stormed by an enemy of greatcourage and determination, prepared to face a heavy sacrifice oflife. This was a circumstance in our favour, since the Abati were notcourageous, and very much disliked the idea of being killed, or eveninjured.
But here our advantage ended. Deducting those whom we had lost onthe previous night, the garrison only amounted to something over fourhundred men, of whom about fifty were wounded, some of them dangerously.Moreover, ammunition was short, for they had shot away most of theirarrows in the battle of the square, and we had no means of obtainingmore. But, worst of all, the palace was not provisioned for a siege,and the mountaineers had with them only three days' rations of sun-driedbeef or goat's flesh, and a hard kind of biscuit made of Indian cornmixed with barley meal. Thus, as we saw from the beginning, unless wecould manage to secure more food our case must soon grow hopeless.
There remained yet another danger. Although the palace itself wasstone-built, its gilded domes and ornamental turrets were of timber, andtherefore liable to be fired, as indeed had already happened. The roofalso was of ancient cedar beams, thinly covered with concrete, while theinterior containing an enormous quantity of panels, or rather boarding,cut from some resinous wood.
The Abati, on the other hand, were amply supplied with every kind ofstore and weapon, and could bring a great force to blockade us, thoughthat force was composed of a timid and undisciplined rabble.
Well, we made the best preparations that we could, although of these Idid not see much, since all that day my time was occupied in attendingto the wounded with the help of my son and a few rough orderlies, whoseexperience in doctoring had for the most part been confined to cattle.A pitiful business it proved without the aid of anaesthetics or a propersupply of bandages and other appliances. Although my medicine chest hadbeen furnished upon a liberal scale, it proved totally inadequate to thecasualties of battle. Still I did my best and saved some lives, thoughmany cases developed gangrene and slipped through my fingers.
Meanwhile Higgs, who worked nobly, notwithstanding his flesh wounds,which pained him considerably, and Orme were also doing their bestwith the assistance of Japhet and the other officers of the highlandregiment. The palace was thoroughly examined, and all weak places in itsdefences were made good. The available force was divided into watchesand stationed to the best advantage. A number of men were set to work tomanufacture arrow shafts from cedar beams, of which there were plentyin the wooden stables and outhouses that lay at the back of the mainbuilding, and to point and wing the same from a supply of iron barbs andfeathers which fortunately was discovered in one of the guard-houses. Afew horses that remained in a shed were killed and salted down for food,and so forth.
Also every possible preparation was made to repel attempts to storm,paving stones being piled up to throw upon the heads of assailants andfires lighted on the walls to heat pitch and oil and water for the samepurpose.
But, to our disappointment, no direct assault was delivered, suchdesperate methods not commending themselves to the Abati. Their plan ofattack was to take cover wherever they could, especially among the treesof the garden beyond the gates, and thence shoot arrows at any one whoappeared upon the walls, or even fire them in volleys at the clouds, asthe Normans did at Hastings, so that they might fall upon the headsof persons in the courtyards. Although these cautious tactics cost usseveral men, they had the advantage of furnishing us with a supply ofammunition which we sorely needed. All the spent arrows were carefullycollected and made use of against the enemy, at whom we shot wheneveropportunity offered. We did them but little damage, however, since theywere extremely careful not to expose themselves.
In this fashion three dreary days went past, unrelieved by any incidentexcept a feint, for it was scarcely more, which the Abati made uponthe second night, apparently with the object of forcing the great gatesunder cover of a rainstorm. The advance was discovered at once, andrepelled by two or three volleys of arrows and some rifle shots. Ofthese rifles, indeed, whereof we possessed about a score, the Abati wereterribly afraid. Picking out some of the most intelligent soldiers wetaught them how to handle our spare guns, and though, of course, theirshooting was extremely erratic, the result of it, backed up by ourown more accurate marksmanship, was to force the enemy to take cover.Indeed, after one or two experiences of the effect of bullets, not a manwould show himself in the open within five hundred yards until night hadfallen.
On the third afternoon we held a council to determine what must be done,since for the last twenty-four hours it had been obvious that thingscould not continue as they were. To begin with, we had only sufficientfood left to keep our force from starvation for two more days. Alsothe spirits of our soldiers, brave men enough when actual fightingwas concerned, were beginning to flag in this atmosphere of inaction.Gathered into groups, they talked of their wives and children, and ofwhat would happen to them at the hands of Joshua; also of their cattleand crops, saying that doubtless these were being ravaged and theirhouses burned. In vain did Maqueda promise them five-fold their losswhen the war was ended, for evidently in their hearts they thought itcould only end one way. Moreover, as they pointed out, she could notgive them back their children if these were killed.
At this melancholy council every possible plan was discussed, to findthat these resolved themselves into two alternatives--to surrender,or to take the bull by the horns, sally out of the palace at night andattack Joshua. On the face of it, this latter scheme had the appearanceof suicide, but, in fact, it was not so desperate as it seemed. TheAbati being such cowards it was quite probable that they would run intheir thousands before the onset of a few hundred determined men, andthat, if once victory declared itself for the Child of Kings, the bulkof her subjects would return to their allegiance. So we settled on it inpreference to surrender, which we knew meant death to ourselves, and forMaqueda a choice between that last grim solution of her troubles and aforced marriage.
But there were others to be convinced, namely, the Mountaineers. Japhet,who had been present at the council, was sent to summon all of themexcept those actually on guard, and when they were assembled in thelarge inner court Maqueda went out and addressed them.
I do not remember the exact words of her speech, and I made no note ofthem, but it was extremely beautiful and touching. She pointed out herplight, and that we could halt no longer between two opinions, who musteither fight or yield. For herself she said she did not care, since,although she was young and their ruler, she set no store upon her life,and would give it up gladly rather than be driven into a marriagewhich she considered shameful, and forced to pass beneath the yoke oftraitors.
But for us foreigners she did care. We had come to her country at herinvitation, we had served her nobly, one of us had given his life toprotect her person, and now, in violation of her safeguard and that ofthe Council, we were threatened with a dreadful death. Were they, hersubjects, so lacking in honour and hospitality that they would suffersuch a thing with no blow struck to save us?
Now the majority of them shouted "No," but some were silent, and one oldcaptain advanced, saluted, and spoke.
"Child of Kings," he said, "let us search out the truth of this matter.Is it not because of your love of the foreign soldier, Orme, that allthis trouble has arisen? Is not that love unlawful according to our law,and are you not solemnly affianced to the Prince Joshua?"
Maqueda considered awhile before she replied, and said slowly:
"Friend, my heart is my own, therefore upon this point answer yourquestion for yourself. As regards my uncle Joshua, if there existed anyabiding contract between us it was broken when a few nights ago he senthis servants armed to attack and drag me off I know not whither. Wouldyou have me mar
ry a traitor and a coward? I have spoken."
"No," again shouted the majority of the soldiers.
Then in the silence that followed the old captain replied, with acanniness that was almost Scotch:
"On the point raised by you, O Child of Kings, I give no opinion, sinceyou, being but a woman, if a high-born one, would not listen to me if Idid, but will doubtless follow that heart of yours of which you speak towhatever end is appointed. Settle the matter with your betrothed Joshuaas you will. But we also have a matter to settle with Joshua, who is atoad with a long tongue that if he seems slow yet never misses his fly.We took up your cause, and have killed a great number of his people, ashe has killed some of ours. This he will not forget. Therefore it seemsto me that it will be wise that we should make what we can of the nestthat we have built, since it is better to die in battle than on thegallows. For this reason, then, since we can stay here no longer, formy part I am willing to go out and fight for you this night, althoughJoshua's people being so many and ours so few, I shall think myselffortunate if I live to see another sun."
This hard and reasoned speech seemed to appeal to the dissentients, withthe result that they withdrew their opposition, and it was agreed thatwe should attempt to break our way through the besieging army about onehour before the dawn, when they would be heavily asleep and most liableto panic.
Yet, as it chanced, that sortie was destined never to take place, whichperhaps was fortunate for us, since I am convinced that it would haveended in failure. It is true that we might have forced our way throughJoshua's army, but afterwards those of us who remained alive would havebeen surrounded, starved out, and, when our strength and ammunition wereexhausted taken prisoners or cut down.
However that may be, events shaped a different course for us, perhapsbecause the Abati got wind of our intention and had no stomach fora pitched battle with desperate men. As it happened, this night fromsunset on to moonrise was one of a darkness so remarkable that it wasimpossible to see anything even a foot away, also a wind blowing fromthe east made sounds very inaudible. Only a few of our men were onguard, since it was necessary that they should be rested till it wastime for them to prepare for their great effort. Also, we had littlefear of any direct attack.
About eight o'clock, however, my son Roderick, one of the watchstationed in the gateway towers, who was gifted with very quick ears,reported that he thought he heard people moving on the farther side ofthe massive wooden doors beyond the moat. Accordingly some of us went tolisten, but could distinguish nothing, and concluded therefore that hewas mistaken. So we retired to our posts and waited patiently for themoon to rise. But as it chanced no moon rose, or rather we could notsee her, because the sky was completely covered by thick banks ofthunder-clouds presaging the break-up of a period of great heat. These,as the wind had now died down, remained quite stationary upon the faceof the sky, blotting out all light.
Perhaps another hour had passed when, chancing to look behind me, I sawwhat I thought was a meteor falling from the crest of the cliff againstwhich the palace was built, that cliff whither the head of the idolHarmac had been carried by the force of the explosion.
"Look at that shooting star," I said to Oliver, who was at my side.
"It is not a shooting star, it is fire," he replied in a startled voice,and, as he spoke, other streaks of light, scores of them, began to raindown from the brow of the cliff and land upon the wooden buildings tothe rear of the palace that were dry as tinder with the drought, and,what was worse, upon the gilded timber domes of the roof.
"Don't you understand the game?" he went on. "They have tied firebrandsto arrows and spears to burn us out. Sound the alarm. Sound the alarm!"
It was done, and presently the great range of buildings began to humlike a hive of bees. The soldiers still half asleep, rushed hitherand thither shouting. The officers also, developing the characteristicexcitement of the Abati race in this hour of panic, yelled and screamedat them, beating them with their fists and swords till some kind ofcontrol was established.
Then attempts were made to extinguish the flames, which by this timehad got hold in half-a-dozen places. From the beginning the effort wasabsolutely hopeless. It is true that there was plenty of water in themoat, which was fed by a perennial stream that flowed down the face ofthe precipice behind; but pumping engines of any sort were quite unknownto the Abati, who, if a building took fire, just let it burn, contentingthemselves with safeguarding those in its neighbourhood. Moreover,even in the palace, such articles as pails, jugs, or other vessels werecomparatively few and far between.
Those that we could find, however, were filled with water and passedby lines of men to the places in most danger--that is, practicallyeverywhere--while other men tried to cut off the advance of the flamesby pulling down portions of the building.
But as fast as one fire was extinguished others broke out, for the rainof burning darts and of lighted pots or lamps filled with oil descendedcontinuously from the cliff above. A strange and terrible sight it wasto see them flashing down through the darkness, like the fiery dartsthat shall destroy the wicked in the day of Armageddon.
Still, we toiled on despairingly. On the roof we four white men, andsome soldiers under the command of Japhet, were pouring water on toseveral of the gilded domes, which now were well alight. Close by,wrapped in a dark cloak, and attended by some of her ladies, stoodMaqueda. She was quite calm, although sundry burning arrows and spears,falling with great force from the cliff above, struck the flat roofsclose to where she stood.
Her ladies, however, were not calm. They wept and wrung their hands,while one of them went into violent hysterics in her very naturalterror. Maqueda turned and bade them descend to the courtyard of thegateway, where she said she would join them presently. They rushed off,rejoicing to escape the sight of those burning arrows, one of which hadjust pierced a man and set his clothes and hair on fire, causing him toleap from the roof in his madness.
At Oliver's request I ran to the Child of Kings to lead her to somesafer place, if it could be found. But she would not stir.
"Let me be, O Adams," she said. "If I am to die, I will die here. ButI do not think that is fated," and with her foot she kicked aside aburning spear that had struck the cement roof, and, rebounding, fallenquite close to her. "If my people will not fight," she went on, withbitter sarcasm, "at least they understand the other arts of war, forthis trick of theirs is clever. They are cruel also. Listen to themmocking us in the square. They ask whether we will roast alive or comeout and have our throats cut. Oh!" she went on, clenching her hands,"oh! that I should have been born the head of such an accursed race. LetSheol take them all, for in the day of their tribulation no finger willI lift to save them."
She was silent for a moment, and down below, near the gateway, I heardsome brute screaming, "Pretty pigeons! Pretty pigeons, are your featherssingeing? Come then into our pie, pretty pigeons, pretty pigeons!"followed by shouts of ribald laughter.
But it chanced it was this hound himself who went into the "pie."Presently, when the flames were brighter, I saw him, in the midst of acrowd of his admirers, singing his foul song, another verse of it aboutMaqueda, which I will not repeat, and by good fortune managed to put abullet through his head. It was not a bad shot considering the light andcircumstances, and the only one I fired that night. I trust also that itwill be the last I shall ever fire at any human being.
Just as I was about to leave Maqueda and return with her message toOrme, to the effect that she would not move, the final catastropheoccurred. Amongst the stables was a large shed filled with dry fodderfor the palace horses and camels. Suddenly this burst into a mass offlame that spread in all directions. Then came the last, hideous panic.From every part of the palace, the Mountaineers, men and officerstogether, rushed down to the gateway. In a minute, with the singleexception of Japhet, we four and Maqueda were left alone upon theroof, where we stood overwhelmed, not knowing what to do. We heardthe drawbridge fall; we heard the great doors burst upon ben
eath thepressure of a mob of men; we heard a coarse voice--I thought it was thatof Joshua--yell:
"Kill whom you will, my children, but death to him who harms the Childof Kings. She is my spoil!"
Then followed terrible sights and sounds. The cunning Abati hadstretched ropes outside the doors; it was the noise they made at thiswork which had reached Roderick's ears earlier during the darkness. Theterrified soldiers, flying from the fire, stumbled and fell over theseropes, nor could they rise again because of those who pressed behind.What happened to them all I am sure I do not know, but doubtless manywere crushed to death and many more killed by Joshua's men. I trust,however, that some of them escaped, since, compared to the rest of theAbati, they were as lions are to cats, although, like all their race,they lacked the stamina to fight an uphill game.
It was at the commencement of this terrific scene that I shot thefoul-mouthed singer.
"You shouldn't have done that, old fellow," screamed Higgs in his highvoice, striving to make himself heard above the tumult, "as it will showthose swine where we are."
"I don't think they will look for us here, anyway," I answered.
Then we watched awhile in silence.
"Come," said Orme at length, taking Maqueda by the hand.
"Where are you going, O Oliver?" she asked, hanging back. "Sooner will Iburn than yield to Joshua."
"I am going to the cave city," he answered; "we have nowhere else togo, and little time to lose. Four men with rifles can hold that placeagainst a thousand. Come."
"I obey," she answered, bowing her head.
We went down the stairway that led from the roof on which theinhabitants of the palace were accustomed to spend much of their day,and even to sleep in hot weather, as is common in the East. Anotherminute and we should have been too late. The fire from one of the domeshad spread to the upper story, and was already appearing in littletongues of flame mingled with jets of black smoke through cracks in thecrumbling partition wall.
As a matter of fact this wall fell in just as my son Roderick, the lastof us, was passing down the stairs. With the curiosity of youth he hadlingered for a few moments to watch the sad scene below, a delay whichnearly cost him his life.
On the ground floor we found ourselves out of immediate danger, sincethe fire was attacking this part of the palace from above and burningdownward. We had even time to go to our respective sleeping-places andcollect such of our possessions and valuables as we were able to carry.Fortunately, among other things, these included all our note-books,which to-day are of priceless value. Laden with these articles, we metagain in the audience hall, which, although it was very hot, seemed asit had always been, a huge, empty place, whereof the roof, painted withstars, was supported upon thick cedar columns, each of them hewn from asingle tree.
Passing down that splendid apartment, which an hour later had ceased toexist, lamps in hand, for these we had found time to fetch and light,we reached the mouth of the passage that led to the underground citywithout meeting a single human being.
Had the Abati been a different race they could perfectly well havedashed in and made us prisoners, for the drawbridge was still intact.But their cowardice was our salvation, for they feared lest they shouldbe trapped by the fire. So I think at least, but justice compels me toadd that, on the spur of the moment, they may have found it impossibleto clear the gateways of the mass of fallen or dead soldiers over whichit would have been difficult to climb.
Such, at any rate, was the explanation that we heard afterwards.
We reached the mouth of the vast cave in perfect safety, and clamberedthrough the little orifice which was left between the rocks rolledthither by the force of the explosion, or shaken down from the roof.This hole, for it was nothing more, we proceeded to stop with a fewstones in such a fashion that it could not be forced without much toiland considerable noise, only leaving one little tortuous channel throughwhich, if necessary, a man could creep.
The labour of rock-carrying, in which even Maqueda shared, occupied ourminds for awhile, and induced a kind of fictitious cheerfulness. Butwhen it was done, and the chilly silence of that enormous cave, sostriking in comparison with the roar of the flames and the hideous humantumult which we had left without, fell upon us like sudden cold andblinding night upon a wanderer in windy, sunlit mountains, all ourexcitement perished. In a flash, we understood our terrible position,we who had but escaped from the red fire to perish slowly in the blackdarkness.
Still we strove to keep our spirits as best we could. Leaving Higgs towatch the blocked passage, a somewhat superfluous task, since the firewithout was our best watchman, the rest of us threaded our way up thecave, following the telephone wire which poor Quick had laid on thenight of the blowing-up of the god Harmac, till we came to what had beenour headquarters during the digging of the mine. Into the room whichwas Oliver's, whence we had escaped with so much difficulty afterthat event, we could not enter because of the transom that blocked thedoorway. Still, there were plenty of others at hand in the old temple,although they were foul with the refuse of the bats that wheeled aboutus in thousands, for these creatures evidently had some unknown accessto the open air. One of these rooms had served as our store-chamber, andafter a few rough preparations we assigned it to Maqueda.
"Friends," she said, as she surveyed its darksome entrance, "it lookslike the door of a tomb. Well, in the tomb there is rest, and rest Imust have. Leave me to sleep, who, were it not for you, O Oliver, wouldpray that I might never wake again.
"Man," she added passionately, before us all, for now in face of thelast peril every false shame and wish to conceal the truth had left her;"man, why were you born to bring woe upon my head and joy to my heart?Well, well, the joy outweighs the woe, and even if the angel who led youhither is named Azrael, still I shall bless him who has revealed to memy soul. Yet for you I weep, and if only your life could be spared tofulfil itself in happiness in the land that bore you, oh! for you Iwould gladly die."
Now Oliver, who seemed deeply moved, stepped to her and began to whisperinto her ear, evidently making some proposal of which I think I canguess the nature. She listened to him, smiling sadly, and made a motionwith her hand as though to thrust him away.
"Not so," she said, "it is nobly offered, but did I accept, throughwhatever universes I may wander, those who came after me would know meby my trail of blood, the blood of him who loved me. Perhaps, too, bythat crime I should be separated from you for ever. Moreover, I tellyou that though all seems black as this thick darkness, I believe thatthings will yet end well for you and me--in this world or another."
Then she was gone, leaving Orme staring after her like a man in atrance.
"I daresay they will," remarked Higgs _sotto voce_ to me, "and that'sfirst-rate so far as they are concerned. But what I should jolly welllike to know is how they are going to end for _us_ who haven't got acharming lady to see us across the Styx."
"You needn't puzzle your brain over that," I answered gloomily, "forI think there will soon be a few more skeletons in this beastly cave,that's all. Don't you see that those Abati will believe we are burned inthe palace?"
Queen Sheba's Ring Page 28
