The Pobratim Part 22

"He muttered a few verses of the Koran; he looked up again; now he could see Ayesha's face at the open window; she stretched forth her arms towards him. How beautiful she was! There, in the darkness, it seemed as if all the constellations had hidden themselves before her radiant beauty.

"He stopped one moment to take breath and to look at her, when again he heard the ropes creak, and at the same moment the ladder snapped under the young man's weight. He lifted up his arms towards her, but alas! she was beyond his grasp. The next instant he fell with a heavy thud upon the rocks, and from those into the yawning precipice over which the castle was built.

"Ayesha uttered a loud cry, which was repeated several times by the surrounding echoes, and then she swooned away in the eunuch's arms.

"Velagic, who, apparently, had been hidden close by, saw Hussein fall into the chasm, and heard Ayesha's cry; then he mounted his horse and galloped away.

"When Ayesha, with the help of the eunuch, got over her faintness, she went to the window and looked down, but she could only see the darkness of the chasm below. She listened; she heard nothing but the wind, the rustling of the leaves, and now and then the screech of some night-bird. She pulled up the ladder; she saw that it had been cut in several places, at one of which it snapped. She understood that some foul treachery had been committed, but she could not make out who had discovered their secret and had dealt her this cruel wrong. She could not suspect the eunuch, who was there by her side, her friend to the last.

"She pa.s.sed a night of most terrible anguish and anxiety, waiting impatiently, and still dreading the morrow. She tried to hope that Hussein might not have fallen down the chasm, that he might have been caught by some of the trees or bushes that grew on the rocks, and thus saved from death; but it was, at best, only a faint kind of forlorn hope.

"Not a cry, not a groan escaped from her lips, as she stood cold and tearless, at her window, almost stupefied by the intensity of her grief. Thus she remained motionless and dumb for hours, until the first rays of dawn lighted the tops of the Veli-Berdo, the mountain over the fortress.

"Her eyes pierced the faint glimmering of the dawn, and, looking down into the chasm, at the place where the two torrents meet, there she saw three lovely maidens of superhuman beauty, tending the remains of her lover. By their garments, of the colour and splendour of emeralds, by their faces s.h.i.+ning like burnished silver, she knew that they were celestial houris, and that her lover was already amongst the blessed.

"When she saw this sight, she wanted to dash herself down into the chasm and rejoin her happy lover, hoping that Allah would be merciful and allow her to meet Hussein in the abode of the blessed; but then one of the houris beckoned to her to stop, and in a twinkling she was by her side, whispering words of comfort in her ear.

"Her attendants, whom she had dismissed in the early evening, came back to her early in the morning, and they were surprised to see she had fainted by the window.

"When she recovered from her swoon, every recollection of that terrible night seemed to have pa.s.sed away; far from being bereaved and forlorn, she was a happy maiden, about to be united to her lover in eternal bliss.

"Later on in the day her father summoned her to his presence, to tell her that the _Dizdar_ of Stermizza had brought the three hundred Christian heads demanded as the price for her hand, and that she was to get ready to receive him as the man who was to be her husband.

"Ayesha crossed her hands on her breast and bowed; then she uttered, in a soft, slow voice, that sounded as an echo of a distant sound:

"'My lord, it shall be as Kismet has ordained.'

"As Kuna Ha.s.san knew nothing of all that had happened, he thought that his daughter meant that she was ready to obey the decrees of the Fates, that had chosen Velagic for her husband; so he answered:

"'Though he would not have been the man I should have chosen for thee, still, by his bravery, he has won thee for his bride; so prepare yourself to go with him this very evening. But, daughter of my heart,' added he, taking her hand, 'before parting with your father, have you no request to make?'

"'Yes, father.'

"'Well, let me hear it, my child, and if it is in my power to grant it, you may be sure that your wish will be gratified.'

"'My request, though strange indeed, is a very simple one; it is that my betrothal should take place this evening, on the Poto-devi-Most, just when the sun gilds with its rays the snowy peaks of the Veli-Berdo. This, and nothing more.'

"The father looked at his child, astonished.

"'It is, indeed, a strange request, and were it not for the earnest way in which it is made, I should think that it was merely a joke.

Anyhow, it shall be as you wish; only, may I know why you do not wish to be married in the usual way?'

"'I have had a vision at day-break, and the powers above have decreed that it shall be so; but I cannot speak about it till this evening, at the appointed place.'

"The _Aga_, wis.h.i.+ng the ceremony to be performed with the utmost splendour, sent word at once to the _Dizdar_ of Stermizza to be on the Bridge of the Two Torrents at the appointed time. Similar messages were likewise sent to the other _Dizdars_ and _Sirdars_, and to all the gentry of Knin and of the neighbouring towns.

"The sun was sinking down below the horizon when Ibrahim Velagic, followed by Mujo Jelascovic, by the old _Bulju Pasha_, who was as yet ignorant of his son's fate, by the other Mussulman warriors, as well as by a number of _svati_--all came to the bridge, attired in magnificent clothes of silk and satin, laced in gold, with their finest weapons glittering with precious stones. Then came Kuna Ha.s.san Aga, with all his train and a number of slaves, some carrying a palanquin, the others the bridal gifts.

"When the two parties had met at the bridge, all wondering what would take place next, Ayesha ordered the slaves to put her down.

"Velagic at once dismounted from his horse, and came forward to help her to alight, offering her his hand.

"She simply waved him off, and standing up: 'How dare you come to me!

Look at your hand; it is stained with blood; and not with Christian, but with Moslem blood.'

"The eyes of the bystanders were all turned upon the _Dizdar_ of Stermizza, who got all at once of a livid hue; still, he lifted up his hand and said:

"'Ayesha, my hands have often been stained with the blood of our enemies, never with that of our brethren.'

"'Man,' said the young girl, 'in the name of the Living G.o.d, thou liest!'

"There was a murmur and a stir amongst the crowd, as when the slight wind which precedes the storm rustles amongst the leaves of the trees.

"Then Ayesha, turning towards Sare: 'Father,' said she to him, 'your hand.'

"The _Bulju Pasha_ rushed forward and helped her to alight.

"As soon as she was on the ground she threw off her veil and her _feredge_, and stood there in her glittering bridal dress, the costly jewels of which seemed to s.h.i.+ne less than her beautiful face.

"All the men were astounded at such an act of boldness from so modest a maiden; but her dazzling beauty seemed to fill them with that awe which is felt at some supernatural sight. They all thought they were looking upon a houri, or some heavenly vision, rather than upon a human being; so that when she opened her lips again to speak, a perfect silence reigned everywhere.

"'Sare,' said she, 'where is your son?'

"'My child?' replied the old man; 'I have not see him the whole of this long day.'

"'Ibrahim Velagic, _Dizdar_ of Stermizza, where is Hussein, the standard-bearer?'

"'How am I to know? Am I his keeper?'

"'Sare,' continued the young girl, 'when, after the fight of Ostrovizza, my father had promised me as the bride of the warrior who would bring him the head of the brave Christian knight Jancovic Stoyan, or those of three hundred of our foes, Hussein, your son, by the machinations of Ibrahim Velagic and his friends, was excluded from amongst the warriors who could obtain my hand by fighting for our faith and our country. Sare, I loved your son; yes, father, I say it aloud and unblus.h.i.+ngly, for Hussein was as good as he was handsome, and as brave as he was good. I loved him with all my heart, and he loved me, because the Fates had decreed that we should be man and wife, if we lived. Our faith, therefore, was plighted. We waited, hoping that some happy incident would happen to free me from my impending fate. At last I knew that Ibrahim Velagic had got together the number of heads demanded by my father for my dower, and that to-day he was coming to claim me as his bride. Rather than be the wife of that imposter, felon and murderer, I should have thrown myself in yonder chasm.

"'You are astonished at such language; but, father, how is it that all the warriors aspiring to my hand cannot put together a hundred heads, whilst Velagic alone has three hundred?

"'Well, then, know that those heads are by no means the heads of our enemies; they are rather those of the unhappy beings who of late have been seduced by Nedure, the witch, into her den, and who after their rash act never saw daylight again. Look at those ghastly heads, and perhaps many of you will find there people that you have known.'

"At these words, stirred to rage at the light of truth which gleamed from Ayesha's eyes, there was such a yelling and hissing, that it seemed as if all the men there had been changed into snakes. They would have thrown themselves on the _Dizdar_ and torn him to pieces there and then, had Ayesha not stopped them.

"'Forbear,' said she, 'and hear me out; wait at least for the proofs I shall give you of his guilt.'

"'Ayesha!' cried out old Sare, overcome by anguish, 'and my son --where is my son? Is my beautiful boy's head amongst the three hundred?'

"'No; brave Hussein withstood long ago the enticement of the witch, and she has been since then his bitterest enemy.'

"Sare heaved a deep sigh of relief.

"'Hussein was to deliver me from that heinous wretch. Last night we were to flee together. I had the houris to help me, but alas! Ibrahim Velagic had the powers of darkness. It was night, and he won. Hussein yesternight was under my windows, as we had agreed upon. I opened my lattice and lowered him a ladder of ropes, upon which he was climbing joyfully; a moment more he would have reached the windowsill. All at once, an owl screeched, the ropes gave way, and Hussein, my brave Hussein, was dashed down those rocks and into the dreadful chasm.

Sare, my poor Sare, you have no son. Still, be of good cheer; this morning, when the first rays of the sun were gilding the tops of the Veli-Berdo, I saw the celestial maidens tending him. His mangled body is in the chasm, but his soul is in the blessed abode of peace.'

"'Ayesha,' interrupted the _Aga_, 'is all this true?'