Prisoners of Chance Part 27

Wondering what my mission might be, I remained a moment motionless slightly within the entrance, my eyes almost totally blinded by the sudden transition from the garish day to that dull interior. Slowly the scene within resolved itself into clearer detail. I began to perceive the crawling red flames licking with hungry tongues along the sides of the huge log resting upon the altar block, and later distinguished the black figure of a priest moving silently from point to point amid the shadows, engaged upon the grewsome functions of his office, his presence ever manifested by the dismal crooning with which he worked his magic spells. Beyond these vague suggestions of life--for they seemed scarcely more--it was like endeavoring to sound the depths of a cavern, so black, still, and void was all within and about. Yet, even as I stood thus, peering uneasily into the gloom, I was thoroughly startled at the sudden booming forth of a voice, apparently issuing from the darkest corner.

"May the Lord G.o.d forgive ye, Master Benteen, and be merciful unto ye, for thus placing His minister in such stress. 'T is I, Ezekiel Cairnes, who hath become an abomination unto Israel."

There was a tone of such utter depression in the great roaring voice, I feared some serious mishap had befallen him, and hastened to cross the room, heading toward the corner whence the sound came. As I attained the outer edge of the platform, groping my pa.s.sage through the dense gloom, I was halted in the midst of a dozen or more savages, lying p.r.o.ne upon the hard floor, evidently in adoration of that grotesque figure perched above, and now clearly revealed by a blazing up of the charred log. Not one among them stirred from his prostrate position at my approach. Forgetting them instantly, my whole attention became riveted upon the marvellous transformation presented by my old Puritan comrade. Odds! what a sight! He sat bolt upright, as though bound in that stiff posture, occupying a low dais, almost at the edge of the platform. This latter had been covered with a glaring crimson cloth, roughly woven, presumably of native manufacture, peculiarly brilliant in its coloring, and hence of rare beauty to Indian eyes. At my approach he began straining at the cords which held him helpless, and I soon saw that his entire body was wrapped about with ropes of gra.s.s in such a manner as to render vain any hope of escape. His oddly shapen figure, with the wide, square shoulders and short legs, was likewise-draped in red, above which flared his fiery shock of dishevelled hair, while a face fairly distorted with rage, gray from loss of sleep, and rendered ludicrous by its little snapping eyes, glared down upon me.

"Memory of Beelzebub! It would be no matter of laughter for ye, Master Benteen," he snorted savagely, straining at his cords, "could I burst these accursed strings, and lay my hands to your throat. Ay! nor would yonder idolatrous swine lie there long if I once got free among them.

Imagine not, vain and presumptuous unbeliever that the Lord G.o.d Almighty--He who rideth in the chariot of the whirlwind--will long permit the heathen to profane His holy places, or triumph in the misery of one of the elect. There cometh the Day of Judgment, when the wicked shall be scattered as chaff."

"You are in a most unpleasant condition, friend," I replied, endeavoring to speak so as to calm his temper. "It is in sorrow, not pleasure, I behold you thus."

"I am entangled in the snare of the Evil One, Master Benteen. But I continue manfully to war against the adversary even as becomes my high station."

"Have you been long in so pitiful a state? I dreamed not it would ever come to this."

"It may be true you were ignorant of the wiles of that emissary of Satan who doth encompa.s.s us," he acknowledged, a trifle mollified by my sympathy. "I would not be guilty of evil thought even toward an unregenerated heretic. Yet I have sat thus, wrapped like a mummy of the Egyptians, since early dawn. Ay, verily have I been sore oppressed both of body and spirit. Nor has there been any surcease, when the heathen have not lain thus at my feet. What means such action?"

"They mistake you for a G.o.d, and prostrate themselves in worship. You are unto them a mysterious visitant from the Sun--so the Queen named you, inspired by the color of your hair."

He groaned aloud, his chin dropping dejectedly upon his breast.

"I feared as much, and the thought greatly oppressed me. 'T is as if I were a golden calf set aloft in the wilderness to mock the true G.o.d.

It resteth heavy on my spirit to abide as a vain idol in the tents of these idolaters. When first they draped me with this foul livery of Satan," he touched the scarlet robe gingerly with his chin, "I made so vigorous a protest two of the black imps went down before me, but the others overpowered my struggles, binding me fast, as you see. But, verily, I have delivered unto them the whole truth as revealed unto the saints; have struck and spared not--ay! the very language of the scriptures have I poured forth unstinted upon them, and drawn before their eyes that fiery h.e.l.l over which they dangle in their sins. It must be their understandings are darkened, for they hearken not unto my exhortations, only lie thus, or dance before me by the hour in unholy worship, snapping their fingers and shouting strange words, while twice yonder black emissary of false religion held his smoking torch so closely to my face the flame scorched the skin. Nor have my most fervent prayers availed to drive them hence, or ease the p.r.i.c.kings of the spirit. 'T is as if the ear of the Lord had been turned aside from the supplications of His servant; yea, verily, as if the vials of His wrath were being poured forth upon my head, because, in a moment of weakness, I yielded to the machinations of that scarlet woman."

"Have you again seen her?" I questioned anxiously, as he paused for breath.

"Seen her!--the accursed of G.o.d, the moral leper who rules this foul nest? Ay; I have, and may the Lord forgive my ever casting eyes upon such a shameless creature. 'T was she who brought me this disgrace.

She stood by with mocking smile, bidding her savage minions bind me fast. She is the chief imp of Satan in spite of her fair face, and shall yet be stricken low by the avenging arm of the Almighty. 'Tis no gleam of mercy cometh to me from her taunts, nor in the harlot blood flowing through her veins. I tell you, Master Benteen, she is the worst devil, for all her softness, in all this heathen crew; and if she spared our lives from the torture, it was done through some dark project born of the demon within her soul. Nothing good can come forth from such as she. Marked you the eyes she cast on De Noyan?"

"I paid no heed," I answered, wondering he had observed so much. "Have you supposed we may owe our escape unto him?"

"Ay! she has marked him victim to her snare, nor do I doubt the full success of her venture. 'T is small stock of virtue which bedecks itself in such Punchinello dress as that gay gallant wears. Amalekite is written upon his raiment, and he is ever attired as becomes a bridegroom to the shameless harlot ruling this devils' den. Marry, he may be good enough wielding a sword, yet will prove the undoing of all who company with him in this adventure."

"You are unjustly angry," I insisted, striving to make light of his words. "I value not the mercy of the woman, yet she used the only means she had for restraining her savage followers. It was stern necessity driving her to reliance on the magic of your red hair with which to save us all. No doubt she intends giving you early release from so painful a situation."

"You also are bewitched by her vain fleshly beauty," he bellowed stoutly. "'Tis a carnal generation. I tell you, Master Benteen, I am an old man, uplifted by communion of the Spirit above all fleshly l.u.s.ts. I have faithfully preached the word of salvation to civilized and savage more than forty years, and am not likely to be led astray by a glimpse of a fair face tempting me h.e.l.lward. I speak you truth, as delivered of G.o.d, so surely as were the tablets of the law delivered unto Moses, when I say that she who, by some wile of the Devil, rules this tribe and holds our lives in her hands, is an incarnate fiend, who will yet mock our agony whenever her own accursed l.u.s.t shall be satisfied. 'T is not only that she jeered at me with cruel smiles, and affronted a preacher of the Word by so ribald a covering; she did as clearly reveal the hideous sin of her heart unto that sweet lady we have in our keeping."

"Madame de Noyan?" I cried in awakened interest. "Mean you this woman dared do wrong by her?"

"I report only what my eyes beheld, for I can make nothing out of their heathen gibberish. Yet she who journeyed with us, ever proving herself a modest, high-bred lady in times of sore trial, begged upon her knees, with tears hot upon her cheeks, to be permitted to accompany you and her husband. What result? Why, this good Queen; this charming creature, stood there, like an insensate stone, gazing down upon her; and later, when the poor lady would not walk voluntarily, that painted harlot ordered two lecherous warriors to drag her forth, and laughed like a fiend at the scene."

"Where did they take her?"

"I know not; beyond the entrance she made no outcry that reached my ears, while that red-draped witch came back smiling to work her will on me."

This comprised all he knew, and, no matter what depth of sympathy I may have then felt for Master Cairnes in his unfortunate predicament, it was equally clear I could do nothing to aid him. My heart was so heavily laden by the plight of Eloise, I retained no other desire than a longing to return at once to the hut and hold consultation with De Noyan. That same silent spectre accompanied me along the brief journey, leaving me unguarded at the entrance. I entered hastily only to find the room vacant, my comrade gone.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE CHRONICLES OF THE NATCHEZ

These pages have been poorly written if he who reads has not discovered that I am of a nature not easily discouraged by events, or disheartened by misfortune. G.o.d had sufficiently armored me with hope; so that in the midst of much darkness I sought for whatever light of guidance there might be, making the most of it. Yet the intense, unantic.i.p.ated loneliness of that bare hut chilled my blood, and I scarcely recall a more wretched time than while I waited, stung and tortured by fears, for the return of De Noyan.

In truth the rough conclusions voiced by the angry sectary merely confirmed my own fear. I had marked within the eyes of Naladi--dreamy as they appeared beneath the shading of long lashes--no promise of tenderness of heart. I believed it was seldom she inclined to mercy, seldom she would step between her warriors and their revenge. I acknowledge freely I felt to some degree the strange spell of her power, the magic influence of her soft, sinuous beauty, which I doubt if any man could utterly resist. Yet I recognized her from the first, even as she stood wrapped in the sun's rays on the rock summit, as one who, by instinct and nature, was scarce less a savage than her most desperate follower, although she possessed the rare gift of masking her cruelty beneath the pleasing smile of a woman not entirely unacquainted with the courtesies of refinement.

I marvelled greatly who she could be, thus sporting the polite graces of a reception-room in the midst of these squalid huts. What was her strange life-story? How ever came such a woman, with charm of face, and grace of manner, to be acknowledged leader over such a people? It was not so odd that a clever, resourceful woman, driven perhaps by necessity, should have made unscrupulous use of their dominant superst.i.tions, and, by naming herself "Daughter of the Sun," have obtained supreme power. The perfect acting of such an a.s.sumed character would not prove difficult to her, while their servile worship of the protesting Puritan, whose red hair alone had elevated him to sainthood, proved how easily these savages might be deceived, and led slaves by subtle magic. Yet who was the woman? Whence came she? Why should she ever have chosen such a life?

And Eloise! Through what misfortune had she already attained the undisguised dislike of this Amazon? To what fate would this unmerited disfavor condemn her? It is a terrible thing to remain chained and helpless at such a time, to realize that cruel wrong, possibly torture, is being visited upon another, upon one you know and love, and yet be unable to uplift hand or voice in warning. I am by nature cool in action, yet there are few who fret more grievously when held in leash, compelled to await in uncertainty the coming of the unknown.

All I could do that day was to pace the hard earthen floor, vainly endeavoring to quiet the wild throbbing of my heart with every hope I might conjure up, now and then approaching the unguarded entrance of the lodge to search anxiously for some ground of hope. It was thus the long afternoon wore away, until the deepening shadows of sun-setting rested heavily along the western cliffs, and the workers in the fields began trooping through the village, their shouts of greeting shrill and discordant, while the grim priests found place before the draped entrance to their dread altar-house, with blazing f.a.gots signalling their distant brethren on the dizzy summit. It was then De Noyan finally returned and found me raging from wall to wall like one distracted.

It required but a glance to note the subtile change the afternoon had wrought in his personal appearance, yet at the time I did not greatly marvel at it. The stains of battle and exposure, that had so decidedly disfigured him, had disappeared before the magic of new raiment, which had about it the color and cut of French fashion; so it was now a fair and prosperous gallant of the court, powdered of hair, waxen of moustache, who came jauntily forward with his greetings.

"What said I, Master Benteen?" he questioned cheerily to my stare of surprise. "Did I not boldly contend that this would yet prove a pleasant resting-place to relieve the tedium of a journey? Can you gaze upon this gay attire, longer doubting the verity of my dreams?

But no happiness finds reflection in your face; 'tis gloomy as a day of rain. Prithie, the afternoon must have been pa.s.sed by you far less pleasantly than its hours sped with me."

"I have been conversing with good Master Cairnes," I responded gravely.

"I found him in no state of mind or body to bring me pleasant thought."

"_Parbleu_! I warrant not from all I hear of that worthy servant," the Chevalier laughed gayly. "'T is told me the grim-faced old hypocrite sits in worshipful state, a veritable G.o.d, trussed like a bronze idol or some mummy of the Egyptians. By my faith, I should enjoy gazing on his solemn face, and listening to his words withal."

"'T is an unhappy experience for a Christian."

"Ay! a pity; yet it should do the canting preacher good to play heathen G.o.d a while. She pictured to me most vividly his struggles to escape a fit draping with which to match his hair. _Sacre_! I have not laughed so heartily since leaving New Orleans."

"She?" I exclaimed in new interest. "Have you been with your wife?"

He stroked his moustache, gazing at me in apparent surprise.

"Nay, friend Benteen; you must be the very soul of innocence to make such hasty guess. I rested beneath the same roof with her, so I was informed, yet she who spake thus regarding the plight of the Puritan chanced to be the fair Queen, Naladi."

"Naladi? But you speak no Spanish,--how could you hold converse with her?"

"There are always ways, if the lady be fair. The hands, eyes, lips can all be made into messengers of speech. But in this case she brought forth a black boy--a most mischievous imp--who managed to convey her words in my own tongue. Still it was difficult to do justice in such a way to so charming a woman; much came to my lips which I hesitated to utter through the medium of that interpreter."

I looked at him in speechless amazement at this revelation of his supreme conceit, his reckless vanity. Anxiety alone prompted me to smother my resentment, hoping thus to obtain information.

"But your wife, Madame de Noyan? You say she was beneath the same roof, and yet you saw her not? Do you mean you made no effort to obtain speech with her?"

He leaned back against the wall of the hut, crossing his long limbs negligently over the soft fur of the robe beneath, drawing from his pocket a small mirror.

"Ay, I mentioned it; but _la reine Naladi_ appeared not overly well pleased with the suggestion, so I concluded not to press the matter unduly. One never gains by being ungallant at such a time. Besides, there is no doubt Eloise is well attended; the Queen referred to her most kindly."

"The preacher told me," I broke forth indignantly, determined to test him to the full, "that this same sweet Naladi compelled her savage minions to drag Madame harshly forth from the altar-house, despite her pleadings. Perchance this tender-spoken Queen has little of the angel beneath her fairness of skin."

"_Sacre_! I hope not. I opine an angel would prove wearisome to company with for long. My own taste inclines toward flesh and blood.

You say Master Cairnes told you this sad tale?"