Through Veld and Forest Part 16

"Let us ride to the end of the valley first, Chia'gnosi," said he; "then, afterwards, if you will accompany me to my house, I shall feel myself very deeply honoured."

"Right!" I said. "Forward, then! Now, Anuti, I wonder whether you can guess why I am so anxious to have an opportunity to converse with you?"

"I think I can," he answered, with that frank, genial smile of his which had so favourably impressed me at our former meeting. "You want to prove to me that my ideas concerning Bimbane are all wrong, and that I, and those who regard her as I do, are doing her the utmost injustice.

Is not that it?"

"Heavens, man, you must be a thought-reader!" I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed in astonishment. "How did you come to guess that?"

"Oh," he replied laughingly, "it was quite easy! I knew that by the time you next met me Bimbane would have fully convinced you that she is a wronged and grossly maligned woman; and, having thoroughly read your character at our last meeting, I was sure that no sooner would she have done that than your chivalry of feeling would urge you to espouse her cause and undertake the task of proving to me and the rest of her enemies that, in regarding her as we do, we are doing her a hideous injustice. Well, now is your opportunity to convince me--if you can.

She has convinced you. Tell me, how did she do it?"

By way of reply I related in detail everything that had happened since I had last met him, repeated our conversations word for word, so far as I could recall them, and dwelt at length upon the many exalted sentiments and lofty aspirations to which the queen had given expression; asking him finally how he could possibly a.s.sociate those sentiments and aspirations with a woman of such a character as he believed that of Bimbane to be.

"Quite impossible, Chia'gnosi," he answered, "if she were sincere in their expression."

"And how do you know that she is not?" I demanded hotly.

"How do you know that she is?" he retorted. "You have only her word for it; she has not furnished you with a shadow of proof. It is easy for a woman--or a man--to express exalted sentiments and lofty aspirations, even though she--or he--may not feel them. As a matter of fact, I entertain the precise sentiments and have the same aspirations with which you credit Bimbane; but I suppose you will require something more than my bare a.s.sertion before you will believe me. Yet why should you doubt me, and believe her? I will tell you. It is because she has thrown the spell of her magic over you! You tell me that yesterday she cast you into a trance wherein you saw the way which you must follow in order to find the captive child of your friend. By allowing her to do that, you afforded her an opportunity to get you under her influence and into her power; and to-day, when you fell asleep while she was conversing with you, she was simply testing and strengthening her power over you. You believed that your sleep lasted but a second or two; I believe that it may have lasted half an hour or longer, during which she was getting more complete control over you: and when at length she aroused you from your trance she simply resumed her conversation at the point where it had broken off at the moment when you lost consciousness; hence you imagined--as she intended you should--that you had been asleep but for a moment."

"I will not believe it," I exclaimed hotly. "Nothing shall convince me that any woman could be so base as to take such dastardly advantage of a man as you suggest."

"Has the mischief indeed gone so far as that?" demanded Anuti, soberly enough now. "Then I am very sorry for you, Chia'gnosi; very sorry for us all. For in that case you will never be permitted to leave Bandokolo, never have the opportunity to rescue the captive daughter of your friend; while as for the rest of us, we shall inevitably be plunged into a disastrous civil war, in which many of Bandokolo's highest and best will be slain. Probably Bimbane, aided by you, will triumph; but, believe me, when it is too late and the evil has been wrought, you will discover that you have made a disastrous mistake--or, rather, have been hideously deceived. Ah, do not shake your head in unbelief, my friend, for remember that I am speaking from experience. I know that what I say is true, because it was through the influence which Bimbane gained over me that she constrained me to become her spouse, although I loved Siluce. You look incredulous; you doubtless think that I might have resisted, had I chosen: but I swear to you that so complete was her power over me that I was absolutely helpless, and although I fully understood the enormity of the crime which she was committing, and which she was compelling me to commit, I was powerless to resist, because I could not escape from her. But afterward, when the foul wrong was done, when I was irrevocably bound to her, and my poor Siluce had been driven forth to perish miserably, Bimbane foolishly relaxed her hold upon me, thinking, I suppose, that, the knot being tied, I should not attempt to escape, but should accept the ign.o.ble fate which she had designed for me. Also I think she was indifferent, because the event proved that I was not the man through whom she believes she is to recover her long-lost youth and beauty. And I took advantage of this relaxation of vigilance on her part to escape from the palace and from her influence, and, despite her entreaties and commands, have steadfastly refused to return: hence I have been able gradually to shake off her influence until now I am quite free from it; and I tell you that never again shall she have an opportunity to recover her power over me, if I can help it.

Now, if you are not so completely bewitched as to be incapable of distinguis.h.i.+ng between truth and falsehood, come with me, for I am prepared to submit to you ample and convincing proof of the truth of all my charges against Bimbane."

"Very well," said I, "I will go with you, for although the matter is really no concern of mine I am anxious to get at the truth, if only in order that I may be of some a.s.sistance in adjusting this most unhappy misunderstanding between the queen and the n.o.bles. For I am convinced that it is nothing more serious than a misunderstanding, and that a little explanation on either side will suffice to clear it up completely. But I warn you, Anuti, not to indulge in any false hopes of your ability to persuade me of the queen's guilt, for I shall need something far more convincing than unsupported a.s.sertions to satisfy me."

"Yet Bimbane's unsupported a.s.sertions have thus far completely satisfied you; do not forget that, Chia'gnosi," retorted Anuti. "However," he continued, "if you can persuade yourself to regard the question of the queen's guilt or innocence as an open one for a little while, I have no doubt of my ability to make you recognise the truth."

Much more was said by Anuti to the same effect, but as it was in the main but a reiteration and amplification of his previous statements, it need not be repeated here; suffice it to say that by the time we reached his house he had brought me to a state of mind which enabled me to recognise that, after all, it was just possible that I might be mistaken, that Bimbane might not be the sort of person I had allowed her to persuade me she was, and that Anuti and his friends were at least ent.i.tled to a dispa.s.sionate hearing.

And then, when at length we reached Anuti's dwelling, that individual introduced me to some thirty of the most important and influential n.o.bles and chiefs of Bandokolo, among whom was Mindula, the father of the unhappy Siluce; and, one after the other, these men arose and related the wrongs, the cruelties, and the injustices which they and theirs had suffered at the hands of Bimbane, accompanying their statements with proofs of so convincing a character that I no longer found it possible to disbelieve. And when at length the session was over I arose, stunned, astounded, horrified, and furious at the thought of the danger which I had so narrowly escaped, of falling into the hands of a vile, unscrupulous woman, and becoming her willing, deluded tool.

"And now," I demanded, as the n.o.bles rose to depart, "what am I to do?

It is impossible that I can continue to reside in the palace and remain the guest of the queen; yet, having come so far, I do not like the idea of quitting the country without at least enough of the gold and s.h.i.+ning stones to repay me for the toil and peril of my adventure. And I suppose that when I announce my intention of quitting the palace the queen will at once conjecture that I have been in communication with you, and have learned the truth concerning her. Will she attempt to detain me by force, think you?"

"It is impossible to surmise what she may do," answered Anuti. "It is, however, not force so much as persuasion that you have to fear, for I do not believe that there is a man in Bandokolo who would be willing to face your fire weapons, even at Bimbane's command: but if you venture to return to the palace and see her again, rest a.s.sured that she will bring the whole power of her influence to bear upon you in the effort to persuade you that we have deceived you, and that your original opinion of her was the correct one. And you best know whether you have now the strength of will to resist her beguilements. It would be safer, perhaps, not to risk it, but to take up your abode here with me. I will send a messenger to your servant, if you like, telling him--"

"No," said I decisively, as the thought that 'Mfuni was still in the queen's power came to me for the first time, "I must return to the palace, face the queen, inform her that I now know the truth concerning her and refuse any longer to remain her guest, and see what comes of it.

As to her seeking to influence me, I have no doubt that she will do that, but I must take the risk; and now that I am fully convinced of the truth of all your a.s.sertions, I do not greatly dread the result. I will go at once, and get the interview over; after which I can either return here or ride to the wagon and make it my abode, as I have already done for so many months."

"Nay," said Anuti, "you shall certainly not do that. There is ample room in this house for you, and so long as you remain in Masakisale you must consent to be my most welcome and honoured guest."

So it was arranged; and then, after a little further conversation, and reiterated warnings to be on my guard against every possible description of machination on the part of the queen, I mounted and rode back to the palace at a hand gallop, determined to get through what was certain to be a very unpleasant business forthwith. As 'Mfuni came out, at my approach, to receive my horse, I bade him walk the animal to and fro, instead of unsaddling him, and hold himself ready to accompany me to new quarters upon my reappearance. Then, entering the palace, I made my way straight to the queen's apartments, and sent in a message craving an immediate interview.

I was admitted at once, and found Her Majesty occupying her usual seat upon the divan. At my entrance she dismissed her attendants; and, as soon as we were alone, invited me by a gesture to seat myself at her side. But I declined, saying that, as my interview would be but brief, I preferred to stand.

"Nay, Chia'gnosi," she returned, "it will not be so brief as you appear to think; therefore sit, I pray you, if not by my side, then opposite me, for it wearies me to see you standing. That is well!"--as I drew up an ottoman and seated myself upon it.

Bimbane kept silence for a short time, resting her chin upon her clasped hands and regarding me with an inexpressibly mournful expression; and as I returned her gaze I felt my anger against her dying away, and a great pity for her taking its place in my heart. She looked so small, so frail, so utterly helpless and lonely and miserable that all the innate chivalry of my nature arose and clamoured that it was impossible she could be guilty of the crimes imputed to her; that I had judged her hastily and unfairly; that I had wronged her by lending a too ready ear to her declared enemies; and that in deciding to forsake her I had been guilty of a base and cowardly thing. Then a faint smile of dawning triumph, which lighted up her eyes and irradiated her face, warned me of my danger, warned me that again she was exercising her evil influence upon me, and that I was fast succ.u.mbing to it; it reminded me of the dreadful state of helplessness to which Anuti had been reduced by that influence; and I pulled myself together and braced my mental powers to meet and resist it. And as I did so the smile of triumph vanished from her eyes, and was replaced by a gleam of malice and hatred so deadly that although it was but momentary I recoiled in something that, if it was not fear, was very closely akin to it. Yet I was glad that I had caught that fleeting expression, for it rea.s.sured me; it afforded me a transitory glimpse of the woman's true character, and taught me more thoroughly, perhaps, than anything else could that Anuti and his friends were right and justified in their denunciation of her character. And I think she must have realised in that moment that she had betrayed herself and lost her hold upon me, for when she spoke her voice was harsh and bitter, and full of scornful anger.

"So, Chia'gnosi," she said, "you, to whom I extended a cordial welcome to my kingdom, whom I made a general of my army, upon whom I heaped benefits innumerable, even to the bestowal upon you of all the s.h.i.+ning stones I possess, and which you have so greatly craved--you whom I deemed the very soul and embodiment of chivalry and honour and truth-- you have stooped so low as to clandestinely consort with my enemies, to hearken to their slanderous tongues, to credit the base falsehoods about me which they have poured into your ears; and now you have the a.s.surance to come to me with the purpose of telling me that I am so utterly vile that even you, false and craven that you are, will no longer remain my guest, from fear of contamination!"

"I don't quite know how you came by your information, unless it was by means of your accursed magic," I said, "but in the main you are right.

There are one or two errors with regard to detail, such, for example, as your reference to the 'falsehoods' told me about you by Anuti and his friends, and also with regard to my reason for quitting the palace.

But, after all, these discrepancies are really of no moment, and may be allowed to pa.s.s. That which is of moment is the fact that I cannot possibly remain any longer the guest of a woman who has been guilty of such crimes as you have perpetrated, nor can I submit to the degradation of retaining any of the gifts which I have accepted from you. I shall leave them all in my rooms when I presently quit them; and my regret at abandoning them will be much less than that which I shall always feel since it has been my misfortune to have been brought into contact with yourself, and thus to have learned beyond question that such women sometimes actually exist."

"Oh, Chia'gnosi, you are cruel, bitterly cruel and unjust to say such things to me!" she cried; and then, to my utter consternation, she burst into a perfect pa.s.sion of weeping, and again I felt my heart insidiously softening and warming toward her, she looked so utterly woebegone, so terribly helpless and friendless. But the moment that I became conscious of the feeling I brought my will power to bear and determinedly repressed it; although I confess that I never in my life had a more difficult task than that which I battled with while Bimbane proceeded to explain tearfully that although she had undoubtedly done those deeds with which Anuti and his friends charged; her, she had been compelled to do them in the interests of good government and for reasons of state, and that if I would only listen to her explanation I would see that they were capable of a very different interpretation from that put upon them by her enemies.

And I listened--I will do myself the justice to say that I listened patiently to the woman's attempt to exculpate herself by proving that her crimes were really not crimes at all, but grim necessities of the peculiar position which she occupied as ruler of a turbulent and restive people. But, having steeled myself against the effect of her tears and her pathetic a.s.sumption of helplessness, I was able instantly to detect and draw her attention to the weak points of her defence; with the result that at last, realising, I suppose, that she had lost her power over me and that I was no longer to be cajoled, she suddenly abandoned her efforts and flew into a furious pa.s.sion, abusing me most abominably, and heaping upon my head every opprobrious epithet that she could think of--and she was able to think of a good many.

"And you are fool enough to think that after such treatment as I have received at your hands I will let you go?" she shrieked in a perfect frenzy of fury. "No, Chia'gnosi; you have humiliated me as I believe no woman was ever before humiliated by a man, and since you have scorned my friends.h.i.+p you shall learn what it means to incur my hate. See!" and she flashed the ring on her thumb before my eyes. "By the power which the possession of this stone confers upon me I slay all your cattle.

So! they are dead!" and she dashed her clenched right fist toward me.

"Now it is impossible for you to leave the country, unless you choose to adventure into the wilderness without your wagon. But even that you shall not do. You shall leave this palace, as you have determined, at once, but it shall be to lodge in the cage next that occupied by the captive man-monkeys; and as soon as I have disposed of Anuti and his friends I will proclaim a festival, at which you and those of my enemies who survive shall do battle with an equal number of the monkeys, for the delectation and amus.e.m.e.nt of the people! Aha, Chia'gnosi, it will be a rare sight to watch you, unarmed, fighting for your life against the biggest and most savage man-monkey that my hunters can capture! Ha, release me, brute! What would you do to me? Help--!"

Although I had not the smallest belief in the woman's power to destroy my cattle by any alleged occult virtue pertaining to her wonderful ring, the sight of it flashed before my eyes in so provocative a manner reminded me of my almost forgotten promise to Siluce to take the jewel from Bimbane, if I could; and, exasperated at last beyond endurance by her abuse and threats, I sprang to my feet, seized her right hand in mine, and, while I stifled her cries for help with my left, drew the ring from her thumb and thrust it upon my own little finger, animated by some sudden impulse for which I could not in the least account.

And as the ring pa.s.sed from her possession into mine, the change that occurred in us both was startling in the extreme, particularly so as regarded Bimbane. For a few seconds after I released her she remained absolutely silent and motionless, as though scarcely able to realise what had happened; then, instead of summoning her guards and handing me over to their custody, she instantly became abjectly apologetic and pleading, entreating me to restore her ring in exchange for anything and everything that I might choose to demand. She offered me gold and diamonds without limit, perfect liberty to remain in the country as its honoured guest as long as I pleased, and all the help I might need in the transport of my spoils when it should please me to start upon my return journey; in short, she gave me clearly to understand that I need set no limits upon my demands if I would but restore the ring to her.

But as for me, the moment that I slipped the jewel upon my finger I became conscious of a strange, new, exhilarating sense of power, of ability to do things, of being generally complete master of the situation; and I determined that I would keep the ring, if for no other reason than that Bimbane seemed to attach such an extraordinary value to it, and to require its restoration so badly. I therefore left her at last, quite exhausted with her fruitless entreaties, and doubled up in a little, shapeless, miserably sobbing heap on the divan; and as I went forth from the apartment I summoned her waiting women and directed them to go in and attend to the queen, as I feared that Her Majesty was unwell.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE CLIMAX OF THE ADVENTURE.

Hastening across to the suite of apartments I had thus far occupied, I discarded the splendid garments which had been presented to me by the queen, and in which I had been wont to appear in public, and resumed the somewhat worn and faded suit in which I had arrived at Masakisale; after which I turned my back upon the rooms, as I thought for ever, and descended to where 'Mfuni awaited me, walking my horse to and fro before the main entrance to the palace. The Mashona seemed somewhat startled to behold me once more clad in my shabby travelling garments; but without wasting any time in explaining matters I simply bade him hasten to the wagon, ascertain how things were in that quarter, and report to me at Anuti's house, which I pointed out to him. Then, urging Prince into a gallop, I made the best of my way to Anuti's abode, anxious to communicate to him what had pa.s.sed at my final interview with Bimbane, and to take counsel with him as to what was best to be done under the circ.u.mstances.

He was at home when I arrived, and might indeed have been watching for me, for he came forth to me as I dismounted.

"Aha, Chia'gnosi," he exclaimed, "welcome to my house, for I perceive that something of import has happened at the palace, and that you have indeed left it, as you resolved to do!"

"Yes," said I. "I have left the palace, never to return to it; for I have quarrelled with Bimbane beyond all possibility of reconciliation.

And now, if you are not afraid to give me lodgment for a short time, I will very gladly avail myself of your offered hospitality; for I want to tell you exactly what has happened, and to obtain your advice."

"Pray, enter, and again welcome," he replied. "No, I am not at all afraid to receive you as my guest; for you will be perfectly safe here, and--But what is that I see on your finger?--surely not the magic ring of Bimbane!"

He seized my right hand, stared incredulously at the ring on my little finger, and then, murmuring: "It is, it is!" sank upon one knee before me, pressed the ring to his forehead, and exclaimed:

"Salutations and homage, O high and mighty King! I know not how it has come to pa.s.s, but this is a great and happy day for Bandokolo; for at last the dominion has pa.s.sed out of the hands of that cruel and wicked woman, under whose galling yoke the country has groaned for unnumbered generations, and has pa.s.sed into yours, who will rule us mercifully, wisely, and justly. Great is my pride and joy, O Chia'gnosi, that mine is the privilege to be the first to hail you king. Deign to honour my poor house with your gracious presence for a few hours, Your Majesty, while I go forth and proclaim the glad tidings to the n.o.bles and chiefs here in Masakisale, and make arrangements for the news to be transmitted to the uttermost parts of the kingdom--"

"Stop, stop, for mercy's sake stop your wild talk, and tell me what is the matter, and what you mean by all this rubbish about my being king!"

I exclaimed, as soon as I had sufficiently recovered from my amazement to speak, at the same time dragging Anuti to his feet.

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten!" replied Anuti. "Naturally Your Majesty does not understand. How should you, since no one has explained? In a few words, then, the matter stands thus. The possession of that ring carries with it the sovereignty of Bandokolo, and since you now possess it, you are, in virtue thereof, the monarch of the country; and right glad will all be that such is the case. But, if I may be permitted to ask, how pa.s.sed the ring into your possession? For the tradition runs that it may only pa.s.s as a free gift from the reigning monarch to his-- or her--chosen successor when the former is at the point of death; to attempt to steal it, or to take it by force, brings upon the would-be robber the doom of a mysterious, terrible death, otherwise Bimbane the Cruel would not have been permitted to reign so long. Yet I find it difficult to imagine that--that--"

"She surrendered it to me of her own free will?" I interrupted. "You are right, Anuti, she did not. We quarrelled; she threatened to set you and me, among others, to fight the man-monkeys, and declared that by virtue of this ring she would destroy--has indeed destroyed--the remainder of my team of oxen. This made me angry; and in my anger I flung myself upon her, s.n.a.t.c.hed the ring from her thumb, and placed it upon my own finger. And--and--there it is, as you see," I finished lamely.

"Yes. And you still live!" said Anuti thoughtfully. "It is wonderful; and it is proof conclusive that you are destined to be our king."