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People Of The Mist, The
CHAPTER XXIV - OLFAN TELLS OF THE RUBIES
H.Rider Haggard
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       _ It was at this juncture that Francisco recovered his senses. "Oh!" he
       gasped, opening his eyes and sitting up, "is it done, and am I dead?"
       "No, no, you are alive and safe," answered Leonard. "Stay where you
       are and don't look over the edge, or you will faint again. Here, take
       my hand. Now, you brute," and he made energetic motions to the
       surviving priest, indicating that he must lead them back along the
       path by which they had come, at the same time tapping his rifle
       significantly.
       The man understood and started down the darksome tunnel as though he
       were glad to go, Leonard holding his robe with one hand, while with
       the other he pressed the muzzle of the loaded rifle against the back
       of his neck. Francisco followed, leaning on Leonard's shoulder, for he
       could not walk alone.
       As they had come so they returned. They passed down the steps of stone
       which were hollowed in the body of the colossus; they traversed the
       long underground tunnel, and at length, to their intense relief, once
       more they stood upon the solid ground and in the open air. Now that
       the moon was up, and the mist which had darkened the night had melted,
       they could see their whereabouts. They had emerged upon a platform of
       rock within a bowshot of the great gates of the palace, from whence
       the secret subterranean passage used by the priests was gained, its
       opening being hidden cunningly among the stone-work of the temple.
       "I wonder where the others are," asked Leonard anxiously of Francisco.
       As he spoke, Juanna, wrapped in her dark cloak, appeared, apparently
       out of the stones of the wall, and with her Otter, the Settlement men
       bearing their dead companion, and a considerable company of priests,
       among whom, however, Nam was not to be seen.
       "Oh, is that you, Leonard?" said Juanna in English, and in a voice
       broken with fear. "Thank Heaven that you are safe!"
       "Thank Heaven that we are all safe," he answered. "Come, let us get
       on. No, we can walk, thank you," and he waved away the priests, who
       produced the litters from where they had hidden them under the wall.
       The men fell back and they walked on. At the gate of the palace a
       welcome sight met their eyes, for here stood Olfan, and with him at
       least a hundred captains and soldiers, who lifted their spears in
       salute as they advanced.
       "Olfan, hear our bidding," said Juanna. "Suffer no priest of the Snake
       to enter the palace gates. We give you command over them, even to
       death. Set guards at every doorway and come with us."
       The ex-king bowed and issued some orders, in obedience to which the
       sullen priests fell back murmuring. Then they all passed the gates,
       crossed the courtyard, and presently stood in the torch-lit throne-
       room, where Juanna had slept on the previous night. Here food had been
       prepared for them by Soa, who looked at them curiously, especially at
       Leonard and Francisco, as though, indeed, she had never expected to
       see them again.
       "Hearken, Olfan," said Juanna, "we have saved your life to-night and
       you have sworn fealty to us; is it not so?"
       "It is so, Queen," the warrior answered. "And I will be faithful to my
       oath. This heart, that but for you had now been cold, beats for you
       alone. The life you gave back to me is yours, and for you I live and
       die."
       As he spoke he glanced at her with an expression in which, as it
       seemed to Juanna, human feeling was mixed with supernatural awe. Was
       it possible, she wondered with a thrill of fear, that this savage king
       was mingling his worship of the goddess with admiration of the woman?
       And did he begin to suspect that she was no goddess after all? Time
       would show, but at least the look in his eyes alarmed her.
       "Fear not," he went on; "a thousand men shall guard you night and day.
       The power of Nam is broken for a while, and now all this company may
       sleep in peace."
       "It is well, Olfan. To-morrow morning, after we have eaten, we will
       talk with you again, for we have much to say. Till then, watch!"
       The great man bowed and went, and at last they were alone.
       "Let us eat," said Leonard. "What is this? Spirit, or a very good
       imitation of it. Well, I never wanted a glass of brandy more in my
       life."
       When they had finished their meal, at the request of Leonard Juanna
       translated all that had been said in the temple, and among her
       listeners there was none more interested than Soa.
       "Say, Soa," said Leonard, when she had finished, "you did not expect
       to see us come back alive, did you? Is that why you stayed away?"
       "No, Deliverer," she answered. "I thought that you would be killed,
       every one of you. And so it must have come about, had it not been for
       the Shepherdess. Also, I stayed away because those who have looked
       upon the Snake once do not desire to see him again. Many years ago I
       was bride to the Snake, Deliverer, and, had I not fled, my fate would
       have been the fate of her who died this night."
       "Well, I do not wonder that you chose to go," said Leonard.
       "Oh, Baas," broke in Otter, "why did you not shoot that old medicine-
       man as I told you? It would have been easy when you were about it,
       Baas, and now he would have been broken like an eggshell thrown from a
       house-top, and not alive and full of the meat of malice. He is mad
       with rage and wickedness, and I say that he will kill us all if he
       can."
       "I rather wish I had," said Leonard, pulling his beard. "I thought of
       it, but could not do everything; and on future occasions, Otter, will
       you remember that your name is Silence? Luckily, these people do not
       understand you: if they did you would ruin us all. What is the matter,
       Soa?"
       "Nothing, Deliverer," she answered; "only I was thinking that Nam is
       my father, and I am glad that you did not shoot him, as this black
       dog, who is named a god, suggests."
       "Of gods I know nothing, you old cow," answered Otter angrily; "they
       are a far-off people, though it seems that I am one of them, at any
       rate among these fools, your kinsmen. But of dogs I can tell you
       something, and it is that they bite."
       "Yes, and cows toss dogs," said Soa, showing her teeth.
       "Here is another complication," thought Leonard to himself; "one day
       this woman will make friends with her venerable parent and betray us,
       and then where shall we be? Well, among so many dangers an extra one
       does not matter."
       "I must go to bed," said Juanna faintly; "my head is swimming. I
       cannot forget those horrors and that giddy place. When first I saw
       where I was, I nearly fainted and fell, but after a while I grew more
       used to it. Indeed, while I was speaking to the people I quite forgot
       my fear, and the height seemed to exhilarate me. What a sight it was!
       When all is said and done, it is a grand thing to have lived through
       such an experience. I wonder if anyone has ever seen its like."
       "You are a marvellous woman, Juanna," said Leonard, with admiration.
       "We owe our lives to your wit and courage."
       "You see I was right in insisting on coming with you," she answered
       somewhat aggressively.
       "For our sakes, yes; for your own I am not so sure. To tell you the
       truth, I think that we should have done better never to have started
       on this mad expedition. However, things look a little more promising
       now, though Nam and his company have still to be reckoned with, and we
       don't seem much nearer the rubies, which are our main object."
       "No," said Juanna, "they are gone, and we shall be lucky if we do not
       follow them into the home of that hideous snake. Good night."
       "Francisco," said Leonard, as he rolled himself up in his blanket,
       "you had a narrow escape to-night. If I had missed my hold!"
       "Yes, Outram, it was lucky for me that your arm is strong and your
       mind quick. Ah, I am a dreadful coward, and I can see the place now;"
       and he shuddered. "Always from a child I have believed that I shall
       die by a fall from some height, and to-night I thought that my hour
       had come. At first I did not understand, for I was watching the
       Senora's face in the moonlight, and to me she looked like an angel.
       Then I saw, and my senses left me. It was as though hands were
       stretched up from the blackness to drag me down--yes, I saw the hands.
       But you saved me, Outram, though that will not help me, for I shall
       perish in some such way at last. So be it. It is best that I should
       die, who cannot conquer the evil of my heart."
       "Nonsense, my friend," said Leonard; "don't talk like that about
       dying. We can none of us afford to die just at present--that is,
       unless we are obliged to do so. Your nerves are upset, and no wonder!
       As for 'the evil of your heart,' I wish that most men had as little--
       the world would be better. Come, go to sleep; you will feel very
       differently to-morrow."
       Francisco smiled sadly and shook his head, then he knelt and began to
       say his prayers. The last thing that Leonard saw before his eyes
       closed in sleep was the rapt girlish face of the priest, round which
       the light of the taper fell like an aureole, as he knelt muttering
       prayer after prayer with his pale lips.
       It was nine o'clock before Leonard awoke next morning--for they had
       not slept till nearly four--to find Francisco already up, dressed,
       and, as usual, praying. When Leonard was ready they adjourned to
       Juanna's room, where breakfast was prepared for them. Here they found
       Otter, looking somewhat disturbed.
       "Baas, Baas," he said, "they have come and will not go away!"
       "Who?" asked Leonard.
       "The woman, Baas: she who was given to me to wife, and many other
       women--her servants--with her. There are more than twenty of them
       outside, Baas, and all of them very big. Now, what shall I do with
       her, Baas? I came here to serve you and to seek the red stones that
       you desire, and not a woman tall enough to be my grandmother."
       "I really don't know and don't care," answered Leonard. "If you will
       be a god you must take the consequences. Only beware, Otter: lock up
       your tongue, for this woman will teach you to speak her language, and
       she may be a spy."
       "Yes, Baas, I will see to that. Is not my name Silence, and shall
       women make me talk--me, who have always hated them? But--the Baas
       would not like to marry her himself? I am a god, as you say, though it
       was you who made me one, Baas, not I, and my heart is large; I will
       give her to you, Baas."
       "Certainly not," answered Leonard decidedly. "See if the breakfast is
       ready. No, I forgot, you are a god, so climb up into the throne and
       look the part, if you can."
       As he spoke, Juanna came from her room, looking a little pale, and
       they sat down to breakfast. Before they had finished their meal, Soa
       announced that Olfan was waiting without. Juanna ordered him to be
       admitted, and presently he entered.
       "Is all well, Olfan?" asked Juanna.
       "All is well, Queen," he answered. "Nam and three hundred of his
       following held council at dawn in the house of the priests yonder.
       There is much stir and talk in the city, but the hearts of the people
       are light because their ancient gods have come back to us, bringing
       peace with them."
       "Good," said Juanna. Then she began to question him artfully on many
       things, and by degrees they learnt more of the People of the Mist.
       It seemed, as Leonard had already guessed, that they were a very
       ancient race, having existed for countless generations on the same
       misty upland plains. They were not, however, altogether isolated, for
       occasionally they made war with other savage tribes. But they never
       intermarried with these tribes, all the captives taken in their wars
       being offered in sacrifice at the religious festivals. The real
       governing power in the community was the Society of the Priests of the
       Snake, who held their office by hereditary tenure, outsiders being
       admitted to their body only under very exceptional circumtances. The
       council of this society chose the kings, and when they were weary of
       one of them, they sacrificed him and chose another, either from among
       his issue or elsewhere. This being the custom, as may be imagined, the
       relations between church and state were much strained, but hitherto,
       as Olfan explained with suppressed rage, the church had been supreme.
       Indeed, the king for the time being was only its mouthpiece, or
       executive officer. He led the armies, but the superstitions of the
       people, and even of the soldiers themselves, prevented him from
       wielding any real power; and, unless he chanced to die naturally, his
       end was nearly always the same: to be sacrificed when the seasons were
       bad or "Jal was angry."
       The country was large but sparsely populated, the fighting men
       numbered not more than four thousand, of whom about half lived in the
       great city, the rest occupying villages here and there on the mountain
       slopes. As a rule the people were monogamous, except the priests. It
       was the custom of sacrifice which kept down the population to its low
       level, made the power of the priests absolute, and their wealth
       greater than that of all the other inhabitants of the country put
       together, for they chose the victims that had offended against Jal or
       against the mother-goddess, and confiscated their possessions to "the
       service of the temple." Thus the great herds of half-wild cattle which
       the travellers had seen on the plains belonged to the priests, and the
       priests took a fourth of the produce of every man's field and garden--
       that is, when they did not take it all, and his life with it.
       Twice in every year great festivals were held in the temple of Jal, at
       the beginning of the spring season and in the autumn after the
       ingathering of the crops. At each of these festivals many victims were
       offered in sacrifice, some upon the stone and some by being hurled
       into the boiling pool beneath the statue, there to be consumed by the
       Snake or swept down the secret course of the underground river. The
       feast celebrated in the spring was sacred to Jal, and that in the
       autumn to the mother-goddess. But there was this difference between
       them--that at the spring ceremony female victims only were sacrificed
       to Jal to propitiate him and to avert his evil influence, while at the
       autumn celebration males alone were offered up to the mother-goddess
       in gratitude for her gifts of plenty. Also criminals were occasionally
       thrown to the Snake that his hunger might be satisfied. The priests
       had other rites, Olfan added, and these they would have an opportunity
       of witnessing if the spring festival, which should be celebrated on
       the second day from that date, were held according to custom.
       "It shall not be celebrated," said Juanna, almost fiercely.
       Then Leonard, who had hitherto listened in silence, asked a question
       through Juanna. "How is it," he said, "that Nam and his fellows, being
       already in absolute power, were so willing to accept the gods Jal and
       Aca when they appeared in person, seeing that henceforth they must
       obey, not rule?"
       "For two reasons, lord," Olfan answered; "first, because the gods are
       gods, and their servants know them; and secondly, because Nam has of
       late stood in danger of losing his authority. Of all the chief priests
       that have been told of, Nam is the most cruel and the most greedy. For
       three years he has doubled the tale of sacrifices, and though the
       people love these sights of death, they murmur, for none know upon
       whom the knife shall fall. Therefore he was glad to greet the gods
       come back, since he thought that they would confirm his power, and set
       him higher than he sat before. Now he is astonished because they
       proclaim peace and will have none of the sacrifice of men, for Nam
       does not love such gentle gods."
       "Yet he shall obey them," said Otter, speaking for the first time by
       the mouth of Juanna, who all this while was acting as interpreter, "or
       drink his own medicine, for I myself will sacrifice him to myself."
       When Juanna had translated the dwarf's bloodthirsty threat, Olfan
       bowed his head meekly and smiled; clearly the prospect of Nam's
       removal did not cause him unmixed grief. It was curious to see this
       stately warrior chief humbling his pride before the misshapen, knob-
       nosed Kaffir.
       "Say, Olfan," asked Leonard, "who cut from the rock the great statue
       on which we sat last night, and what is that reptile we saw when the
       woman was thrown into the pool of troubled waters?"
       "Ask the Water-dweller of the water-dweller, the Snake of the snake,
       and the Dwarf of his image," answered Olfan, nodding towards Otter.
       "How can I, who am but a man, tell of such things, lord? I only know
       that the statue was fashioned in the far past, when we, who are now
       but a remnant, were a great people; and as for the Snake, he has
       always lived there in his holy place. Our grandfather's grandfathers
       knew him, and since that day he has not changed."
       "Interesting fact in natural history," said Leonard; "I wish I could
       get him home alive to the Zoological Gardens."
       Then he asked another question. "Tell me, Olfan, what became of the
       red stones yesterday, and of him who offended in offering them to the
       god yonder?"
       "The most of them were cast into the pit of waters, lord, there to be
       hidden for ever. There were three hide sacks full."
       "Oh, heavens!" groaned Leonard when Juanna had translated this.
       "Otter, you have something to answer for!"
       "But the choicest," went on Olfan, "were put in a smaller bag, and
       tied about the neck of the man who had sinned. There were not many,
       but among them were the largest stones, that until yesterday shone in
       the eyes of the idol, stones blue and red together. Also, there was
       that stone, shaped like a human heart, which hitherto has been worn by
       the high priest on the days of sacrifice, and with it the image of the
       Dwarf fashioned from a single gem, and that of the Water-dweller cut
       from the great blue stone, and other smaller ones chosen because of
       their beauty and also because they have been known for long in the
       land. For although many of these pebbles are found where the priests
       dig for them, but few are large and perfect, and the art of shaping
       them is lost."
       "And what became of the man?" Leonard asked, speaking as quietly as he
       could, for his excitement was great.
       "Nay, I do not know," answered Olfan. "I only know that he was let
       down with ropes into the home of the Snake, and that he gained that
       holy place, for it was told to me that he dragged rope after him,
       perhaps as he fled before the Snake.
       "Now it was promised to the man that when he had laid the bag of
       stones in the place of the Snake, for the Snake to guard for ever, his
       sins would be purged, and, if it pleased the Water-dweller to spare
       him, that he should be drawn up again. Thus Nam swore to him, but he
       did not keep his oath, for when the man had entered the cave he bade
       those who held the ropes to cast them loose, and I know not what
       happened to him, but doubtless he is food for the Snake. None who look
       upon that holy place may live to see the sun again."
       "I only hope that the brute did not swallow the rubies as well as
       their bearer," said Leonard to Juanna; "not that there is much chance
       of our getting them, anyway."
       Then Olfan went, nor did he return till the afternoon, when he
       announced that Nam and his two principal priests waited without to
       speak with them. Juanna ordered that they should be admitted, and
       presently they came in. Their air was humble, and their heads were
       bowed; but Leonard saw fury gleaming in their sombre eyes, and was not
       deceived by this mask of humility.
       "We come, O ye gods," said Nam, addressing Juanna and Otter, who sat
       side by side on the throne-like chairs: "we come to ask your will, for
       ye have laid down a new law which we do not understand. On the third
       day from now is the feast of Jal, and fifty women are made ready to be
       offered to Jal that his wrath may be appeased with their blood, and
       that he may number their spirits among his servants, and withhold his
       anger from the People of the Mist, giving them a good season. This has
       been the custom of the land for many a generation, and whenever that
       custom was broken then the sun has not shone, nor the corn grown, nor
       have the cattle and the goats multiplied after their kind. But now, O
       ye gods, ye have proclaimed a new law, and I, who am yet your servant,
       come hither to ask your will. How shall the feast go, and what
       sacrifice shall be offered unto you?"
       "The feast shall go thus," answered Juanna. "Ye shall offer us a
       sacrifice indeed; to each of us shall ye offer an ox and a goat, and
       the ox and the goat shall be given to the Snake to feed him, but not
       the flesh of men; moreover, the feast shall be held at noon and not in
       the night-time."
       "An ox and a goat--to each an ox and a goat!" said Nam humbly, but in
       a voice of bitterest sarcasm. "As ye will so let it be, O ye gentle-
       hearted gods. And the festival shall be held at noon, and not in the
       night season as of old. As ye will, O ye kind gods. Your word is my
       law, O Aca, and O Jal;" and bowing to the ground the aged man withdrew
       himself, followed by his satellites.
       "That devilish priest makes my flesh creep," said Juanna, when she had
       translated his words.
       "Oh! Baas, Baas," echoed Otter, "why did you not shoot him while you
       might? Now he will surely live to throw us to the Snake."
       As he spoke Soa advanced from behind the thrones where she had taken
       refuge when Nam entered.
       "It is not well for a dog who gives himself out as a god to threaten
       the life of one whom he has tricked," said she meaningly. "Perchance
       the hour shall come when the true god will avenge himself on the
       false, and by the hand of his faithful servant, whom you would do to
       death, you base-born dwarf." And before anyone could answer she left
       the chamber, casting a malevolent look at Otter as she went.
       "That servant of yours makes /my/ flesh creep, Juanna," said Leonard.
       "One thing is clear enough, we must not allow her to overhear any more
       of our plans; she knows a great deal too much already."
       "I cannot understand what has happened to Soa," said Juanna; "she
       seems so changed."
       "You made that remark before, Juanna; but for my part I don't think
       she is changed. The sight of her amiable parent has developed her
       hidden virtues, that is all." _