The People of the Mist

by H. Rider Haggard

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  TRAPPED

  It will be remembered that some hours before Otter found himself inthe light of day, after his conquest of the reptile god, Leonard foundhimself in a very difference place, namely, in a secret passage bearingthe senseless form of Juanna in his arms, and being guided by Soa,whither he knew not.

  On they went through various tunnels, of the turnings of which Leonardtried to keep count in his mind, till at length Soa ushered him into arock-hewn cell that evidently had been prepared for their reception,for on one side of it stood a bed covered with skin blankets, and on theother a table provided with the best food that the country could offer.At a sign from Soa he laid Juanna down upon the bed, whereon the womaninstantly threw a blanket over her, so as to hide her face from theeyes of the curious. Then, of a sudden Leonard felt himself seized frombehind, and while his arms were held by two of the priests, a third,under Soa's direction, removed his revolver and hunting knife, whichweapons were carried away.

  "You treacherous hag!" said Leonard to Soa, "be careful lest I killyou."

  "To kill me, Deliverer, would be to kill yourself and another. Thesethings are taken from you because it is not safe that you should havethem; such toys are not for angry children. Stay," she said to a fourthpriest, "search his pockets."

  The man did as he was ordered, placing everything that Leonard had abouthim, such as his watch, Francisco's notebook and rosary, and the greatruby stone, in a little pile upon the table. Presently he came to thefragment of poison which was wrapped in a square of kid-skin. Soa tookit, and after examination said:

  "Why, Deliverer, you have been borrowing medicine that will bring youbad luck if you keep it," and going to a small aperture in the wall ofthe cell, she threw the tiny packet out of it, and after it a secondpacket which Leonard recognised as having been taken from Juanna's hair.

  "There, now you cannot hurt yourself," she added in Portuguese. "Let metell you something: so long as you remain quiet all will be well, butif you attempt violence or escape, then you shall be bound and placed byyourself, also you will bring about the death of the Shepherdess yonder.Be warned then by me, White Man, and turn gentle, for remember that myday has come at last and you are in my power."

  "That is very clear, my estimable friend," answered Leonard, controllinghis wrath as best he might. "But for your sake I hope that the hour willnever come when you shall be in mine, for then I may remember more thanyou wish. I do not in the least understand what you are aiming at, nordo I much care so long as a certain person is protected."

  "Do not fear, Deliverer, she shall be protected. As you know well, Ihate you, and yet I keep you alive because without you she might die;therefore, for her sake be careful. Attempt no violence towards me or myfather if we visit you alone, for we shall do so in order that she maynot be discovered, and the moment that you lift a hand against us willbe the beginning of her doom. And now I must leave you for a while,for something passes in the temple which I desire to see. If she awakesbefore I return, be careful not to frighten her. Farewell!"

  Then Soa went taking the priests with her, and the massive timber doorwas closed upon them.

  After he had restored his various belongings to his pockets, therevolver and the knife which had been removed excepted, Leonard turneddown the rug and looked at Juanna, who appeared to be plunged in a deepand happy sleep, for there was a smile upon her face. Next he examinedthe place where they were confined. It had two doors, that by which theyhad entered and a second of equal solidity. The only other opening wasthe slit out of which Soa had dropped the poison. It was shaped like aninverted loophole, the narrow end facing inward. This aperture attractedLeonard's attention, both on account of its unusual form and becauseof the sounds that reached him through it. Of these, the first andmost pervading was a noise of rushing water. Then after a while hedistinguished a roar as of a multitude shouting, that was repeated againand again at intervals. Now he knew where they must be. They were hiddenaway in the rock of the temple, somewhere in the immediate neighbourhoodof the raging pool that lay in front of the colossus, and these soundswhich he heard were the clamour of the people who watched the fate ofOtter and Francisco.

  This conviction was terrible enough, but had he known that, as itentered his mind, the body of his friend the priest was travelling onits last journey within four feet of his eyes, Leonard might have beeneven more prostrated than he was.

  For an hour or more the shouting continued, then followed a silencebroken only by the everlasting murmur of the waters without.

  When Soa departed she had left a fragment of dip made of goat-fatburning upon the floor, but very soon this expired, leaving them indarkness. Now, however, light began to flow into the dungeon through theslit in the rock, and it seemed to Leonard that the character of thislight was clearer than that to which they had been accustomed in thisgloomy land.

  After a while Leonard sat down upon a stool, which he placed close toJuanna's bed, just where the beam of light pierced the shadows,and groaned aloud in the bitterness of his heart. It was over; thepure-hearted martyr, Francisco, was dead, and with him Otter, hisfaithful friend and servant. Except Soa, who had become an activeenemy, at least so far as he was concerned, of all who travelled to thishellish country Juanna and he alone were left alive, and sooner or laterfate must overtake them also. The greatest and last failure of his lifewas about to be consummated, and he would go down into a namelessgrave, there to be lost, having for many years suffered and toiled to nopurpose, pursuing a chimera.

  Juanna still slept heavily under the influence of the drug, and he wasglad of it, for when she woke it must be to a worse misery than anythat had gone before. Partly for something to do, and partly becausethe cravings of nature made themselves felt even through his sorrows,Leonard turned to the table and ate and drank of the viands there,though not without fear that they might be doctored. As the food tookeffect upon him some share of hope and courage entered into his heart,for it is a true saying that a full stomach makes a brave man. After allthey two still breathed and were unharmed in body, nor was it absolutelycertain that they would be called upon to give up the ghost at present.This was much.

  Moreover, he had lived long enough to win the love of the fearlessand beautiful girl who slept beside him, and though perhaps under suchcircumstances love, however true and passionate, ceases to occupy acommanding place in a man's heart, even then he felt that this was more,and that happier days might dawn when it would be, if not everything, atleast most of all.

  As he thought thus, he saw colour creep into Juanna's pale face; thenshe sighed, opened her eyes, and sat up.

  "Where am I?" she said, glancing round wildly. "This is not the bed onwhich I lay down. Oh!" she started, "is it over?"

  "Hush, dear, hush! I am with you," said Leonard, taking her hand.

  "So I see. But where are the others, and what is this dreadful place?Are we buried alive, Leonard? It looks like a tomb."

  "No, we are only prisoners. Come, eat and drink something, and then Iwill tell you the story."

  She rose to obey him, and for the first time her eyes fell upon the robeshe wore.

  "Why, this is Francisco's! Where is Francisco?"

  "Eat and drink," he repeated.

  She did his bidding mechanically, watching his face the while withwondering and frightened eyes.

  "Now," she said, "tell me. I can bear this no longer. Where areFrancisco and Otter?"

  "Alas! Juanna, they are dead," he answered solemnly.

  "Dead," she wailed, wringing her hand. "Francisco dead! Why then are westill live?"

  "Have courage and listen, Juanna. After you went to sleep in the palace,Soa came to us with a plan which we accepted."

  "What was the plan?" she asked hoarsely.

  Twice he strove to tell her and twice he failed--the words would notcome.

  "Go on. Why do you torment me?"

  "It was this, Juanna: that Francisco should be dressed in the robe ofAca, and offered up
with Otter in your place, while you were hiddenaway."

  "Has it been done?" she whispered.

  "I believe so," Leonard replied, bowing his head to his breast. "We areprisoners in a secret cell beneath the feet of the statue. There hasbeen great noise and confusion without, and now for some time silence."

  Then Juanna sprang up and stood over him with flashing eyes.

  "How dared you do this?" she said. "Who gave you leave to do it? Ithought that you were a man, now I see that you are a coward."

  "Juanna," said Leonard, "it is useless for you to talk like this.Whatever was done was done for your sake, not for that of anybody else."

  "Oh, yes, you say so, but I believe that you made a plot with Soa tomurder Francisco in order that you might save your own life. I have donewith you. I will never speak to you again."

  "You can please yourself about that," answered Leonard, who by now wasthoroughly enraged, "but I am going to speak to you. Look here, you havesaid words to me for which, were you a man, I would do my best to beavenged upon you. But as you are a woman I can only answer them, andthen wash my hands of you. As you must know, or will know when you cometo your right mind, I would gladly have taken Francisco's place. But itwas impossible, for had I attempted to dress myself up in the robe ofAca, I should instantly have been discovered, and _you_ would have paidthe price of my folly. We all knew this, and after we had consulted,things were arranged as I have told you. I only consented to your beingbrought here on the condition that I was allowed to accompany you foryour protection. Now I wish that I had left it alone and gone withFrancisco, then perhaps I should have found peace instead of bitterwords and reproaches. However, do not be afraid, for I think it probablethat I shall soon follow him. I know that you were very fond of thisman--this hero--and also, either by accident or design, that you hadsucceeded in making him a great deal too fond of you for his peace ofmind; therefore I make excuses for your conduct, which, with all suchdeductions, still remains perfectly intolerable."

  He paused and looked at her as she sat on the edge of the couch, bitingher lip and glancing towards him now and again with a curious expressionon her beautiful face, in which grief, pride, and anger all had theirshare. Yet at that moment Juanna was thinking not of Francisco and hissacrifice, but of the man before her whom she had never loved so wellas now, when he spoke to her thus bitterly, paying her back in her owncoin.

  "I cannot pretend to match you in scolding and violence," she said,"therefore I will give up argument. Perhaps, however, when _you_ cometo your right mind, you will remember that my life is my own, and that Igave nobody permission to save it at the cost of another person's."

  "What is done, is done," answered Leonard moodily, for his anger hadburnt out. "Another time I will not interfere without your express wish.By the way, my poor friend asked me to give you these," and he handedher the rosary and the notebook; "he has written something for you toread on the last sheet of the journal, and he bade me say that, shouldyou live to escape, he hoped that you will wear these in memory of him,"and he touched the beads, "and also that you would not forget him inyour prayers."

  Juanna took the journal, and holding it to the light, opened it athazard. The first thing that she saw was her own name, for in truth itcontained, among many other matters, a record of the priest's unhappyinfatuation from the first moment of their meeting, and also of hispious efforts to overcome it. Turning the pages rapidly she came to thelast on which there was any writing. It ran as follows:

  "Senora, of the circumstances under which I write these words you willlearn in due course. The pages of this journal, should you deign tostudy them, will reveal to you my shameful weakness. But if I am apriest I am also a man--who soon shall be neither, but, as I hope,an immortal spirit--and the man in me, following those desires of thespirit that find expression through the flesh, has sinned and loved you.Forgive me this crime, as I trust it will be forgiven elsewhere, thoughmyself I cannot pardon it. Be happy with that noble gentleman who haswon your heart and who himself worships you as you deserve. May you beprotected from all the dangers that now surround you, as I think youwill, and may the blessing of Heaven be with you and about you formany peaceful years, till at length you come to the peace that passethunderstanding! And when from time to time you think of me, may you inyour heart couple my name with certain holy words: 'Greater love hathno man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' Senora,pardon me and farewell."

  Juanna read this touching and noble-hearted adieu with an ever-growingwonder, and when she had finished it, put down the book crying aloud,

  "Oh! what have I done to deserve such devotion as this?" Then with astrange and bewildering inconsequence she flung herself into Leonard'sarms, and burying her head upon his breast she began to weep.

  When she was somewhat calmer he also read the letter and closed thebook, saying:

  "The world is poorer by a perfect gentleman. He was too good for any ofus, Juanna."

  "I think so," she answered.

  Just then they heard a sound without the door; it opened, and Namentered accompanied by Soa.

  "Deliverer," said the aged priest, whose countenance and troubled eyesbore traces of many conflicting emotions, "and you, Shepherdess, I cometo speak with you. As you see, I am alone, except for this woman, butshould you attempt any violence towards her or me, that will be thesignal for your deaths. With much toil and at no little risk to myselfI have spared the life of the Shepherdess, causing the white man, yourcompanion, to be offered up in her place."

  "Has that offering been accomplished?" broke in Leonard, who could notrestrain his anxiety to learn what had happened.

  "I will be frank with you, Deliverer," answered the high-priest, whenJuanna had translated his question, "since the truth cannot hurt me, fornow we know too much of one another's secrets to waste time in bandyinglies. I know, for instance, that the Shepherdess and the dwarf areno gods, but mortal like ourselves; and you know that I have dared toaffront the true gods by changing the victim whom they had chosen. Thesacrifice has been accomplished, but with so many signs and wonders thatI am bewildered; the People of the Mist are bewildered also, so thatnone know what to think. The white man, your companion, was hurledfainting into the waters when the dawn had broken upon the mountain andwas seen to be grey; but the dwarf, your servant, did not wait to havethat office done for him, for he sprang thither himself, ay, and tookone with him."

  "Bravo, Otter!" cried Leonard; "I knew that you would die hard."

  "Hard did he die indeed, Deliverer," said Nam with a sigh, "so hard thateven now many swear that he was a god and not a man. Scarcely had theyall vanished into the pool when a wonder chanced such as has notbeen told of in our records: Deliverer, the white dawn turned to red,perchance, as I cried to calm the people, because the false gods had mettheir doom."

  "Then the true ones must be singularly blind," said Juanna, "seeing thatI, whom you dare to call a false god, am still alive."

  This argument silenced Nam for a moment, but presently he answered.

  "Yes, Shepherdess, you are still alive," he said, laying a curiousemphasis on the "still." "And, indeed," he added hastily, "if you arenot foolish you may long remain so, both of you, for I have no desire toshed your blood who only seek to end my last days in peace. But listento the end of the tale: While the people wondered at the omen of thechanged dawn, it was seen that the dwarf, your servant, was not deadthere in the pool. Yes! this was seen, Deliverer: to and fro in thetroubled waters rushed the great Water Dweller, and after him, keepingpace with him, went that dwarf who was named Otter. Ay, round and roundand down to the lowest depths, though how it could be that a man mightswim with the Snake none can say."

  "Oh, bravo, Otter!" said Leonard again, bethinking him of an explanationof the mystery which he did not reveal to Nam. "Well, what was the endof it?"

  "That none know for certain, Deliverer," answered the priestperplexedly. "At last the Water Dweller, from whose mouth poured blood,was seen to sin
k with the dwarf; then he rose again and entered thecave, his home. But whether the dwarf entered with him, or no, I cannotsay, for some swear one thing and some another, and in the foam andshadow it was hard to see; moreover, none will venture there to learnthe truth."

  "Well, dead or alive, he made a good fight for it," said Leonard. "Andnow, Nam, what is your business with us?"

  This question appeared to puzzle the priest a little, for, to speaktruth, he did not care to disclose the exact nature of his business,which was to separate Leonard from Juanna, without force if possible.

  "I came here, Deliverer," he answered, "to tell you what had happened."

  "Exactly," said Leonard, "to tell me that you have murdered my bestfriend, and one who was but lately your god. I thank you for your news,Nam, and now, if I might make bold to ask it, what are your plans withreference to ourselves--I mean until it suits you to send us after ourcompanions?"

  "Believe me, Deliverer, my plan is to save your lives. If the othershave been sacrificed it was no fault of mine, for there are forcesbehind me that I cannot control even when I guide them. The land is inconfusion and full of strange rumours. I know not what may happen duringthe next few days, but till they are over you must lie hid. This is apoor place in which to dwell, but there is none other safe and secret.Still, here is another chamber which you can use; perchance you havealready seen it," and placing his hand upon what appeared to be alatch, he opened the second door which Leonard had noticed previously,revealing a cell of very similar construction to that in which theywere, and of somewhat larger size.

  "See, Deliverer," he went on, "here is the place," and he steppedforward to enter the cell, then drew back as though in courtesy to allowLeonard to pass in before him.

  For once Leonard's caution forsook him, for at the moment he wasthinking of other things. Almost mechanically he passed the threshold.Scarcely were his feet over it when he remembered the character of hishost and the lodging, and turned quickly to come back.

  It was too late, for even as he turned the heavy timber door closed inhis face with a crash, and he was caged.