The Casque's Lark Part 10

The iron of my cuira.s.s soon began to heat under the coals which two of the Frankish kings kept alive by blowing upon them. I suffered greatly and cried:

"Oh! Neroweg! Neroweg! Cowardly a.s.sa.s.sin! I would gladly endure these tortures, if I only could see myself once more sword in hand before you, and put my mark upon your other cheek. Oh! You have said it--there is room only for hatred and death between our two races!"

"What is Victoria's message?" the Terrible Eagle asked again.

I remained silent, despite the intense pain that I suffered. The iron of my cuira.s.s was growing hot all around.

"Will you speak?" the Frankish chief cried anew, evidently astonished at my resistance.

"Victoria's messenger speaks erect and free," I answered. "If not, not!"

Whether the Frankish chief considered it desirable to know the message that I brought, or whether he only yielded to the suggestions of his companions, who were less ferocious than himself, one of them unbuckled my casque, raised it off my head, took it to the stream that rippled down the rocks at the mouth of the cavern, filled it and poured the cold water upon my heated cuira.s.s. By degrees it cooled off.

"Free him of his bonds," said Neroweg, "but surround him; and let him instantly fall under your blows should he try to escape."

I slowly regained my strength while I was being unbound; the torture I had just undergone almost caused me to faint. I drank some of the water that remained in my casque, and stood up in the midst of the kings, who surrounded me so as to cut off my retreat.

"Give us now your message," said Neroweg.

"A truce has been concluded between our two armies," I proceeded.

"Victoria and her son send to tell you: Since you issued from your northern forests you have taken possession of the whole territory of Germany on the right bank of the Rhine. That soil is as fertile as Gaul's. Before your invasion it produced an abundance of everything.

Your acts of violence and cruelty have driven almost all its inhabitants to flight. The soil, nevertheless, remains, ready and willing for the husbandman. Why do you not cultivate it, instead of waging incessant war against us and living on rapine? Is it the love for war that sways you?

We Gauls, better than anyone else, understand and appreciate the love for martial display. We appreciate it, and make this proposition to you.

At each new moon, send one or two thousand of your picked warriors to one of the large islands in the Rhine, which is our joint frontier. We shall expedite thither an equal number of our warriors. The two sets will be free to fight it out at their heart's content. But then, at least, you Franks, on one side of the river, and we Gauls on the other shall be able to cultivate our respective fields in peace, we shall be able to work, to manufacture and to enrich our countries, without being forever compelled to keep an eye upon the frontier, and a sword hanging from the plow handle. If you refuse our proposition we shall then wage a war of extermination against you, drive you from our frontiers, and chase you back into your forests. When two nations are separated only by a river they should be friends, or one of the two must destroy the other. Choose! I await your answer."

Neroweg consulted with several of the kings who stood near him, and presently answered me with marked insolence:

"The Frank is not one of those races, like the Gallic, who work by cultivating the soil. The Frank loves war; but above all he loves the warmth of the sun, good wine, fine weapons, brilliant clothes, gold and silver goblets, rich necklaces, large and well built cities, superb palaces after the fashion of the Romans, the beautiful Gallic women, industrious slaves who mind the whip and work for their masters while these drink, sing, sleep and make love or war. In their gloomy country of the north, however, the Franks find neither sunshine nor good wine, nor fine weapons, nor brilliant clothes, nor gold and silver goblets, nor large and well built cities, nor superb palaces, nor beautiful Gallic women--all these things are to be found among you, Gallic dogs!

We purpose and mean to take all that from you--we purpose and mean to establish ourselves in your fertile country, and enjoy all the good things that it contains, while the males of you will work for us under the whip and the sharp sword that we shall hold over you, and the females--your wives, sisters and daughters--will lie in our beds, will weave our shirts and will wash our clothes. Do you understand, Gallic dog?"

The other kings applauded Neroweg and accentuated their approval with loud laughter and clatter of arms, joined to cries of:

"Yes--that is what we want--do you understand, Gallic dog?"

"I understand," I replied, unable to refrain from indulging in raillery against such savage insolence. "I understand that you wish to conquer and subjugate us as did the Romans for a time, after our own race dominated and conquered the whole world for centuries in succession. But you who so much love the sunshine, the goods, the country and the women of other peoples, you seem to forget that, despite the universal power that they acquired and despite their innumerable armies, even the Romans were compelled to return to us one by one the rights that we enjoyed, so that, at this hour, the Romans are no longer our conquerors, but our allies. Now, then, seeing that you so much love the sunshine, the country, the goods and wives of others, listen to my words: We, the Gauls, alone and unaided by the Romans, will chase you from our frontiers, or we shall exterminate you to the last man if you persist in being bad neighbors and in proposing to plunder us of our old Gaul."

"Yes, we are plunderers!" cried Neroweg. "And, by the snows of Germany we shall plunder you of your old Gaul! Our army is four times as large as yours; you have your palaces, your cities, your wealth, your women, your sun, your fertile earth to defend--we have nothing to defend and everything to gain. We camp in our huts and sleep on the backs of our horses; our only wealth is our sword; we have nothing to lose, everything to gain. And we will gain everything, and we will subjugate your race, you Gallic dog! It will be the end of Gaul!"

"Go and ask the Romans, whose army was even larger than yours, how many foreign cohorts the sod of old Gaul has devoured! Even the greatest battles that they, the conquerors of the world delivered, did not cost them one-quarter the number of soldiers that our fathers, as insurgent slaves, exterminated with their scythes and forks. Take care! Strong and sharp is the sword of the Gallic soldier; trenchant is the scythe, heavy the fork of the Gallic husbandman in the defense of hearth, family and freedom! Take care! If you persist in remaining bad neighbors, the Gallic scythe and fork will be enough to drive you back into your snow-bound wilderness, ye people of sloth, of rapine and of carnage, who desire to enjoy the fruits of the labors of others, who covet their soil, their wives and their sunshine, and strive after these by means of theft and ma.s.sacre!"

"Dare you, Gallic dog, hold such language to us!" cried Neroweg grinding his teeth. "You, a prisoner! You, under the points of our swords! under the edge of the Frankish battle axe!"

"The moment seems to me opportune to say the truth to the enemies of Gaul!"

"And I think the moment is opportune to put you through a thousand deaths!" cried the Frankish king in a pa.s.sion as towering as that of his fellows. "Yes, you shall undergo a thousand deaths--and after that, my sole answer to the audacious message of your Victoria will be to return your head to her with the announcement in the name of Neroweg the Terrible Eagle, that, before the sun shall have risen six times, I shall capture herself in the midst of her own camp, shall take her to my bed, and shall then pa.s.s her over to my men, that they may, in turn, enjoy Victoria, the proud Gallic woman!"

I lost all control over myself at the ribald and ferocious insolence flung at the woman whom I venerated above all others. I was unarmed, but I picked up one of the now extinguished firebrands that lay at my feet and which the Franks had used to torture me with; I seized the heavy log, and swift as lightning struck Neroweg so sound a blow with it over his head that he reeled back, stumbled and fell to the ground unconscious.

Ten swords struck me almost simultaneously. But my casque and cuira.s.s protected me. In their blind rage the Frankish chiefs struck at random, and cried:

"Death! Death to the dog of a Gaul!"

Only Riowag, the captain of the black warriors, did not join in the attempt to avenge upon my person the blow I dealt to his rival, Neroweg.

On the contrary, he profited by the tumult to enter the cavern into which Elwig had been driven back, the entrance of which was now left free, seeing that the two kings, who, sword in hand, mounted guard before it, rushed to the a.s.sistance of the Terrible Eagle, who lay prostrate at a distance from them.

Immediately after Riowag entered the grotto, the priestess and her two a.s.sistant hags rushed out. With streaming hair, haggard looks, and hands raised heavenward they cried:

"The hour has come--the sun is setting--night approaches--death, death to the Gaul! He struck the Terrible Eagle--death, death to the Gaul!

Bind him fast. We shall consult the subterranean G.o.ds in the magic water in which he is to boil!"

"Yes--death!" cried the Franks rushing upon me and binding me fast again. "He shall die under a prolonged agony! Death to the dog of a Gaul!"

"We are the priestesses of the sacrifice!" Elwig and the two hags protested in chorus, while they redoubled their bizarre contortions that by degrees imposed the Frankish warriors with terror.

"Oh! you who struck my brother, the blood of my blood," Elwig screamed, writhing her arms, and howling furiously she threw herself upon me in a real or feigned transport of rage; "the G.o.ds of the nether world have delivered you into my hands! Come--come--let us drag him into the cavern," she added addressing the old hags, "we must season him for his death with the proper tortures. Vengeance! Let our vengeance be merciless!"

The confusion into which the Franks were thrown by the blow that I dealt Neroweg kept them from interfering with Elwig and her two female a.s.sistants. Several of the kings even joined her in dragging me into the cavern, while the others were hurrying hither and thither or gathered anxiously around the Terrible Eagle who lay p.r.o.ne upon the ground, pale, motionless and his head bleeding.

"Our grand chief is not dead," said some; "his hands are warm and his heart beats."

"Let us transport him to his hut."

"If he die we shall draw lots for his five black horses, his fine Gallic sword with the gold handle, and also for his necklace and silver bracelets."

"The horses and arms of Neroweg belong to the oldest chief!" cried one of those who were holding up the head of the Terrible Eagle. "I am the oldest. To me belong both horses and arms! To me also his tent and chariots! To me his gold necklaces and silver bracelets!"

"You lie!" came from one of the chiefs at the feet of Neroweg. "His horses, his tent and his arms belong to me as his war companion."

"No!" cried the others. "No! Everything that belongs to Neroweg must be drawn lots for."

From the threshold of the cavern where I then was, I could see and hear the dispute wax hot and the swords glisten, while Neroweg, who still remained unconscious, was almost trampled under the feet of the enraged disputants, as they leaped over his body to get at closer quarters with one another. The conflict threatened to take a b.l.o.o.d.y turn when, leaving me where I was, Elwig threw herself between the combatants, whom she sought to separate, and shouted aloud:

"Shame and ill luck to those who contend over the spoils of a king who is neither dead nor revenged! Shame and ill luck to those who contend over the spoils of a brother before the very eyes of his sister! Shame and ill luck to the impious men who disturb the quiet of a place that is consecrated to the G.o.ds of the nether world!"

And with an inspired and dreadful mien, the priestess drew herself to her full length, and throwing up her clenched fists above her head, cried:

"My two hands are full of fearful misfortunes. Tremble!"

At these threats, the frightened barbarians involuntarily lowered their heads, as if afraid of being struck with the mysterious ills that the priestess held in her closed hands. They put their swords back into their scabbards. Profound silence ensued.

"Carry the Terrible Eagle to his hut!" Elwig thereupon commanded. "The sister will accompany her wounded brother. The Gallic prisoner will be watched by Map and Mob who a.s.sist me at the sacrifices. Two of you will remain at the mouth of the cavern, with your swords in your hands. Night is drawing near. Elwig will presently return with Neroweg. The execution of the prisoner will then begin, and I shall consult the auguries in the magic waters in which he is to boil until death supervenes!"

My last hope was dashed. In contemplating to return with her brother, Elwig must have doubtlessly renounced the project that her greed had caused her to hatch. I had pinned my safety on that project. I was bound firmly, hands and feet. My arms were pinioned behind my back; a belt was strapped around my legs. I could hardly move a step. I slowly followed the two hags into the grotto, at the entrance of which several of the kings posted themselves, sword in hand. The deeper I penetrated the cave, all the darker it grew. After having proceeded a little way, one of the two hags said to me:

"You may lie down on the ground if you wish; the sun has gone down.

While waiting for Elwig's return, my companion and I shall keep the fire alive under the caldron."

Saying this both the hags left me. I remained alone.